...hiatus...

I give up. I don't have the dedication. No. I do have the dedication, but I forget I have it so I might as well not have it at all. Confused?

I'm heading out to Ross River for the summer. Out in the boonies. Won't have a computer. Hopefully, when I come back I can tackle my silly blog once more, with feeling.

Before I depart, consider the following:

• What will people say about you when you die?


• What will you remember best about your job when you retire?


• We are all going to die - maybe today, maybe 30 years from now. What will you be doing?


• You spend an awful lot of your life at work, I really hope you enjoy it.


• The universe is expanding while the planet is growing smaller.


• Dream big, it's free to do so.

And...Choose curiosity over certainty

"At your mark..."

Christ, what happened to April? I was so busy being unemployed that it just whizzed by. That's embarrassing, I thought I was on a bit of a roll too...

Things...#983

This one combines three things that I never imagined would go together (department stores, tiny islands, and racing) and so very much intrigues me. It's the 'Rally El Corte Ingles', sponsored by the well-known department store (well-know that is to anyone who's spent any time in Spain), and Gran Canaria's biggest car rally. Yes, biggest. That suggests there are others. Intrigued? Read on.

Approximately 75 teams compete for the Spanish and European Championship and about 60 teams for the Canaries Islands Regional Championship. The 623km course (yeah, crazy eh? I'm picturing them driving around in circles) is divided into eight stages of mixed terrain in various locations around the island which includes some gruelling mountain sections.

Now, while I hardly need an excuse to go to the Canary Islands (only troglodyte would) it's the fact that this little island in the Atlantic can have a rally race of any length. Way to go. And as we all know, rally racing is the only interesting form of car racing. Leave it to the Americans to herald NASCAR as anything more than a dick measuring contest. You only have to the end of the month before it's finsihed, so hustle over to the Canary Islands. [Editor's Note: ledgend speaks of a similar race on Tenerife - what are you waiting for, book your tickets already!]

"It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken..."

Things... #957

(Time to get philosophical. Look out.) There comes a time in every young man's life when there are choices to be made. Choices between things that sound appealing and things that are real. I have a real attraction to things that sound appealing. It's a long list of things that wow and amaze me and it would deserve a blog of its own to do it justice.
So I will stick to jobs that sound appealing. Jobs that I'm not doing, but would certainly like to be. No, scratch that. I don't really want to do these jobs, they just sound neat and that alone is fascinating, attractive... and ultiamtely dangerous. Feel free to expand this this which is by no means exhausted. Oh, and no giggling.
- Secret Agent
- Travel writer
- DJ on a cruise ship
- Scuba instructor
- B&B owner is some sunny vaction spot
- Surfer
- Independent music store owner
- Dog trainer
- Movie star
- Screenwriter
And the list goes on like this. Suffice to say, I've considered all of these jobs and more with little success or stick-with-it-ness. And the list is growing daily. Now I'm considering the virtues of policing. How deep does the rabbit hole go?

A Wicked Case of Homesick Blues?

Things #2

It's weird, but I think what I'd like to be doing right now is helping out in the garden back home. This has never happened before. Usually, whenever my mother invites me to lend a hand in the yard I run for the hills, move away, or stick out my hand for payment. But right now, that sounds like a sweet deal... along with the usual benefits of living with said parentals.

Someone else cooks, fun farm animals abound (including not one but TWO Border Collies), you can talk with people you know without the usual "let's be friends" tactics that I can never understand, and for all the plainess and predictability it really feels like a holiday.

So here's to helping out at home, another thing that, regrettably, I'm not doing.

Quit Horsin' Around!

Things # 316

April is just about here, so get ready for the Peruvian Paso Horse Festival! That's right. "Peruvian." One of my favourite words to say. For all your Equus action, head to Pachacamac about 30 km south of Lima. From there, keep your eyes peeled for Mamacona Stables.

You can get more info at peru.info, but you have to navigate through a couple confusing pages and it likes to switch back to Spanish. Of course, if you know Spanish then all the better.

This Peruvian horse is a special breed, with a high gait to handle travelling in the sandy coastal regions. The traditional costume of the riders is as seen below, and there are plenty of dressage style competitions to go with it.

The Festival is month long, so you have plenty of time to buy your tickets and hustle down to Lima. Listo?

Skeet Surfin' (It's Alright)

Things... #7

I'm a little biased here. I could fill an entire list of things only from Costa Rica. I spent a month there and only saw a small portion of the country, a country that is slightly smaller than West Virginia (yeah, useful comparison, I know).
Residents of the Great White North like to get all excited and patriotic about our wilderness, animals, clean air etc. Well, I don't know how many Costa Ricas you can fit inside British Columbia, but I promise you the forests are as green, the wilderness as rewarding and the animals a lot easier to spot. Plus, as a bonus, you can swim all year round! I should be filling out my visa application as I speak. Sigh.

It's supposed to be the best (or 2nd best, depending on your source) left left hand break in the world. For surfers (unlike myself, but I can learn) this is a pretty big deal. The beach is in an out-of-the- way (though increasiningly popular) southern corner of CR, near the border with Panama. Check out pavones.com/ or the video below. Pura vida!

Swoyambhunath - Pronounced Like it's Spelt...

Things I'm Not Doing (but would to to be) #1139

If you take off to Kathmandu, Nepal and be sure to visit some of the amazing pilgriamge sites. Of particular note and interest to me is Swoyambhunath. A bit of a mouthful, I know, but it looks very impressive from its hilltop perch.

The word means "Self-existent One" and is believed to have been established more than 2,500 years ago. Over time it grew into an important Buddhist learning site; behind the hilltop is a temple devoted to Manjusri of Saraswati - the goddess of learning. The largest image of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Nepel is also in a monestary near the site. And it's not all Buddhist either. There are many Hindu statues and monument there and worshippers share the turf. Sure there's a considerable walk up the hill, but what's a pilgrimage to an anciet temple without a little discomfort?

How Can You have Fun Without Lizards?

Thing I'm Not Doing (but would like to be) #113

Mark March 27 and 28 on your calendars. Then buy a ticket to Tampa 'cause there's no way you can afford to miss the Florida International Reptile Show.

And they're not kidding around, it's more than just a zoo. They have reptile merchants with supplies, feeders, cages and the scaly creatures themselves. Plus speakers, activities and contests.

The reptile filled adventure runs 9 to 5 Saturday and 9 to 4 on Sunday. Plenty of time to get your fill - I promise you. Check out the goods at http://www.repticon.com/ - next weekend, BE THERE!

Blue Lagoon - Warm Solutions for a Cold World

[I'm numbering out of order here so hold onto your hats! Also, I've ammended the title to rule out things like being stranded in the Pacific, incarerated, diseased, 2-dimensional, etc. All things I'm not doing and thank goodness for it. Savvy?]

Things I'm Not Doing (but would like to) #230

Blue Lagoon in Iceland (http://www.bluelagoon.com/). Yes, especially tantalizing considering the effects of winter rage on in my part of the globe. A kind dip in thermal pools sounds tantalizing.

Here's the scoop on this steamy locale:It's actually sewater, originating deep underground. Down there it's very hot i.e 240 C. But as it rises it picks up minerals, cools down through contact with other rock and sits nicely on the surface for all to enjoy. Well, not really. It sounds like they pump it from elsewhere. But it's a step up from just a swimming pool. The water is also used for a research and skin care products. It opened in 1999.

Plus, (a real bonus for the gents) legend says that Iceland could have the highest 'hot' girls per capita. Bjork excluded.

"New Zealand's Underground Playground"

Things I'm Not Doing #1

Happen to be off to the land of kiwis and Maori tribesmen? Please, visit Waitomo Adventures and let me know what's up. I'm an avid spelunker who is simply enthralled by the idea of blackwater rafting - for the layperson that's like regular rafting, but in the dark.
If that's not up your alley, they have plenty of other underground adventures to keep you interested and they don't seem to be the type where you you shuffle along as if in a museum. No, you get properly dirty.

Homepage:
http://www.waitomo.co.nz/Waitomo_Adventures/Welcome_IDL=3_IDT=1212_ID=6858_.html
Vid:
http://www.waitomo.co.nz/Presentation/Presentation1.aspx?ID=7893

PO Box 29
Waitomo Caves Village
New Zealand
0800 WAITOMO (924 666)

I'M BACK BABY!

Ok, so that was a bit of a delay. I know you were all holding your breath. I was a tad disheartened by again didcovering that I have little to say to the world, but I'm back with fresh ideas.

It's the "I'm not doing this" blog. I'll scour the web, find cool stuff that I'm not doing (ok that's a pretty formidable list so I'll stick to the top items) and realte it back here. Sound easy enough.

Stand by for the first entry...

BrainDroppings

Ok, I'll be the first to admit this blog is all over the map. Kinda how my brain works and I'm sorry. I have a desire to do everything at once and I'm rarely successful. What usually happens is I end up doing nothing at all as I'm unsure where to begin. It's all very daunting.

Things currently on my plate: Intramural soccer, twice weekly; Regular trips to the gym or the pool (now suffering due to the soccer); bedroom/hobby DJ at least until I get skilled enough for a gig (I can't actually do anything yet, but I invested grand into the system so I better figure it out!); work; planning a wedding in a few months time; figuring out how the hell I can escape the rat race before I'm 30 - Costa Rica, pura vida!; I want a dog; all my designated cleaning and cooking duties; a healthy dose of TV, movies, reading, beer swilling; and, let's see... this freakin blog! Hoozah!

I promised this wouldn't become a "complaints" blog, a diary, or a reposting of links from all over the web (it can certainly contain those elements, but they shouldn't be the theme).

So.

I'm going to rally the troops and return with a little structure. Please stand-by.

Superbowl Weekend

Blah. 'Nuff said.

Fun and Games with Steve-O and Iggy

For the first time in awhile...the first time ever in fact...I have been following the antics in Ottawa. And I really don't know what to say. Yes, I think we should stick behind creepy ol' Steven simply because the last thing we need to be doing is fighting pointless political battles. Yet at the same time... what happened to his forcast of nothing but sunny days ahead for us only a few months ago? Things change I guess. Which doesn't bode well for the budget.

There are some good things in there (and I really don't know what di-hard conservatives must be thinking) but isn't a tax cut in a recession a major no-no? What will you do with your extra couple hundred bucks? Anyway, in the end I hope more people remember this and vote NDP next time around.

On a side-note, what's with Conservatives and ridiculous aggression. Some of the comments they leave on places like CBC news. Geesh!

Frustrarion of the Week (year?)

Snow removal on my street. It's like Star Wars. Yes, Star Wars.
When they take on the Death Star (the first one, which IS fully operational) and have to fly down through the trenches, Tie-Fighters buzzing behind them, photon blasters all along the walls and the fate of the Rebellion in their hands.
Currently there is a 4 foot high pile of snow in the centre of the road and equally high piles on either side. This takes a keen bit of maneouvering to deal with. I'm assuming (hoping) it will be gone by the time I get home. No promises.

Music to Consider - NOW

Maybe not brand new, but here are some songs floating around my iTunes right now. I'll try to do this every now and then. Spread the good word as it were.

Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan (saw at Sasquatch, admittedly this is the only song I'm very familiar with)

Matt Mays and El Torpedo - Building a Boat (the intro is a face melter, watch out!)

Metric - Help I'm Alive (the missus found this one, so credit goes to her)

And the classic track of...today... The Doobie Brothers - Long Train Runnin' (super funky, even for Doobie standards.)

It's After Six

Liz Lemon: What? Your speech isn't tonight? Then why are you wearing a tuxedo?

Jack Donaghey: It's after 6, Lemon. What do you think I am? A farmer?

Not from this season, but it still makes me laugh.

Try Jack's line with your friends! It's new, it's great and most of all it's versatile!

Shovelling - No Thank You

So... Big Dump of snow... Loads of snow shovelling...Mountain lining driveway fairly impressive however.

Watching Foo Fighters Live at Hyde park in London. Actually fairly impressive. Although some of their new stuff doesn't really do it for me (to be fair their last album was way better than the one before) this is a kickin' concert.

I saw them in Vancouver, maybe 2002. When One by One was huge (ala Times Like These and friends) Very decent live show then as well. But it looks extra impressive when there's what looks like 10 thousand people in the crowd. Wow-ee!

So look into it.

Already Losing It

I can't leave this to the end of the day. My creativity is sapped.

I really have to re-evaluate how this is going to go down. I have grand expectaions and I won't sit idly by and watch them fail. Damn it, I want to be a cool blogger too!

Until further notice I'll keep it simple. Build up some steam, as it were.

Today's Observation: Crazy mom outside the change rooms at the pool. Droping the F-bomb at her 5 year old kids and accusing them that their doddling in the showers was going to cost her a timely snack. Yeah, I'm not really keen on kids either, but that's why I don't have them.

Word from the wise - chill the ?*#! out.

Picture of the Week

So here's how it'll break down (at least until I think of something better). I need a little structure here so I'm divising a weekly schedule. Kinda like your TV, you've got something for different nights of the week. This won't be nearly as interesting but the idea's the same.


Monday = Picture. I'll scour the internet to find something revelevant, weird, or at the least mildly amusing. Yeah, you can find this a hundred other places, but what are you going to do?

Tuesday = ... Well, I haven't go that far yet. Can you tell I'm making this up as I go?

January 19th is Edgar Allan Poe's Birthday. Pretty important as far as American Literature goes, even though he wasn't exactly lauded in his own time. Important works include: The Raven, Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, The House of Usher, William Wilson.

Anthologies are easy to find. Most of his writing is quite short so oyu can get it all without a huge investment. I endured a lengthy study of Poe in University and was surprised by most of his writing. If you enjoy the macabre, give it a chance.

"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality." — Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849).

The Inescapably Painful First Entry

This is when I ask myself what the hell I'm writing about and you ask why the hell you're reading it. It's a painful situation for all involved but I swear it will improve.

First - why the blog.
Well, why not? Everyone and their dog thinks they have something interesting to say and usually they're quite wrong. Here's my chance to join the ranks of underachievers. It's a big club, but I feel I'll be welcome there.

Second - what's the topic.
Ah, yes. That's the tricky part, isn't it? Ages ago I tried a similar online writing mistake, all about my thoughts, creative writing etc. It was terrible and did little to improve my ego. This time out I will attempt to be less silly and focus on things of actual interest.
By necessity this will include garbage about myself, but my goals include grander issues. You shall see.

Finally (yes the pain is almost over) - why should anyone care.
Because it's there.
I am increasingly of the opinion, that if you have any interest in the world at large - news, travel, technology, arts - you gotta get onboard with online contributions. This is my attempt. My goals are modest. If I've distracted you long enough to read this far I'm doing alright.

Be excellent to each other,
ian.