bye bye sneakers

quit the running room today, well actually gave them 10 days notice. i am only getting 25hrs a week and need to work more. i have 2, possibly 3, options. the first is to work at a fairtrade coffee shop downtown. the pay is low but their mission/mandate is amazing and i know i'd be fulfilled. they are hiring this week and a friend who works there re-introduced me to the manager. the second is an in-bound call centre for a bank. the pay is very good (double what i make now) and sweet benefits....but it wouldn't be fulfilling for me personally. if i take it i'd start in 2 weeks. the 3rd would involve me going to a temp. the pay would be o.k and who knows what i'd do.........

tomorrow is hallowe'en. anyone dressing up? going to walk around and watch the kiddies on my way to dance class. i have a pumpkin in the apartment and some candy although most of the candy is gone.

been busy getting ready for can. crossroad international's (cci - place i volunteer) fundraising auction. it has been good for me in many ways. i've been involved in work that i want to do as a career and love it. before going to japan to 'teach' i had considered becoming teacher. i quickly realized that teaching wasn't the profession for me. however i LOVE the ngo 'scene' and know this is the career for me. i've also met lots of people working in the field. there ARE jobs out there and i can't wait to get one of them. it also feels good to give back to the community.

yesterday i attended a regional meeting for cci. they had a woman from swailand there who works at an hiv/aids shelter. according to her, 40% of pregnant women in her country are hiv/aids infected. almost 50% of the population is affected as well. (i checked the unaids website and it said 33% between 15-49 years of age were infected) she explained the social, economical and psychological implications of this reality. she also said that the best thing for us to do to help in the fight against hiv/aids was keep our statistics down. currently 2% of canada's population is affected. it seems like such simple advice but the way she spoke was anything but simple.

booty required

started african dancing today. yea. so much fun. i love it because you need to have a nice, plump butt and lots of curve....which i do. felt amazing moving to the beats and pounding my bare feet on the floor. i hope to perform sometime.

speaking of performing.....hallowe'en is coming up! what are you going to be? my personal favourites have been my xmas tree a few years ago and of course my great mother nature get up. my nana even made me a wreath for my head from twigs, leaves and berries from her garden. weighed 10lbs i swear.

looking for new work. whether i like it or not, i need a job that pays somewhat close to my salary in japan. and that means call centre. eeeech. i'll be going to a temp agency next week but i may have to work outbound calls until i go back to school.

will you be my friend?

it's so easy making friends as a kid. you go outside with your pogo stick/basketball/tricycle/barbies etc. and start chatting to the other kids on the street. before long, you are out every day playing cops and robbers, street hockey or skipping. school days are just as easy - 100s of people to choose from and lots of way to socialize. why is it harder as adults?
how does one make friends as an adult. it's hard! i know i've only been here a week but i'm getting restless (however i did have a great night dancing on friday at the marquee). i really wish it was ok to walk up to someone and say "hey, wanna be friends". maybe i should and see what happens. i wonder how i'd react if someone did that to me.

feeling really good these days. have a few hours at the run room but am looking for something full time until i go back to school next fall. i've been asked to be a group leader for a half marathon in the spring. i said i'd think about it as it seems WAY out of my league. i'd the pace setter for the 'slow' group - goal being running the race in under 2 hours and 15 minutes. would be an amazing challenge for me though.

started volunteering with can. crossrds int (can we put organizations' names on blogs?) feels great being involved with some worthwhile projects. helping with a fundraising auction next week and then will be doing some research about gender and violence in swaziland. exciting!

come and visit me y'all! japan crew: I MISS YOU GUYS sabishi da yo

international day of poverty eradication

october 17th is 'world day to overcome extreme poverty'. the premise, according to the UN, is to get people to think about how they can help fight against poverty and also join local events. i joined the 'stand up against poverty' campaign yesterday. it was a global project trying to set a world record for the most people standing up (literally) against poverty (can't imagine it's a large category but was a fun way of getting the message out). a small crew came out where i was but there were huge demonstrations happening across the globe. infact, some cities are holding the event today (16th). so check out the stand up against poverty website to see if any events are happening where you are TODAY!! http://standagainstpoverty.org/node/5757

i do think about poverty sometimes. i often complain how 'poor' i am, how bad my wages are, how i can't afford a lot of things i want. WANT. it's the key word here. everyone reading this has all of the basic necessities of life. we are not poor. i need to stop and remind myself that i am very rich compared to most people on the planet. but what's the best solution? donations? buying fair trade products? should money even be such a large factor? aren't the real problems access to food, clean water, shelter, 'education' and medicine?

48 hours to go

leaving ottawa and heading to halifax in 48 hours. packing (again) and putting things into storage. i am such a pack-rat. i just can't throw anything out. i was looking at photos from 15 to 20 years ago - it was hilarious! tomorrow dad and i are going mini golfing. should be fun. i also have to say good-bye to my physiotherapist. i hope i don't cry. it sounds silly but she has helped me out so much and was always cheerful and upbeat. it made some very painful sessions so much easier.
tomorrow night i am meeting up with a friend from high school and we are going to rock downtown like two 16 year old girls. can't wait to go dancing. farewell ol'ottawa.

ridin' high

I DID IT. I DID IT. I DID IT!!! i rode a bicycle today for the first time since my accident. i went about 1km and at about 1km an hour. i was pretty scared to tell the truth but I DID IT. don't think my arm is actually strong enough just yet as it hurt a lot but at least i have been out on the road. i think i'll give it a go again in the spring. yippeeee

4 more sleeps until halifax.

turkey day

apparently the word 'thank' originates from the word 'think'. the original meaning of thank you implied that the speaker was thinking fondly of, or with gratitude, towards you. seeing how its canadian thanksgiving, i thought i'd give thanks for
*you
*use of my body
*sunny days
*family
*chocolate
*music
*peace makers
*earth

what are you thankful for?

loop

if there is an international film festival coming to your town, check to see if 'loop' is playing. it's a documentary filmed in norway about 5 men and their amazing views on life and the importance of nature in it. my breath was actually taken away twice (you'll have to watch and guess when) and it had my ol'brain on overdrive thinking about all that was said. it's not a hippy-go-and-live-in-the-forest-eat-granola-save-the-planet kind of movie. rather how nature is a release from the demands of conformity within society - both cognitively and behaviourly.

2 more days out west. i came looking for a place to live and will return knowing that that isn't my focus now. i need to go back to school and wherever a good program takes me, i will go. i feel so relieved. i cannot wait to hit the books again!

run kt run

running around like a chicken with its head cut off - ottawa, halifax, ottawa, vancouver, victoria, vancouver, ottawa and soon to be halifax again. refreshing to realize i can run all i want. i can search all i want. i can seek the perfect place but what i'm looking for is really me. won't be happy or settled until then. breathing breathing breathing

met a first cousin once removed (? what does that mean exactly) for the first time last night. nice chilling with family and getting the inside scoop on family affairs.

my elbow is starting to move properly again.

selfish kt

ok i admit it. i'm selfish. this trip has made me really realize what i've always suspected - i want what I want, when i want it, when i want to do it, who i want to do it with etc. i've been fortunate enough to have had friends allow me to stay with them while visiting. however that means i'm also on their schedule and I HATE IT. i don't want to drive around while doing chores, i don't want to visit places that aren't really that interesting, i don't want nor need to spend every freaking minute with your partner. grrrrrrrrrrrr i think i forgot i that i like to travel alone. should i really be going into the social services when people apparently drive me mad?
however victoria seems like a nice city. it's nice smelling the ocean air again.

eye opener

enjoying the feeling of having my backpack on again. have caught up with friends from ottawa and halifax and its been great laughing at high school memories.

i've always considered canada a very safe country. people openly shooting up and/or smoking crack in public was something i didn't think we had here (or at least very rare to be seen). i have seen so many used needles on the streets here. people cracked out walking/stumbling throughout the city. hundreds of homeless people. aside from manila, this is the first city where i've actually felt nervous walking around - and this was at 11am this morning. now i admit i am a little naive and the fact that i've spent the past 3 years living in a village of 5,000 where
j-walking is a serious offence has probably softened me HOWEVER i am very shocked at vancouver's obvious social problems. i am glad i have been awakened.

the trees here are amazing

west coast

arrived in vancouver yesterday and was greeted by 2 japanese friends i had met while in japan (obviously). been brushing up on my japanese skills and eating lots of food i have missed. checked out a cool art exhibit on granville island. last night went to a great drum n bass show in east van. and danced like nobody was watching. it was awesome. i cant believe how much pot smoking goes on out here. ive never seen anything like it. it seems strange not to smell it!
off to stanely park to enjoy the sun, ocean and mountains.
hey its october. gotta get my halloween costume on the go!