I Spent $15 on Chocolate the Other Day

I went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and doled out fifteen bones in exchange for a peanut butter cup, a tiger butter cup, two chocolate covered sea foam clusters, a cheesecake bomb, and a caramel square.

Yeah, I did.

Eating: Dona Cata

I went to the Mexican eatery Dona Cata yesterday, located just a few blocks down from where I live. It's not in the trendiest of neighbourhoods, though the restaurant selection is getting more interesting on this street. Victoria Drive is known mainly for being Little Chinatown with its multitude of dim sum dives, Vietnamese restaurants, Chinese herbal shops, and bubble tea joints. But it is getting slightly more eclectic with sushi places popping up, Italian bakeries left over from before the Asian invasion, and a few Latin restaurants including Dona Cata.

Dona Cata, it turns out, is an award winning restaurant, having been named as the city's best tacos and recently getting listed in Vancouver magazine as one of the Best Restaurants in the city for Best of the Americas.

The place has a tacky exterior and one would never think this was a fine place to dine, but it really is about the food, which was delicious and authentic. Don't go for the service because you'll be greatly disappointed. The decor is charming in its non-charm - a few pieces of Mexican folk art floating around, but otherwise sparse and a very mom 'n pop kind of treatment.

I didn't get a chance to try their multitude of salsas since they forgot to bring us the chips at the beginning, while he watched every other table get theirs. Ah well, like I said, don't go for the service. The tacos were delicious though, and so was the Horchata drink I had (some sort of rice, milk, cinnamon concoction).

More pictures available at this website!

New Toy

This is my new toy, and yes I have it in red!



It's for work, so it's not really a toy per say. But, it is fun to have!

Movies: Valkyrie

I almost forgot to mention that I watched Valkyrie over the weekend. I guess it's because the movie is seriously THAT forgettable.

It felt completely disjointed and it was as though they kept saying "We have to kill Hitler, we have to kill Hitler" like it was some sort of mantra. And the whole non-German accent thing was somewhat distracting. I mean, these are all supposed to be Nazis, yet we have Tom Cruise with his American accent and then we have other Nazis with British accents. WTF!

The whole thing reminded me of those cheesy World War II movies that you find on some obscure channel late at night when you can't sleep.

Skip It

Almost Over You

I'm almost over The Guy. Like, this close to it.

I haven't been checking my phone non-stop. I haven't been reading my Tarot cards nightly. I haven't been watching romantic comedies by myself eating whatever's in the cupboard and crying at every sappy moment (much).

And I haven't been bombarding my friends with "OMG The Guy called!!! OMG The Guy sent me an email!!" It's nice to come out of this somewhat unscathed.

I still love him, I think. If he wanted to date me, I'd be all over it, but I'm done pining and wishing and hoping. I'm realizing it's not gonna happen, at least now, and I'm not willing to wait around anymore.

What brought about this change? It could be that I had sex with this dude a few weeks ago and it was REALLY FUN. Like, he made me feel WANTED. Like, he actually LIKED me or something. So, it made me realize that THAT is the feeling that I should be looking for. Not that butterfly-in-the-stomach bullshit, but the "This person is Crazy about me and wants to be with me!" feeling.

So yeah. With The Guy, I'm predicting that after this summer is over, he'll most likely fade out of my life. Especially since I will have to break it to him that I no longer want to help out with his charity work, which I did mostly because of him. It wouldn't be good to constantly be seeing him and only discussing the charity stuff. Like, it wouldn't be healthy. For me. So the best thing I can do is to break it off. If he still wants to remain in my life after that, great. But if not, I should start moving on sooner than later.

Sing it, Sheena!!



(Don't you love this video? Even when singing a lovelorn ballad, she's still got her Bitch Face intact!! And what's with the guy who looks like he's jerking off at the video game? And why is the butler playing the piano? And why couldn't she hire someone to help her move that Aracade Machine?? Oh, Sheena!!! We'll never be almost over you!!)

My New Boyfriend

Some of you might know him already.

His name is Ken.




"That's not Ken!" my friend argued with me. "Ken is a brunette!!"

To which I replied, "Au contraire, this is Malibu Ken, circa 1967." And we like to lounge together by the pool sipping on Tom Collins and Pina Coladas.



Isn't his peacoat adorable? I want one just like it.



And check out those pants!! Aren't they just groooovy???



Cute shoes, too!!

Best Boyfriend Ever!!

Who needs men when you can have a vintage Ken doll!?

Anna Wintour on 60 Minutes

Is it so completely wrong that I was actually inspired by watching this interview with Vogue editor Anna Wintour?

Check it out and see if you feel the same.

Know What I Like The Most?

Okay, so I was at a gathering a few months ago where everyone was drinking and having a blast and I forget what we were talking about, but I ended up pulling out of my hat of tricks a silly and gross little website called CakeFarts.

Now, if you are a lightweight and can't handle your gross factor, then you don't want to click on this website. It's got mild nudity and is borderline perverse/disgusting. However, it's also THE FUNNIEST SHIT EVER!!!!

I was surprised that no one else at the party had ever seen CakeFarts. And then as the months went along, the more people I mentioned CakeFarts to, the more surprised I was at how many people did NOT know about this site.

So. Here we are viewers. This isn't safe for work. It might give you a good laugh or you might turn it off in disgust. And you'll need your volume turned up on your computer for full effect!!

But please... enjoy.... CakeFarts. "Let's get this DONE!!"

Thanks to Rick who first told me about CakeFarts!

Ladies With An Attitude

Here's the full Vogue segment from Madonna's upcoming Sticky and Sweet Tour DVD, filmed live in Buenos Arie, not expected to be released until NOVEMBER. Yet, in a promotion with Blackberry, she's released not one but TEN of these segments in full to those who purchase a new Blackberry. Fortunately, someone uploaded all of them up on YouTube for our viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Eating: Rinconcito

Down on Commercial Drive (2062 Commercial Dr), there is a little hole in the wall Salvadorean restaurant called Rinconcito. I was there for a birthday dinner and the birthday girl and her Latino boyfriend love going here for some of the best pupusas in town!



I think we ordered about 14 of these among the six of us and we just picked them off the plate one by one. I didn't want it to end, they were so good!

It also helped that I was washing it down with this traditional drink, a Tamarind juice:



A delicious night out!!

Movies: The Family Stone

This is a nice Christmas movie that managed to satiate my recent romantic comedy craving, though the film is more tear-jerker/drama than it is love and giggles. Sarah Jessica Parker plays an uptight woman who goes to her fiance's family's for the Christmas holidays, only to discover that his whole family doesn't really like her. Diane Keaton is in her usual role as the quirky mother, Luke Wilson appears as the mangy brother, and Rachel McAdams is an absolute revealation as younger sister, Amy. It was also nice to see Claire Danes involved in something decent, as her career seems to have fallen off track for a while. Guess she shouldn't have left My So-Called Life, eh?

And of course there's Dermot Mulroney, who plays the fiance, and whom I will continue to have nightly dreams about. There's something about that scar above his upper lip and the deep register of his voice that made me want to have his child. Pick me, Dermot!!

Rent It

Movies: Catch and Release

I was in the mood for something sappy the other day, a RomCom some might say, and I decided to invest some time into this Jennifer Garner vehicle that went nowhere. Let me save you the time and effort and fill you in on a little secret: this movie ACTUALLY GOES NOWHERE. I ended up stopping it mid-way cause I was so bored by it. It had promise. The actors were good. The writing not bad. But the storyline just felt like it was meant for a Movie Of The Week type deal, rather than a full feature. Meah.

Skip It

YVR: Palace of the End

I'm 2 for 2 so far! That is, 2 good plays one after the other this week! As well, this play, Palace of The End, was the second play I've seen at the PAL Theatre located on the top floor of an apartment building in Coal Harbour. And like the other production I saw at PAL, this too was excellent, so I'm 2 for 2 on that as well!



Palace of The End is a heavy piece, made up of 3 distinct monologues based on the true life stories of 3 people. The first one was my favourite - the female soldier who was photographed making fun of Iraqui prisoners. The actress who played her did a PHENOMENAL job! Her part was engaging, interesting, well-written, humorous, sad, moving, and downright amazing.

The second monologue belonged to a British weapons instructor, who was the one to reveal to the world that there were indeed no weapons of mass destruction to be found. His bit was somewhat boring, mainly because he didn't get to move around much on stage and there weren't enough points of humour to keep the audience going. With three heavy monologues to sit through, I needed a bit more variation within each of them to keep me interested. I couldn't wait for his part to be over.

Finally, the third monologue was just as good as the 1st one, that being an Iraqui woman who was tortured by Saddam Hussein during the 70s for being a Communist, and then later killed during the war when an American bomb blew up her home. Her performance was elegant, precise, poised, sweet, sad, startling, and methodic.

Definitely worth seeing, so go check it out! I was fortunate enough to go to the Free Preview last night. Free theatre, with this calibre? You really can't go wrong. Palace of The End runs until June 6, and there is a 2 For 1 showing on Saturday night (tomorrow)!

YVR: Fat Pig

Neil Labute's Fat Pig is currently playing at the Performance Works theatre on Granville Island. If you're familliar with his stuff, you'll know that it's usually pretty dark and uncomfortable.

Fat Pig is the tale of Tom, a young man who dates Helen, a heavy set woman, only to be made fun of by his peers and pressured into leaving her. It's an exploration of society's views on physical beauty, love vs popular opinion, and standing up for oneself, or at least, the struggle to do so.

I wanted to see this off-Broadway in New York a few years ago, when Felicity's Keri Russell was in it, alongside Jeremy Piven and Andrew McCarthy. I didn't know the woman who played Helen, though, and the show was only just beginning as I was leaving. So I'm glad I was able to see this local production of it!

The performances of all the actors were great, considering the set was pretty stark and the direction had the actors either sitting down at a table or even down on the ground. I've always been told that a good director never makes his/her cast sit on stage, as it depletes the energy. But that just shows how remarkable these four actors were, being able to convey emotion and give great performances from their respective disadvantage points.

Fat Pig plays until May 30th, with cheaper matinee showings, or if you prefer, like me, attend a 2 For 1 show - the next 2 For 1 is Tuesday, May 26.

A Weekend at the Drive-In

Went to our only drive-in movie theatre this weekend - the Twilight Drive-In.




(Pictures from http://istargazer.blogspot.com/)

It's fun to go to the drive-in, but usually I wind up seeing some crappy movie. It's really more for the experience than for the actual film. I think if it was a movie that I really wanted to see, I'd go to a regular theatre. Whereas, the drive-in, it's usually for more fluff and so we can honk when the hot dog jumps into the bun.

Last night's double feature was a doozy.

The first show was: 17 Again.



Zac Ephron was okay in it. He's got a pretty face, but he wasn't really doing the trick for me. I wanted to see this movie but more for Hunter Parish (Silas of Weeds) than for Zac. Unfortunately, Hunter didn't get much play in the movie.



Next up was the very dreadful Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which is a retelling of the Dickens story A Christmas Carol, but instead of a stingy Scrooge, we get a loveless womanizer.



It isn't even worth blogging about. Matthew McConaughey used to be on my Freebie Five list but I don't know, he didn't do much for me in this movie at all! Maybe he wasn't shirtless enough.

Meah, either way, take a pass on both these movies, and save yourself the 4 hours!

Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour DVD Preview

omg, can't wait to see this on DVD!!

Good Morning, Angels!

With Farrah Fawcett's battle with cancer, I thought this was an appropriate tribute to her and hope that it sends her good wishes to get well soon.

I went a bit crazy with this photo shoot, but as you can see, I was dealing with celebrities here, so of course they wanted more shots than the other models, who were merely Barbies. These are genuine Charlie's Angels!!! It's Farrah and Jaclyn Smith!! (At least I think it's Jaclyn... anyone out there can confirm this?)



















Get well soon, Farrah!

Meet Little Edie

After working overtime on a long weekend Saturday, I found myself at the local car dealership where I purchased in one fell swoop, a new car!!

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Little Edie!!



She's a smoother ride than my 15 year old Corolla, roomier, and most importantly, has a hook-up connection for my iPod!! It was a big purchase for me to do on my own and I felt a bit like Miranda in Sex and the City buying her own apartment, though I didn't feel judged, but just that it would've been nice to have someone there with me picking out models and doing test drives.

Anyway, I was never one to name vehicles, but I couldn't resist being inspired by Grey Gardens. Since the colour I got was grey, it was only natural that I called this my very own personal Grey Gardens. Momma then suggested why not just call it Little Edie, which was perfect since most people name their cars a female name! So, Little Edie was born!!



She's a staunch charactah!!!

Confickted

I've been crazy ass busy at work since we've been hit with the Conficker virus on Wednesday afternoon. Since then, I've been working overtime, running from desk to desk trying to help isolate the virus and get rid of it. It's the long weekend, but guess who has to go into work on Saturday???

Movies: Star Trek

Oh My GOD. GO WATCH STAR TREK! GO!!! Go Now!!!

It's soooo good!! It is possibly the funnest movie this summer! And I'm not even a Trekkie! I can't imagine what it must be like for Trekkies out there to see this film. So Good!!!

The special effects are terrific. The star studded cast including the guy from Heroes as Spock, Winona Ryder as his mother, a cameo by Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana as the villain, John Cho as Zulu, and a very hot Captain Kirk!!! Beam ME up, Scotty!!



It has enough throwback so the original series to satisfy the true fans, I would think. I personally loved all the flailing and collapsing against the control boards whenever the ship gets hit! Just like the TV show, but more stylized! And the imagination that it took to create this movie, like all the cool futuristic things such as the self-contained pod classrooms on planet Vulcan! I loved it!



GO WATCH IT!!

GO VOTE!!

If you are a resident of British Columbia, today is the day for you to exercise your civic duty to go out and VOTE!!

And isn't it sad that more people know that the Canucks lost last night in the hockey game than they do about the STV referendum? If you don't know what you're voting on today in regards to the STV system, here's a quick lesson on what it is:

And They Call Her...Dawn

How fabulous is she? I lucked out and got two of them in my collection and am certainly planning on keeping both. Dawn came out in the 70s as an alternative to Barbie. She's smaller than the Barbie dolls, and was toted as being more mod, more hip.



To me, she just looks fabulous!!



And yes, I totally went to town with her and had these two modeling their hip clothes for the cameras like it was my job to photograph them.

Music: Shalamar!!!

Shalamar - A Night To Remember.mp3

How about some retro R&B funk to start your week off? I heard this in a store last week and was so excited to find out who it was. Turns out it to be this group from the 70s/80s that had as one of their vocalists, none other than Jody Watley!!! That's her you hear on this song, which is probably their best song (I listened to their greatest hits and nothing else even comes close).



Have a listen, you won't regret it!!

Eating: Miku

Miku is the new high-end Japanese restaurant that's opened up in the space previously occupied by the Spotted Prawn. In the heart of the business district, this might be a good place for Coal Harbour residents to turn to when they want to pay $10 for a California Roll.



All kidding aside, the place is nice, the food is high calibre, and the food presentation is simply majestic. I had their sunumono salad and it was this giant bowl of exquisiteness. Don't even get me started on how amazing their deep fried soft shell crab was!!!

A must try, but definitely an indulgence.

Your Disco Needs You!

Sorry if this widget crashes your computer, but I just had to post it!

I managed to get tickets for the Toronto show!! woo hooo!! This means I get to come over there and visit with Momma, Krista, Sean, and Joe and anyone else who might want to meet up (Steven?!!)

And according to some recent interviews Kylie's been doing, she says this tour will NOT be a replicate of her current X show. It'll either be a "Best of" all her other tours, or something completely new and different! Because a lot of the venues are smaller, there's a high chance of seeing Kylie in a very intimate setting!!! (I have two tickets to unload for the New York Hammerstein Ballroom, if anyone out there is interested? Face Value!)

And if you're looking for Kylie tickets, there was a SECOND presale for the Toronto show and there are still tix available! The password is "cosmic" so go get them before they're all gone!!

YVR: John and Beatrice

Friday night I went to see Pi Theatre's production of John and Beatrice, which is a dynamic and fun play about a lonely woman who places an ad for man to come over to interest, move, and seduce her. John shows up to take on these three challenges. Can he do it? But what exactly will his reward be?

Held in the unique location of PAL Theatre down in Coal Harbour, one walks into an apartment building (what else is there in Coal Harbour?) and journeys on up in the elevator to the top floor, where you will find waiting for you a theatre! Talk about your theatre in the sky!

I loved this experience, from the location to the play itself. Definitely a must-see if you're a theatre buff in Vancouver!

Movies: Wolverine

Before going to see X Men Origins: Wolverine, I had heard mixed things about it. Some said it was good, others had told me the storyline was weak. I actually found this to be rather enjoyable! Maybe because it was filmed here in Vancouver and it was fun to pick out all the locations, like "Hey that's not Africa! That building's a block from my work!"

But the storyline actually was pretty decent, and the effects were cool. We didn't get to see enough of Ryan Reynold's crazy-ass body, or enough of Taylor Kitsch as Gambit (but if you want more of Taylor, just go watch Friday Night Lights already!!)

All in all, a fun movie going experience to kick start the summer blockbusters!

Go See It!

Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer - The Video!

Can the new Sophie Ellis-Bextor video be any more fabulous? No, no I don't think it can.

Kylie on Today

Kylie was on the Today show this morning and it was downright embarassing. Not for her, but for Kathie Lee Gifford and the other hostess. They come across as ignorant and pushy and kept talking over our little Kylie!! OY!!

Canucks Fever

Okay, I was asked to blog about this by Whippet Snippets. I was telling her how my coworkers are completely Canucks-crazed at work and how it just drives me up the wall. I don't have anything against the Canucks. In fact, if they win the Stanley Cup that would be pretty darn awesome.



Unfortunately, because I am inundated with Canucks shit at work, I pretty much fucking HATE HOCKEY. It's not so much that I'm surrounded by hockey freaks, but it's more that the Big Wig here at work FAVOURS those who talk about hockey. For the rest of us, he has no time for. I said good morning to him a week ago as he was coming in the door and I was going out the door, and all he could do was look at me blankly like I had just greeted him in Chinese. I'd rather not have said anything but it's only POLITE to say hello to someone if you're both crossing paths at a doorway, yes? The Fuck.

I fucking hate him.

There's an unofficial policy to wear your Canucks jersey to work EVERY GAME NIGHT. Of course, I don't have one, so I don't bother. One guy went out and bought himself one. Team Spirit or major Suck? You decide.

We had a nation wide videoconference earlier this week, and as I am in charge of setting up the room, my coworker gave me a Canucks flag to hang up in the background. "Big Wig will really like this!!" she ooozed.

Gross.



So there I was climbing onto tabletops trying to hang this fucking banner. When everyone came into the room, only those wearing jerseys were asked to sit at the main table (not that I would've anyway, but I just want to point out the insanity here). This was so that they can show everyone else on the other end of the videoconference that we are all so goddamned proud of the fucking Canucks! Yee haw!! Remember: This is a national videoconference for WORK, not a YouTube video shoot.

Yesterday, it was discovered that someone upstairs was wearing a Chicago jersey. People were going APESHIT about it, including Mr Big Wig. The fanatics all gathered in a BOARD ROOM to hold a MEETING about how they were going to prank this Chicago fan. Yes folks, I work for the government and this is how your hard earned Canadian tax dollars are being used - to hold ridiculous meetings for Canucks freaks.

Then again, I spent the entire day refreshing Ticketmaster to see if more Kylie Minogue tickets would come up. So really, who am I to complain? I felt justified in my non-work activities since they were busy decorating a computer with Canucks paraphernalia. The plan was to go up to the Chicago fan's office and tell him his PC had a virus and needed to be replaced with this Canucks-enhanced computer. Oh, how ingenious you all are!! Hilarity ensued, with Mr Big Wig in the lead.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have a job in these times. I like the people I work with, my boss is great, but I don't any office mates and the only person I can't stand is Mr Fucking Big Wig. That's all!

Unfortunately, the Cancuks lost the game last night which means this series is gonna drag on longer than necessary. It would be cool if our city managed to snag the Stanley Cup though, especially before the 2010 Olympics comes to town.

I Should Be So Lucky

I spent the morning trying to get Kylie Minogue tickets through her presale. Yes, she's coming to North America if you haven't already heard. I tried for tickets to the Toronto show, her only Canadian date, as it would allow me the opportunity to visit people I haven't seen for awhile and to meet some new ones who live in the area.



Alas, it was a no go. I did secure two general admission floor seats to her New York show though. This is my back-up. Ultimately, I'd like to go to Toronto. I know, right? I'm picking Toronto over New York?? Wild.

I gotta wait for the general sale next week, so wish me luck. I haven't done any work all day and can't focus on anything but Kylie Kylie Kylie!!!

Check out the rest of the dates here.

Birthday Boy and Grandfather's Peonies

So The Guy didn't call.

Either he's

a) partying it up with other friends

b) seeing someone special that isn't me

c) meeting with a straight girl who is in love with him to discuss an upcoming pageant this weekend

d) hiding in his room at the fear of turning another year older

Let's see, Options A and B are both my own messed up insecure jealous imagination hard at work. The answer is probably either C or D. Actually, C is definitely for sure because that's what he told me he would be doing on his birthday and I know there is a pageant coming up this weekend because I will be there alongside him! Option D is what he did last year, so maybe he pulled a repeat of this after he was finished with Option C.

Oh well. I talked to him the day before and he thought it was nice that I remembered his birthday. It would've been even nicer to get to spend it with him but such is life.



I spent the evening not watching TV, doing some gardening (!!), and helping out my sister with her virus-infected computers. The gardening was the highlight of my evening as I managed to go to our old house which my mother rents out to tenants. Out in front are these Peony plants that my grandfather planted back in the day. He had planted three different shrubs, and I guess some of our older, less classier tenants went and uprooted them and either chucked them or took them with them when they left. They did thankfully manage to leave one peony plant untouched, and so I went and dug up a few of the bulbs/stalks and transferred them back to our house, where they now sit nicely outside in a planter and hopefully will re-adjust and grow accordingly. My plan is to cultivate these peonies and pass them on, either to friends or to my nieces, and know that they all began with my grandfather, who passed away in 1990, but who loved flowers and plants and left these behind for us as a horticultural legacy.

Movies: 9 1/2 Weeks

Like most people, I watch movies to escape my own life. Maybe it's because I don't like who I am and would rather be some hot sexy bitch getting blindfolded and fed strawberries and grapes and have honey trickling all over my legs and then sucking it off a hot beast's fingers like the famous refrigerator scene with Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke.

I mean, really, she was pretty smokin' hot and he was a handsome devil back in the day, yes?



So anyway, I'd always heard about this movie but hadn't seen it or knew anything about it. Picked it up at the library, and lo and behold it's a movie about pseudo S&M! I mean, the S&M tones are definitely there. It surprised me that they would even have a mainstream movie like this in the early 80s, with its eroticism and so-called taboo subject matter. Aside from the refrigerator scene, there's another sexy one that stick out in my mind where the two get it on in an outdoor stairwell during a rainstorm.

Do people really have such passionate affairs like this? Must be nice.

Paula Abdul's New Song is Kylie's Old One

Yep, it's true. Paula's new single "Here For The Music" is a Kylie cast-off, that she didn't want years ago. Now Paula Abdul has recorded it and is releasing it.

Click here to hear Kylie's version.



And via MuuMuse, go here to listen to Paula's version.