Dan’s Living Room

Batad and the last stretch in Tabuk

2007-09-12T05:11:00.000-07:00

How are things? I just got home from an incredible adventure. I went to see the 8th wonder of the world, mud-walled rice terraces at Banaue. I arrived in Banaue, got the usual hassle from a tricy driver - essentially, I'll be your tourist guide and help you part with your money ASAP. I went to eat, saw the terraces and decided the town wasn't for me. So I decided to go to a different village, without road access, in order to find the silence I was looking for. I found it, in Batad.

It's a 5 km hike up and over the mountain. I met a local woman in the jeep and so we walked together. We took the path the locals favour. It was straight up, but so worth it cuz when I got to the top there was a rainstorm. Otherwise I would have hiked in the rain nearly the whole way. I rested at the top and then hiked the last 3 km down the mtn in the rain. It was killer. Today, I did the hike out and I don't know how I did it the first time - in the pouring rain at dusk. I guess hunger is a great motivator :)

So I stayed two nights there. I hiked all thru the town, over the terraces and went swiming at a waterfall (90ft high). And best of all, I saw less than 10 other tourists. It was great to have a break. Banuae and Batad are in Ifugao province, Ifugao is the largest tribe in the Cordillera, ie they have their own province. The Ifugao have the reputation of being the best engineers among the Cordillera tribes, they created the rice terraces over 2,000 years ago, using a complicated system of bamboo tubes to irrigate and, unlike most terraces they made mud walls in stead of reinforcing with rocks. The terraces at Batad and Banaue are UNESCO world heritage sites.

I handed in my thesis on Sunday, so that's over now. I am a social worker, wheew. Graduation is on Oct 24, a bit after I return.

Last Saturday, I did two workshops. It was good, learned a lot, heard a lot of stories. The workshops were on women's health issues and violence against women. Contrary to most places (esp. in the first world), where the majority of violence against women is perpetrated by a close relative, friend or partner (about 85% in Canada), in the Philippines a significant portion of VAW here is perpetrated by the military and the police, particularly rapes. So we spent a lot of time talking about strategies for safety etc.

It's a hard hard thing to process, that those who are supposed to "serve and protect" have the worst record for killing, torturing and raping women. The justice system is designed to favour men for ex. when a case goes to court the military and police have the option of testifying, they don't have to participate in the legal process. The laws for rape put the burden of proof on the victim, ie he/she has to prove that it wasn't consensual. In cases where an anulment is happening due to infidelity, infidelity for men is defined as having a second home with a partner, ie one-night stands do not qualify. For women, one incidence is enough to have grounds for annulment. Makes me burn...

I've been buried in UN and NGO reports about violence here. At the workshop, I shared many stories and case studies from the reports, the participants confirmed many of the facts and shared about more local cases. It's the reality here. It was good to have a forum for discussing the experience of Indigenous women. I also shared with them about the Pickton case.

So there's two weeks left here in Tabuk and then I'm going to go to Manila. I'll visit some friends there and volunteer at the shelter where I worked in 2005. When I visited in May I noticed a lot of changes, so I'm looking forward to really catching up with the staff I worked with.

I'll try and post once more before I go back to TO. If not watch for the top ten when I return. It's been great sharing this trip with you guys, thanks for all your emails, letters, packages etc. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again and catching up.

peace

Someday Daniel will be the death of me

2007-09-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

Someday... but not yet.

A sbort post

2007-08-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

So I've officially planned the last 6 weeks of my time here. It's going to be busy. It's so strange to realize that this time is coming to an end. Two days ago I received my first goodbye gift. Last night we had a celebration for all the students who had a birthday in August. We ate pancit, a Filipino noodle dish. I started taking notes so I can make it at home.

Right now I am working on several workshops for the female college scholars. The topics are: Community Violence, Nutrition, Self-esteem and the Colonial Mentality, Healthy Dating Relationships, Women's Reproductive Health and Family Planning, and Academic stress. It's two workshops per saturday for the next 3 weeks. Then we will have two more workshops on women's rights and human rights facilitated by a woman from a local feminist human rights/advocacy group. For some of the workshops we will be creating some theatre presentations to present information in different communities. I'm trying to create workshops where half the time is information sharing and the other half is some sort of active response, like creating a skit, or some other form of media, developing a petition or letter writing campaign etc.
I'm really excited to begin and to hear the students perspectives. I am having a student advisor for each workshop to gain their feedback and input prior to the workshop. Yesterday, I had meetings for the first two workshops. It was really helpful and great to hear their insight on these issues.

The workshops start on Sept. 1.

That's all for now.

Human Rights?

2007-08-13T02:33:00.000-07:00

So remember me telling you about those 9 squatters who were killed by the police/military? Well, a few days ago some family members of the victims got together and ambushed the police, they killed one and injured 5. After the ambush, the mayor of Rizal, called for more military checkpoints and he is gaurded. The Butbut tribe has declared that they intend to kill him next.
I can't really imagine a place where civilians engage in armed conflict with the police. It's even harder to imagine a place where the mayor can call on the military to kill people who are squatting on land that he wants. He treats the military like a private army.
I went to a local human rights/women's rights organization last week to get info on the situation. It's called GABRIELA. They conduct fact-finding investigations and document human rights abuses. Last year their leader was shot by the military in front of the school here in Bulanao. The woman I spoke to has had several death threats.

I can hardly process all of this. I've been reading articles about the long-term effects of chronic political violence on children's development and self-esteem, this is my thesis topic. But it's hard to find something that is actually comparable to the situation here. There is armed conflict between civilians (tribal conflicts), between civilians and the military/police and between the military and communist guerrilla forces (New People's Army). There is also escalting armed conflict in the south between the military and muslim groups.

So I'm trying to figure this out. In the meantime, there are more military checkpoints and questioning.

Sagada

2007-08-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

So I've spent the last few days high in the mountains in a little semi-touristy village called Sagada. In Sagada they have the tradition of burying their dead in caves, stacked up in boxes along the cave walls. Unfortunately, due to the rainy season the caves were inaccessible. So I just saw the hanging coffins that are attached to cliffs in the area. I did some hiking, found wild strawberries! and the highlight - I found a place to eat fresh yogurt with guava jam on top. I miss my dairy. Also, I haven't seen a foreigner in 3 months, so it was nice to meet some native English speakers as I toured around the town. I met a woman from Surrey, UK near where my sister lives!

Initially I went to Sagada for some work-related business. Once I got there I just couldn't leave, it was so peaceful. So my companion went on to the other villages and I stayed there. When we arrived we went to meet the students in the village that are sponsored. So we sat down for coffee, as is the custom. Then a neighbour arrived, Manang D.C. and she invited us to have coffee with her as well. So we went to her house, perched on a cliff overlooking the town, her yard was a paradise - a huge array of potted flowers and rock formations/benches/chairs. So we had coffee with her, it was dark by this time so she invited us to stay for dinner. And then she invited me to stay with her and so I did. And it was just what I needed. I stayed with her and her niece for 3 days. Manang D.C. was incredible. On the morning I left she rose at 4am, to collect some vegetables (wild fern, lemongrass, syote, ponkan) for me from her garden. She packed a huge baon (tagalog - means gift/food for the journey) for me. It was the most incredible and timely experience of hospitality I have ever had.

It was so wonderful to have a break from work. And it was great to play with some kids. Healthy playful kids, with no ribs showing. Manang D.C. raises dogs, she has 5 puppies currently, making her yard a beehive of activity as the neighbours and school kids drop by all the time to play.

I returned on Sunday. Yesterday I went back to work. As some of you know there is an ongoing tribal conflict here between Tulgao-Nambaran and Lubo - it's about 3 weeks now. A man was beaten by two men from another tribe. This is what started it. Now there are negotiations going on for a settlement. They are getting dragged out as the victim is delaying deciding whether to accept a settlement or call for further retaliation. There has been a second retaliatory attempted murder. As you may guess this is effecting my work. My co-worker, who has been on maternity leave returned yesterday. We cannot go to Nambaran, as she is a Lubo. This community is getting further and further behind on the Heifer project goals, at our last meeting none of them had worked on any of the tasks, partly due to disinterest and partly due to a recent water shortage. I recently discovered that they were incredibly active prior to receiving the animal disbursement. I wonder if perhaps the animal disbursement should have been delayed.

In case you're thinking I'm in danger due to this tribal conflict, it's unlikely anything will happen to me as it is blood ties that determine if a person is to be targeted.

My work is piling up like crazy. I am working on my thesis, due August 30. I am creating a mentoring program for girls and doing test runs of some of the modules. At the end of the month I am co-facilitating a traveling sanitation workshop where I go to different communities to teach them how to dig proper latrines and establish composting. I am also supervising the establishment of a garden at the dorm and a landscaping project.

That's about it, I turn 25 on Sept 2! I'm looking forward to it.

Living Room Shenanigans

2007-08-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

For all those who cannot join in regular LR fun, we had a crafty night a couple weeks ago, starring my new typewriter.

I also enjoyed worshiping with an unusually present living room (all were there who feasibly could have been so).

We well-wished and prayed for those who could not make it, including Rachel, Miriam, Daniel, and team Sam, Katherine and Action.

Peace,

T

2007-07-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

So it's the halfway point of my internship. I return to Canada on October 9. I have to admit my impending unemployed/homeless state is on my mind more than I would like these days. But instead of ruminating on that I'm going to tell you about my latest adventure: trekking in the jungle!

This past weekend I was invited to go home with one of the students to meet her family and see her home. So I said yes right away without asking too many questions, like how long does it take to get there and what kind of shoes should I wear.

Four students ended up deciding to join us, so we were a group of six. We left at about 3PM on Saturday afternoon. It was raining off and on that day so we (maybe just me) were eager to beat the impending downpour. We caught a jeepney and rode for about 20 minutes. I was busy chatting with the other riders so I didn't see where we were until I got off the jeepney. The windows are low on a jeepney and my head brushes the roof so I rarely have the opportunity to catch the full view. So as I got off the jeepney I saw the Chico river, it had flooded the banks and we were to walk across the dam! So crossing the conventional way was not an option as we would have had water up to our knees and two of the girls with me were well under 5ft.

We walked downriver and got a bangka (small, leaky boat) to take us over. It cost 10cents/person!And then the real journey started. We hiked up the river bank, through fields, 2 villages and then the upward part of the journey commenced. By now we had been walking for 2 hrs and my sandals were mudslogged and useless. So I took them off. Then we hit the "road," about 6 inches deep in mud from the rains. We walked on this road for another hour and darkness was starting to fall. It is really hard to walk fast in mud, barefoot. It was also really funny, we were all just sliding around in the muck.

Every half hour or so one of the girls would call for picturetaking, yes this is a well-documented adventure. Patience. You can see the photos when I return. So by this time the rain was intermittent and we were back onto steep and narrow paths and we met a soldier who was drunk and hilarious as he attempted to talk to me in a mixture of English, Tagalog and Ilocano.

We crossed two more rivers and arrived in Paligatu just as darkness was falling. We stopped to wash at the pump and 20 people watched me scrub the mud off! There was no power there so I spent the night talking to Jane's family in the dark. She has an infant brother so we played with the baby and then went to bed. I shared a bed with 5 others. I'm getting used of that now.

The next day I saw the village, it is so beautiful. Her tribe is known for its skills in stone masonry design and this village was stunning - stone steps, walkways and walls, benches and a water fountain all out of perfectly arranged smooth stones gathered from the rivers we had crossed on our way. Unfortunately, we had to leave right away that morning as I had a meeting in Nambaran with the Savings and Loan group.

We hiked out via another village, Mabatu, of the same tribe, Bigaa. This hike I was barefoot the whole way, and the route was a bit treacherous in places. Halfway to Mabatu we found some wild guava trees and had a rest there. In Mabatu, my arrival was expected, unbeknownst to me. Twelve years ago IAT had a 5 year project here where they funded a preschool. The funding ended 7 years ago. When they found out I was coming they thought I had funds to disperse. They had prepared a presentation, a welcome sign, food...it was really awkward. I had to tell them I was in the Philippines to do a social work practicum, not to disperse funds. It was even more awkward as the students I was with acted ashamed of their elders/relatives very direct requests.

Next week I am going to Pinukpuk, a village that is easier to get to, but much further away. My plans to travel further afield have been postponed again as my supervisor is inundated with report writing so I can't really leave the office.

I am starting to see some of the interpersonal problems and behavour issues with the students. So I am working on some workshops to address some of the issues. Most of the dorm students only have one parent and come from families with 8 or more children. Most are landless and cook over woodfires, they cannot afford to buy fuel. When they come to the dorm their standard of living increases, even though they may still not have enough food as their parents are rarely able to provide enough food. The NGO I am working for ends up augmenting their food situation in order to prevent theft. During the past two weeks, a digital camera, a cellphone and a goat were stolen and the dorm students are prime suspects. Some of the interpersonal issues relate to breakdowns in parent-child relationships, especially resentment over growing families when older children are not provided for. There are also a number of dorm residents who have been abandoned by their parents and do not receive any parental support, financial or otherwise. No FRO here.

The problems with the Savings and Loan groups are ongoing, and, strangely, I am growing in patience, empathy and hope for changes in the participation habits. As I learn more about the problems these families are facing it seems more reasonable for them to have a hard time adjusting to the expectations placed on them in this project. There is also a feeling of fear among them as they are reluctant to issue and take loans. I am starting to notice the demographic, individual details, like which of the participants have children who are malnourished, who has access to land, who is a single parent, histories of dependence etc.

About two weeks ago, I was really homesick, probably because I was sick. Now, I keep saying there's not enough time, not enough time. It has taken 3 months just to figure out what's happening here, what kind of role a social worker can play, what the social and political context is etc. I am just beginning to be able to assess things clearly.

Miss being with you guys, especially since you all get to see action in person and I just get to see the photos :(

Dinner and kind of birthday party — 10 July 2007

2007-07-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

Christie Pitts Picknic — 3 July 2007

2007-07-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

Political killings, Courting and Dorm happenings

2007-07-02T02:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's july already. time is flying. and time is dragging too.

the big news around here is that 9 ppl were killed by the military in a village about 2 hrs from here. a congresswoman decided to give the land she owned (possibly a "gift" from the gov't) to her tenants. and then the government claimed that it wasn't her's to give and ordered a demolition of the village. the people fought back when the military came to "monitor" the demolition, nine were killed and several were wounded. i found out about the killings as i was reading the children's letters to their sponsors, one of my duties on the last saturday of the month when they submit the letters. this is scary. please pray for peace.

I am on that seesaw - homesick one day, deeply grateful to be here the next day. It is hard to travel alone but, it also opens up a lot more opportunities. So some days I feel very blessed and other days I wonder how I can possibly survive without a peer to talk to. I'm just trying to trust the process.

I've given up trying to find a church. The ones I have gone to have been so disappointing, one asked me to invite all the students to come, this is not how I want to use my position. The other just asked me for money, straight up. I also attended a church that felt like a funeral parlor.

Different ideas for dating
First it's called courting. yes, courting. So first the guy makes his intentions known, a mushy declaration of love. then the girl says no, it's practically a rule. then he serenades her with his friends and makes a second declaration at which point the girl gives her true answer. then dating starts and marriage follows quite soon after.
I am going to be giving a series of presentations about dating and relationships at the college. So I am trying to find out what the norms are here. I'm going to draw from the book Boundaries in Dating.

I've started tutoring the college students in english every morning before classes. In the evenings I supervise a study period for all the students in the dorm, there's 27 now. one boy is only SIX! I can't believe that he is in the dorm. On the weekends I plan recreational activities on Fridays and Saturdays. The community work is also taking more time these days as both communities are preparing for a monitoring visit from the country director on July 9. So I now spend two full days per week with them.
Last night one of the girls in the dorm was injured, she broke her foot. She is at the hospital right now. I gave first aid and then stayed with her til she fell asleep last night. There are no x ray technicians at the hospital on sundays so we had to delay taking her to the hospital.

That's about it. In two weeks I'm going to be leaving to travel for a week or so. I'll visit 4 towns that are further up into the mountains. One village has some caves to check out, so I'm looking forward to that.

Miriam

2007-06-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've been able to write. There's been a lot going on.

The CNN version: I moved into the dorm at the Montessori school. I went on a trip to the beach for 3 days with 60 kids. My laundry got stolen and then I got it back :) I was given a woven skirt worth about a months income (local levels) from a woman I met and talked to for about half an hour... I still trying to figure out what I'm doing here.

And a few stories

So I met a soldier -

So last week I worked late with Remy (supervisor) and Marina (co-worker) and so we were trying to hire a tricycle (motorcycle w/ sidecar) to get home, kind of tough after dark. So we're hanging out at the side of the road trying to haggle to get a ride and this soldier comes along on his motorcycle. He's drunk and swinging his rifle around. So he asks what's going on and we explain we're trying to get out to Nambaran. So he flags down a driver for us and gets us a good price, we start to step in and then find out he's directed the driver to go to Dagupan, his destination for a night of drinking. So we explain we're not going with him, we're going home to Nambaran. Then he flags another driver down, points his gun at him and tries to negotiate the price we had been asking for. no go. He drives off. The next driver to agrees to our price and we go home.

Work?

It's still a mystery to me how anything gets done here. I still don't have a "full" schedule. I think it will change soon. I spent two days this week in workshops with participants in a community development project that I am working with. My duties officially start this sunday when my co-worker goes on mat leave. I'll be taking over her some of her duties. Up til now I have been accompanying Geraldine and attending meetings with her. The project covers a lot of different elements: enviro, peace, gender issues, organic farming/gardening, health and sanitation and animal husbandry. It's a joint project with an international NGO called Heifer International, the name of the project is Passing on the Gifts. And of course that's an acronym. Google it for more info.
So my contribution will be leading several workshops and monitoring a savings and loan group. This project runs in two different communities, Dilag and Nambaran.

About the communities:
Dilag has no irrigation system so they are dependent on rainfall to support their rice farming. Most residents are illiterate and have less than grade 4 education. There are numerous basic and preventable health problems here due to poor sanitation, shallow, unmanaged latrines etc and poverty ie they can't afford soap. They are very eager for change and participatory, but resistant to including the women in the community in the decision making.
In Nambaran, the income level is higher but their participation is lower. It is much more difficult to meet with them, ie I spent 6 hrs there yesterday, four hrs finding ppl and 2 hrs meeting. Most have finished elementary school and some have gone on to complete high school and some college. There are more women involved in this community, but it's a long way to equitable participation. These two communities have had tribal wars in recent years so they can get a bit competitive with each other so I have to be careful what information I reveal about each communities progress etc. A key issue right now is participation, I'd love to hear your feedback about the issue of participation and especially ideas for connecting with women who are used to being sidelined when it comes to community decision making. Also, any tips about cultural interpretations of participation and suspending my western concept of it. So this work covers about 2 days per week, leaving 4 days where I work at the school/dorm supervision. The dorm supervision duties are still getting developed as school just began this week. My supervisor has been away since Sunday so I have been catching up on paper work and an assignment for my professor. Not too exciting.

I'm now the only foreign volunteer. I get more invites for dinner :) Also in the past week I've had a number of conversations that really filled in some gaps about the culture here. Just when I think I'm getting it things become more complex. This week I learned alot about the tribal wars and how they have effected these communities. It's intense. When a tribal war is going on people take leaves from work, take their children out of school, even leave the hospital to return to their village for safety. They can't go out at night. Men are the main targets. There is also an elaborate peace process specific to each tribe. They elect a peace pact negotiatior - a bodong holder. He or she brokers deals, these meetings involve giving gifts of livestock and money.A little update, I mentioned earlier that a settlement was in process for a Tulgao tribe member who had attempted to kill a member of another tribe, the payment was 56,000 pesos.

A few facts about Kalinga
48 tribes
304 types of Indigenous rice grown here
Childbirth is the most common cause of death for women here
Philippines in general
Most corrupt country in south east Asia
Highest birthrate in SE Asia
Population 80 million

Currently reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Can't wait for your feedback!

Miriam

Saska-ma-toon!

2007-06-08T14:01:00.001-07:00

Two posts in one day? Wow, maybe the Living Room Blog is turning around! After the initial excitement of the best group concept web-log ever I think we lost the passion... but onto other things.

I'm here sharing some photos from my trip to Saskatoon where I went to do a presentation. I almost can't believe I'm posting some of these since I'm not in anyway fond of having my picture taken, or of having people seeing those pictures that have been taken of me. But I'll hold my breath and it will be ok.

This is me with a fellow Ottawan student algonside 2 from McGill. We're in the Agriculture building, which is probably one of the sweetest buildings on the U of S campus. There's a fountain and a glass-back elevator and like a rainforest worth of indoor plant-life everywhere. I'm not surprised though, considering the amount of farm-life associated with a university in the middle of the praries.

This is me answering a question asked right after my presentation. That's enough about that picture.... man I'm pasty.

A happy little Ottawa bunch (although I'm the only native English speaker, which is not a uncommon occurence in my life as of late). The girls wanted to see "a prarie", and I told them that its more something you don't see. But the sky is pretty cool.

And then there was Wanuskewan! It was a national park which is protected First Nation's land that had a big settlement way back when. This is in the information building where we watched a movie about the history and got to meet many friendly buffalo.

Woah! There's a buffalo now? We had a long discussion on whether there was a different between a buffalo and a bison. I think they're different since you have buffalo wings but a bison burger.

This is me doing the thinker pose, but the sky actually looks cool.

Here Keren and I are getting up close and personal with this woman we found standing outside the discovery centre. (If you look carefully you can see that I am deeply engaged in some riveting conversation at the moment the picture was taken.) Poor lady, I think she has circulation problems because her hands were really cold.

And just to finish off:

More buffalo!!!

Thus was my exciting (not so much) trip in Saskatoon. I have pictures from the trek to Santa Barbara, but they're not developed yet, and not on a digital camera (which I'm sure you may have been able to deduce).

Random old small photos

2007-06-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

I'm cleaning out my camera phone -- check em out.

This is a bonus picture for the math geeks (what a random thing to put on a pickup truck):

Commemorative Photographs Surrounding Sue's Spilled Water

2007-05-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

At last, another post

2007-05-24T02:23:00.001-07:00

Hey All

Finally after days of unnecessary delay (primarily due to laziness on my part, and lack of internet at home), I can now present the continuation of my last post - the European Road Trip.

We started in the town pictured below called Ur Bock, near Stuttgart - the home-town of the Bride in the wedding I talked about earlier. We had booked a rental car before we even arrived in Germany. It was supposed to be a VW Polo. Don't recognize the name? Its because the car is so small that its not even sold in North America. Luckily for us, the rental company didn't have one available when we arrived, so we had to 'settle' for an Audi for the same price. :)Its no sports car or anything, but I did manage to get it up to 205 km/h on the Autobahn with 3 hefty men and their luggage on board.

Our first stop was Strasbourg, France. It is a beautiful town about half an hour from the French-German border. It is one of the few cities in the region that escaped destruction in the second world war. The medieval city center is still completely intact, and utterly amazing. Walking through it almost feels like a maze - the buildings are continuous, about 10 floors tall, and the roads follow no recognizable pattern. Every now and again, you come across a thousand year old church, outdoor markets, city squares with fountains, and outdoor restaurants. Forget about the wide, straight streets of Toronto - this is the way to design a city.
I surprised myself by communicating with various shop keepers and restaurateurs in French. I thought I had forgotten it all from back in the OAC days. Justin, who's French is as bad as it gets, thought he'd bravely attempt to order a beer in French. I told him to say 'Je prends un biere pressant' which is equivalent to saying I'll take a draft beer. Unfortunately for him, his 'pressant' sounded more like 'poisson', and he got laughed at by everyone who heard.
We left Strasbourg in the middle of a violent thunderstorm, eliciting strange looks from passers by as we attempted to change clothes in our little car. We stopped by Freiburg (a small city back in Germany) for a night. Its another great town - similar to Strasbourg, but not quite as cool, so we'll move along straight to Switzerland to save time.

We drove through much of the north-eastern part of the country. Check out the picture below. It gives a pretty good idea about what the countryside looks like closer to the Austrian border. Everywhere you look, you see mountains with small villages situated surprisingly high up on the steep slopes.

We stayed in Zurich for a couple days. Its a fairly large German speaking city in central Switzerland. Its a great city with plenty of history. We visited a few of the museums and a cathedral. My only complaint was the fact that Zurich, as with anywhere else in Switzerland, is extremely expensive. If you ever head that way, be prepared to spend twenty bucks on a personal sized pizza for lunch.
This particular cathedral is quite old - parts of it were built around a thousand years ago. For those who (unlike me) are familiar with church history, this is the church where Ulrich Zwingli would have been found preaching on a Sunday afternoon in 1500 ad. Zwingli was a founding father of Protestantism (independantly of Martin Luther), and effectively the dictator of Zurich until he was killed in a civil war.

After a very costly, but enjoyable stay in Zurich, we headed for Austria via a little country which (I'm ashamed to admit) I'd never heard of before. Its about 50 km long and far less wide, and by the time we reached the Austrian border, we had pretty much seen all that there is to see in Lichtenstein.
Of all the places I've visited so far, I think Austria is where I'd live if I ever move to Europe. Its a bit more laid back than Germany, and as you can see in the picture below - the scenery is alright, and the prospect for hiking and outdoor related stuff is not bad, and will having you singing "the hills are alive" in no time. :)
The city we stayed in is called Innsbruck. You may recognize the name from when it held the winter Olympics a number of years ago. It is another town where much of the Medieval inner city remains intact. Unfortunately for us, the gondola service to the top of some of those mountains (part of their public transit system) were shut down for maintenance. Its all good though, Innsbruck is only about 1.5 hours train ride from where I'm at right now, and I'll definitely be heading back.

After Innsbruck, we headed to Munich - our final destination where we'd all part company. I stayed behind, Jordan headed back to Canada, and Justin, back to Stuttgart to fly home from there.

Munich is a fantastic city. Its not quite as pretty as Innsbruck or Strasbourg since over 90% of the city was destroyed in WW2 and was rebuilt with a more modern look. But the culture and history of this town can't be equaled. It has a beautiful central park over twice the size of New York's, tons of Biergartens (outdoor restaurants that serve traditional Bavarian meals along with beer, beer, and a little more beer), outdoor cafes, and some fantastic museums.
So, to bring you completely up to date - I'm now working on a research project at the Technical University of Munich. Its a great school with all the facilities we at Rye can only imagine. Its pretty laid back here - we drink alot of beer, barbecue up dinner a few times a week, and we get some work done occasionally - whenever we find time.

Alright, I'm heading out to the alps to get some hiking done. I'll be climbing a 7000 ft tall mountain on Sunday so wish me luck. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Later!

life on the farm

2007-05-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

Hey

So I'm starting to settle in here. It helps a lot that the monsoon has arrived and I can sleep at night. I just moved into another room that has better ventilation as it is at the corner of the house. This week I went exploring, found 2 good bakeries. I haven't found a good coffee place yet. Coffee is plentiful and it's brewed, but it's too sweet.

News --

So two days ago 3 Canadian volunteers departed for home, on June 12 the rest depart and then I'll be the only whitie for miles.

On June 1 I move into Bulanao where the school is. I'll be living in the dorm. It's currently under construction, mostly gut and rebuild. There's a crew of about 40 locals and then a bunch of Cdn construction workers who have been here since April 4. They've been working 7 days a week since I've been around to see. Yesterday I took the day off, did some laundry, played with the kids on the farm, played with giant beetles, chilled in a hammock. I also went on a fruit tour of the farm, complete with a red ant attack. I was valiantly defended by a crew of toddlers and 6 year olds . We found gauabano, lumboy, chico, jackfruit, mango and another one I can't remember the name of. It's great to just wander out of the house and find some fruit to chow down on.

A little more about the house, it's on a farm outside of Bulanao. There are 2 small houses, one larger 2 storey house and a barn for storing rice. There's a large tarmac for basketball and now, becaause it's harvest season they are drying rice out there. The homes are built of concrete (walls) and corrugated sheet metal roofs. We have electricity but no running water or toilets. There is a pump at the back of the big house with a shower area and a place to wash clothes. We have an outhouse type structure for toileting, essentially it's a crack between some boards, so you just squat to go. It does have a light so this is really convenient for nighttime.

There are several families that live on the farm, Anita and Agallo, Remy and Fernando (Remy is my supervisor) Sarah Jane, the cook, and Junior our driver, who is Remy's brother. Between all these people there are about 10 kids. Then at the big house, where I stay there are 2 other Cdn volunteers, 3-4 kitchen workers who are scholars working for them for the summer, the NGO founders and their son. Anita and Agallo's house is attached to the back of the big house. There's also Remy's mom, and an older woman who was just released from the hospital, her daughter works in the kitchen.

Last week Remy and Fernando's son fell off his bike and injured his foot. In response to this the family had a pig butchered to ward off evil spirits and ask for good healing. This is called palanao and it happens in honour of positive events as well. So I got to witness a pig butchering and for good measure several chickens were on offer as well. The butchering went like this, two boys go catch the pig, then they wash it. They grab a stool and put the head of the pig on the stool and one boy holds the back legs up. It's squealing like crazy. Then Agallo comes along with his bolo, a long knife. He slices a little into the pig's throat, then sticks a sharped piece of bamboo into the hole. Then the blood comes gushing and the pig convulses to his death, almost. To finish it off they start burning off his hair in the fire at which point the pig ceases to emit tortured sounds. After this the chickens show up and get defeathered in the same manner.
On this same night there was a clan meeting to resolve the amount of a settlement to be offered to a member of another tribe. The settlement is to make up for an attempted crime against a person in that tribe. The perpetrator has already gone to jail, this is tribal justice. No word on what they offered.

One last tidbit, I tried red ant eggs at a ceremony last week. And they were delicious!

Peace,
Miriam

A prayer

2007-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

I ran into this prayer today in my readings, and thought I'd share it because it's beautiful.

Heavenly Father, in you I live and move and have my being: I humbly pray you so to guide and govern me by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of my life, I may not forget you, but may remember that I am ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Today is …

2007-05-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Jason's birthday. Have a good 'un … hope you read this blog still. Give us an update!

T

Tulgao

2007-05-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update:

I spent the weekend in a remote mountain village of about 2,000. It's called Tulgao, you can probably find it on google earth. It's at about 7,000 ft elevation. It was incredible there, tranquil. Near the village there is a waterfall and a hotspring. It was quiet, no jeepneys, no tricycles (motorcycle w/ sidecar). We were there to meet applicants for the educational sponsorship program, there were 25.
They had a celebration to welcome us, I learned several dances, they really focused on teaching us the courtship dances! It was a lot of fun. The women were dressed in woven wrap skirts, in the colours of the tribe. The men wore g-strings and woven bamboo hats. We spend the afternoon dancing with them, taking turns, they would perform and then the men/women would teach us the dance they had just done. They butchered a pig in our honour, thankfully I was able to gracefully pass on it.
The economic activity in Tulgao is essentially split between working on the rice terraces and slash and burn mountain gardening. In the gardens they grow kamotes (type of sweet potato) and beans. Over 85% of the adults in this village are illiterate, yet they have organized an environmental group to clean up and protect their village from developers who want to put in a power plant. I will be returning to Tulgao in June to help facilitate a leadership training for sponsors.
I am still working on developing a work schedule here. It's kind of challenging as there is little work right now as it is their summer vacation. The kids return to school in 2 weeks so then I'll be busy. I'm living on a farm 25 minutes outside of Tabuk. When the kids return I'll move into the dormitory and act as a houseparent/counselor. I'll also spend some time each day working in a literacy program.
This coming weekend I am teaching a couple of sessions in a peer counselling workshop for the high school students.
Last week I spoke at a college, we did a comparison of how Aboriginals here were treated by the Spanish colonizers and how Aboriginals in Canada were/are treated by Europeans. We also discussed the legacy of the racism and cultural destruction each group experienced. The professor has offered to teach me some of the history of Kalinga, the province I am working in. So I will be meeting with him again soon.

that's about it.

Coming on the tails of Daniel's historic first post ever –

2007-05-10T14:12:00.000-07:00

which I thoroughly enjoyed reading – you might have noticed that there are several more Contributors to this blog, listed in the sidebar. That is because, this past spring, Dan's Living Room got married (!! congratulations to us) to Sam and Katharine's Living Room. Stay tuned for some blog renovations to celebrate the changes.

And, welcome everybody new! Feel free to post anything anytime!

(I'm a little low on pics, I think Alison and Sam have a bunch they might share soon..?)

2007-05-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all.... Welcome to my first blog entry ever!!! I suppose being so far from home for so long is driving me to extreme measures to keep in touch with people back home. Let me begin by telling you all where I am and how to reach me if you feel so inclined...
My mailing address here in Munich is:

Daniel Neufeld
Professorenhaus (yes, it does mean "Professor House" .. don't I feel special now :) )
Hans-Leipelt-Straße 12
80805 München

If you are confused by the 'ß' thingy, it just stands for a double 's', thats all. The best way contact me over the next 4 months is by MSN (cdn_dan@hotmail.com), Skpe (daniel.neufeld), or email (daniel.neufeld@gmail.com). Keep in mind that I'm 6 hours ahead, which means by the time you get up in the morning, I'm just finishing up my lunch of schnitzel, sauerkraut and beer.

This is, in fact, my first trip to the European continent (unless you count that 12 hour stopover in London on the way to Africa - really good fish and chips is all I really remember about that)

Alright, so when planning out this exchange, I naturally stretched the definition of 'summer semester' to the maximum limit on both the departure and return sides. I flew on April 24th - which happened to be exactly 10 days before my expected arrival in Munich. This left me time to attend a former roommates's wedding here in Germany. It seemed natural enough to fill the remaining void with an intense European road trip with two other friends of mine who came for the wedding (Jordan and Justin).

I've been told that when entering a new culture, there are several phases of "culture shock" that you need to pass through before you feel at home - the first, of course, being the honeymoon phase. If I'm following that pattern at all, I suppose that would be where I'm at. The grass seems greener, the sky seems bluer, the mountains are taller (not to difficult to surpass Ontario in that regard), the cities are cleaner and prettier... and I have a much nicer place to work here at the Technical University of Munich than back home. Alright, I'll quit rambling and show some pictures of the places we traveled through.

The first stop was Frankfurt. My flight landed there, and that's where I met up with Jordan - an old friend and former roommate. We had 3 hours or so to check out the town before our train to Stuttgart departed. Its a beautiful town. I've been told its one of the most 'westernized' in Germany, but it was still spectacular compared to what I'm used to in TO.
After a long and futile search for Jordan's camera, we headed to the Hauptbonhof (main train station) and rode the high speed rail to Stuttgart. Nerd engineering fact: the train can easily exceed 300 km/h - I'd never traveled that fast on land before.

We stayed for a couple days in a small German village near Stuttgart called Ur Bock. A bachelor party was had, and a large quantity of beer was consumed. (its soooo cheap here)

The wedding took place in an ancient chapel (built in 1100 ad) on a mountain top, and the reception was held in a castle of around the same age on top of a different mountain. I had no idea that places like this still existed. You wont find a single building in North America half as old as these locations. Incredible...

The day after the wedding, Jordan, Justin, and myself took off in a little budget rental car (which happened to be an Audi A3 for those who care) We didn't do much in the way of planning, it was a bit of a seat-of-the-pants operation. We had in mind to drive south to a German city called Frieburg and poke our nose into France along the way.

Alrighty, I think I'll have to do this in episode form, since its getting dark and I'm still sitting in my office here at the University, getting hungrier by the minute. Stay tuned...

Daniel

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey old LR people. Does anybody check this anymore?

Happy Easter. I miss you guys!

Hope you're all well.

Peace,

T

Saturday night travelling party

2007-03-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

Saturday night was a living room extravaganza! Beth was in town visiting from the booming metropolis of Ottawa and got some folks together at O'Grady's for nachos. She has some BIG NEWS to share with the world, but I will let her do that herself.

And, the Cokers are moving to freaking Calgary on freaking TUESDAY (i.e., tomorrow), and they had a goodbye party. I can't believe they're going! The quickness of the move happening (from conception to move was, what, four months?) gives me hope that exciting things can happen to me, too.

Daniel and I were lucky enough to get to both partays (with a longer-than-usual stop for gas in the middle; did you know that Toronto was experiencing a gas shortage?). In between we ran into Rachel and James (her friend from Australia), who were on their way to see Beth.

More pictures of the Saturday Night Living Room Extravaganza here.

Hi Malcolm and Eastern Europe

2007-02-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Hey old fam. Hi Malcolm. I think in our books you still count.

What do you think? I have the opportunity to go to Eastern Europe for two weeks with my school in the spring. All-in for only $2300. I wish it were three weeks, but it's probably going to be packed with art history goodness. And in my current mingling with eastern christianity, it might complement it well.

Also, I might be back in Toronto for the summer. If you would like, please pray about this for me. I have applied to OCAD, so we'll see what happens. I'm not sure if I want to go back for good yet, but I want to keep my options open.

I miss you! I miss Toronto!

Peace,

Tom

from korea

2007-01-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

I don't really count towards this living anymore, i know, but i still gots me some posting ability. so, i think it's generally known that i'm out in korea now. i just thought i'd say hi. i really dig it here. the people are nice, being on my own is really nice. and i'm playing guitar at a local english church now. it's very small time. but i'm introducing some freedomize here. i played 'secret place' last sunday. my new blog for korea is furtherfrom.blogspot.com . if you're interested. alright, i'm out.

Way to go

2007-01-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something that a certain SOMEONE (who I'm fairly sure doesn't really check this blog, since he's not an 'internet junkie' even though its his namesake) forgot to scan from a napkin which was created at a certain pub night at the duke of York. But I won't say who that SOMEONE is.
I'm sure you can each figure out which one you are.

Old but good

2007-01-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

I've been cleaning out my laptop files to make room for MUSIC (I got an iPod! and its disk capacity is three times what my laptop's is...), and so uploaded these pics from the trip Dan, Tom and I took to Killarney (Vic Day weekend 2005). Look how young Daniel looks with his short hair and no beard!!

Strictly speaking

2007-01-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hey guys. It has been a long time since someone has posted on the Living Room blog, so I will temporarily remedy the situation.

First off, and most obviously, I miss you all a lot. I still haven’t found a home church here in Ottawa so I continue shopping around. I’m not looking for a Freedomize understudy because I know I won’t find it, which is too bad. I’ve been listening to David’s sermons on my iPod… they’re very life giving, I’m glad I still have access to them.

I’m doing quite well in my studies here, I’m not as stressed out as I used to be. However I feel like my mind is in a continual, yet gradual, descent into ‘all-over-the-place-ness.’ So far it hasn’t hurt my work so I guess that’s ok, it just means I need to find the really nice and tolerant people to be my friends.

I’m liking Ottawa a little more than I did before – it’s not as big and shiny/sparkly as the T dot but its alright. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to visit Toronto in February.

It seems that all you guys are soon going to be going different places, which is cool, it’s good to see that life is still moving and progressing. It’s also kind of sad because now this entity that was my Living Room isn’t really going to be there in any recognizable way. Meh, I’ll get over it.

I’d like to hear more about you folks. More posts! More posts!

excited

2006-11-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hey, LR.

I miss you all.

Can I tell you how excited I am to come home for Christmas? I'm very excited.

I look forward to possibly joining you for LR over the holidays. What days do we meet now?

Peace,

Tom

Speaking in tongues

2006-11-07T08:49:00.000-08:00

There's a (positive-sounding) article in today's New York Times about speaking in tongues. Read more here.

Two excerpts:

“The amazing thing was how the images supported people’s interpretation of what was happening,” said Dr. Andrew B. Newberg, leader of the study team, which included Donna Morgan, Nancy Wintering and Mark Waldman. “The way they describe it, and what they believe, is that God is talking through them,” he said.

Contrary to what may be a common perception, studies suggest that people who speak in tongues rarely suffer from mental problems. A recent study of nearly 1,000 evangelical Christians in England found that those who engaged in the practice were more emotionally stable than those who did not.

From NYC

2006-11-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

I really like this version of the prayer of belief.

A new name?

2006-10-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hey yall! Since I am pretty much not a leader of this LR anymore, let's update the name of the blog.

Leave any suggestions in the comments.

LR tonight

2006-10-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

We had LR tonight at Daniel's house. Here are a couple of pics. Alison made the (amazing) blondies (I ate too many).

We also listened to a sermon by Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian in New York, on Hebrews 11. Such a good preacher. Here's my favourite verse, in the KJV:

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

We've got another sermon of his to listen to sometime; after that, any other LR out there want to borrow the CD? Just shout out in the comments.

BABY!!!

2006-10-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Baby was born today! Even though baby was due over a week ago. My sister-in-law was induced this morning and ended up getting a c-section this afternoon (something about contractions changing baby’s heart rate). But she’s ok, baby is healthy and over 8 pounds.

And baby is a……

Wait for it…..

Boy! I thought it would be a girl. But boys are ok too.
His name is Finnan James Lochbihler. Hooray for baby!

Who has the power?

2006-10-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article about genetically modified food:

Continuing the Green Revolution: The corporate assault on the security of the global food supply

Another post nonetheless

2006-10-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

I believe this to be my first post since returning to livingroom. It was good to have one last livingroom where we were all together. I miss you tom, and I miss you beth. I hope you are both doing well. We continue to pray for you because we love you!
Sue and Dan and I went out to Smokeless Joe's this past Thursday and enjoyed a few fancy pants beers. Good times. What a blessing to have a livingroom with people who are not just the other members, but also your friends.
Since some of you guys don't get out to meetings as often as you'd like to I think you've missed out on my big-ish news lately. I got the position of Senior Editor on the Ryerson Review of Journalism. I am very excited to work on the magazine.
I guess that's it from me for now.

peace.

Nothing much but a post nonetheless

2006-09-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, Living Room!

It's Saturday night/early Sunday morning. I'm just puttering around home tonight. I watched The Grizzly Man, a Werner Herzog documentary film. You've probably heard of it, but if not, it's about a guy who lived with Grizzly bears for over 10 years and finally was killed while filming his last expedition. I've actually been watching a few videos lately. Last night, I watched Mean Creek. Good film.

Hmmm. I'm not particularly engaged in writing here right now. Hope you're all well, though.

Peace,

Tom

Another from Aradhna

2006-09-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Lord Jesus, we worship you. You are the one who frees us from hypocrisy. You are the one who lets us truly know you---lets us truly know God---so that we don't have to walk around faking a relationship with God, or faking a religion. You are the one who lets us know that it's real, because you take us in the darkest place of our life, not when we're most religious, but you take us in the dark place, and you accept us there, you accept us there, Lord.

And so we know, because your Spirit encourages us in the dark place, reminds us that we belong to you. Lord Jesus, your name is the true name.

Miss you guys already

2006-08-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

I suppose this could very well have been an email message rather than a blog post, but I miss you guys already. I am in Ottawa at my dad's place. We'll be leaving here for the East Coast tomorrow morning.

Dan picked up my house keys today and proceeded to make my old bedroom his own. Presently, I have no house keys, which means I have no home. I am leaping and in mid-air.

Hmmm. Well, I will post more on my personal blog now. It also deserves my attention.

Peace,

Tom

Our Rachel is home!

2006-08-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my favourite photo sequences from Wednesday. You can see the rest (or a lot of the rest; there were a LOT of pictures) over here.

PS birthday

2006-08-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Just to let yall know, the LR birthday sign was put to good use last weekend (thanks Alison!!). Photo credit to Martine.

Just to make an official post of it

2006-08-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the University of Ottawa in September for a masters of Linguistics program. My life is now figured out for the next 2 years. Wish me luck!

Bread vs stone

2006-08-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

I came across this prayer in the middle of this CD I got from Nidus -- Aradhna, this crazy Indian devotional stuff; if you were at church this past Sunday they were playing their music pre-service. It's really life-giving.

If you hear the call of faith, and you feel a tightness in your heart that wishes to resist that call, let go of it. Because it says in the Scripture that, if you ask for bread, He will not give you a stone. He will give you the good that your heart has been longing for. He will give you the peace that your heart has been longing for. He will give you the hope that your heart has been longing for.

PS an LR picture

2006-08-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

(I just got film back today.)

A night at the movies

2006-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

U of T IS doing their annual outdoor movie night!! August 17, screening starts around 8pm, and there's going to be free popcorn. Let's all go.

PS they're showing Mean Girls. And the pre-screen is a Simpsons episode. Heehee!!

Peace: kicking my ass for the past month

2006-07-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

An excerpt from The Imitation of Christ:

The person who dwells in perfect peace suspects evil of no one. The person who is discontented and disgruntled has a heart filled with suspicion; she herself has no rest nor does she allow others to possess it. She often says what she ought not to say and omits saying what she should say. She thinks about another's obligations but dismisses her own. Therefore, first exercise your zeal upon yourself and only afterwards may you justly exercise it on your neighbour.

You are quite adept at excusing yourself and covering up your actions, but yet you refuse to hear the excuses of others. It would be much more just for you to accuse yourself and to excuse your brothers and sisters. If you wish others to put up with you, you must learn to put up with others.

True charity and humility only know how to become angry with one's self and not with another. That's how far you are from possessing these virtues! It is no great accomplishment for you to live with those who are meek and good, for this is something naturally pleasing to everyone. Everyone enjoys living in peace and love with those who think the same as they do, but if you can live in peace with those who are difficult, obdurate, and undiscipline, ah, that is a great grace, a manly and praiseworthy deed.

There are those who are at peace with themselves and at peace with others; and there are those who have no peace and do no allow anyone else to be in peace. Indeed, these individuals are a burden to others, but they are a heavier burden to themselves. Furthermore, there are those who not only have peace in themselves, but also try to foster peace among others.

All our peace in this wretched world comes from our humble endurance of suffering and not from living a life without it. She who best knows how to suffer enjoys the greatest peace, and such a woman is victor over herself, master of the world, friend of Christ, and heir of heaven.

Oh, I am not a person of peace! This makes me think about how to live in community ("Take first the log out of your own eye, then you can see how to remove the splinter from another's" -- don't I always think I know better than everyone else?), how to pray for myself and others -- not necessarily to pray that suffering will go away ("She who best knows how to suffer enjoys the greatest peace").

This one is for Bethany...

2006-07-27T15:06:00.000-07:00

So there's this guy, who is in a movie...and when I watched the trailer at work today - I thought of Bethany.

MOVIE: Strangers with Candy

GUY: Stephen Colbert :)

Anyway - I don't know much about the movie. Apparently "Strangers with Candy" is a television series that airs on The Comedy Network in the US. Successful little hit, now turned movie... Fun times in production.

So Bethany, here's to you. Oh, well, and to everyone who enjoys the "Colbert Report".

woot

Enjoy the show...

PS we have company!!

2006-07-18T10:16:00.000-07:00

Our membership series is the coolest:

http://studioeleven.blogspot.com/

Rock on, Dining Room!

I owe us a post

2006-07-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Hey team,

It's been a long time since I last posted. Hmmm … what to write?

Life is good these days. God is definitely present, even through the harder, more stressful times. He is providing for me for school. He is providing for the art show that's coming up. He is being very good to me in my personal life. Teaching me things. I can tell you all about the specifics in LR some time.

I don't know about you guys, but I love it when it's so hot out. Yesterday's scorcher was pure awesome to me. Sweat was dripping down my legs as I drove home from work yesterday evening. It sounds gross, but to me it's what summer is all about. I even went for a shirtless run. This is not something I usually do, but the heat was a very valid excuse to bare my chest to the Beaches. It's amazing how sweat actually evaporates when you don't have a layer of cotton between your skin and the air. Maybe Thursday I'll run fullly naked…

…or maybe just shirtless again.

Anyway, it's a ramble but it's a post. I really have the strong sense that God is protecting me in life. Everything is going to be okay because He loves me. I'm kind of emotional now. If I weren't at work, I would let myself shed a few tears of joy.

Peace,

Tom

The end is near...

2006-07-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

No this isn't a post about the book of revelations ;)

Actually tomorrow I embark on the last leg of my journey. It's back to Asia with me!

Sorry that it has been so long since I've posted everyone. I feel badly only a few people are posting. I guess I post almost everything about my travels on my blog and then I have nothing left to say that might interest you guys. But, I want to touch base with everyone.

I can't wait to get back to a regular routine of worship. I have really been slipping to be honest and I do feel spiritually distanced from the Lord. I know that he is near me always, but I have not kept my relationship with him as strong as it has been in the past. A lot of it comes from me not having a routine. It's hard to find time to pray some days especially when I'm flying or train riding etc. And I have been without a community for a while now. So, I've made a promise to myself and God to put a lot more effort into our relationship.

So, in case anyone was wondering... I've been in Australia for about a month and a week and tomorrow I'm off to Thailand. I'll be meeting up with a family friend, Terry, for the first 18 days and then I'm solo for a bit before the great return. Sometimes it feels like ages since I've seen you all and other times it feels like just yesterday we were all sitting around in the pub slinging beer and praising God!

Peace and love.
rachel

In the middle of the desert, in the centre of the sky

2006-06-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

A classic Sesame Street moment, as mentioned last night: look here. (Leah, this one is for you too.)

Yes, my new housemate

2006-06-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

It is my pleasure to introduce to yall the Lady Catherine de Burgh, 8 weeks old tomorrow. She is hilarious and hyper and extraordinarily cute and getting bigger every day.

Please come to my house and meet her soon.

My new housemate?

2006-06-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

PS I went to MEC this afternoon and saw a certain someone... I've totally met her before.

Duke of pretty much everything

2006-06-07T23:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems to me that Sue wins for the most posts.

I mentioned at the Duke tonight that I couldn't sleep. Well, it's after two already, and I am without a wink. The air seems very stagnant to me tonight. Even though the windows are open and the fan is on.

Anyway, I just watched the Zanta documentary, which is actually kind of moving in a way. You should watch it.

Well, here's to counting more sheep (and perhaps downing a shot or two of greek liquor).

Peace,

T

Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

2006-06-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I was in Oklahoma for a family reunion in honour of my grandmother's 85th birthday. My mother is an American--she grew up in southern Illinois--and so I have a whole pile of relatives down there. Oklahoma was hot, really windy (REALLY windy), and the dirt was red like in PEI.

It was an excellent weekend: I saw a million relatives that I haven't seen since I was 10 (including my aunts--my favourite relatives--they are hilarious--I think I'm more like them than I am anyone in my immediate family--can I post video on here? I've got a funny video of them playing dominos), and I met a whole pile more too--wives and children and cousins once removed and things like that. A really good time. Check out all the photos here (more photos will be added early next week once the film gets developed).

The above photo is, of course, from the trip--my nephew Daniel dressed like a cowboy in the Cowboy Museum--yes, the Cowboy Museum, there really is one. My sisters plus brother-in-law Dave plus kids even went to a rodeo! Bucking broncos and everything! (I got to OK too late for that one.)

PS I took all those photos with my NEW digital camera! Oh so exciting! Just you wait, now I'll post random pictures here all the time.

Is it love or infatuation?

2006-05-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

The following list was taken from http://www.drirene.com/isitlove.htm. I was just curious myself. And I have posted too much on my personal blog today, so I am putting this here. Always a good reminder!

___

Infatuation is instant desire. It is one set of glands calling to another.
Love is a friendship that has caught fire. It takes root and grows, one day at a time.

Infatuation is marked by a feeling of insecurity. You are excited and eager, but not genuinely happy. There are nagging doubts, unanswered questions, little bits and pieces about your beloved that you would just as soon not examine too closely. It might spoil the dream.

Love is quiet understanding and the mature acceptance of imperfection. It is real. It gives you strength and grows beyond you to bolster your beloved. You are warmed by his/her presence even when he/she is away. Miles do not separate you. You want him/her nearer, but near or far, you know he/she is yours and you can wait.

Infatuation says, "We must get married right away! I can't risk losing you!"

Love says, "Be patient. Do not panic. Plan your future with confidence."

Infatuation has an element of sexual excitement. If you are honest, you can admit it is difficult to be in one another's company unless you are sure it will end - in intimacy.

Love is the maturation of friendship. You must be friends before you can be lovers.

Infatuation lacks confidence. When he/she is away you wonder if he/she is cheating. Sometimes you check.

Love means trust. You are calm, secure and unthreatened. Your beloved feels that also and that makes them even more trustworthy.

Infatuation might lead you to do things you will regret later, but love never will.

Love is an upper. It makes you look up. It makes you think up. It makes you a better person.

Currently Sue

2006-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am knitting my first ever pair of socks! The cat in the background there is Norbert, who lives next door to me.

PS I am off to New York City (oh yes!) this weekend -- see you all soon.

UUH!!!

2006-05-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Uuh!! IT IS FINISHED. I wrote my last exam today, and so frickin amazing. Today I have graduated and cut my ties with the University of Toronto. After 3 long years of this crazy competetive rat race, and Its OVER! Yes over over over over over over over over!

Let me tell you about my last exam, cuz oh yes, the adrenaline was rushing through my veins when I walked out of that drafty, flourescent humming light gym. I ran part of the way home, when there were no other people on the sidewalk, so that I wouldn't appear too silly. So I went into the exam with an A+ and figured out that to maintain my grade I needed 82% on the exam, and even less if I were to settle for an A. Don't get the wrong impression, I don't get A+'s all the time, but this was Logic and I OWN logic.

So yeah, the class average was way too high this semester so the prof clearly made the exam harder to bring that baby down. So it took a while and a few minor freak outs to get 7 out of 8 questions done. The last question (which I didn't need for the 82%) I wasn't getting, it was a hugely complicated derivation in predicate logic. So I decided I'd spend the last half hour messing around with it, see if anything came about.

I Solved that sucker! Yes believe it folks, through 34 lines of derivation I churned out that mofo and could have very well completely aced that exam, average lowering powers and all. Uuh! This is what I felt like:

That's right, big shiny kool aid pitcher man. Oh Yeah. It really pays to be a 4th year Math/Linguistics student in a second year Logic class. Showed all those pewney (sp?) second years who thought it was hard. Pfft!

Ah, guilt free ranting, I love it. I don't have to be studying now! No no friends! I can do whatever I like. I can read a book, wander around Toronto, sleep in until 1pm, yes the world is my oyster. Now I think my booya is done, so I will leave you an image that came to me when all this awesomeness started, which was just before 10pm tonight (Tuesday). I think it was because I was doing the pelvic thrust thing, you know, with your hands in fists, pulling your arms down at your sides and just gruting, "Uuh!" That's right. You heard me.

--Bethany <><

London pics are available

2006-05-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Possible here, if I did this right.

By the White Cliffs of Dover

2006-05-05T07:25:00.000-07:00

Refreshing

2006-04-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

I just thought this was super cool. Optical illusion seemingly 3D chalk drawings.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/centripetalnotion/21850584/in/set-507107/

Guess who I saw today

2006-04-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

And I'm not kidding.

(Photo credit to my friend Tim. Happy birthday, Queen.)

what's new with me

2006-04-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

quite awhile ago we were asked to write about what's going on in our lives. obviously i didn't. buuuttt, i have been writing in my own blog everyday. i might as well just reference different blog entries.

so to summarize, i'm finishing a bunch of chapters in my life right now.

i worked at tim hortons, but now i'm done
refer here: http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/04/goodbye-timmies.html

i did my 4 years of university and now i'm done. i unofficially have a degree in fine arts...whatever that does for me. i at least feel more pretentious.
refer here: http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/04/dun-dun-donnnne.html

alison and i have been together since late 2003 and now we're parting ways:
refer here: http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/02/alison-and-malcolm-saga.html (it's long)

i then reflected on these changes
refer here: http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/03/visceral.html (another long entry)
this reflection is rather one sided though. the other side not expressed is that i actually am looking forward to my changes regardless of them seeming like a regression. although i'm looking forward to them like i look forward to a vaccine shot. i know these changes are good for me in that they get me out of my complacency.

then some other random stuff:
my grandma died: refer here http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/02/heaven-awaits.html
and the following is some stupid scheme i made up to judge how well you know someone:
http://addingtothemess.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-well-do-you-know-me.html

if you want any of my other blog highlights(if you can refer to blog entries as highlights):
february highlights
march highlights
(there's a number of blogs mentioning i'm sick again)
(there's also a poem series i'm writing called car crash, you can try to decipher me through it)

and that mostly sums me up i guess. well kinda. i've been intending to write about my constantly changing details of my future plans. but of course, they're constantly changing.

Today I am RADIOACTIVE!

2006-04-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

This morning I was injected with Technetium (some sort of radioactive transition metal* that, oddly enough, inspired someone to write this haiku) so that some nice dude named Karim could take pictures of my bones and the blood flow to my legs. Later this morning I go back to finish the scans and get photocopies of the pictures, and on Monday I take them to my doctor, along with some X-rays that some other dude (not as nice as Karim) took last week. (The X-rays look COOL.) My doctor will tell me if I have a stress fracture in my shin bone, caused by the shin splints that I've had on and off for three years.

I have plans to make extra photocopies of the pictures of my legs so that, if I'm really on the ball, I can scan them and put them here on the blog. That way you can all know what I look like on the inside.

In the meanwhile I'm supposed to pee a lot, because Technetium leaves my body through my pee. So I'm drinking green tea and lots of water. I will soon be very hydrated.

It's interesting to actually have all this done to me, partly because I like doing new and different things (as long as the new and different things aren't endangering my life--e.g., they don't involve me flying at top speed down an icy hill), and partly because back in the day I used to teach undergrad Life Science Students about Medical Nuclear Physics.

If I actually do have a stress fracture, I might have to have surgery. I'm not really worried about it, but that might just be because I don't know how much surgery/recovery sucks, because I've never done it before.

I wonder if I'll ever run again.

*For the science geeks out there, the relevant nuclear reaction for my bone scan (as far as I can figure out from the ever-so-technical Wikipedia) is

Tc-99m --> Tc-99 + γ (140 keV)

Tc-99m has a half-life of about six hours. Tc-99 is also radioactive (β^-decay), but its half-life is like a kazillion years. After about a few days all this stuff should have left my body entirely.

I'll be going out with the eastern tides

2006-04-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

A Message

2006-03-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ok Living Room blog, we were supposed to do personal updates a while ago, but I didn’t feel like it at the time. And surprisingly enough I didn’t do it, but I feel like it now, and you will discover why, I’m very sure. Since blogger world is an optional read, I feel free to go on and on, and you can read all, none, little, who cares.

As every Torontonian should know there are COLDPLAY concerts on tonight and tomorrow, and alas I do not have tickets. The problem is not that I don’t have tickets, since I already saw them on this tour in Montreal. Its that I have class during when I could get tickets, and I usually hyperventilate with excitement at the very thought of a Coldplay concert.

For all of you out in the music nether world I will gladly inform you that Coldplay, whether you love their music than you love the air you breath, or whether you hate their music and find it inescapably depressing, they are the best showmen you will likely see. The energy in a Coldplay concert is absolutely metaphysical… I have no clue how they do it but if it came in drug form I would likely become an addict. (If you know of a drug approximate please don’t tell me because I would end up on the street and wouldn’t be able to donate blood anymore.) I can say this with complete confidence since I have gone to a Coldplay concert with a guy who didn’t like them (he just wanted to come to Montreal) and he did admit that it was amazingly fantastic.

The reason I see this as life update blog-worthy is because I need to tell you what I think experiencing a Coldplay concert is like. I have been to two – one for their 2nd and 3rd albums – and I am convinced that it gives you just a little taste of heaven. Not a joke! Not blasphemy either. The music grabs you, in every part of your being and you are part of the collective crowd but you enjoy in a unique, individual way. I can only say that I feel blissful, euphoric… honestly I think that heaven will be that awesome, only more so.

Unfortunately, I can get terribly emotional with Coldplay music, especially since their songs, and particularly their albums, are intrinsically tied to periods in my life. For example, Parachutes was the summer I worked at camp and X & Y is India and Scotland. Their music makes me aspire to my youthful dreams of supreme greatness, not in the worldly sense, but some pure abstract sense (that’s right, abstract). Its like living like you never thought possible and letting the world know exactly what its like thorough and incredible guitar riff.

Ok, enough, enough. A few closing remarks, Johnny’s ma boy (Johnny Buckland, the guitarist). I’d also like to give a shout out to Will Champion, Guy Berryman and Chris Martin to put on another surreal concert tonight and tomorrow, which I’m sure they will have no problem doing. I encourage any Coldplay lovers not to read biographies or stupid articles about the personal lives of the band – all that bull ruins the mystery of the songs. Not because it reveals anything directly but because it makes you think of them as flawed people, which they are, but it actually all about the music. This is how I justify highly enjoying Oasis.

Bethany <><

death to the converted

2006-03-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

i seem to like to write religious based topics on the living room blog.

anyway, on that theme, i've flipped the channel to michael coren during my lunch break from my essay writing. there's an interesting story they're talking about right now. apparently a man in afghanistan converted to christianity from islam over there and now he is going to be put to death under sharia law. he appealed the charge to the afghan human rights commission and they sustained the verdict, and the guy is still supposed to be killed for becoming a christian. further, the people are claiming he is mentally ill. the only consolation in that is it could be a loophole to get him out of being killed. all this is not even being done by the extremist sort, it is by the ordinary afghani citizen. i'm sure he'd already be dead if it was by the extremists.
the worst thing is that the gov't in power for this situation was democratically elected through our north american help.

i think the scariest part of this story is that it isn't an emotionally driven zealist reaction, whereby a gang of people simply kill him. it is a methodical "legitimated" response that is carried out rationally, aside from the irrationality of the charge.

Hello to all!

2006-03-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I just felt compelled to post here to let you all know how much I love you.

I know I'm not the greatest at correspondance, I tend to get distracted, write letters I never send, etc etc. But I want you to know that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you. On the contrary, I think of you guys a lot. I miss you for a lot of reasons. I miss each of you individually, for your quirks and personalities. I miss conversations over coffee, beer, msn. But I also miss you guys collectively. I miss livingroom. Having a group like you that I can share with and listen to and worship with... that is such a blessing. Returning home to that is something I very much look forward to.

So, like I mentioned, I felt compelled to let you know how much you are loved and appreciated. I keep you with me everywhere I go, in though and in prayer.

peace

I just read this and thought I'd share it

2006-03-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

God, you have prepared in peace the path I must follow today. Help me to walk straight on that path. If I speak, remove lies from my lips. If I am hungry, take away from me all complaint. If I have plenty, destroy pride in me. May I go through the day calling on you, you, O Lord, who know no other Lord.

--an Ethiopian prayer.

And, for something completely different, check out this most hilarious thing in the world (Eric just sent me the link).

the movies

2006-03-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

is it just me, or does this type of movie seem indicative of the religious cyncism in our culture.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10006192-the_beast/about.php

Guess who got a present

2006-03-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hee hee. Rachel is the best!

By the way, I did my wine-before-breakfast sermon yesterday, and it went really really well. Really. God seemed very near to me through most of the preparation and during the actual sermon-giving. Over and over again, I was being called out of my nervousness, to instead look at God, and not think about what other people would think of me. It was very good.

Beyond that, people actually received what I had to say! (Picture Todd saying, "Receive this!") The whole experience was good.

My friend Allison Guy came to provide moral support. Though we have known each other very well for years and years, she has never been to one of my God Things before; I'm sure it was a bizarre but hopefully good experience for her. She is going to blog about it, so be sure and check it out.

Not even remotely relevant to LR, but definitely the cutest thing ever

2006-02-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

Check this out.

Life a la Al

2006-02-20T05:48:00.000-08:00

I think the first thing that comes to mind is that I miss you guys so very much. I hope to see you all soon. This Sunday for sure - but hopefully for LR this week (the 22nd).

My world is very simple right now. Work. :) I love it though, and if you're doing something that you love, it's hard not to smile about it. Sometimes it can get overwhelming, but I have a great crew and Darryl's been there to absorb a lot of work too, so it's been fantastic. It's really great working with Todd - he's so passionate about this project - and that is infectious.

You guys walked with me on my last show and how terrible everything was - this project is the complete opposite. Everything about it makes me thank God. There is a peace about it, and the people I am meeting are just phenomenal. I'm so very excited for what's to come.

One big thing for me is that I have finally received a diagnosis for my knees. If you didn't know - i've had knee probs for like 13 years. I finally had my MRIs done early in January and met with my knee doc last Monday - and there are problems. Generally people are sad about a diagnosis - I on the other hand was relieved that there was something they could find and now we can move forward with therapy. The sad part is that 3 doctors have advised me not to run again. You can't take the need for physical movement out of someone's head. I stopped running 1.5 years ago due to my knees' growing pain, and was told to hold off until they were diagnosed to ensure that further damage was not done (especially when you don't know what's wrong). My right knee will not heal and only get worse (until surgery is needed) and my left knee is cystic, which is a whole other problem. I start physio soon, and i'm very relieved. I might push my luck after a few months and try to join a kick boxing gym again. :) I know I'll be running again once I am fitted with my knee braces. I don't know how I couldn't run again - if i was playing soccer, can you imagine just walking back and forth on the field while the game rushes past you? My advice to everyone is don't run on pavement!!!

Anyway. That's my story. We go to camera in a month. I'll be living in Hamilton almost through March/April. Then at the very end I get a week off, at which point I will be plotting my relocation plan (I want to move to be near the waterfront). :)

Miss you guys. Love you guys.

A Tom Update

2006-02-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. An update. Good idea, Rachel. Thank you for getting the ball rolling.

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday, albeit I do say a cold Sunday as well. But you know what? We've been spoiled much of this season with unseasonably warm weather, and this IS Canada, so bring it on. Just not much longer (please). It's kind of cold in my house, but at least it doesn't make me drowsy, and therefore I can write something here.

Life is always life to me. New things don't usually strike me as news, so it's often hard to answer the question, "What's New?", even if nobody really asked me that question. But I suppose a request for an overview or an update is like saying, "What's new."

Am I stalling? Do I find my life that boring? Well, let's see. I'll recap the past week. I've been working hard at work on getting our company's corporate identity cleaned up a bit. My new coworker is in the South and Eastern Hemispheres, that is, in Queensland, Australia. Together, we are the Marketing Department for our company. She is handling the marketing side, and I the visual design side. It's kind of daunting because we're now starting to do a lot of brand-related stuff, such as mall display design, corporate identity rebranding, strategic marketing and research, and we're pitching to big corporations for potential partnerships as part of our new campaigns. This is all stuff I really don't feel so great at doing, but it's my job and it's a unique challenge, so yay for that. Every Thursday, we have a teleconference via Skype, which, by the way, is a fantastic free VOIP program for anyone who wants to chat clearly and freely with another anywhere else in the world.

On Friday, I went shopping and bought a fabulous pair of tight jeans. I mean, they are the tightest jeans I have ever purchased, but I like them! And they were only $30 at the Club Monaco Outlet in Markham. Then I went home and worked on my portfolio--an ongoing project that should be coming to its end very soon! Actually, when I am done this, I think I will make some art using a collection of Starbucks cups I have accumulated in the past few months for said portfolio. Hold me to it.

Yesterday, after Karate, I went over to my friend's place, presumably to practice for our new country music troupe. Instead, my friend, whom I have only known through blogs and email, showed up from Toledo, Ohio (she was staying at their place), so we toured Toronto and had a good time. And yes, I wore my tight jeans. They were awesome.

What else? Today, I restrung my guitar and listend to half of Cyril's sermon.

And I have been looking after the family cat, Guido, for the past week. I was really hoping she could stay here but the landlords are adamant about having no pets, and even admitted to eating Dogs (while living in their homeland). Seriously.

So, that is the scoop with me.

Peace,

T

games

2006-02-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

i just thought i'd post this interesting islamic version of our biblical code. i'll call theirs "number games". this is more of a debate topic than anything. what value do we put on tricks like this, whether it is with the bible or the koran, or any other religious source material?
when i was younger i thought the bible code was awesome, but now i kinda think it is a burden on the christian religion. that's my view anyway. read this number things for yourself.

The word (Sea or Water) is mentioned 32 times, and the word (Landmass) is mentioned 13 times in the Holy Quran. If we add them together we will get 45. Now let us do some calculations. By finding the percentage of the number of the word (Sea) to the total number of the words (Sea and Landmass) we will have: (32/45)x100% = 71.11111111111% By finding the percentage of the number of the word (Landmass) to the total number of the words (Sea and Landmass) we will have: (13/45)x100% = 28.88888888889% Scientists have only recently discovered that these are the actual ratios of the water and landmass of this world. However, Allah has revealed this information already in the Quran over fourteen hundred years ago!

The word "day" (yawm) occurs 365 times.
The word "days" (ayyam) occurs 27 times, the number of days in a sidereal month.
Together with the dual plural form (yawmayn), all the plural form of the word occurs 30 times, the number of average days in a solar month.
The word "sabt" (the seventh day, saturday) occurs 7 times.
The word "month" (shahr) occurs 12 times in its singular form.
The word "sana" (year) occurs 7 times in its singular form and 12 times in its plural form, totaling 19, which is the number of years in Meton cycle.
The word "qamar" (moon) occurs 27 times, equaling the number of days in a sidereal month.
The expression "sab'a samawat" (seven heavens) occurs 7 times.
The words "satan" (shaytan) and "angel" (malak), each occur 88 times.
The words "this world" (dunya) and "hereafter" (ahirah), each occur 115 times.
The divine instruction "qul" (say) and the "qalu" (they said) each occur 332 times (excluding the "qul" of 9:129).
The word "qist" (justice) and "zulm" (injustice), each occur 15 times.
The word "shams" (sun) and "noor" (light), each occur 33 times.
The word land occurs 13 times while the word sea 32 times, 13/45 and 32/45 gives exact ratio of land and sea on earth.
The word "iman" (belief) and "kufr" (disbelief), each occur 25 times. When we check all the derivatives of the root of these two words "AMaNa" (believe) and "KaFaRa" (disbelieve), we find and interesting detail: the frequency of all the derivatives of AMaNa is 811 and of KaFaRa is 697. They are not equal. However, the difference is exactly 114, which is equal to the number chapters of the Quran. A perfect example of nusemantics.

Brilliant idea, Rachel.

2006-02-14T09:41:00.001-08:00

Ok, I'll be brave and update you on my life through this public internet medium. Blogging makes me nervous. I'll write almost anyone an email about almost anything, but putting thought, emotion, honesty into writing that is so PUBLIC freaks me out. (Clearly (clearly) I could not, at this stage of my life, be a journalist, so kudos to you, Rachel sugar.)

Maybe I just don't write publicly enough; maybe it's like public speaking, and gets waay easier with practice. I worry a lot that what I write is too boring to be public. Maybe that doesn't matter. Maybe I just need to Find My Voice, and then I'll be ok with Using My Voice. Maybe I should get my own blog. Maybe maybe maybe. Maybe I'll decide, later. I have a feeling that finding out why this makes me so nervous might be important, in a self-awareness kind of way.

Fitting into the Life Update category, and also relating to the above: you probably recall that I go to these early morning eucharist services on Tuesdays. It's a great little community. Most things, from prayer litanies to music to sermons, are created by people within the community. Anyhow, I was asked to do a sermon (!!!) sometime during this term, and I decided to do it (!!!) even though I reeeally didn't want to. Mainly, I reeeally didn't want to for exactly the same reasons that blogging makes me nervous -- fear of having nothing interesting to say etc etc etc. Which is also why I decided to do it.

So the sermon is two weeks from today, and I am definitely Nervous and Worried. Aaah! Please pray for me, if you think of me.

Other than that, life is good and uneventful. Watched lotsa Gilmore Girls yesterday with some other nice GG fans (we're in Season 3 now). Learned how to purl and am now knitting a scarf (read about all that here, where someone else blogs about me knitting). Am dreaming about quilts and making better ones. The quilt pic at the top is currently inspiring me -- it's from here, part of a Japanese quilt festival. Sooo beautiful.

Ok, someone else's turn. Much love to you, Rachel!

What is everyone up to?

2006-02-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all!

So, I'm thinking it's about time that we all pitch in a bit and tell everyone how we're doing. A basic re-cap if you will, an overview if you prefer, a summaray perhaps... of our lives. I miss you all and would love to get back into the loop, or at least get a glimpse of the preverbial loop.

And just to get the ball rolling...

Classes are very easy on account that I'm study English Journalism in a place where English is everyone elses second language. So I use my spare time to hop around the city.

The city is beautiful and bustling. I love it. Lights, people, things to see and places to go. Good food... usually. I found a coffee fix in case anyone was wondering. Instant 3 in 1 coffee, just add hot water. You scoff now but you don't understand my desperation.

And Isaac is soon to have a buddy. My cousin Monica is due in March and they are expecting a boy. So, it's not long until Benjamin Arthur Vrolyk will be welcomed into the family.

That's about it.

Someone elses turn.

Ready... GO!

Have you thought about the celery?

2006-02-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Will all the talk of gas prices sky rocketing and oil becoming more of a liquid platinum than gold, have you really thought of the consequences we'll face? When the world is out of all but the most expensive and highly demanded oil, when we all start walking uphill both ways to school, what is really going to happen? Most people don't think of the consequences the lack of oil will provide outside that of fuel for our motor vehicles which provide so much mobility in our geographically vast North America. But wait a moment, what is plastic made out of? Oil. What is everything made out of? Plastic.
Then we will not be able to go anywhere or use any disposable plastic packages or durable, yet safe, playground equipment. Its all well for you to fill up your mind with these concerns, but have you thought of the celery?
Our dear friend celery (who takes more calories to digest than it provides the body) cannot exist in this world much after the oil is gone. It will have lost its best friend: petroleum based spreadable simulated cheese. Raisins will not even be able to help their companion celery when the whiz is gone because you just can't stick to plain celery.
So the next time you drive a car, use a piece of ever convenient plastic or heat your home, take a minuite to see outside yourself and think of the celery.

It's Dan's BIRTHDAY!

2006-01-31T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dan 1
Originally uploaded by froesebydesign.

We had a great little (tiny) living room at my place Tuesday night. As tomorrow is Dan's birthday, it seemed fitting to have a case of Creemore and some sherry bundt cake by Sue.

Dan, you're awesome.

T

Le ou La?

2006-01-16T10:11:00.000-08:00

I had a sizeable scare this morning with some large banners we just had printed for retail displays. Twenty-five of them are bilingual (French and English). One of the employees here who is Francophone pointed out that the ‘Le’s should be ‘La’s. At over $150 per banner, that’s an expensive mistake. For those of you who don't know French at all, some words are considered “masculine” and others are “feminine.” Le goes before masculine words, la before feminine. The subject in question appeared to be feminine.

My first thought was that it was my fault, and I started reeling about trying to determine how I can fix the problem and keep my bosses’ confident in my abilities. However, I checked the document we received from the translator, and it was as the banners were printed.

After some research and a phonecall to the translator, it turns out that our translation is technically correct, although in Quebec, the perception is that this word is feminine.

Anyway, all this to say I thought I cost my company thousands of dollars by carelessness, but it turns out there was nothing to worry about in the first place.

*phew*

The party pics

2006-01-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

By the time the party actually started, I ran out of batteries and put my camera away. But here're are few shots of the before:

T

Baby Isaac

2006-01-08T08:16:00.001-08:00

I'm a Tante.

I just found out this afternoon and I wanted to share with you guys. I think he looks beautiful and perfect, but I am biased. You be the judge :)

Isaac Aaron Werner Hahn

Born Jan. 7th, 2006

Praise the Lord!

Spur of the moment

2006-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

on the spur of the moment

Impulsively, without prior preparation, as in She decided to join a tour to England on the spur of the moment. This expression alludes to the goading action of a spur to a horse. [Late 1700s]

Perhaps it's Rachel's traveling that inspired me, perhaps it's just opportunity knocking, but who cares about causes when the effect is so fabulous? Today I decided that I'm going to London for two weeks in April to visit my friends Andrew and Olivia, and possibly my friend Michal.Leaving April 17, returning May 1, had the idea and booked the tickets today. Ahhh!!!!!!

Note that the definition above is (almost) straight from http://www.dictionary.com. I'm telling you, this trip is meant to be.

Packing time

2006-01-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

I thought you'd all like to see where I've displayed my patch of honour. Just finished stiching it in place.

Nice craftsmanship Sue :)

My first 2006 post

2006-01-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

Hey, everybody. I can't believe it's already here--2006. For me, 2005 started off on rather shaky ground. Overall, I was depressed and felt emotionally isolated from everybody else. This year has taught me (or I should say that this year, God has taught me) a lot about himself, about others, and about myself. I suppose that's a general enough statement to be able to use at the end of almost any year, but below follows the particulars.

By the end of 2005, I felt stronger, more confident, and overall, happier, even in spite of certain challenges. Part of it is simply growing up and getting more comfortable in this shell and in this strange world. Another part of it is learning how to receive God's mercy when I need it most. I spend less time wallowing in guilt and shame and more time embracing the King's grace. Not ever because I feel I deserve it, but because I know I never deserved it even at my best. This was one of my biggest victories of the year.

I could probably list a few other important things that I learned, but it would take a lot of time to write here, and to be honest, I don't want to write them right now. Maybe that can be something we talk about at living room some time. We could reflect on the things we have come through in 2005. What do you guys say?

Anyway, I started off by saying 2005 started "on shaky ground". Happily, it ended well, with the feeling that my feet are on solid ground. I know God more, I know myself more, and I feel I understand other people (in general) more. Now that I think about it, I have an overwhelming amount of things to be thankful for in 2005.

Peace,

T

Happy 2006!

2005-12-31T16:00:00.000-08:00

Here's to happy days and great journeys. Best of luck to Rachel as she leaves us for her semester abroad in Hong Kong. Good luck girl. Here's to a wonderful year ahead! Blessings.

The Sound Road Trip

2005-12-30T07:15:00.000-08:00

Playing in the snow (and the Sound has a lot of it)

Eating burgers de la veggie.

Too bad I thought of this now

2005-12-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

I was in the kitchen at work and I had a random thought that I should have had when I posted that picture of Andrew and Rachel in eachother's shirts:

Don we now our gay apparel.

It was funny in my head. I hope you can appreciate it ;)

Peace.

A Giant Thank-You

2005-12-18T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to officially express just how wonderful I think y'all (southern drawl) are! It was fan-freak'n-tastic of you to have a party for me, and the party rocked to boot! Good food, great drinks (shoat out to Tom for the capecod), and gorgeous people. So, Thank-you guys, not just for the party, but for being the awesome people you are. I'm a shoe in for the Person With The Coolest Friends trophy in the 2005 Freedomize choice awards.

peace brothers and sisters

Shirts

2005-12-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Rachel, you look better in that shirt
Originally uploaded by froesebydesign.

2005-12-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

So sad but so cute.

2005-12-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

A Random Photo

2005-12-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

I feel like blogs needs photos, and ours doesn't have any yet. My relevant-photo supply is limited because I am at work, but I did find this one (kinda weird quality; apologies).

Guess who it is!

--sue

Courtesy Team Profile

2005-12-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello internet world! (I think there's a echo in here)
I thought I would provide a little profile on the fabulous team members. So it might be stupid, but that's ok because I'm the blonde (girl) one.
In Alphabetical order:

Alison -- the cool film one
Becky -- the history type buff one
Beth -- the blonde (girl) slash abstract one
Dan -- clearly the rocket man one
Jason -- the big security "you wanna fight with me?" one
Malcolm -- the radom but terrific media references one
Rachel -- the world conquerer journalist one
Sue -- the colourful creative ecclectic one
Tom -- the doodle master one

It’s up, gang.

2005-12-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

I guess I’ll post the first entry, since I set this thing up. Except I am at work and should either be working or making coffee for everybody in the kitchen.

Love you all!

T