True Colors - Deer Lake Park, July 2, 2008

Hello Bloggers, my old friends. I have been out of touch for a while, but I think about blogging, so that has to count for something. I meant to return to the blog earlier in the month, but life just got in the way. Oh yeah, and that darned facebook thing. I definitely will have to find a 12-step program soon. It'll probably be virtual and I will likely become addicted to that too.

So July started off with bang for me. While my fellow Canadians may have celebrated our nation's founding (or appropriating, depending on your perspective), I waited until July 2 to celebrate. My sister and I went to see True Colors, Cyndi Lauper's palooza supporting equality for all, particularly the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual communities. We bought the expensive tickets that would allow us to meet Ms. Cyndi and gave us some great seats. The show featured Carson Kressley, Nona Hendryx, Joan Armatrading, Rosie O'Donnell, Sarah Mclachlan, The B52s, and Cyndi Lauper. The venue was Deer Lake Park in Burnaby. It was simply amazing.

While I was excited about meeting Cyndi Lauper, I was really hoping to meet Rosie. You see I have loved Rosie for a very long time. I am an avid reader of her blog and agree with a lot of what she has to stay on the American political situation. I started emailing her asking if she'd meet my sister and me whilst we were visiting with Cyndi. At the time, I didn't realized that our "meeting" with Cyndi was only to take one photo and virtually no chit chat. I know, I am naive. I tried to use the fact that I was turning 40 and my sister just turned 50 and that this would be a great present for both of us to elicit a response, but Rosie never replied. She gets thousands of emails and probably feared me as a stalker.

While waiting to enter the venue, my bodacious friend saw Rosie getting out of her tour bus. My friend yelled "hello Rosie" and Rosie waved back. When I was told this, I admitted my jealousy.

Joan Armatrading was playing as we waited to go backstage for our pix with Cyndi. My sister loves Joan, so I offered to go up close and get a picture. On my way back, I saw her. I did a double-take. Could it really be? Among us mere mortals? Indeed it was: ROSIE! Okay, brain engage. If you don't take the chance, you will regret it for the rest of your life. I walked over, half-expecting some nearby bodyguard to tackle me. I shook her hand and said something I am certain was goofy. I shook her hand again, to make sure that I had done it. I asked if she'd sign my copy of her book. She said she had to go on in a bit, but perhaps later. I thanked her, told her that I was among her bloggers, all the while fearing a 300 lb security guard. I could tell that I was bothering her because I know she loves Joan Armatrading, but she was still very polite to me. And for that I was so grateful! After snapping a few pix, I did my happy dance back to my sister. Famous people are known for disappointing their fans because expectations are so high.
Meeting Cyndi Lauper was cool and I have a picture of it, but the real highlight is that I got to meet Rosie and I was not disappointed.

Rosie's set was also very good. I managed to snag a place right at the stage and took way too many pictures. Her humour was filled with pathos. Rosie's pain was palpable even through all of the laughter. Perhaps because I am on her blog quite frequently, that I was familiar with what she had to say. Nevertheless, sitting there, listening to her talk, was like being with an old friend.

The whole show was amazing. Carson Kressly was a good emcee. I enjoyed his humour, although he may want to expand his repertoire a little. Although I didn't know Nona Hendryx's music, I loved her performance and energy. Joan Armatrading voice was so rich and soothing. Sarah McLachlan just fed off the hometown energy and gave back as much as she received. She was clearly happy to be on stage again. Her voice has become even more beautiful with time. The B52s really cranked up the audience's energy to insane party levels. That band is tight and boy (or girl, if that's your preference) did they sound good!

And Cyndi, well, what can I say? That girl can sing. It's really hard to reconcile her speaking voice which is uneven, squeaky-pitched with a distinct Brooklyn accent, with her singing voice which is simultaneously robust and ethereal. She more than held her own with Mclachlan's powerhouse voice when two did a haunting duet of Time After Time. You can feel the passion she has for her music, her cause and most of all, her audience. Because I was seated in an exclusive area, I got to watch all the professional photographers desperately try to capture Cyndi as she moved closer and closer to her audience and out of their clear lens view. I was happy to see that her priorities were clearly in order.

When Cyndi broke into Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the audience, including me, went nuts. This was the theme song of my teen years. It was the song with which we won our air band competition. I told Cyndi this backstage. I am sure she just thought I was a weirdo. Rosie played the timbales and Margaret Cho appeared on stage out of nowhere. Wish she had performed.

The light was fading into darkness. Fireflies came out to enjoy the show, all sparkling and popping. You could tell that even they were having a great time. Cyndi and the rest of the performers, minus Joan Armatrading, closed the show singing Sly and the Family Stone's Everyday People and Cyndi's own True Colors. Big Giant coloured balls were released into the audience. The fireflies swayed to the music. A warm summer breeze shimmered through the weeping willows. And for those moments, the message of True Colors was our lived reality. Hope existed. It was possible to live united, without prejudice.


Thank you Cyndi Lauper for letting your true colours shine through.

Now if only one of them had a limp...

I have been wanting to weigh in on the US democratic and presidential races for quite some time, but feel like it's all been said. Interestingly, the last few weeks have raised the issue of race in a more meaningful way than it has been thus far. Mostly, the discussion around racism has been simplistic -- black and white, if you will. However, more recently, some footage of Barack Obama's pastor-cum-mentor, Jeremiah Wright, emerged in which he gave a sermon castigating the Clintons and the rich, white elites of that country for their systemic perpetuation of racism. A week prior, Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Hilary Clinton's campaign, said that Obama would not be where he was politically had he not been black. Her suggestion was more to say that just as she had benefitted by being a woman on the political scene when Walter Mondale chose her as his vice-presidential running mate, his blackness too was benefitting him at this point in history.

Both Ferraro and Wright have stepped down as advisors to Clinton and Obama. In their wake, the pundits have had a field day and each candidate has been left to pick up the pieces. Clinton distanced herself from Ferraro's comments, saying that these were not views she shared. She was attacked by the media and her opponents for not being stronger in her disavowal of Ferraro's comments as well as the woman herself. Obama held a press conference where he gave a speech denouncing Wright's sermons, but defiantly refusing to disavow the man himself. In doing so, he raised the level of the national dialogue which was stuck in a simple racial binary to a point where the complexities and nuances of race were finally named. From what I have read so far, the pundits are lauding this speech and are deeming it to be on par with Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. Cynic that I am, I suspect that this attempt at a critical discussion about race will not go anywhere. More than likely, the blacks and the whites will just go to their separate corners. And of course, all the other races will have to share in the more pigmented corner.

I first saw Barack Obama on the Oprah Winfrey show a couple of years back. I was very impressed. I knew that he would be a great leader if he ever chose to run for president. I continued to support him until a few months ago, when I realized that despite his eloquence, the substance of his political views was far more right wing than my own. Coupled with that have been the horribly sexist attacks against Hilary Clinton. Apparently, sexism is still an acceptable practise in politics and the media. While I continue to be upset by Clinton's support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, her political views are much closer to mine than Obama's. So with a heavy heart, I switched camps (bearing in mind that as a Canadian, I am not able to vote in the States). I believe that what I experienced is similar to what many US democrats have felt. However, it seems more have gone from Clinton to Obama, swayed largely by his eloquent unifying messages.

On the more divisive front, we have Republican nominee and former P.O.W., John McCain whose recent turnabout and support of the torture of prisoners is indicative what his governing style will look like. And it doesn't look good. The ghosts of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld linger all too closely. McCain has said that the war in Iraq could go on for a hundred years. This suggests no evidence of an exit strategy. Nobody wants this. This offers no hope.

Hope and change are the cornerstones of Obama's campaign message. They suggest a very sexy prospect, but can they be realized? I cannot say definitively. Clinton also calls for change, but for most, she seems to be lacking in the hope department. Her ties to former President Clinton and the old boys network of politics hinders her. As do, poorly tailored clothes, thick ankles, bad hair and any other entirely shallow and irrelevant attacks that would never be hurled against a male candidate.

What sealed the deal for me was in a New York Times Op. Ed. piece Gloria Steinem pointed out, among many things, that if Barack Obama was a woman, he never would have advanced politically as he had. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to ever attempt to become a presidential nominee, noted that gender was always a far greater barrier to her career than her skin colour. Were she still alive, I am sure that everyone would want to know who she would support.

As a feminist, it would give me great joy if Hilary Clinton wins the democratic race. However, as a woman of colour I will not be too disappointed if Obama wins either. My concern is whether these two can come together at the end of it all and present a unified front. My greatest worry is that the divisiveness of this contest (for that is really what it is), will give way to another four to eight years of Republican chaos, not just in the US, but for the rest of the world. Things are getting a bit ugly between the Clinton and Obama camps. Politics are like that. However, will the victor (or victoria, as the case may be) have the resources (and I'm not talking money here because there's been enough money spent/wasted on these campaigns to feed and give health care to a whole lot of people) to unify their party and gather the national support necessary to avoid another four to eight years of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld type insanity.

For the sake of all of us, I hope so.

They tried to make me give up sulfites, I said "no, no, no"

So on February 1st, I had this major allergic reaction. My lips swelled up to about five times their normal size. I called my sister the pharmacist who suggested Benadryl. I only had the kids' version. She figured out an appropriate dose for me. About a half hour later the swelling had spread. Long story short, she took me to Emergency. The result was about three hours of observation, a shot of epi, and some prednisone. I may have had the beginnings of an anaphylactic reaction (who knew it could happen so slowly?) or what's known as an angioedema, unexplained swelling. The only thing I could assume that triggered the reaction was a bottle of French wine, one of the Nouveu Beaujolais. Further deduction led me to believe that it may have contained a high quantity of sulfites.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I enjoy my wine. The thought that I might be allergic to them was fairly traumatic. A few days later I tried some of our u-vin wine. No reaction. However, sporadically throughout the month of February, I'd break out in hives. They were very hot and itchy. Clearly, my body was reacting to something.

I had already been scheduled for allergy testing for other reasons and the plan was to have this appointment moved up. Managed to visit the allergist last week and I told him my tale. He gave me a standard allergy test, which included many pokes and exposure to various potential allergens. My arm turned beet red. I had bumps for every poke, the most significant being for cats. He said that because I had been getting hives so frequently, that this test wasn't going to work for me and that I'd have to have a blood test. I told him about my sulfite theory and he agreed that this may be the case. He recommended a daily dose of Reactine to see if the hives would calm down. I told him that I had tickets to the wine festival, he laughed. He said that I definitely should take Reactine beforehand.

Flash forward to Saturday night to the Vancouver Wine Festival . Indeed, I took the antihistamine. It worked. I was fairly tentative in my wine-tasting at first, but during the course of the night, I was thrilled that I was having no reaction to the wines. I was able to relax (I'm sure the wine helped here) and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Side note: I have not seen so many people with red complexions (including my many trips down South) as I did that night. Clearly, I am not the only person to be affected by the wine!

I have started to research sulfite allergies and am learnig that they tend to affect the respiratory system more than the skin. So now, I am not sure that sulfites are the culprit. Nonetheless, I will continue my course of Reactine for the next little while and see what happens. Between my husband's gluten allergy and my potential sulfite sensitivity, the journey to 40 is turning out to be more challenging than I had expected.

And the winner is...

Well, the Oscars are on tonight. As per the last several years, a few friends will come over for our annual Oscar "party". The idea of us having an Oscar party is quite bizarre really. Originally, we started doing this because we used to go to the movies a lot (pre-child) as did our friends (who now don't go to movies for reasons I can't quite figure out). Now, we see very few movies, but the ritual is still there. Watching the Oscars is more fun when you're eating (as most of my friends are not real drinkers) and gabbing with friends.

On the menu tonight is steak. Seems fitting for an Oscar soiree. I will accompany them with fingerling potatoes and some sort of veggie side dish. Because of the gluten free thing, I will be attempting to make a flourless chocolate cake. If that doesn't work out, there's always fruit and ice cream. These are the advantages of having a reasonably well-stocked home.

I have seen three of the Oscar nominated films. Juno is my pick for many awards, because really, who ever thought a movie about teenage pregnancy could be the feel-good picture of the year. I have also seen Ratatouille and just assume that will win best animated. I also saw Away From Her more than a year ago at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Julie Christie was very good in this film, but I really feel that Gordan Pinset has been robbed of the acclaim he so rightly deserves for this performance. Problem is, everyone has heard of Christie, while Pinset remains one of Canada's best kept secrets.

I am finding that I am feeling oddly nationalistic about the Oscars, hoping for wins for Sarah Polley for her adaptation of Alice Munro's work for Away From Her. I also wouldn't mind Juno, which was filmed here in Vancouver, starring Halifax's Ellen Page and directed by Canadian born Jason Reitman to pick up some hardware. Needless to say, one of the Canadian short films better win the Oscar as well. I tend to get nationalistic whenever we are in a competition with America for whatever reason. With respect to the Oscars, it's such a celebration of excess, I like to believe that Canadian victories will temper the rah-rah-ness of it all.

Oh who am I kidding. I am happy that the writer's strike is over and I can be a spectator in all the pomp and circumstance that is the Oscars. It's Oscar's 80th year, so I am hoping that they will doing something interesting by way of tribute for all of us old-school film buffs.

In the meantime, happy viewing, eating and imbibing everyone.

Gluten is the new blog

I've been away from my own blogging for some time.  Put my foot in the water and it got wet.  Go figure.  Lots of stuff happening in my life (lives).  On the eating front, hubby has been diagnosed with Celiac disease.  This means that his body cannot absorb gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and other flours.  His intestine has been damaged, but a life-long, gluten-free diet will restore.  Or at least this is what we are led to believe.

The problem -- is and you know that there is always a problem -- gluten can be found in just about everything.  Flour is the great food binder.  Apart from the usual cakes, cookies, breads and other yummy treats, wheat and its derivatives can be found in all kinds of things, including, but not limited to soya sauce, deli meats, worcestershire sauce, pasta, and  most fast foods.  

The good news,  and yes one can always find some, is that we live in a city where gluten-friendly food can be found.  My favourite place so far is Choices, a local market chain that has really tapped into the niche market of GF grocery items.  Additionally, they have their own bakery, which generates some relatively palatable  baked goods.  They also mark their grocery shelves with a blue label to indicate whether or not a food item is gluten free.  It is important to read the ingredients anyway, but this blue label system certainly helps gear us neophyte GF shoppers in the right direction.

So this is all well and good, as long as you are doing your own cooking (and I haven't even begun to talk about cross-contamination issues yet), however (and you knew that there would be a "however") going out to eat is a far more daunting task.  The conventional wisdom is that the better (i.e. the more expensive) the restaurant, the more likely that your meal will be made to your specifications.  We tried this during Dine Out Vancouver at the Savory Coast restaurant.  I emailed them in advance, my husband spoke with them before we went and our server seemed to know about gluten.  We both had the steak, which we have been told is a safe GF bet, and were delighted that flourless chocolate cake was among the dessert options.  Nevertheless, the food did not agree with my husband.  Somewhere, somehow gluten had found its way in to his food.

Needless to say, the restaurant thing is a work in process.  He's had better luck with sushi as long has he uses his own GF tamari and even at Red Robin, which he says were very accommodating.  On a recent visit to White Spot, I asked about GF options, they let me have a look at their allergy binder.  Unfortunately, my husband will not be able to eat about 95 per cent of the food on the menu; however, the manager said that they would be willing to accommodate his special needs.  We will have to test this one out. 

My daughter and I have not gone completely gluten-free.  My daughter is a very fussy eater, so we already don't always eat the same things.  As a result, cross-contamination is a big issue in our house.  I am forever washing my hands between handling his food and her food.  I throw any cloths that have been used to wipe down counters or wash dishes which may have any gluten residue.  This is also a work in process.  I am keenly aware that even a microscopic amount of gluten can affect my husband adversely. 

I am certain that I will continue to chronicle our new GF lifestyle in this blog.  BTW, the masala tin up top is completely gluten free!That's not why I included it.  I just liked the picture.

the aftermath

In many ways, I feel as though I have just started to rise from the ashes.  This blog has been on my mind, but I have not been able to find "quiet" time in which to post. 

Vancouver's three civic strikes are now finally over.  The aftermath continues.  The sexy one, garbage, is still being sorted out, with many of us anxiously awaiting the removal of our mounds of recycling and green stuff.  The inside workers return is more personally resonant for me as it has meant a return to preschool for my kid.  This is something we both needed after the longest summer break ever.  These two unions basically got the same deal as the rest of the GVRD (ahem, Metro Vancouver) cities, but just had to wait longer for it. 

Then, there are the librarians.  I used to be library phobic.  Imagine how I managed to get my Master's degree and being a bibliotheque-phobe.  But there it is.  I've now admitted it publicly.  I think it has something to do with old books and the number of people and stuff that have touched them.  I have never liked the smell of libraries, all old and musty.  However, since the birth of my child, I have really come to value libraries and the people who work in them.  They offer such a wide assortment of programs, resources and support for anyone who needs it.  This is very cool.

I never realized, but was not surprised when I learned that the main issue for library workers was pay equity.  You see, library workers are largely women.  And as per usual, our work is not as valued as that of men.  This is the patriarchal reality.  Nonetheless, these workers decided to take on "the man" as it were and have this issue addressed.  In solidarity with the inside and outside workers, they may have had a chance.  However, when those two unions settled, we knew that it was all but over for the library workers.  They went back to work on Monday.  The only concession they got was a study group into the issue of wage parity.  How very Canadian!

I suspect that nothing will really materialize from this group.  Kind of like Canada's various Royal Commissions, at most, they will be a dog and pony show, without either animal.  I am not certain what galls me more:  the fact that women are still fighting for pay equity; or, that people still don't realize that women are still making less money than men for equal work.  So many seem to believe that "women's rights" have been achieved and that our struggle is over.  Not by a long shot baby!  We are almost a decade into the 21st century and women's work remains devalued.

I admire and congratulate those who tried to fight this battle.  I have tremendous respect for your efforts.  We all need to speak out about this injustice.  We have to do it not only for ourselves, but our daughters.  We should leave them this shameful inheritance.

 

 

Technorati Tags: Vancouver civic strike, Vancouver Public Library (VPL), pay equity, women's rights

September round-up

The seasons have changed quickly.  Last time I posted, all the windows were open and I was wearing shorts.  Now I have donned my pjs, the heater is on and it's blustery outside.  Fall has fallen and hard.

I finished sanding and painting my stairs just before the weather turned -- and we're talking hours here.  Husband and child returned from their vacation to find me injured.  Nope, not from working on the stairs, but rather from guilt-inspired house cleaning.  This is proof positive that neither guilt nor cleaning are healthy activities.  I seemed to have aggravated a previously pinched nerve.  I am on the mend now.

It was a good week to be alone, with my thoughts and then with my friends.  Ate some good food.  My friend the poet and I went to La Rocca on the Drive.  We shared a tomato and bocconcini salad and then I had the veggie cannelloni.  Both were good.  The service and atmosphere (including an opera singing server who serenaded a nearby diner with a birthday tune) were very pleasant.  The washrooms were clean and functional.  Everything was surprisingly affordable.  Moreso, because my friend picked up the tab.

I was treated by my sister the following night to a belated birthday dinner at Gotham.  I was really looking forward to this place.  I had been told that I would see celebrities there.  I dunno if union guy, Ken Georgetti counts, because he was the only "famous" person who caught my eye.  The restaurant is huge and has some crazy ass spiral stairs (vertigo anyone ?) if you wish to visit the facilities. 

The service was good.  I want to say excellent, but a couple of the wait staff seemed to lack experience and knowledge.  We had to request a couple of things more than once.  I had been told by my friend the foodie, that this was the best steak in town.  Starting at around $40, I would hope so.  Indeed, the steak was very good.  The idea is that you order a huge steak, which you can share or take home leftovers, and share various family-sized (their term, not mine) side dishes.  We each opted for a New York striploin.  The steaks were cooked to perfection, but basically bland.  I had read somewhere that they could do anything you like to the steak, but that option was neither offered orally or on the menu.  So salt (and a bit too much of that) and pepper it was.

I enjoyed the experience, but was letdown by the lack of "wow' factor.  I don't know what I was expecting, but it was certainly more than what was there.  My sister and I agreed that she made a better steak -- at least a more flavourful one.   And the washrooms were fine, but nothing memorable -- basic, clean and functional; that is, after you made it down two very, steep spiral staircases. 

The next night, some friends had me over for dinner at Chez Pagorgan.  This was indeed a delicious meal with Ahi tuna, accompanied by a wasabi mayonnaise, orzo and spinach.  A half chocolate cake topped off the meal.  What made the meal was that the company and conversation were great.  And their washrooms were very clean!  This was perhaps the best of my dining out experiences during my week of singledom.

Fast forward a couple of weeks, not much dining out.  The husband and child returned and re-entry has been hard.  The child who was well behaved through the whole trip, decided to punish the Mummy for her pseudo-abandonment.  The Mummy, who got quite used to here solitude, struggled with having to answer so many questions from her two loves.  Equilibrium, or some semblance of it, has finally resurfaced.

 

 We went for red meat and Cajun,

We ended up with poultry and Asian.

I can imagine my friend the poet cringing if she reads these words.  I am certainly not a poet, and don't she know it.  Groan, groan, groan!  My dining buddy and I resumed our once weekly dining out experience this week.  She wanted red meat and I suggested a new Cajun Creole restaurant on Cambie called Da-De-Oh!  They were closed, so I shall refrain from offering anymore information about them.  Who the hell closes their restaurant on a Wednesday night!?!

Wanting to support the suffering Cambie businesses, we went to Sate Satu.  I had attempted to go there once before when it was called Sate Express, but they were closed.  Are you detecting a pattern?  The service was good and friendly.  We were told that one of the owners of the former Express at returned to Indonesia and the remaining owner, along with a new partner, decided to chi chi up the place.  It looked a lot nicer than the previous take-away style decor.  We shared the appetizer platter, which had a sampling of everything on their appetizer menu.  It was all very good. 

We also shared some sate.  The menu noted that there would be six sticks per order, our choice of chicken, beef or pork.  I don't really eat pork, so we decided on chicken and beef.  Alas, we were foiled again as they were out of beef.  My friend suggested to me that they could have just run over to Choices across the street, to purchase beef, but unfortunately, they had not done that.  Anyway, we had all chicken.  It was disappointing.  They used thigh meat.  It was pretty bland and did not seem to be marinated in anything at all.  The peanut sauce was good, but there wasn't that much of it.  Frankly, my sate is much better. 

The wine list is small and reasonably priced.  My red wine tasted off and they offered me something else.  I opted for the white wine, since they had no other by-glass-reds.  It was fine.  The also have a small, but decent selection of reasonably priced bottled beer.  The washroom is clean.

We are off to see Loreena McKennitt tonight.  The civic strike has forced a venue change from the Orpheum to GM Place.  That's quite a change.  October starts tomorrow.  Lots of birthdays.  Things are going to be quite busy.