Canada: The Musings Part 1 6 January 2008

In what may become a long, unintresting series.

I’ve been to Canada before, if you go to Western, and HAVEN’T been to Richmond Sushi, you’re missing a vital part of what it is to be a Western student. On those trips, I never really got a feel for what Canada was like. I knew the roads were silly, (layed out like they’re in Europe), but aside from that, it just seemed like the US.

Now I know: The Canadans are years ahead of us.

I went to a club in Vancouver, almost everyone there was young, and having a good time, drinking, talking, it was just like any other place. The same goes for the two bars I went to. The other thing is the night life, it was totally incredible! Clubs, bars, all catering to every type of persona. I finally felt like an adult, I could finally go into a club, buy a drink, and dance, and no one thought twice about it, and you know what? It really wasn’t that big a deal, there were kids who were younger than me there, and no one thought anything of it. I guess I can sum it up thusly, walking into Denny’s this afternoon, slightly hung over and a little dehydrated, the waitress asked us if we were all 21. I couldn’t help but see the total absurdity in the situation, a few miles makes me a criminal.

They have $1 and $2 coins, this might sound trivial, but  bought a newspaper with a $2 coin, totally convenient and hassle free. Every other country in the damn world has low denomination coins, and going to Canada just rubs it in, theres nothing that irks me more then a wallet full of $1 bills that separately can’t buy jack shit.

I saw a sign on the freeway, if you get caught littering, it’s a $2k fine. The roads were spotless. And you know by in large, except for all the gum on the ground, Vancouver was really clean, the streets weren’t just clean, but the sidwalks too, the buildings didn’t really hav a lot of soot on them (I looked), Richmond is also clean, as the place where we went to McDonald’s (which looked like an upscale restaurant inside). That’s a stereotype you can be proud of though.

The people were great, as we walked by a Beggar, a man remarked to us “don’t  believe a word, probably a millionaire” none of us said anything, and he looked at us like we were the rudest people in the world, I finally remarked “hah, right!”. But to be honest, I found his remark rude, and for all the homeless people in Seattle I’ve seen, not one has ever said anything like that. I’ve talked to some folks from overseas, and they all say American’s are TOO polite. I guess I’m not sure how I feel about that one, on the one hand, it’s incredibly true, but is that a bad thing? Dunno.

A revival! 23 December 2007

Did you ever wake up one morning after a really stressful period, and realize that everything was going to be ok?

Nice feeling huh?

Ok ok, in all honesty any stress I’ve been under is really self induced, goofing off when I should have been studying for final exams, spacing on going to lab (only once!), the list goes on. I guess it kinda comes with being so, well, not self involved, but I think sometimes I get too inward looking and forget that there’s a great big world out there that doesn’t care if I’m still working things out for myself and wants a lot out of me, lousy Western world.

Speaking of which, I’ve started watching Al-Jazeera’s english youtube channel. I know, I know, but it’s really good, and I can see why Comcast didn’t want to include it in their lineup, (one report makes “the terrorists” look like humans ) but I digress…

I think more then ever I’m really ready to get serious about school, which I haven’t been really the past three or four quarters, seriously. I know I can do it, it’s just a matter of…doing it.

You damn consumerist whores 28 June 2007

Holy shit! How many cheap-ass units of Champion (R) Window blinds and slats do you assholes need? God damn! I have to go into work tomorrow, for a third day and probably next week to put your shit on pallets just so they can be moved a few dozen meters, TAKEN OFF THE PALLET and stacked some where, then later taken to a Home Depot (which sucks, btw). If any of you people buy cheap ass blinds from Home Depot in the next few months, you had better send me a cake (or a sammich!) because you have me to thank for it. You fuck-ass yuppies, venetian blinds are tacky as hell. Do you even know why you’re buying this shit? That one dude in house of sand and fog was right. “Americans they do not deserve what they have. They have the eyes of small children who are forever looking for the next source of distraction, entertainment, sweet taste in the mouth.”.

OMG SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT, DON’T PUMP GAS ON 5/15!!!!!11 13 May 2007

What the fuck is with all this don’t pump gas on 5/15 shit? Seriously, first of all, you’ll just buy gas the 14th or the 16th, idiots, and then your entire plan is shot. Do you think the Montgomery bus boycott brought the city to its knees after one day? Morons. If you hate buying gas, why do you buy fucking Mercedes SUVs, Hummers, and all that incredibly wasteful shit? Sure you may own a 40k car that seats 50, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a boring, out of shape yuppie who hates their job, is up to their eyeballs in debt, and buys into every environmental fad that comes along out of some misguided attempted to save the whales, sure, pretty soon you’ll be trading in that SUV for a hybrid car, but heres a novel idea!!!! Why don’t you just drive less, you idiots? Don’t spend MORE money and resources to make less of an impact, JUST STOP MAKING SO MUCH OF AN IMPACT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

But Alex! You say, what do we DO about the price of gas? Heres an idea, buy stock in alternative energies, demand the government stop subsidies to big oil companies, thus driving the price up, demand down, and incentive for new energy sources up, take public transit, bike, fucking rollerblade for all I care, or why don’t you start a boycott that lasts a week, or a month or six months? Oh but I NEED to drive! Obviously your need to drive is greater then your need to have cheap gas, so quit your bitching! Holy fuck if I have to hear one more ungrateful American whine about the price of gas! Oh but you’ll buy your $3 latte everyday and not think a thing of it! Seriously, you people, get your damned proprieties straight before you start bitching.