 | You scored as Emergent/Postmodern. You are Emergent/Postmodern in your theology. You feel alienated from older forms of church, you don't think they connect to modern culture very well. No one knows the whole truth about God, and we have much to learn from each other, and so learning takes place in dialogue. Evangelism should take place in relationships rather than through crusades and altar-calls. People are interested in spirituality and want to ask questions, so the church should help them to do this.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
June 22, 2006
As an added thought....
Filming, and a Ferret
This past Monday we started to film our episode of So Chic. Luckily, I was placed with the adorable Steven Sabados, who is charming, gorgeous, and a perfect gentleman. Surprisingly (perhaps only to me?) Steven and Chris are a couple and have been together for over 17 years!
Maybe I was very naive, but I thought that makeover shows were filmed in a more documentary style, where the events of the day flowed naturally and were captured on tape without requiring the intrusiveness of a million takes of every scene. I was very wrong, as I soon discovered. I had to act my ass off! We would be filming a scene where I was showing off the outfit before we filmed the scene where Steven chose the outfit for me; filming me reacting to my new self for the first time, at least five times over; and filming the "old" me admiring the look of the "new" me, where the new me was played by a forty year old man before they could superimpose the "new" me into the shot in post-production. My brain hurts. Filming took forever on both days (Mon. & Wed.), and the $500 shoes they bought me hurt like hell.
On Tuesday night, we dropped off a friend following a nice garlicky dinner in Greektown, and were happily enroute home. Kaz suddenly swerved and started yelling about a weird looking squirrel with a death-wish. It was a poor albino ferret! I leapt out of the car and called him, and he ran toward me and jumped into my arms. He was lost, it was almost midnight and he didn't have the best survival skills, so I decided to take him home, despite Kaz's reluctance due to his ferret phobia. Kaz wanted to release him in High Park!
The poor little guy was REALLY stinky, and I didn't want to bathe him in case he bit me and had no shots. I named him Reginald, and posted a notice on Craigslist in case his owner was looking for him. I made him a little nest, fed him some cat kibble, and put him on the balcony, and in the morning we jumped into a taxi and took him to Animal Services, and just barely made our appointments with our stylists and TV crews at two chi-chi Yorkville salons.
Anyway, Kaz looked AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS, and I looked unrecognizable under 3 pounds of TV makeup. (Seriously, 2 friends didn't return my hellos and looked confused.) I don't have any pictures, because by the time we arrived home and washed that crap off my face, we were just too tired.
About the clothes, I wore some cute things to our event, Rock The Preppy. I wore an orange plaid button-up shirt with a white Michael Kors vest, some insanely expensive denim culottes, orange dangly earrings and bangles, beautiful white snakeskin sandals, and carried a gold Michael Kors handbag with an Hermès scarf tied to it. Those things are all back in their dust cases and boxes, carefully placed in my closet, as far away as possible from my accident-prone self. I don't even know how to explain what they did to my hair - it involves a "sexy sweep" and some "inside-out highlights", according to the stylist.
They took Kaz to Aveda while I was doing the makeup marathon, and taught him how to give a hand massage with lavender oil, to remind me of our honeymoon in the lavender fields in Hokkaido. I don't think it's sunk in yet, but I had a really great time.
June 16, 2006
June 15, 2006
Kazu's Birthday
Today my husband Kazby turned 29; hurray for Kazby! I spent 7 hours making little squares of chocolate mochi and a matcha cake, because I know how much he misses his home and his beloved family. Results? Not bad for a gwai-mui. It looks messy because I ran out of time, but it tasted good.
I read one too many negative reviews about the service at Susur, so we went to Splendido, which was AMAZING. Their Exotica Canadiana tasting menu was incredible - delicious and unusual Canadian ingredients skillfully prepared by David Lee, served by perfect staff in a beautiful restaurant. The menu went like this:
1. Some kind of fabulous gazpacho served with one perfect crouton.
2. Caribou, barely seared, with juniper berry gelée.
3. Chilled Sweet English Pea Soup with Niagara pancetta and three gorgeous morsels of Nova Scotia lobster.
4. Smoked Copper River BC Salmon with Lake Huron Sturgeon Caviar.
5. Poached White Asparagus with Brier Island Sea Scallops in a Truffle Vinaigrette. 6. Whole Roasted & Pulled Yorkshire Suckling Pig with seared Quebec Artisanal Foie Gras.
7. Wagyu Beef in an Uni (Sea Urchin) Vinaigrette. (Note: This part wasn't Canadian, but was added by the chef because it was Kazby's birthday!).
8. Fennel Anise Sorbet in a Tomato Consommé.
9. Dorset Lamb Saddle with BC Morel Mushrooms in a Rosemary Garlic Jus.
10. A selection of desserts including Cherry Jubilee, Sichuan Peppercorn Dusted Niagara Strawberry Sorbet with a Lemon-Lime Mousse, Lennox Farm Rhubarb, and a divine Rum-soaked Chocolate Cake with Coffee Ice Cream. The chef kept adding more courses, and I was confused because there were only supposed to be six and I was full and dizzy.
We were still eating at 11:30, three and a half hours after arriving! It was the best meal I've ever eaten, and I gladly paid $410.00 for the privilege of sharing it with my baby. Now, if you'll excuse me, the one glass of wine I had is making the world spin. :-P. (What happened to my genetics - my grandparents are Irish!)
June 13, 2006
Woofstock is over; many, many thanks go out to my Mom, sister Maija, her boyfriend RJ and our dear friend Jon-Jon, who slept very little, donned my company t-shirts and talked to tens of thousands of people pushing chihuahuas in strollers and walking poodles with lime green mohawks. We never could have done it without them. The people who attend this festival are serious dog lovers - you get me? If I never see another Yorkie wearing a rhinestone studded jumpsuit with matching barettes and boots, a visor and "doggles", it will be too soon. I saw so many ridiculous dog products like:
1. Dog Temporary Tattoos. The text on the back of this poor miniature Pinscher read, "What's up, Punk? Do I look funny to you? Get used to it, Fool!"
2. $500 GPS collars so you can always find your dog
3. Animulets - healing jewelry for dogs
Of course, the existence of people who treat their dogs like they're Paris Hilton is good for us! We got a lot of interest in our pet photography, and I met some fantastic contacts for the future. Now, I've got a huge vat of ballots (for our free photography session) in my living room, and I need to find the time and the right program to quickly generate a database of info provided by 3500 patrons.
To be honest, toward the end of the second day, our faces were stuck in perma-smile, achy and beaver-esque. We talked on and on and on, in English, Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin and French and the crowds never let up. I was even able to enjoy my favourite "guilty pleasure"; overhearing Chinese people talking about me and blurting out something at just the right moment. I just love seeing the looks on their faces, especially when they've just said something they don't want me to know. Since marrying Kaz, it happens much less frequently because no one is really sure if he understands Chinese. (He's started yelling "Hou mah-fahn" at anyone who crosses him in Chinatown, which I don't try to discourage because it sounds more like he's yelling "very cat rice" instead of "very annoying". And how can you be angry if someone calls you Cat Rice?)
Speaking of my precious baby, it's his birthday on Thursday and he's depressed and whiny about turning 29. I previously thought that only women were so neurotic about their age, but I see I was wrong about that. He keeps talking about "dying first" and sending his body back to Japan, and other morbid topics, which I find comical. (Though I did have one horrible nightmare about him being in an accident and me not having the language skills to notify his family). I figure a birthday trip to Susur and the partaking of a seven-course tasting menu will cheer him up. I'm not sure how cheerful I'll be after spending $300 on one meal, but food is one of his great pleasures, and I can always eat nothing but oatmeal for the month of July to relieve my guilt, guilt I will feel for both irresponsible use of money and all the calories contained in morsels of silky squab liver mousse served on five-spice cookies and its other culinary-masterpiece affiliates.
To anticipate your question, this is a surprise for Mr. Ehara; I'm relying on his deep-ceded hatred of reading to keep him from discovering my plan as outlined here. I have more details to work out, and an appointment with my stylist (for the TV show) tomorrow morning, so I bid you farewell.
June 9, 2006
June 8, 2006
The countdown to Woofstock is well underway, and we're in full panic mode, but I wanted to post about meeting Tyler and BJ, winners of the last season of The Amazing Race, before I forgot about it! So, we met them. Kaz took their pictures for one of the national papers, and they were sweet and hilarious and very warm people, and we had Iced Cappuccinos in Tim Hortons.
Tyler speaks Japanese (that sounds hysterical) because he walked the entire length of Japan (all 2000 miles) to impress his now girlfriend, Ayumi. He made a fantastic film about it, that you really should watch. Kaz was crying, he was laughing so hard, and when it's the week before your first show, such relief is a godsend.
I'm hoping we can see them in San Francisco, and I'm thinking about walking across China next summer just to experience a more true and direct interface with nature, a culture, and myself. (And Kaz.) Maybe I'm tired of feeling like a passenger in my own life?
June 7, 2006
"Wow, I sure am happy Grandma brought me back this hat from Quebec" remarked Koharu, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
June 3, 2006
Pandemonium
It's a rainy Saturday in Toronto. The dog has cabin fever, and is devouring any paper products she can find out of frustration. Have you ever seen a frustrated Boston terrier? It's not a pretty sight. I'm feeling rather melancholy (maybe I should stop listening to Imogen Heap and Feist?), and very overwhelmed.
Yesterday was our biggest shoot ever (and highest paid job) and Kaz and I have been bundles of nerves for weeks. That was 13 hours of mayhem - lugging half of our own office (props for the "dorm room" we had to create) along with every piece of photo equipment we own to a smattering of locations across the GTA with two clients (with clashing ideas of the images they need), one assistant, two wardrobe stylists, one makeup artist and four male models/comedians in tow. As usual, I wore the wrong shoes. Kaz nearly smashed a lens/decapitated a model while shooting in a BMX stunt bowl, with a wide-angle lens that make objects look much farther away than they really are. The poor cutie got a bruise on his cheek, and I'm thankful he isn't going to sue us.
My Mom's been on a conference in Mont Tremblant for the past week, so we've pushed all the furniture away and had denizens of dogs in our living room studio, frantically trying to accumulate enough pictures for next weekend's Woofstock Dog Festival. Between tent rentals, banner and t-shirt ordering (from a store staffed entirely by idiots), print-making, adevertising and making 8000 copies of our price list, I think I've given myself an ulcer and the dentist said I ground all of the enamel off my teeth while sleeping. (She also said I have my first cavity and need braces before my wisdom teeth come in.) Since this is our first show, I have no idea what to expect. The fact that Kaz and I are both finicky, high-strung perfectionists doesn't help the situation either.
Unfortunately, next week is the filming of our TV show, and that takes two fifteen-hour days of shopping, primping and partying in stilettos with martinis. I get the $2000 budget (for one lonely outfit - I could buy a whole wardrobe for that!)
I had a bad dream that they dressed me in leopard print and those gaudy lucite hooker shoes with rainbow LCD lights embedded in the soles. But that ensemble doesn't cost $2000, so it probably won't happen.
So, yeah. Can you tell that I've been talking like a chipmunk? I've been trying to find my peace, but it's a real challenge when everything seems to be happening all at once, you know?
I've had to make so many decisions, and then more decisions based on the first ones. It makes me worried that if there is a flaw in my lower-rung choices, everything could topple, like a human pyramid with a frail narcoleptic on the bottom tier.
Self-doubt. Insecurity. Mistrust. These are the names of my demons, and the enemies of my faith.
To combat this melancholy diatribe, I will relate the joys of receiving my new phone from Shanghai, a very pretty Nokia 7360 from the L'Amour series with a harmonious and soothing ring. It was well-worth waiting for a month and a half, and since it's not available here, it's special. Oh, and lucky Kaz got a new camera - a Canon 5D. Full-screen, and 12 Megapixels? Oh yeah!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
