Final Film Project: Friendly, Harmless but Homeless Documentary

The big finale of my november block, Film: theory and practice, was a 40 minute documentary about some aspect of community. We worked in groups of 3, and my group chose to document the homeless community in Squamish. We wanted to highlight the typical social stigma around homelessness. Far to often people have a curious mix of pity and fear when interacting with homeless people. It was an interesting, eye-opening experience that I am grateful for on so many levels. However, I am also glad it is behind me now.

This was my facebook status at 2:00 in the morning before the project was due... when I thought we had just finished:

"10 days- 27 interviews- numerous artsy shots taken- countless hours of editing completed- many hours of lost sleep - all for one 40 minute documentary... that is finally done"

Shortly ofter we ran into a dreadful series of unfortunate events that resulted in this facebook status:

"Okay - I need to update my status from last night, since I was a bit early to call the project done. So after a failed export, rebuilding 4 hours of lost work, fixing it, then losing half the footage and spending the next 8 hours re-fixing, the project is now done, and will be shown in class tomorrow. Please work!"

Everything worked out in the end. However, I did spend my entire block break (4 days of free time) cutting the movie down from 43.35 minutes to 23 minutes for the first ever Quest Film Festival. THAT was a hard task, but we were left with the raw essence of what we were trying to convey. It was a big job, but it turned out great!

Here is a link to an excerpt from the movie. As part of the filming process we held a campus camp out to raise awareness for homelessness. This excerpt documents that night.

http://www.vimeo.com/17016428

Here is a link to the full length movie (23 minutes):

http://www.vimeo.com/17867200

Second Film Project!

Voila - the second project of my Film Studies Class!

I am very proud of this short video. I had 1 day to film (plus another 15 minutes when my prof gave us an extra day to finish our films), and 3 days to pull it together (plus another extra day to fiddle due to unexpected extension). This short video is the culmination of my abstract vision, an amazing day of interviewing my friend Charlotte, extreme sleep depravation, and an iron clad determination to create something beautiful, touching, moving, and deeply tender.

I think that I succeeded on all accounts. Now I must recover from getting sick, and switch creative gears once again for the 3rd and final project. A group documentary about "community". It will be interesting to see how this comes together.

Below is a link to my second project - an interview with a classmate:

"Thoughtful Questions With Charlotte"

Film Studies Project #1

It is now November, 2010. I am in a new block at Quest University. Last block was neuroscience - which blew my mind (in the best way possible)! This block is Film: theory and practice. Which means we read philosophical/academic articles, debate them, decode them, and generally try to understand what they are saying exactly. The other aspect is directing, and editing film projects based on prompts given to us by our teacher Fei. This part is right up my alley. I love creating stories, telling stories - and doing it in a creative way. I gained a tremendous amount of practical experience this summer creating movies for the "Life at Quest" website. It has been fun putting my new found skills into action - further developing them along the way.

I am thoroughly enjoying myself, even thought I could do without some of the philosophical film debates. But there are worse things in life. Also the avant guard french films aren't really "my thing". Why is it so hard to read the subtitles! It makes taking in the visual aesthetics an extra challenge. But again, there are worse things in life. Perhaps they will grow on me :)

Here is the comment I received from my Film Professor about my movie, "60 Seconds of J'aime":

Joyful, affective, and spirited. All the true wonderful qualities of being an artist. In her artwork, the young filmmaker Jaime explores so many different precious aspects of one’s life: friend, family, hobby, personality…. How many chances does a viewer have in a lifetime to be invited to a sincere space of girl’s room? It is “A Room of One’s Own”, as Virginia Woolf eloquently puts it. It is a room of heart and soul, and most importantly sincere expressions of artistry. In this collection of film works, Jaime is also the only film artist who pays detailed attention to production design, especially in her smart usage of wardrobe. The viewers are obliged and privileged to this invitation to this precious space of art and life. Now the biggest challenge for this young artist is to explore more in-depth the complicated self. What constitutes us internally as opposed to what we have around us? What are the different layers of the self? The true challenges are both the technical variety and depth as well as emotional variety and depth.

Below is a link to the first project. "60 seconds of yourself." Which is actually harder than it sounds! How do you convey all that you are in 6o seconds!?!

60 Seconds of J'aime

Well I hope you Enjoy it.

Ps - second project coming soon! I am very proud of this one!

Sweet Words From a Loveable Bear

Winnie-the-pooh is quite possibly one of the most iconic children's story. As loveable as he is, he is also quite profound. While stumbling around the internet I found a few adorable quotes from the "silly old bear all stuffed with fluff". Enjoy!

• When late morning rolls around and you're feeling a bit out of sorts, don't worry; you're probably just a little eleven o'clockish.


• It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"


• A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.


• If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.


• Just because an animal is large, it doesn't mean he doesn't want kindness; however big Tigger seems to be, remember that he wants as much kindness as Roo.


• Don't underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listeningto all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.


• If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together. There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you.
 (This quote is so beautiful, and I hope someone says this to me someday!)

• If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever
.

• If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.


Discussion Question #5

(On Ronald Trosper's Lecture - Resilience and Sustainability of the Northwest Coast Indigenous Institutions)

Ronald Trosper’s idea of communal sharing of resources painted a pretty picture of how communities should operate, although impractical in today’s global society. I agree that everyone prospers when a group works together. Our last few days of team building are perfect examples of this.

No doubt pooling resources mitigates individual desires to exploit shared resources. Exploiting any resource when you are not the sole proprietor just doesn’t make sense, period. Actually, exploiting your resources never makes sense, period. Long-term sustainability, anyone? More to my point, why would someone work above and beyond his or her communal responsibility when there is no personal gain? Human nature works like this: I’ll help you- so you can help me. When someone has a vested interest in another’s success, of course they want him or her to prosper, because that means you also prosper. There is always a transfer of “payment” no matter how good the intentions of the seller are, even if payment is “this will make me feel good about myself”.

Additionally, how do you keep freeloaders from exploiting the system? Trosper’s suggestion of public ridicule may work on a small-scale community, when one’s reputation is all he has to live by. But how can we use this model to solve modern day problems? Fox News, SNL and the Colbert Report are trying their best, but are the leaders really listening? Maybe if globally people started implementing this mentality locally Trosper’s idea of communal sharing could succeed. Still, what is the most effective way to send this message to the global community?

An interesting take away message from tonight’s lectures is the idea of publically disclosed wealth. The North-West Coast native communities found increased accountability with increased transparency. Even though completely unrealistic, I am curious to know how this would change the accountability of corporate America? If multi-million, and even multi-billionaire CEO’s, in their race for supremacy had to justify their accumulated wealth, would they choose differently? Would they be more generous with their ludicrous salaries?

Discussion Question #4

(On Jean Jaques Rousseau's Discourse on the Origins of Inequality)

Rousseau claims that the creation of society is the root of inequality. Not inequality in the sense of physical inequality, which is present throughout nature and something we cannot control. But rather, it is the moral or social inequality that has created a massive separation among humans. Through the introduction of civilization ‘savage man’s’ desire for self-preservation has morphed into an obsessive need for self-perfection. It is true that humanities constant need for self-perfection has brought the ‘savage man’ out of the forest and into our “cushy” modern day society. Yet, has humanity’s progress actually created a better society? Is de-evolution realistically possible? But, more importantly is equality an achievable goal? For, I am not prepared to go back to the forest, and run around naked; I like my life. Even though I consider myself a good person, I must accept that in our modern civilization some inequalities are unavoidable. What would Rousseau have to say to me?

Discussion Question #3

(On Daniel Quinn’s Novel Ishmael – I highly recommend this book!)

Daniel Quinn brings to light many interesting concepts in his novel Ishmael. His highly amusing character selection of a wise gorilla as the “teacher” and a human as his “pupil” is also highly ironic; due to the fact humans are to have evolved from primates. We usually consider ourselves above our primitive cousins, and have nothing to learn from them. Yet, here is a wise gorilla teaching humankind how to save the world by living in harmony with natural law. Yet, the God-like complex of the “taker” civilization has humanity believing the world is ours to conquer. Why are we so afraid of natural law? Why MUST we conquer and control everything? AND, here’s the kicker – we cannot survive without nature. We may be powerful but we are not immortal. We have consciousness – but we are not above nature.

Is the “taker” civilization destructive enough to stop evolution in its tracks, or will equilibrium eventually be achieved with or without our support? If humans are just a blip in the evolutionary process what will our successors evolve into? What human traits are worth keeping?

Discussion Question #2

(On Genesis - Christianity's Creation Myth)

Because life on earth can be confusing place at the best of times humankind attempts to make sense of this world in different ways. One way that humanity has made sense of life is through the art of storytelling. In Genesis 1-11 Yaweh, the God of all creation gave humans the ability to achieve whatever they plan (11-6). Next, Yaweh decided to scatter his people all over the world, and give them different languages so they could not understand each other. Could it be that Yaweh intended his/her creations to achieve their goals independent of one another as different civilizations? Or is it possible that Yaweh, similar to the Raven in Native American legends, is a curious trickster interested in testing the abilities of his creation?

I find creation myths, like Genesis and The Raven and the First men intriguing. I am amazed by the imagination of the authors. More often than not these legends seem far-fetched, and unlikely, however creative they are. That being said, they do serve the purpose of preserving culture, while creatively imparting life lessons. However, in our modern world is the message from Genesis effective? In the future will there still be a place for organized religion? Will there ever be a time on earth with one united global civilization?

Discussion Question #1

As a collective, the human race likes to separate our unique species from the rest of the natural world. Most of “us” turn our noses up to animalistic behavior, as we are far too civilized to engage in such crude behavior. Why is it that we see ourselves as separate, or above nature? If you think about it, we the “highly evolved” human race are in fact animals. We pride ourselves on being the top of the food chain, yet we are not particularly well equipped physically for such an accomplishment.

When you think about it, we are actually quite vulnerable. Although we may be physically unequipped animals, there is one thing that sets us apart from the rest of the natural world. It has nothing to do with our physical capabilities, but rather our mental capacities. Research has shown that the human race possesses a high degree of intellect – comparatively – although at times one could argue against this point. We possess self-awareness and rationality. We have capacity for language and ability to make decisions based on personal experiences and imparted knowledge. However, does this make the human race superior? Are we really separate from nature? What would the world look like if we were all to embrace our natural roots – even just a little bit? I am not talking about going back to live in caves – but is it really necessarily for us to have multiple cars, pave the entire planet, and fill every free space with retail opportunities?

Why are we as a collective more interested in possession, rather than experiences? What needs to happen for humankind to put aside their egos, drop out of the bigger, better, fancier, more expensive competition and figure out what is best for the collective rather than the individual? We see ourselves as separate from nature, yet the ironic twist of fate is we cannot survive without water, air, food – we cannot survive without what we are trying so hard to get rid of in our pursuit of pleasure.

Quest September Block - Cornerstone

Class is back in session! I recently finished my first block (class) of the 2010-2011 academic year at Quest University Canada. During the month of september I had the privilege of studying our 'Cornerstone' class with Dr. Megan (long e) Bulloch. The theme of the class is human's and nature, AND how the stories that define "our" culture define our perceptions and behaviours to "our" environment. ("our" being collectively and culturally, or as a country, community, family or individual)

Cornerstone was an amazing course! Hands down the best class I have taken at Quest so far. I am going to post some of my assignments from the class - mainly the 5 discussion questions I wrote. They are fairly short and "sweet"(as in to the point!) that provoke the reader to think a little bit about their actions as a human in nature.

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them!

Peace, love and laughter y'all!

Writing Assignment #3 - My Most Treasured Possession

My most treasured possession is my family. Not that I can actually possess them, however my life would not be the same without them. Through the challenges and adventures I have encountered so far in my life I have come to realize it is the experiences, and the people who help define the memories, that make life truly rich. Investing in my family, whether they are part of my lineage, or connected to me through the bonds of friendship, will continue to be my best “financial” decision. Family, in its simplicity, does not require any monetary commitments. The investment required is purely emotional. Emotional investments come with their own set of risks; however, the benefits I continually receive from my family far outweigh any benefits an inanimate object could ever provide.

We have become a society obsessed with buying things, yet these objects will never replace our connection to other human beings. Objects are purely objects. The only life they have is the one we give them. Cars, bikes and motor vehicles get old, rusty and eventually fall apart. Trinkets take up space on a shelf gathering dust. And, clothing hangs in a closet - in one season and out the next. Family has life a life of its own. The individuals that make up your family help make the stories of your lifetime. Yet, just like cars, trinkets, and clothing if we don’t make time to nurture the relationship, the connections will get rusty, fall apart and eventually discarded. The memories will last, yet they will sit upon a shelf collecting dust. And, plans for the future will drift to the back of your mind just waiting to become an actual experience. Family takes effort, but you will find that what you put into the relationship will equal what you take away.

As I moved past the superficial ties to inanimate objects, and into the marrow of life I repeatedly find my family as the source off all that I cherish. My family has supported me through the hard times, celebrated me in the good, and allowed me to do the same in return. Hard times would be a lot harder without the support of family. Similarly, successful ventures would not mean as much if not shared amongst loved ones. With the help of my family, I have been creating an emotional tapestry of memories as vibrant as a rainbow in the sky after a thunderstorm. I will cherish these memories, experiences and people until the day I die - a day I welcome, in due time, because I know that I will live an amazing life because I choose to cherish family and experiences over possessions.

Writing Assignment #2 - My Favourite Childhood Place

Over the Hill and Through the Woods....

My childhood was full of wonderful, fantastic and somewhat magical experiences. However, there are two important places that I will always remember. One being my maternal grandparents cabin on Fishing Lake, and the other, my paternal grandmother’s house. Both of which happened to be 15 minutes away from each other! As much as I cherish my lakefront memories, it is my Granny’s house that I hold most dear to my heart. Partially due to the fact she passed away unexpectedly a few short days ago, and the pang of melancholy still beats strong. Yet, my Grandma’s house is most cherished because at Granny’s people were more precious than possessions.

Regine Anne Cruickshank was an extraordinary lady full of love, compassion and a good dose of English grit. Her house was always a safe heaven, and everyone was always welcome. Granny’s house frequently smelled of freshly baked buns. They were her specialty, and always requested. She was never too busy to listen, never too busy to offer guidance, and always knitting someone special - something special.

Granny loved life. She lived for the moment, yet loved reminiscing about memories past. Her house reflected that. As I previously mentioned, Granny valued people over possessions. That isn’t to say that she didn’t own anything – because that lady had more trinkets, knickknacks, and whatcha-ma-call-its than anyone I know. These knick-knacks were Granny’s treasures brought back from adventures all over the world: some collected; some gifted. Granny didn’t care that her house looked cluttered, since she was surrounded by memories of the people she loved, and who loved her.

My family and I spent a great deal of time at my Grandmother’s house, especially in my childhood. Every (english) Easter, every (english) Christmas was spent at Granny’s house. Baba and Gigi got us for the Ukrainian holidays, so it worked out well. With Granny now gone, there will be no more holidays, or precious memories to be had at Granny’s house. Soon it will be sold off to the highest bidder. Undoubtedly, that will be a very sad day. However, Granny’s house will live on. For when I have grandchildren of my own, I will teach them to value family over possessions, to be happy everyday, and to surround themselves with what they love.

Peace, Love and Laughter Y'all

Another Finished "Life at Quest" Video!

Life at Quest - Get Involved!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ6v5C0OGoo

Here is the latest addition to the "Life at Quest" video collection!

Quit happy with a. the final result, and b. that it is all finished :D

Peace, love and laughter y'all!

Life At Quest!

Check out this video I created for our website - Life at Quest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b3wwbITYeE

And then check out the site! Read about all the amazing things students at the university are creating, and participating in:

www.lifeatquest.ca

Here is a link to my post about this years adventure race at Alice Lake:

http://www.lifeatquest.ca/champion/champion.aspx?asset=222

peace, love, and laughter y'all!

Writing Assignment #1 - The Worst Day of my Life

As I mentioned in my previous post 15 Quest students voluntarily signed up to work with our rhetoric teacher over the summer to improve our writing skills. Every 2 weeks we are given a style of writing (descriptive, persuasive, essay, ect), and two prompts we can choose from to write about in the chosen style. We started with descriptive. So, with out further ado here is

J'aime - Descriptive 1 - The Worst Day of my Life:

It is hard for me to describe the worst day of my life. Not because it is hard for me to articulate my feelings, or that there are too many to choose from. No, the difficulty stems from my inability to label the worst day of my life as just one day. How can twenty-four hours, at the most, contain everything that brought you to one particular point? Since, more often than not, many factors contribute to creating that one particularly devastating event. As well, one particularly devastating event may show up unexpected; yet leave a trail of unpleasantness in its wake. To complicate matters even more, the “worst day of your life” can also be the best thing for you. Even though it is hard to encapsulate the worse day of your life into one day, “the worst day of your life” is typically the defining moment of that challenging situation.

A defining day came for me when I decided to quit bobsledding, and leave elite level sport altogether. Many events, which were hard enough to deal with individually, forced this decision upon me. As well, this decision has left a wake of difficult emotions to sift through. Although this situation was extremely hard to deal with, it turned out to be the “right” decision, and the best thing for me.

Competitive sport, and everything that went with it was my definition of being alive. It was my life. It was who I was, and all that I identified with. Thanks to sport my life had meaning, direction, and I had something to look forward to everyday. I was deeply, utterly and passionately in love with what I did, and then one day everything changed.

Quitting bobsleigh felt similar to ending a committed relationship with someone I loved. The love will go on if you let it; however, the relationship is over and all the wonderful memories are at risk of being tarnished if the situation does not change. Love makes it hard to leave, yet extremely necessary at the same time.

I am not exactly sure when it happened, but the burning desire to compete and prove myself on the international scene died. I started envisioning myself traveling, doing other amazing things, and going to school. This made me nervous. I thought to myself, “Whoa, there are still two more years until the Vancouver Olympics: no more of these crazy thoughts. FOCUS.” But try as I might to focus on training, competing, and what I had set out to accomplish I was craving something different. My heart was not in it anymore. It was time to go. All I had to do was find the courage to leave. Easier said then done.

Leaving, actually choosing not to compete and walking away was more difficult than I could have ever imagined. I wasn’t just closing the chapter on bobsled. I was closing a chapter on an entire way of life. The only life I had ever known for as long as I can remember. Leaving is always hard. I knew that. Already, I had walked away from 2 other sports, and two other national teams. However, this decision was different. It was different because I wasn’t just leaving on sport for another; I was deciding to leave elite level sport all together. This was something for which I was not prepared. I had no idea how painful it is for an athlete to leave what they love, especially when they think what they do define who they are, as I did. If you were wondering it’s extremely hard. If you hear otherwise whomever you are talking to is lying to themself!

My big ‘ah-ha moment’ came September 2008, at the final testing camp before the start of the Bobsleigh season. I was eerily nonchalant about achieving excellent results at our testing camp and okay with it. This freaked me out. Not that I was eerily nonchalant about performing well at the testing camp, but that I was actually OK with it. This was not who I was. Typically, anytime I test my abilities I get extremely motivated to be as close to perfect as humanly possible. So, being rather laid back about the whole experience was kind of shocking. Yet, the atypical, non a-type personality traits were not enough to make me realize my heart just was not in it anymore, and really there was no other choice but to leave.

It was not long after this when I did finally realize it was time to move one. This happened when I stepped out of the “me mentality” and actually observed the world around me. I saw how passionate the new recruits and girls on the development team were. They wanted to be there more than anything, and I could barely piece together the motivation to be there. I was standing in their way. It wasn’t just about me, and my issues. Just because I happened to be more talented at pushing a heap of metal and fiberglass down a chunk of ice, did not give me the right to be there. I was unhappy, frustrated with the politics, and needed to do what was best for the team and myself. So I left, at the protest of the entire team, I left.

I grabbed my cell phone and snuck out of the side door before testing was even finished. This was it. This was the moment. The decision had been made and there was no turning back. I scanned the area for someplace to shelter myself before the dam exploded. My fingers dialed my mom’s number before I even realized what I was doing. I needed to talk to someone, and she was my person. I burst into tears as soon as she answered the phone. I cried so hard my body was heaving and my eyes were blind with tears. I needed to let go of that part of me, a part that had been a huge piece of my life. I dragged myself through this heart wrenching process. Then I just let go, and as quickly as the sorrow came, it left. After that, I took a deep breath and I realized the world had not come to an end. My world did not end. I was still alive, still breathing, and I had a whole world of possibilities in front of me.

Life has been very interesting since that day. I’ve done some traveling, other amazing things, and now I am back at school. There are still days where my heart aches to be back in that world. There are still holes left unfilled, and some days I still don’t feel alive, but those are just some days. Throughout this process I also realized that I am much more than just an athlete. People love me for who I am, not what I do. I have so much more to offer – thank goodness for that! Being an Olympian means I will be branded “athlete” till the end of my days, but that is just one of the many words to describe who I am.

Back to the Blog!

Wow! It has been quite a while since I wrote my last blog. Over a year now. I have to admit that I did try to write a couple of times - but either the words, or inspiration just were not there. Its amazing how far you can go in a year - not even in miles, but also in the direction you take your life.

I look back on my tree hugging, hippie days of last year with a smile - now. It took me a while to get here, because I felt mortified, embarrassed, and well confused. I was so sure that I had found the life I wanted to live in raw food veganism. However, when I discovered that it just wasn't what I wanted for myself I felt mortified for letting myself get so obsessed, embarrassed that I had preached to my family about this lifestyle, and confused as to what the heck I should do now. What scared me the most was if I could be so wrong about this, how can I be sure of any other feeling I have? How would I ever figure out what I wanted out of life. I am still on that path - of not really knowing what I want to do now. Which is starting to get really old; however, I have made some great progress. For I see that it is now WHAT you do, but HOW you do it. There are a millions things I could be doing right now - none better than the other -just different. Nothing in life is going to be "perfect", as much as I want it to be it never will!

And so, even though I chose to abandon the raw food culture I did take away some great lessons.

• Stand up for who you want to be, and your life decisions - I got a lot of flack for the decisions I was making. It felt right at the time. I was following what my heart was telling me, and stuck to my "guns" - so to say! (I think that if I would not have gone to hippie camp I would have found my way to where I am now a little easier, and struggled a little less - but hey, these are the character building moments, and the stories are always worth a laugh of too. Since I can now laugh at the experience, it's a win-win for everyone!)
• Always be willing to try new things, and get out of your comfort zone. It is easy to look at the negative side of things, get down on ourselves and count our failures. But only we get to choose our lives, our attitudes, and how we perceive our realities - so why not find the lesson in every experience. If we stay stuck in our routines, and never get out of our comfort zone - A. We will never grow as individuals, and B. We will never find other things that we are passionate about - like sleeping in tents!
• I really enjoy talking to people, and helping them understand anything I can teach. Even thought I still feel a little embarrassed that I got all preachy about the raw food culture I did really enjoy sharing my knowledge with anyone who would listen. It showed me the passion I have for sharing knowledge, which is a side of myself I hope to nurture, and capitalize on. However, hopefully it is something a little less cultish, and more... dare I say it - practical.
• I learnt that I can handle pretty much anything! I may have had to climb into a tree to find solitude, but at least I learnt self preservation! (okay, maybe a little dramatic!) As well, I can relate to a whole lot of experiences now that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do.
• I discovered a new passion - cooking! I spent a lot of time experimenting with recipes and learnt the art of food blending. I studied which tastes go well with each other. The basics behind making things taste good! I realized that I LIKED to be in the kitchen, inventing new things, upgrading old recipes, or trying anything that sounded interesting.
• AND, we really do not need to eat as much meat as we think we do. There is lots of great plant protein that is good for you, and tastes great. Not only is taking a meat timeout good for you it also helps to lower the stress that meat production has on the earth.

Raw food wasn't for me - and that okay. Maybe it is right for someone else - and that perfectly fine too. Western culture FOR SURE needs more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diet, but we also don't need to go crazy! Life it too short to not enjoy yourself. We only have one life, so make your own rules! And, as my Father tell me - be happy everyday!

And SO - what's happened to the former tree hugging, hippie girl that was me a year ago. Well, she didn't entirely go away - however I am enjoying cooked food, fish, chicken, and even a little beef from time to time. I drink wine, and other yummy alcoholic drinks occasionally - especially when in the celebratory mood (and don't feel guilty about it)! Last august/winter I spent working and snowboarding in Whistler. February I worked for CTV during the Olympics. And March I went back to school to- finally- get an under graduate degree. (at the bequest of my baba, and when I realized I didn't want to work in a shop, or wait tables for the rest of my life!) I am now a full time student at Quest University in Squamish, BC. It was a bit of a rough transition, but am now starting to settle into the student vibe.

Which leads me to my current inspiration to get back to my blog. This summer 15 students are working with our Rhetoric teacher. Every 2 weeks we have a writing assignment based on a writing prompt. I thought it would be great to post them here after they have been reviewed. We have been writing about some neat personal stuff!

Its been a long haul from last summer till now. I've done a lot of soul searching, but think I have finally started to find my way back to a path I am ready to walk down.

Keep checking back for writing assignments, updates and other stories - up next: adventures on the West Coast Trail - the 7 day, 6 night hiking adventure - where I challenged my limits with 10 amazing people - some old friends, some new. The trip was unforgettable, and had a profound changes in how I view my surrounding - and some I have yet to discover.

As always - peace, love and laughter y'all!