Times of Life

Finishing Up

2009-08-30T19:38:00.001-07:00

My time here at the Maranatha House of L'Arche Stratford is coming to end. In this packed cocktail of emotions I am experiencing, I've deemed my time here very valuable and freeing. As I am writing this, everyone is in bed except Neil who just got up to put some random items in his room out into the hall. He does this every night, and over the months here I've come to understand this action as more than a humourous ritual, but as something that makes Neil really unique. The way the Neil and the other members of this household comfortably live out their uniqueness and faithfulness to who they really are creates not only troubles at times, but also a great environment where I as an assistant can receive a deep gift from them. That gift is permission for me to embrace who I am a deep level. It's a gift found in the radicalism of the core members, and how they live their lives of what Henri Nouwen describes as "passion". I leave here with the sadness of friendships that have been so life giving to me ending, but in the coming distance I know I will grow to value and hold onto the gifts everyone has given me here even more than I ever could here.

Richard Rohr on Contemplation

2009-08-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

"Without a daily contemplative stance, I would have given up on the church, America, many people, and surely myself a long time ago. Without a daily contemplative practice, I would likely be a cynical and even negative person by now, but by Somebody’s Kindness, I am not. With contemplative eyes, I can live with a certain non-dual consciousness that often allows me to be merciful to the moment, patient with human failure, and generous toward the maddening issues of our time. For me, it is the very shape of Christian salvation or any salvation. My sadness is that so few have been taught this older and wiser tradition, although many still come to it by great love and great suffering."
-Richard Rohr

I will share more of Rohr's ideas when I get my book back from Randell.

Importance of Celebration

2009-08-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

I think L'Arche over-values celebration, this can be surmised given the amount of cake I've eaten in just the past week.

Peter Maurin: Apostle To The World

2009-08-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Although, I haven't really read much of his writings and I would say my grasp on this ideas are pretty basic. Most of my understanding comes from a synthesis of his ideas written by others. But from what I have read, I find that Maurin offers an insightful and fundamental guide for what it means to be a Christian in pursuit of social justice. His ideas have provided me with the beginnings of a basis for understanding the experiences and stories of people I meet daily on the margins of society. He provides a vision of inclusion, rooted in Christian spirituality that for me provides an anchor for belief, as I often struggle to find faith to be relevant in this day in age. In many ways, we can describe Maurin as a modern day prophet. Maurin was a French peasant who emigrated to Canada and then the United States in search of his Christian vocation. He is likely best known has being a co-founder with Dorothy Day and the source of the personalist philosophy of the Catholic Worker Movement. Maurin falls within a Franciscan tradition of voluntary poverty, which Maurin expanded upon to mean a village economy, where crafts, farming, and a personal way of life could be established. The foundation of this life is a religious affirmation from which flow prayer and communal sharing. Poverty, in Maurin's view, opened one to the call of God and neighbor and made the person and the community dependent on both. For me this is significant as it gives legitimacy to a focus on social order and figuring out what it means to live missionary in regards to influencing and changing society as whole. Maurin thought that the social order had a singular mission: to protect and nurture the person's journey toward the mystery of God, thus promoting the possibility of salvation. The social order existed to mirror and express the spiritual dimensions of the person. The trappings of an order built for itself--large-scale industry affluence, and militarism--that we live in today are certainly elements of structural sin, that most of Christianity fails to even acknowledge. For Maurin the Catholic tradition provided the resources for personal and societal transformation. Jesus is at the center of this transformation, and to thus believe is to enter a new life of love and service. A person who follows Jesus is intimately involved in the life of a people who have been called to transform self and bid others to enter that transformation. Communities of Christians are formed precisely for these reasons; to praise God, to order personal life, and to reorder the large social life. For me, the spiritual life of these communities rooted in the story of Jesus and the traditions that have evolved from his life and death offer a rootedness providing for a profound level of renunciation commitment and sacrifice. Perhaps this can be seen here at L'Arche, where many for deeply religious reasons have commited themselves to lifetimes of living amongst people with devepmental disabilities. Even just from my four months here, I have gained a deep appreciation for what that kind of commitment entails. As I move out to Vancouver, I look forward to a deeper experience of what it means to live in a community similar to what Maurin advocates for. Keep reading my blog as I hope to share some of these experiences with you.

Spiritual Roots of Environmental Desecration

2009-08-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Ivan Illich, describes the environmental desecration that we are witnessing as being rooted in "a corruption in man's self-image". This assertion brings up very different implications than the "simple survival" motive for political action in defense of the environment. Illich says that the only solution to such a crisis is people learning to work together and care for each other. This can be deomstrated in that idea that its the same tools that destroy the environment also injure social relations. Our environmental destruction is a symptom of the deeper insolation that we have shaped ourselves into. Illich further expands upon this idea but discussing the difference between hope and expectation. Illich describes Hope, in its strong sense, means a trusting faith in the goodness of nature, it centres desire on a person from whom we await a gift. Expectation on the other hand means reliance on a results which are planned and controlled by man, a predictable process which will procude what we have the right to claim. Expectation results in the idea that "Man can do what God cannot, namely manipulate others for their own salvation". Illich points the many "tools" like our education, healthcare, and transportations systems, as well as capitalist industrial logic in general as being focused on expectation rather than hope. Are not these type of systems (or "tools" as illich terms them) built with little or no respect for the limits that the environment needs to exist? Are not these systems the ones that contribute to the isolation we experience in our society? How do we move our society from being structured around expectation, to one of hope which fosters "autonomous and creative intercourse between persons"? Such questions are not easily answered, but hopefully this is a starting point. Illich who comes from a faith background, hints at religion as one element that can provide a deep rootedness that can strongly counter many of the ills we experience today.

Letter From Vanier

2009-07-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

continuing with my theme of L'Arche, I just thought I would share with you a letter from Jean Vanier published in our newsletter:

Our greatest all "..is to help each person become more human and governed by less fear. It is about keeping an open heart, creating communities where we truly love one another despite our differences and where we become a source of hope for another and where we celebrate life. It is also discovering how faith in God and the Gospel can help us become more loving, move giving and not bow down to the tyranny of normality: being strong and beautiful, fleeing from suffering and discarding the weak. The greatest value of L'Arche, like Faith and Light, is to show that weak people are not only important, but that they have a message for society and the Church. If we enter into a relationship and trust with them, they can transform us and become a souce of unity among Christians, and among men and women of different religions, or who have no religion. They truly have a prophetic role.""

Home

2009-07-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

The room I am staying at L'Arche, has a wall hanging on it that shows 5 different things: hope, home, healing, love, celebration. Although some people think this hanging is really ugly, I have found it a simple but profound summary of some of the deeply shaping aspects of L'Arche. Most significantly the experience of home, even though it is a temporary one has been important for me.
The parable of the master who put on a feast, in which only the poor and the destitute came as all the others made excuses has been especially important for me this summer. I've began to value at a more deeper spiritual level some of my friendships with 'poor' people. Up until recently such friendships have been mostly with street people that I worked with for the last 4 years in downtown Kitchener. It's interesting to now make friends with a different set of poor people. The experience is very different, and reminds me of the diversity that can exist within the kingdom of God. I find that experience of home has been very significant for me. The core members are saved from destitution because they have a safe and loving (although flawed) place that they can call home. At L'Arche, I've been able to come to a better understanding of how a home can function, especially for those who might not have a a good opportunity to have a place of belonging, a home. Here at Maranatha, visitors often see home experienced most deeply in the core member's rooms. They are covered with photos and other memorabilia that build an atmosphere of love, a place where the core member is reminded of his/her own uniqueness and the loving community that surrounds them. Each room is far from the bland institutional layout of other homes, and is as unique as the core member. In Maranatha, we regularily celebrate things, the anniversary of when the core member came to L'Arche or their birthday are big celebrations. Welcoming guests is another big event, and everone in the house does things to ensure the visitor feels comfortable and welcome. These core members have a deep history in this home with some of them living together for over 20 years. There is a deep rootedness in the home that is cause for fun celebration. This rootedness can have its flaws though, the rountines established over many years, provide familiarity for the members of the house, but can also hinder any growth or autonomy in the space. The cycle of assistants who tend to stay for short periods of time takes its toll for the core members who have to frequently experience the grief of a lost relationship. But despite these, L'Arche provides a home that prevents the deep isolation, social exclusion, and transience, that many of the people I got to know in Kitchener experienced. I feel that the experience of 'home' should be something everyone should have, and even those who think they have home, by coming to L'Arche may come to a deep sense of appreciation for their homes and the people in them.

the Essence of Trosly

2009-07-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Young people like myself who are finding their identity and trying to navigate the shifting tides that are our culture often put enormous amounts of hope that someone -a mentor, a pastor, a soul friend, a staff worker, spiritual director or guru- can help us to make sense of our confusion and show us a path where we can become whole, free and at peace. We look to people with wisdom, insight, life experience and spiritual sensitivity. The author Henri Nouwen suggests that these types of relationships often subtly or not so subtly become unhealthy. The receiver expects too much, and the giver wants to give too much. One person becomes dependent and the other becomes controlling. Instead, Nouwen points to a person with a developmental disability as potentially a qualified spiritual guide that has few of the risks associated with the previously descibed relationship. People with intellectual disabilities can offer the opportunity for others to connect themselves with their inner selves, their communities and their God on profound levels. This was what Jean Vanier soon discovered as he invited 2 people with intellectual disabilities to come live with him in community. Here at L'Arche Stratford, we often talk about people with disabilities as acting sort of as mirrors. In our daily interactions, they often to can reflect ourselves to us and the result isn't always pretty. When a core member at my house gets angry, I often become very irked as I realize his behaviour reflects some deep inner anger I have. But in his deep vulnerability this core member has also led me down the path that I hope will lead me to my healing. This I believe was the essense of Trosly, that people with disabilities can be spiritual guides to us. Many of my friends have read Jean Vanier and have learned from his ideas. It has been a deep blessing for me to come here even for just a short period of time, and receive an experiential taste of what Vanier writes.

Fullness

2008-04-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Love joy peace and hope
We’ve tied them in chains
And ran far from them

But how can we cope
When that in our brains
Tells us to protect

Protect our pride
Our dignity
Protect our wants
Our desires

But we can’t do this
We need to embrace.
Embrace our full and
Broken hidden selves

For it is only in our pain
Our poverty and addiction
It’s in our suffering that we
Understand love joy peace and hope

Sacramental Living

2008-01-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Arguably one of the most misused and misinterpreted sacred text in existence today is the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Scriptures. The book and particularly the two creation stories contained within it have been central to the creation vs. evolution debate. Since Darwin published ‘On the Origin of Species’, Genesis seems to have become viewed simply as a scientific account of how things came to be, given to humanity by God thousands of years ago for the purpose of condemning those evil Liberals. The small but vocal Christian right has had a near monopoly on the interpretation of its meaning. To make things worse the Christian right has excluded itself from any meaningful debate on environmentalism, using theological ideas such as the imminent second coming of Jesus to dismiss any notion of environmental responsibility.

But there actually is much more in Genesis than has been brought to the surface by many Christians. If one reads and studies Genesis as a meaning story in line with other creation myths, then a whole new perspective comes from it. Central to this idea is that the earth we live in is God’s creation and it is good. In Genesis, again and again God sees what he has created and declares it to be good. The trees and plants and animals were created by God and reverence and respect should be given to them. Originally it appears as though in the Garden of Eden, man lives in harmony with his surroundings. There is no mention of death or exploitation, man lives with dependence on God, and God provides.

Everything is wonderful, until the whole story with the serpent, and Adam and Eve make the choice to eat the fruit and gain knowledge independently of God. Included in this decision to eat are a series of significant misperceptions about God. Expulsion from the harmony with creation in Eden and a curse for both Adam and Eve is the result of their choice to be independent.

Death enters the picture in Genesis 3:21 where God kills animals (those whom he declared to be good) for their skin to make clothes, in order to accommodate Adam and Eve in their new sense of shame. Creation was paying the cost for humanity’s independent moral choices. It is creation which kept us and is keeping us from feeling the full effects of the curse.

Creation has paid for other things that have kept us from experiencing the full effects of the curse: medicine, fabric, housing, heat, canning and preservation of food, transportation and mechanization, and water systems. All these things are quite costly to creation, yet they ensure our survival and quality of life. These are merciful, protective, and costly ways God helps us live outside of Eden. Yet humanity and Christians in particular have forgotten this, in our selfishness we have come to see God as a withholder and respond by forcefully squeezing creation for every blessing.

We need to be careful to respond to a need, instead of our ability to get, and to make ourselves aware of the consequences of our consumption. This entails Sacramental Living. Everything we take and use from creation we receive as a gift: one that we are not entitled to, but that has been given generously to us How would it look to live as though everything from creation were a gift? How would our diet change if we truly understood the sacrifice of an animal in order to provide us meat for food? How would our energy consumption habits change if we understood the cost to God’s creation that burning fossil fuels entailed? The Genesis creation story, understood in this way, offers a profound motivation for environmentalism.

Debbie does something more Meaningful

2007-11-11T19:18:00.001-08:00

Whether we openly acknowledge it or not, we live in a sexually charged society. Sex and sex related ideas, images, and facts take up a large amount space in the information superhighway that has become our society. Musicians, advertisers and businessmen all realized long ago that sex sells. This can be seen in the sexually suggestive dances of singers like Christina Aguilera, the seductive look of the model on the bus stop, and high proportion of women in service jobs such as waitressing. More explicitly, the internet pornography business has grown to be a multi-billion dollar industry. Indeed, the sexual revolutions of the past few hundred years have allowed sex to transform itself from a taboo subject to one that pervades almost every area in our lives. Few would argue that this transformation hasn’t been a positive change, after all humans are sexual beings and to hide that fact is to partially dehumanize ourselves. But the unfortunate fact is that this transformation has occurred in a world where despite the invaluable accomplishments of feminism, men continue to hold the measure of power. The result has been disastrous. Much of the sexual expression in our society degrades woman and relegates them to objects of men’s sexual desires. This is seen in women’s “fashion” where every year the amount of clothing seems to get smaller and smaller exposing more and more skin. Beauty product advertisements and shows like “America’s Next Top Model” subtly purvey the nearly unattainable physical and sexual image that women need to achieve in order to have value in male dominated society. The consequence has not only been an epidemic of eating disorders and other manifestations of low self-esteem among young woman but also a reinforcement of women as merely sexual objects in the male psyche, continuing the cycle of male dominance. The viewing or pornography of all types which has increasingly become a normal and accepted activity amongst males reinforces this cycle exponentially. I believe this is simply unacceptable, not merely because of what it does to women, but also because our society is largely missing in out on a more meaningful way of relating to each other. If we allow value and respect and not sexual exploitation to become the common basis of male and female interaction many of the dominate problems in our society will become solvable. We need to allow a re-emergence of family values (which for some reason we’ve allowed the Republican Party to have a monopoly on) to enter into our discourse. The ideas of feminists such as Andrea Dworkin, and Catharine MacKinnon and the anti-pornography movement offer us much to learn on the way forward. This movement has shown us the violence, degradation and humiliation towards women that is apart of the pornography industry. I’d also apply a similar critique to the beauty industry and the methods they use to sell their products. We need to find to be creative in constructing images, messages and social arrangements that reflect and promote the dignity of everyone in our society, especially women. The government, business and ordinary people would gain a lot from encouraging and enabling women to enter into roles or true power and leadership in our society. The benefits are too many to explain here, but a quick overview of what feminism is about may help. The dangers of pornography are very real, and our society norms that keep it and its use taboo, need to be changed to allow it to become more open where it can effectively be dealt with. Consumers need to change their consumption patterns to send the message to advertisers that the current standards of beauty that they portray are harmful and need to stop. Not only do women need to be more involved in the upper echelons of business but men also need to be more involved in the lower echelons. There are thousands of small but effective changes that can be made to promote a society built on equality in all areas especially in our sexuality.

Preview

2007-10-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a preview of what (if everything goes well) will be published in the up coming edition of "blueprint", Laurier's campus magazine.

Learning To See
The expression on Brad’s face quickly turned into one of sadness and pain. The wrinkles on face and the look in his eyes showed that Brad had been through more than his fair share of rejection and pain in his life, and the question I just asked was making him relive hard memories. Brad had just finished telling me about his childhood and his days in the Yugoslav army. Born and raised in Yugoslavia, Brad was proud to fight for Tito and communism. “In those days” he said, “we felt like we were actually living for something, together we were fighting for a better life” Then, I asked him why he came to Canada. And with the look of sadness and pain in his face, Brad vaguely replied that he came to escape the ethnic violence that was tearing apart his country. But what Brad found in Canada was not much better than the world he had just left. Shortly after Brad came to Canada he started suffering from what was later diagnosed as schizophrenia. His disease prevented Brad from being able to maintain employment, or establish a solid foothold for himself in Canadian society. His schizophrenia and lack of social supports left him to weather a spiritually and sexually abusive church leader, the chaos of our under-funded dysfunctional mental health care system, the nearly non-existent social support programs of Ontario and finally the streets of Kitchener. By the time I had started talking with Brad, he had been in Canada for more than 15 years. In the two years that have passed since I met Brad I’ve learned many things. I learned that the values of democracy, freedom and individual rights that our politicians proudly proclaim had done little for him. Brad has an experience of life that is very rarely engaged in academia, in politics, in business or in any consign of power in our country. As I’ve gotten to know Brad and his life, I’ve realized that he and his story is one that carries great lessons for us to learn. But unfortunately, Brad and his story are inevitably left out of the narrative most Canadians live their lives in. I think that this fact might be ok, if Brad’s story was completely unique; a rare exception. But I have discovered through my experiences of people whom I met at St. John’s Kitchen, in Vancouver’s downtown eastside and in poor areas of Scarborough that this is simply not the case. The stories of the forgotten, of the poor, oppressed, afflicted, lonely and the broken leave me with the burning question of, How do I honour these? Even worse, the friendships I’ve formed with Brad and a few others in Kitchener have forced me to examine what it means to love “the other”. You see, increasing the Ontario Works and ODSP rates may help, but what Brad needs is people who willing to take a risk in being in relationship with him. Not just psychiatrists, social workers or nurses, but rather people who just want to be friends and are willing to endure all the shit that friendship entails, its really just people who are simply willing to remember Brad and his story as they live their lives. That idea is new and revolutionary and the great thing about it is that its not a hopeless one. It’s simply a fuller expression of what it means to be human. There is no bureaucracy to navigate, no tuition dollars to pay, or quorum needed, all that’s needed is a willingness to meet someone and hear something new.

Drink Up, Dreamers, You're Running Out of Time

2007-08-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have 4 days left of work, before another summer or work is over, and another few thousand dollars is made. In many ways this summer has been my hardest summer yet, but I've also seen fruitfulness and faithfulness in areas I would least expect. I come out of this summer understanding myself in a much more comprehensive way. I have learned that I am a pessimist and for some reason I like being one. I find it very very hard to have a bright outlook on the future, and will often downplay the importance of the good things in my life. However despite this, I have grown in self-esteem, I didn't suffer the huge lapse in it that I suffered last year. I do my job with the knowledge that I am as capable as anyone else in the factory. And I have come to see myself as a significant part of factory life for my co-workers. This summer has confirmed how fragile my mental stability is. If I was stuck in the situation I find myself in during the summer, I know I would not be able to survive. There is little to engage me and I end up just being tired all the time with no motivation. But, interspersed amongst this constant lies a few moments/days where I find relaxation, meaning and/or joy to an extent that I rarely experience during the rest of the year. 4 more days.

In This Life

2007-08-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

The strong will survive, the weak shall perish
Y'all need more courage, I
keep y'all nourished
Get in line, I let you know right now
You need to slow right down or you get blown right now
From what I see it's systematic how we push to addicts
Demographics make the street life hell or drastic
In the hood we see oppressive genocide
Cause if it's on it's on, you know at least 10 men'll ride
But on the other side, corruption runs deep
I'm aware of the conspiricies, discussion is brief
They're building more prisons, spendin less on schools
On the block Smith & Wess-ons and Teflons rule
It's hard to escape it, certain laws are sacred
In this life my friend, it's mad hard to make it

Systems Breakdown

2007-06-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

When pieces of machinery start falling out of your loading machine, you may be running into problems as I discovered yesterday. I was innocently loading Hela Phos into the loading machine when a bolt and the thread it was on decided to come rolling out where the belt is. I shut down the machine and called over Tim, and the usual volley of swear words followed. In the end the machine had to be shut down for repairs and I had to screen all the materials into the bin by hand. This may have been bad news, but I like overtime so it worked out well. The other thing I learned that day, is that when the floors get really wet from the night shift guys washing the machines, it may be fun to slide around and do cool donuts in your 2-ton forklift, but it can also be potentially dangerous to the people and objects around you.

Morning Blessings

2007-05-23T17:32:00.001-07:00

Somewhat of a tradition has formed over at Herman Laue Spice Company. Every morning, Loading Station 1 (the station I operate) has blessings said over it by a number of people. They generally start with me when I arrive in the morning to find the machine completely dismantled and I have to put it together. Generally I mutter them, but they get louder when I can assemble the machine, because generally it takes two people, although I have done it by myself before. Then I can over Adrian, who is somewhat skilled in assembling these things. When we can mount the sieve, he too gives blessings to the machine, and but his are usually a little more explicit and said at a regular voice decible level. Eventually he gives up, and with a final blessing leaves and says "call Tim". I call Tim over, and when he sees the state of the machine he yells his blessings so that the whole mix room can here them. Sometimes a few kicks to the machine ensue. Then he and I set about trying to assemble the machine, all they while he yells his blessings to the machine, and the occasional ones to the night shift guys who disassemble the machine to clean it. (We have a suspicion that one the night shift guys wants to work in a mine, and is trying out his sledgehammer skills on the machine). Generally after some trying, and some more creative blessings given by Tim, the sieve is mounted. However, when Tim tries to put the wing-nuts on, and he can't because they are really stripped, more blessings flow from his mouth, and then some are muttered at John the mechanic. In a few situations, John the resident mechanice is called in, where he too gives his blessings. John says his blessings in a low tone, and he usually looks at the ground when he says them. And then he leaves to get his tools. So after a 45 minute blessing of the machine by up to 4 different people, and the occasional passer-by who sees what we are attempting to do. The blessed machine is ready to work for the day, and await further blessings the next morning, or sometimes it becomes impatient and decides to stop working half-way through the day.

Magic

2007-05-20T09:53:00.001-07:00

There's something when guys get around a campfire, and there's beer and other munchies. It's really nice. Doesn't happen much at Laurier.

Workplace Injuries

2007-05-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

I get into weird states at work where I welcome pain. Its kinda weird, but its like this recklessness where I don't really care if what I'm doing will hurt me or not. Most of the time I don't get injured but inevitably I do end up and getting injured and regret it when I feel bad that night, but the next day I'm right back into that state again. In the state pain feels good, because its feeling, instead of the mindless work I do all day long. None-the-less, I've come to the conclusion that injurying myself (even if it isn't totally on purpose) is not a good thing, so I'm more aware when I get in these states and try me best to endure them without further injury. My left hand has endured the brunt of work place injury. It has a puncture wound on its left side from when i hit it hard on a sharp metal object, (it has since become infected), it also has to scrapes there as well. My pointer finger is really hurting after I mashed with a mallet on thursday, and lastly my thumb (as pictured above), has a nice deep slice wound to it, after I had a mis-hap with an exacto knife. When I cut it, I stared at it in mild amusement for a while, then reality hit, i said a few explatives, then waited for some alot of blood to come out before I went to get some first aid, so I could impress Brenda with how I was able conduct myself with such calmness in the face of such an injury (the first aid station is by her)

Three Thoughts of The Day

2007-05-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

Laziness: Working a manual “unskilled” labour job for a certain period of time is extremely valuable for those who are privileged in society (like those in university). We have forgotten the pain and fatigue that such labor causes, and are weaker because of it. Those running society need to understand the experience of the working poor. I am sick and nearly every part of my body hurts, I get home with barely any leisure time before I have to go to bed. I couldn’t imagine doing this my whole life. Calvin reminded me again and again today about the importance of getting an education so that I wouldn’t be confined (like himself) to such a job for the rest of my life. Its remarkable that in the midst of his curse, he could wish someone like me who has never felt the struggles he has endured something better than he wants for himself. These is however value in the job outside of the experience of it. You realize what it means to work hard for extended period of time. Its really healthy. People pay thousands of dollars to avoid being stuck with such a job, and then pay thousands of dollars again for a gym membership, and then pay thousands of dollars of maids, grass cutters, landscapers, etc. I think its time we hop out of our cabin of convenience and rediscover the value and joy in manual labour.

Expressions: its amazing how much power simple expressions that a certain person always says has in defining who they are. Its really remarkable, to the point where when you hear the same expression elsewhere it reminds you have strongly of that person. For instance, whenever I hear “watch it, I’m in a bad mood”, I will always think of Richard, its who he is. Or “Nooo Broda,” or “Zip-zap” I will always think of Calvin. Think of your friends what expressions do they use that define them for you.

Sex Everywhere: I honestly think western society is the midst of an epidemic. The epidemic is the sexual objectification of women by men. Its really everywhere, soo many guys do it. It has infiltrated every area of life, including Christian circles. I’m not sure what exactly the cause is, perhaps a breakdown of traditional social structures. But what ever the cause, it is indeed amplified by the communications technology and the easy access men have to means of objectifying women. Pornography, solicitation of prostitution, casual sex, and sexual abuse are rampant. They now estimated that the current slave trade in sex slaves has eclipsed the Atlantic slave trade in size and scope. The problem is enormous. The remedy for this is even harder to think of. I don’t necessarily think it’s the empowerment of women as some suggest. (not that that is a bad thing, it just isn’t the solution) Men are cultured to deal with problems independently, they do not gather in groups to solve problems often, perhaps the solution needs to start there.

The Power of Lids

2007-05-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

So I was loading salt in the loader along with oil today, and it was near the end, and visions of home were dancing in my head. Then the loader which is a loud mother, just went quiet and stopped. It appeared to be broken. And I wondered, why? I went down and told Tim our foreman. But he was busy and said he'd be a few minutes, so i returned to my station and did an inspection and realized I had forgotten to take the lid off the bin which the loader was putting the salt into. this meant that the salt and hit the lid and piled up the discharge chaft and into the machine and jammed it. I sheepishly notified Tim that the problem was that I had forgotten to take the lid off the bin before I loaded the spice into it. So we somehow got the lid off and the bin and opened up the loader (which has all these spinny things inside) and tried to unjam it. But we were unsuccessfull. Tim, after swearing like a sailor for 10 minutes, concluded that the machine had to be washed and then fixed, meaning that it was useless for the rest of the day. I had broken the loader in my hurry to get home. Well Tushar the Terrible (my boss) had mercy on me, and didn't fire me, he said accidents happen. I have found favour with the lord and with Tushar. I ended up having a reunion with my old working partner Richard, and we stayed till 6:45, meaning I had a 11hr and 15 minute day, which was long. The moral of the story, when loading spices into a bin, it is best to take the lid off the bin first. Other amusing things: when I was talking with Richard about the pending acne explosion that always hits my face when I work at the Spice factory his prescription was: lots of Sex & lime. According to Richard, Acne is the result of pent up sexual energy. I think he is right, I don't get lots of sex, maybe I'll change that, I don't get alot of lime either. When I asked Calvin if he was dating the wrong guys (as he was reading an article in the Sun by that title), he replied, "No Broda, I's a clean living fella"

The starting of the season of work

2007-05-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

I started work today. Being home even for such a short period of time has been hard. I feel great "Homesickness" for Waterloo and my friends there. However, I have a summer of copeing already under my built and I am capitalizing on the experiences there. One of them is the establishment of a routine that is both physically and mentally healthy. The bike ride in the cool morning to the factory, the death ride up the huge hill of destruction back from the factory, overtime (1 hour today), the end of the day crap (good way to make extra money), the scenic evening jog, and the just-before-bed e-mail session. These all help to keep my sanity. My senses are heightened at times like these so the miserable times are really miserable and the joyful ones are really joyful. I was received at the Spice Factory as if it was the second coming (and indeed it was). Everyone was really glad to see me, and I them. Unfortunately I'm working alone at Loading Station 1 for the summer, but none-the-less it will probably a good time of reflection and accidents with the forklift. Speaking of which, I drove the forklift today, and its harder than it looks. But I think I did well. Only a bag fell from 20 feet in the air when i was getting the skid down from the racks, fortunately it didn't land on anyone, but it did make a cool explosion of dextrose when it hit the floor. I am not sore which is nice. Home will take some adjusting, "watch it mon"