GOLD...
>> Sunday, February 28, 2010
17 days... 14 gold... millions of amazing memories. Canada... you did me proud.
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 10
This is the last post for my "Where in the World is Quatchi" contest... I will announce a winner early next week!
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
Hey USA... How Do You Like These Apples?
>> Saturday, February 27, 2010
* You can click on the picture to make it bigger.
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 9
>> Friday, February 26, 2010
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
Why YES, Women's Hockey IS Real Hockey...
As a friend put it so eloquently the other night... opinions are like assholes - everyone has one.
I am a firm believer that everyone is allowed to (allowed is not the right word, but I hope you get my point) have an opinion... but ignorance - well I can't overlook that.
Last night a former Facebook friend wondered in his status update what he would do when Canada won a gold in hockey, since he had a hangover from celebrating the 7-3 quarterfinals win in men's hockey the night before.
I politely let him know that Canada, in fact, had just won a gold medal in women's hockey not an hour earlier.
To which he replied with something along the lines of "I should clarify... what am I going to do when Canada wins a medal in REAL hockey".
That's when I lost it. Real hockey? Seriously? So many freaking swear words came out of my mouth it wasn't even funny.
These women have been a team for TWO YEARS... not TWO WEEKS. They have played over 50 games AS A TEAM leading up to the Olympic games. They played their biggest competition IN THE WORLD and WON in a SHUTOUT!
And this isn't real hockey? It isn't Canada's fault that the rest of the world hasn't caught up to the standard set by North American hockey... THEY WON A GOLD MEDAL!
I look back to the evolution of men's hockey in the Olympic games... seems to me that back in the day it wasn't uncommon for the smaller teams to be spanked... and now team like Switzerland are on the verge of major upsets. It has taken decades to get to this point. Decades. Women's hockey has been on the international scene for 1990. That's 20 years people. 20 years. I think we need to support the development of women's hockey rather than belittle the work that Hockey Canada and USA Hockey has done in their development.
I don't care if you don't like watching women's hockey - it is a different game. But to say that it isn't real hockey - that is ignorant.
And ignorance results in a loss of me as a friend.
And yes, it is a loss. I am a damn good friend. And a damn proud Canadian hockey fan.
The Canadian Women Continue to Lead the Way!
>> Thursday, February 25, 2010
*You can click on the picture to make it bigger. And no - we didn't send half a man and half a woman to the Olympics - I had to figure out how to credit the men with the Scott Moir portion of the Ice Dancing gold medal, and Tessa Virtue with the other half!
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 8
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
If you are a Quatchi-lover (like me... and not in gross way - get your minds out of the gutter)... you HAVE to (as in click on the link RIGHT NOW!) check out the Quatchi Kid. Is it wrong that I want to take this kid home in my pocket??
If you know of great Quatchi blogs/websites/fan pages let me know... there are still lots of Olympics left for me to post them for the world to see!
The Canadian Women are Showing the Canadian Men How It's DONE!
>> Wednesday, February 24, 2010
You can click on the picture to make it bigger...
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 7
>> Monday, February 22, 2010
If anyone even mutters the word Brodeur near me today they are liable to lose a very important part of their anatomy...
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
Oh... and one of the rules that I just decided on now (you can check the official rules - I can totally do this!) is that you can't change your vote... first vote counts...
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 6
>> Sunday, February 21, 2010
Yes... I know it is actually Day 9 of the actual Olympics... sue me.
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 5
>> Friday, February 19, 2010
Sorry guys... I was recovering from a massive heart attack last night when Canada decided to screw the pooch and go to A SHOOT OUT with the Swiss in men's hockey... I swear... they are trying to kill me.
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
In other news... I am finally in possession of a bobsledding Quatchi!! He isn't in a wrapper... but at this point - I don't care! The McDonald's employee was very apologetic that he didn't have his instructions... little did he know I was weeping with joy that I had actually found him (without stealing one of the display units - which was honestly my next plan of attack... and I still may do it to secure one for @Kimli).
The Sisterhood of the Norwegian Curling Pants
>> Thursday, February 18, 2010
If you aren't watching curling at the Olympics, you have to start. I mean seriously - tune into a Team Norway men's game and take a gander at these...
Even Microsoft has proclaimed their love of the pants on bing.com...
And, if you really feel the need to get into Norway's pants (so to speak of course)... you can buy yourself a pair - for a steal at $89.99!
In a sport where a team's uniform is of no advantage/disadvantage to a team's record - I say go for it! Make a statement! I love it!
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 4
>> Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Okay... I missed a day... but I had a splitting headache. I blame all the cheering I have done in the last few days.
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
A shout-out to Quatchi Watch who highlighted my contest in a blog post!! Thanks!
Olympic Proportions...
In the past 24 hours I have been to:
- 9 different HBC stores (5 Zellers, 2 Bays and 2 Homeoutfitters)
- 3 different Walmarts
- 14 different McDonalds
In the past 24 hours I have procured:
- 4 pair of red mittens
- 2 happy meal toys that I didn't have (the figure skating Miga and the hockey goalie Quatchi)
- 1 happy meal toy that I already had (damn Quatchi luger)
- 1 Sidney Crosby McFarlane figurine
In the past 24 hours I have:
- confirmed the fact that I have some of the most awesome Twitter friends... I've been searching for a scarf for two (to no avail - yet) and I have another Twitter friend looking for the skiing Sumi for me (and she found it and is mailing it to me!!).
- watched about 14 hours of Olympic coverage. No lie. My eyes are going square.
- stood and sung the national anthem in my living room as Maelle Ricker got her gold medal.
And I still need:
- the bobsledding Quatchi (and possibly the skiing Sumi Yay for Kimli - she's sending me a skiing Sumi!!!)
The things I will do for the Olympics...
I'm going to need a holiday when this is all over.
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 3
>> Monday, February 15, 2010
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
If for some reason you can't comment on this post... feel free to tweet me your guess at @carmenincalgary.
Where in the World is Quatchi? Day 2
>> Sunday, February 14, 2010
Check out this post for more on the "Where in the World is Quatchi?" contest.
Canada Wins Gold!
Alexandre Bilodeau has the honored distinction of being the first Canadian to win gold on home soil... an event that *may* have made me cry (that is after I moguled down the hill with him from my couch - that really should be looked at for an Olympic sport for 2012)...
You all NEED to go watch this piece on Alexandre and his brother... these are the stories that make an Olympian an Olympian...
Congrats again to Alexandre Bilodeau and the rest of the Canadian athletes - you're making us proud!
Where in the World is Quatchi?
>> Saturday, February 13, 2010
I have decided to have a little contest on the old blogerino... a "Where in the World is Quatchi" contest to coincide with the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver (every time I write that I imagine Jaques Rouge saying in like wan-couver when he announced we won the games a few years ago... but I digress).
Every day (hopefully) I will be posting a picture of Quatchi somewhere in the world... and you have to guess where. The person at the end of the Olympics with the most number of correct guesses will win...
Drum-roll please...
A pair of the coveted 2010 Winter Olympic red mittens!
So... here is your first "Where in the World is Quatchi" picture... be sure to leave a way for me to contact you in your comment and I will tabulate all the correct answers at the end of the Olympics!
Good luck!
The small print. Winners must post their guesses on each post by midnight PST on February 28, 2010 to qualify. Other than that all the rules that I make up are in my head at the moment and are subject to change whenever I feel like changing them. Please also note that I will mail out the mittens the cheapest way possible, so, knowing CanadaPost, you may have these cute mittens in your hands to celebrate the next Olympic games in London 2012. Cause mittens are oh so useful during a summer Olympics. Hint for those that actually read this far.... Quatchi is visiting past Olympic sites around the world.
Canada... Poetry Slam Style...
"We Are More" by Shane Koyczan
When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we've got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world's anthem has been
"been there done that"
and maybe that's where we used to be at
it's true
we've done and we've been
we've seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don't forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say "eh?"
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we're more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you're welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like "someday"
someday we'll be great
someday we'll be this
or that
someday we'll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday
we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don't have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don't all know what it is in life we're looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you've been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can't wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
"keep exploring... we are more"
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it's true
Canada is the "what" in "what's new?"
so don't say "been there done that"
unless you've sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don't say you've been there done that
unless you've been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you'll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn't pack for the first time
but don't let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what's more
is that we didn't just say it
we made it be.
A Happy Torchbearer...
>> Friday, February 12, 2010
THE OLYMPICS START TODAY!
THE OLYMPICS START TODAY!
But yesterday... a very happy Trevor Linden (my future husband hockey hero) carried the torch through the streets of Vancouver...
Photo courtesy of Mark Guilaran PhotographyDid I mention that THE OLYMPICS START TODAY?? And that I know someone in the opening ceremonies? Awesome! Read more...
Un-bloody-believable
>> Thursday, February 04, 2010
February 8th marks the one year anniversary of my stepfathers death.
Today my mom got the bill for his ride to the hospital in the ambulance.
370 days after the ride.
Seriously? They've given her 30 days to pay the bill when it took them 370 days to send the bill? After she called about it on three different occassions?
The money isn't the issue... it is the fact that it took over a year to send a bill. It's either the BC government's fault for not paying the ambulance attendants a fair wage (so they are on a work to rule strike meaning they don't do paperwork - therefor not sending out bills in a timely fashion) or the BC Ambulance people themselves' fault for not sending out the bill because they are in a pissing match with the government. I don't really care - I just find it irresponsible and unreasonable.
But my mom did get a goddamn form letter condolence letter.
I personally choose to blame the BC government because the Premier, Gordon Campbell, is a prick.
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