Earlier in the evening I was passing by a park in my neighbourhood on the way home when I saw two little girls sitting on a bench with ice creams in hand. It was one of those scenes of such simplicity and cuteness that I wish I had a camera to take a postcard worthy snap.

One of the things that I had always wanted is a longtime childhood friend, someone who's been in my life since we were kids.  My mother shares a 40 year friendship with her oldest friend, and I have always envied all the memories they share and how well they know each other's families. Of course, we can meet new people and start friendships everyday, but I would have liked to share a friendship that began simply and innocently, like those two girls on the bench. Not a friendship that started from working together or networking, but one that started from sharing jellybeans and Barbie dolls.

As a child, my first best friend move away shortly after her mother died. By chance, I've always had short term friends who would often move away, and being in a time before email and Facebook, it was challenging to keep in touch and kids move on. In the tumultuous years of high school, I admit that my friendships were partly based more on being in a clique, and together with the dramas of that time period, those friendships faded quickly after graduation. Today most of my friends have been in my life for about 5-7 years, and the few great ones who are closer to 10 live far away and it's more like being pen pals. It really hits me that in today's age, people move around so quickly and time speeds up so much that it is becoming harder to find someone who can be there over a longer period of time. It is no longer our grandmother's era when they would sit by the lake and share lemonade and secrets!

But sometimes I would think, how nice it would be to have a friend that stays through the thick and thin, the happy and the sad times?  To be our personal cheerleader in the successes of our life and our therapist during the lows? To rescue us in our time of need, to slap us awake when our heads get too big? One who will not bail after an argument, who tells the honest truth when no one else has the courage to, and is humble enough to make up? How great would it be to tell a story and not need to fill in all the details? To have a sister by choice, someone who's seen it all by your side? So if you are one of those lucky few who do, I hope you take a minute and be grateful for how lucky you are!

A Jane Austen State of Mind

Lately I've been feeling in a Jane Austen sort of mood. I think it's in direct correlation of the weather, when it feels like it has been gray and rainy for 5 months straight in Vancouver, the only thing tolerable is if I try to romanticize it as the backdrop to Austen type of movies with girls in white dresses walking among the muddy fields. And let me add that it really does feel like an eternally cold spring this year for us, in fact the coldest spring we've had in 55 years. For once, I'm sure that even those in Scotland, Dublin, and Holland probably have experienced more sunshine than us!

So what I usually do is curl up in a chunky blanket and watch Austen type of movies, Becoming Jane and Sense & Sensibility are good picks (and no, I'm definitely not a "Janeite" who dresses up and fantasize about Mr. Darcies).  I haven't actually read her novels for awhile. Firstly there are not many to begin with, and her writing takes getting used to because she uses a lot of long sentences and commas. I'm also not too fond of those Jane Austen fan fiction type of books that are spin offs or prequels/sequels.

But recently I came across an interesting title called A Jane Austen Education. What attracted me was that cover (as usual, I'm easily sold) and that it was written by a male academic who tells how Austen's novels taught him lessons about life. Each chapter focuses on one of Austen's books and the writing style is easy to read, making this a balance of memoir, self-help, and biography of both author and Jane Austen. A few of his arguments seem weak, but in general I was pleasantly surprised that it gave me a new perspective of viewing Jane Austen and her works. I admit that I've always taken her novels at face value as sort of classic chick-lit and never took the time to delve deeper and consider additional underlying themes and how relevant they still are in today's society. So if you have a chance, do consider this pick and let me know of your suggestions too!

Love this picture and mood!

Vancouver Hockey Riot

 All I have to say is...

It is disgusting and despicable

It is pathetic for a small group to ruin it for everyone

It is a poor excuse for a riot. They are not fighting for freedom, for education, for human rights. They are looting, vandalizing and causing mayhem because a hockey game was lost (or using such an excuse)

(Search Vancouver Riot Pics on Facebook for more stupidity)

And it makes me especially upset and mad to see photos of stupid people posing in front of the exploding cars as if it's a backdrop to a music video or fashion shoot. If you feel like your life is missing some excitement, maybe they should move to Afghanistan or some other third world war zone to get a feel what it is like when everyday this violence is a reality. It is so infuriating for all of us Vancouverites, that all I have to say is thanks for all the unsung volunteer heroes who helped the injured on the streets last night and woke up early this morning to clean up the downtown area. We will refuse to have this incident mar the image of our beautiful city.

TGIF

Finally, seems like a long week and so glad it's Friday. I like those meme things so maybe it's a good chance to try out a Friday Five!

1. What is a movie that makes you HAPPY?

A good romantic comedy, especially if it is set somewhere abroad. I enjoy the Richard Curtis ones like Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones

   

2. What is a movie that makes you SAD?

Movies about WWII makes me sad, maybe because I'm reminded that this was reality and the suffering was real. The Pianist and Schindler's List come to mind.

  

3. What is a movie that makes you SCARED?

I don't watch too many horror movies because I'm a chicken. Psychological thrillers make me scared. I remember when I watched The Shining for the first time it freaked me out. Also, the Silence of the Lambs is still one of the scariest movies for me to watch.

4. What is a movie that makes you feel INSPIRED?

Every time I watch one of my favorite films, Amelie, I am inspired by the scene when she is watching the video tape montage of the random events including a horse running on the street and people dancing. I love that message of being reminded to get out of your shell and live your life.

5. What is a movie that you never get tired of watching?

I think it's a tie between my childhood cult favorite Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the Sound of Music

 

Happy Friday, Friday, Friday...

(ahaha, I'm sorry I really really hate this song and who sings it)

To Eat or Not To Eat, That is a Good Question...

Do you know how sometimes you randomly hear of a book title over and over again? Through sudden coincidences and general word of mouth, it starts to get embedded in your brain? Recently, this book for me was Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I've heard of it before and then suddenly it seemed that it was solely turning many Hollywood starlets into vegans overnight. Both Natalie Portman and Anne Hathaway had mentioned this title in interviews and how it affected them. Obviously, one can deduce what the book is about so I decided to read it.

In the book, Foer explains that he was an occasional vegetarian throughout his life but since becoming a father, this book was his way to learn more about eating animals and what the right decision for his family would be and why. He does a lot of extensive research, visits some farms, ponders why we eat the animals we do and not others, and speaks to different types of farmers to provide a varied perspective. What is interesting about Foer is that it isn't brainwashing for vegetarianism, but what the reader will get is awareness about where our food comes from. I think it is important that we recognize what happens behind the scenes and not just take for granted that meat comes cleaned and packaged at the supermarket and ignore all that comes before. Just like being an educated voter, I am interested to know all sides before I make a decision and this is a general introduction is not so in-your-face like those PETA YouTube videos of animals thrown in death machines.

Let me also add that I myself am not a vegetarian and I am not sure if I can be one because I enjoy the variety and convenience of food as an omnivore. I didn't eat lamb for almost 15 years because I liked sheep until someone introduced me to Greek lamb souvlaki and I still feel guilty about it every time. As Foer also points out, eating is a social experience and because people don't like being the table outcast, they must either firmly stand ground or cave. We were raised to eat whatever is on our plate, and likewise we don't ask the host if the Thanksgiving turkey was humanely raised in a privately owned farm that only uses organic feed. Today we are definitely more respectful of food choices of our family and friends and do our best to be accommodating, but it still does not mean it is easy.

Despite being a very small way, I do however, try to draw the line and don't eat the shark fin soup that so many Asians adore or order the fresh seafood still swimming in their tanks. That immediacy of having a life taken away to please my taste buds is a bit too much, but even that is often mistaken as an excuse for being a cheap diner at restaurants. I'm also not a very daring eater, but the thought of eating foreign delicacies like rabbit or veal sweetbread makes me want to vomit (look it up, you will too).

 
By the end of the book, it made me think about my decisions to eat eggs after knowing how they are produced, what food to eat, and what to avoid from now on (KFC). What truly deserves our concern, both health and environmental-wise, and what are marketing gimmicks (ie. What exactly does free-range mean?) Suddenly I was unconsciously turning into one of my righteous pro-vegan friends and making remarks at others at the table as they cut their steaks (and feeling like a super hypocrite at it). In the end, I did not turn vegan overnight and throw all my leather shoes away, but the book did make me stop and think about how I can go towards that path, maybe not now, but later and someday. Eat more veggies, be a smarter shopper at the supermarket and take baby steps.

Crowning Affair

UK based design company Graham and Brown has this new wallpaper to celebrate the royal wedding. I think it will look great in the bathroom aka the 'throne room', har har!

You can even buy little rhinestones and stick them on the crowns

Teen Revival

Did anyone watch the MTV Movie Awards last night? I must be getting old because it seems like the show gets more and more boring each year. Especially since Twilight swept almost all the categories thanks to the thirteen year old Twi-Hards who make up the voting majority. Only in this show would Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart win top actor and actress. The only emotion Kristen can cause her audience is discomfort from watching her awkward squirming on stage. I kind of the miss the headline stealing era of the Movie Awards when Britney Spears caused various shenanigans like fake kissing other girls and bringing pythons on stage or Ben Stiller cameos in the taped segments. Now that I think about it, that's probably 10 years ago.

 

However I was glad to see Emma Stone win for best comedic performance. I saw the movie Easy A just last week and even though it was another teenage movie, I thought it had depth and a purpose, which contrasted from the usual predictable teen romantic flick with stereotypical supporting characters. I also liked that it referenced to The Scarlet Letter throughout and had a cool soundtrack. if you haven't seen it yet, believe the reviews, it is a good choice and Stanley Tucci totally shows off his underestimated comedic talent in all his scenes.

Every time I watch a recent movie set in a high school I feel so relieved that the experience is behind me and I don't have to do that again anymore. I had an ok experience. I strictly went to learn, and pulled through with good academics but regret not participating more in the other social and extra curricular activities. You would expect that if one survived the high school jungle they would succeed in the 'real world' but to be honest, reality is nothing like high school and that is a huge relief. If I was magically thrown back into a modern day high school I am not sure I would survive it again the second time around. It seems that the girls today have evolved into a different female species compared to when I was in school. Some comedian once remarked, "Don't send soldiers to Afghanistan, send teenage girls, nothing is scarier and more vicious." I think she's right!

Happenstance

A friend of mine recently told me about this (British) website called TubeCrush.net. It is wholly composed of pictures secretly taken by girls of guys they think are hot on the tube (another reason of putting high pixel iphone cams to good use). I could not stop laughing at the idea and even more so when I went to the site and read the comments of these girls! yes it's creepy but it's so kind of naive and sweet. Some were pretty cute, but for the most part, it just goes to prove that almost anybody can secretly be admired, like maybe even this second, and they would not know it. I guess it's a good thing that beauty is really in the eye of the beholder so we don't all need to look like supermodels. I wonder if there is an equivalent site for girls or would that be even more creepy and stalkerish?

Audrey Tautou in Happenstance

There is always something mysterious and romantic about people falling in love on the tube or train. It stems from that hope or fantasy that love at first sight truly exists and every second could be THE opportunity. Movies are inspired by this (see Happenstance aka Le battement d'ailes du papillon or Before Sunrise) TV commercials or that creepy music video by Savage Garden with Kirsten Dunst for  I Knew I Loved You). Even in real life, there was a NY guy who started a whole ad campaign to reunite with this random girl he saw on the metro and started a website NYGirlOfMyDreams.com. Btw I heard that didn't work out.

I wonder if these things ever happen in real life. What's more, I kind of hope that some of the guys on that website will see themselves and get in touch with the girls who posted them and have a happily ever after.

Love this commercial and totally proves my point: