Wal Mart: love to hate it

Wal-Mart...I love to hate it, but I can't seem to stop shopping there. I try and rationalize it, I convince myself that WHEN I can afford to shop elsewhere then Wal Mart will be black listed...But even I'm not sure that it's true.

The Big Box Rant I posted back in September pretty much describes most of the reasons I hate wal mart, but perhaps I should reiterate in my own words.

Where I grew up, I could get just about anything I wanted on my own two feet. I could walk to the bank, the grocery store, the hairdresser, the park, the community centre, the library, the pool, the toy store, the craft store everything was close by. There were countless options for food; there are cafes, seafood restaurants, Chinese restaurants, Japanese restaurants, Greek restaurants, Indian restaurants, ice cream stores, candy stores and the amazing thing is that they were all family owned businesses. From my house I could walk to 3 different bus stops or the bus depot (all within 10 minutes) and from there the world was my oyster, in short, I grew up in a community.

And the thing that I hate the most about Wal Mart, is that they rob the community out from under the people who live there. Think about your local wal mart, so big and huge and menacing, there is no sidewalk connecting the people on the road with the store and the individuals whose heart & soul is invested in it, nope I only see parking lot.

Although for many it is their livelihood the employee in the store has nothing "invested" into the store and merchandise, they are just another person working for the man. Not to mention that the reason that stores like Wal Mart can bring us such low prices is that their products are not locally manufactured (which is so incredibly bad for the environment...argh shipping), they don't support the local economy or the people who live there. In fact they just increase the pollution by encouraging so many out of towners to drive to wal mart.

Argh, there is so much more, but I am tired now...

But before I go, I have an admission to make...Despite my best efforts to avoid the place like the plague, I gave in and we went to wal mart last night where we proceeded to buy an assload of crap we "needed"...

I can't stand the system, but damn I love the prices...

caffeine shma-ffeine

When I was a teenager I remember boredom setting in around 9pm, we would all jump in the car (whoever had been able to bum a car from their parents of course) and we would head out to the starbucks. It was the only place--that we could find--where a bunch of underage kids could spend under $5 and stay for a few hours without getting harassed or kicked out. It was like heaven...For a teenager.

Now, I still enjoy a trip to the coffee shop, a relaxing chat and a cup of coffee, but unfortunately any trips made after 5:30pm now include the very important word-DECAF. Caffeine doesn't make me bounce off the walls or anything fabulously fun like that, so it's not even really that beneficial for me to drink it in the hopes of staying awake.

Nope, if I ingest caffeine after 5:30, I still get tired and sleepy by 11pm (like always) except when I get into bed my mind begins to wander. I contemplate all sorts of ridiculous things and then think they are clever and try to remember them, which only serves to keep my mind going. Next thing I know, it's 3am and I'm wide awake.

I've been lame like this for at least a couple years, but it rarely troubles me because once I figured out that drinking decaf still satisfied my urge for coffee but didn't keep me awake, I was happy to switch over my evening beverages.

For some reason, despite all this knowledge, I still found myself lying wide awake in my bed at 3am yesterday. Why you ask? Well as I enjoyed my feast of Chinese goodness last night (which my Popo fully cooked for the first time in years) the only beverage to choose from was good old Coca-Cola. I didn't even drink a whole one--and I always seem to think there is less caffeine in pop than coffee--so I figured "caffeine shma-ffeine and used the nasty dark stuff to wash my food down.

Lesson learned: half a pop at 7:30pm is just as bad as a cup of coffee at 5:30pm...

Gung Hay Fat Choy

a.k.a. Happy Chinese New Year!

As an individual of half-Chinese descent Chinese New Year is a fairly important time of year for my family. Granted we are not very traditional and our entire family is mixed, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the new year.

My dad tells me that Chinese New Year takes place at the 13th moon...I'm not entirely sure how it all works, but for now that will suffice.

So what does Chinese New Year look like for me? After working, showering and getting presentable, our intermediate family (about 13 of us) all meet up at my Popo's (my Dad's mother) house where we will enjoy a plethora of yummy Chinese food and the children will receive lucky money in red envelopes from the married adults. I have a feeling that my turn receiving envelopes may be drawing to a close, but I'll have a better idea after tonight (after I gauge the teasing I receive by the adults).

Gung Hay Fat Choy, I hope you enjoy your Chinese New Year...It's definitely a great excuse for some yummy Chinese grub!

love is...

Love is hard and love is complex, but it is difficult to describe it precisely. Wikipedia describes love in the following way:

Love has several different meanings in every language, from something that gives a little pleasure ("I loved that meal") to something one would die for (patriotism, pairbonding). It can describe an intense feeling of affection, an emotion or an emotional state. In ordinary use, it usually refers to interpersonal love...

But I'm not certain a definition can really explain or describe being in love. So what is love to me?

• Love is acceptance


• Love is the warm & cozy feeling I get when I'm around my partner


• Love is the happiness my partners enjoyment brings me


• Love is a spiritual connection that exists between people


• Love is a soul filling, inescapable feeling of fullness & joy


• Love is wonderful, natural & pure


• Love is considering your partner in your decisions


• Love is sacrifice and compromise


• Love is ...

This could obviously go on forever, but at least it's a start. I am very curious what love is FOR YOU...*and would appreciate any feedback as a comment...hint hint*

But I digress, there was a time when I very seriously pondered whether love was enough...With love, could we overcome the barriers and boundaries of our individuality?

I have discovered--that for us--the answer is yes. As the months passed, our love gave us the strength to work together and finally start to find the delicate balance that is OUR LIFE TOGETHER...

A little older and a little wiser, I now recognize some of the difficulties that are inherent in life. I am however, always encouraged by the knowledge that whatever love is and however it works,
our love is enough.

a new look

After searching and browsing and searching and browsing for what feels like ever, I finally found a blog template that:

a) I like
b) Is easy to install

I got it from BLOGFROCKS where they have tons of other incredibly beautiful (and I assume, easy to use) linkware templates.

Just in case you weren't exactly sure, Linkware means that in order to use the template you just have to maintain a link to the artist of the template. Shareware on the other hand requires both a link and the payment of a small fee (usually around $10) to use the template.

Personally, I think this template is perfect...What do you think?
Perhaps the "prettiness" will help me with my goal of blogging more often!!

when will it be over?

• I've discovered I unintentionally killed a bunch of bugs making a weeklong test invalid at day 6...
  
• My stock tank is flooding & there is water everywhere...
  
• My shirt is wet up to my elbow...

And I have only been at work 1.5 hours...when will it ever end?
Only Six & a half hours left till weekend...thank goodness

grey clouds & coincidence

I can't seem to shake the grey cloud that attached itself to me when I was sick with Bells Palsy. It's not so much that I am mean or angry, but rather that I feel very flat with respect to energy. I can't seem to get super fired up and excited about anything, I feel tired all the time and I have been exceptionally moody (for me at least).

Perhaps the 25 consecutive days of rain has something to do with it, but honestly, I don't mind the rain. It's something you learn to live with if your home is in the lower mainland, and it can be beautiful at certain times of day. Not to mention our water resevoirs must be brimming with water at this point, and that is always a good thing.

But I digress, being cranky stinks! I have been (trying to) eat better, take my vitamins and I've been going to kickboxing; isn't eat better and exercise the cure-all answer to the world's problems? I guess not. The last couple days I have been trying to get to bed earlier as it is the only other thing I can think of.

Ahh, well certainly it will pass, these things always do.

On a completely unrelated note...I try and take notice of coincidences in life, some of these incidents seem to have a deeper meaning or even perhaps co-creation at the heart of the event. Others, I just can't seem to figure out.

For example, when I drive to work I often find myself behind Yellow Nissan Xterra within the first block of leaving my house. The first few times, I just thought there was more than one Xterra in the neighbourhood, but then I started to pay attention to the decals on the back...It is definitely the same car.

Now the interesting thing about this car is that not only do I regularly find myself behind the Xterra, I never seem to be able to pass him, mostly just due to the flow of traffic on the way to work. But even more interesting is the fact that he takes the exact same route to work and turns off only 2 blocks before I arrive at work.

Seriously, what are the chances that I end up behind the same car for the majority of my drive to work up to 3 times a week (especially when I only work three normal weekdays)? I'm not even as consistent as I'd like to be when it comes to leaving the house for work. Hmmm...Food for thought I guess.

Canadian Government

I recieved this email and liked the way that it bashed our Liberal Government. It also went on to say that the writer would be voting conservative and why that was a good idea...but that wasn't the part that interested me, so I cut it out of this post. If you want to read it all I can email you the original post written by "David Stokes from Toronto He actually wrote this just (5) days before the last federal election."

---

Paul Martin is no friend of mine. Liberal governments have not made my life any better. Liberal governments have made the future worse for my children.

Jean Chretien and the Liberal Party became Prime Minister many years ago. Guess who was the Liberal Finance Minister.....Paul Martin...LEST WE FORGET

Since 1993:
(1) My taxes have increased.
(3) My personal expenses have increased.
(4) My waiting time to see a doctor has increased.
(5) My concerns for my family's safety have increased.
(6) My costs to educate my children have increased.
(8) My personal debt has increased.
(10) My savings have decreased.
(12) The value of my dollar, in the U.S., has decreased.
(13) My trust of elected officials has decreased.
(14) My trust in the justice system has decreased.
(16) My hope that a Liberal won't waste my tax dollars has decreased.
(17 )My dreams for a better future for my kids, in Canada, have disappeared.


I am not voting for Paul Martin's Liberals. I am voting against
Paul Martin and his Liberal Party in January.

In 35 of the past 37 years, Canada has been ruled by:
(1) Pierre Trudeau - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(2) Brian Mulroney - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(3) Jean Chretien - a multi-millionaire lawyer from Quebec.
(4) And now we are going to vote for Paul Martin???? - amulti-millionaire lawyer from Quebec???


But wait! Paul Martinis now saying the same thing [that they will reduce taxes]. My mother told me forty years ago: "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!"

The Liberals have had 34 years to be financially responsible. Remember, Jean Chretien was Trudeau's Finance Minister. Remember also, Paul Martin was Jean Chretien's Finance Minister. These people have been raising my taxes for thirty four years. They have been mis-spending my tax dollars for 34 years.

34 years!

And now Paul Martin says he'll stop taxing and spending. No way.

broken..grrr

Our brand new Surround Sound, 5 disc DVD/CD/MP3 player died last night. We plugged in the new release "Transporter 2" and were cuddled up on the couch ready for some exciting car races, crashes and fights. However within about 20 minutes the machine flicked off and despite turning off the power bar and allowing the machine to rest we could not get it to play again.

I'm going to try again when I get home from work, but J already called the company and if leaving it unplugged completely doesn't help it start back up, we will have to drag it down to Rupert street to get it fixed.

ARGH...how come things always seem so difficult?

Welcome to 2006

Yet again, it's been a while since I posted however, I'm not sure it matters all that much as I have my doubts that anyone stops by here anyways! Not that I mind all that much. This blog is meant both as a journal for myself and as a source of information for my friends as my "keeeping in touch" skills are sometimes lacking.

For the second year in a row, New Years was fairly uneventful yet good. J and I went to Cronos, our favourite steak and pasta restaurant where we indulged in a meal of ribs and lasagna, followed by a quick visit with our nephews and J's family before heading home to relax and enjoy each others company. We debated heading out to a party in Steveston, but in the end decided to stay home as we both had to work first thing in the morning on the first.

Despite working on the first we were both lucky enough to have the second, third AND fourth of January off of work. So we still had the opportunity to start our year off together. Much to J's delight we did a bunch of cleaning and housework, gave a bunch of old clothes away and put away the christmas decorations. I had--a far too short--lunch with good friends I hadn't seen in eons, we checked out King Ed Pet's on Kingsway, and generally filled our days with relaxation and errands.

Although J had to work on thursday, I was lucky enough to have the day off to myself as well. I finally made the trip out to van to see my sis and get a haircut and dye. It feels like I have been waiting forever for the front to grow long enough for my hair to be "evened out" and it was finally close enough. My hair is now all blackish-brown (instead of a myriad of colours the result of past dye jobs), short in the back, but jaw length in the front. It's hard to describe, but I love it, THANKS Courtney! If you need a great haircut and friendly conversation, look her up, she works at Studio 6-twelve on Braodway at Ash.

Well that's enough for now...I'm going to try and post more regularly, and perhaps I will find more interesting things to write about, but until then...ciao!