8 more reasons why i love the world cup

why i love the world cup

lazy days of summer

i had a massage today and it ranks among the best massages i have ever had. but one problem - it made me so relaxed that i didn't feel like doing much the rest of they day. so i have read a few pages of an article and watched the england/sweden game of the world cup, picked my sister up from work, cut some beans for dinner, and made some tea. and that would really be the extent of my day, how sad.

a day well spent

yesterday my sister and i ran a rather tough 8km, well it was really the 7th km that nearly killed me. i really need to get out running more often to get back to where i once was. but a nice finish is going to help me get back out there again soon.

then we went to the calgary herald used book sale where we picked up a few books and my mouth watered at the sight of an old copy of The Old Man and the Sea and a signed first edition of The Handmaid's Tale.

then we were accosted by an eastern european man at the farmer's market who pointed out that i have somedry skin around my nose and his invention of some skin lotion could help that. thankfully, i avoided putting his poison on my face.

then we bought some avocados and limes at the market and pretended like we were in mexico. but there were far fewer animal parts and tortillas than we had hoped.

then we went to inglewood and had lunch at Eat! Eat! and i must recommend it. wonderful service and sandwiches, which is sometimes hard to come by.

then a good friend who moonlights as an englishman named nigel joined us and we laughed and we laughed and then we laughed some more. i love those times.

then we went to crave and found out they were all out of cupcakes. well, out of everything. one of those businesses that makes you wish you'd started it.

then we bought two cakes at another bakery for my sister's graduation party last night. and sampled the brownies, i love a bakery that has samples AND free coffee. charlie's on kensington, i suggest you stop by.

then we went home and got ready for aforementioned party.

then our guests arrived and we had a party!

one feather at a time

i think i repaired one of the feathers on my broken sparrow wings yesterday although i couldn't say exactly how. just one feather, but it is a start.

maybe i will start to get my appetite back too. it is so unlike me to have no interest in food, but lately i have a new understanding of those people who wish they could just take a pill instead of eating. i hope it doesn't last though, because eating is sometimes a highlight of my day.

struggling to organise

i am back and cannot seem to organise my thoughts, so here is another list of sorts...

i spent an hour watching crayfish last weekend in fernie. being with a lake in the mountains reminded me that i cannot be anything but canadian.

but i am applying for my british citizenship so that working is easier in the uk. they still ask for your christian name on the application form, i wonder what mohammed feels like when he has to fill that out.

i went to my sister's graduation this week and although i wished it were me completing my degree, it was awesome to see her walk across the stage. the speech by mannix left a lot to be desired, nothing like a little neoliberal rhetoric to compliment a management school graduation.

i was at the university to do some studying this past week and i had kobe beef. since when did they clean the place up? and i must say that it did not taste as good as it has in the past, i wonder if the clean-up took away some of the could-be beef flavour.

thank you to the man in the suit who i used as a hand rail as i slipped in the pub last night, if i weren't so embarassed by my rather ungraceful partial-split position i would have said more than 'oh my god!' and zipped right into the bathroom.

i thought i was horrible at sudoku, but i am now obsessed. it makes for a great avoidance of reading about globalisation, trade liberalisation, and foreign direct investment. i spent my entire academic career avoiding economics and now i am stuck in the middle of it.

i am sad i am missing the world cup fever in england, but i have bet $20 with my brother that the oilers will win the stanley cup...it looks like i might be out some money.

messy

headlines on the SAME page of the calgary herald this morning:

Expectant mother shot dead in Baghdad
False reports cited in deaths of 24 Iraqis: Bush vows to punish any guilty marines
Officials admit U.S. troops fired on angry Kabul mob

it is a mess in iraq and i don't think anyone has the answer, or if someone does have a good idea how to bring peace to iraq and encourage a real democracy i doubt anyone with any kind o fpower would listen to that person because i am sure it would have something to do with the removal of american troops (which would be seen to them as a failure unless it was their decision) and installation of an international force (which doesn't exist and most countries wouldn't want to fund since it is seen as a problem the americans created). i suppose until a big change in policy or the international community shifts its attitude then the americans will be in charge, even if they do it poorly.

i am even more confused about afghanistan. and although i don't like canadians fighting there i know that we can't up and leave like so many other times in the past as it creates an even larger mess in the future.