Cabgirl’s Neighborhood

Damn sick of hearing about Mr. T Woods and his affairs. He's like last year's Amy Winehouse, never out of the headlines. The latest thing on the radio about him was the excuse he did what he did because of what his father did and he was distressed by it. If he saw he own dad cheat on his mum, saw and felt the pain, yes you could say he saw and replicated that, equally you could say he saw the pain caused and vowed never to do it. You are responsible for your own actions and to like father ... like son , well I don't think it's black and white, a lot of it depends on yourself.

In my own world, my dad cheated on my mum am I going to do the same thing ? I saw the pain it caused and the trouble and it made me more determined not to do the kind of things that made me hate him. He's also a compulsive gambler spending most of his life in a casino, I feel so much revulsion that I've never stepped foot into a Casino ever.

Cynthia lou

For the last few months my neck and shoulders have been killing me.  I went to the gym with the Hubs for a couple of weeks thinking it would help ease the pain.  Turns out the gym only aggravates my neck and shoulders.  AWESOME.

I went to the chiropractor last week thinking it would help, but it only provided temporary relief.  Temporary as in a couple of hours.  Sigh.  I made an appointment with a regular doctor.  I hope she doesn’t just prescribe pain meds because that’s not what I’m looking for.  My neck and shoulders issues went away when during my reformer pilates classes last year and I think I need to start those up again.  They are just so dang expensive!  We’re in a recession, there has to be SOMEONE out there that offers reasonable rates.

I would also like to ween myself off of my coffee addiction, but dude, if this cute little bear can’t even do it, how do you expect me to go cold turkey?

Via MSN, Esquire magazine is running an article on the lazy man's guide to last-minute shopping for a girlfriend. It's a guide to finding the right gift in the stores a guy is already in.  I always sigh when men's magazines give away bad ideas.  (Btw, Men's Health seems to be the most accurate when it comes to women tips).  So I am going to do my part for the men in my Vox neighborhood and improve upon Esquire's suggestions. :-)  I am a Taurus... to a 't'... which means I can be rather picky about gifts.

Esquire tip: At the Grocery Store: Option No. 1
Get a gift bag and some tissue paper (look near the tops of the aisles) and fill it with miniature candies, gossip magazines, and a best-selling book that wasn't written by Dan Brown.

Hapa tip:
Don't even think about "wrapping" your girlfriend's present in a gift bag. The message a gift bag sends is "LAZY". It's ok if the gift is a really weird shape, but try to avoid it. If you must, go get it wrapped at a store or something. A gift, when presented beautifully, makes the recipient feel special.

Now, the grocery store isn't the best place to find a gift. But if you're stuck with that, let's hope it's a Whole Foods or a Bristol Farms. Then you can purchase some gourmet treats, such as truffle oil, imported cheeses, olives, etc. Or, if they have sushi-grade fish, you could purchase all the stuff necessary to make sushi, and maybe a non-scented candle, and have a romantic sushi dinner for two at home.

Not all women love gossip mags, so if she doesn't, then it kind of sends a message of, "I think you're superficial, and what else do chicks like, anyway?". And if you're gonna get candles, get them at a fancy store. Those grocery store candles do not smell or look like a gift.

Esquire: At the Grocery Store: Option No. 2
Cake mix, with which you then bake her a cake.

Hapa tip:
See number 1. If you want to buy her a cake, go to a European bakery. One that uses really good ingredients. For example, one of those boutique-y cupcake places, St. Tropez bakery... something more expensive than Duncan Hines. However, if you want to make the cake (nice touch!), find a recipe on Cook's Illustrated, or some good cooking magazine, and do that. Doesn't have to be a cake, but try to do it from scratch and pick a recipe that doesn't look overly complicated if you haven't cooked much before.

Esquire: At the Drugstore: Option No. 1
Most drugstores sell products from the high-end cosmetics company La Roche-Posay. Get her the moisturizer, body balm, and face wash.

Hapa:
Take a look at what she already uses -- cosmetics are highly personal. Or, if she's got any beauty/fashion mags lying around, flip through them to see if any pages are dog-eared for stuff she wants to buy. I do buy plenty of my cosmetics stuff from drugstores,  but I would tend to buy Burts' Bees or various specific brands.

Esquire: At the Drugstore: Option No. 2
A gift bag filled with candy. Nothing fancy, the stuff she actually likes: candy.

Hapa:
Nah. Cupcakes. Or fancy chocolate (which cannot be purchased at a drug store). Another drug store option (if you must) would be a bunch of toiletries in travel size, in a travel bag -- if she travels. It's nice not to have a separate travel size of all your toiletries so you don't have to pack it each time. If she's into baths or relaxation, lavendar bath salts would be a pretty nice little gift, I think. Pack it up in a basket with a bottle of wine, an eye mask and some relaxing music.

Esquire: At the Hardware Store: Option No. 1
A flower (orchids are always nice) and a nice pot to transfer it to before you get home.

Hapa:
This is actually a good tip. It would be even better accompanied with a bottle of champagne!  Btw, Home Depot will transfer the plant to the pot in the store for you (for free).

At the Hardware Store: Option No. 2
If you don't already live together, consider the symbolism of having a key made for her. No gift packaging required.

Hapa:
Not too bad, but this only works when you're asking her to move in to your house. Not really a Christmas thing. If you need another hardware store idea, maybe a wreath or a fruit tree (planted). And if she digs power tools (there are a lot of crafty women around), that would be an awesome gift.

Esquire: At Kmart: Option No. 1
A picture frame, into which you insert a picture of the two of you.

Hapa:
Well you'd better not give her the gift receipt, because then she'll  know you shopped for her at Kmart. Actually, I'm cool with Kmart, but a picture of the two of you is a little on the cheesy side. We could improve this gift by doing a digital photo frame (also sold for cheap at Fry's Electronics), with some photos of the two of you, as well as photos of her and her friends and family. Then you score points for putting all the people she cares about (not just you) into the frame.

Esquire: Kmart: Option No. 2
A Wii.

Hapa:
That would actually be a pretty rad gift. I'd be stoked. You can get them for cheaper at Costco, though.

Esquire: At Kmart: Option No. 3
Several of the practical — and surprisingly attractive — Oxo Pop containers. Fill them — really fill them — with something she'll enjoy. Like candy. Or a note letting her know that her real gift is on the way.

Hapa:
I'd love this gift. However, if she's not into cooking, I wouldn't recommend it. But I really love those containers. Sometimes you can find these and other nice kitchen stuff for super cheap at T.J. Maxx, Marshall's and Ross.

Happy shopping!

Xmas time, festive time of year when people find a reason to get drunk and merry and say things like " christmas spirit/merry christmas" without any though about the CHRIST in christmas.

This year i've wished everyone a happy hanukkah, I wonder if they will know the difference?

X-mas time, another chance to practice "im busy so i cant make your wonderful party.. dam i really wish i could make it..." is lying in christmas spirit?

Uk has switched over to digital this month and the big news is that many people are still not using their 50inch flat screens to their full potential. A very low percentile of the population is watching High definition content and on the horizon according to TV makers is 3D vision in the next year or so. Already in the cinema there is the 3D movie Avatar and next year the world cup will be filmed in 3D by sony. This all brings to question, does this make any difference? Im no film expert but Avatar can be in 3D and smell vision but if its story line is rubbish then im not going to go watch it.

Same can be said in 3D sports events, if the actual event is rubbish then how is the 3D experience going to enhance it?

Why are companies making big pushes for features like High Def and 3D when it serves no purpose other than to stick people's asses onto a sofa for 5 hours a day. Of course its about money but surely sitting through a 3D version of a rubbish tv programe is just as bad as its 2D sister? Or is getting bored in 3D or high def the more " IN " thing?

I think in 20 years from now, children will look back at the time when people use to sit for 5hours a day and watch a screen and wonder how sad those people were. Also these childrean will ask how stupid were they in those times that they couldnt understand the relationship between obesity and the number of hours slumped infront of a TV.

Have a spare minute, want to procrastinate?

Click here to vote for Bucky in his holiday photo contest.

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Trying to improve my photography ....

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Ubiquitous self portait in the toliet with camera phone !

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This car has a big can or red bull but no wings !

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Horrible noise at low light levels from the camera phone ! This picture needs to be white balanced too !

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Nights in the car park leaving for home ..

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Sky lights

Growing up our family never really celebrated Xmas, we didn't give or get any gifts, have a turkey dinner, maybe send some Xmas cards. My dad was at home on Xmas day because the casino was closed. I never had the shock of finding out Santa Claus does n't really exist. Every year during Christmas something was sure to happen the Christmas decorations he always made an effort to put up, the Charlie style way of course.

We never had a Christmas tree at home (one year me and my siblings pretended the potted plant was a Christmas tree, wrapped our own presents to put underneath it), but we did have the fairy lights for a tree. Which were taped to the top of the living room wall. After a week or so the tape would peel away leaving bits of the lights dangling, coming off. In later years, the fairy lights became disco style lights.