Saturday, July 31, 2004

Well I've spent the last 3 hours nerding it up on my computer, as I attempt to figure out how to use my new digital camera. So, you will be please to know that now your favorite blog will have pictures and captions. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so this ought to save me a lot of typing. Post comments at will. Until later.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 1:19 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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5:45am on the golf course 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 1:10 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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All I really want to drive is the Beautiful Blazer 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 1:07 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Nick banging on the drums. 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:59 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Black & White 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:59 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Spotlight on our hero 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:58 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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I'm in Nickelback! 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:58 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Jeff & Spence 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:58 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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A quiet moment 

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:41 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

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Jeff rocking the mic  

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 12:38 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Thursday, July 29, 2004

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~~ Yogi Berra

Apologies for not getting my act together yesterday and failing to get a blog posted. But I had a full 18-hour day, of which I spent all of 30 minutes at home between 4am and 11pm.

Firstly, as some of you know, my brother's band played at Red's last night. Megan & me, my Ma & Pa, and my cousin all made the trek to see sierra do their thang. And man oh man, did they ever bring the rock. I have seen them play once before, but this time the setting was better, the sound was better, the musicianship was more polished, and the stage presence of my brother was way more daunting than in the past.

Truly, I was impressed, it is something else to see your sibling (for it as if he has ceased to be the 'little' brother) to rock the mic, screaming on key and bouncing around the stage, commanding the eyes of the audience. I'm not normally a big fan of 'screaming'-type punk, but the energy last night was pretty rad. Plus Jeff was cool enough that when it came time to throw out some free T-shirts, he managed to get one to Megan, who for some reason, gave it to my cousin. So everyone left impressed, as Jeff also had about 20 friends show up for the show. A good nights rocking was had by all.

It's funny, when we were kids, I was the loud one while Jeff was always quieter. And now the roles have reversed. He the extrovert, the spotlight singer, and me, the quiet one who seeks silence and solitude. Odd how things shift as age comes crawling over the horizon.

Also in the news of my life, the saga of the Whitemud flooding is finally over, as Megan picked up her new ride yesterday, having had her Cavalier written off. Check it out here. The color, which is what all the ladies really care about, is red.

On a serious note, the crisis in Sudan is getting worse. Over 1 million people displaced, moving across desert to avoid genocidal bands of Arab militiamen. Starvation is imminent, as the UN calls it the most pressing humanitarian crisis facing the world today. And while this tragedy is unfolding, the world powers debate whether or not to use the term "sanctions" in the wording of the UN resolution set to be voted upon Friday morning. In the end the word "sanctions" was dropped in favour of the more vague "economic reprecussions."

Am I the only one that thinks that instead of bickering over words, perhaps the UN should get off their ass and send some help into one of the poorest countires in Africa? Legal issues aside, isn't the purpose of the UN to actually do something that will positively affect the suffering people? Wording in a resolution matters little when one cannot read; even less when one's survivial is endangered.

What is remarkable about Sudan's "ethnic cleansing" (what a ridiculous phrase that is, think it over) is that the UN just marked the 10 year anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, something they failed to act upon in time. After vowing "never again" during the Rwandan anniversary, it appears that words in a document and the inevitability of bureaucracy will yet again doom more people to their deaths in the Sudan.

And the US, a major player in the UN despite recent unilateral actions, has basically written Africa off, save for useless political proclamations. Why? Somalia. It was a political nightmare to see dead American soldiers being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu in the early 1990s, and the last thing Bush needs is more soldiers dying anywhere. Africa is a no-go for a large scale American troop deployment. So politics again has determined the fate of thousands. History will not remember my time as a humanistic one.

And lastly, I went today to pick up my degree, my actual parchment proclaiming that I indeed did fall through the cracks once more. It was a episode lacking in ceremony, as I had to hunt through the dark basement of the Administration building for the tiny, cluttered convocation office. But my name is spelled right, so that is it, I am done, this being the final nail in the coffin of my Education degree. And my clock ticks a little more....

Pat yourself on the back, you're doing a good job.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 6:33 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Tuesday, July 27, 2004

"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable." ~~ John Kenneth Galbraith

I was watching the high-lights of the Democratic Convention that is going on in Boston right now, the precursor to the US election.  Under the tightest security ever for this event, Democratic devotees swooned for the Clintons and cheered for Jimmy Carter. It is a big love in, perhaps a need many Democrats have in order to feel that they aren't alone in Bush's blossoming theocracy.

It obviously was very heavy on the idea that voting for Kerry/Edwards is a way to re-integrate the US into the world's good books without sacrificing strength. But what I did notice, and have noticed in the past, is the the schoolyard mentality that emerges from the partisan politics that define the US. The Democrats will, to a certain extent, admit failure and weakness, if it strengthens their grip on the moral high ground. For example, Bill Clinton made a comment during his speech that the current president (Bush), the current vice-president (Cheney), and the most recent former president (himself) all managed to avoid the Vietnam War, something Kerry not only went to but was decorated (Silver Star) for.

I can't picture the Republicans admitting a past weakness like this one. While Clinton owns up to this fact, Bush's team is trying desperately to spin his spotty military records into something tangible. In fact, the records that would shed light on exactly where and what Bush was doing during the Vietnam War have mysteriously gone missing. Hmmm....

I find the Democratic schoolyard mentality (good kid makes a weak decision and owns up to it) is a far cry from the Republican recess kid, who knows they did something wrong and despite being all but convicted, will deny deny deny until the very end, when everyone is so tired of the saga that they just want to forget about it. Maybe I'm off on some metaphorical dead end here, but I wonder if you can't pick out future voting tendancies based on how a kid acts during recess.

And I have hit the dreaded wall that is writers block. Good night, sleep tight.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 5:55 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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Monday, July 26, 2004

"A wretched soul, bruised with adversity,
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry;
But were we burdened with like weight of pain,
As much or more we should ourselves complain. "
William Shakespeare

Sorry I didn't get the blog going for Monday morning, the weekend just kept going. Anyway, welcome back Kotter. Glad you could stop by.

I had a busy couple of days, as evidenced by Cadrin finally getting ahold of me, only to yell at me for never being home. After I finished crying, we had a good chat. So, a recap, cause my life is just like reality TV, except without the six-pack abs.

Friday
"What kind of mood are ya in, Tim?"
"I'm in a f**king terrible mood."
"Oh. Hmmm, well you're not gonna like what I have to say then...."

And with that little exchange, I gave my two weeks notice at the golf course. He seemed to take it well, as I concocted an entire story about moving to Calgary yadda yadda. It scares me how well I can lie sometimes. But the debacle that would have ensued regarding the Kuwait truth would have been wack. Wack, I tell you. So that is how I justify my lying. Rest assured, it's not a regular thing. Except when I tell Megan I really like the way the dolls look in the living room, and sure, put that ugly old baseball memorbilia away, who wants that bumming around?

I fell asleep at 745pm. It was great.

Saturday
On the road again, off to a wedding. Everything went off without a hitch, save for a few awkward "I haven't talked to you in 5 years" pauses in the conversations. I gotta say, I'm getting really tired of two stories. The story about the car saga we are still going through (ending by the end of this week hopefully) and the story of Kuwait. Kuwait especially, I was starting to feel like a broken record at the wedding. I understand that most people do care somewhat what is happening in my life, but I still tire of the topic.  Nothing personal against anyone, it just is starting to wear on my old soul a little.

Sunday
Brunch with Kodd and Telly, who picked a kick ass place. Called the "Smuggler's Inn" or "Smuggler's Cove" or something that sounds like it was lifted from a Hardy Boys mystery book. But the food was good and we had a really good visit with two great people. Even their cat is nice, not like my stuck up asshole cat.

Home just in time to see my brother pull up in front of the apartment, claiming that he needs my help to help him move back to Whyte because, and I quote: "Look at my skinny girl arms! I make noodles look built!" So, seeing as how he helped me move, I spent the evening helping him move his stuff, despite the rather wicked thunder and lightning storm that rolled across this northern prairie town. Some dampness, but it got done and I got a beer and a CD out of it. Band called "Armor for Sleeping", and as I listen to it right now, I'm liking it. Win-win for all.

Monday
Back to work, surprisingly not doing crap jobs, as I was anticipating with my two week announcement. Regular day. Mailed off my visa stuff to the Kuwait embassy in Ottawa, which is the last bit of paperwork I should have to do in Canada. Stress, guilt, etc. Just for the record, Megan is still being super supportive about this whole thing, even as I mood swing like a monkey in the jungle. She is an angel.

Couple more things, random notes:
- I have been absolutely bagging the snot of the rental car. All the shit that would cause my ole truck to roll over and explode with me inside. Having a lot of fun. Hit a curb today during a high speed U-turn and I don't even care!
- Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France for the 6th consecutive time this past weekend, a world record, as no one had won more than 5 previous to him. It'll be such a shame when he tests positive for steriods or whatever down the road. Oh don't act so surprised, you aren't that naive, especially since cycling is one of the most 'doped' types of sports out there.
- Finally, watch for the much anticipated, unknown author "Guest Blog" episode, coming to you favorite morning read in the near future. Stay tuned.

Bar-B-Q time, so until later, if you end up in a surprise cricket match, make sure you don't end up with a sticky wicket. I'm like Red "Keep your stick on the ice" Green for the Southern Hemisphere.

A sovereign thought, delivered to your door at 6:15 PM ~~ 0 bonsai trees

shout out out out out out

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