Mad Stories

I'm headed to a monthly event in just a few minutes. It's called Mad Stories. It's not very well known so usually only a handful of people show up. I go because I've gotten to know some of the people there and I enjoy both listening and sharing stories related to mad experiences.

What is a mad experience? I think a mad experience is any experience that cannot easily be explained by routine. It is an experience generally out of the ordinary, different from typical modern things like job interviews and picnics in the park. Mind you, mad experiences do occur in both these situations. They can occur anywhere, at any time.

Mad experiences are also sometimes intertwined with psychiatry. There's certainly a lot of madness in this field, with things like electroshock treatment and the (forced) tranquilizing of people with lived mental health experiences commonplace all over North America nowadays.

Mad stories is a place where people come together to talk about experiences that they find odd or particular. It's generally quite lighthearted and laughter abounds. Tea is always provided, so in a way, it's kind of like Alice's mad tea experience in Wonderland.

Cheerio!

The world in the rear-view mirror doesn't matter

Credit to Lights for today's blog title.

I don't even drive, but I thought it was interesting to have a car analogy in the title. Mostly, it's just a lyric that's been playing in my head for the past little while. I guess the idea is to be moving on and focused on what lies ahead instead of what's behind.

The longest day of the summer has already gone by. Now, gradually, the sun will retreat little by little, leaving me feeling as if I have a little less time to do things during the day.

I'm feeling empty-headed. I think I'm going to go for a bike ride to a new library.

7 long years

I've hit the 7 year mark. 7 years exactly since I completed the grandest adventure of my life: Katimavik. I remember it was today because my train was scheduled to leave on the 21st, 4 days after the program officially ended. Those 4 days were filled with mixed emotions: sadness at leaving a previous life and moving onto a new one; freedom of being able to choose what I wanted to do next.

After the initial tearfest at the airport, I hung out with K who also decided to cash in her plane ticket and who was waiting for a friend to arrive in Vancouver with the plan to hitchhike all the way back out east. In a way, it made it easier for me to transition out of the 9 month group living experience because there was still someone around. I lingered in the house for as long as I could, and then went out to Surrey for the last couple days to live with my wonderful billet family, since the lease on the house was over.

There wasn't much to do in a Surrey, so I ended up using what was left on my TransLink pass to head back into Vancouver and get one last look at the sprawling metropolis. I probably spent some time at café Deux Soleils, but as I was keen on wandering, I probably did that more. And then the train was ready, so I left.

I think I'm writing this down to remember. Not that I would ever forget, but it's easy to have all these memories fade to the distant past and lose some of their magic.

I met some alumni of the program last week. That definitely spurred some emotions, especially because two of them had lived in the very same Vancouver house barely a month after I had left. These quasi-strangers worked the same garden, slept in the same rooms, and cooked in the same kitchen as I did for 3 months. That's pretty remarkable, considering I met up with them at a College street café, thousands of kilometres away from Vancouver.

There are some people in the group that I haven't seen since the 17th of June, 2009. That kind of makes me sad. I think one day I'll see them again. I don't know when.

I took this picture on the 21st; I used a dolly cart to ferry my bags around Vancouver

Cold weather and warm spirits

I went to bed pretty late last night - around 12:30 am. I thought I was going to sleep poorly because I had just spent the past couple hours glued to my computer screen playing Civilization V. Oops! But it turns out I slept pretty well, and at 7 am I was wide awake and while not feeling completely refreshed, I definitely felt like I had had a good night's sleep.

So I went to the Y. There was a yoga class at 9 am usually taught by Josh, but today he was sick so a replacement teacher took his place. Getting to the Y was stimulating: the temperature dipped to single digits and it stayed pretty cold for the rest of the day. I was biking, so a good windbreaker kept me warm. Feeling the cold air on my face was kind of nice. Given how hot it's been (relatively speaking), a colder day was a welcome change and something one must get used to if they are to live in Toronto.

I came home and in the afternoon I had the inspiration to make a dairy-free cream of broccoli soup. In my opinion, the recipe didn't call for very many spices so when I was cooking the onions I added some turmeric and curry powder. Not too much, but enough to change the colour and be tasted in the final dish.

I then went to pick up a bike I had gotten fixed at a bike repair shop on Christie, and after biking up the big hill, I had barely enough time to get ready to head downtown for an arts group at Stella's Place.

Stella's Place is cool. Maybe I overuse that word, but it's a really great drop-in centre for youth 16-30 who identify with sensitivities. The interior design is new and fun, and it's got lots of places to lounge around and do things like dance. which is one of the things I did there today. Creative movement was the theme, and it was just such a nice atmosphere that my usual self-consciousness about doing wacky movements in public kind of fell away. And, the folks there are really friendly!

I will no doubt be writing more about my experiences at Stella's.

Today was a fun day.

Dairy and Strokes

I was riding the subway today and I saw an ad above one of the seats. I don't remember the exact details, but I remember it being about strokes and the risk factors that contribute to having one. I recall feeling annoyed at the fact that the ad was also about promoting the use of this app called the "Get Enough" app. From what I gather, you're supposed to install this app on your smartphone to ensure that you consume enough dairy in your diet, because apparently that's going to prevent strokes.

Now, I love cheese just as much as the next guy, but I think it's a little ridiculous to promote an app to help track your consumption of dairy. Sure, it also seems to track other food types and servings, but since the main sponsor is The Dairy Farmers of Canada (in association with the Heart & Stroke Foundation), I think the message they're trying to get through is that you need to drink your milk to be healthy.

Well, I don't buy it. Literally. I can't remember the last time I had milk. And I'm certainly not about to go buy some low-fat milk, as recommended on their website. Full-fat dairy is the way to go: tastier, and full of fat-soluble vitamins.

Pushing dairy - especially from cows stuck in crammed feedlots - on the average population is, in my opinion, a mistake. It reinforces the wrong message that everyone should consume dairy to avoid strokes, and encourages the continued consumption of foods that are often made from sick cows. And I don't think that's cool.

Digimon!

I just stumbled on Digimon on Netflix. I'm super excited! It's like reliving a part of my childhood. I just finished watching the first episode and I found myself smiling and grinning while it played. The nostalgia of watching this after school on YTV is hitting me big time. And it's actually really good!

Being teleported to another dimension and trying to find your way home while being accompanied by these loyal companions... how cool is that? I'm giddy!

But now it is time for bed, so this nerdy excitement will have to continue another time.