Sunday, October 22, 2006
Free Hugs
I was just at a website called Free Hugs, about a movement to reach out and (you guess it) hug people. From the website,
"Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives." Check out the video on the site; it's very heartwarming.
Additional background information can also be found at Sydney Morning Herald website.
"Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives." Check out the video on the site; it's very heartwarming.
Additional background information can also be found at Sydney Morning Herald website.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
10 km
Today... (huff, puff)... I ran... (gasp, wheeze)... 10 km... (pant, puff)... for the first time. Oh my god!
To be honest I actually wasn't huffing and puffing (except on the hills), but my legs were pretty jello-like when I was done. I had originally set a goal in June or so to do this by the spring of 2007, then when I reached 7km this summer I revised my goal to the end of the year. Here it is mid-October and I reached it! Yeah for me!!
To be honest I actually wasn't huffing and puffing (except on the hills), but my legs were pretty jello-like when I was done. I had originally set a goal in June or so to do this by the spring of 2007, then when I reached 7km this summer I revised my goal to the end of the year. Here it is mid-October and I reached it! Yeah for me!!
Friday, October 13, 2006
Landes (Southwest France)
The last roll of photos from our trip to France is finally developed. Oh, how I wish I had taken more of the coast!
Bordeaux
We spent a day in Bordeaux, which is a city we really enjoyed visiting. The entire downtown area is either car-free or has extremely limited car access. As a result, throngs of people are out on the streets and it was wonderful to be a part of that. Vancouver has a lot to learn from Bordeaux; our local government and merchants don't seem to understand that pedestrian-only zones create a sense of community and dramatically increase the shopping in the areas where it exists (I saw it myself in Bordeaux!).
Moliets
The surf in the Moliets area was spectacular, but it's really hard to be able to provide perspective when taking photos of the wonderful waves. The photo of the sunset I took shows a little bit of it, as does the one of me playing at the beach, but doesn't really capture just how fabulous the pounding surf was. There were times that the drag created when the waves were receding was shocking; more than once I went ass-over-teakettle, which was undignified but a helluva lot of fun really.
Landes Forest
I have not found a photo online or on a postcard that captures the feeling I have for the Landes Forest. I wish I would have taken a few hours and trapsed through one of the nearby pine groves for a good photo or two.
I recognized instantly upon seeing the forests here that they are planted and not natural; in fact, it was planted over 150 years ago to tame the swamp lands and sand dunes for human usage (a nearby river would change its course as much as 35 km in a given year, so it was impossible to build here). The huge monoculture pine forest is almost eerie - the trees are all the same type and about the same age, they're all carefully spaced, the undergrowth has a limited ecology with only two or three species of ground cover. It felt devoid of life in many ways, but it was also captivating at the same time.
Bordeaux
We spent a day in Bordeaux, which is a city we really enjoyed visiting. The entire downtown area is either car-free or has extremely limited car access. As a result, throngs of people are out on the streets and it was wonderful to be a part of that. Vancouver has a lot to learn from Bordeaux; our local government and merchants don't seem to understand that pedestrian-only zones create a sense of community and dramatically increase the shopping in the areas where it exists (I saw it myself in Bordeaux!).
Moliets
The surf in the Moliets area was spectacular, but it's really hard to be able to provide perspective when taking photos of the wonderful waves. The photo of the sunset I took shows a little bit of it, as does the one of me playing at the beach, but doesn't really capture just how fabulous the pounding surf was. There were times that the drag created when the waves were receding was shocking; more than once I went ass-over-teakettle, which was undignified but a helluva lot of fun really.
Landes Forest
I have not found a photo online or on a postcard that captures the feeling I have for the Landes Forest. I wish I would have taken a few hours and trapsed through one of the nearby pine groves for a good photo or two.
I recognized instantly upon seeing the forests here that they are planted and not natural; in fact, it was planted over 150 years ago to tame the swamp lands and sand dunes for human usage (a nearby river would change its course as much as 35 km in a given year, so it was impossible to build here). The huge monoculture pine forest is almost eerie - the trees are all the same type and about the same age, they're all carefully spaced, the undergrowth has a limited ecology with only two or three species of ground cover. It felt devoid of life in many ways, but it was also captivating at the same time.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Vancity $1 Million Award
Atira Women's Resource Society has been nominated for the Vancity $1 Million award. I encourage (beg!) everyone here (and their families, friends, colleagues, etc.) who are Vancity members to please go to Vancity's website before October 13, 2006 and vote for Atira.
From Atira's Website:
The Vancity Award will enable Atira to construct a new building for the Maxxine Wright Community Health Centre, located in Surrey, including an emergency daycare, 36 units of transitional housing for women and their children (0-6 years), and a community kitchen. The Community Health Centre, open since September 2005, provides accessible pre- and post-natal health care and social supports for pregnant women and women with babies/young children considered to be at-risk due to their struggles with substance use, mental health diagnoses, and experiences of violence/abuse. Prior to its opening, many women facing these issues in Surrey 'fell through the cracks', with many never receiving any pre-natal health care. The Community Health Centre is currently operating out of a very small building on the property purchased by Atira in 2005 in order to develop this project. We are already bursting at the seams due to the enormous need for comprehensive women-centred health and social services and the planned daycare and housing.
Vote for a Healthier Future!
From Atira's Website:
The Vancity Award will enable Atira to construct a new building for the Maxxine Wright Community Health Centre, located in Surrey, including an emergency daycare, 36 units of transitional housing for women and their children (0-6 years), and a community kitchen. The Community Health Centre, open since September 2005, provides accessible pre- and post-natal health care and social supports for pregnant women and women with babies/young children considered to be at-risk due to their struggles with substance use, mental health diagnoses, and experiences of violence/abuse. Prior to its opening, many women facing these issues in Surrey 'fell through the cracks', with many never receiving any pre-natal health care. The Community Health Centre is currently operating out of a very small building on the property purchased by Atira in 2005 in order to develop this project. We are already bursting at the seams due to the enormous need for comprehensive women-centred health and social services and the planned daycare and housing.
Vote for a Healthier Future!
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Remembering Naomi, Anna, Marian, Mary and Lena
I am overwhelmed with sadness today. Again a man separated girls from the adults and boys and systemically killed the girls. Again.
I remember December 6th well; I was a young university student here in BC and it happened just as we were going into final exams. I remember the fear and realization that this could happen anywhere, merely because we were girls and women. I wasn't even a feminist yet, just a young woman who understood that 14 women died because of their gender. I remember being at my university and feeling very, very frightened.
Many people say about men who do this, "He was crazy" or ask "How could this happen?" In a society where violence against women is so commonplace it doesn't usually make the headlines, why should this come as a surprise? Where transition houses have to turn women and their children away because there is no space available, how can anyone ask if he was crazy? Are they all crazy? Whether it's the missing women in the Downtown Eastside, the December 6th Montreal Massacre, the recent killings of girls in the US, or the everyday violence that women face, the acts are premediated and thought out. A society that doesn't value women and girls shouldn't be surprised when women and girls die violent deaths. Let's not give these men an excuse; "He was crazy" should be replaced with "He knew exactly what he was doing," and then "How can we create a society where this doesn't happen anymore?"
Will the work I do ever be made redundant? I wish I could say an enthusiastic "Yes!", but I have to be honest and say it feels like it will never end.
I remember December 6th well; I was a young university student here in BC and it happened just as we were going into final exams. I remember the fear and realization that this could happen anywhere, merely because we were girls and women. I wasn't even a feminist yet, just a young woman who understood that 14 women died because of their gender. I remember being at my university and feeling very, very frightened.
Many people say about men who do this, "He was crazy" or ask "How could this happen?" In a society where violence against women is so commonplace it doesn't usually make the headlines, why should this come as a surprise? Where transition houses have to turn women and their children away because there is no space available, how can anyone ask if he was crazy? Are they all crazy? Whether it's the missing women in the Downtown Eastside, the December 6th Montreal Massacre, the recent killings of girls in the US, or the everyday violence that women face, the acts are premediated and thought out. A society that doesn't value women and girls shouldn't be surprised when women and girls die violent deaths. Let's not give these men an excuse; "He was crazy" should be replaced with "He knew exactly what he was doing," and then "How can we create a society where this doesn't happen anymore?"
Will the work I do ever be made redundant? I wish I could say an enthusiastic "Yes!", but I have to be honest and say it feels like it will never end.
