Exciting or Exhausting, or both?!

Life is overwelming right now. this weekend i had a melt down, due to school, lack of sleep, trying to pull myself too many directions, financial strains, and putting myself down for someone i'm not. its funny how all week i have been enjoying little snippets of my latest edition of "YogaJounal" and the article about just being, and not getting wound and stressed out with all the doings of life, and what do i do? i get wound up. so today, as i studied for my midterm on wednesday, which i am not nearly close to prepared for, i tried to unwind, although counter-intuitive to do while studying, i think it did kinda work. getting a goods night sleep worked well too.

last night, in hopes to see my friend, who is now out of town, and thus i hadnt seen for a long time, i decided to go out for oktoberfesting to a very NON-german venue. it was, as i expected, nothing special, and in fact, upon arriving, i wanted to leave. i am not one for crowds, and acknowledging that i put myself down with ideas of how unsocial a person i am, and like there is something wrong with not enjoying the crowds. i dont think there is anything wrong with me, however i decided that there was last night. sooo i left pretty early, but it was really the best choice for my health, i think sometimes we have just recognize what our bodies and mental beings need, which is part of the challenge. my friend was extremely supportive, and actually, due to my melt down i was able to have a nice chat with her. why do melt downs always open up this space for nice chats and bondings? we shound really have melt downs more often if thats what their outcomes are.

i have so many thoughts flying around my head that i am itching to post, not expecting anyone to read them, except perhaps my imaginary friends...but just getting them out there helps. however i am tired, and thus sleep i go, but before that i will post a few pictures from the oktoberfest parade last weekend, went with mom and dad and it was fabulous! i lied, no pics, i will post them next time.

New house, new school year, new me?

I love my new home, granted its still in waterloo, only a 10-15 minute walk from my "home home" its a place of peace and friendship. I can feel it. There are 5 of us in it, 5 girls, which may get a little crazy, but its also pretty awesome! We love to cook, and already have experienced many a fabulous meals! With all the chatter in the kitchen as we cook, eat, and just sit, its a great place to find calmness and zen, although perhaps too much zen. Its good now, but once school starts, i will have to train myself to pull myself away from the good times to go to work! It will take some practice, but i know I can do it. On the other hand, I will also have to pull myself away from the work to have fun, which will also take practice. The yin and yang, its all about the balance baby!

Alisha enjoying some much needed R and R.

This summer my friends have been plentiful, which is awesome and I am sooo grateful! I have gone on short trips to cambridge, stratford, the beach, and toronto, all with amazing friends! You guys rock! Without out you, by happy-ometer would be near empty! I can't wait for more adventures of crazy dancing (both swing and sexy random), cooking, potlucks, deep convos, falling asleep at shows, random walks, and perhaps picking up a few sexy men (I need to learn some tricks from one of my friends)!

Giant veggi burger I ordered at Fresh and ate gleefully!

However the summer is now coming to a close. School is about to begin, but don't make the assumption that fun will no longer exist, that theres no time for friends, hah HARDLY!! I am soo excited for school, excited to see my classmates which I havn't seen for just, well, too long! Excited to organize fun events, teach yoga, go to my friends yoga class, and go to class and be challenged academically in ways I never knew possible! Perhaps, hopefully, I will even be working and making a little money. If it sounds busy, well it is, but I am excited! Life is always changing, full of possibilities, oppurtunities, and challenges, which we should embrace!

Amy and I showing our true selves.

I love today, and look forward to what tomorrow will bring, whether its good or bad, both the failures and successes are equally important in life. That is what I have to constantly remind myself.

Oh life...

Why are Seal’s hunted in Canada? Is it really necessary? Should we allow it?

These are all big questions. Recently there has been huge effort by the European Union, Human Society, and other activists, to stop the hunting of seals in Canada. Yet, we also see Canada’s Governor General Jean carving up and eating raw seal heart on public television, so what’s the deal?

The biggest problem with this issue is that, as with many issues, it’s not black and white, and the line between aboriginal seal hunting and commercial seal hunting is often blurred. Aboriginal hunts are part of their culture, a way of life, for the people that live so far north, mainly in Nunavut and some areas of Quebec, that there is little access to other food and economic resources. As custom to their culture, they only kill what is needed, using not only its skin, but its flesh for food as well. The number of seals hunted by aboriginal people is a small fraction, at most in the hundreds, when considering the hundreds of thousands of seals hunted ever year off the east coast of Canada.

So there who is killing the hundreds of thousands of seals? Commercial hunting, and that is what the protesting is against. The activist groups and the EU are not against the aboriginal people, but rather the mass killing of seals. Every year thousands of seals, younger then one month old, not even able to swim yet, are clubbed or shot. To make matters worse, many of the harp seals (the main type of seal hunted) do not die instantly, but suffer with bullet wounds to their death, many of them not even dead when they are skinned. Why make the seals suffer? It is because the hunters loss $2 for every bullet hole in the seals skin, thus less bullet holes more money.

However, how much money? Canada seems to make the argument that seal hunting is a huge economic producer for the people of the country, yet is it? Yes, the aboriginal people, specifically the Métis people, are very dependent on seal hunting. However, commercial seal hunting, which is responsible for the majority of the seal killings, does not actually bring in that much revenue. When accounting for the, approximately 6000 fishers, which participate in seal hunting, in Newfoundland and Quebec seal hunting only accounts for 5% of their income. That equates to less then 1% of Newfoundland’s GDP. In fact, the subsidies the Canadian government provides seal hunters, over twenty million dollars, is almost if not as much money as the income that commercial seal hunting produces.

So what gives? The only other reasoning for killing seals is so that the cod population, the type of fish the fishermen depend on for the majority of their income, does not decrease. Yet, how valid is this concern? Do seals really eat THAT much cod? No, they don’t. In fact seals are opportunistic feeders, meaning they eat whatever they can get their flippers on. Although, they do eat cod sometimes, they also eat predators of cod, such as squid.

The real reason, agreed upon by activists and scientists both for and against commercial seal hunting, for the decrease in the cod population is over-fishing. As well, some scientific studies have shown that the drastic increase in seal hunting within the past few years may also contribute to a dwindling cod population. The less seals there are, the more predators, usually eaten by seals, there are for cod.

Therefore, why are hundreds of thousands of seals allowed to be commercially killed every year for valid reason? Why is Canada risking its global reputation so more seals can die? It confuses me too. The Métis people should not be denied their culture, yet hundreds of thousands of harp seals should not be denied their lives. Allow the Métis to live off their hunt, killing in a sustainable manner, but making commercial hunting illegal.

-Tricia Enns

Resources:

[1] The Humaine Society of the United States. http://www.humanesociety.org/marine_mammals/protect_seals/about_the_canadian_seal_hunt/.

[2] The Star.com. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/640978.

[3] Metis Culture. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/aboriginal/metis_culture.html.

[4] Discover Science and Conservation. http://www.whales-online.net/eng/FSC.html?sct=2&pag=2-3-2.html.

"Rubbish" photos as promised

Taking in Life

As one returns home, we often quite the updates we had going on to friends and family while away on adventures overseas or somewhere else, however being at home can bring just as much excitement, enjoyment, and adventures as being away! This is a realization I became aware of, ironically enough, when I was away from Waterloo in Singapore.

So whats so exciting about life in waterloo? Well, life itself. As I continue to be unemployeed, I am taken back by how busy I am, even WITHOUT a job. This being the first time I have had a chance to take sometime and write a new blog post in the past month, its kinda radiculous! During this insainity I have found joy in friends, crafting, yoga, cooking, eating, and running. I have also been reading, doing a LITTLE gardening, and started to volunteer once a week. Mostly yoga and running has taken over my life in a wonderful way. Today I taught my first yoga class, less then 3 hours ago I was up there in front of all the other student yogi's in the room bending and twisting my body away on that mat, and what an awesome time. I was nervous, yet there is also something I really loved about it. I love having that connection with the students. I am shy (although many people I know would disagree) so I takes a lot of effort for me to just chat it up with someone next to me with for no real reason. However, when I am the teacher, then as the teacher it is also my duty to interact with the others, which is awesome! So here I go, plunging into the crazy world of yoga. Its scary in a way, cuz you don't realize how deep the pool really is until you stick your toe in. There is so much to learn about yoga!

What else is exciting about life?! Well, I have started to sell my own jewelry at a store called RareFunk, however I also am selling pieces directly to customers, so if there is something you want, give me a shout. My line is called "Rubbish" and I will be posting pictures of a few of the pieces I have made very shortly! If your interested in it, give me a shout, I would love to hear from you! I love recycling, being creative, and making jewelry, and when others love it too its even better!

There is so much more going on in my life, but what really makes life special, no matter where you are in life, is those random encounters, awkward moments, and oh so sexy times with friends. Random encounter: bumping into Kurt (whom I havn't seen in 2 years) in the toronto subway last weekend, awkward moment: discussing ways to make one "feel good", and finally, the sexy times:

Love, live, laugh, and say no to stress!

Back in the Can-a-da

So back in this lovely country, however right now I am slightly revolted by my sibling in the kitchen. Is anyone else grossed out my protein powder? It kinda creeps me out...I don't get why you would consume that stuff, it just seems really scary to me, so thats what this said sibling consumes every morning, along with just now chowing on meat loaf...for breakfast! euw...gross...barf. Sorry, I am done now, no wonder my momma says he doesn't eat very well. Geez! Done my rant now.

Well, yes back in the country, and its beautiful, the weather has been so glorious it makes you wonder what we have done to derserve such amazingness! I have been reading a book called "How to See Yourself as you Really Are" by "His Holiness the Dalai Lama", and its great. I have really been enjoying it. I really like the point about how everything in the world is connected, nothing is independent of anything else, which is very true, as, for example, this table that I sit at, depends on trees that made it, which depended on the sun and nutrients of the soil to grow, but to make the trees into the table the table depended on the people that cut the tree down, then the craftsmen that made it, then our family depended on my dads family to buy the table so I could sit at it now and so on. Its an endless cycle, and amazing when thought about. 

Other then reading my book, I have had tons of friends back in Canada! Its radiculous all the amazing friends I have! I love it, its exhausting, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. I love being with friends and being social, but I also realized this week that its exhausting and I also need that time to sit and be with me, and be quiet. Be anti-social if you will. As my friend put it the other day "Your 'on' when your with friends", so I need time to be "off". However dispite my "off" times, the "on" times have been amazing. The existance of friends is soo important in life, I dont care about stuff, as long as I have family and friends that love me, then I am happy.

So being back in Canada is great, although I am not near adjusted yet(I continuously look around and wonder where all the chinese/malaysian/indonesian/indian people have gone) I am getting there, and my friends are amazing at helping me do that! Thank you guys! I love you all, as the dali lama points out, we are all sentinent beings, and are all connected, and we all deserve love and compassion. Please accept mine.

As I say Goodbye La

I have done very little blogging here, while in Singapore, yet the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking, random thinking with no beginning, middle or end, so I thought it would be a good time to type it down. The past few weeks, despite the fact that I have only 2 weeks left in Singapore have been ridalled with homesickness. I have been missing everything from friends and family to the spring feeling that accompanies this time of the year in Southern Ontario. By missing all these things, I have unintentionally been missing all the amazing things that Singapore has to offer though! 

Singapore is a very interesting, yet amazing place. It stresses me out hardcore when I have an agenda and need to get somewhere, but, as usual, I get lost and it takes me twice as long to get to my destination. However, these past few days my Aunt and Uncle came to visit me here, and it made me realize and appreciate again all the amazing things Singapore is. Like the diverse food, the nature and urban mix (just go to Pulau Ubin and you will feel like you are in another world even though you are only 10min from maintain), all the fruit and fruit juices, the diverse array of people, the indian men that always stare at you in a such a creepy yet intriging way, the ethnic areas of little india and chinatown, and the livelyness of the city at night!

Without an agenda, or need to get really anywhere specific, Singapore is a wonderful place. Its always hiding new things to explore and learn about, and as I spent the last 2 days with my aunt and uncle both exploring what I thought I knew, and uncharted teritory, I realized how little I really knew about Singapore. 

With all this said, I am not sure I could live here, its too structured, too urbanized, and after-all a big city, which I am not. Well, I'm not a big city person, I can't do them for too long until I need peace, to grow my own vegetables, cook my own food, make my little dorky crafts. Singapore feels to glossy for a perminate home for me. Define glossy? I'm not really sure...but thats what it feels to me. There is so much more to learn/see/do in this city though, that I can't wait for exams to end. 

Open your eyes to the wonders that are right in front of you, because before you know it they will be behind you.