These kids rock my world

I love this band, and I love this song. Hearing these amazing kids sing it gave me chills. I loved singing in choir and this brought back fond memories of Kiwanis and the rush of performing. I’ve never had a strong voice, and the thrill of being in choir always came from hearing everyone harmonize And looking at the expressions on these kids’ faces, it looks like they were having a blast and totally feeling the song. Standout kids for me: the one in black with the emo haircut on the right side and the girl behind him in the green wearing glasses. Also, the boy in the second row on the right side wearing the gold chain, who you’d think would have the “I’m too cool for choir” attitude, is totally into it. Love it.

A Whole Lot of Awesome

This video is one of the greatest things I have ever seen, hands down. Genius.

The only thing missing might be Jake Gyllenhaal.

The world needs more people like her

Poster courtesy of CBC

I don’t know where to begin when it comes to Eva Markvoort.

I have never met this fiery-haired, feisty woman, but she has inspired and touched me in a way that has truly changed my life.

Last week, Eva thought she was going to die in a matter of days. The 23 year-old from B.C. has cystic fibrosis and needs a new set of lungs. She was told by her doctors that her life was fading away, and she started to say her goodbyes.

Cystic fibrosis is the most common, fatal, genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. Like many ad campaigns allude to, it is like “drowning on the inside” as CF patients’ lungs fill with mucus which makes breathing very difficult.

Eva was the subject of a documentary called 65_redroses, which aired at HotDocs in Toronto. (I can’t watch the trailer without crying.) The title comes from her LiveJournal‘s pseudonym, which is also the way many children with CF mispronounce the name of the disease. The doc shows how Eva connects with two other CF patients online in the U.S. as she waits for a lung transplant. In the film, she is at the top of the list, waiting for someone to die so she can have a life-saving double lung transplant. The transplant occurs, but her story doesn’t end there. Since the making of the film, after being healthy for awhile, Eva has taken a turn for the worse and needs yet another set of lungs to keep her alive.

Eva’s blog has touched people around the world from those who have CF to those like me who are simply inspired by her story, her will to live, and her capacity to love.

This week, there is hope. She is back on the transplant list and feeling better. But every day and every breath is a struggle.

Yet in the face of death, Eva chooses to remind all her readers to love. The message in all of her posts is ultimately about keeping those you love close to your heart and never letting them go. Her heart is worn on her sleeve as she lets us into her hospital room, introduces her family, discusses boyfriends (past and present) and opens herself up to the world.

So many people are afraid to tell the ones they care about how they feel. Eva is telling the whole world.

She has opened my eyes and inspired me to dig a little deeper and love more openly. And I am just one of the many lives she has touched with her story. So Eva, if by chance you ever happen to read this, thank you. You are strong, beautiful and courageous. Never give up.

Time goes by so slowly

Have you ever wondered if someone else could live your life better than you?

There was an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (yes, best show ever) in season five where Xander gets split into two identical bodies. One embodies all his best qualities– strong work ethic, charm, charisma, bravery– and the other holds his worst– insecurity, indecisiveness, clumsiness. Throughout most of the episode, the audience is led to believe that the more confident Xander is a demon who’s stolen his face/body and that the insecure Xander is the “real” one. Insecure Xander watches from afar and starts to believe that this “impostor” can live his life better than he can and is ready to throw in the towel until he gets scared that this new Xander will hurt his beloved ex-demon girlfriend, Anya. Despite the many ways he feels he’s messed up his life, she is the one thing that he feels he has to live for.

Two Xanders

We all have moments where it seems that life is getting the best of us. Beating us down, telling us we’re not good enough, wishing we could be someplace or someone else. But it is the love in our lives, whatever form that may take, that keeps us centred and reminds us what’s important at the end of the day. Whether that is the love of family, friends or a partner, it’s what brings you back to who you are and helps you remember how sweet life can be.

Whenever I’ve gone through a rough patch in my life and just wanted to curl up in bed, draw the shades and be dead to the world, it is my family and friends who pull me into the light and remind me how much easier and better things are when you can share, love, and be loved.

I’m not one for resolutions

Twelve months have flown by in a flash. A new year sits like a blank canvas in front of me, and 2009 is old news. It’s time for new beginnings, a fresh start, and renewed optimism. Last year, I graduated university, travelled to four countries I’d never been to before, watched my cousin get married to a wonderful woman in a province that welcomed me and my family with open arms, and reconnected with relatives I hadn’t seen in a long time. My travels were my highlights of last year, helping me learn and grow in ways I couldn’t have imagined. But meaningful employment has still eluded me, leaving me a little lost. However, this is a new year and a great time for me to revive myself from my job-drought depression, dig a little deeper and find my enthusiasm and path once again.

I never really make New Year’s resolutions because I feel like I’ll inevitably abandon them. So instead, I’ll say that my wishes for the future are to travel more, find a job I love, freelance, improve my photography, and gain more confidence in myself. Not exactly resolutions…more like hopes and dreams for this year or the next.

Last year, I learned a lot about who I am and what I love. Although my post-grad months haven’t been exactly what I envisioned, they have certainly helped me realize more of what I want from life. I’m realizing more and more the importance of family, and I’m learning to be more grateful for all the many blessings in my life. And while it could just be my extreme naiveté getting in the way, I feel excited about all the possibilities in my future. Here’s to a new year and the hope it may bring.

Mom and her noisemaker

Getting the bubbly ready for the toast

Monster Mash

I went to see Rural Alberta Advantage last Friday at Lee’s Palace, thankfully before this happened. Not that I necessarily mind a burrito place going into the venue, but I’m glad I got to line up for at least one show under that sign there before it was taken down. It’ll be weird not seeing it on Bloor St. anymore, and it makes me sad to think that most of such an iconic Annex landmark ended up in a dumpster.

As a ridiculously sentimental person, it always bums me out to see things like this disappear from the city’s landscape. I, like many others, I’m sure, felt this way when the iconic flashing records on Yonge St. were removed when Sam the Record Man got torn down. But thankfully, Ryerson University has decided to save them and include them in the Student Learning Centre they’re putting up on that corner.

In any case, I’m excited to see the new facade that goes up to replace the famous monster-mural. And for the burritos.

Lee's Palace Sign- Courtesy of Daily Dose of Imagery. http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/

Are you a Reel Asian?

I have seen some weird Japanese movies before. Wait, make that incomprehensible. But on Saturday night, I saw one that blended weird with cool to make a totally fantastic movie that I loved.

I went to the Reel Asian Film Festival for the first time, and I saw a hilarious and wacky movie called Fish Story. The film is about how a pre-Sex Pistols Japanese punk band writes a song that ends up saving the world. Sound crazy? It kind of is. But by the end it all makes sense. The film is funny, touching, action-packed, and suspenseful. But as Chris MaGee from the Shinsedai Film Festival said as he introduced it, “the less said about it, the better.” It just ends up ruining the magic of the movie if you have to over-explain it.

The song was very cool, and the way the different story lines intertwine at the end makes the bizarre journey through the film totally worth it. I’m not really one for arty movies that are too abstract or lack a followable narrative, but this kept a great balance between being creative without getting too weird or hard to understand. The film was preceded by a great animated short called Animated Heavy Metal Parking Lot by Winnipeg filmmaker Leslie Supnet. It was inspired by the documentary Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Go figure. The film was short, sweet, and so charming.

I had a wonderful time at the festival, and watching Fish Story made me really miss Japan. The shots of the narrow streets, vending machines and small cars made me wish I was still there. It only reconfirmed what I already knew in my heart though– I need to go back there again at some point in my life and for more than just a vacation.

Check out the trailer for Fish Story below.

 

Puff puff

I’ve been home now for almost two weeks, and while there are many things I miss about Japan, it’s nice to be home. My jet lag is gone; the foreign currency has been emptied from my wallet; and my suitcase is tucked away in my closet.

One thing that I do not miss and don’t care to ever get used to is all the smoking that is still socially accepted in Japan. My first night there, I ate dinner at a small udon restaurant in the Okayama train station. It was a tiny place with room for only about 30 people. So when a few business men came in and started puffing away on cigarettes, it filled the room with smoke right away and almost totally ruined my meal. As I slurped up the deliciously greasy udon and chewed the savoury shrimp tempura, I couldn’t help but gag at the occasional wave of smoke that hit me in the face. Every time I opened my mouth, I felt like I was swallowing mouthfuls of cancer. Maybe I’m being a little melodramatic, but it was disgusting.

And it wasn’t just restaurants. I had to be strategic when riding the trains to avoid ending up in a smoking car or even one next to the smoking cars. Platforms had designated smoking areas, and cigarettes were available in vending machines. I know smokers are people too, but having my lungs involuntarily filled with nicotine is not something I enjoy. I was travelling with my mom, a former smoker, who said that even she was disgusted by all the smoke around.

Tokyo is more progressive when it comes to anti-smoking laws. I even got handed a pack of tissues on the street with a card inside that said it was illegal to smoke out on the sidewalk. But walk by a pachinko hall and you can smell the smoke from the street.

Japan is such a progressive country in many ways, so it shocked me that it would be so behind when it comes to smoking laws. Living in Toronto where smoking is so reviled and smokers are looked down upon as almost second-class citizens, it was such a culture shock coming to a place where cigarettes are still such a large part of the social climate. I guess I take for granted how progressive our laws are here at home. But the next time I go to a bar or a restaurant here in Toronto, I’ll remember to be thankful that it’s illegal to light up next to me and ruin my meal/night.

 

 

It’s been a long time

My last blog post was way too long ago. I just got back from my first trip to Japan, and I’m exhausted, exhilarated, and inspired. The time change has not been kind to me, and I spent almost the entire day in bed. I woke up at 5pm and forgot where I was. I also thought it was time for breakfast.

I’m so glad I finally had the chance to visit a country that makes up such a great part of my identity. I learned a lot about my heritage, my faith, and myself, and although I was definitely ready to come home, I also can’t wait to go back and revisit a country that has such a special place in my heart.

Tadaima!

Wine Tasting in Temecula

My wine-tasting cherry was popped two weeks ago, and it was a memorable experience to say the least. I went down to visit a very special man-friend of mine, and his parents took me to six different wineries in Temecula, California.

We started off the day eating a Mexican breakfast where I had my first taste of huevos rancheros. Absolutely delicious but the portions were insanely huge. Then we drove south to Temecula and kicked off our day of boozing. At each tasting, you pay a flat fee which usually buys you between five and six different tastings at each winery. If you don’t like what you try, you can throw it out into a bucket. At some places you can even keep the glasses.

Our first stop was a beautiful winery at the top of a hill where I learned that I don’t really like chardonnay but love white merlot. We finished our tasting here with a decadent dessert wine called Chocolate Bliss, and I marveled at how anyone could drink an entire glass of it. It was so syrupy and sweet; I felt like I’d gained a case of diabetes.

We continued on to a few more places and met some very nice people along the way. I befriended a woman named Minerva who told us all about how she was celebrating her birthday going wine tasting. She told us about her daughters, and I talked to her best friend about traveling in Europe.The characters were varied at each winery: there were young couples on dates, silver-haired seniors, and at one winery, even a gaggle of bikers who rode up on their choppers, sporting black, studded leather vests and bandanas. I guess connoisseurs of fine wine come in the most unlikely packages.

At first, I felt guilty dumping wine that I didn’t like, so I gulped down every sip, even if the taste didn’t agree with my palate. However, after four tastings which totaled at least 23 different tastes of wine, it was necessary to start dumping unless I wanted someone to roll me into the car home. Each wine started to taste the same, and I could have been drinking beer for all I could recognize later in the afternoon. At the first winery, I took notes on what I liked about each wine. By the end of the day, I was downing each glass like a shot.

At the last winery, we arrived just in time before they closed. Here, we finished off our day of tasting with a dessert wine served in an edible chocolate shot glass. As a girl who’s only 5′ 3″ and 100 lb, 36 tastes of wine took their on me by the end of the day, and those huevos rancheros were a distant memory in my stomach, which started growling.

Thankfully, we finished up our tastes, packed away our last complimentary glasses, and headed off into the sunset in search of food. We finished off our day at an Italian restaurant where I remember very little except that my hunger was satisfied with pasta and seafood. On the drive back, I fell asleep as soon as the wheels started turning.

It was a memorable day to say the least, and I was so grateful to have my first wine-tasting experience with such fun-loving and interesting people who knew the ropes so well. Let’s hope the next time is just as fun and that I remember even more.