tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32112041317455988822024-02-06T23:54:00.182-05:00In A JarA blog from Halifax and Ottawa, CanadaEKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.comBlogger342125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-29527029054729801442011-02-24T15:52:00.004-05:002011-02-24T16:33:27.594-05:00Student Movement<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXcnAsI4GXX2TWtJKll97L0MPk25EK1XDLyMrz6J7jffrsQUobW0BXCk3GNDZXVx3if9e6HTJeMEXucxhnrSLEgMUW9AmqtqPTVMkKp7kvVoFVhU9LBcTBJLMiDCxFkxufnE3SczrZSBu/s512/179824_747832621991_172001936_42983671_1351369_n.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXcnAsI4GXX2TWtJKll97L0MPk25EK1XDLyMrz6J7jffrsQUobW0BXCk3GNDZXVx3if9e6HTJeMEXucxhnrSLEgMUW9AmqtqPTVMkKp7kvVoFVhU9LBcTBJLMiDCxFkxufnE3SczrZSBu/s512/179824_747832621991_172001936_42983671_1351369_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:78%;">2000 Students march down Spring Garden Road in a Day of Action, Feb 2</span><br /></span></div><br />Out here in Nova Scotia, the government is looking to raise tuition some more.<br /><br />The 3-year MOU has run out with the province, and the government announced to students that tuition would rise 3% and universities would receive a 4% spending cut. There has been no official consultation with student groups yet.<br /><br />On February 2, in a snow storm, 2000 students came out in a Day of Action and marched through the downtown to show the province how we feel about that.<br /><br />It's too bad the day was ignored in a lot of media, though it was a major demonstration that tied up traffic downtown.<br /><br />While I don't really love the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), I loved the event. There's something to be said for being a part of a literal movement, something beyond a Facebook group and an e-petition. It was well-planned, well-attended, and there was a dance party to boot.<br /><br />Here's some coverage from <a href="http://watchmagazine.ca/2011/02/a-day-of-inaction-for-nova-scotia-media-outlets/">The Watch</a>, the King's newspaper, from the <a href="http://www.dalgazette.com/home/2011/1/30/student-day-of-action-will-demand-government-response.html">Dalhousie Gazette</a> as well as from <a href="http://earnestandjest.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/the-cfs-day-of-action-a-critical-perspective/">a blogger</a> who has similar issues as I do with the CFS.EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-9063994261147952522011-02-22T12:58:00.003-05:002011-02-22T13:16:05.984-05:00Gap Year<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/gap-year-why-your-kid-shouldnt-go-to-school-in-the-fall/article1912696/">This article</a> from today's Globe and Mail, as well as my younger sister's impending decision on university for next year, have me thinking about gap years.<div><br /></div><div>When I was thinking about university in grade 12, I was warned away from a gap year. It was Christmas time, the worst time in grade 12, because you are forced into rooms all those people you never see and they all ask the only thing they can think of: "What are your plans for next year?"</div><div><br /></div><div>At one such event a university prof in the room went off about gap years being wasted time. He threw around disturbing statistics about rates of return to school post-time away. By the end a seed of doubt had been planted.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I certainly see the problems associated with a gap year, I think they have more to do with the student than the year. If someone who is highly unmotivated takes a year to sit around playing video games and sleep on his parents' couch, that is problematic. However, if the same person attended university immediately after school, he would do many of the same things, except while paying thousands of dollars for it. A more motivated student might spend the time more wisely, considering options, saving money, and learning from his or her peers' mistakes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately, I chose not to take a gap year, though my first year was much like a gap year in some ways. I took an <a href="http://www.ukings.ca/foundation-year-programme">interdisciplinary first-year programme</a>. It's a self-contained year, creates the opportunity for exploration into many subjects, and allows a student to build independence. When I got to second year, I felt much more comfortable choosing a path since I had done this exploring.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure how I would have spent a gap year. Working would be valuable, and travel could be enriching as well. One of the most compelling reasons is to turn off the university pressure from parents and teachers. Many students would do well, or better, with more specialized training in a college environment, but are discouraged from it. While I believe a good education in any subject is never wasted, it is difficult to obtain a good education when you're disengaged from it.</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-6501067298204228752011-02-16T16:30:00.002-05:002011-02-16T16:42:31.294-05:00Rich Aucoin in OttawaHello team,<br /><br />This is a public service announcement. If you are in Ottawa this Friday, February 18, Rich Aucoin of Halifamous fame is bringing his dance party to Cafe Deckuf.<br /><br />Go. You will not be sorry. You will dance, you will sweat, you will watch scenes from the Grinch (oh yeah, his music is synced to video.)<br /><br />Confetti canons may be involved.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.apt613.ca/2011/02/16/rich-aucoin-returns-to-ottawa-for-some-more-dancing-and-3d-fun/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Apartment613+%28Apartment613%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Read more on Apt 613</a>.EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-71380987378865543172010-12-29T14:32:00.003-05:002010-12-29T15:17:36.746-05:00A ReviewIt's been a while since this blog has had some love. Part of this is because of <a href="http://www.heygoodlookinblog.blogspot.com/">my other project</a> sucking up time. But honestly? I've never been more in love with blogging, and I think it's about time I spread that back here. <div><br /></div><div>I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with this blog. For a while I was thinking about moving to a different blog and doing something more professional, more like a portfolio, but I decided that I'm not ready to say goodbye to In A Jar. It started as a way to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones and I want to keep it around. </div><div><br /></div><div>New Year's blog resolution: try to give this blog more love. I don't think it will be exactly the same as it's been; I want to try to include longer pieces when I can. But I also want to use it to keep in touch.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you guys, whoever is left reading here. Hopefully I can build it up again. Feel free to email me with questions or comments, any time: inajarblog at gmail dot com.</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-3478562852211762402010-10-05T22:17:00.005-04:002010-12-29T14:00:17.495-05:00Ottawa GuideWe interrupt this radio silence to bring you the AWESOME Ottawa Guide from the FUN design blog Design*Sponge!<div><br /></div><div>Check it <a href="http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/10/ottawa-city-guide.html#more-63023">out</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>My neighbourhood made the "cool" cut - and so did Raw Sugar! </div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-59517217636881318412010-09-20T21:44:00.002-04:002010-09-20T21:45:08.869-04:00The Divide<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; "><div><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >I know it's been a while since I posted, and I'd love to catch you up, for now now here's something that's on my mind today.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Parliament is back this week, and the long gun registry is one of the top issues. Before this year, the registry was not something I thought about very much. And until yesterday, I'd never encountered a rifle at work, killing anything.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >As a middle-class, white girl living in an urban centre, all I knew was guns are scary, and they're for bad guys. In my young, Bambi-loving heart, hunters all counted as bad guys. Because Bambi is CUTE. Over the years, I learned a little more about guns. I shot a BB gun while visiting my godfather in Massachusetts one summer, and thought it was kind of fun, although that probably had more to do with the fact that I hit the target than the act of shooting. I watched a lot of cop shows, which didn't really teach me much of anything real. I met friends, Americans, whose families hunted deer for fun and meat. I decided hunters weren't all evil (but maybe a little backwards).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >What changed this year was my introduction to a world I'd never really entered before: rural life. My boyfriend's family has lived on the same piece of land for 120 years or so, and they were mostly farmers. They've let the farm lapse now, but not the way of life; they grow most of their own vegetables, make maple syrup in the spring. They chop and split the firewood to heat the house all winter, and it comes from the woods behind their house. The traditions are carried from one generation to the next, traditions that include hunting.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >For the length of our relationship I've known that his family had guns. I wasn't surprised by it, except maybe a little when I first heard, but then I heard the stories from hunting season. Phil's dad is a good shot, and bags a deer most every year which they then butcher and put in the freezer to eat, beside last summer's chickens. I even ate some at dinner and earned some respect, I hope, when I declared venison to be delicious, which it was. At least I was eating as "free-range" meat as you could get. This deer had a long, happy life munching grass and running around before it made it to my dinner plate. And this hunter's care was obvious: he's a good shot, not to brag, but to limit the suffering of the animal.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Guns, and the registry seem to come up a lot when I meet Phil's family members. There's the city-living uncle whose brother was killed senselessly by an angry farmer with a shotgun. There are the farmers who have grandpa's gun sitting in the attic, and use them regularly. No matter who I'm talking to, they all oppose the registry. "It's too expensive" some say. Others point out that while it's only registration now, later it could be regulation, limits on guns, and while they are dangerous objects, they're also heirlooms and part of their livelihood. Once they're registered, they lose sole ownership over that part of their family's history.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I always assumed that registration made perfect sense. At least the authorities know who has a gun when they show up, right? Well, to a certain extent. There are all of those illegal firearms in our country, killing people in urban areas. Besides, the police favour it, and the police know more about guns than I do. But I do see that slippery slope feared by gun-owners: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >First comes registration then comes... regulation? Limits? Outlawing guns altogether?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I don't favour those final steps. Registration, yes, imposing some limits, perhaps. But taking away these pieces of history? Not really.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >It's all fine for me to say these things, but until yesterday, I was far removed from it. I'd never seen a gun used to kill anything. I'd seen them fired in parades, or in the movies, but not in real life. I'm not going to go into much detail on this one, because I'm still working it over in my head, and this post is long enough already. I'll keep it short. Coyotes showed up on the hillside, and a young one was on the hill beside the house frolicking. There is no other way to describe it, and in fact, it was pretty adorable. But we soon realized it was a coyote, and when they grow up, they are not so cute (they killed that songwriter in Cape Breton last year!). As I mentioned, this hunter is a good shot, and the animal was dead in seconds, shot right in the heart. When we looked at the body, it was still warm.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >We left it for the birds to eat, and packed up back to the city. Phil asked me if I was traumatized by the event, which I don't really think I was. In fact, the most traumatizing part for me was that I was so untraumatized. Me, the Bambi-loving city girl who was afraid of guns saw the logic and necessity of what had just occurred. And I've gained respect his father, not lost it. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >I guess I mean to come to a kind of conclusion here, but I don't think it will be very neat. I think this debate is divided along city-rural lines, and I think as Canadians, we forget about the other half (must less balanced than half, actually) much of the time. We dial out and don't listen to the side the other presents, or if we do, we dismiss it with our handy stereotypes and the grumblings of disillusioned farmers who need to get with the times, or the condescending speechifying of men in suits who've lost touch with the land they exploit. This divide must be examined, must be bridged, if we are going to find unity on this issue. And that is much further away than this week's vote.</span></div><div><br /></div></span></div></span>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-35343362429778349292010-09-11T20:22:00.004-04:002010-09-11T20:33:24.753-04:00End of the Week, Beginning of the Year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovR0R-oOWmLwAGX9sSQuhhkkkWOOp90uguz1j0qgu4jbfc3yC9Oz0Gr6jmWCgfaH1ax75_uHlOblFORkbmaHKEL3HFAE3mF1a-ZHErvSFxgPaNGCgYX0sx4J-1mqd7Oo4OC_HMGWXBZVx/s1600/DSC_3711.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovR0R-oOWmLwAGX9sSQuhhkkkWOOp90uguz1j0qgu4jbfc3yC9Oz0Gr6jmWCgfaH1ax75_uHlOblFORkbmaHKEL3HFAE3mF1a-ZHErvSFxgPaNGCgYX0sx4J-1mqd7Oo4OC_HMGWXBZVx/s400/DSC_3711.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515817639917485330" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Phil reading on the beach</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa2JCdr2FAY28_wUT1Xwv78Ez9tfsowgC9Cv8A-E-YFYJiLORH9lpjoPUtK_yV4aeZTp9ZKG933wY6dmaqaRtou3zidZfsdnXevc_syeNGCCj-FhlD4q_HbRblDR1TOxiWazzat8n0JSA/s1600/DSC_3733.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa2JCdr2FAY28_wUT1Xwv78Ez9tfsowgC9Cv8A-E-YFYJiLORH9lpjoPUtK_yV4aeZTp9ZKG933wY6dmaqaRtou3zidZfsdnXevc_syeNGCCj-FhlD4q_HbRblDR1TOxiWazzat8n0JSA/s400/DSC_3733.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515817632464511442" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Playing beach rugby 7s</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Frosh week, every year, is brutal. This year we started with a hurricane (and I was up to 3:30am doing frosh stuff the day before the frosh even arrived!) and a whole lot of enthusiasm to make up for it. There was carnival, scavenger hunts, pie-ings, laser tag, sherry, casino night, dancing, dancing, drinking, and dancing. The drinking is what I do to get through it. The campus is a party all the time and no one thinks about their 10 am class when there's retro dance partying to be done on a Wednesday night. We just dance some more.<div><br /></div><div>Well today it draws to an end with the culmination of dancing and drinking, the frosh leader party. I will say only that last year I did a keg stand, drank mystery punch, and lasted about 2 hours, tops, but I have no real way of knowing. I'm looking forward to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then I guess the real fun begins. Classes seem strangely unappealing. So far, I avoid readings by avoiding buying the books. Good strategy, no? I don't think that will get me very far. </div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-16432524063932641982010-08-18T22:05:00.002-04:002010-08-18T22:13:05.366-04:00Update!So, I'm in London, Ontario, visiting some family, and seeing a show in Stratford tomorrow night. (The Tempest! With Christopher! Plummer! Yeeeeeeah).<div><br /></div><div>I am feeling totally freaked and overwhelmed by how quickly my summer is wrapping up. I leave for the Maritimes one week from tomorrow. ONE WEEK. Do you know how many things I have to squeeze in? I barely even realize. I try not to think about it, lest I begin hyperventilating. </div><div><br /></div><div>The worst part is there are so many people that I want to spend time with, lots of time, more time than I have. And I have to pack. And packing makes me want to freak out, which comes out as punching friends and family in the face (emotionally). I am the worst.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somewhere on the other side, circa September 2 evening, when I am moved in and there and with my Halifax friends, everything will be OK, and I will breathe deeply. Until then, my eye has started to twitch.</div><div><br /></div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-59186157112326511102010-08-05T11:00:00.000-04:002010-08-05T11:10:58.281-04:00I'd like to join herFollowing an altercation with a disapproving woman, a British tourist in the United Arab Emirates (which does have "modesty" *ahemoppressionofwomenahem* laws) <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/brit-strips-to-bikini-in-protest-over-dubai-modesty/article1662574/?cmpid=rss1">stripped down to her bikini at a mall</a> and wandered around. She was briefly detained, had a complaint lodged against her, and left.<br /><br />Every time I hear about restrictive laws in countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia, it makes me want to buy a plane ticket, head to a main street, strip naked and run down the street screaming "You can't make me, you misogynistic turds!"<br /><br />When I tell people this, they remind me I could be stoned. So could the women there, I remind them, and for less.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/brit-strips-to-bikini-in-protest-over-dubai-modesty/article1662574/?cmpid=rss1"></a>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-70326333085440736582010-08-04T14:43:00.002-04:002010-08-04T14:45:34.456-04:00Licensed to Drive<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fhashemi/221819917/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/87/221819917_b1e0201c44.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px;font-size:0;" ><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fhashemi/221819917/">the drive</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/fhashemi/">.faramarz</a>.</span></div><p>After some delay and consternation (so, I got lost on my way to my original G2 test and missed it and had to reschedule for a month later... it happens), I went this morning at the crack of 8:20 for my test. And I passed! With flying colours, I might add. She only ticked one box on my whole test. You can round that up to 100%, right? Excellent.</p><p>I'm looking forward to putting my license to good use when I hit the road with Phil later this month!</p>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-5136182446264420402010-07-30T00:47:00.006-04:002010-07-30T00:59:16.642-04:00Rugby Love<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFY8GGURSzFyFn_LhQrV8BIv-sLbZPFfcjKbK6skCkaLcqIYhiFjAlR6irOfXfECT3gl16Z-UQZXQR4MY-RtnyCSeG55OTjQuV0vty5c40wTlAi1hB5uSPxvx2vXZgMj2FTen7T6PLxgsc/s1600/DSCF4099_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFY8GGURSzFyFn_LhQrV8BIv-sLbZPFfcjKbK6skCkaLcqIYhiFjAlR6irOfXfECT3gl16Z-UQZXQR4MY-RtnyCSeG55OTjQuV0vty5c40wTlAi1hB5uSPxvx2vXZgMj2FTen7T6PLxgsc/s400/DSCF4099_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499558983763877810" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZr3vWSLUtvpy1XzvQ1xFSMtca0TWJtEDbOA9adR8ZTXQXgdRJMrtl2104zmKIGi3TTzwpLIK2Tji92wkQ_8G6MSVEcqxE8QuHq9csIPhZrvmYBAA-PBbbZ9U7od-9zfkBlgSkIFwCHQSX/s1600/DSC_2514.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZr3vWSLUtvpy1XzvQ1xFSMtca0TWJtEDbOA9adR8ZTXQXgdRJMrtl2104zmKIGi3TTzwpLIK2Tji92wkQ_8G6MSVEcqxE8QuHq9csIPhZrvmYBAA-PBbbZ9U7od-9zfkBlgSkIFwCHQSX/s400/DSC_2514.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499558233522866386" /></a>My spectacular rugby bruise one day and two days old. Hot right? I'm so proud of this thing, I show it off at practice.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-14286250811292384942010-07-28T12:00:00.001-04:002010-07-28T12:45:28.795-04:00Team Member<div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a title="photo sharing" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiefriesen/228279439/"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 2px solid" alt="" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/228279439_52b0af618a.jpg" /></a> </div><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px"><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiefriesen/228279439/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Women's Rugby</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">, originally uploaded by </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/katiefriesen/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">kategottli</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></div></span></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px"></span></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px">I have joined a rugby team! </span></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px">I am not a natural born exercise freak. I do not run. I never think "OK, I have an hour, I'll just go out for a bit and run." I spend much more time avoiding running. I once "went for a run" with a boyfriend. It ended up being an hour of me bitching at him about how much I hated it. My insides burned, my side hurted, my lungs wheezed. No thanks. And that thing, whatever it is, that allows someone to get up and run and not stop for extended periods of time, I don't have it. I have 30 seconds before that burning feeling makes me slow.<br /></span><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px"></span></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px">But, I know exercise is good for me, and I know that a commitment to a team has lit the fire under my ass before. So when some friends from university joined a summer club team with some friends from high school (small world, eh Canada?), I gave myself a push and showed up to practice. It just so happened my first practice was also a team bonding/goal setting meeting. Warm and fuzzy times? I couldn't just slip away after that.</span></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">It's been about a month now, of practices twice a week after long, of tiring days, of cold packs on shoulders and hips and head, of re-learning how to tackle, ruck, and hold the ball, and of laughter and new friendships, as well as renewal of old ones. It's been a lot of fun.</div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">It's also been super frusterating. I am a self-psycher-outer (real thing? I think so). When I do it wrong, I feel my face turn red and I want to run away. Last night I forgot my mouthguard somewhere, and fought back angry tears as I stood watching drills, mentally kicking myself. On Saturday, in my second game, I missed a tackle and the girl scored. I miscalculated and they scored again. I want to be one of those fast, mean, hard-hitting girls on the field, who know what they're doing and run right through the competition. Even more I just want to successfully tackle someone. It's frustrating, and I know I should use it to hit harder next time, to run faster and push further, but often I just end up feeling more hesitant than before.</div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><div style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: left">But even in those moments of pain, even when I get it wrong and so completely wrong everyone knows, even when my teammates pull me aside to remind me "run straight" "aim low" "get OUT of the way of the fly half" I know they are supporting me. If I could feel safe going hard and failing hard, it should be there, where I know my teammates will pick me back up and high five me. Even after I missed tackles and made mistakes this Saturday, my whole team cheered me on after the game, celebrating my first try (touchdown, basically) that had come earlier in the game. I was happy and they knew I was. I knew I needed to work on things, and I know they knew too. Hopefully they also know I will bust my butt to get it right next time. </div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-28967395842765081432010-07-22T14:00:00.000-04:002010-07-22T14:16:02.618-04:00BlinkWhere did my week go? Seriously, where? It's already been 6 days since my last post. ACK. What is this? Come on, me, get it together.<br /><br />I've been feeling totally exhausted all week. Last night was my first full night of sleep in many days, which felt so good. Wednesday was a very low point. Super sleepy and coming up on 24 hours of headache, my boss sent me home early. I spent the night lying in bed, watching bad TV, until the thunderstorm started (with ridiculous amounts of lightning! Did anyone see all the lightning?). Thunder makes me uncomfortable, so I called up Phil and sat on the porch, watching the storm roll through and feeling my nerves settle as we chatted. My sister came and sat with me. After it had mostly passed, we went to bed.<br /><br />I had the headache of doom as the result of an elbow to the head at rugby practice. I came home on Tuesday and immediately applied ice packs, moving them in rotation from sore hip to shoulders to head. Hopefully I will kill it tonight!<br /><br />Here is a video a friend sent along to me this week when I told her I was feeling down. As she predicted, I did get a good chuckle out of it. She and another friend from school are coming to visit, and I am very excited for a crew-union (that's a good play on the word reunion, right?).<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i4nsI02gnUk&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i4nsI02gnUk&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-84514450222200320662010-07-16T10:00:00.004-04:002010-07-16T10:33:09.577-04:00I (heart) Typewriters<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/3201670847_086b2b04e3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 437px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 500px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3106/3201670847_086b2b04e3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I think typewriters are so neat. Dismiss me as a tragic hipster, but I have loved them since I was a kid. I don't know why - it probably related to my love of words. And my love of old things. And my hipster tendancies too, perhaps.<br /><br />Now, typerwriters are extra attractive because it's writing without a computer. Why is this good? <em>No internet.</em> No distractions, no YouTube, no Twitter, no Facebook. Sure, I could close the internet, but that doesn't last very long on papers, and is worse when I'm trying to be creative. I want one.<br /><br />In fact, I think I have one. It's got a neat leather case and I bought it at a garage sale but, alas... no ink strip. I don't know where to get one, or how to install it. Or, for that matter, where the typewriter is.<br /><br />Are there any typewriter enthusiasts out there who can help me out?<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/noobits/3201670847/"><span style="font-size:78%;">noobits on flickr</span></a>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-66218174380214909502010-07-15T11:00:00.001-04:002010-07-15T14:24:46.009-04:00July Doldrums<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmQIcSL6AYurYrUuJftLnBr_fYURdnbCcECjAXpsr0U1UjsAecEkmagdGMHm4lTYodzMAjJRUqIfW4XrdklFn-g2J_nckypVqMk5nM9ARPb-6jHV-PmzuKt2IXn4U7LnNW7hjRpycVnof/s1600/AA-tumblr_kyjanx9EYX1qzly99o1_500_large.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494200202258215618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmQIcSL6AYurYrUuJftLnBr_fYURdnbCcECjAXpsr0U1UjsAecEkmagdGMHm4lTYodzMAjJRUqIfW4XrdklFn-g2J_nckypVqMk5nM9ARPb-6jHV-PmzuKt2IXn4U7LnNW7hjRpycVnof/s400/AA-tumblr_kyjanx9EYX1qzly99o1_500_large.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Hey readers, sorry I've been so lame lately. I've been putting more effort into Hey Good Lookin', since it's a baby and needs more attention. Unfortunately, In A Jar became the cranky toddler.<br /><br />Nothing super exciting has been happenning to me. I've been riding one of those lows lately. One of those, hate my body, hate my passions, hate my voice (literal and more figurative voice), and just generally wanting to crawl out of my skin and into someone else's. It's all cyclical, I think; I go through high points and low points, monthly, yearly, whatever. Blah. Anyway, the cycle will go up again, but until then, I just want to see friends and remind myself that the world is good, great even. Hey world: I'm open. Let's have fun things happen, k?<br /><br />I'm also feeling politics-jaded. Not only did the city council vote yes on the awful Lansdown plan (urban voted no, rural yes; most of the time on the discussion was devoted to accomodating the developpers... I'm going to stop before I start fuming), BUT ALSO the government has made the long-form census optional, taking the legs out of any data it gathers. As Jeffrey Simpson wrote in his <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/were-missing-the-boat-on-regulating-death-on-the-water/article1637432/?cmpid=rss1">column </a>the other day:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>"When it comes to a tiny minority of citizens being required to fill out the long<br />census form, the Conservatives say this requirement invades privacy and should<br />be abolished, another example of ideology trumping good policy."</blockquote><br />I just feel like the people who are supposed to be working for me are ruining my country and my neighbourhood.<br /><br />Sorry for the downer, team. Write me about nice things in the comments, if you'd like. Or tell me what you think of this census shenanigans. Or write a haiku! (Delightful haikus over at my friend <a href="http://www.chaichi.blogspot.com/">Saf's blog</a>).</div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Photo: via </span><a href="http://www.imgspark.com/image/view/EK_hbk/1022497/"><span style="font-size:78%;">imagespark</span></a></div><div> </div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-55132752258749607312010-07-08T13:23:00.003-04:002010-07-08T13:28:32.854-04:00Hey Good Lookin' blogOK, it's been a couple weeks... I guess it's time for my new blog to be introduced for real.<br /><br />I have recently started writing a fashion blog called <strong><a href="http://heygoodlookinblog.blogspot.com/">Hey Good Lookin'</a></strong>. Some of the astute among you may have already found the link I stashed in the sidebar when I started it. I'm having a lot of fun with it, and it's even making me more excited about this blog, now that I feel like each have a focus, and two different interests of mine have their own spaces.<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 384px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 512px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvCj3Lf__QeraFYksWT25ZItqYAIKVMVSz25Yabi3OX1-zWYBxCJVYhM-y_6WZic3lVuPeQqZ_ZP9OiCxICewI-nt3p79KJB0QRYm-Z39foZqWqgqZE05GkXQzJunc3hepIn220S8T96w/s512/P1130477.jpg" border="0" /><br />If you have any questions or comments about the new blog (or this old one!) you can email me at inajarblog [at] gmail [dot] com.EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-39900839423563648352010-07-08T12:12:00.005-04:002010-07-08T13:23:07.644-04:00"Springbreak of the Blogosphere"Blog Out Loud Ottawa was, once again, a big success! There was laughter, awws, beer, and even a bra flash (quickly to become BOLO legend, yes?). I loved seeing and meeting lots of fun people and I've picked up a couple blogs I will definitely start following!<br /><br />I'm hoping to snag some pics once various people upload them (for example, the super talented <a href="http://www.sindark.com/">Milan</a>), but in the mean time, you will have to use your imaginations.<br /><br />The room was packed with bloggers, mostly ladies. Can I just say that everyone was dressed fabulously? Seriously. We Ottawa bloggers are an attractive bunch, just sayin. I especially liked <a href="http://meganbutcher.com/">Megan </a>and <a href="http://www.itaintmeatbabe.com/">Jennifer </a>as pseudo-twins in cute black and white print summer dresses. Fave dress of the night goes to <a href="http://nadinethornhill.wordpress.com/">Nadine</a>.<br /><br />I hope my reading went OK - I was in the last chunk and by the time I got up on stage, my nervousness and the beer I'd ingested took over. (Last year, I was not old enough to drink beer at the event... strange thought. The beer was great). I got some laughs, which I will take as a positive, and my dress didn't fall down, something I was mildly worried about. Let's call it a win, shall we?<br /><br />Oh, and I double-checked the story I told last night about Evelyn Waugh** - it's true! Wiki it yourself if you don't believe me. And no, I didn't go insert it in there this morning to make it true.<br /><br />If you want, you can go back and read the <a href="http://inajarblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/bus-people.html">post I read</a>. I am a bus creeper, it's true.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sindark.com/">Milan </a>posted about his fave reads, and I agree with them all; check 'em out <a href="http://www.sindark.com/2010/07/08/blog-out-loud-ottawa-2010/">here</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">* The title is from a comment </span><a href="http://stay-at-home-mayhem.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Maven </span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">made on the <a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/tell-it-to-me-one-more-time/#comments">BOLO site</a>. I liked it.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">** Evelyn Waugh's wife's name was also Evelyn (Ee-vuh-lin). To tell them apart, their friends called them "She-Evelyn" and "He-Evelyn". Cute, right?</span>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-10377834350346564862010-07-08T12:06:00.002-04:002010-07-08T12:10:41.619-04:00"Who needs toast?"<p>From Tuesday's Globe and Mail - in the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/less-studying-nowadays-the-proverbial-male-grandmother-whales/article1630146/?cmpid=rss1">Daily Miscellany column</a>.</p><p><br /><em>"In Seed magazine, reviewer Eric Michael Johnson writes: “For the husband and wife team Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha in their new book Sex At Dawn … there is little doubt that human beings are an exceedingly sexual species. As an example they detail how in 1902 the first home-use vibrator was patented and approved for domestic use in the United States. Fifteen years later, there were more vibrators than toasters in American homes.” "</em></p><p>Those turn of the century ladies had it right. Vibrators > Toaster. Really, which one make mom happier? Easy choice, isn't it...</p>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-33919296260055506712010-07-06T22:05:00.000-04:002010-07-06T22:06:00.577-04:00Mariposa turns 50<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://archives.library.yorku.ca/archive/fullsize/httppilibraryyorkucadspacebitstreamhandle103153546asc05807_ad14a01426.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://archives.library.yorku.ca/archive/fullsize/httppilibraryyorkucadspacebitstreamhandle103153546asc05807_ad14a01426.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://archives.library.yorku.ca/archive/fullsize/httppilibraryyorkucadspacebitstreamhandle103153553asc05797_009b3e66fd.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://archives.library.yorku.ca/archive/fullsize/httppilibraryyorkucadspacebitstreamhandle103153553asc05797_009b3e66fd.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The Mariposa Music Festival of Orillia is celebrating 50 years by putting its archives online! All sorts of amazing people have stopped by the folk festival, Bob Dylan to Raffi (as he was starting out). Also? My dad and his band. He performed there in 1970, and the archives include pictures of him at a workshop that year! These are fantastic. They capture the time and my dad looks so cool.<div><br /></div><div>He's the one with the banjo and the mutton chops.</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-79269445697684649672010-07-05T20:26:00.005-04:002010-07-05T20:32:19.573-04:00BOLO Wednesday<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I will be reading at BOLO on Wednesday*! Come on down to Irene's pub at 7 pm and stick around - I'm near the end. I'm excited to meet any and all of you.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Check out the </span></span><a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">website</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> to see the lineup (or to </span></span><a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/2010/07/02/come-and-hear-evey-of-in-a-jar/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">read the super nice things</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Lynn wrote about me - thanks!)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*not friday as I previously tricked Elizabeth of And Go into thinking. Sorry!</span></span></div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-26668747962264758752010-07-04T20:41:00.002-04:002010-07-04T21:06:07.255-04:00Weekend of AwesomeYOU GUYS! I just had the best weekend ever. Phil showed up from New Brunswick and surprised me. When he knocked on the door and I opened it, he was holding a red gerber daisy... he'd sent me eleven on our anniversary the week before. Cute, right? I almost fainted.<div><div><br /></div><div>He's been in cahoots with my family and my friends to surprise me! I feel so lucky and blessed to have such amazing people in my life who want to make me feel special.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>For Canada Day we went and saw the queen on the Hill - actually saw her! And then Phil joined in my plans with my friends and I to go and see Dessa Darling at Montreal Jazz Fest, which was amazing. (Video of her singing Hallelujah <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40802747@N04/4761995960/">here</a>).</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday we shopped up Montreal and spent Saturday and Sunday relaxing, holding hands and looking goofily at each other. Now he's gone back home, but this time the separation is shorter. Only five weeks until he's back in Ottawa and we embark on an exciting adventure for us: dating and living in the same city. I am so much looking forward to that.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had pictures to go with this post, but the uploader isn't working... Boo.</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-18462125863353321712010-06-29T22:31:00.002-04:002010-06-29T22:48:47.865-04:00Blog Out Loud OttawaSo as I did last year, I will be participating in <a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/">Blog Out Loud</a> Ottawa <a href="http://inajarblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/bolo-recap-among-other-things.html">again</a> this summer! I am super stoked, because it was really fun last year and I'm glad to do it again this year.<div><br /></div><div>The event is July 7th at Irene's in the Glebe, (check out <a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/">the website</a> for more info). Come on out Ottawa bloggers! Even if you don't read, it's fun to meet everyone. Come out and say hi! And give me encouraging looks. Because even though I read last year and it was fine, I still wonder how it will go...</div><div><br /></div><div>But seriously, go. The <a href="http://bolottawa.wordpress.com/bol-readers/">lineup</a> this year is AWESOME. I am looking forward to it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I will be on Ottawa U radio CHUO (89.1 FM in Ottawa) being interviewed about BOLO with fellow blogger <a href="http://elizabethcooke.wordpress.com/">Elizabeth Cooke</a>. I just read her blog, and I'm glad I did. Go and read it. If you like the Twitter, she is a prolific Tweeter with many followers. My Twittering pales in comparison to hers. Lynn from <a href="http://diaryofaturtlehead.wordpress.com/">Turtlehead</a> blog, BOLO organiser, will also be on the line tomorrow. So tune in at 5:20!</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-87191453057837158492010-06-24T09:32:00.005-04:002010-06-24T12:50:30.771-04:00Earthquake ResponseMy first instinct when my building began to shake and bounce was to dive into a doorway. My second was to turn to Twitter.<br /><br />First <a href="http://twitter.com/kady">Kady O'Malley </a>was posting about feeling it. Then a couple friends. Then the jokes started. The rumours and info and one-liners started flying across the Twitterverse, grabbing my attention. I felt instantly connected to everything going on, which I loved, as I passed on tweets and read down the stream.<br /><br />I did not have access to a TV, so I don't know what that response was like, but CTV's twitter account was excellent. Their website crashed, apparently, but they did a good job of collecting information and passing it on.<br /><br />CBC radio kept playing Writers and Company, as if anyone in most of Ontario cared about writers or their company after feeling the earth shaking. CBC online posted its story a whole hour later.<br /><br />The Globe and Mail's response was good as well. They tweeted that they were evacuating their Ottawa building, and soon had a livechat set up on their website, gathering and sharing information. From there, I saw that people as far as Detroit said they'd felt it.<br /><br />From my experience yesterday, you can't really beat Twitter for instantaneous response. I think media outlets should keep that in mind, and make sure they put enough effort into their Twitter accounts.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.knitnut.net/2010/06/did-you-feel-that/">Zoom</a> wrote about this topic today as well. The Globe and Mail tech blog posted <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/trending-tech/earthquake-epicentre-try-twitter/article1616110/?cmpid=rss1">this </a>about Twitter and earthquakes.<br /><br />PS: Favourite jokes of the day include anything about fake lake tsunami warnings, declarations that "Quebec is finally separating!" (topical, since today is St Jean Baptiste Day), and Industry Minister Tony Clement's post: "I blame #bieber #earthquake". I liked his trending topic convergence.EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-81965042920422888212010-06-23T22:13:00.002-04:002010-06-23T22:20:43.445-04:00Reasons why I'm tired right now1. I don't seem to be able to get to bed before 12:30. I try, but I always fail.<div><br /></div><div>2. Staring at a computer screen all days puts me to sleep. Ditto the air conditioning.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. I joined a rugby team!</div><div><br /></div><div>4. I just spent hours shopping. My sister and my mom are champs.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I think I will sleep very soon. And stretch first, in the hopes that I will be able to use the muscles in my thighs tomorrow for practice. No promises.</div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3211204131745598882.post-49845891264830715592010-06-21T17:25:00.005-04:002010-06-21T22:21:38.408-04:00Cool LadyRight now I'm reading Kelly Cutrone's book <i>If You Have To Cry, Go Outside and other lessons your mother never taught you</i>. Cutrone is a major publicist in the fashion world, owner of the company People's Revolution. She's currently famous for her role on the MTV shows <i>The Hills</i> and <i>The City</i>. <div><br /></div><div>I love Kelly Cutrone, most of all because she knows her shit and she takes no prisoners. She is ballsy, she takes control, she does all those things that are traditionally "masculin" and she does them unapologetically. I find that when I take on those traits, I find myself compensating by being sweeter, or being diminutive in other ways. Kelly will take none of that.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's not to say she is completely masculin. She's excellent at challenging the feminin; she calls herself Mama Wolf of her tribe. She looks out for the people who work for her, especially the girls, who she wants to help navigate a world that's crazy and has ridiculous expectations. Though she works in fashion, she wears black head to toe every day and forgoes makeup, as a rule.</div><div><br /></div><div>Her office and home are different parts of the same space, allowing her to take care of her seven-year-old daughter and her company. Where women are so often forced to choose, she chose to say "screw that" and do it her own way. And she did it alone. She loves being a single mom, and doesn't need a man to be a complete person.</div><div><br /></div><div>She is a seriously cool chick. I love her guts and her spirit. I love how she embraces feminism and knows she's cool for it. And she is.</div><div><br /></div>EKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372063310458792091noreply@blogger.com1