Happy International Women's Day! What a wonderful thing... I thought it would be fitting for me to blog about some interesting IWD facts and how I spent my day.
In case you didn't know, International Women's Day first began in 1911 in Germany, meaning this year is the 101st IWD. In some countries, such as Russia, it's a statutory holiday. How amazing would that be if Canada followed suit? Unfortunately that probably won't happen, as the UN ranks Canada low on the list of countries in regard to gender equality. You're probably surprised, huh? There is a lot I could go into around that topic, like how women in Canada still make 71 cents for every dollar a man with the same job would make. I don't want to focus on the negatives right now, but it is important for both women and men to understand that we have come a long way on the road to gender equality, but there is still a long stretch ahead.
All that being said, let me now tell you how I spent my IWD. This morning I attended an International Women's Day Luncheon put on by the Pictou County Women's Centre. I went early to help set up and take money for tickets, and then had a lunch while some local amateur actresses portrayed four women from Pictou County who have made important impacts on our community over the last 150 years. This included women from the African-Canadian and First Nations communties. The really great thing was that two of the actresses were actually portraying women they were related to - one was an aunt and the other was a great-grandmother. Very interesting and a fun way to learn some local history.
After the luncheon I got to work at Sobeys for the evening (lame, as usual), and although it was maybe not my ideal way to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening on such a beautiful day, I was happy to wish all my female coworkers a Happy International Women's Day. Next year I'm going to do something bigger for IWD though... I won't be working at Sobeys, but I think I will plan something to continue to raise awareness.
Often I find that when I mention women's rights or wish women a Happy IWD, it's taken almost as a joke or something equally as unimportant. I wish this wasn't so. Be proud, get informed, and don't take your rights for granted. You deserve more. Every day is International Men's Day.
So when I say Happy International Women's Day, I mean it! Celebrate the women in your life, everyday.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Who wants to hear about my cat?!
So once again, I'm trying a new blog design. I think it's looking more or less okay for now. My technological ability is fairly limited so unfortunately none of my blog visitors will be treated to any fancy-shmancy layouts or gadgets here. My one concern is this font I'm using for my posts. I feel like it looks far more serious than anything I'll actually ever be saying.
I have been pondering ways to spice up my blog a lot lately. Probably the best way to start would be to actually write posts on more than a monthly basis... I hear that really helps bring in the crowds.
I've been considering whether I'd be able to pull off a "themed" sort of a blog, but that poses a couple of problems. First, I have to come up with a theme. That would involve me knowing a fair amount about a certain topic, or having a hobby I can showcase on here. That really narrows down my list of options. Let's see... I could write about my cat, who I spend quite a bit of time with but doesn't really do much that anyone other than me, my boyfriend, and my mom would be interested in hearing about. Then there's women's rights, but I don't know what kind of an audience that would bring in, and my current readers (AKA my family and friends) already get stuck listening to me preach about that topic quite a bit in real life. So that leaves... books. I know a lot of books and I spend a lot of time reading. But there's still the problem of my thinking of things I can write about related to that topic. It's bad enough that I can't think of things to write about for my hodge-podge of a blog that I'm running right now. Looks like maybe a theme wouldn't work out so well for me. The title of the post alone will probably mean I only get 5 hits on this post tops.
You know what I should probably write about? Crop shirts. I did a post about them a while ago and it's still the number one google search that brings people to my blog. Those poor suckers. They are probably some young fashionistas looking for some stylish crop t-shirts online and instead their search brings them to my blog post where I basically rip up the whole idea of the things.
Well, looks like I'll have to ponder this some more and try to ramp up the interest level of my little blog somehow. Maybe I should just write about my daily life and hope that people actually find it more entertaining than it actually is. That's what everyone does on Facebook, at least.
I have been pondering ways to spice up my blog a lot lately. Probably the best way to start would be to actually write posts on more than a monthly basis... I hear that really helps bring in the crowds.
I've been considering whether I'd be able to pull off a "themed" sort of a blog, but that poses a couple of problems. First, I have to come up with a theme. That would involve me knowing a fair amount about a certain topic, or having a hobby I can showcase on here. That really narrows down my list of options. Let's see... I could write about my cat, who I spend quite a bit of time with but doesn't really do much that anyone other than me, my boyfriend, and my mom would be interested in hearing about. Then there's women's rights, but I don't know what kind of an audience that would bring in, and my current readers (AKA my family and friends) already get stuck listening to me preach about that topic quite a bit in real life. So that leaves... books. I know a lot of books and I spend a lot of time reading. But there's still the problem of my thinking of things I can write about related to that topic. It's bad enough that I can't think of things to write about for my hodge-podge of a blog that I'm running right now. Looks like maybe a theme wouldn't work out so well for me. The title of the post alone will probably mean I only get 5 hits on this post tops.
You know what I should probably write about? Crop shirts. I did a post about them a while ago and it's still the number one google search that brings people to my blog. Those poor suckers. They are probably some young fashionistas looking for some stylish crop t-shirts online and instead their search brings them to my blog post where I basically rip up the whole idea of the things.
Well, looks like I'll have to ponder this some more and try to ramp up the interest level of my little blog somehow. Maybe I should just write about my daily life and hope that people actually find it more entertaining than it actually is. That's what everyone does on Facebook, at least.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Love Letters to Squirt
My cousin Yvonne has a contest going on her blog right now called Love Letters to Squirt! For those of you who don't know who Squirt is, he is Yvonne's senior citizen puppy.
So, Willow and I got to talking and we decided that a video was probably the best way to go for this contest. After a few bad attempts over a span of two days, we pulled something together.
As usual, Facebook was being a jerk and wouldn't let me upload the video on there, so my next best alternative was to blog it! Here we goooo!
So, Willow and I got to talking and we decided that a video was probably the best way to go for this contest. After a few bad attempts over a span of two days, we pulled something together.
As usual, Facebook was being a jerk and wouldn't let me upload the video on there, so my next best alternative was to blog it! Here we goooo!
Monday, January 16, 2012
And then I said...
So I was trying to be a good little blogger and I wrote up a post a few days ago, but I never got around to actually posting it. It's going to have to wait for yet another day now because today I have something else to write about.
I probably shouldn't. I'm sure it's not mature and it might even be a little petty considering the fact that the other person it involves probably won't read this. And if she does, well that's good too. Maybe it'll save me some trouble in the future. Anyway...
For anyone who doesn't know, I'm currently taking some courses at the local NSCC that I need as prerequisites for the BScN degree program that I want to go into next year. The courses are going well and my marks are excellent. The problem, you see, is some of my classmates in these courses. Actually, that's too general. It's more like just one person. The way these courses work is that the teachers don't really lecture or teach in front of the class, everyone learns mostly from the book and you work at your own pace independently, completing assignments and tests as you go.
I go to class to try to get as much work done as possible in that amount of time. This girl apparently goes to catch her friend up on everything that is going on in her life. Oh yeah, and it also appears to be her texting time, cause she does that basically non-stop. Everyone has to hear about her boyfriend, all the drama of her daily life, the program she's sure she's getting into next year (I really want to break it to her that she doesn't have a chance of getting in because her marks suck and the program takes a very small number of people... none of which she seems to realize), family stuff, tv shows, food, anything and everything that pops into her "typical eighteen year old" mind. Then we have to listen to her complain about how she needs to get more work done, and she doesn't like trying to do schoolwork at home, etc etc. One time she tried to tell me that she thought the boyfriend killed Amber Kirwan because she heard he has ADHD and people with ADHD don't feel guilt. She got a little lesson on the difference between people with ADHD and psychopaths from me that day.
I've been trying to be passive since September. I have tried changing seats to be further away from her. I even bring earphones and listen to music. Nothing drowns her out. It drives everyone nuts, but no one ever says anything. Well, today something inside of me must have snapped. I was sick and tired of her coming to class and distracting everyone with her pointless nonsense. So, at one point I ripped out my headphones and said something along the lines of "Why do you two even come to class? You talk way too much all the time. It's every fucking day."
She her response was "Ok...", and then they started passing the cell phone back and forth so I can only assume they were talking about me. But you know what? I don't care. It was so nice and quiet for the rest of class! It was great. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. I suspect old ways will creep back in and I'll have to say something again. I'm hoping I'm wrong though and that she'll actually be more considerate from now on.
Anyway, that is my story from today. What's the lesson everyone should take from this? Shut up or ship out!
I probably shouldn't. I'm sure it's not mature and it might even be a little petty considering the fact that the other person it involves probably won't read this. And if she does, well that's good too. Maybe it'll save me some trouble in the future. Anyway...
For anyone who doesn't know, I'm currently taking some courses at the local NSCC that I need as prerequisites for the BScN degree program that I want to go into next year. The courses are going well and my marks are excellent. The problem, you see, is some of my classmates in these courses. Actually, that's too general. It's more like just one person. The way these courses work is that the teachers don't really lecture or teach in front of the class, everyone learns mostly from the book and you work at your own pace independently, completing assignments and tests as you go.
I go to class to try to get as much work done as possible in that amount of time. This girl apparently goes to catch her friend up on everything that is going on in her life. Oh yeah, and it also appears to be her texting time, cause she does that basically non-stop. Everyone has to hear about her boyfriend, all the drama of her daily life, the program she's sure she's getting into next year (I really want to break it to her that she doesn't have a chance of getting in because her marks suck and the program takes a very small number of people... none of which she seems to realize), family stuff, tv shows, food, anything and everything that pops into her "typical eighteen year old" mind. Then we have to listen to her complain about how she needs to get more work done, and she doesn't like trying to do schoolwork at home, etc etc. One time she tried to tell me that she thought the boyfriend killed Amber Kirwan because she heard he has ADHD and people with ADHD don't feel guilt. She got a little lesson on the difference between people with ADHD and psychopaths from me that day.
I've been trying to be passive since September. I have tried changing seats to be further away from her. I even bring earphones and listen to music. Nothing drowns her out. It drives everyone nuts, but no one ever says anything. Well, today something inside of me must have snapped. I was sick and tired of her coming to class and distracting everyone with her pointless nonsense. So, at one point I ripped out my headphones and said something along the lines of "Why do you two even come to class? You talk way too much all the time. It's every fucking day."
She her response was "Ok...", and then they started passing the cell phone back and forth so I can only assume they were talking about me. But you know what? I don't care. It was so nice and quiet for the rest of class! It was great. We'll see how the rest of the week goes. I suspect old ways will creep back in and I'll have to say something again. I'm hoping I'm wrong though and that she'll actually be more considerate from now on.
Anyway, that is my story from today. What's the lesson everyone should take from this? Shut up or ship out!
Monday, December 19, 2011
A Child's Christmas
The Christmas season carries lots of fond childhood memories for me and once in a while I find it fun to think back and let the warm fuzzies take over.
One of the main things I love about December is that it is also egg nog season, and I love me some egg nog. I know very few other people who actually like it too, but to me egg nog always reminds me of my grandma's house as a kid. She had this black side by side door refrigerator and she always had egg nog during the holiday season. That and polish pudding but unfortunately my love of that has die out with age.
Something else that has died with age is getting up before dawn to open gifts. I can't believe how early I was up some years. I didn't even have siblings to encourage the excitement. Of course that also meant that every year I got lots of gifts from Santa and was totally spoiled, which is really a great benefit of being an only child.
One of my classic memories that I frequently think of still to this day was when mom, dad, and I were out (I think) getting our tree and I had my arms inside of my coat. Mom always told me not to do this and not to run because I'd slip and not be able to catch myself. Well little Jessica apparently didn't heed those warnings because on that fateful day I wiped out on the pavement and only had my face to break my fall. I learned the hard way, but it was a lesson well learned because I don't think I've ever made the same mistake since.
Another thing I liked to do during holidays growing up was decorate my room. Thinking back to amount of effort I would put into it I have to say, I was a pretty creative youngster. I remember one year I made a fireplace out of construction paper and put it on my bedroom wall. It seems like it must have taken quite a bit of time to do, but I guess time is not really a factor in a child's mind.
I'm grateful to have had a loving, easy childhood because now that I'm older it's nice to look back on. I know that not everyone is so lucky, and I find that so unfair because every kid deserves to live a happy, care-free life. Christmas can be such an exciting time when there's no school, Santa, treats, and presents to look forward to. I wish I could make sure that more kids out there would get to have the same fortune that I did/do.
One of the main things I love about December is that it is also egg nog season, and I love me some egg nog. I know very few other people who actually like it too, but to me egg nog always reminds me of my grandma's house as a kid. She had this black side by side door refrigerator and she always had egg nog during the holiday season. That and polish pudding but unfortunately my love of that has die out with age.
Something else that has died with age is getting up before dawn to open gifts. I can't believe how early I was up some years. I didn't even have siblings to encourage the excitement. Of course that also meant that every year I got lots of gifts from Santa and was totally spoiled, which is really a great benefit of being an only child.
One of my classic memories that I frequently think of still to this day was when mom, dad, and I were out (I think) getting our tree and I had my arms inside of my coat. Mom always told me not to do this and not to run because I'd slip and not be able to catch myself. Well little Jessica apparently didn't heed those warnings because on that fateful day I wiped out on the pavement and only had my face to break my fall. I learned the hard way, but it was a lesson well learned because I don't think I've ever made the same mistake since.
Another thing I liked to do during holidays growing up was decorate my room. Thinking back to amount of effort I would put into it I have to say, I was a pretty creative youngster. I remember one year I made a fireplace out of construction paper and put it on my bedroom wall. It seems like it must have taken quite a bit of time to do, but I guess time is not really a factor in a child's mind.
I'm grateful to have had a loving, easy childhood because now that I'm older it's nice to look back on. I know that not everyone is so lucky, and I find that so unfair because every kid deserves to live a happy, care-free life. Christmas can be such an exciting time when there's no school, Santa, treats, and presents to look forward to. I wish I could make sure that more kids out there would get to have the same fortune that I did/do.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Oh the difference a couple of years can make...
So this past week I've been doing contract work for the Women's Centre. I've been going to different schools/grades around the county holding focus groups with young women to try to figure out what programs they feel they would most like to see in Pictou County. So far I've done three out of six focus groups: one with grade 6's, one with grade 8's, and one with grade 11's.
I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?
The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.
The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.
So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.
Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)
I basically asked all the girls four basic questions after bribing them all by giving everyone a lifesaver sucker:
1) Where do you hang out outside of school?
2) What do you do when you're not in school?
3) What do you think is going on with girls these days?
4) What programs would you like to see for girls in Pictou County?
The first day was the grade 6's. I was a bit nervous because I had no idea what to expect or how it would turn out. I was pleasently surprised at how fun it was sitting around talking to grade 6 girls, plus they gave up some great general info and some specific ideas. They also seemed to really enjoy the session and asked me if I'd be back... great kids, very friendly.
The next day was the grade 8 girls. Oh. My. God. That age group is such a pain in the ass. The principal told us that the group we were going to be talking to was pretty vocal so it should be okay. Yeah, right. I felt like I was some evil dentist trying to yank teeth out of these girls. They would barely even tell me where they like to hang out or what they usually do when they're not in school. Good god. These are not trick questions, kids. We got some info by the end of it, but I felt that it was no where near as successful as the first focus group. All I really found out was that they mainly like to eat, sleep, and text. Not joking, that is actually what they said to me.
So yesterday was the grade 11 focus group, and I have to say that it might have been my favorite so far. Maybe it's just because the girls are older and have more of a concept of what is going on with girls these days, I don't really know. The group I talked to was just very open and willing to tell us what's up. We probably could have stayed for even longer than our allotted hour if the girls didn't have another class to go to. Another interesting tidbit that came from the grade 11's was that they mentioned trends among young women that they have noticed, such as high pregnancy rates and hyper sexuality at younger ages, which matches quite well with the stats that we have at the Women's Centre from a professional point of view. Lots of great stuff from that group, and it boosted my morale after the grade 8 zombies.
Next week I have three more groups to do, and I'm interested in seeing the response from the same age groups in different schools. I'll keep you posted :)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Must... not... give... up....
I have like 10 other things I should be doing instead of blogging, but here I am. Just thought I'd share a little tale with you all tonight.
So one of my buds who is taking biology with me is doing a portfolio project which requires volunteers (enter me) to do 30 minutes of physical activity that gets the heart rate up to at least 70%. I must do this for at least 2 weeks (I think... memory is a bit foggy on this detail... could be longer). I tried to start doing this last Saturday. Then I was in so much pain for the rest of Sunday and Monday that I fell out of it and must now start again. So I did, tonight. I did something like 80 jumping jacks and a 20 minute run. The problem is that I'm terribly out of shape for this kind of activity. My yoga practices give me good breaths but don't really condition me for endurance in running. Meaning I basically die after jogging for 5 minutes straight. Needed a new strategy. Started doing run one minute, walk a minute. Much more achieveable this way, but not sure if I'm still meeting the requirements for the study. Will have to clarify at the next meeting. I also don't think my heart rate is getting all the way up to 70%. I'm getting up to somewhere like 130 beats per minute, but I need to be at 159. This poses a problem for me because my heart is already beating out of my chest at 130ish and my breath is pretty much maxed out. This makes me wonder if I'm just counting wrong and missing some beats or something. If anyone out there has any suggestions for improvements, I will gladly accept them!
So one of my buds who is taking biology with me is doing a portfolio project which requires volunteers (enter me) to do 30 minutes of physical activity that gets the heart rate up to at least 70%. I must do this for at least 2 weeks (I think... memory is a bit foggy on this detail... could be longer). I tried to start doing this last Saturday. Then I was in so much pain for the rest of Sunday and Monday that I fell out of it and must now start again. So I did, tonight. I did something like 80 jumping jacks and a 20 minute run. The problem is that I'm terribly out of shape for this kind of activity. My yoga practices give me good breaths but don't really condition me for endurance in running. Meaning I basically die after jogging for 5 minutes straight. Needed a new strategy. Started doing run one minute, walk a minute. Much more achieveable this way, but not sure if I'm still meeting the requirements for the study. Will have to clarify at the next meeting. I also don't think my heart rate is getting all the way up to 70%. I'm getting up to somewhere like 130 beats per minute, but I need to be at 159. This poses a problem for me because my heart is already beating out of my chest at 130ish and my breath is pretty much maxed out. This makes me wonder if I'm just counting wrong and missing some beats or something. If anyone out there has any suggestions for improvements, I will gladly accept them!
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