surrender

I am all about the little guy; I shop at local markets and I rout for small businesses. Today I just gave up on trying to deal with a small company and ran into the arms of the big guy. I just couldn't take it, to much of a hassle!

couple therapy

Money, children and sex are known as the most important factors in marriage and divorce. But no matter how many times and in how many ways you ask your partner whether and when they want to have children or how they are planning to handle their finances, many unpredictable issues will come into play when words are transferred into actions. I think before any of this you should see how you handle your disagreements.

Couples come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all have in common is that they will disagree on many issues. That, in my opinion, is the time to pay attention to how well the two function as a couple. The financial status can change, they may face difficulties having children, or their sexual desires may grow apart over time, but if a couple have the means to communicate, there is a much better chance of them getting past barriers only to find themselves in a stronger relationship. So the next time you have a spat, pay more attention to how you resolve it; I promise you will learn a lot about yourself and your partner and how good of a chance you have in succeeding as a couple.

approach

Monday will be the first day of Robert Picton's prosecution, the pig farmer accused of killing 26 drug addicts and prostitutes in the downtown east side. He buried the bodies in his farm and there are suspicions of cross contamination from the bodies to the meat harvested from his farm.

Around the year 2000 the RCMP was forced to form the missing person's squad which lead to the arrest of Robert Picton. It is expected to be the longest trial in Canadian history. But that is not what I want to talk about. I don't even want to dwell on how someone could be so ruthless; I want to talk about people's views about these women.

Through the years many people worked to change the public perspective on the homeless, prostitutes and addicts, with the motto that These people are not dead, don't treat them like they already are. Things have changed a little. But no matter how small a change it has been, I can't stop thinking how far an advancement it is compared to the circumstances back home. It breaks my heart to see how those in trouble are blamed and persecuted for it. When are WE as a society going to take responsibility? When will WE start the campaign?

recepie

You know how we do that inspirational cooking with whatever there is in the fridge, well, tonight I made something that was so tasty and with such good ingredients I thought I should share.

Ingredients:

1. Broccoli
2. Cauliflower
3. Red pepper
4. Small chopped stew meat (cubes of about 1cm each side)
5. Tomato paste
   
6. Onions
7. Cooking oil
8. Salt, pepper and turmeric
9. Dried spearmint
   

Simmer the onions in oil until golden. Add a pinch of turmeric, salt and the chopped meat. You can also cook the meat and onion and add the turmeric to the water to avoid oil - I usually do this. After the meat is fully cooked add the tomato paste. Reduce until almost no water is left.

Fry the broccoli, cauliflower and red peppers, keep oil to minimum. After they are fried add salt, pepper and dried spearmint. Stir frequently so the spearmint doesn't burn. Add the meat to the vegetables and fry a little longer. Serve with side of fresh tomatoes or greens.

mean

I did the meanest thing! Someone had subscribed to a website using my email address - the address is Shirin at Gmail and a lot of people try to reset the password or use it here and there so I get a lot of other people's reservations or personal emails! After a dozen emails and checking out all the false unsubscribe links I decided to take the next step. I logged in to the website and changed the email address to something very random. Now it's someone else's problem! Cool! Problem solved! Now the new problem is my conscious keeps reminding me that it was the wrong thing to do; now what's a girl to do with that?

the key

It doesn't really matter what kind of a relationship it is, the point is, you need to spend time at it. You need to put your heart into it, literally. And you need to learn how to get through the rough patches and enjoy the great times. I used to distinguish a lot about business, family and personal relationships. But that has changed; now I recognize that they're basically all the same. The distinction is the proportion of the ingredients. To keep your mom happy, your boss satisfied and your significant other involved, you just need to make a small effort to show you care ...

lesbian

I had never thought about it this way, they get to choose which one gets pregnant!

crosses

It appears that many like me were left wondering what's with the crosses and the book? And now finally SFU is doing something about it. The vice president had this to say about it:

For some people, particularly internationally, the crosses were seen to identify us as a private religious institution as opposed to ...

The logo on the left is the Simon Fraser University logo. Another strange thing about it is the Nous Sommes Prets (We Are Ready) on the ribbon. Anyhow, it seems that for the time being we are just getting rid of the daggers. Good start!

syndicated

There's something I don't understand about all of this. Blood rushes through my veins and I can hear my heart beating, but I would still like to think that it's nothing, nothing that I care about. It completely confuses me, why do I care? Why does it matter? So what? There is an alarm that goes off every time, how I'd like to have the switch!

out reach

I don't know if you have heard Aref Baloochi's story (please be aware that the site bears graphic content) or not, but if you'd like to help and would prefer an alternative to the online donation I would be more than happy to put you in touch with a friend who is collecting donations in Vancouver to send over by money order.

2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR