Scratched Eyeballs and a Doggy Daddy.

Discovery: 60 hour weeks in an office + contact lenses = very scratched eyeballs.  Guess who had to wear her old glasses for over a week so that her corneas could heal?

That being said, it felt healthier letting my eyeballs breathe for a while and it was a good chance to *finally* order an updated pair of glasses.  My prescription is so bad that I couldn't even get the 1 hour service for new glasses.  It's more like 10 days minimum for me.  Add in the Christmas/New Year holiday season factor and I probably will not get my new glasses until 2015.  C'est la vie!

With most of my December consumed by work, it was a welcome break to enjoy time with loved ones over the holidays.  Boxing Day came with a special surprise.  A few evenings ago a gentle blond giant of a man proposed to me in front of the giant Christmas tree at the legislature grounds.  So I walked away from the prettily-lit grounds with Hachi and a brand new fiancé!  I know right?  Shit just got real.  My theory?  A good doggy daddy has great potential to be a good baby daddy.  Plus, he's pretty good to me too.  If you trust and respect someone's intellect, integrity, abilities AND he/she makes you laugh AND is kind AND you are still physically attracted to her/him after a good while ... then hey, it's kind of a solid formula.

A little sparkle helps a bit - not that a huge rock is the be-all or end-all.  Not-at-all.  If anything, it was a nice surprise that someone who is not so much into flash and glam was actually concerned about getting me something "sparkly" enough :)  And yay, it doesn't rub against my engineering ring!

Soooo yeah.. there's some absorbing and deciding and compromising to be done over the next year.  I'm definitely not one of those knowing women with a ton of set wedding specifics and preferences in their heads.    Fortunately I have many girlfriends who have been there and done that - there is a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips.  Between them and the interwebs, I should be okay.

But that can be put off for 2015.  In the meantime, I continue to enjoy this much-needed break.  My sis and I saw two consecutive amazing movies in a row about two amazing minds - the Imitation Game (Alan Turing) and the Theory of Everything (Stephen Hawking).  I smell Oscar nominations for the lead actors.  Beautiful beautiful beautiful portrayals.  Big Hero 6 was great too.  Plus there's been Harry Potter marathons on TV (thanks Space Channel!).  

Mind Farts
-my crack cocaine is vegan ginger beef - i bring it to Christmas dinners just so i can partake in the eating of it
-i'm enjoying these 'UK white boys' who have managed to conjure up such soulful voices - hello Sam Smith and Hozier
-still not gonna be able to do this for a while:

ankle is still wonky and not much increased mobility in my spinning big toe.  there's enough on my plate right now anyway.  i can't get upset - first world problems
-i saw a documentary on genocide survivors on the Smithsonian channel and i just felt so sick and angry about what they had to endure ... such technological advances we've had but why can't people grasp the concept of empathy in this day and age?
-i'm currently reading Malala's biography and it makes me think of the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls :(  it's been so long and they still haven't been found

-a little closer to home: Rinelle Harper's horrific rape and attempted murder (how do humans rape a fellow human, throw her in a river and then try to kill her *again* after she tries to crawl out of the river on a winter night?) and the little 6 year old Aboriginal girl that was raped and also beaten nearly to death and then also left naked in the freezing cold to die.  i will never understand.  sometimes i wonder if women should be made to carry some kind of protection (pepper spray?) in order to even out the physical strength imbalance between the genders.  i would hand out bazookas in certain parts of the world

Sari #1

So I finally was fully dressed in a sari and jewelry to go to my first Hindu wedding. It was beautiful! I didn't understand 90% of it, but it was great seeing how adorable the bride and groom were as they endured mini fumbles with ancient rituals and how respectful they were to culture and family.

The wedding was yesterday morning and I was back in the office by the afternoon. And I kept the sari on for the rest of the workday, only changing out of it so I could eat and go to yoga class in the evening.  I didn't mind having to explain over and over to coworkers why I was dressed so beautifully :) 

Saris are godessy yet comfortable (even when you sit on a temple floor). I'm excited I get to wear another one to the wedding reception tomorrow!

Okay back to work, where I kinda wish I could clone myself.  So much to do! Even with extra hours put in, it's still like I'm barely staying afloat.  I just felt like taking a breather and reminiscing about my sari day yesterday :)  

I think it might be time to work weekends.  Another bonus to not dancing all the time!

R.I.P. Soldier.

When I heard that a soldier was gunned down in Ottawa, I felt a wave of sadness and anger at the senselessness of it all.  It got worse when I saw pictures like this (photos from the Canadian Press):

Just seeing how much these dogs adore their fallen owner broke my heart and made me want to learn more.  The more I learned about Nathan Cirillo (I even creeped his Instagram), the more tragic his death became.  Indeed, a lovely man: a typical Canadian guy and also an extremely gentle giant.  Into fitness, the military and taking adorable selfies but also a single dad and rescuer of strays.  Most of his pics are dog-related and his profile oozes with his love for his dogs and his son.

May your soul rest in peace Mr. Cirillo, and may your son grow up loved and knowing how great his dad was.  May your dogs stay loved and cared for despite eternally waiting for you to get home. 

As for the gunman, who at first glance seems like an overprivileged shithead with no purpose in this world, I feel sorry for his parents.  From the news, it seems like his mother and father were successful and caring folks who did not intend to raise their son to be the cause of so much pain and horror.

Excuse Me ...

... While I pretend I am a Bollywood Princess.

I love saris!  The deep, bold colours ... the intricate beading and embroidery ... the timelessness of the cut and draping ...
And now I finally get to wear one to a wedding between my friends - a Fijian and a Sri Lankan :)
Thankfully I have a coworker who has many beautiful saris (and is willing to lend me one as well as drape me) and this is one I picked out to wear.
I excite! (c) Borat 

Hello, Fall Weather.

Edmonton doesn't get a bunch of rain. A lot of sun, a lot of snow.. But rain not so much. So it's quite noticeable to Edmontonians when it's gloomy and wet. On gloomy chilly days like this week's, I feel an extra surge of protectiveness towards Hachi, because I imagine him in his days as a stray in the Nordegg woods. All alone and cold, wet and starving :(

Not anymore :)

Mind Farts

-I'm noticing feminism fails even by men who were otherwise ahead of their times.  Jose Rizal ... yogis back in the day ... inventors ... "geniuses" ... Is the concept of your mother/sister/spouse/female friend as a fellow human being *that* hard to grasp?  Come on now people

-Iyengar is pronounced "eye-yen-gar" and I am loving being a complete beginner at something again. I think I was made to be an eternal student

-On CBC radio, I listened to a clip from the dash cam of an American cop shooting a black man on his way to work who just happened to be gassing up his car. Absolutely chilling. What really made me sick was how the victim had to be polite and apologetic even under the horrific circumstances.  I'm sure he was afraid of being shot even more times or even worse, being blamed for the incident. You just knew he was raised to be wary of white cops.  Unfortunately the warnings were legitimate in this case. Thank God for dash cams 

-I cut potatoes and tomatoes with a handcrafted Japanese knife for the first time at the Springhammer movie release afterparty. Wow, I actually got tingles doing it. I've always heard Japanese knives were amazing but I didn't realize what all the hype was about until I tried one! You can actually feel the knife grip the vegetable/fruit before the blade slides through 

-Currently enjoying Stromae's music and its blends of sounds I relish - hip hop, house, electro, 90's R&B, African rhythms.  Plus each song is refreshingly different, which gives me multiple eargasms.  If only I didn't have to translate the lyrics (which, by the way are not mysoginistic or arrogant at all). Makes me wish I did French immersion in school

Dip of Shame.

I'm dumb for not realizing that honey isn't vegan. Finally googled it - of course while currently on a huge honey mustard kick - and realized my vegan fail. A huge sorry to all the squished and homeless bees as casualties of this yellow addiction of mine.   I even bought mini Tupperware containers just so I could keep dipping at work.

As soon as I finish all the honey mustard at my place, I am not buying anymore. I'll make my own using agave syrup if I have to!  

Hello Yoga, Nice to Meet You.

We've flirted and danced around each other but now let's talk!

Officially registered for a semester at the Iyengar (how do you pronounce that?) yoga studio near my office. 

Acro-yoga and Pilates have given me tastes of yoga but now I can really learn some pure technique and poses :) Now is my chance. Boo-yah!