R.I.P. Papa Rudy.

My mom's oldest sister just lost her husband.  I met him only a few times because they are in the Philippines, but I feel like I know him because of the stories my mom has been telling me since I was a child.

Papa Rudy was a kind, gentle man. An artist. I remember seeing his work back in 2004 when I was last in the Philippines.  He would blurt out an English word every now and then and giggle at the usage.  Then we would all egg him on to try more words :)

This is one of those times I wish the world was a little smaller. I hate that I can't even make my uncle's funeral because it is half a world away.   

Rest in peace Papa Rudy.  I hope you didn't suffer and that you knew you were greatly loved and would be greatly missed.  

The Good Push.

Generally I'm not a big fan of being overbearing and pushy.  Sometimes though, one can benefit from a push or two.  Starting off last week with food poisoning was tough, and I was planning to just rest it up for the remainder of the week/weekend, catch up on work and not go on the office ski trip. Fortunately, a couple of my coworkers were aggressive enough to make sure I got a snowboard rental before 8pm closing time on Thursday night and I was lured into the ski trip with promises of feeding bison breakfast at a farm on the way (when else would I ever get to do that?) and resting my food poisoning away on the drive to the mountains.

So I got to hang with bison before sunrise.  BIG AND FLUFFY BISON!

I also got to improve my snowboarding (I haven't been on a board in ages!) while looking at this:

Beautiful majestic Rockies!

Proud accomplishments of a beginner boarder:

-getting off chairlifts a few times without having to do the roll of shame

-actually executing some (very sloppy) carving (on very gentle slopes)

And THEN I was pushed into going to the Banff hot springs. I never EVER thought I would get in a swimsuit and sit in a pool outdoors during the winter.  It turned out out to be fabulous and I even enjoyed the fluffy snowflakes landing on my face while my sore bottom half was immersed in deliciously warm steamy water. 

So I survived and I admit that my coworkers were right after all.  I'm now food poisoning free and back to working overtime. This week I was delighted to get a big award at work :) Yay for recognition!  I already spent some of it at Lululemon ;)

Ahh, the rewards of pushing yourself (or being good-naturedly pushed) beyond your comfort zone. Stay uncomfortable, folks!

Never Again (a.k.a. Vegans Vomit Too).

I just spent most of the night alternating between vomiting and curling up on my bathroom floor. And now I am in bed instead of being productive at the office.

Thanks a lot, kombucha.

Ohhh you seemed so harmless - good for me, even.  I remember when we first met at a farmers market in Hawaii.  The long haired surf bum that brewed you himself served me a delicious tart slightly fizzy cup of you.  There was sunshine, a rainbow of fruits and veggies ... and you.

I've bought you several times since then, always in attractive shiny bottles that gleamed with healthful promise.  The bacteria is good for you, the labels said.  

Sure, yesterday's bottle seemed a bit bitter towards the end of the workday, but little did I know that the apocalypse would visit my guts that evening.

Lesson learned.  Next time I want the benefits of fermentation I'll just have some sauerkraut or wine.

Silver lining? I just finished reading Chocolat.  It was on TV over the holidays and I'd forgotten how delicious the story is and how I've been meaning to read the actual novel.  So I borrowed an eBook from good ol' EPL with the Overdrive app.  Maybe not the best thing to read while food-poisoned,  but still enjoyable nonetheless.  A small town in France, a wanderer who sets up a chocolaterie, gypsies and small town prejudices, small town kindnesses, chocolate and more chocolate! 

Mind Farts
-I was complaining earlier about how the level of empathy still needs to catch up with technology in this world. Turns out there are uses for the empathy-challenged.  Just read an article on how certain folks like CEOs and surgeons and lawyers can do very well if they have a certain degree of ruthlessness
-level 2 yoga is HARD! Just like when my Cuban dance instructor started throwing ballet training in the mix, I quickly realize that so many endeavors are way harder than they look. It's tricky because dancers and yogis make it look so graceful and effortless - but that's where the 'art' part comes in now doesn't it?
-but not vomiting. Vomiting feels as horrible as it looks. Unless maybe there are bulimics out there that have mastered it. While violently retching, I did wonder briefly: how do bulimics do this in public spaces?  But self-induced vomit is not the same as bacteria attacking your insides. Yikes, enough vomit talk
-sometimes while checking drawings I will stream some BBC radio. There was a documentary on a really amazing badass woman: Noor Inayat Khan.  British secret agent of Indian descent.  She was a musician and a dreamer but also became an expert wireless operator during WWII. She was a pretty and tiny little thing but she was dangerous enough to be betrayed and then captured by the Germans, where she was tortured for months (almost a year), then raped, beaten and shot in the head in Dachau. Despite everything she still refused to give up info. She was only 30.

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