Bellini-induced Brain Freeze

*sigh* Ok, scratch that. I'm not doing the whole "blog reunion" thing. Well...I'll reunite with my blog...but without all the hype I was building up in my little imagination. I've made so many promises on this blog and have made little effort to keep any of them. I do appreciate those who continue to blog, as sporadic as some do. Most of them have better reasons for being unavailable to write compared to me but they still take the time to write. A fave blogger is now the proud papa of 2?! Wow, I've been seriously out of the loop! You would think that after all this time I would have volumes of stuff to write. So bizarre how I feel at a loss for words. It's like when you look forward to seeing a friend after a long week but then once you do get together you sort of forget everything you were going to share with him or her. Awkward.

Reunion Last month was our high school reunion. It was so nice to see so many people from way back when. I thought I had grown a lot since then, but thrown back into the mix I found I was more of the same: shy and reserved as always, and taking a (long) while to warm up. Thankfully, others were also the way they had always been. If not for them coming up to me and starting up some conversation I don't think I would have reunited with as many people as I did. When you say the words "10-year reunion" it feels like so much time has passed, or should have passed. I know 10 years ago I imagined that I would be in a much different place than I am now, and it felt like I had all the time in the world to get there. A common sentiment I heard from a lot of people is that they felt that nothing drastic has changed in 10 years. A lot of us spent most of those years in college, then finding jobs, some of us got married and had kids. But for the majority of those I spoke with...

She speaks! Hm, yeah. I suppose I am long overdue for a post on my beloved blog. *sheepish* My excuse is pure laziness. Quite simple. As some of you may know, another online community has all but consumed my life when I am not out and about...which makes my poor little blog a distant item on my list of priorities. There are days when I feel I'm ready to touch base and blog but then I sign on to that other site and well... Anyway, I'm here right now. Heaven knows I need some discipline in my life. :P I'll try to get you up to speed. I spent an emotionally charged two weeks "back home" in the Philippines in April and turned my back on my darling Calgary Flames as they started their playoff run. Sad to say, they lost, and I came home to a dejected Big Boi posse and no more hockey games for the season. However, I would not have traded those two weeks for anything. It is so easy to "forget" the family you have so far away...the lack of contact goes wi...

GO FLAMES GO! See you all in Round 2. I leave our boys in your capable hands. I've got a plane to catch. :)

Whodathunkit? The Big Flames Fanatics (AKA my siblings and our friends) got together to cheer our boys on against Tampa Bay. In fine form, we had our horns, our thunder sticks, and thanks to Daisy's dad we had COWBELLS! You can never have enough cowbell. It was also a marvelous day because it was our first day of temperatures in the high teens this year. (Weather which was quashed today by a ridiculous amount of snow....which then melted almost completely...but hey, that's Calgary for you!) In my excitement I spent the evening in capris and sans jacket. Thank goodness I never had to regret my clothing choices! So there we were, picture it, 14 of our bestest buds and blood cheering on our beloved hometown boys. There were some scary moments...stupid referees were driving us insane! But in the end we LOST! LOST! The Flames have never lost whenever we have attended a game. Never! It never even dawned me that they could possibly lose. And they lost. And we all sat there, ...

Boogie oogie oogie till I just can't boogie no more My dance instructors have started up a new salsa night in the city. We were lucky enough to come out and support their grand opening. As an added bonus, the venue was a recently renovated establishment I have wanted to check out for a couple of months. All I can say is that I hope they can keep this up. This evening was better than anything I have seen in Calgary thus far. No scuzzy guys, no sticky floors, everyone dressed like the sexy people they are. Better yet, everyone was there to dance , much like how SoHo started out, but since then SoHo has fallen down a couple of notches. The dancing was AMAZING! It was inspiring and incredible to watch. A lot of our fellow classmates were there, as were many of the students in levels ahead of us. If I could progress to their levels I'd be ecstatic. I would love to go every week, particularly since our classes will be ending again for the semester soon, and it will probabl...

Out of control Last week was my annual checkup at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. Or rather, I guess I should specify that it was my fifth annual checkup. My five year anniversary, my supposed start date to buckle down, live my life, and move on as if I am just any other healthy girl on this planet. I didn't get to see my normal oncologist, which I thought was weird. Once a year and he can't even see me? Instead I got a guy in residence and the doctor he's been shadowing (is that right? I don't know how it really goes). I realize that every budding doctor has to start somewhere, but why with me? He doesn't know my history, other than what's written on my charts. Making the best of it he told me what my results were telling him, and I told him what had been bothering me as of late. Chest x-ray came out clear, MRI was a-ok. But THEN they decided to see me again next year. I don't know about them, but I thought this was my final checkup. After thinkin...

Mas caliente que tu "Let's go!" And with that we left our friends with the ever-entertaining French pirate and headed back to our rooms to freshen up. What a group! Some sassy cougars (C and S), a darling small-town wide-eyed girl (J), a good girl (yours truly...or that's how I pictured myself), and a friendly glamazon (L). We were staying at the Occidental Grand Flamenco in Puerto Plata, right in the Playa Dorada complex. Just down the street was Mangu at the old Jack Tar village. The night was young and Mangu was just opening (11pm) and it would not be Puerto Plata if we did not check this place out. The only bar that let locals mix with the tourists within the complex. Enough of the French pirates and the other Europeans. Bring on the Dominicans! Personally, I was uber excited. I was already on a music high ever since we landed, merengue and bachata all around me! Seeing the locals living in the music was an incredible experience. Now I would get to see ...

You can't have it your way here! So somehow I have lucked out and been to Falafel King twice AND I had my favorite calamari caesar at the gas station in the past couple of weeks. I do love me some Mediterranean cuisine. We lucked out on our first trip to Falafel King as they were about to close in 15 minutes. I was not all that hungry, but I had not had a falafel in months and everyone knows I am horrible at denying myself something I want. So there you had it. The prices at the gas station have gone up a dollar across the board. Who cares? I'll gladly pay it for the yummy yummy food. (I would tell you the name of the place, but it is a hidden city gem after all. If you haven't heard about it by now through newspaper articles and such through the years then it sucks to be you! Haha. Besides, we can't have you all rushing over and ruining a great thing. I hate it when that happens.) So good! And yes, my calamari was not in little heart shapes but I couldn...

"Talk at you later" No, folks, I do not actually talk like that. No need to correct me. On Valentine's Day a handful of singletons and I went to -- drumroll please -- a singles event. Yes, I know, great googly moogly, what was I thinking! It was a party put together by one of my favorite clubs. Though their advertising was a little vague I had jumped to conclusions and assumed that it was one of those nifty fetes were they loan you Blackberries to text message potential lurve interests. Not so! Instead, they gave us stickers with a number to slap onto our bods somehow, somewhere. And during the night you could come to the booth and leave handwritten messages for those you were interested in. Yeah, I never bothered seeing if anyone had left me a message. Nor did I leave any messages for others. We were a varied crew. Some were excited about the potential for the evening, some were excited about the assumed Blackberry-ness of it all (oh, the trouble one could get int...

"I said I wasn't gonna lose my head but then 'PoP!' goes my heart" I had to put that there. Music and Lyrics is not a monumental flick by any means but that song has been in my head alllllll weekend. I even went so far as to buy the ringtone for my phone. Man, I'm acting bizarre. :) In other movie news I noticed that John Travolta is starring in a movie alongside Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen. What is THAT all about? *sob* Thanks to Civic I was able to catch the Flames game on Saturday against the Avalanche. And since I was there, of course we won. :) When he was driving me home, however, we had a bit of nervousness as we were being tailed by a drunk driver. Or at least we assumed he was a drunk driver. He was all over the road, and Civic had to take a detour past my house (guy still following!) until we lost him and he could finally drop me off. And after that as I was turning off the lights in the house for the evening a car parked itself perpendic...

Pandora's Box Blogs are a dangerous thing. I spent hours and hours poring over the new blogs he recommended. It probably was not his intention for me to dive so deep into the thick of it all, but curiosity gets the best of me. It's just like how my parents tease me: for a girl with such a flat nose, I can totally stick it in places it does not belong. The more I read the more I recognized the similarities with my experience. I nodded my head in agreement with some posts. At other times I shook my head in disbelief over the immaturity of it all. Aside: I've been observing A LOT of immature behaviour between couples as of late. Is it good that I am recognizing these ahead of time or would I not see it myself when placed in the same situation? Anyway, I digress... He wants me to see his side of the story. I know that's why he had me read all those things. Do I tell him what he wants to hear or what I think he ought to hear? He needs to know the truth. I deserve ...

Happy Valentines Day! I hope that you all have an uber fabulous day with those you love. It's like Christmas all over again, but I love the color scheme so much more :) And who can say no to chocolates, champagne, and flowers? Not I! Love you all!

Double dutch I think tag team dating would be a very good idea some days. But then again, it didn't work out the one time I tried it out. A long time ago, in a neighborhood not so far away, I met this guy. I thought he was great and we had lots to talk about...almost like a really good friend. That should've been a clue right there. So finally we decided to meet up and go to a nearby mall (we were both going to the university at the time). We'd seen pictures of one another before, so I can't say that I was surprised. Unfortunately, something just wasn't there. At least for me it wasn't there. And thusly we remained friends. But what struck me as incredible was that a lot of his travel experiences and musical tastes reminded me of another good friend of mine. A female friend. So, you know, a light bulb went off over my head. I think I went about it the right way. I asked them both if they wouldn't mind me introducing them to one another. Neither obj...

For that special someone Cupcakes! Yeesh, I almost forgot how elusive they were last Valentine's Day. If only someone were devoted enough to nab me one (or two)! Yummmm, what I wouldn't give for one right now, even. Too bad Crave is closed on Mondays. This semester's salsa class has another salsa ace. I love following his lead, it's obvious he's done this before. Whenever it's our turn to practice together he tries out some new ideas to see which ones I think work best (they may not be the conventional techniques, but I personally think the suggestions I've made make his leads more clear.) We talked about where he's gone and danced in the city and such, both of us realizing we'd learned salsa previously. So I asked him why he was taking a beginner salsa course (after I told him about how this was Civic's first time). Turns out his girlfriend hadn't taken salsa yet. *sigh* I knew he came with a certain girl each week, but there was al...

"I want you to want me, I need you to need me" It's true. Whenever I or one of my siblings are in the Saddledome watching the Flames play they always win. I think they should give us season tickets since we're such lucky charms for them. :) They can't afford to not have us there rooting for them. Iggy's back in the game. I love me some Iginla! His first game back Weird Kid lucked out with rinkside seats! He's got some amazing pictures of my Jarome. Unfortunately I had salsa class that night, but Iggy still put on a fantastic show on Saturday when I was there. The CPBA season ended today and due to a twist of fate at the end of last week's game the best that the Phenoms could vie for was 3rd, which they earned. It didn't seem like they even wanted to bother with today's game but I'm very glad they did. I finally got around to watching Scarface tonight. Weird Kid borrowed it from a coworker. All these years I've shrugged it off...

I know what boys like Ok, I don't really. I just find that song catchy. Guys say they can't understand us, but of course the same is equally true of themselves. Our little urban singleton family helps to break it down for one another but still...there are never any hard and fast rules with either gender. It's always "just speculation." So that whole previous paragraph is devoid of any substance. But here's an example of how unpredictable things can be: I run into my favorite on the train. Great way to start the day! It was all just chit-chat but it was effortless and good times and it was so good to see him again. Now here's the rub: we were already planning to get together two days later. Two days later comes and we get to see one another again, this time it's planned. What happens? I have no clue! All I know is, all of a sudden, we're all awkward and the conversation keeps falling on the floor. Ugh. What was so different between then ...

Bachelor no. 1: If I were an Oreo cookie... I just don't get it. I went out with one guy and I behaved one way. I go out on a date with another guy and it's like I'm a completely different person! It's a total Dr Jekyll and Ms Hyde thing going on (except, you know, not hideously ugly and violent). Why can't I be the same "Leah" with both of the guys? Am I being fake with one and sincere with the other? It doesn't feel like it! *checks herself* Will the real Leah please stand up? What makes it even more sad is that I wish I could be the second version of me when I'm around the first guy. Truth be told guy A was my favorite. Still is (especially the more I meet other guys). Guy B...well, I know what he's about. I don't want to keep up that kind of relationship. But then why am I a more fun Leah when I'm with him? Am I in denial about which guy I really "click" with? Truth be told I shouldn't even bother choosing...

A rose by any other name... Remember Gagandeep? I know this is going to sound racist any way you look at it but...surely they realize how their names come across on an English tongue, right? I know it's a cultural pride sort of thing...but seriously. Today the siblings and I were at a local retail giant (how's that for obscure?) and met a young man working the customer service end of things. His name? Hardon No lie. If only his name was hyphenated. And in relation to Gagandeep: what if Hardon had a surname such as Mandeep or something? Alright, I'm seriously crossing a line here, I know, but surely a surname such as Mandeep is not completely unlikely. It's wrong to make fun of his name, I know, I know. But can you imagine the kind of customer comment cards you could write? "Your Hardon is excellent." "I wish all staff I have encountered were as impressive as your Hardon." "I would highly recommend your Hardon to all my friends." Al...

"All in!" I've never bet all in on a poker game before, but there's always a first time for everything. Last night we had our annual staff party and he was there again. Him. The cuuuute software rep that flies in from Toronto every year just to join us. And dare I say he remembered me! *swoon* But then again, I guess that's his job. :) Also in attendance was my favorite cougar in the whole wide world. Yay! Unfortunately, "networking" did not work out so well. So there I was, schmoozing with the reps and my colleagues when I spotted my favorite cougar (we'll call her FC) and worked my way over to her to say Hello. I had not seen her in a couple of months. They had re-zoned her area and she was no longer our rep. I missed her visits...she's so funny. Turns out that our new rep had a family emergency and ta-da, FC was there to take her place for the evening. As luck would have it, FC and the hottie rep were together chatting with some of m...

Salsation! My crew of future salsa fiends has expanded to a group of three! Now we have 2 salseras and uno salsero ! Yuppers, Flag Girl, Civic and I have taken up another salsa course. I know Flag Girl already caught the bug during the last course but hopefully now that we have a guy to practice with we can move on from the beginner level and on to new and sassier things! Last week was the salsa drop-in class and it was so nice to be back in the studio regardless of the redundancy of the material being taught. This way Civic could give it a try without really committing to anything though I figured he wouldn't bow out. I miss all the other dancers and our fabulous instructor...just that whole salsa vibe going on. It was so great to be there once again. Unfortunately, this time around I don't get my favorite instructor, but the lady instructor is just as good...it just takes a minute to get used to different teaching styles. And grandpa salsa was back to help out! Dare I ...

Jumpstart I'm hoping to get more blogness going on in here. I do miss writing. The past two nights I spent moonwalking through my blog. I was notified of a new comment but could not see where it was posted. So, me being the overly curious sort went on a thorough search for it. I reversed myself all the way to September 2002 and did not find it anywhere. And then lo and behold it was on my very latest post. Go figure. :) But it did get me reminiscing a lot. A lot has happened in the years I've had Bellini-induced Brain Freeze. It makes me feel good that, although my life isn't quite where I expected it to be by this point (ie. travelling, children, etc.) I have still accumulated my fair share of stories. My writing is a lot more stilted now than it used to be and that saddens me. Yes, my stories were verbose but I felt they represented me a whole lot better than the shorter memos I've been posting. I'd really like to change that. That, and I miss all the c...