Trip to Smithers

On Tuesday I did a trip from Calgary to High River to Fort St. John to Dawson Creek and then to Smithers where we overnighted. I had hoped it would be nice the next day so that I could get some good pictures of the mountains, but it only cleared up as we neared Calgary on the return. I did get a couple of good ones which I will post.

Crappiness!!

Cars suck! Well, they don't suck until they decide to break! The other day (of course it was the coldest day yet this winter, like minus 25 or something brutal like that) my car heater stopped working....needless to say it was bloody cold in my car. So I took it into the shop to have it looked at and on the way there my brakes completely failed. Isn't that fun!!!

I had to go away overnight so I left it at the shop (not that I could drive it anyway...) and they called me while I was up north yesterday to tell me that it was going to cost nearly $2000 to fix!!! So anyway, I'm not paying that so they are going to fix my heater and I am going to fix my brakes myself. I've done them before so that is the plan. It certainly won't cost as much this way. A couple of friends kindly offered to come over on the weekend and help me in exchange for beer and a meal. I plan to feed them lots of beer before I feed them my meal - then they won't notice that I'm a bad cook!!!

Anyway, things always work out in the end, however it is a royal pain in the butt and there is nothing worse than spending your christmas money on a car! Crappiness!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOELS

It is Noelene's birthday today so I want to wish her a very happy birthday! Here are some of my favorite things about Noelene (and of course there are a bizillion more, but this is just a sample).

1. She is so thoughtful when it comes to other people. Remember my post of the flowers she sent me when I was sick back in May or June. She is always thinking of others in that way.

2. She has great ideas of new things to try and do. For example, she bought a snow mobile and braves the cold of the north on it. She made the most amazing christmas cards last year using pictures that she had taken herself. She partakes in all the fun events that are going on in her community - winter golf, etc...

3. She is a pilot and wants to fly twin otters and dash 7's for Tindi so has worked her butt off for more than two years on the ramp and as a flight attendant and load master for the company while she waits for her number to come up. She does this even though there are other jobs that she could easily get, but she is holding out for her dream job - very impressive.

4. She has an amazing memory. She remembers things that you tell her, even months/years even later. I'm lucky to remember what someone told me yesterday. I guess that makes her very attentive to people and what they say. She can also tell you a story about a place or an event with great detail - she pays close attention to things and is always interested to learn more.

5. She is independent. Noelene moved to Canada from South Africa, oh probably 7 or 8 years ago now. She lived in Calgary for most of them but moved to Yellowknife a few years ago and has loved it there ever since. What a difference in lifestyle coming from SA where it is so very opposite to the great white north of Canada. Her family is spread all over the world: SA, Japan, and England, yet she manages to remain close to them all.

6. She is very good at staying in touch. Since she has moved to Yellowknife, there has not been a week go by that I havn't spoken to or been in touch by email with Noelene. Even though we live quite a distance apart, I know all about her life and her friends and what she has been up to each week. It's like we are neighbors and not separated by a provincial border.

7. She is my sister. Several years ago, my brother and I decided that we would adopt Noels as our sister and we would be her Canadian family. Of course we are no substitute for her real family, we do consider her part of ours and always will.

Happy Birthday Noelene!

I Did Something Stupid

Oh, this will be an anoying post because I want to say something that I'm not going to say!! How is that my friends. Basically, I did something stupid and regret it, but am not going to tell anyone what it was. That is how stupid it was; it was an 'oopsie' but what can one do after it has been done??? I am just going to put it on my 'oopsie' shelf and move on. Sorry for a teaser, but I had to just get it out there so now I can forget about it!!

SHORTBUS

Okay, this has to be one of the best films that I have seen in a very long time! Basically it is about a number of people who are each having their own issue with sex, love and intimacy despite being seemingly 'together' at the beginning of the film. Sook yin lee is not only fantastic as an actress in the film but as the filmaker she is brave and honest.

I laughed out loud many, many times during the movie and at other times had tears streaming down my face. All of the characters are so interesting and complex, but you can still understand what they are going through as they are all so human. There is explicite sex in the movie, but it felt more emotionally explicite than sexually explicite and I wouldn't want her to change a thing.

I think that everyone should watch this film, and I think I will likely watch it again if I can get back to the theater before it leaves. I was disapointed to see only about fifteen people in the theater, but I suspect that once the word is out, it will become more popular.

On a side note, Sook yin lee is a Canadian and she is a broadcaster on the CBC - good for her for sharing this film despite its controversial nature.

Check out the site for the movie: http://www.shortbusthemovie.com/

Things I Want To Do

1. Publish my book
2. Re-visit South Korea
3. Own a dirt bike
4. Fly for an airline
5. Build a cottage/cabin
6. Renovate a house
7. Learn to play guitar
8. Fly my dad somewhere
9. Have an old (early 70's) mustang to cruise around in
10.Invent something
11.Own a business
12.Have a flower and vegetable garden
13.Get married
14.Travel all of south east Asia
15.Have a living room without a tv in it
16.Have a pottery wheel and kiln of my own
17.Live by a lake or a big river (again)
18.Get a float rating
19.Make stained glass
20.Learn how to weld
21.Date a psychologist, writer and/or architect (don't ask...)
22.Swim with dolphins
23.Visit South Africa
24.Learn how to build furniture
25.Go to a high school reunion
26.Go RVing
27.Hang out in Europe for a summer (again)
28.Take my favorite friends to New Brunswick and show them around
29.Drive across Canada with someone I love
30.Learn to snowboard
31.Visit Alaska
32.See Sarah McLaughlin in concert
33.Be able to see my family more often
34.Hang out at a nude beach (go on diet first!)
35.Be an extra in a movie
36.Be a sponsor to impoverished kids (like World Vision)
37.See the redwood forest
38.See Phantom of the Opera
39.Learn about photography and developing
40.Do a Masters Degree
41.Learn to speak French fluently
42.Read Proust
43.Design my own house
44.Get botox on my wrinkle between my eyes
45.Grow my hair really long again
46.See the northern lights while in the North (they're better up there)
47.Visit my parents more often
48.Learn how to cook
49.Run a marathon (sure)
50.A bunch of other things that I'm not going to share!!!