Toronto The Good

I have had a number of people point out to me lately that Toronto is a mean-spirited City filled with non-smiling, stressed-out creeps who never make eye contact or talk to strangers. I don't happen to agree with this opinion. As recent as this morning, my bus driver told me that, on his previous run past my stop, he waited an extra four minutes for me, not wanting me to miss my bus to work on this very cold morning. What a sweetheart! Not all TTC drivers are this nice. There is good and bad here (just like everywhere else) but I happen to think that the good outweighs the bad. Apparently this glass half-full philosophy seems to be working.

I often read the Acts of Kindness section in the Toronto Star and this story touched me today because it is just SO Canadian:

In December, I went to the Cavalcade of Lights at Nathan Philips Square. As I was sitting at the side of the rink taking off my skates, a little boy about 6 or 7 walks up and asks "Are those your skates?"

I answered ‘Yes’ and wondered if he thought I had stolen his skates, since I wear boys hockey skates. He said: "Oh, I don't have skates." For some reason, I blurted, "Do you want mine?"

I told him to first ask his mom. He ran away excited and his mom asked if it was really okay [and I said yes.] He was jumping up and down in excitement. After he put on the skates, I watched him take off with a big smile.

Two weeks later I was in the recycling room in our condo. Residents leave items for others to salvage. I found two Bauer boxes with new skates, both in my size!

I gave one pair to a friend who was there the evening I gave the boy my used skates. She shook her head and said: “You give away one pair, and you get back two”!
J. Madden, Toronto

For more stories, click on Acts of Kindness here.

Happy Anti-Valentine's Day

Courtesy of Heartless Bitch Dot Com (View More eCards here!)

Celebrity Status

While in PV recently with my friend Linda, she mentioned that someone approached her, asking if she was my friend and when Linda replied yes, the woman seemed quite impressed. Linda then implied to me that I was some sort of a celebrity in PV. I was appalled by that comment and tried to make Linda understand why it upset me so much. It's one of the many reasons I left Vallarta -- too many people thought that they "knew" me because of my blog. (And yet here I am, blogging again! LOL) Frankly, I am enjoying my relative anonimity back here in Toronto.

The world's fascination with celebrity is something I've never understood. I've never been "star struck" by someone who is involved in the movies, theatre, sports or music. Actually, I find it all a great big, fucking BORE and my attitude, when someone just has to tell me what so-'n'-so is doing to so-'n'-so, is to say "Who cares?". I mean really, in the great puzzle of my insignificant life, I really have no desire to know who's dumping their lover in a public display of jealous rage or who's flashing their twat for the papparazzi.

Today, at the office, when we heard the news of Anna Nicole Smith's death, there were literally gasps of disbelief. Someone actually sent an email around, stating that "an icon" had died. An icon? I would hardly call someone known for her bad taste and poor choices an icon. Just another over-processed blonde willing to do just about anything to get her face or ass on the cover of a magazine. Some will argue that she was successful because she had money, yet she couldn't even save her 20 year-old-son. This woman did not have an easy life, even with all her celebrity and wealth.

I'm sure Nancy Grace and her cannabilistic crew at CNN.com will be running with this story for a couple of weeks as the "conspiracy" unfolds, and millions of Americans (no doubt Canadians too) will eat at the bowl of her bullshit like so many spineless lap dogs. Thank GOD something has happened to displace the crazy astronaut in the consciousness of Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public! The morbid obsession people have with personalities like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Steve Irwin are pathetic. When's the last time you spent time with your neighbours or volunteering in your community?

As you can tell, I have a pretty negative attitude when it comes to this kind of stuff. I don't buy People Magazine. I already knew OJ was guilty. And I don't really care how Anna Nicole died but I predict chemical substances were involved. What a waste! Not the waste of an icon or future royalties, but the waste of a human life and the mother of a five month old baby. It just might be that Anna Nicole will gain back some of her humanity in death, even if she has to be on the 6 o'clock news to get it.

On The Road Again ...

Well, I'm not exactly taking a road to Puerto Vallarta but I am taking a trip. I decided to get away from the cold weather that so rudely arrived last Sunday and grab some sun and sand for a week. Besides, I have two weeks of vacation to use up before the end of April, my next course starts at the college in early February and my gal pal Colleen is heading back to Colorado so ...

Anyway, if I can get online, I might revive the old blog with a couple of trip reports but only if something really funny happens while I'm there. Frankly, I'm kind of happy the way I left things with the old blog. It seems to end on a sweet note and I am loathe to screw around with that. And I'm still getting hits on it so check it out the next time you feel like doing some travelling from your desk:

PV BLOG

No Fun In Acapulco

With the murder of Adam Deprisio, a 19-year-old Canadian on vacation in Acapulco a week ago, there have been a lot of things flying around on the internet and into my inbox. One was a copy of a letter from Adam's aunt, Lucy DeFlippis-Pannozzi, which she has written to her Member of Parliament, setting out the events that happened and stating "Mexico is unsafe for Canadians". She is also asking him to "make others aware of the dangers in traveling to Mexico" and "have the Mexican government take ownership and made accountable of the fact that their civil workers (mainly the police and hospital) failed".

The other was an open letter by Nancy Leoni, someone who vacationed in Acapulco last year and had a similar incident happen to one of her travelling companions. Fortunately for her friend, he survived the beating. In her letter, she says: "We are the ones that support that country, tourism. Without our financial support that country (those dastards {sic} of Mexicans') would not be able to eat" and "We all need to stick together as a nation and teach a lesson to these ungrateful animals."

I am ashamed to call this woman a fellow Canadian.

I have an equal chance of being shot downtown Toronto while shopping. But, to be fair, the results will be different. Hospitals here don't require you to prove your ability to pay before you receive treatment. And the police actually caught the assholes who shot 15-year-old Jane Creba on December 26, 2005. Hopefully, our justice system will deal with them in due course.

The fact is, the government in Mexico, at all levels, is corrupt.You only have to follow world events to know this. Remember the last Mexican federal election? Remember the demonstrations all over the country, especially in Oaxaca? Acapulco is well known by Mexicans as being a dangerous place. That's why I don't go there anymore. And foreigners do not have any rights in Mexico.

This reminds of the time I was at a grocery store in Puerto Vallarta, in line behind a couple of American tourist who were buying Budweiser beer and didn't want the cashier to give them their change in "that money" (pesos). When the ex-pat in line behind me commented, in Spanish, that "someone should have told them they were entering a different country when they got off the plane", we both smiled those knowing smiles of experienced travellers.

Mexico is not Canada. It's a different country with different rules. When you're in their country, you live by their rules. It's as simple as that. And condeming an entire country because of the murderous actions of a few "dastards" is racism in its purest form. I like to think that Canadians, as a whole, are a little bit more open-minded than that.

Circumvention

I discovered something interesting today. You know how when you call the credit card company, the phone company or the cable company, you have to punch in all kinds of numbers in order to speak to a live person? Inevitably, they also ask you to enter your 16 digit account number and then, when you finally get to speak to somone, they ask you for you account information all over AGAIN!

I find this very frustrating and time consuming.

Today I tried something different. I needed to call to cancel my American Express card. No one wants to take it any more so I've decided to stop using it and I want it off my credit report. After dialing the 1-800 number, I didn't do anything. I didn't choose English or French. I didn't punch in my card number. I just waited. In less than a minute, I was speaking with a live person!

It was great! Try it the next time you have to make one of these calls and cut your wait time IN HALF.

They're Over!

The holidays are finally over. We can all get back to normal life, however we live it, tomorrow. The break was good for having time off work and seeing friends, getting out to enjoy a new movie and sleeping in the mornings. I've had two Mondays off in a row so I'm certainly not complaining about that! However, of the 7 days in total (including weekends) that I was off, my gym was closed for 5 of them which means I'll have to really get serious about training in the next few weeks. I feel like I've gained 20 lbs. although I'm sure it is closer to 5 lbs. All I know is nothing fits anymore!!!

Still no snow here in the Big Smoke. It actually poured rain here last night for New Year's Eve. We participated in a fabulous evening at Imperia in Yorkville. I had a friend visiting from out-of-town and we did it up right! Xmas was a bit more casual but still fun. I have a few photos posted at Webshots if you want to take a look. I've heard from Afghanistan and all is well there. My buddy is due home at the beginning of March and he has a lot to look forward to as he told me yesterday that he is engaged! It's a fitting end to a fabulous year. I wonder what 2007 will bring our way?

More Internet Dating Fun!

I got this message tonight from a guy I have never heard from before. It starts out good and then it gets really strange:

I must say ... that you are a prettiest 47 year old that I have seen in a long time ... and a smile to die for ... I want to give you a present ... for I just feel your energy .... Have you read the books... "Conversation with GOD, Book I, II, II, Friendship with God and Communion with God" Written by Niele Doland Walsch. If you have ... GREAT!!!! then, you are a DYNAMO beyond ... if not ... I think, you shuld give it a try ... I think you will love the gift ... Have a good evening, Best regards, Michael

This was my response to this weirdo:

I have a problem when anyone tells me I "should" do something ... especially when they can't even spell the word right.

*smirk*

Show Me The Money!

Remember when I asked you a week or so ago to click on the grey Google AdSense window at the top of my blog? I also mentioned that I would be donating the money to charity. I couldn't decide which charity I wanted to support since my blog readers are a very international crowd.

Then someone sent me a link to http://www.kiva.org/ and a plan started forming in my head. Why donate the money only once when I could loan the money, over and over again, to help more than one project in different parts of the world? It's a great idea and the money will keep working to help others.

However, the total in my account has to get to $100US before Google will pay out so keep clicking!

Elf Off!

Apparently, I have too much time on my hands.

Click Here

I'm Dreaming ...

... of a green Christmas! And it looks like my dream came true. There's no snow or slush, no ice or freezing temps. Just gorgeous sunshine today and more expected tomorrow. For someone who hasn't experienced a Canadian winter in three years, I've been truly blessed so far with relatively mild temps and not much precipitation. Certainly no white stuff has accumulated under my boots. In fact, I haven't had to wear my ugly winter boots at all!

I've done all my Christmas shopping, for me. Everything seems to be on sale for 50% off or more. I think I went a little bit overboard and will have to add up the receipts before deciding what I need to take back to the store. I did buy some new leather gloves for under $20 so I'll be keeping them. And I found a red velvet top for 80% off yesterday which came out to $9.20 with the discount. There are some unbelievable bargains out there!

I'm off to CFB Borden tomorrow for Xmas. My Dad and I are heading up to spend the day with friends in Angus, Ontario. A turkey dinner with all the trimmings awaits us, as well as Jo-Anne, her husband, their three kids and her parents, who are visiting from Nova Scotia. I'm really looking forward to it! Even though the kids are getting older, they are still a lot of fun to be around, especially during the holidays. That's what it's all about.

So, what are you doing for the holidays? Whatever it is and wherever it takes you, I hope your day is filled with laughter and love. All the best to you and yours!

Juliana xo

Xmas Palm Tree!

Check out this tree my friends David and Nancy put up for Xmas! Very cool ...

What He Said

Why does Christmas remain so popular when it is such an asinine and antiquated celebration? I mean, can you imagine if they invented it for the first time this year? 'Let's have a big festival, where everybody spends more than they can afford on gifts that nobody wants. Then, they can all pretend to be grateful whilst stuffing themselves with platefuls of unhealthy food.' It would never catch on. There are other things, too, that we do out of habit and obligation. And we can at least recognise and avoid some of these. If you want this to be a great week, honour what you feel, not what you feel you ought to feel.

Jonathan Cainer ~ For Librans, the week of December 18, 2006 (www.cainer.com)

Use Your Mouse!

See the "Ads By Google" grey space at the top of my blog? If you click it, you will be directed to another webpage. Doesn't cost you anything and a few cents gets deposited into my Google AdSense account. When the account reaches $100US, I'll be donating it to a charity (and not pocketing the money myself). So use your mouse to do some good for someone else. Thank you!

Ah HA!!!

Suddenly, it's all starting to maks sense to me! Here is my astrological forecast for Saturday, December 16, 2006:

LIBRA ~ (Sep 24 - Oct 23) Your Weekend

Later today, you will see a bright light in the sky. Gradually you will realise that it is in fact a spaceship from the planet Zarg. The aliens will land and invite you to join them as they return to a far more sensible world than this. Sadly, you will feel unable to accept their offer. This will be partly because they do not actually exist, but mainly because, despite the stupidity that surrounds you and the almost imbecilic behaviour of certain people, you are now coping surprisingly well.

JAM The Scrooge

It’s happening. I’m getting older. It started with the new glasses and how I feel every time I go to the gym. More particularly, it is how I feel several days AFTER I’ve been to the gym. The last time I did dead-lifts, I could hardly get up from a sitting position two days later. *sigh* My insurance company just informed me that my monthly premiums are going down because I am now considered a “Mature Policyholder”. I’m glad someone thinks I’m mature.

So this whole Xmas thing is really starting to get to me. The next person who asks me if I’m “ready for the holidays” is likely to get a punch in the nose. The answer is: “NO!” I’m not ready and I never will be ready. There is nothing to get ready for. I’m not doing it anymore. I refuse. I am officially boycotting Xmas. No cards. No gifts. No Santa. No nothing. Any twinge of Xmas-ness that I felt when I saw the Swarovski Crystal tree at the Eaton Centre is gone. If you need me, I’ll be hiding under my bed until December 26.

Be Kind To The Environment

I have just read and signed the online petition here: "Packaging Regulations in Canada" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com.

I personally agree with what this petition says and I think you might agree too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look and consider signing the petition as well.

Julie Anne

More Maxine

Technology Rocks!

I remember when I got my first computer and started using email at home. That was in 1998 (I think). Now I've got a laptop, I'm using VOIP and blogging. There is so much I don't know but it's exciting to learn. Even my parents are online. We're all connected and the internet is shrinking the world. Last night, I was online with a friend in Germany, my buddy in Afghanistan and a potential date in north Toronto.

Speaking of "rock", check out this website full of live concerts from days gone by: Wolfgang's Vault.

I'm Dreaming ...