threesixfive: march

completed my first full month of project 365! hoo-ah!

see it in big bold technicolour (sans musical numbers) on my flickr.

and on the seventh day

sunday.

the very word conjures up a relaxing day off from work. a weekend morning when one could be awaken at 8am but laze about in bed until 10am. this heavenly comfort followed by breakfast consisting of waffles with aunt jemima syrup (can i get a yes, ma'am!), blueberry yoghurt and sliced bananas. and to get to spend the morning with someone that you share lopsided smiles with, well, there really isn't anything better.

the rest of the day came in a close second.

my friends anna and jesse are back in town for a quick visit so after peggy and i ran a shopping errand, we headed downtown to qoola to meet up with anna.



guess what qoola did yesterday for earth hour? they were the ONLY (seriously?!?) retail storefront on the long stretch of denman street that turned off their lights, put out candles on all the tables and gave one free topping with order to all patrons that were there between 830pm - 930pm. quite the shining light in the darkness.

their mission at being ecologically and socially responsible is not lip service and continues to be an inspiration for me to live life conscientiously. it seems i'm not the only one affected. their earth hour was noticed by passerbys; many who wanted to come in and shake the owners' hand in doing their part for the environment.

the sun was out and there was a loads to catch up on, so anna, peggy and i walked around downtown and then down to the beach. fortunately, the girls indulged me in my stopping every few blocks because i wanted to snap some photos.


bottom left: why yes, those really are panties in a cage. a sure fire way to get people to come into your store.


bottom left: a brilliant concept. i'll definitely be catching some movies at the projecting change film festival.


this puppy just about stole my heart on the sidewalk. i didn't know what was worse, the cone around its neck or the ridiculous dog sweater its human decided the puppy should wear. either way, i wanted to save puppy and take her home with me on the spot. on a related tangent, i miss my cat edie. *sigh*

heading back to qoola, we waited for jesse, warwick and aaron to go for dinner at the japanese cafe around the corner called barefoot kitchen. the guys who've been friends for years are all successful in their careers and now have taken on opening a business together; a business where they've toiled doing all the grunt work themselves, all the guerilla/viral marketing, and on top of all that, personally servicing the customers in a manner that will no doubt have them back as repeat customers, if not as friends.

typically, a new business will take 3-5 years before possibly breaking even. then if the business is still standing, it may start to turn a profit. and for that reason, i admire my friends in following their dreams. at times like sisyphus rolling the boulder up a hill, it will not be easy. and surely, the monetary reward will not be there at the beginning and yet, even knowing this, they're committed to making qoola work. but more importantly as they bring their dreams into fruition, they're doing it in a way to educate people about being mindful of our collective actions and the resulting environmental impact we're leaving in our wake. we need more businesses like this and more management like them.

if i wasn't their friend already, i would make it my mission to become one.

let's set off an alarm today

photo credit: pretty war



r&b is not normally in my daily listening and when i do listen, i prefer my r&b/soul by way of sam cooke, al green, marvin gaye and of course otis redding. but then along comes john legend. much sought after, he writes his own songs, sings, plays piano, is socially conscious and he's philanthropic.

the epitome of cool, this is a man living up to his name.

earth hour canada 2009

flickr photostream credit: wwf canada

according to wwf website:

"3,937 cities and towns around the world switched off their lights for earth hour in 88 countries!
288 cities in canada participated - 3rd highest globally."

way to go canada!

how was your earth hour? hope it was as wonderful and lovely as mine.

time for some nocking

so excited. because of opera and double weekender classes, i hadn't shot an arrow for 6 whole weeks. i thought i was going to be laughably awful because tonight's class was a combo class for regulars and for heavy hitters; the archers shooting with a 30lbs or more bow. and as such, we were shooting only at the furthest point, the 18m line.


bottom right: that is one kick ass compound bow belonging to wayne, one of the instructors

turns out, it was just like riding a bike. considering that i've been out of commission for a month and a half, i was not too shabby. oh, i won't win any olympic medals or anything but looking at the scorecard some of us kept track of tonight, i had a few rounds where i'd hit 3 arrows within the target lines. and one round that didn't hit the target, much less even hit paper.

we were joined by another instructor, chuck halfway through the session. fun little factoid: chuck was the archery consultant for jessica biel in the movie blade 3: trinity. apparently after 5 months intensive training, biel was better than some of the men that he taught for years. could be another calling as her acting is none-too-watchable.


top right: wayne's very cool feathered arrows. and yes, those cost a pretty penny
bottom right: my first 2 arrows with the red nock ends piercing cards for some texas hold'em

course the night wouldn't be complete without some texas hold'em archery. more than pleasantly surprised when my first round of arrows hit the required 2 cards needed to play. i didn't need to shoot another round but thought i'd do it just for fun. snagged one more card. and incredibly through blind luck, i shot an ace, king and then a queen.



but such an impressive selection did not help me to win the hand or the baked goods that were the prize. however, my name did get drawn for the 50/50 and i walked away with $7. woohoo. the money of which paid for drinks at the bar across the street where we adjourned for a night cap.

give me my arm brace and finger tab, i'm back.

i am still here

photo credit: apartment therapy

so very hard to leave the bed this morning...

spring is in the air

i know that it's springtime in vancouver because instead of wearing my winter peacoat, i wore my lightweight trench coat today.

the sun is out this morning and i'm triple bubbling over with exuberance. i look up at my skylight over my desk and i want to go play outside.

i want to walk around queen elizabeth park. take in the view. see what flowers are blooming. take pictures. have a picnic.


photo credit: craig nagy

i want to be where all this green is.

i'm also in a "jumping out of my skin and can barely contain myself i'm so happy" kinda mood at the thought of finishing up this work day.

5 o'clock get here now.

playing in the dark

earth hour

on saturday, march 28 at 8:30 pm, be a part of the commitment to action on climate change. spread the word.

and bask under the glow of candlelights.

not a snowball's chance in hell

the sun beckoned me to come out and play this afternoon. oh but just for a little, it kept nudging at me. so i gave in and went for a little walk around the neighbourhood and kept my eyes peeled for my daily project 365 picture.

the thing is i never know what i'll be capturing from day to day and that in itself is something i look forward to.

i was walking up to the store and as i rounded a tree in front of someone's yard, i stopped in my tracks. the image in front of me was purr-fect. i whipped out my camera out of my jacket pocket as quickly as a gunslinger whipping his pistol out of his hip holster. and knelt down as stealthily as i could. this was THE picture and i was all sorts of excited inside.

but just as the "eureka" moment had bonked me on the head, it just as quickly disappeared!

the subject in question? a kitty cat. a kitty cat who was sitting all cool cat-like in front of the kickstand of a yamaha motorcycle.

let's see. love cats. love vintage looking motorcycles. and in the background, the brick red colour of a house. how purr-fect can it get?

but kitty here seemed to have other ideas. as soon as it saw me get on one knee, it came running towards me RUINING my shot. why cat why?! aargh.



no, it doesn't help me get back that shot as you ply on the charm being all adorable-like, circling around me, rubbing yourself on my legs and purring like an 4-stroke engine. the moment is GONE. and even as i'm petting you and smiling my lopsided smile, i'm still cursing you on the inside.



that's the beauty of cats. heaven help you if you try to get the cat to do exactly what you want it to do. especially if you're armed with a camera.


here's the shot minus cat in front of the kickstand

kitty's just lucky it's so damn cute.

stuck on repeat

my monster 3rd generation 40 gb ipod (the equivalent to the big-a** old brick mobile phone) is all a-wonky. my main menu is effed up. i can't get it to respond when i try to switch groups, songs or albums. oh, it's playing songs all right, but it's playing by groups from a-z. then from that particular group, it's playing album by album. and breaking it down further, song by song.

and i have over 5500+ songs on my brickpod. so if it's playing B group and i want to get to M group, that's a lot of fast forward action i have to do.

i could probably take it in to the apple store and possibly have it fixed. or else i could upload all the songs onto my itunes, clear all settings and then download the ones i want to hear at the time. but at the moment, i can't be bothered.

so i just let it run.

which is why i'm on the letter S. the past few days i've been going through all my smiths albums song by song. and having a glorious re-visit with my past. i came across there's a light that never goes out, which is an absolutely brilliant song and been listening to it over and over again. luckily my back button works. thank goodness for the small things.

a beautiful and quirky song about the immensity of love. i love that this theme of death, which we all have a natural fear of is secondary to finding love in this world. and the violin strings in the background make this song that much sweeter.

moz and marr: pure 80s pop purr-fection.

counterpoint

i had the BEST day off from work friday.

spending a ridiculously inordinate amount of time curled up under the sheets. the world outside so very far, far away that it could not touch anything in here, this private sanctuary.

oh, how i wished i could've stopped time.

and as i semi-spoiled myself with a visit to my RMT and going for a haircut this afternoon, i passed by flowers being sold outside meinhardts and had to resist the urge of emptying my piggy bank to buy all the tulips and gerbera daisies i could fit in my arms.

i have quite the perma-smile on my face these past few days and feeling quite the lucky gal.

fashion at the opera: rigoletto

"What struck me however was the number of young faces in the audience. .."

click here for a nice little shout out in the georgia straight about all the PYTs at our opera last night

coffee mate

just when i thought the night couldn't get any better, it did.

i'm on a high

the end of the rigoletto run tonight. so how much does my work rock? tons.

management that empowers you and lets you run with ideas sprung forth a fan appreciation night for our facebook and twitter friends tonight. we provided a pre-show preview talk with the assistant director and an intermission party in the VIP lounge with coffee, desserts and swag.


everyone got a big kick out of our vo flash drives

and the young, the hip, the beautiful and the tech-savvy turned up. twitter folks whom i corresponded with a couple of times either sought me out or knew who i was and proceeded to speak to me on familiar terms. i'll apologize now if i may have come across somewhat clueless but unless introduced by their handles, it would only dawn on me much later who they were.

i'm having fun befriending opera newbies in my demographic. it's funny how i question my ability to professionally work a room but have no qualms of going up to this demographic of strangers to introduce myself and take their pictures while discussing their thoughts about our opera.

i have a feeling it's going to pay off in spades. already during this run, i got to chatting again with the people whose pictures i took from our last opera carmen because the whole point is to forge relationships with this growing audience. some have even personally friended me on facebook or twitter which was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.



for more of vo's hip, young and stylish, click here

a twitter friend even wrote me the next day, "so you're the secret voice behind this tech x opera experiment? great to have met you too. fan appreciation went a long way." (yes, like the wizard behind the city of oz, i been outed)

jaypiddy, an award winning new media strategist whose twitter workshop i attended and then came back to the office raving about how we need to be on twitter wrote, "i am very impressed with your social media plan that you are working on. you have been busy!"

i can't begin to say how compliments like that are so appreciated cuz it make it feel that i'm on the right track and that the work i'm doing will be worth it in the end.

without everyone's support, it would be harder for me to feel comfortable being the face of our social media initiatives.

and what a rush to meet as many of our facebook and twitter friends during the 25 minute intermission. i was still cresting on this high when our guests went back into the house for acts 2 and 3. the staff hung out in the vip lounge waiting for the close of the show by amusing ourselves with more hero factory makeovers. yes, we are les nerds.


left to right: me, selina, jen

as the last notes were being sung over the lounge speakers, we high-tailed it up to the box seats just in time to see everyone get out of their chairs and on their feet and hear the thundering applause and shouts of bravo! brava! bravi! it was positively overwhelming to behold.

if one could bottle up the enthusiasm and joy in that room, i would imagine it can light up a city block. to see everyone that thrilled and to catch that breath in your throat and know that you were a part of bringing such happiness to people. i got a contact high from everyone in the house. seriously, who needs drugs when you can get off on all the positive vibes emanating from 2650+ people? absolutely electric.

i've got the best job in the world.

the paths on which we travel

on the bus ride home today i ran into someone from high school. i hadn't seen this person for probably 10+ years. although we weren't close friends in school, we were friendly as we knew some of the same people.

i only have a couple of friends that i've kept in touch with since high school. but for the most part, i haven't seen or hung out with anybody since i graduated.

i almost didn't recognize C. when he said hi to me. in school, he was cute, with that boy next door look. i was shocked at how he looked now. beyond the aging naturally as we will all do, he looked a good 10 years older. it's not time being unkind or that he wasn't genetically blessed; rather, it was hard partying and lifestyle that has etched its mark on his now thin frame and ravaged his face. the boyish glint in his eyes was barely there.

as we caught up, he told me about being thrown and injured in the couple of motorcycle accidents, that he was currently unemployed and living with 2 roommates whom he doesn't really like, that he couldn't find work anywhere (we're not talking about blue or white collar jobs), that he had his car re-possessed due to non-payments, that he wasn't married, seeing anyone nor did he ever want to have kids. he told me about his grandmother's death in february and of his mom's divorce to his american step-father now that she obtained her green card.

and all i could do was listen.

he reminisced about our mutual high school friends and how he wished that he could go back to a time when we were young; when he didn't have so much to worry about in life. that he can't believe we are adults now when he can remember him and i as teenagers still.

i could see that life handed him some pretty hard knocks. and that in his 30s when he should be in his prime, he was on the path to fast becoming one of those men that look back and wonder what happened to their life? how the heck did they get here? whenever i do walk past a man on the street that's visibly down and out, it breaks my heart because i think to myself that no child dreams of growing up wanting to be like that.

how very different things could have been if he had made different choices, he said. as this was true, i looked at him sympathetically and can only nod. he spoke as if he were 50 years old.

i've had my fair share of the 'live fast, die young' scene and mentality in my 20s. i was by no means a saint. but i was lucky to get out of the feeling like you're immortal youth unscathed. still, i was not left unscarred. around me, i saw friends succumb to very dark elements. and no matter how much talking or support you offer, in a bid to help them off this dark path, it never worked. my friends chose the path they were on; with many of them wanting to see it the whole way through, regardless of the outcome.

seeing C. today brought up memories i have long tried to suppress because it reminded me of those that were lost and those that could not be saved. i've been around enough to know what that looks like.

as my stop arrived, i said goodbye to C. and told him to take care of himself. i really hope he does. because like how he remembers me as if we were still 18, i can remember him like that too.

ka-pow! crash! thwack! whap!

by day, we walk amongst you as ordinary citizens. inconspicuous in our roles as creative opera geeks.

but by night, we don on our rubber or lycra/spandex superhero costumes with cape and accroutements. that's when we'll make our superhero entrance by crashing through skylights, soaring between skyscrapers or just appearing behind you as if shrouded by a cloak of invisibility.

opera folks and friends are heading over to the hero factory to be transformed into the world of stan lee.

when i'm called upon to fight crime and crack some heads, you will know me as:



you can so tell i was designing my costume with my twitter moniker girl lightning in mind. (i am an aquarius after all and our symbol is of 2 lightning bolts.) but the factory has deemed it more appropriate to christen me as the impossible whipped nine tails.

this name makes me think of those 70s shaw brothers kung fu movies, with names like iron-fingered chen, lady swordfighter or kid with the golden arm. with whipped nine tails, i half picture myself breaking out into some old school wushu action.

also check out christopher, another crime-fighting super hero as the amazing shredding angel.

we're currently recruiting those worthy to join our own little justice league. when you have an hour to burn (and believe me, hero factory is HUGE time-suckage) get superhero'd out and make me gasp "great kryptonite!" with your makeover.

and while we're talking superheroes, another reason that new york is 'effin rad. the met museum's 2008 exhibit of superheroes: fashion and fantasy.

flame on.

we don't have to grow old

a masterpiece of a song. a melody composed of layers, textures and synthesizers. a beautiful music video shot by famed fashion photographer bruce weber. near perfect lyrics celebrating youth, vulnerability, innocence and self discovery.

i love this song also because of the zelda connection (f. scott of the great gatsby fitzgerald's wife) go read zelda: a biography by nancy milford.

[she] bobbed her hair, put on her choicest pair of earrings and a great deal of audacity and rouge and went into battle. she flirted because it was fun to flirt... she covered her face with powder and paint because she didn’t need it and she refused to be bored chiefly because she wasn’t boring. she was conscious that the things she did were the things she had always wanted to do.

a sunday morning laze dedicated to all the nostalgic romantics.

rigoletto v marie antoinette

tonight was our second to last performance of rigoletto. and as i stood just off to the side on the aisle-way inside of the auditorium, i looked around to survey the near sold out crowd of 2600. the buzz of conversation, anticipation and excitement enveloped me and left me with a contact high. this is what it's all about i thought. although pouring outside, vancouver opera-goers fancied up and came down to an intimate night at the opera.

beside live tweeting the dress rehearsal, i haven't yet sat through a performance. but i wanted to gauge what the crowd's reaction was when the metal curtain was lifted and the performers revealed from behind. i became one of the entranced. i stood rapt for a good 30 minutes as the first act was laid out in front of me.

the brocade costumes, corsets, high-falutin' hair and wigs, masques, white pan make up to match the decadent debauchery of courtlife. the court jester, stilt walker and trapeze artist as court performers. our rigoletto warned of partial female nudity, simulated shagging and an orgy scene (which was 6 girls dressed in bustiers and moulin rouge type bloomers surrounding a couple getting it on in the corner.) all in the first act. yup, for opera, we were pushing the envelope but luckily have not had any complaints from our patrons.


photos by tim matheson

as i watched this wantonness, it reminded me of the sumptuously costumed movie, marie antoinette directed by sofia coppola. particularly the masquerade, coronation and birthday scenes. although the story was a bit on the weak tea side, LOVED the costumes, the props and versailles. although our costumes were a little more punkish/victorian what can't be disputed was the excitement on the stage by our rigoletto performers, which paralleled the 'throw caution to the wind' joie de vivre portrayed in these movie scenes.







course, photos are static; frozen images that may not convey 100% of the emotions i'm speaking about, so here's one of my very favourite bands growing up, new order's ceremony from marie antoinette soundtrack.



i can't believe i get to be a part of this. wicked. indeed.

i see clowns

since i took a couple of backstage picture of pierrots jason and darcy at rigoletto, jason thought he'd reciprocate and sent me this picture of him and the rest of the clown gang. he even got everyone to get all "pose-y." i have to admit that i had an ear to ear grin upon receiving it, it was oddly charming. with just one step away from creepy. and one step away from jazz hands.


photo courtesy of jason

thanks guys. you made my morning.

wigging out

the wigs and clip on hair pieces for rigoletto are pretty awesome. it totally appeals to my multiple personalities in that you can rock a look for every day of the week. think it's alittle too much for the office?

a peek behind vancouver opera's rigoletto

think you know opera?

myth #1: opera is traditional and boring


rigoletto set designed by bretta gerecke
directed by glynis leyshon

myth #2: opera isn't sexy


the chorus and supernumeraries of vancouver opera's rigoletto

myth #3: there's nothing progressive about opera companies


blogger night at the opera
kimli of delicious juice
rebecca of miss604
tanya of netchick
tris of a view from the isle
monique of so misguided


myth #4: opera is for the gerie set


the folks of vancouver opera
top left photo courtesy of tris hussey


myth #5: opera is not relevant. it's an artform that is in need of defibrillator paddles

oh yeah? here comes the reviews:

...everything one could wish for... vancouver sun

...for those who want to see bold new life pumped into a classic, this is one cage match worth catching... the straight

...albert's power and gutierrez's talent—and together their duets were nothing short of awesome.... beyondrobson

...the production was outstanding... the leftcoast

...the music was riveting and the singing was breathtaking making this a must see performance... vancity buzz

...albert’s stage presence is little short of phenomenal... review vancouver


vancouver opera: mythbusters

lo-fi summers are almost here

this song makes me feel like doing cartwheels on dewy grass and making a garland of daisy flowers to wear on my head. i can just picture this scene, filmed in super 8 of course, with this guaranteed to put a smile on your face song playing in the background.

flashback to school girl crushes.

lipstick marks

i'm a fan of the L word. the show always brings to mind new york, simply because i used to be such the netflix addict. what more can you do when it's -15C outside in the winter, snow up to your thighs and dressed like the michelin man than to spend hours in bed watching back to back episodes?

i loved jenny schecter's style (played by the beautiful doe eyed mia kirschner) but i would switch teams for bad girl shane mccutcheon with that rock n roll swagger and attitude. katherine moenning, oh so hot.

yesterday's media announced of the L word auction in vancouver, where the show is filmed. a complete liquidation of every single prop from the show for the past 6 seasons. and it is for this reason, i got up at the ungodly hour on a saturday of 8am for the 10am auction start. very little could get me up this early on a weekend, particularly since today is the opening of rigoletto and knowing that i'd be working from 5pm to after midnight.

but you can't not go to see the last physical vestiges belonging to an iconic and groundbreaking show.

what was up for auction at the 30,000 square ft (or 9,144 square metres for those that don't want to do the conversion) warehouse included: jenny schecter's le corbusier two seater white leather sofa, moraccan themed decor from the hit club, 70 racks of designer clothing, 30 boxes of sex toys and kit porter's mint condition 1974 chevy impala. there's even bedroom sets of the various characters. so whoever won could've been sleeping in bette and tina's bedroom by sunday or in alice's or jenny's or driving kit's impala.


bottom left: alice pieszecki's bedroom
bottom right: poppi's bedroom


top left: jenny schecter's bedroom
bottom right: bette and tina's bedroom

everything and anything that was ever purchased for the L word was there. the sheer space was so huge that it became overwhelming to take in. the auction was heralded over by 2 auctioneers and was to take place over 8 hours. guaranteed hoarse voices by end of day, i'm sure.

unless you are a hard-core fan with tons of cash to drop and a moving truck, most items would be out of people's price range. not that the auction was all posh and chi-chi. on the contrary, it was like walking through a typical flea market. this auction was not sitting on tufted louis xvi chairs, dignified-like with a wooden paddle. the huge swarm would follow the auctioneers lot by lot and signal their interest with the numbered catalogue that doubled as a paddle.

out of the 1250 lots, i would've been interested in bidding for schwinn cruiser ss bike, schwinn cruiser with basket bike, raven electric bass and thunder electric guitar. the 70 racks of clothes looked like they were rejects and you know that all the good stuff from the past 6 seasons were picked over and kept by the stars of course.

i did have my eye on some kitchenware such as japanese style platters, dishes, bowls, cups etc. but the problem was that the houseware stuff was sold by lots. we're talking about a 6 ft tall rack of vases, glasses or cookware - 5 or 6 shelves full which you're expected to take all of the contents with you by end of day. which i could've done had those items i was keen on was not auctioned towards end of day.

the big ticket items were first on the agenda, natch. and i couldn't be there until the end as i was due to the theatre by 5pm. so in the end, i did not buy anything because i don't have the room to haul all that stuff back. besides i can almost bet that it'll show up on craigslist or buy & sell for those that bought lots and need to piece it off.

although fun to check out, i don't need a physical souvenir from the show. the magic of the L word is not found in a pair of skyscraper shoes or throw pillows. course if supernatural ever called it quits and held an auction like the L word, i'd seriously be tempted to put up a fight and bid on THAT impala, metallicar.

and so i have been quoted

amidst a hectic week of work as we ready for rigoletto opera to open this saturday, i was interviewed by 2 local newspapers, the straight and vancouver courier. i was the spokesperson for the company on our exciting social media initiatives and boy, i did not want to blow it.

that's 2 times the nail-biting, 2 times the "i hope to god i don't come off sounding like a nimrod" and 2 times the waiting anxiously for the interviews to hit the streets moments.

*a sigh of relief*

compliments and assurances from co-workers and friends that i did great. thank goodness for that media relations course.

rigged out

oh my. i'm so bloody exhausted.

after the 9-5 workday, i headed straight to queen elizabeth theatre to live tweet our dress rehearsal of rigoletto tonight until almost 11pm.

i was authorized all access: from going into the "crying booth" with the assistant director, learning about surtitles in the tech booth, hanging out in hair and make up department as well as the warm up room with the supernumeraries.

check out my escapades on vancouver opera's twitter feed.

i LOVED this production of rigoletto. i think it's my favourite opera this season so far. it even bested eugene onegin last november. i can't wait to post up the pictures!

and the best part was finding out that my tweets made other twitterers following us excited about our opera.

some of the instantaneous @ replies to us:

that was freakin amazing!!
who is doing your tweets? they are fantastc! very fun.
loving the play-by-play!
la donna e mobile is my lucky song, play it before all important events/exams etc!! in fact i'm gonna play it now.
i love that song:)
nice work. great concept!
great job at doing a live tweet! :)
i am liking the live tweets.
sounds great. looking forward to seeing the show.

makes all the hard work worthwhile and i'm thu-rilled people are loving what we're doing. because i sure am! best job in the world!

on the receiving end

on any given day, you can come across a multitude of personal blogs but only a couple (if that) stick out so much and make such an impression that you find your day does not feel complete if you haven't read the daily thoughts and escapades of your new friend.

magic pants jones has become one of those people that i'm delighted to call my new friend. mpj is uber-talented: he entertains through words, photos and drawings; a real renaissance man. AND he teaches kidlets.

so i'm tickled pink to have been given some web love from mpj.

thank you thank you!

course, you'd know that this can just go round and round, never-ending, yes?

happiness in a box

i had THE most wonderful surprise after a long day at work.

i got a notice from my local post office letting me know that there was a package waiting for me as it did not fit in my mail box. thinking it was probably an item i had won on ebay (i'm an addict of the crack level when it comes to ebay), i almost put off picking it up until the end of the week, that was how tired i was.

so when i was given this shoe box sized package, all wrapped up in duct tape, i was kinda stumped. i didn't win any shoes, i thought. i turned it around to find the sender info and it was from my very dear friend, chris in london. talk about jumping jacks, cartwheeling happy! i practically sprinted home (in 3 inch heels) and tore into that box like a kidlet on christmas morning.



it was a present for my birthday: a box of handmade dark chocolate with the warmth of chili and a box of white chocolate with rosebuds and masala spices from paul a. young fine chocolates. omg, it was so pretty i almost didn't even want to open it. so very lovely.

the sucky thing about not being in the same city was all that i couldn't give chris a thank you hug. a virtual hug is a poor facsimile for the real thing.

so chris, next time i come to visit, brace yourself for an all-encompassing bear hug, along with a big huge smile. thank you!

this goes to prove, ALWAYS pick up your packages. you never know when you'd come across (chocolate) heaven in a box.

operation: ninja girl

according to the mikoto website:
"kunoichi(くノ一) is the female term for ninja. it actually means dragon lady and was the name given to women of the black dragon fighting society. story has it that there was once a daughter of a japanese lord who had been assassinated. she was subsequently married off to a new husband. one night she invited all the friends and relatives of her new spouse to a feast and poisoned them. this left her with a reputation for ruthless efficiency."

now i don't anticipate in engaging in any hand to hand combat or off'ing any of our opera peeps with stars of sharp pointy death, BUT i will be all stealth-like as i live tweet at our dress rehearsal tomorrow evening.

so if you want to be a fly on the wall, follow vancouver opera on twitter as i employ another kiss-ass ninja skill, the fine art of spying.

spreading the love

the lovely miss d. has bestowed upon yours truly more web love. *blush*



the proximidade award is described as:

'this blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. these blogs are exceedingly charming. these kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. they are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. please give more attention to these writers!’

this blog award should be sent to your favorite eight bloggers and they, in turn should forward to eight of their favorites. you should include the text for proximidade (above) in your announcement blog.

so here's to new and continued friendships:

tru bliss chic
magic pants jones
awesome sara
delicious juice
net chick

you're the coolest bloggers i know.

X

lights out

on march 31 2007, 2.2 million australians and 2100 businesses in sydney turned their lights off for one hour in a powerful stand to protect the environment.

and the world took notice.



on march 29 2008, 371 cities and 50 million people participated in this initiative.

this year on march 28 at 830pm, for one hour, forget about your daily problems and make a difference in the world. be a part of the global collective in delivering a powerful message about energy conservation and combating global warming.

as treehugger so realistically put it, "It's not the carbon emissions saved in that 60 minutes that really matter, rather the thought processes that are lit up in people's consciousness."

sign up on the earth hour website to be counted.

reduce your footprint. power down. turn off your lights.

besides, we need more intimate candle lit nights with family and friends.

curled up under my duvet

my love for singer/songwriter richard ashcroft has no bounds. this song is purr-fect for those "watching the sunlight stream through the curtains and slowly brightening the room" sunday mornings.