Sarcastic/friendly joke turns into an educational ride!

One night while I was on the Skytrain going to meet a friend, a man walked on at one station carrying a guitar case and what appeared at first glance to be an amp. He sat next to me.

"Let me guess," I said. "You play drums?" I smiled/smirked at him in a friendly way.

I expected him to laugh, but instead he answered, in complete seriousness, "Yes, sometimes. Usually the guitar, but sometimes I play this." He spoke with a thick South American accent, and pointed at the wooden box he had in front of him.

Turns out it was a Peruvian drum, called the cajón.

It was very nicely made, kind of looks like a kleenex box if you turn it with the hole on top. He told me that you play it by tapping/hitting the front face of it, akin to a bongo drum, and the sound comes out the hole on the opposite side.

You learn something new every day!

Happy Mother's Day

Once upon a time, there was a child ready to be born. The child asked God, "Others tell me you're sending me to earth today, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?" God replied "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired "But here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you everyday. You will feel your angel’s love and be very happy."

Again the child asked "How am I going to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?" God said, "Your angel will tell you in the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear; and with much patience and care your angel will teach you How to speak."

Again the child asked, "What am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

The child asked, "I’ve heard that on earth there are bad people; who will protect me?" God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

The child then said, "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." And God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about me and teach you the way to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please, tell me my angel’s name."

"Her name is not important, my child," said God. "You will simply call her MOM."


My mother was specifically chosen for me. It wasn't by random chance. She is the best mom that ever could have been chosen for me, and I am so glad and so thankful that she was chosen to be my 'angel.'

My mom has seen me through thick and thin my whole life. She put band-aids on my skinned knees. She combed the tangles out of my curly mess of hair (and eventually had it cut super short because it was getting unmanagable...I think I can forgive you finally mom :P) She brought my puppy to school, thereby making *ME* super cool for the day. She spent hours on making skating costumes for me. She made sure to buy and bring oranges when it was my turn to supply the snacks for my soccer team. She put up with my clarinet practicing. She bought me a beautiful dress for grade 7 grad - sophisticated but tasteful for a 12y/o girl. She took my hurtful words when I was angry. She soothed me when I was upset about being so far from my friends when we moved up north. She let me dye my hair. She taught me how to drive. She *let* me drive her car when I got my license. She hardly ever gripped the arm rest so hard she left nail marks in it....she did, however, use the 'phantom brake' a lot :p She tolerated me considering dropping out of high school in grade 12. She didn't lord it over me when I decided to stick it through.

My mother learned early on how to tell when I was getting a migraine, and was able to tell me to take my medication. So often I wouldn't be able to tell because it was already affecting my cognitive abilities, and her being there was, while not life saving, certainly more than just 'helpful' connotes. She took me to the doctor's when I got migraines that weren't controlled by medications, and to the hospital when it was too painful for demerol to work.

My mother was there for me last summer when I went into the hospital for my mental illness. She did everything she could to ensure I got the proper care and treatment. She fought for me and for my rights. She fought for HER right to be involved in my care when I wasn't in the right mind to make the right decisions. She read a book my friend Ana sent me about bi-polar disorder, and learned so much about the disorder and how to cope with and be there for a family member suffering from the illness. She was also there this past December when I was diagnosed with a tumor in my abdomen. She was strong for me when I couldn't be strong for myself. She looked after me after I had my surgery - cooking for me and making sure I had my pills on time. She helped me financially while I was off work.

My mother was strong for me, and my sister, when my father died in 1992. She taught me how to be a strong woman without being callous or hard. She taught me to be independant, to not rely on anyone else but yourself, but also to accept help when it is offered, and to accept it graciously. My mother taught me how to be a lady, how to be polite, how not to take myself too seriously. She taught me the value of sincerity and honesty. My mother taught me how to be a woman.

My mother is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for her loving guidance.

I LOVE YOU MOM

INDD - Celebrate your bod!

From Wikipedia

"The International No Diet Day (INDD) is an annual celebration of body acceptance and body shape diversity. This day is also dedicated to raise awareness of the dangers in diets...

The concept of INDD originated at 1992, when British Feminist Mary Evans Young decided to fight the diet industry and to raise awareness of the dangers in anorexia and other eating disorders. In order to do that, Evans Young addressed the local media saying "Fat Women Bites [sic] Back". When she was interviewed on television, she "reminded" the audience to celebrate the International No Diet Day on May 6. This specific date had no specific reason other than its proximity to the television interview.

Followed that interview, feminist groups around UK celebrated the INDD, and as the years went by, groups in other countries around the globe started to celebrate this day, especially in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and Israel.

There are several goals to the INDD:

Doubt the idea of one "right" body shape.
Raise awareness to weight discrimination, size bias and fatphobia.
Declare a free day from diets and obsessions to body weight.
Present the facts about the diet industry, emphasizing the inefficacy of commercial diets.
Show how diets perpetuate violence against women.
Honor the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgeries."

This is a great idea. Even if you do decide to stick to whatever diet you are on for this day, celebrate the heart of the idea by being aware that your body doesn't have to conform to the media's standards of beauty, because, in fact, that standard is very flawed.

Everyone is beautiful in his or her own way. Besides which, it's not the outside that matters - it's what's INSIDE that counts.

Be proud of who you are, what you look like, and go ahead and have that bag of chips, that bar of chocolate, that bowl of ice cream! Say FUCK IT to the standard forced upon us as to what we should look like. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder...it's also more than skin deep.

Celebrate every last inch of you!!

Alexander

Tonight on my way home from a lovely day spent first by myself, then with my mom, then with my mom and my sister and my nephew and niece, then by myself again and then with a handsome gentleman over dinner...where was I again? Oh yes. Coming home from a lovely day out.

Coming home from my lovely day out, as I turned the corner onto my street, I caught out of the corner of my eye as it drifted across the ground in front of me, a beetle. A very blackish beetle. So black that had the light been better, he would have glistened like an oil patch in the rain that was softly spattering down. I stopped to watch him cross my path and head towards the grass.

Upon arriving at the edge of the paved sidewalk, he peered over the edge, then decided to tight rope walk along for a short while until he found a more suitable location at which juncture he eased himself off the sidewalk and onto the bare patch of dirt he had found in the grass.

He walked with some sense of purpose across the bare patch until the grass sprang up in front of him, at which point he made the rash decision to turn right. Struggling to get through the very thick tangle of grass, he paused, then backed up and wisely chose the path to the left. Still tangled with grass, this path, however, was much clearer.

As he walked through the grass, my eyes kept on his trail by watching the light shimmer off his abdomen when he was in the open, and the tremble of the stalks of grass when he pushed his way through the jungle.

First he found his way to the telephone pole. He walked along the base for a while, then attempted to climb. He was doing just fine, if you ask me (though I am no beetle expert), when he decided to turn 'round and put his little legs back onto solid ground. He backtracked to his starting point, then checked out the round plastic thingies at the base of the pole. I've no idea what they are, and I'm not sure but I think if you ask him, he would know.

After his jaunt with the telephone poles and it's accessories, he wandered again into the tangles of grass. At first glance it seemed as though he wasn't sure WHERE he was going, because he sort of zagged and zigged along. Then I realised, he DID have a destination in mind - he was just finding the easiest pathways through his forest. I think, but I'm not sure (again, I'm no beetle expert), that he was a security beetle, making his rounds.

I watched him, again following the trembles of the grass as he slashed them out of his way with his tiny beetle machete, and once in a while the shimmer of the streetlight on his body, until he finally disappeard from my sight into the darkness of the shadow of the telephone pole.

I continued my way home, pleased to have been allowed this glimpse of Alexander's (for I am sure that was his name) world.




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Alexander Beetle

I found a little beetle, so that beetle was his name,
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
I put him in a matchbox, and I kept him all the day...
And Nanny let my beetle out
Yes, Nanny let my beetle out
She went and let my beetle out-
And beetle ran away.

She said she didn't mean it, and I never sauid she did,
She said she wanted matches, and she just took off the lid
She said that she was sorry, but it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you've mistaken for a match.

She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn't mind
As there's lots and lots of beetles which she's certain we could find
If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid-
And we'd get another matchbox, and write BEETLE on the lid.

We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
"A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!"

It was Alexander Beetle I'm as certain as can be
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it might be ME,
And he had a kind of look as if he thought he ought to say:
"I'm very, very sorry that I tried to run away."

And Nanny's very sorry too, for you know what she did,
And she's writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid,
So Nan and me are friends, because it's difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you've mistaken for a match.

-A.A. Milne

Not feeling terribly random today...

In fact, I feel quite normal today. Now, mom don't go thinking that my feeling 'normal' is equatable with being 'stable'. Although, I am that too. Anyway.

Today I slept in very late. Well, technically I guess you could say I had a long nap mid-morning, as I did get up and do some web surfing around 930. I went back to bed around 11 and got up at 2. I'm not lazy. I just need my sleep!! I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO (note the superfluous 'o's in there) tired!!

Anyway. When I finally DID get up and get myself going, I figured I would actually clean up my place. I did ALL my dishes (literally all of them. I had let them pile up...again.) and then took out all my garbage and recycling (except the stuff I take back for the deposit refund) and vacuumed my apartment.

Why does this feel 'normal' to me? Because I didn't do anything randomly interesting today. I did what a lot of people do on their days off...housekeep. Usually on my days off I try to get out and do something. Often that involves going downtown and just wandering a while, people watching etc. However, today I am broke so I would have had no money for coffee while downtown, and that, my friends, is a NECESSITY for my wanderings. If I'm anywhere a Tim Horton's, it's ALWAYS a good time for a double double. Decaf for me.

What's a "double double" you ask? ONLY THE BEST COFFEE EVER! Well it is if you like cream and sugar in your coffee. It's a shortened way of saying "I'd like my coffee with two creams and two sugars." Get it? Double cream, double sugar. That's how most people in Canada drink their Timmies (Timmies = colloquial term for Tim Horton's).

I have tomorrow off too, but I have to go into work to pick up a couple things I have on hold, and then I'm off to see my niece and nephew! After that, I have a dinner date, and then it's off to my very good friend, Paige's, house for movies and general good times :)

Hmm...so my post about how I'm not feeling terribly random...well....turned into a pretty random post!!

ABC Wednesday? Ok, I'll play!

So today is ABC Wednesday (well, I suppose EVERY Wednesday is ABC Wednesday...) and today's letter is "O."

Keeping with the spirit of this blog's intent to be "Random and Interesting" I think I shall not write about something near and dear to my heart, as my mother often (if not always) does, but rather something that appears a little more random. **Edit** That is what I was PLANNING on doing, but I ended up with something that actually DOES mean something to me. Read on, dear reader, and you shall see why...

O is for Om

Taken from Wikipedia.org:

[Om]¹ is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra and also is said in the beginning of any puja (religious ritual). The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable.


The Devanagari symbol, one of the more recognisable Om symbols.

The Sanskrit name for the syllable is praṇava, from a root nu "to shout, sound, praise", verbal pra-nu- being attested as "to make a humming or droning sound" in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of "to utter the syllable om" in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Shrauta Sutras. More rarely used terms are akṣara or ekākṣara, and in later times omkāra becomes prevalent.

The syllable Om is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, "Om" can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and mythology.

In Jainism, Om is regarded to be a condensed form of reference to the five parameshthis, by their initials A+A+A+U+M (o3m). The Dravyasamgrah quotes a Prakrit line:

"Om" is one syllable made from the initials of the five parameshthis. It has been said: "Arihanta, Ashiri, Acharya, Upadhyaya, Muni" .

Buddhists place om at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari or mystical formulary in six syllables (viz., om mani padme hum) As a seed syllable (bija mantra), it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism.

With Buddhism's evolution and breaking away from Vedic/Hindu tradition, Om and other symbology/cosmology/philosophies are shared with the Hindu tradition.


Notes:
1 - Om is a variant of the spelling "Aum" or "Ohm"

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So why is this "Om" important to me? Well, last summer when I was in the hospital for the 2nd time for my illness (see side bar 'about me' section) I made good friends with another 'inmate' (as we laughingly named ourselves). She was quite into Buddhism, and I have always had a great affinity for Eastern culture and philosophy, especially that of Tibetan Buddhists. Her Buddhism was spawned when she was travelling through Nepal. She too holds Eastern ways in high regards, and often would meditate using the above referenced "Om mani padme hum" mantra.

I decided I would try it, not as a religious mindset, but more of a spiritual one, if that makes sense...there's a difference between spiritual and religious. Anyway, I found it was quite useful to concentrate my mind onto one thing when it would race, as it often did (and still does).

One day when she and I were taking a walk along the street a few blocks from the hospital (we were on a pass, not escapees!) we decided to hit the Nepalese and Tibetan gift store that is located inside one of the hotels there. The first thing I was drawn to was a dish full of bone bracelets. The bone was carved into squares, then inscribed with symbols. The one I was drawn to most was, I discovered, the one with the symbol for "Om" (as seen above) carved onto it.

Wearing that bracelet reminded me to slow down and take time to ground myself when my mind was racing. I don't wear it all that often any more, but it still holds a strong power for me. Just holding it makes me feel calmer.

"My Beautiful Mommy" (sorry mom, not about you this time)

"I think a book like this could have been useful if it had a less superficial emphasis. Instead, the cover image alone suggests that if you look better, your child is going to be happy." -Julie Deardorff

And, from Julie's blog entry "Apparently cosmetic surgery causes you to be surrounded by fairy dust and butterflies, and your kid will throw open her arms because she finally loves the new, not ugly, you," medical librarian Rachel Walden seethed on Women's Health News.

So what exactly are these two women talking about? They're steaming mad about the book "My Beautiful Mommy". It's a book designed to "help patients explain their transformation to their children" and to guide "children through Mommy's surgery and healing process in a friendly, nonthreatening way." (from Big Ten Books)

Surficially, the book would seem to be a help - some women have to go under the knife for non-cosmetic surgical procedures. It could be scary for a child to see their mother covered in bandages, bruised, swollen, in pain.

This book, however, gives the impression to youngsters that if they're not happy with their physical appearance, that if they don't conform to the cookie cutter standards put forth by the media, they can simply have themselves remade into the perfect image the world seems to desire. The book also insinuates that looking 'perfect' means BEING perfect, feeling happy, and becoming a better person all over.

I strongly urge all parents, all aunts and uncles, all god parents, all people who have any influence on children whatsoever, to teach them the TRUE meaning of happiness, the TRUE meaning of beauty, and to make sure that tomorrow's adults don't turn into mindless look-alike drones intent only on how they look, rather than who they are.

First Blog - Where I live, a Primer.

So I've started this blog to post random and interesting things (hence the title) that I stumble upon on my daily random web surfings. For this first entry, here's an article from Wikipedia.org about the town I currently live in, Ladner BC.

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Overview
Ladner was created as a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River. It is now part of the Municipality of Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and a suburb of Vancouver.

Named for one of the founding families, it developed as a center for farming and fishing. The ferry at Captain's Cove allowed for access across the river to Richmond, British Columbia. The George Massey Tunnel provided a permanent connection in 1959.

Paired together with its suburban neighbour to the south, Tsawwassen, these two communities make up the unofficial region known as "South Delta".

Ladner had a population of 21,367 in the 2001 census.

History
Like many areas around the Fraser River on what is now Greater Vancouver the area on the south side of the south arm of the Fraser was named for the original Europeans to settle there. First called Ladner's Landing, the area was settled by Thomas Ellis Ladner(1837-1922) and William Henry Ladner(1826-1907). They had travelled from their home in Cornwall, UK to pursue the gold rush in California and later on the Fraser River. Settling on the area of the Fraser River Delta either side of the Chilukthan Slough in 1868, both turned to farming and fishing.

Location and Features
Ladner is bound to the west by the Strait of Georgia, the south by Tsawwasen, to the east by North Delta, and north by the Fraser River. Ladner is bisected by Highway 17, which runs north-south from Highway 99 to the BC Ferries terminal. The term East Ladner is often applied to the portion of the community east of the highway. The major east-west artery is called Ladner Trunk Road - which, if traveled far enough east, turns into Highway 10. West of Arthur Drive, a north-south road that connects it with Tsawwassen, it is simply called 47A Avenue.

River Road runs east from the north end of Highway 17 along the Fraser River into North Delta and Surrey. The area between Highway 17 and North Delta is referred to as Tilbury and is one of the major industrial centres of the Lower Mainland, with many large warehouses, industrial parks and factories.

Lying to the south of the delta of the Fraser River, there are numerous islands just off the mainland that are part of Ladner. Most are small and only reachable by boat, with exceptions like Westham Island, which hosts a large bird sanctuary and is dedicated to protecting and preserving the numerous bird species found in the area, especially bald eagles and various owl species. Westham Island is a fairly large island and a popular destination for its numerous organic farms, especially its berry farms.

A major feature of Ladner is the portion called Ladner Village, which is in the section of the town north of Ladner Trunk Road and west of Arthur Drive. This is a heritage community with wide, boulevarded sidewalks, open-air cafes and local shops. There are some heritage residences in this area, mostly built in the 1930s, but apartment complexes replaced many of them some decades back. The Delta Museum and Archives are in the centre of Ladner Village, along with a town clock that is amongst the oldest in the Lower Mainland.

On Ladner Trunk Road, east of Arthur Drive, two malls with supermarkets, major restaurants and other modern shops and services is found. The town is experiencing a boom of condominium development in this area, and the population is growing accordingly. Numerous parks are found throughout the community, especially along the canals which used to be used for transport through the area. No longer passable for boats, today they are still clean and fresh enough to allow fishing along their banks.

Ladner is home to two public swimming pools, one of which is an older outdoor facility located near the public library and community centre. A much larger pool is located on Harvest Drive next to the Municipal Hall in the Ladner Leisure Centre. This indoor pool features a large 25m main pool, a smaller leisure pool, a swirl pool, sauna, waterslide and rock climbing wall. Also located in this facility is a skating rink and a gymnasium partially funded by Vancouver's Junior Hockey Team, the Vancouver Giants.

Ladner is the location of the Delta Municipal Hall, police station, and the Delta Hospital. Public education is administered by School District 37 Delta. Schools include Delta Secondary School and K-7 elementary schools including Hawthorne, Delta Manor, Holly, Ladner, Port Guichon and Neilson Grove Elementary School. Independent K-7 schools Sacred Heart and Delta Christian also serve local students.

On March 1, 2006, Ladner made national headlines when an out-of-control house party resulted in hospitalization of the 13-year old host for alcohol poisoning and nearly CA$70,000 in damage.

Holidays and Attractions
Each spring Ladner hosts the Ladner Pioneer May Days (commonly referred to by residents simply as May Days), the longest-running festival in Delta, which is held on the weekend following the holiday commemorating Queen Victoria's birthday. It includes a parade, a carnival, and other local events. Every other Sunday during the summer months the major streets in the village are reserved for Ladner Village Market, a farmer's market featuring live music, food, entertainment, fresh local produce and homemade arts and crafts. Vendors from as far away as Kelowna and Vancouver Island, along with many local farmers and artisans, set up stalls selling hand-crafted and locally grown products. This market has become a major draw to the community, attracting a few thousand out-of-town visitors each market day.

In September 2008 Ladner and Delta will host Delta Rivermania, a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Simon Fraser's journey down the Fraser River. This will be a weekend long event September 26-28, 2008. It will include theatrical performances, a pancake breakfast, clam chowder cookoff, midnight market and street entertainment. This will be the final weekend of BC Rivermania celebrations, part of the BC 150.

Telecommunications
Delta is serviced by Ladner-based Delta Cable for TV and cable internet services, one of only a very few areas in Canada not serviced by Rogers Cable or Shaw Cable.

Telephone services are run primarily by Telus. The CO Code servicing Ladner for years was 946, but as the population expanded, new numbers - 940 in the early 1990s and 952 recently - were added.


Ladner On Film
The Ladner Village area is popular with film crews for its "Main Street USA" feel, quaint coastal fishing settings, and heritage church buildings. The general South Delta area also provides open landscapes of farmland, ocean beaches, forest and wetlands, all within a few kilometres of each other. These features make the area a popular location for movie productions such as the Air Bud series, Final Destination, Josie and the Pussycats, Deck the Halls, and X-Men 3, as well as various television productions such as Smallville, The X-Files, Stargate SG-1, Supernatural and Three Moons Over Milford.

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So there's a primer on my town. I'll be adding more interesting articles as I find them (not always from Wikipedia, however). Should you have any suggestions of random things for me to research, I'd love to hear them!!

xox
JC