Saying Goodbye to Dorje

Yesterday I left Dorje Denma Ling, the buddhist meditation retreat center I had been working at as the head cook for the past month. It was really hard. There were several times yesterday that I had to stop myself from randomly crying in public. I made some really good connections with people that I will really miss.

What made it so great?

1. the people

2. the beautiful area: the trees, the beach, the waterfall, gris mill, octoberfesting!!

3. the atmosphere and daily meditation practices

4. good times in the kitchen

5. the hoola hoop i made and used and forgot there

6. seeing deers on my runs

7. picking wild apples whenever I walked or ran anywhere

8. the crickets that got everywhere

9. movie watching

10. dance parties

11. Changes in myself that i experienced

I'll end there, I could go on forever, but I wont. Although I sad to be gone, I am happy it happened, and excited for what the future has in store.

My New Etsy Account

Hey Everyone!

I just created an Etsy account to sell my jewelry, Rubbish Jewelry (hyperlinked to Etsy store), online, currently only in Canada though.

If you have any suggestions on how I can make it better or publicize let me know, this is all new to me! Also, I have added a link to it as a permanent feature to my blog, so you can always access it at your convenience.

Thanks guys and gals!

Trip to Cape Breton

Slackin Tricia is back! Sorry its been so long since my last post!

I am back at the buddhist retreat center and doing great. Today is a day off for me, so after I finish writing this I am going to take off for a run. It has officially become fall here, and its cold, but wonderful.

Lucy and I on a walk to the falls

I spend pretty much every day in the kitchen making meals, cookies, and experimenting with Lucy! Its really great, because we always have way too much fun to call it work. I have already made 3 types of really yummy cookies, and I am trying to figure out a fourth that is gluten free but still yummy, I tried using cocoanut flour the other day but it didn't work so well. If anyone knows any suggestions please let me know!

Beautiful Cape Breton

Last week I went on a trip to Cape Breton with a guy up here at the center. It was so beautiful, Cape Breton is ridiculously beautiful. Everywhere I looked I laughed at how gorgeous it was, it was out of control.

Assembly of Scare Crows we stumbled upon

Destination for our long hike, grey skies, but still pretty

We went on a 20 km hike on the second day of our hike, which was long, very up and downy, but also amazing! Unfortunately the guy I was with got bit 7 times by yellow jackets, out of control eh?! We saw 2 rock whales, and there were cows grazing along the planes by the ocean. There was also these really cool separations of salt water from fresh water everyone, it was neat. The sky was also extraordinarily beautiful! I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Free School

Again, this is a flash back post.

The last weekend of august, was free school at the Waldergrave Farm, and it was some pretty neat stuff. The concept of free school is to encourage learning from one another for free. to take away the price-tag of knowledge and promote the idea that we all have something to teach one another, and to learn from one another. To encourage open and free communication. It was great, although you may think it would be a hippie-fest, it wasn't, there were people from all different backgrounds and areas of expertise, and although most of us had similar ideals, there was definitely a lot of learning and growing from one another.

I held a jewelry workshop, which went well, although somewhat ambushed by another avid jewelry maker, but the more the merrier, right? It was so inspiring to see all the funky stuff people made using bottle caps and other materials, it definitely was inspirational for me!

Other then the workshop I help I also went to a workshop about forestry gardening, conservative politics, how to make a hoola hoop (of which i have already made one), using food as public space awareness tool, and the freedom to choose when it comes to having an aborition in Canada. All of the workshops were really interesting and opened my mind to subjects and opinions I dont normally think about.

Other then the workshops I ate some AMAZING food (most of the produce being from the farm), met and networked with some really inspiring people, and had a lot of fun dancing, watching movies, hoola hooping, learning how to make a hamic, and just chatting with others.

GO FREE SCHOOL!!

Crazy week of Looking for Job and Soul in Halifax

This is kinda a looking into the past post. I do realize it is September 1st, do you?! How crazy time flies eh?! But this post is about August 15th to August 26th, my 10 days in halifax where I scrambled around trying to find a job.

Within the 10 days I think I put out at least 40 job applications, thats a lot! Well I felt like it was a lot. Every place that had a "We're Hiring" sign I walked into and offered my resume, even places that didn't have a sign! Yet no response. I'm either over educated or under-qualified, it sucks being a university grad sometimes. However, I did get an interview, but no cigar, since I was a university grad it made no sense that I wanted to work in retail, I was unrealible, OBVIOUSLY! So I spent many days unhappy with this unjust world, however I was surprised as how many days I did spend with good spirits under my wings.

Amongst all the job applying madness I did fit in some wonderful times though. Everyday I frequented a cafe or resturant, usually for coffee, but a few times I did buy dessert, breakfast, or lunch. This provided me with a little sampling of halifax's finest joints, and let me tell you, there are some pretty cool places. And also every cafe you do go to, you can totally get fair trade coffee! Woot! Some of my favorite places where Java Blend for an everyday, cheap cup of fair trade goodness, Fred. where its classy and slick (good place for a date or interview, plus also a hair salon seems random but somehow works), The Good Food Emporium where the vibe is chillin and they have lots of veggie/vegan options for breakfast and lunch (although I would advise against the vegan french toast, i got it and it was not good), and The Wooden Monkey which is an awesome friends/family/date place with great vegan pizza and tofu-chocolate cheesecake (best seller even amongst non-vegans!).

Aside from cafe/resturant hoping I did spend some time reading and writing and contemplating my lowly existence. well, not lowly, but my existence. I do have a lot of options, I think the most nerve racking thing for me is not having anything set in place...no apartment, job, team, sig. other, etc. so its all open, but there is also no responses coming back! So I wrote poetry, of which I posted one earlier on my blog.

I learned how to hoola hoop! it was pretty rock star. I just built one today and am practicing and learning tricks.

I went on some great runs. across the bridge. around areas I had never been before. Seeing many friends on my runs too...Halifax is big but small, and thats coming from someone who doesnt even live there!!!

I got to meet up with a few friends at different occasions for lunch, coffee, and going out dancing. It was great to find that even in Halifax, a place thats not mine, I can still have some what of a social life. And it was great to see how easily I met new people and made connections with people that just a few days ago were complete strangers. Some of these people were just friends, while others I met and networked through for job/career related reasons and they were all amazing!

I got to visit the new farmers market, which has its ups and downs, but being a market, was still a great time for me. I discovered a vendor selling vegan cinn. buns so I bought one, and some fair trade coffee for breakfast along with some veggies, lentils, and local tofu for my following week. It was perfect! I also tried a sample of lavendar scone which was delicious.

Finally, although no one showed up, I had two jewelry workshops. Fairly depressing that no one showed, but it did give me some time to work on my stuff.

So that was my crazy 10 days of job serious job hunting were pretty awesome, full of randomness in Halifax! Then I was off to Freee School...which I will write about soon...