On the eve of the end of 2003, and as I had to come down to log on so that I could send an email, I would like to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2004.

See you next year!

I really am going to bed now. I just get so addicted to this damned machine when I have 24 hour access. I am glad to be going home to the land of limited access.

It's Christmas Eve day! Have you got all of your shopping done?

So, I'm surfing... blogs, that is. I thought that I would share some of them with you.

Can anyone tell me what the point of this one is besides that it just wants to infuriate me that these little people are following me around? See if you can make sense of My Final Heaven.

Perhaps I should just get some sleep...

How is everyone doing?

I am still in Vancouver and have less than 24 hours to go before I head home. It's been a really busy time as I have been visiting hoards of people and shopping far more than I had intended to. No, I haven't been bitten by the Christmas gift bug, all of it is for me.

I splurged and bought the latest copy of Exit magazine. I love this one its got a lot of interesting photos. The trouble is that it's just so bloody expensive. Good thing that its biannual.

Claire of Toast and Coffee is in town and she brought me the latest CD by Mika Nakashima. I listened to it last night and its really great. I am surprised this is something that I like as its not something that I would usually listen to.

Went to a Kundalini yoga class at the centre here called Yoga West. It felt good as my classes in Victoria had ended for the year and I was going through class withdrawal.

All in all, it's been a great time. I even worked in my friend's restaurant in Squamish for a day as I went to visit and they decided to open on a Sunday. (Maybe I should quit my day job) For anyone who might be looking for a nice place to go for a bite or if you are looking for someone to do some excellent catering for weddings or parties, check out the Naked Lunch Catering Company. They are located in Chieftain Mall.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for tuning into this blog. I enjoy spouting out and it's really great that people are willing to listen. I don't know if I will be able to be as diligent with my entries but if not, you will see me in the New Year!

I trust that you will all have a wonderful holiday wherever you are.

Pre-Season's greetings to you all!

I will be heading across the water to the city of Vancouver for four or five days. As I might not get a chance to wish everyone the best for the holidays, I wanted to get a headstart on it all. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and that your new year is everything that you would like it to be!

Personally, I don't exchange gifts opting instead to spend time with people I care about. It's much nicer doing that instead of spending way too much money of things that people don't really need. I prefer to foster friendships than expanding the amount of what people have.

So, please have a great holiday! I will make entries when I have access to a computer and will certainly be checking out what is happening with you as well. Keep up the good work and keep blogging.

I have one thing I would like to share with you all today. I came across this site quite by accident and although I haven't read it all, I think that these types of organizations are a glimmer of hope for the rest of the world. I hope that you like the site for Canada World Youth. Is there anything like this where you are?

I am afraid that I don't have much time for posting today but I wanted to add some links to some interesting blogs that I have recently come across. When I get some time, I will give them a more permanent spot...

Try Chez Miscarriage. This blog is brilliantly written and just a great read!

As well, check out Do you have that in my size? It's interesting as well...

Finally, if any of you out there happen to see me jaywalking, please ask me to go to the nearest crosswalk. I don't usually jaywalk but last night, while doing so, managed to scare the hell out of my friend who was with me when we were almost roadkill. I am sure that she will never go anywhere with me again. (Actually, I really couldn't help myself. It was the one intersection in the city that didn't have a crosswalk. Just plain silly, I think and it just dares someone to dash across between cars.) I hope that my friend will forgive me and that she is able to overcome the shock soon.

Hiya everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that my comments section is up and running despite the fact that the counter isn't working... I don't know whether people are just bored silly and not writing comments or that they are daunted by the fact that there are no numbers showing up.

Thanks.

I got my hair cut over the weekend and it is awesome! I went to a salon run downtown and the Japanese guy who cut my hair was brilliant! I don't know if any of you have had your hair done by someone trained in Japan but the level of skill is quite amazing. I have never had a bad haircut from Japanese stylists (except the time that my stylist when I lived there cut it too short for my liking but that was not his fault... he told me that I would hate it... I made him do it!) and would trust them to the ends of the earth.

I have a friend here that is studying to be a hair stylist who told me that although curly hair (which I have) is difficult to cut, once cut, is not so difficult to hide any mistakes. That said, it didn't surprise me when the Japanese guy blow dried my hair straight and then cut it to ensure a really good cut. He styled it straight and it looks awesome. Unfortunately, when I wash it tonight, it will shrink up but I know that the cut is precise so it will look great.

If you are or will be in Victoria and are looking for somewhere to get your locks cut, I would totally recommend him. Just leave a comment and an email address and I will let you know!

Ciao!

I read this article in the local newspaper about how Canadians are being urged not to boast about being Canadian near the 'sensitive' Yanks. It appears that our wearing Canadian flags everywhere while we are travelling, and that we constantly bring up that we are actually Canadian and not American is creating resentment towards Canada.

Hmmm.

It also says that Americans know very little about my home country. This is of no surprise to the average Canadian because we are often asked if we live in igloos and if we enjoy living in really cold temperatures. What surprised me was that very few Americans knew that we did not support their efforts in Iraq. As well, they did not understand why Canada would want to distance themselves from the US. Finally, I found it funny when the group members were 'shocked' by the Canadian facts and figure sheets.

(Just to clarify... Yes, there are areas of Canada that are really cold but there are also areas that are quite moderate, like where I live.)

Personally, I found this article quite amusing and a bit disturbing. Why? I think it is most about identity. Americans have a strong national identity and I think that they need to realize that Canadians do not share that identity and thus we must always point out that our culture is different.

As well, I don't know if you know this but when I was in school, most of our studies included large modules of US geography, sociology and history. Most text books were printed in the US and thus our schooling was dominated by this information. We tried to hang on to our uniquely Canadian ways of speaking and spelling and even that seems to be disappearing. We seemed to have this tiny identity that was overshadowed by this huge economic force to the south. Sure, we want to point out the differences. We are different and, you know what? We are damned proud of it.

And then there are the paper sizes. Can someone out there explain why every other country in the world uses metric stationery supplies (A4, A5, etc) and that we use legal and letter sizes? Because of this monstrous economic power to our south, they had to be 'unique' and develop their own paper sizes. Thus, as we share that border, we got stuck with it too. (One of these days, I am going to start my movement towards changing that)

I believe that many Canadians will snicker at this article. Why? Because we've grown up with this ignorance and it doesn't appear it will ever change.

Don't get me wrong. I have some awesome friends south of the border and all over the world for that matter. It's just that we wish that those who do not know would take a little initiative and learn a little about their neighbours to the North and what our lives really are like. (Well, I shouldn't say they are totally ignorant, they certainly know enough to buy their prescription medication by mail order to get it cheaper.

I'd love to hear what you have to say. And for you American folks, don't be shy. It's nice to hear how things 'tick'get different perspectives.

As well, check out some prose on being Canadian!

Inspired by Radmila of My 2 Second Shelf Life's December 9 entry, I am posting this article on an investigation by the BBC into what people are feeding their babies in the UK. Thanks to Olivia at Yummy Wakame for passing it on...

No noodles for Chinatown! (The Victoria one, that is...)

That is what one of the waiters at my favourite Chinese restaurant told me while I was eating my Ma Po Tofu last night. It seems that this ferry strike that is cutting Vancouver Island off from the rest of Canada is causing some concern in the food industry here. If we cannot get delivery service of foodstuffs soon, you will not be able to get your favourite chow mein here for the time being...

Apparently, meat is an issue too but there may be local stuff that one can get here. The waiter said that a bulk of the food that comes here is from Vancouver and that restaurant owners are concerned and angry. The waiter even suggested that he would be happy to do a job like this for less money.

So, what do we do? We wait. Wish us well...

Did anyone see the Billboard Awards last night?

Firstly, although I like No Doubt, I really have to reevaluate whether Gwen is just another pretty face. Her voice was off key big time. Was it the sound system?

And Triumph the insult dog and his stint with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters was pretty damned uncomfortable, don't you think?

And someone, please just kill Jessica Simpson and put her out of our misery.

On the plus side, I liked Pink, and the presentation of the Century award to Sting by Stevie Wonder, no less. That was awesome! Stevie even promised us an album early next year.

If you have anything to add about this, please comment on!!!!

Any of you who might be travelling between the mainland and Vancouver Island and expect to catch one of the sailings of the BC Ferries, you might want to consider some additional type of transportation. There is an all-out strike by the BC Ferry workers and we are basically stranded unless we can fork out the bucks to fly or take one of the more expensive options.

As an information service for those of you who have not heard, I would like to point out the following options to anyone who might need to make other arrangements.

There is the Washington State Ferries that would route you through the United States. See one of the terminal cams here.

As well, there are the airlines. WestJet is my favourite, and then there are Zip, Harbour Air, Kenmore Air, and Canada's monopolistic air carrier Air Canada.

If ships are your thing, there is the Victoria Clipper to Seattle and the HarbourLynx from Nanaimo.

While these are available, they do not come cheaply so please be prepared to pay extra.

We sincerely hope that ferry service resumes soon. If you would like more information about the strike, please read this which is current as of Thursday, December 11, 2003.

Personally, I do not believe that a full-scale strike should be allowed. If they want to reduce service, that is fine, but don't strand the rest of us because of a labour dispute.

This strike action has been taken to the Supreme court and I heard yesterday that if the action is deemed illegal, the management is well within their rights to fire all of the striking workers. I don't know about you but in a world where job security is non-existant, I think I would be considering this.

Have any of you heard that this is going on here? I mean, the whole world heard about the fires in the interior of BC but one never knows what other type of news travels around the world. Let me know, will you?

Wow! My sitemeter tells me that Adrianne Curry is still a very hot topic...

Anyway, it may be old news now but it looks like local girl Diana Krall and music legend Elvis Costello actually got married!

Well, it appears that Rosa Parks still has a lot of fight left in her. She has been allowed to sue the rap duo Outkast for using her name in a song title and then by referring to her civil disaction on that bus not so long ago. Go Rosa!

It seems the Chinese government has all of the answers... In an appeal to the capitalistic trendy youth of the country, they've turned Chairman Mao into a rapper!

Anyone heard the song yet? If you have, is there somewhere online that we can hear it?

This was found courtesy of The Peking Duck.

Late addition! Check out the Towers are the Players! A little ditty by Gollum powered by Flash. (And hey kids, there's a little bit of swearing so you might want your parents to look at it first.

This in from Joey and his The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century blog. Thank Joey!

It's Friday. Thank goodness for that!

I haven't much to say except that I was going through all of the bookmarks on my computer and came across some things that I haven't looked at in a while. I have listed them below but also, you should check out the Yuletide Lads, an Icelandic poem by Hallberg Hallmundsson that has been translated into English. I find the different traditions surrounding these holidays very interesting. By the way, this was on the weblog Xanth.is

First is Druidstone, a B&B in Pembrokeshire, Wales that someone recommended to me a while back.

Another is a site that displays artwork from a very talented artist in my area. When I finally have enough money, I really would like to purchase one of his works. His name is Brad Pasutti.

Here is the CSS Colors Site for web design. If you are looking for a colour and are not sure which you'd like to use, take a look here.

How about My Cat Hates You? Pretty scary, don't you think?

Even more frightening is Dancing Bush. Dance, sucka, dance!

And, finally, check out the Arab News.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I really love Shu Uemura cosmetics. If you enter the site, just look for the icons that fly toward you and click on Makeup Simulator.

For those girls out there, this could turn into hours of fun! And, who knows, perhaps the boys will like it too!

Special thanks to Claire at Toast and Coffee for passing it along!!!!