Damn! I've got to hurry with this.
I'm at the library and I have 20min. limit.
Those bastards. They want to discourage the
online gamers.

Last day in Regina. It's like 30 degrees outside.
I'm serious. End of Sept. 30 degrees.
I'm at the library.
I've forgotten about all the freaks that come here.
--woman in really short shorts has keys dangling
between her legs and keeps sniffing the air.

I'm leaving tomorrow!
Bus Bus!

Goodbye Regina. Good Riddance.

I don't think I'll be back soon.

Today, on the way here, I passed this guy who reminded me
of a nerdier and skinnier Chris Farley (dead fat SNL comic).
He rushes into his beat up chevette and drives off.
I round the corner and go up a block.
Suddenly, there he is, getting out of his car!
This guy drove around the block to get somewhere!
Typical of REgina. Instead of walking, lets' drive a block.

Goodbye all. Goodbye REgina.
To my peeps out in T Dot.
See you soon.

I'll be glad to be home...

Almost Home!!!!!

Yesterday:

We were sitting in the downtown mall food court and HE was
sitting 10 tables away with his family or whatever.
But this guy, totally hilarious, totally white trash and totally Reginan
will be the inspiration for my costume this year for Hallowe'en.

Ok, he had dark mulleted hair. I'm talking superMullet.
Cropped on top and sides, shoulder length at the back.
But he decided in his infinite wisdom to wear the mulleted back part
around both sides of his neck, trailing down his chest!!!!!
He also had a Yorkton moustache or "teenage moustache".
Also, he was wearing a pair of dashing Mirrored-Terminator style pair
of sunglasses indoors!
The usually nondescript grey sweatshirt that was probably stained but
I couldn't tell in the distance.
And, of course, a pair of faded black jeans that were tight on the legs
and slightly roomy fo' his ass due to all that stretching.
Finally, a pair of shitty, clunky,grey, fake Nike hightop sneakers.

We kept trying to look in his direction but were afraid we'd burst out laughing.
So we kept doing that teenage girl thing -- pretending to look past him but
really trying to see him at the same time.

The thing is, he looked hilarious anyways, but that quotient was upped because
he insisted on wearing those stupid mirrored sunglasses in the food court.
There he sat, facing our way, neon lights reflected in his sunglasses, hair coming
down around both sides of his neck, trying to look cool.
After a while, we couldn't take it anymore and we had to leave, giggling.

I wonder, are guys with mullets AWARE that having one is a big joke?
Do they think it's rad, cool, snap?
What are they thinking? I really want to get into their head. Do they talk about hair?
They must consciously THINK about growing that back part. How can they not?

++++++++++++++++++++

I'm leaving soon and I can't wait. We're taking the bus back to T.O. 40 hours.
Straight through the White Trash Corridor, into Ontario and down to T.Dot.

This'll be my last night with my computer. I'm going to update tomorrow at the
library.

I still can't believe that I'm leaving Regina. I've felt like I've been here for a year.
That's what the Prairies will do to you. It'll stretch your perception of time.
Things don't move very fast here and people take their time doing thins.
Well, some people anyways. In Regina, the civil servants are really some of the
pushiest and weirdest and nerdiest folk around.
Some people say Torontonians are cold and pushy and always in a hurry.
That may be true to a certain extent, but the goddam civil servants here are worse.
They also dress badly.
I never did understand why they are always in a hurry. They work for the government
for god's sake!!

Well, this little excursion has been pretty trashy and weird. Fraught with disappointment
and some frustration.
But I'm glad I came. I do not regret it. However, I will never come back if I can help it.
I've had some fun as well, if only in observing a different culture in a different city than what
I'm used to.
I've made my own fun, did little explorations, had little adventures.
I was very lucky to be able to go out into the prairies and check out some of the more
rural parts. Quite breathtaking.

So, my time in Regina is up and I'm glad to be going home.
This has been an unforgettable summer.

I also want to thank all of you out there, wherever and whoever you may be for
tuning in to some of my rants and badly constructed sentences. After all, it's a blog.
I'll be continuing frogger in Toronto. And I'll post a link here permanently to my
frogger in TO site.
Again, thanks for listening.
I'll have one more update tomorrow, if I can, if I have time.
But just in case, thanks for listening.

Goodbye.

It's getting really close...
Time to go....
Packing.....
Buying souvenirs???

Of course, I never thought I would find anything
cool in Regina, and I was proven right. It's really hard.

I was in the Value Village today and I ran into some Hutterites
speaking in that strange tongue of theirs... not quite german
but a combination of warped german and english.

They would've looked sort of 'normal' if they didn't have those
weird black hats on.
I have to find out, why do they have to wear black hats.
The older guys usually wear black cowboy hat and black suits.
The younger guys tend to just wear any old black baseball hat.
These guys at the Value Village just had everyday clothes on
and that ubiquitous black hat...

Almost there.

After I leave Regina, I will stop blogging but I will
set up another blog in Toronto.
I'll try to do a daily blog, as soon as I set up my computer
and I'll post the link here, in case anyone's interested.
Then, you shall observe the transition this frog goes through.
From country to town.
From Flat to Tall.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

There's a Regina / Saskatchewan connection to all the investigations
related to Sept 11th.
CSIS (Canadian Spy Agency) was in Regina recently checking out reports
that "suspicious Middle-Eastern" individuals had come to Sask. to
purchase or learn to fly cropdusters.

Also that stupid drummer from Wide Mouth Mason spouted off something
he shouldn't have in relation to the Sept. 11th attacks.
They sure are gonna be popular.
(He's from Saskatoon)

Some Saskatoon dude got hisself arrested at the Toronto airport because he
said that the US "deserved" the attack. He was frustrated that he couldn't
get a refund on a flight he'd booked but didn't take for some reason.

The world sure has changed since I came to Regina.

Just a little back track here.
I just wanted to describe more of Monday night as it was
my tearful farewell to the Art Gallery people with whom I
worked with.

It was the new media concert and of course, everyone was
a bit buzzed because of the extremely cheap drinks they
were serving. Cheap as in not. @$3.25, you can get an
ounce of hash on the streets.
Though, of course, it's gonna be cut with chewing tobacco.

Anywayz, the people were fairly warm in saying goodbye.
Even though there were politics involved earlier at the office
that had nothing to do with me.
The tension that existed there really kept me from doing all that
I could've done in my short time there.
I know I sound vague, but hey, it's a blog.
I've probably blown my cover many times over, Regina's a small
place.

So they shook my hand and thanked me. They thanked me for
helping to get the Canada Council on board (Really, what?)

They were a bit drunk.

I've also got a cool T-shirt coming out of this.
And perhaps some ongoing Flash work as well.

Saying good bye to the battery operated guys was a bit sad.
Those two were cool to hang out with. As they were not from here,
we could, in a way share our perspectives.
I also take great joy in telling people about the shitty and stupid things
that happen in Regina.
Also, they like to party. That is indeed refreshing.

So everyone exchanged emails and I made tentative plans to help
bring them to Toronto so they can play their "new media " music.
Who knows, maybe an art rave near you will feature those laptop
scratch blasters. Then we'll have the German Artist drawing on
walls and talking about socks.
Brought to you by me.

Frogger as Art Promoter.

A new beginning.

I'm not sure what to do with frogger once I leave.
Maybe I'll start a new one for when I'm home.

Today, Tuesday [technically yesterday, I'm writing this after midnite, my time]
was the first ever "holiday" I've taken since I've been
on this trip in the Prairies. The other trips were somehow assignment-
related.

So, what did I do? My companion and I went to Moose Jaw. Home of
the world's giant moose and the Snowbirds (stunt flying) and
the Tunnels.

I've passed through Moose Jaw before and even then, I was enamoured
with this cute little town.
As a smaller town just 40 minutes southwest of Regina,it rocks!
It's a much more pleasant place than Regina in that there is actual
activity on its main drag.

Also, Moose Jaw has such beautifully preserved buildings dating back
to around the 1920's.
There are plenty of old school diners and restaurants. What I especially liked
were the handful of Chinese restaurants there with really cool 50's interiors.

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw were quite intriguing and an integral part of
Chinese Canadian history which everyone should see.

Back at the turn of the century -- 1880's or thereabouts -- Chinese immigrants
moved eastward from the coast of Canada to find their fortune in the many
small and medium-sized cities of the Prairies. They came because the
CPR, Canada's National transcontinental railway was finished and they were
essentially laid off.

Because of the hardships and the attitudes at the time, many Chinese people
lived in the basement laundries and manufacturing plants beneath Moose Jaw.
In essence, they constructed a system of underground tunnels out of the
existing steam pipe passageways that were already in place.
They did so either because they couldn't afford to live anywhere else but their
workplace or they were indentured labourers (slaves, practically) and also
because of the racist attitudes at the time.

This visit was especially compelling and wrought with emotion for me because,
I'm Chinese.

However, the tour was quite weird.
There was a tour guide that was dressed in a costume representing the time period.
And she did some reinacting: we were supposed to take on the roles of "coolies"
and she was supposed to be the overseer in charge of us.
So she barked orders at us and called us "coolies".
That was really weird.
Especially when, just before the tour started, she spoke with us in a very casual
what-a-beautiful-day-where-are-you-from? sort of way.
Then, as soon as we entered the tunnels, it was all business. She started addressing
us (we were the only ones on the Chinese Tour) as if we were a tour group of 15.

Then, there was this animatronic robot at the site of the underground laundry who, I guess
was supposed to be the white laundry owner. 'He' was incredilbe.
'He' called us "chinks" and "coolies".
Of course this whole reenactment was supposed to expose the horrible conditions
these Chinese people lived and the prevailing racist attitudes towards them, but it was all very
surreal for me because I was Chinese.

The tunnels were later (supposedly) occupied by Al Capone and his gangsters.
After Big Al left Chicago, he was (rumour has it) holed up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

So, all over town, there are all these 20's motifed murals and gangster-themed stores
and t-shirts with Al Capone's face on it, etc,etc,etc.

However, there is no solid evidence that Al actually came to Moose Jaw AKA 'Little Chicago'.

The 'Chicago Connection' was another part of the tour we didn't take as it cost another $12.
Also, more importantly, the Big Al thing seemed to be really tacky and based on rumours
anyway. I wanted to see real history, what really happened, and to see what my fellow
peeps had to go through in this country.

I was quite moved....seeing the conditions that these poor people had to live in and
hearing about the racist attitudes they had to endure.
I've known about this for quite some time, but to actually visit a site, though fictionalized
in some ways and styled as an intrepretive center, brought it much, much closer.

I know I'm rambling a bit, but hey, it's a blog.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, so we also passed by this anti-abortion association's storefront with incredible
anti-choice propagandist posters and paraphenilia. Scary.

I missed out on the Christian Bible Store, it was closed. Sorry friends in Toronto,
no Jesus stickers on this trip. There is one in Regina though.....

So: all told, Moose Jaw rocks.

Dear Blogger and the world:

I never had any clue what I was going to encounter
when I got here to Regina way back in June.
So here's a recap:

I became really frustrated with the people here.
I realized everyone was obese.
I scooped ice cream for cowboys and cowgirls when they
weren't riding broncos.
I became a temp.
I did data entry.
I became involved in the Regina Art Scene.
I shot a video for a Dance Company. They were dressed as Pelicans and did a procession
in the park during the lantern festival.
I met some cool breakdancers and I shot a video of them.
I made beats.
I found some cool Liberace records.
I met Jay and Carly, one of the nicest people in Regina. Regretably, I met them near the end.
They once lived in a haunted house near the street I live on.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I'm leaving on Saturday.
Going to Moose Jaw tomorrow morning.

Tonight, I went to the opening at the artgallery which featured
Battery Operated doing Chases through Non-Places.
It was two guys, Toby and Thomas who manipulate sonic textures
on their two laptops using Logic Audio with a Nord effects box
and a Mackie.
As this was going on, they projected a video collage of 'remixed'
visual textures of airports and shopping malls and cityscapes.
Quite trippy.

Before the show, they gave a little talk and spoke highly of Muzak
and, as the French guy Thomas put it, "ip op". (That's hip hop, suckas)
The Mancunian guy, (Toby) kept on about "drum and bass".

I actually quite liked it. The rest of the room, which
was made up of the Reginan Art Crowd, didn't know what to make of the
sound collages.
Probably because electronic music is not big here. Also, they have no
reference points when hip hop and drum and bass are mentioned.

The after party mingling session was quite lame. They really need some help
putting together good opening parties.
People tend to leave as soon as the show was over.

They also charge 3.25 for beer and wine. Remember, this is Regina folks.
I can get beer and a shot for that price out on the streets.

The German artist was hanging around and he's quite the gas. He hands me
a piece of paper and said, in a formal voice;
"I'm collecting addresses und e-mails"

He took a picture of me. I grabbed the camera and took his picture as well.
Before I snapped the pic, I asked him to "do something funny".
He replied in a thick German accent, "It's impossible."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

There's this strange little old lady around town that
I ran into once.
She talks like a robot and has to hold her head up by her jaw
with one hand to speak.

She can't afford to buy two pounds of grapes or else she'll have no
money for oranges.
She's also curious about what kind of massage the place next to my
work does. (Did you get all that?)


+++++++++++++++++++++++++

I wish I could audio blog, then I can do some impressions
of the people I've met during my time here. Also, I can
teach everyone how to speak in a Reginan accent.
I guess I 'm going to have to do that to y' all personally
and perhaps bore the hell outta ya as well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

More after Moose Jaw

It's been a while, yes, what with all the goings on in the world,
I thought who cares about some frog in Regina.
Why bother bloggin'?
Then I saw Elmo on the Rosie O'Donnell show telling
her about how everyone on Sesame Street was affected
by the disaster. I realized, after this, that everyone was affected
and I guess, to a certain degree, everyone's state of mind mattered.
Frog or no, blog or no.

So....

I'm on my way outta here! Finally. I'm leaving Regina, Canada
for good!

I've already got my ticket!

On Friday, it was my last day at this art gallery I worked at and
everyone went out to the local Indian establishment for dinner.

We have two artists here doing some sort of 'new media' music
concert, as well as an installation of AIRBAGS.

One's Mancunian (from Manchester) and one's from Paris.

The Paris guy is hilarious.

All night, he wanted to go see some sort of "peeep show"
or maybe "chicks with dicks", perhaps even "strip-man"
and "dwarves".

Unfortunately, one cannot find all these things together or separately
in Regina. That's just the kind of place it is.

So, we ended up at some brewpub, surrounded by middle aged plump
men who wore the typical golf shirt found on most Reginan males.

Afterwards, we went to some local artist's basement apartment to smoke his
dope. It's the first time I've tried Reginan weed. It was quite mellow and not
very strong or harsh.
While we were smoking, another guest had arrived and proceeded to regale
us with some flute playin'. He announced proudly that he made and played
flutes....and he had been taught by the masters of the world.

As the smoke drifted up to the ceiling, the etheral flute sounds drifted into
our brains and we all decided to leave. It had nothing to do with the flute
playing.

We ended up at the only gay disco in Regina. It was totally empty. Apparently,
Saturday nights are big.
The club and the clientele were incredibly 80's. The music was quite modern but
everyone had this really dated aesthetic about them.
Some gay cowboy types, gay mulleted types (Really!), gay moustaches too!
And thank god! They announced: "Last call for alcohol!"

Great taste is not universal.

Tonight, I'm getting ready to go to the gallery opening and to look at the
airbags and some kinda chair and to listen to some sort of 'new media' music.
Musique-concrete, break-beaty stuff.
They'll probably have some free food.


Ah, the life of an artist.

I'm also looking for donations.
Anything and any amount is appreciated.
Anybody who contributes to the fund
will be duly compensated with much love.
The fund is to help me get back home!

Coupons are also accepted.