Inspiration.

As you all may, or may not, be aware, it's that time of year again: back to school.  I gather that if you're a person in the rest of the world, without any school-aged children, you might not know that the school year is approaching.  However, does anyone really forget the renewal that comes with a new September?

I have to say that I'm looking forward to the new school year.  After a summer of travel and loads of fun, I'm feeling ready to go back into the classroom.  On top of my optimism for a great new school year, the past couple of days have brought me some extra inspiration.

First of all, a colleague/friend lent me a book called "What Teachers Make" by the poet/teacher Taylor Mali.  I purposely saved it to read at the end of the summer to give me some inspiration before a new school year.  Mali is best know for the poem below:



I really enjoyed the book.  Currently, Ontario's teachers are in the process of negotiating a new contract with the government, and with that comes anti-teacher comments following newpaper articles online.  I've learned to stop reading comments following any newspaper story about teachers, however I made the mistake lately of skimming some, and I read a comment that described teachers as "under-worked, over-paid, and over-benefitted".  GROSS.  Luckily for me, Mali's book is a wonderful antidote to this attitude.  It was a great reminder of how wonderful and important my job, and provided me with great inspiration before the new year.

Also, I have to comment that we are lucky in Canada: our teachers are fairly compensated.  Often people complain teachers make too much money.  One of the hallmarks of a good education system is that teachers are well-compensated and respected (eg Finland - the best in the world).  If teachers aren't, you won't attract the best people to the profession, and students will suffer.  You want great teachers?  Pay them accordingly.  Don't think it's a hard job?  Come shadow me.  I'll put you in front of my *best* class, and see how you fare, then ask you to teach one of my more challenging classes. Good luck.

Anyway, I think reasonable people will agree with me there.

I've spent the past two days at school working with 40 student leaders to organize and run an orientation day for our incoming grade nines.  (This is just one of the many activities that I donate my own time to organize because I see the inherent value in it to students.)  This has been another source of inspiration for me.  It was an exhausting task organizing the day, but we got it done, and today the leaders did a fabulous job of running the day.  Cue to me standing around, doing nothing for most of it.  In education, you know things are going well when the teacher has nothing to do.  After the grade nines left, I gave my best "you guys are amazing" speech to the leaders, and it felt good that the school year hasn't even started, but I've already had an opportunity to make students feel great about themselves.

One of my favourite moments was when a spunky grade nine tried to grab a basketball out of one of the leader's hands, and the leader said patiently "just hold on, you'll get to play basketball outside, okay?" and it really put the niner in his place (but very kindly).  Afterwards, I told the leader that I thought the way he handled the situation was awesome, and you could see him just shine when I gave him praise.  I'm so lucky to have this job.

Finally, I'm inspired to create a "Science Wall of Fun" in my classroom this year.  I've been an itinerant teacher for years: jumping from this classroom to that one.  This means that I'm never in one place long enough to decorate it, but this will change this year: I'm in one place for all of my classes.

The idea for the Science Wall of Fun, came from this quote that I came across on Facebook the other day.  It made me really excited to share the amazing-ness of science with my students!

I've come across many nerdy science jokes on Facebook, and I spent about a hour last night printing out my favourites at home (so they'd be in colour).  I can't wait to post them.  I think this one is in the lead for my favourite!

So those are the three things that have left me inspired for a new school year.  Tomorrow, I'm taking the train to Stratford, and my pal Vern is going to be kind enough to drive Ms. Rilo and I back to Toronto.  I'm looking forward to having my buddy back!

Hope you all have great long weekends!

The tricky part is to come back home.

The above line is from the song "Sure Can Start" by Two Hours Traffic.  It always goes through my head when I return from a trip, especially one that precedes getting back into the swing of things at work (I go in tomorrow for some planning).  Anyway, TO's been OK so far.  I've been trying to get back to Ontario time, visited my buddy down the street, and got my hair cut.  However, there have been a couple moments that have left me feeling yucky.  I guess that's just post-trip hangover.

Anyway, as a change of pace, I'm going to post pictures (!) instead of merely writing.  Here are some pictures from the last part of my post.  I'll go back in time and post some earlier photos another time.

Rawbean told me that I had to find this market on the Island that had goats on the roof.  Luckily, it was on route to Tofino.  We were driving and I asked Alison "what's the name of the market with the goats on the roof?" Before she could answer, the sign did the job.  (I love that it's called what it is.)

And this is why we came!  Actually, the market is pretty neat too.  I got pressies for my parents there!

After the market, we stopped at Cathedral Grove, which is a nice little trail where you can see some of the biggest/oldest trees in Canada.

We spent the night in Ucluelet, which is described by my guidebook as "Tofino's ugly stepsister".  I completely disagree.  It had a couple nice small beaches, and we had drinks on a boat.  The next day, we walked around part of the Wild Pacific Trail that brought us to a lighthouse.  Here's a picture of the view:

Alison walking the trail:

The lighthouse:

After that, we drove to Long Beach which is in between Ucluelet and Tofino.  It's a very long beach.  :)  It was pretty windy that day, so I had to walk down the beach in a hoodie.

 It was a good day for para-surfing... I think that's what this is called.

My feet in the Pacific.  (Note the nice pedicure I got in Vancouver... and my annual summer Birkenstock foot tan.)

After Long Beach, we drove into Tofino to see the town.  It was your average beach town.  We stayed long enough to visit an art gallery, take a picture of the sign, and have a quick dinner.

The next day, I drove to Victoria, and met up with Jabba for dinner.  On Saturday, I spent a full day in Victoria with Jabba.  Yay!  We did high tea (with mimosas!) at the Empress.

Here's a picture of the BC legislature during the day...

... and at night.  I love how it's lit up!

Well, that's a brief wrap-up of my trip with photos. 

ps If you are a Stars fan, you can stream the new album here!  I love it!!!

I came here to bring the noise to the island girls and the harbour boys.

I have to say that I am enjoying island life a lot.

Since I've been here, I've been having a great time.  I stayed out late on my first night catching up with my friend Alison.  Yesterday, she took me to a really nice waterfall where you can walk out through shallow water over a rocky surface and actually go sit near the falls.

I decided not to bring my camera, as I was worried about slipping and falling (I'm clumsy).  However, I made it all the way to the falls no problem, and almost all of the way back.  Alison said "watch out for the hole!" and I said "I see it!"  However, the misfortune was that we were talking about different holes, and in I went.  I stubbed all of the toes of my left foot on the rocky surface.  Ouch!  See, good thing I did not bring my camera!

After that, we ended up driving to a beach with a funny name - Goose Spit Beach.  It was really nice.  Here's picture of my rental car on the beach.  Can I tell you that I am in NO WAY a car person, but I love this little guy?  It's so fun to drive!  Tight parking spots are no problem!  If a jerk parks behind you and kind of blocks you in, no worries, you can three-point turn yourself outta there!  (This happened at the waterfall.)  Driving with the top down is SO MUCH FUN.  Alison and I joke about missing the car when we spend time away from the car.

After the beach, we had a nice dinner at a pub by the Marina in Comox to close out a nice day.

This morning I went for a run along the River Walk in Courtenay.  Alison, who is not a runner, was game enough to join me.  We did a good 5K run/walk, and came to the kayak rental place near the end of our route.  We were already kind of sweaty.  Why not hop into a kayak?  We rented two singles, and off on the water we went for almost two hours.

I'd never kayaked before, so I was apprehensive, but I had tonnes of fun!  The best was that we saw lots of seals in one section of the river.  At one point we saw five at once, including a cute little pup.  It was awesome!  Definitely a trip highlight for me!  Unfortch, I decided it was best not to bring my camera (see above clumsiness), but Alison did get pictures of me in a kayak, and hopefully some seal heads.

After a snack, and a shower, we met up again to go on a road trip.  (The Mini will get you anywhere on a thimbleful of gas, I swear.)  After some debate, we decided to take the Oceanside highway to Campbell River, which is north of Courtenay.  The southbound part of that highway is supposed to be prettier, but we'll be heading that way tomorrow, so north we went.

The way up was pretty.  We passed farmland, wineries, and ocean resorts.  A few kilometres outside of Campbell River is a little park with all kinds of wood carvings.  They always change because they get purchased or moved around town.  Here I am with my favourite! 

After that, we went on a mad hunt for a fish and chip place that my Van Island travel book recommended.  The GPS did a horrible job of finding it, but after some back and forth driving, I figured out where it was.  When I finally spotted it, I yelled "Dick's!  There's Dick's!  We found Dick's!"  (Obviously the place was called Dick's Fish and Chips.) I didn't mean to sound inappropriate but it was pretty hilarious, and I shocked and appalled Alison just a little bit.  We made jokes about it all evening.

After some very delicious fried food (good thing we got all of that exercise in the morning), we took a walk along the harbourfront.  We even saw some giant cruise ships.  We ended the even with giant ice cream from a store on the pier.  It was excellent.  Campbell River was a fun place!

Tomorrow, we're taking the Mini for a roadtrip to Tofino!  There are a lot of fun places to stop along the way and it will be great.  I hope the weather will be nice so we can cruise with the top down.  Seriously, I've never loved a car so much.  Even though it's so small my suitcase will not fit in the trunk.  Whatevs.  What it lacks in trunk space it makes up for in awesomeness.

Vancouver!

Here I sit in my homey B&B in Courtenay, BC after spending a lovely evening catching up with my dear friend Alison, who was one of my besties/roommates from university.  After a ferry debacle (more on that another time), my rental Mini Cooper convertible (free upgrade!) and I made it to Vancouver Island.

However, I should catch you up on my adventures in Vancouver, in point form only since it's really late at night, but the time to write might escape me later, so I'll do it now.  I'll post pictures later Jabba, I swear!!!  (I know, I'm the worst with pictures, but I always want to write things down before I forget.)

Itemized List of Vancouver Fun!

1) Taking a train DIRECTLY from the airport to downtown is one of my favourite things ever.  Take note Toronto.  You should have one of those.

2) My first meal was at Japadog. Take note Toronto.  You should have one of those.

3) I rented a bike and biked along the seawall in Stanley Park and across some awesome downtown bike lanes.  Take note Toronto.  You should have more of these.

4) I braved the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  Last time I was in Vancouver, Becca T refused to do it, so I figured I'd do it.  It was slightly terrifying, and heights usually don't make me very nervous. 

5) I ate sushi.

6) I met up with Rawbean for drinks - I had Watermelon Beer.  It was almost as great as the company.

7) I slept in and got a pedicure.

8) I met up with my pal Wes (who visited me earlier in the summer) and his girlfriend for sushi, the beach, and the Richmond Night Market.

9) I DID THE GROUSE GRIND.  Last time I was in Vancouver, Becca T and I *both* refused to do it.  However, I've come to enjoy fitness challenges (OK mainly running) in the past five years and I really wanted to do it to say I'd done it.  I DID IT!  2.9 km of wicked outdoor stair climbing to an ascent of 900 m.  Both Rawbean and Wes joined me!  Blogger mountain summit, anyone? Anyway, it was HARD, but the endorphin rush at the end, and the sense of accomplishment, was well worth the pain and exhaustion.  Also, the people I met along the way were super fun!

10) Rawbean and I celebrated the GG by going shopping downtown.  Unbeknownst to us, the Zombie Parade was happening at the same time.  It was super long!  We kept going in and out of stores and there were still more and more zombies.  It was awesome.  There was everything from Zombie Thriller Michael Jackson, to Miss Zombie Universe, to the zombies who reminded the rest of the zombies to obey traffic signals.

11) I finished my Vancouver adventure by joining Wes and friends for a local show at a venue that used to be a sushi restaurant.  It was fun, although I was so tired from the GG.  I also got to meet more fun people (shout out to Crystal, who might be a new reader!).

Looking back on my few days in Vancouver, I had such a great time.  I think Vancouver won me over more this trip than it did the first time I traveled there, and that's not just the remnants of the GG endorphins talking.  I'm not sure what the difference was, because I liked it in 2007 and had lots of fun, but it shone more this trip.  Maybe it was leftover Olympic sparkle, who knows?  Anyway, I had a really great time, and now I'm looking forward to a laid back quiet week on the island.  Yay summer.  Please don't end!

Awesome.

Rawbean and I met for drinks and dinner in Gastown tonight. 

It was the stuff of legend.

p.s. Claire, she's in on the PEI plan.

We won't leave it all in our heads.

I got home this evening from a super fun few days in Kingston.  I got to visit a friend, make new friends, explore a cute little city, and go to a music festival on a cute little cottage-y island.  Fun!

I arrived on Wednesday, and went out for Vietnamese food for dinner, followed by a refreshing swim in the lake.  On Thursday, I got a thorough tour of Kingston by foot, and spent a nice evening at a pub.  We had plans to go paddle-boarding on Friday, but since the forecast called for rain, the paddle-board rental place was closed, so we drowned our sorrows with one of those margaritas with a Corona stuck in it.  Instead of paddle-boarding, we shopped around downtown Kingston, which proved to be profitable because I found a really cute pair of silver leaf earrings.

We ordered pizza for dinner, which was hilarious because it took us an embarrassingly long time to navigate the pizza place's new online ordering system.  I don't even think we'd had drinks by that time!  After we got our hard-earned pizza, we went out in the pouring rain to catch the ferry to Wolfe Island.

My pal Melly, who had been watching the weekend's weather forecast with the eyes of a hawk, had messaged me to bring a raincoat since the POP for Friday was 90%.  Of course, being the city girl that I am, I didn't own a proper summer raincoat.  I find all you really need is an umbrella in the city since public transit can get you most places, and on rainy days I just stay inside.  Thankfully, I was able to pick up a last minute rain jacket at the Eaton Centre before I caught the bus to Kingston.  I needed it for that ferry ride, I tell you.  And, I think it'll probably come in handy for my trip to BC, so it was a great last minute purchase.

As soon as we got off the ferry, the rain let up somewhat.  Wolfe Island is a very cute cottage community with little churches, restaurants, and an annual music festival.  We made it to the baseball field where some bands were playing.  They were supposed to be playing in front of the town hall, but that was moved because of the rain.  Anyway, we got some beer, and had fun seeing Mike O'Neill and the Pinecones, before Elliott Brood hit the stage for a really fun set.  The rain had completely stopped by the time we settled in for the bands.

We headed over to the General Wolfe hotel to hear a bit of Yukon Blonde.  We couldn't see them since the place was so packed.  After awhile we thought that we should get the next ferry, but didn't consult the schedule, and found out we had to wait until the 1:20 am ferry.  We walked around town for a bit, and heard someone singing "Rockin' in the Free World" from somewhere, and figured that we should crash that party.  It turned out to be Hollerado playing in a sweltering church hall, and we stayed there for awhile, obtained 2-for-1 beer, and fist pumps.  We had a super fun end to the evening dancing to Hollerado before we caught the last ferry to Kingston.

The format of the WIMF changes on the Saturday to just one stage. We got there in time to see a fun band named Nightbox, then went for lunch at the Island Grill, where we ordered too much food, and then spend the rest of the day lounging and listening to bands.  Zeus put on a great set, but the highlight of the evening was Rich Aucoin.  I have never seen such a fun and interactive performer.  I knew none of his songs, but he turns his show into a multimedia interactive experience, so I was singing and dancing along.  It was incredible.  I've turned into a convert and will be there next time he plays Toronto.  Oh, and he did it all with borrowed equipment!  Air Canada had lost his gear!

Here's a video for one his songs.  It's fun but does not translate how insanely fun he is live.  Go see him if you can!



Today was a lazy day with brunch, the Kingston antique market, and a bus-ride back to Toronto.  I'm glad to be home, but I won't be for long; three more sleeps and I fly to Vancouver!

Also, I totally would like to do WIMF again, but I'll be in Kenya for next year's WIMF.  My deposit cheque cleared, so I assume that means I'm officially going!  Yay!  Maybe my next WIMF will be in 2014!

Blow off the roof and let in the dark.

I think I just wrote the best email ever.  This is how it went.

How was your trip?

I didn't know that you were home already! I'm off to Kingston to drink bourbon and see rock bands on Wednesday but will be back next Monday and I'm going to visit P. in the evening so you should come too if you can get away from your responsibilities and such. Or, if not, let's have lunch next Tuesday because then on Wednesday I'm off to BC to climb a mountain and ride a bike and hang out with new friends and reconnect with long lost friends etc.

Let me know!

I guess I just thought it was the best because it made me realize:

a) I have a lot of fun left in this summer.  I'm very excited about my Kingston and BC adventures that are coming soon.

and,

b) One should always have a close friend or two who live within a twenty minute (by foot) radius of oneself.

My Olympic Addiction. A Biennial Affliction.

One month of summer has come and gone.  I actually spent a lot of it in the sunshine, so my usual white pallor is gone, and my legs are covered with a second crop of mosquito bites (glamping isn't all glamour, y'all).

HOWEVER, now that the Olympics are here, I can already feel my healthy glow fading, as I am drawn to my TV, which is normally left in the off position for weeks at a time.  The call of the outdoors has gone silent.  Instead, the call of swimming matches, synchronized diving, rowing, and many sports that I don't even understand is much louder.  Goodbye tan.

Every time the Olympics  rolls around I think "oh I'm not going to watch much of that... I don't even understand most of those sports" and then a couple days later, BLAM!, I'm working an ass-groove into my couch (Homer Simpson reference... sorry for the crudeness).

I was in Stratford for the first part of this week and watched the Olympics with my parents, who also get addicted like me (it's a family disease).  I made plans to see You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Stratford Festival with my aunt, and felt a pang of regret as I headed out the door because it was taking me away from the Olympics.  However, the play was really fun (I wanna go dust off my old Peanuts comics) and I was able to catch up on what I missed during primetime.  Phew.

I have been enjoying some of the stories that have been playing out during these Olympics.  How about that badminton scandal?  I don't think I ever imagined that I would write the words "badminton" and "scandal" together in my life! (Hey - they put the "bad" back into badminton!  SORRY! THAT WAS AWFUL!)  First of all, I understand why the teams were throwing the matches, but when two teams are trying to throw a match at the same time, isn't the game just going to go on infinitely?  It would have been zero-zero FOREVER, no?

When I saw clips of those poorly played games, it brought back memories.  Mainly of myself playing badminton in grade nine gym class.  I thought I was horrible, but looking back, I guess I was playing Olympic-calibre badminton.  Heck, I was even better than the disqualified teams; I couldn't even get the birdie to hit the net!

(Sidenote: my record in high school badminton was flawless.  I thought I was pretty lucky to be paired with our grade's best badminton player as my partner.  He would field all of the shots, and I would stand back and cheer as we took down pair after pair of opponents.  Now that I'm a teaching, I've learned that grouping strategy wasn't luck, but is called heterogeneous pairing.  It explains why I was often paired with students who had the academic equivalence of my badminton skills in non-gym classes.  Also, I think I sucked at badminton because no one really taught me how to play.  We just had rackets thrown at us and were told to play badminton.  How is that education?)

Enough of the traumatic high school gym class memories and back to the Olympics.  Other than Shuttlegate (as CTV calls it), I've been into swimming.  First of all, I don't like hearing people being mean to teenagers, so I've been disheartened at the finger-pointing at Ye Shiwen, the Chinese swimming phenom.  Good for her for being faster than the guys.  It's innocent until proven guilty, and she passed all her tests, so I'll give her the benefit of any doubt.  Also, I came across the story of Australian swimmer Leisel Jones, who was being called "fat" by the Australian media yet still was able to pull off a fifth place finish in the race that I watched.  This is her fourth Olympics.  URGH.  As if women don't feel bad enough about our bodies, now Olympians are being called fat.  She should have challenged those buffoons to a swim-off.  (As should Ye Shiwen.)

Note how all of this stupid criticism is toward female athletes.  Hmmm.

I found myself on Team Phelps on the Lochte versus Phelps swimming battle.  I don't have any reason why, that's just how my heart felt.  I was on the edge of my seat watching the 200m individual medley final this afternoon.  Yay for Phelps.  (I know, like he doesn't have enough gold.)

As for Canada, I'm happy with our seven medals so far.  Who doesn't remember Beijing when it took us one week to win a medal?  There was some major national hand-wringing going on then.  Now we're just wringing our hands over who will win the first gold.  I've enjoyed the silvers that we got in both men's and women's 8-person rowing, and all of our bronzes in synchronized diving, judo, and weight-lifting were fun to watch too.  However, I was super proud of our women's gymnastics team who surprised by making the finals and then coming in fifth.  Well done to them.  It's not always about winning a medal.

CTV is promising me all kinds of fun events tomorrow, but my friend Heather is coming to visit me for the weekend, and I don't think she's coming to Toronto to sit on the couch and watch the Olympics.  So maybe my tan isn't going to completely disappear.

PS I'm also super happy that CBC won the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.  No more "I Believe"!  For non-Canadians, that is a song that the CTV plays whenever we win a medal or something significant happens.  It's very annoying.  Nails on chalkboard stuff.

PPS If I ever talk about competitive swimming this much in a post again, I owe you guys a coke!  (Mr. Burns reference)

Bathurst, Spadina, St. George & Bay.

I've spent a busy few days playing Toronto tour guide.  It was totally fun.  When I have a week in Toronto on my own, I'm guilty of sticking around my own neighbourhood too much and not taking advantage of what this awesome city has to offer.  I'm so glad that I had a friend from Vancouver spend these past few days with me, so I could show him around my city, and remind myself of why I really like calling this place home.

On Friday, we took a ferry out to Centre Island, found a good spot on the beach, and then walked to the other end of the Island.  We headed back to the "mainland" and took a streetcar out to Roncevalles for dinner and to meet up with friends for drinks.  This was the third person that I got to introduce to the terrifying aspect of having to walk into traffic to board a streetcar this summer.

Saturday was spent wandering around to see a lot of my favourite Toronto neighbourhoods: Queen St. W., Kensington Market, College St., the Annex (and Honest Ed's!), parts of U of T, and a bit of Yorkville.  That evening, we saw Best Coast play at the Phoenix, which was a nice show.

On Sunday, we went shopping at the Eaton Centre and wandered out to the Distillery District.  A thunderstorm sent us home from the Distillery a bit early, but that was OK 'cuz it gave me time to make dinner before forcing my pal to watch the finale of the Bachelorette with me, my pal Mathew (innocently dropping by to borrow a travel voltage converter), and a couple bottles of wine.  Yes Jabba, that explains why my last post was title-less.  ;)

Monday was a road trip to Niagara Falls.  It was a beautifully sunny day, and we had a great time.  We went on the Maid of the Mist, and I laughed when my friend invoked Rainier Wolfcastle and said "the plastic bags do nothing!" as we were pelted with mist.  I assure you this was completely refreshing on a day with a humidex of 41 degrees Celsius.  We also had a lot of fun people watching and getting a sugar rush from the frosty chocolate milkshakes at the Hershey Store.

My friend's last full day was spent wandering around Toronto and seeing more landmarks, spending more time by the water, and watching the poor Jays fall apart in the seventh inning to the Oakland A's.  At least we weren't there tonight for the 16-0 blowout.  The poor Jays... they are really suffering from a lot of injuries.  I love them still.

Anyway, so I feel I did a great job as a Toronto tour guide.  Today my friend flew out, however, Becca T arrived from visiting her parents's cottage in Muskoka.  We had a great time catching up and doing classic Becca T/Christy activities: sushi, and Starbucks in a little parkette we used to frequent.  It started raining, so we headed back here, talked a lot, and ended up putting together the Lego landmarks I bought in the US.  It was rather fun.

Unfortunately, I won't get to spend any more time with Becca this summer.  Tomorrow I'm taking the train to Stratford.  It's finally time of Go9 GLAMPING!  It's gonna be great!  I'm going to spend about a week in the Stratford area too.  It'll be nice to spend good time with my parents and Miss Rilo.  The whole family's together, ha-ha!

Also, I've been really enjoying the Polaris Prize-shortlisted album "I Predict A Graceful Expulsion" by the lovely Cold Specks.  She lists subway stations in her song "Elephant Head".  It's good stuff!

When I remember this summer, I'll remember drinking a bottle of wine, watching the Bachelorette finale with a couple of friends, and listening to the new Stars single on repeat, and thinking about social justice, education, and the joy of math/chemistry problems.

Not a light beach read, or how I learned a lot about social justice from an actress.

Before I left on my trip, I downloaded a couple of library books on my Kobo.  One of them was Ashley Judd's memior All That Is Bitter and Sweet.  I scanned the description of the book thinking that it would probably be a light summer read, but since she'd discuss her social justice work in developing nations with the UN and other organizations, it wouldn't be completely a guilty pleasure, as celebrity memoirs tend to be.

Boy, was I wrong.

In this book, Ashley Judd takes us through a spiritual journey through many aspects of her life: her difficult childhood, her recovery from depression and codependency, and her social justice work in developing nations.

She is educated (she describes her studies at Harvard at the end of the book), passionate, and a great role model.  Her work with prostitutes, child slaves, and women living in poverty in the developing world is eye-opening and justifiably uncomfortable to read.  However, through it all she shares how she feels that love in the answer, and that if you help one person, you help the world.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in social justice, gender issues, and/or spirituality. 

As a result of reading this book, I wanted to sponsor a woman in a developing nation through the organization Women for Women International, whose work is described in the book.  For about $1 a day, you can sponsor a women in a country such as the Democratic Republic of Congo to overcome obstacles and provide for her family.  However, since this is a US/UK based charity, for income-tax reasons, I decided to donate to a similar Canadian-based charity: Plan Canada's Because I Am a Girl.  It's a similar idea: that $1 a day would help educate, feed, and provide medical assistance for a girl in a developing nation.  I wanted the site to just randomly pick a sponsor child for me, but then they made me choose, so I selected a little girl in the Philippines, because I teach many newcomers from this country, so it holds a place in my heart.

Anyway, the point of that was that when Ashley wrote "if you help one person, you help the world", it really resonated with me, and donating through a charity like that is the quickest way that I could help a person in a developing nation right now, so I did.

This book also validated some of my teaching practice too.  I teach a unit about the environment and human health in one of my courses, and one of the topics that really hits home to students is the distribution of transmissible diseases like malaria, AIDS, and TB in the developing world.  Facts about how many people are affected by these diseases, and how cheap yet often inaccessible drugs and preventions such as mosquito nets always really resonate with and infuriate my students.  I feel good knowing that I've passed on this information to at least 100 kids (I've taught the course four times), and I really hope that they will take this information with them when they are old enough to vote.

This book also was a good read a year in advance to my (hopeful) trip to Kenya.  (Still not 100% confirmed but very likely.)  Even though I know I'll see some tough things (not as tough as in this book), I hope visiting and working in Africa will be life-changing for me, just like it was for Ashley Judd.

Lastly, I love the message of empowering women in the developing world.  Reading about rape, forced prostitution, and poverty is difficult and it highlights the disparity between men and women in these parts of the world.  It's not to say that the men in these countries don't have it hard too, but so often, the women in these countries don't even know that they have basic rights.  Since women are backbones of family life, to empower a women means to empower a family, and this will make life better for everyone.  This was the same message in another one of my favourite books, I Shall Not Hate by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish.

I guess the moral of this post is don't judge a book by its cover... ever.

Three songs

1) Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It - Stars

You know that thing when you listen to ten seconds of a song and you love it?  Happened when I listened to this.  I am so excited for September 4th when The North is released.



2) Angels - The xx

Beautiful.




3) Gotye Call Me Maybe Mashup - Pomplamoose

Brilliant.



(p.s. I should be cleaning my apartment now.  That's why I'm posting music instead.  Earlier, I was reading up on particle physics and elementary particles becuase I KNOW HOW TO PROCRASTINATE.)

Just own the night like the fourth of July.

Wow, trips go by oh-so-quickly.  It's my last night in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and I've had a relaxing and fun-filled time here.  It's a totally fun and pretty city.  I wish that I had more time here to explore more of the outdoors and go for long bike rides and maybe a hike, but AlieMalie's gotta get back to work (we can't all be teachers!), and I gotta get back to Toronto to get ready for my friend from Vancouver who is visiting me in a few days.

Friday was our first full day in MSP.  We started the day by heading the Como Park Conservatory and Zoo in St. Paul.  The conservatory was filled with many extreme plants and even two species of extreme mammal (humans, and Chloe, the two-toed sloth).

Here are some pretty sunflowers:

Water lilies:

 Chloe, the two-toed sloth:

The zoo was rather sad though.  Many of the animals didn't seem to have enough space and seemed rather depressed.  It made me really think about my opinion of zoos.  I think they are great to teach people about biodiversity and for conservation purposes, but they need to give the animals as much space as they'd need in their natural habitat.  I don't want to criticize this zoo without being informed: perhaps a lot of research did go into the animals' enclosures.  It was a really hot day, so that could have contributed to the animals being so lethargic.  However, my gut feeling was that the animals did not seem happy, and I left the zoo feeling sad (hence I didn't take any pictures).

Anyway, on to happier things: i.e. the Mall of America!  It's a pretty big mall, so of course I wanted to go.  I was quite excited to go the Lego store.  I have friends who are in to Lego, and I have to admit I'm getting into it by proxy.  This store was insane! Check out the view from above:

I got some Lego gifts for friends, and I also got the Lego Architecture set of Big Ben.  It'll be fun to build when I eventually get time to do so... (maybe in September?)

After that we did a bit more typical shopping for handbags and jewelry.

Friday evening we booked ourselves a ghost tour.  AlieMalie knows that I'm into them: I've done them in Stratford, London, Charlottetown, Nova Scotia, and Salem MA.  Normally these involve walking around town and being told ghost stories about various buildings.  I always enjoy them because I love spooky ghost stories.  Also, it was Friday the 13th, so it seemed a perfect thing to do.

This one was a bit different.  Instead of being a ghost story walk, it was a ghost hunt.

It took place in one of Minneapolis' oldest building and we were given a set of ghost-hunting tools: an EMF reader, dowsing rods (don't ask), and a flashlight.  We were let lose in this building with our guides, and were supposed to use our tools (or even apps on our phones) to find the spirits that haunted the building.  It was a pretty funny experience that has spawned some good jokes between us, especially this great shot of an ORB!!! that AlieMalie got on her phone.  BOO!

On Saturday, we headed to the Guthrie Theatre to see Roman Holiday - it's a musical featuring Cole Porter songs based on the Audrey Hepburn movie, which neither of us had seen.  However, it seemed like a good thing to do since it took place in a rather awesome modern theatre overlooking the Mississippi.

We both really enjoyed the musical.  It was very cleverly done.  I wonder if this new musical will make it to New York, or even Stratford, one day.

Today was our last day, and we decided to go to a Twins game.  We got cheap skyline seats, which were great because they were cheap and offered a nice view of the skyline from Target Field.  The Twins lost bigtime to the Oakland A's, but I really enjoyed getting to a new ballpark.  And it was free hat day!  Bonus souvenir for my dad!

Here's the view of the skyline:

I LOVED this sign... It might be hard to see in the picture, but Minneapolis and St. Paul are shaking hands over the river.  Working together is the best!  I really wanted some sort of souvenir with this sign on it. I fall in love with the oddest things sometimes.  But all the gift shop had was overpriced shotglasses, a hideous nail-clipper/keychain, and... earrings(!).  My picture will be the souvenir.

Me in my free Twins hat!  I'll give it to my dad.  He won't mind that it's slightly used.

I loved the cup-holders in the seats in front.  Why doesn't the Skydome have this?  I'm always afraid of spilling my beer there.

 

Here I am with the statue of Kirby Puckett at the entrance to the park.  He was a famous Twins player in the 80s/90s and was a household name... at least in my household.  We were always into baseball, and I remember my dad making lots of jokes about Kirby Puckett.  I am seriously getting this picture of me almost getting attacked by his statue framed for my dad as a joke.

We had to make one last trip to the Mall of America after the game.  During the game, the hotel phoned AlieMalie to apologize because our housekeeper broke my bottle of foundation in our hotel room.  They told her that they'd deduct the cost of it from our hotel bill; all we'd have to do is a bring a receipt for it.  Anyway, there was a MAC store at the mall so I went to get a new bottle.  When we got back to the hotel, we were going to show them the receipt, but we didn't need to because they had researched the cost of the makeup on the internet, and had deducted $35 from our bill.  Minnesotans are really really nice!

Sidenote: as a result of a second trip to the mall, I bought additional makeup at MAC, found the awesome BAD ROMANCE nail polish that was painted on my toes in Winnipeg, and got a new pair of shoes.  I think in the end, Minnesota won this deal.

ANYWAY, so I sit at the end of my first summer trip feeling really great.  I've had some really great times over the past week and a half.  I had such a great time especially hanging out with AlieMalie in Chicago and Minnesota.  It's been over four years since we last saw each other (that's what living in different parts of the continent will do), and it's been great reconnecting.  She is an absolutely awesome friend, and a joy to travel with.  I do hope we make it to Europe together some day, or at the very least, she makes it to Toronto so I can take her to a Jays game, and to a great shoe store.

I'll leave this long post (MSP is fun, y'all!) with a couple more photos.  Here's an awesome giant cherry on a spoon sculpture:

Crazy moving pub on wheels - you gotta pedal for your beer!

Old flour mill:

Skyline at dusk:

See ya in Toronto!

I'll make the most of it, I'm an extraordinary machine.

New post, new city.  Right now I'm in Bloomington, MN which is actually part of Minneapolis.  After a fun-filled three days in Chicago, I'm spending the weekend in the Twin Cities, and then on Monday, I fly home to Toronto for the next part of my summer vacation.

On Monday, my good pal AlieMalie picked me up at O'Hare, and then we headed into Chicago to meet up with a friend of mine from work who was also in Chicago.  We went for deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's, which was amazing.  Last year, I did the deep dish pizza thing at Pizzaria Uno, and it wasn't nearly as good.  Deep dish pizza has been redeemed for me.

We packed a lot in on Tuesday.  We went to the Field Museum, which I loved.  Not only did I get to see Sue, the most complete T Rex fossil out there, I got to enjoy their Extreme Mammal exhibit.  I really like mammals - I took an entire course on mammalian diversity in university, so I was in heaven.  Unfortunately, there was no photography permitted of the Extreme Mammals (it would be too much to handle for anyone), but here's Sue!

After that, we headed downtown for lunch at then went up the Sears Tower (okay, it's now called the Willis Tower, but whatever).  That was fun.  They have these glass boxes that protrude over 100 stories over Wacker Ave.  Both of us were brave enough to stand on them.

 

We then headed over to the Chicago Theatre to catch Fiona Apple.  The theatre is amazing.  The inside is ornate and decadent.  Fiona herself was amazing.  I wasn't sure what to expect from seeing her live, as I wasn't a superfan before this show, but now I can say that I am.  She is an amazing live performer; she is intensely physical and has a great voice.  I'm so glad that we decided to go to this show.

After the show we wandered around Millenium Park.  Late at night is a great time to get shots of the park without tonnes of tourists in your shots.

Yesterday, we headed downtown to do a river cruise by the Chicago Architectural Society. I actually did the same cruise when I was in Chicago last year, but I was totally game to do it again because of the booze cruisers.  Last year, there were about five couples who got on the boat, and spent the entire cruise drinking and yelling across the boat at each other.  It made it hard to hear the docent's explanations (and made me very grumpy), so that's why I was game to do the same cruise again.  I had a mimosa to celebrate that there were no booze cruisers this time!  :) 

After that, we went for lunch at an awesome restaurant called The Purple Pig.  The highlight of the meal was salted caramel soft serve ice cream for dessert.  So good.

After that, we walked down to Navy Pier, then relaxed on Ohio beach with a beer for a while.  As we were sitting on the beach-side patio, this fetching fellow sauntered by a few times.  Does he remind you of anyone?

We took the El to meet up with my colleague again for our last meal in Chicago.  It was a fun few days in that city.  I really love Chicago, and although I've been there twice in two years, I feel that there is a lot more for me to do there: see a Cubs game and explore more of the neighbourhoods.  I have a feeling it won't be long 'til I do another few days in that amazing city.

Today we drove about 8 hours from Chicago to Minneapolis.  We stopped in Madison Wisconsin for a break and ate at a great pizza place that has mac 'n cheese pizza.  It was carbalicious!

Now we're enjoying generous glasses of complimentary wine as we plan our three days in the Twin Cities.  We're gonna go on a ghost tour (hopefully tomorrow night - Friday the 13th!), see the play Roman Holiday, and go to a Twins' game.  Oh, and of course, the Mall of the Americas is around the corner from our hotel, and I've been a good girl and only bought one thing in Winnipeg (a book) and one thing in Chicago (a Lego model of the Sears tower), so I think I'll be doing some shopping there!

Heart of the Continent

I'm sitting here at WPG's airport, enjoying the existence of free wifi.  In less than an hour, I'll be on my way to Chicago to meet up with my pal AlieMalie, who I haven't seen in over four years.  I'm super excited.

I've had a great time here in Winnipeg!  I leave feeling relaxed, and my brain is clearer than it has been in awhile.  I'm relaxed (so much so I had to say that twice).  I had a great long weekend in Winnipeg... I was here five days, that's like a long weekend, right?

Seeing Feist at the Winnipeg Folk Festival was amazing.  I love festivals, and it's always great to try a new one.  It's at a very large park outside of the city, and it was a great space to enjoy music.  I enjoyed all of the musicians that we saw (Snowblink, James Vincent McMorrow, Justin Rutledge, and someone else whose name escapes me) but Feist took the cake.  She is one of my favourite live performers.  I've had friends call Feist "French cafe background music".  But, as my pal Matt said, "if so, that's one cafe I'd like to go to."  She has such great performance chops; her guitar solo during Sea Lion Woman was amazing, and I was proud that I did not bawl during "Let it Die".

The rest of the time I was here I did lots of fun I stuff.  I drove 1.5 hours north to Grand Beach on Lake Winnipeg, and had a great time relaxing on the beach and going for a small hike... however I returned with the worst sunburn ever, and covered in mosquito bites.  We went to see Spiderman, and had some good laughs at the security levels at Oscorp.  It was an OK movie, but turn your brain off.  I went to the Royal Canadian Mint (if you ever go, ask for Phil as your tour guide), walked around downtown a lot, and got pretty damned drunk in Osborne Village.

I treated myself to a great spa escape at Ten Spa at the Hotel Fort Garry.  Massage (on ouchy sunburns), facial, and insane mani-pedi.  A woman told me that she was jealous of the mani-pedi I got (complete with paraffin wax and everything).  My toes are now a colour called "Bad Romance" (black with purple sparkles).  It was a great way to spend five hours and I'd love for the massage therapist that I had to move to Toronto.

On Sunday, Matt and I did the legendary hotel brunch at the Fort Garry.  IT WAS INSANE.  Yes, it cost me $50, but I ate that much food, I am sure of it.  I got so full, that I couldn't even try all the pastries and desserts and I wanted to so badly!  I didn't even have room for an omelette!  I was crushed.  We ate for seriously 2.5 hours.  I'm pretty sure that I worked it all off by walking around all afternoon, and then going for a run.

Oh yes, and maybe my favourite thing from Winnipeg was the abundance of dragonflies.  They were flying around Folk Fest, Grand Beach, and by the Forks.  They are a rarity in my Toronto existence and I loved watching them.

To sum up, I will leave you with what I believe were the two funniest things I said during my trip to Winnipeg.

"Friendly Manitobans are friendly even when you hit their car!"  (I kind of hit a van, but no damage to either vehicle THANK GOD.  I left a note for the van owner 'cuz there was a dent, that was not from me, and he called and was so nice and wished me a happy vacation.)

"The Hotel Fort Garry brunch - where freshly squeezed orange juice flows like water."

Good times.  Now off to make good times in Chicago!

But the airport's always almost empty at this time of the year, so let's go play on a baggage carousel.

I feel that my summer truly starts tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll fly to Winnipeg, rent a car, and then head out to the Folk Festival to catch Feist.

I'll spend a few more days ambling about the Prairies, a couple days spoiling myself at the spa, and then I'm off to Chicago.

I feel that Winnipeg is the perfect destination for my first flight this summer.  Don't laugh.  Ever since I was a 21-year-old kid listening obsessively to the Weakerthans on my *DISCMAN*, I would picture this city that they sang about in my head.  I knew things about the airport, street names, etc., and thought "hmm, I'll go there some day."

And ironically I did.  Winnipeg was the first place I ever flew to, but not for pleasure, but for work.  When I was 23 (so young) I took a job on a remote reserve in Northwestern Ontario.  I had to fly through Winnipeg to get there, and spent hours in the airport, and a few overnights in the city, including a week for a conference that coincided with my twenty-fourth birthday.  Yep, you know your living conditions are harsh when spending your birthday in Winnipeg in February seems like heaven.

Anyway, so the point of this is that Winnipeg has always had a special place in my heart and seems like a good place to start a summer of self-care and rediscovery.  Through the magic of blogging, I have a good friend there, and my girl Feist is there, so it's a good place to go.  After that, I'm excited to spend a good week with my pal AlieMalie, who I haven't seen in over four years, as we roadtrip from Chicago to Minneapolis-St. Paul's.

The best thing about this summer is that I have pretty much every day filled with awesome people.  People who really care about me and have my back.  People who don't find me too introverted, who don't focus on my flaws, and who don't think life is too short for me.

Anyway, I am just SO FREAKING READY to leave this city for awhile and to remember what's important.  And to spend some time reconnecting with my old self, the optimistic girl who would watch the following video over and over again and didn't worry about bullshit because she knew herself.  I feel like I lost myself this year and I have so much faith this summer will help me find myself.

Happy Canada Day!

As I always do, I will post my favourite Canada Day song on my blog.  It's awesome because it:
a) is a  Joel Plaskett song
b) works our national anthem into a song about heartbreak



However, this year, I'll post another couple faves.  Sloan is a quintessential Canadian band, no, INSTITUTION, and"Rest of My Life" has the classic line:

"One thing I know about the rest of my life, I know I'll be living it in Canada."



HOWEVER, this year's top Canada Day song for me will be "One Great City!" by the Weakerthans, because I am flying to that city in three more sleeps!  I can't wait.  The Winnipeg Folk Festival (with FEIST!), my pal Matt, a roadtrip for beaches and fish in chips, downtown fun, and two nights in a historic hotel await me.



This Canada Day weekend has been about getting ready for that trip more or less, and catching up with friends.  My summer is so jam-packed that instead of seeing more of some of my friends during my two months off, I'll probably see less of them.  The past three days have been full of food, drinks, and movies with people.

Tomorrow I pack up Miss Rilo Kitty and will face the unpleasant drive to Stratford with her.  (She hates the car.)  She'll be staying at my parents' until the end of August, because there is no sense in up-rooting her for the couple of weeks I'll actually be in Toronto this summer.  I'll visit her, and my parents, at the end of July.

Hope you are all having nice long weekends!  And, I should say that I'm very thankful to live in Canada, a country that embraces multiculturalism, universal healthcare, and the unhealthiest of foods (poutine, donuts, maple syrup, beer).

Why did you become you?

It's grad night, so I have the day off, and I had plans of cleaning and running (I haven't run in two weeks), but napping, and reading, and the internet diverted me from the best of my intentions. 

I blame the fact that my summer cold still lingers.

Anyway, this was my best internet find of the day.  Daniel Radcliffe being emo in a Slow Club video?  Yes please!

I could liken you for a werewolf the way you left me for dead.

I love how great new music randomly works its way into my life.

I decided to check out if there would be any good shows in Chicago when I'm there (IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS!), and I saw that Fiona Apple was playing the legendary Chicago Theatre.

Everyone remembers Fiona Apple from the 90s, right?



I own her 2005 album "Extraordinary Machine", which I like quite a bit.

Anyway, I asked my pal AlieMalie if she'd be up for the show, and she was, so then it was time for me to do my homework - listen to Fiona Apple's new album "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do".

And it's brilliant.  I've been listening to it on repeat for the past day.  I wouldn't be surprised if it makes my top 10 of 2012.  Needless to say, I'm now SUPER excited for this show.



Also, 2012 has been a pretty strong year for albums so far.  Patrick Watson.  Beast Coast.  Rufus Wainwright.  John K Samson.  Sleigh Bells.  Joel Plaskett Emergency. Kathleen Edwards.  Metric.  Rose Cousins.  All of these are awesome.  And the year's only halfway through!

Another highlight of my easy day was getting a sample of free birthday cake tea from David's Tea.  I got one of their iced tea tumblers, so I can sample iced tea for $1 all summer long.  I went today for iced tea, and they gave me a sample of loose tea for signing up for their newsletter.  I am drinking it now and loving it.  I have a feeling that I'm going to be sampling way more of their teas in the future.  I'm drinking this birthday cake tea right now and it's excellent.

The free samples didn't end there.  My friend and I were at Spadina & Bloor, and there were people giving away free bottles of beer!  (Carlsberg.)  We laughed so hard.  I'd never seen such a thing, and it seemed slightly illegal, giving away free beer on the street.  They did ID every person however, and would not give away samples to people driving by in cars (and there were drivers asking).  However, they had no problem giving one to my 8.5 month pregnant friend, who was picking it up for her husband.  It made me chuckle knowing that for the rest of the afternoon I was walking around with a bottle of beer in my purse.

(Which reminds me... there's a bottle of wine that I was given as a thank you in my filing cabinet at school right now.  Must bring home on Friday!)

Also, in exactly one week today I'm flying to Winnipeg to see Feist!!!  And my pal Matt too.

Two more working days left.  Tomorrow is graduation, and then Friday is end of year meeting and lunch.  The pace these days is slow.  It's weird.  I think my body and brain wonder what happened to all of the stress.

Happy Thursday blogarinos!

ps I've sent in my deposit and application for Kenya 2013.

Just 'cuz you're crazy doesn't mean that you're free.

Big concert news today.

Metric is touring Canada with Stars.  TWO FAVOURITE BANDS AT ONCE!!!  What could be better?

It's November 24th at the Air Canada Centre.  I'll be on the floor with my best Metric pals. We got our tickets already in the presale - we're keeners.  I can't believe it was two years ago that I saw them last.  Time staggers on.

Stars - I saw 'em twice last June.  Once in a little art gallery.  Now I'm going to see them in a hockey arena.

Stadium love, my friends.  Stadium love.



I have a huge crush on Emily Haines these days.

Also, you should check out the new Stars single from their album The North which is coming out on September 4th.  That will be my back to school present, I suppose.  I guess I can't completely dread back to school because it will bring new Stars.



You can (and should) download this song here.

In other music news, my beloved Sloan is planning a September tour where they will play their classic 1994 album "Twice Removed" in its entirety.  (Remember how I saw them play their classic 1996 album in December?)  So far, they're just doing the Twice Removed tour on the West Coast.  I am crossing my fingers that they decide to spread the TR love here.  TR features this song, which started Becca T's and my Sloan obsession.



Anyway, nothing kills negative thinking in me like thinking about music and concerts.  Oh and thoughts about travel.  I was chatting this evening with my friend Alison in Courtenay BC, and I'm thinking that we'll take an overnight trip to Tofino and go biking and hiking and stuff.  I can't wait.

And, it's only nine more sleeps until Feist in Winnipeg!

So many happy thoughts!

UPDATE: More concerts

Since I wrote this post three hours ago, I have had friends confirm more shows to go to.  I'm gonna see John K Samson in September, Beach House in October, AND Fiona Apple at the Chicago Theater in July with AlieMalie.  Concert at a famous venue FTW!