Is this Canadian Government over...

...I sincerely hope not. I really don't feel like returning to the polls so soon. But it is a minority government and if the opposing parties don't like Goodale's proposed budget, well then that's it, back to the polls.

Am I suffering from lazy voter syndrome? I already have to go the polls in May to vote in the BC provincial election.

No I'm not suffering from lazy voter syndrome. I actually enjoy voting, but I don't like all the campaigning. The last federal election (which was only 8 months ago) gave me a serious headache. Especially the debates. So I can only imagine what it would be like to be bombarded with political campaigns at both the Federal and Provincial level.

I like the Liberal government, even though I am not the biggest fan of Martin, so I would like to see them stay in power. I don't trust the Conservatives: if the PC still existed that would be a different story, but the new Conservative government is more Alliance than PC. I won't vote NDP, after suffering through the demise of the BC economy, and I would never vote Bloq, even if I did live in Quebec. I'd maybe vote Green, but at the end of the day, the Liberals suit me. But if there is another election, the best outcome, in my opinion, would be a Liberal majority.

The dissolution of a Canadian government has happened in my life time; the last time it happened though, I was too young to care. It was 1979 and I was one. Joe Clark and the Progressive Conservatives lost a vote and in six months their government was done and Trudeau and the Liberals returned to power. I was more concerned with being fed, sleeping and playing. Now at 26 the latter are still important to me, but so is the make up of the Canadian government.

If the budget passes, then everything I have just written won't matter, other than the fact we have a minority government, which makes its dissolution more of a possibility than a majority government. But, if it doesn't pass, there will be some interesting times ahead.

No Lord Stanley

At times I followed the NHL strike closely and other times I chose to ignore it, but one can't really ignore the fact that this will be the first time since 1919 that no one has played for Lord Stanley's cup. In my opinion it is really quite sad: The 1919 Stanley Cup couldn't happen due to an influenza epidemic; it won't happen this time because of money, to put it politely.

The only people I feel any grief for in this whole debacle are people like myself: the fans and the people who really have lost money: those who rely on NHL hockey as an economic means, such as filling hotels and sports bars. Most of the former and latter (myself included) will never make millions, so it's hard to feel sorry for those who do and taking a paycut would still mean they are making between six and seven digits. Boo hoo.

I briefly read an article on cbc.ca today that Ontario was trying to reclaim the cup so some sort of match could take place in Canada; of course it is property of the NHL, so that's not going to happen.

How do you survive no NHL hockey? Minor league hockey for those of you lucky enough to have a team at your disposal. In Vancouver we have a WHL team: the Vancouver Giants. They haven't been winning as of late, but are fun to watch.

If you don't have any grassroots hockey at your disposal, start praying that the NHL returns soon. But at this point in time, the outlook looks bleak. There may be no pro-hockey until the 2006-07 season, and that just seems way too far in the future.

Swimming and All You Can Eat Sushi

As some of you well know I have been exercising a lot as of late. I signed up with Curves last week in an effort to get back to my tiny frame and to get my butt off the couch and get fit. While I have been going to Curves, Colin has been going to integrated martial arts 3 times a week.

We were in a race to see who could hit their target weight first, so now we are going full steam ahead. After putting on some weight 5 years ago, I am now sick of it and want to be fit again; same reason for Colin. I suppose a couple of underlying reasons are the wedding this year - even though I already have my dress, and it fits me like a glove; and my high school 10 year reunion next year.

Even though we go to our respective workouts three times a week, Colin and I decided to go swimming last night as we both enjoy it. I find swimming up and down the lanes very relaxing and an opportunity to get lost in my thoughts. Last night, however, as I swam up and down Centennial-Minoru pool, all I could think of is how good all you can eat sushi would be after a 45 minute swim; but Colin had planned to cook us dinner when we got home, so I didn't mention it.

As we enjoyed our ritual soak in the whirlpool after our swim, Colin brought up all you can eat sushi and how good it would be after our swim. He read my mind - after 6 years together that seems to be happening a lot lately. So we headed to Kisha Poppo for our usual late night all you can sushi buffet and made it home in time to catch the Daily Show - a good laugh, after a good swim made for a good night.

Yes I've moved again...

In somewhat shivb-fashion, I cannot settle in one spot for too long, so I have decided to leave MSN and return to blog spot. My main reason, other than most people I know blog here, is that it is a heavy traffic blog site. I hoping that friends and strangers alike will come across this blog and see the exciting (and not so exciting) times that make up my life.

For past blogs go to http://spaces.msn.com/members/zooropa/.