Sunday, February 27, 2005

McFun??


McDonalds
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
okay....so after a crazy busy week at the Centre, I'm exhausted and looking for something fun and relaxing to do on Saturday....the day started out ok by me babysitting my neice and nephew as my brother and sister-in-law went out on a date....but THEN...Holy Crap. We went to a McDonald's Birthday Party for a two year old girl - one of Anna's little friends. HERE ME PEOPLE - NEVER EVER GO TO A MCDONALD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY....I had a headache about 2 minutes after I got there...it was complete CHAOS...children of all sizes, tempers, and ages running around the playplace running and yelling and shrieking and crying and biting each other....i admit, i did have fun playing with my neice and nephew (like this pic) and taking my neice up the tunnel thingy, but man, did i have to fight our way through that thing and protect Anna from the trillions of sugar-rushed kids who were climbing over her and pushing past me (ME - a 25 YEAR OLD, got pushed over by two little 6 year old girls!!) and all the adults were just ignoring the kids and talking and eating their Big Macs and SuperSized Fries and Extra-Large Cokes like all of this was all in a middle-class American parent's day's work! So after like 3 hours, I caved and ate some chicken fingers (I KNOW) and some fries and left feeling bloated, exhausted, and rather annoyed. But, we had an hour's drive to the City...where I got some replenshing rest.....which redeemed the sitch a little before our night out on the town....

Ooo-Ooo-Ooo-Ah-Ah-Ah!!


Rainforest Cafe
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
yep, that's what a monkey (and, apparently, his cousins the guerilla) makes.....me, Anna, and my sis-in-law Jen outside the down-town Chicago restaurant of our choice.....The Rainforest Cafe...it was pretty funky inside.....all jungle-like and loud and stuff......crazy but fun! (no, I'm not being sarcastic this time).

Yeeee-Haaaaaaw!


my niece and nephew
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
Ah, a woman after my own heart.....Anna and me looking through the Safaria Gift Shop waiting for our table....

Jungle Fever


Rainforest Cafe
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
So our safari begun by simply stepping through a magical wardrobe called a "revolving door" which landed us among waterfalls, such as this one, and real-life-looking moving animals like snakes, guerillas, and elephants....i think the place scared the crap out of anna, but hey, how toddler friendly is a place with moving crocodiles and talking snakes?

pretty fishy


Rainforest Cafe
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
nope, I'm not suddenly on a scuba-diving adventure - this was a fish that was one of like a trillion in these HUGE-mugous aquariams that lined the entrance into the eating area.....craziness.....hmmm....feed a small country, or, import millions of exotic fish for our restaurant.....hmmmmm.....tough choice!

Look Anna, a fish!!!


Rainforest Cafe
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
oooooohhh! ahhhhhh!!

my only prince charming


Rainforest Cafe
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
despite my brother and sister-in-law's attempt to set me up, Mr. Froggy here is the closest thing I've come to so far with finding a soul-mate in Chicago. He was real friendly, though, but didn't speak a word... Hmmmm...maybe that has it's benefits......:)

the windy city


blue chicago
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
so after the restaurant we decided to check out the chicago blues scene.. our options were a bit limited with the kids, but we found this great all-ages place that played live blues in a family atmosphere (which means no alcohol and no smoking, i discovered)....so here's me in front of the the place with the sparkling city laughing behind me....

my one-eyed lova


blue chicago
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
here's the band....they were sooooooo good and the woman's lyrics made me laugh....like, "my one eyed lova, yeah, he left me for a one-legged woman....yes he did, now....so people ask me darlin, what are they gonna do to me? but ya know, honey, i ain't worried, cuz, well, she can't run and he can't seeee..." hhahahaha...anyways, i left feeling satisfied that i had soaked up some true Chicago culture....which, sadly, was 20 minutes after we got there cuz we had two cranky tired babies with us....yeah....remind me not to have kids any time soon....

goodbye blues


blue chicago
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
a cool painting that was on a side of a brick wall on our way out....and that completes our night on the town!

Anna Grace!!


my niece and nephew
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
Meet Anna Grace - my crazy pyscho energetic neice who is full of energy and fun to play with...we've bonded lots and I teach her to play with her food and stick her tongue out while chewing....much to the joy ofo her parents...:)

Auntie Jen and Micah


my niece and nephew
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
meet my nephew Micah!! He is a sweetheart...so laidback and giggly...it's great to get to know him more being here....

my alt prac


my alt prac
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
Here's where I'm doing an internship.....I'm loving it and am actually learning quite a bit...so many people's lives are being transformed here, it's neat to be a part of it...so far I've been sitting in on counseling sessions, making phone calls, and taking a Foundations of Biblical Counseling course, which requires a lot a lot of reading...it's interesting though!!

welcome to the bible belt of chicagoland


chicago pics
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
so here is me being forced by my brother and dad to play the most ridiculous Bible game i have ever seen - it was a christian version of "Life"....the goal is to get to "Heaven" and avoid going to "the Lake of Fire" or even worse.......dahn dahn daaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn - "Backslider's Valley" (Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk! Oh no! not there!!! please, God, not Backslider's Valley!!!!!!!!!) So in order to get to Heaven you have to acquire, in this order - Conviction, Salvation, Assurance, and Santification Cards....and along the way you do "typical christian things" like get baptized (ok,understandable), go to church (alright, got it), and protest outside an abortion clinic (????????????? Hmmm.....never done - nor wanted to do - nor seen the purpose of - doing that). it was sooooooooo cheesy and it made me kind of embarassed to be a christian, but what can you do - at lease it made me and my dad and mom laugh, which made my brother angry and confused, but hey, you can't please everyone i guess...:)

-J

mom and me


chicago pics
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
so this is my mom and me very tired after our long drive (11 hours) to chicago....needless to say, we we happy to get there....:)

Thursday, February 24, 2005

the last night at the tirnanog


tirnanog last night
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
my best girls from first year - Tristan and Jessie and me at the Tirnanog on our last night together in K-town till April....love and miss you girlies!!!

kareokee time


tirnanog last night
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
so the entire Faculty of Education went to Kareokee at the Tirnanog on the last night before our alternative practicum....a lot of us won't see each other until April - till we're back in classes after our spring practicum....so it was VERY fun, yet VERY sad at times too!

a couple of blondes-turned-brunettes


tirnanog last night
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
and here's Lea-Ellen and me - good times...girl - i miss ya and am praying for you in China!!

still friends!


david and me
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
ah, this is a funny pic....david looks quite annoyed but i'll assure you he loves piggy-backing me home from pottery class! hehe... love this kid more than ever; it's nice to have a friend who is more pyscho-somatic than me :) ....most of the time....

p.s. for the most entertaining and enlightening "history" of jen and david see the January archives

david, anne and me


david, anne and me
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
here's us on a chilly walk back from pottery class - anne lives next door to me with abi and she is from Germany! sweet girl, and so funny....!

jamie and me


jamie and me
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
this is me and jamie miller - one of the most hilarious, gracious, actively principled, and compassionate people i know. he came over for some sweet potato quesadillas the other day.....mmmmm....jamie is going to Nepal next year (most likely) to work on some water-system related stuff...so i'm giving him my "christian contacts" over there...and me and Jessie might go visit him (after we meet at the Taj, of course!) Hurray Jamie, you're the bomb!

-J

the BEST history group in the world!!!


history group
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
ok, so everyone, meet my history group (minus Pat, see below), history group, meet everyone. (from L-R: Raina, Esther, me, Dena, Lea-Ellen). so these people are the reason i went to my history curriculum class every week- not because of what we learned (or didn't learn), and deffinately not because of the exciting...ahem... atmosphere (poor Proffessor Bob). We had tonnes of fun and became more of a...family...by the end of this in-school session....ah, the goodtimes....our reoccuring "genocide throughout the ages" bullentin board theme, the "dichotomy of Dena (see her blurb below)", Lea-Ellen's "ruined" presentation ("well, for those of you teachers who DON"T want to challenge your students with Jen's mind-map, you can give them the following definition"), Pat's phone prank ("so, Dena, what's your driver's license #??"), crocheying, cross-stiching, Bob's looks, the curse of the half-moon table (Me: "Is it because we're loud and laugh alot?" Bob: "So, anyways..."), applauding whoever shows up, Hotel Rwanda, tirnanog....the list never ends....i miss and love you guys....Dena watch out for those druglords, Lea-Ellen wash your hands a lot (to stay clear of the diseases), Pat get your sleep (within reason, now), Raina have fun with your bro in TO, and Esther be sure to do SOMETHING!!)

love, Jen

p.s. below is an intro to all of the history group members, except for Dena cuz i don't have a pic of her alone, so I'll just say this: HAHAHAHA...a great, mysterious girl who knows how to laugh at herself and take charge of a history rocks project (i owe ya girl),,,,we'll forever wonder how you've made it through life without a driver's licence, and how you can ingeniously unite the two opposing worlds of fashion and development work....:)

Pat - the often absent member


Pat - the often absent member
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
so here is Pat - the often hung-over-or-just-plain-lazy member of our history group (k, the guy LIVES in the same building as our class but somehow never quite makes iton a regular basis)....he made us all choke up by pretending to know what was going on, getting angry at that "girl" for no apparent reason, and by playing poker late late late every sunday night (who DOES that?) this pic was taken later as Pat (surprisingly) didn't show up to class during the last week of school.

Raina


Raina
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
and here is the artiste Raina, who planned out the Holocaust bullentin board behind her....she is quite talented in watercolours, crocheying (sp??) and making me feel like an idiot when I ask enlightening questions :)

Lea - Ellen


Lea - Ellen
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
and here's the gorgeous Lea-Ellen - who just happens to be in China at this precise moment - this girl is one of the most actively principled and hilarious girls i know - she made history fun times

esther cross-stitching


esther cross-stitching
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
and here's how the lovely esther passed the time - cross stiching some flowers for her grandma.....awww.....seriously, though, good call es - you gotta do something to pass the time in that class!

pottery class


pottery
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
here's my dear friends Jessie (who just scored a teaching job in INDIA for the next two years teaching grade 1!! Yeah, we're going to meet at the Taj Mahal I think if I'm in the UAE!) and David at pottery class....I am starting to loooooooooooove pottery - it is so fun and relaxing! Though I'm not the best at it, it is super fun anyways! Especially with these two guys in my class.....haha David is toooooo funny...he told us his thoughts one class "molding, molding - I can't believe I'm only guy here - smoothing, smoothing - I'm the only guy here - just a little more edging now - I'm the only guy here." HA -don't worry, mio bel precipe, you are VERY masculine!!! :)

-J

lyon's cottage - my shadow


lyon's cottage
Originally uploaded by hollograms.

lyon's cottage - david skating


pottery and the lyon's cottage
Originally uploaded by hollograms.

the lyon's cottage - landscape


pottery and the lyon's cottage
Originally uploaded by hollograms.

the lyon's cottage


pottery and the lyon's cottage
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
ok, this is going back a few weekends...this is me up at the lyon's cottage (let's see - abi, who is standing next to me in this pic, is my next door neighbout and pottery instructor, and her mother is Sue, who is a professional potter as well. Her father is David, who teaches at the invisible college and is the man who I've discussd the globalization issues with. The whole family goes to Next Church, where I attend. Anyways, it was a GREAT day of skating and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. On the way back we had a great discussion about the future of the Invisible College (David is thinking of starting a Christian Studies College in Kingston), and also, we discussed the possiblity of having a coffee house at Next to raise awareness of Fair Trade Coffee (and also raise money so we can serve fair trade at Next) which I might be involved with when I get back to K-town. What a great family - I admire their principles so much, and the way they actually live them out is refreshing.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

happy master's chris!


lyon's party
Originally uploaded by hollograms.
this is going back a week or two, but here is chris all dazzled and surprised by getting his master's in urban planning...relation to me? a friend and the finance of my next door neighbour/pottery instructor, abi

Friday, February 18, 2005

a born-again vegetarian

well, dear friends...today marks a special day for me. I've "officially" decided to do something that I've been thinking about for awhile.....and after a couple weeks of talking to friends, praying for wisdom, and then today after coducting some research, I've decided to become a vegetarian. Why, you ask?? Well, I now believe that a primarily plant-based diet is one of the the best ways to demonstrate my care for and stewardship of God's creation - including the animals, the earth, our starving global neighbours, and my body. Let me give a brief explanation of each (for more info visit www.goveg.com and/or www.jesusveg.com ) :

the animals - Due to the increased demand for meat and other animal products, many traditional farm settings where animals run free and healthy are quickly being replaced with factory-style farms where both "efficiency" and animal cruelty is high. In these mechanized indoor settings, the animals are heavily crowded and routinely treated in a inhumane manner. (For more info on this, go to www.thevegetariansite.com ) I believe that God wants me to care for His creatures and to defend them against all forms of unjust and cruel treatment. While I believe that God may allow people to eat meat where the animals have previously enjoyed a healthy and free life, I do not believe He would be pleased with the Western world's manner of inhumane treatment of His beloved creatures for the purpose efficiency and, ultimately, profit.

the earth - The earth's land, grain, and water resources are being depleted in order to raise animals quickly for the purpose of slaughtering them. The typcial meat-eater's diet consumes 14 X more water and 20 X more energy than a vegetarian's diet (see www.christianveg.com ). Also, 37% of the world's grain, and 66% of the USA's grain is used to feed animals that would otherwise eat other forms of food.

our starving global neighbours - It takes more grain to feed animals than people. The grain that is being used (see above) to feed the animals could be used to feed the world's poor. Also, because land, water, and other resources are limited, growing demands for meat increases the cost of all food, and the world's poor become increasingly unable to afford food of any kind.

my body - It's simply healthier! Evidence shows that those who follow a plant-based diet consisting of the right amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes (beans, lentil, soy-based tofu or textured vegetable product (TVP) have a dramatically lower incidence of heart disease, cancer, and stroke, among other diseases (see www.thevegetariansite.com ).

So that's why I've made this decision. The way I see it, the more people that make the decision to not eat meat (and we are blessed to live in a society where that option and mountains of delicious meat alternatives are available), the lower the demand will be for meat, which will result in the closing of factory-style farms, more natural resources and food available for people, especially the global poor, and we'd all be healthier! Plus, I've already found from cooking primarily vegetarian recipes over the last couple of months (3 girls that i lived with were vegetarians), I've realized that if being veggie does anything to me, it forces me to be creative in my cooking, which has been soooooo fun and yummy!

Anyways, while I haven't eaten red meat in a while, I have a feeling that this is going to be tougher than I thought - I already had to pick the pepperoni off a pizza today that my dad made, and that was a bit hard.... so wish me luck and feel free to hold me accountable!

and, as always, let me know your thoughts!!!

love,
-J

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

on globalization

"The point is not to seek to change the world for its own sake. The point is to be accountable to the Creator of the world by being responsible with the knowledge, time, gifts, abilities, and resources that we've been given so that we may better love our global neighbours as ourselves. If everyone engages in self-reflection and honestly seeks to do this, the world will be changed as a mere side effect of this greater aim."
-me

rwandan boy


Lately I've been thinking a lot about globalization and what my dutiful christian response should be to it.....I've been taking a 5 week course by David Lyon, a friend from Next Church and a professor of Sociology at Queen's, entitled "Thinking About Things." It attempts to think Christianly about some tools of Western technology - the car, computer, cell phone, digital camera, etc, and how they affect our relationships with others and with the world.....it has been very enlightening, and I really believe it is a God-sent, because I have been praying for a long time for someone to come along who is well educated about the issues surrounding globalization (transnational corporations, sweatshops, coca-colonization, and the problem of 2/3rds global poverty, and all the injustices surrounding these things), and is also a deeply committed and wise biblical christian. I am looking forward to talking more to David about these issues, and he already has given me some christian literature on them, which i am excited to put at the end of my long list of "must-read" books....i think i might have to pump them up a few notches. :) At any cost, taking this course has strengthen my desire and given me passionate confirmation that I am to go to seminary, and I believe that Regent college in Vancouver is the way to go...David has taught out there, and I've heard great things about it.....I want to take a Masters of Christian Studies with a concentration in either Applied Theology, Interdisciplinary Studies, or Cross-Cultural education....we'll see...

Lord, grant me wisdom and courage as I seek to learn, grow and be responsible with things you have entrusted to me.

more thoughts on this to come...

-J

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Hotel Rwanda and the Good Samaritan

Wow. There are almost no words to describe the things that are running through my head after seeing this movie. For those of you who have not yet seen it - GO SEE HOTEL RWANDA....like TONIGHT. It was a powerful and moving portrayal of the horrible genocide that took over 800,000 Tutsi lives by the Hutu tribe in Rwanda in 1994. To see a trailer visit www.mgm.com/ua/hotelrwanda/main.html

rwanda_gate.jpg


I am a History teacher. I teach my students that it is important to understand the mistakes of our past so that we will not be doomed to repeat them. This fall I taught the Holocaust, the Jewish genocide that took over 6 million people's lives for no other reason other than than the fact that they were Jewish. For some reason, human pride took on its worst form as one group of people thought that they had the right to deem another group inferior and kill them off. According to a recent CBC poll, most Canadians do not even know the extent of the Holocaust, or the vague details surrounding where it took place or why. Almost all had little or no recollection of Canada's disgusting Anti-semitic immigration policy during the 1940s, which allowed no Jewish refugees into our country - we even turned a boat of refugees back into the hands of the Nazis! And then, 50 years later, Canada and the world proved that they had not learned their lesson....and again we turned a blind eye....this time towards Africa. The fact that new reports were coming back to the West while the massacre was taking place, and diplomats were were shaking their heads, but yet NOT ONE COUNTRY sent in intervention troops (sorry - except for a few days in order to escort some white rich people out) is absoluetly appalling - what have we learned?

I recognize the temptation to think that there is nothing that we can or could have done - for these things happen so far away....but, and forgive the cliche, we need to, right now, and within our sphere of influence, BE the change that we want to see in the world. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to teach of the ideal relations between people- especially supposed enemies. If you remember correctly, a Jewish man was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Two people passed by, one a Levite, and one a priest (someone who you would expect to help), and both justified their actions - "What can I do? I'm just one person," I'm sure they were thinking. Or a plethora of other excuses that I'm ashamed to admit I identify with: "I'm too busy." "It's not my business." "Someone more suited will help him." "I'm sure it's too late - he's most likely already dead." "God will punish the criminals - in His own timing." All these excuses are simply ways to get out of our responsibility to our neighbours, to help them, to speak for them when they have no voice, to protect them from oppression and greed and hatred. Who finally helped this Jewish man? His enemy - someone he least expected. It is clear from this story that Jesus said that everyone - from the people in Rwanda, to the children working for Walmart in sweatshops in Haiti, to the beggar that annoys me every time I walk down Princess Street. EVERYONE on this planet is my neighbour and it is MY responsibility to reach out to them. Lord, please, help me to be the change that YOU want to see in this world. And help us all to wake up and stop repeating the same tragic mistakes.

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Tsunami Relief Carnival

Last night the students from the Faculty of Education here at Queens put on a fun-tastic carnival to raise money for the Tsunami Relief....I volunteered as a face-painter and had tonnes of fun! The event was a great success.....

Tsunami Relief Carnival

So here's Esther and Dave displaying their beautiful new works of art....:) yes folks, that is a sheep on Dave's face...

DSCN2832.JPG

And here's JR Flash and a young beautiful girl that he just rescued....

Tsunami Relief Carnival

and here's some cute little girls who's faces I painted!

Tir-nan-og

Tir-nan-og

Good times at the Tir-nan-og on Thursday, here's Carol, Dena, and Lea Ellen...too bad they DITCHED me to single Jann Arden's Insensitive ALL BY MYSELF!! that's ok, girls, i found new friends....

Tir-nan-og

And me and Emily!! This girl rocks and may live with me this summer!

procrastination can be fun!

well, this week i had lots of work to do for a change.....and i tried to work really really hard, but i was just too distracted....yeah so here's me taking a break from my essay research and...yes, building a kinder surprise toy...

procrastination can be fun!


and here i am playing with my new alien spaceship....hee hee...that was fun...:)

procrastination can be fun!

the new Hot 116

the new Hot 116

Here are my beautiful new housemates, Laura (beside me) and Lindsay.
Lindsay was my frosh leader and Laura has the pyscho-somatic desire to
organize everything.....like the fridge and the cupboards.....she's
crazy, but we love her anyways!! :)

DSCN2804.jpg

DSCN2810.jpg