I'm sorry, but this H1N1 hysteria has just wiped me out. We've been seeing, on average, about 50% more patients than we'd usually do solely because of this hysteria. It's actually made me tired and unable to pay attention to almost anything else that's currently going on in my life.
I am thankful that I am heading off on a mini-vacation tomorrow morning, after doing a pre-interview with the CBC for an upcoming documentary series (yay!). That's about all I have to say for now, but certainly, folks, I am not neglectful, just really weary from all the yelling, anxiety and worry from the masses of healthy people.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
I think maybe I'll actually be able to see an African elephant now...
This probably won't mean much to the non-evangelicals among you, but I've been invited to be one of the Canadian representatives at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, taking place in South Africa in October 2010. This is probably the massivest deal that has happened to me, I think. There are fifty of us attending from Canada and we are representing a broad cross-section of the Canadian evangelical church today; I am only aware who three other representatives are, but I'm excited to learn who else is coming to represent our country!
What is that awfully long name, I've heard even evangelicals asking me. In brief, it's the biggest international gathering of global evangelicals from around the world. This is only the third time this has happened in the past 35 years, so that's quite something in and of itself. Leaders from the global church, predominantly from the Global South (which is exciting!!!), will be there to grapple with the issues of our day, and how the evangelical world should respond in love, mercy and grace, while pointing to Jesus Christ as the hope of all the nations of the world.
It's a terribly exciting deal. It'll be my first time in southern Africa, hence my hope that I might actually see something more in terms of African wildlife besides goats and camels, which has so far been my only exposure to their fauna. It will also tie in nicely as I'll also be attending a secular international environment and social development leadership conference in South Africa in November 2010, so I'll be hanging around that country for quite a while next year!
What was particularly odd, though, was a semi-racist and sexist reaction from a colleague of mine who insinuated that I was only going as I happened to be a coloured female. I recognize this to be partially true, as they had been putting great efforts to represent the diversity of the Church today, but in the context of this colleague, being a white male, wanting desperately to go but not being invited to attend, it smacked a bit of pettiness. Ironically, the other three people I know who are on the Canadian team all happen to be white males who I admire quite greatly. Oh well.
What is that awfully long name, I've heard even evangelicals asking me. In brief, it's the biggest international gathering of global evangelicals from around the world. This is only the third time this has happened in the past 35 years, so that's quite something in and of itself. Leaders from the global church, predominantly from the Global South (which is exciting!!!), will be there to grapple with the issues of our day, and how the evangelical world should respond in love, mercy and grace, while pointing to Jesus Christ as the hope of all the nations of the world.
It's a terribly exciting deal. It'll be my first time in southern Africa, hence my hope that I might actually see something more in terms of African wildlife besides goats and camels, which has so far been my only exposure to their fauna. It will also tie in nicely as I'll also be attending a secular international environment and social development leadership conference in South Africa in November 2010, so I'll be hanging around that country for quite a while next year!
What was particularly odd, though, was a semi-racist and sexist reaction from a colleague of mine who insinuated that I was only going as I happened to be a coloured female. I recognize this to be partially true, as they had been putting great efforts to represent the diversity of the Church today, but in the context of this colleague, being a white male, wanting desperately to go but not being invited to attend, it smacked a bit of pettiness. Ironically, the other three people I know who are on the Canadian team all happen to be white males who I admire quite greatly. Oh well.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are
I know it's been a long while between posts - too much going on!
I've been mulling over this on and off over the past few days. WTWTA is a beautifully crafted movie, and, as many people have pointed out, is not a children's movie. It is a movie about childhood, and its aching beauty, and the adult sorrows that sometimes it cannot fully understand.
There was much to fully commend about that movie, in its explorations of relationship and family, and in its inability to neatly tie together all the ends and resolve all conflict and sadness. Max is not, as he is asked early in the movie, able to take away all the sadness, for it seeps deeply into the bones, and he is but a child.
The one thing that really got to me, however, is some of the moral ambiguity that is left at the end of the film. Perhaps I need to watch it again. Perhaps I expect the story arc of conflict-repentance-resolution too much. But I found the narratives of the dangers of labeling the 'good' and 'bad' guys, or the lack of consequences for bad behaviour, or the lack of fully good archetypes a bit unsettling. The shifting sand of who is good and who is not makes one stumble as to 'who wins', for no one really does.
Part of our human nature wants good to triumph over evil, NEEDS evil to be demolished and eliminated, but by leaving the possibility open that we simply cannot do this, shifts our mindset. The trend that I've seen in films, by eliminating pure archetypes and adding moral complexity to characters certainly rings more true, but it undermines our hope that there is real Good out there.
Maybe you need to see the film to understand what I'm getting at, but I must say, it generated way more discussion after the film than I'm used to with the people I went with...
I've been mulling over this on and off over the past few days. WTWTA is a beautifully crafted movie, and, as many people have pointed out, is not a children's movie. It is a movie about childhood, and its aching beauty, and the adult sorrows that sometimes it cannot fully understand.
There was much to fully commend about that movie, in its explorations of relationship and family, and in its inability to neatly tie together all the ends and resolve all conflict and sadness. Max is not, as he is asked early in the movie, able to take away all the sadness, for it seeps deeply into the bones, and he is but a child.
The one thing that really got to me, however, is some of the moral ambiguity that is left at the end of the film. Perhaps I need to watch it again. Perhaps I expect the story arc of conflict-repentance-resolution too much. But I found the narratives of the dangers of labeling the 'good' and 'bad' guys, or the lack of consequences for bad behaviour, or the lack of fully good archetypes a bit unsettling. The shifting sand of who is good and who is not makes one stumble as to 'who wins', for no one really does.
Part of our human nature wants good to triumph over evil, NEEDS evil to be demolished and eliminated, but by leaving the possibility open that we simply cannot do this, shifts our mindset. The trend that I've seen in films, by eliminating pure archetypes and adding moral complexity to characters certainly rings more true, but it undermines our hope that there is real Good out there.
Maybe you need to see the film to understand what I'm getting at, but I must say, it generated way more discussion after the film than I'm used to with the people I went with...
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Hey, hey you - heal thyself!
It's been crazy-busy here, to the point that I would have to put in my day planner when I would have time during the week to wash my hair - yes, that pathetically busy. It's been a good-busy (if there is such a thing), however.
I am glad to say it looks like maybe I'll be back at a rational pace of life for a little bit. However, that has almost been forced upon me; with all the sleep deprivation, the hordes of worried well cramming the clinic, and the extreme amounts of social interaction lately, I've gotten the wind taken out of my sails by getting sick.
Usually, I only get significantly sick every five or six years, so I was certainly due. And no, it's not the flu, it's not H1N1, it's just a particularly bad viral infection. Yes, I've had fevers, and I'm mute and deaf from all the congestion, but it's fine.
The most ridiculous part, however, was trudging through a walk-in shift, with people looking logarithms less sick than myself asking for sick notes to excuse themselves for an extremely long weekend. Excuse me? I thought as I hacked and hoarsed my way through these visits - stupid idiots with sick days banked....
I am glad to say it looks like maybe I'll be back at a rational pace of life for a little bit. However, that has almost been forced upon me; with all the sleep deprivation, the hordes of worried well cramming the clinic, and the extreme amounts of social interaction lately, I've gotten the wind taken out of my sails by getting sick.
Usually, I only get significantly sick every five or six years, so I was certainly due. And no, it's not the flu, it's not H1N1, it's just a particularly bad viral infection. Yes, I've had fevers, and I'm mute and deaf from all the congestion, but it's fine.
The most ridiculous part, however, was trudging through a walk-in shift, with people looking logarithms less sick than myself asking for sick notes to excuse themselves for an extremely long weekend. Excuse me? I thought as I hacked and hoarsed my way through these visits - stupid idiots with sick days banked....
Sunday, October 04, 2009
More than just worms and plants...
The only other living creatures with me in my home on a usual basis are worms and plants. However, I've had the privilege and joy of having two human roommates in succession over the past little while! Each are back in Canada from having been abroad for Kingdom work, back for refreshing and updating before heading out again. It's been an honour having them each stay in my home and offering them a place to retreat and refresh. Because I've been so darn busy and generally sleep-deprived over the past month, one actually thanked me for giving them a place to retreat and commune, as I'd been away for more than 56 hours in a row while they were there! So, in-your-face host I guess I am not. However, it's been nice sharing space for the little while that I've had them!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Seizing joy...
Joy is a funny thing, isn't it? It's a blessed thing as well, and praise God that joyfulness is always to be our lot, irrespective of circumstances. Despite quite a few setbacks already this week, I can still say that I still rejoice in the Lord, that though people disappoint and betray, He is always constant and always good.
I like how joy is this constant little nut, buried deep within your soul, digging its roots deep and wide throughout the fertile soul-soil. So that, even though storms should buffet, joy clings tenaciously onwards, swaying not to the winds of circumstance. And when the sun shines down brightly, joy allows the soul to come into full bloom and blow its blossom petals to the breeze.
Joy is funny how it works that way. I think Bono once said (OK, I hear the groans now, "my gosh, enough with U2 already!"), when asked by an interviewer if he was happy, he answered along the lines of, "Happiness is circumstantial, so no, I'm not happy all the time. But am I joyful? Yes. Joy is constant." Amen.
I like how joy is this constant little nut, buried deep within your soul, digging its roots deep and wide throughout the fertile soul-soil. So that, even though storms should buffet, joy clings tenaciously onwards, swaying not to the winds of circumstance. And when the sun shines down brightly, joy allows the soul to come into full bloom and blow its blossom petals to the breeze.
Joy is funny how it works that way. I think Bono once said (OK, I hear the groans now, "my gosh, enough with U2 already!"), when asked by an interviewer if he was happy, he answered along the lines of, "Happiness is circumstantial, so no, I'm not happy all the time. But am I joyful? Yes. Joy is constant." Amen.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Boy, I really, really, really, really love U2
OK, as my status update says, I went to Church to rejoice with my four favorite Irishmen last night! It was church, it was a spiritual experience, and I praised God in my heart to hear 60,000 people praising God and supplicating with the Holy Spirit with their mouths (though their hearts still did not know what they were doing). Listening, and singing along with, to some (not all) of the stadium, as Bono sang Amazing Grace and snippets of gospel songs were amazing. I've already written briefly about this (see the posting July 2, 2008), so I won't write any more, but the story arc of chaos, repentance and confession, clinging to the Holy Spirit, and then being empowered to go into the world, was clearly there for all to see in the concert....
Thoughts on the West Coast
I think if I had ever held any illusions about moving out west, this last little jaunt out there quashed those ideas. Or, at the very least, about moving to the greater Vancouver area. I can't fairly rule out rural BC, Vancouver Island, etc, not having been there.
Without a doubt, Vancouver has a lot going in its favour: awesome weather, beautiful scenery, a generally healthier population than out east, managing to succeed in its Olympic bid (OK, I don't think that's a big seller, but some people would), bountiful sushi establishments, etc.
It started with the small, nagging feeling that though their bus route system seems to serve the city quite well (slowly), and the Skytrain is amazing in its driverless cars, rapid, public transit overall leaves much to be desired. I clued into this when trying to figure out how to navigate how to get to my friend's house from the house I was staying at, and the transit finder said it was "impossible" for me to do the trip UNDER 3 HOURS. This was the equivalent of trying to get from Greektown to Lakeshore Village. Incredible. Yes, they've built an impressive link from the airport to the downtown core (only by getting kicked into gear by the IOC), but in terms of shuttling people around efficiently in a city considerably smaller than Toronto, they've still got quite a lot of work set out for them.
A further dart to the heart was meeting with various environmentalists and food security types that squashed any stereotypes I held about green Vancouverites; apparently they don't exist quite as proliferatively or as ubiquitously as I had previously thought. But I think the kicker was trying to do some work around poverty and justice while I was over there. The city itself seems to be designed more similarly to an American city than a Canadian one (this was confirmed by several Vancouverites I spoke to). That is to say, that the poor live in their own enclaves, away and aside from where 'everyone else' lives. I suppose if the city is composed mainly of single dwelling homes, yes, that does already construct the city to housing formats that cannot include everyone. Not everyone can afford to buy or rent single dwelling homes; if this is almost exclusively the housing style available, it cuts many people out of the market. I also passed by a very controversial subsidized housing project several times while there, closed down by the government for 'unspecified reasons', the low income people living there were kicked out of the city, and many people in the community had protested its closing, saying it was a conspiracy. Normally, I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I couldn't help but notice that one of the Olympic venues was right across the street....
Visiting people, people I love, in their opulent homes, in almost gated neighbourhoods, listening to them talk about how "safe" the neighbourhood was, how "nice" their neighbours are, how they don't have to worry about their children being friends with the neighbours, how all their neighbours were "just like them", how those "bad" people from North Surrey wouldn't be able to reach their neighbourhood because they'd need a car... hearing talk like this broke my heart. I was happy for their financial success, and the utter gorgeousness of all their homes, but wondered about how the 'otherness' was being built up, the fear driving them into enclaves where they'd never have to see a homeless person, let alone a coloured person, and where the heart of Jesus was beating... all told me how where they lived were "good" neighbourhoods for their children to be raised, but I heard very little of how, in being served with 'safety' and 'good schools' and the 'right neighbours' by the communities they were living in, they were going to serve the High King... Sigh. Sure, we're not perfect here in the Centre of the Universe, either, but it certainly was, from an socio-economic/justice point of view, a fairly disappointing trip (it was really fun otherwise!)...
Without a doubt, Vancouver has a lot going in its favour: awesome weather, beautiful scenery, a generally healthier population than out east, managing to succeed in its Olympic bid (OK, I don't think that's a big seller, but some people would), bountiful sushi establishments, etc.
It started with the small, nagging feeling that though their bus route system seems to serve the city quite well (slowly), and the Skytrain is amazing in its driverless cars, rapid, public transit overall leaves much to be desired. I clued into this when trying to figure out how to navigate how to get to my friend's house from the house I was staying at, and the transit finder said it was "impossible" for me to do the trip UNDER 3 HOURS. This was the equivalent of trying to get from Greektown to Lakeshore Village. Incredible. Yes, they've built an impressive link from the airport to the downtown core (only by getting kicked into gear by the IOC), but in terms of shuttling people around efficiently in a city considerably smaller than Toronto, they've still got quite a lot of work set out for them.
A further dart to the heart was meeting with various environmentalists and food security types that squashed any stereotypes I held about green Vancouverites; apparently they don't exist quite as proliferatively or as ubiquitously as I had previously thought. But I think the kicker was trying to do some work around poverty and justice while I was over there. The city itself seems to be designed more similarly to an American city than a Canadian one (this was confirmed by several Vancouverites I spoke to). That is to say, that the poor live in their own enclaves, away and aside from where 'everyone else' lives. I suppose if the city is composed mainly of single dwelling homes, yes, that does already construct the city to housing formats that cannot include everyone. Not everyone can afford to buy or rent single dwelling homes; if this is almost exclusively the housing style available, it cuts many people out of the market. I also passed by a very controversial subsidized housing project several times while there, closed down by the government for 'unspecified reasons', the low income people living there were kicked out of the city, and many people in the community had protested its closing, saying it was a conspiracy. Normally, I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I couldn't help but notice that one of the Olympic venues was right across the street....
Visiting people, people I love, in their opulent homes, in almost gated neighbourhoods, listening to them talk about how "safe" the neighbourhood was, how "nice" their neighbours are, how they don't have to worry about their children being friends with the neighbours, how all their neighbours were "just like them", how those "bad" people from North Surrey wouldn't be able to reach their neighbourhood because they'd need a car... hearing talk like this broke my heart. I was happy for their financial success, and the utter gorgeousness of all their homes, but wondered about how the 'otherness' was being built up, the fear driving them into enclaves where they'd never have to see a homeless person, let alone a coloured person, and where the heart of Jesus was beating... all told me how where they lived were "good" neighbourhoods for their children to be raised, but I heard very little of how, in being served with 'safety' and 'good schools' and the 'right neighbours' by the communities they were living in, they were going to serve the High King... Sigh. Sure, we're not perfect here in the Centre of the Universe, either, but it certainly was, from an socio-economic/justice point of view, a fairly disappointing trip (it was really fun otherwise!)...
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