Like many people, one of my pandemic pastimes has been watching too much Netflix. One of the shows I watched in entirety was the sitcom Superstore. In one episode, a stereotypical hippie takes a temporary job at the store and begins her shift without wearing any shoes. One of her coworkers remarks on the lack …
I’ve had an angry week. Some of the anger is directed at parts of day-to-day life that don’t matter much in the bigger picture. Some of the anger is resentment that’s resurfaced from situations I thought I’d already dealt with. And then there’s the outrage I’ve been feeling about bigger issues. Depending how you’re feeling these days, …
I once stayed a few months in a Tanzanian city called Mwanza. I’d spent most of a year trying to find ethical volunteer opportunities overseas. In the process, I’d learned that was a mostly-impossible task, at least for someone without relevant training/skills. That conclusion was one of the reasons I eventually pursued a master’s degree …
I recently learned the phrase “intelligent disobedience” and it’s become one of my favourites word pairings. It originated with service dogs. Think about it: a service dog’s job is to protect its human. They are thoroughly trained and trustworthy. When a service dog strays from its usual, the human should pay attention. Dog won’t leave …
If you read my last post on the Keystone pipeline (or lack thereof), you may have been thinking, “She hates Alberta! She hates the industry that paid for her upbringing and funds her mortgage!” I don’t hate Alberta. I love Alberta. I love the generations of my family that have called this place home. I …
A couple days ago, I learned it was International Men’s Day. I confess: I didn’t know there was an International Men’s Day. The person who brought it to my attention was a woman. Another person in the conversation was a man, and he said he felt uncomfortable acknowledging a day to celebrate men. And then, through the …
When we told our grandpa we planned to get married one day, we weren’t much older than in the above photo. Grandpa responded that cousins aren’t allowed to get married, and I remember feeling perplexed. Why wouldn’t I be allowed to marry this boy, when playing together was one of the best parts of my …
A man named Scott introduced me to the phrase “take good care” near the beginning of my (first) career. Since then, I’ve heard the same expression from others who have all been as warm and kind as Scott. I love this phrase. It’s like a request, obligation, and blessing all rolled into one. It suggests …
One of the best things about my job is the people I get to meet and the various ideas they bring into my life. Earlier this year, for example, I was exposed to the poet Mary Oliver during meetings at the Banff Centre. More recently, while I was Christmas shopping, I saw that Oliver had …
Here’s an easy-to-swallow statement: I think it’s sad when people die. I’m going to assume most people generally agree with me there. But let’s digress for a moment. (Although I’m pretty sure you’ll see where I’m headed.) A few days ago, I completed a government survey on supervised drug consumption sites. As I wrote in …
