Bold what you’ve eaten and strike through what you would never eat.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich (funny, I know, but I only found out I'm not allergic to peanuts a year ago, and I don't like them. :P)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (unless I want to die :P)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers [do dandelion greens count?]
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I CAN'T FOCUS JUST WANT OUT OF INTERNSHIP AND ONTO PAID EMPLOYMENT.

Which is too bad, because I have loved my internship. But starting to spin my wheels a bit here. And do not want to stuff any more envelopes. EVER.

Well, okay. Now that I've got stalkers/fans/people I know reading this, I really ought to actually write things in it. See, this journal isn't really for writing in, but for keeping up with others' journals and communities and such. I have a private journal for personal-type things and the social issues I'm passionate about. I have been thinking about going public-ish with that one, but it's quite intensely personal, so I'm still thinking about it.
This journal can be for the random day-to-day stuff, memes, links to interesting things, rambles and rants. Y'all like to read that, right? ... right?

Let me tell you what I've done this summer at my job, editorial-wise. And then you can go out this fall and buy all the books and say "I know the girl who proofread/copy edited this book" even though I get no credit (and no pay) for it. YOU WILL KNOW. And I will sign your copy, if you like. Though I can't imagine anyone but my mom would be actually interested in that offer.

 

 

On Friday night, Craig and I came home from a dinner date. He disappeared for a moment and reappeared with one hand behind his back and a small smile.

Comment and I will:
1. Tell you why I befriended you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, etc..
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you must post this in your LJ.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision, which struck down Canada's abortion laws and made Canada one of the only countries in the world without legal restrictions on access to abortion. This was a fantastic acheivement, and we should be celebrating choice today!

However, we must never think that the fight for choice is over. Women across Canada are routinely blocked from accessing abortion services (services which have been deemed medically necessary by the Canada Health Act) by anti-choice doctors who abuse these women’s trust by refusing to help them find services. Women are told terrible myths about abortion and what will happen to them if they choose to have one. Women in Prince Edward Island have no access to abortion services, and access in New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the North, and most remote areas in Canada is severely restricted. There are exceptions in reciprocal billing regulations between provinces that force women who are out of their home provinces to pay exorbitant fees in order to access abortion services. Hospital operating rooms and clinics lack the funding necessary to provide enough hours of service, and some provinces (illegally) refuse to fund clinics at all. Anti-choice organizations posing as “crisis pregnancy centres” use persuasive tactics to “counsel” women into carrying pregnancies they do not want to carry. Hospitals I contacted are terrified of having their status as abortion providers revealed to the public. There are countless other examples of rights being violated and negative behaviour toward reproductive choice being perpetuated.

Today, let's celebrate our right to choose and thank those who fought, and continue to fight, for the protection of that choice. As we celebrate, let us also be aware that the right to choose alone does not guarantee that choice is always available. The fight is not over.

(x-posted to ljforchoice)

So Craig talked me into trying online role-play. Nooo, not the “adult” kind! – this is an online community that hosts message boards where people play fantasy games, science fiction games, even Pokemon games …

He plays a “g-d game” in which the players are g-ds or goddesses, ruling a realm of people. I would sometimes ask him how the game was going and what his g-d was doing, and I became interested in the concept. Over the holidays, he and I created a goddess character for me. I was Kesara, the Goddess of Youth, and my people, the Juventude, lived in the realm of Terra Nova. They were all children – aging stops at 18 and people continue to gain life experience, but don’t physically age. I had powers like “playtime,” the ability to instantly understand all the rules to a game, and “youthful persuasion,” the ability to instantly convince anyone to act as I wished. I was so excited about it!

Then I started to play. And the guy who was “GM-ing” (the Game Master) for me stonewalled me at every turn. Kesara chats with the people and asks where their leader is. They give one-sentence answers, forcing her to ask more questions. This takes a long time in real life. It’s a message board format, which means updates occur a few times a day, at best. I can’t make another posting until the GM has posted. When he answers with something closed-ended, I have no choice but to ask another supplementary question. I had Kesara fly to another village to find the leader, where she was shot at with giant wooden blocks and told to leave town. So she tried a couple of times to placate the people and find the leader, and they kept telling her to leave. She looked for more people to talk to. There were none. So she left.

I found out, because this guy chats with Craig, who is a co-GM in this game, that I “could have found the leader if I had stayed in the village.” What more could I have done? He was made aware I was new at this. He gave me absolutely nothing to go on. This game is supposedly “player-created.” So why was he stonewalling me at every turn, denying every attempt at action I made?

I’ve decided this is the case: this guy has a story in his head, and unless I can make the right move, he’ll just keep putting me off until I finally come up with the right answer. There isn’t supposed to be right and wrong in RP, but for him, there is. This was supposed to be fun: a way to be creative and create a world and tell a story. The GM is supposed to be the player’s partner. It isn’t supposed to be a player-vs.-GM situation.

So I quit. And I know I shouldn’t take it personally, but I hate that this 19-year-old kid thinks I’m an idiot and incapable of role playing. Anyone can role play! I was role-playing with Barbie dolls with my sister before this kid was born, for goodness’ sake. Craig feels bad that my first foray into RP ended so badly and was such a frustrating experience, and is worried I won’t ever want to try again. He’s probably right.

Anyone want to play Barbies? There are no wrong answers in my world.

Happy Hanukkah!
Here's to a happy and healthy holiday season. :)

How is it December already?

Image meme! Stolen from several people, since all of LJ seems to be on this one.

- Go to Google Images
- Enter your answer
- Choose one of the pictures from the first page
- Post!




Yay!

I love the LJ Halloween theme.
That is all.

Looking for a fun way to spend a Thursday night?
Come enjoy an evening with the Ottawa arts community as we gather in support of Canadians For Choice's Healthy Sexuality Program. Song, dance, spoken word, live art, a silent auction, and even a striptease!
Thursday, August 30, at 8pm, at the Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa.

I have discovered a truly wonderful music experience: Blaqk Audio. It's my favorite half of AFI, in a side project of electronic music (which I love), with Davey Havok singing lead vocals (which I can't help but love, of course).
No one but me will be excited about this, but I AM!

In other music news, I am a terrible Lifehouse fan, because they've had a new album out for a month and I was unaware of it. Love what I've heard so far though.

Canada Day in the capital was stellar!
We headed downtown at about noon, and arrived near one. I love being the navigator on public transit for people who have never taken a bus before. We met Craig at the Rideau Centre and then headed toward the chicken BBQ area. My dad has great connections! The Chicken Farmers of Canada are a major sponsor of Canada Day in Ottawa, and since he works in an important position in the Canadian poultry industry, he can work the perks. We got into the VIP section at the chicken BBQ, got to jump the line and got free chicken sandwiches. The perks didn't stop there - after an afternoon of wandering amidst the crowds in the market and on Sparks Street, we went to Parliament Hill and enjoyed our fourth-row seats for the Canada Day concert! My dad is great.
I think Shaye were the best performers of the night. Feist was also great, although none of my "extended family" (actually former neighbors and good friends) liked her much. Her music isn't as suited to a live show, I don't think. It's suited to chilling out with headphones on. The circus school performers were pretty amazing too! I got some great pictures from where I was sitting.
And the perks still didn't stop there. One more amazing thing. After the fireworks (which were great!), we went into the Parliament Buildings centre block for an amazing reception. Complimentary beer and wine, and soooo much food. I ate so much I was still a little full this morning. And I met Tomi Swick! He was one of the performers, and I'd seen him perform in Peterborough when he opened for Blue Rodeo. We chatted a bit. He's a great guy. I got his autograph. :) We also saw Eva Avila, the latest Canadian Idol, all over the place. And when we left, everyone got a goody bag from President's Choice, another one of the sponsors ... a cloth grocery bag with cookies, crackers, juice, and dog biscuits (lol) inside.
The dog biscuits ended up providing entertainment on the crowded bus ride home. We got to the very back of the bus, near a few kids (I say kids like I'm not one. These "kids" were 19 or 20, so hardly younger than me), one of which had clearly had quite a bit to drink. He was complaining (fairly good-naturedly) that he'd lost his wallet, so Richard decided to offer him a dog biscuit to console him. These were gourmet biscuits, I should mention - peanut butter and chocolate chip ones, more like cookies than dog food. The kid ate four. It was funnier at the time than it is to write about it.
I slept for ten hours last night and I still don't feel like I got enough sleep. I get to go back to my own bed tonight instead of the terrible futon bed, so I should be able to have some quality sleep again.

So now that I have a wonderful job, I get the offer I was hoping for in April: an interview for a job at the library. Well damn, you're only a little too late, and I would never consider leaving my job now. It's way too awesome and important. And did I mention awesome?
Today's events:
9am: arrive at office.
9:45am: leave office for press conference by ACPD (Action Canada for Population Development), the organization we share an office with. We went just to support them.
12:30: return to office.
1:30: go into the market for lunch.
1:45: return with Asian noodle salad and cranberry juice. Eat in lunchroom and read the paper.
2:00: training for crisis phone line.
3:30: leave office for staff cocktail party at boss' house, in honour of an ACPD staff member's retirement.
4:00: arrive at party. Eat lots of yummy food.
6:30: leave party. Am told at the door that because we have a board meeting tomorrow night and we'll be staying late, to come in late tomorrow. When asked how late, am told, "anytime before noon, really. Whatever you want. You can bank some of those three extra hours for later too. It's up to you."
I love my job.

Thanks for making the switch to this journal with me.

I've started the coolest summer job ever, and already it's making me more aware of things and changing how I think. I'm working as a summer research assistant for Canadians for Choice, a non-profit organization dedicated to education and research and providing resources for women faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

I've learned so much so far. Some of the things I know now are:

- "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are considered heterosexist. This makes perfect sense to me, and I will now endeavour to say "partner" more often.
- abortion in legal in Canada, but there are countless barriers to access that remain. For instance, in New Brunswick, a woman must obtain two referrals from doctors in order to have her abortion covered by health care. In Prince Edward Island, there are no abortion providers. Women must travel to Halifax and most don't have their costs reimbursed. Imagine the complete lack of privacy that would involve.
- attitudes are still terrible across the country. Women are laughed at, hung up on, and referred to anti-choice organizations when they call hospitals to ask for information about abortions.
- abortion is one of the only services exempted from reciprocal billing agreements between provinces. This means that if a woman is out of her home province and requires any other type of health care, she is covered by her health plan (ie. OHIP in Ontario). Abortions are not covered, and the woman must pay the full cost - often well over $500. What if I were to need an abortion while in Vancouver for school? I'd be on the hook for the entire fee.

Of course we don't only deal with abortion, but it's a major issue. Pro-choice organizations like ours get a reputation for being pro-abortion as if abortion is the only option, but of course it isn't. Part of my job this summer is to compile resources on adoption and parenting, the two other optiions for an unplanned pregnancy, to post on the website for women. Another part is to contact hospitals we studied in a past project to let them know how they did. My major project, which I'm most excited about, is to research sex education across Canada: what's offered, what's required, what's taught in each province and territory.

This is the most real job I've ever had. This is life. This is the world. This is how it is, and it isn't as rosy as most people think. There's so much work to be done, and people have to know that things have to change.

I'm so lucky to be a part of something like this.