I suppose that every person in this world has something that they would change about themselves. Some have their hair coloured or wear colour contact lenses and some opt for the more drastic option of plastic surgery. I find it interesting that the geography plays a really big part in this as well.

Everyone knows of the breast augmentation operations that seem to happen in any country. There are fake tans by lily white people who don't want to look pasty white. However, we also hear of Asian women having operations on their eyelids so that they can have a fold created that would make them look more Western.

Something that always disturbed me was the use of "whitening creams" in many parts of Asia so that women could look more "white". I found this disturbing not only because it felt weird that people were disappointed by their colour but because caucasian women were considered an epitome of beauty. It is really uncomfortable to be considered exotic in that way. I also didn't get why these women, who were beautiful in their own right, were using these creams to achieve an ideal. They weren't comfortable in their own skin so they thought this product could make them feel better about themselves.

I wasn't really sure that these creams were healthy or not. Today, I read this story about how some of these creams contain mercury and other dangerous additives. My fears were realized and so I hope that everyone out there reading this takes a look at those products you put directly onto your skin.

Your quest for beauty may be killing you.

Someone in my office told me today that they admire me for being brave and not caring what people think of me. To tell the truth, I am not really sure how to handle remarks like this...

I mean, it doesn't really take any courage, just the desire to follow one's heart.

This all stemmed around me wanting to dance on a table yesterday at an event with a dj. It was the middle of a sunny day, the turntables were spinning some awesome tunes and I just wanted to dance. I grabbed this one person, who is pretty open-minded, and headed towards this picnic table and encouraged her to get up on it with me and dance. She refused in a move that seemed to reek of false modesty and left me standing there.

So, I see her today, and she's all "oh, you're so cool, I wish I could do that" and I couldn't help feeling like this "compliment" was just a nice way of saying not to try that again. I always get all judgmental about stuff like this because what people don't realize about me is that I am not the brave person I appear to be. I am not all that confident and I consider myself quite shy, yet I just don't see the point in waiting around if what I really want to do (and doesn't involve bodily injury) is within my grasp. And, it annoys me when people just assume that it's brave of me or that I am a "great" person because I can get things going. The truth is, I just get bored of waiting around for everyone else to catch on.

I just want to grab people by the shoulders and shake them. I am no greater than them. If they wanted to dance in the middle of a field, then they should. Or, is it just that they really don't want to do it and are afraid that they will piss me off if they say no. This particular individual was bopping around and looked like she wanted to do it but perhaps she wasn't brave enough to say no. Nevertheless, it's left me with an uncomfortable feeling...

In the back of my head, all I can hear is that voice that says that I'm not really that special. I am shy yet have built up a facade of strength to protect my heart. What's so admirable about that?

I urge every one of you who feels like dancing to dance, who feels like singing to sing and who feels like living without the judgment of others to do that. Life's too short to sit around admiring the acts of others. I would rather inspire than be admired...

Speaking of inspiration, I visited a pottery instructor in Vancouver this past weekend who was totally cool. His name is Hide (and you can find his link down this page's sidebar) and he has some amazing work. His philosophy on pottery is unique and I cannot wait to learn from him!

Take care all!

Penis transplant anyone?

You might want to think long and hard (no pun intended) after the first ever penis transplant operation had to be reversed. It appears that the recipient, whose original penis was damaged in a traumatic accident, and his wife suffered from severe psychological problems after the completion of the operation. My first thought upon reading of the psychological aspect, I thought that the wife was just being fussy about size.

For more information, please read this.

Just how would one come to donate a penis? Is there a space on the organ donation card?

I know that it's time to finish a post when I start getting ideas for a horror/suspense film about donated body parts...

Here's a moral dilemma for you all...

You go into a public washroom and you are given the choice of paper towels to dry your hands or one of those electric air dryers. Which is the least environmentally destructive? The paper towel that ends up in the trash or the electric one that uses up energy yet doesn't really dry that effectively despite it using that level of electricity.

One thing that I learned in Japan is to carry a little towel in one's bag and use that when using public washrooms. I don't think it was environmental concerns however, I just think that, like toilet paper in these public facilities, there are never any paper towels...

I often think that, often, not enough credit is given to people of experience.

Now, I'm not talking about job experience or schooling, even though they both contribute to one's journey through life. What I am talking about is the experience that shapes us into the person we get when we get into our 30's and 40's. You know, that time of our life where we've supposedly grown up and should be doing the "responsible" thing.

I've been lucky to have friends of all age groups, even though I have reached the point where I should be responsible. Mostly, they are younger than me because none are is married (like myself) or has kids and so, it is easier to belong being that I am not a member of the "mommy" club. However, over the past week or so, I have been thinking that there is a much less emotional attachment to these younger people than was originally thought.

It's interesting that, while I mostly understand where they are coming from (because I have already experienced the discomfort of being in one's early to mid-thirties) and we can connect on some levels, that they are not quite ready to understand what it is to be a personh my age. They have no experience that they can share and are still trying to come to grips with the whole "growing up" thing.

I befriended them and they looked up to me for examples of which direction would best suit them. They needed a role model of sorts and I was quite happy to help them with the difficulties of their lives because I was open to guiding them to make their lives easier. What I failed to realize was that I was playing surrogate parent to many of them, instead believing that because we were all single, that they could identify with what I was experiencing now. The truth is that I was wrong.

While I could advise them, they often chose to take directions that were opposite to what I had recommended. I had the experience and knew what the results would be but often they chose to take the hard road. I felt that I wasn't getting credit for life experience but soon realized that they wanted to "go their own way". I applaud them for doing that.

It was quite ironic that I stumbled onto an awesome post on the Three Angry Guys blog that kind of reflected the things that I have been thinking of lately. Going a step further, the things expressed in this post could easily be applied to all young people who are starting out. I wish them luck but to be truthful, it's not an easy journey and nowadays, it doesn't really pay to be naive about the things that are encountered on a daily basis.

I really just wanted to say that I had a really awesome time with those people who came back into my life recently. I have been so lucky to have met some truly amazing and wonderful people during this life of mine and it is even more lucky to have had called them all friends. They reminded me that friendship goes beyond borders and that we should all be honest with ourselves about what each of us considers a friend to be. In my case, it is a connection that should be about equality of all involved despite any differences in opinions. From now on, if that equality doesn't exist, it's simply an acquaintance.

I can never thank my recently visiting friends enough for their wisdom AND their experience. I know that they know who they are.

I just hope that everyone out there is as rich as I am to have such people in their lives.

Have an awesome day everyone!

On a photographic note, did anyone hear about the controversial shots taken by Jill Greenberg in which she gave babies candy and then took it away to make them cry and photographed those children? (For more on this, you can check out this article)

Some people are calling it child abuse.

What do you think? Is doing something like this for the sake of art really abuse? Or is it simply something that would challenge the boundaries of acceptable behaviour by adults?

If it is abuse, then what about those people who videotape their children participating in activities that are potentially harmful and then submitting them to programs like America's Funniest Videos? Is that not abuse as well?

Okay. So I did look at the photos she's taken. Not really my cup of tea and they are highly manipulated for effect. Personally, I don't think they are really that "powerful" because her "tweaking" of them makes them look more like caricatures. I feel that if she had done the photos without taking candy away from babies, and had them actually crying, they might have been more interesting.

Abuse? Well, it wasn't very nice but it's not like she was stealing the children or taking away their family.

What do you think?

It's been been unbelievably busy this week. The good thing is that it's been exhilarating and I am still here to tell about it.

To be honest, I usually prefer to be busy rather than bored out of my skull...

If you're wondering why this week is so busy, it's because some truly wonderful things have happened.

A very close friend has returned to visit after a seven-year absence and, while we have kept in touch over the years, it's nice to get together, see each other and talk about all of the things that we rarely talked about because of the high cost of overseas calling or lack of time. Isn't it interesting that, while good friends can be separated by oceans (or mountains or entire continents) when they get together again after a long time, things seem to be just as they were before. Kind of like while we live apart, we got closer together. You'd think it would be the opposite.

Because this friend has come back, I've been reconnecting people who still live here but that I don't see much. It's like old-home week only way better.

Just when it seemed like it couldn't have got any better, another good friend who lives on the opposite side of a mountain range showed up with absolutely no notice. It's funny because we were talking of this person just days ago. It felt like something out of the twilight zone!

I won't bore you with why this is totally good for me except to say that something in my more recent friendships was seriously lacking. Over the past week, I have been reminded of what it feels like to have relationships in which people just seem closer. It's something I seemingly have forgotten. (Is it me or do interactions between people nowadays seem much more superficial?)

So, the weekend is upon us and I will spend the next couple of days taking extreme advantage of what little time there is before they return home. All of the time knowing that even though we don't see each other everyday, we can make the best of this amazing connection!

Have a great time and I'll see you all next week!

It's the start of a long weekend here and so I would like to wish everyone a happy weekend. It's supposed to be a scorcher here so don't forget your sunscreen if the weather is going to be hot!

And, in case you haven't heard, you might want to avoid Tofino this weekend. It appears that they are having a water shortage. (Which, by the way, is surely proof that climate change due to global warming is really happening. Their average annual rainfall is usually drops about 21 feet of precipitation on the area)

Have a great weekend everyone!