AIESEC mission satement

I found this video c/o AIESEC in Calgary and Layial, but it's really interesting, even if you're not in AIESEC. The video still makes you think about society today and how we live, check it out.

See you soon

Sucks to say good bye. Richard left last week. Seems like a lot of people are leaving lately. Best of luck to you on your internship in Indonesia, Richard. It's really inspiring to see people actually achieving what everyone else talks about wanting to do. I can't wait to work abroad someday. For now, I'll have to just hear about everyone else's experience (shout out to Krista in Tanzania!). Some best memories of Rich's visit in Halifax:
-random post-arrival email from AIESEC alumni sister who loves Victoria (on the wrong coast, haha)
-making fun of April, nobody does it better
-"pink" halloween costume
-the best Asian glow I've ever seen, or the best attempt to cover it up "Richard, why are you red, and why is your hair and shirt soaked?"
-nobody is deeper in thought about relationships, people, or experiences and their meaning, or importance on learning and where you are headed in life

See you soon buddy, either in Germany, or you're welcome back in Hali anytime.

On another note, kind of makes you think on how many people leave the East coast. They need more money, or more opportunities, or a need to be closer to all the action I guess. Are there really no opportunities for young people here? Shouldn't you try to make your own opportunities? I can't wait to get out of here and travel, but I know I'll always be back. See you soon.

Everything your parents forgot to warn you about!

Woooo! Luckiest 13 catches 1st place at Battle of the Floors 2007!
Congrats to everyone on Rice 13 who helped us crush the competition. We all had a blast all day last Sat getting up way to early, showing off our awesome flag, winning some events like musical chairs, limbo, catapillar races, and so many more. I'm super pumped for the afterparty this weekend. We're going to devour our free pizza party, basket of junk food, and celebrate the big win!

Big thanks to GinaBeth and all the other RAs/Res dept who helped pull this off. You did a fantastic job, put a lot of work into the event, and it showed.

Comin' home for Christmas

Merry Belated Christmas everybody, and happy holidays to all of my friends of other denominations. What an awesome time home. For the first time in awhile, I really didn't want to go back. I guess it was because I realized third year is the hardest one so far, and I was really enjoying catching up with old friends. I didn't get to spend near enough time with everyone. We cought up, but not good enough. And, it's going to be awhile before I see most people again.

"and everybody does, it's so weird to be back here" -Ben Folds

I thought I was going to be one of the last people home. After exams were over, I pretty much did nothing but laze around, catch up on sleep, and relax. It was totally awesome to give my mind nothing to do. It was awesome to hear everyone's stories of the amazing or regular places they are this year. Like Lauren getting back from Mexico, and Dre living the dream in Ireland, too many others to name. We of course, made the trip to Chevy's, that place rocks.

Christmas with the family was the same as every year, which was great. Normal Christmas eve stuff, and turkey and all that. Break got cut short, in a good way, because I was off to Edmonton for AIESEC's National Congress. Flying across the country is awesome, even if you have to stop in every major city on the way. I got to see TO, and the priaries and the rockies. Edmonton rocks my socks, the conference was insane in a good way. Crazy leadership and training sessions all day, and legendary parties all night. Best things about NC:
-going early to see the West Ed mall, and road trip to the rockies (Lake Louise, Banff and Calgary)
-connecting hotel rooms for twice the parties
-JK being elected pres for AIESEC in Canada
-winning second place in the simulation, and bringing home some other shiny awards
-reconnecting with great friends from across the country
-New Years Eve 3 time zones away, ringing it in for every zone across Canada, and being the first to ring it in at 9pm, woo Hali AST!

What's everybody doing for spring break??

Where you're from

I recently had to fill out a short questionnaire. It asked where I was from and some details about this place. Ok, so Truro/Bible Hill isn't the most exciting place, but if you're from there, I know you love it. The first question asked whether this place was a City or a Village. Ok, in relation to some of the world's cities, we are definitely a village. The next question: 'Were your family neighborhood, schools ethnically or racially mixed?', ok, I would say no. It also wanted to know what religious or cultural institutions affected you growing up. The last question, 'How do you see yourself in relation to these now?', was what hit me. Does where you're from affect who you are now? Although I grew up in a 'typical' traditional family setting, within a mostly white, conservative, Christian, small town, doesn't mean that's who I am now. I also don't discredit or blame my parents/family on my sheltered upbringing. I actually consider myself quite fortunate. Going to Saint Mary's, in a relatively diverse global community in Halifax, I am thirsty to learn about the world and other cultures, issues and people. Where you're from may define who you are or atleast be a big part of who you are. But it shouldn't define or change how you see yourself in relation to the world, in a bigger picture, or limit where you'll go in life.

Funniest thing on SNL in a long time: Junk in a box

Everyone needs to see this clip from Saturday night live a couple weeks ago.
1. So people know what I'm talking about, and
2. To spread the general hilarity of the whole thing

I missed the initial episode because Justin Timberlake was the host, and I generally try to avoid him. But a friend sent me this link, and now I hear it everyone. At a recent conference I went to last week in Edmonton, one of the incoming presidents was actually crossdressing with her junk in a box. Awesome

Set 1, cut a hole in a box. Step 2, put your junk in the box. Step 3, make her open the box! haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-5grqhj1b8

Best of first semester

So first semester of third year is over. I have been really busy, focusing on lots of other things other than blogging...This semester flew by faster than I thought it would. I had a great time getting to know my floor and the new RAs, partying with off-campus friends, and all the AIESECers. I even got to see some friends from home more often than I thought, but still not enough. Some highlights from first semester:

-parties at the Grotto
-Keith's brewery tour and all you can drink beer at the Beer Institute, and making to the CEO's and office hoe's party
-rained out at the Rolling Stones concert in Hali, with Kanye, Sloan, and the best: Alice Cooper!
-RA soccer intramurals, and ultimate frisbee team
-Anything but clothes party
-All male team in Run for the Cure
-free Joel Plaskett concert for Keith's birthday
-Justin Trudeau lecture about youth involvement and the environment
-Grotto 4 and all you can drink beer at Garrison, and Jager night at the G'brook
-JK's visit from TO and the World Cafe
-Drunkin Pumpkin and the Ninja Turtles
-RA night out at Oasis and Rice does Dooley's
-applying for LCP, the whole process, finding out about myself, but still not winning, looking ahead at other opportunities
-home for Remembrance day weekend
-MicroCredit Summit in Halifax, meeting Mohammed Yunis, Queen of Spain, Pres of Pakistan, and Peter McKay, learning a lot about microcredit
-Corporate Breakfast, Moosehead's Game
-Best of Open Mic, twice!

Bullshit Bingo!

How to Stay Awake in Boring Classes

Do you keep falling asleep in class? What about those long and boring seminars and labs?

1. Before (or during) the next class prepare yourself by drawing a square. 5" x 5" is a good size. Divide the card into columns-five across and five down. That will give you 25 one-inch blocks.
2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block: Synergy, environment, strategic fit, core competencies, best practice, bottom line, I won't go into detail, the truth is, 24/7, alternatively, benchmark, climate-change, maximize, value-added, proactive, win-win, think outside the box, fast track, result-driven, based on the data, at the end of the day, touch base, in fact, client focus, paradigm, game plan, leverage.
3. Now check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words/phrases.
4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally stand up and shout "BULLSHIT!"

Real Testimonials from satisfied players:
"I had been in the class for only five minutes when I won."
"My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically."
"Class will never be the same for me after my first win."
"The atmosphere was tense in the last process meeting as 14 of us waited for the fifth box."
"The professor was stunned as eight of us screamed 'BULLSHIT!' for the third time in an hour. The Bullshit Bingo Championship will be played at the next class."

Batten down the hatches Becky

So I'm sitting in Dr. Bob's Human Geography class (2214.1 Environment and Livilihood), it was one of those discussion classes, and everyone was talking about whether or not all the countries of the world will become as developed as us. As developed as us? What does that mean? Is Canada a developed country? and if so, why? We still have poverty, levels of illiteracy, homelessness, environmental problems... Everyone characterized a developing nation as having technology, infrastructure, megacities with core downtowns and sprawling wealthy suburbs, trade, and trans-national corporations who rely on the 'developing' nations for cheap labour and natural resources. So, the question again is, will all countries become developed? Why do we think we are more developed than another country. Shouldn't a developed country be one that can act sustainable, have good social programs, and not exploit other countries?
Is there a difference between sustainable development and RESPONSIBLE development. As Westerners, we always feel we are superior to less-developed nations, and try to bring them up to our standards. Maybe they are happy just the way they are, and we should leave them alone, or help them in different ways than we are. Who says traditional ways of living, subsistence agriculture, lack of internet and other technology are bad. Last week, the Sudanese government rejected UN Peacekeepers because the didn't want western views in their country. I'm not saying we shouldn;t help those starving in Sudan, we need to do more. Why are we so dependent on commercialism? Get out to the country and breathe some fresh air!

So far so good

The view from the top, finally. Back on 13, and it's a great view. It's not so bad, when you roll out of bed, and your view is of the Atlantic ocean, cruise ships and cargo ships, and sailboats. As much as I like being out in the woods, in touch with nature, nothing beats living in a highrise. If anybody needs to get a hold of me, my # is 491-8668 ext 3369.

RA camp was good. Even though I went right from my summer job to camp the next day, it still seamed like a good end to the summer, and a bit of a vacation from real work. Camp is the best, even though the weather was pretty wet the whole time. You never know what to expect when you do something twice, but the second time around was still good, the food was still good. Best things from camp:
-Darren's food
-good timing for cleanups
-swimming in the lake in Sept. when the air is colder than the water
-meeting all the newbies, reconnecting with the returners
-campfires and marshmellows!
-Cabin 8 skit
-Things in a box, hahaha, and finding out everyone's dirty sense of humour

The first few weeks back have been crazy. Frosh week went really well, my floor came out to alot of the events, which I'm not used to, it was awesome. All the events I went to were really fun, especially Casino night, and Sex with Sue, and the free food at the bbq and President's dinner. I felt bad for Pilate, who was the band and played fri night. Hardly anybody went at all. All my classes are good so far, a few of them are boring, but I will appreciate that later when it gets busier. All of the AIESEC recruitment kept me busy too, but it was really well planned (thanks to the kick ass team) and we're getting more notice on campus from everyone. I have a good feeling about this year. I hope to keep up with all the traditions, like Open Mic, and Split Crow, but study more, and keep in touch with old friends far away, and ones still here in the city.

Really really excited for the Rolling Stones this weekend!! and Joel Plaskett is coming back to Hali for Keith's Fest woooooo!

Prince Edward Islanderese - English dictionary

Hey guys, welcome back, I just 'finished' unpacking all my stuff in my new room, back in Rice on the 13th floor, hope it's lucky this time. Here's a way to understand everyone movin back to the mainland from PEI (esp. Chels!)

across ... across
aunt ... ont
bad ... ba' - ud
calm ... cam
co-op ... kwop (said quickly - one syllable)
cousin ... cousint
creek ... crick
drowned ... drownded
film . fill'-em
fishing ... fishin (dropping final 'g's from -ing is very common on the Island)
goalie ... goldie
H ... haich
lawn ... lawnd
leg ... laig
milk ... melk
pillow ... pellow
pint .. point
potato ... puh-tay'-tuh
right ... roight (substitution of oi instead of i happens in many words on the Island)
sorry .. so' - ry sounds (like Tory, but with a longer o sound)
stole ... stold
tour ... tore (same sort of o sound as in sorry)
wash . warsh
won't ... woon't (see sorry and tour)
yes ... yay'us
yours ... yers
yeah ... yah (said by sucking in air, almost whispered)

Unique Island words:
Froze .. Frozen
Slippy ... Slippery
Stormstayed ... No real equivalent word - means that a storm has come up and made the travelling so bad that you're stuck somewhere for the night.
Yuz ... You (plural)
Yer guyses ...Yours (plural)

Unique Island phrases:
C.F.A...Come From Away - someone who is "not from the Island" or who has moved here recently. For some people "recently" means any time after birth. "She wouldn't know that, she's a CFA"\n
THE water . Either the Northumberland Strait or the Gulf of St. Lawrence. "Our house is on a hill; you can see the water from our living room."
THE boat . The car ferry. "We have to make the 6 o'clock boat", "We'll have lunch on the boat"\n
THE bridge ...The Confederation Bridge. In Charlottetown, it also can mean the Hillsborough Bridge.
Right hot (or roight hut) ... Very hot. Right is often used to mean very, as in "right close" (roight close), "right icy" (roight oicy)\n
Some good ... Very good. Some can sometimes be used instead of right to mean very, but not always.
From acrost ... From New Brunswick or Nova Scotia
Something or other ... This phrase is usually run together, more like "som-n-r-uthr"\n
No I nevered ... I didn't. You also hear "I never" for the same thing
Throw me up my / down my ... Instead of "throw my... down to me"
Sock feet ... Wearing socks, but no footwear. "Get off the grass in your sock feet!"\n
Desperate cold .. Very cold. Can be used, like some and right, with a wide variety of words
Handy the school ... Near the school
Grade Twoers (Thre-ers, Fourers, etc) ... Children in Grade Two (three. four, etc). You also hear "Grade Twos", etc.
Island turn ... A right turn that involves going left into the oncoming traffic lane before taking a sweeping wide right turn, as if one had a thirty foot trailer attached to the car\n

good luck!

Hot town, summer in the city

Even though it was summer, I was still pretty busy, and didn't get a chance to update as much as I wanted to. Here's some pics from some of our adventures this summer.

The crew in PEI for Canada Day and the Tragically Hip. Having some food before Joel Plaskett!











It was a foggy day, but we still had fun at the beach.

This isn't what you think. Don't you hate it when you show up to the bar and you're wearing the same shirt as someone else?

Group shot of everybody at Seymour's cottage. See ya next summer.....

Good to get away

It was good to get away last weekend. A bunch of us from SMU went to Seymour's cottage with some of his friends from the valley. It's a really nice spot on the North shore wedged between Fox Harb'r and Wallace. What I thought was going to be a relaxing weekend turned into excercise boot-camp. We played ultimate frisbee and football allll day. The best was the bonfire though, with some guitar and beers. Every once and awhile you need to get away with friends, really get away, out of the city, away from shopping, the media, news, and noise. Now it's time to go buy school supplies!! ahhhh

Community-Based Monitoring

Why I love my job, (Gaff point, Lunenburg County) haha, a view from my office:


Like I already said, I'm on a co-op workterm this summer at SMU with a not-for-profit, doing environmental research. Sounds boring, but I like it alot. And I'm learning what I want to do in the real world, and applying things I learned in class. My boss is awesome, and I really like my co-workers. We work in the office sometimes but we're out in the field alot. We deal with other community groups around HRM concerned with water quality, effects of large-scale development, pollution, etc.

Check us out: www.envnetwork.smu.ca

ahhhh!! Who can't wait to see this movie?

My favorite deep thoughts

Some "Deep Thoughts" by Jack Handy (from Saturday Night Live, but I hope you knew that...)

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

When you go in for a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they ever press charges.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

Laurie got offended that I used the word "puke." But to me, that's what her dinner tasted like.

The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.

for wayy more, check: http://www.cco.net/~jpete/deepthou.htm

quotes applied to life

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

"I saw many problems in the world and wondered why somebody didn't do something about them. Then I realized, I was somebody." - unknown

One unfortunate looking person

Isn't that just sick...maybe next year Leafs...

An Inconvenient Truth

**stop everything you're doing and see this movie**
It was really good, and all the critics are right, its awesome. Even if you can't make it to the movie, check out the website, and watch the trailor!! www.climatecrisis.net

Here's some quotes from the movie:

"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing, and baffling expedience of delays is coming to a close. In its place, we are coming to a period of consequences." - Winston Churchill

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Al Gore

"You can't make somebody understand something if their salary depends upon them not understanding it." - Al Gore

Summer so far....

Heyyyyy

This summer is flying by, I can't believe it. So far this summer, I got back from partying in Toronto and an AIESEC conference in Hamilton, it was a blast, and met lots of people. The conference was focused on leadership development, and between partying all night long and not sleeping, I still learned alot. The sessions all day are very inspirational, very intense and educational, in a "it's summer and I'm learning, but still having fun" kind of way.

We've been hanging out alot, just chillin, watching some hockey playoffs (too bad for the oilers...) and getting outside when it's not raining. I made it home to see the CEC musical with Lisa, which was just good to see some old friends. Camilla came here from Brazil to work in the AIESEC office for a couple months. A bunch of us went up to Miramichi for Krista's grad/going away party (hope you have a great time in Thailand!). Last weekend Camilla had a Brazilian night, it was awesome, I love learning about cultures around the world, and now I have one more country I have to visit someday. I also saw "An Inconvenient Truth". It's an amazing, scary, eye-opening movie if you haven't seen it yet.

I'm working at Saint Mary's in the Burke building doing environmental research with a prof and a couple other students for my Coop work term. I really love it. We get to go outside and do fieldwork sometimes, and network with a lot of other groups in Halifax and NS doing similar stuff, really good opportunities.

I'm pumped for this weekend. We got our Pilate and Wintersleep tickets for Fri! woot woot. Tonight we're having Camilla's going away party, which is happy and sad. Hopefully Sat night works out, and I can make it home to go camping!??! Annnnd we gotta get organized for next weekend so we can make it to PEI for Tragically Hip and Canada day! jump on it guys....

OK, back to work for me, talk to you soon.....