I'm famous!

WoW Character

See how much of a geek I've become? This is my World of Warcraft personality apparently. I'm okay with this. I can embrace the inner geek.

Vietnam, Vietnam

My brother returned from Vietnam this weekend and I finally got his pictures. I love looking through them but it's also a bit sad as it makes me really miss being there. Lots of great pictures from there!

Here's a few of my favourites.

The wedding location was incredible.


The whole lot of us!


Lots of shots of the girls.





And the boys.



And of course, Macen.

My Gamertag

Here it is...I'm officially a total geek. And if you know what the below is, you're just as bad.

Medical system...fair?

I was having a conversation with a friend the other night about the medical system here in Canada. We were discussing the merits of a mixed private and public system. I've heard the argument that this would be unfair to the people who can't afford to pay for more. The argument on the flip side is that it would put much needed relief on the public system. I obviously am not an expert but I do know that in the places where this works, the doctors have to spend a vast percentage of their billable hours in the public system to ensure that there is sufficient support.

I got my back up when the discussion turned to fair. It occurred to me that the sick people who were not working, thus not paying taxes were the ones who got the best service. The poor suckers like me who pay 40% of my paycheque to the system and goes to a doctor once a year has to wait hours to even talk to someone. That surely is not fair. To be clear, I do not have a problem with paying the obscene amount of taxes but I should also have the option of paying extra to see a doctor if and when required.

Speaking of taxes, last week the provincial government came out with the fiscal budget. As part of that, there is to be a 10% tax cut for people who make under $108k per year. Knee jerk reaction was to celebrate but then I thought about it. Seems that there would be much better uses for those billions. There are always stories about our health care and education systems, not to mention the environment. Truly, the extra in my paycheque would be nice but since I don't miss it anyway, I would much prefer that this "excess" money is put back into the system. This reminds me of the tax rebate cheque all Albertans received early last year. They were all ecstatic and I snickered the whole time at how short sighted and ridiculous they all were and here we are a year later. Sigh.

Running out of time?

It's odd. I have recently been feeling like I'm running out of time. Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with a biological clock and a latent need to procreate. I surrounded by enough babies lately, thank you very much.

No, this is more about the fact that I've just returned home and turned 30. I feels that I shouldn't or couldn't really pick up and live in another country again. Not that I want to go anywhere (except back to the Motherland) but still, I feel like that option is simply not opened to me any longer. I guess I'm a bit afraid that I'll meet someone and settle down here and that would be it for my worldly wanders. Not just 2 week vacations, but where you settle into a different culture for an extended period of time. Having done this several times, I know that I will always return home to Vancouver because it's just that...home. However, I still like the freedom that comes from moving into a new city. Not only are the people and cultures different from home but I can be different. At this age, I'm comfortable enough to be who I am but it's still liberating to be in a totally strange environment with no ties to the society. To observe it as an outsider at the some time as I experience it as an insider.

I know that my recent sense of, I guess "urgency" is the best word, is ridiculous. I'm still young and have a lot of good years before I have to be worried about settling down. And yet, I can't help what I feel and I definitely feel age bearing down. Or is that reality biting me in the ass as I start to talk about settling down in Vancouver??? Food for thought.

2007 Outlook

After three months in Vancouver, I'm still living in boxes and for the most part feel like a transient, even though I really am not any longer. My excuse is that I'm waiting for a new couch, which come to think of it, is not much of an excuse. I could've just bought one months ago but of course I procrastinated. So my excuse is that I'm waiting...and I'm sticking to it. I was once told that procrastination is just like masturbation. In the end, all you're doing is fucking yourself. Hah!

I've been on the "settling down" obsession since returning in November. I even bought a car!!! As my sister keeps reminding me, that's a HUGE committment. My feeling though is that if I truly wanted to leave, I would find a way to get rid of the "stuff". It's simply not important enough to hold me back from doing what I want to do. What does stop me is that I owe the new company my first and second child for what they paid to get me out here. Yikes. Luckily I love it more every day and have no intention of going anywhere.


As for my social life, I have been out quite a bit lately. It feels like I've reintegrated back into Vancouver life. Finally. Feels good to be with friends and family on a regular basis again. The picture is of the Red Cross girls and I at a Dessert Party. Yum.

The flip side is that I've given up on dating entirely. I just realized that I had not been on a proper date since May. That's NINE months!!! My God. I used to be so good at this. Looks like I've lost my mojo. Must've misplaced it somewhere in Calgary. Not the only thing I left behind, but the thing I miss the most.

Actually, what I miss the most is meeting guys who actually make an effort. I was interested in this guy recently and after an hour and a half of talking to him, he just asked me to come out and watch his band play. That was it. The kicker is that when I finally did, he just kept on with the sales pitch to come watch him play at another venue. I guess he just didn't have enough groupies. Jesus. I miss the good ol' days when guys asked you for your number, called and you go out for dinner/coffee/drinks. What happened to that? I guess I've just gotten old. Fak that. I'm still going to the Roxy, aren't I? Oh wait....