#31 - Night At The Oscars

The Victoria Symphony hosted a fabulous night at the Royal Theatre last Saturday night (the 16th). The theme: A Night at The Oscars. To go along with the theme, guests were encouraged to dress up in Black Tie attire and walk the red carpet. Even better were the paid actors that showed up dressed up as actors (ie, Johnny Depp!) And yes, I took a picture with him.... or should I say her, since it was a woman dressed up as Johnny Depp!

The selection of music the symphony played was amazing, from Williams to my absolute fav, Hans Zimmer. But, to make the night even better, they played the theme song to Schindler's List. If you haven't heard this song yet, shame on you! It's a must, so please stop reading this and download the song.

And with that, I have scratched off another item from my 101 list. Yay me!

Love,
Lady S.

It happened once again...

My hopes and dreams were set on starting off 2010 with an on-time flight, a dream which was soon crashed when I entered into YYC and saw before me the longest line of people waiting to drop off their baggage. I swear to goodness, without a lie, that there were *at least* 200 people in front of me waiting to drop off their luggage and go through security.

I arrived at the airport much earlier than expected (about an hour and 45 minutes before my flight), so in my mind I figured I would have enough time to drop my bags off, go through security, and have some dinner. Yeah, no! I can't even begin to explain the panic I started to feel when I saw that ridiculous line up. Not only did I have school the next day, but there was *no* was I was going to stay another night in Calgary. To my relief (and credit to the WestJet people for being super efficient), I only waited in line for 40 minutes, still giving me enough time to go through security and reach my gate. Until I heard the dreaded...

"So, your flight has been delayed. Instead of departing at 6:51, you'll be leaving at 7:20pm."

WTF?! Are you serious?! *Another* delayed flight?! This was now flight #8 in a row that was delayed. Needless to say, not impressed. At all.

Anyway, I dropped my bags off and headed to long-ass-line-up #2: Security. Once again, another 80 people in front of me waiting to go *just* through the doors of security, plus more people in the security area itself. After waiting another 15 minutes, I got through and headed for a bite to eat. Now, this whole time I'm thinking "flight leaves at 7:20. Be at the gate by at least 6:50 for boarding." 6:50 rolls around and I head to the gate.

6:50pm: no plane. 7:00pm: plane arrives. It takes at least 20 minutes for people to get off and crew to clean the plane. No way we're leaving at 7:20pm. 7:20pm: pre-boarding is announced. 7:25pm: general boarding is announced. Great, I'm thinking, we won't leave to late. 7:30pm: people still boarding. 7:35pm: more people coming on. 7:40pm: waiting for some *idiot* that wasn't at the gate on time. 7:45pm: idiot is finally on the plane and they're closing the door. 7:50pm: we leave the gate. we still need to reach the tarmac. 7:51pm: we stop. Plane needs to be de-iced. UGH! 7:55pm: we take off.

Stupid flight was late by an hour, pushing my arrival time back another hour, making my ride wait for me another hour!

I'd like to believe that at some point in my flying life I will have an on-time flight, but something tells me that if I keep flying with WestJet, the likelihood of this happening is around 1%. However, to switch to Air Canada would mean having to put up with the snobbiest people in the flying industry. Delayed flights or snobby attendants? ... That's actually a hard one!

Lady S.

Flying can be such a pain in the ass!

Traveling is something that I always look forward to because I love being in a different place for a short (or long) period of time. Getting away from where I live and changing up the scenery is always needed for me. Staying in Vic for longer than 4 months at a time is impossible, and so I try and fly as often as I can. However, the traveling part itself - going to the airport, checking baggage, boarding the plane, flying - is NEVER fun.

Take today, for example - I'm sitting at YYJ, waiting for my plane and I'm not happy. But I'm not happy because I'm *just* waiting for it - I'm unhappy because my flight has been delayed... again! This entire year has consisted of flights that have either been delayed or that have arrived early. Let's take a look at my 7 flights of 2009:

January 2009 - Calgary to Victoria: delayed by 4 hours. Once we got on the plane, the captain told us that something was wrong with the plane and we needed to get off and switch to another plane. On the plus, I got a $99 WJ credit.

April 2009 - Victoria to Toronto: flight was on time, but arrived like 30 minutes early, making me wait an extra 30 minutes early for my ride. Thankfully the weather was beautiful. Not so thankful that I hadn't slept at all the night before because I was out clubbing with friends. Oh, and I was still in my clubbing outfit. Nice!

May 2009 - Toronto to Victoria: delayed by two hours. A lovely rain/hail storm decided to hit Toronto at the time of my departure. It was raining and hailing so badly to the point that you were *literally* not able to see anything outside of the window. I'm not even exaggerating. Imagine sitting in one of those touchless car washes - you know when the water just pours onto your car and you can kind of see some objects? Well imagine not seeing any objects at all. Yeah - that bad.

August 2009 - Victoria to Calgary: delayed by an hour. I don't even remember why my flight was delayed - the weather was beautiful.

August 2009 - Calgary to Toronto: delayed by an hour. Once again, can't remember why. However, I notified my ride that I was going to be late and yet I arrived on time, making me wait for my ride again!

September 2009 - Toronto to Victoria: departed on time, but arrived late. Heading back to Victoria from Toronto is the longest flight possible in the world, and having the wind against us all the time never helps.

December 2009 - Victoria to Calgary: delayed by two hours. I'm sitting here, at this very moment, at the airport waiting for my plane to arrive and kick its passengers off so I can get on the plane! UGH!

This, by far, has been the worst travel year in terms of timing. And while I still stand by WestJet's amazing service and friendly employees, I need to say one thing: your timing literally sucks! I have flown with you all 7 times and for once I would like to leave on time and arrive on time. Actually, arriving early is a bonus - I just want to leave on time.

And there ya have it folks, my travel adventures for the entire year. Hopefully 2010 will start off better and I'll leave YYC on time.

Lots of love,
Lady S.

PS - oooh - almost time to board!!

#62 - The Penny Farthing

One more restaurant and I can finally cross of #62 from the 101 list. Anyway, went to Penny Farthing the other day and while the atmosphere was awesome, the food was alright. Nothing spectacular - just your regular pub fare.

So, there's my review on that. Next restaurant that I want to try - Japanese Village.

Love,
LS

Off topic, but just as relevant

Anti-gay law in Uganda would sentence homosexuals for life

I have to mention this because not only is it important to continue to raise awareness about gay and lesbian rights, but because this issue stated above is beyond immoral and inhumane. I can understand that some people do not agree with homosexuality and I understand that some people would not live that lifestyle and fine enough - to each their own. We all have our own opinions about life, how one should live their own life, etc. But somewhere along the way people got the impression that it's okay to impose their beliefs, their religion, their morals, their way of life on everybody else and that it's okay to discriminate against groups because they're "different".

Here's a piece of advice and my first point of this rant - they are not different. They are normal like everybody else. Just because they do not follow the same life style as you do does not make them different. They would rather chose to live a lifestyle that better suits them.

Second point - nobody chooses to be gay. Nobody wakes up one morning and says "you know, just to make my life a little bit harder, I'm going to be attracted to the same sex!" Honestly, and no offense to anybody that is gay, being gay (according to friends of mine) is a difficult thing, because not only is the gay community very small to the point of it being difficult to find a partner, but now you have to defend yourself against society and justify your actions... oh, and let's not forget trying to get your family to support you in your decision! Just like straight people can't describe why they are attracted to the opposite sex, the same goes for the gay community.

My third point - to those religious fanatics that like to throw bible quotes around saying that being gay is a sin, the mere fact that you yourself are criticizing the lifestyle of someone else, by saying that somebody is going to go to hell, by saying that God doesn't love them, makes YOU the sinner. Nobody on earth, according to God, has the right to determine who is living their life (almost) perfectly in the eyes of God. The ONLY person who has that right is God himself. If you don't like that, deal with it. But how about you shut up and stop trying to force your religious views on everybody else, because guess what - chances are that somewhere in your religious preaching, you're wrong. Religion is a personal thing. Period.

This is beyond ridiculous. No government should intervene in an individual's life and no government should inhibit the rights and freedoms that a person deserves and should have without having to fight for it. We are supposed to be living in a modern society, where we accept one another for who we are regardless of whether or not we like it. But here is the thing - if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to live a lifestyle that you don't agree with. I fail to see how the gay community is personally affecting your life. No, I would not date a girl. No, I am not gay and I could never see myself having a relationship with a girl. But that's my personal choice because that's who I am. If one of my friends discovers that he or she is gay, by no means is that ever going to affect me.

So, to summarize, grow the fuck up people and get over the fact that the world isn't going to be shaped in your ideal way. Get used to it.

Lady S.

Pooh Bear

Isn't he adorable? All cute and fat and sweet? Yes, he is very cute, but I'm not going to ramble about how adorable he is. Rather, I'm going to put up quotes that he (or another character) has said.

You see, one thinks that his movies are just for children and that there really isn't much meaning behind them. But if you pay close attention to the story line and the lines that are said, some of the quotes are just so... meaningful. And yes, I may sound like a sap right now, but my roommate agrees with me and that's all that matters.

And so, here are my nine favorite quotes that make life just a little bit better.

Lady S.


---

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."

**

"And by and by Christopher Robin came to an end of things, and he was silent, and he sat there, looking out over the world, just wishing it wouldn't stop."

**

"Pooh, promise me you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I am a hundred."
Pooh thought for a little.
"How old shall I be then?"
"Ninety-nine."
Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said.

**

"Some people care too much, I think it's called love."

**

Pooh sidled up to Pooh from behind.
"Pooh," he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."

**

"Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave."

**

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best --" and then he had to stop and think. Because although eating honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.

**

"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh.
"I wish I were there to be doing it, too."

**

"The hardest part is what to leave behind ... It's time to let go!"

#62 - Brentwood Pub

So, the BFF left yesterday after being here for 6 days for my birthday. Naturally, I hate goodbyes, so I was sulking at home feeling sorry for myself when I got a text message from a friend to join her for some drinks and food.

So, restaurant number 3 is Brentwood Pub, located in Brentwood Bay. The pub is located right by the ocean, but unfortunately it was night time and I was not able to enjoy the view that the pub offers. The atmosphere is so relaxing, yet with a touch of classy so it's perfect for a person like me that loves to dress up for dinner. Along with the great atmosphere, the service was incredible! Our server was very nice and was very attentive without being at our table every 5 minutes. So that in itself is a bonus.

The food was pretty good as well, although nothing spectacular. And, in case you're wondering, the prices were a bit on the pricey side, especially because the majority of the items on the menu were just regular pub items.

Anyway, that is my "critique" for the restaurant. And yes, I would go back again.

Love,
Lady S.