oh, really?

One day I was downstairs and happened upon a few boxes of books. Interestingly, I found two (yes, two!) books on the topic of the Sasquatch.

I decided to read the one that is obviously aimed at a young-reader audience first. And boy, was it ever painful to read! Not subject wise, for the Sasquatch remains an enigma and a source of inquisitiveness, but the way in which the book was written, and the monotony of it was indeed painful.

The book: "Bigfoot: All over the country" by Marian T. Place

Basically, Marion just recounted story after story of Bigfoot sightings, and even some hoaxes. There was no new news on the Bigfoot, or what it could be, but just a book of sightings. Perhaps this book was aimed more at those who don't already believe.

This next book seems a lot more interesting - but I shant divulge too much here until I've completed it. But so far, there's a theory that Bigfoots have mystical powers and can see in the dark. Intriguing!

On another note - Lance Bass is gay!



Is this really news? Haven't we been saying this since NSync first came out?? (ha ha, no pun intended). But all humour aside, so what? I think he should've come out right away, it could have opened up a whole new demographic for the band, increased their profits twicefold!

In fact, my idea for a new supergroup would be the "Sexually Tolerant Spice People." You'd have a gay man, a lesbian woman, a bisexual, a straight person, and maybe even a tranny! Through the power of catchy pop tunes, young tweens everywhere will learn about tolerance and acceptance! Sweet action, yo!


(With photos like these...who would've seen it coming?)

sea cavalcade extraordinaire...

Each year, during a weekend in July, Gibsons has Sea Cavalcade. The two most exciting parts of Sea Cav (as the locals call it), are the fireworks Friday night and the parade Saturday morning. Sadly, the fireworks kinda sucked this year - and as an added bonus they debuted playing music like the Symphony of Fire. Their selections included the song from the People's commercial, and Carmina Burrana. Odd, very odd. The evening went from wanting a diamond to examining my life prior to impending doom.

The parade was interesting, as always. For some reasons pirates always seem to dominate the theme of the weekend - even though this year it had the unfortunate title of "Fanta-sea." Either way, I shall not bore you with countless photos of pirates, and young girls dressed up as mermaids, but instead, I present:

The Oddities of the Sea Cav Parade:

A sweet BC ferries float, accompanied by John on his strange golf-equipped Segway.



Yeah, I'd be scared, too, if sheep were driving:



A little hometown-pride for the Canadian idol:



A whole hord of accordion players! Which definitely beats out Sechelt parade's lone accordionist:



And now for the strangest of the strange:

There was this:



This:



Oh boy:



Hot damn:



And, saving the best for last! Crabs!

THE LIST pt. I

Okay, so this summer I've been back working in the kitchen of the golf course. This being my fourth season there, and not liking coooking in the first place, it has not been fun.

Needless to say, I've been entertaining myself by mentally making a list of all the stupid things people do. Perhaps in order to unleash them on some other poor, unsuspecting service worker in the future to provide me with years of enjoyment.

And now, in ongoing segments, I shall unveil THE LIST!

This first one is my absolute favourite - it always makes my day just that extra bit special, and almost makes ten-hour shifts worthwhile.

(Note: most of these apply to a restaurant that does not offer table service)

1. At a restaurant where the menu is posted somewhere near where you order: stare at the menu intently for about ten minutes. Proceed to order something that does not appear on the menu in the slightest. For example, at a burger/sandwich joint, ask for a steak, medium rare, with fries and gravy (we do not offer gravy).

2. Dress as a hippy: bring a small child and your dirty husband. Don't actually golf at the golf course, but place child on ordering counter where its feet get all over where food should go. Proceed to inquire/demand why there is no kids menu without thinking about the fact that it's a golf and country club and that children under the age of five do not tend to golf.

3. Bring whole freakin' family without golfing up for a monday afternoon lunch. Insist on table service. When cooks do not acknowledge your existence, wave a $100 dollar bill at food manager and ask again. Because pulling out your wad of cash in front of everyone the first time is not enough, pull it out again, make a big deal about pulling out another $100 bill, and remark "if that first one doesn't cover it all." After your lunch, and paying your $100 tab, leave a $5 tip.

On the subject of tipping...

4. If you're old, never tip. Or make a big deal about giving up a quarter.

5. After your server has kindly offered to package up all your beer cans in bags with ice - complimentary - do not tip.

6. At a place without table service, when you can see that the cook/server is tired, and perhaps is just starting her ninth hour without a break, get her attention when she's delivering someone else's food, and ask her to bring you a menu. Because you're "too tired to walk."

oh canada...(five days late)

The streets were lined with people adorned in red and white, carrying tiny little flags...



Presenting: highlights from the Canada Day Parade in downtown Sechelt:

It all kicked off with ye olde mounted police:



And a bunch of the "usuals" - accordion players, shriners in little cars, square dancers and Smokey the Bear (only YOU can prevent forest fires)









But there were some others that are distinctly BC - someone representing the 420 Hemp Shop driving solo in a motorized scooter throwing out bags of hemp hearts, and some hippies doing what hippies do best:





And then, under the uncatagorizable was...well....this...

closer still...

So I had a random day off today. What to do, what to do...and so I hiked up Soames Hill, this random knob-like structure in Gibsons.

I think this photo pretty much explains it:



The view from the top was spectacular. You could see all of lower Gibsons and Keats Island. It's strange that I never hiked up Soames before. I always thought it was so funny looking and wondered what it was like on top.

Well, now I do.

And for your enjoyment as well, here is a panoramic shot from the top:



Interestingly, although I did not notice on the drive to the trailhead, on my way out, I saw many a sign indicating that there had been bear sightings in the area. Now, these signs said bear, and had a drawing of a bear on them, but can they really be so sure? Perhaps my quest to find the sasquatch has become closer than I had previously thought.

More to come on the imminent meeting of melissa and sasquatch.

enjoying the sun

Today I took in the sun and surf (well, lake) on my day off at ye olde Katherine Lake. I've spent many a summer at this lake camping, or just for day trips to lie on the sand and swim with child feces.

Yes, child feces. Well, at this point in the summer, the lake is perfectly fine to swim in. And very warm today! But by the end of the summer, there are so many small bodies in this small lake that the top layer is covered with a slime of sunscreen and baby poos float by every so often. Pleasant!

Ha ha. Anyways, my day in the sun was great and relaxing. See photo below.



Afterwards I ventured to the John Henry's Marina and store where I had the largest single scoop ice cream cone I've ever encountered in my life. Unfortunately I didn't think to photograph the cone, but I did get a shot of the harbour.



On a side note. I read an article this morning in the latest Cosmopolitan about women soldiers in Iraq. Firstly, it's no secret that I think war is retarded and we shouldn't even have soldiers in the first place. Why should innocent people fight the fights of those higher up than them?? Out of patriocy?? Hell no. Country borders are figments of our imagination anyways, we shouldn't be bound so rigidly to them.

Back to the article - this one female soldier noted that her most frustrating moment in Iraq was when she shot at an insurgent and he didn't die. Holy crap. That is so wrong.

"So honey, how was your day today?"
"Crappy, I didn't get to kill anyone."

sasquatch theory #1

Being back in their territory, I've recently become intrigued by the Sasquatch and their potential for existance. Seeing as my research has just begun, I don't have much to report on yet, but I do have one theory I would like to get out of the way.

The Sasquatch Origin Story:

Now, there has been little evidence to how the Sasquatch actually came into existence. I would like to offer my preliminary exaplanation.

It has been noted that Sasquatch hairs that have been found and analyzed come back "inconclusive" as to what species they are, but they have the feel and look of bear fur. While there have been those who believe that the Sasquatch is a primate, this bear-like fur and the lack of an opposable thumb leads me to another conclusion: that many many years ago a man mated with a bear and the Sasquatch resulted.


You may be thinking that animals cannot cross-reproduce, but the world is a strange and wonderous place, open to many possiblities and exceptions to the rule (just look at the platypus).

This theory would explain the bear-like stance of the Sasquatch, the non-opposable thumbs, the human-like walk, the size, and the bear-like "fur". Flawless.

More to follow.

thought is power?

The other night I watched the documentary movie: What the %&^# do we know?

This movie outlines, through vague references to quantum physics, how, through the power of thought, we can control our destiny, and perhaps even the destiny of those around us. While it is assumed that we can't change the past, and that we look to the past as a way to decide how we live our future - we do not often consider the possibility of controlling the future. And not controlling in a carpe diem sense, but controlling as in actively thinking through and changing the course of time.

The movie used an example of a buddhist monk who prayed different thoughts onto water, resulting in the make-up of the water to change. We were shown what distilled water looked like magnified: a slightly square blob. But the different thoughts produced different snowflake-like patterns in the water molecules.

The questions then results: if thoughts can do that to water, what could they do to you?

Basically, it comes down to the need to change our thought patterns to change our life. Any problems we are having in our life - emotional, physical, etc - all stem from negative thoughts.

One professor in the movie noted that each day before he gets out of bed, he "constructs" his day. He plans what he wants to happen, and plans it in such a way that he places the actual unfolding of these events in the hands of god.

This is where the movie lost me.

Much of the movie prior to this moment discredited the existance of god as mere arrogance on the part of humans. In the infinite universe, why would god care if some inconsequential humans sinned against him?? Really now..

So then why was this man placing his fate in the hands of god? (And probably not literal hands, seeing as why would WE of all things really be made in the image of god?)

All throughout history, humans have accredited what they don't understand to be the will of god. People got sick, it was because they sinned against god. People died, it was because god wanted them to go. The world was created because god wanted a place for humans. So on and so forth. This is why he placed his fate in god. While he constructed his day to unfold how he wanted, when the events actually unfolded as planed, the power of his thoughts most likely scared him. This fear of the unknown drives a need to have a belief in a god.

I once wrote that god is the vibrations of the atoms at the subatomic level. This is one of the last great mysteries of our earth, and as such, this is where I place god. How these vibrations manifest themselves is infinetessmal - placing god in everything and everone.

to my homeland...

So the other day a friend of mine was shocked to learn that I haven't swam in the ocean in over two years. And in the past three years, I have only swam in the ocean once. This got us thinking about how much we take for granted where we live.

So many people have never even seen, let alone swam, in the ocean. And here I am, living a minute away from it.

I'm sure we all fall prey to this. We just associate our home town with being that - our home town. I've always made fun of the way that Sechelt's population doubles in the summer in order to provide endless entertainment playing "spot the tourist" but I guess in the 20 years I have lived here, I never considered WHY people were coming here.

Ok, I'll admit it. The Sunshine Coast is freakin' beautiful. People come here because of the scenary and the chillaxin' atmosphere. While I leave the Coast for vacation, others come here to enjoy that which I consider normal.

Strange that it took me that long to figure it all out.

To illustrate my point - here is a photo taken from the balcony of my house. This is exactly what I'm looking at while I'm writing this post. Pretty sweet, eh?



Walk two minutes down the road at twilight - and this is what you'll see:



It's the stuff they use for calendars and sample photos on computers.

ok i'm back

And so we meet again...

I have returned from my trip across the country. It was for the most part fairly uneventful. Until my arrival in Alberta, and then it was quite eventful.

What is it about Alberta and needing to create the "world's biggest" of random objects. In my week-long stay, I managed to encounter three "world's biggest" - mallard duck, sausage, and Ukrainian egg.

See below for photos.

Now, take a close look at the sausage photo. Sure, the photo does not do it justice at all, but what does it remind you of? In real life it's very veiny and has a nice shaped head on top. Yes. It is a giant phallus.

I can just imagine the people in Mundare - "Yeah, that's right, I'll meet you by the giant penis. What? No, I don't have a complex."

The heart, or testicles, were added only a few years ago, and much later than the construction of the actual "sausage". Either the people in charge of this addition are mentally retarded, or they are all in on the joke.

"Sure! Let's add some nuts!"

Road Trip

Tomorrow "tic tac" (my 1990 honda civic hatchback) and I will be departing from Hamilton and heading back to BC. After finishing my thesis, the trip will definitely have moments of catharsis, but, overall, I know that spending that much time alone with myself will inevitably cause some sort of psychosis. Mostly road rage!

Either way, I think everyone should embark on a solo road trip at some point in their lives. It fosters independance and allows you to enjoy the open road much more than you could if others are with you.

I've had many an interesting experience on my long road trips, and overall...I hope I don't experience anymore of them on this trip!

I'm looking forward to being back in BC and away from the city life. To sit on the beach and stare at the ocean; to just enjoy the beauty of BC. But I will also miss my friends in Hamilton. I've lived such a transient life the past six years - it will be nice to one day live somewhere semi-permanently.

I've had my fair share of good-byes.

the afterlife...?

OK, so...life after the thesis.

At the moment, I have nothing to do.

NOTHING

The feeling of guilt which has plagued me for the past two years solid is easing up, my lungs can inhale fully, and my heart can slowly return to its normal functioning. This is great and all, but it has me thinking of creative ways in which I can occupy the abyss of time between working this summer and returning to school in the fall.

I'll be back on the coast, and surrounded by BC hippies. Really. Robert's Creek is one of the last havens for draft dodgers and just plain old hippies left in Canada. But I guess I can't complain too much. I'm really just one of them. A consumerist hippy, that is.

Now, I'm not actually FROM Robert's Creek. I'm from the next area over - Davis Bay. This allowed me to grow up removed from the hippie lifestyle enough to know that the rest of the world is a capitalist warzone waiting for me to consume, consume, consume, while also providing me with enough sense to get a degree and "do something" with my life. Thankfully, it gave me the opportunity to mock the creekers and all that they stand for (while secretly wishing I could join their lifestyle. But is the easier path really better??)

Just take a look at this photo. It explains all.

oh no! i've turned....

Well, I shall begin by welcoming myself to the world of the web log.

Hello.

Thrice tried, doublet failed. Hopefully this attempt will be longer lived than the others. And so, I will proceed with my rant... Am I morally bereft?

I had a conversation today where we decided that our morals were far superior than average, and wondered why nobody else could/would see our point of view. I imagine that many people, especially those following certain organized religions, also feel that their morals are superior to those around them, but, there must be someone who is right? Right?

The conversation turned to being smote by gawd and ending up in hell for following the wrong morals. Would both of us die, only to find we are the only ones in hell? "hmm, where is everyone?" I doubt it. (Plus, my afterlife theories should probably be left for another day). But, what about all those religions who say I am going to hell because I am not following "the way"? So much suffering and grief results from organized religions - if only they could all sit back and recognize their inherent similarities.

Similar: a connection with the divine

Wow, now that wasn't so hard. We just need to forget about all the little details now, like, oh, the bible for one.

Don't get me wrong - I think faith is a great thing. If that's what you need to get yourself through this life, then so be it! But, getting back to what I started here, just don't preach your morals as "the way" and a precursor to attaining some sort of heavenly afterlife.

Why should morals result from a book written a couple centuries ago? I propose an end-all for moral standards: respect others. It's just that easy!

*peace