Kruszer's Journal
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Kristine" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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10:17 am
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Want a visitor?
My bf and I are traveling on the east-coast for a couple weeks, we're in Philly now and we need to be in Washington DC area around the 20th of June... in the meantime we had a few people and places in mind that we'd hoped to visit but they're all falling through.
Does anyone within a few hours of Philly, or on Megabus access, have a room/couch/floor that they could invite us to for a couple days? We have a tent too so even a safe backyard is perfect!
Aaron is an amazing cook and we're both not allergic to household chores to help out. (Though I am moderately allergic to perfumes/sprays etc, as you already know if you're been tracking with me over the years)
We've already had to "sleep" outside twice on this trip and were almost mugged once. It's raining hard this morning so I'm really hoping we can find space indoors. We don't have the funds for hostels/motels or even nightly campsites which can all add up.
Any help appreciated.
Kristine
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05:47 pm
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From Stampeding Rreindeers to Stampeding People.
And they call the west the "civilized nations" ....
I just heard the news that somewhere near New York City, A Wal-mart employee was killed on Friday, in a stampede of shoppers trying to save a few dollars. What the hell, people! Are we still human???
Even after the man was knocked down and lying on the floor injured, people still stomped all over and around him to get their great deals for people they love, with no concern for that man and those who love him. I wonder a gift recipient would feel if she knew a man died for that toaster oven she didn't really need in the first place.
And when people were told they had to leave because an employee had been killed they yelled at authorities and refused to stop shopping for the deals they'd waited all night for. Even an eight-month old pregnant woman was knocked down and injured in the madness.
Are we savages? Is our need for CD's and stereos so vital to the survival of our species that we have to take on a Darwinian fight for these trite trophies of what will be tomorrow's technological junk? It's not like we were storming the doors for a limited supply of respirators or antibiotics to survive a pandemic disease - we were running to fill the pockets of a big corporation under society's insistence that we must bring fleeting joy to our loved-ones with material possessions they could've lived without.
And for a few hundred dollars saved, only to be lost on the purchase of other unnecessary possessions, no doubt, . a man will spend Christmas in his grave.
Peace on earth and goodwill toward man and all that.... How did my fellow humans ever come to this?
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11:03 pm
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Obama: Neither pro-life NOR pro-choice - but pro-DEATH
I'm disgusted. I can't vote in the American election but I will have my say anyway:
Like many progressive Christians in favour of social justice, I really thought Obama was a terrific man to lead my "second country". But now he scares the crap out of me.
Check this out:
(sourced and summarized from
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert_Obama%27s%20Abortion%20Extremism_.xml
1. Obama supports legislation that would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which protects pro-life citizens from having to pay for abortions that are not necessary to save the life of the mother and are not the result of rape or incest. According to National Abortion Rights Action League the Hyde Ammendment ''forces about half the women who would otherwise have abortions to carry unintended pregnancies to term." Since Hyde, a lot of people are alive today who under Obama would've been killed prior to birth.
2. He has promised that ''the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act'' (known as FOCA). This proposed legislation would create a federally guaranteed ''fundamental right'' to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy and would abolish virtually every existing state and federal limitation on abortion, including parental consent and notification laws for minors, state and federal funding restrictions on abortion, and conscience protections for pro-life citizens working in the health-care industry-protections against being forced to participate in the practice of abortion or else lose their jobs. The pro-abortion National Organization for Women has proclaimed with approval that FOCA would ''sweep away hundreds of anti-abortion laws [and] policies.''
3. Obama has not endorsed or offered support for the Pregnant Women Support Act, the signature bill of Democrats for Life meant to reduce abortions by providing assistance for women facing crisis pregnancies. In fact, Obama has opposed key provisions of the Act, including providing coverage of unborn children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and informed consent for women about the effects of abortion and the gestational age of their child. This legislation would not make a single abortion illegal. It simply seeks to make it easier for pregnant women to make the choice not to abort their babies.
4. Along the same lines as above, Obama wishes to actually REMOVE federal funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that provide alternatives to abortion for pregnant women in need and who may desire an option besides abortion. There is certainly NOTHING ''pro-choice'' about that!
5. Obama opposed the ban on partial birth abortion (a late-term abortion method on very viable babies who are delivered breach and then die by a puncture to the back of the skull through which their brains are sucked out)
l
6. Even worse, as an Illinois state senator he THREE TIMES voted to oppose legislation to protect children who are born alive, through unsuccessful abortion or deliberate delivery of the baby prior to viability. This legislation would also not have banned any abortions. But for Obama, a child marked for abortion gets no protection-even ordinary medical or comfort care-even if she is born alive and entirely separated from her mother. So Obama has favored protecting what is literally a form of infanticide.
7. On top of lifting bans on embryonic stem-cell research on left-over embryos in fertility clinics, Obama has co-sponsored a bill that would authorize the large-scale industrial production of human embryos for use in biomedical research in which they would necessarily be killed. This bill would require the killing of human beings in the embryonic stage produced by cloning and make it a FEDERAL CRIME for a woman to bring a cloned embryo to term by implantation in her womb. Though they've misleadingly called it the "anti-cloning bill", what it bans is not cloning, but allowing the embryonic children produced by cloning to survive.
8. When a bill was introduced to put a modest amount of federal money into research to develop methods of stem-cell research that do NOT require the destruction of embryos and therefore pose no moral dilemma (ie adult stem-cells) Barack Obama was one of the few senators who opposed it. It is as if Obama is opposed to stem-cell research UNLESS it involves the killing of human embryos.
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So my American friends and those who love them, please consider these facts and let others know. Obama may speak wonders for the economy and the environment and propose many wonderful changes for low-income individuals and other social justice projects. But if the very least in our society can have no justice, then there can be no true justice.
I'm not a big fan of right-wing conservatism with their pro-war and pro-death-penalty ideals (and McCain's side-kick Sarah Palin makes me laugh a little too much to take her seriously) but for the love of God, the lives of children yet-to-be are too priceless to disregard when we make our decisions. Please think twice.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Canadian
PS. For more on the Born Alive bill that Obama rejected, see this video in which nurses talk about witnessing babies born alive and left to die alone in soiled linen baskets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYRpIf2F9NA&eurl=http://lj-toys.com/?journalid=474511&moduleid=10&preview=&auth_token=sessionless:1224183600:embedcontentiurl=http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/BYRpIf2F9NA/default.jpg
Tags: pro-life
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04:19 am
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Still in Toronto.... oops.... I mean: Chicago. :P
WE didn't leave for Toronto.
HE did.
My ride left without me. And I'm still in Chicago. Toronto 2005, deja-vu anyone? I have no money to take the bus back to Toronto where my bus ticket back to Ottawa and a bit of my stuff currently is.
But I'm not overly disappointed, to be quite honest. I'm sort of glad for the added time here to get to know the JPUSA folks.
I sort of feel like I belong here, at least for now. I'm really enjoying living in community at JPUSA (Jesus People USA) which is a big Christian commune of 500 people who live together, work together and serve the community together. We all have roommates (2-3 per small room made to look bigger with the help of bunkbeds and other space-saving tricks) and single men sleep in a different building than single females and families with children do, so things stay proper.
It runs like a big family too - or a small town. Some people run the businesses throughout the city that bring in the money (roofing, sheet-metal shop, printing business, mini-storage, record company etc), while others like me help in the kitchen for a few hours a day or serving in the homeless shelter and seniors home that JPUSA runs. It's awesome! Like a church that lives together and has plenty of on-site Bible studies and worship times that you can join any night of the week - or just go out with a small group to run around the town. Great environment. Imagine a camp retreat that never ends.
There are so many traveling young adults like me who are here for a few days to a few weeks or months, as well as people who've been here for 30 years, including some of the seventies babies who still live here to this day. Anytime of day when you're not on duty you can come down to the dining room and find a bunch of young adults chatting or playing cards, or saunter up to one of the lounges where a group will be jamming or watching a movie in the later evenings. Always people around and never a chance to get too lonely or bored.
Chicago itself is a great city (some call it NYC done right). It's huge and there are so many great jazz and blues scenes, not to mention great dancing... I saw country singer Gretche Wilson for free this past Saturday at Chicago's Country Festival. How great a time I had! Much line-dancing did I. The weather is fantastic and very warm. It's been in the 80's plus humidity all week - we've been running around town in shorts and t-shirts (for those of you in Celcius land that's around - how's the temperature up in Ottawa anyway?)
All that being said, I do hope to come up with funds to be back in time for my birthday on the 25th, though I'll likely come back to JPUSA this summer, at very least for their big Cornerstone music festival a few hours away. I don't think it's my permanent home (building is old and much of it is quite run-down and always undergoing renovations here and there - it used to be a hotel belonging Al Capone - and the office building was once his brothel if you can imagine! - and Chicago is known for its cockroaches, of which I have already met a few here).
But right here, right now. I'm happy. My new friend Aaron finally did get off the phone the other night and I've been having a marvelous time chatting with him into the wee hours. And speaking of wee hours, now I'm off to bed since I have kitchen duty in 5 hours and my roommates will wonder what became of me when I'm absent half the night.
Tags: chicago, toronto journey
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02:22 am
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I'm in CHICAGO!!! :)
Twice as big as Toronto, I don't know what made me think I could capture this city in such a short time! But I'm loving it here.
Having left Ottawa on Friday September 26th 's overnight bus, I arrived in Toronto on Saturday morning having had not a wink of sleep. Try sleeping on a wooden roller-coaster and you might understand why this was the case. I saw my swing friend Alisha in her children's musical production of the Ugly Duckling (complete with sweet Charleston moves), I enjoyed a fantastic meal at a raw foods restaurant, I smashed my head into a hanging plant (a delightful experience this was), and then I kicked around Toronto until my ride was ready to leave. Which didn't occur until 4pm Wednesday October 1st. I was hesitant about leaving at this hour because my housing at Jesus People USA (JPUSA) hadn't yet been confirmed and I knew we'd be arriving late. I was right to be wary: After a very long drive, Allan and I arrived in Chicago at the door of JPUSA at almost 3am and were told to come back tomorrow since the housing coordinators were already in bed. Bummer. So we drove another hour to a truck stop where I slept almost comfortably in the back seat of the car, 'showered' in the truck stop bathroom sink because I wouldn't dish out $10 to use their showers (bottled drinking water is one thing, but I'm NOT going to pay that much for water to be poured on my head!) and got to laugh at the strange array of foods available for truckers – including 'self-heating' meals. Yum. I passed. After checking into JPUSA and meeting my new roommate for the weekend (a vivacious and delightful African American Messianic “Jew-nitarian”named Lia, who much like my friend Ulyn has a phenomenal singing voice) we cruised through downtown Chicago until our feet hurt and our stomachs screamed.
What a thrill! I've seen several movies based in Chicago, and to be walking along the waterfront in sight of the Chicago skyline was like walking into a page of my book of daydreams. We rode the 150 foot ferris wheel at Navy Pier which enabled me to get some fantastic shots of the city – though I'm told the great 1893 World Fair in Chicago had a much bigger ferris-wheel – and that a much bigger one is in Chicago's future plans.
We also found Millennium Park and the famous 'big bean' (officially entitled “Cloud Gate” - a large sculpture plated with smooth stainless steel plates thus enabling amazing reflections of people and of the Chicago skyline. Also in Millennium park was Crown Fountain, a fountain featuring faces of Chicagoans that intermittently spits water out of the 'mouths' and out onto the sidewalk. (Don't worry, I took pictures and a video). All in this same day (yes, the day after we barely slept in the luxury of the car) we also took in a couple hours of the Art Institute of Chicago because it was free day. Got an amazing shot of the sunset through the Sears and another prominent building. And there was morning and evening the first day.
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Friday saw the beginning of WCLX. I still can't believe I got to attend a lindy-hop event in Chicago! Me!! In Chicago! The big city with all the phenomenal jazz and blues scenes and an exchange with over 300 people. Oh the dances I danced! The people I met! I could rant on and on about all the lovely dancers who gifted me with fun dances into the wee wee hours this weekend. Doug, Christian, Andy, Leo, Thomas, and even Andrea with her amazing photographic skills and butt shots... Thanks to them I laughed, I smiled, I felt appreciated and even loved (the consensus is that I am an “interesting person”). The bands, DJ's, and venues were amazing too! Good memories. Thanks y'all. :)
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The post exchange brought some interesting experiences. My driver was so tired that we nearly got into a car accident after the late-night. We'd driven the DJ to the airport (or rather he'd driven him – I had to get out of the car and wait an hour and a half outside a gas station since the DJ's cologne had exploded in his luggage, rapidly making the car REAK like a man bathed in musk oil and I as a result was on the verge of nausea and passing out). By 8am, after three nights of 5am dancing, we were a few minutes from JPUSA when I noticed we were careening straight into the back of the car in front of us without any sign of slowing down. “Woe”, I said. Then “WOE!” I shouted. We screeched to a sharp stop mere millimeters from the car. Wow.
Logic would've sent me straight to my room. Common sense would've sent me to bed. But three days of living with little more than 5 hours of sleep tends to banish both. Upon entering JPUSA, Aaron, the friendly blond-dread-haired man at the front desk, persuaded me to join him on a shopping spree to a nearby thrift store that was having a 50% off sale. He'd been up all night doing the night shift so we were both zombies, laughing in the book corner over some Politically Correct Fairy Tale books.
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After sleeping all day Monday, I zipped out to a jazzy bar called Fizz Club where I enjoyed some farewell dances with some of the terrific people I'd met at the exchange. I sat out in the car chatting with Andrea who'd driven me home – a ten minute conversation that turned into an hour and a half cause she's such an awesome person. I then wound up spending the remainder of the night reading the PC books with Aaron to help ease him boredom of front desk duty alone. Yes, only for that reason ;) I don't enjoy his company at all or anything :P --- I saw another museum Tuesday (an awesome history museum where I got to see one of the original lion pieces that adorned the great blue wall of Babylon) and then spent time hanging out with the JPUSA folk. Great people. I have lost much sleep as a result of time spent with them but it's been well worth it. I'll write more about this Christian community in a future post. Far too much to say on that account. :)
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Today was my final day in Chicago - at least this time around - I'm already planning/dreaming of a return trip in June or July (in time for the JPUSA Cornerstone Festival). I visited the John Hancock building - world's tallest multi-purpose building. There's a grocery store, fitness center, condominiums, office buildings, loads of other stores... and a fantastic observation deck in which I spent roughly 4 hours taking multitudes of pictures and watching the sun set.
We leave for Toronto first thing in the morning. I'm waiting around to say goodbye to Aaron but it looks like I won't have the chance. He's been on the phone since I got back at 11 - it's now going on 2:30 in this time zone. Which figures, but maybe it's just as well. He's only planning on being here 2 months so he'll probably be gone by the time I return, if I return. He'll probably just be another one of those really cool people I cross paths with just once in a lifetime. That's how my life tends to fly. Stiff upper lip, ya know? I mean I have the joy of traveling and with that naturally comes the sadness of leaving people behind.
Still, I've had a marvelous time in this great city of Chicago.
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03:36 pm
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Fool That I Am
Fool that I am,
For falling in love with you.
And fool that I am
For thinking [you'd love] me too.
You took my heart,
Then played the part of little coquette.
And all my dreams just disappeared
Like the smoke from a cigarette.
Fool that I am,
For hoping you’d understand.
And thinking you
Would listen to
The things that I had planned.
But we couldn’t see eye to eye
So darling,
Darling, this is goodbye.
But I still care
And oh! Fool that I am!
Oh!
But I still care.
Fool that I am.
~~Etta James, blues singer en excellence, singing my heart today~~
(Listen to song here: http://www.skreemr.com/link.jsp?id=65524752525960)
Current Mood:  disappointed
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01:03 am
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Voice Call
I recently got a new cell phone and tonight I tested it out without my roommate's prior knowledge by adding her to the call list for voice-calling.
I just didn't expect to say "Ulyn" and have her answer me before the phone even rang on her end. :P
Tags: funny
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06:59 pm
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Canada gives Law-Breaker its Highest Honour
He was a criminal. Not even licensed as a medical practitioner, he practiced an illegal procedure without a medical license and blatantly did so on national television. … And yesterday it was announced that for his deeds he would receive The Order of Canada: Canada's highest honour, reserved for Canadians who have demonstrated a "lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation." Canadians of all creeds and walks of life don't wish him to receive this award. Three hundred thousand responded to a Globe and Mail survey earlier in the year and a whopping 92% of respondents opposed his receipt of the Order. The man is Henry Morgentaler, and far from being a national hero, he has left Canada in a state of what has often been called 'legislative limbo'. Because of him Canada is the only civilized country in the world with absolutely NO regulations on abortion whatsoever. Any woman or girl of any age, for any or no reason, and at any point in her pregnancy – including second and third trimesters – can obtain an abortion, in most cases tax-funded. Canadians may quietly accept, but are certainly not proud of nor eager to bestow honour upon the man responsible for the occurrence of at least 1000 second and third trimester abortions annually (stats Canada, 12% of gestational reports). These occur beyond the point of fetal pain and awareness and, thanks to our lack of law, can and do occur without medical reason. The Order of Canada is to be awarded to individuals who have "enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country." Oh, Henry has made a difference all right: over 2 million of my peers are missing from society! But as to having enriched the lives of others, one need only google 'regret abortion' or to ask the thousands of women who grieve and suffer daily over their abortion - women like one of his former clients Vicky Green ( See video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd7EPz-2fX4 ) - how much their lives were enriched. He may be deemed a hero of "choice" but this award attempts to slap a national seal of approval on an act over which there is still much debate. That the choice would be made on Canada day and ushered quietly into approval over a long weekend, despite the majority voice of Canadians disfavouring this move only adds to the insult.
Women deserve better than abortion. Canada deserves better. Below are a few contacts, should you wish to make your voice known on this matter. Let us bestow our honour on those who have selflessly given, not upon those who have financially gained at the expense of vulnerable women and their children.
(See National Post editorial: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/06/29/douglas-farrow-quot-henry-morgentaler-s-canada-is-not-my-canada-quot.aspx )
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Action Steps:
1. Contact the Prime Minister's office and ask Prime Minister Harper to denounce this decision publically. http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/ProfileMP.aspx?Key=78553&Language=E
2. Contact the Governor General of Canada and tell her your feelings regarding this. http://gg.ca/contactus/index_e.asp#1
3. Contact the Chief Justice Beverly and ask her to re-call the decision do to the fact that it was NOT unanimous and that it does not reflect the views of all Canadians (as it should). http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/aboutcourt/judges/mclachlin/index_e.asp
4. VERY EFFECTIVE: Write a letter to your local, or national, papers about this ASAP.
5. Contact your MP and urge him/her to encourage the Prime Minister to denounce this. http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
6. Get the word out in your networks about this ASAP.
Get more information from 4 MY Canada at http://www.4mycanada.ca/Emails/20080628.html
Tags: pro-life
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04:04 am
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Philadelphia, Waterloo... and a gift box of poo.
This entry is dedicated to those of you who've been in recent days/weeks harassing me to update y'all and let you know that Kristine hasn't disappeared into a big dark hole. Here's a rapid summary of where I've been.
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HOME ON THE (suburban) RANGE -
On the home front I've been playing unofficial nanny to the friend who gave birth to her forth child 2 months ago. I had the privilege of being her co birth-doula, and when she suffered birth complications requiring extended hospital stay, I took over the mom role until she got back on her feet. I'm still there now, helping out wherever I can. The woman is a single mom of four. At best she needs time off just to sleep!
I've also been babysitting for other single-mom friends. I take them to the beach, to the park, to places I'd have liked to have brought my own children if I'd been blessed with them. Sometimes the kids accidentally call me 'Mom'. Nothing makes me happier than that. :)
Oh it's not always lovely. A week ago while I was preparing a bottle for the baby, the toddler comes downstairs and presents me with a box of his poo. He'd smeared it all over himself too. After I lay baby down and wash up said toddler, I discover that he had smeared his poo all over his mother's bedroom: the TV screen, the doll-house, the bed spread, carpet - you name it. No sooner have I finished feeding baby and cleaning the poo when I witness same toddler shove a handful of sand into the other child's mouth and face. Off to bath number two we all go. Day continued ad nauseum. :P
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I COULD'VE DANCED ALL NIGHT... (oh wait! I did!)
On the dancing-traveling front (being in reception of Employment Insurance while having little to no rent to pay does afford some benefits) I've gotten to do the following:
1. FRANKIE MANNING WORKSHOP: (Toronto, April) Frankie Manning is the father of lindy-hop. Currently aged 94 he and his friends birthed my beloved dance way back in the 30's and the early days of Jazz. Frankie used to dance to the LIVE music of Duke Ellington, Ella Fizgerald, Ethel Waters, Billie Holiday, Count Basie,Cab Calloway... You can see him dance in the 30's movie "Hellzapoppin" (see Youtube clips) - and I got to dance with him! :D
2. BOSTON EXCHANGE: (Aka BIX)
I took a 13 hour bus-ride to Boston to enjoy a fabulous weekend with American dancers I'd met at the Montreal Blues exchange a few months earlier. Highlights of the weekend included my friend Telyn and I dancing on the ever-swaying subway - with other passengers trying to act like they couldn't see us - and a PACKED house-party of at least 150 dancers in an average-sized house, 50 crammed into a living/dining room to blues dance at any given time.
3. PHILADELPHIA:
I hitched a ride to Philly with some of my friends who'd been at the Boston exchange. While my host went to work I spent the week touring the city of brotherly love.
I saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, walked the cobblestone 1700's streets where the early immigrants first lived (some are still part of the main road and make the coolest hum as tires roll over them - the cobblestones, that is, not the immigrants) and even went up 500 feet into the air to get pictures of the city while standing underneath a giant metal man's butt (William Penn statue at City Hall).
I also saw the grave-site of Benjamin Franklin, mailed a post-card from the very first post office in the united states (which I stumbled upon most accidentally), did the Thinker pose with a replica of Rodin's statue, discovered a local restaurant whose wine cellar was once a part of the underground slave tunnel, and last but not least, did the "Rocky" run and pose (no not horror Rocky) up the stairs of the Philly art museum.
I was even accosted by the producers of a children's television program being created for the children's hospital. A puppet made by the Hensons, makers of the Muppets asked me a question about what I loved about summer and they filmed me talking to a Puppet about how much I love the warm weather. Boy did they pick the right person for that role! I think I was a natural and was even rewarded with a kiss from Miles the Puppet. :)
My time in Philadelphia would've included their exchange but I sadly had to boot back to Ottawa for my little brother's wedding. The 11 hour train ride through the Adirondacks was SO BEAUTIFUL and included a free historical tour - all for just $66. The 2 hour final leg from Montreal to Ottawa cost nearly as much as that. American travel is so much cheaper than it is in Canada oddly enough.
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GET HIM TO THE CHURCH ON TIME
My brother's wedding.was a wonderful time had by all. I was in the wedding party (my first ever!) on the groom's side, which mean I got to wear a dress in the groomsmen colours rather than that of the bridesmaids. Burgundy verse a green colour on an olive-toned girl? Bring on the burgundy! My friend Ulyn (see mother of four) did my hair in little mini-rosettes - and this while her four ran around getting in various attention-needing shenanigans. That women deserves a super-mom medal!
The day ended with a square dance - not quite swing but a step in the right direction. I had such a great time all day that I forgot to have more than a mere few moments of regrets that my luck at finding my own mate was is lousy as it has been. In fact, to honour the old French-Canadian tradition in which the unmarried older sibling (traditionally the brother, but my family believes in equal-opportunity humiliation I guess) has to dance in their socks at the younger sibling's wedding, I went all out and decked myself out in socks from head to toe to do a little Charleston number. "Only you, Kristine" was my mother's reply. "Only you" :P
They were off to Alaska right around the time we got our nasty heat wave.
(Feel free to go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=126645&l=003d1&id=774185533 to see pictures of the big day and my moment of glory. There aren't many because I was too busy being in the action than capturing it
And to those of you who've seen me in the past couple years: notice anything different about my smile?)
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MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH...
I had to do an emergency move this past Thursday when the friends who'd been graciously storing my stuff announced the night before that their house would be sprayed from top to bottom for bed-bugs they'd found in one of the bedrooms. It wound up costing over $200 for the moving vehicle by the time one factors in gas, per-km fee, and two days' rental (driver was too tired to drive it back). Didn't help that my moving hands needed to be trucked from one end of town to the other in order to make it to work - and expected to get a ride on my 50 cents per km ticket. Would've been cheaper to hire them a bloody taxi.
But that's over and done with for now. I'm not thrilled with myself that I still have enough stuff to warrant a storage locker. A new rendition of 'purge to the death' is about to be undergone. I already GAVE AWAY my water bed to one of the girls who helped me move. Candle-making and craft supplies along with most of my extensive collection of books, will be the next to go, I'm afraid.
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WATERLOO! (Couldn't escape if I wanted too! Woh woh woh...)
Finally we arrive at my weekend in
4. WATERLOO: I'd had my heart set on the Mezz Jelly blues dance workshop weekend for sometime now. Logic would've dictated that after loosing $250+ to an unexpected move that one should be financially responsible and forgo any fun splurges. But I was too frustrated that it had even happened - so I ignored the warning bells in my pathetic bank account and the inner reminder that my EI is on the verge of expiring and hopped in the Waterloo-bound car anyway.
No regrets! Between a terrific barn dance on Sunday, great late-night parties, and great music all weekend long, I am very glad I took the time to soothe my soul with a little musical soul!
I'm even spending a few more dollars now, visiting friends and family in Hamilton (my counsin's kids were in a dance recital last night - so good!) and in Peterborough (I head there tomorrow to visit a girl I knew from church whose children are due in part to my informing her that the birth control pill is abortifacient. Her oldest was conceived just post a little post-revelation so I've always felt a slight maternal connection to him. Tee hee.)
And that about brings us up to date. No doubt some details slipped through the cracks. I'll get back to y'all if I should rediscover them.
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11:16 pm
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My First Birth Experience
As most of you know, I trained as a doula a year ago, and my good friend Ulyn granted me the opportunity to be present at the birth of her forth child, as a co-doula (her original doula would be there just because they have a long-standing relationship).
A routine ultrasound on the 11th day post due wound up leading us to the hospital. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 - the ultrasound doctor did not like something that she saw, so away we went for an induction - which suited my tired-of-being-pregnant friend just fine!
Delivery happened very rapidly once the Pitocin drip was begun. At 12:30pm the midwife checked her and said her cervix was still high and un-dilated and wondered out loud if maybe they'd gotten the due dates wrong.
Ten minutes later, my friend was bent across the bed screaming "She's coming! The baby's coming" - and only two minutes after that, a very surprised midwife was holding a baby. My co-doula, who'd been present at her her other births, smiled nonchalantly and shrugged "And that's the way Ulyn gives birth" Talk about rapid transition - there was nothing textbook about this birth!
Unfortunately things got ugly from there and my friend's previously uncooperative cervix then refused to close. She hemorrhaged for over 2 hours, passing out frequently while a team of frantic nurses and doctors tried to massage the uterus and stop the bleeding. Not fun for her worried friends who were still standing by watching our friend bleed pools of blood! Just when we thought things had settled, around 6:30 the bleeding began again.
She needed a blood transfusion of four bags of blood to pull through... scary. Thankfully she avoided the next option which would've been surgery.
I've been staying at her place, being mom to her autistic nine year old for the week while she recovered in hospital. A few other friends have come to relieve me for the evening, so I'm finally catching up on email and hoping to upload a few pictures before heading back (I know, I know - I missed swing dancing - but email and Facebook deprivation can really hurt an internet junkie, you know)
Anyhow, that's the story of my first birth experience. I'm truly honoured to have been able to experience that and to see the little scrunched up face emerging from my friend's body. No words can express... and yes, I cried.
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07:25 pm
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God Has a Sense of Humour
I don't drink coffee, so I never get to play Tim Horton's famous "Roll Up The Rim to Win" Contest. That's why after a harrowing day at the dentist (to tune of another extraction, four more fillings, and another near $1000 out of pocket), I was SO PSYCHED to find an unrolled Timmie's cup, abandoned in the dentist waiting room.
I thought "Wouldn't it be incredible if after all this agony and pain (not to mention financial loss) this abandoned cup was something I could sell to recuperate some of my losses? A boat? A car? A plasma TV?... Could God be waiting to hugely bless me here in this office of bad news and personal anguish?
I prayed "Dear God, please: Let this be a winning cup!"
I should've been more specific. I rolled a free coffee.
:P :D
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07:07 pm
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Spring has Finally Sprung
I think.
It snowed again yesterday morning and I've been duped into thinking spring had arrived a few times already.
But snow is melting and pouring off the roops and down drainpipes - a beautiful sound! Love spring!
I'm acting as co-doula for my friend Ulyn's birth. She started contractions Friday but nothing has really progressed. Now I'm bored and wondering when the action's going to start for real. I have potential plans to go to Montreal later on this week. I don't want to leave and risk missing the birth but I don't want to miss the conference if the baby won't show until next week.
It's her fourth child so we all thought it'd come sooner. She's due on the 3rd... we'll see.
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04:31 pm
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Day of the Playdate
A nine-year old boy crawled into bed with me yesterday morning. "Kristine, I just wet my bed, can I sleep in yours?"
If I'd been cold-hearted or the least bit concerned for my own bedding (or remotely coherent of thought at that early hour) I might've found reason to shrug him off, but I simply rolled over and made room.
When my bedmate pushed me over and crawled under the sheets again this morning, I sighed at the apparently new routine. Only it wasn't so routine. This time around it was not bedwetting that had caused him to seek the comfort of my bed but rather, as I would later learn to my dismay, an episode of stomach flu. Great. Just what I need to catch. On the bright side, he's not my kid and I wasn't the one who had to clean up the unfortunate mess left behind in the bathroom. :P
I've been playing low-key this week, in between my house/job hunting and my writing assignment for Christian Week. Yesterday I borrowed the toddlers of two of my single-mom friends so they could each run errands and/or take a much needed nap. I brought the two to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie (I loved it!) followed by a a romp on the Bob the Builder cars in the adjoining mall and yet another romp in one of my charges' playroom. What fun we had! The last time I had that much fun was back in February when I spent the day taking the 2.5 year-old girl to the Winterlude ice slides.
I didn't get paid for the job. I didn't need to. It was a win-win situation for all of us, since I got the joy of having children for a day, while my friends got a day off from the role of Momhood. Too bad I have to resort to borrowing other people's kids to be able to live a snippet of my parenthood dreams. :P
Tags: children
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06:27 am
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Overheard in a shopping mall...
An elderly lady walked into the store I was browsing. The store is going out of business and they were having a big closeout sale.
"Sir," she asked the middle eastern man at the cash. "Is everything in this store 50% off?"
The man nodded.
"Well then" she replied with a large wave of her arm, "take off 50% of your clothes and then I'll believe you!"
The man almost needed help getting his chin off the counter.
Meanwhile I can't help but roll into a fit of laughter and congratulate the woman on her wit. I told her I was adopting her as a grandma and she said "Oh that would be wonderful! My husband and I never had any children so we have no grandchildren."
:)
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05:55 pm
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Calling all Americans with Television - WATCH MY MOVIE :D
Girl's Best Friend, staring Janeane Garofalo is airing tomorrow night on the Lifetime Network at 9pm. If you're American you probably get it, if you're Canadian with Satellite TV or Rogers Digital you likely get it too. I DON'T GET IT HERE SO ANYONE WHO CAN TAPE IT FOR ME WILL HAVE MY UNDYING LOVE!!!
As you may recall I was a background actress for that movie, with two separate scenes
In the first scene I'm in there's a band playing in a bar and everyone's popping. The song ends and she meets the leader at the bar for quick talk and takes off with him. (I think the line was something about 'knowing someone's name before I sleep with them') I was wearing a kaki skirt and a black top, hair in a ponytail. I do a walk by while they're talking at the bar)
The second scene was on a New York City street. She's walking the dog with a guy, another dog walker and as they walk down the sidewalk I intercept and walk around them. I was wearing a pink and tan tank top, sunglasses and black pants. My hair was down.
Not sure which order they'll play in.
http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/girls-best-friend
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03:53 am
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Hearing the Voice of Women who Chose Abortion
On January 28th, while many women celebrate 20 years of no abortion laws in Canada, thousands of other women will cry.
They are the women who mourn their abortions, the women who chose abortion because they had ‘no other choice.’ They are the teens whose parents pressured them, the women whose partner threatened to abandon them, the students desperate to finish school, and the women whose finances couldn’t feed another mouth. They are the women who love children, who cried on the abortion table, who still cry.
On January 24th I stood in front of the Supreme Court of Canada where a make-shift memorial service had been set up to commemorate the day 20 years ago that Canada struck down its existing abortion laws while recommending that parliament enact better ones (something that still has not been done). Abortion in Canada became legal through all nine months, no medical reason required, and paid for by our tax dollars. With a tiny white casket setting the tone for the event, five women gave tearful testimony to the emotional, physical, and spiritual pain of their abortions. Inside the casket, dozens of fetal models represented the 100,000 Canadian children who lose their lives annually to abortion.
While for some women January 28th, 1988 symbolizes progress, and their abortion decisions are a celebrated act of liberation and freedom, these women are in the minority. A ‘google’ search for the words “regret abortion” reveals over 300,000 results – and very few include the words “don’t” or “not”. All over the world, thousands of women are speaking out against their decision and calling out for a feminism that fights to improve circumstances and gives real choices to women, rather than giving them a pathetic band-aid that wounds them and leaves the same pressures in place for future women. The early feminists opposed abortion as an anti-woman tragedy. Susan B Anthony’s colleague Mattie Brinkerhoff wrote in the September 2nd 1869 edition of The Revolution “When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society - so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged."
Amidst the cheers for this week’s “great milestone for women” may we listen closely to the tears of thousands of abortion patients who are not celebrating, and to the silence of their daughters who never lived to utter a cry.
Kristine Kruszelnicki
Tags: pro-life
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12:35 am
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(1st degree Morgentaler) Final Round - please vote!!!
Remember my good friends the Hetheringtons? John's currently involved in a short film competition in hopes of wining a mentorship of an award-winning film maker. He's made it into the finals and now he needs us to back him every day between now and January 27th.
You can vote for the same video 15 times per day every day until the end of the contest to maximize your votes.
1. Go to http://shortfilm.projectbreakout.com/register to register
2. Go to http://shortfilm.projectbreakout.com/media_page/entry_id/219 and login to vote
3. Click on 'vote' 15 times... lather rince and repeat tomorrow and the next day.
thanks! And please pass this on to other pro-life/Christian friends and family! We need a good Christian film maker in the entertainment industry.
Kristine
<embed src="http://update.videoegg.com/flash/proxy.swf?jsver=1.4" FlashVars="gc=c2hvd0FkPXRydWUmYWRWYXJzPXNpdGU9cHJvamVjdGJyZWFrb3V0JmZpbGU9aHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnNlbGZzZXJ2ZTIwMCUyRWRvd25sb2FkJTJFdmlkZW9lZ2clMkVjb20lMkZnaWQzODUlMkZjaWQxMzQ4JTJGNkklMkY4TyUyRjEyMDAyODIwNDVDTmN0RVZubkFZSnZiaXdVaGUwUCZzd2ZwYXRoPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZ1cGRhdGUlMkV2aWRlb2VnZyUyRWNvbSUyRmZsYXNoJTJGcHJveHklMkVzd2YlM0Zqc3ZlciUzRDElMkU0JmF1dG9QbGF5PWZhbHNlJnNob3dBZFByaW1hcnk9dHJ1ZSZ3bW9kZT13aW5kb3cmd2F0ZXJtYXJrX2JvdHRvbWxlZnQ9JTJGaW1hZ2VzJTJGd2F0ZXJtYXJrJTJFcG5nJmFsbG93Rmxhc2g5RnVsbHNjcmVlbj10cnVl" quality="high" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" scale="noscale" wmode="window" width="390" height="325" name="VE_Player" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
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04:09 am
[Link] | Is anyone else having issues with their LJ tags or have any clue why my correctly coded tags in my most recently entries are not computing with the system? Older tags in past entries still show accurate bold and italics but coding LJ user names and bold/italic not working in recent ones... (or is the visual prob just on my end because I'm using a different system that is not windows?)
Help?
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04:07 am
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We Could've Done More!
Here was a man who'd given everything to save a handful of Jews. He'd bankrupt his factory, gone out of his way to buy and rescue a few of his workers from Auschwitz, and saved at least 1100 as a result of his efforts. Yet Oscar Schindler, as portrayed in the movie Schindler's List wept and refused to accept praise for his deeds.
"I could've done more!" He wailed. "I could've sold my car! This gold pen! I could've saved one more person! Just one more person!"
January 28th will mark the twentieth anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada decision that gave us abortion on demand through all nine months for any or no reason. The decision that has led to the deaths of over 2 million Canadian children. I've been involved in the pro-life movement for the past decade, and while I can point to a small number of women and children who were spared the sorrow of abortion as a direct result of the work my colleagues and I have done, I too must hang my head in shame and say: "I could've done more!"
How much does it cost to raise a child? Numbers vary depending on the source and how much is deemed necessary for a child (and numbers don't always factor in shared goods/housing costs for multiple occupants) but the rough figure is usually $100,000 over 18 years, or roughly $6000/child/yr. To financially back the majority of the 100,000 women who choose abortion annually, would cost roughly $600,000,000 - a lot of money, yes. But how many children could we save if we really tried? Gregg Cunningham, founder of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform was exactly right when he said that "Abortion is happening today with the permission of the church. God has given us resources more than adequate to stop the killing, but we're taking those resources and spending them everywhere else."
Don't believe that's true? Consider the following: The Christian Music Industry alone generates 4 billion dollars in product sales PER YEAR!! * Annual church building expenses reached $8.3 billion in 2002, in the United States.** (Canadian stat likely comparable per population.) I didn't take time to dig up stats regarding how much identifying Christians spend on 'Christian books' and 'Jesus junk' (t-shirts, stickers, scripture mints, decorations), not to mention how much we spend on secular stuff including music, movies and general entertainment/amusement. I'm sure the numbers would astound us and put us all to shame! Oh yes Gregg! We have the resources!
I'll forever remember the words of the American pastor who gave his church's entire building fund to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He said, "We decided there was no point in building a church if we weren't willing to BE the church." Indeed, what use is a collective meeting point for people whose lives are never changed to the point where they will do more than just a little to meet the needs of those outside their doors?
Will we find ourselves at some future date weeping like Oscar Schindler over lost lives as we collectively stare at our Michael W Smith and Jars of Clay CD's, at our movie stubs and our DVD collections? Or will we continue to walk down newly carpeted isles stained with innocent blood, and singing songs to God on our static free sound systems that make our worship sound sweet to our ears and ours alone? Will it be said of the church that "These people worshiped me with their lips, but their hearts [were] far from me?" (Matthew 15:8-9)
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* http://osdir.com/ml/redhat.fedora.java/2005-06/msg00049.html
** http://www.churchsolutionsmag.com/articles/637/637_611Feat5.html
http://charlescherry.wordpress.com/category/live-like-jesus/
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11:41 pm
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I don't remember tobogganing making me this sore when I was a kid!
I spent a couple hours this evening, tobogganing with some of <lj user="melytha">'s siblings. Boy did we ever have fun. I even carved out my own slide which had a phenomenal dip like some sort of crazy water slide. Loved it.
I found myself screaming "Oy-oy-oy-oy-oy-oy!" Every time I went down the hill on my stomach. And then got up and did it all over again cause I was crazy fun...
I'm now sore and stiff all over.... am I just getting old or was tobogganing painful when we were kids too? I admit, I don't remember being bothered by the jolts in the past. :P
Thanks for lending me your siblings, <lj user="melytha"> ;)
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