Indonesian Dreamin’

I will be leaving for Indonesia in less than a week now and am so excited to get there! As I prepare for my trip, thoughts of last year’s travels keep coming up. I was reviewing some of my pictures from Guatemala (taken at about this time last year) and remembering how beautiful and fun it was. I have yet to come across an experience that I love more than traveling.  I look forward to seeing the nature, culture and people of Bali. It will be a totally new experience for me as I’ve never ventured further than South America. YAY YAY YAY!

Here are some of my shots from Guatemala:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/576637601BledSz

Tags: Adventures, Bali, Guatemala, Indonesia, Pictures, Travel

Happy 2011!

Hey everyone,

 

I hope you have a lovely new year!

Mr.Hankey Christmas Ornament

My friend Sarah and I have a special place in our hearts for South Park’s most beloved holiday character, Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. So this Christmas I decided to make her an ornament so she could celebrate the holidays in style. He is made out of recycled felt and stuffed with the inside of a pillow that I wasn’t using. He took me a little over an hour to make as he is hand-stitched. The effort was definitely worth it as she LOVED it! She told me that she opened her gift while she was riding the bus and a teenage boy behind her saw it and said “Wow, Mr. Hankey, I want to buy one of those.” I am really happy to have friends that share my level of immaturity.

Tags: Christmas, DIY, Handmade Gifts, Mr.Hankey, South Park, Trey Parker

Self Importance and the Internet

Hey dudes!

Do you ever wonder if the age of the internet is making people more narcissistic and contemptuous than ever before? I DO!

Is it not surreal to go to such a high-traffic site as YouTube and the majority of the homepage links are grainy, low quality home videos? Really? You thought THAT was worth posting for the entire world to see? Perhaps even more surreal is the wild success of such videos. “David After The Dentist” did not impress me. It wasn’t the exploitation of the child that bothered me the most but the implication that the video contained hilarious and profound statements. I have seen rambling drunks more hilarious and profound.

On the positive side, sites like Vimeo make it easier for filmmakers and comedy troupes to launch their careers by being able to post their content for free and generate traffic to their own sites. I have found some real gems this way! Luckily people with talent are also using the internet. It is just unfortunate that they make up about 20% of the population at best and the rest are posting videos like “OMG, I Filmed Myself Playing Video Games” or “Watch me Eat this Burger in 30 Seconds.”

Perhaps one of the most entertaining and infuriating things about the internet is a little thing we call “Comments”. I have actually laughed myself to tears over some of the YouTube comments that were the perfect blend of bad spelling, onomatopoeia and unintentional irony. Every once in a while, when I want to procrastinate on a project I will read some Calvin and Hobbes comics online (because they’re AWESOME!) surprisingly, if you scroll down a bit you will see a stream of comments and every conversation that I have bothered to read there has eventually become a debate about religion. People go to the Calvin and Hobbes website to argue about religion in the comments section!!! WHAT?

The internet has a message : “No matter how low-quality, irrelevant or offensive your material is; you have a place to post it. No matter how ignorant, incoherent or bigoted your comments may be; you can post them literally everywhere. We even have a special place where your very own opinions with all of their biases and limitations can be considered fact, it is called Wikipedia. It is because you are important, dear consumer. Shameless self-promotion will never be condemned here, in fact it will be celebrated! Make sure you keep all of your friends, acquaintances and potential advertisers constantly updated on all of the mundane details of your daily existence through Facebook and Twitter updates because you are special, you are important and you are unique! (Your latest post about eating cheerios while doing a crossword puzzle was simply life-changing).”

Okay, a little harsh I know. I am no stranger to sarcasm, but the truth is when it gets THIS intense there is usually a reason. This time the reason is that I am just a little jealous. The internet was just taking off in a big way when I was late into elementary school and I feel that I sort of missed the wave on some of these opportunities. When I was a 14 year old with boundless energy and no common sense I would have loved to have a forum to post ridiculous videos, songs, pictures or words. My friends and I would have had so much fun with that. I AM young but fortunately or unfortunately I have a little too much discrimination to  post really awful stuff now. Oh well, the world is better for it I’m sure.

What is going to happen when everyone is a self-styled artist? What happens when everyone has reached a psuedo celebrity status (at least in their own minds)? Will the world be different?

Isn’t it funny that I have dared to post this on MY blog? The one that includes the details of my latest cooking attempts. Case in point. The internet is truly the architect of audacity.

Tags: Calvin and Hobbes, David after the Dentist, Internet, Self Promotion, Social Networks

The Woe of Cooking

I have been trying to cook for myself a lot more lately. I figure it will help to save money that I usually spend on take-out and the vegetarian take-out options really are not as abounding as one would hope.  Also, it is a skill I really want to develop. I would take great pride in producing something tasty, or even just edible, from whole food (not a package).  For a while I deluded myself into thinking that the frozen and boxed items in the health food store were nutritious (“but they’re ORGANIC! and EXPENSIVE!”), until my roommate helped to convince me otherwise. Of course it makes sense that it is better to eat real food, but why does it take so much time and planning to make? I am in awe of people who cook for entire families, I can barely take care of myself.

None the less, I took up the challenge and prepared three homemade items:

1. Pumpkin Lasagne

2. Rosemary Yam Fries

3. Chocolate Cookies

I got the first recipe off of Craftser.org (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=337322.0). I went to Market Organics and 20 minutes and $25 later I was armed with all of the necessary ingredients. It took me about half an hour or so to prepare it and then into the oven it went. I was excited when it was time to take it out!

Pumpkin Lasagne

It looks pretty good, right?

WRONG!

Ewww...

It was disgusting! Even thinking about it now makes me want to throw up.

But how was it possible? I had all of these lovely organic ingredients, how could it go wrong? Well, when I was at the store I couldn’t find canned pumpkin so I asked the girl who works there and she brought me some cans which I happily threw in my cart. However, what she brought me turned out to be pumpkin pie mix! Basically a bit of pumpkin with tons of sugar and spices. Needless to say, everything went into the garbage and I was pretty discouraged. But my ever-faithful roommate consoled me as I ordered us a pizza.

COOKING LESSON #1:  ALWAYS LOOK AT THE LABELS BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING.

Once I got my morale back later in the week I decided to attempt a recipe from ‘Meet The Coup Cooks’ a book from a fabulous vegetarian restaurant on 17th Ave in Calgary- The Coup. It was for rosemary yam fries. I followed the recipe to a tee except instead of using fresh rosemary I had to use dried. In the restaurant they serve them with this amazing miso gravy so I attempted to make some out of tahini, miso, Braggs and sesame oil.

Rosemary Yam Fries with Miso "Gravy"

The fries were quite good but definitely WAY too heavy on the rosemary, after a while it started getting stuck in my throat and really annoying me. The gravy was this weird cement texture, I don’t fault myself for that failure though because it was totally improvised.

COOKING LESSON #2: IF YOU SUBSTITUTE DRIED HERBS FOR FRESH, USE WAY LESS.

By the end of the week I needed some chocolate to cheer me up after these cooking disasters. I decided to make some nice vegan cookies out of my favorite recipe book of all time “The Garden of Vegan” by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer, it is an essential for all vegetarians. Besides, I’m really good at baking. I do it at work all the time.

I decided to make a double batch so I could freeze some for later or share it with friends.

I put on an apron and whipped up the dough in record time. I put them into the oven while envisioning myself as some domestic 50′s chick (who I am convinced is my alter-ego) and I set a timer.

*Ding* “Ooo.. .time for the coo…WHAT THE #$!?”

Cookies Anyone?

They just turned into ONE GIANT COOKIE! It was raw on one side and burned on the other.

Where did I go wrong this time? Doubling the recipe. I would have been better off making two single batches as opposed to one double batch. Apparently baking is a “delicate chemistry” and you can’t just go adjusting amounts all the time. Who knew?

COOKING LESSON #3: NOT ALL RECIPES CAN BE DOUBLED, HALVED, OR OTHERWISE ADJUSTED.

Three for three! Am I really so incompetent?

To restore my dignity and self-confidence I’m going to go with “no”. I think I just have a lot to learn. I’m sure it’s like anything, if you practice it becomes easier and easier.

In any event, I am not going to give up. Even though I’m not entirely convinced it’s worth my money (I spent more on food this week than I usually do), time (planning, shopping as well as cooking) and mental anguish (I’m still mad at the woman who thinks that canned pumpkin is the same thing as pumpkin pie mix).

COOKING LESSON #4: COOKING IS HARD!

But, life goes on, there are many more meals to be cooked and cookies to be baked. I am going to make that alter-ego of mine proud.

Tags: Baking, Cooking, DIY, Do It Yourself, Food, Health, Kitchen Mishaps, Organic, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Rally to Restore Sanity

Image from saneornot.com (choose your favorite sign!)

Long live Jon Stewart!

Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?

It is such a fantastic idea to bring some perspective to the political circus. Reminding us of our common goals, our shared humanity and our inherent sanity! I am reasonably excited about this event, even though I am a Canadian. I am becoming impatient with the way that the mass media portrays current events and thus I am thrilled that people will be gently requesting them to “turn it down a notch”. Politics have become so ridiculously comedic that it is only natural for comedy to become political, but this rally is taking that to a whole new level (albeit, a very sensible level).

That is my opinion- if you don’t agree with it , I can live with that. I’m thirsty and it’s past my bedtime.

rallytorestoresanity.com

thedailyshow.com

Tags: Comedy, Jon Stewart, Marxism, Politics, Rally to Restore Sanity, Satire, The Daily Show, The Marx Brothers

Handmade Gifts, Yay!

The leaves are changing hues, the wind is crisp and my flip-flops have retired… it is officially autumn. What does that mean? Well in my case it means I have to get some gifts together because for some reason about 90% of my friends have their birthdays in the fall. While some of you may not share this predicament, I assume that there are some organized “Suzie Housewife” or “Jimmy Homemaker” types that are already preparing for Christmas. And to them I say- get a life! (Only joking, only joking.)

With the way that the economy is going and especially the way the environment is going , I would say we are all better off MAKING gifts as opposed to buying them. Handmade gifts are awesome for so many reasons; they can be personalized, there is an undeniable feeling of warmth that comes when receiving something “from the heart”, it helps to reduce waste and demand for the production of even more new products (extra points if you use materials that are recycled or reused), the list goes on and on. But moving right along…

Today’s handmade project is…

ESSENTIAL OIL BLENDS!

You need:

-A container (I’m using old tincture bottles you could use little plastic squeeze bottles or bottles from used-up oils)

-Several essential oils (even if you have just 5 different scents, you can create many different blends)

-A carrier oil. Almond, avocado, grape seed or sunflower oils are great. If you’re in a pinch you could use sesame, pumpkin seed or even olive oil (preferably in a blend with others as these are strong and heavy oils)

-A  ribbon to tie around it (or anything else you might want to use as a decoration)

- A pretty piece of paper to write an explanation about your gift.

And now you can start!

Step 1: Fill the container with the carrier oil, about 3/4 full.

Step 2: Choose a nice blend of scents for the person. You can look on the internet for suggestions about which oils go well together. Each essential oil has certain properties so make it personal, does the person you are making this for need to de-stress? Do they need to be energized? If they have insomnia make them a relaxing blend with chamomile and lavender.

Step 3: Add a few drops of each oil you choose, be careful with the proportions. Some oils are way stronger than others like eucalyptus and mint so you will only need a couple of drops of those, you don’t want to overpower the other scents.

Step 4: Once you have a wonderful smelling blend make sure the bottle is well sealed. Then write up a nice description of your gift. Name the scent, list all of the oils inside, write suggestions for how they can use it- massage, burn in diffuser, add to bath, wear as fragrance, add to water in a spray bottle and spritz it in the air, ect. Write the properties of the blend (calming, clearing, energizing…) I also like to write something personal, for example I have a friend that always works double shifts so I wrote on hers “can be used to clear mind and relax body in between shifts”.

Step 5: Wrap it up and gift it. Woohoo!

I made two different blends, one was called “Invigorate!” which was lemongrass, spearmint and eucalyptus (this is my favorite, I highly recommend trying it out) the other was “Refresh!” which was a very sweet and floral scent containing champa flower oil (called champaka), geranium, sweet birch and vanilla. Mmm…

These were very well received, my friends absolutely adored them and I’m sure yours will too. (Otherwise you need to get yourself some new friends, man!)

Have fun! Check back in a bit, there are a lot more handmade gift ideas to come.

Tags: Birthday Present, Crafts, DIY, Essential Oil, Fall Projects, Fun, Handmade Gifts

So Intense…

On the way back from montreal.

A good friend and I recently spent a weekend in Montreal and each day we were there we saw at least one rainbow. Like the famous Double Rainbow Guy, I found myself asking “WHAT DOES IT MEAAAN?”

On Rue St.Denis

The thing is, it is actually an extremely common occurrence for me. Almost every time I take a road trip somewhere- be it New York, Montreal, Kingston, Toronto or perhaps a little too obviously, Niagara Falls- I tend to encounter at least one rainbow.

Over Chateau Laurier (doesn't this look kind of like the Walt Disney logo?)

So, I have decided to start documenting them. Taking pictures and writing the places that I see them. I think it is quite auspicious and it occurs far too frequently to be just coincidental and devoid of any sort of cosmic significance. Double Rainbow Guy, you have some competition…

Tags: Double Rainbow Guy, Montreal, Ontario, Quebec, Rainbow, Signs from the Universe

Jian, Jian, where have you gone?

I cherish the weekdays that I do not have to work early in the morning. I usually take my time getting up, then I will go for a run, swim or bike ride if I’m feeling ambitious. If I’m feeling not-so-ambitious I will do “yoga” which usually consists of doing one or two sun salutations and then spending way too long in ‘savasana’ (the corpse pose- essentially laying on your back and sleeping). After this, I will make myself a nice big breakfast and tune into CBC radio. Ahh… intelligent, commercial-free, actually interesting radio. Yay CBC!

But wait… that’s not the usual opening music for ‘Q’! And hey, who is that guy talking? Where is the mellow yet enthusiastic voice of Jian Ghomeshi? This breakfast has become significantly less enjoyable in a matter of seconds!

Well, apparently for the remainder of the season on ‘Q the Summer’ they will have someone sitting in for Jian each day. I find this disappointing! Not because the sit-in hosts are inferior- in fact, I happen to love listening to Terry O’ Reilly. Maybe I am just too reliant on the status quo and I need to be more open to  some change in my little routine. Or maybe I have been spoiled by this exceptional radio host who talks to you, not at you- in a down to earth and poised way. I think it is probably the latter.

I do believe that everyone is entitled to a summer vacation, and I really hope that Mr. Ghomeshi is enjoying his to the fullest.

I just want you to know that you are missed Jian! You are a cut above the rest and I look forward to your return.

Tags: 91.5 FM, CBC, Jian Ghomeshi, Q, Q The Summer, Radio

DIY High!

The other day I was installing my new cordless phone; I definitely set it up properly yet there was no dial tone. I soon discovered that the problem was the actual phone jack itself- it was broken! I was dreading calling my landlord because I knew from experience that my request would be met with a long sigh and an empty promise to come “sometime in the next couple of weeks.” The thing is, I have come to depend on this little box of wires. I really need my phone and I really need an internet connection, I would be completely lost without them and I didn’t want to wait even a couple of days to get them back. I’m sure you understand.

So, I grabbed a screwdriver, pried of off the top and had a look in there. Well, it turned out it was really easy to figure out the problem! All of the wires are color coded and about half of them were not touching the metal, therefore not making a complete circuit. So I grabbed my pliers, stripped a good inch off of the wires and made sure they were connected properly. I plugged in my phone once more and lo and behold: A DIAL TONE! I clicked the top back on to the phone jack with a big smile and a sense of satisfaction. “I’m awesome” I said out loud.

I realize that for some people this is not all that exciting, for some, fixing stuff is second nature. But it rarely occurs to me when something is broken to just try to fix it. I usually just assume it’s beyond my comprehension and capacity. This experience has given me a whole new attitude, I feel so competent, so empowered! I avoided the wait, the conversation with the landlord and potentially saved some money as well.

I guess just going ‘renegade DIY’ and poking around in electrical wires and such could be dangerous, but hey, I used my common sense and I’m still alive. It’s a risk I’m willing to take for the DIY HIGH!

Tags: DIY, Do It Yourself, We Can Do It