This version of the site is one years old as of June 21, 2003! Happy birthday, fifth chapter!

July 29, 2003
*Phew!* Just needed to record down here that I thought my phone died! That means no voice connection with anyone back home... I seriously thought I overcharged my phone or something and it fried. The green light was blinking, but not turning on or off. Thank goodness for the Sony Ericsson site which had a really simple solution to it... flip open the back cover, take off battery for a few seconds, and then replace. Never thought I'd be so happy to see my phone on again! The kind of funny thing was that I was listening to "May Your Wonders Never Cease" as my phone revived. Heehee... thank you Lord, even for the resolution of these small trivial matters in life.

On another note, I watched Daredevil today with Jim and Marnie. I wasn't too impressed by it... a little bit disjointed, not enough character development (I mean, Bulls Eye just kind of appears as Daredevil and Elektra's nemesis without much background, for one thing), and the dialogue wasn't strong at all. Kind of cheesy, you know? I suppose you can't expect quality drama or reality in a superhero movie. Pure fun... it would be good to watch it again just to see the little clues scattered around. One day...

Anyway, I should be getting to bed now. Good night all!

July 28, 2003
Mmm... nothing like angsty rock to listen to while updating a webpage. Rock on, Sense Field! Anyway, I finally uploaded a new fic after a three-month hiatus! It's an Everwood piece - Once More - title courtesy of a chat with Cec*lia (I like it more and more... thank goodness you rejected the other titles)! Thanks muchos! You're the best... better than all the rest! Hope y'all will enjoy it. And don't forget the reviews and constructive criticisms!

Can you believe that I have less than a month left here in Ottawa? Well, I can't, but I'm definitely looking forward to going back home to a working oven, a cleaner kitchen, and cleaner facilities in general. Thank goodness for mom's nurse sanitation inclinations! And of course there are the friends! Must plan for our bachelorette pad when I'm back! We gotta pick a city (T-dot? 'sauga? or some hicksville like... Caledon?), and of course shop at our favourite Scandinavian destination! Ahh... dreams...

Anyway, I suppose work is alright for now, although today was slightly unbearable that I had to get away and cut binder labels and rip orange marking papers. Thought (that I'm ripping from someone else, but intriguing nonetheless): why don't non-smokers take breaks as often as smokers? "I'm going out for air. I'll just stand around outside and... umm... admire the traffic and breathe in pollution." Right... I suppose the non-smoker's equivalent of the smoking break is the coffee break, although you often see smokers holding a cup of coffee while taking a drag. Life is just unfair sometimes... :oP

What else now... nothing much. :oP The main light in my room is still not functioning... awaiting for Paul to come and fix it sometime... hopefully... this... week. I suppose I'll just have to turn on my desk lamp, night table lamp, Christmas lights, and light my candles! Speaking of which, I should really get some floaters for my new floater dish that I got at Ikea.

Okay, I gotta get going. Perhaps brush up with some short stories... or actually read all those books mom and dad gave me back in May! Have an awesome evening everyone!

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Back then
We wished that we were older
Waiting for the summer
Everything was new, when everything was fun
She would come over and slip into the water
I wonder if she knew that she was the one everybody wanted
Every night she haunted us in our dreams then you wake up all alone

All's fair in love and war
Til it feels like you're dying alone
Tears turn to waterfalls but I
I'd taste tears over nothing at all

Now, we wish that we were younger
That feeling of the hunger
To want to try everything and anything we want
Frustration and the anger
Never thinking of the danger
Or how we'd make it through
Never thinking someone won't

All's fair in love and war
Til it feels like you're dying alone
Tears turn to waterfalls but I
I'd taste tears over nothing at all

The fun never ends
Fun never ends
The fun never ends
Til you bury a friend
Til you bury a friend
Til you bury a friend

Now, we wish that we were younger
That feeling of the hunger
To want to try everything and anything we want
Frustration and the anger
Never thinking of the danger
Or how we'd make it through
Never thinking someone won't

All's fair in love and war
Til it feels like you're dying alone
Tears turn to waterfalls but I
I'd taste tears over nothing at all

Fun never ends
Fun never ends
Fun never ends

Til you bury a friend, bury a friend, bury a friend
Til you bury a friend, bury a friend, bury a friend
Til you bury a friend, bury a friend, bury a friend

"Fun Never Ends", Sense Field (from Tonight and Forever)
A lovely angsty rock track from Sense Field. I don't really identify with it (thank goodness!) but it's angst, and I love anything angsty. It's also a good reminder that wreckless living isn't the best way to live life. Don't learn the lesson until it's too late...

July 26, 2003, part two
So today I witnessed some firefighters putting out a fire. Interestingly enough, I watched a rerun of Third Watch of A&E the night before, not that they put out any fires in that particular episode, but they did dig a woman out of ice and revive her. Anyway, related or not, I was waiting for the bus after my weekly Hartman's grocery visit when I noticed a smell in the air and though maybe the bus blew up (yeah, I'm a little morbid at times). Next thing you know, ashes are blowing our way and then fire trucks pull up about 100 metres away. Naturally we (other people waiting for the really, really late number 2... so there *is* something about the number 2 being unreliable!) all turn to look. Smoke is billowing out of some alleyway, and then we all have to turn away because the smoke fills up the entire street and blows its way east. People actually come running to see what was going on. That was quite strange and exciting. Apparently some dude lit up a dumpster and the whole thing just erupted in flames. Stories to tell my grandchildren. Or maybe children first, eh?

Oh, thank you so much to Becca for the care package! I was flipping through some flyers before heading out to groceries when I spotted some envelopes on the table, and lo and behold, the coolest looking one was for me! Haha... can't believe how much pictures we took with the changing the guard ceremony. The Urbana brochure is much appreciated, and of course the other wonderful, marvelous "treat." You're the best! Love ya, and a virtual hug to you (may be redeemable for an actual hug... please inquire)! {{{Becca}}}

Interesting Bible Study today at Elijah. It was on lust, which is not something that I struggle with too much, thank goodness. Nonetheless, I still learned some practical things like looking at the opposite sex with the idea of the "multi-dimensional image-bearing person" in mind. Never thought of it that way, but definitely very useful. Just when I think I've learned everything there is to know about being a Christian (well, not exactly, but I do feel saturated at times), I learn something new. I love it!

Anyway, I was surfing some homepages of buddies back home. I miss you all very much! Life just isn't the same without familiar faces around. Looking forward to seeing you all again in August! Visits to O-town are also appreciated! *hint hint nudge nudge*

Well, that's all for this update. Take care, y'all!

July 26, 2003, part one
Ahh... to be up at 12:35am! Haven't done that in a looooong while. ;o) Anyway, I've been fretting about my finances lately. Spent a little too much with the freedom of independent living. Guess I'll just hafta stop having a life and tighten the belt (note to self: I actually literally really need one, just as Becca's been bugging me... however, I have no money to spend if you account for the awaiting tuition bill, so this is just another display of the art of circular arguments). Hoping and praying Aiming For The Top will come through this year. Or I'm basically screwed.

Anyway, went out with Marnie and Tara last night (err... Thursday night) to a Moroccan restaurant on Laurier called Kasbah Village. Pretty interesting food... loved the appetizers and the mint tea at the end. The main dishes weren't bad either... the chicken just fell apart with tenderness. Mmm... I suppose I was more impressed by the appetizers (love the phyllo pastry!). And of course the tea. It's the first tea that doesn't need milk to be yummy, although it did require sugar (sugar cubes! haven't seen you in so long now...). Yes, Tara, one day I will try to make it, and we will have our taste test. ;o)

On a totally different note, I lent my Switchfoot CD away this week (suffering from withdrawl... and I've not even had it for a week yet!). Purposely did it so I could spend more time with my new Third Day purchase. It's quite yummy... even wrote a review for it, if you're interested. I'm currently slaving away at the music reviews section, so watch for new stuff to pop up sometime soon.

And now, a plug: visit Marianne's website! It's new, and it's cool. Check it out!

Well, I better go now. Have an awesome weekend everyone!

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Father in Heaven
Lord, may Your name be glorified
Above all others
Above all this world
Above everything else in our lives
For nothing else in all of this world matters
But to live our lives for You and You alone

May Your wonders never cease
May Your Spirit never leave
May we ever long to see Your face
When we’ve turned from You again
Oh how quickly we forget
May we be reminded of Your grace
May wonders never cease

Beautiful Savior
Truly You proved Your love for us
While we were sinners in all our weakness
Still You gave Your life upon the cross
You saved us, Lord, from all our transgressions
And delivered us into Your loving arms

Father in Heaven
Lord, may Your name be glorified
Above all others
Above all this world
Above everything else that’s in our lives
For nothing else in all of this world matters
But to live our life for You and You alone

"May Your Wonders Never Cease", Third Day (from Offerings II: All I Have To Give)
Gorgeous tune from Third Day's newest album, and a beautiful prayer to God.

July 22, 2003
A few technical updates (from the span of the week):

• New pic from Ottawa
• Expansion of the CD collection...
• ... resulting in the expansion of the GSL
• ... and the adding of the chords for Switchfoot's Dare You To Move
• And to cap it off, a new quiz!

Enjoy the new updates! Looking forward to Ikea Day with the co-workers tomorrow. Oh yes! Pam update (UW Navs staff worker) - she passed the critical post-op period, and is now off the ventilator and talking. Specific prayer request is for her open wound to heal by itself and not get infected. Thanks all!

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you've got now
Yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
Don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes
This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?

This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

And you had everything to lose?

"This Is Your Life", Switchfoot (from The Beautiful Letdown)
Another awesome song from the awesome album. It's refreshing to have a band be serious about life, but still love their rock and roll at the same time. :o)

July 20, 2003
This weekend was enjoyed. Went out with Marianne for dinner in Chinatown, and she reminded me to update here that we found an authentic Chinese restaurant that was quite nice, so here goes. :o) It's Cafe Orient, a HK-styled restaurant. We had chicken and ham with tomato sauce baked rice and Singapore styled vermicelli, not to mention Ovaltine and HK-styled milk tea. Mmm... I believe Cafe Orient is the only place I've revisited in Chinatown so far. There are just so many restaurants on that street (although half are like Vietnamese pho places, and the food in those places are always the same... not to say that the Chinese ones aren't all the same though!), and I suppose Laura H's comment about "we should go to a restaurant you've never been to" stuck with me because now I'm tempted to try all of them. Won't happen though. I don't mind!

Oh yeah, after some card playing on Friday night with Jim and Marnie (I totally suck at Spoons, even though Marnie like threw me a spoon at one point! now how did Jim manage to reach the long side of the table and grab it? darn old short me...), we had a spontaneous guitar sing-a-long session, which was really fun. "Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna through it back to yooou..." Nothing like a jam session, when everyone knows how to sing the songs!

On Saturday after the sleepover, Marianne and I hit Blessings and I got two more CDs - Switchfoot's "The Beautiful Letdown" and Third Day's second "Offerings". I was tempted (haha... I got that John thing going!) to get Delirious?' "Access:d" because I might be in it! Think I mentioned that sometime ago... but yeah, they taped us (or so they said) at the Queensway concert last year so it'll be awesome if it made the cut! Besides, the case (like they've been lately) is just so cool. :o) The other one I wanted to get was Jars of Clay's "Furthermore" which is sort of like their best of, but I heard that all the songs were re-recorded. I'll probably get it sometime, eventually...

Sunday School was good today. It was on ethics, and it's been a long time since I actually learned something new at church (*sigh* church-goer syndrome). Some of the material actually linked with stuff I learned in school, like the Social Gospel and the disillusionment of life after the World Wars. I'm looking forward to the next ethics class - too bad there's only two! - although today's lesson ran a little long.

Prayer request: Pam, a staff worker at UW's Navigators has suffered a serious car accident. To be more precise, she was hit by a school bus while walking to work, and her injuries, during the last update I had, were critical. Please pray for her. Thanks.

I hope you have a great week, and remember that "we were meant to live for so much more."

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here, everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next? What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

"Dare You To Move", Switchfoot (from The Beautiful Letdown)
It's always so refreshing to hear old lessons in a new way, and this song's a perfect example of that. This song is actually from their previous album, Learning To Breathe, but I haven't heard that version yet (a trip down to Marnie's room should fix that up :o) ). Anyway, it's proves a good reminder for me not to dwell on all the failures I've had and just move on with living life.

July 17, 2003
You are the lucky recipient of my yearly Emmy rant. Well, I think I rant about it yearly anyway. So, both of my current favourite shows did get nominations, but nothing significant. I think I was primed by an article I read on Everwood Online about how quality shows are getting shut out from Emmys they deserved, but no matter.

Okay, with a quality family drama like Everwood and its strong writing and acting, you'd think they'd get nods for those categories, and perhaps even best drama. But nooo. They get stuck with Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore). Yes, indeed their music is nice, but what about the acting? Hello? But, alas, the Emmy people have the tendency of sticking with what's familiar and then maybe dole out an Emmy or two when a show or actor has gone way past their prime. So hopefully they'll clue in next year and vote Everwood. Oh, and maybe establish a new drama/comedy category so these shows can get recognized right from the start.

Third Watch wasn't as strong on the dramatic side this year (I found the fourth season to be quite wham bam Hollywood blockbuster style). Jason Wiles should really have gotten a best actor nod for his third Season performance, and the show should have been given a best drama nod, especially because it dealt with the aftermath of 9/11 so well. But that has unfortunately past. Nonetheless, the show got its usual Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series (for The Price of Nobility), and I believe this year they got a never before given Outstanding Stunt Coordination nomination (for Crash and Burn). I could be wrong though, because the show does have some elaborate stunts.

Granted, I don't watch many of the shows that were nominated, so I really can't prejudge them without watching. And I'm definitely bias with the shows that I do watch (but there is a reason I watch them, if you know what I mean). Anyway, to reason out the injustices of it all, we'll just say that the Emmys are just another reason celebrities can buy expensive clothes and party in style. Of course the partying will be that much sweeter if you had one of those trophies at the end of the night.

July 15, 2003
Confessions of a confused mind: so over last weekend, I made some sandwiches to distribute to the poor. The idea had burdened me pretty much since I started to work in Ottawa, but when I carried it out, it really felt no different. Maybe because I dragged it out too long that whatever God had wanted to teach me through it initially had already past its due. I still really want to make it a lifestyle, but so much for that. I brushed past a homeless man today coming home from work, fully aware of his presence and fully guilty of non-action. So now, I keep hearing Jesus say, "where were you when I was hungry? How come you didn't feed me?"

Anyway, God probably knew my torturous thoughts, so he sent John along my way. Just a regular folk on the bus, but armed with the mission of spreading the good news to Chinese people. It was pretty awesome, however short our conversation was (Bank to 2 stops past LeBreton... 10 minutes?). Finding out about how another part of the Church has been growing from a complete stranger is refreshing, especially when it's one on one.

Some initial thoughts post-experience is that God is telling me there are other ministries to explore. Like approaching random people on the bus and sharing the gospel with them! I don't know if inner-city missions is my gift, since I don't have natural ability in talking to strangers, but still, God uses us in our weaknesses, right? I think that's just awesome, and pray that I can just trust Him to use me in His purposes. Talking empty sucks. Hurts me and hurts God.

Work was decent today. Pure data-entry, although by the end I had to stop and cut labels just to keep myself sane. Actually, no, I reached the targetted limit. The almightly QC must verify before proceeding! Anyway, had a meeting with Genna (nice to finally connect with a person at the supervisor level, after two months!) and will have a meeting with the UW co-ordinator person tomorrow on the prestigious 11th floor. Well, prestigious in our eyes because it's the top floor. Maybe I'll start my work term report just to suck up! Right...

Well, I'm going to work on my short story, so you all take care now, okay? Oh yeah! Before I fully sign off, I updated the Ottawa Co-op Photo Album with a few more pics. Enjoy!

July 13, 2003
Hmm... I don't think I've ever revisited a restaurant in Ottawa's Chinatown (Chinastreet, as some would groan) yet. I've probably been to about 10 restaurants in the district so far. Jadeland is the most impressive, but still not comparable to the ones back home. But hey, when you've been stuck in a town without home cooking, any resemblance of Chinese food tastes good. The yum cha here fails, but the pho (okay, not Chinese, but still!) holds up well. Just went to Northern 2 today - the food's not too spectacular (stuff in Toronto are much better). Oh well.

Yeah, so that was a totally pointless rant on restaurants here to fill the space. I really just wanted to tell you that there are 4 new pics up in the photo album, one for my co-op experiecne here, and the other in the UW Frosh Year page. Can you believe I haven't updated the photo album in nearly a year (exact timing is one year less a month). Scary, but that's what happens when you're without a scanner for 8 months and when you do have it, it completely blows up in your face). These pictures are taken from other albums. I'll do better next time.

Well, have an awesome week everyone! :o)

July 8, 2003
Belated rants on world events (well... belated in some cases, and world related in some others):

1. Friendly fire in Afghanistan: Don't you just wonder what the Americans would incite if we dropped a bomb on their troops by accident? War would be instigated, and Canadians would be running amuck. Well, they've at least press criminal charges on the soldiers responsible. So why hasn't the Canadian government done the same? First, they coerce us to join their fight against terrorism (which is a whole other can of worms), then drop a bomb on us for our (perhaps meagre) efforts. We lose 4 soldiers, and nothing comes of us. Well, I suppose we can't totally blame the Americans - Canada as a nation just hasn't been too passionate about military issues. Nevertheless, I feel the need to speak up about the injustices of it all.

2. Discouraging barbecue usage to lower pollution: Uhh... guys? What about cars? Air conditioners? Or as critics have brought up, coal-fired generators? Haven't had a good laugh at the government's attempts at bettering society in a while. Somehow, I doubt barbecue stoves are contributing to the majority of the smog that Ontario suffers from in the summertime. Oh, and I absolutely love the part where Ernie Eves comes out and says he did his part in reducing pollution by getting Swiss Chalet takeout. First of all, did he have to be that specific? Secondly, all the barbecue pollutants he avoided was still made by the ovens over at Swiss Chalet, then by the car of the kid who brought it to his steps. Well, I suppose at least they tried. Come up with something more substancial next time though, okay?

3. Iranian cranopagius twins: On a more serious note. I'm saddened that the surgery failed. Could you imagine waking up and living as an individual after 29 years? It would have been amazing to track the lives of Ladan and Lelah Bijani, see them recover from surgery and lead the lives they've dreamed of. However, I doubt they would have had normal brain function, even if they had survived. The brain is such a delicate and important part of the body, and it would take a miracle to come out unscathed after such trauma. I pray that their friends and family will be comforted in their grief.

Anyway, there's the end of my rant. I've been keeping close tabs on the news lately, with all the busywork that allows for multi-tasking! Oh yeah, the Quiz section has been updated! Check out the new quiz there. Okay, back to work (or waiting for it...)!

July 6, 2003
This weekend has been enjoyed much. Big thanks to Niette and her relatives for letting me hang around them! :o) So I finally got to go to the famed Gatineau Park area... I never realized that Hull was so close to where I lived! You go on Scott St./Albert St. and it's practically right there and seeable! Silly me. Oh well, like I would've gone to Québec all by myself. So it was nice to hike the area with a bunch of people... reminds me of the good ol' camp days, you know? Took a few pics. Gotta find a decent developer (ie. Loblaws) to get them developed!

Back track... watched Legally Blonde 2 yesterday with Marnie. It was an alright movie. It was cutesy, girly, and pretty American (I mean, "Red, White, and Blonde"). A fun movie to watch, if that's the mentality you go with. I did enjoy the Snap Cup Time song. Snaps for you for reading my webpage! *snap snap*

Oh yeah, and there was the thought-provoking Sunday school today. I'm in the Old Testament Survey class (apparently next week is the last class???), and it's been pretty interesting. We did Amos for this week's lesson, and I learned that it's basically a rant to all the wealthy and the rich for ignoring God and the poor that surrounds them. The thought-provoking part is that it is more than applicable to the North American society, as provable by the ever widening rich-poor gap. An interesting point that was brought up was that the nation of Israel might have thought that their wealth and prosperity were blessings of God, but actually brought them to their downfall because God no longer became their number one priority. I need to mull over this a little more, but you can see the parallels that can be drawn with the society that North Americans indulge in. Look at the state of Canada. Legalization of marijuana. Accepting homosexual unions. If we're not on a spiritual downfall and eventual collapse, then I don't know what you call it.

I'll just leave the entry in this sobering thought.

SONG OF THE MOMENT

One to another
Do you remember me
I feel so small
Are you listening tonight?

So temporary
Things that i have seen
I ran so far
Will you take me back again?

Entertaining angels
By the light of my TV screen
24-7, you wait for me

Entertaining angels
By the time i fall to my knees
Host of heaven, sing over me

One to another
The feelings in between
I won't let go
Of all you taught me - alright?

Close as a brother
The way we used to be
I'll hold my breath
And wait for you to breathe

Entertaining angels
By the light of my TV screen
24-7, you wait for me

Entertaining angels
By the time i fall to my knees
Host of heaven, sing over me

"Entertaining Angels", Newsboys (from Step Up To The Microphone)
Ah... nothing like the "old classics" from the good old WOW CDs. An awesome tune (with an awesome video!) from the Newsboys from Down Under. Enough said.

July 5, 2003
SOMEONE MAKE ME STOP SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY!!! Oi... it's bad, I tell you! Making money and having it sit there for 4 months before the heavy bills start rolling in (ie. tuition... rent in Waterloo). I should have quite a significant amount of money in my account... I have about 1/3 of it. Work is better than school. Can I quit school and find a job???

Anyway, yeah, so I've been splurging on absolutely unnecessary items. Actually, I was quite proud of myself for having spent about half the cash that I usually do at my weekly grocery trip to Hartman's, but then the Rideau Centre trip rolled around. Granted, for around $60, I got 4 shirts (including the print screen tees that I've been wanting for a while... I feel like the wannabe rock star that I've always wanted to become now! oh... and clothes for work), but still, it's not like I have nothing to wear, you know? *sigh* Hopefully I can save a little better come the second half of my work term.

Speaking of which, I had an informal mid-term review yesterday with our supervisor. Seems like I'm doing well at IRSRC, so I'm happy. I even complained about the boredom of the new stuff, and lucky us research girls... we might get put back with our old researchers. However, I see the need to work on the new project too, so maybe we can take on half and half. We'll see...

Alright, gonna go fire off a few e-mails that have been piling up in my mailbox. Have a great weekend!

July 3, 2003, part two
Indeed... what my co-op term was leading to is now over. It's all downhill from here (haha... down the Parliament Hill! oi... bad bad bad!). Nonetheless, Canada Day was much enjoyed. I mean, for a Mississaugan who has never been to the capital for Canada's most significant holiday, Canada Day at the Hill was awesome! Made better with the small entourage consisting of Becca, Marnie and I, mainly because travelling and decision making is that much easier.

Anyway, we started off with tattoo application (Marnie's my tattoo application guru! and you think putting on those 30 Hour Famine tattoos for the past three years would have made me at least knowledgeable in this area of life), then a walking trek downtown for the parade. Which lasted all of 20 minutes, and there were absolutely no dignitaries (all saved for the noon day show, which we knowingly skipped). The changing the guard ceremony was strange... would've been better with the commentary from TV hosts.

After that, while everyone else rushed to the seats for the noon day show (it was hilarious to watch the stampede when they opened the gates), we headed to Confederation Park to what I thought was a pow-wow, but turned out to be only pow-wow drumming. It's got a very spiritual quality to it, but unfortunately can get boring after 45 minutes of it to an untrained ear. That was followed by the much more interesting African drumming workshop, but alas, the Snowbirds drew us running away, so we lost our seats and couldn't get a drum to play with.

Oh well, a greasy lunch of fries from a sidewalk truck was followed by an unsuccessful trek to Rideau Hall about half an hour away, so we decided to check out the Canada and the World Pavillion, which was really interesting and much enjoyed by yours truly. Check it out sometime... you'll see a real live Oscar and Grammy awards, and learn more about Canadian contribution to the world. Afterwards, we went back to the market area for dinner at Subway (haha! toilets out of order my BUTT!), then rushed off to the UniSong/Ottawa Symphony Orchestra concert at the National Art Centre. That was a pretty cool concert, especially the amazing violin duet by two young folks from Spain. We're talking standing ovation amazing.

The evening was capped off with an anxious wait for friends and then a mad dash from the War Memorial to the Hill to catch the much more rambunctious evening show featuring the Guess Who, Leahy, La Bottine Souriate, Kevin Parent, and I'm sure there were more Canadian artsits featured but less well known. It was an enjoyable concert, but too bad the crowd around wasn't too rowdy or else I would've really gotten into the music. Especially Leahy's celtic tunes... I should check them out. After the singing of O Canada, there was an awesome fireworks show which lasted like 20 minutes. Everyone ooh-ed and ahh-ed all around us... much better than the dinky little things at Mississauga's new year's eve 1999/2000 (yes, still bitter about that).

It was chaos after the evening show. People dashed in all directions. Even I climbed over the fence (at the urging of Marianne and Tammy) of Parliament Hill to get back on Wellington just because the crowd was so packed in. The push to Supreme Court (where I was to meet Becca and Marnie, whom I both lost in the craziness of the concert crwod) was pure madness... people were everywhere, lots of idiotic kids drinking and apparently smoking pot right out in the open, there was even someone being escorted away by the police (people cheered it at). Finally finding Marnie and Becca, we walked home again and switched on the TV to see if we had made it on TV (haha... bunch of tourist losers!). I think we were in the clip with the pow-wow drummers... pretty swell (not losers after all)! How I got up for work the next day is a wonder even to me...

Anyway, so Canada Day was quite an adventure. I doubt I'll be celebrating at the Hill anytime in the coming future. Really hope I can come back sometime to celebrate though! Anyway, I better enjoy the rest of my co-op term, since I've reached my half way point (time flies!). Can't wait 'til our "co-op retreat" in the near future... ;o)

Take care, everyone! And hope you enjoyed an awesome Canada Day! If you didn't... consider hitting the Hill next year! It'll be a blast!

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Radar's on, cruising low altitude
Just a few more miles 'til I elude
Enemy planes coming from foreign skies
With orders to demoralize

Holding hands in the underground
Everything's here right here
Everything's here right now
All that is
Is what is now

Who am I without your photograph
The wind blows through this loveless craft
Dodging the ghosts, haunting these vacant skies
I've been out here so far
I've been out here so long, demoralized

Holding hands in, the underground
The walls above us are coming down
Everything's here right here
Everything's here right now
All that is
Is what is now

Here right here
Everything's here right now
All that is
Is what is now

We could take over
We could take over
We could take over
We could take over

Here right here
Everything's here right now
All that is
Is what is now

Everything

"Here Right Here", Sense Field (Tonight and Forever)
This is one of my favourite tracks from the album, a lot to do with the fact that it has a wartime theme, and I'm a self-proclaimed war freak. Don't like wars, but like studying about them. I'm not *that* morbid. Anyway, "Here Right Here" is a really well done tune from Sense Field. Love the part where the tension built in the verse is released in the chorus. Check out my review for this album in the music section.

July 3, 2003, part one
Hello all! Just wanted to write a bit in here just to signify that I did the July changeover. :oP Canada Day was great... more later (but no guarantees). I'm at work, and should be doing work, so I better go! Take care!