Charm’s Neighborhood

I've spent a lot of time on my blog and other places online talking about Ed and Fru. I was thinking about it a while ago and I realized that I rarely ever come out and talk about just Isis, even though she's a huge part of my life. In the last year or so, she's played an even bigger role in my happiness.

When I first got Ed and Isis, I remember being disappointed about how unattached I felt with them. I wrote a blog post about it here and I got a lot of great feedback about how loving pets can take time sometimes; it's not always instantaneous. Everyone who said that was right and I'm really thankful for their help. Isis is one of those kitties that took a while to warm up to me-- much longer than Ed. And in all honesty, the wait was completely worth it.

Shawn, Beth, and I noticed that there was something a little "off" about Isis when she first came to live with us. She was terrified of everything. Even for a kitty, the horror in her eyes every time someone walked past her seemed excessive. We all watched her carefully and then came to the conclusion that she was most likely abused by one of her previous owners. As far as we knew, she had at least two previous owners, but there could have been more. The way she ran away from people and ducked her head whenever anyone would make any quick movements made me feel like she had once been struck by someone-- most likely a male since she's always had a greater fear with them. I know that not all kitties are warm and cuddly (I've been around a lot of cats in my life), but the feeling I got when I saw the fear in Isis' eyes told me something extremely bad happened to her in her past. Knowing this made me determined to help her feel comfortable in her new life.

I first started noticing a change in Isis when I took her (and Ed) to the vet for a checkup about two years ago. Ed was pretty calm, but as usual, Isis was terrified. I gently picked her up and held her the entire time she was there. It was the first memory I have of her clinging to me because she felt protected and safe in my arms. I remember how I couldn't stop smiling. Shawn even mentioned that Isis and I were having a "bonding experience." Ever since that day, I've felt a deep connection with Isis.

Since then, she's been slowly becoming more loving. I took advantage of that change and started to "work" with her more often. When she was really young, she wouldn't let anyone hold her and would claw her way out of a person's arms. (I have a scar to prove it.) I decided to take baby steps with Isis to help her understand that being held was a good thing. Every day, I would slowly pick her up and take her over to a window where we could watch the streets outside. I would talk to her in a very soft, soothing voice (very non-threatening) so she knew that I was still there with her. I figured that the movements on the steets would distract her enough so she wouldn't concentrate on the fact that I was holding her. Sure enough, Isis became used to being held by me. After a while, I was able to hold her for an infinite amount of time. In fact, I'd have to say that she now gets sad when I have to put her back on the floor after holding her.

These days, Isis is very relaxed. She's still afraid of almost all strangers (like a lot of kitties are), and most men. However, her attitude and mannerisms have changed to an enourmous extent with the people she's familiar and comfortable with. Isis no longer runs away when people are walking towards her. She doesn't duck her head quickly if people around her are moving their arms or moving objects around her. When Shawn and I walk in the door after being out for a few hours, she stays asleep in her kitty bed in the main room. If anything, she might look up at us to acknowledge our presence... but she doesn't run to a hiding place.

Whenever I'm asleep and Isis sees me curled up under my comforter and another very soft blanket I always use, she hops up on top of my stomach and falls asleep there. A few days ago, I woke up and was able to get off the couch without waking her up-- she stayed in the same spot, sleeping, for over ten hours! Most of the time, she's purring happily whever she's sleeping. And if I don't cuddle with her in the morning, which has become a routine for the two of us, she comes up to me later in the day and gives me sad mews to let me know she wants some cuddles.

Having two kitties who are so different from each other is amazing. Ed is friendly with everyone and is very sociable. Isis has grown into a kitty who chooses who to love, and if you're chosen, you feel like you are the most important person in the world. That's exactly how I feel whenever I'm with her. It was difficult for a long time for me to grasp the idea of Isis being calm and loving, but seeing her so happy every day has made her overall happiness a normality. I couldn't be more grateful for her and the fact that she's overcome whatever pain she experienced in the past. Her ability to move on and be happy has made me happy.

Next time you bitch about how it's now a law in Quebec to have winter tires between December 15th and March 15th, there might be a reason for it. I should mention that this photo was taken on December 8th, a full 24 hours before the 35cm of snow that the Montreal region received on December 9th.

This is probably the most unique car in ditch poses I've ever seen in person. 

This morning I took the three kids to watch the Olympic Torch relay as it passed through town on it's way to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Before you think I'm the best dad ever, just to let you know I did totally lose it on them getting everyone ready and out of the house on time. In the end think we got there 5 to 10 minutes before the relay arrived.

It was pretty exciting to actually see the flame coming down the street. We have been watching the daliy updates on the local news so I think with ET being the oldest he understood what was going on.

I'm glad we saw it at the town hall since with the kids being so young I think just watching along the route would have been too quick for them.

I was hoping that we might have seen some of the mascots as they are super cute and kids would have enjoyed it but they probably save them for the big end of day celebrations. Or not since they seem to be currently on tour in British Columbia. This weekend I'll try to make some folded paper mascots with the kids.

When the relay arrived the crowd of course swarmed and left us on the outside so quickly (because I knew this whole was just going to last a few minutes) I put Carts on my shoulders, put a foot up on the carriage and balanced ET up on my knee so they could see the flame. I would love to see a photo of that, I must have looked crazy.

And like that it was over.

The boys seemed to have enjoyed it but noticed people had little Olympic flags and like a Norwegian Blue were pinning for the fjords wanted one (we did do an arts and crafts before bedtime and they made there own). We went in the city library to see if they had any but unfortunately they were all out. They had refreshments but the boys didn't want any so we started walking back to the car.

On the way back I noticed the relay bus was parked around the back of city hall and some people were milling about. So I headed over. I'm glad we did since one of the relay runners let the boys hold a torch and posed for a photo. Best advice I can ever give my kids; you want to meet someone after an event, run the around back.

I even got AR in there so she can't come back in 20 years and ask why she wasn't in the photo; even though she just started standing up last week not holding onto anything. Dad's still one step ahead of you kids.

While it might not be something the kids remember when they are grown, it was a fun event for them in the short term and as a parent you get excited to see your kids excited. When I picked up ET at school today he had two drawings of the mascots holding Olympic torches and he told me how one of the torch bearers had visited the school today as well and talked to his class. It's still strange for me when he recounts things that happened that I wasn't there with him for. You get excited because he's growing up and sad since he doesn't need you around.

And of course the last time the torch came to town was in 1988 for the Calgary Winter Olympics games and who knows the next time we'll get a chance to see it.

Plus I have to thank my boss Cindy for letting me take the time off work.

it seems that many of us are too rushed to appreciate each day...we're so  busy going off to work, to school, to catch a plane or just simply busy being busy...years back we look forward on doing shorter work weeks and more leisure time...now we're so caught up in speed, gotta have it overnight, and computers that need to respond in nanoseconds, we don't take the time to appreciate the basic goodness of life....we are always rushing, i don;t know why or where, but we are always in a hurry....destinations we never quite reach even though we continue rushing to them each day....we become the proverbial dog chasing its tail....life is not a race, and if it were it would be a relay where we work with and support each other rather than compete, and be thankful that you see more of the time to enjoy everyday....bear in mind, what you give attention to grows...so, rather than giving attention to what you don't have, start focusing on and be thankful for what you have...often we live our lives on automatic, taking each experience for granted....we are so focused on the material aspects of life that we lose sight of everything else....be content, give thanks instead of complains, appreciate yourself of who you are and what you have...appreciate others for what they become and what they are to you...appreciation and gratitude gives you a deep sense of peace...so, be more conscious of all the good life has to offer and say thank you.

1. live your life with purpose, don't just do "whatever," or "whatever" might just be what you get
2. develop a compassionate spirit and a loving heart, you will feel better about yourself, and others will feel better about you.
3. be honest and guard your integrity no matter what the rest of the world is doing, they're not the ones who have to live with you - you are
4. believe in yourself and always do what's right, a clear conscience will keep you on the right path
5. be as good as your word and don't make promises you're not going to keep
6. be fair to others, especially those less fortunate, there may come a time you have to walk in their shoes
7. keep a positive attitude and speak encouraging words, you'll hear them rise up in you when you need them, and others will remember them when they need lifting up
8. don't take your natural talents for granted, use them to nourish your soul and to touch lives, and they will be multiplied
9. when you feel discouraged or unlucky, remember the times you've been fortunate, and that knowledge will help balance out your fears
10. remember that what you do today will show up tomorrow, so when you make important decisions think about tomorrow today.

Over the weekend, Lovey and I had the opportunity to go out to dinner as Kiddo was out doing Kiddo things. Our decisions always go a little something like this:

• Should we order in or shower and go out?
• Pasta? Sushi? Mexican? Chinese? What?
• How far do we want to drive?

I really should make a flowchart for us to make these decisions easier.

We decided on go out, Mexican and not far which led us to Talavera in Coral Gables. As you may know, I LOVE Mexican food (Tex Mex also although it's not Mexican) and basically 99% of everything about Mexico. (See also, wedding there in June and lived there for a couple of years.) I even learned to love tacos off the street that I would have previously turned my nose up at. I am plotting a trip to Chicago simply so that I can visit Frontera and XOCO.

It was still relatively early (for Miami) when we arrived at about 7:45pm. While there was no wait, the restaurant was still pulling in a good crowd. They didn't reach a wait while we there, but the steady flow of business was maintained. We were warmly greeted and given our choice of several open tables.

Chips and salsa arrived promptly for us to munch on. Talavera provides two types of chips and two types of salsa. Right, I neglected to take a picture of the chips, but one looked like a flour tortilla that had been cut into smaller pieces and fried and the other was blue corn.

The salsa on the right had a slightly sweet taste to it with a kick. I honestly don't know what was in it. The salsa on the left tasted like tomatillo and cilantro and had a mild spice. Both salsas tasted better with the blue corn tortilla although I'm not sure why.

The menu has plenty of choices and we refrained from gorging ourselves on the first visit. As appetizers, we both had a cup of soup. The cups are normal sized cups with just enough soup. Lovey had the black bean which looked fantastically hearty and tasted just as well. I had the tortilla soup. I will admit that at first glance, I was put off by my soup as it just didn't look anything like I thought it should, but after the first taste, it didn't matter what it looked like. Tomatillo was certainly utilized in the tortilla soup but it gave the soup a light and refreshing quality. Each of the soups had small strips of tortilla and a sprinkling of cheese in them.

Before moving on to the main course, of course we had margaritas!! Lovey had The Original and I had The Ambitious. While I didn't try his, I had my hands full with my own. Let's just say that the bartender makes a damn good drink.

After much indecision, I finally settled on Tacos de Chilorio and Lovey had the Mexico City Beef Tacos, left and right respectively.

Wow!  Let me start with the rice.  I love when Lovey's mom makes rice.  I don't know what she does to it, but it's fantastic.  Talavera is giving her a run for her money.  Each order of Tacos de Chilorio comes with a small side of guacamole which was also quite tasty.  You would think that five tacos is an awfully large serving, but after you eat the first one, you know you'll have no problem finishing the rest.  The pork was soft and delicious.

The Mexico City Beef Tacos are just as delicious.  Although you can't see them, the tortillas are the same size as the ones you see on my plate and they're hiding in that little silver basket.  I don't know if it's the cut of meat or what they marinate it in, but the beef was just plain fantastic and I don't really care for red meat.  Lovey had no problem putting them all away.

I believe the dessert menu changes often as our server explained them to us rather than providing a menu.  The only sadness of the trip was that they didn't have the fantastic sounding churro dessert.  We instead had a chocolate souffle with a scoop of ice cream.  It surprised us with just a touch of spicy, just like it might in Mexico.

The bill came in at the regular price it does when we go out for a meal and have three courses and drinks, so I didn't find it to be overpriced, or even expensive, especially considering that 40% of our bill was liquor.  All in all, it was a lovely meal in a lovely environment and I can't wait to try it out again.

When "Bizarre Ride II the Phardcyde" came out in '92 it was during the height of the East Coast vs West Coast Gangsta rap era so the lusher jazz stylings were a palate cleansing sorbet in the middle of a rich meal of guns, bitches and bling.

Along with artists like Oakland's own Del Tha Funkee Homosapien it paved the way for other "alternative" rap groups like Jurassic 5.

The second album "Labcabincalifornia" was generally a more mellow and sombre affair with themes of dealing with fame, drugs and failed relationships. Released 3 years after "Bizarre Ride ..." the interim period had seen the rise of the darker tinged Wu Tang Clan and RZA's spin off project, the horrorcore Gravediggaz.

The first single off "Labcabin..." was the chopped, ethereal "Drop" which looped a sample of Ad Rock from the Beastie Boy's "The New Style" and  gives the Spike Jonze directed reverse-filmed  video (featuring a cameo from the Beastie Boys) a oddly surrealistic quality.