stress/ flashback/ group or solo

Aug. 27 Stress: I was writing a weekly email and I saved it.  Then the next day I go on it and it’s not there.  I’m annoyed by that.  I wrote like 2 paragraphs for my business email.  I retyped one up.  Now I will use Microsoft Word and type and save it onto my 3.5 floppy disk.

I am going to write the other part here.  Last month my high school friend quit working at my restaurant.  She was there for 1 yr and a half.  Now last week, my other friend who’s been working here for a yr, has quit.  There wasn’t really any sign that she was going to quit.

She has mentioned that it’s far away and takes effort to drive to work, but she’s been here for a yr.  I know it’s not her intention to quit as a way to annoy me.  Look, I’m under a lot of stress from working 6 days a week, and it’s so busy.  I am more easily agitated, but I have to write about it so I can get over it and move on.

Jokes:

Raising kids:  This is from Daily Silly:

"Dad, where did I come from?" asks this 10-years-old. The father was shocked that a 10 year old would be asking a question like that. He was hoping to wait a few more years before he would have to explain the facts of life, but he figured it was better a few years early than a few days too late, so, for the next two hours he explained every thing to his son. When he got finished, he asked his son what prompted his question to which his son replied, "I was talking to the new kid across the street and he said he came from Ohio, so I was just wondering where I came from."

Grand kids: This is from Daily Silly:

One day a boy told his grandpa, "grandpa make a frog sound" The grandfather asked why? The boy said, "Grandma says when you croak we are going to Hawaii."

Me: This kind of reminds me of something I would read in the Pickles comic strips.  It's mainly about an old married couple and their grand son.

http://www.gocomics.com/pickles

Poker joke: This is from Daily Silly:

Six guys were playing poker when Smith loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen comrade, the other five complete their playing time standing up. Roberts looks around and asks, "Now, who is going to tell the wife?" They draw straws. Rippington, who is always a loser, picks the short one. They tell him to be discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse than it is. "Gentlemen! Discreet? I'm the most discreet man you will ever meet. Discretion is my middle name, leave it to me." Rippington walks over to the Smith house, knocks on the door, the wife answers, and asks what he wants. Rippington says, "Your husband just lost $500 playing cards." She hollers, "TELL HIM TO DROP DEAD!" Rippington says, "I'll tell him."

Me: I guess this could also be a marriage joke.

Law joke: From Daily Silly:

Before a burglary trial, the judge explained to the defendant, "You can let me try your case, or you can choose to have a jury of your peers." The man thought for a moment. "What are peers?" he asked. "They're people just like you, your equals."   "Forget it," retorted the defendant. "I don't want to be tried by a bunch of thieves."

Me: This just obviously proves you're guilty.

Aug. 28 Work: Summer is ending.  I know it’s going to be busy all week long, until Labor Day weekend.  I’ve mentioned before long weekends are always busy.

Flashback: I got a flashback now that my two friends have quit working here.  It’s like high school all over again.  My 2 best friends from elementary school and I went to the same high school.  Then they dropped out mid- way.  I know it was not their intention to drop out and not be going to school with me.  Same with my friends at work.  They quit because they don’t want to work here.

This also brings a flashback of elementary school where I was friends with this girl Grace.  I was in gr. 5 and 6.  She was always so needy, ringing my doorbell asking to play because she was bored and lonely.  There’s going to come a time when none of your friends are going to be available.  Like that time I went to Calgary for a few days without telling her.

Aug. 29: I started saying no to her.  I can’t always hang out with her whenever she wants.  I remember this one time she rang the doorbell, and I answered and my friend Leslie was there with me.  As soon as Grace saw her, she was like: “I’ll come back another time.”  If she did get along with her, she would have said: “Hi, may I join you?”

Then like everyday she was ringing my doorbell.  I said no to her because I had homework to do.  I was in gr. 5, there is homework assigned.  I even remembered a time when I was playing basketball at lunch, or throwing hoops by myself.  My little brother was bugging me on how I should spend more time with Grace.  So I said yeah, I will, though I didn’t mean it.  I just wanted him to stop bugging me. 

Doesn’t mean you say you are going to do something, means you are going to.  In this case, you really can’t confirm that I will spend more time with her.  School is always a priority.

School: I remember calling my friends Yasmine (back in elementary school) and Angela, and they said they had homework to do.  So I asked: “How about a little break and talk for a bit?”  After a bit they then can go back to work.

I remember in gr. 12, I did have plans to see a movie with my friends Leslie and Laura, but then I had too much math homework.  It was on a school night.  I have seen movies with them on school nights, but only after I’ve done my homework.

Lessons: My Counselor had told me about when something gets you angry, focus on the lesson from it.  The lesson that my friends quit their jobs.   

1. People come and go.  But if you want to stay in contact with them, continue to make an effort by sending them weekly emails and using Facebook.

Group or solo: I was thinking again about Geri quitting the Spice Girls so she could go on her own solo career.  I thought her solo career was average.  In fact, I think all of the girl’s solo careers were average.  None of them were really big when they each struck out on their own.

I was reading this One Direction: This is Us movie review in the newspaper, and the 5 guys were solo artists competing in The X-Factor.  They didn’t succeed on their own.  They then formed a boy band and then won the competition.  This obviously proves they had to be together to be successful.

Two situations: Does anyone remember the boy band No Authority from the late 90s or early 2000s?

Here’s their 1^st song/ video “Don’t Stop.”  They’re at this kind of car sales parking lot and singing and dancing. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJrdix2mhjE

Here is the 2^nd song/ video “Can I Get your Number?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMjIEjQfqac

“I’m Telling You This”- fan made video of live performances where they perform this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxZJz8cSBTM

Here’s their song “Think’in.”  I like this song because it’s a ballad, but you can dance to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6qXPNmZE5Y

They released an album and then later Josh Keaton quit because he was an actor prior to it, and the record label told him he can’t do acting and singing at the same time.  So he decided to go to acting instead.  He’s a good actor.  He was on Alex Mack as Annie’s boyfriend and he was on Boston Public.  I remember seeing a scene where he argues with a teacher and then goes into a fight with him.

Josh pursuing an acting career:

Pro: He’s an actor and he did have success.

Con: He is missing out on performing with the boy band.

Josh stays in the band.

Pro: He's performing with the boy band for a few years.

Con: He isn't able to act.

However, No Authority wasn’t really that successful.  They never really got international success.  They were only big in the US and Canada.  They only had 2 music videos/ singles and 2 albums.  I think Josh made a fine decision on going with his acting career instead.  I think acting was his true passion before he joined the group.

music video/ George Nozuka/ marriage jokes

Aug. 19 Music video: I found this video by a Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton.  This is a snippet, 1: 41 seconds.  It's good.  Her voice is very powerful and strong.  It's intense and artistic video.  Beautiful cinematography as Melody stands on a hill in dark purple and sings. 

The beat in the beginning sounded something I heard in a car commercial.  You listen to the beat, and you might recognize it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBs4zFVmWEU
Aug. 20 George Nozuka: Hey, does anyone remember this Canadian R&B singer from 2006?  I met him when he came to West Ed mall and I got his autograph on his cd "Believe." 

Here's his debut single/ video "Talk to Me":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ojISSTDTI
2nd single "Lie to Me" video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b1-hRROwdM

3rd single "Last Time":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVn5BHU64MA

4th single "Hurting Child":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_aNmDB_AxE

The first 3 videos are ballads, but he dances hip hop to it.  In the 4th video, he is in a 3rd world country meeting kids.

Floppy disk song: I was looking for music to listen to while I research companies.  I decided to put in "3.5 floppy disk" into Youtube and found this funny song.  I didn't watch the video.  A week later, I decided to watch it.  It's an average video.  I will give points for effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba14uJFvqMs

Day off: I had a good day off.  I did the productive things like researching companies and I vacuumed because my grandma asked me too.  I stayed at home all day and read the newspaper, watched Pretty Little Liars, and wrote my weekly emails.  I also watched some Syfy TV movie trailers on Youtube.  I also washed the dinner dishes.

I worked the past 8 days straight, and it was busy with me running around.  I need to relax.

Aug. 23 Comedy rules: These are my self- imposed comedy rules after I accidentally offended my friend.

1. Try out your jokes first before you put them out there.  Remember The Simpsons ep where Groundskeeper Willy does a stand-up comedy routine, and nobody laughed?  I was thinking: "You should have tried it out first before you tell an audience."  It could be bad like no one laughs or worse like that time that guy sexually harassed my friend.  He thought he was being so funny, when he obviously wasn't.

However, I did break my rule with this one in my news email: "Anthony Weiner: Or should I say Carlos Danger?  lol."  I didn't try it out first, and by all means no one laughed.  It goes to my next rule.

2. Any figure or thing that is public can be made fun of.  Celebrities and news can be good late night fodder.  You know Jay Leno calls Anthony Weiner "the Peter Tweeter."

Aug. 26 Marriage jokes: I got this from Daily Silly:

The wife saw her husband frustrated reading the Marriage Certificate from top to bottom, flip it over, and then read it again... She asked:" Honey, what are you looking for?" He answered: "Nothing dear, I'm just looking for the expiration date for this paper."

Here's another one:

While attending a Marriage seminar dealing with communication, Jack and his wife, Barb, listened to the instructor. "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other." He addressed the man, "can you describe your
wife's favorite flower?" Jack leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "Its Pillsbury isn't it?"

Me: This is more of a dumb guy, than a marriage joke.

Husbands arguing against wives:

Here's another:

Two husbands were discussing their married lives. Although happily married, they admitted that there were arguments sometimes. The Chad said, "I've made one great discovery. I know how to always have the last word" "Wow!" said Sherman, "how did you manage that?"  "It's easy," replied Chad. "My last word is always "Yes, Dear."

Here's another:

Bob: "So, you say that you won the conversion with your wife yesterday."
Joe: "Yes, she came crawling on her hands and knees."
Bob: "Really? What did she say?"
 Joe: "Come out from under the bed, you coward!"

Me: I think I saw some funny sign like: "I won an argument with a woman...in a dream."

Here's another:

Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, "I bet you don't know what day this is." "Of course I do," he indignantly answered, going out the door on his way to the office. At 10 a.m., the doorbell rang, and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box containing a dozen long-stemmed red roses. At 1 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two pound box of her favorite chocolates arrived. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress. The woman couldn't wait for her husband to come home. "First the flowers, then the candy, and then the dress!" she exclaimed. "I've never spent a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my whole life!"

Me: This is more of a prank joke.

Here's another:

A guy gets home, runs into his house, slams the door and says, "Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!" The wife says, "Wow! That's great! I'm so happy! Should I pack for the ocean, or should I pack for the mountains?" He says, "I don't care. Just get out!"

Me: This is a reversal of situations.  You think they're going on a trip together, but he's really kicking her out.

Here's another one:

A beer drinking husband comes home from work, runs into the living room, and flops down in front of the TV. He quickly turns it on and starts flipping through the channels. His wife walks into the living room and the guys says to her, "Wife, hurry up and get
me a beer before it starts!" The wife goes to the fridge, cracks a beer and gives it to her husband. The husband slams down the beer, gives her the empty, and tells her, "Hurry up and get me another one! It's gonna start soon!" The wife goes to the fridge, gets another beer, cracks it open, and takes it to her husband. The guy slams the beer again, gives her the empty, and says, "Hurry up and get me 1 more beer, it's gonna start ANY minute!" The wife, getting upset, goes to the fridge, gets him a beer, cracks it open, gives it to her husband and says, "You know, all you ever do around here is come home from work, sit in front of the TV, bark orders at me, drink beer... The guy, hearing his wife complaining, sips his beer, sighs, and says, "YEP, IT'S STARTED!"

Me: This kind of annoyed me.  When you treat your wife like that, then she's going to yell at you.

job interview/ not taking promotions/ inspirational speech

Aug. 17 Job interview: After work I went on a job interview.  I arrived on time.  I dressed nicely.

I think the interviewer did more of the talking.  I did tell him about myself and previous experience.  He did say there were a lot of replies to the ad, and they picked some who they're willing to meet.

The office was really nice.  Nice desks, arm chairs, paintings, and framed photos.  There is room for growth and promotion.  The pros are the shifts, the pay, and it's close by.

1. Can you do the job?

I think I can.  There is this computer program I haven't heard of before.  It's specific to this kind of work.  Kind of like the Opera program is specific to hotel front desk to book rooms.

2. Will you like it?

I think so.

3. Will you fit in?

I think I do.

Bank: I was trying to access my job profile at a bank website.  It didn't work.  I haven't used it in 6 or 7 months.

Not taking promotions: I was reading in The Globe and Mail about why people don't take promotions.  One reason was that they don't want their peers to be jealous or resent them.  I would say: "Take it anyway.  You worked hard, you deserved it.  You were here for a long time.  If you really want it, take it."  There was this other reason about a guy doesn't want to take the promotion because he doesn't want more money.  If he got more money, then he would have to give more to his ex-wife.  Seriously.

I was thinking how about he is hurting himself by not taking the promotion so he won't give more money to his ex-wife.  It depends on how much more money he's missing out on.  Like he's comfortable getting $50,000 a yr.  The promotion is $55,000 a yr.  It depends on when he retires, but the $5000 over a period of 5 yrs, he missed out on $25,000 extra.  But now I think, he may be giving half to his ex-wife, so he would be missing out on $12, 500.

It also depends on the responsibilities and duties.  For ex. he is a manager of 30 people.  If he gets promoted, he would have to manage 50 people and that is too much for him.

Aug. 18 Circuit City: Does anyone remember Circuit City?  It sold electronics.  According to Wikipedia, it was starting to close down at the end of 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_City

Aug. 19 Art institute of Vancouver: I think I may have mentioned this before.  There was a time back in 2004, I thought of going there to become a filmmaker.  Well I did really want to become a TV producer, but I got rejected from NAIT's TV program.  The website looks really good.  I wouldn't want to go to a school that's out of my province.  I was like 18 and I felt I wasn't ready to go far away.

http://www.artinstitutes.edu/vancouver/media-arts-602.aspx

Self- assessment: Now that I really think about it, I wouldn't.  This is school, and there is a possibility I would fail.  That's what happened when I stayed in Edmonton and applied to NAIT's Graphic Communications program after I got rejected from the TV program.  I was going to quit mid- year at the end of Jan., and cut my losses and get a job.  But my dad convinced me to stay and learn as much as I can. 

Two situations: It's one of those two situations where there is a pro and con to both.

Quit college mid- year:
Con: You wasted money and time that you already put in.
Pro: You can save time and get a job to make money.

(That situation happened to one of my friends who was in the Legal Assistant program at MacEwan.  She quit mid-year and got a job, but I did understand where she was coming from because I went through it.)

Finish the rest of the year, though not graduate:
Con: You wasted 3 more months where you could have been making money.
Pro: Learn as much as you can.  Also it will look good on your resume that you did a year at college.  And I guess when you run into people from high school, you can honestly say you did a year at college.

Aug. 20: I want to add another one.  There was that time I was recommended to go to all the low
classes in high school.

Go to all the low classes.
Pro: 100% guarantee I will pass.  I will graduate.  Just show up, and you will pass.
Con: I won't learn much.  It will be harder to get into college because I will have to to upgrade more.

Go to some grade level classes.
Pro: I will learn something and not have to upgrade as much.
Con: I may struggle and risk failing, and not graduate on time.

In gr. 10, I took Eng. 13, Social 13, Applied Math 10 and Science 10.  It was the easiest yr in school because I didn't learn anything hard. 

In gr. 11, I took Eng. 23 and 20.  I could then get into Eng. 30 in gr. 12.  I took Social 23 in gr. 11, and then Social 20 in summer school.  I ended up taking Social 33 in gr. 12.  I struggled in math and science and barely passed that.

Follow up: At the job interview, the interviewer did say that he liked me and that I didn't have too much experience which can be kind of a good thing.  It's so that they can teach me how to do things their way.  I remember talking to another company on the phone a couple of years ago, and he said that his worker he hired was experienced and was doing her way and not the way the managers wanted it to be done.

I emailed them back and they picked someone else, but will keep my resume on file.

Aug. 20 Inspirational speech: I found this on Yahoo.  "Engineering student gives epic speech to incoming freshmen at Georgia Tech."  Nicholas Selby, an engineering student at Georgia Tech gives a great welcoming speech to the students and faculty.  He was funny and give tips on how to succeed in college: call your mom, do your laundry, start on your assignments right away when it's assigned.  Here's an excerpt of the article/ speech:

Backed by the "2001: A Space Odyssey" theme music, the mechanical engineering student then launched into a motivational monologue, his voice rising as he spoke.

"Our mission as students is not to follow in the footsteps of the astronauts, Nobel Prize laureates or the presidents that graduated before us but to exceed their footsteps, crush the shoulders of the giants upon whom we stand!" Selby screamed. "If you want to change the world, you're at Georgia Tech, you can do that! If you want to build the 'Iron Man' suit, you're at Georgia Tech, you can do that! If you want to play theme music during your convocation speech like a badass, we're at Georgia Tech, we can do that! I am doing that!"

I decided to listen to the 7 min speech as I delete my emails.  It was very entertaining.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/ga-tech-freshmen-speech-video-epic-205115482.html?vp=1

Aug. 21 Work: A worker missed a couple of shifts.  She's been here for a yr and this hasn't occurred before.   Another worker has been sick.

Aug. 25: Another busy Sun.  The worker who's been missing shifts for a week or so isn't here.  She was scheduled to come in today, but she didn't show.  Fortunately, my manager got another server to fill in.

That's good.  When you know there is a high chance that a worker is not coming in, you start preparing to get someone to fill in.  Unlike the Soup place.  Back in 2009, I got a job at Call Centre #3 where I'm working from Mon.- Fri.  I gave my bosses a week notice to get them to replace me.  The next Sat. one of them told me how it was so busy on Mon. because I wasn't here, and neither were Co-worker #1 and #2.

Pegasus vs Chimera/ comparisons/ Thomas Wharton

Aug. 19 Pegasus vs Chimera: On Sat. I was checking what's on TV tonight and I see they
were airing this TV movie on Showcase.  I looked up what a chimera is, on dictionary.com:
"a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail."  I went on imdb.com and it got a bad rating. 

I then went on Youtube to check out the trailer.  Here are some comments:

andres lopez: MATERPIECE!!!!! GREAT FILM

DirEnGay: It seems that the intent of these SyFy original movies are lost on most viewers.

They are intentionally bad movies, because sad as it may sound, there's actually a cult following
for this type of movie and will always be the case. I enjoy watching one or two bad movies also,
and the Japanese ones too like Machine Girl and Robo Geisha. They're not intended to be mindblowingly intelligent and brilliant films, they're made on a shoestring budget with the intentions of going straight to TV/DVD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC95h4zCfHg

My opinion: I guess there are people out there who like to watch bad movies to make snarky comments about it during it when watching with friends, and posting it on the internet.  I mentioned before that my friend Sarah liked Hansel and Gretal Witch Hunters because it was so over the top.  Same with TV shows and movies, you watch it for the train wreck factor.  It's so bad, but you can't take your eyes away from it.

However, I don't like to watch bad movies.  I always have to do my research if I want to invest time in something. 

Kid/ teenager me: When I was a kid and teenager, I always watch movies when it comes on TV.  There are times when I know it's bad, but I still want to watch it for the experience and to say that I saw that movie.  I don't watch movies in the theatres very much when I was a kid.  I love The Baby- Sitter's Club movie.  I got to watch that when it came out when I was 10 yrs old.  lol.

Early 20s: I was still like that when I was in my early 20s.  I was watching bad movies to learn why it's bad and how to write better.

Late 20s: I would say I did start only watching good movies, or watching movies that I was actually interested in.  There are times I will watch a bad movie or something I'm not really interested in, because there is a hot actor that I really like.  That is the only redeeming quality.

These are the reasons why I watch certain movies.

Comparisons:

Innocent person getting hurt or killed over someone else's actions:
The Sausage Factory: The episode where Zack and Gilby get jobs at a video store and Gilby was letting teen boys rent out porn tapes though it's against the rules.

Zack: What if you get caught?
Gilby: I won't.  If I do, I'll say I simply misread the title.

Gilby becomes the assistant manager and Zack wanted the position.  Gilby then lets Zack get the title.  At the end of the episode a man enters and goes up to Zack.

Man: Hi, are you the assistant manager?
Zack: Why yes, I am.
Man: So you're the guy who was letting my son rent out porn tapes!  I'm going to beat you up for that!
Man picks up Zack and about to punch him in the face.

Gilby is standing behind the counter.
Zack: Wait, stop!  It was an accident, it was a mistake!
Gilby: He misread the title!  It won't ever happen again!
Ted comes in and drops off a tape.
Ted: Thanks for the porn.

They're both fired.

Smallville: It was done on Smallville.  Adam Brody (from The OC) was Zack on The Sausage Factory and now he's on the Smallville ep.  His character on Smallville was a victim of a hit-and-run, and he got a partial license plate number.  The car was finally matched to Principal Kwan.  He then confronts Kwan and kills him.

Later Clark does some investigating and talks to Kwan's son who says: "I did the hit- and-run.  My dad knew about it, and he was trying to protect me."  So he killed the wrong guy, though Principal Kwan was about 50% responsible because he was an accomplice in a way.

Desperate Housewives: In the first season, someone wrote a note to Mary Alice and she commits suicide.  Her husband Neil tries to find out who wrote the note, and the stationary leads to Edie.  He takes her somewhere in the woods to kill her, unbeknownst to her.  Edie says that's not her stationary, and it's Miss. Hubers because she's staying at her house.

The Originals: A fall TV show I'm excited to watch is The Vampire Diaries spin- off The Originals.  There was a back- door pilot made when a whole Vampire Diaries episode was about the original vampires like Klause, Elijah, and Rebekah.

Thomas Wharton: I cut out this Edmonton Journal article way back in 2002 or 2003.  He was the judge to the writing contest Postcard Fiction.  Write a 500 words (or less) short story where it mentions the word "scissors" and if you win, you get published in the Edmonton Journal.  I wrote a short story, and no I didn't win.  I was 17 yrs old.  I remember the story vaguely like a guy and a girl are riding on a bus.  The guy's name was Twitch.
 
The article is by Marc Horton.  Wharton has written books like Icefields and Salamander.  He was the writer-in-residence at the University of Alberta.  The article mentions that writers must have discipline.

TW: "This summer I did a writing workshop at UBC and right in the middle of that I had this idea for a book.  It was just suddenly THERE.  I could see it in my mind, exactly how it would be and I became quite inspired.

Usually it starts out as just a vague notion of something and then I explore it and don't quite know where it's going.  It's just working with images and ideas and character and seeing what happens.  It is, sometimes a scary way to work."

He has actually won a lot of awards:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wharton_%28author%29

Omar's advice: I emailed Omar, the writer-in- residence back at Edmonton Public Library.  A month ago I sent him Rain Part 5 and 6, and he said he wanted to read the first 2 parts so he could see if I have taken his advice or rewrote it. 

I emailed him back: "I think there are some rewrites to it, but not so significant that you would actually notice.  There a few lines deleted and new ones added.  I want you to read Part 5 and 6 where it's more different."

Red: Werewolf Hunter: I was looking up Syfy TV movies and they put this one up on Youtube.  It's the full length one.
Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL5-LuOrwHs

It stars Felicia Day, a slayer-in-training on Buffy.  I remember watching this in 2010 and how it wasn't really that good.  It was mediocre.

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2010/11/office-job-red-werewolf-hunter-dialogue.html

Abdulhadi al-Khawaja

I got this from Amnesty International:

Thank you for speaking out for Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who was severely tortured and is serving a life sentence in Bahrain for speaking out for human rights

READ A MESSAGE FROM HIS SPOUSE 

Your compassion and willingness to speak out against the torture and imprisonment of this human rights defender gives hope that the government of Bahrain will release him.

Imagine for a minute, though, that Mr. al-Khawaja was more than the subject of a great injustice following the "Arab Spring" in Bahrain, but a family member, even your own spouse.

Al-Khawaja's wife Khadija al-Mousawi spoke with Amnesty International shortly after his detainment, and shared these words:

"I have lived with ‘Abdulhadi for 30 years; 30 great years. He is my husband, my best friend, my soul-mate and my everything. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment and I hope that the pressure will be so great on the government that they will be forced to set him free."

Read Khadija's full story.

She tells us what it is like to lose your husband to possible life imprisonment, to know that he has been tortured.

She ends by saying: "I love my husband and I am so proud of him, both as a man and a human rights defender."

I'm in awe as I read her words of courage and conviction!
Her unconditional support for her husband's work in spite of the tremendous cost is an inspiration to all of us who believe in justice, who stand up for freedom, and who maintain hope that courageous human rights defenders like al-Khawaja are given their freedom.

Thank you for helping our renewed efforts to urge the government of Bahrain to release Mr. al-Khawaja. 

Sincerely,

 

Alex Neve
Secretary General,
Amnesty International Canada

Post Secret/ my birthday/ West Ed mall

Aug. 11 Post Secret:

"I'm afraid if I leave, I won't be any better or happier... I'm also afraid my kids will hate me.  If I stay, I'm afraid I will hate myself forever."

Me: You should go to marriage counseling with your spouse or by yourself. 

Aug. 13 Milhouse: I got this from Jen on Facebook.  It's "32 Signs you're a Millhouse."  It's funny.  It gives a list with examples like scenes and lines from the show.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/signs-youre-the-milhouse

Aug. 14: I see that my friend Cham "liked" the link.

Aug. 15 Stress: Last week I worked 6 days and I was running around the restaurant, because it was so busy.  This week, it's the same too.  I had to work 6 days.  Writing does calm me down and improve my mood.

My birthday:  Yeah, well at least I got Sun., my birthday off to have fun.  Fri. was supposed to
my day off, but they said they needed me so I decided to work.  I don't have an appointment, so if I can, I will.

West Edmonton mall: On my birthday I slept in until 8am.  I usually wake up at 6:30 am for work, so 8am is sleeping in.  lol.  I go to West Ed mall and arrive at 10:40am.  Here are all the stores I went to.

1. Forever 21- lots of women's and men's clothes.  Affordable, good-looking jewelery, bags, shoes, and makeup.
2. Urban Outfitters- clothes, jewelery, books, ipod cases, and shoes.
3. Rock Port: Shoes.  There's a sale.
4. Fossil- leather bags, ipod cases, jewelery, wallets.  Expensive.
5. Iviva Athletica- little girl's yoga clothes, bags, and yogo mats.
6. Boat house- teen clothes and shoes.
7. Zumiez- clothes and skateboards.
8. Sterling- nice shoes and bags.
9. International Clothiers- cheap men and women's clothes.  $5.99 shirts, and they sell suits.
10. Bootlegger.

11. Stitches- they sell $5 perfume.
12. Jewelery Boutique- nice diamonds and crystal.  There's really good feng shui with this Buddha and water fountain.  There was a statue of a frog with a lucky Chinese coin in it's mouth.  Water is good for prosperity.
13. Mark's Work Wearhouse- conservative , sells bright orange construction clothes.
14. Press'd- the restaurant will be opening soon.
 

15. House of Bags kiosk- sells bags, jewelery, has an Asian influence.
16. Flip Flop Shop- quirky name that sells flip flops.  I have a read in 24 news that flip flops are not good for your feet.  It doesn't support your feet when you're walking.  Try sandals instead.
17. Wind Spinners kiosk- there are these kind of like wind chimes, but they don't make noise.  They move with the wind, and I see an image of a horse galloping and a bird flapping it's wings.

18. No Excuses Perfumes for Less- tried on some perfume there.  I love smelling things.  lol.
19. Fairweather- affordable clothes.
20. Bowring- dishware, decorative items, lamps.
21. TD- I saw that TD is coming soon to the mall in Fall 2013.
22. Target- home decor, coloring books, clothes, makeup, DVDS, books.  That's what I looked at.
23. A&W- I went there and used my coupon to get a free coffee.  I then took a 30 min. break from shopping.

24. Lid Factory Embroidery Kiosk- you can get a teddy bear embroidered.
25. Stokes- nice dishware.
26. Bon Voyage Luggage- it sells bags, wallets, but also perfume too.
27. Bombay- nice and classy furniture.  They're expanding the store.
28. De Serres- the art supply store.  It sells office supplies, backpacks, and toys too.  Fun store.
29. Artemis- this was at the festival at Churchill Square.  It sells nice Asian, East Indian, Egyptian jewelry, clothes,and decor items.  There was a sign that said: "A moment of greediness will ruin your bright future."

30. Alberta Academy of Aesthetics- lots of nail polish.  They do haircuts, waxing on Mon.- Sat.
31. Lustre Studio- is connected to Aesthetics.  It sells wedding dresses.
32. River City Games- board games, puzzles, pool tables, foosball.  I saw a Ouija board for $20.  I played it once when I was like 10 yrs old at my friend Heather's house.  I used to think Ouija boards were so cool and mystical.

Aug. 16:

33. Donna Rose Treasures- nice paintings, sculptures, figurines, home decor items.  This is a really good store.
34. Natasha's Passion- older women's clothing, expensive jewelery.
35. Costa Blanca- renovated to be smaller.  Last time I was there was in 2011 and it was bigger.  (Charm Diamond Centre will be opening beside it where CB was before.)
36. Carlton Cards- selling some Halloween things.
37. Hallmark- it sold lots of Peanuts figurines.  There was Christmas ornaments in the back.
38. Royal Doulton- nice figurines, dishware.

Aug. 18:

39. Indigenous Imports- Aboriginal shirts, nice jewelry, toys.
40. Homestead Creations- figurines of Prince William and Kate, and Lamb Chop stuffed animals.
41. Bellissima: I looked at their jewelry.  The clothes are aimed at older women.
42. Bentley.
43. Addition Elle- I looked at their jewelery.  It's a nice store with good lighting and clothes.
44. Claire's. 
45. Express- nice atmosphere.
46. Pottery Barn- I read in the Edmonton Journal that it opened a couple of months ago.  I finally went in and it sells really nice furniture.  Mainly wooden and classy.

47. Murale- it sells mainly makeup.  I did see hand wash and candles.
48. Anthropologie- it's a really good store that sells clothes, jewelery, books, dishware.
49. Winners.

Emperor's Palace: My family and I went there for dinner.  For a family of 6, it costs $145. 
It was good.  When we got there, the lights went out.  We were sitting in the dark for about
5 min, and then the lights went back on.

My dad was driving, and our car broke down on the bridge.  We coasted off it.  Then turned
it off and started it again.  We had this car for 7 yrs, and we did buy it used.  We did get it fixed
after that night.

Bad wedding cake: I found this on Yahoo.  This bride wants a wedding cake to look like 3 car
tires on top of the other.  It's the one on the right she wants.  I say the one on the right, looks a
lot like 3 real car tires.

The one on the left is what she got.  The left cake looks so mediocre.  I will eat it, but I think this should be used for a kids birthday party.

http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/shine-on/disappointed-bride-offers-botched-wedding-cake-ebay-171906248.html
So You Think You Can Dance Canada: I was reading in the Edmonton Journal that So You Think You Can Dance (America) is on it's 10th season.  It mentioned how So You Think You Can Dance Canada has been cancelled after 4 seasons.  I was like: "What?  It got cancelled?"  I was a little disappointed that it got cancelled, but I think years from now, they could bring this show back.

Reality shows are easier to bring back.  Does anyone remember Scare Tactics?  It was a reality show where they scare people and it was hosted by 90210 star Shannon Doherty.  Years later, they brought the show back and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan hosts.

So You Think You Can Dance Canada:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1267314/

Breaking: Satellite images show a Syria ravaged

 I got this from Amnesty International:

https://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/site/c.6oJCLQPAJiJUG/b.8716835/k.3BB6/Become_a_monthly_donor__variation_1/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?utm_expid=44777695-28._TJUmlkcQ-2XN2dpvC-xkA.1&msource=W1308EDMNA2&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fca.mg5.mail.yahoo.com%2Fneo%2Flaunch%3F.rand%3D1533399788%26cleolblock%3D1 

Dear Tracy,

Do they think we'll forget about the crisis in Syria — that we'll distractedly turn our heads? We won't and we're proving it.

This week, Amnesty released satellite images that detail the widespread destruction in Syria in an effort to put the crisis back on the radar of Americans and the global community.

CNN, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Reuters, AP and others have covered the images and Amnesty's work to document the ongoing abuses committed during the devastating conflict. But we won't stop there.

Help us keep the pressure on. Make an urgent donation so we can continue our innovative efforts to stop human rights abuses in Syria and around the world.

Amnesty has sent its researchers into Syria 10 times since the conflict began three years ago. We have documented war crimes and crimes against humanity. as the country has spiralled into chaos and bloodshed.

As we report on abuses from the ground, our teams in the United States have begun employing satellite images to show the scale of the destruction from above.

The satellite images can only hint at the horror experienced by the people below - the UN reports that over 100,000 Syrians have died, and hundreds of thousands more have been wounded or forced from their homes with nowhere safe to go.

Will you help us keep the crisis in Syria front and center? Donate now and support Amnesty's efforts using technological and on-the-ground research to pressure the global community to end the violence in Syria.

Sincerely,

Sunjeev Bery
Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa
Amnesty International USA

When you can no longer protest

I got this from Amnesty International: 

 http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1770&ea.campaign.id=22244&utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Informz

When you can no longer protest

	Freedom of Expression under threat in Russia

You've just been beaten up. 

This has never happened to you before. It is absolutely terrifying.

If only there was a police officer on patrol to protect you... 

This spring, a small group activists who promote gay rights held a peaceful demonstration in downtown Moscow protesting new and drastically homophobic laws.

Some people didn't like their message, or who they were, and attacked them. The police were there, but just stood by and watched as the activists took a beating.

To make matters worse, instead of arresting the attackers, the police threw the victims of the beatings in jail.

Please sign our petition to stop this injustice.

This incident is part of a broader pattern of repression in Russia.

Ever since President Putin returned to office in March 2012, the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly have been under increasing attack, despite being guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and international human rights treaties to which Russia is party.

• the right of citizens to protest is being curtailed.
• the right to organize has been limited through strict new regulations for non-profits and non-government organizations, and
• activists who dare to stand up for the human rights of lesbian, gay, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and intersex (LGBTI) people risk imprisonment.

Please join me in calling on President Putin to stop the attacks on freedom of expression and guarantee the human rights of all Russians. 


Thank you.

Sincerely,


Alex Neve
Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada