And we’re supposed to be good at hockey
November 5thFrom the front page of The Vancouver Sun:
The Canucks are the longest-running melodrama in our city. In 37 years, they’ve never won a Stanley Cup and have been to the finals only twice. Yet we, the fans, have never lost the faith. Forever Faithful—The Canucks Movie pays tribute to us, their diehard boosters.
Iain MacIntyre
I’m no hockey fan or sports genius, but even I know enough to realize that playing for thirty seven years and never once winning is a little sad, and not in the boo hoo kind of way, but more in the “wow, this hockey team is an embarrassment to our city” kind of way.
Of elections, conventions, and republicans
November 4thEarly tomorrow morning we’re off to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the 6th annual XanGo Convention. Some of you may recall that I went last year and it was an absolute blast—and also like last year, that invitation to stalk me down still stands.
This year we’re driving down instead of flying. This is what my mother had to say about that:
Me: “You know, tonight is election night and tomorrow morning we’re going to be driving through a Republican state to get to an even more Republican state…”
My mother: “Oh no! If Obama wins, there will be violence on the road!”
And she was totally serious. Aren’t Canadians cute?
Meanwhile, I’m curious: Who do you think will win the 2008 U.S. Presidential election tonight, and why?
The Four Seasons
November 3rdEvery year, day after day, year after year, mother nature acts out a story.
It starts with the birth of the world. The clouds started to part, showering the earth with life-giving rain. The grass comes to life, growing greener and greener by day. The flowers wake up from the ground, starting as buds, soon to bloom into a picture of beauty. The trees wake up from their sleep, and some of her children come out to play after a long nap. The inhabitants of the earth called this spring, for everything had sprung to life.
The earth continued to grow and grow, pulsing with newfound vitality. The sun started to show up to work more often, cuddling the planet with light and warmth. Everything from the foundations of the earth to the bluish tint in the skies was at its peak, its climax. The inhabitants of the earth called this summer, for what had started in spring had somehow bled into summer.
Point, missed.
November 2ndThe scene: It’s family time. I’m showing my father my iPhone, while my brother is showing my mother his PSP. He’s customized it to have the exact same kind of interface as the iPhone. It does a lot of the same things an iPhone does. My brother and my mother are currently surfing the internet on it.
My mother: “Bring up her blog. What did she write on that thing now?”
My brother, pretending to read out loud: “I hate my life. I hate my mom. I’m really sorry I got an iPhone, because Denzil’s PSP is just so much cooler. This will be my last post here. Save the flies. I hate my life. The birds are dying. I’m going to kill myself now.”
My mother: “… DID SHE REALLY WRITE ‘I HATE MY MOM’?!!”
Vegan Tropical Cheesecake
November 1st“Vegan? Ew!”
Don’t lie. Most of you are inclined to think the very same way whenever you hear that word used in reference to foods that are normally supposed to be non-vegan. If you’ve never had the chance to taste vegan or vegetarian dishes prepared right, I don’t blame you—there are a lot of meat and dairy “alternatives” out there that are simple awful.
This vegan tropical cheesecake has actually been a hit with a number of my meat-eating, non-vegan friends and family; so much so, I’ve actually had several requests for the recipe, which is why I decided to post it here. It’s super easy to make, and with no added sugar or dairy, it’s a whole lot less fattening and better for your arteries. Win win!
The subject for tonight’s lecture can be easily twisted to fit in the same category as rich people whining about the complications of having too much money; a non-issue. But don’t be fooled—it is a real issue for many women, an issue I feel it is my personal duty to address with my timeless wisdom.
I’m talking about unwanted advances from men. Sometimes it’s the sweet guy you recently befriended who is clearly into you while you are just trying to be friendly. They ask you out for coffee or something. You cringe a little on the inside, because hello, you don’t like him like that.
Maybe you accept, because you’re nice or whatever. I always duck and dodge.
As I was sitting in the dentist’s office today, contemplating life’s mysteries, I had a stunning revelation: Maybe instead of spending time coming up with new and creative ways to avoid men and escape their unwanted advances, I should get a boyfriend. Preferably, a fake one. Even better if he was gay, married or into someone else. Fabulous if he was all three.
Laundry day
October 30th 
“I think it’s time to do laundry”, dog says.
One of the assumptions people make about me that I find most amusing is the one that involves me being an uptight “clean freak”. You know—one of those crazy people who keep their living spaces spotless and have an aneurysm when you don’t use a coaster. Sounds lovely, really, but it’s not me.
I usually tend to wait until I’ve run out of clothes to wear and/or can’t walk through my room to do laundry/cleaning. The two are basically synonymous to each other, as they almost always get done at the same time. Unfortunately, neither get done nearly as often as they should.
Lucky in cards, unlucky in love
October 27th 
Over this past summer, I probably played more card games with more people than anything else. It was a fun thing to do when you’re out in the middle of nowhere with no internet, no phone, no city life to speak of and surrounded by a ton of friends.
So we played. We played President, Egyptian Rat Screw, five more rounds of Egyptian Rat Screw, and then more President. It was that or hiking, and as I learned on the last Saturday afternoon of my middle-of-nowhere adventure, hiking is not among my strongest talents.
Wanted
October 26thSetting: Subway - 3490 Kingsway in Burnaby, around 7pm, Saturday October 25th.
You: Henry, from Czech Republic, white iPhone, bacon and chicken sub on whole wheat bread with ranch dressing, no olives. Lives just off Kingsway. Party Saturday night. The lady behind the counter said I was pretty and you agreed. You told her you were too shy to ask me my name, so I told you instead.
Me: Chanel, half Fijian, quarter French, quarter British, no iPhone present, veggie sub on whole wheat, Italian dressing, with olives. Lives by Killarney. Was heading to North Vancouver.
They say strangers are friends you just haven’t met yet. Hi. :)
Last words
October 23rdFor the last couple hours, I have been listening to a life struggle on the brink of death.
I refer to a fly that is trapped somewhere in my room. I don’t know precisely where he is, but I can hear him. Once every minute or two, he frantically attempts to escape from where he is stuck. It makes a buzzing sound. In the last hour, that buzzing has become less frequent. All I can think is, gosh, that noise is irritating. I hope it stops.
Do you know what it means when the buzzing sound stops? It means the fly is DEAD. It means that there was a living creature somewhere in my room, struggling to stay alive, and I sat by listening to his death pleas, doing nothing, and the only thing that crossed my mind was, “gosh, that noise is irritating”, followed by, “hey, I should blog about this!”
If this fly was a human, you’d be coming at me with the police and handcuffs. If this fly was a dog or cat, you’d be coming at me with pitchforks and PETA. But this fly is a fly, and everyday in the world people are putting flies out of their misery, and nobody bats an eye.
If we bring humans, household pets and household pests down to their simplest form, they are all lives. They are all alive. They all have eyes. They all have hearts. They all even have nervous systems. Earlier this month, I dished out a small portion of my savings fund to save my rabbit’s life. There are people in the world who hunt rabbits for fun. Who am I to decide who’s more superior to live?
