Cirque du soleil Totem

This year is the 30th anniversary of Cirque Du Soleil, a Canadian based circus company that specializes in carnival meet athletic ability performances. I finally got the opportunity to go to one of the main, and the newest show, Totem. I've seen Cirque as part of a show in Vegas with Criss Angel, which was a lot of fun, but this show was totally different.

The big top circus tent

I would have loved to get some photos, of a video, of the show, but doing so endangers the performers, and it's forbidden. Unlike many of the other Cirque performances, this one was different in that it was much less circus and much more organic performance. The actors are so damn talented, its almost unreal. I love how international the cast is as well, choosing talent over any national boundaries.

Some of the awesome stuff available for purchase

My thoughts on being able to do ANY of the things the performers could. Seriously, so talented!

Yum Yum popcorn!

Cirque selfie!

Photography wasn't allowed, but I got a quick snap before the show

the Cirque logo

Aren't these masks just beautiful?

.I don't know where, of even if, Totem is heading next, but if you guys get a chance to see the travelling version of Cirque, or, really, any version, I highly recommend it! There are always shows going on in Vegas, and you can get some pretty cheap tickets too. I suggest the travelling show because then you get to be in a big top. While the big top has less room for the BIG theatrics and technical stuff, it is super magical to see it all in a circus tent, you know?

So, have you guys been to Cirque du Soleil? What did you think?

Here is the official trailer for Totem, give it a watch, and tell me what you think!

(Another) Throwback post! My Hometown!

My hometown of Guelph Ont, is really only famous for a few things-The University of Guelph, and the hometown of the leader of the Pot Party. I think that's about it. Oh, and the authors Jean Little and Robert Munch.
I know that I've posted pictures of my hometown before-I go there often enough, that there are lots of posts about Ontario. But, this is different. You see, this was before I knew I would be leaving forever. I also thought I could be a semi-professional photographer at some point in my life. As you can see, that never turned out. I don't mean to say I take bad pictures-I think they are quite alright-it just means that I will never make money from it. That's fine. There are plenty of real photographers out there with lots of talent, you know?
So, enjoy these OLD photos (maybe 2 cameras ago) and look forward to some new ones from Ontario in August!

Church of our lady. Religion scares the crap out of me, but the architecture is beautiful. 

Abandoned steam train

The sunsets in the winter are just beautiful sometimes

The ever-peaceful Buddha 

And you thought the church was big from the front! 

Abandoned train station

Throw back post! Cuba!

Once upon a time, I went to Cuba for a pre-wedding honeymoon. Or something. Okay, not at all. It just happened to fall a few months before our wedding, so we called it a honeymoon, as we didn't have one.

The actual story is that the man and I decided we wanted nothing to do with the Vancouver Olympics, and so we rented out our downtown apartment in exchange for our rent payed, flights to Ontario, and a vacay to Cuba, which was all inclusive. Not bad for vacating my apartment for 3 weeks, right?

We went to Varadaro, which isn't too far from Havana, and is the area where you can see both sides of the ocean from the same spot. It was a really nice location, and the resort-the name of which escapes me at the moment-was pretty good. The majority of the other tourists were all Canadian, what with the anti-American sentiment in Cuba that is well reciprocated in the US.

I actually got really bad food poisoning before we went, and I had to stop on the way to the airport to puke a few times. It was gross, and I didn't want to go anymore. The husband made me go, and I am so happy he did. I had a great time there! I have never seen water so blue as I did there. Seriously. And I've been a few places in the Caribbean and Tropics. Nothing bluer.

Storm making its way to shore

Super burnt little feet

Golf course over looking the ocean that we were thrown out of

The golf course

These little guys were EVERYWHERE!

Carved relief wall at the resort we stayed at

This is one of the few vacations where we did almost nothing. There was some family drama that made things a little tense, and we didn't have a lot of money. We stayed mostly at the beach, and did a lot of swimming, eating, hot tubbing, sun bathing, sand castle building (seriously) and walking around. It was super great and relaxing. Next time we go there, I hope to go in the more warm weather-don't get me wrong, it was nice, but it wasn't THAT nice, you know? It was still February, and there were a few cooler days.

Collection of random stuff

I just got blogger for my phone, so I figured I'd do a post of random things I take pictures of.
I warn you its pretty eclectic!

Aren't these shoes crabtacular?!? (yes, I know they are lobsters) 

This is the kitchen that I work in

Cool ass clouds around my school

An art exhibit that I really want to go to. I love him as an author, and his art is a lot of fun too

Seattle and Laurell k Hamilton

I know don't talk about it all that often, but I love reading. Seriously.  I'm not that cliche 'girl who isn't like other girls because she reads and drinks tea' kind of girl, but I do like to read. And drink tea.
But I digress.

One of my favourite authors is Laurell K Hamilton.  She writes two awesome urban fantasy series, and has some 30 novels published as well as several short stories. This past week, one of her series-Merry Gentry fae princess-got its newest release, A Shiver of Light.  To support the release, she went on tour and I finally got to meet her in Seattle. 

This is my second time meeting an author and my first time going alone. I was pretty nervous what with crossing the U.S. Canadian border but it all went fine. I love taking the bolt bus across the border because its cheaper, the seats are more comfortable than greyhound, and they have WiFi and outlets for all your charging needs. Seriously, how awesome is free WiFi in a bus?

That is not all my luggage, don't worry! I brought a tiny backpack and a bag for food, that my husband made for me.

That's right, New York Time best seller-multiple times over!

This is Laurell K Hamilton, looking amazing, rocking a super sexy dress at University Bookstore, Seattle. 

The guy taking the picture did a crappy job, but I'm happy that we even got a picture. She liked my chest tattoo <3

I was only in Seattle for about 15 hours before I came back to Vancouver. I had a class to attend, and couldn't be late. I stayed in the Green Tortoise hostel, which is at 1st and Pike, and is such a great, central location for any traveler, and was perfect for what I needed, location wise. I admit, I didn't sleep at all, mostly because the other people in my room were noisy as fuck, and I didn't expect there to be both genders in my 8 person room. Kinda threw me off. I also was paranoid as hell about waking up in time for my 6:30am bus back to Canada. But, the hostel provided breakfast, which I left too early for, and WiFi, that didn't work on my phone. So, it has the potential to be a great, cheap hostel.

But, anyways, meeting Laurell K Hamilton was just awesome.I found out a week before the event that she was coming this close to my side of the country, and I had to go. I miss a lot of cool events because they aren't close enough to me, or they are on days where I have class or work, but I think its important to do things that you WANT to do, you know?

But, seriously though, meeting her was just awesome. She as a person and through her characters inspires me daily to be comfortable with a lot of aspects of myself that are not pretty, or socially acceptable. Through her words, I learned that being me, and just me, was okay. 

So, if you guys want a new cool urban fantasy series to read, I highly suggest anything by Ms. Hamilton. If you're into vampire hunters and zombies, go with the Anita Blake series, starting with Guilty Pleasures, and if you are into fae, fairies and a little bit of torture, go with the Merry Gentry series, starting with A Kiss of Shadows.

The Anniversary-Photo Post!

All just photos! I do suggest a visit to Van Dusen if you are in Vancouver, and want to try something off the beaten path. Admission is about $10.00 at high time, and there is special family rates, as well as youth/senior/student discounts.

 More after the jump!