31.12.03

[vancouver]
happy belated birthday
i almost forgot -- it has been three years since i started my weblog -- and i'm glad i did. it is neat to look back and see where i've been and how things have changed/not changed. of particular interest is in what and how i used to write -- i'd like to think that i have improved.

anyways, i've always suggested that this blog project is not making any grand gesture or statement, but rather is just for me. if some of you follow along, i hope you enjoy your stay...

30.12.03

[vancouver]
sasha
over christmas, i was lucky enough to take care of noel's dog, sasha. i haven't had a dog/pet since i was very little, and other than tiring (sasha always wanted to play outside), it was a very nice to have sasha spend christmas with the romero's.

i'll have to admit, there is nothing better than the greeting that you get from sasha after you leave her for a couple of hours -- unconditional love for sure.

24.12.03

[vancouver]
top 5 christmas songs
...a great idea from oliver -- random top '5's'. so here you go...
top 5 christmas songs
5. "All I Want For Christmas Is You"
4. "O Holy Night"
3. "White Christmas"
2. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
1. "The Christmas Song"

...merry christmas to you and yours...

23.12.03

[vancouver]
a great wedding
...taken from ed and tina's wedding, november 23...

22.12.03

[vancouver]
remember, and let them know how you feel today.
with the holidays here, as well as the end of the year, it seems to be a natural time to take stock and take note of things in our lives, where we are, where we have been, and where we are going -- at least it is for me. christmas, i've realized is really a time for friends and family -- a natural and convenient time to reach out more than usual, to spend some time with those who love us and who we love. as i age and change, i realize that it is all too easy to be insular and jadded by all the hoopla, and what it means or does not mean to me right now.

last thursday, my childhood friend richelle passed away. she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer two years ago. she was only 32.
our families first became intertwined when we lived in saskatchewan. my early childhood is filled with many memories of family parties, outings, vacations, camping, etc with richelle her family and all of our close friends that became 'family'. when we moved to bc, and when they moved to california, we still kept in touch, often staying with them everytime we visited california. every christmas we would receive chirstmas cards from them, birthday cards with little gifts, and letters filled with stories and photographs about their lives.

in university, we managed to grow apart, however when we did see each other, it was as if nothing had passed. but it seems out of sight, out of mind seem to win out in our case of friendship, for when she sent me an invitation to her wedding in 2001, i did not even respond, or even send a card. later in that year, i found out she was diagnosed with cancer, i felt so bad, and only sent her an email after the fact. of course she replied, in her usual chipper self, without even mention of what she was going through.

i never called her because i felt bad, and because i never knew what i was going to say. but instead of thinking about me, i should have been thinking how she was feeling and going through. about the love of her life, about her family, her career, about her mortality.

lesson learned. never leave anything unsaid. take the time to express how you really feel inside today.

17.12.03

[vancouver]
rromero
you know when you've been working around computers too long when you refer to people by the string before the "@" symbol in an email address -- i.e. bdobie, mertl, grhodes, kmueller, etc.

discuss.

16.12.03

[vancouver]
like speed dial.
if you take a look on the right, i've rearranged the link order of my flogs (or friend's blogs). it was in no particular order, since i just added the links to my friend's blogs as they either started to blog or told me about them. grant says it is kind of like programming your speed dial on your phone -- i.e. ranked in order of importance or frequency of 'calling' (or 'visiting').

anyways, i've rearranged them, to be in alphabetical order. this will clear up any controversy :)...

15.12.03

[vancouver]
adults love toys too, all year round.
...on saturday night, i was invited to a birthday party/sex toy party. basically where someone comes in and brings all their wares related to increasing and spicing up one's love life. there were gifts for him, gifts for her, gifts for the couple and gifts for her that could be used for him. regardless, who knew, but then women (and their boyfriends) loved it, and bought up a storm.

who knew these things happened (and got so rowdy)...:)

8.12.03

[vancouver]
the last samurai
not oscar's best picture, but a great movie overall. initial reviews that i read before i went and saw the movie said that the hollywood ending left the audience wanting more, however i didn't think it was that 'fromage'. cruise and watanabe (see imdb) put in outstanding performances. a definite must see (8/10).

7.12.03

[vancouver]
first day.
with my new gear in hand, i tagged along with ed and paul (or hollywood as they call him) up to whistler-blackcomb to meet up with shawn for our first day of riding. all of them had been riding or skiing for a real long time (like 15 years for shawn), and even though i partied a bit too hard the night before, i made sure that i went because since i'm sans car these days, so i'm always going to have to hitch a ride. well, even though the visability was low at points (i didn't have any goggles at first, but i quickly changed that situation as ice was getting stuck to my face :)), the snow was incredible and felt like a duvet when i would fall on my ass (and my side, and my shoulder etc). i did my best to keep up with those guys, but i had a little trouble with the ungroomed runs, and watched them in the distance as they went almost twice as fast and even lift off at some points getting some air with both ease and grace. near the end of the day, my legs were a bit tired, but i had a beter time on blackcomb this time around then the one and only time that i went last year.

needless to say, it was great to be up there in those mountains, and of course in the lodge after for apres ski :). there's nothing like it.

4.12.03

[vancouver]
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
i'm usually very indecisive (actually not usually, most of the time :)), but thanks to kev (who ended up picking up the same pair) and kev's friend, i got a good deal and i think i'll be happy with them for sure (they're super comfortable).

hopefully the weather will cooperate this year!


burton hail

3.12.03

[vancouver]
shattered glass
haven't seen many movies lately, but saw "shattered glass" last night, which was very entertaining and based on the real life events of journalist "stephen glass" at the new republic. peter sarsgaard as chunk, glass's editor was both delicate and even-toned, a great juxtoposition against hayden christiensen's unsympathetic portrayal of glass.

read a real review here. also check this out.