Vigilantism and Not Being Good at Stuff.

This is a recent pic from Hachi's daycare.  Look at that puppy-dog-eyed face. 

Sometimes that face hides mysterious things.  It seems that Hachi has an interesting sense of justice.

My sister and I have noticed that he can stop dogfights at the dog park by calmly placing himself between the two aggressors.

This past week Hachi stopped a fight again at daycare.

But then later on, he grabbed one of the dogs involved in the fight!  BY THE LEG.  Hachi got a 30 minute time out for that one.

He has also calmly peed in beefcake's brother's dogs' water dish, after the dogs were aggressive towards him.  The pee was perfectly in the dish.  Not a drop was on the floor. 

I think we have a mini vigilante on our hands.  An adorable one.

I went to bed with a tingly spine last night.  Yoga is happily kicking my ass and I happily let it.  I think I've realized why I like classes so much.  I actually enjoy being a beginner and picking the brains of instructors.  This doesn't just apply to yoga, but to everything else I've dabbled in ... dance, climbing, kettlebells, work, writing, art ...

It also explains why I'm one of the few I know who get extremely nostalgic while on campus.  Most of my friends cringe at the thought of going back to school, whereas I relish the thought of being a student.

Student mentality keeps you humble and young.  You want a big slice of humble pie?  Embrace something you're not good at and try to get better at it.  Maintain respect and an open mind when your instructor/peer critiques you and makes suggestions.  Your ego may cry a little at first, but eventually it becomes a more easygoing entity.  Change is good, but it's even better when it turns into growth :)

Ok.

So I'm not calm and logical *all* the time.  That would be a bit boring now wouldn't it?

Mind Farts

-Cafe Mosaics = fantastic veggie burgers and amazing vegan cupcakes = delighted drooling me

-mucho vegan cooking in my household and it's not by me. my sis has been trying out the vegan lifestyle as an attempt to thwart getting sick. I'm only too happy to sample all the homemade deliciousness (this is kind of a win-win situation)

-still gaming late into the night.  damn you, new graphics card!  my sis and I have been driven to dig into Ragnar Tornquist's roots and play the Longest Journey, which came out in 1999 - the very first game in the Dreamfall series.  playing it in my thirties, I now notice many relevant real-world issues that this game highlights.  behemoth corporations and the power they have, technology addiction, pollution, refugees, colonialism, racism, religion ... 

-just found out Avaaz's founder came from good old Edmonton, has Indian and Jewish blood, grew up on a First Nations reservation, was bullied, kicked ass at Oxford, travelled the world to see first-hand injustice and suffering then went on to start a global activist network that encompasses tens of millions of members.  Call it slacktivism or activism, but I do believe it is a valid movement. anything that makes people of all ages and regions think with empathy and be more aware about the rest of the world is a step in the right direction 

-Tesla now offers non-leather interiors.  thanks Elon Musk :) and thanks vegan badass race car driver Leilani Munter for making the request.  bonus points to beefcake for sending me the NY Times article.  one of the cons (opposing the many pros) of me getting my car was the leather covering on the steering wheel, shifter knob and brake handle. my next future ride will for sure be fully non-leather inside!

-I am a dualist.  just like how I just *had* to learn Cuban and LA/NY salsa, I now am dabbling in Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga. I'm hoping that just like salsa, these two will make learning in parallel challenging but complimentary.  climbing is another hopefully complimentary thing (a "pulling" to yoga's "pushing")

-checking out the Ice Castles last weekend as part of a double date was a great winter activity.  extreme freezing temperatures at the time, but still worth the visit.  super busy too (good job Edmontonians)!  and now while the east is hit with crazy snow, we are back to these strange mild temperatures.  global warming?  or just crazy Alberta weather?

Really?

I was lunching with coworkers this past week and we got into the issue of the government allowing 'biological boys' who self-identify as girls into the girls' change rooms at schools.  My male coworkers seriously believed there would be a problem with more sexual assaults and also some very uncomfortable girls.

Yeah.  That was a huge reminder that I am in the land of right-wing conservatives.  I mean, these guys are even younger than me!

I told them I didn't think it was a big deal, and that people should be able to change wherever they want.  And that sexual assaults towards girls do not arise from 'boys' that self-identify as girls.  And that the LGBTQ community has enough crap to go through and that people cannot be "cured" of the gender or sexual orientation that they truly identify with.

They were surprised and couldn't believe that I wasn't bothered by this "crazy" new rule.

They expressed their concern for girls who have been traumatized by sexual assault and so I responded that I've been a victim myself and and I *still* don't care if a male changes near me in a change room.  I used to be on a salsa team that travelled together for crying out loud! 

I then got called a "unicorn."  More "calm and logical" than the usual female.  They were trying to compliment me, but it does weird me out when guys do that.  I've had other guy friends tell me the same things, usually after they make some type of generalization about women and I try to correct them.

"Oh, but Angel you're different.  You're not like the others."

"You're like this female anomaly."

"You're just like one of the guys."

Maybe if more men would actually entertain the thought of women being as varied as *gasp* men,  they'd come across more "unicorn anomalies."  Just saying.

Call me a left-wing hippie, but moments like these makes me feel like I'd just "belong" much easier in a more liberal and progressive cosmopolitan city.  Cue in daydream about me walking out of a vegetarian restaurant and into the sunshine by the dog-friendly beach, kale smoothie in one hand and a yoga mat under the other arm, laughing with my friends of ambiguous race and sex.

Uh Oh. What Have We Done?

Thanks a lot, Ragnar Tornquist, creator of the beautiful and addictive video game that is Dreamfall Chapters.  Despite the crazy freezing weather, my sis and I went out to see if we could upgrade the graphics card on my current home PC by ourselves.  Turns out we needed to get not just a new graphics card but also a bigger power supply.  After a few grunts and hand scrapes, we proudly installed both components ourselves.  Almost.  The fantastic techs at Memory Express helped us figure out that we missed one connection. 

We hurried back home to plug everything in again and install the right drivers.  As we booted up the game, we gasped at how beautiful and smooth everything looked. We giddily nearly lost our minds.

Terrified of our addiction, my sis and I forced ourselves out of the game to do four hours of "productive" work (me = office work, her = homework).  And sure enough we gamed the rest of the night and finished Book Four of Dreamfall Chapters.  And so now we are able to go back to functioning in real life as we pine away for Book Five.

I admit, I'm a bit scared of how awesome video games now look on my computer.  Gaming can be a Pandora's box that is tough to close.

A Dose of Campus.

I started climbing at the new campus climbing gym last night for the first time in a looooong while.  My palms and forearms were sore after only an hour. It's time to build up some protective calluses and strength again!

If you are university alumnus, you get a climbing discount. So I went to the campus mall today to get a new university ID card. Seeing all the students and the studying flooded me with nostalgia. Ahhh, to be a student again ...

At least now I can kind of pretend! I have my own U of A ONE card again :)

I must've been pretty stressed in engineering school because I'm 99.9% sure my ID card photo now looks way nicer and smilier than my photo back then (which might have looked more like a mugshot).

It's Been Grand, 2015.

Thanks for being a great year.

I have no reason to be ungrateful.  Despite the dramatic dip in oil prices, I'm still working at a job I enjoy.  I am able to spend the holidays with my family.  I traveled a bit this year.  I got to catch up with dear family and friends near and far because of wedding activities.  I continue to keep my mind and body busy and searching. 

I was a bit lame last night and went home earlier than planned so I could get up early this morning for an Ashtanga yoga New Year's Eve event, which consisted of 108 sun salutations. It was worth it - I am happy to say I did all 108 (holy good workout batman!) and now I'm at the office wrapping up. This may be my tamest New Year's Eve yet.  I see it as a replica of a big chunk of my year, working many hours and also doing more yoga-ing. 

This holiday was one full of relaxation and marathoning Hannibal (wow, made me glad to be eating plants) and plans to marathon Star Wars (man the Force Awakens was fun to watch!).  And a sprinkle of work of course.  I even FINALLY did some condo cleaning. Finally!  Maybe one day soon I can invite people over without feeling like a hoarder.

Now off to enjoy the last of my 2015!

Mind Farts
-bumped into my massage therapist at the yoga session this morning and realized i'm long overdue for a massage
-i did however finally use up my pedicure gift card from last Christmas and it was sooooo relaxing.  i totally understand why women go to the spa  - why don't i do this more often?
-confession: guilty pleasure of 2015 = K-dramas
-also watched the Big Short. loved it.  funny and refreshing learning experience about the American 2008 housing crash
-vegan = cheap easy drunk
-mad props to the Edmonton Public Library!  i've been borrowing books like crazy.  i've even been picking them up at the very same branch my mom used to take me and my sister to when we were new immigrant kids.  talk about coming around full circle!

WHYYY

Photos from Edmonton Journal/Instagram/Facebook

Look at how stupid these pictures are.

These men along with a 13-year-old (whose name Canadian law is currently protecting) that shot down two Mac's convenience store employees at two separate locations on the same night in Edmonton this Friday.  The employees did not put up a fight and were executed for no reason.

One employee was a 35-year-old father who just came from India to be with his wife and child.  The other was a 41-year-old man from the Philippines who was also trying to support his family, sending money back to the Philippines.  Now they're dead just before Christmas for no reason whatsoever.  

Photos from CBC

I don't know how to wrap my head around this.  I understand people resort to robbery because of poverty/messed up upbringings/etc. but there is absolutely no reason to kill innocent people that pose zero threat and with zero cause.  How can one even feel any pity for people who murder senselessly?  What gets me is that these criminals are re-offenders.  Including the 13-year-old.  How do we even rehabilitate people like these?    Something is not working in the justice system.  

R.I.P. Karanpal Bhangu and Ricky Cenabre :(