combat pictionary

"Continental drift!"

"Conjoined twins!"

"GIANT PIG COCK!"

Have fun with that, Google.

Yes, all those phrases were uttered during last night's uproarious game of drunken Pictionary. Every time I play, I quickly remember the one ultimate rule of pictionary, drunken or otherwise: Yell your answer as loud as you can and as many times as you can:

"Jump into the pond! Jump INTO the pond! Jump into the POND! JUMP into the POND! JUMP INTO THE POND!"

Because, you know, obviously they just didn't hear you the first (or second, or third) time.

(more pictures available in the galleries)

I had one of the best Halloweens of my lifetime, I believe. Random conversations with other Halloween partygoers, a fully-decked out Halloween house with awesome food, cute girls, costumes, games, and, of course, that wonderful elixir of happiness, booze. Then onto a second party (note, don't tell second party hosts that the first party you went to was THE BEST HALLOWEEN PARTY EVER IN YOUR LIFE. It may put a damper on relations. Luckily they were high as kites.), at which, being the soberest of the bunch, I was apparently the king of wit. Not hard to do when you're around of people who are pretty much done for the night.

AND, as a side note (I only do this because I truly care about you), I saw The Hunted. Do not watch this movie unless you've been drinking a lot and are ready to pass out to something. Otherwise, you will be very mad. I know I would have been, had I not been lucky enough to dullen all senses before viewing it.

ahhh! ya got me in the irkutsk!

Another night of Meghan, another night of games.

Risk + approx. three dozen little chocolate bars = a crazy, bitter dictator known to the world as He With Sugar for Blood.

Actually, come to think of it, Ryan + sugar/caffeine/booze + any kind of game = (generally) loud, bitter, fun, witty Ryan. Yes, all those can go together.

However, the triumph of the night, even though I lost, was my prairie boys (Western Canada, my first property and for many turns, my only property) rising up and taking almost all of Asia and all of Australia in one turn. Arrrrrrr!

ahh, the first WHAT THE F.....

The first snow of the season. Beautiful, really.

However, that signals the end of biking. At least, long distances. Especially today. Call me judgemental (Hi, I'm Judgemental. I'm here with my cousin, Cynicism. Where's the bar?), but everyone is generally stupid on the first day of snow, and I don't trust anybody. Not just in Ottawa, oh no, even in the crazy snow capitals of Regina, Saskatoon, and Calgary, people are dumb until they are used to it.

The bus it is, was, and will be now. *Sigh*

liar

If your internal voice tries telling you that it's OK to ride your bike to the bus station because it's snowing, and glosses over the fact that it's the first day of snow, and that snow melts into slush and water, and there's still plenty of fall dirt out, simply call it a liar and refuse to talk to it anymore. Even if it offers delicious cookies or threatens you with withdrawal of memories or endorphins or other good things. You don't need to fall in with a character like that.

when in doubt, food!

So I'm all Matrixed up for, uh, thirteen hours from now. I'll just say right now, I think you should go and see it, cause it's going to be profound. Hopefully it'll quiet all the naysayers of the second film.

Anyway.

You don't want to hear about that, though. You want to hear about the delectable recipes I tried out tonight! Of course you do. And do I have some for you.

Since the squash is still so cheap, and since I have developed somewhat of a penchance for it this fall, I tried two recipes for butternut squash tonight. The first came from a pamphlet my mom found the day after I mentioned to her I had five pounds of butternut squash in my cupboard. It is called, as far as I know, Squash & Pepper Burritos, and it goes a little something like this (reprinted without permission, but with a love for sharing excellent recipes. If I find the source, I'll quote it):

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 c diced, peeled butternut squash

1 sweet green pepper, chopped

1/4 c orange juice

1 tomato chopped

4 large flour tortillas

1 c shredded cheddar, monterey jack cheese

Heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion, chili powder and salt until softened (3 min). Add squash, green pepper, orange juice. Cover and simmer and simmer until tender and liquid is evaporated (~10 min.) Stir in tomato. Spoon about 1 cup along center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with a 1/4 cup cheese, fold up bottom edge, then sides, and roll up. Place seam down on greased rimmed baking sheet. Bake in 350 oven until crispy (10 min), then cut diagonally in half.

I used smaller tortillas, and they worked well for me. I had some for supper, and a couple left over for lunch tomorrow, plus a bunch more of the mixture that I froze for future use. One disagreement I had with the recipe was simmering - I probably simmered for 20-25 minutes before the liquid was evaporating and the veggies tender. Cook to your own standards, I guess. They were delicious, though, and super-healthy.

I had cut up a rather large squash for this and only used a little (3 cups isn't much squash), so I went back to my database and decided to try Curried Butternut Squash Soup from epicurious. This is super delicious if you like curry (I added about 1.5 times as much as it recommended to give it extra kick, which it has in spades now), and really quite easy to make. I don't even have a food processor and it was fine. Again, frozen. Man, it's like I'm stockpiling for the winter or something. har har

Hope you enjoy! And don't forget about the Saskatchewan election! Well, I won't, anyway.

ohwowitssogoodgoseeitnow

SECOND, RULE-BREAKING UPDATE: Harry's review on Ain't It Cool News is the first positive one I've seen, and he really found the second one lacking and expressed his prejudice that the third one would suck. The first half is worth reading (no spoilers), then he warns you off if you haven't seen it and continues discussion. Whoo!

UPDATE: Jason has another debate raging at his site (hopefully it won't grow to 1750 comments again...), with people arguing both sides (movie good, movie bad). I'm part of the movie good side, and these two comments (warning, the second one has a little spoiler in it) express exactly how I feel about the whole thing. I think more people would have been angry if things hadn't been tied up like they were.

I loved it.

The critics did not.

I want to say just a few things without spoiling anything, before I forget them. Don't worry, I want you to enjoy it too.

First off, I actually was angry when I read things in the reviews like, "...and I still haven't figured out whether the Oracle is God or a benevolent chunk of code," and "...cheating those of us who counted on a little more old-style movie star voluptuousness to warm up the virtual chill." Number one, it's not the movie's fault you can't figure things out. Do you want it spoon-fed to you, like so many movies do today, leaving you nothing to think about on your own? And number two, reviewers talked about how visionary and mould-breaking the first movie was, and how the second and third are, well, not. You can't have it both ways, buddy - either you want what it's always been, or you want something new.

Lousy critics. Now, about the movie. Well, first, it's very apparent that it was (and it really was) written as one movie and divided in half. Critics complain about it divided, and they would just as much if it was one movie - too long, or, if it was shortened, not enough development. And though everyone knew (or hoped) for the end - the good guys winning - I can say in all honesty that no where did I read one guess in the direction that it did go. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Waschowski brothers first approached Warner Bros. with this all in their heads and some of it on paper and said, "We want to do this." They were laughed at. No one did something like this their first time out. So they made Bound. Then they said, "OK, we did it. Now back to the Matrix..." And they did it. I think that the Matrix is a revolutionary concept (did you know that the W brothers even had word on how commercials would look for products tied in? They wanted them to have the same feel as the movie) that will be referenced for years to come. Hell, I'm sure it'll be pointed to in film texts in the future and watched in classes. I'm glad. I'm tired of the tripe that fills so many theatres today.

All in all, I would highly recommend going to see it. Yes, there's a lot of special effects. Yes, it sometimes hops from group to group. Yes, Monica Belluci's boobs are nice. However you feel about these potential detriments (or benefits), it is a good movie, and you'll be able to understand what I mean when I say that after this is available to own, the stupidest thing in the world to say will be, "Hey, let's watch just the second Matrix movie."

eating chicken anus

I just saw one of the new commercials geared towards those partaking in the Atkins diet by KFC. One guy comments that another looks great, asks what he's been doing, the other answers with, "Eating chicken." The commercial explains that each KFC chicken breast has only 11 g of carbs and 40 grams of protein! Wow! Of course, I love the mention at the bottom - "Not for a low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-salt diet". Ha ha ha ha.

I have a friend who takes issue with commercials like these that try and make things sound scientific, when really, they either simply are not, or are incredibly one-sided.

Not to mention my lack of love for the Atkins diet. Even though a blogger I respect did lose 35 pounds (with exercising) on it, I don't believe it is right. I think the real reason it is succeeding is that in cutting out carbs, people are cutting out a lot of unhealthy things that usually include carbs - pizza, nachos, chips, and their ilk. And it encourages exercise.

Oh, hey, you know what? EVERY (good) diet encourages not eating crap and exercising. In fact, it's a good way to be in general. OK, so I just argued myself, maybe Atkins is decent. Not my cup of tea, but chacun son gout.

(I still think the commercial's stupid.)

well, what do YOU use it for?

Friend who I'm house-sitting for: And this is the key for the storage space, in case you need to...
Me: Hide any bodies?
Friend: Get any...what? No! No bodies in the storage space!
Me: Oh. Right, OK then, that's what the rooftop patio is for then, right?
Friend: No! No bodies! I don't know if you should be house-sitting anymore.
Me: Well, I've got your keys now. Little late for second thoughts. Oh, and you don't know anyone named Miguel.
Friend: But I don't know anyone named Miguel.
Me: Exactly.

mike tyson is also a cancer

My horoscope out of the Ottawa Xpress for this week reads as follows:

The Cancerian mascot is the crab, which is typically a small, shy creature that moves sideways and backwards a lot. The giant land crab of Cuba is a species apart, however. It runs so fast it can outrace a horse. I nominate this super-crab to serve as your power animal during the coming weeks, when cosmic forces will be conspiring to make you exceptionally robust, forceful, and direct. Charge!

you can pick your friends...

I think about the funniest thing is when I'm out with friends and someone tries to pick one of them up. Either sex really. The constant thought running through my head is, "I know a whole lot more about them than you do! Just try and do it, sucker!"

Which is usually why friends don't take me out when they're going to pick up.

soundtrack to my life

My generation does not just listen to music. We live it. It is all around us, filling us, surrounding us like amniotic fluid - a source of life for some. Everywhere there is music now, pandering to this fact. The walkman was invented during our time, and is ubiquitous. The MP3 player is a smash with us. Restaurants even use music that loiterers typically do not like to drive them away. I have never met someone my age who has said, "I don't really listen to music." Whole cultures are formed around genres, songs, words (think bling-bling).

I'm not saying this has never happened before. Almost every generation of the 20th century can be, at least in part, defined by its music - jazz, rock 'n' roll, the rock and anti-establishment 60s, the 70s (which I always found was an interesting two-pronged change - the pop music changed and surged, and the jazz of that decade was unheard of before or since, though its sound did resemble the same pattern as its more popular counterparts), the resurgence of rock of the 80s and the growing punk movement (whoo!), and the mix of the 90s (was every decade this mixed up? Grunge, bubble-gum pop, punk/ska re-emergence, some disco popularity, 80s rock retro, rap, hip-hop, etc. Seriously, I don't know. Or is it record companies, more powerful than ever and cogniscent of their ability to make popular whatever they want? Can someone enlighten me?). But you can tell those who are truly addicted to music, who use it as their soma - they're always humming songs or have earphones on or always have a stack of CDs with them or always have something playing while they're working, studying, or just chatting with friends. They quote songs like English professors quote Shakespeare.

So, I've been working on this for quite some time. I found it actually quite hard to do. Well, with a good portion of the music I listen to - I tried to pick stuff that was intelligible to listen to for more than just hardcore fans, plus music that fits. It's a rough cross-section of what I listen to, too. Try it yourself. (leave a note if you do. I'd be interested to see how other people classify their lives with music.)

opening credits: "My Evil Plan to Save the World" - Five Iron Frenzy
waking-up scene: "Music for Morning People" - Kid Koala
average-day scene: "Angel and a Devil" - The Gadjits
best-friend scene: "We're Gunna Take On The World" - Mustard Plug
driving scene: "Hey Dude" - Kula Shaker
first-date scene: "I Have a Date" - The Vandals
falling-in-love scene: "When I Fall In Love" - The Real Group
love scene: "I'll Cover You (reprise)" - from the musical 'Rent'
fight-with-friend scene: "Political" - Spirit of the West
break-up scene: "Reciprocate" - Captain Tractor
get-back-together scene: "Nowhere But Up" - The Paperboys
"life's okay" scene: "Habit" - My Fellow Astronauts
heartbreak scene: "Bang Bang (my baby shot me down)" - Nancy Sinatra
mental-breakdown scene: “Drunk Again" - Reel Big Fish
lesson-learning scene: "And So It Goes" - Voices Iowa
deep-thought scene: "The Flag" - Barenaked Ladies
flashback scene: "Things I Don't Remember" - Ugly Cassanova
party scene: "The Gang's All Here" - Dropkick Murphys
happy dance scene: "Hey! Whoo! Yeah!" - The Forces of Evil
regret scene: "Bittersweet" - Moxy Fruvous or Barber's "Adagio"
long-night-alone: "Here's That Rainy Day" - Frank Sinatra
wedding scene: "The Luckiest” – Ben Folds
closing credits: "This Is The End" - Skandalous Allstars, "Roll Credits" - Kid Koala

the roughrider fan's lament

Next year will be better.

Every fan of the green and white knows it. And every year, except two (1989 and 1966), they utter it with full belief of its truth. You see, Rider fans are a different breed. Most othr cities have other sports teams - hockey, baseball, basketball. Not in Saskatchewan. Oh, sure, in Regina, there's some minor league hockey, but just consider the team name - the Regina Pats - and you get an idea of how much fun they are.

No, the only game in town is CFL football. And Rider fans are rabid. I mean, you'll get crazies for any team, but not many go shirtless in November for their teams each and every year. Or drive hours to see games. It's rumoured that Saskatchewan's number one export is Rider fans - there's always a Rider cheering section at any away game for the boys.

I won't get into details about the CFL Western conference final tonight, as they mean nothing to anyone except Rider fans (who were all watching the game). However, I left after the game with a broken heart. It's been a long time since I've been that disappointed by a football game. And I'm not what one may call a sports guy - I generally know enough to hold a conversation, but not enough to have an argument (unless I'm drinking, in which I still don't know enough). *sigh*

Oh well. Next year will be better.

it's the small things

I just wanted to share this today with you. I think it was from the ice/rain last week, then the leave just dissolved, leaving a ghostly impression behind on the sidewalk. Who knows.

Remarkable, really, that something as plain and ordinary as a leaf falling in autumn, due to circumstances completely beyond its control, becomes unique, leaving a trace of its impact for those who care to...care.

since you've been gone

I've been housesitting this week, with zero computer access, plus my good friend Michael was in town for a visit, so for once, I've been absorbed in the real world, rather than the one of bits and bytes (despite the fact that the weather's been so bad, everyone's walking like real-life mimes).

As one good friend recently told me, however, with good friends, you can pick up the relationship again at any time, and it is like no time has passed at all. Michael is one of my oldest friends who I still keep in contact with, and we had a blast just fooling around, acting like kids again, being geeks. It's at least three point five times as funny to know that someone you know as a suave, stylish individual now is still willing to literally dance like there's no one watching with you in a very, um, individualistic manner and laugh and laugh and laugh about it with you. (And now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.)

Those kinds of friends never go away. Not even when you want them to. ;)

new directions

Well, in following with that little motto above, it's time to jump another fence, see some more cool stuff.

I've been keeping a bit of a secret, but it's not just from you, blog friends.

I'm headed to Taiwan to teach English. In a little more than two weeks. For a year. At least.

I need growth in my life. Not necessarily in every direction, that gets a little crazy at times, but I do require it. The past year and a half has granted me plenty of personal, internal growth. I think back to who I was when I graduated, and I see plenty of that in me now, but with a lot of other elements that were unknown to me then, and I love it. Unfortunately, I had reached the limit at this time in that direction, and other directions were either not available or severly restricted. I needed an outlet, a new area.

And found it, thanks to a friend who thought quite highly of me. Inside of three weeks from the first phone call, I had my offer. A compressed time frame, to be sure, but getting the shit kicked out of me in university trying to spin as many plates as possible had taught me something.

So, now, two days later, I'm full of dead virii, my pocketbook is quite a bit lighter, my head is spinning with excitement, and all of my daytime cell minutes are used up until the next billing period begins in three days. But it was all worth it. The last big task is packing and moving everything to various storage points, to be accomplished next week.

I will, of course, be keeping this updated as much as possible, in addition to keeping photos on the site, so that you, the reader, can catch glimpses of what I am experiencing while deftly avoiding any chance of Japanese Encephalitis (unlike me, though I'm full of immunity now!). I hope to write more, learn a new language, and plunge myself into a new culture, headfirst with my eyes closed, screaming with joy every minute of it.

If you want a postcard, wherever you are, whoever you are, send me an address (and maybe a little blurb about yourself if I don't know you), and you'll get one. Hell, maybe I'll join Postcardx, make it exotic.

Sometimes examining the unknown makes everything else clearer.

drip, drip, drip

You approach the tap. It's off. Completely. You use it. But instead of turning it off, an action you know is completely possible, you let it drip. Or worse, continue running, wasting many litres of water per hour. Day after day after day, for six months. Or more.

Do you do this? I certainly hope not. If you do, expect a beating. Soon.

horrible, terrible, shitty

You know that feeling you get when a friend has something stolen from your place? Something that is quite valuable?

Yeah, I do too. Now.

UPDATE: A friend had his laptop stolen out of my apartment. Someone left the door open (usually I do that, but it wasn't me this time), and someone else came in and snatched it up, leaving a TV, a PS2, and a VCR behind. He says it's no biggie, but I've felt terrible all night. *Sigh* And right before I leave too. :(

the very definition of 'uh oh'

Flash back to a week ago. The scene opens in the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ottawa.

"Do I get my passport back?"
"No, we keep it. You get it back later."

Uh oh.

Fast forward two days later. We're now approaching the Canada-US border crossing.

"OK folks, we're approaching US customs. Please bring your carry-on items with you into the customs office."

My palms are getting a tad sweaty now. I'm trying to think positive thoughts, but it's hard. You see, I don't have a 'valid' passport. Well, I sort of do - I have my old one, which is still technically valid, except it now has VOID punched through it (because I do have a new, non-VOID passport, currently in the possession of the Taiwanese government arm in Ottawa.) I make sure I'm the last one in line. I just know that it won't be as smooth as it was for everyone else.

Me: Hi! How's it goin' today?
Non-Smiling Customs Guy #1: Good. Can I see some ID?
Me:Well, I've got a bit of an unfortunate story about that. You see...
NSCG1: (after I finish my story, while NSCG2 is going through my bag) Uh huh. OK. Well, as a Canadian citizen, you don't need a passport to enter the US.
Me: (a bit relieved) Oh, OK, I wasn't sure, I haven't been to the US for a few years now.

Then Mr. NSCG1 starts with the slew of questions that everyone else has been subjected to: how long are you in the US for, purpose, where are you from, who are you visiting, how do you know her, do you have any fruit, meat, booze, cigarettes, gifts, or anything to declare. I decide against anything outside of the straight and narrow. ("Any gifts?" "Just the gift of friendship!")

He then commented, "You seem really quite nervous." I stated I was a bit on edge about the whole passport ordeal. "You sure?" "Yes, I'm sure," I retorted back. In my head. Back on the bus. Once I was across the border.

Then it started going downhill.

NSCG1: What do you do?
Me: I'm unemployed.
NSCG1: How do you sustain yourself?
Me: Savings and employment insurance.
NSCG1: Employment insurace?
Me: Uh...like welfare. I guess. Sorta.
NSCG1: ... How much money do you have on you?

Uh oh.

Me: What? Oh, uh, 30 Canadian dollars.

By this time, everyone else is getting on the bus. NSCG1 has repeated a few questions about length of stay, purpose, contact, her citizenship.

NSCG1: You're going to support yourself on $30?
Me: No, I've got a debit card and a credit card.

They ask, I have them over. As I was answering these last questions, the door behind me had opened, and another NSCG had joined the fray. NSCG3 looks at my cards, starts asking all the same questions AGAIN. Well, except for the fruit and meat ones. They didn't seem as interested in that. "When was the last time you were in America?" "The last time I remember was in 1998. I went to Hawai'i."

At this point they just look at each other. I can almost feel the the Customs Mind-Meld happening, the group mind pondering my fate.

Uh oh.

Finally, (well, in reality it was probably only 30 seconds, but it was a long 30 seconds), NSCG3 says, "OK." He nods to NSCG2, who had been searching my bad, and turns to me. As NSCG2 loads the bag on the bus, NSCG3 says, "Since you haven't been here in a while, I'll tell you the rules. Techincally, because you're unemployed and don't have any cash to speak of on you, even though you have a bank card and a credit card (both of which could be stolen or forged [to which I think, "If I had a stoled or forged credit card, would I be taking the bus across the border?" But I only thought that.]), I could send you back and not let you in. But I'm not going to do that this time. Next time, though, bring something to show a tie to Canada." At this point, he explained that I could potentially be planning to come in to the States and then just collect welfare. I did slip and give him a look of incredulity at this point, thinking, "What? Why would I come here to collect welfare? Oh, wait, you got me. I also plan to thrive on your socialized medicine too..."

After all this was done, I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, and stuttered a simple, "Um, OK. You got it. Thanks."

And so, after a harrowing adventure at the border that took about three times as long as anyone else, I was finally in the USA.

Of course, the return trip into Canada was so different, it made me think of Canadian Bacon:

Bilingual Friendly Customs Guy: Hi, how are you? Can I see some ID? Where are you from?
Me: Great, thanks. Here you go. Ottawa.
BFCG: Any gifts, tobacco, alcohol?
Me: Just a couple of gifts. Here's the receipts, and here's the bag.
BFCG: Mmm hmm. Great! Welcome back to Canada!

I'm not kidding. It was that different. Am I asking for too much?

observations and impressions on a trip to boston

1. Leaving the U.S.A. is much easier than entering it. I have never been so happy to see French in my life.

2. It was much harder to eat healthy in the US. At least where I was. I mean, restaurants generally make it harder to eat healthy in the first place, but if you're willing to make some sacrifices, it can usually be done in a moderate manner. Unfortunately, there was fast food EVERYWHERE. Is it like this all over? McDonalds (wow, was there a prevalence of those. They really have taken over) is everywhere, there was a disappointing lack of places that offered me a choice of salad or fries, and the supermarkets had disturbingly huge sections dedicated to pre-made snacks, meals, ice cream, desserts, chips, etc. I really believe that it is an epidemic. And everyone I saw was ordering burgers, fried foods, not many vegetables. Hrm.

3. I gained a better understanding of American history and their frame of reference. I went to the State House in Boston, where the Declaration of Independence was read, and saw the square where the Boston Massacre occurred. America has a very violent history. They really did fight for what they believed. To me, raised on generally peaceful Canadian history, it was a bit overwhelming at times, but it helped me to gain some insight into some stereotypical American traits: the fierce streak of national pride, the assumed right to self-determinance, and the eternal fight against anything they see as oppression. The language used was also quite strong, reflecting the passion still coarsing through many veins today - tyranny, rebellion, massacre.

4. If you go to a party, you should not expect the hosts to provide the alcohol. Especially if it is a college party. Who do these people think they are? I've never been to a party like that before, and I simply could not believe it. And if, in fact, alcohol is offered to you, and you reject it because you don't like it, please don't complain any further. In fact, yeah, don't come at all.

5. You lose any chance at suaveness and dignity when you re-appear at any social gathering (after a forty-five minute disappearance) with your shirt inside out. Also, any believability.

6. Mooning other cars is perfectly acceptable when it is done as an international bond-building experience.

7. Sometimes you find kinship where you least expect it.

8. One thing in the world of love is constant: relationships are hard, and they are never perfect, no matter how perfect they seem.

9. I find those Bostonian accents to be pretty funny.

10. I had a good weekend. How about you?

boston, reflected

There are new pictures up. I didn't do too much touristy stuff while I was in Boston, but then again, that's not why I made the trip. I tend to travel with purpose, and work towards that purpose. I achieved that purpose on this trip, plus got some bonus touristy pictures. Enjoy!

silent but deadly

As much as I love my crunchy peanut butter (and love it I do), I discovered that when you try and force it to do things it may not want to do, like be eaten quickly in large amounts, it will try and suffocate you. Good thing we all have that natural reaction to keep swallowing, and maybe drink some water.

Though it did try to kill me, I will miss crunchy peanut butter, my favourite impromptu snack. I wonder if they have it there, and if it is as good as it is right now...

fitting

I almost forgot. After the telling of my horrible customs story, I have a funny one as a (late) chaser, told to me by a listener of my story.

Being a musician, she had a friend who had been traveling in Canada and was trying to re-enter the United States. This particular traveling musician was a trombone player. When he reached the border crossing, the border officials were particularly harsh on him, asking many questions, and insinuating that he could be smuggling drugs in his horn. To disprove this, they told him he would have to take it out and play it a little bit. What did he choose to perform?

I would not be just a nothin’,
My head all full of stuffin’,
My heart all full of pain.
I would dance and by merry,
Life would be a dingle derry,
If I only had a brain.

all that matters

After seeing Matrix Revolutions, I walked away with two simple lessons learned from the film: love is all that matters, and there is always a choice. Ho hum. It's a movie. Fine. Dandy. Like sour candy.

However, for some reason, both keep coming back to haunt me. I've had a couple of love discussions with friends who believe, don't believe, have given up, or have taken up the cross again. Life changing love. Young love. Lack of love. I'm convinced everyone will find it - I wouldn't be friends with these people if I didn't believe that they couldn't love and be loved. The first thing I remind them is that they have the love of their friends, which is much

As for the latter enlightenment, I've had the choice discussion so many times I can't even count. This whole whirlwind adventure for me all started with a choice, and relied simply on follow-through. Anyone can do it. Well, sorta - it all depends on your comfort level. Some people never leave their home city, some never venture outside of their country. Some never voice their true opinions in any company, afraid of the consequences. But that's their choice. Even when it's a life-or-death situation, you still have an option. Not very alluring, I'll admit, but you can never say that there was nothing else.

This relates to everything. Even back to the choice itself and the balance of risk and gain - you can let your fear of choices (or the choice) control you, or you can control your fear. I may be a little afraid (though I don't feel it), but that is the last thing that will stop me. My faith may be a little blind, but that doesn't affect my self-trust.

As soon as you realize how much you can do when you trust your choices, you unveil a whole new world to yourself.

ending and beginning

This will be my last communique from my current location. That's right, after I type this, old..uh..Stupid Computer, Breaking All The Time is being packed away, to be the slave of another for as long as I am gone.

Why is it that you always have the most fun when it's time to go?

Pictures are up. I recommend against the fusion of wine and ice cream. In quite possibly the first documented occurence in mathematical history, two positives generated a negative.