The craziness of 2008
I am entering the age when my friends grow up and get married and start having babies. Oh yes … it’s happening already.
Last year there were several weddings, and I know of three occurring this year already. Weddings aren’t so bad though, it’s the baby craze that’s really sweeping the world I live in. I know 10 people popping one out in the next nine months. TEN! That is utterly ridiculous. Siblings, cousins, friends, random acquaintances …
Some of the announcements were expected, and all were obviously rejoiced over. Heck, I love babies. My nephew is my favourite person in the world, and the brother or sister he’s going to meet in August will, I’m sure, be equally spoiled.
Anyway … I’m having a mini-freakout about it all. But I’m sure my turn will come sooner or later. I don’t plan on bucking the trend completely.
Welcome back, Bryan Murray
I thought this was a pretty good article on the Senators’ performance thus far this season. It’s disappointing to see how far they have slid since their huge start, and it’s about time something gets them moving again.
John Paddock is out – he coached the All Stars game but couldn’t last a whole season – and GM Bryan Murray is back behind the bench. Murray did a good job with the Sens last year, bringing them to the Stanley Cup finals, and I’m sure he’ll have all eyes on him tomorrow night during the game against the Flyers. I want to know what goalie he’s going to put in the number one position …
Let’s hope the shakeup gets the Sens back on top where they should be.
The government still stands
No spring election!
This is why I’ve come to love minority governments. Compromise. Maybe not as much gets done, but what is accomplished is more thoroughly researched, better constructed and more accountable. More people are represented accurately and more Canadians end up with something they can live with.
The Afghanistan bill is a good example, though Dion’s wishy-washy opinions on it is not. I think the final product will be much improved from the first draft.
Though I said previously that I would like to add covering a federal election to my list of experiences, I am glad there won’t be an election anytime soon. Though Stephen Harper might have managed a majority and the Liberals could have ended up with a new leader after the vote, it seems most of us are content with the current minority and their accomplishments.
Hawaii
Finally! I have some traveling in my near future … definitely needed since apparently I didn’t win the $10,000 anywhere in the world trip.
It may be tentative, but I am so ready to book my ticket and plan every day of a week-long trip to Hawaii. That’s right. Hawaii.
I’m going in the summer – slightly ludicrous, I know – but I’m excited to just be going! It’s pretty great to have something more concrete than “I want to go out west this year”. The trip will probably happen around the end of July, early August. Too far away in my opinion, I kind of want to start packing tonight.
My cousin is heading to the islands to work for a few months, so I will be joining her at end of her time there to tour the beaches. Beyond just hoping for a tan while we lay on the glorious white sand, we’re also planning to visit the Pearl Harbor monument, Diamond Head volcano park, and some random places on Kauai. I am also hoping to try snorkeling and surfing, and parasailing has been on my list of things to do before I die for years. A helicopter or submarine tour would be sweet, but probably out of our price range.
Anyone have anything to add to the list? If you’ve been to Hawaii, I’d love some tips on the best places to visit!
Anywhere? Really?
I entered a contest to win a trip anywhere in the world.
Okay, that is an understatement. I entered the contest as often as I remembered and it allowed, drooled over photos and checked flight prices to several different destinations. I want to win, I deserve to win. The problem is, I don’t know where I want to go.
No, again, an understatement.The issue is that there are about a hundred places I want to go, and I’m not a very decisive person. My thought was just to pick the most expensive place, since the winner gets up to $10,000, and I don’t want to miss out on any of that cash. But really, if I can go anywhere, I should go where I most want to go. Currently that is Italy. The favourite destination changes every couple of months.
I want to travel the length and breadth of Europe, from England to the very tip of Italy and Spain to Germany. I want to stand on top of the Great Wall of China. I want to feel Sahara sand running through my fingers. The Great Barrier Reef … et cetera, et cetera. So, I guess I’ll go with what is most expensive. Maybe New Zealand, where I can roam the hills where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Or Hawaii, where the white sand, clear water and palm trees make it a marvelous place to pick up handsome blond surfers.
My question to the good people of CTV and Advil Cold and Sinus is: do I have to pick just one? What if my ultimate destination is Venice, with a stopover of a few days in Athens and maybe a weekend in Cairo?
I suppose a decision doesn’t have to be made quite yet. I haven’t exactly won the contest at this point. But hey, I’ve thought about this … well, a lot. Perhaps a little too much, but shut up. It just goes to show that I deserve to win this trip: who else would have their top five destinations already picked out before the contest even closed?
Gosh, I wish Phil would take contestants for the Amazing Race. All I would have to do is pay my flight to wherever the show started, and I’d get a free trip around the world. Well, as long as I didn’t get eliminated. Can someone from the States please let me be their partner? I promise I won’t start cat fights like the supermodels and dating couples do.
Art appreciation
I’ve always loved art. I’ve always admired people who can draw, paint, sing, dance, compose, play instruments, etc. Heck, I think graffiti looks cool.
I am not one of those people that is artistically gifted, though I did enjoy writing poetry in prior years. The only real non-journalistic writing I do now is journaling when I get around to it. And now this blog.
Anyway, since I started reporting in Stittsville, I have a whole new appreciation for artists and their talents and masterpieces. I’ve visited several local painters in their homes and oohed and aahed over the proudly displayed pieces. I wish I had thousands of dollars so I could fill my home with the art that I love and moves me. The first artist I interviewed … man. A couple of her pieces were freaking incredible, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Again, wish I had cash to put those on my wall and enjoy them every single day.
I don’t always understand art; I don’t usually analyze the process or what was painted last, or whatever. But I find every piece beautiful in its own way. I prefer abstract, mixed medium, acrylic … but even oils are still amazing. I admire it all because I know I can’t do it. I can barely draw stick people – no joke.
I guess that’s why I’d love to try abstract, because I don’t think I could ever paint something that made perfect sense or symmetry. I want to buy a canvas and just start throwing paint on it, see what happens. I guess lessons would be a good idea, too. But whatever I try and do, I’ve realized that though the term “starving artist” isn’t always true, it’s still hard to get noticed and appreciated. Galleries and exhibits are almost always juried, and often if the piece isn’t commercial enough it isn’t accepted. That puts a damper on the freedom of holding a brush to canvas and letting inspiration flow.
Beyond my new found appreciation for what artists can do, I have also realized – not just through the painters I’ve connected with – how important art can be to motivate. I’ve heard so many stories, and not just the ones Hollywood tells, about troubled teenagers getting their act together when given an avenue to express themselves and find pride in their actions. Dance, painting, writing, music … they can be major catalysts and opportunities for potential to be revealed and rewarded.
I don’t have allusions of grandeur that someday my work will be in galleries or anything … and I don’t know that I’d ever be involved in the Stittsville showcase, other than covering events. But as a member of the community I love the thought of it. The local galleries have expanded my love of art and urged me to branch out in my own artistic endeavourers.
I really should take art classes. Or start a photography business. Maybe I’ll just go practice guitar.
Read my article on the Stittsville gallery here.
Ah, federal elections …
Enough about American politics … for now. On to Canadian controversy, since I should know more about my own government anyway.
A federal election is all but guaranteed to be called this spring, probably on the budget confidence vote. If the budget does pass, the Liberals will no doubt take down the government on the Afghanistan motion in March. It is about time Stephane Dion got his party together and took a stance. But an upcoming election can only be good news for Stephen Harper.
Dion is not a great politician or a thrilling orator. He finally has his own opinion on the Afghanistan issue but I still don’t think he will gain much ground. The only parties that stand to really benefit from an election call are the Conservatives and the NDP.
Fine by me.
I know elections mean horrible television ads, heated debates and long speeches on boring policy, but I actually enjoy all the hullabaloo. I’ve already reported on a municipal and provincial election for Ottawa media, and I’d like to add covering a federal vote to my list of experiences.
Who knows, maybe Harper will even get his majority …
Update: It seems Harper is willing to compromise with the Liberals in a new motion. Hmm … sounds intriguing.
Where will you be in ten years?
My roommate has planned a rather significant event.
It is going to be a super classy occasion with a massive guest list of friends, family and glamorous celebrities; huge amounts of food and drinks; and phenomenal speeches and entertainment.
Though the date is set – June 15, 2018 – the exact location is not. We do know, however, that it will be somewhere in Rome, Italy.
So mark your calendars, folks. Book your plane tickets. This will be the most opulent and exhilarating event of the year (or month, but whatever) that you don’t want to miss.
Oh, the occasion?
The launch of my first book.
I figure 10 years is enough time to get my ideas straight and complete some serious non-journalistic writing.
So yes, this is all for me. But hey, my roommate said she’d do all the planning. I’m just going to show up.
I will be in Italy already, enjoying a fabulous vacation with the royalty money. Sorry kids, but you’ll all have to come to where I am if you want to get in on the action. The bonus – other than basking in my presence – will be a free, signed copy of my book, which will become an international bestseller and the be only the first of many.
I shall keep you, my loyal readers, updated on my progress. So far I have completed an introduction and author’s biography. That should be enough for this year.
Anchorman
In honour of Global’s special showing of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy tonight, I thought I would share some of my favourite quotes from the movie. Here we go …
“I’m in a glass cage of emotion!”
“I’m a mess without you … I miss being with you, I miss being near you. I miss your laugh. I miss your scent … When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together.”
“Sixty per cent of the time, it works every time.”
“I love lamp.”
“Baxter, is that you? Bark twice if you’re in Milwaukee.”
“I’m 72 per cent sure that I love you.”
“I don’t know how to say this, but I’m kind of a big deal.”
Cheryl