Shutter Joy!

Well I am proud to announce that I am finally doing something I am passionate about and hopefully will be able to make a little money doing it. I have registered and began my photography business under the name Shutter Joy Creations. I have started a temporary web page on Facebook for until my actual website is created. I will probably keep the facebook one going as well for more exposure.

Here is the link to the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toronto-ON/Shutter-Joy-Creations-Photography/50479962188?ref=nf#/pages/Toronto-ON/Shutter-Joy-Creations-Photography/50479962188?ref=nf . I think anyone can view it because it is a public page.

I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!

I Noticed Her Deliberately NOT Noticing Me...

It seems like every year I find something unique at Value Village in Belleville and I feel compelled to buy it. Today I ventured there to find a halloween costume. Coincidently I was planning to dress up like a 1950's housewife but found nothing that I wanted. I did however find a little gem from the 1960's. I was picking up some play clothes for my children and on back of one of the girls clothing racks was a graveyard of barbies no longer of use to whatever little girl outgrew her girlhood barbie phase. One doll however stood out it had puffy orangish hair and at first I thought "look at that wierd barbie rip off." Curious I picked it up and quickly realized it was a vintage Barbie. Her hair although puffy had mostly maintained it's original shape, her body was in perfect condition (what a bitch), her only flaw was some flaked off make up on her snooty little face. I turned her around to see if she had any markings and sure enough on her right butt cheek was the marking: Midge T.M./©1962/Barbie®/©1958/by/Mattel, Inc./Patented.

When I saw her markings I thought it was a doll called "Midge" which I later learned was Barbie's Best friend who "shares Barbies stylish clothes, all her secrets, but NOT her boyfriend" but I found out that it was indeed Barbie herself. Her hairstyle: The Bubblecut. Colour: either Platinum Blonde, or Brassy Blonde. I figured that out because the lipstick colours on the platinum blonde and brassy blonde dolls were pale colours almost white and I could see on her lips a hint of the whitish coloured lipstick. Her eyes are a sparkling blue (well one eye is almost flaked off) and her make up is a thick line of black liner with blue shadow. Her expression is "I don't have time to look at you." It is no wonder that little girls have complexes! Barbie with her perfectly unachievable bubble cut hair, and her refusal to look at the little girl who is playing with her. Her flawless body containing ridiculously large perfect breasts, long legs and feet made for wearing impractical shoes.

I was late in my termination of my Barbie phase, I'm pretty sure if I wasn't embarrassed that one of my friends would catch me playing with her alone in my basement looking shiftily from side to side to be sure my sister wasn't lurking around the corner with a camera or with one of our mutual friends... I am pretty sure I would have played with Barbie even longer then until I was 13 years old, because for me she represented myself only grown up and sophisticated.

When I was playing Barbie I was Barbie. Perfect in every way. Perfect body, popular, stylish (not wearing altered hand me downs) hot boyfriend (although my Ken doll had real hair that made him look a little like a sasquatch with sewn on underwear.. I did get a Ken doll with plastic hair later who quickly replaced the old Ken. Apparently Barbie prefers a clean cut man.)

So now I am 31 years old, and quite delighted with my new Barbie (well I guess she isn't new, just new to me.) Perhaps her revival will bring about struggles difficult for Barbie to understand. 2008 is completely different than 1960 afterall, she better not bring her Ken around that home wrecking, gold-digging modern day Barbie, or let that little pot head skipper around her perfectly groomed children. She will have to get a job with the economy the way it is today, she won't be able to sit around drinking martini's and telling secrets with Midge anymore, secrets like "How she keeps such a slim figure", or "how her bubble hair stays so bubbly"...those days are behind her now. The cold hard facts are that Barbie's good looks won't carry her on their own. Modern Barbie has been a teacher, a doctor, a mom, a dentist. She's been in the military, (yes there was a desert storm barbie...I was surprised too). She's been a diplomat and even President, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer and she was a Nascar driver. Barbie even did a stint as a Spice Girl... and when times were a little tough she worked at McDonalds for minimum wage. She's done it all. I may have to support 1960's Barbie for a while... I don't think she's ready to go to war or fight for human rights. Oh well... I'll lock the liquor cabinet and try to rehabilitate her and see how it goes. I'm sure after some desensitizing T.V. shows she will become more like our Barbie of today.. she might even look me in the eye.

DEAR President

I understand that due to the giant corporation's need to make people want to dump their wallets and purses into the pockets of their CEO's and their presidents that they must take the letters they receive from consumers seriously. After all a letter from a customer means the customer was not happy, and an unhappy customer could mean loss of profit.... although I doubt it. It is my theory that unhappy customers shop more at the places they hate because they like to complain, but that is only based on how many frowns I see wander into my local retail giant/place of employment. I also have a theory as to why the unhappiest customer continues to shop at places they are most unhappy with. I back this theory up with substantial evidence. We will call this the "Bad Parenting" theory. Lets approach the unhappy customer as the spoiled child, and the giant retailer as the bad parent. The child is placed in an environment where they have access to everything they could dream of owning. They are told they are the most important person in the whole world, and not only that they are told they are NEVER wrong. They are constantly asked if they need anything or if they have found everything they are looking for. They are Rockstars and Royalty, and they are groomed as such by the bad parent. Let's review the parenting skills. Child asks for something, child gets, Child is unhappy with how they were treated and throws a tantrum, child gets more, child realized that they are rewarded by their behavior and writes a letter to their rich Grandparent who just wants to keep them seen and not heard (that would be the president of the company). Child gets even more rewards for their ridiculous behavior.
If you think about it people have been buying things for all of time, but in recent years the retailers have become less concerned with ethics and more concerned with the almighty dollar, that they will entertain any idea that could possibly make them more profitable. I won't get into the whole child labour issue, or the way employees are treated/paid in this blog. Instead I will focus on the Rockstar mentality of "the customer."

It reminds me of when you hear about certain celebrities having demands for their dressing room. For example let's say a celebrity wants their room to smell like fresh baked cookies because it helps them relax, and they wish to have their bottled water imported from France and m and m's arranged in the shape of their face laid out on their bed for when they arrive in the room. Unless that celebrity is "A" list they probably wouldn't have their demands met, but all customers are "A" list (unless they work for the company they are shopping at). So when they have demands, no matter how ridiculous they seem the retail giant is there at their beckon call.

Recently a customer went shopping at a giant retail chain and they felt they were treated terribly. They were called a four letter word by the lady who greeted them at the door. This customer was so upset by this that she felt inclined to write to the president of this retail chain. Let me tell you what this employee did, because it is so unbelievable that you will probably fall off your chair. She actually said to the customer, "Would you like a cart dear?" I highlighted the word dear because this was the offensive four letter word that drove the customer to such rage that she blew up at the employee at the store. She demanded to speak to the manager after about 15 minutes of degrading words toward the employee. After the manager apologized that the customer was offended, and it seemed they had calmed her down, that customer left the store apparently still feeling the injustice of her shopping experience and went to her computer and began to type. I honestly even with my vivid imagination can't even begin to imagine what she wrote. It probably went something like this: "Dear President, [it might be OK for her to use that word because she is the customer] Your employees should know how to address me as I am the customer and I am always right!" OK maybe not quite like that but close. Now if I was the president, and received a letter complaining because one of my employees was nice to someone, I'm pretty sure I would chuckle a little and realize "hey some people are crazy" and move on to the thousands of other emails I probably have complaining about ridiculous things. Then I would think, "wow it is nice that our employees are that friendly even if this customer doesn't like it." But just the opposite happened. The president forwarded the complaint back to the store, which means it requires action, the store addressed the complaint at a meeting that takes place where they announce new policies and sales reports to the employees. They informed the entire store: "due to a customer complaint, we ask that [employees] no longer address customers with the term "dear", or "hun", or "love" as it may offend certain customers." They mentioned that a letter was written. One customer was offended and a letter was written, 150 employees were reprimanded for being kind to customers and asked to no longer use affectionate terms when addressing customers. Every employee was made to feel stupid because they come to work for minimum pay and try to enjoy their job, they try to treat the very customers that look down on them as kindly as they can because these associates understand that is their job.

I feel like "the letter to the president" has gone too far. People will clearly write a letter for anything, and no complaint is taken lightly no matter how ridiculous it is. The employee that addressed the customer as dear felt hurt that her company did not back her up. That they did not explain to the customer that employees do not mean any disrespect when they use affectionate terms toward the customer, and that although they regret she was offended, that the mass majority of customers enjoy kind treatment and therefore our associates are permitted to continue to make every attempt to make our customers feel at home.

Not only was that employee hurt but there were many employees who felt like they had to change who they were to conform to one customer's complaint. Many people use affectionate terms in their everyday speech and it takes effort to not use them.

So if you are a customer and you are about to write a letter, remember that you are just one customer and unless it is a valid complaint and you truly were mistreated, and you feel that the treatment you received could honestly hurt more then just you, don't write the letter. LET IT GO! Sometimes it's better to just suck it up. Let's face it [in case the lady who wrote the " dear president" letter is reading] there are worse things to be called then dear wouldn't you think?

Is this appropriate?

Sometimes we have to stop and wonder what is appropriate in life. Like for instance is it appropriate to allow your date to pay when you find him/her repulsive and you know you will never see them again? Or is it appropriate to laugh at a funeral, because I have to say I have yet to go to one that has not been funny at some point during. I will elaborate... death can't always be sad. Sometimes I think I have been cursed with extreme observance in awkward or sombre situations such as funerals or inopportune meetings. I once went to a funeral and as the family was entering the sanctuary one of the children of the deceased had inadvertently tucked her skirt into her panties and began to wander out with great dignity and respect to her perspective seat. I did manage to stop her from displaying her hind quarters to all who had known and loved her mother in life but could not forget what could have happened while trying to reflect on the loss of this wonderful woman. You know when the shoulders shake and you are trying not to laugh. I was the unfortunate victim here because I was the sole person to have seen this and was in an unfair predicament...I did maintain enough composure that I don't think too many people could have noticed that I had tears in my eyes not because I was mourning in sadness, but instead because I was holding back my very inappropriate laughter. Know that the lady who had passed on had a very sick sense of humour and I am not convinced that she did not have something to do with this.

I recently witnessed probably the most unique display of questionable etiquette I had ever dreamed of seeing and will I am quite certain never see again. Even more questionable is whether my reaction and/or actions were appropriate. Note the photo above and realize that we were not at a strip club, or a strippers wedding for that matter. The couple were delightful people and displayed a level of integrity and class that was not only noticeable but it was admirable. All day myself and the other photographers I worked with were commenting on how these people stood out in that way. The wedding guests were all dressed divinely. Fashionable gowns and suits or tuxedos...with the exception of one guest. I had seen her in the church during the ceremony and noticed her purple and black streaks in her hair but barely took notice. But during the receiving line something seemed out of place.... Maybe it was the child who flopped himself down on the ground...no that wasn't it... Maybe it was the man who clearly had either a wig or a dead animal on his head...No even that was not it. OR maybe it was the lady who's buttocks was in plain view and as she hugged the bride her micro mini skirt rose to the occasion displaying a clear view of her a**!

This was indeed something that as I tell you the story if I did not include the photo you would probably not even imagine the skirt that short. I felt I needed to ask the question of how short is too short when it comes to skirt length at a wedding? and where in this woman's rational thought process did something go terribly wrong that made her presume that it was appropriate to display her bum at a wedding. I find things like this very interesting. I also found it very endearing that the other guests tried very hard not to make it obvious how they felt about her attire. The bride and groom treated these guests with sincere kindness and did not appear to look down on them. So who was more inappropriate? Was it her, or me for thinking she should not have come dressed like that *although I thanked the photo op gods for such a randomly absurd photo*. I have to say I felt a little humbled that the bride and groom could be so non-judgemental...of course who is to say that they will not go to their bridal suite that night having to wipe the memory of this woman's booty from their brains in order to not taint their wedding night.

The booty did spark a curiosity in me about what is appropriate and whether there has ever been a time where I was the one who was quite unaware that I was standing out like a naked a** at a wedding.

Forest Of Confusion

Sometimes the view ahead is like a forest of confusion.
The only light you see has to bleed through the treetops leaving indistinguishable shadows.
There are so many paths you find it hard to choose one.
There is daylight everywhere but within the forest walls and you long to see the light of day again.
You are so deep in the forest that you have lost sight of freedom and you forget what light looks like.
It's as though you have been wandering the forest and the trees begin to look the same and you are lost.
The forest floor is cold and foreboding the wind whispers all your secrets and reminds you that you once had a compass and a map, but you were too careless and you forgot you needed those items to survive.
You have forgotten something else, and the wind whispers teasingly and you start to resent it's truths.
You have forgotten that you don't need to get out, you only need to find a way to survive in the forest and it will become less confusing.
You have forgotten that there are clearings and that your forest is beautiful and lush and when you stop to think about it's beauty you remember where you left your compass and your map.
Suddenly it becomes clear and the wind's whispers subside, your own thoughts become clearer.
Your compass and map were there all along, you were just too preoccupied to use them.
You head in the direction of the light and you see the sun bursting it's light around you.
Behind you is the forest of confusion, always there but you managed to find the clearing and freedom from the whispering winds.
You will visit the forest again but the lessons you learn each time you wander into it's depths can only make you stronger and those tall trees and the judgmental wind will be no match to your cunning.

This is a blog about nothing

It has been a minute since I have posted anything on here. I realized recently that if I don't write I forget about what is interesting about my life so despite the fact that I can't find anything to talk about I am going to write anyway......*awkward silence*....*cough cough*....*crickets chirping* Well..clearly this is a work in progress. It may take a few very uncomfortable blog entries for me to get myself back into the swing of this. You might have to bear with me.

One thing that is especially good about me getting my blog on again is that I have been getting the urge to do some major photography. I think it's the nice weather that has sparked my passions again. I want to write and draw and sing and take pictures. I think the winter makes me somewhat stale. It's like I'm too cold or something, or everything is too white and I can't even imagine colour under that blanket of snow. Why do people call it a blanket anyway? Blankets are warm and inviting. I would most certainly not want to curl up under a thick blanket of snow. There are only a couple of things I like about Winter. One would be Christmas, but I would be just as happy to hear sleighbells on my rooftop from a warm climate. I was sitting here trying to come up with something else I like about Winter but I can't think of anything right now so I will move on.

Well....To avoid another one of those awkward silence moments I am going to keep this one short and sweet. Next time I will try to actually say write something that has a point...

I Can't Get Enough of This

One day I was looking for a birthday video to send to one of my facebook friends. I wanted something funny and not lame. Then I found this...Funny...but kind of lame. Lame in a good way though. I have to say, my Indian friends/acquaintances are holding out on me. Why have they not told me about such genius in both film making and comedy. There are a few versions of this song on youtube but this is my favorite and I think it is the original. I need to get my hands on this movie. I have a feeling it will become a favorite of mine.

I love it from start to finish..from the little figurines dancing in the beginning. Every aspect of the choreography is genius...sheer genius.. Sonita is a beautiful and gracious Birthday girl..she didn't even punch those girls in the gut when they shoved balloons in her face. I don't really get the grey haired soccer coach and his role in the song..but I say the more the merrier at Sonita's birt-day...Maybe I need to see the film to understand his role. And what are those servers whispering about? I want to know!! I am not sure what they are saying at the end of the clip when Sonita and the guy in the white suit that has been trying to get into her pants all night start chatting. They are speaking in Indian at first then suddenly they switch to English for a second. Sonita says "I'm sorry.." More indian...then the white suited guy says, "bye bye" and Sonita says "bye" and they part ways. He's a player..He's probably on his way to Bonita's party, maybe that is what the servers were whispering about.