1st World Problems

 I'm feeling a little feisty today. Maybe it's the sudden snowstorm that came through last night, maybe it's the longer days.  Remember February? When all of the goose convoy (noisy, angry, left a lot of crap around that they didn't pick up) decided it was a great idea to park in downtown Ottawa? You know, the people that were trying to overthrow a democratically elected government? With the memorandum of understanding? The one that said that the current government would step aside and let the members of the convoy lead the country? Yeah, those guys.  Well, it seems that at least the leaders of that group are having a heck of a time.  Tamara, who started the GoFundMe that raised $10 million was back in court today, arguing that the ban she was given to not use social media basically is too broad and not fair. I wonder if they will ask her where the $8 million that was removed from the fundraising before it was shut down went. Maybe partially to fly her husband in on ...

 I am trying something new. Every time I have an overly negative thought about someone or something, I try to come up with more positive to come up with about them/it.  I am not trying to work with toxic positivity, but to see if it changes my perceptions of the space around me. It makes sense to me that if there is such a thing as physical momentum, why wouldn't there be mental or psychological momentum? Have you ever had one of those days that starts a little off, and then rapidly goes downhill from there? A in you start by getting toothpaste in your eye somehow, then you open the fridge door and something flies out at you. Everyone in traffic is an idiot and nothing goes your way? I am sure we have all had one of those days, maybe not that day specifically, but something similar. I still am not sure how I got the toothpaste in my eye.  The other day, I had a series of similar events. This time, instead of raging and everything else going wrong after the third mishap (a...

 Let's talk about representation and why it matters. This is going to be very brief but hopefully, it will make sense in the end.  Part of reaching equity means that we are equal. Not just putting lip service to it when it comes time to prove that you care about other people. It also means doing the hard stuff. Like sitting and listening. Not interrupting or sharing a time that you felt as though someone was mean to you. Being uncomfortable and hearing things you don't like is a part of learning. It means sometimes letting someone else go ahead of you, and letting someone else shine as well.  When you don't see yourself on TV or in movies it either makes you feel like you aren't seen, or it makes you feel like you don't belong. As a fat woman in a beauty-obsessed culture, I am made to feel as though I shouldn't want to dress in any way other than like my grandmother in polyester pants and loud, floral blouses, or in shapeless, floor-length muumuus. No one should...

 We made it friends. To another Friday anyway.  For those keeping scores, at least our province isn't the only one with a clueless leader. Allow me to tell you a little bit about what is happening in Manitoba this month.  On May 1, 2021,    Krystal Mousseau , had a 31-year-old Indigenous woman having a medical crisis. The Brandon hospital she went to for help deemed themselves unable to help her. They were in another covid wave so beds and staffing were not available to give her the help she required. So she was prepped for an airlift to an Ottawa hospital.  Here is where things start to go sideways. It seems the team that was transporting her did not have the proper training nor the proper equipment that was needed to get her to the airlift. They were unable to install an arterial line used to monitor her blood pressure, she was not given a "high-alert" drug that she needed, and no one knew how to use the IV pump to deliver the other medications that she n...

 I read a funny thing on Twitter this morning.  The author of the tweet asked if we had tried having a victory party for the every weekend still protesters. If we have banners and cover them in confetti. If we tell them that they won, will they go away?  It's a funny line about a pretty serious conversation. If you are unaware, there are still "anti-mandate" protests happening every weekend in downtown Calgary. One in Beltline and one in Inglewood. They aren't just gathered in a park, sitting with their signs and soliciting honks from passing supporters. They are blocking traffic, throwing smoke bombs, selling white supremacist logoed gear, and they even have a pizza tent set up. The people who live and work in these areas are suffering the worst. Many feel unsafe in their own places, and no one seems to care. Small business owners are losing money as customers either can't physically get to them or don't want to engage with the potential powder keg that is go...

 I am going to go outside of my area of expertise today to talk about disinformation.  And as usual, all the things I write about here are my own opinion.  Have you ever heard of Madison Cawthorn?  There really isn't any reason for you to know who he is really. So let's start with the basics. Mr. Cawthorn is a 26-year-old from North Carolina who currently works as a Member of the House of Representatives in the US.  Here are some things that he wants you to know about him. He is Christian, he is the only member of Congress born in the 1990s, he trained in wheelchair racing for the 2020 summer Paralympics. He lost the use of his legs in a car accident where his friend who was driving fell asleep at the wheel. Cawthorn's legs were up on the dashboard, his friend escaped the car and left him "to die in a fiery tomb". His political career started when he was a full-time assistant in the office of then-Representative Mark Meadow's congressional office.  Here are...

 Who are we and what do we stand for? Until recently I thought we were all on the same side for the most part.  I have always thought of this city as one where, at the base, we all want what is best for us. We might not agree on all the topics, but we respect each other. With the constant protests every Saturday downtown I am beginning to see that there is a population that really doesn't care about anyone but themselves. Their liberty to march and throw smoke bombs at the citizens whose neighborhoods they force into lockdown matters more than the people who are just trying to get to work, or get groceries. I will never doubt anyone's right to protest. I will however question the thought process that these groups are currently using. The mandates have been lifted and were that not what the protestors were on about in the first place? Oh right, of course, it was never about that really. It was about a group of people who have never heard the word no. The people that have never ...

 Has there ever been a time when politicians were trusted? And on top of that, shouldn't we always hold the people we chose to represent us to a higher level of responsibility? They are just as human as the rest of us and as we all know we are all capable of erring. Right now I think one of the main problems we are dealing with (as far as the division in political ideals) is how we look at our duly elected leaders.  The idolization of leaders leads to a larger problem. When you can no longer question what your leader is doing, nor allow others to question, you no longer have an elected leader. You have a cult leader. The problems begin.  In my opinion, the very root of democracy lies not only in choice but in the ability to action that choice. It seems that people have forgotten that part. Democracy is choosing a leader that will uphold the things that are important to you. When they no longer do that, it's time for them to go. Also, a part of democracy (that is my word o...

 My kids actually addressed each other respectfully today. Then thirty seconds later the usual cacophony started. When they were smaller I can remember calling my mom to ask what I should do. She advised me to just let them have at it. As long as there were no serious physical incidents it was more theatre than action. Neither of the kids can be considered anything but good people. They like to help people, they volunteer with us, they enjoy being a part of a solution.  The royal rumbles are really only issues when it's just the four of us at home. Which I am almost grateful for. I wouldn't be able to go in public if they spoke to each other around people that they do here.  I think most outsiders would describe the kids as patient and warm. When they are alone, from what I hear, they get along as well. They even hung out together with his friends one night when my husband and I were elsewhere.  When our daughter was around 18 months old (making our son around five) ...

Every day I write about what is happening with covid and politics, and every day I say to myself that I won't do it the next day, and then every day something happens and I write about it again.  Today's development has made more of a physical reaction than I was prepared for.  It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that I think the convoys that are going on are BS. The stated goals have constantly changed and the real reason behind them has never been stated. But now it's gone too far.  Yesterday, in the blockade that is on the border, the convoy members had their children line up as a human shield to stop trucks from being able to cross into the states. THEIR CHILDREN.  When I first saw the pictures (which I will post below) I didn't believe that they were real. I couldn't believe that people could stoop so low as to their children in this position. What on earth could be done? Law enforcement had no choice but to let this happen. They haven't exactly be...

 Here I am again, lost in the feeling of being left behind by my government.  This may be an oversimplification but come along with me anyway. Politically this province is at a significant crossroads. We are stuck between the more rural areas and the urban areas. There are different morals and values. We are stuck between age groups. Everyone needs to feel represented. I have rarely felt represented in this province. I think many people of my age group feel the same way. Our political climate feels very much like an uncomfortable Christmas dinner at your Grandmother's house.  Your racist uncle is in the corner yelling something about immigration, your drunk aunt is getting a little handsy and dancy. You are keeping your eyes down so as not to encourage anyone in the room and then your grandfather drops some slur as though the times have never changed. Kenbabe (Kenney) is that cousin who gets there last, leaves early, and takes the best leftovers. He stokes up your uncle a...

   There's been a lot of anger.  People are nearing the end of their ropes and the actions of others are impacting our lives in ways never seen before.  As I said yesterday, I love this country. I am proud to be Canadian. I am proud of the work we do as peacekeepers, we are known as the guys. Our world has gotten smaller as the internet has grown. Camera phones are everywhere and everything can be shared in an instant. The world is watching us.  We need to stop picking up the worst parts of other cultures/countries and taking them as our own. Last year I watched in terror as the US capitol building was stormed. There is so much violence in the world already. There is so much fear. And fear is so closely tied with anger. Due to the increase in media of all kinds, and the proliferation of social media, in particular, we no longer listen to those who study and know. Instead, we listen to arguments we want to listen to. Ones that make us feel like we are right, no m...

Did anyone else have just a really rough weekend? I am not talking about family problems or anything like that. I mean more external pressure that you just couldn't shake? I felt as though I was on the verge of tears all weekend. Not because of anything that is happening to me personally but as a reaction to not only the group in Ottawa but also in seeing how many people I considered friends who completely bought into the rhetoric.  I am pro-democracy, I am pro having your say and protesting the things that you can't live with. But in this country, my home, I never thought that people I know would be ok with Nazi flags being flown. I never thought that my countrymen would throw rocks at ambulances, or dance and urinate on a cenotaph to fallen soldiers. Never thought that they would deface a Terry Fox statue. Do they really think he would be on their side? I am embarrassed by the people who call themselves patriots. Who goes to the capital and mocks indigenous drum circles, stea...

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day.  It is also the day that the Red Army discovered and freed the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The Nazis knew the day was coming and had stepped up the murder of the residents. They had started to burn the evidence as they could and were marching the remaining prisoners to other camps that were further away from the oncoming Red Army and the other allies.  Until the Russians came upon this camp the world had no idea how terrible the war really was. Hospitals were set up and the survivors were treated. Russian soldiers handed out chocolate to the children . More than the chocolate the survivors told stories of the human kindness they were shown.  When I was in high school we spent a day at a local university learning about the holocaust, and we were given a chance to meet survivors. Each class was sent into separate rooms where a survivor would come in and share their story. When it was my class's turn to hear a survivor's story, a small ...