Let the Games Begin!

This weekend is super busy. I spent today at an volunteer orientation for the World Police & Fire Games which are being held here in Vancouver and a number of neighbouring cities. Next to the Olympics & Paralympics in 2010, this is the biggest event being held here in BC. According to organizers, they are expecting over 10,000 athletes for the games which are being held July 31st-August 9th.

Tomorrow, I am heading into the city for training for the specific job I will be doing. I'm going to be doing dispatch for the transportation division. I'm sure it's going to be interesting.

This afternoon, I went and got my credentials (photo ID pass) and some wonderful swag in addition to my uniform. They gave me a black mono strap backpack with the logo (seen above) on it and it was chock full of goodies. I wasn't expecting that, but it was a lovely gesture.

I decided to volunteer for this event because our police and fire fighters put their lives on the line in service to us each and every day and I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to give back. When you think about it, how often do they ask for our help? It just seemed like the right thing to do. It will also give me a small taste of what it will be like when the Olympics are on. It's a good way to get geared up for that and I always enjoy meeting new people.

There are a couple events I am excited about and hoping to be able to go watch. One is the Police Dog Trial. I love watching the dogs and handlers work. It's wonderful to watch the interaction between them. I am also thrilled to find out that The Musical Ride will also be performing. I've seen it several times in my life and every time it just takes my breath away. The horses are simply gorgeous and the RCMP officers so majestic in their red serge. Every time I watch it, it brings tears to my eyes. It's so much a part of the fabric of Canada and it's one of those things that when I see it, I feel a giant swell of patriotism rise up in my heart. It's one of those things you have to see to really know what I mean. If you ever have the chance, go see it-it's something you'll never forget.

I also found time today to head downtown to see Jen, who is a fabulous hair stylist and a great person. She's just so kind and I enjoyed chatting with her while she freshened up my sassy 'do.

The day ended with a spectacular thunder and lightening storm, the likes of which we rarely see around here. It came out of nowhere and I had to shut down in the middle of writing this post. At one point I saw a flash in the middle of the sky across the street and in a fraction of a second after that heard a loud explosion. The lightening hit something-maybe a transformer or a power pole. A few minutes later I heard sirens. While all this was going on, my guys were out in Vancouver waiting for the start of the fireworks festival that was supposed to be on tonight. I called them and let them know the storm was headed their way and that they had better run for cover. They are on their way home now, thank goodness!

Never a dull moment around here!

Living the Dream!

Copyright Tattered Edge 2009

So awhile back I mentioned that I had applied to volunteer and be a part of the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Games that are taking place here in Vancouver starting on February 12th. It was a dream of mine, something I had had on my life list for a long time.

This week, I got an official offer, which I accepted. I AM IN!! And the best part of all is that I will be working on the Events Services Team at BC Place Stadium, so I will be there for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and all the Victory Celebrations (medal ceremonies) as well as the Opening ceremonies for the Paralympic Games! It's a great job description and I think I will really enjoy it. I can't wait!

The funny thing about all this is that when the announcement was made that Vancouver had won the bid for the 2010 Games 6 years ago, I was sitting in my car with the radio on, waiting for a ferry in the interior of the province. (I was on vacation.) I was so disappointed to learn that they were having a recruiting fair later that week and I would miss my chance to be a part of it all. There was no way I was going to be home in time to sign up in person.

It turned out that about a year and a half ago, they did a second recruitment and this time, you could simply go online to apply. I guess lots of people who signed up in that first wave either moved, lost interested or were otherwise unavailable or something. Anyway, I submitted my info, hoping that I would be chosen. In December, I was invited to be in the first group of volunteers to go through the vetting and initial training process, which I was thrilled to do and now, a few months later, I have officially been accepted to the 2010 Team! WOOHOO!!

I will be very proud to serve and represent my country during the games. I can't tell you how happy I am going to be when at the end of it all, I will be able to cross this dream off my life's to-do list. Anyone who knows me, knows that when the Olympics are on, everything stops dead in my life for the duration of the games. I do nothing but watch Olympic events, all day, every day. I cheer for the athletes (whether they are from my country or not), I follow the news stories that come out of the games, I cry when they award medals and I feel quietly, though joyfully patriotic when I hear the first notes of our national anthem played and see the Maple Leaf rise.

The Olympics for me are what is best about the human family. It's about having a dream and moving heaven and earth to realize it. It's about being graceful in defeat. It's about competing peacefully despite what's going on in the world and embracing one another through the international language of sport. It's a celebration of the strength of the human spirit.

As I was saying to Michelle the other day after I saw her perfectly timed post, (We were on the same page!) I think it's so important for everyone to have a "life list"- a list of things that you want to do in your lifetime, whether they mean anything to anyone else or not. This is the stuff that fires your imagination, brings you joy and just makes you happy to be alive.

Some of the things on my list are:

-Improve my Spanish

-Go to Wyoming to visit Deb

get a dog

-have a regular writing gig that pays

-replace or eliminate everything in my house that I don't LOVE

-Trek to Everest Basecamp

-help people

-acquire more art for my walls (Small canvasses)

-go to Artfest

-work on a crisis line

-get a tattoo

-see my son get married

-Live in a foreign country

-Visit Alaska

-Write a book

-see the Indigo Girls in concert

-meet Anna & Carlos

-publish my poetry

-learn to play African Drums

-Play Miss Hannigan in the musical "Annie"

-teach mixed media art

-see my son graduate

-visit Northern Canada

-write a zine (or two)

-return to NYC to visit Anna & Carlos again

-have friends over for an art party

-teach myself to play harmonica

-visit the Holocaust Museum

-go to Journalfest

(There's more and of course I am always adding to this list.)

So...what's on your life list? Care to play along? Post a comment and leave me a link to yours if you do!

What I've Been Doing

So I've been absent online for a bit because I have been puppy sitting this little guy. This is Dexter, my best friend's new puppy, whom I've mentioned before is Indy's little brother. He's 10 weeks old tomorrow.

Indy was not as young when we got him so the learning curve has been sharp. I can't take my eyes of Dex for a second or he chews anything and everything! The trick is having lots of toys on hand to distract him with and Indy's been good about sharing.

Aside from chewing, Dex likes to engage Indy endlessly in what I call "Doggie WWF". Sometimes he forgets Indy isn't a chew toy and gets him good with his razor sharp puppy teeth. I've learned that Indy is eminently patient. He hasn't barked or snarled or shown any aggressive behaviour the whole time, no matter what Dex is doing to him. Indy is such a sweet and gentle dog.

My son wanted to take me out for lunch so I could have a break from refereeing the dogs so we hopped the sky train and sea bus and headed over to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. This is just one of the many cruise shops that visit our port every year. I always enjoy looking at them and thinking about where I would like to go someday.

The Vancouver skyline. This new facility on the waterfront in the foreground is a new convention center. (Thanks Di for correcting me! I mistook it for a soccer stadium they had talked about building way back when.) I didn't realize it had gone up so fast-it's been awhile since I've seen Vancouver from the water.

This area of the port is pretty busy with small charters taking off and landing all the time. I've ridden in a small plane once and I don't think I will ever do it again. I like to fly, but I am not keen on small aircraft.

Paddle boat cruises trolling along...

A sulphur mill....

The Lions twin peaks in North Vancouver. (Not the best shot ever, but hey, it was sunny and we were on the seabus so the pic was taken through the smudgy glass.)

Our final destination, Lonsdale Quay. (That's pronounced "key" in case you were wondering, not "kway".) This is a terrible shot of the quay, except for the sign. Looking at this pic, it looks like a high rise construction zone, but I promise you, it's not. The quay is a shopping area with restaurants and it has places you can sit and enjoy being on the waterfront. Sometimes there are buskers set up to entertain you while you enjoy lunch or a quick gelato.

And speaking of lunch, here's ours! Fish & chips, clam chowder and coleslaw. YUM! The eating area has glass garage doors that they open when the quay is open for business. There's a lovely breeze that blows in from the water and it's so nice to have lunch there.

After lunch we wandered through to shop. There was this little kiosk that cracked me up. I named it the "one stop Deity shop" because they had everything from prayer flags, to Buddhas, to Sacred heart of Mary prayer cards, to Jesus bracelets and Ganesha bumper stickers and some other religions I wasn't too familiar with. It was too funny and I wish I had taken a picture of it.

I bought a little set of prayer flags, about the size of ATCs. I am going to hang them in my back yard. I have several sets (including one that I got when I saw the Dalai Lama when he last visited here in 2004) and I keep meaning to hang them. I mentioned this to my son and he said "But if you hang them in the yard, they will just get faded and worn out." *laughs* I had to explain that that was the whole point-that they aren't hemmed so that they will fray as they blow and the prayers will be carried on the wind. Try explaining the symbolism of the impermanence of life to an 18 year old!

Anyway, we had a good time hanging out together and it's nice that he enjoys taking his mum on a "date" once in awhile. I am blessed with a great kid.

Next post: BIG NEWS!

The State of Me

So people have been asking how I am and while I strongly feel that I don't want to turn my blog into an ongoing "state of my health" blog, (because, let's be honest, that would be extremely boring-this is an ART blog!) I do want to acknowledge those that have expressed concern about how I am doing.


Here's the scoop:

I have completed 3 rounds of chemo and have my 4th in August. Thankfully, the way my treatment is being run, I have July off so I can relax just a little. It's stressful bracing myself for being poisoned, (I'm calling a spade, a spade here) knowing that I am going to be really sick with side effects. Chemo is hell and having been through it myself, I now feel deeply sorry for anyone who has had to go through it. I now get why people call themselves "survivors"-it's that bad.


Some people were wondering why I am having chemo if I have MS. The idea is that the chemo beats down your immune system. With MS, your immune system is running in high gear all the time, as if there is a reason to attack like it would if you had, say an infection. The immune system doesn't know to shut down and it damages the protective coating on the nerves, the myelin. Like I explained before, it's like a rat chewing a telephone wire. The more damage it does, the less the signals can get through to the nerves to run your body.


I am having chemo to try and get my immune system tamped down enough so that the MS meds I take (which are not a cure, but are suppose to help lessen the frequency and duration of attacks) will have a chance to work. I have been having an attack for 23 months now (not good) and the goal is to try and get into remission. So far, it doesn't seem to be working.


I cut my hair in late May, as it was longish and had started falling out, which I was prepared for. It got looking like someone had singed it with a flat iron though and I was not prepared for that. Also, I've lost all my curl. So, I took the no-nonsense approach and headed to the salon. I have a new hairdresser who knows all about chemo hair and she gave me a short, sassy 'do. Cutting it short meant healthier hair so it's stopped falling out. While I am not pleased with the effect the chemo has had on my hair, it's just hair. Eventually I will be done treatment and it will grow back. (I am hoping the curl comes back too!)




In the meantime, the headache condition I have thanks to my MS, still continues to be the bane of my existence. I am still going for freezing shots in the base of my skull (yes, it's as painful as it sounds) while I wait to see the neuro surgeon. I am also scheduled for not one but two MRIs in the fall. We may have universal health care in Canada, but it means our wait lists for test and specialists is outrageously long. Anyway, it's time we had a look see at what's going on and figure out where things stand.

So..that's all the news that's fit to print. Thanks for checking in on me. I should mentioned that the flowers shown above came from my son's girlfriend's mother. She grew them in her garden and sent a bouquet, via her daughter to cheer me up. It's always the little things that matter the most.



...and now, back to ART...

Fur Babies

As promised, here are the two of the cutest puppies in the world, Indy, my dog and Dexter, my best friend Lisa's dog!

Just ignore the "music" in the background-it was the TV. *sigh*

My Sunday in Pictures

Today our plan was to walk down the path that runs along False Creek to Granville Island. The weather was a fair bit cooler today, especially with the breeze blowing in from the ocean. (Hooray!) Indy enjoyed meeting lots of dog and getting tons of attention. I've discovered that most folks have a soft spot for Labs...or maybe it's just because mine is particularly gorgeous. *grins*

Anyway, the path we take begins at Science World, which is what that big silver ball is. It's one of the few buildings left from Expo '86 and is now a place for kids to go on field trips. There is also an Omnimax theatre inside.

There are all kinds of flower beds along the way.

I love these things, though I am not entirely sure what they are.


If you stare into the center of this ball you can see the perfect symmetry of nature. Amazing. I find the small details of nature so interesting.

Cosmos. Like poppies, their petals are paper thin, almost translucent.

So delicate and pretty.

There is a park along the way and they have a small pond area near the path we were on. This blue heron seems right at home there.

These were completely dried and I love the colour of them-it reminds me of Autumn.

This is a random doorway on Granville Island. It was Canada Day on June 1st and I guess these were from the celebration they had down there.

I found this sweet little leather coin purse at one of my favourite shops, Paper Ya after lunch. I had to have it. I had to restrain myself from buying several journals. They have such an interesting selection there. I have a thing about buying journals and really, I need to stop. I have a bit of an addiction...*ahem*...collection.

This is a map of the ferry route along False Creek. If you click it, you can see the details. We walked the route to the south, then rode the ferry east, back to Science World.

Mussels on the pilings at the ferry dock.

Indy waiting for the ferry to arrive.

Aqua Dog! He's sticking his head out where you step on to board. My husband had to really hang onto him-he was dying to jump in. (He's a wonderful and enthusiastic swimmer.) Everyone on the ferry was lovin' him up.

The Olympic Village for the 2010 games, still in progress.

We walked across this bridge, which is part of the Olympic Village as we were heading up to Granville Island. I love this bridge-it looks like a big white rowing skull, which you can really see and appreciate when you walk over it. I think it fits into the landscape perfectly. It's really quite clever.


And finally back to where we started! I love travelling back by water. It's just fun and you see the city from a completely different perspective. Not to mention, you get to meet people-we chatted with visitors from Quebec, Alberta and Texas.

En route to the car, we discovered a gelato shop so we stopped and had some. It was yummy and Indy even got to have a bit. It was hot by then and I think he enjoyed it.

On the way home, we made a quick stop at Urban Source so the lady who works there could see Indy. She really likes him and 2 weeks ago when I stopped in, I didn't have him with me (I was on my way to the ATC swap) so I promised that the next time I was out that way I would bring him for a visit. She had his favourite treats waiting for him. (Have I mentioned that people not only love my dog, but spoil him too?)

When we got home, my best friend Lisa brought her new yellow Lab puppy Dexter, over for a visit. Dexter is Indy's little brother (same parents, different litter) and my goddog. I'll share the utter cuteness in my next post. I have video! Stay tuned!!

Bonne Fete Canada!

In honour of our nation's birthday, I offer this video, which was the sign- off for CBC for years. It's a wonderful rendition of O Canada, along with images of our country and its people.

I also wanted to share the lyrics to what is known as our "other" anthem, The Maple Leaf Forever.


In Days of yore, From Britain's shore
Wolfe the dauntless hero came
And planted firm Britannia's flag
On Canada's fair domain.
Here may it wave,
Our boast, our pride
And joined in love together,
The thistle, shamrock, rose entwined,
The Maple Leaf Forever.

{CHORUS}

The Maple Leaf
Our Emblem Dear,
The Maple Leaf Forever.
God save our Queen and heaven bless,
The Maple Leaf Forever.

At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane
Our brave fathers side by side
For freedom's home and loved ones dear,
Firmly stood and nobly died.
And so their rights which they maintained,
We swear to yield them never.
Our watchword ever more shall be
The Maple Leaf Forever

Our fair Dominion now extends
From Cape Race to Nootka Sound
May peace forever be our lot
And plenty a store abound
And may those ties of love be ours
Which discord cannot sever
And flourish green for freedom's home
The Maple Leaf Forever

*****

We are as a people, quietly patriotic so today we will properly fete our country's birthday with a BBQ here at home with friends. Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, both at home and abroad. Let's raise a toast to our true North, strong and free!