I'm trying...

and I'm taking a TV free/news free day. Maybe I'll get in trouble for saying this, but I'm tired of the news about Japan. It's not that I'm not concerned and deeply saddened by these events. It's not that at all. I just don't need to see these horrifying images 24/7. What good is it doing? I'm tired of the fear mongering that is starting as well. Last year I told a colleague that I was feeling tired and my hands were cold all the time. She thought maybe my thyroid was sluggish and suggested taking kelp pills. Well, I ran out of them a few days ago. And can I find any in the drug stores now? Uneducated scary people have bought up everything containing iodine in the city. I don't doubt they are down on the beaches collecting kelp right now. This I find funny because that seaweed grows in our harbour which I'm sure is polluted with ships' waste and other yucky things. And they're worried about radiation that is less than an x-ray? We live 7,500 km away from Japan. I seriously doubt any radiation from those reactors will get here. Yeah yeah, you'll say that it's all a big cover up , part of the conspiracy. Blah blah blah. And then my little students come in and start talking about earthquakes and how they are worried about it happening here. They have no idea where Japan, how far away it is. Yes, the BC coast is on a major fault and we will have an earthquake some day. It might happen tomorrow, it might happen in hundreds of years. We will not be as prepared as Japan and that's because we don't have earthquakes close to our cities every day. Isn't it something for adults to worry about? Why should little kids see this stuff on TV? You know, I'd rather read about it than look at those pictures. I've seen enough, and I can't do anything about it.

1. When I was young I saw dead people too. Should've made a movie about that.

2. My all time favourite movie used to be "Pele the Conqueror", but I'm not sure what it is now. Well, maybe it still is. Once met a man whose favorite was the same but unfortunately he wanted six children. Should watch it again.

3. I've seen Clint Eastwood's 'The Gauntlet" so many times I've lost count. My younger brother and I used to watch it just for fun...at any hour of the day.

4. My friend Shelley made me go and see Titanic with her two times. She cried, I never did.

5. The first movie that I was ever moved to tears at was "The Miracle Worker". I remember having a big discussion in my Philsosophy of Education class about why this was a superior movie to Dead Poet's Society which I argued was a piece of sentimental predictable drivel.

6. I remember going to the drive in with my family, and my little brother didn't like the movie and wanted my dad to change the channel.

7. I couldn't watch "The Wizard of Oz" until I was 12. Those flying monkeys really freaked me out.


8. One of my students has a mom that has been in many movies that I've never seen. Her ass is as big as mine, so I don't see why she's so special and gets to be an actress.

9. The first movie I ever went to with a boy was "2001 A Space Odyssey". Needless to say, it was beyond my intellectual capabilities at the time. I appreciate that he thought I was a smart girl though.

10. Next movie I went to see was "Buck Rogers". (Hey I was only 14!)

11. When I was nine I went to see "Dumbo" with my best friend Sharon. She bawled her eyes out. I didn't. She was mad at me because of it. I was only nine but I knew it was ONLY A MOVIE!

12. Sharon went on to be a successful screenwriter, and then tragically died of cancer at young age.

13. I remember going to see "Repo Man" on a first date. That was when I was in art school. The guy did not appreciate the movie at all. He sold papayas for a living.

14. The first restricted move I saw was "The Deer Hunter". I was in Grade 12, and it has the first movie I ever went to alone.

15. That year I also saw Apocalypse Now and Coming Home. These movies really affected me. Lots of Vietnam movies that year.

16. One year I went up north to work. I rode a bus for 13 hours to get there. At the station I was greeted by a message over the P.A. that told me to contact the front desk. I did. I phoned home. My granny had just died. I inquired about the next bus leaving..the next day. So what to do while waiting? I went to a movie. "Back to the Future II". Then I got back on that bus and rode another 13 hours.
17. I was depressed for weeks after seeing "If you Love this Planet".

18. One weekend I rented the new Oscar winner "The Departed". After 20 minutes I had to turn it off, the violence bother me so much. How could I follow the plot line if I was looking away every few minutes?

19. When in China I would go with my friends every weekend to buy DVD's. Of course they were pirated copies. For some reason I don't feel the least bit guilty about buying these movies. Most of them I never watched and ended up selling at a garage sale for $2 apiece. I think I must have been Chinese in a previous life.

20. Movies I watch over and over usually involve dancing or singing or both. Dirty Dancing, Moulin Rouge, Shall We Dance?

21. I remember going to see Sleepless in Seattle in Montreal. Alone. At the other end of the aisle was a man. Alone. I wonder if he was thinking the same as me.

22. My first time watching Blade Runner was after a gay waiter in Quebec City told me I looked like Daryl Hannah in that movie. Maybe the hair, but not the legs.

23. I'm the only person to have walked out of Pulp Fiction. I don't care if the dialogue is clever; I don't find it funny when someone's brains are splattered on the inside of a taxi. Why did people laugh?

24. Right now I'm in the middle of watching a bizarre 1992 Serbian film, "Mi Nismo Andeli" (We Are Not Angels). It's a cult classic apparently. Reminds me of some of the really bad Quebec films that are so bad they are good.

25. Any movie with John Cusak or George Clooney; count me in.

I actually have too many things to blog about these days. Yeah, poor me. But the main thing right now is that my brain hurts. I have an inner ear infection and a debilitating headache from it. Lots of couch and online time....

So..what to blog about? Help.

Choices.

1. The October Crisis through the eyes of an 8 year old. Yeah, most of you don't know about that. Could be interesting. I've already started writing it.

2. The gay pride parade in Belgrade today. It's not what it seems. I have insider information. And guess what? Clinton is visiting the capital this week. Expect more excitement.

3. Meaningful conversation about whether go to yoga or not. Indecision at its best. It's funny. Really.

4. The circle of life shown through the incredible Adams River sockeye run. 2 million this year. A record run. Not seen for 100 years. Global warming/environmental crisis disproven? Is disproven a word?

5. The ten best things for a Balkan man to do in Vancouver on his holiday.

6. Cat pix

7. Purple dress or red dress? And which shoes to go with it.

When I started this blog I was starting a new chapter in my life. A new life beginner as Mr. Volkuro would say. Things were a mess but I knew that my life had to improve. You know, I actually like being the age I am now because I can look back and see how all the bad things, the bad decisions and bad luck led me to this place in time. If these events hadn't happened I never would have found this job that I love and I wouldn't be planning for a very special summer adventure. Life is strange but wonderful.

This morning I went for a run in the gloomy grey. Lately my mood has been a lot like the weather, most days are dark and dreary with the occasional glimpse of sun. Running doesn't really help. I feel awkward out of the swimming pool and at least one of my joints is always hurting or stiff. But I do it anyway, can't swim everyday. So, I'm three blocks from home, winding down, I look up and this car slows down slightly ahead of me. I don't recognize the car at all. Who could it be? I bet they want directions. The window rolls down and a handsome bald head pokes out.

"SHANNNNDAYYYYY!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!"

It's my swim coach.

The power of words can really lift a person's mood. This is my task for today.