tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199069122024-03-07T00:05:09.530-05:00Mine to Discover"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind" - Dr. Seussagent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.comBlogger1242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-77926856803210017762023-07-29T12:09:00.000-04:002023-07-29T12:09:00.545-04:00Update: Trucs a Faire<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Blogging has largely been replaced with other forms of social
media but I find that from time to time I refer back to this list. I was
showing it to friends recently and realized that I haven’t updated it in seven
years! In that time I’ve only completed a few more things on the list but that’s
still progress! I’m almost halfway through as well. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">So to recap, on February 13, 2006 I posted my list of "Things To Do Before I Die". After watching the movie "Up" multiple times in the summer of 2014 I renamed my list "Trucs a Faire" which is just French for Things to Do. It seems redundant to say "before I die". Obviously I can't do them once I'm dead :P anyway, The bolded items have been accomplished. The orange ones since the last time I published the complete list which was in December 2016.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /><b>97 (and counting) Trucs a Faire</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /><b>1. Fly first class <br />2. Live on my own in my own place <br />3. Eat at Sonic <br />4. Live in another country...or at least another province <br /></b>5. Host dinner party for at least 8<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>6. Visit an art gallery <br />7. Go to Texas <br /></b>8. Ride in a hot air balloon<br />9. Fly in a small aircraft<br />10. Visit a planetarium<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">11. Take a winery tour<br />12. Do high tea somewhere<br /></span></b>13. Attend Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade<br /><b>14. See a drive in movie <br /></b>15. Get room service and have breakfast in bed at a nice hotel (I've done room service, but not for breakfast)<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">16. Play blackjack at a casino (I’ve played slots but not blackjack yet)<br /><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">17. Make homemade ice cream<br /></span>18. Try ten new foods<br /></b>19. Go sailing<br />20. Ride in a limo<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">21. Be debt free<br />22. Go horse back riding on the wide open plains<br />23. Sleep under the stars (without a tent)<br />24. Fly in a 747<br />25. Collect all 50 US state quarters (only 2 to go!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /><b>26. Attend my ten year high school reunion <br /></b>27. Visit Australia<br /><b>28. Visit Great Britain <br /></b>29. Get a cat<br /><b>30. Take a cruise <br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>31. Work an election <br /></b>32. Watch all moves on AFI top 100 list<br /><b>33. Be in Ottawa for Canada Day <br /></b>34. Draft a will<br /><b>35. Spend one weekend totally unplugged. No TV, No Computer, No Phone <br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>36. Visit the Maritimes <br />37. Tour the US Eastern seaboard <br /></b>38. Pour water from the Atlantic ocean into the Pacific<br />39. Fast for 24 hours<br />40. Be in audience of a game show or talk show and/or try out for a game show or reality show<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>41. Learn to cook <br />42. Cook a turkey<br /></b>43. Play with a hand bell choir<br />44. Complete 25 different crossword puzzles<br /><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">45. Take a Self Defence Class<br /></span></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>46. Fire a gun <br /></b>47. Host a fondue<br />48. Take real swimming lessons (learn proper back stoke, kick turn) <br /><b>49. Leave to drive a stick shift<br />50. Try yoga<br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">51. Take a cake decorating class<br /><b>52. Visit Nashville <br /></b>53. Go parachuting<br /><b>54. Take a refresher First Aid course<br /></b>55. Sell something on Ebay<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">56. Try snowboarding<br /><b>57. Try Golf <br /></b>58. Watch the Yankees/Mariners play ball <br />59. Drink tequila in Tijuana<br />60. Go to Disney Land/World<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">61. Get a bikini wax<br />62. Buy a new condo (or house) (or town house)<br />63. Go white water rafting <br />64. Climb Mt. Cheam<br />65. Have a baby (or two, or three)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><br /><b>66. Read through the entire bible <br />67. Stay at a bed and breakfast <br />68. Go to Las Vegas <br />69. Go to Paris in the spring time<br />70. Learn enough about classical music to be able to identify popular pieces by ear<br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">71. Shop at the Mall of America<br /><b>72. Visit all five great lakes <br />73. Stay overnight in NYC <br />74. Go to Boston in the fall <br /></b>75. Stay overnight at a Casino<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">76. Visit the San Diego Zoo<br />77. Visit Sea World<br /><b>78. Take a full two weeks off at a time <br /></b>79. Go on a blind date<br />80. See a live horse race and place a bet<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>81. Visit the Grand Canyon <br />82. Take a trip by train (aka travel somewhere on Amtrak) <br />83. Do the Vancouver Sun Run <br />84. Go to midnight mass <br />85. Attend Sunrise Easter Service <br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">86. Go skinny dipping<br />87. Visit all 10 Provincial Legislature Buildings. (9 down 1 to go - still need to get to Newfoundland!)<br />88. Buy cowboy boots<br /><b>89. Go to the Olympics <br /></b>90. Fly in a helicopter<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">91. Go to a NASCAR race<br />92. Get married<br />93. Participate in a team sport for a season<br />94. Sing a solo at church<br />95. Really try to loose weight/get in better shape<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;"><b>96. Learn another language <br />97. Visit Melville's grave in Ortona <br /></b><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Last time I published this I had 59 Trucs a Faire left. As of this update I've accomplished 45 so I have 52 left. One by one they'll get done!</span></div>agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-76845690637800451222018-03-22T17:42:00.000-04:002018-03-22T17:42:04.818-04:00FOMO<br />
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I suffer from intense FOMO – Fear of Missing Out. I HATE
hearing that people have been doing things without me. I get jealous and then
depressed. It’s a weird cycle because while I love saying “yes” to everything, I
also value my alone time. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling really left out
and overlooked. But these past two weeks have been nuts. This has been my evening
schedule:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday, March 13<sup>th</sup> – Lecture at a local historic
site<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday, March 14<sup>th</sup> - Church<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday, March 15<sup>th</sup> – Bacon Party (Girls game
night with friends where we all brought bacon themed dishes)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday, March 16 & Saturday, March 17<sup>th</sup> – Crossing
Borders Conference<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday, March 17<sup>th</sup> – Babysitting <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunday, March 18<sup>th </sup>– Babysitting <o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday, March 19<sup>th</sup> – technically nothing
scheduled but I had to study for a German test and I talked to my mom for about
an hour<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday, March 20<sup>th</sup> – Dinner with a friend and
her new boyfriend<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday, March 21<sup>st</sup> – German Club<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday, March 22<sup>nd </sup>– Book Club<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday, March 23<sup>rd</sup> – Birthday Party<o:p></o:p></div>
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This isn’t particularly abnormal for me. I like being busy
but I have to admit. I’m tired. I’ve scheduled some quality time with my couch
for this weekend. I’m excited to see it again!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-50019483515149476852018-02-28T12:20:00.000-05:002018-02-28T12:20:17.444-05:00Lent 2018<br />
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So I finally figured out what I need to give up for Lent. I
know it probably won’t come as a huge surprise here since my last half dozen
posts have only dealt with three things (my bucket list, reading, and Lent) but
I’ve decided to give up reading. Well, I’ve decided to give up starting new
books. I frequently have a half a dozen books on the go and I read a LOT. I’ve
decided that for what is left of Lent, I can only read the books I have
scheduled for this month (two book club selections and my “March” selection)
and finish the two books I have on the go – “February” by Lisa Moore and “Ben-Hur”
which I’ve been reading since sometime last year. That’s still a good number of
books but it’s way less than normal. I will be/have been replacing the time I
would normally spend reading books with reading my bible and other spiritually
edifying materials. I’m also going to try to stay off Goodreads and other
websites where I obsess over the number of books I read. Wish me luck! It’s already
weird to not be looking for the next book I can read but I think it will be
good.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-15736411900850706292018-02-12T16:15:00.001-05:002018-02-12T16:15:41.626-05:00Why I won’t be doing Whole30 for LentI’m struggling with what to do for Lent this year and it starts on Wednesday! Last week (after much Pinterest surfing) I got it into my head that I might do the Whole30 eating plan but there are a few major barriers to that for me.<br />
<br />
1. I’m not vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination but the truth is I don’t eat a lot of meat. Going on a food plan that emphasizes meat is just not a good fit for me.<br />
<br />
2. One of the biggest factors that deters me from meat (aside from the ethical and health reasons to avoid it) is frankly the cost. Meat is *expensive*. I have said for years that I am an “economic vegetarian” and this is still true. I’ll grab a rositierre chicken once in a while but I just don’t eat a lot of meat. So that doesn’t really make sense.<br />
<br />
3. Obviously if you ARE eating meat the emphasis is on good, organic, probably local, ethically raised meats…which brings me back to the cost issue. For me it’s just easier to avoid it entirely.<br />
<br />
4. I get that Whole30 is an elimination diet so you’re basically eliminating everything except meat and veggies (and some fruit) but I’m just not mentally prepared to give up all grains. No bread? Okay, I can do that. But no oatmeal? Or Red River cereal, or rice? I don’t think so. I’ve never been a fad dieter anyway and while I definitely need to clean up my diet, I don’t think that cutting out healthy items is the way to go. Plus a lot of those items are quite inexpensive so we’re back to the budget issues.<br />
<br />
Focusing on whole FOOD and clean eating is a much better fit. Emphasizing vegetables, reducing snacks and mindless eating. Now we’re talking. I don’t think there’s a name for that per se but that’s where I’m heading. I used to be really good about what I ate but I’ve definitely fallen off the wagon. Now seems like a good time to hop back on.
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-1495304001390903392018-01-31T12:33:00.001-05:002018-01-31T12:34:17.658-05:002018 Reading Goals<div class="MsoNormal">
As stated in my previous post my goal for 2018 is to read
108 books total. That’s nine books per month which seems doable. Inspired by my
friend Liz (<a href="https://literarylizard.com/2017/12/31/2018-reading-challenge-goals/" target="_blank">LiteraryLizard</a>) ,
I am putting some parameters on the books I read. First of all, no matter how
many books I read, 25% of them need to be by Canadian authors. I was close to
that last year with 23% written by Canadian authors. In addition, at least 25%
need to be from my own bookshelf. I have accumulated a rather astounding number
of books over the last few years, mostly from secondhand book sales and library
sales. I estimate I have around 60 books on my shelves that I have yet to read
so that gives me a good selection to choose from. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am also doing another 52 Week Reading Challenge. I found
<a href="https://mommymannegren.com/2017/11/28/2018-reading-challenge-free-printable/" target="_blank">this one on Pinterest</a> and like last year, I expect it will help me stretch my genres. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I am part of two book clubs so that will account for another
24 books that are chosen for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In addition, I thought it would be fun to, every month, read
a book that has that month’s name in the title. It doesn’t have to necessarily
be in relation to that month, but it could be. For example, for January I am
reading “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30037292-three-days-in-january" target="_blank">Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower's Final Mission</a>" by Bret Baier. For February, I’ve had “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6486765-february" target="_blank">February</a>”
by Lisa Moore, on my “to-read” list for quite a while. For March, I’m looking forward
to reading Geraldine Brooks’ “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13529.March" target="_blank">March</a>” about the patriarch of the March clan featured in
Little Women. I’m open to suggestions for the other months. October will likely
be something regarding the October Crisis but I don’t have anything for the
other months yet.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Lastly, an ongoing goal is to read one book that substantially
takes place in the ten provinces and three territories of Canada and each of
the fifty American states. I started tracking those books in 2017 and I will
continue to do so in 2018. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, to recap: <o:p></o:p></div>
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108 Books in 2018<o:p></o:p></div>
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25% Canadian<o:p></o:p></div>
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25% from my bookshelf<o:p></o:p></div>
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52 Week Reading Challenge<o:p></o:p></div>
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24 Book Club selections<o:p></o:p></div>
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12 months <o:p></o:p></div>
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50 States (ongoing)<o:p></o:p></div>
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13 Provinces & Territories (ongoing)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Unlike Liz, my challenges will overlap. For example, if I
read a book from my bookshelf by a Canadian author that fits into the 52 Week Reading
Challenge AND satisfies the location requirement, then I can count it on all
four lists as well as towards my annual goal. However, each book can only count
for each list once. It will be less complicated than it sounds and I’m the one
who has to track it anyway. I’ll try and report back on my reading but you can always
follow my progress on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60163012-heidi-madden" target="_blank">Goodread</a>s!<o:p></o:p></div>
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-62353434068606513702018-01-26T12:07:00.000-05:002018-01-26T12:07:08.004-05:002017 Reading Challenge: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
I have always been what one might call a “voracious” reader.
I was one of three students in grade six who won a contest for reading the most
books. Every summer the local library hosted a summer reading challenge and I
was always diligent about recording the books I read. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Once I started university, my reading for pleasure took a
back seat. I even went through a period as a second year history student where
I wouldn’t read fiction. I just wasn’t interested in people’s made up worlds
where people may or may not survive or fall in love or whatever, all at the
author’s whim. During the summers of 2013 and 2014 I was in France and my
reading options were limited…mostly because I hadn’t discovered the versatility
of borrowing e-books through the library. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2015 I went on a cruise and in one week I read five
books. Once I finished my masters degree in 2016 I started really reading for
pleasure again. At some point I started a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60163012-heidi-madden" target="_blank">Goodreads account</a> and in the Fall of
2016 I started tracking my reading more closely. In January 2017 a friend of
mine shared a 52 week reading challenge. I knew I already was reading a fairly
wide variety of books but I figured this would be a good way to challenge
myself to read genres I generally avoided (aka fantasy). I tracked my reading
both on Goodreads and in a bullet journal. By the end of 2017 I had completed
the challenge. My total for the year was a whopping <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/60163012" target="_blank">117 books read</a>. <-super -="" by="" check="" cool="" goodreads="" graphics="" it="" o:p="" out="" provided=""></-super></div>
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<br /></div>
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I was reading right up to the afternoon of New Year’s Eve
which was a bit stressful so I’ve reduced my 2018 target down to 108. That’s
still over two a week, basically nine a month. Very doable, assuming I maintain
the pace of last year. I also have a new 52 week challenge. I’ll cover that in
a separate post. Right now I want to review what I read last year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Of the 117 books I read 38 via audio and one as it was
released via podcast. Two of those I started the paper version and ended with
the audio. The rest were either hard copy or e-book. So that’s 32% done via
audio. I have a forty minute commute each way to work so that really helped
pass the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here's just a few of the books I read. You can see the
complete list on my Goodreads account. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some thoughts on the books I read:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>My Top Five of 2017</b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>All the Light We Cannot See</li>
<li>The Light Between the Oceans</li>
<li>The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of
America’s Great Migration – Isabel Wilkerson</li>
<li>The Eye of the Needle – Ken Follett</li>
<li>Longbourn – Jo Baker</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<b>Worst book</b>: “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond (<i>so boring)</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Read in one day</b>: “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Books that should only be listened to on audio</b>: </div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Born a Crime:
Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah</li>
<li>Yes, Chef by
Marcus Samuelsson</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>Books I read only because of their title</b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Badass Librarians
of Timbuktu: and their race to save the world’s most precious manuscripts by
Joshua Hammer </li>
<li>What I was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoir by
Kristin Newman</li>
</ul>
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Book everyone should read</b>: The Warmth of Other Suns: The
Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson </div>
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-49663522944072837222017-02-28T17:49:00.000-05:002017-02-28T17:49:01.700-05:00Lent 2017: Time to get off the interwebs<div class="MsoNormal">
I first participated in Lent in 2014. It is not a tradition
I was raised with but I think the exercise can be incredibly beneficial when
applied correctly. That first year I gave up cheese. It’s no secret that cheese
is hands down my favourite food and I like nothing more than some good quality
unique cheeses. I did have a caveat and it was that if I was offered free
pizza, then I could consume cheese during the 40 days of Lent. That happened
twice. I also accidently had it on some salad and once some friends brought a
selection of cheese specifically for me to try and I didn’t feel right
refusing. I think it’s telling that three years later I can still detail the
few times I made exceptions to my goal in that first year. That summer I was in
France, the land of 360 cheeses, and I told my boss about my Lenten
observations. His response? “Wow! C’est un vrai puisement!” And then we
proceeded to may up for my six weeks of cheese-less-ness with two months of
amazing cheese. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2015 I swore off candy. This included all wrapped candy
and chocolate bars and even more significantly, I stopped playing Candy Crush.
I don’t really think of myself as a big candy eater but I was amazed at how
prevalent it was. I remember that just after Lent started it was Chinese New
Year. I worked in the International office at the time and I couldn’t sample
all the interesting Chinese candies because of my pledge. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In 2016 I quietly stopped eating potato chips. I say quietly
because I never bothered to blog about it and I really didn’t talk about it.
Plus people don’t know just how many chips I eat. They’re my go-to stress food,
comfort food, reward food. Really everything. I did get through the six weeks
without having any though so that was a pretty big deal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Onto 2017. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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I’ve debated for awhile about trying to reduce the time I
spend online. It’s hard because Facebook and Instagram are the primary way I
stay in touch with friends and family all around the world. Still I know I
spend way too much time idly scrolling through a feed that I’ve already been
through. I don’t know if it’s coincidence or serendipity that I’m moving into a
new home the day Lent starts. In any case it’s a time for new beginnings and
for building new habit patterns. Having a place of my own means increased
expenses as well and I’ve decided that one expense I don’t need is internet. It’s
not to say I won’t be online. I still have data on my phone but I have a pretty
small package so I won’t be able to idly scroll through my feeds or check for
updates every five seconds. It also means that my newly refound candy crush
obsession has to go on hold again. I’m hoping all this new found time will
result in a new focus and clarity. Instead of reaching for my phone every time
I get the urge to go online, I’ll reach for a book, or better yet my bible. Or
I’ll go for a walk. Wish me luck! Detox starts tomorrow!<o:p></o:p></div>
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-48315422246500222412016-12-29T14:25:00.000-05:002016-12-29T14:26:08.915-05:00Trucs a FaireSo I realize I haven't posted in this blog for almost a year and I haven't updated my "Trucs a Faire" in two years but I think it's time. I still refer to it and with the new year coming now is a good time to take stock of how far I have come.<br />
<br />
So to recap, on February 13, 2006 I posted my list of "Things To Do Before I Die". After watching the movie "Up" multiple times in the summer of 2014 I renamed my list "Trucs a Faire" which is just French for Things to Do. It seems redundant to say "before I die". Obviously I can't do them once I'm dead :P anyway, The bolded items have been accomplished. The orange ones since the last time I published the complete list which was in January 2014.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>97 (and counting) Trucs a Faire </u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>1. Fly first class </b><br />
<b>2. Live on my own in my own place </b><br />
<b>3. Eat at Sonic </b><br />
<b>4. Live in another country...or at least another province </b><br />
5. Host dinner party for at least 8<br />
<br />
<b>6. Visit an art gallery </b><br />
<b>7. Go to Texas </b><br />
8. Ride in a hot air balloon<br />
9. Fly in a small aircraft<br />
10. Visit a planetarium<br />
<br />
11. Take a winery tour<br />
12. Do high tea somewhere<br />
13. Attend Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade<br />
<b>14. See a drive in movie </b><br />
15. Get room service and have breakfast in bed at a nice hotel (I've done room service, but not for breakfast)<br />
<br />
16. Play blackjack at a casino (I’ve played slots but not blackjack yet)<br />
17. Make homemade ice cream<br />
<b>18. Try ten new foods</b><br />
19. Go sailing<br />
20. Ride in a limo<br />
<br />
21. Be debt free<br />
22. Go horse back riding on the wide open plains<br />
23. Sleep under the stars (without a tent)<br />
24. Fly in a 747<br />
25. Collect all 50 US state quarters (only 3 to go!)<br />
<br />
<b>26. Attend my ten year high school reunion </b><br />
27. Visit Australia<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>28. Visit Great Britain </b></span><br />
29. Get a cat<br />
<span style="color: orange;"><b>30. Take a cruise </b></span><br />
<br />
<b>31. Work an election </b><br />
32. Watch all moves on <a href="http://agent713.blogspot.ca/2014/07/32-watch-all-movies-on-afi-top-100-list.html" target="_blank">AFI top 100 list</a><br />
<b>33. Be in Ottawa for Canada Day </b><br />
34. Draft a will<br />
<b>35. Spend one weekend totally unplugged. No TV, No Computer, No Phone </b><br />
<br />
<b>36. Visit the Maritimes </b><br />
<b>37. Tour the US Eastern seaboard </b><br />
38. Pour water from the Atlantic ocean into the Pacific (still carrying around the water I collected at Peggy's Cove)<br />
39. Fast for 24 hours<br />
40. Be in audience of a game show or talk show and/or try out for a game show or reality show<br />
<br />
<b>41. Learn to cook </b><br />
42. Cook a turkey<br />
43. Play with a hand bell choir<br />
44. Complete 25 different crossword puzzles<br />
45. Take a Self Defence Class<br />
<br />
<b>46. Fire a gun </b><br />
47. Host a fondue<br />
48. Take real swimming lessons (learn proper back stoke, kick turn)
<br />
49. Leave to drive a stick shift<br />
50. Try yoga<br />
<br />
51. Take a cake decorating class<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">52. Visit Nashville </span></b><br />
53. Go parachuting<br />
54. Take a refresher First Aid course<br />
55. Sell something on Ebay<br />
<br />
56. Try snowboarding<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">57. Try Golf </span></b><br />
<b>58. Watch the Yankees/Mariners play ball </b><br />
59. Drink tequila in Tijuana<br />
60. Go to Disney Land/World<br />
<br />
61. Get a bikini wax<br />
62. Buy a new condo (or house) (or town house)<br />
<b>63. Go white water rafting </b><br />
64. Climb Mt. Cheam<br />
65. Have a baby (or two, or three)<br />
<br />
<b>66. Read through the entire bible </b><br />
<b>67. Stay at a bed and breakfast </b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">68. Go to Las Vegas </span></b><br />
<b>69. Go to Paris in the spring time</b><br />
70. Learn enough about classical music to be able to identify popular pieces by ear<br />
<br />
71. Shop at the Mall of America<br />
<b>72. Visit all five great lakes </b><br />
<b>73. Stay overnight in NYC </b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">74. Go to Boston in the fall </span></b><br />
75. Stay overnight at a Casino<br />
<br />
76. Visit the San Diego Zoo<br />
77. Visit Sea World<br />
<b>78. Take a full two weeks off at a time </b><br />
79. Go on a blind date<br />
80. See a live horse race and place a bet<br />
<b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: orange;">81. Visit the Grand Canyon </span></b><br />
<b>82. Take a trip by train (aka travel somewhere on Amtrak) </b><br />
<b>83. Do the Vancouver Sun Run </b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">84. Go to midnight mass </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: orange;">85. Attend Sunrise Easter Service </span></b><br />
<br />
86. Go skinny dipping<br />
87. Visit all 10 Provincial Legislature Buildings. (9 down 1 to go)<br />
88. Buy cowboy boots<br />
<b>89. Go to the Olympics </b><br />
90. Fly in a helicopter<br />
<br />
91. Go to a NASCAR race<br />
92. Get married<br />
93. Participate in a team sport for a season<br />
94. Sing a solo at church<br />
95. Really try to loose weight/get in better shape<br />
<br />
<b>96. Learn another language </b><br />
<b>97. Visit Melville's grave in Ortona </b><br />
<br />
Last time I published this I had 69 Trucs a Faire left. As of this update I've accomplished 38 so I have 59 left. One by one they'll get done!agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-72775910415637753832016-02-23T22:13:00.001-05:002016-02-23T22:13:03.494-05:00A ConfessionSo I have a confession. After two months (ish) of “Vegan Mondays” I’ve had a revelation. I don’t care. I don’t care enough to be vegan. There. I’ve said it. I do think animals are made to be eaten. I do think meet is yummy. Heck I even think responsible hunting and fishing is an okay practice and would do it myself if given the chance. What I do care about is industrial farming and other non-sustainable food practices. I also care about the fact that meat is so expensive and that many animal products aren’t particularly healthy but I don’t care enough to stop eating them totally. I think being vegan, or at least vegetarian is great and if it’s for you, all the power to you. I think we can ALL benefit by eating LESS meat but I just don’t see myself not eating any animal products at all. I recently found a post talking about having a “plant based” diet. THAT is me. Plants, grains, legumes, those are the bulk of what I eat. I still like reading about veganism and trying vegan and vegetarian recipes but avoiding all animal products just isn’t for me. I’m still planning on observing Vegan Monday’s at least to some extent. I said at the beginning that I wouldn’t necessarily be militant about it. I have found that I’ve not been doing well with prioritizing blogging about my meals but for the most part I have stayed vegan on Mondays and I will continue that. But I’m also not going to stress if I decide to have something “not approved.” So there’s my confession. Plant based, but not vegan.
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-21833268464493386772016-01-04T23:07:00.000-05:002016-01-04T23:07:20.360-05:00Vegan Monday: 1/52I have a dozen other ideas for blog posts but somehow this is the only thing I'm staying on top of. Hopefully I'll get to the other ones soon. <br />
<br />
Verdict for today: planning is everything, and this is getting easier. <br />
<br />
<u>Breakfast</u><br />
Turkish Coffee - black<br />
<em>I almost slipped up and made regular coffee but I remembered before it was too late</em><br />
Toast with peanut butter and jam<br />
Banana<br />
<br />
<u>Lunch</u><br />
Homemade Butternut Squash soup<br />
<em>I actually made this last week but ended up not eating it so I froze it for today. It was literally roasted squash, a carrot, some onion, garlic, a dash of olive oil and water. Not as spectacular as when I make it with my homemade chicken stock but still warm and filling. One of these days I will make vegetable stock so I have it on hand. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<u>Snack</u><br />
Pom Tango tea from DavidsTea<br />
Hard cinnamon candies <br />
<em>The snacking is definitely the hardest. Especially after Christmas. I have a ton of junk food left over but most of it has milk chocolate or other milk products so I can't eat it. Soon that will all be cleared out and I can really get on track.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<u>Supper</u><br />
<a href="http://feistychef.ca/blog/green-onion-cakes" target="_blank">Green Onion Cakes</a><br />
<em>My friend Amanda posted about these last week and I've been looking forward to them for days. They're pretty easy and just something fun to try. I halved the recipe and still have a bunch for breakfast tomorrow. This counts as my "one new thing" too since it was a new recipe!</em><br />
Salad: greens, yellow pepper, tomatoes, green onions, black beans, navy beans and balsamic vinegar as a dressing. agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-58751855006844429062015-12-28T22:26:00.001-05:002015-12-29T10:05:56.286-05:00Vegan Monday: Take twoBeing prepared is key. Knowing this was coming made it much easier to plan for and get mentally prepared for. Because I am only doing this one day a week at this point it's just a matter of deciding what I eat today and what I eat tomorrow. Decisions I make all the time, but now with a bit more structure.<br />
<br />
<u>Breakfast</u><br />
Red River Cereal with maple syrup straight off a farm in Waterloo<br />
a naval orange<br />
Turkish coffee - black<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>I mentioned before that not having milk in my coffee is likely going to be one of the hardest parts of this challenge. However, I received some Turkish coffee from a friend who visits Turkey often so I just planned to drink this instead since it is intended to be drunk black. I'm still working on learning how to make it properly but it definitely gave me the kick I needed!</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<u>Lunch</u><br />
Two Barley, Wild Rice & Cranberry in a White Tea & Honey Dressing<br />
<i>Leftovers from a last minute purchase for a potluck I attended yesterday. I realize most Vegans don't approve of eating honey but I I figured that was one concession I was willing to make.</i><br />
1/2 an avacado<br />
a handful of Triscuits<br />
a pickle<br />
<br />
<u>Snacks</u><br />
Popcorn made with grape seed oil<br />
Brazillionaire black tea from DavidsTea as well as Organic White Tea<br />
In-shell Sunflower seeds<br />
<br />
<u>Supper</u><br />
Roasted Veggies using <a href="http://1messychef.com/2010/05/07/71-balsamic-grilled-vegetables/" target="_blank">this recipe</a><br />
<i>Except I used butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, onions and a few grape tomatoes. Gotta use what's in the fridge!</i><br />
<a href="http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?catId=10&pageId=164" target="_blank">Vegan Potato Pancakes</a><br />
<br />
So today the vegan thing went really well! I already have some recipes lined up for next week and I also found a restaurant within walking distance of my house. Maybe I'll check it out one of these weeks. Tomorrow though? It's all about the cheese ;)<br />
<br />
ETA: I'm aware that aside from the salad at lunch there was a pretty distinct lack of protein in my diet today. That's largely because I wasn't home and able to prepare the dried beans I like to use. I'll definitely focus on remedying that next week.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-38162140224417542112015-12-21T20:28:00.000-05:002015-12-21T20:28:26.081-05:00Vegan Mondays?I go back and forth on the idea of vegetarianism. I think there are some good reasons to embrace that kind of lifestyle but I like meat. I don't eat a LOT of meat, I am a student after all and meat is expensive. I was reading the (now defunct) blog <a href="http://godiloveparis.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">God, I Love Paris</a> because I read her book this summer and really enjoyed it. She has dabbled in <a href="http://godiloveparis.blogspot.ca/search/label/Vegan%20Monday" target="_blank">Vegan Mondays</a> and I'm wondering if this might not be something good to try. Vegetarian or Meatless Monday's really isn't an issue. I used to joke that I was more likely to have a "Meaty Monday" because it seemed like it was the one day I'd actually eat meat. But vegan? Once a week? It's worth a try. If only to be more mindful of what I'm actually eating. What I like about Amy's approach is she doesn't beat herself up if she does slip up. She just notes it and moves on. So, if I was to try and implement this for the new year, that gives me two Monday's to practice. Today and next week. Neither are really ideal since I'm going away over Christmas so I'm frantically trying to eat up the leftovers in my fridge, many of which contain meat or meat products, but in the spirit of Amy, I'll just list things and move on. So here's what I've had to eat so far today with the "non-conforming" items bolded:<br />
<br />
<u>Breakfast </u><br />
<a href="https://www.hy-vee.com/meal-solutions/recipes/Pumpkin-Breakfast-Quinoa-R8129.aspx" target="_blank">Pumpkin Breakfast Quinoa</a> (actually vegan since I didn't eat it with yogurt)<br />
<b>Coffee with 2% milk</b> (this will be hands down the hardest switch.)<br />
<br />
<u>Lunch</u><br />
<b>Brown Rice California Rolls from Trader Joe's </b>(this was kind of a snack while I was shopping in the US and then I had actual lunch when I got home an hour later)<br />
Quinoa Bean Salad (quinoa, black beans, navy beans, yellow peppers, tomatoes and avocado)<br />
<b>Buffalo Chicken Roll-ups</b> (leftovers: chicken, cream cheese and hot sauce in Pillsbury crescent rolls because I saw something similar on Pinterest and the crescents were on sale)<br />
<b>Christmas Cookies </b>(butter and eggs)<br />
<br />
Chocolate Chai tea (I'm thinking chocolate disqualifies it?)<br />
<br />
<u>Supper: </u><br />
<b>Roast chicken</b> (leftovers)<br />
Roasted potatoes<br />
Steamed Carrots<br />
Steamed Brussel Sprouts<br />
Dill Pickles<br />
Cranberry Jelly<br />
<br />
So essentially none of my meals were meat/dairy free but I could definitely do it. We'll see how next week goes.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-46039207644138929612015-04-05T09:32:00.001-04:002015-04-05T09:32:41.105-04:00Happy Easter! Lent seems like it's the longest period of time ever and then suddenly, it's over! This was only my second time participating and it went way better than last year. Let's review what I committed to:<br />
<span style="background-color: #441500; color: #ffeedd; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5240001678467px; line-height: 20.2859992980957px;">So this year I'm doing candy. All small wrapped hard or soft candy, chocolates, chocolate bars, you name it, I'm not eating it. </span><span style="background-color: #441500; color: #ffeedd; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5240001678467px; line-height: 20.2859992980957px;">Just cutting out very identifiable sugary sweets. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #441500; color: #ffeedd; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5240001678467px; line-height: 20.2859992980957px;"><br /></span>
And I did! Did I give up sugar entirley? Not by a long shot. I still had dessert every night on the cruise and I still baked at home but I didn't eat ANY hard or soft candy, chocolates, chocolate bars etc. Candy is EVERYWHERE and it was good to be aware of it. It was actually a lot easier to pass up than I thought it would be and a lot easier to avoid than cheese was last year.<br />
<br />
I think my biggest accomplishment was giving up Candy Crush. I deleted it off my phone and never looked back. The withdrawl from that was HARD. I ended up surfing Pinterest a lot more than usual initially but after awhile even that went back to normal. I will allow myself to eat candy again but I won't be re-downloading Candy Crush so that's a big accomplishment.<br />
<br />
I did start using Instagram a lot more www.instagram.com/agent_713 but it's because I was participating in the rethinkchurch.org's 2015 Lent photo-a-day-words challenge which I have found to be deeply rewarding.<br />
<br />
Lent is supposed to be a period of reflection on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and on Easter we celebrate the sweetness of his resurrection. As I re-introduce (limited amounts of) candy, I will savour that sweetness and be reminded of the joy that only he brings.<br />
<br />
Happy Easter everyone.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-76309768952502088392015-02-17T21:30:00.000-05:002015-02-17T21:30:19.954-05:00Lent 2015: The one where I give up candyHello blog world. I'm fairly sure this is the longest I've gone without blogging but hey, summer is coming right? Anyway, just thought I'd check in and record my plans for Lent this year. I never really followed up on last year but the bottom line is, it went well. After the first slip up I willingly had cheese just a handful of more times. Twice on pizza I got for free (which was a rule I set before I started. As a student I don't refuse free pizza and I got it twice last year during Lent. I wasn't about to pick off the cheese either so I just ate it.) Another time friends of mine who own a deli brought a bunch of different cheeses for me to try and obviously I couldn't say no. So yeah, cheese a handful of times in six weeks is way better than all the time like normal. Of course I made up for it in France ;)<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So this year I'm doing candy. All small wrapped hard or soft candy, chocolates, chocolate bars, you name it, I'm not eating it. I developed a nasty chocolate addiction last year and I need to kick it. Late last year I was toying with the idea of giving up sugar entirely but that turned out to be WAY harder than I thought it would be so I'm starting small. Just cutting out very identifiable sugary sweets. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the hard part though. I also have a horrible addiction to Candy Crush. The game on your phone? I only have a handful of games downloaded including that, Candy Crush Saga and Words With Friends. Well I'm not giving up WWF but I DID delete both Candy Crush and Candy Crush Saga from my phone. That's a big deal because I'm on something like level 406 in CC and it's going to be weird to not have it to zone out with. That's the thing though. It's like candy. I'm very mindless when it comes to eating candy or playing the game and being more mindful is what this is all about. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm going to replace the desire to play Candy Crush with reading scripture and the desire to eat candy with praying. I know that sounds pious but isn't that what Lent is all about? I've been doing a lot more of this anyway so it shouldn't be too terribly difficult but getting rid of those two candy addictions in my life will force a reminder to keep my mind on what is most important. Wish me luck!</div>
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-19793616313464547442014-07-31T16:22:00.000-04:002014-07-31T16:22:19.543-04:00Three ThreeAll day I've been trying to figure out how to capture what it means to be thirty three. I feel like it's not much different than turning eight, or thirteen or any other age. With a summer birthday I was often at my grandparents house in Edmonton for my big day. I remember waking up on those hot summer days, stretching and then remembering BAM! It's my birthday. I'd lay there for a bit and wonder if I felt any different. Any older. Not really. Then I'd get up and look in the big round mirror. I didn't look any different than yesterday either. So then I'd shuffle out to the kitchen and the only thing that made the day different was that Grandma would give me a big happy birthday hug and each person, as they woke and found their way to the butter yellow kitchen, would add their good wishes and hugs. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's pretty much the same as today. It as just another day. I swept in the morning, did some dusting, and let a parade of repair people through the gates. And periodically throughout the day I'd check Facebook where I always had a host of new birthday wishes waiting. They're coming in from all over the world and in multiple languages. That is how I know I am loved. The fact that these people took a few seconds out of their day to send me some good wishes. I appreciate each and every one. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I don't feel any different today. Yes 33 is closer to 35 which sounds closer to 40 but this next year is going to be exciting. I'll be graduating in June and starting, as Meredith and I decided "the third half of my life." More chapters in this book of life. Bring it on. </div>
agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-88653341485433110742014-07-28T08:04:00.003-04:002014-07-28T10:26:39.045-04:00#32 Watch all the movies on the AFI Top 100 listThe American Film Institute has published a number of <a href="http://www.afi.com/100Years/downloads.aspx">Top 100 Lists</a>. #32 on my list of <a href="http://agent713.blogspot.ca/2014/01/trucs-faire.html">Trucs a Faire</a> is to watch all of the ones on the "<a href="http://www.afi.com/100Years/movies.aspx">100 Years...100 Films</a>" list. That's the original list and even though it was published in 1998 and there has since been updates, that's the one I'm going with because it's the one I was referring to when I started my list in 2006. I don't watch a lot of movies in general and rarely during the school year so I tend to make the most progress on this list in the summer. I think I have a note somewhere on when I watched these movies but that doesn't matter so much. The point is, if they have an X beside them, I've seen them and some of them, like "The Sound of Music" I've watched multiple times. My most recent viewing was of "The African Queen" and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a pretty simple story but quite enjoyable. I'll try and remember to post updates of my progress from time to time. For now, as of July 28, 2014 I've watched 43/100 movies on this list.<br />
<br />
# MOVIE YEAR<br />
X 1 CITIZEN KANE 1941<br />
X 2 CASABLANCA 1942<br />
X 3 THE GODFATHER 1972<br />
X 4 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939<br />
X 5 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962<br />
X 6 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939<br />
X 7 THE GRADUATE 1967<br />
X 8 ON THE WATERFRONT 1954<br />
X 9 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993<br />
<br />
X 10 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN 1952<br />
X 11 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946<br />
X 12 SUNSET BLVD. 1950<br />
X 13 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 1957<br />
14 SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959<br />
X 15 STAR WARS 1977<br />
16 ALL ABOUT EVE 1950<br />
X 17 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951<br />
18 PSYCHO 1960<br />
19 CHINATOWN 1974<br />
<br />
20 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975<br />
21 THE GRAPES OF WRATH 1940<br />
22 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968<br />
23 THE MALTESE FALCON 1941<br />
24 RAGING BULL 1980<br />
X 25 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982<br />
26 DR. STRANGELOVE 1964<br />
27 BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967
28 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979<br />
29 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON 1939<br />
<br />
30 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 1948<br />
31 ANNIE HALL 1977<br />
32 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974<br />
X 33 HIGH NOON 1952<br />
X 34 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962<br />
X 35 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 1934<br />
36 MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969<br />
37 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 1946<br />
38 DOUBLE INDEMNITY 1944<br />
39 DOCTOR ZHIVAGO 1965<br />
<br />
X 40 NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959<br />
41 WEST SIDE STORY 1961<br />
42 REAR WINDOW 1954<br />
43 KING KONG 1933<br />
X 44 THE BIRTH OF A NATION 1915<br />
X 45 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951<br />
46 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971<br />
47 TAXI DRIVER 1976<br />
48 JAWS 1975<br />
X 49 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937<br />
<br />
X 50 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969<br />
X 51 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940<br />
52 FROM HERE TO ETERNITY 1953<br />
53 AMADEUS 1984<br />
X 54 ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 1930<br />
X 55 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965<br />
56 M*A*S*H 1970<br />
57 THE THIRD MAN 1949<br />
X 58 FANTASIA 1940<br />
59 REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE 1955<br />
<br />
X 60 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981<br />
61 VERTIGO 1958<br />
X 62 TOOTSIE 1982<br />
63 STAGECOACH 1939<br />
64 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 1977<br />
65 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991<br />
66 NETWORK 1976<br />
67 THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE 1962<br />
X 68 AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 1951<br />
69 SHANE 1953<br />
<br />
X 70 THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971<br />
X 71 FORREST GUMP 1994<br />
X 72 BEN-HUR 1959<br />
X 73 WUTHERING HEIGHTS 1939<br />
74 THE GOLD RUSH 1925<br />
X 75 DANCES WITH WOLVES 1990<br />
76 CITY LIGHTS 1931<br />
77 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973<br />
X 78 ROCKY 1976<br />
79 THE DEER HUNTER 1978<br />
<br />
80 THE WILD BUNCH 1969<br />
81 MODERN TIMES 1936<br />
82 GIANT 1956
X<br />
83 PLATOON 1986<br />
84 FARGO 1996<br />
85 DUCK SOUP 1933<br />
X 86 MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY 1935<br />
87 FRANKENSTEIN 1931<br />
88 EASY RIDER 1969<br />
89 PATTON 1970<br />
<br />
90 THE JAZZ SINGER 1927<br />
X 91 MY FAIR LADY 1964<br />
92 A PLACE IN THE SUN 1951<br />
93 THE APARTMENT 1960<br />
94 GOODFELLAS 1990<br />
95 PULP FICTION 1994<br />
96 THE SEARCHERS 1956<br />
X 97 BRINGING UP BABY 1938<br />
98 UNFORGIVEN 1992<br />
X 99 GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER 1967<br />
X 100 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-38428332130413539862014-07-25T10:58:00.000-04:002014-07-25T10:58:59.526-04:00Epiphany IslandI guess I haven't blogged about it yet but my first few weeks here in France were rough. They were rough last year but I blamed it on the fact that I had already been travelling for six weeks and had only spent one week of the past five plus months in Canada. I like France but the bottom line is, it's a foreign country and even though I understand and can communicate in the language, it's not my mother tongue so fully expressing myself is difficult. Also, my job is housework. I don't like housework at the best of times and even though I get to do it in a beautiful place, I still don't like it. So PMS and homesickness and missing Canada Day and the start of summer and the fact that my parents were on vacation so I couldn't just Skype with them whenever I wanted, resulted in me feeling very alone and unhappy for the first few weeks I was here. I reached out to a few people but the general consensus was "You're in France. You're not allowed to complain." Or feel any emotion other than ecstatic happiness apparently. That was frustrating in it's own way.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvkrefWO0WKTdHprEDoQgdHHgdAXvfkHFLon-629OM7iEg7vLSevGtq-2Ney04K0VCPla3dH3IGtwTzBNCL1-JUmzMsiplsLdZtfMcPRYiyjnifDas7L-dOrJoMwUzrH2DUf8cw/s1600/P1220601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvkrefWO0WKTdHprEDoQgdHHgdAXvfkHFLon-629OM7iEg7vLSevGtq-2Ney04K0VCPla3dH3IGtwTzBNCL1-JUmzMsiplsLdZtfMcPRYiyjnifDas7L-dOrJoMwUzrH2DUf8cw/s320/P1220601.JPG" /></a>Anyway, the third week I was here I went to Île Saint-Honorat on my day off. It's the smaller of the two Lérins Islands which are both just off the coast in the Bay of Cannes. I visited the larger one, Île Sainte-Marguerite, last year and this year I made it to Saint-Honorat.
It was a crazy hot day and even though I stopped and bought lunch at the Monoprix and an extra bottle of water, I probably still could have had more liquids. The island has been home to monks since the fifth-century and they cultivate six types of grapes for wine and olives for oil. There are a number of small chapels dotted around it and the main church in the middle.
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I wandered around taking in the peacefulness of the place and generally avoiding all other humans because I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEGoeZr4f90lLbvT2SZC6jc8BAjP3W9DYU8NPtWknRX-thZN8D-8u5HIiqglAhmRh4AXIG7-3bVVmsabLpUhGhTdro7Pc8GJYCV9UDC3CorSuctpXHadL5Ls6mxzcZIQGhXrgvw/s1600/P1220625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEGoeZr4f90lLbvT2SZC6jc8BAjP3W9DYU8NPtWknRX-thZN8D-8u5HIiqglAhmRh4AXIG7-3bVVmsabLpUhGhTdro7Pc8GJYCV9UDC3CorSuctpXHadL5Ls6mxzcZIQGhXrgvw/s320/P1220625.JPG" /></a></div>
I picked a spot overlooking the channel between Saint-Honorat and Saint-Marguerite for my picnic lunch. I also read a bit of the book I had with me and took a short nap under the trees. At some point during my time of reflection I realized something really simple. Something that everyone else probably realizes but something I needed to recognize as an attitude adjustment.<br />
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I don't HAVE to do my work here in France.<br />
I GET to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHP_denyp_ej-HPYpsxMOwhbxUvVDFSYgCGIp91W2Vc-XIbCgOuhlvedINpymvfDD_a1MoNNso0vwPO7CwBLVzVSM_z9Xc7HX1fCDOoxFBQ_8s-Nh_mJjIhcrLbUKOXsLQ74re3Q/s1600/P1220638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHP_denyp_ej-HPYpsxMOwhbxUvVDFSYgCGIp91W2Vc-XIbCgOuhlvedINpymvfDD_a1MoNNso0vwPO7CwBLVzVSM_z9Xc7HX1fCDOoxFBQ_8s-Nh_mJjIhcrLbUKOXsLQ74re3Q/s320/P1220638.JPG" /></a>That's it. That's my big epiphany. I know a lot of people are probably thinking...yeah so. What's the difference. Or, how did you not realize that before? But that's just the point. I didn't and once I did, it was like the clouds lifted and the sun shone through. I guess it's because this is my second time here (and by here I mean in France at this job). The first time everything was new and exciting. I was constantly learning and discovering and I was dazzled by the beauty of this corner of the world. This year the shine has worn off. The sparkle is gone and while I'm glad I came, the romance is lost and it just feels like hard work. Still, I realize I am extremely lucky to be able to do a job like this, not once but twice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHQxP8zgrDkgFivrAiewJx8dtyc8L-N-s8ObJuztZ5OV5LTqf-AozrL6mNix9GSDrz6Q_bteQ3J-s-2FF5boy9XU2BE2hoGm_xGxpPBmdprhwKu4akcksHpqpq_dyGv4FXpD3qQ/s1600/P1220667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHQxP8zgrDkgFivrAiewJx8dtyc8L-N-s8ObJuztZ5OV5LTqf-AozrL6mNix9GSDrz6Q_bteQ3J-s-2FF5boy9XU2BE2hoGm_xGxpPBmdprhwKu4akcksHpqpq_dyGv4FXpD3qQ/s320/P1220667.JPG" /></a>I probably won't be back. Not to work anyway. And if I do it won't be next year. I need to spend a summer in Canada. I think deep down I maybe didn't want to come back this year. Or if I did my motives were wrong. I came back because it was easy. I mean I had the job given to me. Mine for the taking. All I had to do was say yes. That's way easier than applying for the jobs I want post graduation. Coming here was guaranteed. Plus it looks great. Not only to future employers, which was my rationale, but to my friends. And that's where my motive was wrong. I came because people were jealous that I get to be here and that's wrong. In the weeks leading up to leaving, I wasn't excited. I wasn't looking forward to leaving. I was already missing everyone back home. I booked my ticket and packed and came out of duty. I had committed and there was no backing out. But I would have been perfectly fine to stay in Canada. And that's why this epiphany was so important. Because my day on this little island where people have been reflecting for over fifteen hundred years, I realized just how lucky I am and I adjusted my attitude and I've been a lot happier since.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEt44UWeWnfAAic2cCXedsNYunNusLy5RVrzZQEzWP8qylR5nkQ7SyRsPFBGQu6LPBKkLBml3D5rPxwWKS8oucTzhVbo1dswiMAffaGeW5Pp0Cq2GGdWggS684G_64aSvZ9iM0g/s1600/P1220689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEt44UWeWnfAAic2cCXedsNYunNusLy5RVrzZQEzWP8qylR5nkQ7SyRsPFBGQu6LPBKkLBml3D5rPxwWKS8oucTzhVbo1dswiMAffaGeW5Pp0Cq2GGdWggS684G_64aSvZ9iM0g/s320/P1220689.JPG" /></a>The pictures of me in this post were taken after my little revelation. Yeah I could fake a smile before but now these ones are genuine. Genuinely happy. Genuinely content. Genuinely in love with life. And ready to tackle the duties I have for the next five weeks that I am here, because I get to. Not because I have to.<br />
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agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-55969735181187915782014-07-21T08:58:00.002-04:002014-07-21T08:59:37.727-04:00Villa & Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNw7LlTVpLQZllXAR4xXiR5FYjYaalr2Ncu77dbeQ_GCoVpw9RINzsirRjA1DYIXJAtzJS3S_pDWo5Y6H3KlIXCvGcZ6uZdKnPcKYouOo-7QhQSQcLJtw2FgNmjHJITAK0I7gBQ/s1600/P1220380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTslqCIO-TzBYkVQJ7Q4SqL0Yga8HenSYdOgJAcsw8GWbRfxVXvcbsTRJdnuaMEQXruQcrWNcrC4y1XNfIuohlUGBzXGYUGo5Gf9KprLNoBKBtmV5ejmJeCBlW4KociaXlEs52A/s1600/P1220437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTslqCIO-TzBYkVQJ7Q4SqL0Yga8HenSYdOgJAcsw8GWbRfxVXvcbsTRJdnuaMEQXruQcrWNcrC4y1XNfIuohlUGBzXGYUGo5Gf9KprLNoBKBtmV5ejmJeCBlW4KociaXlEs52A/s320/P1220437.JPG" style="cursor: move;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIV0nJr9o18111nuDKKuZzhWXWqFxUB_jRgbUfXVaW3GYU7riDkemMdiLJANZv01CvTWGMfNjCWgB4weaHjco48QhmPQTMoNPUkWe2IBz6qokeiJhfc6x-H09Pi1rrjAPWbQ4Vg/s1600/P1220381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>
In June Meredith had a grad party. They watched the movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095031/" target="_blank">Dirty Rotten Scoundrels</a>. It takes place on the French Riviera and she called and asked me if I had visited the town of "Beaumont-sur-Mer" last year while I was here. With a bit of Googling we realized that Beaumont-sur-Mer is a fictitious town created for the movie but that yes, I have either been to or passed through many of the places where the filming took place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNw7LlTVpLQZllXAR4xXiR5FYjYaalr2Ncu77dbeQ_GCoVpw9RINzsirRjA1DYIXJAtzJS3S_pDWo5Y6H3KlIXCvGcZ6uZdKnPcKYouOo-7QhQSQcLJtw2FgNmjHJITAK0I7gBQ/s320/P1220380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNw7LlTVpLQZllXAR4xXiR5FYjYaalr2Ncu77dbeQ_GCoVpw9RINzsirRjA1DYIXJAtzJS3S_pDWo5Y6H3KlIXCvGcZ6uZdKnPcKYouOo-7QhQSQcLJtw2FgNmjHJITAK0I7gBQ/s320/P1220380.JPG" style="cursor: move;" /></a>When I arrived in France and actually had time, I watched the movie myself. I recognized a few of the locations and made a mental note to try and check out some of the other places. A few days later the family I work for announced they were going sightseeing and asked if I wanted to go with them. I took them up on the offer at the last minute and we headed towards Cap-Ferrat which I thought sounded vaguely familiar. I didn't know where we were going but since I was just along for the ride I didn't think very much of it. I figured it would be good to see the area and then maybe when I had a day off I could go explore the area on my own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIV0nJr9o18111nuDKKuZzhWXWqFxUB_jRgbUfXVaW3GYU7riDkemMdiLJANZv01CvTWGMfNjCWgB4weaHjco48QhmPQTMoNPUkWe2IBz6qokeiJhfc6x-H09Pi1rrjAPWbQ4Vg/s320/P1220381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIV0nJr9o18111nuDKKuZzhWXWqFxUB_jRgbUfXVaW3GYU7riDkemMdiLJANZv01CvTWGMfNjCWgB4weaHjco48QhmPQTMoNPUkWe2IBz6qokeiJhfc6x-H09Pi1rrjAPWbQ4Vg/s320/P1220381.JPG" /></a> Well it turns out our destination was the Villa and Gardens of Ephrussi de Rothschild which was one of the specific filming locations for the movie!!! It's not the main house (that's a private villa according to Wikipedia) but it was still used in the movie. How cool.<br />
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The villa is gorgeous. Aside from the fascinating history and the dancing fountains that do a choreographed water show every twenty minutes, the gardens are gorgeous. It was a super hot day but we had fun exploring this beautiful spot together. I definitely understand why they used it in the movie.
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and the National and Portrait Galleries. In general I liked the city. There's tons to see and you'd never be bored. However, I also found it extremely expensive and rather overwhelming. Plus I was annoyed with having to use the pound. I do want to go back and explore some more. Maybe it will be better next time when I know better what to expect.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-50941519491077110452014-06-06T20:01:00.006-04:002014-06-06T20:02:28.897-04:00Divided Identities: Reflections on D-Day<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUO7o7uwPubX7jR610dmZBSvGbIYoTrW431mRf3mR0Kkh4s1eAa2QLOGIpPwqP0kXnZqodCpYvY5EcGVls845TpQxqdzGQRWglnGo6iBcFHn9v7-CHpmAfb9WUCXmPQFuIFUV0A/s1600/P1150562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUO7o7uwPubX7jR610dmZBSvGbIYoTrW431mRf3mR0Kkh4s1eAa2QLOGIpPwqP0kXnZqodCpYvY5EcGVls845TpQxqdzGQRWglnGo6iBcFHn9v7-CHpmAfb9WUCXmPQFuIFUV0A/s1600/P1150562.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juno Beach, Normandy, France</td></tr>
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A year ago today I was on the beaches of Normandy. Like many
others before me I made the pilgrimage to site of the D-Day landings to see the
area where so many soldiers lost their lives. For the Allies that was a day of
victory. The day Hitler’s Atlantic Wall was breached and the push inland began.
My friends and I were staying in Paris so we rented a car and drove to the
coast. We had to be up before 5am in order to make it to the airport to pick up
our rental car and make it out to Courseulles-sur-Mer, also known as Juno
Beach, where the Canadian memorial ceremonies were taking place.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv-SW1F4GQSlsmxih0qFJaFKOKlhVdZ2JMhEqnsvZF17XVIZIOAHnShRczMebdtSqCu7SkSWSE9VHLG916h3bGdDUhZHwDnYxKhmO_qXay2OgjEnYXNVLpOysedyCTqelWIudfA/s1600/P1150635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv-SW1F4GQSlsmxih0qFJaFKOKlhVdZ2JMhEqnsvZF17XVIZIOAHnShRczMebdtSqCu7SkSWSE9VHLG916h3bGdDUhZHwDnYxKhmO_qXay2OgjEnYXNVLpOysedyCTqelWIudfA/s1600/P1150635.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric, Heidi, Heather, Caitlin and Brendan.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We had spent the previous two weeks touring other First and
Second World War battle sites, cemeteries and war memorials in the Netherlands,
Belgium and the North of France. Flanders, Ypres, Passchendaele, Theipval,
Beaumont-Hamel, Vimy Ridge, Dieppe, the Scheldt Estuary, we had seen literally thousands
of grave markers and hundreds of thousands of names engraved in monuments. We
had even toured two German Cemeteries to give us the contrast of how the “other
side” remembered. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Throughout this time I was reminded of why I am proud to be
Canadian. Why I wear a maple leaf and can proudly sing “God Save the Queen.”
The Canadian contributions to these wars are undeniable even if my professors
at Georgia Southern University had omitted any mention of it during my recent
exchange. But under it all I was unsettled. Being Canadian, and being on this
tour, meant embracing my British roots. It meant focusing on the “ready aye
ready” aspect of my country’s response to the declarations of war and being
ready to serve for God and King. It meant presenting a paper on the experience
and sacrifice of my great-great-great uncle Edward Shannon Grant who was killed
during the infamous last 100 Days of the Great War. It meant suppressing the
other half of me. The German/Eastern European side that didn’t quite fit with
the Allied view of how the events of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 had played out and
I wasn’t sure how to deal with that so I just ignored it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLEKjFFpVvP5aojeIjZ18NDJkC8AoV6V8hiUlroId3J2Z15Ufa7o7fBlTC_Fbi0uRI9S2AxGQ8JPlwuTBNXbm-cgApiO3F-OtryMSN3l81by40O-dlsH9PJPOwdsGC5Jvy_Dq3g/s1600/P1150529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLEKjFFpVvP5aojeIjZ18NDJkC8AoV6V8hiUlroId3J2Z15Ufa7o7fBlTC_Fbi0uRI9S2AxGQ8JPlwuTBNXbm-cgApiO3F-OtryMSN3l81by40O-dlsH9PJPOwdsGC5Jvy_Dq3g/s1600/P1150529.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, France</td></tr>
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June 6, 2013 was a cool clear day. Being the 69<sup>th</sup>
anniversary there were a respectable number of visitors at the Juno Beach
Centre. Veterans and dignitaries, tourists and locals, we all gathered together
to remember. We arrived with plenty of time to secure a decent seat and seek
out our Professor who was also there with another tour group. After the
ceremony which was similar to the familiar November 11<sup>th</sup> Remembrance
Day ceremonies back home, we toured the museum and then made our way down to
the beach. We joined in the reception and visited a bit before heading out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWCwIX9vHtnK4R1EHNlMYnscE5v7n4krzcVSxlzuK7Z9UENdKoemepRBLdbEbyXcJyqMuyuCucA9ZHsoxNy4lZgI5Ys5Sfh5QgwiVdbITZ7dVLmouR-QrdhLTCEIs7lLrsfdgyQ/s1600/P1150619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxWCwIX9vHtnK4R1EHNlMYnscE5v7n4krzcVSxlzuK7Z9UENdKoemepRBLdbEbyXcJyqMuyuCucA9ZHsoxNy4lZgI5Ys5Sfh5QgwiVdbITZ7dVLmouR-QrdhLTCEIs7lLrsfdgyQ/s1600/P1150619.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial</td></tr>
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Our next stop was Omaha Beach where the American ceremony
was just ending. The contrast between the two sites and the approach was
striking. The American Cemetery is perched high on a cliff above the beach
where as the Canadian centre is just steps away from the sand. The American
Cemetery reminded me a lot of Washington, DC and even had a mini reflecting
pool. The guide we talked to explained that for many French and other
Europeans, this cemetery is the closest they will come to the United States and
the goal of the design of the area was to give them both a feel for the
American style of memorialization and to be a tribute to all of the fallen. A
little bit of American on French soil for the soldiers that are buried there
and for those that visit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenByeYGZTyt7goD7Lf6xKLNfX6eD022VZNNu2eNCszuhOX9WrFGRjXFchlzVoMXr310o3nrcymOiXG3za7nWVYc66MvQ15xVxSgZj-0tjNSrDwdH3UhKKo9AuhtK6YFYi45YvvA/s1600/P1150594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjenByeYGZTyt7goD7Lf6xKLNfX6eD022VZNNu2eNCszuhOX9WrFGRjXFchlzVoMXr310o3nrcymOiXG3za7nWVYc66MvQ15xVxSgZj-0tjNSrDwdH3UhKKo9AuhtK6YFYi45YvvA/s1600/P1150594.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me on Omaha Beach, Normandy, France</td></tr>
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On the beach we took off our shoes (or in my case boots) and
waded in the water. I imagined the waves lapping stained with the blood of the
fallen and tried to imagine what it would have been like to be there on that
day in 1944. A bit further down the beach were a couple of German soldiers also
with their boots off enjoying the sand and surf. I joked with them that their
boots were going to get wet and we started chatting. They were university
students in Hamburg and had signed up for a tour where they would go and lay commemorative
wreathes at a series of cemeteries in Northern France. We chatted a bit about
travelling and the sites they were visiting. I wanted to ask them so much more.
What was it like to be representing the “losing side.” Is that how they saw it?
What did they feel about their countries involvement in these wars? How did it
feel to come to these places and know that young men their age were buried there.
Of course I couldn’t. It wasn’t the time or the place but I still wonder. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Fsc7yHkeQxCUMzU06fZuFo3qoJg2Ae6OoJQRqqqTcnH1HcwK_lomE6RdWGHeUWUKOW0e7BtTpfCyaWhoMWZFXlqpv7v8MP0EKmHWN4YKB6muz8DAYCA0i8h0i1y62rOQVTqY8g/s1600/P1150665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Fsc7yHkeQxCUMzU06fZuFo3qoJg2Ae6OoJQRqqqTcnH1HcwK_lomE6RdWGHeUWUKOW0e7BtTpfCyaWhoMWZFXlqpv7v8MP0EKmHWN4YKB6muz8DAYCA0i8h0i1y62rOQVTqY8g/s1600/P1150665.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Cambe German War Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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They had mentioned that there was a large German War
Cemetery close by so after we finished at Omaha Beach, we headed out into the
countryside to find it. After a few wrong turns and a stop at a small museum for
directions, we finally found La Cambe. It was massive. Over 20,000 graves all
in flat black stone with a large mound of earth in the centre. We each split
off and wandered the site lost in our own reflection. I recorded in my diary
that the idea of “sacrifice for God and country” that was so prevalent in the Commonwealth
cemeteries was missing there and instead there is just an intense feeling of
sadness. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDf3Xp5yYYvPbV5CVlCcmyvh0Ct1bQKfnyuQ_KIBSTlhcc_ts3jmnyrwgFmxWzZIFEhrXyA_rfCO94l0rRM1MEVJsuRup1u6d2gWdg5CFM7Kd6KvBj4ko0JKJuf7PtnFw0BCVNIA/s1600/P1150666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDf3Xp5yYYvPbV5CVlCcmyvh0Ct1bQKfnyuQ_KIBSTlhcc_ts3jmnyrwgFmxWzZIFEhrXyA_rfCO94l0rRM1MEVJsuRup1u6d2gWdg5CFM7Kd6KvBj4ko0JKJuf7PtnFw0BCVNIA/s1600/P1150666.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The memorial in the center of the La Cambe cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the visitors centre we looked at pictures of German War
cemeteries all around the world. France, Belgium, Egypt, Italy, Kitchener,
Ontario, Canada…wait KITCHENER??? There’s a German War Cemetery in our
hometown? Wow. We made it back to Paris that night and I received news that my
sister-in-law was in labour. A day of remembering the dead and a new life was
about to make its appearance. Cue the Lion King.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMIQFI8IiBrMeLmdYoXMW4YQGK_Ox_L0cezhcZrZGu2LF1tMpyLSU6FYoRWXhIm7p0qF1SbTALublcAiicGcsPgIwu-udnRS6P_a4XASRk73geSZZOiWFhEaLJ7aqzd5vn1WjZw/s1600/20140606_133741.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMIQFI8IiBrMeLmdYoXMW4YQGK_Ox_L0cezhcZrZGu2LF1tMpyLSU6FYoRWXhIm7p0qF1SbTALublcAiicGcsPgIwu-udnRS6P_a4XASRk73geSZZOiWFhEaLJ7aqzd5vn1WjZw/s1600/20140606_133741.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">German War Graves at Woodland Cemetery, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A year later here I am finally sitting in that cemetery in
Kitchener. The orderly row of stubby stone crosses spread out before me in a
similar style to the ones all over Western Europe. In that weeks following my
visit to Normandy I was able to visit Germany. I went to Bremen and then to
Bremerhaven (the port of Bremen) where in 1953 my maternal grandparents had
boarded the Beaverbrae to leave war torn Europe and make a new life in Canada.
I visited Gockenholz and Beeden-Bostel. The tiny settlements (I hesitate to
even call them towns considering how small they are) where they had lived and
farmed in the years following Germany’s defeat and the church where they had
been married. I spent almost a week in Berlin exploring and soaking in answers
to the questions I had wanted to ask those soldiers on Omaha Beach about how
Germany remembers. How they remember, acknowledge, and move on. How they talk
about the events of their history but don’t dwell on them instead looking to a
better tomorrow. And I found a way to reconcile the two sides of me. To
acknowledge that without these massive conflicts Europe wouldn’t have been torn
apart and my Great Grandparents wouldn’t have been forced to flee Estonia and
then Poland. That Grandpa Bergner may never have left his little town in the
south of Germany and found himself working for a farmer in the north where he
met a tall handsome woman named Elsa. And they wouldn’t have needed to come to
Canada, sponsored by the Lutheran church as refugees, repaying their passage by
working on a sugar beet farm in Alberta. And ultimately moving to Edmonton
where my parents were able to meet and have me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIf3NLAUs46AQ7EbTPBO4KRgaNXb_u3hu23GmI3HqB3wiPcZWs_NapacauWermczU3dWZgmLQE2UlKNtAbyJlWrfb6g_tFAUMy-0BLFfbPAKeabvvKQOgR5ksqYl1mIh6sl936g/s1600/20140606_133815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIf3NLAUs46AQ7EbTPBO4KRgaNXb_u3hu23GmI3HqB3wiPcZWs_NapacauWermczU3dWZgmLQE2UlKNtAbyJlWrfb6g_tFAUMy-0BLFfbPAKeabvvKQOgR5ksqYl1mIh6sl936g/s1600/20140606_133815.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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So I sit and I look at these stones and I am thankful that
even though I had family on both sides of the conflict, they were protected and
now I can sit in a town that used to be called Berlin, and is now named after a
British Army officer, in a country I am proud to call my own, and embrace my
divided identity: the British side and the German side and all the other parts
in between. </div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p>agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-24269912849370654332014-05-10T23:41:00.000-04:002014-05-10T23:41:47.716-04:00New TheoryAs I get closer to my university graduation the big question on everyone's minds seems to be where I am going to live when I'm finished. They all want to know where I'm going to end up. I admit it's been frustrating me a lot. I don't KNOW. I have some ideas of the type of job I want to have but I'm lost as to where I should be. I like Ontario a lot but I don't feel like it's my forever home. BC will always be where I'm "from" and I know I would be welcomed back there any time with open arms but I don't really feel like it's where I need to be in the near future. I'm not sure where that leaves me and the idea of picking somewhere else to live hasn't been all that appealing lately either.<br />
<br />
Recently I've realized something. I don't HAVE to decide. I don't have to live in one place. I can continue to be nomadic and live here and there for as long as I want. A few of the jobs I have in mind are shorter term opportunities which would entail moving a lot. I'm very much okay with this. I'm sure a lot of people aren't and won't be but I'm not living their life.<br />
<br />
I had lunch today with a friend who is in the process of completing his Phd and starting to look at life after school. All he wants is a secure 9-5 job where he has guaranteed income on a bi-weekly basis. It was interesting to explain to him that I DON'T desire that. I had a secure job and I left it for this adventure. Financially it's probably not been the best decision I've ever made but I know it's been the right one for my mental stability and I honestly can say that I love my life and I'm ready to embrace the next adventure. Whether it makes people comfortable or not.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-72645411074205090322014-03-09T22:16:00.002-04:002014-03-09T22:24:17.192-04:00Lent update: first failGah! I knew Sunday's would be a challenge. Most Sundays after church we have a potluck. It's wonderful to try different types of food but wow is it hard to avoid cheese! I accidentally took some Greek salad that had feta on it. I still ate it because it wasn't really that much but I was still annoyed with myself. I didn't even realize it until I was halfway down the buffet line when I almost took a slice of cheese. I caught myself on that and then realized I couldn't eat any of the lasagna, potato casseroles and a lot of other stuff. Still when I got my plate back to my table I looked at it and realized it was FULL of amazing goodness. Lots of veggies, a cabbage roll, and even meat. Avoiding cheese has to be a conscious decision but I sure don't feel like I was missing out on anything.<br /><br />Afterwards I texted my friend Steph to admit my "transgression" and she asked if I was "still keeping it up" (meaning Lent). I replied that of course I was. A little slip doesn't mean I am going to quit entirely. It just makes me hyper vigilant for next time.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-70814007800683229922014-03-06T20:18:00.000-05:002014-03-06T20:18:01.279-05:00This is why Facebook is wonderfulI met someone, in a pub in Quebec, almost three years ago now. We had a brief but interesting chat mostly connecting over the fact that we were both from Waterloo. We friended each other on FB and have had superficial contact ever since. Tonight we actually got together for dinner and it was lovely. He's just as interesting as he was back then (probably more since he's been elected as president of the Student Union at his university) and it was great to catch up. Without FB, as with so many other people that were on the program with us, I'd still be wondering where he was at or would have forgotten about him all together. This way I was able to have a nice meal and share what's been going on in our lives. I know you don't necessarily want to stay connected with everyone you meet in life but sometimes, when they're good people, it's nice to not lose touch.agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-48429157565318851292014-03-05T11:08:00.000-05:002014-03-09T22:24:06.326-04:00Lent 2014<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So I've never participated in Lent. It's not something that my church observes but I find the practice quite fascinating. I have a lot of friends who observe it and I've decided that this year, I would like to as well. I haven't blogged in awhile so I'm going to share some of the things I'm already doing as lifestyle choices and then I'll share what I'm actually doing, just for the season of Lent. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Since last April or so I have been reading </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" daily devotional. In the beginning I was journalling a bit each day which was a great way to really let the truths in that book sink in. Since getting back to Ontario/school, I find I don't have the time to journal so instead I've taken to keeping the book in the bathroom and reading it while I'm brushing my teeth. Probably not particularly spiritual but you know what? I do it every day and it's part of my routine now.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A common Lenten (and New Years) commitment is to exercising and diet. In the past month I've already been exercising fairly regularly (using the treadmill at the gym and participating in an online 30 day fitness challenge via FB) and I will step up my efforts once the weather warms up. I'm consciously cutting down on sugar and flour just as a basic lifestyle choice because I don't NEED them. Protein and veggies are where it's at. Those are long term changes that I don't intend to just observe for forty days though. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'd like to actually give something up though. Something that feels like a sacrifice and that can be a reminder for WHY I am doing this. My choice this year is cheese. I love cheese. In fact cheese (all cheese) is my favourite food. France is one of my favourite countries because they have 360 types of cheese there!!! So, for the season of Lent I will not purchase any cheese. This is also a budget decision because I don't actually have any cheese in the fridge right now (really weird for me) and it's crazy expensive so I'm better off not buying it. I'll also make conscious decisions to not have dishes with cheese on them when I'm out (which means no poutine either...that's a good thing too :P) I'm not going off cheese for forever but it will be a good exercise. And when I get an urge to eat cheese I will seek out more information on learning about WHY we observe Lent.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So that's my plan. Wish me luck!</span>agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19906912.post-36649570909683257902014-01-06T20:07:00.000-05:002014-01-06T20:07:03.453-05:00Trucs a Faire<span style="font-family: inherit;">On February 13, 2006 I posted my list of "Things To Do Before I Die". After watching the movie "Up" multiple times this summer I'm renaming my list "Trucs a Faire" which is just French for Things to Do. It seems redundant to say "before I die". Obviously I can't do them once I'm dead :P anyway,
The bolded items have been accomplished. The orange ones since the last time I published the complete list which was in January 2011.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>96 (and counting) Trucs a Faire</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">1. Fly first class</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2. Live on my own in my own place</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>3. Eat at Sonic</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">4. Live in another country...or at least another province</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Host dinner party for at least 8 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6. Visit an art gallery</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>7. Go to Texas</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Ride in a hot air balloon </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Fly in a small aircraft </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Visit a planetarium </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">11. Take a winery tour </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Do high tea somewhere </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">13. Attend Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>14. See a drive in movie</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15. Get room service and have breakfast in bed at a nice hotel (I've done room service, but not for breakfast) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">16. Play blackjack at a casino (I’ve played slots but not blackjack yet) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">17. Make homemade ice cream </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">18. Try ten new foods</span></b> (I have definitely accomplished this, multiple times. This is the first time I've crossed it off though)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">19. Go sailing </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">20. Ride in a limo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">21. Be debt free </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">22. Go horse back riding on the wide open plains </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">23. Sleep under the stars (without a tent) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">24. Fly in a 747 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">25. Collect all 50 US state quarters (only 3 to go!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>26. Attend my ten year high school reunion</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">27. Visit Australia </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">28. Visit Great Britain </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">29. Get a cat </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">30. Take a cruise </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>31. Work an election</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">32. Watch all moves on AFI top 100 list (I'll try to remember to post an update on this too. I'm making progress)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">33. Be in Ottawa for Canada Day</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">34. Draft a will </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">35. Spend one weekend totally unplugged. No TV, No Computer, No Phone </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">36. Visit the Maritimes </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">37. Tour the US Eastern seaboard</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">38. Pour water from the Atlantic ocean into the Pacific (I find it strange that this is FROM the Atlantic TO the Pacific. You'd think I'd have done this the other way around! - <i>also this is ridiculous. I collected water in Nova Scotia in 2011 and I've carried it to BC with my twice but I haven't been to the ocean there yet!!!</i>) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">39. Fast for 24 hours </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">40. Be in audience of a game show or talk show and/or try out for a game show or reality show </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>41. Learn to cook</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">42. Cook a turkey </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">43. Play with a hand bell choir </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">44. Complete 25 different crossword puzzles </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">45. Take a Self Defence Class </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">46. Fire a gun</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">47. Host a fondue </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">48. Take real swimming lessons (learn proper back stoke, kick turn) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">49. Leave to drive a stick shift </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">50. Try yoga </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">51. Take a cake decorating class </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">52. Visit Nashville </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">53. Go parachuting </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">54. Take a refresher First Aid course </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">55. Sell something on Ebay </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">56. Try snowboarding </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">57. Try Golf </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>58. Watch the Yankees/Mariners play ball</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">59. Drink tequila in Tijuana </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">60. Go to Disney Land/World </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">61. Get a bikini wax </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">62. Buy a new condo (or house) (or town house) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">63. Go white water rafting</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">64. Climb Mt. Cheam </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">65. Have a baby (or two, or three) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">66. Read through the entire bible </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>67. Stay at a bed and breakfast</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">68. Go to Las Vegas </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">69. Go to Paris in the spring time</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">70. Learn enough about classical music to be able to identify popular pieces by ear </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">71. Shop at the Mall of America </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: orange;"><b>72. Visit all five great lakes</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>73. Stay overnight in NYC</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">74. Go to Boston in the fall </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">75. Stay overnight at a Casino </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">76. Visit the San Diego Zoo </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">77. Visit Sea World </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>78. Take a full two weeks off at a time</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">79. Go on a blind date </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">80. See a live horse race and place a bet </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">81. Visit the Grand Canyon </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">82. Take a trip by train (aka travel somewhere on Amtrak)</span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>83. Do the Vancouver Sun Run</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">84. Go to midnight mass </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">85. Attend Sunrise Easter Service </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">86. Go skinny dipping </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">87. Visit all 10 Provincial Legislature Buildings. (9 down 1 to go) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">88. Buy cowboy boots </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>89. Go to the Olympics</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">90. Fly in a helicopter </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">91. Go to a NASCAR race </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">92. Get married </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">93. Participate in a team sport for a season </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">94. Sing a solo at church </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">95. Really try to loose weight/get in better shape </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">96. Learn another language</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: orange;">97. Visit Melville's grave in Ortona </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last time I published this I had 82 Trucs a Faire. As of this update I've accomplished 28 so I have 69 left. One by one they'll get done!</span>agent713http://www.blogger.com/profile/00616779546642325238noreply@blogger.com0