I confess: Ananova's Entertainment section holds great appeal for me. So does Billy Connolly. One of the funniest shows I've ever seen was a series he did about his home country of Scotland. In retrospect, it may have been funnier because at the time I'd been living in Scotland for nearly two years, I was watching the telly with Scots, and I was familiar with some of the places he talked about, but I still think I'd find it funny today. Everyone in the flat watched it religiously every night during the week it was on, howling until the point of tears and falling off the settee in the kitchen. I kept telling myself to buy the video, but never got around to it. (Note to self: must hunt for DVD)
I stumbled upon this little gem and wonder what else Billy Connolly's been up to lately:
Ananova - Billy Connolly gets penis stuck in zip on plane
Friday, August 22, 2003
Thursday, August 21, 2003
Went to a Bridal Shower Last Night...
... my cousin Tosca is marrying my former BCIT classmate Mike, five years after they met at my apartment at a party I threw for the annual Fireworks in English Bay. Their wedding is on September 6, and I'm giving a speech!
I've never been to a traditional bridal shower before, I've only heard stories about what people do. So I did some surfing around to read about how these traditions came about, and came across these:
Bridal Shower Basics
Bridal Shower Legends Stories
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
The Office Meeting From Hell, The Pervy Flatmate... and Other Difficult Situations
... the Office Meeting From Hell was today (Tuesday morning, now that it's technically Wednesday).
I would say that was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do: tell a superior about her shortcomings... Ever had to come up with diplomatic ways of saying "Sometimes you're a b*tch to work with, to put it mildly." No? Lucky lucky you. It's not fun. I don't like doing it. I hope I never have to do it again.
Then I thought of an example in the past of something else I had to do that was difficult: When I was 22 and living in a shared flat in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the flatmates was this French guy from Bordeaux who wouldn't look a woman in the eye when he was talking to her, only her chest. Unfortunately, I was appointed as the flat spokesperson (oh joy of joys) to tell him to get the hell out cos he was a perv. It was a democratic vote, so I can't say I was coerced.
How do I get into these situations?? Should I be working for the UN??
Needless to say, telling a pervert that he is a pervert is about as easy as explaining to a nudist why running around with no clothes could be a problem.
Boobs Bordeaux: "Pervert? What's a pervert?"
Gail: (frantically scanning her brain for the French word for pervert) "Um... I mean, my female friends come over here and you stare at their chests while we sit at the table. It makes them uncomfortable."
Boobs Bordeaux: "Why? What's the matter?"
Gail: (thinking to herself, 'you mean, what's the matter with the breasts, or, shouldn't you girls be glad for all this attention?') "Look, obviously you don't think there's anything wrong with that, but we're not putting up with it, and everyone thinks you should move out."
Boobs Bordeaux: "Why?? What did I do?? Why should I move out?"
Gail: "Because you're a pervert!"
Boobs Bordeaux: "I don't know what you are talking about!"
Gail: "Look at my eyes when you're talking to me! That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
Boobs Bordeaux: "Are you crazy? I am just talking to you!"
... and so went the gist of the so-called explanation. I could see his eyeballs twitching from the probable strain of trying to keep his eyes from wandering south.
What was unbeknownst to Boobs Bordeaux was that for days the rest of us in the flat had been desperately trying to figure out how to get rid of him.
One afternoon while he was out, Gordon, Gillian and I ransacked his room, looking for incriminating paraphernalia by which to claim grounds for banishment. We looked for porn (although that was too weak an excuse, that's how desperate we were), and we became giddily excited over some syringes, which we discovered were for something benignly medical, like an ear infection or something of the sort. I think we were peering underneath his bed when we heard the sound of a key in the front door.
Ever seen the Keystone Cops?
If you have, you don't need your imagination. Otherwise, imagine three people banging their heads together trying to get out from underneath a bed as fast as they can, bolt for the bedroom door, only to smack into each other in the mad scramble to get out...
Aaron, our other flatmate, was standing in the hallway, incredulous at the sights and sounds of Gordon, Gillian, and Gail in a flailing heap outside of Boobs Bordeaux's bedroom: "What the hell are you guys doing???"
We could NOT STOP LAUGHING... we were laughing so hysterically Aaron thought we'd lost our minds. I guess we had, there, for a moment. The moral of the story (and I have to tell you the moral right now, because I have to be up in 3.5 hours) is that the best way to deal with a difficult situation is just to get the damned thing over with and not carry on like silly, cowardly people. Which I can say because YOURS TRULY had to "do the dirty" at 22 and 31, and I am still no good at it!!
I would say that was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do: tell a superior about her shortcomings... Ever had to come up with diplomatic ways of saying "Sometimes you're a b*tch to work with, to put it mildly." No? Lucky lucky you. It's not fun. I don't like doing it. I hope I never have to do it again.
Then I thought of an example in the past of something else I had to do that was difficult: When I was 22 and living in a shared flat in Edinburgh, Scotland, one of the flatmates was this French guy from Bordeaux who wouldn't look a woman in the eye when he was talking to her, only her chest. Unfortunately, I was appointed as the flat spokesperson (oh joy of joys) to tell him to get the hell out cos he was a perv. It was a democratic vote, so I can't say I was coerced.
How do I get into these situations?? Should I be working for the UN??
Needless to say, telling a pervert that he is a pervert is about as easy as explaining to a nudist why running around with no clothes could be a problem.
Boobs Bordeaux: "Pervert? What's a pervert?"
Gail: (frantically scanning her brain for the French word for pervert) "Um... I mean, my female friends come over here and you stare at their chests while we sit at the table. It makes them uncomfortable."
Boobs Bordeaux: "Why? What's the matter?"
Gail: (thinking to herself, 'you mean, what's the matter with the breasts, or, shouldn't you girls be glad for all this attention?') "Look, obviously you don't think there's anything wrong with that, but we're not putting up with it, and everyone thinks you should move out."
Boobs Bordeaux: "Why?? What did I do?? Why should I move out?"
Gail: "Because you're a pervert!"
Boobs Bordeaux: "I don't know what you are talking about!"
Gail: "Look at my eyes when you're talking to me! That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
Boobs Bordeaux: "Are you crazy? I am just talking to you!"
... and so went the gist of the so-called explanation. I could see his eyeballs twitching from the probable strain of trying to keep his eyes from wandering south.
What was unbeknownst to Boobs Bordeaux was that for days the rest of us in the flat had been desperately trying to figure out how to get rid of him.
One afternoon while he was out, Gordon, Gillian and I ransacked his room, looking for incriminating paraphernalia by which to claim grounds for banishment. We looked for porn (although that was too weak an excuse, that's how desperate we were), and we became giddily excited over some syringes, which we discovered were for something benignly medical, like an ear infection or something of the sort. I think we were peering underneath his bed when we heard the sound of a key in the front door.
Ever seen the Keystone Cops?
If you have, you don't need your imagination. Otherwise, imagine three people banging their heads together trying to get out from underneath a bed as fast as they can, bolt for the bedroom door, only to smack into each other in the mad scramble to get out...
Aaron, our other flatmate, was standing in the hallway, incredulous at the sights and sounds of Gordon, Gillian, and Gail in a flailing heap outside of Boobs Bordeaux's bedroom: "What the hell are you guys doing???"
We could NOT STOP LAUGHING... we were laughing so hysterically Aaron thought we'd lost our minds. I guess we had, there, for a moment. The moral of the story (and I have to tell you the moral right now, because I have to be up in 3.5 hours) is that the best way to deal with a difficult situation is just to get the damned thing over with and not carry on like silly, cowardly people. Which I can say because YOURS TRULY had to "do the dirty" at 22 and 31, and I am still no good at it!!
Monday, August 18, 2003
Help! Need More Webspace!
I'm calling out to anyone in the net-erlands (nutterland?) to ask about how to find cheap or -- better yet free -- webspace. I've nearly maxed out my limit on Telus, and the best rate I've found so far is with an outfit charging USD60 per year. It's not extortion, but maybe I can do better than that? I've got great video clips that I can't share with people unless I burn them onto CD.
Bloglooping
I admit it. I blushed big-time when I read this comment earlier today. Later, a posting showed up on lesterblog and it made me contemplate the idea of reciprocity in blogging, or what I now call bloglooping. It also made me think that **Cookie Monster** (who shall remain nameless, but whose mugshot is available in the Yahoo album) might become more paranoid now that a bit more of the web world can read about their shenanigans on **Sesame Street**. **Elmo**, if you are reading this, I hope **somewhere beyond the rainbow** is soundproofed... otherwise, you will have to muzzle **Big Bird** when he comes over.
One day I will tell my nieces and nephew just how much fun Sesame Street can be!
One day I will tell my nieces and nephew just how much fun Sesame Street can be!
Filipinos: The Only East Asians Who Don't Know How to Use Chopsticks
I took my cousins to Guu, a Japanese tapas place on Robson Street, and they were too embarrassed to ask for forks. I said I could ask for forks, but suggested that they just try to use the chopsticks. Maybe we "Flips" (as many Filipinos in North America call ourselves) are just too self-conscious for our own good. After a few dishes, though, Marion and Marlo were able to handle enough food between those two slim pieces of wood to fill themselves right up. No problem!
Thursday, August 14, 2003
Jason the Bartender
Jason in his favourite position?
Jason played bartender last night for Christa, Kristin, and me. He was pretty generous with the ratios, which I didn't notice but Christa sure did! She was thankful later that home was just down the hill.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Education Shouldn't Be Just About Getting a Job. But You Still Need to Pay for All That Education Somehow.
I couldn't help myself. I jumped into the Soundoff comments section of the aforementioned Vancouver Sun article. This time I'll be smarter and cut and paste in my comments, instead of putting in the link, which eventually gets broken when the topic dies down.
Name: Gail
Occupation: f/t working student
Location: Vancouver
Here's something Gordon Campbell would never have said during the Olympic bid: "Whistler/Vancouver is proud to host the 2010 Olympic Games. We have no shortage of highly-educated labourers with huge student loans to fill the thousands of mostly temporary jobs, and who will live in the low-rent housing that remains after the athletes go home..." That's a pessimistic view, but the current BC government is all too ready to point their finger at the NDP's shortcomings when they should be doing more to create jobs and stimulate the economy than depend on the Olympics. Otherwise, the "brain drain" often cited by the Fraser Institute will become an even greater reality for those in BC, especially when the Games are over and the bills pour in. The BC Liberals won't be able to blame an exodus of the skilled and educated on anyone but themselves.
I added this post later, after reading people's comments complaining about immigrants:
I have to add: blaming foreigners or immigrants is not the answer, but it seems to happen whenever people need a scapegoat. International students pay 3x the tuition of BC residents. I did not compete with any international students for my space at SFU, my application was judged by reference letter, CV, and academic merit only. Anyone who is familiar with Canadian immigration policy knows how difficult it is to get into this country independently without education. I have met a lot of office cleaners, taxi drivers, and security guards with graduate degrees from their home country -- they are not collecting welfare or taking advantage of social services, they work and pay into the system. Many immigrants are from countries where competition is survival, and they're just happy to have a job, so they'll take ones BC residents won't touch. It is in everyone's best interests to strive for a better economy -- no matter where you're from.
Name: Gail
Occupation: f/t working student
Location: Vancouver
Here's something Gordon Campbell would never have said during the Olympic bid: "Whistler/Vancouver is proud to host the 2010 Olympic Games. We have no shortage of highly-educated labourers with huge student loans to fill the thousands of mostly temporary jobs, and who will live in the low-rent housing that remains after the athletes go home..." That's a pessimistic view, but the current BC government is all too ready to point their finger at the NDP's shortcomings when they should be doing more to create jobs and stimulate the economy than depend on the Olympics. Otherwise, the "brain drain" often cited by the Fraser Institute will become an even greater reality for those in BC, especially when the Games are over and the bills pour in. The BC Liberals won't be able to blame an exodus of the skilled and educated on anyone but themselves.
I added this post later, after reading people's comments complaining about immigrants:
I have to add: blaming foreigners or immigrants is not the answer, but it seems to happen whenever people need a scapegoat. International students pay 3x the tuition of BC residents. I did not compete with any international students for my space at SFU, my application was judged by reference letter, CV, and academic merit only. Anyone who is familiar with Canadian immigration policy knows how difficult it is to get into this country independently without education. I have met a lot of office cleaners, taxi drivers, and security guards with graduate degrees from their home country -- they are not collecting welfare or taking advantage of social services, they work and pay into the system. Many immigrants are from countries where competition is survival, and they're just happy to have a job, so they'll take ones BC residents won't touch. It is in everyone's best interests to strive for a better economy -- no matter where you're from.
BC university tuition increases
Got a nasty shock the other day when I checked my SFU tuition fee statement...
That's right. Starting next month, I will be paying 30% more tuition that I did this term. This is on top of the 30% increase after spring of last year. While this means I probably won't be going east on holiday this fall, it means much more to the student who isn't working.
It's bad timing on my part not to pursue a university education during the N.D.P. government's six-year rate freeze, but as one of the Soundoff commentators posted, during this time there was an exodus of B.C. instructors to the U.S., where salaries were higher. It seemed the BC institutions, with lower funding, couldn't afford to keep them.
I believe education is an investment, however, the powers that be (B.C. provincial and municipal governments) MUST DO MORE to create jobs IN B.C. and maintain some controls on the cost of living here so that graduates are not driven away.
That's right. Starting next month, I will be paying 30% more tuition that I did this term. This is on top of the 30% increase after spring of last year. While this means I probably won't be going east on holiday this fall, it means much more to the student who isn't working.
It's bad timing on my part not to pursue a university education during the N.D.P. government's six-year rate freeze, but as one of the Soundoff commentators posted, during this time there was an exodus of B.C. instructors to the U.S., where salaries were higher. It seemed the BC institutions, with lower funding, couldn't afford to keep them.
I believe education is an investment, however, the powers that be (B.C. provincial and municipal governments) MUST DO MORE to create jobs IN B.C. and maintain some controls on the cost of living here so that graduates are not driven away.
Kids Today Have It So Easy
Thanks to Shellie for this little reminder of how old we are getting :)
When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year snow; carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But....
Now that I've reached the ripe old age of thirty +, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet--we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves!
And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter--with a pen!--and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!
And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over some part of it and f*ck it all up!
You want to hear about hardship?
We didn't have fancy sh*t like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked a$$! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died!
Just like LIFE!
When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed!
And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning... We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little bastards!
That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy.
You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1984!
When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year snow; carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But....
Now that I've reached the ripe old age of thirty +, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.
You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet--we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves!
And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter--with a pen!--and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!
And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over some part of it and f*ck it all up!
You want to hear about hardship?
We didn't have fancy sh*t like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked a$$! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died!
Just like LIFE!
When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed!
And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning... We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little bastards!
That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy.
You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1984!
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