STOMPING ON EGGSHELLS

I DISAPPEARED

2010-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

DEAR BLOG,

2010-09-19T03:55:00.000-07:00

Hi. It's four o'clock in the morning.
My mind just wandered off a cliff.

Love,
Terri

R.I.P. RICH CRONIN

2010-09-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

FAREWELL, SUMMER.

2010-09-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend left Vancouver three weeks ago and has been living in a hostel on the East Coast. He calls me (almost) every night, and together we count down the days until I move all my shit over there, too. He found us a sweet apartment that's ready for us in October, and we are absolutely over the moon about this place. Over the telephone, we've discussed colour palettes for each room. His background is in art, and mine is in design, but one of us definitely paid zero attention in our colour theories course. It's pretty hilarious.

I'm really excited to explore a different city and make it my new home. Up until two months ago, I was running the same hamster wheel for five years. Since the end of high school, I've worked part-time and full-time jobs while having my slice of a college education. I never had endless days off to do whatever the fuck I wanted. Not until this summer, at least. And it has been both a blessing and a curse since I left my job. Being unemployed has afforded me the freedom to make up my day as it comes, and instead of saying no to social invitations that would normally conflict with work scheduling, I can now say yes. However, unemployment has transformed me into a complete sloth. Beach bum? Right here. I haven't touched any of the creative projects I had set out to accomplish.

Anyway, my point was, I'm stoked about parking my ass over by the Atlantic and trying new things. And strangely, I look forward to the bone-chilling winters. Shaun started school this week, enrolled in a fancy-pants sculpture program, and he's super optimistic about it. He tells me I will love it there. I'll have a new job and hopefully some classes to look forward to in the spring time, plus some lobsters to eat in between. OH. HECK. YES.

LET ME BRIEFLY UPDATE YOU...

2010-09-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Terri: Look at me. I'm double-fisting Coke Zero on a Wednesday night.
Janet: Um, and those are half cans.
Terri: That's what I mean. I'm badass.

10 YEARS OF LOVIN'

2010-08-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

WELL, THIS IS CUTE.

2010-08-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

ROUNDHOUSE LASER RADIOHEAD

2010-08-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

I caught the last showing of Roundhouse Laser Radiohead tonight at the (H.R. MacMillan) Planetarium. The Radiohead show made a return by request back in July and had a good run, with tonight being the last show for now. Meanwhile, Laser AC/DC and Laser Dark Side of The Moon are still showing into the fall, and Laser Gorillaz opens August 20.

Roundhouse Productions has been producing, presenting, and promoting Laser & Light shows since 1978. Shaun's good friend, Orion, usually runs a show one or two nights each weekend. Ori's dad actually owns the company, and now Ori is mastering the craft of laser light design and blowing minds. He's got one of the coolest jobs ever, and he's really good at it, too. Tonight, Ori was in charge and kindly got us VIP passes, but if you're planning on seeing any of the shows, admission is usually $10.75 plus tax, I think. Totally worth it.

TOFINO & CAMPING & THE MCCORDS!

2010-08-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I got home late last night after going for a mid-week camping trip with the McCords and their dog, Jigsaw. We left Vancouver just after 4am, took a ferry to Nanaimo, made a quick stop for breakfast in Port Alberni, then drove up to Sproat Lake to find a spot to camp. After we set up our tents, we drove the remaining hour and a bit to Combers Beach where we spent the afternoon frolicking around. By 5 o'clock we were starving again, so we sought out the best burrito stand we could find in Tofino, and damn, it was GOOD. Filled up on food, drove back to Sproat Lake, and basically tucked ourselves in and fell asleep by 9pm. Next day, we hit up Incinerator Rock for some swimming, then grabbed a patio lunch at Shelter in Tofino, checked out an art gallery, then basically hit the road again for the 4-hour drive back to Nanaimo. Holy moly, it was a good time.

Sam & Jigsaw at Combers Beach just before noon. Loved the fog.

Shaun started a beach installation with a log and some kelp.

Shaun & Sam at the beach.

Sam skimboarding.

Bright and early the next morning, still wiped out..

Incinerator Rock on a freezing cold morning.

Shaun's best attempt at beach modeling.

Facing the chilly waters head on with his Baywatch shorts on.

The brothers discussing the art in the gallery.

Jigsaw & me hanging out in the backseat.

Sam riding shotgun.

FRIDAY AT ANGIE'S

2010-08-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Angie rounded up the troops for Return of The Jedi on Friday. Peter, Treherne, and I arrived at Angie's sweet pad in Kitsilano as she was firing up the barbeque. We had steak, kebabs, hot dogs, wings, zucchinis and yam fries, plus freshly baked chocolate chip cookies thanks to the hostess. I love these geeks.

Angie made sure we didn't miss her apartment building. She decorated the entire place with Star Wars posters.

Peter got a hold of the Wayne's World cap.

Treherne borrowed the cap, too. Angie has the best closet, ever.

BAD MUSIC FOR GOOD TIMES

2010-08-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

I was walking home late last night/early morning with Shaun after needing to leave the house because it was far too stuffy. We got bubble tea after not being able to meet up with his friend, and it was on our way home, the long walk, that we discussed the importance of bad music. We were sort of making jabs at my friend Andrew from high school. Andrew is a gifted musician and writer, but has awful taste in music sometimes. I remember this one time during college, I got into an argument with somebody and needed a ride home, so I had phoned Andrew for a lift. He arrived right away and I got into the car, but I was immediately set into further depression because of what I had to listen to. He had David Usher's "Love Will Save The Day" playing on loop for the entire car ride. For some stupid reason, Andrew thought that this gesture would make me feel better, but my mood did not improve, especially when he refused to cut the music and started to sing along. So, the next half hour of that ride home felt like hell to me.

But now, looking back on that, I laugh. Sometimes love does save the day, and it's a friend who will point this out to you, even if it's via cheesy pop ballads.

DEEP COVE & CANOE

2010-08-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, Shaun and I went up to Deep Cove in North Vancouver where we rented a canoe for the day. We had no destination in mind, but spent the whole afternoon paddling upwards towards Alder Creek by the Twin Islands. It was really quiet out on the water except for the occassional speedboat passing by. At some point, we spotted a seal next to our boat and it sort of followed us for an hour, but we lost sight of it later in the day. We headed back to Deep Cove around 6pm after a long day of paddling and sunshine, and immediately went on a hunt for burgers, which we found back in town. It was a long, but satisfying day.

My upper body felt stiffer than wood the next morning.

HAPPY PRIDE! (I KNOW I'M LATE)

2010-08-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening I stayed up in bed until 2am eagerly waiting for morning to come so I could rise and head out to see Vancouver's annual Pride Parade. For the last 6 years, I was never able to give up or swap my work shift to check out Pride, but my job no longer prevents me from celebrating alongside the LGBT community because I'm unemployed! By 9:30am Sunday I was wide awake, showered , dressed and ready to go! Along with Iain and his girlfriend Janet, we went to meet Angie downtown for some breakfast at Joe's before heading towards the parade route. On the way down, Shaun met up with us and we found a really good spot along Pacific at Broughton Street, just two blocks away from the end of the parade. We managed to catch all of the two and a half hours of floats, bikers, marchers, and dancers in every colour of the rainbow. I loved every single moment of it, and wished I'd seen the parade years before.

After the parade, we all sort of parted ways, but Shaun and I headed down to English Bay to meet with his friend Steven. Steven and a group of his friends had been celebrating since the beginning of the weekend and some of them were decked out in leather and costume. At some point, I turned to Shaun and declared, "Pride is like Christmas, only way better!" I think it's true. Everyone was in a proper good mood and nobody cared what anybody looked like. Everyone looked fabulous. Hugs and kisses were exchanged between strangers, and everyone was all smiles and being considerate and shit. I really had a fun time.

P.S. Funny story: At some point during the parade, the RCMP officers marched by and a guy from a group of young gay men standing behind me said excitedly, "Oooh, I really want to do something baaad right now!" His friend turned to him, nodded at me, and said, "Well, there's a straight girl standing right here."

His reply? "Um, no. That's just too naughty."

I spy Mayor Gregor Robertson.

Iain and Angie! Iain's brother Duncan was in the parade.

My friends Tatyana and Leighton ended up being in the same group (CampOUT!) for the parade. Taty is in the denim skirt, black vest and pink shirt; Leighton looks like a boyscout with a green neckerchief.

It's true.

The most badass drag queen on a bike.

Yeah!
The CTV float.

Dykes on bikes.

Glamorous and pretty.

Lots of drumming and music throughout the parade.

Steven at the festival down on English Bay.

Steven and Mark. Mark is Batwoman and he looks great in tights.

I think his name is Omar (he's a friend of a friend of Steven's), and he's a really cool guy. He listens to City & Colour and works as a hospital security guard in Calgary.

MY COUSIN IS CUTER THAN YOURS

2010-07-31T00:49:00.000-07:00

My aunt's dog Oscar is a soccer superstar, FYI.

GIRLS LOVE GELATO

2010-07-30T03:25:00.000-07:00

My friend Rob mentioned that the way to a girl's heart is through gelato. More specifically, he swears that the way to her heart is through La Casa Gelato on Venables by Strathcona Park. Last night, Steph and Alisa brought me there for my first time. It was immediate sensory overload once I stepped inside. 218 flavors to choose from, and about as many people to fight through. I went to pre-pay for my single scoop waffle cone, then perused my options. Eventually I saw a girl in front of me choose pina colada and decided I'd follow suit because it seemed like a good idea. I handed the guy behind the counter my token for a single scoop, but he snuck a half-assed second scoop to my cone, which I thought was really awesome.

I think what attracts people to La Casa Gelato is not only the vast variety of flavors, but the actual flavors available. Spicy mango? Wasabi? Curry? Avocado? I lacked the courage to sample these unlikely gelato flavors, and it was also extremely crowded that evening, but I do hope that someday I will try something that's out of my taste bud's comfort zone.

Waffle cones from wall to wall.

Just a small sample of their gelato.

Steph and Alisa believe that sharing is caring.

Leaving on a happy note.

BUT NOT ALL WEDDINGS ARE TACKY

2010-07-29T14:55:00.001-07:00

I dislike weddings. I could go on a full rant about all the things I hate about weddings and why some marriages are doomed from the start, but I won't. Why? Because this video thawed my cold heart just a little bit. Awww.

I ♥ KINGSLEY

2010-07-27T01:15:00.000-07:00

I SWORE I'D NEVER SCRATCH

2010-07-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

It was another lethargic afternoon spent hunched over my computer, tapping at the keyboard. I'm searching for something, but I'm not sure what yet. The sun poured generously through the half-opened blinds as I typed heavily into the day. Sick of my own tales, I eventually retreated to the chair and picked up a book. I prepared a steaming hot cup of orange pekoe for myself, which cooled quickly when set in front of the fan. I read for maybe two hours before I had to tend to the 13 fresh mosquito bites I acquired over the course of last night. No amount of Cortate can relieve the pain or itchiness of these swollen red dots. I feel like my body will have to wear these ugly blemishes for the rest of the summer if I keep scratching like I have been.

Anyway, sometimes an idea will rise from an afternoon spent looking through old notes, old photographs. In my mind when I read the letters, I hear the voice of the sender reading the words back to me, sort of like that awkward voice-over in movies that happens when a character holds up a letter and pretends to read it. I really like sending and receiving mail that requires a postage stamp. Months ago, I vowed to write more letters and send them to my friends living in or visiting different area codes. So far, I've received more postcards than I have sent, which doesn't make me feel too good about myself.

Sorting through old photographs is another reminder that I have not captured as many moments as I had hoped to for the summer. Actually, I had planned on pursuing bigger projects with my camera early this year, but I think something deflated that desire as the months passed quickly and now I'm sitting at the edge of July wondering where the hell my time escaped to. I like sifting through shoeboxes and looking at the photos of my friends and me from when we were still in high school, barely 15, arms linked and faces frozen in frame of us yelling joyously at the deep blue skies. That sort of innocence is now slightly out of reach, but it's comforting to revisit the photos and know that at some point I really did not give a shit.

How my stomach behaves when I am excited or anxious still confuses me. I think every time I dip into a nostalgic state, I am somehow punishing myself because I never feel like I am pleased with my current state of being. This, of course, is stupid but every time I see to the past I see all the things I missed and all the things I could've changed. It's like those choose-your-own-adventure novels; you immediately regret choosing the adventure you turned to and you've already let your finger slide from the previous page. It's foolish to dwell on small details, I know, and I've made the effort to move past regret, but tiny moments will pass you by at random in life and the sharp reminder and what ifs start up all over again.

The other night while riding the train home after a long day, I was overcome by a sudden wave of sadness. It might've been as silly as a few words read from a passing advertisement that triggered something familiar and far away, but it caused me to cry later when I got home. One tiny moment snowballs into a mass of questions, and the next thing I know is I'm dry-heaving next to the toilet. Not exactly pretty. So who knows where these thoughts come from. All I know is, my stomach starts beating itself up real good and I'm gulping down the guilt I feel for acting like such a fool.

This afternoon between aimlessly clicking around the Internet and reading my book and drinking my tea, I made a deal with myself to quit being such a fucking pansy and to just embrace the past for all it's worth because if I keep doubting the things I choose in life I'm going to have a lot more to cry about when I'm 50, which is not what I have planned. Because, seriously, the only thing I have to cry about right now is the 13 mosquito bites growing bigger all over my body. I'm scratching, but the oil from the hydrocortisone ointment is collecting under my nails and making a huge hot mess across my skin. FML?

SWIMMING WITH YOUR CLOTHES ON

2010-07-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

This just in: Shaun might be crazy. Pictured above is a snapshot of him swimming back to land, fully clothed. Last night before the sun set, we packed his bag full of rocks and towels then headed out to sea. There, Shaun put on a wool sweater and rain coat (in July!) before descending into the waters for a swim. All for art's sake. We'll probably wrap up the project sometime in September, so stay tuned for the final piece.

OH, SHIT! ANOTHA BBQ!

2010-07-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY, ANOTHER BBQ.

2010-07-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

Friday night Shaun and I headed over to the old house to celebrate Talarico's big birthday. Jake started up the barbeque when we arrived (shortly after 10) and cooked the burgers in the dark. Just as he finished cooking up the whole box of patties, more people showed up and we all demolished the food. We played some records, pulled up some lawn chairs and had some beers before calling it a night.

Backyard BBQ and Mario Kart (Super Nintendo!) in the garage.

Jake and Alyssa.

LEMON LOAF, BEACH, FIREWORKS.

2010-07-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

I baked a lemon-blueberry yogurt loaf for the beach on Wednesday. Shaun had declared a picnic and assigned himself dinner duties, which was why I ended up with dessert. He prepared delicious chicken caesar wraps, and brought along apples and beers. When we got to the beach, we laid down a blanket, had our dinner, then waited for the fireworks to start at 10. We hadn't planned the picnic around the Celebration of Light, but it was pretty convenient when we learned it was happening on the same night.

My lemon-blueberry yogurt loaf, thanks to Smitten.

Smiley faces on the log we were resting against.

Sunset over the beach.

Shaun took over the camera.

The fireworks wrapping up.

THE LION KING

2010-07-22T02:55:00.000-07:00

Three months ago, Aliya and I agreed to see The Lion King musical together at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Three months finally passed and on Tuesday we got to see Simba, Nala, Zasu, Timon, Pumba and all our favorite animals together on stage! I was 7 years old when the Disney movie first came out, and Aliya was something like 10 or 11 years old, but we both have the same memories of dancing and singing along to the music. It was a great show and I'm so glad I was able to see it.

Aliya was glad I dressed like a lady for the night. I just need to work on being a bit more lady-like when I'm seated in a chair for 3 hours.

Aliya and Yuka! Blurry photo, I know, but Yuka is cute.

THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN!

2010-07-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

The ultra cute, super cool Stephanie Ip purchased tickets to see Thao with The Get Down Stay Down at the Biltmore Cabaret a month ago as a birthday present to me. The show was on Monday night, and I've been trying to upload a video I have of them performing "Violet", but I am currently having issues with that. So, photos for now. Anyway, Steph and I both have a harsh girl crush on Thao Nguyen. Thao is everything I wanted to be, a rockstar. Oh, man. And we were literally standing a foot from her at the edge of the stage.

Did I mention Steph is cute? So, we had to get some food before the show because A) Steph was hungry and B) I felt it was necessary for me to eat and get hydrated before the show in case I fainted again. You know, in case fainting is some new tradition I'm starting for myself. But I didn't faint this time, FYI.

Prairie Cat opened the show! Good-spirited music. Some douchebag and his high maintainance girlfriend ended up blocking my view for the rest of their set, but everything sounded just fine.

Thao Nguyen! She is gorgeous and I wish I had a pocket-sized version of her I could carry around with me.

Thao Nguyen and Willis Thompson on drums.

They played two more songs for the encore, then packed it up for the night.

♥

STAR WARS PARTY!

2010-07-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

A month ago, I introduced my friends Angie and Peter to each other over dinner, and the two found a few things they shared in common. One thing they are both passionately head-over-heels for is Star Wars. I had to spend the remainder of that dinner listening to them quote lines from the movies. When they learned that I hadn't seen any of the episodes, they decided to make it their responsibility to take my Star Wars virginity. And so they did.

We assembled at my place to watch episodes 4, 5, and 6. When my friend Sean found out the morning of, he phoned to say he wanted in on this geek fest. Then my sister sat in on it, and Iain joined us halfway through. Sure enough, it soon became a full on Star Wars pizza party. Angie brought her light saber and Peter brought along a limited edition Darth Vader drinking cup. Nerdy to the max, and I sort of loved it.

LAZY SUMMER GARDEN

2010-07-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hung out with Shaun's old roommates in their backyard the other day while Shaun worked on a painting he started 2 months ago. I think the canvas measures approximately 48"x96" - so it's pretty big. It's up for sale as soon as he's finished painting and I'll post pictures when it's done.

Jake and Sean had converted their garage into a lounge/tv room, so we ordered pizzas and watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo later that evening. Watching a movie in the garage is seriously the best of both worlds. With the doors flung wide open, there's no guilt in parking your butt in front of the tv on a beautiful summer night. Have your cake and eat it too.

OUTDOOR MOVIE: THE GOONIES!

2010-07-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

I went to check out the outdoor movie night at Ceperley Fields in Stanley Park last night with my coworker-turned-friend Aliya. Apparently over 1,300 people had the exact same idea. The Goonies was playing - a classic. With blankets and juice and zebra cakes packed, Aliya and I made it there around 8:30 and secured a spot before another wave of people showed up and took over the rest of the jam-packed fields. We waited for the sun to set before the movie began at around 10pm. At some point I turned to Aliya and told her I really wanted pizza. Like, I really wanted some pizza. Ten minutes later, my phone goes off and it was Shaun calling. He wanted to take a break from his painting and join us for the movie. He also mentioned that he had a box of pizza. So I said, "Fuck yeah! We got a spot here on this blanket with your name on it!" Oh, man. I was so happy to see pizza. And Shaun, too.

I really like Stanley Park in the night time. It's sort of romantic. It's sort of fantastic. Good vibes and good times. I think we're going back in a few weeks for the next movie, which should be The Karate Kid (1984). We'll be prepared with a picnic and a few more blankets next time.

SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD

2010-07-14T01:01:00.000-07:00

I found a Bat For Lashes mix CD in one of the drawers at work a few weeks ago, and I haven't really been able to stop listening to her. I discovered or re-discovered a lot of really good sounds since Charles took over my job. I'm just sad I had such a short time working with him because this guy has some decent taste in music.

JOBLESS. LOVING IT.

2010-07-13T23:56:00.000-07:00

I highly enjoyed day four of my unemployment. I woke up just before 2pm and realized I was to be meeting Alisa in an hour at Granville Island. I had to quickly fire off a text to bump our gelato date to 4, which worked out really well, except that my boyfriend left his keys at my place and I had to back track home to fetch it for him. This caused me to miss two buses, and I was an extra 20 minutes late. I feel like my not having a job has really shaved off my sense of time and responsibility. Probably just a phase.

So, yeah. The weather was glorious. I was a little skeptical of the wind earlier in the day, but by late afternoon the sun was out in full force. We grabbed our gelato from the place behind the market in Granville Island and parked our lazy asses on a bench in front of the busker du jour. He was a younger fellow with a lot of "inspirational" words and who played the guitar decently. I didn't mind him so much, but Alisa snorted everytime he said something remotely motivational, which was often.

Busker: "This song is for all those who believe in something..."
(Alisa scoffs.)
Busker: "...And for those who believe in nothing, too!"
Terri: "Oh, this one's for you, too, Alisa!"

We perused the market afterwards and checked out the fresh produce. I always feel compelled to cook something after setting foot in there. She pointed out the yellow zucchinis she picked up the day before, and now I want to roast some yellow zucchinis for myself. I want to squeeze in more barbeques this month, along with more gelato dates.

After gelato, which by the way was my first meal of the day, I made my way down to The Grind to meet with a very old friend of mine. Dallas and I went to the same elementary school, and were good friends for the first half of high school before we ended up being transferred to different schools and ultimately lost touch as our phone conversations and e-mails grew thinner over the years. The last time we hung out was probably when we were 15, and I briefly ran into him at a bus stop 4 years ago, but that was about all the interaction we had in the last 8 years.

Our worlds collided for the first time in all these years via Internet last week, so we made plans to catch up over coffee. So, at 6pm sharp, I was seated outside The Grind waiting, sipping on some iced tea when a guy walked by, stopped, did a double-take and (in an almost unbelieving voice) asked, "Terri? Terri, is that you?" Apparently 8 years can really do something to one's appearance as I barely recognized him myself. We look like grown-ups now! We ended up heading a few stores down to The Reef for some Caribbean food and spent 2 hours reminiscing and swapping stories.

Dallas has grown to be the upstanding adult I always knew he'd be. He graduated with a double major plus a minor and has been traveling the world, conquering one continent after another between schooling and working. I remember he'd make extreme goals for himself back in grade 8, and I'm so glad he stayed true to the things he wanted. It's a bit of a shove for me to maybe begin considering some of the plans I had drawn up for myself years ago. It's worth a shot, at least. We parted after dinner and made a promise not to let too many more years pass by before we see each other again. I think it's cool that we turned out alright and still have things to talk about after all this time.

I may have had a late start to the day, but it was pretty fulfilling nonetheless. I wish summertime could be a year-round thing. I swear, if this could happen, I will never complain again.

GREEK OUT 2010!

2010-07-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

Our second annual Greek Out at Anna and Sean's place was a success. Spanakopitas - spinach, mushrooms & blue cheese, onions & feta - were made with a little tender loving care by Anna, Sarah and me. Shaun provided appies, and Sean got us tequila! Margaritas and a few rounds of shots were had, and soon enough we were breaking chairs and having a rowdy good time aboard their balcony. I'm grateful for the fantastic summer weather we've been having lately. Our night stretched out like the sunlight, and we took our party down the way to another gathering shortly before midnight. I was pretty glad to see Anna's couch by 3am and got the much needed sleep I deserved. Next up: Ukrainian night! Perogies galore! Can't wait!

GOOD MORNING

2010-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

My sleep was interupted this morning at 10am sharp by a phone call from my friend Rob. He was waiting outside with a bag in hand, and inside that bag was a homemade cheesecake, complete with strawberry sauce and chocolate syrup. "Here, I brought you some breakfast." Rob has just promoted himself to being my new best friend. The cheesecake he made was fucking delicious, and now I have some fresh blueberries to garnish it with for later. My weekend is looking good.

LAST DAY OF WORK

2010-07-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

I was greeted with a cake on my last day of work. A card signed by coworkers with a gift card enclosed was given to me as I shared my cake with a small gathering of people in the lunchroom. Three and a half years with a company is a long enough time, and I'm happy to be closing this chapter, but also sad to have to leave such an amazing team of fellow employees. Even with all the constant bitching and complaining, I have to admit that even the worst of times can be looked back on fondly now.

No regrets. It's pretty much forward from here. Or, as Scott delicately wrote in my card: "Don't you dare set foot in this place again. Learn from my mistake! Run, run, RUN! Always remember, the same wind never blows through the same place twice." Point taken.

The cake Karen picked out for me.

Charles and the chili cook-off spread.

Emptied my locker: 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts, shoes, makeup, miscellaneous papers and parcels.

Farewell, job!

YARRR.

2010-07-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

In the faintly lit bedroom, slumped in my swivel chair, I'm struggling to shape the backlog of words I've been hoarding for the past year into coherent thoughts. The sweet and salty smells of a warm July often come with dizzying nostalgia. The memories of years before keep my mind occupied as I sift through the fragments of the good, the bad, and the fucking awesome. Some old feelings begin to brew within, usually followed by a sigh or a head shake. I'm scribbling in margins, on post-its, all the tiny details that defined the more significant moments of my past, secretly hoping that by revisting these moments I will be able to predict the next pattern of events in my life. Meanwhile, the walls of my room have trapped the delayed summer heat and is cooking my brains from the inside out like an inverter microwave oven.

DOWN BY THE BAY

2010-07-06T00:43:00.000-07:00

Went for a stroll along English Bay a few nights ago and came across this sculpture. It was lit up from the inside, the lights in the ground. Naturally, I gravitated towards it, and stood under the dome for awhile gawking. I still don't know how I feel about it. It's odd. It's not beautiful or anything. It's just a piece that can be appreciated up close, I guess. Also, I find it amusing how it looks like Shaun's head was photoshopped into the last picture.

IT WAS A KNOCK-OUT

2010-07-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that Lakefield actually sounds better live! So, if you liked their album, great. But you'll love the band so much more if you actually attend one of their shows. No bias here, I swear.

Their album release show on Sunday night was killer. It was such a good time that it knocked me out. Literally. Okay, that was my friend Sean's joke. I fainted towards the end of the show. I was having a good time, bopping along to the music when I started seeing black spots in front of me. Next thing I knew, Sean was shouting my name into my face and shaking me by the shoulders. I had collapsed on the floor. I had to be carried outside and propped up on a bench like a rag doll. Definitely not my smoothest exit.

Before that night, I had never fainted. It felt like I was waking up from a really deep sleep, and I had no clue where I was. The worst part being that it felt like a lot of time passed while I was out, but according to my boyfriend, everything happened in a matter of seconds. Not cool. The bruise I found on my leg this morning is even less cool.

I'm going to blame it on iron deficiency or lack of food or lack of oxygen in the studio. Whatever it was, it sucked. But the highlight of the night post-fainting was pizza. Oh man, did I ever need pizza. So, a good night turned bad, then turned good again. Thank god for Freshslice.

IT'S A LAKEFIELD PARTY

2010-07-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

HEY! Celebrate the 4th of July (yankee or no yankee) with Lakefield, The Donkeys & Citizen Hands this Sunday at Little Mountain Studios. It's Lakefield's album release party (again!) sans mono! This means they'll actually play a full set this time, complete with all members of the band. Download/listen to their new album "Sounds From The Treeline" here: http://lakefieldmusic.com/.

Yes, I know I'm shamelessly plugging this band because Bryan is dating my friend Anna, and Bryan makes up a fifth of Lakefield. But honestly, the music is easy on the ears and they are a really cute quintet. So, party on.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!

2010-07-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Canada celebrates 143 years! I celebrated at work with time and a half! I love working stat holidays. I do, I do.

I did some baking after work tonight. I made another batch of blondies with pecans and chocolate chips added to the mix. It is my favorite thing to bake right now, simply because it only requires one bowl and very little time. This is a very good thing for someone as kitchen illiterate as I am.

Currently, I'm sort of in lust with Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, thanks to my pal, Stephanie. I would like to point out that she was affectionately referred to as "our friend Axeguitar" by The Peak 100.5 FM during their traffic report yesterday. That's right. She's just that awesome, even local radio stations adore her. Anyway, I've been re-listening to their two most recent albums, something Steph gifted me with for my birthday. She is also taking me to their show at the Biltmore later this month. Steph, I love you.

IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY LAST WEEK.

2010-06-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the most anticipated birthday year of all time - my champagne birthday! Champagne and Bruce Lee movies were had on the actual day of my birthday, but I got together with friends and coworkers on Friday at Subeez Café. Celebrated with over 20 lovely faces by the end of the night, which ended at the Railway Club for the reggae-soul summer kickoff party featuring Giraffe Aftermath, The Valuables (Haig's band), and Phat Edna's Soul Review. The night was a perfect 10.

Got through my pitcher of sangria with a bit of help.

Shaun and Adam.

Anna and Alisa finally met! They have street names and baking in common.

Double-fisting my liquor and water by the end of dinner.

The cuties, Bryan and Anna.

Angie and Sean at the Railway Club.

Anna and me.

Kaela and Amanda.

Angie fighting someone? And Iain observing.

IRON MAIDEN: FINAL FRONTIER TOUR '10.

2010-06-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Iron Maiden's Final Frontier North American Tour made its first Canadian stop in Vancouver on Thursday with a sold out show. GM Place was filled to the rim with die-hard metalheads. Surprisingly, when Bruce Dickinson asked if it was anyone's first time at an Iron Maiden concert, nearly 70% of the crowd responded yes. Although, looking around, a good portion of the crowd was in the 16-25 age range. I like that Bruce embraced their new generation of fans, further proving that their music is timeless.

This was not my first show. I went to see them play another sold out show 2 years ago at the Pacific Coliseum for their Somewhere Back In Time tour, which was totally kickass. What I love about Iron Maiden is their ability to draw so much energy from the crowd. Good-spirited, albeit aggressive, energy. It was completely testosterone packed both times I went to see them, even though it was definitely a more mature crowd 2 years ago. This year, there was no shortage of spontaneous chanting before, during, and after the show. You could hear "Maiden! Maiden! Maiden!" being echoed down the corridors of GM Place, the sound magnifying as men marched from the arena to the merch tables.

From my lower bowl seat, I was surrounded by tall men of all ages throwing their horns up in the air, banging their heads along to every song. And this wasn't even for Iron Maiden. Dream Theatre opened up the show and got everyone psyched for the rest of the night. Mike Portnoy is a motherfucking beast on the drums. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Shit, best drummer EVER, hands down. They played a very packed, energetic set before a half hour intermission allowed for the elaborate stage-set up for Iron Maiden. It was a good opportunity to hit up the merch table to grab some t-shirts, take a quick pee break, and mingle with other fans.

When Iron Maiden finally took to the stage, everyone got up and leaned in. I can't even say for sure what my favorite part of the whole thing was, but I was definitely most pleased with the Ronnie James Dio tribute. They dedidcated "Blood Brothers" to the late Dio (who passed away last month) and commanded everyone to raise their horns in unison - it was a sea of devil horns and Bic lighters in the darkened arena. It was a really beautiful tribute. I looked over, and several of the men around me were delicately dabbing at their eyes. Silent tears rolled down hardened cheeks, but no shame or judgement was ever passed. The godfather of metal had left his mark and broke some hearts when he departed. Donations are still accepted by the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund in case anyone was interested.

The vibe was unmatchable. There is something so sacred about going to a metal concert and being in the presence of so much great energy. A metal crowd is like a brotherhood. I was so happy to see groups of long-haired teenage boys going to the show (likely their first time), dressed up in their vintage Maiden shirts (no doubt handed down by an older relative or scooped up at a second-hand shop), tattered jeans, and chucks. It's so great, because you just know that at the end of the night, those boys will leave as men.

Anyway, I have full footage of "The Number of The Beast" being uploaded right now. I'll post that another time when it's done. The images above are screen caps taken from the clip. The concert was amazing.

LOVE MY DOCS.

2010-06-22T02:11:00.000-07:00

I should mention one of the major highlights of Seattle: Dr. Martens. There's currently only 3 retail locations in North America, but a fourth one is opening up in New York sometime in September. That's what the salesman told me.

Anyway, when I spotted the store, I pretty much attached my face to the window and left a good glob of drool on the sidewalk. The store was closed for the night, but I definitely returned the next day. I waltzed right in there, spotted the boots I'd been wanting for the past month, and excitedly announced to the salesman my shoe size. The boots I'm talking about are from the Worn collection, which is the iconic 1460 8 eye boots treated to look already broken into. The collection was introduced about a month ago, and I never dreamed of finding a pair in Vancouver (go figure), but I didn't think it would be so easy to get my hands on them in Seattle either. Lucky me. After quickly building a bit of rapport with the salesman, I got some advice on how to take care of my boots, and some stealth tips on how to treat my other pair of Docs at home to a worn-out marbled look.

I also wanted to scoop up a pair of sandals, but I was already behaving like a kid in a candy shop, so I let myself out the door after I made my purchase. This is my fourth pair of Docs now. I used to have a pair of mary janes in green and 3 eye shoes in black when I was much younger, and my last pair was 14 eye boots in cherry red. I wish I could be bold enough to try on some florals, but that will have to be another time, another year. But seriously, thank god for early birthday money. I couldn't have picked out a better gift for myself.

ALRIGHT, WE'RE HERE. LET'S DO THIS.

2010-06-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

Shaun and I made our way down to Seattle for the weekend. Our first stop was to City Hostel to check in and see our room. Each room at this hostel is painted by a local Seattle artist. Each floor has a couple of washrooms to share and a kitchen. Every morning in the basement kitchen, they serve free breakfast between 8am and 10am. The hostel also provides free access to the internet/computers, a library, mini theatre, board games, and outdoor patio. Um, and hello, hot tub! The vibe is really great; the staff is helpful and friendly. The building is located smack in between the market and Space Needle, so it is plenty convenient.

Our room was a minty green and pink and orange abode with a half sink and top floor view of 2nd Ave. The artist is Karl Faulkner, a digital animation artist. Pretty kickass, I must say.

After checking in, we got hungry and went to seek out the first Mexican eatery we could find. Lucky for us, across the street and down the block was Mama's Kitchen. It's a cute and colourful restaurant, with some very big dishes. The salsa was delish; I love me some cilantro in my dipping sauce. The patio was full, but the sunlight poured through the big windows and warmed up the decorated walls, anyway.

Friday was the only sunny day we had during our trip. I should've guessed, as Seattle is sort of notorious for their rain. On Saturday, Shaun developed an unforgiving cold that cut our day a little shorter. We managed to get around town a bit to hit up some stores and to do some window-shopping, but retired to our room before dinner time for a power nap and hot shower. Later in the night, we headed out again to find something to eat. We came across this really cute, cozy and affordable Italian hub in Pioneer Square called Caffe Bengodi. The food was amazing, and the service was tops. And the cheesecake was fantastic.

On Sunday, we were pressed for time, so we grabbed some lunch at Shilla - some good quality Japanese/Korean food. Then we made our long ass, ridiculous journey up to Capitol Hill's Lakeview Cemetery. (I say it was a long ass, ridiculous journey because it took us an hour to figure out how to get there because Google was uncooperative, and so were all the people we asked for directions.) Anyway, we made it there eventually and went on a hunt for Bruce Lee's grave. We knew the lot number, but it did us absolutely no good. When we finally did get to it, we definitely felt a huge sense of accomplishment since by then it had taken us over 2 hours to get to that moment. Pictured above is a photo of a photo of Shaun's old roommates Jake and Sean doing their Bruce Lee poses. We were out with them the night before we left Vancouver, and they insisted we get this photo of them next to the grave. Mission accomplished.

We also hit up SAM for the Kurt Cobain exhibit. I'd like to proudly say we saw the whole exhibit, plus Andy Warhol's bit, in less than 20 minutes. We absently thought the art museum would be open later than 5pm on Sunday, but we got there at 4:40 and had to rush through the entire thing. We got 'er done. Um, a lot of coffee/tea was also consumed between stops. The hostel was located across the street from a lounge/club that blasted their music from 9pm to 3am both nights we were there. The great thing about the club music? It was all the hip hop, R&B, and rap from the 90's and early 2000's. We got our fix of nostalgia with Biggie, Tupac, Puff Daddy (back when he was actually called Puff Daddy), Mase, DMX, Ashanti, Ja Rule, Mary J. Blige, Ludacris... yeah! "Hey, remember this song? I remember hearing it for the first time when I was 11!" So, yeah. Not a lot of sleep was had.

The great thing about Seattle is their people. I love people-watching, but more importantly, I love people-watching in Seattle. Never short of characters. We also got to talking to some of the petitioners and people who are trying to set up child sponsors. One guy - Eric, I think his name was - stopped to chat with Shaun and me for awhile before he remembered why he originally stopped us. We couldn't participate in his cause, but we did have a good conversation with him about other things, which was really rad. Another guy had stopped Shaun the day before, and when we explained that we couldn't legally vote in the US, he shrugged and went on to tell his life story. I think a lot of people like him are just bored of harassing people on the streets and just want somebody to talk to sometimes. That's cool.

What's not cool is when people follow me around and harass me for money. I was at the grocery store picking up some cold meds for Shaun on Saturday night when a homeless man came up to me in one of the aisles and asked me to help him make his 57 cents into a dollar. I told him I couldn't because I only had enough money for medication. Fine, he backed off. Then he asked me again when I turned the corner, so I explained to him that it wasn't my money to give to him and that I was there to buy a box of Theraflu for the person who gave me the money. He then followed me to the cashier and insisted I give him any change I got back. I think my patience pretty much ended there. I turned around, looked him dead in the eyes and in a raised voice firmly told him I was not obligated to give him a single penny, and that I was not about to repeat myself again to him. Yeah, not cool. He sort of cowered behind a rack of gum after that.

Shaun: You're a crazy bitch.
Terri: That doesn't upset me.
Shaun: Just let it sink in.

:D

Yeah, two thumbs up for the weekend.

MORE MORNING, LESS DAY.

2010-06-14T02:07:00.001-07:00

It's just past 2am on the clock. I have to be at work in a few hours and I haven't slept yet. Story of my life. I love the night time too much to be closing my eyes, even though sometimes the dreams are rewarding. I think sleep is difficult lately because it feels like I have butterflies permanently fluttering in my belly. I'm sort of freaking out for no reason other than I feel crazy sometimes when I think about all the shit I have to get sorted out before mid July. I've never been very graceful when making huge transitions. I never prep myself, I never study or do my research, and I sure as hell love to leave important errands to the last minute. And I always end up feeling overwhelmed. I can see my problem, yet, I never know how to deal with being me. The one important thing that I've learned about myself recently is that I must acknowledge what I want from myself before I can make up my mind about what I expect from other people. The worst part about all this is, everytime I go to explore my feelings I end up seeing how vulnerable I really am. I don't like it, but I'm gonna deal with it.

On a completely different note, my friend Peter is making a donation to the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund in my name as a birthday present to me. What a kickass gift that literally keeps on giving. I should keep a tally of all the cool things my friends do. But speaking of birthdays, mine is coming up in less than 2 weeks, which is really my cue to start panicking. Panic is my every year response to being older. I remember crying on my 20th. I returned home after an amazing day picnicking in the park with my friends, and went straight for the alcohol. Imagine me, cradling a bottle of vodka and sobbing in my room while watching Amélie with the lights turned off. Pathetic, yes. But it turned out to be a good summer in the end.

So, my 23rd birthday is supposedly going to mark the start of my best year. This is just something that I've always believed, even as a kid. The number 23 has always held a bit of significance over all other numbers simply because my birthday falls on the 23rd. And it is Michael Jordan's number, you know. So it's a big deal, okay? I just hope I'm not running my expectations too high, because I'm aware that I do that a lot. Disappointment and I are well acquainted. Like, I said I'd have a beach body by June, and we're already halfway through the month and I'm about the same sort of "soft" I was back in the winter time. I say "soft" because I like my shape; it just needs to be a little more refined, that's all.

And now I'm going off on different tangents. In a matter of minutes I'll be able to hear the birds singing outside, which will be a definite sign that I should be sleeping. I might try to beat the birds to their song today. Yeah, it's an idea.

IRONY IS A BIG FAN OF MINE

2010-06-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I finally got a pay raise at work! But guess what else! I already handed in my letter of resignation! Yeeeah. Talk about shitty timing. Oh well. New times await!

Currently, my neighbors are cheering loudly. More like, howling. I'm not sure what's going on. Well, I have an idea. Sporting events are just not my thing, so I've got my music blasting. The windows are sort of shaking. But I don't really care. I hope everyone on this block is as big a fan of NOSAJ THING as I am.

DINNER AND MUSIC

2010-06-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

MIDWEEK HOLIDAY

2010-06-08T03:21:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, I spent a night in Victoria just catching up with some of my favorite things. I got downtown at around 1pm and made a bee-line for QV Cafe & Bakery at the intersection of Fisgard and Government. If you're a fan of milkshakes and yam fries, this is the only place you need to know. I bring everyone there, I swear. Anyway, I included a turkey sandwich to my meal and gobbled it down quickly. As shown in the above photo, I left the plates clean.

Next stop was The Turntable in Fan Tan Alley. It must be one of my all-time favorite record shops. I love the pair of guys that usually work there. It seems like their job is just to man the shop and discuss classic rock and all things from "back in the day" and I friggin' love it. Often they'll include everyone in their conversation, and I can honestly say I've learned a thing or two from the hours I've spent in there over the summers.

Yeah, I also met up with my mom and sis (they were already in town the day before) and we did some shopping before cruising over to my aunt's house for dinner. My cousins challenged us to a bit of Wii Mario Kart. I had my ass handed to me at my own game. We hung out there for the rest of the night, chatted, and played with their dog, Ella.

The following day, I grabbed a ferry back to Vancouver so that in the evening I could check out Comedy Waste as part of the Music Waste festival. I headed downtown with Shaun, Jake, and Alyssa to the China Cloud Theatre for what turned out to be a really good show of some of Vancouver's best alternative comics, improvisers, and sketch groups. There was no room for disappointment, especially for only $5. After the comedy show, the band No Gold was set to play at midnight, so we headed over to Funkys for some beers beforehand. A bit of ridiculousness ensued.

Jake found the new butt of his jokes... Eric McCormack.

Alyssa was the only one capable of making normal conversation.

Shaun and Jake re-telling some of their Flight Centre jokes.

So, after a pitcher and a few rounds of beers, we ended up missing the No Gold show. We showed up back at China Cloud to see the the band packing up, so we got more beers and hung around, critiqued some art and picked the brain of one of the artists who turned out to be a pretty cool guy. After everyone cleared out of the space, we all headed back to Shaun and Jake's place. But before that, we stopped off at a 24-hour corner grocery store for a little bit of food to cook up. Alyssa found a frozen pizza, and Shaun spontaneously purchased an entire pack of bacon.

Back home in the kitchen, Shaun got busy making some artery-clogging foods such as his new favorite thing: buttered toast tacos with honey. Basically, it's a slice of toast topped with a thick slice of butter unspread, drizzled in a layer of honey, then folded and consumed like a taco.

And then there was some intense frying of the bacon at 3am. Unfortunately we woke up their other roommates. Good news? There was definitely enough bacon to make BLTs with when we woke up the next day.

After having to hear the guys discuss their hangovers in the morning, Shaun and I cleaned up and headed into Kits later in the afternoon to meet up for a friendly game of softball. It was more or less a gathering of friends and their friends, and their friends' friends. Ori rounded up over 30 people for a long afternoon of drunken softball at Jericho, and it was pretty much a success even with the crazy rain storm that interupted the game twice. With a little bit of luck and liquor (and Kendall's obscenely colourful beach shorts) Team Crucial Taunt beat out Team Slipknot in the end with a 20-5 win. Hooray!

EARLY MORNING RAMBLE.

2010-06-06T00:54:00.000-07:00

I return to work in just a few short hours after spending 4 packed days of good, youthful fun. Adulthood sort of took over how I dealt with things last week, and it definitely left me feeling more whacked out than necessary. I think the anxiety and stress has mostly passed, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks. I've got birthdays to celebrate, concerts to rock out at, beaches to lie on, and pretty faces to see. June has always been a favorite month.

EXPOSURE

2010-06-01T23:58:00.000-07:00

I entered a contest at the last minute. Grand prize is $10,000 and 1-year free accomodation in a $1.2-million apartment in NYC, plus a Manhatten gallery reception, and airfare to and from New York. No harm in dreaming, right?
Check out my portfolio and the works of other photographers: http://www.artistswanted.org/terri

MIX CD: SUMMER TIME

2010-05-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

I just need to say one thing: The summer mix CD Anna made for me is fucking amazing. The first time I played it, I liked it. The second time through, I loved it. And it just gets better and better each time I hear it. She always makes a great mix CD, but I think I love this one the most. I don't think she'll mind me sharing, but here's the playlist:

1. The Walkmen - The Rat (4:27)
2. Woods - Rain On (3:27)
3. Broken Bells - The High Road (3:52)
4. The Stranglers - Peaches (4:06)
5. Eels - Fresh blood (4:24)
6. Shout Out Louds - Normandie (3:23)
7. Real Estate - Green River (2:40)
8. Girls - Lust For Life (2:24)
9. The Sword - Celestial Crown (1:58)
10. LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls (3:44)
11. Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day (4:20)
12. Hot Chip - One Life Stand (5:23)
13. KiD CuDi - Pursuit of Happiness (Feat. MGMT And Ratatat) (4:55)
14. Grandaddy - Collective Dreamwish of Upperclass Elegance (5:26)
15. Lykke Li - Melodies & Desires (3:52)
16. Lemon Jelly - Soft (4:31)
17. Mark Knopfler - Track05 (4:18)
18. Jason Collett - Almost Summer (3:51)
19. Third Eye Blind - God of Wine (5:19)

TONIGHT! LAKEFIELD ALBUM RELEASE PARTY

2010-05-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Anna's boyfriend and his band are celebrating their album release in style as Glory Days presents Lakefield's "Sounds of The Treeline" tonight at the Biltmore Cabaret. You can listen to their music here: http://lakefieldmusic.com/

***UPDATE*** Due to an illness, Lakefield will be performing a much shorter set tonight without one of their band members.

THE WEEK IS OVER - YES!

2010-05-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the longest weeks I can remember. Earlier in the week, Steph kidnapped me while I was at RPM getting bubble tea. She took me to Daiso and we did some wreckless spending for the next two hours. We met up with Kris and Alisa afterwards for dinner at Earls, and caught up with current events. Steph has some pretty priceless photos of our reactions to some rather epic news.

I returned home later that night to see a postcard sitting on my work table. It appeared to be a vintage photo of typical scenery: wildflowers in a field with a log cabin in the background. The postcard was from the Yukon Territory, where my old friend Green Eyes recently relocated to for work earlier this month. All he wrote was a smart-ass, one-liner. But the postcard was certainly a pleasant surprise and made me feel a whole lot better about myself and my plans for the rest of the year.

Yeah, this is going to be quite the experimental summer. I've already made arrangements with my workplace, and tried sorting some of this madness out. But as Green Eyes tried to say to my unhearing ears just before he left town, I'm not losing anything important except the one thing that I'll let get away if I don't chase after it. I know he's probably gloating about this, but he's right. Besides, as everyone's been saying, I'm young enough to pull off crazy shit. So, I'm slowly letting my adventure unfold.

I've also hit some sort of premature quarter-life crisis and invested in a video camera. Not entirely sure what the hell I'm going to do about it, but part of me thinks I only bought it under the assumption that I can pull a better film documentary out of my ass than Thierry Guetta can. I'm pretty excited to see what sort of trouble I can get myself into with this new toy.

And speaking of trouble, the other night while I was cleaning the racks in the film processor at work, I accidentally dropped the ring I was wearing into the developer tank. The tank is like 4 feet deep, and has a very narrow opening, and a drain the size of a loonie. Oh, and the tank is housed in the processor which is rather huge. And did I mention that this ring I was wearing was my dad's class ring? Yeah, he gave it to me years ago and what do I do with it? I lose it to the developing tank! So, after my total meltdown, I called up my old manager who was at home, and he came to my rescue. He literally made it to the lab just before closing and took apart the whole tank and saved my ring! He is my hero.

On an entirely different note, I was perusing one of the record stores on Commercial Drive during the week and came across Miles Davis' Bitches Brew on vinyl. For the rest of the day, I just wanted to go home and play the 2-disc CD version I picked up 3 years ago. After work that night, Shaun came over and we sat and listened to the first disc. I forgot how amazing the album is, especially listening to it under the dim light of a single lamp and with the rain drumming outside.

Okay, and now I'm gonna return to nursing the headache that's been ruining me for the whole day. I realize I've relied quite heavily on Tylenol, tea and naps today. I hope tomorrow is less fuzzy.

RONNIE JAMES DIO WILL ROCK ON

2010-05-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2007 - Black Sabbath / Heaven & Hell tour at the Pacific Coliseum.

The king of metal passed away early Sunday morning after a long battle with stomach cancer. Ronnie James Dio was 67. I'll never forget the Heaven & Hell tour back in 2007, when Black Sabbath rolled into town with Down and Megadeth. It was March 11, and I was in the last few weeks of college, ready to start my summer. My friend Peter had talked me into going to the concert with him and his brother Matt, and I'm so glad I went. It was seriously one of the best rock concerts, ever.

I was at work this afternoon, tuned into the classic rock radio station when Dio's passing was announced. Rock 101.1 played "Rainbow In The Dark" and I went to text Peter, but he had already found out just before I did. Not gonna lie, I spent the rest of my shift a little bit mopey and hugely sad. Rock lost a legend today.

LONG LIVE DIO!

THE BLOW - "HEY BOY"

2010-05-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

LIFE IS GOOD, JUST SO YOU KNOW.

2010-05-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

I went to see Banksy's film Exit Through The Gift Shop on Wednesday. That man can do no wrong. It was funny, thoughtful, really well executed, and packed with intimate clips of different big-name artists wrecking city walls including Shepard Fairey, BuffMonster, Space Invader, and Borf. The documentary follows the so-called "filmmaker" Thierry Guetta, a French man residing in LA whose ultimate goal was to meet and film Banksy. When Thierry is suddenly faced with that opportunity, things begin to unravel in an unexpected, yet hilariously charming way. I left the theatre extremely pleased with the film, and relieved that all the hype surrounding its release was worth it in the end.

Before going to see Exit Through The Gift Shop though, I was picked up from work by Shaun, who decided to surprise me with a small arrangement of yellow tulips - for no damn reason at all. My usual reaction to flowers is "What the fuck is a person to do with these things?" but that whole perspective changes once you're on the receiving end of those flowers. Nobody could've smacked the smile off my face. Anyway, after the movie, which by the way, is currently only playing at Tinseltown, Shaun took me to The Reef for some eats. I ordered the oxtail, which was delish, but sort of difficult to eat. I think I'll just try one of the curries next time. My leftovers are still sitting in the fridge.

On Thursday, I met up with my family for dinner. The whole gang of them were there because one of my uncles is in town from Hong Kong. He and I talk cameras a lot, and he's letting me keep one of the old Bronica cameras my grandpa used to shoot with. I'm pretty excited to figure out how that thing works. After dinner, Shaun called for my sewing assistance. Because one of his arms is still currently in a cast for the next month and a bit, I went over to help him put together a costume for a masquerade party. My sewing skills are less than average, but I sewed about half of it together by 1am. Then the next morning, we made brunch and set up shop outside on the deck and I got the rest of the mask sewn into place. He later painted the rest of it, but here's a snapshot of Shaun sun-bathing in his ninja chicken costume:

Later that Friday, I met up with Anna after she got off work. We hit up Vera's on Denman and took our food to-go so we could lounge at the beach before the sunset. So many people were hanging out around English Bay, pretty much with the same idea in mind. It was a beautiful, hot day. After soaking in the last of the sunshine, Anna and I walked our burger bellies off before heading back to her place. We rented How Harry Met Sally and hit up DQ for Blizzards. A winning combo, for sure. I'm still surprised that neither of us had seen the classic rom-com before that night. I'm pretty glad we got that done.

I was planning to do a little bit of gardening today, but instead, invested all of my time sleeping, eating, chopping bits of my hair, and laundry duties. Today feels like a 'me' day anyway.

HOORAY, HOORAY.

2010-05-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

The month of May is well stacked, and I can't wait for June. I'm just really stoked for the next few months. Like, holy crap, I'm jumping out of my skin here. Gonna make a mix CD to celebrate this!

BOYS, BIKES, AND A BROKEN ARM.

2010-05-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful Friday in Vancouver. Fortunately, I was awake at 7am and took full advantage of the sunshine all day. I headed downtown to St. Paul's hospital to pick up Shaun, who had spent two nights there following a big bike crash. He's a bit scraped up and broke his arm good enough that it required surgery and metal plates to set everything back into place. The good news is, he'll recover in like 6 weeks.

Yeah, so after fetching my Evel Knievel from the hospital, I took him to Denny's down the street for some breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hasbrowns will heal all wounds, trust me. Ended up walking all the way down to Third Beach afterwards and kicked back until noon. Made our way back to Davie Street to hit up the London Drugs for some meds for him. I went to visit with my friend, Kim, while Shaun sorted out his prescriptions. I adore Kim, and chatted with her for nearly an hour before Shaun came back to get me.

For the rest of the afternoon, we tried to locate his bike. We eventually found it stowed away not too far from the crash site, so we went back to his place to nap for a little while, since we were both exhausted. Napped until dinner time, then I helped him struggle into some socks and shoes, buttoned up a shirt for him, then we went to meet my parents for some Greek food. I loved how my mom wouldn't stop looking at Shaun's arm. She definitely laid down the 20 questions. My mom also volunteered me to cut up his food for him. Shaun was disappointed they didn't have baby high chairs big enough for him, too.

So yeah, I'm happy he's okay (I guess it could've been far worse), and I love that he keeps reminding me that I'm awesome. Because I am. And honestly, if he wasn't so cool himself, I wouldn't care to tie his shoelaces or cut up his dinner. So, he's pretty lucky. Yep.

FIRST BBQ OF THE SEASON!

2010-05-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

Anna wasn't kidding when she said they'd never used their barbeque before. On Saturday, flames reached new heights on her and Sean's balcony, but thankfully the only thing we lost was half our chicken kebabs. Burgers were delish, and I cut up a mean fruit salad. The weather could not have been better - the sun was out all afternoon. Best of all, it was spent with good company and yummy foods.

THE EQUATION

2010-04-27T02:47:00.000-07:00

Two things:
1. I'm happy.
2. Timing couldn't be more cruel or unusual.

Solution:
Gonna free-fall this one out. If this high doesn't kill me, it'll only make me better in the end.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES

2010-04-25T02:09:00.000-07:00

HELLO, WEEKEND.

2010-04-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

(My hair is out of control.) This is me, not working on a Saturday night. A newfound freedom. Thought I'd capture it via bedroom mirror and crappy point-and-shoot before heading out. Hooray!

SUNNY DAYS, TOO MUCH FOOD.

2010-04-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was glorious. The sun was shining, and I took it as a cue to ditch my socks and slip into some sandals. I went to meet Shaun, who was at work painting a sign on some roof for this guy who hired him. For the record, I'm never in sensible shoes when the time comes for me to climb shit. I'm so glad my Birkenstocks didn't get me killed. I would've hated falling through the skylight of a Starbucks.

After climbing back down, we ran into his friend Ori in the back alley - he was working a few doors down and was taking a break. Hadn't seen Ori in like 3 years, and did not recognize him immediately. Again, I feel like such an idiot when someone greets me by name and I don't realize who they are until I'm standing a foot away from them. We waited for his shift to end, then went to grab a late lunch at Bandidas. And by late lunch, I mean, it was 5 o'clock. Walked back to Shaun's place after to kill some time, then Ori dropped us off at The Reef.

In two hours, Shaun and I managed to eat two dinners. Alisa had rounded up a bunch of her miscellaneous friends for a feast at The Reef on Main, so it was sort of neat to dine with people who were not at all familiar with each other. It was like a meet and eat experience. Food was delish: yam fries, plantain chips, johnny cakes, jerk chicken, and drinks. After dinner, Shaun and I waddled home to his place and sprawled out like a pair of stuffed sacks. Did some writing, he did some painting, then the food coma kicked in and before I knew it, I was waking up to his roommate's music blasting from the next room in the morning. Shaun got me lunch from a nearby Vietnamese eatery while I got my hands on some coffee with condensed milk - score! I don't think I'll be eating for the rest of the weekend.

...Except that I'm eating an ice cream bar as I type this.

5 YEARS AGO TODAY, I WAS ON A BOAT.

2010-04-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

I was sorting through folders on my computer tonight and came across a folder marked "April 21, 2005" and inside it contained all the pictures from my high school boat cruise, one of the several grad events. I'm the one pictured second from the left. Credits to my friend Joel for taking this photo of us. He had named the file groupofpeopleatthetables.jpg, which I thought was sort of funny because the comments around this photo were more like thisisacheesycommercial or lookatstevesfuckinghair. Anyway, I sort of like this picture even though I'm not even friends with half of these people anymore. And I actually had a fun night on the stupid boat aside from pretty much hating the majority of my grad year. So let it be, I'm keeping this.

SHE'S CUTE

2010-04-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

Guilty: I'm listening to La Roux and having the time of my life dancing alone. I can always hear their music when I'm in a better mood - like a radio station in a restaurant will be playing "Bulletproof" when I'm having a good time with friends, eating a meal I enjoy. It's weird. Anyway, I looked up some of their stuff, and it's really growing on me in a strange way. Elly Jackson, the face of the duo, is cute as heck, too. She seems like a cool chick you'd want to know.

Yeah, okay. I know I sound like a 16 year-old with a girl crush right now, but cut me a break. It's the weekend.

Photo source: unknown.

WE USED TO WRITE LETTERS

2010-04-16T00:37:00.000-07:00

I was watching Gene Simmons Family Jewels earlier, and it was the episode where Shannon and Tracy find a stack of old love letters in an end table they purchased from an antique store. The two women, after poring through each letter, reminisced about how much more romantic it was back in the day when guys would write letters of affection to their significant other. Anyway, the point being that love letters are way more romantic and personal than text messages and emails. And I agree. I'm not a fan of text messages, unless they are funny or necessary, but I enjoy receiving letters in the mail, especially if they are hand-written ones.

I can remember a time in elementary AND in high school when we'd pass notes to our friends during class and pray not to get caught by the teacher. I'm almost certain kids now are texting their friends during classes and note-passing is a thing of the past. You know, I kept some of the notes we wrote in high school. I have them crumpled up in a shoebox in my closet, but text messages I received only 3 years ago have disappeared into oblivion. Like, poof. Deleted or lost on my old cellphone. You can't store that shit and count on it to be there 7 or 8 years from now because technology will always find a way to fuck up.

Back to letter-writing, though. I have another shoebox devoted to letters I received from my friends Sandy and Katie. Sandy resides in the UK now, but after she left Canada back in the 6th grade we kept in touch through writing letters to each other for like 2 or 3 years steady, and when email became popular, we'd cut our letters short and send only Christmas cards each year. Same with Katie, but she only relocated to the island. We sent letters to each other, then did the switch to email similarly, and eventually to MSN messenger. She and I have mostly lost touch, though. Facebook is sort of the only thing keeping us in each other's social network.

Once upon a time, I even had a pen pal. That didn't last long.

As far as "love letters" go, I've only ever received one. I have it in its original mailing envelope, tucked away somewhere. And it was most definitely hand-written and quite impossible to read at first, but after a few read-throughs you get the gist of it. I thought it was pretty sweet at the time because it was written just before my high school graduation, and let's face it, I'm not that old so email and instant messaging was totally accessible. But the fact that the guy (my off-and-on boyfriend at the time) decided that he was going to hand-write a letter to me and send it through the mail was really fucking cool.

I think I'll try writing letters again. I did try to bring it back towards the end of high school, but all of my friends got lazy and ended up emailing me their letters instead. At least Alisa still writes postcards and believes in mailing them rather than toting them home in her suitcase. She even got me writing home to family and friends on postcards when we were away in New York 3 years ago. I remember us having quiet time at the hotel as we spread out the postcards we picked up from Chinatown and carefully wrote on the back of each one. Finding stamps in the big city proved to be a challenge though. We hit up every drug store in sight and all the obvious places you'd think would sell stamps, but it took us two days to finally locate a post office, and even then the line-up was huge and we waited a long time just to get maybe a few bucks worth of stamps.

Yep. Gonna write some letters now.

THE XX @ COMMODORE BALLROOM!!

2010-04-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

YESSS. I went to see The xx at the Commodore Ballroom on Tuesday night. Opening up first was LA's Nosaj Thing. It was bass-heavy, dubstep-influenced electronica that I actually really enjoyed. He put on a good set, I thought. But then, I was not impressed with Swedish band, jj. I felt the whole performance was an artsy overkill, yet there was still a total lack of enthusiasm from the duo. Vocalist, Elin Kastlander, spent most of her time on stage playing with her hair and drinking from a plastic cup and looking completely bored with everything around her. Her partner, Joakim Benon, was the "drunk, hippy-looking guy in the big camo jacket who stumbled around the stage." During song breaks, they would converse with each other on the side and swap kisses. That's the sort of thing I get for free from people-watching on street corners. Can't believe I paid for that.

ANYWAY, The xx exploded on stage by 11pm. I thought it was funny how just before they came on, I was saying how awesome it was when I saw Velvet Revolver play a sold-out show back in 2007, and they had set up the stage with a giant white curtain and a big beam of light shot up to reveal the silhouette of Slash, in his iconic top hat, shredding it up on his guitar. Well, similarly, a white curtain was put up for The xx, and sure enough, we were all shot with beams of light and the three silhouettes of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith. REALLY FUCKING AWESOME. The show was electrifying, to say the least, and even the balding photographer next to me was bopping his head along. And OH YEAH, I was also right up at the stage with Romy only a few feet away from me. And she was beautiful!

Romy Madley Croft
Oliver Sim
Jamie "xx" Smith, supposedly played an after party DJ set at Shine Nightclub.

Funny side story: I didn't know at the time, but to the left of me at the show (two people over) was photographer and events editor of vancouverisawesome.com, Maurice. We follow each other on twitter, and when I got home, I went to view my twitter feed and noticed that his photos from the show were shot from an incredibly similar angle as my photos. I asked him where he was standing, and he was like, "Right up at the stage, to the left" - exactly where I was. He admitted he sort of recognized me from my little avatar but didn't say anything during the show because he wasn't 100%. Hilarious. But yeah, follow this guy on twitter - his photos really capture the best of Vancouver.

And lastly, because I brought along my unfortunate point-and-shoot and the photos are of poor-ish quality, I turned to taking some video footage throughout some of the show. This is "Heart Skipped A Beat" - one of my favorites. Actually, at the start of every song, I believe I said, "Oh, man. I love this song!" and by the end of it I said, "Oh man. I love this song even more now!"

P.S. There's a pretty good review with photos from a different perspective up on Vancouver Is Awesome.

ROB THINKS I'M CHEAP

2010-04-12T00:26:00.000-07:00

Terri: Hey, I'm taking you to Denny's for your birthday!
Rob: How are you going to do that? Pick me up on your bike?
Terri: No, of course not. I'll call you when the bus I'm on passes by your place. You can hop on. Also, can you bring your ID so I don't actually have to pay for your meal...

ALISA IS ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

2010-04-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

Celebrated Alisa's birthday on Friday! Dined at South Granville's Ouisi Bistro with her friends and old roommates. I might've blogged about this eatery before, but if you love southern food, then Ouisi is a MUST. I always get great service, and the food is amazing. I'm especially fond of their brunch/lunch menu - It's cheaper than dinner, and great if you love a really hearty breakfast or are craving a good sandwich. Not to mention, it's just a really cute and cozy dining spot, no frills.

Birthday Girl!

White chocolate blueberry cheesecake.

And now that her birthday is over, I can finally show off the rad gift I got for her. These magnets feature tiny prints of some favorite film directors. It's a set of 8 directors (you choose your 8 from the 15 available choices) for $24, plus the cost of shipping, which is just a few bucks. I purchased these from etsy seller, Retro Whale. Kelly, the seller, was extremely helpful and made sure I received the magnets in time for Alisa's birthday. Communication and customer service was spot on. Check out her shop full of really quirky prints and artworks.

The gift was perfect because Alisa is a total film enthusiast and has a weird obsession with magnets.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT A GLANCE

2010-04-11T02:26:00.000-07:00

"I don't get it. Does this mean half a pound?"

Fruit salad! The pineapple was delish and worth the amount of time it took us to choose one.

The burger that George Foreman grilled. Dinner at Anna and Sean's place.

ZOOOOOOM. At the beach.

Anna always totes along a bottle of bubbles. No matter what season or time of day.

Cheese :)

MORE BANKSY

2010-04-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

5 minute sneak peek into Banky's film Exit Through The Gift Shop, which opens in US theatres April 16th...

FACE PALM OR CARRY ON

2010-04-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

Some people need to hear this: Desperately seeking rebounds is unclassy. Follow your breakup with a bit of grace and save yourself from an audience of eyes rolling. It feels good to wake up knowing you can carry on with your dignity intact. Seriously, just open a bottle of something, gather any shit worth burning and start a bonfire. That's all.

RACISM REALLY SUCKS

2010-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

I meant to check out the White Pride march a few weeks ago that was supposed to have taken place from Coquitlam to downtown Vancouver. I picked up on the stupid event while reading the paper a few days prior, and it pissed me right off. I was set to spit on every freakshow bigot keen on marching that day. A decade into the 21st century and still some people just don't get it. My friend April's coverage on the whole issue is exactly what I had in mind:

...People are all the same, no matter what race, sexuality, age, gender, moles, or hammertoes. Every person, no matter what shitty label they are given, has something to offer. Every nation has wonderful cultures to be celebrated. No one is better than anyone else because they're "straight and white"...
Read the rest on her blog, How to Survive In Vancouver.

STOP-MOTION GRAFFITI MURAL

2010-04-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

From Israel, Tant & Unga of the Broken Fingaz crew create a stop-motion graffiti mural video. Reminds me of COMBO, the collaboration between Italian street artist, Blu, and film-maker/painter David Ellis.

ERYKAH BADU - "WINDOW SEAT"

2010-03-31T23:14:00.000-07:00

This guerilla style, one-take video features Erykah Badu shedding her clothes as she strolls along a busy street. The video is a reflection of the Kennedy assassination - her walk ends at the Dallas intersection where Kennedy was shot and killed. The controversy surrounding the nudity and the arguement over whether it was for art's sake has been a huge debate, and Erykah Badu responded well via twitter.

In my eyes, getting naked ain't a crime.

SUNNY DAYS ARE HERE

2010-03-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hanging out atop the courthouse with Anna, soaking up the sun and taking a mid-week break. Had a rough start to the week, but I'm feeling heaps better now. Vitamin D works wonders, I'm saying. That, and I have some of the best girlfriends ever.

I ♥ VANCOUVER

2010-03-30T02:59:00.001-07:00

Seriously homesick for New York. Like, I feel a certain pain every time I think about it. I love every inch of that city so much. Can't wait to go back. And maybe stay there forever this time.

But I love Vancouver, too.

Steph picked me up after work in the evening and we went for a long ass drive in and around the city. We took the scenic route around the UBC campus, along the beaches, downtown, and wound up at Denny's in North Van for midnight breaky. Then we cruised around some more. We talked our guts out to the soundtrack of Jack's Mannequin (because it felt appropriate) and Incubus (for old time's sake) and it felt really, really good. I love Vancouver in the night time and the way the rain makes the city lights shine brighter. There's a certain quietness in the streets and every blinking green light feels like it's cheering you on. As we drove home, the moon lit up the darker roads and I couldn't help but feel so lucky to be part of a place where trees and mountains and beaches and concrete in equal proportions can create such a beautiful environment. Vancouver is a place I can leave and always come home to, which is why I won't feel bad if/when I re-locate in the future. Yeah...

THE WEEKEND UPDATE.

2010-03-28T22:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been pretty stupid, to sum things up. Friday night, my workplace got robbed. Some guy came in and started smashing glass with a crowbar-like tool, and when one of my coworkers confronted him, he pepper sprayed her in the face. We later learned it was actually OC spray, like a cayenne pepper based spray... burns like hell. Anyway, he made a run for it after grabbing what he could, but a customer of ours tried to stop him. Unfortunately for the customer, he got sprayed in the face as well. Our bad guy then attacked another staff member on his way out, then held down the nozzle of the spray and basically went to town with it. I was on the second floor at the time and saw this through my window. I ran downstairs to help out my coworker (the one who got hit first) and got her up to my eyewash station while another guy helped the customer up to my department too. Meanwhile, the entire building was evacuated and I was stuck with the two blind victims. I paged my supervisor, but she ordered me out, but by this time the air in the whole building was just burning with the pepper spray. Cops were already roaming the place in gas masks and I was choking all the way out.

It really sucked.

Then on Saturday I was socially awkward the entire day. I mean, I was dysfunctional on every level possible. It was a cursed day. Unfortunately for me, it was also Angie's birthday dinner at Steamworks that night. When I got there, I realized I wasn't going to be able to pull it off because I didn't know any of her friends, except Iain and his girlfriend, but they were seated at the other end of the table that seated 25+ people. To top it up, the first batch of people I was seated with were married couples who had real estate and babies in common, or something. So Angie saved me by moving me to her other side. I still felt horribly out of place.

My homemade birthday card for Angie!

The highlight of dinner was seeing Angie have a fun time, and then seeing my friend Steve! Steve is a server there, and I hadn't seen him in 3 years. He came by the table and we chatted. We used to hang out every day during the first year of college, and he used to live right by my place. Somehow he dropped off the face of the earth after first year, and we completely lost touch. At least I still hang out with his mother! But yeah, he looked good and he's been doing really well for himself and is really happy, which was actually pretty inspiring because I remember the mess we were back in colllege and I'm glad at least one of us has our shit sorted out. We agreed to make an effort to hang out again in the near future.

After dinner, Shaun showed up in time for cake. He and I went for a walk around the sea wall with his case of beer and settled by the docks. A group of girls were dancing, or shuffling as we learned. One of them came and sat with us and introduced herself as Sarah. She was really sweet and we had a blast chatting with her for the next half hour. I really like randomly meeting fun people like her. This girl was totally loving life and made me temporarily forget my awkward day. We hugged goodbye afterwards and hoped to run into each other again.

I got less sleep than I would've liked for work Sunday morning. I tried not to take it out on anyone. I mostly sat dormant in front of the computer waiting for work to appear, otherwise I was roaming around other departments searching for something to do. People were still talking about the robbery, but I was bored and ended up reading everyone's horoscopes. It was the rise and fall of my weekend. I'm ready for Monday.

THIS IS SORT OF PRETTY

2010-03-26T23:01:00.001-07:00

NATURE AND I ARE PRETTY TIGHT NOW.

2010-03-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

I've always been a city girl, and never had much of a taste for nature. But I'll admit it's really refreshing to get away from the noises of an urban setting and just perch on a rock all afternoon and listen to nothing but the water and the birds and the wind running through the trees.

We went hunting for starfish along the coast. After dipping into a cave at the bottom of a cliff, Shaun realized his film SLR failed him. So, no pictures of starfish, but he says there were about 10-12 of them, purple and orange, just hanging out on the rocks.

I'll upload the rest to flickr later on.

WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR.

2010-03-21T01:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a little bit of background; Anna is my friend. She is dating a guy named Bryan. Bryan has a British roommate called Adam, and they happen to be friends and work together as well. The other night, I was at the Biltmore with Bryan and Adam, waiting for Anna to arrive. We were there to see Immaculate Machine play, but needed to kill some time over conversations and beer.

Terri: Anna has asked me to give you the talk, Bryan.
Bryan: Which talk?
Terri: I was told to say this as nicely as possible because she really adores you, but basically it's the talk where I tell you that if you ever hurt her, I will hunt you down and break every bone in your body.
Adam [cuts in]: Well, you tell that cunt, Anna, that if she ever hurts Bryan, I will break every bone in BOTH your bodies!

I'm not sure what was more amusing - the way he said it deadpan in his British accent, or the fact that he followed it with, "I'm going to the bar. Can I buy you a drink while I'm there?"

The music was very good, by the way.

ALL FIRED UP, FIRED UP, FIRED UP, HEY!

2010-03-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

I was in the car with my Dad the other day, just driving around, and Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" came on the radio. I thought to myself, Damn, when was the last time I really listened to Pat? So I went home that night and made a playlist of a bunch of her songs and have been rocking out eversince (this was two weekends ago). I've pretty much adopted "All Fired Up" as my personal anthem. I'll blast that song when I get up, before I go to work, after work, before bed, and whenever else in between. I friggin' love it. Yes, I do.

I LOVE DENNY'S.

2010-03-13T23:10:00.000-08:00

I love spending the random Friday night with my favorite Asian sensation, Stephanie. I'll head into Ladner with her sometimes to watch her brother and friends play late-night hockey, but really it's also a great excuse for girl talk and hot cocoa.

"Hey, how would you describe Stephanie? Would you call her... cutesy? Or maybe like, a Hello Kitty piñata?" Brendon and Steve nearly got their jaws knocked out for those comments. But Steph really is a cutie underneath all that feist.

And following hockey? Denny's breakfast at 2am... Fuck yeah!

The food did not stop coming. Appies, breakfast, burgers, drinks, refills, desserts... Good times.

ARTSY FARTS

2010-03-10T20:11:00.001-08:00

I borrowed my coworker's Lensbaby last year. It's a bit tricky to use, and I didn't really have the patience for it. So a few shots of my boots is all I got.

This was Iain's belated birthday card made last minute by yours truly. It was a mess of glue and cardstock and photographs, but I got the thing together and delivered it with a box of donut croissants & Starbucks giftcard. Yeah, I know I'm awesome.

I know it doesn't look like it, but this chandelier/candle holder will be amazing when Shaun fixes it. We started it late last night, and it was meant to be a simple little candle holder, but eventually evolved into this clay beast.

HIKING & NATURE & SUNSHINE!

2010-03-07T00:17:00.000-08:00

Me? Nature? Ha! But it happens. Shaun and I hit up two parks on Friday afternoon for some hiking, and the weather could not have been more perfect - sunshine for miles and miles. I brought along my SLR, which proved to be a bit of a pain when I was scaling rocks. Not to mention, I didn't even think about footwear and threw on a pair of canvas slip-ons that morning. No traction under my shoes meant a tricky slip-and-slide episode at some point. Ended up tossing my gear to Shaun to slide down some rocks because I figured tearing a hole in my pants is no biggie if it meant not tearing a hole in my head falling onto the rocks below. (The big rock in the last picture was actually a bit of fun to slide down.)

View the whole set of photos here.

We wound up back in the city just as the sun came down. Stopped off at Shaun's place to order pizza and play VCR Hockey with his roommate, Jake. VCR Hockey is the greatest board game involving a VCR, ever. I'm not even kidding, the thing is just ridiculous and we lost track of time completely. After Jake unofficially won the game, we headed downtown again to check out an art show that featured one of Jake's friends. It was as much an art show as it was a dance party on the fourth floor. Bumped into a guy I met in Dawson Creek there. Did the double-take, and agreed it was nuts to run into each other at this function. The art was okay. The music was good. The people were great.

I woke up in the morning with sore legs, sore arms, a sore back, and exhaustion I hadn't felt in a long, long time. I will get used to this... more hiking awaits.

I WORKED AT A GROCERY STORE.

2010-03-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

The other night I went to the grocery store to pick up a box of donuts, but ended up staying for 40 minutes chatting with my favorite cashier. I used to work there, as a cashier myself, back in college to pay for paints and pencils and shit. Anyway, Linda got me up to speed with the store gossip and what's been going on with some of my old favorite customers. She's sunshine in an apron. As much as I hated the job, I really liked some of the staff, and I find that I'll walk in there sometimes for maybe a few items, but spend an hour catching up with people.

Working there was how I met my friend Peter. He was this scrawny 16 year-old back then, running around like his head got chopped off, bagging groceries and mopping floors. He is still scrawny, but has since traded in his apron to work with me at our digital imaging job. We've been buds for 5 years now. He's sort of like an extra sibling sometimes. I also met Rob there, somewhere between the deli aisle and pharmacy. Rob, who suffers from lactose intolerance, manned the dairy department. We didn't get along at the beginning. I'm not sure what happened. All I know is, we warmed up to each other over a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy (he would tape the episodes I missed if I was working late shifts), and he was always down for some Denny's... even at 5 in the morning. Friendships are built over a plate of eggs at obscene times of the day, that's for sure.

I don't think any of us took our jobs too seriously as most of our time was spent in the back hurling pop cans into the brick wall where the recylcing cage was parked against. That, and bowling rotten melons down the length of the backroom. I was 17, what did I care? A small group of us made the most of our minimum wage careers there by giving some of the old-timers a hard time, but at least we had fun. The day I handed in my letter of resignation was the best day of my life. I said I'd never go back, not even to pick up groceries, but I still wander through once every few months, and I'll remember a simpler time as I peruse the aisles. I miss watermelon bowling.

MORE YEARS, MORE BEERS!

2010-02-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday night a bunch of us celebrated Iain's birthday at The Pie. Caught the last bit of the mens bronze medal hockey game before the entire pub launched into one giant karaoke fest. Birthday Boy and Angie did an unforgettable duet to Metallica's "Enter Sandman" - I'll upload the video some other time. It was incredible. And Iain's friend, Taryn, turned out to be a karaoke master. Karaoke is suppose to sound bad, right? Nooope, not when Taryn's got the mic. Lady Gaga never sounded so good.

Iain: Terri, you look like Miga.
Shaun: Hey, that's borderline racist.
Me: What? I look like a what?

Left: My reaction to Iain calling me "Miga" after learning it was an Olympic mascot. Right: Angie looking like hotness wearing Iain's Ray-Bans.

The blushing Birthday Boy about to guzzle down another drink Kevin dropped off.

Various stages of drunk. Janet looks good at least.

Shaun and Alex.

Janet and Iain. Awww.

How K-Bat felt about the karaoke.

So, being drunk and having birthday privileges, Iain pretty much got away with releasing embarrassing stories about me to everyone within earshot of his yelling. He was also very good at interpreting things differently while intoxicated. At some point he even had a good laugh with Kevin about me in French. Mocking me en français was painfully funny. Iain, I love ya buddy, but your get-out-of-jail-free card only happens once a year, okay?

The guys rocking out to "Africa" at the end of the night:

NO EXCUSE FOR NO PHOTOS, I KNOW.

2010-02-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

From: www.toothpastefordinner.com

I haven't uploaded anything new to my flickr account since August. I'm a little disappointed with myself, and I hope to change that soon. There are a few things I want to try, and I've been brainstorming recently with a few ideas drawn up. Maybe Moose will team up with me again and we'll get things done this time. We'll see.

OK GO - WTF?

2010-02-23T02:46:00.000-08:00

I love this music video. I love all their music videos.

VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPICS: MIXED FEELINGS

2010-02-22T23:10:00.000-08:00

My timeline of emotions spent on the Vancouver 2010 Olympics has varied over the years. When we first won the bid way back when, I was indifferent. Then, as the date drew nearer I resented the whole thing (mostly I just hate VANOC for their lame vision and poor execution of the whole matter), and I definitely felt the inconvenience of the Games a few weeks before when roads got blocked off and everywhere I went my eyes were assaulted by the glare of bright orange pylons and other gaudy distractions around the city. (I'm not even going to mention how much the whole thing is costing us. A ridiculous sum of money and the tears of people let down by a government that neglected to realize they could've used some of that money on long term benefits, like affordable housing, etc. - I guess I mentioned $$$ afterall.)

But when 'anarchist' protesters decided to break windows and make general asses of themselves on the second day of the Olympics, I felt sorry for everyone else who was trying to have a good time around them. So I tried to hate it less. And when Canada's Alexandre Bilodeau won our first gold medal, I decided I could at least enjoy watching some of the sporting events on tv (which occurred mostly during work) and my gears had shifted to neutral midweek.

I finally gathered enough courage to make my way downtown on Thursday night to catch the last bit of the hockey game (Canada vs. Switzerland) during the shootout. I watched it while standing in the middle of Robson St. looking up at the projection of the game against the Sears building on Howe St. I was sandwiched innocently between mobs of Canadians and people from all over the map when Sid Crosby decided to make a win. Then the entire crowd broke out in a frenzy and dozens of cowbells were violently rattled in the air as everyone high-fived and praised our great nation - men shouting and slapping each other's backs, and women shrieking in a much higher octave than I preferred. Next thing I knew, I had my tail tucked between my legs and was bee-ling for the skytrain station to escape the madness. It wasn't until I had almost reached Waterfront Station when I realized I had missed phone calls from Kathryn, who I left behind with her friend when I made a run for it. I had to apologize sheepishly for fleeing, but I think she understood.

So, I went back to holding a grudge against the Olympics after that night. Not because Canada won a hockey game, but because I didn't share the same enthusiam as the crowd downtown. Although, to be fair, a good chunk of the downtown population was drunk, and not a drop of alcohol was in me. But still. Hordes of drunk hockey fans is my idea of Hell.

My dislikes aside, there are some positive things around the Olympics. First of all, it has provided temporary employment for some people - a few of my friends included. And for the people I know volunteering, I know they are having the time of their lives right now. One of my coworkers has been chauffeuring athletes and important people all week - the highlight for her was driving k.d. lang to the opening ceremonies! How often does a person get to say, "Yeah, k.d. lang rode in my car. No biggie." RIGHT? Also, lots of people are enjoying free concerts and events all over the Lower Mainland. I guess this can be counted as a positive even though I can't say I've attended anything due to my overwhelming work schedule. Oh, yeah, and Canada won some medals, some gold even - our latest win by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir for ice dancing. Kudos to them all. And then there's Quatchi, one of the 4 mascots, and he is sort of growing on me. This set of photos of Quatchi is by bensonkua and warms my cold heart just a little bit.

SUEME AT CYPRESS

2010-02-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Vancouver artists, Sueme, spent a few days up at Cyrpress Mountain doing some live painting for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I had a randomly brief chat with him last week about it, and he sounded really excited about heading up there with a few other artists to show off their work to visitors from all over the world. The results are nothing short of awesome.

Port of Vancouver, an interpretation of a topographic map by Sueme.

Painting of Vectorial Elevation by Sueme.

Photos from: http://www.suemenow.com

AWESOME COVER SONG #1

2010-02-20T22:37:00.000-08:00

"King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West.
Performed by: Lauren Zettler, Cameron Mizell, Kait Lawson, Allison Weiss, and Dannielle Owens-Reid.

NOW THAT I AM A GROWN-UP.

2010-02-18T03:36:00.000-08:00

I think I just punished a lot of people by posting pictures from high school up on facebook. I'm sure they'll forgive me after they un-tag themselves. But, seriously, I fucking hated high school. Looking through that folder of photos was less than nostalgic. The entire ordeal was years ago, yet the only positive thing I've gained from the experience is knowing I'll never have to do it again, plus a modest handful of good people I now/still call friends.

High school in retrospect was boring, thus drama was created to liven up the experience. I hated drama. Drama produced snarky, bitch-faced girls. These are the mean girls that talked a lot about nothing, like somewhere between their brains and their lips the truth got lost and rumors were born. These girls ruined lives. The male equivalent is no better. The cool guys were constantly pushing their macho behaviour down the throats of boys who hadn't quite peaked in puberty. Like, social acceptance was measured in muscles and how many girls you had banked, and it didn't matter that you were smart and actually gave a shit about things that didn't revolve around being a total asshole.

It was pointed out recently that I mostly kept to myself in high school. No kidding. If I was suddenly visible and submitted to the social hierarchy, I'd be somebody else today. I would've walked down the halls with a label on my forehead, hopefully one that didn't blatantly read 'serf' or 'peasant', and I would've spent the 5 years trying to come up with a plan to de-throne all the cruel kings and queens. Some could argue that high school would not have been the same without these monsters. Yes, I understand this. High school could've been a little more bearable for some of those who were constantly victimized by these mean kids.

I was never a victim. Being able to maintain a neutral presence helped. But in the end, I think the whole situation made me a more angry person, and possibly a bully's bully. I do remember exchanging a few choice words with a few bitchy personalities, and yes, I vaguely remember keeping my elbows sharp for the times I had to nudge past a larger crowd of jerks in the hallway.

Certainly I have no regrets. High school may have left me with a bitter taste, but adjusting to reality only happens when we leave all the baggage behind in the parking lot. Unfavorable peers, the pressure to make the grade, the confusion of puberty, sexuality, and identity... it's all a shit deal, and if I ever reproduce, I hope my kid can realize that high school is just a bit of turbulence to get over.

ON THE SUBJECT OF THE OLYMPICS...

2010-02-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

(An excerpt from our ridiculous conversation about the hordes of insanely attractive men that are currently wandering our city.)

Terri: Talked with a nice guy from Toronto the other night.
Kathryn: You should've followed him home.
Terri: Haha, no.
Kathryn: Why not?
Terri: I'm saving myself for the Russian hockey team.

ANGIE MILLIGAN: DESIGNER

2010-02-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

My friend, Angie, has just launched her new website, www.angiemilligan.com! Angie and I met a few years ago through our friend, Iain. I had supposedly replaced Angie at my current work place since Angie moved onto bigger and better things. We hang out from time to time, and she is always an energetic ball of fury and fun (might be the obscene amount of caffeine she always consumes before noon). Nonetheless, Angie is a cool cat and the quirkiest person I've ever met. Her colourful personality and sense of style is reflected in her work. Check out her website to see for yourself.

"...YOU GROW UP BECAUSE YOU STOP PLAYING."

2010-02-15T03:10:00.000-08:00

MIX CD: VALENTINE'S

2010-02-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

Quickly compiled a bunch of songs for my own Valentine's mix CD. The idea came from reading Rick's blog.
Man, I love cheese.

FOURTEEN FOR THE 14TH

2010-02-14T01:43:00.000-08:00

The things I've learned about Love & Like (and the lessons in-between):

1. My general take on dating and relationships is accurately stated in Lykke Li's song "Little Bit". Hands down, I'm too proud for love...

2. Never develop a crush on a friend's older brother. Especially when he doesn't share the same area code. And even more so if he doesn't even reside on the same continent.

3. Falling in like with a guy's facial hair is sketchy. As sexy as it can be, you can't get into bed with it assuming it'll always be there. Razors do exist.

4. Everyone is full of shit. Some more than others.

5. Set-ups never work. I learned this in 2002. Friends, I suggest you make note of this. Anna, you are being excused for your drunken epiphany. ;)

6. Love is a gut-wrenching good time. Been in love once as a teenager and survived it. The adrenaline is crazy, much like an extreme sport, really.

7. If a guy is trying to tell me something through a song, he better warn me first and supply me with footnotes, because I don't have the patience to try and interpret feelings. I would also prefer it if he wrote the song himself, but...

8. ...Do not re-write a song I actually like. If you ruin it, and chances are you will, I will never forgive you and will probably hate you.

9. Those who specifically search at clubs or on Craigslist for a piece of ass will settle for anything. They'll take the chicken nugget over the tenderloin because it's cheaper, faster, and easiest.

10. I revel in the fact that I am colourblind in terms of what I find attractive. I've never been able to dream up an ideal partner because different kinds of people have grabbed my attention for all very different reasons, and not one of them came from the same mold.

11. Vegetarians are high-maintenance. Vegans are impossible.

12. Sleeping with co-workers is the worst idea, ever.

13. Sleeping with friends may be an even worse idea, though.

14. Being single is pretty fantastic because friends will still tell me they love me and hug me. Guy friends assure me that a penis is always waiting, even if it's just their own hopeful penis. Also, girls night-outs are just that much more girly and fun. And smiling at handsome strangers has its benefits.

UMM, YEAH. I'M KINDA INTO IT.

2010-02-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

Not gonna lie - I enjoy Valentine's Day. I like having the excuse to watch sappy romantic comedies while gorging myself with chocolates and pink-frosted cupcakes/cookies. I mean, when can I ever get away with this type of girly overload without completely surrendering my tomboy core? This year, I chose to watch He's Just Not That Into You. It was refreshing. Someday I hope to be a Gigi, the exception to an Alex, because I'm a rule that needs to be broken. Nothing wrong with hoping. Eyes shut, fingers crossed.

I'm not one for Christian/commercial holidays, but I do like the idea of celebrating love. This coming from a cynic and an atheist. Oh, boy.

P.S. I really love The Zolas. They played at Funky Winkerbeans tonight. Too bad I wasn't in the mood to compete with an Olympic-sized crowd.

I CAN AGREE

2010-02-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

From: www.flickr.com/photos/pigrocks

DINOSAUR BALLET ♥

2010-02-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

IN THE SPIRIT OF VALENTINE'S DAY

2010-02-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

Lovin' these BFF charms from Maria Eife Jewelry (www.mariaeife.etsy.com). It's the old school charms we wore when we were kids, but with a more mature twist. Love it.

CURRENT STATE OF DESK TOP

2010-02-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

Consider this tidy.