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!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!!

I saw these clips recently and they made me cry I was laughing so hard. JLee posted one today as well so without further adieu enjoy " I"m Fucking Matt Damon"



And Jimmy Kimmel's response "I'm fucking Ben Affleck"

Just before Vegas I had asked 2DP for some nutrition/fitness advice and began to follow his suggestions when I returned home from Sin City. To my amazement I have actually lost close to 8 pounds, WOO HOO!! The nutrition part is rather bland and of course I have cheated here and there (non fat Green Tea Latte anyone) and I had a piece of chocolate on Valentines Day. I have yet to open my own box of chocolates which is shocking to say the least; normally the yummy little morsels would have been devoured by now.

The above is a picture of my favorite grilled veggie sub in the whole wide world. It's filled with everything imaginable including feta cheese.....sooooo good!!! Of course I miss my pizza, pasta and veggie subs but I'll get back to those in moderation one day. For the time being I'm trying to eat more like this:

As for the exercise portion I haven't been able to go as much as I'd like (only 3 times this past week) as I've injured my knee for the bazillionth time. I try to at least do a light jog on the treadmill followed by the bike for now, give my knee a rest for a few days and then go back.

I am very confused about this whole heart rate thing and staying in my "fat burning" zone vs "cardio." I felt that I had a great workout the last time I was at the gym, I jogged a lot longer than normal, I was all sweaty and felt really good about what I had done. Then I looked at my heart rate monitor and it said I had only been in my zone for 2 minutes.....HUH!!!! Apparently my rate was too high and I was in the cardio zone instead of the fat burning zone. It's very confusing to me as I'd imagine a light jog would help you lose weight faster than say a quick walking pace. According to a friend of mine though, I need to stay in my "fat burning" zone and if that means a quick walk, then I should just do a quick walk. So weird!!

I find the whole thing to be a bit of a pain in the ass to be honest. I had 6 dinner invitations last week alone and only went to 3 of them, as they were friends who came from out of town for a visit. I had to order more sensible dishes than my normal choices.......and certainly no appetizers for this gal. Sucky yes......but at least I was able to try new items and step out of my box.

I've also had to limit my going out and booze consumption which can be a bit difficult in certain situations. I play volleyball once a week and after our games we go to the bar for beer and pizza. Obviously I won't be touching the food; as for the drinks I may get a water or have a light beer though I'd rather not get into the habit of doing this every week while I'm trying to lose the weight.

A big thanks to 2DP for helping me on this journey and putting up with all of my silly questions!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend :)

Prank

I just had this emailed to me and loved the idea of a prank on so many unsuspecting people:

This is a prank on a "grand" scale. Over 200 people gathered at Grand Central Station in New York to pull off a 'frozen in place' act. The onlooking travelers who weren't part of the act were mystified as to what was going on.

Annoyed.....

I have noticed a lot of sales people trying to "up sell" me lately and it's really starting to drive me mad. Take for instance last week, I had a stack of clothes to try on at this particular store. By stack I mean a whole hell of a lot; skirts, dresses, blouses, pants and so on. The sales lady of course had been hovering outside of my change room door to give her opinion everytime I emerged with a new item. I felt like Britney trying to avoid the paparazzi, scurrying back in and taking a few minutes to change and gather up enough strength to go back out.

In my few seconds of solace the saleslady would take it upon herself to bring me a new piece of clothing she thought I might like. The first was this hideous pink faux suede jacket. When I voiced my displeasure she began to prod me "why, why don't you like it?" I told her I hated suede and her response of course was "but it's not suede" yada yada yada so I told her it was hideous. She decided to bring me yet another awful jacket.....again I told her no that it was not my style and it was ugly.

I hate to say it my fellow bloggers, but yes she brought me one last item to try on and I, Miss Ash was defeated by this point, gave up and tried the bloody suit (that I had not picked out) on. Quel surprise I hated it.

I finally picked out 3 items (that I had chosen) and went over to the cash register. Next thing I know she's trying to sell me everything else in the store:

"Do you need pantyhose for the dress?"

"Ummm no thanks I have some already."

"What about some jewlery, do you need a nice necklace for the dress?"

My patience had now left the store and I'm quite surprised my body did not follow in protest. I told her no firmly, payed my $325 and ran the hell out of there. Fuck off, I just spent wayyyyy more than I had wanted to and it had nothing to do with your annoying "try this" "buy this" bullshit.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another time I was furious with a sales person was at a car lot. This guy was sooooooo relentless I'd had enough. My poor father sat there staring while his little girl ripped the salesman a new asshole for being the most annoying man on the face of the earth. He must have asked me 15 times "What can I do to make you take this car home today?" After my first few explanations about how a car is a large purchase and I would have to think about it.....and his continued harassment, I lost it. I stood up and started to yell and told him he was going to see my ass walking out the door if he asked me that question one more time. Ladylike...not at all; but my poor behaviour did put a huge smirk on my fathers face as we walked out together sans car.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My spellchecker has gone caput for some reason.....see any errors?? Shut the fuck up about them haha!! (said with love of course)

We made it!!

Once again Vegas did not disappoint and it kicked my ass for the 3rd time in as many years. It was great to go with such a big group of people and right from the start we had everything set out for us. A big bus came to get us at the airport, all of our luggage was taken care of and we were able to sit back and relax thanks to the wonderful planning of the bride to be.

The weather stayed in the 60's and I was able to saunter.....errr.....stumble around in short sleeved shirts and skirts sipping 99 cent margaritas while the folks at home were apparently getting pummelled with freezing rain and hail.

The wedding was beautiful and we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning celebrating! There was dancing and drinking and laughter all shared with close friends.

This was supposed to be the year of museums in Vegas and I had quite a few mapped out that I was looking forward to visiting. In true Vegas fashion....there was no time for such things and I did not even make it to one. I barely made it to the Fashion Show Mall as my feet were pulsating from the evening before and it took all of my strength to even walk on my sore tootsies.

We went to the Wynn during the day to check out some of the shops IE window shop as I am not able to afford anything with Dior or Jimmy Choo on the label; however it was fun to look and the staff at Dior were lovely.

The Wynn was absolutely breathtaking inside, mosaic floors, beautiful lanterns and waterfalls, it was phenonmenal.



(This photo came off of their website)

My favorite part of the trip would have to be the club inside the Wynn called Tryst. We took a big stretch limo there for our last night in Sin City and I really have no words to describe the club, it was amazing; great music, beautiful people, a 90 foot waterfall at the end of the room that cascades into a lagoon.......absolutely phenonmenal. I took a quick look at the bottle service menu and found a bottle that went for $30, 000!!! Yikes!!! Good thing the washrooms have a shelf to hold your beverage of choice:

We flew in last night......to minus 20 degree weather, ice and wind. Needless to say I'm a bit of an unhappy kitty at the moment and long for the warm weather to grace us once again.

Here is a photo taken during the trip/ Here is a photo taken before leaving


Vegas certainly did a number on me once again!!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On a sidenote, LD found the biggest pickle that I have ever seen:

Tokyo Tin Tin's Meme

Tokyo Tin Tin made up this meme/questionnarie thingy, feel free to do one for yourself!!

1.Someone is going to drop you off at your local airport early tomorrow morning. You can take any flight leaving the airport for a free holiday. Where will you go? (Please consider: flights actually leaving your local airport tomorrow)

Flight # 9W225 Jet Airways departing from YYZ at 20:00 to Delhi India.

2. You have a holiday coming up and can visit one city on each continent. Which ones will you visit, and for how long?

I have 5 weeks of vacation so:

Buenos Aires, Argentina (1 week)



Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (1 week)



Bucharest, Romania (1 week)

Aukland, New Zealand (1 week)

Galapagos Islands of course (3 days)

Bali Indonesia, I don't care where as long as I'm in Bali (4 days)


3. If you had to live in a country (other than the one you think of as 'home') and had to stay in that country for the rest of your life, where would you choose?

This is far too hard to answer, I have no idea!!! Would I want to live for the rest of my life in any of the places I've visited?? What if I pick a place I've never been and it is awful....I can't decide too much pressure Tokyo Tin Tin, too much pressure!!

4. Part 1: You have $100 and must travel somewhere for a month. Where will you go? (Please consider: cost of living, opportunities to work, people you could mooch off of, etc. –Ah ah ah! No borrowing money! The $100 doesn't have to pay for your travel to the place you want to go).

I would travel to Bangladesh, stay with P’s relatives, work in the tea fields, eat mangos all day long and hang out with the Bengali Brad Pitt.

Part 2: You have 100,000$, but only 24 hours. Where will you go to spend it? (No buying real estate, gold bricks, etc.)

I would go to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. I would stay at the Burj Al Arab hotel in the Royal Suite for a mere $28, 000. The suite has a private cinema, whirlpool baths and rotating beds woo hoo!! I’d spend my moolah on luxury cars, designer wares, indoor skiing, 5 star restaurants and of course a night on the town.

5. What is a vacation; relaxation or adventure?

I used to enjoy the relaxing vacations (IE laying on the beach drinking Mai Tai’s for a week), now I’m more apt for adventure and exploring new places.

Bonus question: what's your favourite vacation memory from when you were a kid?

We did the Florida/Myrtle Beach thing when I was younger, however the memory that springs to mind is a mini roadtrip to The Holiday Inn over the March Break in the States. We did this for a few years each break as a little getaway with a few of my parents friends and their kids. The other kids were all boys which meant shenanigans that girls would never get into IE playing nicky nicky nine doors, fire alarms and general rough housing. It was always a great time to let loose and run around with minimal supervision :)

Enjoy your week kids, I'm off to Sin City in a few days and will return next week!

I was trying to look up funny cartoons to put into a friends 30th birthday card. Somehow I came across the above cartoon which obviously has nothing to do with birthdays but made me laugh out loud.

I have been rather sick for the past 2 weeks and finally went to see the doctor yesterday. I thought I was rather congested until I was sitting across from this old woman in the waiting room with an oxygen tank. She was sooooo full of phlegm and kept spitting it out into a napkin. I felt like an asshole for going in with my "congested" chest after that. Turns out I have a sinus infection and my chest is clear after all! I went on my way with stinky horse pills and some nose spray that I have to take for the next 10 days. My only question to the doctor was regarding booze and the pills as I'm headed for Vegas next week, he didn't seem impressed but thankfully my last dose will be taken the day I leave so all is well.

I slept over at a friends last night and was woken up at 5 am by this ridiculous windstorm. Apparently the wind reached 100 km/hr and completely tore out their patio cover. The metal rods slammed against the house and I had visions of them coming through my window and impaling me as I tried to sleep ( I have a vivid imagination granted it was crumbling right outside my bedroom window). The whole structure was torn down and in absolute shambels; trees were knocked down, power was out in various areas and of course the skyways were closed. I wasn't able to get back to sleep after that and dragged my very tired butt through a long day at work.

I am very much looking forward to Friday as I have not made any plans nor do I plan to. It's a weekend of rest and relaxation before Sin City sucks me in and has me up until the wee hours of the morning. I remember Vegas kicking my ass last year so I need to prepare myself for this go around :)