Decisions decisions....

My VCR (yes yes I've heard the "aren't they extinct", "do they make those anymore" jokes already) has decided to be rather tempermental lately and enjoys eating my tapes every now and again. It does have an air of surprise though as I never know when it is going to happen......"and the 7th person kicked out of Survivor is".......crunch crunch crunch! I can't take it much longer as it does happen at rather inconvenient times and for a TV junkie that's not acceptable.

So I've narrowed down my choices to the following options:

A DVD Recorder, perhaps a Blue Ray with memory as well. They act exactly like a VCR only they use discs and I'd imagine will be less likely to get mangled. It's a one time fee and will cost anywhere from $150 to upwards of $500.

A DVR/PVR from the cable company. I have a few friends with these and well they do enjoy the convenience of them, I've known quite a few to break down often enough that it doesn't warrant the $500 price tag to buy it out fully. You can rent them, however they are $20 a month and on top of that I would have to pay another $4 for digital channels. Seems rather silly to fork out that amount of money and not own anything in the end....I dislike renting.

Lastly, I've been looking at TIVO which so far has been at the top of my list. The machine itself is only $200, you can also get an extended 5 year warranty for like $40 which is not bad at all. The only catch is that you have to pay a monthly fee which in the end is about $129 a year. The reason I dig TIVO so much is that you can tape 2 shows at once, you don't have to deal with tapes/discs or anything at all and can store anywhere from 35 to more than 80 hours worth of shows. As well there is the added bonus of having the recorder tape your shows faithfully every week. If the scheduling gets buggered up, TIVO will find your show and tape it. Sounds like heaven to me :)

So I'm just curious what my fellow bloggers think......do you use any of these devices? Which do you think is the better option? I would most likely opt for the DVD Recorder because the one time fee is enticing, however I really dig the options that TIVO offers and would love the freedom to tape a few shows at once. No more "oh I have to be home at 8 as Survivor and CSI are on at the same time."( I know the DVR offers the same as TIVO however the price is bleh)

Is this real??

Thanks for helping with my poll....apparently curly/wavy is the way to go....dammit!!!

In other news, I got this in an email recently and I'm trying to figure out if this is real or some type of fake thingamagig. I'll have to do some more research to get down to the bottom of this. The only way one would catch me in the "Devils Swimming Pool" is with a nice thick harness attached to a very strong pole. Anyone else a little more daring?

In Zimbabwe, Africa, you will find the magnificent Victoria Falls, at a height of 128m. The location is known as the "Devil's Swimming Pool". During the months of September and December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without falling over. These falls are becoming well known amongst the "radical tourist" industry, when more and more people search for the ultimate experience.

Curly vs Straight

I tend to keep my hair curly in the summer and straight in the winter. Lately though I've been switching it up and for some bizzaro reason, whenever I have it curly I get compliments left right and centre. Just this week the bank teller, the cashier and even my dads friend haha commented on how great it looked curly, however I actually prefer it straight. So my fellow bloggers, indulge me for a moment and let me know what you prefer:

Curly

Clearly I was being silly in this photo (or drunk)!!

Straight

Wavy

Now another question for the men (or ladies if you swing that way). When you see a beautiful woman on the dance floor and she has absolutely no rhythm whatsoever, is that a turnoff or do you even notice?

For some reason last night the dance floor was a nightmare filled with very pretty women who were horrible horrible dancers, like side stepping *shudder* off beat *shudder*. One was trying to be sexy and running her hands down her legs and gyrating her hips to what I'd imagine was music in her head cause she was not in sync with the music in the bar.

We saw some guys that were ok looking but man could they move. They were amazing dancers and we had fun watching them. That was a total turn on for us. I would actually give kudos to a guy just for getting out on the dance floor really.

We were going to make videos and demonstrate the awful moves....but that was talked about after a few brewskies. It somehow doesn't seem like such a good idea today LOL :)

Goal Update

I haven't done an update on my goals in quite some time.....and to be honest I've become rather lax about completing them. Meh, life gets in the way sometimes :)



Completed:




#29 Take lunch to work everyday for 2 weeks

This actually wasn't too hard to complete as I brought my lunch to work while I was eating nothing but yams and rice cakes as per 2DP's advice haha!! I was hellbent on losing some weight so I followed through.

#48 Take more pride in appearance IE wear makeup to work, style my hair

I was looking like a little ragga muffin as of late with unkempt ponytails and a make-up less face. However in the last few months I've been styling my hair and wearing makeup to work and I actually feel like human being again!

#57 Go on a minimum of 5 dates (1/5)

I went on a date with an acquaintance of a friend. It was fine however I wasn't really feeling any sparks at all and I don't think the two of us have much in common. As my friend pointed out : "If you are looking for excitement and adventure, he may not be the guy for you. If you are looking for consistency and stability he would probably be the guy" The only words I can think to describe him are very innocent and reserved.

#62 Donate to Ten Thousand Villages/World Vision

This year I chose World Vision and sent Immunizations for a Community to help prevent diseases ( such as measles, tetanus and tuberculosis) that kill thousands of children needlessly each day.These are things that people in our privileged countries take for granted and I think it is very important that people all around the world have access to such life saving medicine.

#73 Finish the 1st 3 seasons of LOST before the 4th season begins

I loved every second of every episode I watched!!

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I am still plugging away at #35 which is to read all of the unread books on my shelf. I'm currently working on The Gum Thief, A New Earth and 28 Days of AIDS in Africa. I should have The Gum Thief finished by this evening; A New Earth I'm working on chapter by chapter and going slowly so as to understand it fully.

I did finish a few others and my favorite thus far was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is a beautifully written book narrated by death which takes place in Nazi Germany during World War II. It is moving, insightful, at times humorous and of course very heart wrenching and brought tears to my eyes. I definitely recommend this book to each and every one of you. Thanks to Scott for the referral.

Synopsis:

Publisher Comments:


It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

From the Hardcover edition.

Articles

( I got this photo off the net)


I've noticed a few articles in the newspaper as of late that have caught my attention.

The first was regarding a motorcycle riding Sikh who was handed a ticket in 2005 for riding sans helmet. He tried to fight the provincial helmet law on the grounds that his religion compels him to wear a turban. He had the Ontario Human Rights Commission behind him, however he lost his case in court last week. This brings up a good question, should religious beliefs override safety.......or should safety override religious beliefs?? In other provinces such as Manitoba and British Columbia, Sikhs are exempt from the provincial helmet laws.

The 2nd article had to do with a worldwide professional video-gaming league. Am I the only person on the face of the earth who had not heard of such a thing??? The players can earn a monthly salary as well as mucho moolah from tournaments. Only 180 video gamers worldwide are given positions on 18 international teams. It's taking gaming to the next level and they want it recognized as a professional sport.

My friend and I were watching the news clip with perplexed looks; I just find the whole thing a little bit odd is all. Anyone else with me on this one or do I stand alone?? When I think of video games I have memories of Mario and Luigi breaking blocks and saving the princess, not 180 prepubescent youth holed up for 40 hours a week practicing to win a million dollars. Okay okay I'm sure there are some older more mature players as well and I'm sure there is talent and skill involved, much like anything else in life...I just find it a bit bizarre. What are your thoughts on gaming becoming a professional sport?

Snowed In...

(Aww my pretty birthday flowers)

Well my friends, remember my last post when I was complaining about the snow.......well this weekend we had an enormous storm that dumped 50 CM of snow in less than 48 hours. It was an absolute nightmare.

PP even took me out for lunch on Friday afternoon in case we were snowed in on Saturday. We found this cheap Thai/Vietnamese Fusion place which was yum!!

So needless to say my birthday plans completely changed as all of my out of town guests could not make it into the city and us locals were not going to risk the highway to get to the planned destination.

I did however change my dinner plans to a lunch date and was still able to have all you can eat Japanese which was delightful and yummy!!!

PP, LD and I spent a few minutes out in the driveway shoveling and removing ridiculous amounts of snow off of the vehicles. Look at LD's arm on the hood of my car, the snow was close to her shoulder that's how deep it was.

I called one of my local watering holes around 7pm and they were closing down due to the weather so we went to the next best thing.....the casino. It was sure to be bustling with people so off we went. Actually, it really wasn't that easy. First we called a cab.....that never showed up; so PP decided to brave it and drive us there. Well, we made it out of the driveway and got stuck on the road. Thankfully this has happened to me before and Jennifer bought me a roadside kit and a shovel for my car. So LD and I shovelled and pushed PP out of the snow and off we went, cold, drenched and laughing. We met up with another friend, had a few pints and called it a night.

Obviously the weather was a bit of a piss off as I was very much looking forward to having my various groups of friends get together for a night of shenanigans but what can you do. I had fun at the casino and was happy that a few of my friends braved the weather to have a pint with me. I'll be re planning a proper get together in the very near future so keep those calendars open!!

(Friday afternoon)

(Sunday afternoon)

Come on.....

I know that last year I spent most of the winter bellyaching about the weather and my dislike of snow. Well guess what people.....not much has changed this go around!!

We had unseasonable weather on Monday, it was 11 degrees (52 F) and lovely out. So lovely in fact that I was able to go for a walk in a pair of shorts and a sweater. It felt wonderful to have the crisp air on my face, I felt rejuvenated and alive once again.

Tuesday/Wednesday was another story altogether. After work I went to the mall and not but 30 mins later the wind was atrocious and all of these ice pellets were attacking my face. We had one hell of a storm that night and unfortunately in the morning my car was completely plowed in as I had parked on the road at my friends house. He had to snow blow around my car however, halfway through ran out of gas. So off to the gas station he went; in the meantime I was hurdling snow drifts to try and clean off my car and of course got my pants soaking wet. I went back inside to change into yesterdays dry clothes ( I sleep at their house on Tuesdays) and was finally able to leave for work. I arrived 45 minutes late, in yesterdays clothes looking rather disheveled and of course my hair resembled that of a rat's nest due to the falling snow and wind. I was not a happy camper.

The weather did let up in the afternoon and it actually became quite sunny outside and rather nice. I have looked at the forecast however and apparently we're going to get another doozey this weekend on my birthday. UGHHHHHH!!!!! I'll be spending the day at the tanning salon and stuffing my face with Japanese food and beer!! That should make me feel better :)

Seriously though, I can't fucking stand one more minute of this wet shit!!! I hate it!!! How can it go from 11 degrees to minus 20 in less than 24 hours????

Bad Boys Bad Boys Whatcha Gonna Do....

I had a very uneventful weekend which is just how I had planned it. I spent everyday at the gym and aside from that I read a bit and of course watched some television.

Do you remember the TV show COPS??? Well my friends, I made myself a cup of tea and lost a few brain cells watching that program on Saturday evening. As I'm watching the train wreck in front of me I get a text from my friend : "Why are you acting like a fluppy fool...lmao! I'm watching COPS and had a good giggle!"

You see my fellow bloggers I have a VERY hard time deciphering lyrics to songs. Many many years ago I thought that the line "Why are you acting like a bloody fool" was actually "Why are you acting like a floppy fool" from the COPS theme song. My friend was apparently watching the same quality programming as myself on Saturday evening and thought it would be funny to send me the text. I called her up and we both just started to laugh at the ridiculousness that is me.....clearly I've been in need of a hearing test for years and years!!

Tonight I'm off to volleyball which makes me very happy. I started back last week after a month and a half hiatus due to my shoulder injury. I'm sucking it up and getting back out there even though the arm is still in questionable shape....I'm sure I'll live....but I may whine if it hurts :)

Now I want to know, what are your guilty pleasure TV shows?? I have a few dandy's the number one probably being Paradise Hotel.....and apparently COPS!!