Europe!

What fun!

Me after a red eye flight....I barely slept! =P

Alex arrives after a very long bus ride...he showed up at 3pm...instead of 1pm.

Fish, chips and mushy peas in a pub for lunch, natch!

Big Ben was our favourite attraction in London, for sure.

Though Alex loved taking photos of the London Eye.  I was exhausted by this point.

Fancy dinner at night.  I have to be honest, I was so tired, I don't even remember where we went.

The next day it was rainy, but it was fun!

We had breakfast at a place called Garfield's...how fun!

Had a 'traditional english breakfast.

Alex rides the tube escalators...but he doesn't enjoy being videotaped by me. Haha, too bad!

We went to Camden town, to see all the tourist shops.  I loved this tshirt...I'm now kind of sad I didn't buy it.

We then went to Cyberdog, and I got in MASSIVE trouble for taking photos.  Well, Alex did because they kept coming up to him and telling him to tell me to stop taking photos.  Too bad for you, I did it anyways!  ^_^

We were running a little later, and basically Alex was freaking out we were going to be late.  In the end, his plane was late, so all the rushing was for nothing.  (SIGH.)  It was then flight time to Germany for Alex, and then flight time to Ireland for me!

Of course when I arrive, what do Robert and I do?  Watch Golden Girls and eat Pringles.  (Natch!)

In the morning, he made me a beautiful breakfast.  It was soooo good!  Thanks Robert. =D

Then we went and took silly pictures with statues of nuns.

I thought I fit in pretty well.

We then took a rainy tour through Dublin.  The bridges were beautiful, but the rain started pouring down pretty hard!

We stopped in a coffee shop for a quick respite, and I then ate the biggest meringue I have ever eaten.  It was as big as my face. 

We went home to dry off, and watched Rifftrax.  Bed early for our tour of Cork and Blarney the next day!

We were in the short bus...seems appropriate.

Robert gave a riveting early morning account.  (Sort of.)

We're looking fly in Cork!

It's actually not raining for once!

We stopped for a quick lunch at the local market, I got a meat pie. (Yay meat pie!)

We visited this amazing cathedral.  It was so awesome!  Robert's idea.  Unfortunately, going this far made us late for the bus.  I yelled at Robert about it because he left the meeting place and wandered off for 10 minutes.  =P

On top of Blarney castle!  I kissed the Blaney stone!

View from the top, plus my finger.  >_>

Robert and I had a real Guinness beer that evening at an amazing fancy restaurant.  It's so, so much better in Ireland!  I can't believe what I was missing!

The next day, we went to see how many people were at the Vikings auditions.  8,000 people needed.  For extras.  Wow!

Robert and I made our way to the rainy coast of Howth.  (Which I kept calling the Planet Hoth!)

We had lunch at a cute little place, and the swedish girl who served us became best friends with Robert!

Walking on the coast.

I went to some scary cliffs!  Robert was too chicken to follow.

I loved it here...thank you for taking me, Robert! =D =D =D

A famous poet actually used to do his work here.  I can't recall his name off the top of my head.  Blake, maybe?

Yeats.  I was wrong.  >_>

Robert and I had the proper send off in the Irish airport.  Typical travel woes like being unable to order breakfast and trying to get to the airport on time.  Off to Paris, to our AirBnB!

It's very colourful, that's for sure.

Here's where Alex and I stayed.  I quite enjoyed it, though the apartment was laid out very strangely.  The bath had a window into our room.  

Sven arrives!  I suddenly turn into a third wheel.  ^_^

We have a lovely dinner.  

(Once Robert was done being crusty because we took too long to pick a place to eat.)

Breakfast I have radiated milk (How I've missed you!)

And weird cereal that tasted nothing like the Crunch chocolate bar...

We stayed near Place de Republique.  Fun little area.

Start the morning off right with a croissant!

We then went to see Père Lachaise Cemetery.  I had always wanted to go, so it was super exciting!

Alex arrives! 

We go to the Eiffel Tower!

We can't get in, so we get ice cream instead! 

We see the Arc de Triomphe and walk down Champs-Élysées.  

We then went for crepes.  That was fun. =D

Then a fancy dinner after shopping.  Alex is wearing his new top!

I had fish.  (Good Friday, after all.)

We then went to dance in a Parisian club.  That was an interesting experience, for sure!  The drinks were very good. =)

Alex and I get up early (Robert and Sven sleep in) and make it to the top of the tower!

Here's me looking as not annoyed as I can, given how early I have been up, and standing in line for two hours!

We take Alex on a walk down the Seine, and then he has to go home. 

Cronut=croissant and donut.  Cool!

I thought the sign was so funny!

We didn't eat here.  

I sort of wondered what was behind this door...

After a long walk, we retired in, and went to bed early.

I didn't want to wake up Robert and Sven, so I crept out and went to easter mass at Notre Dame.  Was an amazing experience, I'm sure I'll never forget!  Possibly my favourite part of my time in Paris.

Robert and Sven got me a parting gift...Apple Schweppes! Was so tasty!

Eventually I was very tired in Philidephia....way too many flights....I was exhausted by time I got home!

I'm still recovering in a lot of ways, but I'm glad I went.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience in a lot of ways.  I learned a lot...and I hope I can go back and visit my friends in Europe again someday soon!  

Has it been a month already??

Wow!  March went by fast!  Some updates:

-Going to Europe at the end of the week to hang out with Alex in London, Robert in Ireland, and a group of us in Paris
-Class is almost finished!  This Friday is my last day teaching class
-Work is going well, an intern from my class is starting first thing in April.
-New manager starting in a month

And I need a vacation.  I burnt out a bit last week, and now it's just me doing my best to take care of myself over the next few weeks.

Whew!

So sleepy

Been trying harder to work out lately.  For Lent, I'm not giving things up, but trying to be moderate in a few things.  Go moderation! =)

Now just doing some laundry, and I'll be doing some marking.  I just finished doing a video shoot with someone who has the Order of Canada.  He's a really great guy, and the other actor we worked with is also amazing.  The day became more stressful as I realized that I lost a tripod, but thankfully someone returned it to security!  Whew!!!

Alex has just gotten a big raise at work, so he is happy.  We are going to Europe at the end of the month, and my new passport just arrived.  I had practically forgotten I had applied for it.

This post is a bit disorganized....so much is going on, and when you're tired, it's tough to focus!  I only got home around 745pm, so it's tough when you haven't eaten pretty much all day and then workout, then try and do 10 things at once....terrible! =)

Anyways, I am sure the rest of this week is going to be a good week.  Busy...but good.

TOW: Family

I have been thinking a lot about family this weekend.  What makes a family?  An interesting quote from Aristotle:

"I am speaking of the premise from which the argument of Socrates proceeds, 'that the greater the unity of the state the better.' Is it not obvious that a state may at length attain such a degree of unity as to be no longer a state? Since the nature of a state is to be a plurality, and in tending to greater unity, from being a state, it becomes a family, and from being a family, an individual; for the family may be said to be more than the state, and the individual than the family. So that we ought not to attain this greatest unity even if we could, for it would be the destruction of the state. Again, a state is not made up only of so many men, but of different kinds of men; for similars do not constitute a state."

A state can't be comprised of 'a bunch of people that are all the same' since a social order relies on the idea that each of us is good at doing some different, for the betterment of ourselves and others.  And a family is a unit within society, one of the most important.  It's a mini state unto itself.  A society requires differentiation to be a good society, not unity.

We all sometimes wish the family we have would be different, or that they would like more things like we like.  Wouldn't it make it easier to get along with them?  But the truth is, being different will make us happier than being the same.  Because most of us get bored of ourselves quite quickly, how quickly would we be bored of others who were the same as we were?  We seek what it is different, what is exciting, what keeps us interested in society, in living, in participating in a great social structure.

For myself, I suppose I often seek out those people who will make up my deficiencies, of which I have many.  I need people who can point out what I am doing wrong, and who can be honest with me about who they see me as.  In my family, people never have trouble speaking their mind.  And that's refreshing in a lot of ways.

Happy Family Day to the family I was born to, and the friends who became my family throughout the years.  

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day.  And it's not necessarily the holiday that warms the hearts of each and every one of us, but for me, it's something special.  I find it to be a time when I can celebrate my familial and friendship loves.  While there is romantic love as well that I am celebrating this year, and I have celebrated that way in the past, Valentine's for me is about sharing love, not receiving love.  Love is gift, and it is worth celebrating and thinking about during this time of year, when it is cold outside, to remember to be warm inside.

So, in honour of this day, I say Valentine's is about what you give, not what you receive. It can be fun to tease ourselves about whether we are single, or together, but let's never forget how important it is to love one another, as much as we can, as best as we can.

Have I told you I've started teaching lately?

I have!

I'm doing a course on visual communications at my old PR college, Centennial.

Been a great experience so far.  Smart people in the class, learning a lot myself.

It's definitely a challenge trying to balance that with working full time...since this is basically another job on top of my current job.

But so far, so fun!  

Photos from Christmas

Was beautiful when I returned home.

Y'all should have seen my amazing Christmas sweater.

This was when the Campbell-Doell sides of the family got together.  Not a quiet party, let me tell you!

Kristene rocking the hobo toque.

Me and mom, having our new york fries, because that's how we eat at the mall.

Me hanging out with Daner.  He sort of knows who I am now...he's a lot more to play with, though he sure does scream quite a bit when he's upset.

Fashion time.

Me hanging out with Evan, my super nephew.

Alex arrived on the 24, was so happy to see him!

He was not happy with how cold it was, however.

Kristene and my super sis-in-law, Tammy.

<3 p="">

Shane, Tyler and Alex

My niece, the supermodel.  

Me molesting Shane.  Haha, take that, Shane! (He was teasing me all night.)

Me and Jayce.  Love hanging out with you buddy!

Tyler and I Xmas morning.

My mom.  Xoxo!

Alex is looking at everyone's photos...mostly me and my brothers.

He is slowly, but surely going to learn to love the winter! ;D

We played pool with my nieces and nephews...that was organized chaos, to say the least!

Met up with Travis and Mallory, watched them feed cake to each other.  Always the third wheel with these two!

Two beautiful ladies, Heather and the newest babe!

Travis and Mallory on NYE.

Tammy looking great on NYE!

Dane, looking way too much like his brother!

Me running around outside with Taylor.  Being chased by a snowmobile is scary!

Overall, it was an amazing trip, with amazing memories.  Loved spending time with everyone, wish I had more time.

Oh blog

I haven't forgot about you.

You're foremost on my mind tonight, when I am thinking about lots of things, like my career, my relationships, and friends and family.

I have lots of thoughts from Christmas.  I'll share them soon.

But it's been a hard Monday and I need sleep.

Christmas Sweater Time!

There is so much to do before I leave for holidays.

You're standing in the storm we wrote

A good song line for how I'm feeling this weekend.

Lots to think about.

TOW: Reading books that reflect your life

Sometimes books find us.

When I was younger, I used to peruse Coles bookstore, looking for a book that spoke to me.  And believe me, I looked through nearly every book, trying to find 'my kind of books.'  And it wasn't always apparent to me which ones were 'mine.'

Some stories never have, and never will, speak to me.  I was just recounting to my friend Liz how I dropped the book The Luminaries within the first 30 pages.  I didn't realize, when I first started reading it, just how bored I get with certain fiction genres.  (I definitely feel like bored town gold rush and stories focusing on mining or oil don't interest me.)  She was sympathetic in many ways.  I am sure she feels that way about many books I recommend to her.  Probably at least part of the reason our attempt at a book club failed.  (Note:  Room is not a nice novel to have as a first book club novel.  Child abuse doesn't really appeal to some people as a conversation topic.)

I used to be in love with Mercedes Lackey.  She was everything to me.  I read and re-read her novels. The Sword of Knowledge was one that I kept coming back to.  (Even though she was a co-author with another person, her voice came loud in clear in her style of writing) In no way, was there ever an actual, physical sword that had magical powers within the book.  I kept wishing for it to be there, though.  Each reading, I looked again, to see if I could find the Sword of Knowledge, somewhere within in the pages.  It wasn't until many years later, with much reflection, that I realized that the sword was knowledge.  The book was actually about magicians, people with weak arcane powers that in all honesty, were more scientists than magicians.  And that made them powerful.  Knowledge was more than power, it was a weapon, and it was often the character who used it as a weapon was the one that was least expected to use it as such.

For years, I have been looking for magic in the real world, not unlike the character in the book I am currently reading. The Magicians, by Lev Grossman.  When I was younger, I found it in fantasy novels.  When I matured a little, I found it in God.  When I faced adversity as I became older, I found it in myself.  The main character goes through many phases of unhappiness, and is often left questioning his own existence, even when he has nearly all the power in the world.

I sometimes feel that I have all the power in the world, and nothing to do with it.  I have time.  I have opportunity.  And yet I do not find what I need to find and I am not becoming the kind of person I need to be.  Like in The Magicians,  the main character feels like he constantly misses the mark (and often he does).  Because even with all the power in the world, it doesn't mean that life turns out like a certain kind of fairy tale.

And that's because as often as you choose stories, those stories choose you.  You make choices, decisions in your life, and yet no matter what, we have narratives that we weave through those stories.  When I was really down during my early twenties, I found The Alchemist.  When I was discovering who I was in high school, I was in love with The Catcher in the Rye.  When I decided to do a master's thesis in philosophy, I was attracted to the very antithesis of my desires in Augustine.  And I became that antithesis while trying to think through a difficult problem in my life, and within the sphere of reason and religion.  I am still thinking in that sphere, as a fallen human being, one with a chaotic, sinful nature requiring grace.

Though we cannot always choose which books, which stories, which tales and fables will make us who we are, many of us struggle against the monotony of daily tasks to realize something different than is displayed to our five senses, something real and tangible, yet not necessarily affecting our direct lives.

It's often these kind of stories that keep us safe, keep us warm at night.

How I made my Halloween costume

So, if we be friends on Facebook, you might have seen this photo:

I'ma-say-one thing:

BORK BORK BORK.

Here's my journey to make the costume:

First, I went to King Fabrics, where I found a beautiful white faux fur.  I thought it would be a good idea to attempt to dye it.  After consulting several costume and design expert friends of mine, I went ahead with this little experiment.  

I bought a tub to dye the fabric in, and I dyed it out on my front lawn in near freezing conditions.

This was the type of dye I used.  It looked really good in the water, like it would take to the right colour.  However, this was the end result:

I learned, after consulting several comment sections on professional dye websites, that non-natural fabrics will not hold dyes properly.  Which turns out to be true!  When I applied even a little bit of water to the fabric, it turned right back to white.  You can see a bit of it on the edge to the right. there.  What I learned from this:  Don't dye anything other than cottons and simple tshirts, etc. 

The Real Deal

Costume-the baking equipment:  I went and got a baker's apron, and a back up paper chef hat, if I couldn't source a proper hat, at an asian restaurant wholesaler near my workplace.  They had the right hats there, but not in the right colour.  There was also Malabar costumes, which had the right hat, but it was $22!  What!  I ended up travelling to Amazing costumes, which is in the middle of nowhere Etobicoke, and managed to get it for $6.00 or so, though it was an hr long ride to go to amazing costumes, or whatever it's called. (Which I will go next year, to get my costume, because they have pretty much everything.) I bought the utensils at walmart.

Costume-The shirt and tie:  Thankfully, I own a blue striped shirt, just the right kind! The bow tie, I bought a back up for $10 at Winners, but it wasn't the right colour.  I posted on Facebook to source out winners to get a red bow tie, but it was several days later, and my friend Dez posted on my Facebook on how to turn a full tie into a respectable bow tie, WHICH WAS PERFECT, since I owned a shiny red full tie!  DONE.  (That being said, I had to apply tape in certain placed to get it to stay.

The Facial Hair (FROM THE BEYOOOOOND):

I went down on Queen street west, and found a 'back up fabric', that I thought was passable, for $5.  However, the colour was too dark, and not red enough, so I wasn't happy with it.  The next store I walked into, BAM!  They had the exact colour I needed!  However, I was forced to buy a yard of it, which meant it cost me about $12.  (In other news, if anyone wants to make a faux fur hat....)

The moustache:  Was actually much smaller than I expected.  You can see the final result here.  I made the mistake (several times) of making the 'stache so big it almost looked like a beard.  And I also made the both similar shapes, which meant I had to be creative how I placed it on my face, or it would look off.

Eyebrows:  The eyebrows were easy.   Two pieces of square fabric, which I teased the hair up and outwards to make it look 'Swedish.'

Applying to the Face:  I had considered creating a foam head, but I thought it would be too much work, and also, I suck at that kind of stuff.  (Not to mention it would be too hot, and I wouldn't be able to really enjoy myself.)

As you can see, taping it to your face doesn't really work very well.

The final product looked good even with tape.  I, in the end, used spirit gum, which is like a people friendly glue.  I would say that you need to do a 'base coat and wear it for a bit, and then reapply.  Half my stache fell off after a couple hours.  (Because I only reapplied one side.)  You really need to factor in sweat.  Here's the final product with me with my friends out at DA CLUB.  ^_^

 And yes, that's a cop with a prisoner, and a chef with a hot dog.  =)

All and all, this costume idea took me almost exactly 30 days.  Not an easy task.  Next year, it'll be something even better, I hope! =)