Sometimes I think writing keeps me sane.  Maybe it's just the process of sorting and organizing all these thoughts that fly around in my mind.  Try to picture bats flying madly around in a cave, except my thoughts sometimes collide with each other.  Recipes and S&M collide.  A wok wrapped in black leather being sensually tortured over a hot stove.  Food and cars collide.  A Civic Si HFP covered in a heaping mound of fried rice.  It's strange. 

I woke up this morning with a headache.  It's not a big massive headache.  But it's big enough for me to notice it.  I look for my aspirins but they have disappeared.  I have no idea where my aspirin ran off too.  I think my aspirin has eloped with my viagra.  Eternal sex w/o any headaches. 

Maybe what I really need is a morning assistant.  I need to become a morning person again. 

Here's what I'm looking for.

• Monday to Friday, show up at 5:15 AM - leave around 9:15 AM
• my alarm will ring at 5:30 AM.  If I don't get out of bed within 5 minutes you gently (and I mean gently) persuade me to get out of bed.
• no tickling, no pinching, no yelling, no spikes, no whips, no taser guns...
• help me downstairs (only 4 steps) to the bathroom
• fetch my newspapers so I can read while I take a dump
• make sure I don't finish reading the entire newspaper in the bathroom
• gently push me into the shower
• get my clothes ready
• make coffee and breakfast
• make sure I have some fruits too
• open the blinds, windows etc...
• nudge me over to my desk and power up my laptop
• stick around to make sure I didn't forget all my passwords
• make sure I have a healthy lunch in the fridge
• give me a word of encouragement

I stumbled on this band reading someone's blog.  Wow... they deliver.  I'm sure some of you have heard of them already.  I'm kinda slow on these things.

They are Monsters Calling Home.  I am having crush on all of them.  

I love how music can make me happy. 

Where do bloggers go when they stop blogging?  How is it that life can get in the way of what once was a passion? 

I miss your soul searching entries.  Usually they were simple things about what you did today.  It wasn't terribly exciting but I got to see a wisp of what you do.  I laughed when you shared a funny moment or a joke.  Your wit & your dry sense of humour helped me unwind after a long day.  Sometimes you don't even mind if I laughed at you.  I knew it was a good entry when I was still smiling after I commented on your entry. 

It was always interesting to read about your travels, your love of food, travels, books, planes, photography, music & art.  I loved how you carefully crafted an entry.  Each word had a purpose.  Your entries triggered memories, emotions and moods.  I saw what you wrote.  I felt what you felt.  Your words carried me away to your mind.  It was intimate and beautiful.  Your video entries captivated me.  So that's what you look and sound like. 

Sometimes though, you were angry or sad.  The burdens of work and life took a toll on you.  You poured your heart out when you had relationship issues.  You were inconsolable.  The worse was when darkness descended on your life.  There wasn't anything to do but to pray and hope. 

I marvel how tough you are and how resilient you can be.  I envied how some things can be so easy for you.  How did you cook that dish?  How did you write so well?  Even with the same camera and same lens, I know I can't capture images as well as you can.  I cheered as you lost another pound, ran another mile or met someone new.  It was heartening watching you conquer your fears or marking another milestone in life. 

So why did you stop blogging?  Or did you move elsewhere?  Was it tumblr, Facebook, Blogger,  WordPress or gasp... Twitter? 

I wanted to let you know that I missed you and hope you are doing well.

I went out for a walk tonight.  Along the way, I came across the usual characters in my neighbourhood. 

• an angry woman who was screaming at someone.  Her eyes were wide with rage as I slowly walked past her. 
• city workers in their garbage trucks emptying the trashbins.
• a grocery storeowner putting away the fruits and flowers for the night. 
• people clinging on to the weekend and saying slow goodbyes outside a bar
• a drunk peeing on the sidewalk. 
• a homeless man trying to sleep
• a cook in his whites smoking on the sidewalk
• dog walkers.... lots of them
• another angry person, this time it was a man who clenched his jaw and squinted his eyes.  He looked like Clint Eastwood. 
• a woman by a shelter door, one foot in and one foot out. 
• a young man carrying some take out food, he looked tired and dirty. 

As I neared my building, I saw a small woman with a big black dog crossing the street to my side.  The dog was bigger than the average German Shepherd and kept sniffing at the sidewalk, trees, light posts and shrubs.  They were about 20 yards in front of me.  All of a sudden the woman yanked the dog to her left and crossed the street again.  I stopped and wondered why.  The large trees on this section of the sidewalk creates large pockets of shadows.  I peered ahead and saw a trashbin with some trash the overflowed on to the ground.  Then I saw something small, dark with a thin white stripe.  It was a skunk.   The woman was almost on the other side when she turned towards me and yelled "Watch out!".  She continued her walk and didn't look back to see if I heeded her warning.  I crossed the street and hoped the skunk stayed on the other side of the street. 

I got home safe and sound.  I think we need more people in life to yell "watch out!".  Thank you ma'am *tips hat*.  

I'm just playing around with this picture.  I took this over the Labour Day weekend.  It's 2 of the planes from the Snowbirds who were here for the Canadian International Airshow.   The photo has been cropped.  I darkened the sky a bit.  It does look a bit grainy.  

All 9 planes.  These are really old planes (CT 114 Tutor).  I wish their budget would allow them to upgrade their planes.

Life is mostly just a blur to me nowadays.  It's hard to see clearly.

Why doesn't life give us clear directions?

I watched parts of the Democratic convention the past couple of nights.  I skipped most of the preliminary speakers.  I did watch Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama.  They were just amazing.  I was especially impressed with Bill Clinton's speech.  It was lengthy (over 40 minutes) but I was glued to my seat.  No wonder people pay him tons of money for his speeches.  I did try to watch a bit of the Republican convention a week earlier.  I didn't stick around too long.  It just felt too slick.  I did catch a bit of the bizarre Clint Eastwood performance.  I felt bad for Clint as I really enjoy his movies.

My cousin and his wife came up to visit my family a few weeks ago.  I found out a couple of years ago that they like the Republican party.  One year he started talking about how Barrack Obama had set up death panels.  I looked at him and then at my dad.  I didn't know who was becoming more senile.  I was stunned how a well educated man, one who was also well traveled could believe stuff like that.  When he came up this year, I avoided talking about politics.  Until another relative asked him about the upcoming US election.  I rolled my eyes.  This time, I saw a sudden transformation from a happy, laughing man who was enjoying his dinner to a rabid, angry man who spewed hatred.  He saw me staring at him.  He changed his tone a bit - "Well, I'm sure he is a nice man.  I just disagree with his policies.  They will destroy our country."  Luckily the conversation moved back to food and he quickly became the friendly, genial cousin that I know.  

When my brother travels to the US on business, the one topic he avoids is politics.  It's too divisive.  Conversations ground to a halt.  People become tense.  It wasn't a good way to start a business meeting.

What worries me is that I'm seeing the same thing in Canada.  Disagreement on policies & politics turn into deep hatred and bitterness.  I guess anger, hatred and divisiveness  can win elections. 

J and I went to Taiwanfest atToronto's Harbourfront over the weekend.  It was hot and sticky weekend.  The breeze coming in from the lake helped a bit.  But I was still sweaty and sticky at the end of the night.  There was food (I gorged on most of it before I even had my camera out).

I think this was sausage w/ sticky rice.

This was another sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf that has been steamed.  The inside had pork, peanuts, chestnuts and other goodies.

There was stuff for kids to do. 

This toy was not operated by battery.   Ok ok... it's a spin top.  It was trickier than it looks.  While I was watching, there was one middle aged woman who seemed to be very good at it.  A lot of folks weren't able to master it. 

Members from the Wild  Harvest Music of Taiwan (aboriginal music)

Tap dancing from Dance Works from Taiwan.  Despite the heat, they were quite energetic. 

I did some digging and found out they do some pretty neat stuff.

Thank goodness we were able to escape the heat by catching a documentary called Baseball Boys.  It's about a boys baseball team from a small school in Taiwan.  The movie does have subtitles although the trailer below doesn't.

We also saw a couple of musicians on Friday and Saturday night.  I have never heard of any of them before although J knows the Mandopop stuff a lot more than I do.  They had a competent house band performing with them.  I don't understand the language (a few songs were in English) but that didn't really matter.  I had almost forgotten I enjoyed watching live music.  It's been awhile.

Yen J - interesting jazz pop musician. 

The next night we saw Victor Wong Pin Kuan.  He is more well known and a bigger draw than Yen J.  His deep and smooth voice charmed everyone.  He also knew how to work the crowd and kept a steady banter all night.  

At one point, he took out his smart phone and filmed the audience.

Some of the band members.

I learned a few tough lessons on photography.  I was playing around with my aperture setting during the 2nd day and forgot to reset it for concert.  I didn't pay any attention to it until about halfway through the show.  I changed it back to where I wanted.  But sometime during the show, I messed it up again while fumbling around.  I had my flash with me but the pictures that worked best were without the flash.  The lighting for the 2nd show seemed a bit dimmer than the first.  I'm not sure why.  As a result, a lot of pictures of Pin Kuan were blurry. Also at one point during the show, I figured I better get my spare memory card ready in case I need it.  I knew it was securely stored in one of the many pockets in the bag.  I never did find it. 

Growl... I was a bit red from being angry with myself.

Dad asked me to renew his National Geographic magazine.  He held out the renewal card and told me, "I think a 1 year subscription will do.  I don't think I'll be around that long anymore."  I nodded and took it from him.  I still can't bring myself to check the box and send it in.   I wish I could just add more years to his life by checking a box.  But his body is gradually slowing down. 

I wish I could sing in tune.  I was driving with the windows down, radio blaring and I'm singing my lungs out to a Coldplay song.  When I turn the volume down a bit, I'm aware how bad I really sound.  I mean, I could make a living by threatening to sing to someone.  "Pay me $20 now or else I'll sing to you."  Pigs squealing and long wet farts sound better than my singing.  There's no way I could serenade anyone.  Well - maybe a drunk moose might pay attention to me. 

I wish I could play the guitar or the piano.  It would automatically enhance my image of being artsy, romantic and cultured.  I can play do re mi with one finger on a piano.  Unfortunately I usually get a one finger response for my efforts.  But I really think guys that tickle the keyboards or play the guitar are just so cool. 

I wish I could dance instead of madly flailing around like someone in a satanic cult ritual.  When I hear a song I like I would start to "dance".   I am sure if I went on stage to do a sexy dance, I would have to pump my audience full of viagra first.  I wouldn't know what to do with the female members of my audience.  Maybe I could dance and read 50 Shades of Grey at the same time. 

I wish I could blog daily and include videos.  I'm thinking of Chris specifically whose videos are well edited, written and filmed.  I'm sure it takes a lot of effort just to pull together a few minutes of video.  Bravo Chris... take a bow.

I wish I could fight.  I can do a mean scowl when I'm walking around at night.  But I'm like this small annoying dog that barks very loud but has no bite.  Maybe if I'm attacked I'll do a dance, sing to them and bite them.