Observations

I have noticed something while living in the downtown area...

Very rarely am I approached for money by people who are homeless. In fact, rarely will these people make eye contact with me when they are asking for money. However, they will (and most often do) ask the friends I'm with for money. I was with a friend recently and we were leaving Safeway. Some guy asked her for money and very obviously (enough so that she pointed it out) moved his eyes right over me as if he didn't see me. Yet, I was right next to her; it would be impossible to not see me. I wonder if it has something to do with me using a scooter. Most of these people, I don't know - maybe they use other shelters, or maybe they don't stay in a shelter at all. The ones who do know me will ask for money on occasion. I don't mind so much not being asked for change. I generally don't carry much money on me anyway. Maybe it's a perception that people who are "handicapped" wouldn't have money anyway.

At the same time, I am approached often by people who are homeless when they want a light. So many people think I smoke. Do I give off some weird vibes around that? I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. Sure, I have several friends who smoke. Or, maybe, again, it's that perception that people with disabilities smoke. I know there is a perception that many with mental illness smoke. Maybe that perception is taken further into people with physical disabilities. Or maybe they perceive someone who is somewhat disadvantaged to be a peer. A safe person to ask. Again, many of these people I don't know so they wouldn't have seen me with friends or co-workers who smoke. I don't mind it, though. To me, asking for a light is friendlier. More of a bonding thing. Something most people only ask of those they feel are approachable. Or so it seems. Maybe I should start carrying a lighter on me. :) Maybe it would lead to some interesting conversations.

Here's an example of such an experience. Today a guy asked me for a light. I told him I don't smoke. He immediately apologized for asking. I watched him peruse the park with his eyes for the next potential person who could give him a light. The next person he approached was an Aboriginal woman, slightly overweight, sitting on a park bench. She appeared approachable, from my viewpoint. Again, as he passed me, he apologized for assuming I smoke.

Not sure really what to make of these observations. Just something I've noticed.

A Moment of 'Christmas' - A second wind of Birthday

When I got home today, I found a package by my door. My excitement grew. I love packages. :) Well, as long as they are good packages - not some bomb or something. Not that I've experienced that and not that I plan to. But packages in the mail are always fun. But, after a brief moment, I double checked to make sure it was mine because my old roommate still gets stuff here. Sure enough it was mine.

No pictures today, folks (but apparently, I'm a "picture crazy" "ant" ;) Thanks B! LOL). I thought, after the fact, this story would have made a good picture . This time, you get to picture this on your own.

So here goes ... picture this...

I walk to my room to open the package. To sit and enjoy the experience. The bed is made. There are a few clothes lying on the bed. Ok, more than just a few, but not a big pile. I'm sitting on the bed, with a reddish - maroonish coloured long sleeve t-shirt on and a pair of jeans. My socks are brown with an orange flower on them. I'm sitting cross-legged. My hair has a couple clips in it, holding my hair back, almost in a half pony tail. Silvery clips with sequins. It is dreary-looking outside - it seems to be snowing. (Oops, I said the 's' word). Because it's darker outside, my bedroom light is on.

I am a little eager in opening the package. Afterall, by then I had read who it was from and knew it was a present for me. :D I remember a text message from my niece a few days ago asking me what my favourite colour was so I wondered what thing might be orange. :D Thanks K. :D At first I start with care. I snip a corner with a small scissor with orange handles (do you get a theme?), making sure not to cut any contents. Then, I stick my finger in the hole and rip. It is easy at first. Then there is some resistance, so I rip ... hard! In an eager fashion. And there is dust everywhere! It looks like a mouse nest. Seriously! Shredded recycled paper bits. And every time I reach into the package to take out another item, I get more dust all over me and the bed. As I pull out each item, I also am brought back to when I lived in Australia. Christmas in Australia.

When I was in Australia, my family and my small group sent me my birthday presents by mail in boxes (one from each). I had fun pulling out each item, reading the notes and enjoying a laugh by remembering special times. Or smiling at memories or the thoughts that went into the notes and the presents. It was exciting. It was fun. And I also was alone. Not in a bad way. But I lived far away from family. So, there was a bit of nostalgia. A sense of missing my loved ones. And a sense of being loved, knowing they took the time to put something together to send to me. Back then, I was experiencing Christmas in summer time. No snow to be seen. Beautiful green trees like today. Maybe on a day similar to today - well, maybe not - a little hotter perhaps. :D Particularly becaue today, we have sleet, or dare I say the 's' word???

Back to today. The bearers of gifts know me well. They know I like chocolate. Dark chocolate in fact. I find 4 different kind of dark chocolate bars. One I am especially eager to taste - Cherry-Chilli-Chocolate. I am curious. I also find Clod Hoppers, Lindt chocolate, and fizzy Mini-Eggs - these should be interesting too. The orange thing is a bright orange stress ball with a happy face on it. :D There is also a book by a well-known inspirational speaker and a set of encouragement cards. And each of my nieces sent me a picture they drew together with a page of rainbow stickers. Their characters are so evident in the pictures, and I smile, remembering the good times with them. The card has one of my favourite verses, Phil. 1:3 - "I thank my God every time I remember you". It's a good verse when loved ones are far away. And it brings me back to the time I received a note from a friend with this verse inside. The good old days. The front of the card has a little chiding in it - "Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art" - chiding in that I'm aging but also beautiful, in that that aging is a beautiful thing - a work in progress, a wonderful piece of art. The card shows love, both in the card chosen and in the note inside. Thanks C for your thoughtfulness! Thank you all for everything!

With the final reach into the bag to make sure I got everything, I accidentally rip it further - I never knew a mail envelope could look so much like a mouse nest. Or the remains of one. I sit there laughing. My shoulders shaking. My laugh - according to my mom - like a tire rolling down the hill. The mouse nest is everywhere! I will need a vaccuum cleaner to clean up the mess. Then, I pick it up to close it, and accidentally puff more. How is this possible??? There are apparently 2 layers of mouse nest! So, now, it is sitting next to my garbage can. I plan to show the bag to my cousin when she arrives in a couple minutes. We seem to find similar things funny and she is not feeling very well - maybe a good laugh will do her some good. And, maybe we'll share a little chocolate while we watch a movie. In the mean time, I should find some supper. So I don't just eat chocolate for supper.

Winter seems to really be here ... and a jumble of thoughts

With these deep freeze temperatures, I guess winter is really here. "Deep freeze" in terms of Calgary. Maybe even in terms of Winterpeg. I haven't minded the cold. I like the sound of snow crunching under tires. I like the snow on the trees. I like jack frost on the windows. But, soon, it would be nice if the temperatures would rise to at least -10.

Work is becoming very Christmasy. I was busy in the wrapping room today, taking inventory. Turkeys were counted. Gifts were distributed for the wish list program. And, pretty much, all programming is at a stand still. And tomorrow, it will be more of the same.

I'm planning to fly home after work on Christmas eve. I say home. I wonder whether I will say I'm flying home for my return flight. There is something about home about having your own place, and the life you're living. Nice to be back in your own bed. Back in your own space. Yet, there is something about home where mom and dad live. Where you grew up. Where family is. Maybe until I have a family of my own, I will always be caught in this weird situation. My sisters are lucky, in a way. They have a family of their own. They know where they belong. They have a direction in life ... for the time being anyway. But maybe that's restricting in ways too.

And, now, on the Christmas topic. I'm not quite sure how I'm feeling about Christmas this year. For some reason, I feel a little sad. I see so many people hurting, and in such difficult circumstances. I reflect a little on some conversations I've had recently. I was reminded that, so many times, many of us forget about the special gift we really have ... that God gave his son to be human and to go through life on earth with all its pain. To see one's child go through that. And then to see that child go through the crucifixion. I'm not even a parent, and I can imagine that would be difficult. Such a sacrifice. Such a gift. We never really think about that. We think about the commercial aspect. Presents. Traveling. Making kids happy. Family fun. Friends. Not that there's anything wrong with any of these. A friend showed me a music video of a Christmas carol that normally is sung in a major key but was done in a minor key. The whole tone of the song changed. It felt like there was no hope left, in a way. It felt like the song was plodding on. Yet, in the video, the people were plodding on, expecting something good at the end. Like their plodding was worth the trouble. So, I guess, this year, I'm looking forward to my trip home to see my family and [hopefully] friends. Yet, I don't think Christmas itself is exciting me. Maybe it's because, with all this hustle and bustle, and things that we have made Christmas to be, we have lost the true meaning. And the preparation is just tiring. How does one really celebrate the true meaning? I honestly don't know. I know I will continue to celebrate Christmas with my family. And I will enjoy it. Yet, maybe it's time for me to do some sort of personal study .... to determine what would be a good way for me to acknowledge, honour, and celebrate the true meaning in my own personal way.

Reflections on the American Election from a Canadian's point of view

I find it interesting that the Americans note stats on the white votes, the hispanics, the blacks, the young, the old, first time voters .... Is this necessary? Aren't all people equal? Hmmm ... if Canada did this, there would be so many people groups, it would be confusing. The whole idea of identifying what kind of people are voting for who bothers me. I prefer the anonymity of not knowing. At the same time, as someone who enjoys reflecting on the meaning of stats, it is interesting to see the differences. With this kind of information, candidates could certainly make extra efforts to draw in certain people groups. Maybe that would lead to some people-pleasing and, even conflicting (within a party), campaigning.

It also is different, for me, that people are so open about being Republican or Democrat. Sure, Canadians talk about what party they support. But, we don't identify ourselves as "I'm a Conservative", "I'm a Liberal", or "I'm an NDP". We don't associate our personal identity, for the most part, with the party we vote for, and even support (in some cases). From what I understand, people in the States register as either a Democrat or Republican. I guess, here, in Canada, there is some tradition to the way people vote, but it feels more free to vote as you please. To vote on the issues. To vote for the platform you agree with most. However, I guess, when there is no platform you agree with, voting is difficult. Then, who do you vote for ... the person for your riding? Your favourite party? The party you have the least against?

In watching the results on tv, though, it is evident the Americans are much more passionate about who wins. There are crowds of people out on the streets, waiting to celebrate a win. I can't imagine that even happening here in Canada. Maybe that's something we could learn from our neighbours to the south. A little more patriotism. A little more action. Not war action. Just acting on what we say we believe ... showing we stand behind our comments and opinions. It seems to me, Canadians love to discuss, etc. but they are quite apathetic on most issues. Or so it appears when it comes to action.

Oh, yeah, and the technological system of voting almost seems to create more work than good. Before the votes are even counted, it goes through several processes and machines. Not to mention errors on ballots. I'm sure we'll hear some controversey about some technology error in the coming days. Why not go the simple, paper way. Seeing as there is paper involved anyway. I would almost bet it takes less time to process the paper ballots manually than through the computer and machine system. The computer way isn't even saving paper. From what I saw on one tv station, each ballot is enclosed in 2 envelopes. This comment, however, could be slightly wrong, particularly if I misunderstood.

Have you ever noticed ...?

Have you ever noticed that when it rains, it appears as though the puddles are reaching up to catch the raindrops? There is this line that appears to connect before the drop splashes into the puddle. Maybe like a bolt of lightening. I tried to capture that with my little digital camera. The pictures are a little grainy and there is some glare, but here's what I'm talking about. Click on the pictures to see the details.

Rivalries

A major difference I have noticed between Calgary and Winnipeg is the enthusiasm for supporting a team. I had to run some errands today and got stuck in traffic, both on the way to do the errands, and on the way back, due to the football game.

I observed:

A bus full of people (mostly males) whooping and hollering and whistling at girls while they were waiting for the bus to turn into the parking lot. These appeared to be Stamps fans.

A constant stream of red outfitted people crossing the walking bridge over Crowchild by the stadium.

Traffic backed up way down Crowchild going south after the game.

A bus full of Riders fans. They were very noisy. A guy painted his arms green. The people in the bus were hollering to the Stamps fans outside, shouting that the Riders would win the Cup. The Stamps fans shouted back "Not with a score like today!" They went on to say that the next game, the score would be 80-something to 20-something for the Stamps.

Rider fans with long green horns, except they couldn't get a proper sound out and handed it to the people on the bus who were able to make the horn blow loud.

The Secret Life of .... Pastries

It's true, there is a show called 'The Secret Life of ... Pastries'. I found this quite amusing. Considering my blog and e-mail address. And, no, the show is not about me. :D

I'm listening to ABBA right now, and it's put me in a good mood. My favourite ABBA songs include 'Mamma Mia', 'Gimme Gimme', and 'Take a Chance on Me'. 'Does your Mother Know', though, is my favourite. This is a great driving song, especially with good bass. There are a few that are really nice like Chiquitita. I'm listening to Chiquitita in Spanish now. It's so much more beautiful than the English version. Not that I understand it all. Click here to listen, er, view.

The Tea that Grew

As many of you know, I love tea. Tonight, I decided to try the new tea that I got for Christmas. Chinese tea, literally from China. It was looseleaf. I had no idea how much to put in the mug. Anyway, I poured the water in, carried the mug to my computer, and started playing Kings of Chaos (an online game). I reached for my mug and I was in for a shock. The mug was half full of leaves. Seriously, I only put about 1/2 a tsp of looseleaves into the mug! I don't EVER remember looseleaf tea growing so much!!! The looseleaf looked a little like cloves. These 'cloves' unfolded and spread out. The tea is great though. Smooth. No sugar required. Really good! I think I've learned my lesson, though. I should only put a few kernals in! Just so you know, the picture on the right is after the second cup of tea. The first cup was even more full of leaves. Quite shocking, but quite tasty. See below for the storyboard.


STORYBOARD

The tea canister - Unopened














The tea in the canister - no water added.

















The mug - leaves steeped in water. Doesn't it look like lettuce?

















The mug - half full of the growing tea leaves.

You know you're addicted when ....

You know you're addicted to your cell phone when ...

I was on a break from work the other day, driving along in my scooter in the nearby mall, when I heard a conversation about being addicted to mobile phones. I found myself mildly amused by the conversation. Ok, I must have been more than mildly amused if I am blogging about my reflections on the conversation. According to this conversation, I would most definitely be addicted to my mobile phone.

A guy and a girl are talking about mobile phones. They are both "suits" - well dressed, suit and tie / pant suit. Obviously working at one of the companies in the ginormous business towers found everywhere in downtown Calgary. It sounded like the girl had just bought a new phone. The guy says, "Do you use it for an alarm clock yet?" She says, "no". He says, "Oh, you will! When you do, you'll know you're addicted to your cell phone."

I wonder what the guy would have said about me.

I use my phone as an alarm clock every day. I really enjoy the fact that you can have up to 5 different alarm times on the phone and just select the time you want. I also like the idea that you can just enter the numbers for the time like on a calculator or dialing a phone number.

I also use the phone as my day timer. Oh, yeah. And, just in case I forget my appointments (not work related, though), I will sometimes have the phone remind me of my appointments.

My phone is my walking phonebook. I used to be that walking phonebook, but lately, I have started to rely on my mobile and have gotten lazy in memorizing phone numbers.

I take pictures with my phone camera just so I can have nice "wallpaper" on my phone. The pictures are generally of unique things. Things that other people would most often think was a wasted picture. I also take pictures with my digital camera for this purpose as well, but the wallpaper pictures I take with my 'real' digital camera can also be uploaded to my phone as wallpaper.

And, just in case I lose my phone and all this information, I have a program on my computer that I can upload the information, appointments and pictures as backup.

I have a fancy gadget for a headset that apparently makes me look like I'm from Star Trek.

Oh, and my other favourite thing about my camera (ok, they're all favourites to me) is that I can have a calculator with me at all times, just in case I want to calculate how many kilometres/hour faster I need to go in order to get to the next town or city when driving on the highway within a certain time frame. Or, I'll use the calculator to find out how much I'm saving at the store. Or how many kilometres per litre I used.

Wow, not only am I "addicted" to my phone, I am also a geek!

Example of wallpaper

Red and Yellow and Fast Food Restaurants

Have you ever noticed the phenomenon that so many fast food restaurants have red and/or yellow in their logos? McD's, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Arby's, Denny's and more. What are your thoughts about this? The article talks about how some butterflies with the orange-red-yellow colouring have that colouring to fend off predators. Could that be an underlying reason for the red and yellow? Or are these colours just catchy? Is there something psychological about them?

Choice names for liquor stores ... only in Calgary

I've had a number of conversations with friends about the 'choice' names for liquor and beer vendors in this city and how that demonstrates a little of the attitude around alcohol in this city. I thought "Beerland" was amusing. The location, incidentally, is right next to the Drop In Centre (for homeless people) and next to the seediest hotel in the city. Oh, yeah, and next door to Beerland is a pawn shop. Those two should just not be next to each other. It certainly sends out a message, "Pawn off your belongings and come get your fix". This one, in particular, bothers me because of the location and the pathetic name. The underlying message I see is this is a place for the 'unclassy' [based on the name and the appearance of the building] and those who need alcohol so badly that they have to sell their belongings and walk next door. Today, I saw another interesting and not so classy name, "Star Liquor". I was driving by, so I didn't take note of the other stores in the area. It wasn't a seedy part of town. I guess they had to do a little better than "Beerland". Still, it shows that beer vendors and liquor stores are a dime a dozen and that alcohol is, indeed, not regulated in this city. Should it be? I don't know. I do believe that if there was some regulation, combining a location such as next to a drop in centre for homeless people, many of whom have addictions, and right next to a pawn shop where the consumers can sell what little they have to feed their addiction, would not be allowed. It is interesting that in Alberta, most of the grocery store chains have alcohol shops carrying the store name on the same parking lot. I'm not saying alcohol is bad. I find myself enjoying a little rum in my egg nog with some real nutmeg grated on it. But I have seen what it can do to people and I think some planning should go into locations. I'll rephrase that. I think there should be some regulation as to WHERE these stores are located to avoid potentially dangerous combinations as noted above, as I'm sure the owners of these vendors (pawn shop and the beer store) planned that very carefully.

I have finally discovered what Calgary is all about ...

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet .... I have discovered the not so secret secret of Calgary. It's all about shopping. Seriously. Every 5 minutes, there seems to be a grand shopping mall. OK. Consider that I'm from Winnipeg. There's only a handful there. When my sister was here, she was impressed with the 4 story mall down town. Then, yesterday, I went to Walmart and the connected mall ... it wasn't spectacular. But it's only 2 minutes away from here. Then, today, I wanted to develop a film, so I went to London Drugs. Was NOT impressed with that store. But that's another story. Let's just say I'm not about to spend more than $12 on a single set of prints!!!!! Anyway, I decided to look for another mall. Market mall. Only 5 minutes from the mall with the London Drugs. And this mall ... oh, I liked this mall. Had my favourite stores in it. And, a Shoppers that developed my film and gave me an index print and a cd of pics for only about $7. I had to really practice restraint in the mall. I never knew how addicting shopping can be. That's probably because I don't have friends in this city yet, so there's not a lot of other things to do by myself that I enjoy. Although I do enjoy being outside. We've had wonderful weather. Oh, and just to note, all three of these malls are within 5-10 minutes from where I'm staying now except for the 4-story one downtown.