New Year's

By now, the effects of the painkillers and sleep-inducing agents have largely worn off, but I am still in pain and feel tired. A couple days snowboarding at Marmot Basin will do that to you. The weather was nice, but the skiing conditions were not that great, with a lot of icy patches, especially on the lower, more heavily used runs.

To rent or to buy a snowboard, that is the perennial dilemma. I rented.

The Jasper nightlife is still pretty tame, especially on a Wednesday night at the Atha-B. At least it was cheaper and not too noisy at the lodge.

This should be Jasper's new slogan:
Jasper, the quieter, more studious cousin to Banff. With 50 percent less weed and STDs.


As usual, my Christmas stash consisted largely of money and clothing. Nothing out of the ordinary, although I am still left with a sense of disappointment because it is the same predictable stuff year after year. I am still waiting for a present that will just knock my socks off, like a couple tropical islands, populated with beautiful women and lots of mangos.

What am I doing this New Year's Eve? Going to my friend Derelict's phantasmorgasmic celebration, Revive.

Brown is the new white

So to all you fools out there, I am done school for the year.

As I am typing this, I see most of the words on the screen are in Chinese, since I am using my parents' computer, but for some reason, the word blog is still 'blog'. I looked up Chinese blog, and apparently, the winner of the jury prize winner in the Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards 2004, the first international blog competition is 'The Dog Newspaper', which highlights the unfair treatment of dogs in Asia compared to the Western world. Quoth the Chinese erotic blogger star and jury member Mu Zimei:

"The Weblog can be understood as a parable. The way dogs live is projected onto the lives of humans - dogs' rights onto human rights."

While I don't aspire to such worthy ideals in my blog, it does show how blogs can be a useful source of information. But the problem is, when I check out the blog in question, it's all in Chinese, which raises the question: Do many German know Chinese, or is the largest faction of the jury composed mostly of Chinese people, voting upon sectarian lines. Maybe there weren't enough Germans voting for the sauerkraut blog.

Anyhow, it's only 2 days until Christmas, and I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. I am imagining it will be one huge orgy of people buying stuff at the last minute, me included. Unfortunately for me, I have no idea what to buy, so I will probably end up buying some crappy present that no one will appreciate. (Gee...thanks..... Socks...again...)

Does Christmas shopping really defines one's character? Are you what you buy? Why even shop? Yes, it's one of the great mysteries of life.

And it looks like we will be having a brown Christmas in Edmonton. It's just plain crazy. Maybe I should go shoppin'.

Ho ho ho

It's almost Christmas time again, and frankly it's not a big deal. Right now, it's just an excuse for commercialism, and godamnit, how can you celebrate Christmas when there is no snow on the ground? Maybe it's fine for people in California or Florida, but this Canada. I don't know how other people do it in the warmer parts of the world, but here, having Christmas without snow is like having KFC without the special blend of herbs and spices. I mean , it's just not the same. It's unnatural. I think Christmas should be banned in places where there is no snow, or at least called something else, like Hanukkah.

Is it possible to not have a white Christmas in Edmonton? I doubt it, although it is unseasonably warm.

I still haven't put up my Christmas tree, it's been the same one used for the last 20 years. and it never gets old, it could probably last for another 100 years. Nothing like artificial trees , that don't lose needles like regular trees. I find I don't care much about buying Christmas presents. Maybe I have just become cynical.

I was thinking about my legacy, you know, what my contribution to the world is, and really, I haven't done much that is really memorable, stuff that would make people say, "Look, there goes the greatest man in the world." I was considering immortalizing myself in the Wikipedia, so people could know who I was, but then after doing some research, I guess creating an article about yourself is strongly discouraged. Supposedly, if you have contributed something meaningful. then someone else would have made an entry on your behalf. It's like giving yourself a nickname. Nicknames should only be given to you by other people. So, if anyone has anything worthwhile to write about me, do it.

Guess there is a consolation prize of sorts: Wikime, which is intended to be a name repository for the unfortunately obscure.

Thoughts of Another Day

The life of a student does kinda suck. I've had tests every week for the last 2 months, except for one. Is it really a surprise that my social life consists of asking other classmates about what answers they got for the test we just wrote?

I'm sure we just like to whine about our student lives until we can finally get out of debt and afford to buy that fancy yacht and have shrimp cocktails out by the marina with our golfing buddies while lighting cigars with a $20 bill. Yes, that will be the day...

Ever wanted to read a book, but never had the time? Well here's the thing for you. A cell phone company is making text message books for all the people who are too lazy and grammatically illiterate to read a real book. Here's the supercondensed Coles Notes version of Pride and Prejudice:

5SistrsWntngHsbnds.NwMenInTwn-Bingly&Darcy Fit&Loadd. BigSisJaneFals4B,2ndSisLizH8sDCozHesProud. SlimySoljrWikamSysDHsShadyPast. TrnsOutHesActulyARlyNysGuy&RlyFancysLiz. SheDecydsSheLyksHim.Evry1GtsMaryd.

Lk, lol.DtSoCoo! Wonder when the Bible edition comes out. It would probably be something like: "GodGut.DvlBad.BlaBlaBla.MmmFish." Well, maybe not the last part, but you get the idea.


Donnie Darko, this is a cool movie. Any movie that discusses important issues like the sexual preferences of Papa Smurf and Smurfette and what happens when a jet engine from another universe drops into your bedroom get my vote. It's also got some really catchy music, from the 80s, including a band with the really strange name:Echo and the Bunnymen. Who in their right mind would name a band with that name? Makes me want to wear a Cosby sweater.

Oh, Mr. Men, where have you gone? After checking my buddy BeaverPhear's blog, I came across one of fonder memories from childhood. I love the simplicity of these books. They are as good, if not better than the Dr. Suess books, with less acid and more silliness. The Mr Men website is pretty brilliant. I just love Mr. Greedy. Anything he encounters, he just eats.

Keeping It Real

I went to the Parkallen Restaurant the other day, a place that serves Lebanese cuisine. For some reason, my parents and I decided to check it out. When we first walked in, I was surprised. I was expecting some dingy dark place, with the smell of exotic food wafting in the air.

Frankly, I was disappointed. There was not one local Middle Eastern person to be seen. The decor was modern and clean, with decorations like a Van Gogh reproduction on the wall. Nowhere was there anything resembling Lebanese culture around. When I go to an ethnic restaurant, I want to experience what a local ethnic person would, you know, something authentic. It's not like I should be fearing any suicide bombers while eating at a Middle Eastern restaurant, but still, a flying body part or two would've added a little more ambience.

Secretly, I always laugh when I hear about somebody eating Chinese food in some surburban strip mall, with no Chinese customers inside. They're not eating real Chinese food. Fools, they wouldn't know Chinese food if it came and bit them in the ass. But now, I felt like the chump, eating moderately overpriced Lebanese food, in an otherwise Western restaurant. Maybe that's the problem of trying to 'keep it real'.