whoa

Not that I'm a huge afficianado of car commercials, this one was pretty cool.

hi, let's be friends

hi, let's be friends, originally uploaded by smoooch.

snailmail for Sonia

mail on fire, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Take a look at the whole snailmail set. 13 mailboxes and one with flames. When I took the photo, the owner came out and asked me what I was doing. We had a nice chat and then I realized I was alone on a deserted road talking to a guy who had a crazy look in his eye. I agreed to delete the photo that showed his address and made a hasty retreat.

birthday flowers and michael's beautiful t-pot and roiboos gift

birthday flowers and michael's beautiful t-pot and roiboos gift, originally uploaded by smoooch.

It was a lovely day to turn 35. The sun was out, I had the day off and I made friends with a very peculiar cat.




I rented a car and drove out to Langley to engage in a favorite activity of antiquing. A few great shots of old dolls with staring eyes ensued . After a meandering drive while on the phone with Sonia, a stretch of road with the strangest collection of mailboxes was found. I think I photographed them all. And then some. Check out the flickr site to see the day's activities.

The best part was at the end of the day when Michael came over and we had a really nice dinner and he brought me flowers (I bought my own roses, thank god. Anybody else and it could be a tragedy. Michael only buys me tulips because he knows I like them most of all.). Then he gave me my prsent, which is the beautiful little cast iron teapot and a huge canister of my favorite tea.

Even though Michael never says it, he really really get me. he just saves up all of his words and bundles them all up for one day when he gets it perfectly.

Thank you Michael for not being one of those guys that gushed empty words every time I crave to hear a compliment. Thank you for being a one of those guys who's actions speak a million times louder than any words. Thank you for the perfect and unasked for, unanticipated, and un-guessed present.

happy birthday to me

um look, you're really interfering with my fun with this picture taking thing, originally uploaded by smoooch.

My horoscope for the day:

You could meet one or two interesting, unusual (or eccentric) but very stubborn people today. On the plus side, you can win almost anyone over (or they will gladden your heart) with kindness and unselfishness. Events today tend toward the unpredictable. Depending on other factors, you could meet someone very entrancing today, especially if you're a Leo or Libran (or a good friend, if you're an Aries). This relationship might or might not last -- it's certain to take you through some exciting and strange experiences before it ends, though! This is not a good 8 hours to wed.

Right. I have the day off and the sun is shining. Note to self: act as usual and do not get married.

foetus

foetus, originally uploaded by Gonzale.

More from Gonzale. The riots and protests in Paris are unbelievable. Her photographs are so...full of tensions and emotion.

virgin bloom

virgin bloom, originally uploaded by smoooch.

rubilation

rubilation, originally uploaded by smoooch.

new word- phoot

phoot P Pronunciation Key (ph-oo-t)
n. pl. phoots
v. pl phooting, phootery

The digital or film pictoral representation of object, place or person.

The act of producing a digital or fil pictoral representation of a object, place or person.

ex. I love posting my phoots on Flickr.
ex. The other day I went phooting for my phootery class.

Let the record show that I have made up this word. If it exists otherwise, it is an act of the collective unconscious and thereby prooves the existance of alien life amongst us.

non related bird deaths

A week ago I found feather tufts all over the floor, reminiscent of other bird kills that have occured in my apt. But, this time, I haven't found the bird. Did Ruby eat it?? I thought if it was in here, I would have smelled it by now, but no.

On the way to get groceries, I came across a headless pidgeon. How does a bird lose only it's head?? It was right under the sktrain tracks. I looked up and there was a lone pigeon sitting on a ledge, seemd to be holding a vigil. Too complicated to catch in a phoot, but I would've liked to.

I've often wondered where birds go when they die. Does it happen suddenly while in mid flight? Do they know it's happening and drop away from the V formation and go be by themselves? Are they sitting on a branch and just fall over? Do they go to the ground? Do other birds know that they have a fallen commrade amongst them? Was that other pidgeon in mourning? And what's the leading cause of natural bird death? Heart attack? Cholesterol?

gift for 35

A while ago I noticed a small lump just below my right collarbone. I didn't think anything of it. It might have been a strained muscle from typing to much. Maybe it was some weird byproduct of some weight gain. Whatever it was, surely it was going to go away.

Well, not so. In fact it seems to be more noticeable. Especially when I compare to my left side. So I went to the doctor yesterday to find that 4 days before my 35th birthday, I've been diagnosed with lipoma.

Well, it's nothing to worry about. But if it gets any bigger, surgery is the way to go. Incidentally Lipoma surgery is the #1 reported out-patient surgery in the United States, so I'm not alone.

dance dance

polka, originally uploaded by Gonzale.

I didn't take this. A 20 year old girl in Paris did. She has amzing phoots up on Flickr. Go look. There's a link under the photo, 'Gonzale'.

oh yeah

I'm going to The Strokes concert on May 17th! Oh yeah!

intellectual property

A handy, downloadable flyer about your rights as a photographer in public areas.

"The right to take photographs is under assault now more than ever. People are being stopped, harassed, and even intimidated into handing over their personal property simply because they were taking photographs of subjects that made other people uncomfortable."

Like that time I went into the Prado cafe on Commercial Drive. Michael was about to leave on a 2 month journey away from Vancouver. I got out my camera, I was going to take a close up of him as we sat and enjoyed our coffee.
Immediately, a staff member rushed over to tell me that photographs were not allowed inside the doors of the Prado Cafe.

"Why?" I asked.

" Because we worked really hard on this environment and for you to come in and photograph is, violates our rights to intellectual property."

"Interesting. What about outside the cafe?"

"No. We don't like that either."

You have got to be kidding me. Did you contact the Museo del Prado in Madrid to enquire whether or not you were ripping off their intellectual property? And I'm not the only one to have this ridiculous experience.

I'd like to print off this downloadable 'rights of a photographer', laminate it and secretly addit to their menus except I'll never go back because they're pretentious bastards. But I often want to slam them with local photbloggers, like have a photoblogger meeting inside and snap photos until their 'intellectual property' implodes from the shock.

mark, friday evening

IMGP0682, originally uploaded by smoooch.

sink full of sin

sink full of sin, originally uploaded by smoooch.

strangers and strange things

1. A person, a stranger on the otherside of the continent made a comment on my Flickr site.
2. I commented back and looked at their photos.
3. More conversation ensued.
4. I looked at their web site and saw their art. I noticed it was for sale.
5. I enquired about the art and my desire to purchase.
6. A response was received and an offer was placed.
7. An address was provided for a place to send payment.
8. A phone call was made to a friend here in the city.
9. A comment was made about the future aquisition of art, a name was dropped.
10. A connection was discovered. My friend here knows the stranger.

The result: the stranger had just sent art to my friend and had been thinking about whether or not they had arrived safe.

You never know where you'll get the message from.

small world or a small canada

syn·chro·nic·i·ty     P   Pronunciation Key  (sngkr-ns-t, sn-)
n. pl. syn·chro·nic·i·ties

The state or fact of being synchronous or simultaneous; synchronism.

Coincidence of events that seem to be meaningfully related, conceived in Jungian theory as an explanatory principle on the same order as causality.

our mission

If you google the initials of this website, you will find The Mankind Project.

I too want to "foster Loving Families, Strong Communities, Productive Workplaces in a sustainable environment." I'm all for it!

I should start a More Kisses Please Training Adventure which would be similar to the New Warrior Training offered by the Mankind Project.

"An experiential weekend "training adventure." The weekend is followed by supportive and self led "integration groups" formed from the weekend participants which help integrate the men's changes and new choices into their daily lives."

Like I've always said, we all need more kisses.

"The ManKind Project™ has racked up more than 300,000 recorded volunteer hours." I too have 'racked up 300, 000 recorded volunteer hours unofficially trying to make the world a better place.

Me and the Mankind Project? We have one more major similarity.

It is also my mission to “heal the world, one man at a time”.

Starting with my boyfriend.

did you miss me?

There was a slight breakdown of internal communication mechanisms that provide you with the visual feast of More Kisses Please. I'm happy to report, all systems are back again on track and talking to one another.

free

free, originally uploaded by smoooch.

not free

not free, originally uploaded by smoooch.

more kisses please

Really, this is what More Kisses Please is all about. More affection. More love. More comfort. More hello, you're not alone in this world. More kindness. I'd actually like to pretend that these hands don't know one another. Like that one hand is just saying hi, you look nice, wanna hang out today?

Besides all that, don't forget what you learned in kindergraten. When you go out in the world, remember to hold hands and stick together.

Cookies and warm milk are good too.

Thanks to Travis Ruse for the excellent moment to snap the shutter.

Truly Scumptious

Throught the wonders of PostcardX, where you delight strangers mailboxes (and strangers) with spontaneous peices of correspondance, I have gotten myself gleefully linked to Girlonaglide . Wow. I'm touched!! I mean, come on! This chickoreena likes listening to windchimes, lying in the grass, eating ice cream for meals, meeting strangers and travelling. I myself, I think, have travelled to far away windchimes with strangers while eating ice cream and found myself laying in the grass when I got there.

Besides, I was too afraid to admit, until know, that I too loved the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Who wouldn't want a name like Truly Scumptious?

sprouts

sprouts, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Happy Spring

crocuses, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Happy Aries!!

disturbing

There is nothing more disturbing than coming home to find small gray feathers strewn across the kitchen floor. Immediately recognizing that a small fight and the ultimate snuffing out of a precious, innocent bird's life has occured while you toiled away at work. And then upon close inspection of your apartment, you are unable to locate the missing carcass, wondering if your cat has the strength and dexterity to hide it under the pillows or worse, between the matresses. Is there a limit as to where I shouldn't have to look??

Like I said before, but now I mean it, Ruby is getting a cowbell. The death toll is fast approaching at least 10 birds and spring has only started to sprung.

gah.

my johari window

But enough about you, let's talk about me. Select the five words that you think describe me (even if you don't personally know me, play along anyways) and let's see how they overlap with other people's descriptions and my own. Could be interesting.

more evidence that spring is in the process of springing

buds, originally uploaded by smoooch.

I'm on my way to happiness tooodaaayyy

truckin', originally uploaded by smoooch.

Flickr-Blog This feature, I lurve you.

pink on green with brown sticks

McSpadden Park, originally uploaded by smoooch.

yeller on blue with an attic room

yeller, originally uploaded by smoooch.

Oh, blogger/photos where are you?? Flickr, old friend. Thanks for helping me out.

triumph

The detox is over. The 12 days went by like a month. I struggled in the beginning. Got headaches and craving so strong they were unsurmountable at times. Do I feel any different? No, not really. I'm glad I haven't eaten bread in 12 days. I'm glad I barely have eaten sugar. I'm glad my eating habits have changed. I'm glad I can have vinegar on my salads and can be a little more flexible with the food choices. I'm going to keep trying to make the same ones, I just won't be so so picky.

For all you who tuned in for each days update..thank you who ever you are....

duo

the end almost in sight

Tomorrow is the last day of the detox. It's been 11 days since I started this little journey of food withdrawl and discovery. I cheated again with a late. I forgot to tell them to make it soy until it was too late. The dairy made my tummy bloat and I felt sick from it. I've decided to extend my detox past the 12 days for 1 days for every day I cheated. So, it's 3 more days after tomorrow.

It doesn't really concern me because I think I may try and live my life in a wheat and sugar free way. Dairy, may come sneaking back as chevre in spinach salads, manchego with apples and other fromage delights.

In other unrelated news, I stopped at a book stand and flipped through a book of Doisneau. The French photographer of one of my favorite kisses. It made me think seriously of nixing the plans to spend my hard earned vacation time back home in Alberta and instead going someplace fantatstic like PARIS. (Mom/ Vince if you read this.. If I decide to do this, I will still, of course, come for a visit but it just will be shorter. Say..long weekends. Or maybe you want to go someplace fantastic with me)?

Then I could engage in some great fromage, great art and photographs of which the object is so unbelievable, the picture practically takes itself.

on the 10th day there was snow

May I present to the court, your honour, exhibit A. The evidence clearly supports the fact that the weather is getting its freak on. The snow photos were taken at 7:30 this morning and the 'other photos' were taken 10 hours later, at 5:30 pm.

If you can't count on the snow, who can you count on??

In other news, I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry white chocolate muffin. I'm sorry detox, we were doing so well. 2 days left and I just got so bored. It pulsated before my eyes, the chocolate seemed to slowly gurgle and coo to me from the crusty mountain top. I couldn't resit the climb. I got thirsty. I washed it down with a skim milk late, the closest thing to dairy I've had the entire 10 days. I know it was bad. Ruby knew I had been bad when I got home and for some inexplicable reason dropped droplets of urine on my face as I lifted her over me in some sort of 'don't pick me up' and 'you've been bad, I can smell it, let me mark you with my pee' act.

In another moment of synchronicity, my travels home from work took a weird turn. I took a ride up Main st. Got off in the Punjab Market area. Took a few nice shots. (see them here) Got on another bus and the woman standing next to me had a book open. I glanced at it and noticed on just the inside a yellow, faintly familiar sticker. It was a bookcrossing book. I used to partake in the phenomenon of leaving books in public places, with a note inside that it was a Bookcrossing and to read the book and pass it on. I told the woman this, and she offered me the book, staying she was trying to pass it on. We remarked about the unlikely hood of our aquaintance on a bus of 50 or so people, and I am now in possession of The Sirian Experiments, The Report by Ambien II, One of the Five.

ooohh weeee oooooh

I first opened to page 111:

"I was conscious I was feeling indignation-this seemed to me a bad sign, and a most unwelcome sign of impossible imbalance."

great.

pottery rewards

I have finished a 8 week pottery class at the local community center. I truly love these classes because you get to play with as much clay as you want and all the glazing and firing is free. I keep my self busy and when I'm done, I get pretty handmade things that mean more to me than something I could buy in a shop. Take a look at the whole set.

Number 9

As you can see, I am taking juicing to new heights. 3 more days to go and I have literally poured a month's worth of vegetables down my throat. Apparently, it has some benefits that you don't get all the carbs from eating the fiber. But then again, all the chewing and digestion burns calories. 6 on one side, half dozen on the other.

in the home stretch

Day 8 is swell. Eating super healthy. Almond/ Cashew butter on rice cales with sliced apples is the new cakey muffin. Fresh vegetable juices are my new coffee. Lentil crackers with hummous is almost as good as raison bread with smoked cheddar. Wait a minute. Who am I trying to kid? Nothing will take the place of my beloved raison toast and applewood cheddar. Jeez. I just about lost myself for a moment.

Yesterdays inconsitencies have been replaced with a mantra..

stay neutral
stay neutral
stay neutral
stay neutral
stay neutral

gainsaying

The thing I have the problem with is consistency. Or rather lack of it. It's difficult to be in a certain position where you have to explain the inconsistency of others. When someone say this is is the way its going to be and then someone else just over-rides that entire statement for their own gain and you sit there and watch it happen. And someone misses out, someone feel overlooked, and all the work and belief you put in to making everyone feel like they are valued is pretty much a bunch of crap. A veneer. A cheap appearance of value where there really is no worth.

It's like being in a room and the belief is 'rules are important" and someone walks in and says, " The first person to raise their hand gets the pot of gold. That's the rule." And they leave and another person walks in and says "Who wants the pot of gold?" and you raise your hand fast and furious and they pick the person next to you just because they like them more.

It makes me burn with anger and seethe at the injustice and I can't do a damn thing about it.

By the way, day 7 of the Detox is calm and fine and nothing to report. I did notice yesterday that after I ate that scone, I felt really tired and sluggish within 1/2 hr. I'll do another food test after the 12 dyas is up to see if I feel that way again after eating a flour and sugar concotion.

a fall from the gluten wagon- day 6

The culprit? Easter sugar cookies, 3 for $1 and a date scone warmed with butter. I didn't mean to. They just fell in my mouth when I wasn't looking. I was overpowered by gang of sugar cubes disguised as bunnies. They lured me down a dark path with promises of sweet sanctuary where all cravings would be forgotten. Forgive me, Herbal Detox. I will pennance by gargling with celery garlic juice.

Fear not loyal reader of the detox blog, I will prevail. The purchase of the accompaning $15 cookbook laden with recipes for salad dressing with no vinegar and tofu scrambles solidifies my conviction to see this to the end.

Consider it a mid-cleanse treat.

many colorful beads

5 down 7 to go

Nothing much to report on the cleaning front. I haven't had any huge cravings today and I've stayed on course. No sugar, no bread, no dairy for 5 days. All I can say is its rather boring and just about everything has flour in it if you start looking.

The boyfriend and I went to Ikea today in the goal of buying a jug to make tea in. I ended up $200 lighter, a new mattress and table heavier. The table is exactly the same as the old table but not painted.

I could've spent $20 on paint thinner, gloves and scrapers and countless messy hours with toxic materials and fumes to strip it or $40 for a new one. Thanks Ikea for the old standby. And thanks for the As Is section where I found my great new mattress that had a 'scratch' on it somewhere.

too cute to be a killah (yet)

Thansk to Cute Overload for the pic.

Day 4- the carnage returns

That's it. Ruby is getting a cow bell to wear around her neck. Currently as I write there is a partially alive bird (I assume) that has fallen behind the pantry cupboard. Just what I wanted to wake up to.

Obviously this is not the kind of protein my mother had in mind.

(Incidentally, I now have to pull the cupboard out from behind the wall and deal with this little issue before breakfast.)

I can't stand this behaviour of my resident little killing machine called Ruby. I am beginning to have tensions whenever I am sleeping and am awoken by her playing with something. And she is starting to look particularly evil.

UPDATE: Moved said cupboard away from the wall to discover NOTHING. The horror! I began to panic. The bird was lost in my 300 square foot apartment, slowly decomposing. I phoned the boyfriend for support. A few minutes later and a scratching sound was heard. The bird emmerged from it's hiding place behind the cupboard. I Immediately removed the killer from the premises and retrieved a capturing device. The bird led me on a fast chase across the apartment floor, under the bed and into the bathroom area. The bird then miraciously recovered its inflight navigational system and flew up to the window sill, paused and then took flight to freedom.

Ruby is still getting a cowbell.

UPDATE #2: After a leisurely afternoon in the sun with Michael and a lovely meal at my favorite East Van restaurant, The Clove, we returned home to find Ruby had an insatiable appetite for bird playmates. Another field of strewn feathers was found on the floor, the bird still living. Ruby drunk and lounging on the bed, with sleepy eyes.

BAD KITTY

Day 3

I successfully fought the carb/ sugar craving today. I wanted to chew on cookie and spit it out so bad today. I thought about a grilled cheese sandwich for a moment and it burned into me for about an hour, followed with a side of onion rings from the greasy spoon cafe at the curling rink across the street from work. But I resited. Michael who made up for yesterday in a non-caloric way by picking me up from work refused to take me to McDonald's when I asked him too. I was only kidding anyways. But we passed on of those McGriddle billboards with the GIANT PANCAKE SAUSAGE AND EGG SANDWICH and the craving for maple syrup was massive.

All the resisting the cravings on the 3rd day just did my head in and I came home and passed out until 4am (I have just gotten up and am eating fresh strawberries). Other than that, I noticed increased energy this morning. The bloated feeling I've had for a while is not so noticeable and I'm looking forward to this god damn experience to be over.

detox day #2

Last night Michael helped me haul home bags of carrots, apples, celery and beets. I used the juicer he gave me a year ago for the first time. I made quiet a mess and had to dump my full to the brim compost bucket before I runneth over with vegetable pulp. The result is that I found Beet juice is my new sugar.

Is there a fruit that tastes like chocolate? I hope so.

The expected overwhelming cravings for carbs and sugars has not yet kicked in. However, a ferocious temper has. Michael, who is sick, spent the whole day lounging in the comfort of my apartment all day, while I trudged off to work. I came home to find him quite comfortable, in bed, with my laptop and tv on. The dishes were still dirty and my laundry was still out. I calmly tried to explain my apartment is not a free for all and he can gladly hang out here for weeks if he wants to but it would be nice if he pitched in a little.

So, while he still lay in bed, I fixed dinner, did the dishes, made juice, cleaned up , ate dinner and trundled off to tonight's pottery class. When I came home the dinner dishes were still dirty, the bed unmade and Michael still parked in it. I could've hit the roof. I slammed pots and doors and felt like kicking his sick or not ass out the door. I still feel pissed.

But I know that it's not entirely him as I felt like hurling small yogurt containers of murky water at the walls in pottery class. I wanted to shoulder check anyone who got in my way. And when the project I was working on hit a snag, I wanted to throw it as hard as I could at the nearest target that would cause distruction.

Of course, I didn't. I looked at my feet and reminded myself that my body has a strangle hold on my bodily contaminations and doesn't want to give them up yet. I have a funny feeling I'm about to go into battle in the next few days, neck and neck with my toxins.

Day 1 of my detoxification

I dutifully took my first 6 tablets of herbal concoction this morning with my 30 drops of another herbal concoction in diluted apple juice. I looked around for something suitable to eat for breakfast and realized I was unprepared. My usual yogurt and banana was no longer suitable and I didn't have time to make oatmeal. I quickly scrambled up some eggs. No salt. No toast.

Extending the theme of unpreparedness, I ran out the door with a zip-lock baggy of almonds, another of carrots, one apple, and a tea bag. Not much of a lunch and most of it was eaten before hand. Later at work, some co-workers said they were going to subway and did I want to come. Oh sure, let's go to the place that makes subs on BREAD with CHEESE. Of course I declined. But I had to eat something more than my snacks. Across the street I went to stare at the display of chicken & pasta in cream sauce, the ham & cheese croissants, the bagels, the baguette sandwiches with fresh bocconcini and said NO to it all. I took a small green salad w/ chicken and walnuts and took the oranges off. No oranges allowed.

Today, right now, I feel fatigued, irritated, sluggish and I have a headache. Tonight I will eat fish, steamed potatoes and broccoli and 6 more herbal tablets that will slowly start to tear every toxin and contamination from my body and probably make the toilet my new friend.