~*...the family i choose for myself...*~

its starting to sink in. i'm leaving this province two weeks this sunday. whoah! and it seems like the best people in my life are making extra efforts to remind me that i have made a difference in their lives. i keep the best people in my life.

on monday, i went out for dinner with my friend maxxxine. i met maxxxine through tribe, and she's a breathtaking gemini. we had dinner at a vegetarian restaurant on queen called fressen. i always have the best times with maxxxine (the extra xxx are because we're both naughty like that ;). her and i talk so openly about sex its refreshing. actually, i have very few qualms about the topic of sex. i think too many people are afraid to talk about sex which often turns something so natural into something taboo. and we have no problem talking about raunchiness without fear. our conversations must have definitely must have challenged the people around us to think differently, as there's no way that they didn't hear us.



maxxxine also has the most gorgeous piece of sleeve ink. man am i ever a sucker for sleeves *drool* and it takes a lot more than just other people feeling awkward to make me stop enjoying a conversation about sex. i guess there's a certain level of consideration that has to be excercized when others are privy to who you are choosing to be right meow, even if they are not directly interacting with you. i prefer to spend my time on where i'm at, and i love the people i choose to share my life with. they blow my mind in so many ways by being windows to new and fascinating perspektivz.

'there's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others do not feel insecure around you." - marianne williamson

i'm really diggin the new hsbc ad campaign. they are triggering open mindedness in everyone who comes in contact with their message, celebrating diversity in our pointz of view. when i saw the ads in the subway, i took as many pix as i could before my batteries died. i wrote down the quotes from the other posters.


the world would be a dull place if everyone agreed on everything.



a difference of opinion is a healthy thing.



if everyone though the same nothing would ever change.



an open mind is the best way to look at the world.



everywhere you go you get a different point of view.



czech out this hsbc ad for their current your point of view campaign. i guess no matter what your point of view is, everyone understands the language of money. go bankz! go diversity!

on wednesday, i made my first trip moving stuff to my mom's place. i can't believe i'm leaving so soon. so much to take care of, so many people to see. it was so good to have my mom there for me. i love you mom.

i've learned to enjoy our differing points of view, even found wayz to look at them humourously. we were talking about god, and who he is. i was wondering why god is separate from us.

norm: if i was created in god's image, why am i not god too?
mom: don't be ridiculous. you are not god.
norm: then who is god?
mom: god is the creator, he is the father, the son, the holy ghost. he is the divine trinity.
norm: it sounds like god isn't just one thing.
mom: he is all things.
norm: if god is all things, explain to me again why i'm not god?
mom: *grrrrr*

i posted a ~*...god...*~ thread on tribe. the responses got colourful ;)

if the situation ain't doin for me, i'll just rotate my canvas a bit and try to look at the situation with laughter. with my mom, laughing with her is more enjoyable than fighting with her. i guess that applies to most situations for me.

a day without laughter is a day wasted. so true.

~*...normaste...*~
i honour the norm in you that is the norm in me...tee hee. and so the normification of the universe continues.

~*...movie church!...*~

i woke up sunday morning bright an early. 9am on a sunday is very rarely seen by me, at least not after a good night's rest;) i had promised my sister i would join her for church that morning. you heard me right, i said church, the jesus kind of church. she had been telling me about this new kind of church she was attending at the paramount movie theater. church in a movie theater! and the message was delivered in the form of a video projected on the movie screen. movie church is what i called it.



a relaxed atmosphere. supportive friends. thoughtful discussion. life's tough questions. laughter. music. a church for people who aren't into church. the meeting house is a new take on 'religion', a place where people can take an irreligious approach to spirituality through the christian faith. hey, with a pastor that looks like this, you know you're in for a different kind of sermon.

take a look at the meeting house manifesto and decide for yourself.

"Let there be real harmony so there won't be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose."
~ 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)

church service began with singing and prayer. it had been so long since i was in any kind of church on sunday morning, and it felt good to sing and clap with other people. hey, it doesn't take much for me to get into singin and dancin. and its the most wonderful time of the year, so singing silent night and joy to the world always puts a smile on my face.

the sermons are recorded the week before at the oakville meeting house, and then played at the other meeting places in brampton, hamilton, north toronto, and downtown toronto. this week's message was about http://www.themeetinghouse.ca/media/2005-11-27-466-notes.pdf. they discussed the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by c.s. lewis, and the parallels the story had with christianity. the message included video clips from the bbc series based on the book, and was actually pretty interesting and informative. what i enjoyed most about the message was that pastor bruxy was dressed casually, well spoken, and was actually funny. bruxy rekognized that there are so many different ways to fellowship and commune with god, and that for many people they believe that how they celebrate their relationship with god is the way others should too. he doesn't subscribe to that school of thought, and i appreciated hearing this non traditional view of spirituality through christianity. not having 'religion' shoved down my throat, or "this way is better than your way", was refreshing.

i must say, leaving "church" with trance playing loudly in the background was a fun and welcome change to the traditional, conservative, and orthodox ways i remember church to be. on our way out, a very cute woman approached me and said she remembers me from the hospital a month ago. she was sitting beside my friend lori and i in the emergency room after lori's dog bit her in the face. turns out this girl's name was lori too. we chatted for a bit, and i gave her my card. if you're reading this lori, thank you for making me feel welcome at church on sunday.

i think i just might go to church again next week for the second part of god@the movies. and i loved hangin with my sister. i can see why she enjoys this new approach to church, it really is a lot of fun and very welcoming. religion is being taken to new and interesting places. go movie church!

"men never do evil so completely cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction" - blaise pascal <--- hey, she went to my church, unionville alliance church. she has a a beautiful voice, and evidently a beautiful mind.

after church, thalia and i went to hogtown to look at snowboard bagz. thalia bought me a wikkid hogtown snowboard bag for christmas, as well as this burton toque (in red of course). it has removable headphones so i can listen to beatz on the hill and anywhere else a toque is necessary.







i'm looking forward to trying these badboys out on the hills this season. burton also has a helmet with headphones in em, but the headphone part is not removable. i like the option of having them there or not, and i'm not always going to be wearing a helmet. i'll get way more use out of this toque than a helmet. thanks thalia for the early christmas present.

i also got to try on the volcom shaun white pimp suit jacket. that's right, volcom is making formal wear for their customers. velvetine pimp jackets look daam smokin.

if i had an extra $100 i would've bought it, but that's like two dayz of riding in b.c. i'd rather ride than look good in this jacket. so instead, i took a pikcha of myself in the outfit and put it back on the hangar. yay digital cameras.

look, a motorcycle out and about in winter! only in canada!

thalia then treated me to lunch at the all you can eat korean grill house on queen. i love that place. i know thalia doesn't like it that much, but she made an exception for me.

after lunch, we went back to the paramount theater to see charlize theron in aeon flux.

i'm not familiar with the television series or comic book, so i can't comment on how close it was to the original. but i did enjoy the story, the fx were kewl, and charlize theron looked goddam smokin...especially kicking ass. i was impressed at how graphic her battles were too...they had no problems showing blood.

if you're into cyber goth, this film is pure cyber spy porn for you...from the fashion to the spy gear, aeon flux is pure sexxx.


7/10 dreadlocks from this dredi knight.


charlize theron...*drool*

thanks thalia for an incredible sunday afternoon. i'm really going to miss you when i'm gone.

normaste

~*...buying gear and video games...*~

yesterday i went shopping for snowboard gear with my friend karen. when my friends need someone knowledgeable to go with them to buy snowboard gear, i seem to be a popular choice. i'm not complainin. i love snowboarding, and i love buying snowboard gear, even if it isn't for me. i pride myself in knowing what i'm talking about, and my friends seem to rekognize it. if it means that more of my friends are on the hill to shred with, i'll do whatever it takes to get them on the hill faster and with the right gear.

we started at the source for sports at yonge and eligable (eglinton) and tried on some boots. ask anyone who snowboards and they will tell you that boots are the most important part of your set up. you can have the best board, the best bindings, the best clothing...but if you're feet hurt, you won't be able to enjoy your snowboarding experience. unfortunately, the source for sports didn't have the burton sapphire boots, so karen tried on this year's burton freestyle's. she liked them, but we had two more places to go and i knew that once the sapphire's were on her feet she would not want to take them off. burton makes some quality products...their boards and outer gear is a bit overpriced, but their boots and bindings are solid and worth every penny. i'm rockin the 2004 burton motos...they are the best burton bang for your buck, and i ride my shit hard!

on our way to coast mountain sports, we came across a nutcracker. it's the most wonderful time of the year.

coast mountain sports caters mostly to entry level snowboarders (the motos were the best boot they had, and that's just one step above the entry level burton boot). they focus on complete snowboard packages, so most of their boards aren't for advanced riders, intermediate at most. we didn't find much there at all, so we headed over to hogtown extreme sports. i knew we'd find what we wanted there...they've been around since i started skateboarding and the best selection of quality gear in the city.

karen and i walked the underground PATH to get to hogtown from the eaton center. the path links 27km of shopping, services, and entertainment in the downtown toronto core. its a great way to get around the city in the wintertime and stay warm. too bad most of the shops aren't open on the weekend...the path is used mostly during the week. as we emerged from the underground walkway at metro hall, karen decided she needed a rest and took a breather on a hammock.

hogtown had this year's sapphires, and had them in karen 's size. they were even cheaper than the listed price at the source ($288.99). its so fun seeing people's faces when they put on a pair of quality boots. there's no feeling like it. it just feels right. i've seen it so many times. the sapphires (and the hails for men) are worth every penny. they make your feet feel like should in a boot, heavenly. if i had the cash...;)

karen was very happy with her boot purchase. she didn't find any boards or bindings that really jumped out at her at hogtown, at least within her price range. i always recommend spending the most on your boots. the bindings and board aren't as important, and you can always upgrade those. comfy boots are essential, everything else, especially when you are just learning, isn't as important. we then headed to hells belles to try on a different kind of fashion *rraow*

i love trying on clothing, especially goth and cyber goth gear with hotties. who says you have to buy? try things on that you may never even buy. feel what its like to play the role, and take pikchaz of yourself in the outfit. so much fun. and daam did karen look hawt in some of the outfits she tried on. i'd post pix, but one of the reasons why i am allowed to take the pix i do of my friends in this kind of gear is that they are not to be shared with anyone else. sorry.

after playing dressup, karen and i met up with my friend graham at ho su bistro to grab some take out. we stopped at blockbuster video on the way home to rent two video games, soul calibur 3 and star wars battlefront 2. stupid xbox 360 has jacked up the prices of all video game rentals to $8.99! holy shit! at least i get it for a week, and then can hold on to it for a month for a $2 restocking fee.

karen czech'd out boards and bindings online at my place and ended up purchasing this board and these bindingz. sexxxy set up karen. i can't wait to see how hawt you look with your new purchase.

graham and i, being the geeks that we are, played some soul calibur 3. man, this game is the best fighting game evar. so smooth, wikkid graphics, and awesome characters. only available on the ps2, this game sets the bar very high for all other fighting games to beat.

i pulled graham away from gaming to join me in kensington market for a quick drink with my friend tahira. it was her 34th birthday and she was celebrating at the last temptation in the market.

then it was back to my place to finish the night off playing star wars battlefront 2. this game kicks so much ass. you can play as jedis too, including yoda and lord vader himself. we played until we were too tired to stay up, passed out, and woke up this morning to play even more before beginning our sunday. i love playing vids with graham, so much fun and he takes hi gaming seriously...well, not that seriously.

i'm sure gonna miss these kind of evenings with graham when i'm gone. what a great saturday night.

normaste