Brought to you by caffeine and the letter "V"

The lovely Brookem over at Shrinkering Hearts had this little ABC thing going on over at her blog, and she's assigned me the letter "V". Yikes.

If you want to participate, leave a comment on this post letting me know and I will assign you a letter. You then write about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter and post them on your blog. When people comment on your posted list that they want a letter, you give them one and the chain continues on and on.

So, here we go: 10 things I love, starting with the letter "V".

1. Volunteering. I like to get involved in causes I believe in, like interVivos and Relay for Life. I feel good about contributing to society, and think that everyone is better off focusing on others for a while and forgetting the stresses in our own daily lives.

2. Voting. Oh man, do I ever love voting. As a former political science nerd and a member of interVivos' The Vote Project, which springs up around election time, voting is one of my passions. It's the big chance where citizens have an opportunity to tell the leaders of a country how we really feel about them. It's a democratic right which we take for granted. The shamefully low voter turnouts we have every election makes me hurt inside.

3. Vineyards. I described my dream job earlier this month. Wine is becoming one of my favourite things. It relaxes me after a long, hard day and and is in my glass when raised in celebration. I went to a wine tasting with a friend and now have fantasies of enrolling in a legitimate wine course. The beautiful scenery, delectable food, and delicious wines cause visions of vineyards haunt my dreams. My goal for the summer is to get to the Okanagan with the Boy and visit some vineyards there.

4. Veggies. Vegetables are delicious, I've never needed enforcement to eat them. Even brussel sprouts, which I didn't try until university, create a party in my mouth. Yum, yum.

5. Vests (the sweater kind, not the suit kind). I can't pull off the clean suited vests that all the cool kids are wearing these days, but I love a mean sweater vest. I went through a phase where I couldn't resist them, which was only fueled by the fact that so many of them featured argyle, my pattern of choice.

6. Vegas. The Boy and I went in November, and it was a great time. Censory overload and exhaustion-inducing, but it was interesting to not only see the sights but also people watch. Chain smoking, drinking, and intensely staring into the face of a slot machine are not things that I could do before 8 a.m. but it was normal for so many others. We saw the Beatles' LOVE Cirque de Soleil when we were there and it was absolutely amazing. I'd go again just to see it (well and maybe check out Freemont Street).

7. Violet (the colour, not the flowers). I love deep, rich purples. Always have. And violet is a colour that looks amazing on just about anyone. Which is fortunate since my skin is quite often some shade of purple (I'm a little accident prone).

8. Video games. Growing up, we never had video games. We had a couple of educational computer games, but no video game console. It wasn't until I started dating the Boy that I started really playing video games, and I don't care much to brag, but I'm pretty kick-ass at RockBand. He gave me a Wii for my birthday, so now video games are a pretty solid part of our relationship. Currently, I'm addicted to Fable II for the XBox. I dream about it.

9. Vases. I don't know what it is, but plants and vases send me into a frenzy. I can't go into Ikea without purchasing one of these two items, and if for some reason I do not return with one or the other (or both), it's cause for celebration. The ones to the right are from Ikea (I stole the picture from their website). I don't own them, but I kind of wish I did!

10. Vacation. Ahhh, sweet, sweet vacation. One week from now I'll be on an airplane, looking forward to a week off of work. Spending Family Day with my family. I can't even describe now much I'm looking forward to it. I've never been one for sunshine-soaked destinations, but lazy vacation is defintely where it's at.

There we go! I never thought I'd be able to think up 10. Thanks Brookem, for making me think on a Friday, and giving me reason to actually take a break during lunch on a busy day.

Gonna eat my banana, gonna be alright

“Oh Lordy! Oh Lord, what is dis? Dis is COOOLD!”

The lady in the seat across from me grins and pipes up, “It’s Edmonton, buddy! Get used to it!”

“Oh no, no, no. Gonna eat my banana, it’s gonna be alright. I’m vegetarian, you know. A bad vegetarian. I like to smoke.” Huge smile.

Snickers from the spectators. The same lady comments, “You’re going to need to smoke. This is just the beginning. And you’re going to need a better coat, a warmer one.”

The tall, lean Rastafarian struts up the train aisle, caressing his thin, gold jacket. “Have you seen ma coat? Ya can’t do any beddah than this! Dis is all I need! Dis will keep me warm!”

“Poor choice, buddy. You need a coat like this,” she says, pointing to a young boy whose face is just barely visible through the hood of his full-out parka.

A male voice further down the train shouts, “Think of this as summer!”

“Summa?! No, no, no. Dis is no summa. I’m gonna go back to Jamaica, and there’s gonna be a band playin’.” His hips start to move back and forth as his words become song. “Pray for me! Pray for me, Edmonton! Pray I’ll get back to Jamaica, chill out, smoke a big spliff.”

Giggles.

He turns to a red-faced blonde behind him. Asks where her people are from. Her voice doesn’t boom across the train car like his. She’s embarrassed by the attention he’s brought on her corner of the train. She tells him she’s Ukrainian.

“PIEROGIES!" He shouts. "Maybe those will keep me warm!”

More giggles. Shock from the poor, embarrassed blonde.

He notes her embarrassment and points to a spot barely visible through the fogged up windows. “See dat? Dat’s da spot I could see from ma window at da Remand Centre!” He goes on a rant about how he’s sick of injustice. Sick of lies and distrust. Sick of the evil and the badness in the world.

“I’m gonna eat my banana, gonna be alright. Right now, I’m gonna go dance!” He slides off the train at Churchill station, moving his hips and singing a song to his own Rastafarian beat.