I'm feeling the change now. Like all change, that hollow feeling exists ... that void, a darkness that sits in between all events, like a gap between breaths.
But no more blue collar work ... oh the land where a man is strong and emotions don't exist. A place where the beauty of language, words such as "paki" and "chink", is and are kept alive and well. Where opinions fly like truths and women light a man as a hungry lamp.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Preparation for September
The Preparation has started. Next week I will work four days, and then after that not more than 2 days a week so I can get prepared for the fall.
So much to do. Since I am starting up a chapter of the council of canadians I am doing some reading. Maude Barlow, the national chairperson, has written several books. The first one I am reading is called
Blue Gold and is written about water issues. It is an interesting, and concerning read. The essential message is that we are running out of fresh water, everywhere; however, the research was not well carried out. I am hoping that our chapter can lend itself as a research service for the council: it is well needed!
Secondly, I have to start reading articles by Linda McCargar, a doctor of Nutrition at the Uni that I wish to do research with. She has about 10 papers out on issues like nutrition in the hospital, weight loss and diagnostic techniques.
Perhaps I will also start pre-reading. This fall I am taking "Revolutions in Physics: The Structure of the Universe", an introductory course on Nutrition, Anatomy and Organic Chemistry. It will be fun. I am so excited to be out of the blue collar world (aka f*ck f*ck f*ckety f*ck f*ck) and into a more engaging environment again. Money will be very tight this year ... I will have to work part-time, but I am looking forward to learning again!
So much to do. Since I am starting up a chapter of the council of canadians I am doing some reading. Maude Barlow, the national chairperson, has written several books. The first one I am reading is called
Blue Gold and is written about water issues. It is an interesting, and concerning read. The essential message is that we are running out of fresh water, everywhere; however, the research was not well carried out. I am hoping that our chapter can lend itself as a research service for the council: it is well needed!
Secondly, I have to start reading articles by Linda McCargar, a doctor of Nutrition at the Uni that I wish to do research with. She has about 10 papers out on issues like nutrition in the hospital, weight loss and diagnostic techniques.
Perhaps I will also start pre-reading. This fall I am taking "Revolutions in Physics: The Structure of the Universe", an introductory course on Nutrition, Anatomy and Organic Chemistry. It will be fun. I am so excited to be out of the blue collar world (aka f*ck f*ck f*ckety f*ck f*ck) and into a more engaging environment again. Money will be very tight this year ... I will have to work part-time, but I am looking forward to learning again!
The Germans are back!
Ah yes, the Germans are back - it is wonderful!
They are such wonderful people ... it makes the house shine.
They are such wonderful people ... it makes the house shine.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Hello Again
It's been a while since I've last posted.
I've been working a lot. 10 hour days, five days a week, 2am to noon, and sleep is often short and shallow during the week. I think I will do one more week then scale back the hours, and look for a daytime job.
The council of Canadians chapter at the UofA is a go! We will hold a table at the club fair and hopefully get started with some exciting work in September or October!
It also looks as though I will be helping work on a web page for greenpeace Alberta, with a friend of mine - I can't wait! I am sure that I will learn tons, and make a bit of extra cash too.
Ali-kat's birthday was exciting, it has spanned a couple of weeks, really. We went out to Moose Lake for a weekend, resting on the beach, swimming and playing around in the water, reading, BBQing and staying in an old trailer of her parents. It was great - and really nice to spend some quality time together as seems so hard of late with work, especially with opposite schedules. We then went to see a Rufus Wainwright show as well ... what a great musician he is! We both really enjoyed the show ... at the end, as an encore, he dressed in drag and did the broadway thing ... it was great!
And the website for Polly Magoos now works with Safari, although there is still some CSS problems with Internet Explorer that I will have to work out ... damn Microsoft!!
more soon ...
I've been working a lot. 10 hour days, five days a week, 2am to noon, and sleep is often short and shallow during the week. I think I will do one more week then scale back the hours, and look for a daytime job.
The council of Canadians chapter at the UofA is a go! We will hold a table at the club fair and hopefully get started with some exciting work in September or October!
It also looks as though I will be helping work on a web page for greenpeace Alberta, with a friend of mine - I can't wait! I am sure that I will learn tons, and make a bit of extra cash too.
Ali-kat's birthday was exciting, it has spanned a couple of weeks, really. We went out to Moose Lake for a weekend, resting on the beach, swimming and playing around in the water, reading, BBQing and staying in an old trailer of her parents. It was great - and really nice to spend some quality time together as seems so hard of late with work, especially with opposite schedules. We then went to see a Rufus Wainwright show as well ... what a great musician he is! We both really enjoyed the show ... at the end, as an encore, he dressed in drag and did the broadway thing ... it was great!
And the website for Polly Magoos now works with Safari, although there is still some CSS problems with Internet Explorer that I will have to work out ... damn Microsoft!!
more soon ...
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Week
Another week, another paycheck. And more.
Aside from late-nite forklifting, I published my first website this week (today actually), am close to registering the UofA Chapter of the Council of Canadians and saw a great pop show the other night.
The website is www.pollymagoos.com and is for the store where Ali-kat is now managing. Eventually, we hope to get into on-line ordering, mailing lists, facebook etc.
The UofA Chapter I've already talked about, but I'm very excited about. I really feel like students have a lot to give to such an effort, especially when it comes to critical thought and research, which these organizations sometimes lack in. I really hope that we can take on the role of being the central research chapter of the Council, and hopefully take their campaigns to a new and highly informed level. Perhaps we can even set up a central research/publication database that is in some way accessible by all members.
Yes, and the band. A good friend of mine, Jeff McLeod, is playing in a great pop band called Jason Plumb and the willing. You should definitely check their website out ... they are amazing!!!
And I must soon start studying for the MCAT.
Aside from late-nite forklifting, I published my first website this week (today actually), am close to registering the UofA Chapter of the Council of Canadians and saw a great pop show the other night.
The website is www.pollymagoos.com and is for the store where Ali-kat is now managing. Eventually, we hope to get into on-line ordering, mailing lists, facebook etc.
The UofA Chapter I've already talked about, but I'm very excited about. I really feel like students have a lot to give to such an effort, especially when it comes to critical thought and research, which these organizations sometimes lack in. I really hope that we can take on the role of being the central research chapter of the Council, and hopefully take their campaigns to a new and highly informed level. Perhaps we can even set up a central research/publication database that is in some way accessible by all members.
Yes, and the band. A good friend of mine, Jeff McLeod, is playing in a great pop band called Jason Plumb and the willing. You should definitely check their website out ... they are amazing!!!
And I must soon start studying for the MCAT.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Weeks' News
It's been a long week ... a fair few new happenings
On Tuesday I had a meeting with the prarie organizer/ex-chair of the Edmonton chapter of the Council of Canadians. I will be starting up a UofA chapter this fall, provided there is enough interest. So, I've been looking into the club fair this fall and thinking of ideas for action. I think students could be a great asset to an activist organization. The CoC does not yet have a student chapter and not a lot of students otherwise. I think we could be an invaluable source of research/critical thinking that is not always present. I was reading a book of essays on NAFTA written by another Canadian activist group called the CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). It was awful. The citations were laughable - newspapers, other activist's books: rarely a primary source and even then, not used to support the main arguments. Extremely shotty work. I am excited to get started this fall!
Also, Ali-kat is now managing for a store on Whyte called Polly Magoo's. I am hired now to do a website for them. I will probably start with something extremely basic, but it will be a great way for me to practice! It's a great gig for her because it involves travelling to Asia to work on inventory ... it's a really cool shop.
We also had a couple of Germans staying with us for about a week. They walked into the cafe and asked whether we knew anyone who was involved in 'couchsurfing'. www.couchsurfing.com And we said they could stay on our couch if they needed to. It was a lot of fun. They are very nice people, and we had some good conversations and food and coffee. I hope to see them again.
New thoughts on the marriage next summer too! We think we might have it near the Rocky Mountains somewhere so that it is beautiful and easier for my family to get to (and so that Ali will bring only who is important for her to bring ... her parents want the guest list to include some 150 people on her side of the family) and then we will have a reception in edmonton.
On Tuesday I had a meeting with the prarie organizer/ex-chair of the Edmonton chapter of the Council of Canadians. I will be starting up a UofA chapter this fall, provided there is enough interest. So, I've been looking into the club fair this fall and thinking of ideas for action. I think students could be a great asset to an activist organization. The CoC does not yet have a student chapter and not a lot of students otherwise. I think we could be an invaluable source of research/critical thinking that is not always present. I was reading a book of essays on NAFTA written by another Canadian activist group called the CCPA (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). It was awful. The citations were laughable - newspapers, other activist's books: rarely a primary source and even then, not used to support the main arguments. Extremely shotty work. I am excited to get started this fall!
Also, Ali-kat is now managing for a store on Whyte called Polly Magoo's. I am hired now to do a website for them. I will probably start with something extremely basic, but it will be a great way for me to practice! It's a great gig for her because it involves travelling to Asia to work on inventory ... it's a really cool shop.
We also had a couple of Germans staying with us for about a week. They walked into the cafe and asked whether we knew anyone who was involved in 'couchsurfing'. www.couchsurfing.com And we said they could stay on our couch if they needed to. It was a lot of fun. They are very nice people, and we had some good conversations and food and coffee. I hope to see them again.
New thoughts on the marriage next summer too! We think we might have it near the Rocky Mountains somewhere so that it is beautiful and easier for my family to get to (and so that Ali will bring only who is important for her to bring ... her parents want the guest list to include some 150 people on her side of the family) and then we will have a reception in edmonton.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Compassion
Thich Nhat Hanh/Daniel Berrigan again:
TNH: "The real Buddhist cannot be rich"
DB: "Why Not?"
TNH: "If you have compassion, you cannot be rich."
DB: "You could say that about the real Christian. But they all get rich. Not all, many."
TNH: "Maybe it's not that all poor Christians are more Christian or poor Buddhists are real Buddhists. But it seems that compassion, both in Buddhism and in Christianity, is so important, so basic, that you can be rich only when ou can bear the sight of suffering. If you cannot bear that, you have to give your possessions away."
TNH: "The real Buddhist cannot be rich"
DB: "Why Not?"
TNH: "If you have compassion, you cannot be rich."
DB: "You could say that about the real Christian. But they all get rich. Not all, many."
TNH: "Maybe it's not that all poor Christians are more Christian or poor Buddhists are real Buddhists. But it seems that compassion, both in Buddhism and in Christianity, is so important, so basic, that you can be rich only when ou can bear the sight of suffering. If you cannot bear that, you have to give your possessions away."
News!
Ok, I can't hold out any longer! Since my parents read my blog, I have been trying to hold out until I have a chance to talk to them both, but I cannot hold on any longer.
Ali and I are now engaged! We plan to get married next summer in July (July 19). It will be an unconventional wedding ... more a party, a celebration of life, rather than a stone engraving of tradition and dreams, hopes too large to fulfill. It is very good. I have never loved a woman so much or felt so close in heart. Her compassion alone makes me happy enough to marry her. Still trying to figure out whether I should call her my fiance, wife, partner, spouse. So many of those words are worn, darkened. We will figure it out. Instead of getting me an engagement ring of some sort, she bought me a cat ... a new kitten. We actually still have only three cats, since one of them ran away during a thunderstorm while I was going to work ... it's sad, perhaps we will find her some day. We are thinking of having a BBQ with live plants on the tables instead of flowers. Some small ceremony for the actual wedding, speeches only if volunteered (and therefore heartfelt) and a big party that night.
This is a woman that I can share everything with. Someone with whom there is understanding: she looks beyond my words into my meanings, with whom I can walk with pride. My beautiful Ali-kat. Soon to be my ____.
Ali and I are now engaged! We plan to get married next summer in July (July 19). It will be an unconventional wedding ... more a party, a celebration of life, rather than a stone engraving of tradition and dreams, hopes too large to fulfill. It is very good. I have never loved a woman so much or felt so close in heart. Her compassion alone makes me happy enough to marry her. Still trying to figure out whether I should call her my fiance, wife, partner, spouse. So many of those words are worn, darkened. We will figure it out. Instead of getting me an engagement ring of some sort, she bought me a cat ... a new kitten. We actually still have only three cats, since one of them ran away during a thunderstorm while I was going to work ... it's sad, perhaps we will find her some day. We are thinking of having a BBQ with live plants on the tables instead of flowers. Some small ceremony for the actual wedding, speeches only if volunteered (and therefore heartfelt) and a big party that night.
This is a woman that I can share everything with. Someone with whom there is understanding: she looks beyond my words into my meanings, with whom I can walk with pride. My beautiful Ali-kat. Soon to be my ____.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Bookcrossing!
Ali-kat and I spent most of today helping a couple dispose of boxes and boxes of old books from their basement. We also just set up a bookcrossing shelf at Ali-kat's cafe.
Bookcrossing. It is a beautiful concept! You can look it up at www.bookcrossing.com . The basic idea is that you take books that you don't want anymore, register them online, and release them somewhere fun or somewhere convenient, for other people to find. When they find it, there is a registration number on the book and they log in on line, and, when they are finished with it, write a journal entry about the book. They then release the book again. You can watch as the book travels the world. It's great! It gets those old books that you keep for who knows what reason out into the world, out into new minds, and it saves the tree and pollution costs that are normally associated with buying a new book.
Beautiful ...
One box will go to the cafe and about 7 more will be donated to the University, either in support of HACUA (History and Classics Undergraduate Association) or be sent down to New Orleans to help rebuild libraries in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
It was a good, positive day.
Bookcrossing. It is a beautiful concept! You can look it up at www.bookcrossing.com . The basic idea is that you take books that you don't want anymore, register them online, and release them somewhere fun or somewhere convenient, for other people to find. When they find it, there is a registration number on the book and they log in on line, and, when they are finished with it, write a journal entry about the book. They then release the book again. You can watch as the book travels the world. It's great! It gets those old books that you keep for who knows what reason out into the world, out into new minds, and it saves the tree and pollution costs that are normally associated with buying a new book.
Beautiful ...
One box will go to the cafe and about 7 more will be donated to the University, either in support of HACUA (History and Classics Undergraduate Association) or be sent down to New Orleans to help rebuild libraries in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
It was a good, positive day.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Corporatism vs. Homelessness
Walking past the bank of montreal I ran into the following situation outside its doors:
Teller: This is bank property! If you don't leave right now, I will call the police!
Homeless, on knees: no verbal response, but a resigned, beaten-down look in his eyes.
Who is correct here? What is property? Is homelessness or corparitism more damaging, more of a problem to society? Is compassion or capital more valuable?
These are problems I have wrestled with. Perhaps my readers have experiences or thoughts they can share. All I know is that I feel bad giving money to the homeless, as it feels like "stupid compassion" knowing that many of them will use the money to hurt themselves.
Teller: This is bank property! If you don't leave right now, I will call the police!
Homeless, on knees: no verbal response, but a resigned, beaten-down look in his eyes.
Who is correct here? What is property? Is homelessness or corparitism more damaging, more of a problem to society? Is compassion or capital more valuable?
These are problems I have wrestled with. Perhaps my readers have experiences or thoughts they can share. All I know is that I feel bad giving money to the homeless, as it feels like "stupid compassion" knowing that many of them will use the money to hurt themselves.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Rant
So I went into HMV today ... and what did I find? Kenny G and Norah Jones in the Jazz section.
For those musicians that read this blog, please stop reading now, I am preaching to the choir.
For the rest of you:
Kenny G is not a jazz saxophonist. He is a pop saxophonist, playing adult contemporary music, and not very well. There is a long and important tradition to jazz and jazz saxophone. If you want to listen to jazz saxophone you might want to try these legends out: Lester Young, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Simms, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, "Cannonball" Adderley, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Dave Binney, Chris Speed, Chris Cheek ... Of course, I am missing many names, but these are a few. Listen to these! This is Jazz ... Kenny G is not, alas, he is in a class with Celine Dion, at the bottom of the trash can of music.
Norah Jones is not a jazz singer! She is a country/pop singer! If you want to listen to jazz vocals try: Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Hartman, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Tierney Sutton, Kurt Elling ... and so on.
Jazz is possibly the only musical art form that North America can be truly proud of ... it should be taken more seriously.
For those musicians that read this blog, please stop reading now, I am preaching to the choir.
For the rest of you:
Kenny G is not a jazz saxophonist. He is a pop saxophonist, playing adult contemporary music, and not very well. There is a long and important tradition to jazz and jazz saxophone. If you want to listen to jazz saxophone you might want to try these legends out: Lester Young, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Zoot Simms, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt, "Cannonball" Adderley, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Harold Land, Hank Mobley, Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Dave Binney, Chris Speed, Chris Cheek ... Of course, I am missing many names, but these are a few. Listen to these! This is Jazz ... Kenny G is not, alas, he is in a class with Celine Dion, at the bottom of the trash can of music.
Norah Jones is not a jazz singer! She is a country/pop singer! If you want to listen to jazz vocals try: Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Johnny Hartman, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Tierney Sutton, Kurt Elling ... and so on.
Jazz is possibly the only musical art form that North America can be truly proud of ... it should be taken more seriously.
Notice
So I gave notice to my employer today. It was a one day notice. I was thinking of giving them one or two weeks, but that was before I went through my paycheck from last month. They rounded down every single day of work. This is to say that if I worked 9 hours and 59 minutes, they would pay me for 9 hours of work!! There was also no overtime pay, and originally, before I fought for it, they were paying me a lower wage then was agreed on.
My real concern, however, was safety. I have seen a vehicle with a cracked axle being driven. Many do not even have emergency brakes that work properly (or at all). One of the bobcats has bad hydraulics etc.
And they wouldn't take my spraying concerns seriously.
So, goodbye and goodluck finding good workers!!
My real concern, however, was safety. I have seen a vehicle with a cracked axle being driven. Many do not even have emergency brakes that work properly (or at all). One of the bobcats has bad hydraulics etc.
And they wouldn't take my spraying concerns seriously.
So, goodbye and goodluck finding good workers!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
NewJob!!
I now have a new job! And I give my notice tomorrow! I'm so happy!
No more spraying chemicals, no more driving unsafe vehicles. My next job will be that of a forklift driver in a warehouse.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Another great passage
"Nhat Hanh: Returning to the Israeli professor-well, he also asked me about my loyalty to Vietnam as a nation and to Buddhism as a religion, because in our discussions I always put peace and human life above everything. So he asked, "What if Buddhism cannot survive in Vietnam? Will you accept that in order to have peace in Vietnam?" I said "Yes, I think if Vietnam has real peace-cooperation between North and South-and if it can ban war for a long time, I would be ready to sacrifice Buddhism." He was very shocked. But I thought it was quite plain that if you have to choose between Buddhism and peace, then you must choose peace. Because if you choose BUddhism you sacrifice peace, and Buddhism does not accept that. Furthermore, Buddhism is not a number of temples and organizations. Buddhism is in your heart. Even if you don't have any temple or any monks, you can still be a Buddhist in your heart and life.
The rabbi asked also, "how about your loyalty to Vietnam as a nation?" I think that question touched the very core of the problem of the MIddle East. I said that if I had to choose between the survival of the Vietnamese people and the survival of Vietnam as a nation, I would choose the survival of the people. He said, "Well, we cannot agree on that. That is why we cannot agree on other things." So that was the ened of the dialogue."
[The Rabbi is a Jewish Rabbi, and the "problems of the Middle East" refers to Israel and Pakistan]
Thich Nhat Hanh also gave this example to the same Rabbi earlier in the book:
"For instance, in India in the ninth century, Hindus and Muslims undertook a great persecution fo Buddhism. They burned down Buddhist temples and killed monks and destroyed scriptures. What the Buddhist monks did in those days was to flee to Nepal, where they preserved their manuscripts. They couldn't carry the Buddha statues, which were magnificent, with them. But they did carry the scriptures. After that, Buddhism flourished in Asia-in Tibet and China and Japan. Theirs was a kind of negative resistance.
But if they had organized violent resistance and killed Muslims and Hindus, I don't think that would have been real Buddhist behaviour. By organizing violent resistance, they might have preserved something that is called Buddhism, but might not be Buddhist at all in substance. By acting in the way they did, they preserved the identity of Buddhism.
I also asked him whether he though Israel as a nation is the most important condition for the existence of the Jewish people, even when in order to protect that nation it is necessary to bomb people, to destroy life in order to protect life. A contradiction in itself. I suggested that there may be ways other than the killing of people to protect life."
The rabbi asked also, "how about your loyalty to Vietnam as a nation?" I think that question touched the very core of the problem of the MIddle East. I said that if I had to choose between the survival of the Vietnamese people and the survival of Vietnam as a nation, I would choose the survival of the people. He said, "Well, we cannot agree on that. That is why we cannot agree on other things." So that was the ened of the dialogue."
[The Rabbi is a Jewish Rabbi, and the "problems of the Middle East" refers to Israel and Pakistan]
Thich Nhat Hanh also gave this example to the same Rabbi earlier in the book:
"For instance, in India in the ninth century, Hindus and Muslims undertook a great persecution fo Buddhism. They burned down Buddhist temples and killed monks and destroyed scriptures. What the Buddhist monks did in those days was to flee to Nepal, where they preserved their manuscripts. They couldn't carry the Buddha statues, which were magnificent, with them. But they did carry the scriptures. After that, Buddhism flourished in Asia-in Tibet and China and Japan. Theirs was a kind of negative resistance.
But if they had organized violent resistance and killed Muslims and Hindus, I don't think that would have been real Buddhist behaviour. By organizing violent resistance, they might have preserved something that is called Buddhism, but might not be Buddhist at all in substance. By acting in the way they did, they preserved the identity of Buddhism.
I also asked him whether he though Israel as a nation is the most important condition for the existence of the Jewish people, even when in order to protect that nation it is necessary to bomb people, to destroy life in order to protect life. A contradiction in itself. I suggested that there may be ways other than the killing of people to protect life."
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Birth, Death ... Christianity, Buddhism
I'm reading a book, a transcription of discussions between Thich Nhat Hanh, a zen/theravadan buddhist monk and Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest. They are both proponents of peace and poets. Their words are beautiful. Their respect for each others' traditions is beautiful. It is very healing for me as I have long held resentments towards christianity, due to catholic school, wars and random encounters. I feel this book is opening me up, making me more tolerant. I will give you an excerpt:
"Nhat Hanh: I think it is possible to say that eternal life is the kind of life that includes death. In fact, eternal life without death is not possible. For example, you have a coin, a piece of money. You have two sides, and one side is the opposite of the other. But this side is not the coin. The other side is not the coin either. The coin is both. So in talking of eternal life as the coin, noneternal life is just one face of the two sides. Once you choose eternal life you choose death as well, and both are life. But if you want to take only one face of the coin, you don't have the coin.
Berrigan: In the States, so much of what we call daily life, human life, is concerned with death in a fashion that's very peculiar. For instance, we have all kinds of "wars" declared against this or that aspect of death. We have a war on poverty, a war on cancer, a war on heart disease. There's even a war on war. These aspects of death around us, within us, are always conceived of as the great enemy which must be overcome so that we can get beyond disease, war, poverty-into what they like to think of as the good life, the real life, the life which has no death within it, And this dream continues. But it's always a kind of troubled and violent dream because it implies (and sometimes says openly) that, in order to make that leap, we have to make war on something or on somebody. To attain anything like the trugth of life, or a life with others, something is always in our way; and must be done away wit, must be overcome.
Of course, the fact is that the culture is almost totally bankrupt of a vision of what a good life might be. We're ridden with consumerism, fear, violence, racism-all these terrible mythologies which forever put off any real vision. I find it interesting in the light of the scripture that. while the dream of the good life is forever delayed, death is always magnified: omnipresent, omnivorous, the shadowy other, the enemy. So we never really pay tribute to life at alland never arrive at life. What we're really doing all the time is paying tribute to death. The eventuality of life is put off and put off and put off, because the obstacles and enemies multiply like piranhas, forever.
Until the end of history, we'll be waging a shadow war. The shadows are created by our own psyche in the image of death. In this itch for beatitude, which has nothing to do with GOd or our neighbor-in order to get nearer to that, we must kill all the time. In the pursuit of life, we are always dealing out death War becomes the continual occupation and preoccupation in the minds of people who are purportedly trying to get to a better life.
Speaking in biblical terms, God is superseded by the ape of God, which is actually personified death. This is the shrine at which we worship. This, I think , is the practical consequene of our war on life. Our real shrines are nuclear installations and the Pentagon and the war research laboratories. This is where we worship, allowing ourselves to hear the obscene command that we kill and be killed, A command which, it seems to me, is anti-Christ, is anti-God, you know.
Someday you must take a trip into the countryside of NOrth Dakota, just south of the Canadian border, It's all prairie; it's all flat. And for miles and miles on the horizon, the only visible thing is a nuclear installation, shaped like a pyramid. Most of it, of course, is subterranean, Someone told me that in Egypt the construction of the pyramids began just before the downfall of a dynasty. It was the kind of sarcophagus, that kind of a shrine to death, which they raised as an admission that they were dying. Someone said that if NOrth Dakota seceded from the Union, it would be the third nuclear power. And this is a farming state.
Nhat Hanh: So, war becomes the only possibility. During the periods when the war was very intensive in Vietnam, most of us meditated on death every day, because death was a matter of every second, every minute.
In that atmosphere, there was pressure on each one of us to work more quickly, to break through the problems of life and death. On one hand, we were pushed by the need to bring help to the suffering. you had to bury the dead and help the mutilated children, and often we were busy building shelters for others. You had to to be busy all the time doing these things. But your mind was always on problems o flife and death.
IF death came and you were not prepared, youwould not be able to take it well. But there was another stimulus and others acted quite differently. They said, "well, youd on't know when you'll die, so if you have some money why not spend it?" That was another attitude, since the future was so insecure.
My Master died during the 1968 Tet offensive, but not from a bomb or a bullet. He couldn't stand it. He just couldn't stand it. He was old-eighty-five.
Berrigan: He couldn't stand-the war? The assaults on the monastery?
Nhat Hanh: The monastery was struck by one mortar shell; but no one was killed. At that time I was not in the country; I did not have the opportunity to see him before he died
I remember quite well what he said when I was a novice. It was a long time ago, during the French occupation. We had rice for the monks, and we had to bury the rice in order to preserve it because French soldiers came and stole it from us. We put it in big containers and buried them in the yard. One day he and a few of us novices went out to the yard to unearth one can of rice for dinner. The Master was old, but he still followed our tradition that every monk works: "no work, no food." He said to us while he worked, "I'm so tired. Let's wait until after I die." We vietnamese say, "Well, just wait until I'm dead, I won't be tired anymore." He was joking with us; all of us were sweating because of the hard work. I thought it was only a joke but half a minute later he said to us, "who will be the person after I am dead: Who will be the person who will not be tired?"
I was struck by that and I took it as a theme of meditation. It helped me a lot. I realized that it is by watching the Master, his way of living and listening, that youfind the things that are useful for your own work. It's not by studying the scriptures hours and hours with explanations of a professor that you find those things. Now he's no more. He's no longer there, and I am supposed to succeed him. But since I am here, another disciple is in charge of the monastery. [Thich Nhat Hanh was and is exiled from his country of birth: Vietnam]
Berrigan: We thank God you're here. And since it's the anniversary of Holy Thursday this week, maybe we can all celebrate the Eucharist. It would be marvelous.
Nhat Hanh: Sure. We'll make some bread."
How beautiful is that ... It makes you want to cry, to open your heart, your mind ...
"Nhat Hanh: I think it is possible to say that eternal life is the kind of life that includes death. In fact, eternal life without death is not possible. For example, you have a coin, a piece of money. You have two sides, and one side is the opposite of the other. But this side is not the coin. The other side is not the coin either. The coin is both. So in talking of eternal life as the coin, noneternal life is just one face of the two sides. Once you choose eternal life you choose death as well, and both are life. But if you want to take only one face of the coin, you don't have the coin.
Berrigan: In the States, so much of what we call daily life, human life, is concerned with death in a fashion that's very peculiar. For instance, we have all kinds of "wars" declared against this or that aspect of death. We have a war on poverty, a war on cancer, a war on heart disease. There's even a war on war. These aspects of death around us, within us, are always conceived of as the great enemy which must be overcome so that we can get beyond disease, war, poverty-into what they like to think of as the good life, the real life, the life which has no death within it, And this dream continues. But it's always a kind of troubled and violent dream because it implies (and sometimes says openly) that, in order to make that leap, we have to make war on something or on somebody. To attain anything like the trugth of life, or a life with others, something is always in our way; and must be done away wit, must be overcome.
Of course, the fact is that the culture is almost totally bankrupt of a vision of what a good life might be. We're ridden with consumerism, fear, violence, racism-all these terrible mythologies which forever put off any real vision. I find it interesting in the light of the scripture that. while the dream of the good life is forever delayed, death is always magnified: omnipresent, omnivorous, the shadowy other, the enemy. So we never really pay tribute to life at alland never arrive at life. What we're really doing all the time is paying tribute to death. The eventuality of life is put off and put off and put off, because the obstacles and enemies multiply like piranhas, forever.
Until the end of history, we'll be waging a shadow war. The shadows are created by our own psyche in the image of death. In this itch for beatitude, which has nothing to do with GOd or our neighbor-in order to get nearer to that, we must kill all the time. In the pursuit of life, we are always dealing out death War becomes the continual occupation and preoccupation in the minds of people who are purportedly trying to get to a better life.
Speaking in biblical terms, God is superseded by the ape of God, which is actually personified death. This is the shrine at which we worship. This, I think , is the practical consequene of our war on life. Our real shrines are nuclear installations and the Pentagon and the war research laboratories. This is where we worship, allowing ourselves to hear the obscene command that we kill and be killed, A command which, it seems to me, is anti-Christ, is anti-God, you know.
Someday you must take a trip into the countryside of NOrth Dakota, just south of the Canadian border, It's all prairie; it's all flat. And for miles and miles on the horizon, the only visible thing is a nuclear installation, shaped like a pyramid. Most of it, of course, is subterranean, Someone told me that in Egypt the construction of the pyramids began just before the downfall of a dynasty. It was the kind of sarcophagus, that kind of a shrine to death, which they raised as an admission that they were dying. Someone said that if NOrth Dakota seceded from the Union, it would be the third nuclear power. And this is a farming state.
Nhat Hanh: So, war becomes the only possibility. During the periods when the war was very intensive in Vietnam, most of us meditated on death every day, because death was a matter of every second, every minute.
In that atmosphere, there was pressure on each one of us to work more quickly, to break through the problems of life and death. On one hand, we were pushed by the need to bring help to the suffering. you had to bury the dead and help the mutilated children, and often we were busy building shelters for others. You had to to be busy all the time doing these things. But your mind was always on problems o flife and death.
IF death came and you were not prepared, youwould not be able to take it well. But there was another stimulus and others acted quite differently. They said, "well, youd on't know when you'll die, so if you have some money why not spend it?" That was another attitude, since the future was so insecure.
My Master died during the 1968 Tet offensive, but not from a bomb or a bullet. He couldn't stand it. He just couldn't stand it. He was old-eighty-five.
Berrigan: He couldn't stand-the war? The assaults on the monastery?
Nhat Hanh: The monastery was struck by one mortar shell; but no one was killed. At that time I was not in the country; I did not have the opportunity to see him before he died
I remember quite well what he said when I was a novice. It was a long time ago, during the French occupation. We had rice for the monks, and we had to bury the rice in order to preserve it because French soldiers came and stole it from us. We put it in big containers and buried them in the yard. One day he and a few of us novices went out to the yard to unearth one can of rice for dinner. The Master was old, but he still followed our tradition that every monk works: "no work, no food." He said to us while he worked, "I'm so tired. Let's wait until after I die." We vietnamese say, "Well, just wait until I'm dead, I won't be tired anymore." He was joking with us; all of us were sweating because of the hard work. I thought it was only a joke but half a minute later he said to us, "who will be the person after I am dead: Who will be the person who will not be tired?"
I was struck by that and I took it as a theme of meditation. It helped me a lot. I realized that it is by watching the Master, his way of living and listening, that youfind the things that are useful for your own work. It's not by studying the scriptures hours and hours with explanations of a professor that you find those things. Now he's no more. He's no longer there, and I am supposed to succeed him. But since I am here, another disciple is in charge of the monastery. [Thich Nhat Hanh was and is exiled from his country of birth: Vietnam]
Berrigan: We thank God you're here. And since it's the anniversary of Holy Thursday this week, maybe we can all celebrate the Eucharist. It would be marvelous.
Nhat Hanh: Sure. We'll make some bread."
How beautiful is that ... It makes you want to cry, to open your heart, your mind ...
Friday, June 8, 2007
New Job?
I was just offered a job through a recruitment agency driving a forklift for a warehouse. 2am-12noon Mon-Thur with optional overtime on Fri. I think I will take it. It looks like it will be a much safer work environment and a much more organized one as well.
Today, it is as if a great weight has been lifted.
A friend of mine is getting married soon. They are getting married in their apartment and having a BBQ after. I like it ... simple and friendly. I guess I feel that loss of tradition ... what do white gowns and layered cakes mean to me, to us? It is so strange trying to find our place as Europeans in a foreign land and time.
Today, it is as if a great weight has been lifted.
A friend of mine is getting married soon. They are getting married in their apartment and having a BBQ after. I like it ... simple and friendly. I guess I feel that loss of tradition ... what do white gowns and layered cakes mean to me, to us? It is so strange trying to find our place as Europeans in a foreign land and time.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Esso, Fences and Dump Trucks
I had a small accident the other day ... I had a spray truck parked in a gate opening for an Esso site we were spraying. When we drove out, the gate had blown against the truck and we wrenched the lower half of it off of the fence. It was not a big accident ... we only moved about a foot before I realized what was happening, but the corporate consequences, oh my!
Pee in a cup, sir! Cocaine? no .... Opium? no ... Marijuana? no... Amphetamines?...
Now let's have a two hour safety meeting ... 'come over here young man and sign this incident form ...'
Oh dear ... and then I told my boss I wasn't into spraying all summer despite the raise:
"Ok, well would you drive a spray tractor with a special filter system?"
"I'll think about it and get back to you" While I'm looking for other jobs!
I think I'll quit ... every day there is a surprise. Today, a second plastic fitting on the bottom of our spray tanks broke and I was left dumping roundup and buctril onto the road and into the sewer system. The emergency break is so weak on the truck that on almost any slope someone has to sit holding the break. And it's not the only truck that is like that!!! They fail to abide by many safety regulations ... I think it's time to go. My previous boss on landscaping will probably also be leaving. Probably two of their better employees. It's funny that many employers do not think a little harder and think that spending a few extra dollars in safety and appropriate wages (many people are payed $10/hour at the shop!!!) wouldn't go a long way.
Oh well, I've applied to four jobs and have had two replies already.
Pee in a cup, sir! Cocaine? no .... Opium? no ... Marijuana? no... Amphetamines?...
Now let's have a two hour safety meeting ... 'come over here young man and sign this incident form ...'
Oh dear ... and then I told my boss I wasn't into spraying all summer despite the raise:
"Ok, well would you drive a spray tractor with a special filter system?"
"I'll think about it and get back to you" While I'm looking for other jobs!
I think I'll quit ... every day there is a surprise. Today, a second plastic fitting on the bottom of our spray tanks broke and I was left dumping roundup and buctril onto the road and into the sewer system. The emergency break is so weak on the truck that on almost any slope someone has to sit holding the break. And it's not the only truck that is like that!!! They fail to abide by many safety regulations ... I think it's time to go. My previous boss on landscaping will probably also be leaving. Probably two of their better employees. It's funny that many employers do not think a little harder and think that spending a few extra dollars in safety and appropriate wages (many people are payed $10/hour at the shop!!!) wouldn't go a long way.
Oh well, I've applied to four jobs and have had two replies already.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Crazy Weather
Almost done the spraying ... almost done. They again tried to convince me to stay on saying it was just like working with vinegar and water!! Hah! It's amazing how farmers who have worked with these products for so long can be so ignorant.
When we drove back from the site today, the weather was interesting ... we saw some pretty intense lightning and heavy rain and about 20km to the West of us, a tornado touched down!! Crazy! It's been hot (Edmonton hot, mind you -- 25 degrees Celsius) and the last couple of days have seen a cooling and more cloud-cover, which allows for tornados here. I'm not in Kansas anymore ... or maybe I am.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Roundup is Toxic Shiatsu
So my bosses at work have been tirelessly trying to convince me to stay on as a herbicide sprayer. I told them that I would research roundup this weekend and get back to them with my final answer. Out of 30 studies that I found on one scientific database only 3 showed negligible effects. The rest showed toxic and otherwise harmful effects to reproduction (i.e. possible sterility), transcription and the cell cycle as well as possible cancerous effects. Its effects on animals in the environment seems quite serious ... aquatic or otherwise, grown or developing.
Scary.
So I will not be doing this much longer. One more week and they said they could have a replacement. They offered me a $2/hr raise but it's not worth it.
Scary.
So I will not be doing this much longer. One more week and they said they could have a replacement. They offered me a $2/hr raise but it's not worth it.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
CSS
The beauty of learning how to develop web pages! I can now control how my blog looks!!! mwa ha ha ...
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Paradigms
We are all (or atleast most) of us contained within one or more paradigms, one or more ways of thinking. Most of us think we are right, most of us think our way is the best way.
If you work with our hands, you might say "the basics are what is important, nothing else, only what you can see and touch matter and the working man is the ideal!"
If you are an academic you might say "education and concise thinking are important. Only through a highly disciplined and trained mind can we approach the truth!"
If you are an artist you might say "only the unsaid is important, since we cannot say the truth we must not say it, and retain only a sense of it in our minds. We may portray the truth through something else, hold it up as a signpost or symbol. There is truth in the hidden, in the obscure!"
If you are religious you might say "my god is the truth, and no other god, no other religion has the truth. If you join us, you will be saved!"
If you are a businessman you might say "the dollar is the bottom line. The free market will adjust to fill the desires and attitudes of the people, it is a system very close to perfection. Only through investing and spending money can we be integrated in society!"
And so on ... so it is very difficult to be sure that we are correct, that we have any hold on reality at all. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that much of what we think (if not the entirety of what we think) has been trained. If we change fields, change friends, change countries, the way we think can change dramatically, can flip on its fragile head, can change colours, change textures.
Sometimes I think silence itself ... the pureness of observation ... the pureness of any experience or thought or emotion left to its own is as close as we may come to truth ... but this is still my paradigm, my training. Where is truth ... where is reality?
If you work with our hands, you might say "the basics are what is important, nothing else, only what you can see and touch matter and the working man is the ideal!"
If you are an academic you might say "education and concise thinking are important. Only through a highly disciplined and trained mind can we approach the truth!"
If you are an artist you might say "only the unsaid is important, since we cannot say the truth we must not say it, and retain only a sense of it in our minds. We may portray the truth through something else, hold it up as a signpost or symbol. There is truth in the hidden, in the obscure!"
If you are religious you might say "my god is the truth, and no other god, no other religion has the truth. If you join us, you will be saved!"
If you are a businessman you might say "the dollar is the bottom line. The free market will adjust to fill the desires and attitudes of the people, it is a system very close to perfection. Only through investing and spending money can we be integrated in society!"
And so on ... so it is very difficult to be sure that we are correct, that we have any hold on reality at all. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that much of what we think (if not the entirety of what we think) has been trained. If we change fields, change friends, change countries, the way we think can change dramatically, can flip on its fragile head, can change colours, change textures.
Sometimes I think silence itself ... the pureness of observation ... the pureness of any experience or thought or emotion left to its own is as close as we may come to truth ... but this is still my paradigm, my training. Where is truth ... where is reality?
Sunday, May 27, 2007
New Job?
I'm thinking of quitting my job. I'm starting to apply to other jobs now. I just applied to work as a health care aide in an old folks' home. I feel dirty working where I am now ... I guess I though that as a landscaper, I would mostly be helping plants grow, helping improve the aesthetics of lots and gardens and such, not killing plants and spraying toxic chemicals. I had originally agreed to two weeks of this, so I will finish it, and if I cannot return to landscaping, I will find new work.
On a happier note, I met a lady in Ali's cafe the other day who is actively engaged in community work and helping out the homeless who is looking for someone to help her with web design and help advise her about certain technology related things. It is very exciting ... I told her I would be ready in a couple of weeks ... that's a push, but I might be able to learn enough to start helping by then. I'm almost through learning basic HTML, then on to a bit of CSS ... and that's the basics of what she needs done! It makes me happy right now to think that I can actually be helping people out!
On a happier note, I met a lady in Ali's cafe the other day who is actively engaged in community work and helping out the homeless who is looking for someone to help her with web design and help advise her about certain technology related things. It is very exciting ... I told her I would be ready in a couple of weeks ... that's a push, but I might be able to learn enough to start helping by then. I'm almost through learning basic HTML, then on to a bit of CSS ... and that's the basics of what she needs done! It makes me happy right now to think that I can actually be helping people out!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Whitecourt
We're in Whitecourt at the Green Gables in after spending our first day spraying for Esso out in the boonies near Judy Creek.
It was a bit of an eventful day. I caught an edge on a dirt road and nearly flipped the spray truck ... luckily my reflexes were in good shape. While mud was flying everywhere (I was half on and half off of the road), I was able to keep relatively flat and steer myself back on to the road. We saw a few deer and were also stopped by the DOT for missing a truck check. He then noticed all the other problems with our truck, such as not having original registration and insurance with us (only copies) and not having our weight and company name listed on the truck, having amber brake lights etc. Needless to say, Delta valley is not known for its attention to detail.
Although most of the spots we are spraying are small, the one we are at now is quite large ... probably 3 football fields in size. We are spraying it all with high powered spray guns attached to water tanks on our spray truck. The hardest part, funny enough, is keeping oneself in a straight line. The problem of perspective makes it quite difficult: I've found that I've had to try to pick a single, distant, point and keep myself straight with that. While using rocks as markers.
It was a bit of an eventful day. I caught an edge on a dirt road and nearly flipped the spray truck ... luckily my reflexes were in good shape. While mud was flying everywhere (I was half on and half off of the road), I was able to keep relatively flat and steer myself back on to the road. We saw a few deer and were also stopped by the DOT for missing a truck check. He then noticed all the other problems with our truck, such as not having original registration and insurance with us (only copies) and not having our weight and company name listed on the truck, having amber brake lights etc. Needless to say, Delta valley is not known for its attention to detail.
Although most of the spots we are spraying are small, the one we are at now is quite large ... probably 3 football fields in size. We are spraying it all with high powered spray guns attached to water tanks on our spray truck. The hardest part, funny enough, is keeping oneself in a straight line. The problem of perspective makes it quite difficult: I've found that I've had to try to pick a single, distant, point and keep myself straight with that. While using rocks as markers.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Monsanto, Esso and Herbicides
So I was asked to go out to Whitecourt last week for work to go "Spraying". I was somewhat excited. It would be tough to be without Ali, but it would be near Jasper and we would be put up in a hotel.
Today we had our orientation and readied the spray truck. The orientation was with Esso/Imperial Oil. As images from a National Geographic expose on Esso in Chad were running through my mind, we were being told that Esso had a great concern for the environment and safety, and that we should too. I was then given the MSDSs (Material Safety Data Sheets) for the chemicals we would be using to kill plant life near Esso's more remote properties. Monsanto produces both of these: Roundup and some other product that starts with a 'B'. We spray these from a truck wearing full body suits and full face masks. We look like something out of the X-files.
And it feels like the X-files. It breaks my heart. Unfortunately, I am committed as I said I would go for a week or two. This is before I knew it was work for Esso using Monsanto products. I feel Nauseous. I feel awful. I feel violated. I feel like a character out of Oryx and Crake.
You see, I have been thinking about many things lately. I was talking with friend about philosophy and direction in life. He said that wherever we picture ourselves being "ideally" is where we should aim for. I feel like for a long time I have been hiding from myself in some ways. Part of me has always been ashamed of being Buddhist. Somehow the stigma of the contemplative life here has worn on me, and I wish not to talk about it. But my reaction to this type of work, to the useless killing of plant life ... to the indirect support of repression through corporation ... it brings my values into question ... I feel like my decision here is an important one. But how to live a pure life? It is so frustrating! Sometimes I wish I could hide from it all.
Today we had our orientation and readied the spray truck. The orientation was with Esso/Imperial Oil. As images from a National Geographic expose on Esso in Chad were running through my mind, we were being told that Esso had a great concern for the environment and safety, and that we should too. I was then given the MSDSs (Material Safety Data Sheets) for the chemicals we would be using to kill plant life near Esso's more remote properties. Monsanto produces both of these: Roundup and some other product that starts with a 'B'. We spray these from a truck wearing full body suits and full face masks. We look like something out of the X-files.
And it feels like the X-files. It breaks my heart. Unfortunately, I am committed as I said I would go for a week or two. This is before I knew it was work for Esso using Monsanto products. I feel Nauseous. I feel awful. I feel violated. I feel like a character out of Oryx and Crake.
You see, I have been thinking about many things lately. I was talking with friend about philosophy and direction in life. He said that wherever we picture ourselves being "ideally" is where we should aim for. I feel like for a long time I have been hiding from myself in some ways. Part of me has always been ashamed of being Buddhist. Somehow the stigma of the contemplative life here has worn on me, and I wish not to talk about it. But my reaction to this type of work, to the useless killing of plant life ... to the indirect support of repression through corporation ... it brings my values into question ... I feel like my decision here is an important one. But how to live a pure life? It is so frustrating! Sometimes I wish I could hide from it all.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Changes
Work, work. My Monday-Friday of late has been filled with landscaping. It's hard work, and my muscles are starting to feel tired. It's good in that, by the end of the summer, I should be in good shape. I've bought some protein powder so that I can have protein shakes to help me build some muscle mass. I've already made some improvement:
At work, I've also been driving bobcats, loaders (the big machines with shovels), dumptrucks and such, shoveling rocks and dirt, laying grass, planting trees, fixing cement curbs, and more to come, apparently. My boss is leaving the company soon too, and wants me to replace him, so it looks like I may be a crew chief within a month or two as well.
On a more personal front, things are also good. I met an old friend at the Edmonton airport during her layover between flights, and we talked about life. She is such a free spirit ... now moving to Iqaluit from Toronto to work as a journalist. I think the older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize how much possibility and diversity there is. With each step into new territory, we change ourselves while also changing our environment. Nothing is stable, nothing is complete, and the more we see and do, the deeper we see into life. That star in our minds and in our eyes is fed, and we move forward, inwards. I love my friends ... all of them. It seems that we (the friends of my age) are also getting older ... moving into our own. Perhaps for the first time, taking responsibility for our lives and creating our own little worlds: having serious relationships and thinking of children, our future and our world. It is a weird, but happy, feeling.
Also, as an early birthday present, Ali bought me a keyboard!! Beauty! I can now play piano and compose! She is so wonderful ... she has such a beautiful mind and heart! I hope you can all meet her some day.
At work, I've also been driving bobcats, loaders (the big machines with shovels), dumptrucks and such, shoveling rocks and dirt, laying grass, planting trees, fixing cement curbs, and more to come, apparently. My boss is leaving the company soon too, and wants me to replace him, so it looks like I may be a crew chief within a month or two as well.
On a more personal front, things are also good. I met an old friend at the Edmonton airport during her layover between flights, and we talked about life. She is such a free spirit ... now moving to Iqaluit from Toronto to work as a journalist. I think the older I get and the more people I meet, the more I realize how much possibility and diversity there is. With each step into new territory, we change ourselves while also changing our environment. Nothing is stable, nothing is complete, and the more we see and do, the deeper we see into life. That star in our minds and in our eyes is fed, and we move forward, inwards. I love my friends ... all of them. It seems that we (the friends of my age) are also getting older ... moving into our own. Perhaps for the first time, taking responsibility for our lives and creating our own little worlds: having serious relationships and thinking of children, our future and our world. It is a weird, but happy, feeling.Also, as an early birthday present, Ali bought me a keyboard!! Beauty! I can now play piano and compose! She is so wonderful ... she has such a beautiful mind and heart! I hope you can all meet her some day.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Web develop!
This page is great if you're interested in learning how to create web pages:
http://www.w3schools.com/
http://www.w3schools.com/
Finished my second week of landscaping ... and my muscles are tired! On Friday, we laid sod (grass) for 11 hours ... I will definitely be buff by the end of the summer!
Took my bike out for the first time yesterday ... it's so nice to be active again, and to not have to wear a winter jacket! There are trails along the river valley which I will have to check out soon.
I'm also starting to get into photography too ... what do you think?:
Took my bike out for the first time yesterday ... it's so nice to be active again, and to not have to wear a winter jacket! There are trails along the river valley which I will have to check out soon.
I'm also starting to get into photography too ... what do you think?:
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Spiderman 3 and german
I watched Spiderman 3 yesterday: THE WORST MOVIE EVER MADE!!! The first half was bearable, but the cheese factor approached infinity in the second half! It was awful! Spiderman in front of an american flag, a nice little, poorly done homage to godzilla, and lots of really bad acting and non-sensically shortened plotlines. If you want to see it, don't ...
I did however, have a great walk with Ali and had my first lesson in German! I learnt the alphabet and a few nouns like dog, tree, light ... I half forget them now, but I'm having fun!
I did however, have a great walk with Ali and had my first lesson in German! I learnt the alphabet and a few nouns like dog, tree, light ... I half forget them now, but I'm having fun!
Friday, May 4, 2007
Grades
I received the last of my grades today, and I'm pretty happy: A+ in Biology, A in Chemistry, A in Physics, A- in Genetics. This means I now have an overall GPA (Grand Point Average) of 3.96 and, for application to med school, my pre-requisite average is 4.0 (since Genetics is not a pre-requisite). Ahhh, it feels like a great load has been lifted from my shoulders.
The job is going well, although I've just learned that they don't pay overtime, which is odd. I'll have to call the government to see whether that is legal, and possibly find a new job, or ask for a raise to compensate.
The job is going well, although I've just learned that they don't pay overtime, which is odd. I'll have to call the government to see whether that is legal, and possibly find a new job, or ask for a raise to compensate.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Epic
These last few days have been momentous!
Saturday, we had a party and my brother (who lives in Fort St. John) came down to see me which was really nice: I haven't seen him in ages!
We had a barbecue, and a fire and had some friends over, it was great.
That night we had one odd encounter and one act of anarchism. We realized early on that we didn't have enough wood for the fire. After searching the block, we decided to steal from corporate america by removing the palates being used as blockades for the drive-in at dirty bird (aka KFC) it was beautiful!
We were also digging gardens. The back garden went really well, and the dirt looks amazing, I can't wait to plant!!
We dug out oval-shaped gardens in the front for flowers, and were asked by a pair of inebriated adolescents whether we were digging a grave. We told them that, yes, we were, and that our cat had recently died, may he rest in peace. They told us they were very sorry for our loss, so we took two pieces of the broken dirty-bird palate and some candles and prayed in front of the flower garden. It was great. Certain unnamed members of our party then sang the american anthem in front of the "grave" ... may they now rest in peace ...
I also started working as a landscaper this Monday ... what a hard shift, from brainwork all day to body work all day ... I feel exhausted. On my first day, the hiring agency couldn't find my resume, or the wage we had agreed on, and I was told on the spot that I had to travel South, outside of the city limits (probably 20 km away). "Oh, you don't have wheels?" They asked, which had not been (like many things, I was to find out) discussed over the phone when I was hired. Thankfully my brother was in town, and was able to drive me there on my first day. It was a disorganized morning, one in which I wasn't really sure that I would get a ride back home or whether I would be able to commute with anyone to and from work until my brother had left. It's all good now, and I'll be making $15/hr and working about 10 hour days for the next four months. I was told today, that I might end up being a crew chief as I seem "responsible", life is good!
Ali still loves her job at the library too ... life is good!
Saturday, we had a party and my brother (who lives in Fort St. John) came down to see me which was really nice: I haven't seen him in ages!
We had a barbecue, and a fire and had some friends over, it was great.
That night we had one odd encounter and one act of anarchism. We realized early on that we didn't have enough wood for the fire. After searching the block, we decided to steal from corporate america by removing the palates being used as blockades for the drive-in at dirty bird (aka KFC) it was beautiful!
We were also digging gardens. The back garden went really well, and the dirt looks amazing, I can't wait to plant!!
We dug out oval-shaped gardens in the front for flowers, and were asked by a pair of inebriated adolescents whether we were digging a grave. We told them that, yes, we were, and that our cat had recently died, may he rest in peace. They told us they were very sorry for our loss, so we took two pieces of the broken dirty-bird palate and some candles and prayed in front of the flower garden. It was great. Certain unnamed members of our party then sang the american anthem in front of the "grave" ... may they now rest in peace ...
I also started working as a landscaper this Monday ... what a hard shift, from brainwork all day to body work all day ... I feel exhausted. On my first day, the hiring agency couldn't find my resume, or the wage we had agreed on, and I was told on the spot that I had to travel South, outside of the city limits (probably 20 km away). "Oh, you don't have wheels?" They asked, which had not been (like many things, I was to find out) discussed over the phone when I was hired. Thankfully my brother was in town, and was able to drive me there on my first day. It was a disorganized morning, one in which I wasn't really sure that I would get a ride back home or whether I would be able to commute with anyone to and from work until my brother had left. It's all good now, and I'll be making $15/hr and working about 10 hour days for the next four months. I was told today, that I might end up being a crew chief as I seem "responsible", life is good!Ali still loves her job at the library too ... life is good!
Friday, April 27, 2007
School is Done!
I wrote my last exam yesterday ... and school is done.
It feels so nice to not HAVE to do anything right now! It's also hard to believe that it's done ... my first year of science ... it's just been a big blur of business, ration, memory, assignments and flashcards.
So today, I'm organizing the place ... probably read a little bit, learn some German verb conjugations, and get some books out of the library on web programming ...
It's going to be a good summer!
It feels so nice to not HAVE to do anything right now! It's also hard to believe that it's done ... my first year of science ... it's just been a big blur of business, ration, memory, assignments and flashcards.
So today, I'm organizing the place ... probably read a little bit, learn some German verb conjugations, and get some books out of the library on web programming ...
It's going to be a good summer!
Monday, April 23, 2007
The worst is over!
Two 3 hour tests today!! I've been eating flash cards and mathematics all weekend ... and now it's done!
Only one more test on Thursday, then I'm done the semester!! I can't wait ... biking, reading, practicing, jamming, learning German ...
Ali had her first day on the job this week, and she's really enjoying it - a good paying office job in a field she loves - Library Administration! She's really excited.
I was turned down for the research gig that I was looking forward to because the researcher didn't get the grants she wanted, and couldn't afford to hire me, but I got a call back the other day on a landscaping job that pays $15 to start, and hopefully, I will be able to do some research this fall with a lady in the Nutrition department.
So it's been a really good day ... we went out for dinner and were happy, watching the sun move towards setting.
Couldn't ask for more.
Only one more test on Thursday, then I'm done the semester!! I can't wait ... biking, reading, practicing, jamming, learning German ...Ali had her first day on the job this week, and she's really enjoying it - a good paying office job in a field she loves - Library Administration! She's really excited.
I was turned down for the research gig that I was looking forward to because the researcher didn't get the grants she wanted, and couldn't afford to hire me, but I got a call back the other day on a landscaping job that pays $15 to start, and hopefully, I will be able to do some research this fall with a lady in the Nutrition department.
So it's been a really good day ... we went out for dinner and were happy, watching the sun move towards setting.
Couldn't ask for more.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cats
We took Lina out the other day while we were studying outside ... she seemed to like it, but the leash was a bit of a restraint. We tied her to the picnic table as we were a little afraid she might run away. Since our cats are from the SPCA they were probably strays for some period of time:
Also, as one graduate present for Ali, we got a new Orange cat, which Ali has named Rilke:
Also, as one graduate present for Ali, we got a new Orange cat, which Ali has named Rilke:
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
End of School
I haven't posted in a while, I know ... I've been studying studying studying like a good little science student.
I have a physics exam tomorrow, genetics and chemistry on Monday and then Biology next Thursday!! And then I'm done.
And this summer ... so many plans!
I can practice. Ali will teach me German while I teach her jazz theory. I will make a website, study Einstein's theory of relativity, study classical music theory (I found a ton of scores at the thrift shop for really cheap - $15 for a foot high stack) and just generally do whatever I want!! It will be fabulous.
Just a little worried about work ... I still haven't heard back about research so I'm applying to work industrially, or at a hotel or restaurant or something ...
I have a physics exam tomorrow, genetics and chemistry on Monday and then Biology next Thursday!! And then I'm done.
And this summer ... so many plans!
I can practice. Ali will teach me German while I teach her jazz theory. I will make a website, study Einstein's theory of relativity, study classical music theory (I found a ton of scores at the thrift shop for really cheap - $15 for a foot high stack) and just generally do whatever I want!! It will be fabulous.
Just a little worried about work ... I still haven't heard back about research so I'm applying to work industrially, or at a hotel or restaurant or something ...
Monday, April 9, 2007
Ok, so New Easter didn't work so well
No, not this time around. The banks were too steep on the North Saskatchewan, and, well, the feminine side in me just wasn't quite as extreme as I seemed to think it was.
But, I did find a neat Buddhist quote on rebirth:
(Paraphrased):
If a candle exists, is extinguished and is lit again, is it not true that the first flame is the same as the second, having the same basic constituents?
Is it not also true that it is different?
But, I did find a neat Buddhist quote on rebirth:
(Paraphrased):
If a candle exists, is extinguished and is lit again, is it not true that the first flame is the same as the second, having the same basic constituents?
Is it not also true that it is different?
Sunday, April 8, 2007
I've made a few changes around here...
Well, I've decided to take on a new look for my new life.
After Easter, it is time to really come out and express myself- to express who I am and what I love. To start wearing those colors I adore, like pink, purple, violet, fuschia...you know, NICE colors. My beautiful girlfriend has been giving me fashion advice, and I know that together we can make a great new wardrobe for me. So, I thought I'd post a photo for you all to admire:
ta ta for now dahlings!
After Easter, it is time to really come out and express myself- to express who I am and what I love. To start wearing those colors I adore, like pink, purple, violet, fuschia...you know, NICE colors. My beautiful girlfriend has been giving me fashion advice, and I know that together we can make a great new wardrobe for me. So, I thought I'd post a photo for you all to admire:
ta ta for now dahlings!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
New Easter
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.
It's funny that, although I am not christian, I still feel an affinity for this holiday, like I do for Christmas, Thanksgiving. Our culture is so undeniably Christian based and yet many of us do not participate or rarely participate in the religion itself.
So this is what I propose: it's time for a new tradition. Like when the christians invaded "pagan" countries, and used their holidays to enunciate christian themes, it's time for us to use christian holidays to encorporate our own beliefs.
Originally, Easter was all about the rising of christ. A figure who sacrificed himself for the good of all people. A man or god or both who died and then rose again. Wikipedia defines easter sunday as:
"the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33"
This is what I propose:
Instead of allowing Easter Sunday to sink into the new religion of the free market, a time of candy eggs and consumerism, let us make this holiday more meaningful.
Tomorrow, I will launch a boat on the North Saskatchewan River. It will be a new beginning. We are reborn every second anyways, it can't be that hard. I will use this time to think about ways in which I can devote myself to peace and love in the world. Small ways, for these are the most important. Reduce my opinionist, one-sided view of things. Forgive those that hurt me deeply or otherwise. Work towards cooperation between all people, listening between all people, even if I strongly disagree.
Peace, of course, begins with the individual. We cannot expect peace in the world if we cannot keep it within our community.
It's funny that, although I am not christian, I still feel an affinity for this holiday, like I do for Christmas, Thanksgiving. Our culture is so undeniably Christian based and yet many of us do not participate or rarely participate in the religion itself.
So this is what I propose: it's time for a new tradition. Like when the christians invaded "pagan" countries, and used their holidays to enunciate christian themes, it's time for us to use christian holidays to encorporate our own beliefs.
Originally, Easter was all about the rising of christ. A figure who sacrificed himself for the good of all people. A man or god or both who died and then rose again. Wikipedia defines easter sunday as:
"the Sunday of the Resurrection, Pascha, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion some time in the period AD 27 to 33"
This is what I propose:
Instead of allowing Easter Sunday to sink into the new religion of the free market, a time of candy eggs and consumerism, let us make this holiday more meaningful.
Tomorrow, I will launch a boat on the North Saskatchewan River. It will be a new beginning. We are reborn every second anyways, it can't be that hard. I will use this time to think about ways in which I can devote myself to peace and love in the world. Small ways, for these are the most important. Reduce my opinionist, one-sided view of things. Forgive those that hurt me deeply or otherwise. Work towards cooperation between all people, listening between all people, even if I strongly disagree.
Peace, of course, begins with the individual. We cannot expect peace in the world if we cannot keep it within our community.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Vegetarian Diet
A publication of the dalai lama's views on the environment was just published, and apparently he persuades people to try a vegetarian diet.
My chem professor has said something along the same lines. He says that in not too long, we'll probably all be vegetarians, and eating food processed from natural gas, because of the large, growing population coupled with global warming and the fact that it takes fewer resources to produce vegetables than meat. An interesting thought ... you can check out the press release of the dalai lama's book through his governmental web site:
http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhenvironment1.htm
My chem professor has said something along the same lines. He says that in not too long, we'll probably all be vegetarians, and eating food processed from natural gas, because of the large, growing population coupled with global warming and the fact that it takes fewer resources to produce vegetables than meat. An interesting thought ... you can check out the press release of the dalai lama's book through his governmental web site:
http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/hhenvironment1.htm
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Winter again
So it's been snowing again ... and I thought spring was here:
Oh well, at least we can use the tanning salon:
Oh well, at least we can use the tanning salon:
Irrational Science?
so I asked a question after my evolutionary biology lecture today:
"I was just wondering if you had a background in the Arts?"
"No, why"
"You just seem different than a lot of other scientists I have met, a little less purely rational."
"Are you saying I'm irrational?" (chuckles)
"No, just maybe more intuitive."
"Well, I try to teach these courses from your perspective as first year students. I think a lot of professors miss that, being caught up in advanced research, and just dole out definitions and formulas. I've done some advanced research, and it involves much more than a pure ability to memorize. A lot of students think that if they can memorize well, they can be scientists. That's not the case. Perhaps you could be a good technologist, but research involves many different qualities. I try to show that while teaching, I'm not just telling goofy stories for no reason, I try to bring life to the scientific process, which is actually very creative and involves more than just linear reasoning."
Now I want to be a scientist ...
"I was just wondering if you had a background in the Arts?"
"No, why"
"You just seem different than a lot of other scientists I have met, a little less purely rational."
"Are you saying I'm irrational?" (chuckles)
"No, just maybe more intuitive."
"Well, I try to teach these courses from your perspective as first year students. I think a lot of professors miss that, being caught up in advanced research, and just dole out definitions and formulas. I've done some advanced research, and it involves much more than a pure ability to memorize. A lot of students think that if they can memorize well, they can be scientists. That's not the case. Perhaps you could be a good technologist, but research involves many different qualities. I try to show that while teaching, I'm not just telling goofy stories for no reason, I try to bring life to the scientific process, which is actually very creative and involves more than just linear reasoning."
Now I want to be a scientist ...
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Celebrating the Mundane
Ok, so I'm sitting in a cafe, and it's Sunday. It's a christian cafe on Sundays where christians sit around and chat. Today was also children's day, and they were playing Jesus Christ Superstar. Now, I find Andrew Lloyd Weber annoying, sort-of the wannabe musical writer. I also find religiosity a little over the top and lacking in meaning ... so children running around screaming, chasing anything worth chasing with palm leaves to the backdrop of "Blood and destruction because of one man, blood and destruction because of one man" in a pseudo-pop sensibility ... and yet, in the post-movie discussion I heard this phrase: "Celebrating the mundane".
I like that, I think I'll keep it.
I like that, I think I'll keep it.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Study
So it's study time ...
Assignments are almost done, so it is now officially, study-my-brains-out-for-finals until the end of April.
Here are my flash cards, they are from mid-terms only:
I can't wait for summer.
Assignments are almost done, so it is now officially, study-my-brains-out-for-finals until the end of April.
Here are my flash cards, they are from mid-terms only:
I can't wait for summer.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Octo-cloaking device?
You must watch this! It is verified and real ... The octupus has a layer of cells with pigments under muscular control underneath the epidermis.
Reasons Not to Drink and Drive
I volunteer on Thursdays in the CT department of the University of Alberta Hospital.
Today, someone came in who had been in a Vehicle Accident ... 100km/h into a railway pole.
One guy was decapitated on the spot, and the other one, the unlucky one, had a swollen brain. When the brain swells it pushes out against the skull, but it can only push so much, and so, with enough swelling, it will start to push down the vertebral column. This was his story. Apparently, if he's really lucky (or unlucky), the doctors will be able to drain blood from his brain and he will live, but will probably be a vegetable, or have significant brain damage.
Alcohol, speed (both drugs and velocity) and the wheel. Bad combination
Today, someone came in who had been in a Vehicle Accident ... 100km/h into a railway pole.
One guy was decapitated on the spot, and the other one, the unlucky one, had a swollen brain. When the brain swells it pushes out against the skull, but it can only push so much, and so, with enough swelling, it will start to push down the vertebral column. This was his story. Apparently, if he's really lucky (or unlucky), the doctors will be able to drain blood from his brain and he will live, but will probably be a vegetable, or have significant brain damage.
Alcohol, speed (both drugs and velocity) and the wheel. Bad combination
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Jan Zwicky
I need a quick break from the diversity of animals ... Ali's writing a paper on a philosopher poet from Victoria. Her name is Jan Zwicky:
Absence
When the sky is no longer a roof
one's eyes are finally open:
it is in the valley one draws breath.
The pines are so slender. They weave
gently, almost without noise,
pushed by currents that do not reach us here.
Now the cities are behind us,
and the wars. Lantern-light
streams from the solitary window.
What is past drifts up then
without effort: river-scent
at twilight, through the rubble of the day.
Absence
When the sky is no longer a roof
one's eyes are finally open:
it is in the valley one draws breath.
The pines are so slender. They weave
gently, almost without noise,
pushed by currents that do not reach us here.
Now the cities are behind us,
and the wars. Lantern-light
streams from the solitary window.
What is past drifts up then
without effort: river-scent
at twilight, through the rubble of the day.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Light and Shadows
Today I looked down Whyte Ave. The setting sun sent light and shadows on the traffic, and I feel there is something calm there, some temperance in a world gone mad.
Or should we see the sun as a burning ball that will someday implode?
"Don't you know it seems to go ..."
Or should we see the sun as a burning ball that will someday implode?
"Don't you know it seems to go ..."
Sunday, March 25, 2007
The apartment
The last installment in the welcome to my new life series!
We have a beautiful new apartment, good landlord ... all for $625/month! Complete with:
Bedroom
Study:
Practice Room/Guest Bedroom:
Kitchen:
And Washroom:
And of course, you're all welcome here!
We have a beautiful new apartment, good landlord ... all for $625/month! Complete with:
Bedroom
Study:
Practice Room/Guest Bedroom:
Kitchen:
And Washroom:
And of course, you're all welcome here!
Blues Gig
Blues Gig last night.
It was a funny one too. We had to wait for the hockey game to finish, and so we started playing at 11, and finished at 2am.
Bars are a funny place ... a place of addiction, false love ... a place to fill in the spaces, to cover over the depth and emptiness we all avoid.
The band was okay. I've been playing with them a fair bit lately. They're sortof a loud-in-your-face-blues band:
http://www.myspace.com/thehardlinebluesband
It's a seven-piece band with two tenors and a bari.
It's good to be playing ... I look forward to doing more this summer
It was a funny one too. We had to wait for the hockey game to finish, and so we started playing at 11, and finished at 2am.
Bars are a funny place ... a place of addiction, false love ... a place to fill in the spaces, to cover over the depth and emptiness we all avoid.
The band was okay. I've been playing with them a fair bit lately. They're sortof a loud-in-your-face-blues band:
http://www.myspace.com/thehardlinebluesband
It's a seven-piece band with two tenors and a bari.
It's good to be playing ... I look forward to doing more this summer
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Cats, Chats, Ma-ow
We have two cats ... Their names are Lina and Bunny, and they are tons of fun.
Lina, the cuddly one:
And Bunny, so named because she had a red, infected eye when we got her, and looked sortof like a rabbit. She's the trouble maker:
I really don't know what to make of this, either:
Lina, the cuddly one:
And Bunny, so named because she had a red, infected eye when we got her, and looked sortof like a rabbit. She's the trouble maker:
I really don't know what to make of this, either:
Thursday, March 22, 2007
A Good Day
Today was an amazing day!!
First of all, I got 70% on my chem mid-term!! No, I'm not being sarcastic ... I thought that I had failed ... the class average was 51%, which means that half of the class failed, and I probably got an 'A'. Oh, the beauty of bell curves.
I also signed up for classes next year ... Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics (for fun! - astrophysics and quantum physics), Anatomy and hopefully Physiology as well. It should be fun, and a little less work too, since most of the classes don't have labs.
Ali gave me a great present today too! She found "Einstein's 1912 Manuscript on the Special Theory of Relativity" ... sweet lovin'!
And some interesting quotes from the man himself:
"Man tries to make for himself in the fashion that suits him best a simplified and intelligent picture of the world; he then tries to some extent to substitute thiscosmos of his for the world of experiences, and thus to overcome it. This is what the painter, the poet, the speculative philosopher , and the natural scientist do, each in his own fashion."
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of 18."
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
"Warfare cannot be humanized. It can only be abolished."
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious ... I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life."
First of all, I got 70% on my chem mid-term!! No, I'm not being sarcastic ... I thought that I had failed ... the class average was 51%, which means that half of the class failed, and I probably got an 'A'. Oh, the beauty of bell curves.
I also signed up for classes next year ... Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Physics (for fun! - astrophysics and quantum physics), Anatomy and hopefully Physiology as well. It should be fun, and a little less work too, since most of the classes don't have labs.
Ali gave me a great present today too! She found "Einstein's 1912 Manuscript on the Special Theory of Relativity" ... sweet lovin'!
And some interesting quotes from the man himself:"Man tries to make for himself in the fashion that suits him best a simplified and intelligent picture of the world; he then tries to some extent to substitute thiscosmos of his for the world of experiences, and thus to overcome it. This is what the painter, the poet, the speculative philosopher , and the natural scientist do, each in his own fashion."
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That's relativity."
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by the age of 18."
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."
"Warfare cannot be humanized. It can only be abolished."
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious ... I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life."
Jesus Camp
Here's a moving worth watching. A little crazy, but, well, you'll see ... it's called 'Jesus Camp':
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Online Videos by Veoh.com
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Volunteering
Volunteering ...
I've been volunteering at the UofA Hospital these past few months in the CT (Computerized Tomography) department. A CT machine is sortof like an x-ray machine that spins and allows you to see things three dimensionally. It was interesting at first, but it's starting to become sort of boring. The department went filmless about a month ago, and so I no longer sort films, but just stand around and ask the odd question, maybe bring a patient to the back of the department.
So I've been thinking about other volunteer possibilities. I might try to get into the Emergency department, which could be exciting, and I would have the opportunity to interact a little more with the doctors.
I'm also thinking of other volunteer possibilities. I've been a member of the council of canadians for a couple of years. They're a political 'watch dog' ngo that has done some great work on trade issues, water rights and so on. I was thinking I might start up my own chapter at the University. My only problem with what I've seen so far, is that there is so much rhetoric, and less engaged action, or disciplined research. (www.canadians. org)
I was also thinking about oxfam. They're a british ngo, one of whose major projects is the end of world poverty ... yes, very cool. And they offer some pretty interesting volunteer positions ... research, education, fund-raising. It could be fun! (www.oxfam.ca)
Oh, and another cool organization for those who love to garden, like myself (we finally have a garden this spring!):
www. seeds.ca
This is the seeds of diversity organization. They distribute and maintain seeds that help keep the diversity that the corporate agricultural industries seem to have less interest in. Pretty cool!
I've been volunteering at the UofA Hospital these past few months in the CT (Computerized Tomography) department. A CT machine is sortof like an x-ray machine that spins and allows you to see things three dimensionally. It was interesting at first, but it's starting to become sort of boring. The department went filmless about a month ago, and so I no longer sort films, but just stand around and ask the odd question, maybe bring a patient to the back of the department.
So I've been thinking about other volunteer possibilities. I might try to get into the Emergency department, which could be exciting, and I would have the opportunity to interact a little more with the doctors.
I'm also thinking of other volunteer possibilities. I've been a member of the council of canadians for a couple of years. They're a political 'watch dog' ngo that has done some great work on trade issues, water rights and so on. I was thinking I might start up my own chapter at the University. My only problem with what I've seen so far, is that there is so much rhetoric, and less engaged action, or disciplined research. (www.canadians. org)
I was also thinking about oxfam. They're a british ngo, one of whose major projects is the end of world poverty ... yes, very cool. And they offer some pretty interesting volunteer positions ... research, education, fund-raising. It could be fun! (www.oxfam.ca)
Oh, and another cool organization for those who love to garden, like myself (we finally have a garden this spring!):
www. seeds.ca
This is the seeds of diversity organization. They distribute and maintain seeds that help keep the diversity that the corporate agricultural industries seem to have less interest in. Pretty cool!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Pictures
Pictures today!
Here I am ....
Here is my girlfriend Ali ....
Isn't she cute! And she's a philosophy buff too ... Nietzsche, Derrida, Heidegger, Plato ... it's a whole new world to me!
My Dad ...
My Mom ....
And my brother ...
Here I am ....
Here is my girlfriend Ali ....
Isn't she cute! And she's a philosophy buff too ... Nietzsche, Derrida, Heidegger, Plato ... it's a whole new world to me!My Dad ...
My Mom ....
And my brother ...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Hello e-world!
So, for those of you who don't know me, here's a my life in a nutshell:
As you can probably tell from the title of my blog, I'm both (semi) buddhist and a saxophone player, and now ... a science student? Who would've guessed, but I must take you back further than this ...
I grew up in a small town called Rossland, in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. A sleepy, but unique village with a ski hill within the city limits. I cross country ski, mountain bike and like (according to my girlfriend) horrible fleece vests. My immediate family is beautiful and I love them dearly, they have always been a great pride for me.
After high school, I had the good luck of being able to spend a year in Thailand on Rotary exchange. Among other things, I learned to speak and read Thai, and spent two months in a Buddhist monastery .... A truly life changing experience. People on the other side of our small planet see the world very differently, and I have the pleasure to have seen another beautiful face of humanity ... I often wonder what the world would be like if we all had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in another culture. There were times when I was shocked to discover that I was white!
Re-immersion was difficult. I spent the first couple of years of music college trying to decide if I wanted to be Asian or North America. I think perhaps I've found a happy medium now.
So, yes, I studied music at Humber College in Toronto. Studied with some great musicians, and made some of the best friends of my life! So much of my heart is still in Toronto. I never would have admitted it at first. I hope to return soon.
After receiving a degree in music, I worked in Toronto for a year and a bit, and when times got hard, when beans became the meal of the week, I worked as a musician on the cruise ships for a year. I saw a lot on the ships. As much as I found the corporate atmosphere offensive, I was able to visit Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Barcelona, France, Morocco, Gibraltar, Croatia and Greece. I love Europe, another place to which my heart yearns, and to which I must return.
And now, I am in Edmonton. Although I play the occasional gig, mostly blues now, I am a science student. The first semester was hard, such a 180 from my previous life, but now I'm settling into the groove of academics. I hope to apply to Medical School in a year.
And that, is my story for now ... Alas, I must return to my books, but more soon ...
As you can probably tell from the title of my blog, I'm both (semi) buddhist and a saxophone player, and now ... a science student? Who would've guessed, but I must take you back further than this ...
I grew up in a small town called Rossland, in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. A sleepy, but unique village with a ski hill within the city limits. I cross country ski, mountain bike and like (according to my girlfriend) horrible fleece vests. My immediate family is beautiful and I love them dearly, they have always been a great pride for me.
After high school, I had the good luck of being able to spend a year in Thailand on Rotary exchange. Among other things, I learned to speak and read Thai, and spent two months in a Buddhist monastery .... A truly life changing experience. People on the other side of our small planet see the world very differently, and I have the pleasure to have seen another beautiful face of humanity ... I often wonder what the world would be like if we all had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in another culture. There were times when I was shocked to discover that I was white!
Re-immersion was difficult. I spent the first couple of years of music college trying to decide if I wanted to be Asian or North America. I think perhaps I've found a happy medium now.
So, yes, I studied music at Humber College in Toronto. Studied with some great musicians, and made some of the best friends of my life! So much of my heart is still in Toronto. I never would have admitted it at first. I hope to return soon.
After receiving a degree in music, I worked in Toronto for a year and a bit, and when times got hard, when beans became the meal of the week, I worked as a musician on the cruise ships for a year. I saw a lot on the ships. As much as I found the corporate atmosphere offensive, I was able to visit Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Barcelona, France, Morocco, Gibraltar, Croatia and Greece. I love Europe, another place to which my heart yearns, and to which I must return.
And now, I am in Edmonton. Although I play the occasional gig, mostly blues now, I am a science student. The first semester was hard, such a 180 from my previous life, but now I'm settling into the groove of academics. I hope to apply to Medical School in a year.
And that, is my story for now ... Alas, I must return to my books, but more soon ...
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