Why?

The Mister and I were taking a little drive tonight after work, so that I could mystery shop a restaurant.
While we were in the car, I was talking about someone who told me that they turned down an interview for a possibly better position because they felt "ok," where they were.
I marvelled at why they wouldn't just go to see what the other job would offer.
Go for the interview experience and practice.
I don't understand it.
The Mister and I had the following exchange:

"It's none of my business"
"That's right"
"Why does it bug me that she won't even go to see what's being offered"
"let it go"
"It bugs me"
"let it go"
"But it might be a better opportunity, and she's young...and this is the time to take chances to better yourself"
"If she doesn't care if she gets ahead, why should you?"
"It bugs me"
"let it go"
"Arghhh"
"Don't be a Babetina"

Hahahahahah!
(A "Babetina" is a meddler in Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian)

It's amazing that if you asked me to recite the lyrics of any of his songs, I wouldn't be able to get past the chorus...but put a tune on and I sing along like a savant.
Mama was in love with him....and Engelbert.
I grew up on them.

Regent Park is going.

Phase One of the "re-development" of Toronto's historic, first "Housing Project" Regent Park has started.
I knew that it was only a matter of time before Cabbagetown became trendy and affluent enough to outweigh the low income residents.

Regent Park takes up prime real estate in downtown Toronto.
Real Estate in an area that many middle income people cannot afford to live in.
Phase One tears down 418 units, on 6 streets. Toronto Community Housing is moving ahead to begin Phase I of the redevelopment. Revitalization of the 70-acre community will take place in six phases over 15 years.

Even though it's clear that the developers are jumping through hoops to re-locate residents, and making promises that the new development will be affordable housing...I have to wonder.

Regent Park has a long history of problems. Coined Toronto's first "slum", and just has a bad reputation in general that has been fought by residents for a long time. Phase One has started, but the reputation of Regent Park continues.

I honestly do wonder whether residents who have been relocated will return in 15 years...or whether the City will be allowed by then to make the units more lucrative.
Being the cynic that I am, when I read that the new units will be offered to the old tenants in 15 years, it brought a smirk to my lips.
How many of them will move back, do you think?

Either way, the demolition of Regent Park will most certainly raise the property value of the area pretty quickly. Once they've razed all the buildings, the dealers and gang members will relocate too. It was only a matter of time....next...St Jamestown....

Photo from: Sean Purdy: "Ripped Off" by the system

On another topic...

Kevin Wallace, Producer of the theatre production of The Lord of The Rings has been whinging (that's the sensible British term for incessant whining) since yesterday about the closing of the 28 million dollar production in Toronto, saying that we (Torontonians) just did't "get it".
That the production has "a distinctively British sensibility that North American critics did not appreciate."
Firstly, if Torontonians are anything, they're pretentious about

#1: Their intelligence,
#2: Their ability to "get" things.

...and then Mayor David Miller agreed, saying the critics were simply "wrong in their assessment".
See what I mean?
As soon as a British Producer suggests that we're not intelligent enough to understand a British sensibility...the Mayor has a big conniption on the critics.

While we're here...wtf is it with The Mayor and his opinion on everything?
Almost every stupid little thing has to have his stamp on it...why is he such a yenta, with his nose in everything?
Doesn't he have a job to do?

So, Mr. Wallace says that they're going to change the production for their opening in London.
WTF?
That's not London, Ontario, folks....that's London, England.
So, what's wrong with having a "Britsh sensibility" in Britain?
I'm sure they'd "get it" there.

Besides, isn't the whole "Lord of the Rings" thing based on English mythology?
Wasn't that the whole lure of the Tolkien series?
How can it not have a British Sensibility?
How about this...
... perhaps the demographic that went to see the movie can't afford $160 a ticket?

How's that for sensibility?

WahWahWah...

Hainsworth.com linked to this article from The Discovery Channel on immaturity of todays adults.
It appears that we're not evolving, but regressing.

"When formal education continues into the early twenties," he continued, "it probably, to an extent, counteracts the attainment of psychological maturity, which would otherwise occur at about this age.”

Especially when you combine this with staying home with your parents while you complete your education. I'm also noting the phenomenon of staying home until you save up to buy your own home or just staying until you inherit your parents home.
The lack of struggle, and challenge of getting things for yourself, and having to cope with difficulty I believe has softened people.
Tolerance levels are not as high as they are with older individuals, and flexibility is expected by many individuals without the ability to understand that flexibility doesn't just mean "give me what I want and need"...it also means, "I may have to put myself out every once in a while to accommodate someone else".
Just like the concept of "fair" is relative, so is the concept of "flexibility".

I'm noticing a lack of ability to "just shut up and do your job"...and a lot of "OMG! I'm having such a hard time with blahblah blah blehblah...you HAVE to consider ME over what I'm paid to do".
Now, I'm not saying that employees shouldn't be considered...but as a Boss, I'm not your mom either.

In the past, I've had parents of grown ups (people in their 20's) call me to complain about the policies and requirements of their kids jobs.

It's no wonder that:

"“immature” people tend to thrive and succeed, and have set the tone not only for contemporary life, but also for the future, when it is possible our genes may even change as a result of the psychological shift.

The faults of youth are retained along with the virtues, he believes. These include short attention span, sensation and novelty-seeking, short cycles of arbitrary fashion and a sense of cultural shallowness."

Yup, combined with a standard of living that allows us the luxury.

"Hollaback Girl" Indian Style

Celebrity Chav-O-Rama

I will never understand why people who have so much, take such stupid risks.

To try to smuggle drugs in the Arab world is just fucking crackbrained.
I mean, didn't Dallas Austin ever watch Midnight Express?

Now he's going to be gone, and his famous friends won't even spill a drop of Cristal over it.
The party goes on, while he's a prison bitch in Dubai...which is probably more intense than tossingasalat in Rikers Island.

More money than sense...what a waste.

Niagara Falls: Mecca
of
The Mediterranean & South Slavs

Yesterday I was at a meeting, and two of the people there were Greek.

They were talking about family members coming over from "back home" over the summer and both announced that there were special trips planned for Niagara Falls.

When I was a little girl, every time someone came to visit...whether it was from the Former YU, or from the states...we'd all pile into the car and drive to "Nee-ah-gaaara False".
We'd all have pictures taken at the iron railing, right in front of the Horseshoe Falls, and then lunch at the Skyline was an absolute MUST.

I thought that it might be strictly a Yugo thing, but it appears to be an all around Balkan/Med thing.
It's such a thing, that it's even snuck into old cheezy movies from the Former YU, like this one to your right. Always the Horseshoe Falls, because let's face it...it's prettier.

Don't give me that...
"Oh, it's because it's one of the Wonders of the World" crap.

If that is the case, why do I still feel the pull of "Nee-a-gaara" every so often?
There are times when I get the "Let's drive to the Falls" bug.

Lucky thing The Mister likes road trips.
Even when we drive to Buffalo, I always ask The Mister to at least drive past the Falls.

Shucks.
We even got married there.

Serbian Wedding

I get a lot of hits for Serbian Weddings.

Luckily, American for Hire has documented one for you.

Check out Part 1: The Grooms House and then check out Part 2: The Brides House.

Now I don't have to feel bad anymore.

Photo: Kulcha Calendar

Memory is an amazing thing.

We have isolated little vignettes of memory.
Scraping little stores of experiences.

Sitting at the top of the stairs of our old flat on Dunn Avenue, waiting for my father to come home.

Walking at night with my cousin George, along Vojvodjanska in Petrovo Selo. No streetlights and listening to the frogs croaking. Dodging them as they jumped across the cobblestones.

The dim light, tipsy men singing "Tamo Daleko", and laughter on a summer night under the grapevines in my grandparents garden. The clinking of glasses, and the squeeking of the iron kapija opening and closing.

My Grandfathers kissing sound to the horses to get them to go.

My Mother washing chocolate off of my hands at an old sink in an apartment I don't even remember.

A light kiss on the head while he thought I was sleeping from Uja when I was already 23, and babysitting my cousins while he and Tetka Ljuba went to a wedding.

Driving through the mountains of Sarajevo in the winter, with no guardrails at night.

My Uncle Velemir telling me never to kiss anyone on the lips.

Waking up in the middle of the night crying and my cousin George entertaining me with funny faces and little plastic Indian dolls until I fell asleep again.

Me looking down the stairs at the The Mister with a bouquet of flowers standing in the front foyer.

My Stepsons in their bright red jackets, laughing and flying kites they made with their Dad down by the lake.

Memories that don't add up to anything in particular, but add up to everything at the same time.


Image: found here

Todays Petty Pet Peeve

You know what I hate?
I hate people who don't think efficiently.

"Yes, Radmila..." you say, "but you're an anal-borderline-obssessive-compulsive".

This may be true, but think about how much better the world would function if people thought like I do.

Well, for me anyway.

This morning I was driving The Stepson home on my way to work, and I stopped for gas.
At the gas station there is a little Tim Hortons Kiosk.

I thought, "I'll get The Son a hot chocolate to drink on the way"

There was no one in line at Timmy's while I was paying for gas, but like in that old Warner Bros. cartoon..you know the one where the guy goes into the bank and there's no one there, until he goes to step into line and suddenly 100 people jump ahead of him?

So, it was like that, but there were only 3 people.
I wait, and then the guy in front of me gets up to the cashier and I hear him start ordering.
But then, I realize that he's not stopping.
The list just kept going...everytime I thought he was going to stop, he'd add another thing..."Oh, and a sesame bagel, no butter....oh, and 20 timbits...oh, and...."

WTF?
It's a GAS STATION!
If you're going to order breakfast for the whole staff of General Motors, go to an actual Tim Hortons Restaurant, not the GAS STATION KIOSK where people want to grab a coffee and get on the road to work.

The same thing goes for lottery tickets.
Because of the gas station lottery ticket phenomenon, I no longer use debit at the gas station, always cash.
That's so that I can throw my cash on the counter and walk out, and bypass the lottery ticket freak with $100 worth of 649 tickets he/she has to check, and then his/her purchase of another $100 worth, plus deciding what he/she's going to do with any winnings.
Invest again? Quick pick? Play encore?
All this while the line to PAY for GAS at a GAS STATION...snakes out behind them.

Ok.
I'm done now.
Thanks for listening.
You're my best friend.

Sunday Click Around

Happy Father's Day!
Send your Dad a virtual card at Yankee Postcards.com.
While we're on the topic of Dads on Father's Day, Menstuff® has compiled stories and poems on the issue of fathers.

For those of you who need a boost in self-esteem, The Advertising Slogan Generator can sell you on yourself. I'm not sure what else you could use it for.

Word Up is...well, I'm not really sure what the point is, but you can type in anything you want..and it appears to be passed on. If you click on the arrows in the upper right corner, you can move backwards or forward to read what others have written.

e-admit is another online confessional site. I still marvel at what people are capable of doing to themselves and each other. Online confessionals confirm that people suck. This one differs in that you can actually comment on the confession. An opportunity to get your judgement on. Believe me, some of these people need it with both barrels.


Pictures of Walls entertained me for quite a while. Sometimes graffiti can be profound, just stupid or other times hilarious.
This picture of an altered stop sign made me laugh out loud.

Do you have a paranormal entity following you around harassing you?
For just 5 bucks, you can get a Paranormal Restraining Order.
Never fear God, Satan, The Grim Reaper or Aliens ever again.
Except, well...we know how effective restraining orders really are...by the time the authorities get there, it's usually too late.

Remember how the phrase "Dooced" got coined?
Many bloggers legitimately fear getting fired for blogging about their jobs...
...well, Red Lobster Hates it's Employees obviously has no fear of this.
Mind you, if you get fired from Red Lobster, who cares?
What I would care about is a lawsuit.
But, I'd be impressed if the Head Lobsters had a sense of humour about it.
Frankly, there are better seafood restaurants to go to, if you want my opinion, and I'm sure you do.

That's all for now...Have a great day if you're a good Dad...
...if you're not, up yours you irresponsible bastard.

The Mister and me went for a drive to Caledon this morning and we stopped at a Church Bazaar where I bought a bag of childrens books for a dollar. I found some great Japanese childrens books there, and I almost bought a crystal liquor decanter for 5 bucks, but then I snapped out of my "The Young and the Restless" episode, and put it down.
On occasion I do get an attack of slav-ness.

Pay Attention, Radmila!


So, The Mister and me went to dinner at The Louisiana Bar & Grill in Mississauga tonight. It's connected to a strip mall, and while we were parking, I noticed a large group of African people. Ladies in traditional African dress and men, all standing around.
I said, "Oh, I didn't know that Mississauga had such a large African community"...
The Mister said, "Yeah, especially when they're all standing in front of Ghanaman Tropical Foods".

Duh.





So, we had a great dinner at Louisiana B&G, and the service was friendly and good.
The Mister and me were just having an after dinner chat, when a young frustrated busboy who looked like he was about 15,(pictured here)leaned up against the iron gate by our table and let out a big sigh.

I said, "Are you ok?" and busboy proceeded to spill his guts.
"No. I've been working by myself..blah blah blah, 2 large birthday parties blah blah blah, the other guy isn't doing anything, blah blah blah"
I said, "You should ask for a raise"
"I can't." says Bussy.
"Why not?" ask I.
"Because it's my first night" says Bussy.
The Mister lets out a loud guffaw.

The other busboy is running around like Speedy Gonzalez, wiping tables, setting them, putting menus away.


Bussy starts again with the kvetching, "and that other busboy isn't doing anything!"
I say, "You mean the guy who's running around?"

The Mister lets out another loud laugh.

Bussy turns his back on us and puts his head on this arms while leaning on the gate. I take out my camera phone and take a picture of his back and send it to our home e-mail.
Bussy doesn't move.
I then take my camera out, and take a picture of him, flash and everything and he doesn't move.

The Mister asks, "How long do you think it's going to take until he's fired?"
"As soon as his Boss catches him complaining to customers" says I.

Let's have a drink!

My cousins both called me to give me the details of how things went for Uja today.
My cousin Deja and Tetka Ljuba got the scare of their lives for about two minutes when a code blue was called to Uja's room.
While Deja was telling me, her voice shaking with tears, mine started to flow too.
But, she had no idea that more than one procedure was going on at the same time, and it wasn't Uja.

Life changes from here on in.
Good bye roast pork on Sunday. Hello steamed vegetables and fish.
I'll pay cash money to see Uja with a Yoga mat.

Operation Milinkov Avoidance aborted.

Either way, Uja's procedure went well and he's going home tomorrow.

All is right with the world again.

Mama Sleep Talks

Mama goes to bed early, and gets up really early.
With the chickens, as they say.
She complains that I don't call her enough, but the reality is that I often don't get home until after 9:00pm, and she's in bed by then.
So, the other day I got home around 9:00pm and picked up a message from her. I settled myself in, and by that time it was 9:30pm...but I decided to give Mama a call anyway.
This is how it went:

Me: "Hi Ma. It's me."
Ma: "Eh?"
Me: "Did I wake you up?"
Ma: "Ya, bah eet's ok."
Me: "How are you doing?"
Ma: "Vat are yu doing mit dos shirts?"
Me: "What shirts?"
Ma: "Maaaaaah, da vans in da closet. Yu no gonna iron dem?"
Me: "Ok, Ma, You're sleeping...I'll call you tomorrow."
Ma: "Ver yu goink?"
Me: "I'm going to iron the shirts in the closet"
Ma: "Ok. Good. Don be so lazy."

Click.

Photo: Daily Blague

It's a three ring circus.

I'd like to know the point of photos like the one I've posted.
Picture after picture of women in burkas?
Ok.
We get it. They're moslem.

Justice of the Peace Keith Currie has imposed a blanket publication ban on the legal proceedings.
When is that publication ban starting?

This forum for circus like behaviour needs to be cut short by our media.

Janet Jackson Diet Secrets.
Janet lost upwards of 40lbs.

I'll tell you the real secret of how she lost the weight so quickly:

~Money
~A personal Chef
~A personal Trainer
~All day to take working out as a job.
~No kids, housekeeping, commuting, or cooking.

That's the "secret".

And another thing:

I am not afraid.ca absolutely sweats of "I'm scared shitless".
If you're not afraid, you don't need to put up a website telling people you're not afraid.
Duh.
I hate that self-affirming shit.

"I am fun to be with. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me".

At least Stuart Smalley was amusing.

Mama's Vorry

In conversation with Mama, I commented on Montenegro separating from Serbia.

"Eh," She said, "Dey deedn't vant to stai vetch for a long time...leddem go...alveys complainink dey vanted to go...so naou dey gone. Don hev to lissen about haou dey vanna go no more."

Then, I said..."Next, Vojvodina..."

"Shaddap. Det's no fanny."

*Photo: Visit Vojvodina

Sunday Click Around

I love vintage photos, and Vintage Images has some nice ones from the early part of the 1900's. The one of Mata Hari is pretty racy, huh?
Here's another one from art-e-zine. It starts with some wedding photos and moves on to family photos.
I can never get enough of looking at vintage photos of strangers.
I look at the photo, and build a story in my head around the people in the picture using little things in the background as clues, the way the subjects are dressed, their ages, what their connections may be based on how they look together...I can map out a whole life and history in my head.

Can we agree that hair in the 1960's and early 1970's was high-maintenance and hideous?
Vintage Wedding Looks shows us what kickstarted the hippie movement or maybe even the women's movement! Let's face it, if I had to do that shit to myself, I'd revolt too!


Redirecting... is a cute little animated battle within a Word document. Very clever.

I'm not sure why I have a fascination with creepy old insane asylums..but I do.
Dark Passage focuses on abandoned hospitals. Creepy, but also interesting. I can't explain it...the photos just seem to scream "If these walls could talk"...

Hours of Darkness hosts photographs of modern ruins.

Did you know that there is an impending shortage of Sword Swallowers?
There are less than 50 left in the WHOLE world!
I KNOW!
This generation just can't appreciate the importance of swallowing a 12" dagger, or set of 11+ swords for the entertainment of the circus crowd.
Frankly, I'm surprised that people still go to the circus.
I'm not talking about the Cirque du Soleil Circus. I mean the three ring, Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey like circus where the clowns are innocently creepy, and they ride animals around.
I haven't seen any of the Cirque productions, so I can't say how they compare to the traditional circus, but the snippets I've seen show a darker more adult oriented circus.
I remember wanting to go to the circus when I was a kid, but my mother would never take me.
I ended up going with a grade one class I was assisting in when I was still in school.
I remember being disgusted. I didn't like the circus at all. I felt sorry for the animals, and I couldn't understand why anyone would want to take their children to this spectacle of creepiness. I haven't been to the circus since.

This Prejudice gif shows you the stereotypical assumptions made about the people of certain countries. I see that Yugoslavs/Serbs/Croats/Bosnians don't exist on this map. Not enough known about them by the rest of the world to make assumptions I suppose.

Things you didn't know about your body is an interesting little blurb on men's health.
With the opening advice:

Guzzle -- don't sip -- water: Downing big gulps cues your body to get it into the system faster.

I thought it was a joke site, but as I continued to read, I realized that there was some interesting advice there.

That's all folks...

Salaam Namaste!

I was at my Indian Flute Salon today, and Kami one of the ladies there knows of my love for Bollywood movies, and always asks what movie I saw last.
I just happened to watch Salaam Namaste last night with The Mister, and Kami and me caught up on chatting since she was away for two weeks helping with her sister-in-laws wedding... talked about the movie...which is drama at a level that only Indian movies can deliver.
Love, misunderstandings, anger, love again, moral dilemmas, comedy...and dancing!

How can you not love it?

But, now I have this song stuck in my head: