• Sometimes I make the sliding door opening to the porch smaller than I know Sully can squeeze through. I’m not being cruel (ok, maybe just a little) I think it’s good for him to learn how to problem-solve without my help.
• Friday was “passive aggressive letter” day. Probably a misnomer on my part, my series of letters weren’t so much passive aggressive as they were necessary, and direct. I had been putting off writing these letters for quite some time. It felt good to be proactive.
• I finally dealt with the noisy neighbours upstairs. This was part of passive-aggressive letter day. I finally wrote a note that said something along the lines of “I’m sorry I have to do this, I gather you have little ones and there’s only so much you can do, but the noise is getting a little disruptive down here.” I was nice, I was diplomatic, I tried to be understanding. And then…
• My upstairs neighbours are moving. The day after I wrote my note (which was by far the NOISEST day so far, I swear it sounded like there were 15 kids up there) the young mother came to my door, apologizing profusely (I felt SO bad…) and telling me they just found a house they’ll be moving into at the end of the month. Honestly, I think they made the right choice. These apartments are nice, but they’re no place for a young kid… let alone two. And it’ll be nice to have a day go by when I’m not worried the light fixtures are about to crack from all the clanging and crashing up there.
• A friend from Rankin Inlet came into Kelowna Thursday night. Turns out she lives in Oliver (for now) and that’s only 1.5 hrs away!! We were friends, though not super close, up north, but I tell you… was it ever good to spend time with someone who knows what it’s like up there. Who shares a little bit of that part of my life. Who knows how hard it can be. I think that’s why I still monitor the northern bloggers via facebook, blogs (to an admittedly lesser degree) and twitter. Shared experience, you know?
• Are chestnuts deadly to dogs? I hope not… I took the pup for a walk/play downtown over the weekend, and we started playing fetch with chestnuts. He didn’t eat any of them, but it occurred to me as we drove back (and as he munched happily on the hard shell) that maybe they are toxic to pups. Anyone know?

That’s all for now… trying to get back on a 3x weekly blogging schedule. It seems since I have more reliable access to phone lines, I’m not much of a blogger. It used to be the blog were my main line of communication with friends and family. Now I actually talk to people again, and I guess the side effect is that I don’t feel like I’m bursting with a need to vent as much anymore.

And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that means I’m happier

So I’m back from Mexico. For all those who are interested and/or care we (Robyn, Andrea and I … “the condiments” for future reference) stayed at the Catalonia Yucatan / Maya in Puerto Adventuras in the Mayan Riviera.

It was a great time, wonderful to catch up with those girls. It’d been almost 2 years since I last saw Robyn. She’s living in North Carolina now, going to school… and with me living up north it seemed we could never co-ordinate a visit.

The week was mostly spent on the beach. Reading, drinking, photog-ing, witty banter-ing. Also: snorkeling and touring. We were just 30 minutes away from some Mayan ruins (Tulum) and surrounded by the second largest barrier coral reef in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef). Killer location, that’s for sure. Though we were in a really tightly gated community (called Puerto Adventuras — they say it’s a town, but it’s not really. It’s a bunch of condos and resorts off the highway an hour and a half from Cancun), and I wasn’t so keen on that. Oh well. It without a doubt topped Rincon de Guaybitos, where I went last year (see here and here) for location… but I really enjoyed having the freedom to wander around town, mingling with locals. Oh well.

So all in all… a great week. An amazing vacation. And I came back yesterday afternoon with a full weekend ahead of me to recover from my oh-so-difficult week on the beach.

And spent all day Saturday and Sunday cooking.

Jalepeno popper dip,

My dad’s famous Superbowl chilli,

Curried carrot soup.

It was exactly what I needed after spending a week having others cook for me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a picky eater. But a girl can only eat so much buffet food. We were only allowed 3 non-buffet meals at our hotel, so by the time I left I was itching for a home-cooked meal. And now I have food for the next two weeks!

And yes, photos from the Mexcio trip are forthcoming… but I am in the middle of a book, with soup on the stove. So those will have to wait

• I’m in Mexico for those who weren’t on the up and up. I’m here until Saturday, when I begin the trek back home to Kelowna. I’m disgustingly brown and have learned the names of many new alcoholic drinks. Mexico rocks.
• I got water in my ear today when we were at this eco-water park called Xel-ha (Shell-ha) and it was stuck in my ear ALL DAY. For HOURS. And I finally got it out with what I now believe is the BEST method of removing persistently lodged objects from one’s ear. You can find the whole set of directions here but the general idea is you lay on a bed with your head draped over the end. Form a suction cup with your palm and cup it to your ear. Create a vaccum a couple times between your palm and your ear, and eventually the pressure will suck the water right out. Seriously, I tried EVERYTHING to get this annoying little droplet out of my ear. I was convinced I was going to be permanently deaf in my right ear. And now I’m a happy happy girl because I can hear clearly now, the rain is gone….
• I have an embarassing fear of heights/jumping/falling. At Xel-ha, there’s this ‘jump off a cliff’ area that’s 14 ft above the water. I was so excited to do it, part of the “challenge yourself Jackie” quest I’m on… Let’s just say it didn’t end with me splashing in the water. I spent a good 20 minutes freaking out over the whole thing, made one of the condiments come up to the top with me before calling it all off and doing the walk of shame back down to the bottom. Some day.
• I took an amazing photo of a parrot today. I’m amazed with this shot. And I didn’t even do anything to this photo. No crop, no post-production editing etc etc. Mini spy camera just takes photos that are THAT SHARP. I love that little dude.

  

Once upon a time I was very very VERY excited about the Olympics coming to BC.

I started buying the glasses from Petro Canada. I began collecting Olympics gear (current stash: travel mug and tshirt). I was ecstatic to be in the same province at the same time as the 2010 games.

And don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s an awesome thing, but admittedly that feels like years ago, not months.

And a lot has changed since then.

First of all, the CBC – for the first time since the mid-90s – doesn’ t have the broadcast contract for the games. CTV bought them for the tidy sum of 90 million dollars. And while that means nightmare-ish consequences for coverage of the games (so many ultra strict rules. For example: TV can only use 6 minutes TOTAL of Olympics images EACH DAY), and means I likely won’t be present at ANY of the events or festivities. But I actually feel okay with the fact that CBC didn’t drop 90 million on three weeks of sports coverage while laying off hundreds of employees.

But secondly, and probably most importantly, the Olympics AREN’T in BC. They are in Vancouver. It’s not the “British Columbia Olympics” it’s the “Vancouver Olympics.” And I don’t think I quite grasped how important that distinction is  until I moved here. Right now, the provincial government is not doing too great. Billions are being spent on the games, but at the same time, the education and health systems are dying. Yesterday 800 junior Vancouver teachers were given warning notices that they jobs could be in jeopardy. Health care workers are being laid off left and right.

All of which is so very bizarre to me. Back home, (“back east” as they say here) they’re hurting for teachers (or at least used to be — I assume there’s still a shortage because friends of mine are getting hired right out of university) and they’re desperate for nurses.

So there’s a lot of animosity between Vancouver and “the rest of BC”, which feels like it’s being stripped of essential services to pay for a three week party, when most people can’t afford or arrange to go. And it’s not just Vancouver vs. BC. It’s Vancouver vs. Vancouver too.

I find it all quite sad, and really quite revealing. I wasn’t old enough during the Calgary Olympics to remember it in any significant way. So I have no past experience to base this on.  But I do wonder if this much Olympic hatred is par for the course.

I always thought of the Olympics as a great nation-building, collective experience. That during the games, the country comes together in spirit, in support of young athletes and their triumphs. That’s ESPECIALLY true of the Winter games, because let’s face it, we suck at summer sports (that’s cuz we’ve got hockey and curling on the Winter docket but lacrosse just never caught on in the Summer games). Who doesn’t remember the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City when both the men and women kicked ice hockey BUTT. I don’t even LIKE  or WATCH hockey, but I saw both finals and remember the huge surge of pride I felt when we won.

So it’s a tad depressing to field all the anti-Olympics phone calls at work. And read all the hate comments on CBC.ca. It’s like we’ve all become so cynical. We’ve all forgotten what this is supposed to be about — or what it COULD be about. Yes, the timing sucks: We are still recovering from the recession. And obviously the province is suffering from a lack of funds…

But what’s the problem with appreciating this for what it is: an incredible opportunity.

Maybe I’ve forgotten to take off my rose-coloured sunglasses once I came indoors. But come ON. It can’t be ALL bad.

I am NOT a graceful skier.

I am NOT one of those people who came out of the womb wearing skis (ouch), who glided their way gracefully out of the hospital and directly onto the slopes.

I am NOT one of those people who schoop, schoop, schoop down the mountain. Skillfully coming to a controlled stop at the bottom of a hill, spraying a fine layer of powder over the back of their skis.

No, when I put on skis, I instantly become Bambi. Bambi on ice, awkward legs splayed in opposite directions. Tied up in knots, skidding out of control… before inevitably crumbling into a confused heap in the snow.

I am SUCH a painful skier. I have no natural talent. I went out to Silver Star with my friend Marie yesterday and it was just a total disaster. I had fun, I laughed my ass off and spent a lot of time rolling in the snow. But I am just NOT good at it. I think my most successful run (okay, let’s be honest: my ONLY run off the bunny hill) was when we got all the way to the top of the Milky Way, where I panicked excessively and barely made it halfway down…

ONLY TO HAVE THEM SHUT OFF THE NIGHT LIGHTS!!! Let me add here that this was sometime between 8-9 PM. And we were NOT the only ones left on the hill. We were stuck in the dark!

There was no way in God’s green earth I was going to be skiing down this crazy hill IN THE BLOODY DARK. So I took off my skis, palmed my poles, and scooted down the mountain ON MY BUTT. It was great. It took for freaking ever, and I think I brought most of the mountain down with me… but seriously? It was the only way.

Of course, I’m only realizing now that I look at this map of the mountain that Marie was EVIL and took me on a blue-square run. Not a happy green circle, AN ANGRY, EDGY BLUE SQUARE.

No wonder I was freaking out over the steep decline, no wonder it took me bloody forever to do my wide sweeping turns. No wonder my legs were burning red firey lactic acid.

On the upside: I did (at least part) a Moderate run! That’s pretty crazy … and something to be proud of (even if I was the most awkward, pathetic skier on the hill!)

Yah yah, I’m sure y’all are very tired of me talking about work. But let’s be honest: it’s most of what I do these days when I’m not sleeping. So unless you want me to write about my dreams… actually maybe that’s not such a bad idea. They can be very entertaining.

I travel a lot for my job. I would say I average one trip a week right now. That one trip can take me somewhere close, like Vernon or Penticton (about 45-55 minutes away, depending on the driving conditions or traffic) or to the far-away lands of Kamloops (about 2 hours) or even 100 Mile House (4 hours — though I’ve not had to do it yet).

All that’s to say I drive a lot. And I eat out a lot. And I am slowly becoming one of those people who finds little haunts of their own to eat at when in town “on business.”

I try to avoid the fast food joints, splurging (time-wise) on places with good food and reasonably speedy service and

My latest find is Tony Roma’s. This may be a familiar restaurant for some of you, but I’d never heard of it before Monday. So for me, this was a bit of a shot in the dark.

I will be going back. No doubt about it. And there’s one reason why:

THEY.
HAVE.
THE.
BEST.
RIBS.
OF.
ALL.
TIME.

Seriously.

And I say that with a bit of guilt, because my mom and dad make the (now) SECOND. BEST. RIBS. OF. ALL. TIME.

I feel bad Mr. Roma has stripped them of their title. But I really don’t know if these ribs can be beat. They are incredible, meaty, juicy, tangy and — as you only realize once you reach rib number 6 of 8 — a bit spicy.

So yah. If you ever spot a Tony Roma’s STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND RUN INSIDE.

Order up their Original Baby Back Ribs.

You WON’T regret it.

Guys, I don’t know if I’m going to make it.

I think I might very well pass out on the laptop any seczzzzzzzzzzzzz……..

Wha!? Oh. Okay. I’m writing a blog post. That’s nice of me to do after waking up at 5am, getting on the road at 6, driving 2.5 hours, working for 8.5 hours straight without any breaks (including no lunch break because I didn’t have time in-between Newsworld hits) then 45 minutes for supper before driving another 3 hours back home (the roads were TERRIBLE — parts where I couldn’t see past the front of my car) where I now need to do probably another hour and a half’s worth of work AT LEAST before heading back into the office tomorrow morning for 7:30.

By the time I get off tomorrow night at 4:15, that is IF I get off on time (considering I’m going in an hour and a half early) I will have worked 24 hours in a 34 hr period. Oh god, that can’t be right. My brain isn’t working, but I think that math is right.

My god if that’s not insane.

And my god if I haven’t cut my teeth on being a sleep-deprived, overworked journalist in the past couple months.

That’s alright though, right?

I got good exposure today and accomplished everything people asked of me.

And for once they actually used my story online instead of the Canadian Press’  (though, that would have been tricky – the Canadian Press wasn’t there. But they could have just completely ignored it like they usually do).

And I’m building up my journalistic balls of steel.

But man oh man do I need that vacation that’s coming up the week after next. Mexico? You better have a margarita waiting for me when I arrive at 8am on the 23rd.

Love, Jackie.

Wow.

All I can say is wow.

I wasn’t all that sure about posting those two photos and asking for advice, but man oh man am I glad I did. What I thought were ‘acceptable’ photos could have been so much better. And thanks to you guys, hopefully, I accomplished that.

So thanks to everyone who came out with such positive, constructive suggestions. I didn’t get one single “you look like a smelly dog turd” comment. In fact, whenever I feel a little self-conscious I’ll make sure to come back and read your guys’ feedback.

I’ll post the re-shoot below. I did a couple things differently. I shot it against a door (that’s why you see the framing around me). While taupe is a perfectly fine wall colour, as you all noticed it does NOTHING for my complexion. I didn’t even bother taking one with the glasses, thanks to your suggestions. I used an angled lamp to deal with some of the shadow issues, and I tried to smile a little bit more.

I’m hoping on one of my trips to the Vancouver office I might be able to get some real headshots done. Or if the CBC no longer does that, I may very well have to spring for them myself. Amusing to think that a RADIO reporter would need to have a portfolio like that.

Anyways, just a little thank you to everyone who commented and voted. I couldn’t/shouldn’t have done this without you!

Hey folks,

So I’m going to be doing stories for the CBC TV on Monday and they needed a photo from me.

I took the two below this evening but can’t decide which I like better. The qualifications are as follows:

- headshot

- “medium” expression (whatever that is)

- neutral background

- professional outfit (as much as can be seen)

They’re basically the same photo, one with glasses. One without. I guess the non-glasses has a bit more of a ’smile’ to it.

So let the voting process begin! You can either leave a comment with an explanation or fill out the poll below.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Want to take a test that will tell you if you are a young’n or an old geezer?

Okay, click ”play.” Make sure your speakers are on.

Did you hear anything? I did! And so did the pup, haha. When I played it for the first time, he jumped up from chowing down on his little rawhide bone and stuck his nose as close to my computer speakers as I would tolerate.

This is the same noise those Mosquito devices emit. Apparently it’s only audible to people under the age of 25.  Personally, I really don’t find it THAT annoying (and frankly I’m surprised I could hear it — I always considered my hearing to be kind of shotty)

But people say they work, so who am I to judge?