#BEDM - A letter to 13 year old me

Dear Young Christielli,

Be confident.  You can do way more than you think you can.  Take on challenges.  Never hold back.  Don't be ashamed that you are super smart. 

Love,
You in 20 years

***

In other news, I have some SUPER nerdy news to share with you.  It's no secret that I'm a nerd, who came from a family of nerds.  Naturally, Jeopardy! was watched in my household every weeknight.  My parents still watch religiously.  I'm careful not to phone them between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm.

Back in November, I think it was, my parents told me that Jeopardy! was holding an online test for people who could potentially make auditions in Toronto.  More to make them happy than anything, I signed up to do the test, and was online at my appointed time.  The test consisted of fifty questions (not in Jeopardy! format) and I got 30 seconds to respond to each one.  There were lots that I knew I got right, a few I made good guesses on, some I made ridiculous guesses on, and some I drew blanks on.  I figured that maybe I got between 35-40 right.  Anyway, it was fun taking the test and I completely forgot that I'd even taken it...

Until this evening.  I got an email from the show saying that I'd passed the test and was granted an exclusive audition in Toronto in July!  Oh my goodness!  I feel smart that I made it to step 2!  I'm totally going to do the audition.  I'll have no expectations, other than it'll be interesting to audition for a TV show.

Anyway, that news kind of made my day.  :)  13 year old me would be proud/mortified that I'd go on TV showing my nerdiness.  33 year old me is stoked.

#BEDM - Dream Job

When it comes to reality, I think I do have my dream job.  It's something for which I have the qualifications, and capabilities.  I get to actually apply what I learned in university to my job, and it challenges me daily.  I get paid a good wage with good benefits.  I enjoy going to work each day.  Yes, it has its frustrations (like how we've hit the point in the year where students are getting closer to summer and their attention spans wane), but overall it's a great career for me and I am thankful for it.

However, what would be my absolute dream job?

I think I'd have two part-time jobs.

One, for when I need downtime, would be working in an independent book/music store.  I'd love chatting with customers about books and music, and just hang out reading during slow times.

My other job would be to write travel guides.  Getting paid to stay in different hotels, try out different restaurants and experience different attractions.  And then have some time to write about it.  That would be great.

I think I would tire of all of the traveling and need quiet time, and that's where the book/music store job would come in.  And then when my publisher would need a new travel guide, off I'd go.

#BEDM - Newsflash

Today's Blog Every Day in May topic is to write about something in the news.

Well, I think the biggest piece of news for Torontonians is that there is supposedly a video of our Mayor smoking crack-cocaine with some drug dealers.  This story was originally broken on the US website Gawker: apparently a couple of gentlemen invited the dude from this gossip site to view a video of Rob Ford smoking crack. They wanted to sell the video for six figures.

After the Gawker story broke, the Toronto Star published a similar article where two of their reporters saw the same video and were certain it was the Mayor in the video.

The next day, the Mayor's response was that the claims of the video were "ridiculous" and that it was just the Toronto Star going after him.

The story has made international news: CNN, the BBC, The New York Times, etc.  Perhaps it's a surprise to the international community that the Mayor of North America's fourth largest city is being accused of smoking crack.

However, I think it's shocking to Ford-supporters and detractors alike here in Toronto, but entirely plausible.  This is a man for whom scandals have followed him closely both during his days as a city councillor and as Mayor.

DUI and marijuana possession charges in Florida.  Domestic disputes here in Toronto.  Campaign finance irregularities.  Calling 9-11 on a comedian.  His denial of, and then apology for, shouting awful things at a couple during a Leafs game.  (He blamed beer.)  The fact that for a short while, his Mayorship was revoked by a judge for conflict of interest (however he won his appeal).  Being accused of ass-grabbing by a former mayoral candidate at a party.  Being asked to leave another party for being under the influence of something.  And now this.  His scandals have been summarized nicely by NYMag here.  (Hey - if our Mayor is making so much international news, does this finally mean we're a world class city?)

When there's so much smoke, there's got to be fire somewhere.

If a video surfaced of PM Harper, who I equally dislike, smoking crack, I'd be highly skeptical.  I don't agree with the man's politics at all, but he's fit for leadership.  Our Mayor, on the other hand, is a different story.  There's so much controversy and irregular behaviour.  There seems like there is definitely a problem, and if he has addiction issues, it's time for him to go get treatment and leave the city in someone else's hands.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this scandal in the coming days...  There is a crowdsourcing campaign by Gawker to raise $200,000 to buy the video.  As of now, they are over $81,000 there.  I'd hate for drug dealers to get that cash, but seriously, I think the video needs to see the light of day so that its veracity can be determined.

Until then, you can have lots of fun playing who said it?  Mayor Rob Ford vs. Diamond Joe Quimby.

#BEDM - Traditions

This post is a day late, as I was visiting my parents in Stratford over the Victoria Day long weekend.  (I'm back now.)

It's ironic that the topic of traditions came up over the long weekend.  Most of my traditions are related to Christmas - work friend gatherings, family traditions, and high school friend gatherings.  However, even though the ultimate May 2-4 tradition only happened when I was in high school, i.e. over a four-year period more than 15 years ago,  I can't have the Friday of this long weekend pass by without thinking of this tradition.

And that is my friend Sandee's legendary May 2-4 pit parties.

They haven't happened in eons, but I feel that on the Friday of the long weekend in May, I should be convincing someone of age to buy me a lot of booze, and getting a ride somehow to my friend Sandee's place, way out in the country.  These parties grew by the year, and I barely remember them, but they were part of my teenagehood.

This year, I had a small bonfire with some of my high school friends last night.  We didn't drink much, nor reminisce about the old days, but I guess as long as some of us get together over the long weekend, the tradition is kept.

#BEDM - Best Friends

This is going to be a quick post, because I gotta catch a train this morning!

I'm really lucky in life because I have many awesome friends from different places.

I have a great circle of friends on work, on whom I can rely on for anything, whether it be for professional or personal reasons.  One thing I notice about my circle of friends at work: we are all passionate educators, who are in the profession for the "right reasons" (to quote the Bachelor/Bachelorette, ha-ha).  It goes to show you how people with similar energies attract each other.  Anyway, they are awesome and I am thankful for them.

I spend a lot of time from my friends from university days.  Even though some of them have moved away (like my BFF Becca T) we still get to see each other and keep in touch.  I find that sometimes I don't get to see people as much as I'd like to (damned adulthood) but I'm thankful for birthdays and other occasions that bring us together.  I'm lucky to have my friend Mathew from my university days as a close friend too.  He's the type of guy who will drop by my house to talk to me when I need a friend even if he's hit his head at a volleyball game and might have a concussion.

Likewise, I love my friends from high school.  I still travel, run, and hang out with many of these women.  I always think that high school me would be absolutely shocked that my buddies and I are running 10K races in our 30s.  (I couldn't run 0.5 km in high school.)  This weekend I'm heading home to Stratford, so I'm looking forward to seeing some for dinner/drinks.

I love my friends from blogging too.  I had a great summer last year getting to visit with lots of them, and would love if I could win the lottery and travel about visiting people when I need it.  That'll be the dream.

Also, I have to say that my mom is an awesome friend these days.  Long story short: I've always had a good relationship with my mom, but there were areas of my life that I didn't share with her.  I was closed and very selective.  However, in the past year or so, I've been more open with her and it's been awesome. 

This long weekend is going to be friend-filled.  Last night I had a monthly date with my pal Elaine (we joke that we're once a month friends... which is significant actually) and my work spouse (BFF from work) called me 'cuz she needed to get out of the house.  I invited her to come out with my pal Elaine and I, and Elaine brought a friend, so it was fun.  Tonight I'm seeing my friend Vern, and tomorrow night I have drinks with various Go9 people.  Mathew and I are going to try to catch the Jays' game on Monday.

So yes, I'm super blessed with many best friends.  :)

#BEDM - Walk to Work

For today's Blog Every Day in May post, the assignment was a photoessay of our trip to work.

I left my house at 7:35 listening to Andrew McMahon's Pop Underground EP.

I take the bus from my apartment to Eglinton Station.  I wasn't able to get a picture of this part of my journey because my neighbour was leaving at the same time and we had a nice chat.  He and his family used to live in the apartment next to mine, but moved to a different unit recently.  I had no idea they'd moved.

I hopped off the bus at Eglinton Station and used my Metropass to transfer outside the station instead of inside, since it shaves about 3 minutes off my travel time.

Here's a photo of all the crap I was carrying with me today.  Giant black Lululemon bag that fits my laptop, gym clothes, and etc.  Lunch in the flowered bag.  Clipboards from yesterday's field study in the red bag.  (I went straight home from the site instead of coming back to school.... hence more to carry.)

Today I was on one the TTC's newer trains.  Subways aren't as packed on Fridays as on other days of the week. 

I have to change trains at Bloor station.

I arrive at Dufferin station, which is under construction right now.  All of the tiles are new, but there's still lots to be done.  I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks upon completion.

Next stop is Tim Horton's for coffee.  (How Canadian of me.)

Then I have to jaywalk across Bloor Street.

Last, here's a picture of the tree-lined street I walk down to get to my final destination.

#BEDM: Pampering

Today's Blog Every Day in May topic is pampering: what is your ideal way to pamper yourself and relax.

Three words.  Treat. Yo. Self.



I don't say that I'm pro at something unless I am.  And I'm pretty pro at treating myself.

The BEDM question is what is your ideal way to treat yourself.  I have to say that I agree with Donna and Tom on this one: clothes, fragrances, massages, mimosas, fine leather goods.  Treat yo self.

I must admit that perhaps last Saturday was Treat Yo Self 2013 for me.  (Who I am kidding... I don't limit Treat Yo Self to one day.)  My pal Heather and I spent the day treating ourselves before the big race on Saturday.

15% off sales at Anthropologie?  Treat yo self.  (Two new summer tops.)

New book at Indigo?  Treat yo self.  (Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris.)

New black Toms at The Sporting Life?  Treat yo self.

Going for a beer with my personal trainer?* Treat yo self.

Indulgent Italian dinner at La Vecchia with two more beers and dessert wine?  Treat yo self.

That's pretty ideal pampering.  I think Heather and I did a great job.

***

*My personal trainer has moved to Calgary!  I'm pretty sad because I liked the guy.  I get a new one though, and I start with him tomorrow.  He seems nice, but maybe more intense (in a serious way) than my old one.  I feel that my old one left at a good time: he got to see me lose 20 lbs, cut 6 minutes off my 10K run time (heck, I am still impressed that I can run 10K again), and for our last session on Tuesday, I ended by rowing 1000 m in 4 minutes and 44 seconds which blew away my old time.

Anyway, he was having a going away party so we dropped by for a beer which was nice.

***

I've also been having a really nice week at school.  This week was the big dissection (fetal pig) for my grade eleven biology class.  They did such a great job.  It's really fun having an activity where your students are highly engaged in learning.  They get right into it: making incisions, unraveling the intestines to measure the length, walking around the classroom with various organs in hand, and performing brain surgery.  It's kind of gross, but really fun.

Today I spent the entire day outside and the weather was beautiful.  I took my grade 11 environmental science class on a field study where we collected bugs from the bottom of a river to assess the health of the river.  Again, it was so fun to watch kids so engaged in learning!  They loved putting on hipwaders and going into the river, and we saw lots of "wildlife" today: they caught some crayfish, found a frog and spotted a weasel.  Moreover, they spent over an hour staring into buckets of water to find and identify teeny tiny bugs.  It was great.

I got high praise from one student: "Miss, I won't lie to you.  Yesterday I thought this trip was going to suck and I didn't really want to go.  But you know what, it wasn't bad!"

So yes, I've been also treating my students to some fun learning experiences this week.  :)  It's important to not only treat yo self, but the other selves in your life.  

#BEDM - Life's A Lesson

Today's #BEDM question is "What is the single most important lesson you have ever had?"

My honest answer is that I'm not sure. I feel there are some lessons that life keeps trying to teach me that I don't learn and I keep repeating the same mistakes. These lessons would be:

a) Listen to your gut (especially when you don't want to) --> I tend to ignore my gut when it's telling me things I don't want to hear. I'll make mistakes full on knowing that I am making them, but hoping against hope that they aren't mistakes. This has never worked in my favour, and I really should stop doing it but I can be stubborn.

b) Live in the present --> Again a lesson I understand, but I don't practice. I can spend way too much mental energy focussing on the past (which I can't change) and the future (which I can't control) and don't enjoy the present. Living in the moment is so much more difficult that you'd think.

c) Quit being so hard on yourself --> I am my worst critic. Even though I've been having some awesome victories this year when it comes to fitness, I'm still engaging in far too much negative discourse in my head. If anyone spoke to me the way I think about myself, I'd tell them off. Ugh, I need to get better at silencing that awful (and harsh) inner critic. It's not productive.

I feel like with these lessons, I'm like the kid who can get an A on her chemistry test but cannot perform an acid-base titration to save her life. (Actually that was me in high school.) It's all theory, but no practice.

But one lesson I've learned that I do practice is humour is a pretty awesome antidote, so I'll stop this post with a hilarious chemistry cartoon that relates to my nerdy analogy.

Oh Dubstep Kitty. :)