A Thousand Farewells

A Thousand Farewells by Nahlah Ayed is a non-fiction book about Nahlah's life growing up in Winnipeg, her parents moving her back to Amman Jordan to a refugee camp to better connect her with her Palestine roots, to becoming a journalist.

I'm the type of person who loves to read.  My books oh choice are of the fantasy genre.  This is the first time that I've read a non-fiction novel that chronicles someones life.

What I liked about this book was the way Ayed painted a picture of every moment that took place.  It was easy to feel that I was there with her, seeing what she was seeing.

Even though she was able to tell her story so vividly, her book was very hard to follow. Most of her story jumped around from place to place, time to time.  Just when I thought I knew where I was, Ayed would jump to another location and time. 

The events that have taken  place in the Middle East, it's difficult for any one to be able to follow.  I believe that Ayed did her best to keep her story moving in a chronological fashion that would make sense for those reading her book.

Journalists can learn from this book that knowing your surroundings when traveling to a foreign country can be very helpful.  Knowing the language helped Ayed while in the Middle East.  She was able to understand what was going on, which was a huge advantage to her.  Journalists can also learn that they need to grow a thick skin.  Even after Ayed had been beaten in a mob, she still continued to go back and do her job.  If I was her I don't think I could go back after that.

Reading this book, I think, affected me in a different way than some of the others who read this book.  Knowing someone who has served over in the Middle East, who has seen what Ayed has described in her book, made me feel what she saw.  I felt connected to her words.  I also felt terrified. It scares me to think about what my friend has gone through.  To read it, that was very different. 

Valentine's Day With Friends

Happy Valentine's Day.

Though for most people, this may not be the 'happy' day it's supposed to be.

Valentine's day comes with a lot of stress.

I'm not talking about the stress guys feel about having to shop for a gift, or the over priced roses.

I'm talking about the stress the single population feels on this day of love.  It's easy to feel inadequate, and question why you're not with someone.  It's a pressure that needs not to exist.  Valentine's day shouldn't just be about showing/giving love one day a year. Instead it should act as a reminder that we need to show/give love everyday of the year.

I'm sure most of you might think I'm being ridiculous.  But I stand by my opinion.  I've only spent Valentine's day with a boyfriend twice in my life. Both times didn't exactly go the way I had hoped.  I'll admit I'm still hopeful for the Valentine's day that I'll feel was special and spent with the right guy.  Until that time comes, I'm not about to sit around crying about it, or forcing some guy to spend it with me when I know it's not right.

I almost spent this years Valentine's day with the wrong guy.  I briefly began seeing this guy at the end of January.  I thought he was this really sweet and caring guy (I'm sure he still is). Turns out, he's also a bit of a coward.  This past Sunday, he decides that maybe we're not right for each other. I'll admit we had our differences, but since when is that a bad thing? The point is, he wanted to end things but couldn't come right out and say it.  I had to end things for him, even though I didn't want to.  At least not yet.

I put a lot of hope in this guy when I shouldn't have.  Why, because I didn't want to be alone on Valentine's day.  I wanted to have the Valentine's day that I've been hoping for.  Now that this day is done, I'm glad that I didn't spend today with a guy I wasn't meant to be with.

Instead I spent today with three of my amazing girlfriends.  We went to Boston Pizza for heart shaped pizza, and I had a really great time just with my girls.

Valentine's day to me is about spending time with loved ones.  So if you're single one Valentine's day, Take A Moment to tell yourself that it's not a big deal, that it's just another day.  If that doesn't work, grab your girls and spend Valentine's day with them, since they're the ones who will love you no matter what.

Try it once before you say no

As I mentioned in my blog two weeks ago, I'm working on trying new things and opening myself up to, well, life.

I recently started seeing this guy, who is beyond sweet to me and makes me feel really good about myself.  He's a country boy (not the I'm into country music, but the I live outside the Perimeter kind of country boy).  He's into what I like to call the "rough n' tough"guy stuff.  He likes to go quading, snowmobiling, and shoot guns, among other things I'm sure.

He decided last weekend that he was going to take me out snowmobiling.  I was skeptical at first, having never been snowmobiling before.  But I told myself I would give it a try.  He was even sweet enough to lend me ski pants (that were too big for me but did the job) and a helmet. For the most part I enjoyed the experience.  I think it would have been better if he didn't go so fast and it wasn't ridiculously cold out (I'm not one for -40 weather).

I didn't scream in fear as he was hoping I would.  I sat at the front of the snowmobile as he stood behind me steering.  I just sat back and enjoyed the bumpy ride and the flying through the air.  Ok maybe not the flying part, that did scare me.  But I'm glad I went for the ride.

I came out of the experience virtually unscathed, only minor bruising on my knees.  I'm glad that I didn't say no to the experience.  It was worth the opportunity to say "I tried that".  I may not do it again, but at least I put myself out there.

Even though you may be scared to try something new, Take A Moment to try it anyways.  You just might enjoy the experience.

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"The Waiting Room"

The Waiting Room

Directed by Peter Nicks

81mins

“America's controversial health care system is broken and nowhere is it more evident than in The Waiting Room. This composite 24-hour period at Highland Hospital in Oakland, one of the nation's busiest emergency rooms, offers a raw, 
intimate, and even uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers each cope with disease, bureaucracy and choices.” 

(http://www.winnipegfilmgroup.com/cinematheque/the_waiting_room.aspx)

Waiting: NOUN: The action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens.

This is what the patients at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA experience on a delay basis.  People of all walks of life, with different injuries and illnesses came through the doors of Highland Hospital and waited their turn to be seen by the doctors.

The documentary showed what Highland Hospital experiences in a 24-hour period (the film was shot over a five day period and edited).  Many people come to wait in the waiting room to see a doctor because they can’t afford to have or to see a family doctor because they don’t have health insurance.

What made this documentary so touching was that all the interviews took place in the hospital.  Not once where the people speaking taken out of the hospital and sat down in a chair to tell their story.  They just spoke as though the camera wasn’t there.  Each new story that was introduced to show how broken the American Health Care System is, was touching.  There were a couple of moments where I found myself starting to tear up over their stories.

Throughout the documentary, there was no reliance on inserted sound (i.e. mood music) to force added emotion.  It wasn’t needed.  Instead the only sound that could be heard were the natural sounds of the hospital.

With everything go on in the hospital, the various amounts of patients coming in needing to see doctors, it would be hard for anyone to stay positive.  This is not the case for Cynthia Y. Johnson, a Certified Nurse Assistant.  Before a patient would go and see a doctor, they would go and see Cynthia.  Which was probably a good thing.  No matter what came her way, Cynthia was able to put a smile on every ones face with her infectious personality.

Canada vs. United States

“Canada's national health insurance program, often referred to as "Medicare", is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis. Instead of having a single national plan, we have a national program that is composed of 13 interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common features and basic standards of coverage.” (1)

Canadian citizens are lucky when it comes to healthcare.  Our healthcare is public, the government funds it so we don’t pay many medical bills, and most care is covered.  However we still pay for glasses/contacts, and prescription drugs.

In the United States, as shown in “The Waiting Room”, healthcare is hard to come by.  Not many people are able to afford the coverage and therefore are unable to be treated for their illnesses or injuries.

“More than 47 million people in the United States do not have health insurance and about 9 million of them are children. Over 40 million people a year do not get medical care when they need it, even if insured, because they can’t afford it. More than 8 out of 10 uninsured people are from working families. Thousands of deaths every year are attributed to lack of health insurance.” (2)

As I said, I consider Canadians to be lucky in the since that we don’t have to worry about healthcare the way Americans do.  However, when it comes to the waiting room, we are very similar.  Everyone who arrives at the hospital sits and waits their turn on the ever-rotating list of priority.  Instead of focusing on costs of insurance, maybe it’s time our governments looked at the hospital wait times and find a way to improve that.

(1) http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/medi-assur/index-eng.php

(2) http://www.healthpaconline.net/health-care-issues.htm

Feel Stuck To Feeling Free

It's not uncommon for people to become so comfortable (or uncomfortable) with their lives that they feel they're in a rut.  Stuck in a routine that they are no longer happy with.  So unsure of how to move on and enjoy life again.

But how do we get ourselves out of these so called "ruts".

The first step is to realize that you're in a rut.  It took me almost a year to realize that I was even in one.  Now I'm not one to normally make New Years resolutions, but I decided to this year.  I have to admit that if it weren't for making this resolution, I probably wouldn't have even known that I was in a rut.

Now that I have realized that I am in a rut, I've decided to do something about it.  I'm tired of letting life pass me by and feeling like I'm not the one in control.  I was following one pattern thinking that it would make me happy.  Turns out it was more of just a bitter distraction from reality.

So to take control of my life and face the reality of it all.  I've decided to try something new, something that I never thought I could do.  This new activity came from my magazine article that I'm writing for school.

This new activity is Aerial Acrobatics.  I've only been once as part of my research, but I plan to continue going even after the assignment is done (if they'll let me).  I had the opportunity to try a few minor tricks on the silk ribbons.  It was exhilarating to say the list.  It made me feel free.  What was even better was getting to watch the acrobatics.  The way the moved was a thing of beauty.  I was in awe the whole time.  Watching them made me feel alive again.  They looked like they felt free.  A feeling that I would like to feel again.

So I recommend to you to Take A Moment to try something new.  Something that will make you feel free and alive again.

Courtesy of Sara Shyiak

'I Almost Do'

We all have that song, that one song that makes us stop and think about our lives and the people that were in it.

For me, it’s usually a Taylor Swift song.  Currently my song on repeat is ‘I Almost Do.’  This song is about losing love and wondering if you can ever get it back.

I listen to this song and I wonder about my ex.  I wonder if he still thinks about me, if he misses me the way I still miss him.

This got me thinking about all the things that were left unsaid.   How I never got the chance to ask him why, to tell him how I felt, how I feel now.

I was left so confused after he broke up with me.  I never saw it coming the way it did.  I thought we had something special.  I thought he was the one that we were going to be together forever.  I was very wrong.

Back in December I saw him while I was out for lunch with some friends from school.  I was shocked to see him.  It had been months since I last saw him or spoke to him.  All I felt was pain and additional heartbreak.  I didn’t say a word to him but I wish I did.

Break ups are never easy; they’re even harder to get over.  Listening to ‘I Almost Do’ made me realize that I need to face the pain that I feel.  I can no longer run from it. 

It’s important to realize that things in life end for a reason and it’s better to just let them go than to hang onto them.  Even though I know he will never come back into my life, that I probably will never run into him again like that, I need to let him go.  I need to realize that he isn’t worth

The pain,

The tears,

The fear. 

You can’t go living life being afraid to let someone in.  It just makes life more unbearable, and lonely. 

It’s time to finally take that moment to see that shutting myself out is letting him win.  Win this sad game.  The truth is he probably doesn’t care because if he did, I would hear from him.

This goes to everyone who has ever had their heart broken.  Take the time to heal, but don’t shut yourself out.  You’ll just feel lonely and miss out on opportunities to meet someone new.  Holding onto someone who doesn’t want to be there isn’t worth your time.

So Take A Moment to think about yourself and what you need and let go of him, because he’s not worth your pain.

Carpe Diem

Life is a funny thing. It gives and it takes.  Each day we carry on, paying it no mind.

But what would happen if we did pay attention to everything around us.  To the sights and sounds, to the people and our relationships with them.  Would we begin to care more.  Take the time to live our life with no regret?

Would life be different if we toke each given moment to live it like it were our last? Each day is a new opportunity to make life better and yet we hold back.  Why?  Is it out of fear, fear of failure, fear of never being good enough?

To live life this way is to not live at all.  Standing in the shadows.  Never trying to...well...try.  Life is full of opportunities to make our lives better.  To do something that we have never done before.  I'm not saying that this is easy, I'm just saying that it's worth it.

I pose this challenge.  Take the time to make a change in your life and stick with it.  I'm making a change in my life that I hope will make me happier.  I hope this challenge will do the same for you.

Have you taken a moment today?