safe.

lying here with you
listening to the rain
smiling just to see
the smile upon your face
these are the moments
I thank God that I'm alive
these are the moments
I'll remember all my life
I found all I've waited for
and I could not ask for more

looking in your eyes
seeing all I need
everything you are
is everything to me
these are the moments
I know heaven must exist
these are the moments
I know all I need is this
I have all I've waited for
and I could not ask for more

I could not ask for more
than this time together
I could not ask for more
than this time with you

every prayer has been answered
every dream I have's come true
and right here in this moment
is right where I'm meant to be
here with you
here with me

these are the moments
I thank God that I'm alive
these are the moments
I'll remember all my life
I've got all I've waited for
and I could not ask for more

I Could Not Ask For More
Edwin McCain

interesting thought.

Bill Maher put out a new movie (a documentary slash comedy called "Religulous") mocking every form of organized religion. In an interview with CBS's Harry Smith, Bill makes a small but profound statement:

Harry Smith - "..underlying thought, a serious thought, I thought, in the movie was, you wish that Christians, if they really were going to be Christians, would be more Christ like."

Bill Maher - "Don't we all? I think everybody, that's something I don't even think is even controversial. That the message of Jesus, it's very good! It's about love, and forgiveness..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHH2JItePlc

winter.

Yesterday in our quaint little town there was a downpour of freezing rain, and everything got coated in a sheet of ice. Usually, the weather changes rapidly in this province, so I didn't think it would last very long and I would miss the chance to take some photos. Thankfully, it lasted until today, and I went for a walk around and took a lot of pictures. Photography is a hobby of mine that I really enjoy - I love off centre shots, candids, and understated photos. The photo on the left is of me attempting to get a photo of the fur on my coat, but I missed a bit and captured the left side of my face. I like that you can see that my ear is red - it was cold out there! The second photo is of the walkway I was on at one point - this one is surprisingly clear, as Charlottetown is not known for it's promptness in sidewalk clearing. I usually walk fairly quickly, with a sense of purpose, but my gait slows at this time of year, that is for certain!

to save or not to save, that is the question.

This is what waits for me on the other side of grad. Like, waayy on the other side. The Birks I figure will be my grad present to myself, since I'm not planning any big trips, and the backpack will be a summer goal, I believe. My biggest goal for post-grad is to be financially independant from my parents. I have been ridiculously blessed to run into a school that thought I was promising enough to pay for my education, and my parents have been incredible and supported me through this wild ride that is university. I love them dearly and am extremely grateful. As a result, I will graduate with no debt, which is almost unheard of at this day and age. I dream of backpacking, but I recognize that if I am going to be independant, I need to start thinking like an adult and planning ahead. That means a little delayed gratification is in order, and no trip immediately after grad. I will buy the Birks and continue to dream, and start squirreling away money from my summer job. This pains me to say, because I do love a good sale.. but if I am ever going to grace Thailand with my presence, saving will be the goal, I say!

photoshoot.

Have you seen The Guardian lately? In the newspaper today, there is a story about some racy photos that were taken of a woman in firefighter's gear at the local fire department.

"Explicit photos of a topless girl leaning next to, inside, and on top of a Charlottetown fire truck is being described as a black mark on the firefighting service. The photos started appearing in people’s e-mail Thursday. A total of 18 different photos were emailed to city councillors, firefighters, and prominent residents as well as to the media. The first in the series of photos show the unknown woman posing topless in firefighter protective wear at an unknown location."

My first reaction when I heard about this story was, "Let's see the photos!!" My next reaction was to laugh. A lot. I can see exactly where this is going - some young firefighter thought it would be a kick to get his hot gf (p.s. she is gorgeous) to pose in his gear.. or maybe it was even her idea. Whatever. I think I'm pretty progressive when it comes to this sort of thing - I see nothing wrong with this. I think it's cute.

"Other photos included in the email show the woman topless standing next to a Charlottetown fire truck, parked inside the hall at Station #2 in Sherwood. Other photos show the woman hanging off the back of a fire truck, inside the cab of the truck at the steering wheel as well as straddled between two trucks, wearing only a firefighter’s protective hat, pants and rubber boots."

She was topless, covered from the waist down, and only having seen one of the photos (which was on the front page of the paper, on a Sunday. Only you, Charlottetown.), I'm assuming in all of the photos, her nipples were covered by the suspenders on the pants (they were in the photo I saw, which had her face blurred out). It's not like someone shot a porn video on top of a fire truck. If anything, they should be making a calendar of these photos (with her permission, of course) and having a fundraiser. But since Ch'town is so conservative and straightlaced, it's this big scandal. The firefighter isn't even with the department anymore, so they can't even get rid of him. I guess the biggest concern was if she was over 18. This wasn't mentioned anywhere in the article at all. Probably because this is Charlottetown, and the "unidentified woman" would have been easily identifiable by anyone currently in the department.

Also, I am 100% certain that the Guardian didn't ask the woman for permission to print the photos. If I were her, and if Charlottetown wasn't so small, I'd be suing their asses for damages. As it is, she could probably just stomp over to that reporter's house and kick him in the balls herself.

I have a message for you Charlottetown:
NO ONE CARES.
Her bf isn't with the department anymore, she's probably not even with him. The city councillors and "prominent residents" are probably just embarrassed that they got boners from a woman posing in gear that was paid for from taxpayer's money.


Read it for yourself at:
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=226879&sc=98

irresponsibility.

HOW HAVE I MISSED THIS??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadya_Suleman

Nadya and I share a few important things in common. We both love babies. We both have always dreamed of having our own families. We both can't (well, couldn't, in her case) wait to have a little person to connect with that is actually a part of yourself.

There is one MAJOR difference:

I have common sense, and this dear woman does not.

Nadya had octuplets January 26th of this year. OCTOPLETS = EIGHT BABIES. HOLY SHIT. EIGHT. Eight premature, tube fed, hanging out in incubators, crying, pooping infants. Lovely for Nadya, now she has the big family she'd been dreaming of, except she probably won't sleep for the next 5 years. EXCEPT WAIT. She already has six kids at home. UNDER EIGHT YEARS OLD.

The woman now has fourteen (more than a soccer team's worth of kidlets) all under eight years old at home.

I mean, whatever, John and Kate have 8, I'm sure she can manage, with her husband to help out. .. Oh wait, nope, she's single.

Good thing she's got a good job then, she's got a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of medical bills to pay .. oh wait.. nope, no job either. She's been on disability for a spinal cord injury that happened as the result of a riot from the mental hospital that she used to work at.

Oh wow, she must have been fertile to make eight babies on her very own! Uhh, nope, no she wasn't, she had ALL FOURTEEN KIDS via IVF treatment.

How the HELL does a broke woman with a bad back have the means to undergo IVF no less than six times?? How do they let her keep coming back when she's on government support? Are there no regulations on IVF? It enrages me that it's easier to get medical assistance to pop out a soccer team (with no money, keeep in mind) than it is to adopt ONE orphan (who's already been born, FYI) from a foreign country. Good luck even adopting a child as a single parent.

I haven't even mentioned her plan to provide for her children: she's going to go back to school in the fall to get her Master's, in order to qualify for higher-paying jobs. According to her she'll be able to do it with student loans and government support. Don't even get me started..

debate.

What are YOU doing Friday night? Well I, dear reader (..s, readers, a girl can hope!), am headed to a debate on campus between a philosophy professor and a religious studies professor. The title is, "Does God Exist?"

I love this form of debate. Two educated, well spoken individuals conversing in a non-threatening manner about a topic near and dear to many people's hearts. Plus, there's a bar! Now THAT promises to make the night more interesting..