Bitch Session

Things I don't get.

- Gay desis who live in the rural bible belt and spend all their lives on gay.com. If you have so much fucking time, MOVE!!

- Drink glasses filled to the brim with ice - in winter. The ice is supposed to chill the drink, not cryogenically preserve the person holding it!

- People on MSN who constantly set their status to "Away". We know you're there and screening! Why don't they just add a status message that says "Screening"?

- Double-bagging. I'm only going home with that stuff - not climbing Mt Everest.

- Pictures of fags on dating sites, flanked by zany looking hags. Ok - you have friends - you have a life - we get it! No need to expose your unwilling friends to the voyeuristic world of gay cruising.

- People who get on the subway and just stand near the entrance. Hello! There're people behind you. Make room you morons!

- Pleated pants. Who invented those pleats anyway? People with XXXL dicks? or at least wanting to give the appearance of XXXL dicks?

- Impossibly good-looking, airbrushed posters of semi-naked TV stars. No one's that perfect in real life!

More later.

Santa

Isn't he adorable?

Photography Fads

Here's the latest one. It's called camera tossing. You set the exposure to 1 second, toss the camera in the air, catch it before it shatters into a million bits and then marvel at the resulting exposure. If you don't feel like playing yo-yo with several thousand dollars worth of equipment, there's help.

It's all here.

Hong Kong

I have been urged to post some pictures - so here they are.

Hong Kong by night



From Victoria Peak



The Peninsula Hotel


A city of shop-a-holics


Big Buddha of Lantau


More to come

A Tale of Two Cities

Hong Kong is now a permanent part of my persona. Although I am no longer scheming to move there anytime soon, it has left an indelible mark on me. Soon I will return to my daily grind and forget the pleasures of a warm, tropical island city that simply throbs with life. The views from Victoria Peak will be a foggy memory. So will be the bright lights, fabulous boutiques and yummy bakeries of Causeway Bay. The neon lights will fade and the dim-sum carts will roll away. All that remains will be questions, and more questions. About the choices one makes in life.

There is another city that throbs with the same intensity. A city whith cullinary delights on every street corner. A city with cool sea-breezes and warm sands. A city with bustling markets and trendy shopping. A city I used to call home. A city that's calling out to me right now.

Winter Blues

I wish I was lying on a beach in a balmy place somewhere, surrounded by lush greenery. Or in the middle of a dense city throbbing with life. Far away from the blandness that has overtaken this town during the winter months.

Elections

You don't really understand a country until you live through an election. All that political rhetoric reveals the true personality of a nation. Elections force people to evaluate what issues they really care about.

Canada went to the polls today. Everyone's predicting a Conservative lead, but not a clear majority. We will wake up to a new Canada tomorrow. Harper has worked hard over the past few months to soften his image. However, like all politicians, he can turn on a dime. His conservative christian backers are going to call in their favors soon. Will the realities of a minority government keep him in check? That seems to be the question on everyone's mind.

Meanwhile the Liberals get to sit in the penalty box and reflect on all the wrongs of the past 12 years. They better be ready next time around.

Musings

My friends have been giving me flak about not updating this blog. I can never decide between writing frequent frivolous posts, or occasional gems (not that I've succeeded in creating any gems). So here I am, sitting in bed on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The day started out sunny but quickly turned overcast. I woke up too early with an obvious hangover. A siesta should do me good.

Usually I don't care much about the New Year - it's just another day that comes and goes. Life goes on. This year is different. I rang in the New Year on a different continent - a place miles apart geographically and culturally. That trip stirred something up inside of me. Made me question my life choices. Made me yearn for more adventure. Perhaps it's just boredom. Perhaps it's something real.

2006 also marks the beginning of a new job for me. I am not running on autopilot anymore - I actually have to work for a change :P On the bright side, I don't have to travel. Despite the trips to Waterloo and Niagara, I get to come home every evening to my own home, and hopefully, a life.

The last six months of 2005 seem like one long party. I had just moved to Toronto. I was living downtown. I wasn't a slave to my job. Good times don't last forever and I took full advantage of this new found freedom. Life seemed like an endless stream of parties. Well - it's 2006 and the party's definitely over. I've made a conscious decision to bring some focus back into my life. I have a job that I can actually make something out of. I need to buy a condo soon. I have to think about my future plans. And of course, I have to give some serious thought to who I want to share my life with.

And through all of this, I must not forget to stop and smell the roses :)