Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this time of year and no matter what is going on in life, there is always so much to be thankful for. I do a lot of celebrating on Thanksgiving weekend (mostly in the form of eating wonderful food) and I have many reasons to celebrate.

This weekend we celebrated with a 7 lb chicken that my brother raised. We feasted yesterday and are having leftovers tonight. Very thankful to be able to cook and enjoy such wonderful food.

We also celebrated our car-niversary this weekend. We've had our little baby car for four years now. She still gets us where we're going and without too much complaining either. Very thankful she is still going strong.

Thanksgiving weekend is also the anniversary of when I met John. So another excuse to have a big dinner and celebrate all we are thankful for. Also a great excuse to bake something. I made some plain butter tarts and we ate them cold from the fridge. Pecan butter tarts are great, but these plain ones were fantastic.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Things I Love About October

I love the autumn months but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that they are here. I'm so shocked that it's October that I didn't get it together to change my calendar over until yesterday. And when I flipped it, it said October and not June. I know I lived it, but I'm not sure summer really happened.

But here we are in October. A month I actually really love so I'd like to point out some of the things I love about it. Kick off the month with all the little joys this season has to offer.

Pumpkin Spice. I love pumpkin spice drinks (latte, tea), and pumpkin spice baked goods (pie, doughnuts, muffins). I love that so many people get into it this time of year.

Autumn Leaves. I have fond memories of returning home from university for Thanksgiving, and seeing the trees that lined our country road changed to so many different colours. October always feels like a homecoming for me.

Sweaters. I love sweaters. Besides socks and undies, this is the clothing item I have the most of. A wonderful bonus is that Gary (the cat) also loves sweaters. So this time of year cat cuddles increase exponentially.

Thanksgiving. Turkey. All the fixins. Baked goods. It's a beautiful time of year.

Halloween. Especially Halloween Simpsons episodes and fun sized chocolate bars. Also love seeing what my nieces and nephews dress up as. Always the cutest!

MLB Postseason. I have always loved baseball but this was my first year of really following MLB as an adult. And what a year to get into it! The postseason has been incredible so far, with so many of the the games going into extra innings. Lots of fun!



What are some of the things you love about October?

Let's Keep the Conversation Going

In line at the grocery store yesterday I had a really good chat with a stranger about Robin Williams and mental health. Robin is on the cover of pretty much every magazine in the check out line and his death has started an important conversation that we need to be having. I am still genuinely devastated by his death and by the amount of pain he was in. It's still really hard for a lot of people to talk about mental health and mental illness, and hopefully Robin Williams can be the catalyst that gets people talking so they can get the help they need to battle it.

According the Canadian Mental Health Association:

Mental illness affects people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures.

The chances of having mental illness in your lifetime is 1 in 5.

Mental illness indirectly affects all Canadians at some time through a family member, friend or colleague

I have anxiety. I have friends and family with anxiety and depression. I have friends and family with addiction issues. I worked in social services for many years and have worked with both colleagues and clients who struggled with mental illness. One of the repeated headlines I saw after Robin Williams death was "depression is real". It most certainly is and I think talking more openly about it is a good step towards getting people the help they need.

If you think you may be struggling with mental illness, please talk to someone. You do not have to go through it alone.

The following are some Canadian resources for depression and anxiety.

Depression Hurts

Check Up From The Neck Up

Anxiety BC

Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention

Canadian Mental Health Association

Also the more we talk about it, the more we can try to end the stigma associated with mental illness. Check out Bring Change 2 Mind for more information.

Gearing Up For a Good Week

The past few weeks were unexpectedly full. I didn't have any blog posts scheduled so it was pretty quiet around here. With all the running around I wasn't able to roam the blogosphere like I normally do, but I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone this week. And if you're ever looking for me, I always seem to find time to post on Twitter, so feel free to follow me there if you are interested.

In the last few weeks I tried some new recipes and had a few adventures, so now that I'm back on the blog I'll have a few things to write about. I also had an epic wind down on the weekend, where I watched all of season two of Orphan Black in about 24 hours (it was only 10 episodes). It helped me recharge the battery (and also led to some weird conspiracy dreams). That series is well worth your time if you are looking for something new to watch.

So Happy Monday! Hope this week treats you well!

50 Years Ago Today

Today marks the 50th anniversary of My Grandma Barb's death (Mom's Mom). Grandma Barb died tragically at the hands of a drunk driver, in an accident that also took her sister-in-law and her niece and two nephews. Mom was only 15 at the time.

I can't imagine 50 seconds without my Mom, let alone 50 years, so I wanted to do something to remember Grandma Barb today. A few years ago I wrote a blog post about a hand me down coat that was knit by Grandma Barb, a woman I never knew. I thought it would be appropriate to re-post it today as a tribute to her life.

And in case anyone out there needs reminding: Never drink and drive.

*****************************************************************************************************************

Getting to Know My Mother's Mother.  Originally posted on April 28, 2010.

A year ago, my parents moved out of the family home they lived in for more than 32 years. During the clean up and move we got rid of literally tonnes of junk and donatables, and discovered some treasures that had been accidentally hidden many years ago. One of the treasures we found turned out to be incredibly important to me: Grandma Barb’s knit sweater.

I didn’t know my Grandma Barb. She was my Mother’s Mother, and she died in a car accident in 1964. It is somewhat awkward to write about because the Grandma I do know, Grandma Sue, has been married to my Granddad for 43 years, so calling her “step” Grandma seems weird to me because she is not my step anything - she’s my Grandma. Finding the knit sweater reminded me that Grandma Barb is my Grandma too, and wearing it gave me a connection to her that I had never really known how to find before.

My parents move was overwhelming in a lot of ways, so when I brought the sweater home last March, I didn’t know how much I would fall in love with it and how much impact it would have on my life. That is why it spent some time on the floor with the countless other things I brought home that day. At least Gary knew it was special right away and showed it the love that only a cat can.

Gary knows a great sweater when she sees one

The story goes that Grandma Barb knit five sweaters in 1960, one for herself, her husband, and each of her three children. They were made from Mary Maxim patterns, each sweater having a particularly Canadiana type theme; my Mom’s sweater had figure skates on it. Adorable. The sweaters were put away for the summer in 1961, stored in garbage bags, which resulted in four of them mistakenly being taken to the dump and lost forever. The only survivor was Grandma Barb’s sweater, the one I have now, and it has amazingly made it all the way to 2010. It is hard for me to wrap my head around it, but this sweater is fifty years old! What a life it has had.

My Mother wore the sweater constantly throughout her twenties. She recently showed me some photos of herself, at twenty years old, wearing it out to a winter carnival in Barrie, circa 1968.  Somehow the sweater is still as colourful now as it was then.  My Mother is too, actually.

My Mother and the coat circa 1968

My Mother is a beautiful person - inside and out

Every place my Mother moved, the sweater moved with her. It eventually ended up in the house I grew up in, hidden in plain sight in the coat closet. My sister wore it for a few years in the ‘90s, but returned it when she was finished, and back into the closet it went. I claimed it in March 2009, and began wearing it non-stop when the temperatures got colder in Autumn. I fell head over heals for this sweater, decided it was a coat, and was determined to wear it all winter long, regardless of how cold the temperature got.  I wore a fleece jacket underneath the sweater, providing it with a make-shift lining that every northern Ontario coat needs, and wore it for the entire winter.  I even knit myself a matching winter hat to go with it - I could not leave home without this coat!

I would be the first one to tell you that I don’t know a thing about fashion. I don’t follow trends and I definitely don't know anything about what’s “in”. That is why it completely floored me when every outing I made in the coat led to compliments from, and conversations with, strangers. I started wearing the coat when the world was gearing up for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.  The official Olympic clothes riffed on the Canadiana style, so Grandma Barb’s coat was fashionable. A stranger even told me I was “sooooooo in right now”. For the first time in my life I was fashion-forward, and I just so happened to be using a coat that was fifty years old to do it!

Every time I got a compliment, I would tell the person: “My Grandma made this coat in 1960!” This lead to conversations about legacy at the grocery store, discussions about how awesome knitting is, and being able to share the Grandma I never knew with strangers who fell in love with her coat as much as I had.  Over the winter I got to know Grandma Barb a little better by taking her with me and telling people about her. I also got to tell everyone that I stole the coat from my Mom, which brought her along with me as well.  All this heritage surrounded me, just by wearing and loving a pretty amazing old coat.

Me, Mom, and Grandma Barb, all in one!

The Olympics are over now and Spring is here.  I still don't know anything about fashion, so I don't know if this coat will still be "in" this coming winter.  I'll still be wearing it regardless and if anyone asks, I'll gladly tell them all about my Grandma Barb and the sweater she knit, all those years ago.

I Love Interlibrary Loans!

I've been doing a lot of reading this year (I'm trying to read ALL the books). So far I've read twenty-one books in 2014, five of which were read in July alone (I'm almost done a sixth one, too). I'm able to read so much because of the amazing Public Library system. New books, old books, hidden gems, all are available for free. Libraries are the best!

One of my favourite features of our library system is the Interlibrary Loan. If my library doesn't have the book/dvd I'm looking for, they can request it from other libraries to try and get it for me. I was speaking to one of the librarians recently about how amazing the service is, and she let me know a little about how it works. A library puts out a request through the interlibrary loan system (which I believe is province wide) and other libraries can choose to fulfill the request if (a) they have the book and (b) there is low demand for the book with their patrons. Many different libraries see the request so chances are it will be fulfilled (I've used the service ten or more times and have always received the book). Books are then sent through an internal library courier that takes between 1-4 weeks for delivery.

It amazes me so much that (1) this is even possible and (2) it is a free service with my library card. It also gives me a feeling of great pride that everybody can have access to all the books, no matter how big or small their local library is. I absolutely love this service!

I also get a kick out of knowing where the books come from. My pick up location is in Elmvale, Ontario, and over the years I have received items from the following Ontario libraries: Niagara Falls, Keswick, Markham, Ajax, Orillia, and most recently Guelph. A number of those locations are two hours from my local library. How cool is that?

It's Election Day in Ontario

We are having a provincial election today in Ontario and I'm hoping people get out and vote. In the last election only 49% of Ontarians voted. It doesn't seem like democracy to me when only half the people have a say. If you are in Ontario, get out and vote! There are changes that need to be made to the electoral system (see: Fair Vote Canada), but until they are made this is the system we have to work with. Vote anyway! Even if you think your vote doesn't count. Also, if you are able to take someone with you when you vote, do it! I'm taking John's Grandma with me to the poll.

When the election is over, I have to say I will not miss all the campaign signs in public spaces. I understand and accept the political expression, and always love to see a house with a lawn sign (there are only two houses with a sign on my entire road). However I can't help but call the signs along the roadway an eyesore. This stretch of the bike trail (right) has 17 campaign signs. In a row. For only four different parties. It gets to be a little much.

If you are in Ontario - VOTE! Polls are open from 9am-9pm. If you need information about your polling station, check out the Elections Ontario website. The website may require you to provide an exact address for the information you need. It could be that the address they have for you is different than your actual address. Fun, right? If you run into trouble, just give them a call at 1-888-668-8683.

Welcoming June with Open Arms

Well I've flipped my calendar and am celebrating the arrival of June. The weather has been great (hot!), the packs of mosquitos are thinning, and it is finally raining. It has been far too long since we had a good rain and the sight of it this afternoon is making my heart smile. My flowers are smiling too. My cat, however, is hiding. She is not one for rain.

May didn't leave without a fight though; John and I both got colds. Mine is just a head cold (manageable), but he has both a head and a chest cold and is sick sick sick. No fun. Luckily I did a big shop for groceries and we have lots of easy meals to choose from. Tonight will be bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast. A little breakfast for dinner to heal us right up.

The last day of May also included an unexpected shock as I made myself some chicken noodle soup:

The bottom of my soup bowl fell out! While it was full of soup! Thankfully the soup wasn't hot (it was pre-microwave), so the counter and the floor just got covered in cold, wet, soup. Kinda gross. I'm sorry to lose the soup bowl, as it's been a favourite since the early 2000s. I suppose I'm happy it lasted as long as it did. Plus the chicken noodle soup was on sale for $0.50, so I'm glad it happened with it, and not the fancy $2 soups I recently purchased.

So Happy June, Friends! I'm going to spend the rest of the day nursing my cold, listening to the rain, and reading. Sounds like a good, relaxing start to the month.

Mud Pies of the Future

We went to the beach with friends recently and I was reminded that there are so many new kids toys available now.

I'm sure every generation at some point thinks "we never had that as kids" and I found myself thinking that as the kids played with these mud pie accessories.

Back in the 80s, my childhood mud pies were made using pebbles, sticks, and leaves, and I was forced to use my imagination to see the mud pie beauty. What do you think about these mud pies of the future? They added some nice colour to the beach and the kids had fun playing with them. Maybe I'm just jealous, but it makes me wonder if there is a level of creativity that gets lost with a pre-made set like this. What do you think? Does it matter if a mud pie is decorated with pebbles or plastic roses? I know one thing for sure, I got some adorable photos. :)

Icing the cake...with mud

Blow out the candles!

There is a First Time For Everything

**Author's Note: I have been going through my drafts folder in Blogger and noticed that sometimes I write cool blog posts and then don't publish them. I wrote the following post a year ago, so this actually happened last August and everyone in the story is now a year older. And maybe I'm a little less anxious now, but don't quote me on that. I have made some edits and additions before publishing. Enjoy! :)**

Our friends Bryan and Betony recently had a baby, adorable little Clara. There are many things to see and experience with a friend's new baby - they learn to stand, they start eating real food, they start crawling all around the house - all in such a short amount of time.  It is amazing how fast she is learning and growing.  Every time we go over there, Clara has a whole new set of awesome skills.  Way to go kid!

I've been around a lot of babies, toddlers, and children in my life, having five nieces and nephews that I adore and multiple friends with little ones. I thought I had a good grip on babies and what they do and how to roll with them. I admit I'm a little nervous around a less-than-a-month-old, but once they seem less breakable I am way more easy going. This easy going attitude was recently tested as I did something I've never done before: I drove around with an eight month old in my car.

Not sure if I've written about it before, but I have some anxiety. It is not all the time, but certain situations (new things/change/the unknown) can trigger a flood of negative and obsessive thoughts that make me feel really overwhelmed. I have been working on minimizing my anxious reactions with the aid of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, specifically The Feeling Good Handbook by David D. Burns (highly recommended!). Even though I'm working on it, I still get thrown for a loop from time to time. Life's a journey, right?

So last week Betony and I had a girls' night that had us driving from Midland to Penetang (which is really not that far) and involved me being the driver. In the space of time between knowing that I would be driving and then actually getting on the road (about ten minutes) I did a really great job of freaking myself out. It sounds silly to get worked up about something as ordinary as driving 5 KM with a kid in the backseat, but the 'This is New' factor triggered my anxiety.

Initially I had some nice thoughts, like: "Wow - thank you for trusting my driving ability with your beautiful baby".  Then my anxious brain kicked in and reminded me that I had never done this before and convinced me that it was a Really Big Deal. The negative thoughts came: driving is dangerous! Babies are delicate! Next I began to wonder if I was even a good driver (spoiler: I am). So my anxiety got me nice and worked up before we headed out.

Once on the road, realization hit that I was just driving a car, which is something I know how to do.  So then my brain transformed all those scary/anxious feelings into feelings of supreme accomplishment for having done something so amazing. I totally drove with a baby in the backseat! Yay me! Life would be a lot easier if I could just skip the terrified part and move strait to the feeling awesome part, but this is who/where I am right now and I'm happy to say I'm working on it. I will get there.

We safely drove to Penetang and enjoyed some really tasty food at Union Burger and got to have a fun girls' night despite my initial anxiety. I have some amazing friends, and Betony is one who accepts and supports me despite my quirks. Thanks, buddy! :)

I didn't get a great shot, but here is proof 
there was a baby in my car!

42 Posts and My Continued Obsession With Space

This is the 42nd blog post I've published this year. The Douglas Adams significance of that number aside, this is a milestone for me because I only published 41 posts last year. I didn't set out to write more posts this year, I've just been feeling good and have been really excited about blogging. My returned drive is now showing in the numbers and I'm very happy about that!

Also, as with yesterday's post, I am still very obsessed with space. Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield returned to Earth last night and I spent the entire day talking, thinking, and tweeting about it. I watched webcasts via NASAtv and the CSA, I obsessively checked Twitter feeds (mainly CSA, NASA, and Chris and Evan Hadfield's), and I spent much of the day reading and learning about how we return people to Earth from the International Space Station. It was a very exciting day!

Periodically John would try to talk to me about other things and even though I thought I was answering appropriately, my response was always something like: "So basically they have to go 12km from the Space Station before they can start the deorbit burn." I was very focused!

And I'm still talking about it today. Still marveling at the wonder of going in and out of space. Forever in awe of those who dedicate their lives to exploring what is out there. And very happy that we can get astronauts safely back to the planet.

If you missed it and are interested, this CSA video sums up how the crew returned to Earth.

Blogging Holding Pattern

This is where a blog would go if I wasn't so completely distracted from writing.

The weather is currently gorgeous and the sun is demanding I walk beneath it.

I have 175 pages left to read in a book that is due back at the library tomorrow by 3:00pm.

I have been getting up earlier all week and it is making me sooooo tired (can't wait til I'm used to it.)

I am completely obsessed with social networking. Everything I click leads me to more things I want to click and then all of a sudden hours have passed. The internet is probably my main cause of distraction...from all things!

But I am not discouraged. I will write again!

April has found me wavering between being really focused and really unfocused. I am bursting with energy and ideas for projects but then all too suddenly the energy is gone and I find myself distracted. Instead of fighting to regain my focus, I plunk myself in front of Twitter for 3 hours. Not good. This is a habit that I am getting out of this weekend. No excuses!

I have a few saved drafts in Blogger that need editing.  I have a list of post ideas that I can start writing. My first goal is to just start. Happily, this post about not starting has kinda gotten me started!

I'm still heading outside for a walk (I'm taking advantage of every moment outdoors that isn't bitterly cold) but when I get back in...it is writing time!

March Break Recap

I spent most of March Break in Barrie house/cat-sitting for my brother who spent the week in the much more exciting Montreal. My Bro's cat is an interesting dude who wants to be alone but doesn't like being left alone. It is a subtle difference and my presence was required to keep him company so he didn't pee on things he shouldn't. I also kept him fed and watered, gave him attention when requested, and removed a large quantity of cat barf from the carpet. I am a hero.

Pippen - my Barrie cat buddy

Since I normally live in the country, I was excited for my cat-sitting trip to Barrie so I could do city things. When I think of city things, I think of walking and ending up somewhere interesting, quickly traveling to multiple places, and the freedom of getting treats late at night if so desired. I enjoy my country life of trees and nature, but I miss destinations on my walks (like coffee shops) and I long for sidewalks and 50km/hr roads. While in Barrie, I wanted to walk around and see things!

So I made a plan. I wasn't just cat-sitting, I was going on an adventure. I mapped out stores downtown that I would walk to, explore, possibly buy things, and probably get some take out sushi to walk home with. I also mapped out places in the south end that I could drive to and walk around and explore. I'm not necessarily interested in buying things but I l love walking around and looking at stuff.

But you know what they say about best laid plans...

The weather didn't cooperate. Last week it was nearing spring like temperatures and I forgot that it is still winter in Canada. So it was cold and rainy and then it was cold and snowy. The sunny afternoon walkabout I dreamed of is probably still a month away. Stupid winter!

Also, my body refused to sleep properly. I'm often a bad sleeper when I sleep somewhere else, and this time was no different. My motivation to walk around and do cool stuff during the day was thwarted by my lack of sleep.

But I didn't let it get me down. I'm in a new phase of my life where I'm trying to accept things as they are and not as I expect them to be.

So I pretty much just hung out with the cat. And watched tv shows and movies. And ate ridiculous foods. I have stuck pretty well to my meal plan over the past few months, so I let March break be an excuse to eat whatever I wanted. Basically I just didn't eat vegetables for a number of days in a row. It was fun and super tasty, but I am happy to be back on my meal plan.

Sidekicks and curly fries for dinner - almost 100% vegetable free!

I'm back in the country now, eating vegetables and thinking about going on a walk to nowhere. I'm also back with my own pretty kitty, who always gives me the best cuddles and love when I've been away.

How did you spend your March Break? I hope you had a good one! :)

Happy New Year 2013!

Source

2012 wasn't the best for me, but as the calendar changes, I choose to see this time as a chance for fresh starts and new opportunities.  I really want to embrace and focus on all the good things in my life, and I want to start this year off by sharing some of nice things that have already happened in 2013.

1) Spent New Year's with good friends, sharing good food and good times!

2) Had Spicy Tuna Rolls for New Year's Day dinner

3) Went on a snowy, cold, and energizing walk

4) Had a really good sleep!

5) Posted on my blog!

This year is off to a nice start.  Looking forward to things yet to come.

Happy New Year's to you and yours!

Turn This Clock Around

I'm just about to enter into my third day back at the office after my extended break.  Flipping my bedtime from 3:00am to Midnight and my wake up time from noon to 7am was challenging, but I succeeded like a champ on Wednesday and Thursday.  Today, however, all I wanted to do was turn my alarm off and sleep for an adequate amount of time.  Good news is, it is only about 10 hours until nap time, and more importantly, the weekend.  Happy Friday everyone!!

My Psychology and Finishing a Project

I have been hesitant to start a new knitting project, as I still have my outstanding  Knitting Bag of Shame.  For well over a year I've had a half finished scarf project that I had absolutely no interest in finishing.   

Part of the problem was that I just started knitting with a basic idea in my head, but no actual pattern to follow.  Half way through knitting, when I encountered my motivation problem, I think I subconsciously decided that the scarf was too wide and I wouldn't like it when it was done.  So I stopped trying to finish it.

On Monday, I woke up with the freeing idea that the scarf didn't have to be a scarf at all.  With a little tweaking, I could transform the half finished project into something else.  As it was already quite long, I decided to modify it into a door draft stopper.  With a new goal in mind, my motivation instantly returned, and I worked on it non-stop Monday evening.  Nearing completion, I put it around my neck (just to see) and I realized I wanted it to be a scarf again.  It was long enough and I actually liked it.  So I nixed the door draft stopper idea and finished the project as originally intended.  A girl has the right to change her mind, right?

I am now the proud owner of a wide scarf.  If I fold it in half, it becomes a super thick and super warm scarf.

If there is a bitter wind and I need more neck and face coverage, I can wear the scarf at the original width.

I finally finished my year old project and I am really happy it is a scarf.  It matches my hat, so now I have a set.

So the next time I lose my motivation to finish a project, I am just going to relabel it in my mind as something new and exciting and hopefully that will get my ass in gear to finish it.  It worked for me this time!

In Winter, Every Day is Blue Monday

Yesterday was widely reported as being Blue Monday, or the most depressing day of the year.  Unfortunately, the "science" that decided it was the most depressing day of the year is based on arbitrary factors and funded by people trying to sell you stuff.  In other words, advertising that sounds like truth.  But I guess it makes a good news story, and a good leaping off point for a blog...

Yesterday was actually a great day.  The sun was shining, I got a full nights sleep, and I got a pile of work done.  In winter, days like that can be rare.  The noticeable absence of the sun, the constant threat of snow storms, having to wear a coat, boots, hat, mitts, and a scarf AND STILL be really freaking cold all the time, can be a real downer.  Despite how beautiful winter can be, and despite how much I love cuddling in blankets and wearing sweaters and pajamas, winter kinda sucks.

For one thing driving is harder.  I recently got my first car so I am still really hyper about it, so icy roads, white outs, and heaps of snow covering the car are my new enemies.  Thankfully my car came with snow tires, so I am feeling less edgy about driving in the wintertime than I have in previous years.  Even with the tires, winter driving is still a lot less fun than clear-blue-skies summer driving.

Another thing about winter is the constant gray days and the dark nights that stay well into the morning and come back far too early in the evening.  Even the days where the sun does show up, it is -20°C or colder out, making indoors the only wise place to be and cabin fever something you have to fight off.  No wonder it's hard to stay happy!

One of the ways I am trying to combat my Winter Blahs is by dosing myself with Vitamin D.  I take 1000 IU per day and hopefully that makes my body happy, regardless of all sun it is missing out on.  I have also been fighting cabin fever by engaging in hobbies that keep me from going crazy, redrum style.  Scrapbooking, knitting, writing, and reading are all key to my indoor mental health.  I also have to make sure I get regular exercise, as exercise is definitely a mood enhancer for me.  I have some work out videos that get my heart pumping, and on any sunny day that is above -5°C, I'll brave the cold and go out for a walk.

Even if there had been hard evidence, I don't agree that yesterday was the most depressing day of the year.  I would place such a day somewhere in February, as that is when we realize we still have a month or more of this shit to get through.  One of these days I'm going to get myself some snow pants so I can at least try to enjoy the snow while it is here.  Until then, bring on summer!

For Better or Worse: Vote!

Monday is municipal election day in Ontario and I hope you get out there and vote!

I live in Tiny Township, and this year voting was done through Vote By Mail ballots.  I found that out on Friday.  I have never voted in a municipal election in Tiny, so I was not on the voter list and did not receive a Voter Information Package.  I called the Tiny Township office on Friday to ask where the polls were going to be held on Monday and I was simply told that it was Vote By Mail this year.  I said that it was obviously too late for me to vote by mail (because there is a reason they call it snail mail), so I asked what to do instead.  I was told that on election day (Monday), I can get a ballot at the Tiny Township office and put it in their ballot box.  So the Tiny Township office is the one and only polling station then?  That doesn't sound good.

Maybe it is because I am used to casting my vote in Toronto, but it seems like a really bad idea to only have one venue for voting.  Tiny Township has over 18,000 residents who are eligible to vote.  Is there enough space for everyone who will be coming to vote?  Does the township office have a room to vote in?  Is there enough staff to assist people?  I imagine they are assuming that most people mailed in their ballots and that people casting their vote at the office will just be those who aren't on the voters list.  Unfortunately, if the people I know are an example of Tiny voters, I think there are going to be plenty of confused people at the township office on Monday.

Two people I know who are on the voter list and got a Voting Information Package in the mail, didn't even open the envelope.  They both assumed they didn't have to care about it until election day.  That seems fair to me.  People are really apathetic about voting in general (voter turnout is less than 50%), so I don't think it is too much of a stretch to think that people wouldn't give a shit about their Voting Information Package until the day they thought they had to (election day!).  I didn't even care about asking where to vote until the Friday before the Monday election, and I think voting is really important!  Who knows how many people just left their ballots in a pile of mail on their kitchen table, only to open them sometime this weekend and not understand what to do?

Another person I know received their voting package and opened it, but thought the information about voting by mail was just that - information.  They assumed they could take their ballot to the polling station on election day.  I looked over the package.  It does have instructions on how to vote by mail, but it never tells you why you should.  Nowhere does it say: "Hey Look! There is NO POLLING STATION in your area! We want you to vote by mail this year! Please mail this back to vote!!"  A lot of people just expect to do what they did last time (go to a polling station) so unless it is specifically spelled out, I imagine some people just ignored the vote by mail option and assumed there was a polling station somewhere.  I know I thought there was.  Isn't there always a polling station somewhere?

Oh yeah, there is...  The Tiny Township office.  I wonder how full and crazy it is going to be when I get there on Monday?

Even if there are long lines, make sure you get out there and vote!  It is worth it to make sure your voice is heard.

UPDATE:  The township office wasn't all that busy when I went to vote.  There was a steady flow of people dropping off their ballots in person, as well as a few I overheard saying "I just opened it this morning..."  The woman I was behind in line said her parents opened theirs that morning, and if they had known, they would have mailed it last month.  I asked the election clerk how many ballots they got back through the mail and she said it was over 6000.  About 9000 people vote, so that left about a third of voters dropping off their ballots/having to vote at the office.

Airport Anxiety

Tomorrow I'm driving my brother and brother-in-law to the airport as they are heading to Arizona for two weeks.  I have never driven to the airport by myself before, so I am a little nervous about it.  On our way to Guelph a few weeks ago, we practiced the loops I will be driving tomorrow so I could get a feel of what exits I am supposed to take.  I am fairly confident, but I'll be driving Dave's new car, so I have extra pressure to make sure I do everything right.

Even though I know I can do it, driving around the airport and out of Toronto is new territory for me, and the new/unknown is a good source of anxiety in my life.  Last night I had an anxiety dream about the drive.  In the dream I got to my brother's house and realized I had the wrong shoes on (shoes I couldn't drive in!).  I ran around going in and out of stores trying to find sneakers. I finally found some, but it turned out they needed shoelaces, so I was back to running around again.  In my anxiety dreams I am always chasing something.

We are heading to the airport tomorrow morning at 8am.  I must be on the list of nominations for the 'World's Best Sister' to get up that early on a Saturday!  Anything for the Bro!

Have a safe flight Bros!!

Picture Source

Do You Sleep Anymore?

I have a tumultuous relationship with sleep.  I need very specific conditions in order to fall asleep, and even if all those conditions are met, sometimes it just doesn't happen.  It seems pretty counter-productive evolutionarily speaking; I doubt I'll be taking the next leap with the rest of mankind.  August was particularly sleep deprived, with the best night of sleep resulting from three consecutive sleepless nights.  Passing out from exhaustion isn't really a reliable or relaxing sleep aid - it is actually incredibly stressful.  I prefer to get my sleep on a regular basis instead of it all being crammed into just one night.  Is that so much to hope for?

Gary sleeps anytime, anywhere, and for 16 hours a day.
Sounds like a beautiful dream.

I spent the past week trying to recharge. I actually forced myself to do nothing.  Doing nothing isn't something I accomplish easily - as my "nothing" days soon become errand running days, clean up days, or organizing stuff days.  This past week I actually managed to avoid the busywork I usually turn to and did nothing.  The most strenuous things I did this week were re-watching seasons three and four of The West Wing and playing video games.  Near the end of the week I did tidy the house, but I did it while watching The West Wing and it was surprisingly relaxing.

And the result?  I caught up on a lot of sleep and I actually feel alive-alert-awake-enthusiastic today. Which is such relief.  Being tired all the time is super frustrating and everything is made more stressful with a perspective that is skewed by lack of sleep.  Now, I just have to maintain this relaxed/able to sleep attitude so I can continue to enjoy regular rest.  This will probably involve finding the correct balance of all things in life: work/play, diet/exercise, anxiety/calm.  That should be easy enough to do, right?