My cousin blogged about the 30 Day Photo Challenge a while ago (it originally took place in August) and I think I may finally have some time to participate in it myself. Actually, I probably don't have the time, but I'm going to try and make some time. My camera has been collecting a bit of dust lately and it's as good a reason as any to start snapping away again.
I've changed the rules a bit (other than the fact it was supposed to happen in August!) - I'm still going to use their themes, but I'm going to post them over the month of October in my own order. Also, I can't for the life of me remember where I read this but, in an photography article, the teacher gave an assignment and had their students go out with point-and-shoot cameras instead of SLR's to work on their composition (instead of worrying about focus and white balance and ISO and aperture and shutter speed. . .) which is what I'm going to do as well. Lately I have also felt that I need to "take a break" from injustice for a bit. Of course, injustice never stops and it's a burden I carry in my heart all the time, but October's posts will be photographic in nature. Enjoy My Unique Perspective (or don't and take a month's holiday from My Step by Step Journey)!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Heading Back to School
This year has been SO strange. Most of the spring I just waited for work to come my way - subbing was slow, Jolica parties were not happening - and I felt like I had no direction at all. Literally overnight, everything changed. At the end of April I started tutoring at Sylvan in Winnipeg, which I really enjoyed. And then 3 weeks after that job started, I got the manager position at Ten Thousand Villages. My life went from boring to crazy in such a short time span.
I was only at Ten Thousand Villages for a month and a half because of the fact that I also sold Jolica (both Fair Trade companies). I had run my butt off, driving to Winkler for Villages and then to Winnipeg for Sylvan (sometimes both in one day), and, at times, I wasn't sure which way was up because of the busyness. A term position then opened up at Genesis House, the woman's shelter where I was a casual worker, and so I signed up for 4 months of nights (midnight to 8 a.m.). Seriously, looking back at it all right now, I can't believe what I all signed up for this year!
Originally the nights term was to end on November 11, but then I got word that it would end 3 weeks sooner. Since I didn't have anything else lined up once the term was finished, I got my paperwork together to substitute in Winkler. And in the mean time, a science position opened up at the high school that I used to teach at 6 years ago and today I found out that I got the term! It's only from mid-October until the end of January, but I'll take it! So, I'm heading back to school!!
I was only at Ten Thousand Villages for a month and a half because of the fact that I also sold Jolica (both Fair Trade companies). I had run my butt off, driving to Winkler for Villages and then to Winnipeg for Sylvan (sometimes both in one day), and, at times, I wasn't sure which way was up because of the busyness. A term position then opened up at Genesis House, the woman's shelter where I was a casual worker, and so I signed up for 4 months of nights (midnight to 8 a.m.). Seriously, looking back at it all right now, I can't believe what I all signed up for this year!
Originally the nights term was to end on November 11, but then I got word that it would end 3 weeks sooner. Since I didn't have anything else lined up once the term was finished, I got my paperwork together to substitute in Winkler. And in the mean time, a science position opened up at the high school that I used to teach at 6 years ago and today I found out that I got the term! It's only from mid-October until the end of January, but I'll take it! So, I'm heading back to school!!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Carly
InvisiblePeople.tv revisits Winnipeg. The reason I continue to check out these videos and post them is because the people all give homelessness a voice and a face. You can choose to ignore it or walk away from it, but it's still there, right in front of us.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Trade
I am in the midst of enjoying my month of free Netflix movies online and my cousin recommended I watch "Trade". As with "The Whistleblower", it's about human trafficking, though this movie brings it a little closer to home as it features Mexico and the U.S.A. Both movies were hard to watch and I really do want to watch "The Whistleblower" again, but I think "Trade" will have to wait a long while before I even consider watching it again. It was just SO hard to watch. Depravity was the word that continued to come to my mind. And I continued to wonder where our humanity has gone when people become commodities and are bought and sold without regard to the victim, only regard to the money that traffickers gain.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Breaking the Mold (to Smithereens!)
My 30's have been far from perfect, though I'm enjoying them so much more than my 20's. In your 20's, you think you know everything but in your 30's (at least for me), it's been a realization that I don't know everything - I don't have to know everything - and that's ok. I think a large part of it for myself has been coming to terms with the life I have lived, and will continue to live. I have no idea who came up with the word 'normal', but it should be taken out of our vocabulary. There is no such thing and comparing to what we believe is 'normal' just doesn't get us anywhere.
People will ask what I've been up and I talk about a job here and a job there; some travel here and some travel there. I've heard the comment that it must be so nice to have so many adventures or the fact that I'm free to do what I choose having nothing to tie me down. It's doesn't really feel that way - certainly not when you're in the midst of it. Everything about my life, breaks the mold - there's been no stable job or career, no marriage, no kids, just me and the path that I've been journeying on.
My response to people about my life and its variability has changed as of late. Don't get me wrong - I still hope to find a partner to journey with and to have a family with, but I'm finding peace, sitting in that pocket, in giving up expectations - my own first, and then those that other people have of me. So not only do I need to break the mold - it must explode to smithereens! No trace is left. We're starting from scratch. People can think what they want. I have to live my life. My journey is uniquely mine - no one else can lay claim to it. I must embrace it. Mold, what mold?
People will ask what I've been up and I talk about a job here and a job there; some travel here and some travel there. I've heard the comment that it must be so nice to have so many adventures or the fact that I'm free to do what I choose having nothing to tie me down. It's doesn't really feel that way - certainly not when you're in the midst of it. Everything about my life, breaks the mold - there's been no stable job or career, no marriage, no kids, just me and the path that I've been journeying on.
My response to people about my life and its variability has changed as of late. Don't get me wrong - I still hope to find a partner to journey with and to have a family with, but I'm finding peace, sitting in that pocket, in giving up expectations - my own first, and then those that other people have of me. So not only do I need to break the mold - it must explode to smithereens! No trace is left. We're starting from scratch. People can think what they want. I have to live my life. My journey is uniquely mine - no one else can lay claim to it. I must embrace it. Mold, what mold?
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Redeemer ~ Sanctus Real
Sometimes I just wanna start over
Cuz everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on
Cuz I can’t see what’s ahead
And there are places I’ve wished I could be
Battles I’ve wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never be back again
But I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You can make anything new
Sometimes I just wish we could say
All the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see
And explain every unanswered prayer
But I’d rather speak honestly
And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
Cuz in the middle of my broken dreams
Redemption is here
And I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You are the answer
The Redeemer
Oh, I’ve given up on too many things
But I’m not giving up on You
Cuz You can make anything new
I don’t have every answer in life
But I’m trusting You one day at a time
Cuz You can make a weak heart stay alive
Forever
And this is where heaven and earth collide
I lift my hands, I give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive
Oh, I’m still a dreamer
Still a believer
And You are the answer
The Redeemer
Cuz You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new
Cuz everything looks like a wreck
And I need the courage to carry on
Cuz I can’t see what’s ahead
And there are places I’ve wished I could be
Battles I’ve wanted to win
Dreams that have slipped through my hands
I may never be back again
But I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You can make anything new
Sometimes I just wish we could say
All the things that are easy to hear
Ignore the injustice we see
And explain every unanswered prayer
But I’d rather speak honestly
And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve
Cuz in the middle of my broken dreams
Redemption is here
And I’m still a dreamer
A believer
Oh, I lost my faith in so many things
But I still believe in You
Cuz You are the answer
The Redeemer
Oh, I’ve given up on too many things
But I’m not giving up on You
Cuz You can make anything new
I don’t have every answer in life
But I’m trusting You one day at a time
Cuz You can make a weak heart stay alive
Forever
And this is where heaven and earth collide
I lift my hands, I give my life
This is how my weary heart stays alive
Oh, I’m still a dreamer
Still a believer
And You are the answer
The Redeemer
Cuz You can make anything new
Yeah, You can make anything new
Thursday, September 22, 2011
'Progress isn't Enough'
CNN is hitting the chocolate issue hard this week (it being the 10th anniversary of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, signed by major chocolate companies). I LOVE this interview - Max Foster keeps asking the hard questions and does not accept fluffy answers!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
At Arm's Length
I was reading an article in Sojourners (August 2011) a while ago and I made note of this quote:
"'Being willing to sit with another person in their pain is something we Americans seem to fear. This type of intimacy requires a lot of our "self"; it requires that we not hold another person at arm's length, but walk side by side through life.'"
It's so much easier to live life at arm's length, isn't it? We don't want to get involved and don't want things to get too messy. But then one day, you wake up and wonder why it feels as though you haven't lived life or why you're all alone. It's hard to take the risk to share - not only in another's pain, but sharing our own pain with another. And yet as hard as that is, I have found that there is no other place I'd rather be. There is nothing easy about it; but there is also nothing as rewarding. Your heart breaks and heals - all at the very same time. It requires truth. . .trust. . .and time (all qualities in short supply today). Some days you want to run the other way as fast as you can; other days, the pain is your only comfort in life and you cling to it as if it were the very thing keeping you alive. If I'm honest, it's probably the thing that scares me out of my mind, while being the thing I long for the most.
I've heard a lot of movie quotes lately and I want to share one from my VERY FAVORITE movie (of all time - check it out if you haven't seen it yet) Martian Child:
"But right now, you and me here, put together entirely from Adam, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force that so troubles you called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the Milky Way at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its' own tail at the speed of light, and, amidst all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own imminent demise, which is a very pretty way of saying we all know we're going to die, we reach out to one another. Sometimes for the sake of vanity, sometime for reasons you're not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of time we just reach out and expect nothing in return."
"'Being willing to sit with another person in their pain is something we Americans seem to fear. This type of intimacy requires a lot of our "self"; it requires that we not hold another person at arm's length, but walk side by side through life.'"
It's so much easier to live life at arm's length, isn't it? We don't want to get involved and don't want things to get too messy. But then one day, you wake up and wonder why it feels as though you haven't lived life or why you're all alone. It's hard to take the risk to share - not only in another's pain, but sharing our own pain with another. And yet as hard as that is, I have found that there is no other place I'd rather be. There is nothing easy about it; but there is also nothing as rewarding. Your heart breaks and heals - all at the very same time. It requires truth. . .trust. . .and time (all qualities in short supply today). Some days you want to run the other way as fast as you can; other days, the pain is your only comfort in life and you cling to it as if it were the very thing keeping you alive. If I'm honest, it's probably the thing that scares me out of my mind, while being the thing I long for the most.
I've heard a lot of movie quotes lately and I want to share one from my VERY FAVORITE movie (of all time - check it out if you haven't seen it yet) Martian Child:
"But right now, you and me here, put together entirely from Adam, sitting on this round rock with a core of liquid iron, held down by this force that so troubles you called gravity, all the while spinning around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour and whizzing through the Milky Way at 600,000 miles an hour in a universe that very well may be chasing its' own tail at the speed of light, and, amidst all this frantic activity, fully cognizant of our own imminent demise, which is a very pretty way of saying we all know we're going to die, we reach out to one another. Sometimes for the sake of vanity, sometime for reasons you're not old enough to understand yet, but a lot of time we just reach out and expect nothing in return."
I don't want to live at arm's length - I want to reach out instead.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Freedom is Her Name
Freedom is her name. We've spent a lot of time together in the last year. Journeying through good times and bad. I mean, I really don't know where I would be - literally - without her in my life. She's a great listener and I can always count on her to be there for me. The road has lead us in many different directions, but we continue venturing on in the path laid out for us. More about her tomorrow. . .
Friday, September 16, 2011
A Simple Meal for East Africa
Just because today is the deadline that our government is matching donations for the East African Famine does not mean that these people and their plight should escape our thoughts and prayers. PLEASE DONATE RIGHT NOW - click on the picture to the right and connect with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. While you are there, check out "A Simple Meal for East Africa" and take some time to consider making this meal as you stand in solidarity with all the children, women and men of East Africa who long for such a meal.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Quick Reminder
Just a quick reminder to get your donations in towards the East African Famine - the government is matching funds until tomorrow (Friday, September 16). If you don't know which organization to support, you can always click on the picture to the right. It will link you to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank where you can donate. Just because the story is not headline news, let's not forget about those who are still suffering.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
My Turkish Family
This past week the 5th anniversary of the tragedy at Montreal's Dawson College hit the news and it finally occurred to me why that was significant to me - it means that it's been 5 years since I went to Turkey! I left home on September 11 and once in Ottawa, I met the 3 other teachers who would become family for the next few months. We completed our paperwork and on September 13th, while waiting to fly to Istanbul, we heard about Dawson College just before leaving Canada.
Five years ago today, we landed in Istanbul, Turkey. I remember arriving late in the day and the drive to our apartments was a bit disappointing since we couldn't really see the city under the darkness of night. So here's my shout-out to my Turkish family! Thanks for all the memories! I miss you guys!
Five years ago today, we landed in Istanbul, Turkey. I remember arriving late in the day and the drive to our apartments was a bit disappointing since we couldn't really see the city under the darkness of night. So here's my shout-out to my Turkish family! Thanks for all the memories! I miss you guys!
"No road is long with good company."
~Turkish Proverb
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