Urban Outdoorsmen

Last night I celebrated Valentine's Day by going on a ride-along with two of my friends who are outreach workers for CUPS (Calgary Urban Projects Society). We drove around the inner-city looking for people who might need condoms, food, or clothes. It was a pretty slow night but I enjoyed learning more about what my friends do at CUPS and how they interact with people living on the streets.

A lot of the people have really fun nicknames. For example, there's "Survivor Man" who when asked how he is, always says "I'm surving!" and rants to the workers about how they don't have what it takes to "survive" on the street. Or my favourite, Caveman, who loved to talk about his role as a Caveman extra in a 1980s Darryl Hannah movie.

I was reminded last night of when I worked with homeless people in England. Before I left for England I needed a rain coat. Because I didn't have much money, I bought one of those bright yellow plastic rain-coats. In addition to being cheap, I thought it was cool in an ironic, fisherman kind of way. However, when I got to England, it was more ridiculous than cool and one homeless man called me Paddington. In addition to having a weird coat, I had neglected to bring a hat, mittens, or a scarf. I borrowed these from friends and ended up with a very "eclectic" outfit.

One night, I approached a group of young homeless people and struck up a conversation. My intent was to see if they needed any food or referral to local shelters. But before I could ask, they asked me where I was sleeping that night and welcomed me to stay with them at a nearby parking garage. I was humbled by their honest generosity and their willingness to help a stranger. It was much more generous than my offer of tuna sandwhiches and hot chocolate that I hadn't prepared or paid for. But even so, I was a little taken aback at being mistaken for a homeless person by homeless people.

Anyway, after last night I have lots of thoughts about homelessness, which I'm still mulling over.

Hierarchy of Needs

Yesterday I spent much of my morning at the medical clinic at the UofC, getting some immunizations. I brought along an article with the intent of studying while I waited but ended up people watching the whole time.

At one point, a cute little first-year wandered in. She looked fairly ill with her hair swept up into a really messy pony tail and outfitted in her pajamas and a hoodie. She wasn't wearing shoes but cushy slippers, which led me to believe that she must have walked from rez to the clinic through the underground tunnels. However, what made me smile was when I noticed that despite not being well enough to put on shoes, sickly first-year had taken the time to apply eye make-up.

Burned

I just sent an email to the manager of an organization where I worked for two years. In my email, I asked if they were hiring and said that I'd love to come back if they were. This is the response I got.

Jamie- I am sorry- please remind me who you are-I know your
name but that is where it ends.

Ow. My Spirit. It's crushed.

Maybe this job search is going to be more challenging than I had anticipated...

Time's up!

Things have been a quiet on the blogging front this week because today was my deadline to hand in my completed master's thesis to my supervisor. I just emailed it to her and am sitting here at my computer feeling a bit sick to my stomach. After having spent so much time writing, reading, and editing the same paper, I feel as though I have no idea if my thesis is what it should be. We'll see.

I've really enjoyed the process of writing my thesis and I'm trying to savour the last weeks before I defend and then move onto the next phase of life. Full-time work will definitely be a shock to my system!

Even though there is quite a bit more work to do before I'm entirely finished, I've resolved to celebrate steps along the way. So today, I'm posting a commemorative photo of the local where the magic has been happening for the past eight months.

This corner of our dining room is where I spend my days - staring out the window, drinking coffee, and listening to CBC Radio 3. And with the constant help of www.thesaurus.com, I also do some writing.

Together at last

Maybe this is following too closely on the heels of the "Pee and Poo post" but I couldn't resist putting up a photo of the product I stumbled upon while killing time in London Drugs yesterday.

And the prize for weirdest birthday present goes to...

Amisha - with Pee and Poo, my new plush friends.

Baby Girl!

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. I had a wonderful weekend with my friend Roxanne who drove down from Edmonton. My birthday was made even better by the addition of my new niece, who shall remain nameless (but hopefully not for long!). My brother and his lovely wife Sarah are still settling on a name. She was born at 9pm on the 12th, just three hours shy of sharing my birthday. I guess my birthday present to her will be not to hold that against her.