Rogue says hola!

My solo den of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll has been invaded by a beautiful cat named Rogue who moved in last week. She's a 3 year old part siamese domestic short haired ball of cute and cuddly. The poor thing was either lost or abandoned and wound up in my parents back yard. Since the owner couldn't be found the humane society was going euthanise her so I decided to take her in. She's been through so much and is a little traumatized but is slowly starting to make herself at home. Some of her favorite spots are the large floor pillows by my fireplace, beside me on the couch or curled up in the nook of my knees when I'm lying on my stomach reading. All of which she's gladly covered with her hair. Now it is public knowledge that I'm not really a pet person but little Rogue is definitely something special.

No pictures of Rogue yet as the weekend was really busy. Bad movie and good drinks on Friday, breaksfast with friends on Saturday, some driving range hacking and chillin' the rest of the time with the other cute and cuddly in my life, Zaman. That's right, I'm now allowed to say his name out loud, Zaman Ali. The naming ceremony took place on the 7th night after his birth. Also checked out the Latino Expo at Princes Island on Sunday and a good time was had of course. Latin dancing is sexy! Sexy like Justin Timberlake. Thank you Justin for reminding us through your latest "hit" single that the world was void of sexiness while you were on hiatus. What a stud.

Take your plaid pants and shove it

A long time ago when the game of golf was created someone declared the rules of golf apparel etiquette and everyone followed. I wouldn't be surprised if that clever person was a founding member of Nike or Addidas, or some other billion dollar sporting/clothing company that profits from making people feel their worth is directly linked to the types of clothes they wear.

I've been getting a lot of slack for wearing jeans and birks on the golf course. I am calling bullshit. All I have to say is I'm damn comfortable and the other day I golfed 5 over. Booya!!

Samina's movie corner

GO SEE LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE!

DON'T SEE MIAMI VICE (or anything else 'hollywood' that's in the theatres)

I'm serious. If you are thinking of going to any other movie, do not. Go to see 'Little Miss Sunshine' instead. Even if you have already seen it, see it again. Tell everyone you know to go and see it. Take your family, friends, coworkers, dog, cat, acquaintance, lover, ex-lover, mistress (mister?), heck, just pick up someone off the street and take them.

If you hate it, I'd be curious to know why so post a comment or leave nasty messages on my answering machine. If you like/adore it then post a comment or leave kind messages on my answering machine reiterating how wonderful I am.

I don't really care. Just go and see the movie now!

It's a boy!

On Tuesday August 8th, 2006 at 2:05 am the world became a much better place with the arrival of my sister's first child. At 6.5 lbs and 21 inches he has to be the most perfect thing I've ever seen. I'm not allowed to reveal his name as the Islamic naming ceremony hasn't taken place so I will refer to him by his initials ZAJ.

It's amazing how many firsts came with the beginning of ZAJ's life. First breath, cry, sleep, poo, pee. First time parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. My first presence at a human birth and view of a placenta (which is far more interesting than gross). All within 12 hours of his birth. There are still a countless number of firsts to come and I hope to be able to experience some of them with him.

Being in the delivery room was truly a humbling experience. Watching those junior high sex ed movies of babies being born isn't even a fraction of what it's like to be there in person. I have a newfound respect for every brave woman who endures the feat of childbirth. Even after 14 hours of active labour there was no time to let the body recover as parenthood began immediately with constant care, feeding and diaper changes. Remarkable!

I think the most spectacular thing for me was watching my sister's face when they placed slime covered ZAJ in her arms right after he emerged. She went from an expression of sure exhaustion and pain to a blissful smile and elated eyes that can only eminate from a glowing heart. It was also touching to watch the exhausted father gush over his newborn son as he held him for the first time.

It's strange that all beautiful little ZAJ does is eat and sleep and yet he brings so much joy to the lives around him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go spoil my nephew.

Paris vs. The Hoff

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5615212328010933613

OR

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3382491587979249836

They both have a lot more fame and money than I'll ever see so maybe they both win (or lose).

Sing, sing out loud!

Hung out at a friend's house a couple of night's ago. Just the usual spontaneous gathering of folks sharing in some good times. Ventured from the deck to the living room to the kitchen again and again chatting, laughing, debating, frolicking, etc.... Why do you care? Well, during one moment that night there were 4 of us who broke out into a spontaneous a cappella on and off key sober verision of Islands In The Stream. Fun and freeing! The next time you're just hanging out, I strongly encourage you pick a cheesy love song from the last two decades and sing without inhibition!

Miss me? Missed you!

I have finally returned to the land of blogging. Here's a quick run down on what's been going on since you last visited.

Lots of stuff happened. Bye.

I'm hilarious! To the right is a picture of the first tee box for the Mount Lorette 18 at the breathataking Kananaskis golf course where I was lucky enough to golf a couple of weeks back. Now, I'm not a super rich celebrity or ultra loaded business woman so you might be thinking to yourself, 'how on earth could the samster afford to golf at such a pristine course?' Funded my heritage money, the course is actually very affordable even to us hard working middle class folk. It was such a great day and, unlike other goflers who measure the succes of a round of golf by keeping score, I measure mine by the number of lost balls, which was only 1 (and I managed to par a hole!)

Other stuff went down, eating, sleeping, drinking, volunteering, partying, meditating, exercising, working, reading, writing etc.... but the highlight had to be the folk festival. This being my first folk festival I purchased a four day pass and decided to see what would happen. Lots happened! Too much to blog about but the highlights were the people watching and dancing in the rain on Sunday night. Participated in the tarp run a couple of days which was super interesting. It entailed arriving very early (5 am on one day) and waiting in line where I met some cool people, was interviewed by BBC radio which aired later that day, and picked up a few tricks of the trade that will be useful next year. I got a kick out of how eager everyone was to get a good spot, but wasn't too impressed with those who's determination had a negative affect on themselves and eveyone around them. If you know me best, then you're aware that there are very few things I think are worth rushing for, so as everyone ran, I sauntered while watching the rushing herd fight for valuable land space. That definitely made it worth the time and effort.

Finally, it's been a pleasant surprise to learn that I have people in my life who care about what I have to say! Yay! This was bought to my attention by the number of inquiries I've received as to why I haven't been blogging. I adore you guys!