Pow Pow and Sunshine

What more could a girl ask for in a long weekend of ripping? Just look at what I have in store for me: (dont be a hater!)

Whistler - 77cms of fresh snow in 3 days!

Mt. Baldy - 20 cm in the past 5 days

Some food for thought for all us office workers …

I know that there has been a rash of #2, #3, #6, #7 & #12 here in my workplace over the last few months and let me tell you, NOTHING good has come from it .

Keep Reading: 13 Things to Keep to Yourself at Work

Comments - NOW WORKING

Friggen finally .... now let me know what you think!!

Yet another ....

Reason I am so stoked for Coachella this year:

Ghostland Observatory & The Presets

Back to back in the Mojave.

This could be the best Friday night EVER at Coachella


http://www.thepresets.com/deterioration_content.html


http://ghostlandobservatory.net/

More Exciting New Tunes Coming Our Way

My longtime love affair with the sexy men of Depeche Mode will get yet another boost this April. The new tunes are in a very classic DM vein and yet as always, are fresh and contemporary.

Sadly there is no concert yet booked for Van, so I may have to road trip it to Seattle to see the men in action.

Check out the new single WRONG here: http://www.myspace.com/depechemode

More info: http://www.depechemode.com/news.html

Make way for new SOV

The Biggest Midget In the Game is BACK!

L.O.V.E the Cure sample & is it just me or does she look a hellova lot like Mel. C??

Lady Sovereign - So Human


And it just keeps getting better:
Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing


The new direction she seems to be taking with her music in is very pop/dancy but works with her edgy feel and makeover ... no more street kid hip-hop vibes anymore.

LOVES IT

Finish the Sen.... (as stoled from Christine)

1. My ex....is well I hope

2. Maybe I should.... change the blue in my hair to purple

3. I love.... to travel and see the world

4. People would say that I'm.... awesome ;P.

5. I don't understand....why people cant stick to their convictions

6. When I wake up in the morning.... there is a fight between P and I as to who is in the shower first, I always win!.

7. I lost.....my fave ring in Amsterdam last summer and am still mourning its loss

8. Life is full of.... surprises, both good and bad.

9. My past is.....my past

10. I get annoyed when..... people are dishonest, both to me and themselves

11. Parties are...... few and far between these days.

12. I wish....I had a genie in a bottle

13. Dogs..... are great if they are not the yippy-yappy type.

14. Cats....are cute but boring.

15. Tomorrow.....is Monday, UGH!!

16. I have low tolerance....for bullshit, I can smell it a mile away

17. If I had a million dollars... pay off my debts, travel the world and go to art school.

18. I'm totally terrified..... of losing my loved ones

19. My spouse..... is Phil, if I have to give him a title

20. My life..... wow, what a trip its been so far!.

TAX RETURN RANT

I got my T4 today and thought that I would be a responsible tax payer and start on my return via H&R Block Online.

Early bird gets the worm right? Plus, a few extra bucks in my pocket would be nice and I could used the refund to pay a bill or two.

LOL - Who am I kidding? I’ll be luck to buy a coffee with my return.

ANYWHOO ... I have filed my returns using the H&R Online system for the last 5 years and so far have never had an issue … until tonight.

When going through and answering all the interview questions, I got to the part on marital status changes in 2008. I answered honestly, stating that my status change was “Separated and then divorced”.

I proceeded to fill in the rest of the form and even get so far as to see what my return would be (what a cruel joke that was) and then BAM! ERRORS in the system.

Ok, no biggie. I’ll just go back and fix them … right?

NOT so.

For some reason, the ‘effing CCRA seems to think that I:

A) keep in touch with my ex and therefor;
B) know what his address for 2008 was; and
C) know what his annual earning for 2008 were.

WTF!

Why on earth should I be required to know these details, let alone relay them to the CCRA?

This person has NOTHING to do with my life, has not been in anyway a part of my life for over 3 years, and as of March 3, 2008 was no longer in anyway legally bound to me.

I’ll be dammed if they think that I am going to try to contact my ex to gather these details.

I don’t know how to describe how pissed off I am at this. This weekend I am taking my papers into an H&R Block to get this nonsense sorted out.

In closing – THIS IS BULLSHIT

V-Day

Valentines Day makes most people think of red roses, chocolate, candy hearts and their loved one.

And I am no exception. However, I don’t subscribe to all the BS that seems to come with the “Hallmark” Holiday.

I don’t agree with the need to spend silly amounts of cash on trinkets and gift.

I don’t agree with feeling pressured to go out to an uber fancy restaurant with a big price tag.

I do agree with giving gifts that come from the heart and not just the wallet.

I do agree with having a wonderful meal and spending time connecting, laughing and just being together.

My Valentine gave me a gift this year that showed me how much he knows and loves me.

It started on Friday night.

Friday had proved to be a shitty day at work, with lots to catch up on and get done from my week away. So to beat the stress, I decided to work it out hard at the gym.

Annoyed that I got home late, I had just enough time to make and scarf back the “Erin Special” (What’s that you ask? Well, when strapped for time I throw together the following : 1 tomato diced, ½ cucumber diced, ¼ red onion finely chopped, 1 grilled turkey burger, diced, all tossed together in an EVOO, Balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and lemon juice dressing, with oregano to garnish) and headed off to the gym.

Being that it was my first day back on The Program after playing hooky for the week it was a hard workout. The cardio was hard, the crunches were hard and the weights were hard. But even so, I felt awesome after it all. Endorphins are becoming my new BFFs.

Side Note: Phil and I have a rule. Since the gym is close enough for me to walk to, we have agreed that unless he is home and I can take the car, I will walk to the gym, however since its usually dark out when I am done, and he is not cool with me walking home in the dark alone (an frankly, neither am I), he will pick me up. This usually works out quite well with both our schedules.

And as usual, when I was done sweating it out, my man and my chariot were awaiting me.

Although I was feeling good after the workout, I was unsure if I still wanted to go out. I was pooped.

We had talked about going to see a movie all day, but the times didn’t seem to work out and what I wanted to see was not something that P was totally up for.

As most of you know, I am a horror movie fanatic and have been highly anticipating the release of the new Friday The 13th flick. And as most of you know, Phil dose not share in my love of the gore fests.

So when I walked through the door, all sweaty and still sort of moody, I was shocked to see a single STUNNING long stemmed red rose in a vase on the counter with 2 tickets to the 10:30 showing beside it. What a Guy that Phil, taking his crazy lady to see a classic slasher flick remake (on opening night, Friday the 13th, no less).

Needless to say, I was more than stoked and hopped in the shower.

The movie was packed! We had to line up before the movie for about 20 minutes, not something I have done in a LONG while. Good thing we had agreed to get there early, anticipating a big crowd. And it was totally worth it. We got the perfect seats - middle of the row, 1/2 way up. Score.

The movie was a reworking of the franchise and it was very true to its originals (IMHO). As a long time Jason fan, I was excited to see how they worked in parts of the old movies. Lots of references that you could tell all us Jason Junkies caught onto. I won’t go into details, but if you are a fan, you will not be disappointed in this “homage” to Mr. Voorhees.

Not the most romantic or typical of date flicks, but it was a wonderful night nonetheless. Complete with ridiculously large bag of popcorn and a diet coke I could have taken a bath in.

In the words of Chanandler Bong “Perfection. The best start to Valentines Day this gal could ask for.

The Birfday of all Birfdays

Ok, so the fog that has been clouding my brain for the last week has now cleared.

And all I can say is WOW - was a crazy birthday weekend, just CRAZY.

The events planned for Day 3 had a lot to contend with, but yet again it managed to rawk our socks off.

After spending the day lazing about, hot tubing and sipping ice cold Corona’s, it was time to get out and show that town what we were made of one last time.

Tonight was going to be amazing. We had 3 stops planned and everyone was pumped.

Stop #1 was Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Now, I had called ahead to see what the cover situation was, as there was a band playing that night (Eagles of Death Metal). I was told that it was free for ladies and $10 for dudes. Not bad, OK, so off we go.

Got there about 9:45 pm and immediately loved the vibe of the Hard Rock. Edgy and fun with none of the BS you can find in some of the other places.

We headed over to the club and got in line behind the ever present velvet rope. All was going swimmingly, but when it was our turn to chat with Mr. Doorman, we were boggled when asked for out tickets.

Huh?? I said we didn’t have any and the clearly so happy to be at work Mr. Doorman with Bad Bleached Skunk Style Hair then sneered and told us it was $20 a head to get in.

Double Huh?? I relayed to him in my nicest bitchy tone what I had been told when I called and with the usual bouncer ‘tude he just looked at me and repeated himself.

Ugh. But wait! We have hook ups damnit. We be VIPs!!

A call was placed to our man Darko and within minutes I was on the phone with the head of VIP Nightlife for the Hard Rock scoring us entry.

Once inside, I knew this was the place for me. The vibe was gritty, the band was kicking ass, the people were low key and enjoying themselves. And the drinks were only $6. Clearly a different place then those we had been frequenting so far.

Phil and I took up shop near the bar and rawked out for about an hour before it was time to head out for Stop #2: The Cathouse at the Luxor.

Walking into the Luxor is pure Vegas. Big lights, over the top Egyptian themed décor and people milling about everywhere.

Now it was time for our new Host Mr. Dave to treat us like the superstars we are.
Now, the Cathouse is a newer Vegas spot and has quite the ambiance. To quote the clubs write up:

A loungerie inspired by the rich opulence of a 19th century European bordello. The ultra lounge portion of the venue has all of the opulence of the fabled bordellos of Europe that were frequented by celebrities and royalty. Elevated platforms throughout the venue feature sexy performers modeling CatHouse's own line of lingerie. European bottle service is available as servers treat their guests with unmatched service and entertainment, as they become part of the energy of the room.

After waiting just a few minutes at the leather padded doors, we were escorted into the club and to our VIP table. Oh yes, Party Man Dave comes through - 3 Cheers for comped bottle service and our own lounge space.

Gotta tell ya, I LOVED this place. The music was grooving, the waitresses were HOT and the overall vibe was sexy and fun. Defo a place to check out if you are ever in town, and I am certainly heading back on my next trip to the Desert.

After downing back our bottle of Kettle One and shaking our butts on the elevated dance pedestals, it was time to head off to the last stop of the night, LAX.

Now, as some of you know, I am a gossip fiend. I read all the blogs and then some. I get my goss from the US, the UK, and of course local haunts. So I have heard it all when it comes to clubs and the so called places to be.

And LAX is one of those places.

Based on the winning methods of the original club in LA, LAX Las Vegas is:

LAX is the destination of choice for club-goers, catering to a young, sophisticated audience, A-list celebrities and the social jet set. With the sounds of the evening at LAX being pumped out by DJ extraordinaires DJ AM and DJ Vice, LAX has an atmosphere found no where else in the world. With Noir Bar and Company American Bistro all interconnected, LAX completes your nightlife experience all at one location.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit to my desire to see some famous or infamous faces on the dance floor.

By the time we all managed to get over to the club, which should have been rather easy since it was in the same hotel at Cathouse, however it seemed to take forever … I am assuming that the redonkulous amounts of booze already ingested had something to do with it, we had sadly missed our cut off time for our comped table and VIP bottle service.

Boo, what is the partying like the regular folk nonsense? Sheesh.

But whateve, I wanted in, I needed to see this with my own two blurry ass eyes.

After dropping my black cowhide at Coat Check, a service that I have never loved so much before in my life, it was down into the dance pit to make our way to, why the bar of course.

This place was mental. 26,000 sf of thumping tunes and bodies packed in like sardines, sweating and gyrating. It took a full 10 minutes to navigate our way through the perspiring throng to the bar. But we made it there, alive and parched.

I grabbed a few Heineken and Stoli/Crans and as soon as the sweet mix of juice and vodka hit my lips I knew it was game over.

Have you ever had that? The recognition that the sip you just had has put you over the edge? Most of the time I’m not aware of it, or its too late, but this time it was as clear as day.

But instead of just holding on to it for appearances sake, I threw it back and then took on the Heinie. Smart Erin, really smart.

Within in minutes I was fully annihilated. Blurry vision, the inability to walk straight and of course, the classic slur.

Kathryn and I started to make some rounds but only made it about 20 feet before we were sidetracked by a group of ummmm, lets say larger ladies, all of whom clearly had no concept of their actual body types or how to dress them, as the amount of spandex, sequins and spaghetti straps was insurmountable. We had to stop … it was like a brick wall. So yes, we gawked, it was hard not to.

Finally able to pull ourselves away from the clubber train wreck in front of us, we made our way back to the bar, but not before being attached by 3 Armenian dudes, clad in head to toe white, grinding hard. And as we all know, when you are that drunk, shit you dance back. After as while the party vibe started to slow down within me and the desire to be home and in bed was getting stronger.

I broke free of the Grind Twins and fought my way over to Phil to see if he was up for home. And would ya know, he was in as bad of shape as I and was more than happy to hail a cab.

We attempted to find the other 3 ladies of the night but they were long gone. So nutz to them, we needed out.

After grabbing my coat back, which I am shocked that I didn’t loose the ticket for, we stumbled down the stairs to our awaiting chariot.

Getting home, getting undressed, all that is a total blur. All I can really remember is chugging about a litre of water and scarfing back some pizza before passing out.

However, there is photographic evidence of some of the events of the evening. Kathryn was kind enough to take a snap of P and I passed, ass out in bed, lights on, fully clothed, the works. I’ll have to get my hands on that one and post it for your viewing pleasure.

What can I say, 30 never looked so classy.

Time To Party

With the rousing success of Night One, Night Two had a lot of pressure put upon it.

But boy, did it live up to its expectations.

After waking up nice and late and enjoying a full bacon and egger breakfast we all deemed it necessary to take time out for a hot tub. When it’s right there, ready and waiting, you really just cannot say no.

Once all mellow and toasty warm some retail therapy was nominated for the next of the daily events.

We scoped out, what we thought would be the best and most cost effective way to get to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets, and headed off to the bus stop.

The bus ride was quite a debacle. First we thought we had the cost worked out to $1.75 each, but when we went to board and asked for a transfer we were greeted with a rather hostile driver who informed us that there were no transfers and that it was best to get a day pass for $4.00 each. So we fumbled with our various wallets and change purses to get our cash sorted out and finally found a few seats at the back.

And as with any bus ride that I have experienced, there were some interesting characters on board. What would appear to be a few homeless or at least fearful of water types were kind enough to grace me with their presence and foul personal odours for the majority of the trip. Needless to say when the time came to bounce from my seat, I was first at the door.

We had though that we knew where we were going and that it would be a short walk after the bus to the stores, and we were right, but what we had not though about was the local of the mall.

It was one of the sketchier neighbourhoods that I have been in I have to admit. And I was holding onto my purse for deal life as we trekked to our destination. The spitting rain also didn’t help the situation.

Finally, we made it there, safe and sound and ready to shop. And shop we did.

I picked up an amazing black high-waisted pencil skirt with a shiny wide belt and a funky bright purple belted shirt-dress from Guess? Normally not the kind of things that I would be drawn to, but this new figure and waist line have opened up my mind and I am willing to try things I might not have a month ago. Also grabbed a printed teal and black bar top from Bebe for a whopping $17. Sweet deals all around.

Overall, it was a very good shopping excursion, given that we only had two hours to kill before heading back home to get primped for the evenings events.

Time to get gussied up. I donned the new skirt, a uber sparkly grey tank and my fierce zippered stiletto boots and was ready to take on the town.

Again, a painful wait for the cab, but this time we were wise to the games of the cab companies and had called a full hour in advance to arrange our ride. And it worked out perfectly.

Got to our first destination, Lavo at Palazzo, and met up with Darko, our party man. He scored us line bypass and no cover and even a drink ticket for Phil as he is the solo dude in this crew.

Once in, it was a beeline to the bar. OUCH is all I can say. Our first round was $56! And that was just 5 drinks, (4 Stoli & Cran and a Heineken). But, and I say this with shock in my voice, those drinks were DAMN strong. We certainly got bang for our bucks.

We cruised about the club, checking out the scene and the other party people and set up shop near the dance floor. The tunes were mainly old-skool hip hop and the floor was slammed.

After a few more drinks (a Petron Silver shooter for me – yummy) it was off to Tao. Now, I have read and heard thing about this place and was hoping it would live up to its hype. And all I can say is WOW.

Again, we were escorted inside with line bypass and had our covers comped, thanks to Darko.

This place is insane. First off it’s huge. And the décor is stunning. Asian themed and clearly no expense spared.

First stop, the bar of course.

I grabbed this round ($65 this time) and again, we made our way to the dance floor.

The tunes were happening. A mash up of 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and current Pop, Rock and Hip-Hop. I could not stand still.

But it was getting a tad hot and I was a sweaty mess so Phil and I took off to enjoy the views from the terrace, an amazing vista of the central Strip.

The gambling bug was biting P big time so he decided to take off and hit the tables and I made my way back to the girls.

By this time they had managed to sweet talked their way into the VIP section and were enjoying the full bottle service treatment, comped of course. After a few more drinks and tunes we decided to check out the other rooms and the rest of the bar.

By this time, things were getting a tad messy so we decided to bail and find Phil to head home.

We were all well toasted and some of us were having a hard time walking and keeping a straight line. But its Vegas and no one, and I mean no one, bats an eye to a group of hawt ladies stumbling about a casino at 3 am. It’s par for the course.

After locating the Gambler we hopped in a cab and crashed through the homestead doors about 4am.

Some of us found our beds, others got as far as the couch. But everyone got home and that’s all that matters.

Overall, the night was an amazing success and I cannot wait for Round Two tonight. The plan is to check out the new rock bar at the Hard Rock Hotel, Wasted Space and with the super powers of our man Darko, we will be enjoying more VIP service at Cathouse and LAX at the Luxor.

I am beyond stoked …. Maybe I’ll run into Mr. Tommy Lee, as the Crew is playing a show at the House of Blues tonight … shit, I better start getting ready!

Viva Las Vegas

Here it is, the eve of the Dirty Thirty. There are BIG plans for tonight, let me tell you.

But let’s start at the beginning.

We’ve been in Las Vegas since Thursday afternoon and it’s been unreal ever since we stepped off the plane.

The weather was OK. Warmer temps and loads of sun greeted our arrival. Not to bad considering what we had left behind.

Met up with the ladies at the airport, who had managed to already get hooked up with an event manager from Tao at the Venetian who has since proved to be worth his weight in gold (VIP service, drink and door comps, the works), and hopped in a cab to the homestead that would be our palatial pad for the next 6 nights.

And what a pad it is. The pictures didn’t lie, and if anything they didn’t do the home justice. Beautifully decorated, with all the amenities you could ask for and not of the things you want to avoid it a hotel/casino (ie: loud guests, overpriced drinks, crowded pools … you know, the usual).

Fist things first, we dropped our bags, got the hot tub cranked and headed off to get the fridge stocked. Another bonus of staying in a self service place, less food and booze costs if you can get your fixens’ at the grocery store (Hello, $10 bar drinks, no thanks, I’ll get primed at home).

Then it was time to get out on the town. After throwing back a few beers and a truly yummy dinner of Cobb Salad and Turkey Burgers prepared by Chef Marcotte, it was off to the Bellagio for my first ever Cirque du Soleil show: O.

Now let me preface this with a few things:

1. I have, as I mentioned, never seen a Cirque show; and
2. I was slightly concerned that it would not be all it was cracked up to be. I know that sounds insane but that’s the truth. So many things get hyped up and then lead to disappointment right?

After waiting a painfully long hour for our chariot (a van cab, cuz you know, that’s how we roll), we walked through those stunning hotel doors and found our seats for the 10:30 show.

And I can honestly say that the show was the single most amazing performance I have ever in my life seen. The grace, strength and passion that those performers showed is unmatched to anything I have ever experienced. The costumes, the music and the set, which included moving floors and water elements was choreographed so perfectly it was awe-inspiring. There was no room for error, not even an inch.

To end the night we spent our pennies at the slot machines as to score a few rounds of free bevies, a few more at the craps tables and Phil managed to win a nice little gansta’ roll at the Black John tables.

A truly perfect start to what is turning out to be a birthday event for the books.