We are all Canucks

15 Wednesday Apr 2009

Posted by in Vancouver Canucks

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I honestly never thought I would be a huge hockey fan. I would sort of pay attention to how the Vancouver Canucks were doing and would watch the occasional game but wasn’t an avid fan of the game. I don’t think it would surprise people that I fell for the game, after falling for a guy (falling might be too strong of word for the guy but not for the game). He was an Oilers fan (yes…I know). He loved the game and loved his team. This was the year they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. With all the excitement he had for the team, I caught the bug BUT when they lost I couldn’t understand why he was SO depressed. Well, I soon learned the next year.

The next season, I began watching all the Canucks games. I rarely missed one. And then we made it to the playoffs….SO EXCITING! So many highlights: the marathon OT in game 1 of the Dallas series and in Game 7 Trevor Linden’s go ahead goal was unbelievable! I will never forget the feeling in GM Place that night. It is nothing I have ever seen or felt before. I was so lucky to have been able to be at the game that night.  There was celebrating for sure that night! Tequila? Why, yes please!!!

Going into Round 2, I knew it was going to be a long shot but there is always hope right? I remember in game 5, when the Canucks skated onto the ice for the 3rd period and almost fell off my chair…where was Luongo? There was a look of horror on people faces around the bar I was at that night. I think maybe that same look of horror was on Sabourin’s face as he knew our playoff hopes were in his hands until Luongo could, well, get off the can! He did great though making 5 huge save before Luongo returned…. only to lose. Playoff hopes dashed. I distinctly recall turning to my friend and saying “Now what?” and “I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do now”. That feeling of excitement, deflated in a split second. I felt so empty. I finally got why he was so depressed after Edmonton lost and we had only made it to the second round!

Not making it to the playoffs last season was tough to watch but I let it go and looked forward to this season. New GM, new team, new direction? There were certainly some amazing stories to come out of this season. Kesler’s rise to MVP. Burrows getting paired with the Sedins and exceeding everyones expectations. Sundin….??? There some horrific times…January anyone? where I turned off Team 1040 giving the Canucks a “time out” hoping they would get their act together. They turned it around and here we are again….back in the playoffs with a Northwest Division title! And so it begins tonight. I feel it in the city. There is a buzz about it. We are ready!!! 

Whatever the playoffs bring this year, I believe and I will forever be a Canuck fan!

GO CANUCKS GO! 

 

Turning 35

15 Sunday Mar 2009

Posted by in life

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Age is an interesting thing. I got this great email forward the other day whichdescribed our views on aging at certain parts of our lives (apparently it was from George Carlin). When we are younger we can’t wait to get older. You are 6 and a half. Never just 6. We “gonna be” 16, we “become” 21. And then as we get older things change. We “turn” 30, we are “pushing” 40, we “reach” 50, we “hit” 70. Then it comes full circle again. You are 100 and a half. The milestone is something to be proud of and excited about again. When we are young we embrace aging but as we get older it becomes harder for us to accept it.

I have been thinking a lot about age lately as I am about to turn 35. The big bad number that now means I am going to be on the otherside and “pushing” 40 instead of being in my early 30’s. I have never had a hard time with birthdays. I have always felt I get better with age. I really know who I am as a person. I am confident in my career. I am surrounded by people who mean the world to me. But turning 35 has thrown me for a loop. I have almost everything I always thought I would have at this stage in my life except for the partner in life and a family of my own. For the first time in my life, I started to question who I am and I really did become a shell of my usual self. I went through the motions of day to day life. I just wasn’t my normally happy self. I let turning 35 get to me.

It seems ridiculous that something like a birthday can have that affect but I guess it happens quite often. I talked to a friend of mine who said she went through the same thing. A sort of taking stalk of where your life is at and where you thought your life would be at. And apparently it happens again at 40. Yah! Something to look forward to!

I have to say though, through this self examination has come some clarity for me. That it doesn’t matter where I thought my life would be at this age but that I am happy with who I am at this moment. That as long as I believe in myself, that all good things will come. I will have all my dreams come true!

So from now on I am not going to say that I am “turning” 35. I am going to “become” 35! I am going to embrace this age and where I am in my life and be thankful for everything I have.

 

The Food Photo Shoot

10 Tuesday Mar 2009

Posted by in photography

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I never thought I would be sitting around a computer screen critiquing the amount of mayo on a burger but here I am. Food photography is actually quite precise and there are a lot of people involved. Marketing people, operations people, food stylists, agency reps, creative people & of course the photographer. Lots of people to get one shot right. People in studio right now…10.

It can take up to four hours to get one shot done but especially a burger shot. We start with a stand in (yes, even food have their own stand ins) to get the lighting and angles right. Then the “hero” dish/burger gets put on set and that’s when the real work begins. More mayo here, less relish there, angle the cheese that way, clip that piece of lettuce. Don’t under promise. Don’t over promise. The food gets serious attention from everyone.

But it can be like watching paint dry. Waiting, waiting and more waiting while the “hero” is being built by our very talented food stylist. And…just had to go to set to make a decision about a chicken strip. I had them change this one piece four times but ended up using the original piece but just angled it to make it look more interesting. Yup, chicken strips can be interesting. Why not?

Ok, the “hero” burger is now on being built so must go work my magic.

Quote of the day: “There is some great bubble action from that glass”.