Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Things That Make Me Feel Better When I'm Down

1. Alcohol
There's nothing like sipping on a few guilt-free citrus vodka and soda waters (zero calories!) to take the edge off. Or, a Black Forest Martini, complete with chocolate swizzle stick (4,000 calories). Or both. This is usually done with good friends who won't judge me for drunkenly yelling about whatever (or more likely, whoever) has made me feel crappy. The yelling is done loudly with lots of hand waving and swearing. If the alcohol is consumed alone, there are serious problems.

2. Shopping
Buying new clothes seems to work best. It's a real morale booster to have fancy new outfits to wear. Shoes work too, especially FM shoes. If you don't know what that means, google it. A girl means business when she's wearing FM shoes. If it's one of those days that I can't find a single thing to wear that doesn't make me feel like a bloated manatee, a larger purchase is necessary. Electronics or jewelery are nice substitutes.

3. Eating
Comfort foods, including pasta, anything involving ground beef and chocolate baked goods are a must, preferably all in one meal.

4. Country Music
When you work at a county fair for six years, you learn to like country music a little or you hang yourself. For some reason, listening to lyrics like, "I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive. You’re a redneck, heartbreak who’s really been a lie," puts me in a better mood.

5. Working Out
When I've gorged myself on food and drink, spent all of my money and can't stand one more backwoods country sob story with a twang, I drag myself to the gym. I'm usually kicking and screaming on the inside, but when I get into a groove on the elliptical and break a sweat, the endorphins kick in and I feel like Lara Croft or something. I could kick anyone's ass. And maybe I will.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Don't Hate on the Chinese

http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/328149.html


Mr. Douglas Turner pisses me off. His opening line, "This summer’s Olympic Games might have been held in Toronto instead of repressive, smoggy and unbearably hot Beijing had it not been for the loose lips of Toronto’s mayor," speaks volumes about his lack of respect for the Chinese. Although he disagrees with the popular sentiment these days that George Bush should boycott the Games' Opening Ceremonies, his reasoning is all wrong.

"The loss of “face” for the Chinese if Bush snubbed them now would collapse whatever good our diplomats can do on North Korean nuclear arms, maintaining peace in the Taiwan straits, influencing the Chinese on Darfur and a host of much more important issues," he said.

True. "Guanxi" or "face" is what it's all about in Chinese business relationships, government included. You lose face, you lose the deal. However, the Olympics should be viewed as a special event, completely separate from any government, Democratic or Communist. The Games don't belong to any one country. They are a tradition shared by everyone all over the world, regardless of nationality, race, sex, religion or political status.

All of this nonsense about boycotting the Beijing Olypmics to protest the shenanigans of the Chinese government ruins the spirit of the games. And attacking torch bearers? Yea, that's a really great way to protest violence with violence. I certainly don't agree with killing monks in Tibet or looking the other way in regard to genocide in Darfur, but I don't think the Olympics is an appropriate forum for political criticism. If the Games were in the U.S., would there be talk of boycott from other countries to protest Iraq? How would Americans react to that, especially considering how many Americans are against the war in Iraq themselves?

Which brings me to my next point, don't judge a nation by it's leaders. There is so much more to Beijing than smog and humidity and there is so much more to China than violence and repression. If people took the time to learn about Chinese culture, they would know that the common citizen doesn't consider themselves a Communist, particularly lower class Chinese. These people live in alleyway shacks with mud floors, ride their bicycle to work through the smog, earn enough money to buy food and not much else and are perfectly happy to see the sun rise every day. They don't care about the government because they're too busy surviving.

China is a beautiful country with a rich history. Don't think so? Climb the Great Wall, visit the Buddhist temples or check out the ever-changing skyline lit up at night. Sure, it has it's negative points, like the overwhelming smell due to lack of proper wastewater treatment and pollution really is a major problem, not to mention political issues. But China deserves to host a peaceful, harmonious Olympic Games, just like any other country. If only for the sake of it's people.

The most important lesson I learned while visiting China was to respect things I don't necessarily understand. That doesn't mean it's OK to beat up monks, but it does mean that people shouldn't be so quick to judge. One World One Dream. Let's all play nice.

Monday, April 14, 2008

If drinks aren't involved, neither am I.

That's the card I got from my dear friend Tami. Oh how I love that girl. She works for the American Cancer Society and I went down to Bonaventure with her a few weeks ago to keep her company during the Bonas Relay for Life. We laughed, we cried, she convinced me to buy the Vera Bradley large duffel in the pink elephant pattern and we ate the most delicious maple syrup on the face of the planet the next morning at Sprague's. So she sent me a thank you card, complete with thank you gift, for keeping her sane, and tells me that I'm a good friend. Doesn't that just make you smile? Thanks Tam, I love ya.

Speaking of friends that I love, things are looking up in regard to a certain vacation coming up in June. I'm actually really excited to go to Vegas now. I'm fairly certain that it's going to be four days of absolute ridiculousness, as it should be. Now we just need to pick a hotel.

For awhile there, I was worried that this summer wouldn't be the same. People are moving, situations are different, tensions were rising. I was right, it won't be the same, but it'll still be great. Change isn't a bad thing if you let things go and just let it happen.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Pahk ya cah in Havahd Yahd.

Boston is wicked cool. Mel and I spent last weekend shopping, eating, drinking, sightseeing and generally just running around like crazy. We hit up Faneuil Hall, Fenway, Boston Common, Boylston Street, the Prudential Center, the Central Wharf, Cheers, the Holocaust Memorial and several fine drinking establishments in less than 48 hours. It was great.

I highly recommend the Hilton in the Financial District. The room was awesome, the beds were super comfy and the staff was really friendly. It was a block away from Faneuil Hall and reasonably close to the T.

With all that's been going on lately, I had it in the back of my mind that I should figure out if Boston might be a cool city to live in while I was there. Short answer: yes! It has the appeal of being a "big city," but it's manageable in size and getting around is really easy. I didn't get lost once. There's lobster EVERYWHERE. Things are reasonably priced. And the people (at least the people I came in contact with) are really, really nice.

We kept making Buffalo connections everywhere we went, so maybe that had something to do with it. For example, the bouncers at the bar across from our hotel. One was dating a girl from Buffalo and had been to Jim's Steak Out. The other played hockey with a guy from Orchahd Pahk. Oh yea, I love the Boston accent. For real.

Since the Sabres were playing in Boston that night, people were sporting Sabres gear everywhere we looked. We made friends with some dudes from Amherst, who we pretty much hung out with all night and figured out that we knew a bunch of the same people. It was kind of crazy.

It was also nice to spend some quality time with Mel. That very, very rarely happens these days. Even though we live a block away from each other, I probably see her once a month, if that. Apparently, when you work third shift, making plans with people is rather difficult because you're always sleeping when they're awake.

She and I have some MAJOR differences, but we know each other so well that we've just come to accept those things about each other and deal. Not to say that we don't drive each other nuts sometimes, but I think that's normal. I think we had more in common when we were 15 and first became friends, but we've been through so much together and our friendship is so strong that we've been able to grow separately without growing apart. The one thing we will always have in common is our sense of humor and that's what our friendship thrives on. There are other things, but mostly it's our history and our humor.

Melanie is one of the few people on this Earth that I can absolutely, 100 percent be myself with. I love that girl. She brings out the goofy side of me and we always get into ridiculous conversations that nobody else could possibly understand, but we end up laughing so hard we cry. And then we do it again. I wish that I could be that effortlessly candid with more people in my life, but she and I just click in a unique way. I guess that comes with being friends with someone for 10 years.

We've certainly paid our dues over those 10 years. Maybe I appreciate the good times with her so much because I've experienced some downright abysmal times with her as well. When you've done the roller coaster ride with someone that you truly care about and you both come out on top, it makes you love them that much more. I worry about her sometimes, but everything will work out. We'll all find happiness and balance in our lives. We just have to keep searching. That's all there is to it. If not, I'll just move to Boston and start over.