Flawless = Fabulous

So today was interesting. I went to visit my friends from my old job at the drycleaners. They have rose up from the oppressive boss they used to have, and they have united together and formed a dry cleaning store of their own. The store is very nice and home-y. The colours are nice and warm and therefore making the entire store a very bright place. They took all the mistakes that the old boss made and made the necessary improvements to make their store more functional then his store. They minimized the amount of space in the front of the store and had a custom front desk which is very different then regular desks (you can tell it’s original and custom). The store is the same size as the old boss’ store but because Anita and Erin are organized they have so much space to use that the store actually looks totally bigger then the old store. This is their baby. They work together and make a good team. Anita doing the dress-making (sewing)part of the work and helping with overflow of the counter work and Erin doing the packaging and the rest of the work. It works out so that they are doing equal amounts of work (just incase I didn’t explain the previous sentence that way). I am going to take my camera there next time so that I can put some pics on here of the wonderful, friendly, personable store they have created. I could hardly express how impressed I was with the store it looks that amazing. Congrats Anita and Erin, you both have done an amazing job. There will be pics to come, no worries dear reader.

Movie Review - Jackass 2 Unrated Version

Dear reader I just finished watching Jackass 2 the unrated version and it was completely hilarious. The stunts are more ‘outgoing’ and ‘painful’ then the last movie and the tv show. I find it interesting that Bam is afraid of snakes, to the point of crying. Most of the guys dread the stunts if they are going to inflict any large amount of pain. The one stunt I thought was silly was Johnny and Bam sticking their hand in a live bear trap. I found it silly because the teeth on those things are usually really sharp and they just look plain nasty. Steve-O definitely is always taking one for the team, it looked a little painful when he shoved the fish hook through his check but lucky for him Pontius was there to help get the hook through. I have to say that I find Wee Man adorable, Pontius has an amazing body (there’s no party boy in this one though), Johnny Knoxville is sexy and Bam with all the tattoos definitely is a hottie too. The part when they turned Eren into an Arab and used a combo of everyone’s pubic hair for his beard was also funny because later it was said that one of the guys that contributed the hair had crabs, what an ordeal that would be to have on your face. Even Eren saying that he kept getting beard hair (pubic hair) in his mouth makes me laugh. I liked the whole song and dance thing at the end, it was strange but it made me laugh so much. Really the entire movie made me laugh so much, I could hardly stop sometimes.

Cds that are good this week:
K-os -> Atlantis (love how it is very disco-esque)
Justin Timberlake -> FutureSex/LoveSounds (especially the last few songs on the album)
Beyonce -> B-day (the only song I really don’t like is “Get Me Bodied”)
an old cd
Jully Black -> This Is Me (the first half is the best half, 2nd isn’t so bad but the 1st is the bomb)

Crappy Christmas but AWESOME Gifts

So dear reader, today was supposed to be Christmas with my mum since she was away at actual Christmas time. Things were ok for a while, at least till my presents and mum’s presents were opened. Then when dad was out bringing the horses in my mum started something and the way the fight ended (my dad had come in and he got involved as well) by me telling my mum to leave the house and not come back til she had re-thought some things. I will say the 2 gifts I got that were totally amazing was a membership to the Toronto Zoo and I am now the adoptive parent of the 2 Sumatran tiger cubs Indah and Kali. I find it very neat because they were only born this year, June 28, 2006 actually. That gift was the most exciting and interesting I have gotten in a very long time. Then as I said previously, things took a turn for the worse. Things started and I tried to take a break and just remove myself from the situation but when I came back things got twice as bad. I don’t really know what to say about my mum. She made a lot of comments that were totally uncalled for and another thing that really frustrated me was that she kept saying that dad and I were not telling the truth or ‘I might believe that if it happened.’ Things like that frustrate me because it gives me the idea that I might be lying and I am one of the most blunt people most have met and with that usually comes brutal honesty. So I asked my mum to leave the house, my dad and I are equally frustrated because we have no idea where to go or what to do with the mum situation. Anything we have tried has ended badly and anything we think of trying usually is set off because we realize that mum is touchy at this time or that when we were going to try the new trick and then we don’t end up trying it. I had been dreading the celebrating of Christmas with mum because I didn’t know how she would be acting to begin with and then how she would be in general as the night went on. Mum left before dinner was finished (it got delayed with all the fighting going on) so I will say this, she sure missed a good dinner and probably some of the finest Yorkshire Pudding I’ve made yet. It must suck to cut your nose off despite your face eh?

Home Sweet Home

Dear reader, I have moved for my third time this year and it just makes me hate the process even more. Luckily I have not had to move absolutely everything I own it has been between the 2 houses so it hasn’t been as inconvenient as it really could be. I now have my comp at the farm house and my fishies are with me, I am starting to feel like I am home again but because I have been a ping pong ball between the 2 houses it will take a little bit to sink in that I am going to be staying here for good til I decided to move on. This time my dad helped me move, which was a lot easier on me because I have a bad back and all. I think my dad is more happy that I finally moved all my stuff over here then I am, but I truly do hate the process of moving. I did quite a few laps up and down the stairs at the farm house though so I have done a bit of exercise outside of doing the barn in the morn. I plan to be writing to you a lot more often and trying to find stories to tell you and things to educate you.

I will let you in on a bit of literature, this is one of my very favourite poems, so when you are done reading it, take what you will from it.

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both,
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads onto way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Now for your education for the day.

Topic – Horse Herpes
-it’s not a sexually transmitted disease
-there was an outbreak at Churchill Downs and now it’s in PEI possibly Nova Scotia and for sure in Florida
-Symptoms (respiratory) = nasal discharge, fatigue, fever, coughing, this is for type 1,EHV-1
-causes abortions in mares, and pneumonia in foals
-it’s an airborne disease
-can be transmitted over a 10 metre distance
-usually lasts for 2 weeks
-paralytic form of the disease effects the central nervous system which causes problems with locomotion
-the paralytic form can also be life threatening
-modified live vaccines (MLV) are to be effective in preventing the disease
-once infected the horse carries the virus for the rest of it’s life in a dormant state but the virus can be re-activated by stress later on in life
-there is also an inactivated vaccine which uses dead virus particles to build immunity, this is not as effective as the MLV

Hope you have enjoyed this strange post. I just was excited that I can write to you whenever I want reader, and you will benefit by getting more posts and learning more about me and everything else I talk about. Lucky you!!

Book Review - Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Dear reader, this book that I just finished reading is a phenomenal read and I highly suggest it. Not only did it open my eyes to what kind of life the Afghani’s had to live when they were being over taken by the Taliban but also what simple pleasures in life were for them. The book is Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It’s about a father and son who are closely related to their servants, who are also a father and son. Later in the book you find out more about the relations and just how closely they are related. The two boys, even though they are in different levels within the society hierarchy, often play together and spend time together, although when the one son is with his friends, he doesn’t ask his servant friend to join them. The two boys form a sort of brother-ship and become very close, they spend most of their time together doing various things. One thing I did not realize is that flying kites is almost like a major sport in Afghanistan. They have actual kite battles and then the kids run to catch the kites. The person who owns the last kite that is flying and is able to catch the opponents kite they just beat is known as a champion throughout the entire town. The kites are hand made and are even equipped with a glass/tar string which is used to cut the opponents kites loose. It really was quite amazing how in depth the kite running and flying was. It would be like hockey or baseball to Americans and Canadians. The two boys form a team and work together to win the kite tournament and the servant boy runs the kite for the main character. While running the kite for him, the servant boy seems to go missing and cannot be found by anyone. The main character ends up trying to find his servant friend and ends up being witness to his friend being brutally raped and beaten by the town bully and 2 of his lackeys. This is a major part of the story because the main character often refers back to it and considers it a personal flaw that instead of helping his servant friend out he chose to run to safety. For many years he wonders if the servant boy even saw him there watching the terrible incident. Some years later the main character and his father choose to leave Afghanistan as it is becoming troubled, people being beaten in the streets, often killed even. His father makes the decision to take his son and leave to go to America where it is much safer and make a life for themselves there. Many years later the main character gets a call from his father’s best friend saying that he must return to Afghanistan for reasons he will tell him when they meet. When the main character and the father’s best friend meet, he is told that him and the servant boy were actually half brothers because the servant boy’s father was infertile and unable to have children so as a service to him the father gave the servant father a son, thus making the main character and his servant boy friend half brothers. The reason the main character was summoned back to Afghanistan is that his half brother had a son and now the son is in an orphanage because both his parents were shot in the street by a cruel Taliban soldier. The story goes into detail about the difficulties the main character has trying to find his nephew and the struggles he runs into trying to save said nephew. The book talks a lot about the importance of family and how the main character can try and reclaim his honour since the half brother saw him watching the rape and he did nothing. The way he can reclaim the honour is to rescue the boy from the same turmoil that his father incurred and bring him to safety, even if that means bringing him home with him to America. The story is absolutely fabulous and yet again it was another story that truly opened my eyes to a world out there that I don’t hardly know about. Not only was it informative but I ended up feeling the pain and sadness the characters actually felt because I really got into the story. Definitely an amazing read and I definitely suggest it to anyone, not only to know about what it is like in a different country but the book is an amazing story, and the ending is truly fitting.

Life Crap & Movie Review

Dear reader, I had wrote a post for you yesterday but because I was on the shitty computer and it really started being a hunk of junk I was unable to even send it to myself or save it so that I could post it today. The post was about my mum and how she has officially replaced me with her liar boyfriend. It was basically a venting piece which would have probably bored you to tears, so maybe be thankful that it was trashed. I will say though, my dad called her yesterday and said that she was being really selfish and rude and now when I come to her house to do my computer stuff, she gives me attitude like I am the one ruining things. The thing that I find really upsetting is that if her boyfriend has a problem with anyone, she either cuts the person off or the relationship goes sour quicker then milk. I think it’s really sad that my mum is letting a loser like him control her life and decisions she makes within said life. She has already buggered up one wonderful friendship she had because the boyfriend did not like the fact that mum’s friend told him “Don’t hurt her, she’s a good person.” Now mum doesn’t even talk to that person anymore, and when you ask her about said friend she makes up something when she really doesn’t know what is going on. Even being here right now is really upsetting because my mum is treating me like I am the one with the problem and that I am being a jerk. I have been civil and will continue to do so, but I do not plan on going out of my way to get hurt by her which is continuing to happen even though there was almost a 2 week break. I really thought that when mum came back from her holidays that we would both have formulated something to say about how we disagree and our problems and such, but when I came here yesterday and she had him here when she knew I was coming over that was the last straw. Not only did he violate the “don’t talk to sarah rule” (yet again), but I thought mum got the idea that I was coming to see her and talk not to come and see him and be a third wheel. It’s hard for me because she keeps trying to force me to like him and there are reasons (real, and good ones) why I choose not to. I think I just have to put my guard up and defend myself, if that means staying away or even not having a relationship with my mum then I guess that is what it will have to be for the time being. It will be hard for me but I have asked my dad for his support and he said he’s there for me, and as hard as it will be I am going to get through this, even if it’s despite her. I have to look out for myself in all ways possible, and at this point avoiding getting hurt is most important.

Now onto a much lighter topic

Movie Review – Last Kiss

This is a movie directed and produced by Zach Braff and if you saw Garden State (his other baby) you will love this movie also. The cast is quite stellar, I must say he’s made some very good friends along the way of his career. Name Drop : Jacinda Barrett, Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, Casey Affleck, etc… The movie looks at life just as Garden State did. Zach’s character finds himself turning 30 and has a baby on the way, but he is NOT and WILL NOT get married to his girlfriend of 3 years until she can tell him 3 marriages that have worked out. In the beginning of the movie she is able to name one, her parents, but then eventually even their marriage hits the rocks. He meets this young college student, who is what he would say “leading him to surprises”. His greatest fear which you later find out in the movie is that after you settle down there are no more surprises in life, so then what. He explores the connection he has with this young, vivacious brunette and realizes that he likes how there is no predictability and that he can be FREE. Unfortunately when a friend’s parent passes away the proverbial shit truly hits the fan. The longtime prego g/f finds out that he is out with the brunette and she concludes that he is ‘cheating’ on her. She kicks him out of their house and then goes to stay at her parents and he ends up staying at the house by himself with pictures of the 3 year long relationship they had posted everywhere. He realizes how bad he truly has buggered things up. It’s very interesting how his character develops such an immediate bond with the young vixen he meets. It almost makes ‘love at first sight’ a reality for him. After a long talk with the g/f’s father about how he has to ‘do whatever it takes’ to show his love and that he will not be a jerk again. The stage is set for a long a trying way for him to get back into the g/f’s life. In a sense the movie kind of put, for me anyway, an expiry date on all relationships, because at some point somebody is going to falter. The true test is whether they will be able to go back into the arms of the other person and have a relationship again, even though they made a huge mistake. I love Braff’s 2 movies and how they examine life and certain principles about it. He really tries to make his movies a reality and not just some fictitious love story where the girl meets the guy and falls in love and everything goes fabu. I loved the movie and would tell anyone to watch it, and I would do the same with Garden State, his other movie. He also selected the soundtrack because there were some definite similarities between the 2 movies.

2007 Jan 2 post (was supposed to be yesterday though)

Well dear reader, i was trying to post this to you yesterday so that you would have something to read on the first day of the year 2007. Alas, the computer i was using was being a sack of shit and i therefore let you down on your first read of my blog for the new year. There are a bunch of things that i am going to talk about in my blog today and some of it is movie review, some current events and other stuff just to tell you to keep you up to date with things going on with me.

Movie Review - Invincible

Well this movie was sort of disappointing because it was one of the poorest football movies i have ever seen. There was some good football action but the story was just sort of blah. It's based on a true story, which is the life or should i say career of Vince Papale. Times are rough when the movie takes place and Vince gets a chance to try out for the Philedelphia Eagles (which is a loser team), which he is a die hard fan for. Vince gets the break of a life time and you are a smart person reader, so i will leave the rest up to you because you probably can already tell that he gets a to be apart of the team. The main character is played by Mark Wahlberg (that's right, Marky Mark guys), and we all know that i think he is a hot piece of ass. Of course as soon as i saw it was a football movie and he was the lead character, i jumped all over it because i am not going to turn down an opportunity to watch a hunkorama parading around in tights. I'm sorry but that is just not going to happen. The one thing i really liked about the movie was how Vince's friends supported him through everything and he even had the one signature friend that looked up to him (even before the stardom hit him). It made me think about my friends and how much i appreciate them and how lucky i am to have them as friends. I value their friendship like Vince valued his friends. The friendship piece was a big part of the movie for me, can't really explain why but it just was. The supporting female actress, not sure who she was but she was pretty good looking so KUDOS Marky Mark on getting the fine female again. Can't really say much else about the movie because i thought it would be up to my football movie expectations but man was i wrong, so i will leave the decision of watching it up to you. Maybe the fact that it was a Disney movie was why it wasn't as good as it should be. To think of it i can't even remember a swear word being said in the entire film. Definitely the Disney production thing might have something to do with it.

STUFF

So i rang in the new year as usual. Went to bed early and didn't give a crap because it's just another day to me and i don't care. New Years has never been a big thing for me but the food i actually have on the day of new years is pretty goood and i love lounging around doing not a whole hell of a lot. I usually spend the day chill-axing and watching movies, playing games and reading. I did do some physical exercise today though which was piling wood at my mum's house. It wasn't too bad but i really didnt' want to do it at first, then when i got into my groove i was a little powerhouse. Dad and i talked about a lot of things that are happening and such. It was kind of like bonding time which was nice, since i haven't had a really good relationship prior to now, with my dad. Resolutions... i don't make them because i know that i will not keep them. Not a very good attitude towards it but i am being honest. Anyone who can keep a resolution, KUDOS to you because you have control and the will to stick with the thing you plan to do better at.

CURRENT ISSUES

It was published in the newspaper that Saddam Hussein was hung along with 2 of his flunkies. I have a few issues with this. I realize that he brought a lot of suffering and pain to many peoples lives and families but i think there must have been some better way to punish him. An example that i thought of -> make him do something that he really wouldn't like to do for a very long time. Make him suffer like he has made so many other people do. Make him clean dirty toilets, wash dishes, or some other form of punishment for the rest of his life. There has to be a better way to get a him then giving him the death penalty. He died by a hanging, which is one of the cruelest ways to go, aside from the electric chair, or in some countries, firing squad. I think that giving him the death penalty was an easy way out and the timing that it was around the new year is very 'tabloidish', but we all know how president bush loves drama, so it would be right up his alley. The whole death penalty thing must go against some of the rules created by the Hague as well. I read in the paper "punishing Saddam with the death penalty is like a crime being committed and being punished with another crime". I totally agree with this. Bush of all people should have wanted him to get a better sentencing, one that was brutal not just the death penalty where Saddam can sort of go out like a martyr. The fact that he was hung with his flunkies was surprising to me as well because i thought they would want to make an example of him so they would want to do him separately to make it count. Personally i think that this will also cause a major uprising in Iraq, yes there were many that thought he deserved the punishment that he got but he still had a fair bit of a following there. So what happens with Iraq now we will only know in time....Opinions are totally welcome on this issue, i would love ot hear what people have to say and what their thoughts and feeliings are.

End things on a good note and have a good holiday all. I have enjoyed mine even though it has been a little anxiety provoking. Eat, drink and be merry is a great saying and i would love to personally thank the person that created it because that's how i lived my holiday. Cheers to all!!!