thoughts on Kyoto

I just used the David Suzuki Website to send an email to the Prime Minister about how important I believe the Kyoto Protocol to be.

This is the first time I have ever felt inspired to use one of those "form email" things, but the truth is I think it is a crock that Canada is ignoring their commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

Here's what the letter says:

Dear Prime Minister,

I’m writing to let you know I’m concerned about global warming and I want Canada to do something about it.

Climate change is a global issue and the Kyoto Protocol is the only global agreement we have to address this challenge. We made a promise to the world that we would reduce our heat-trapping emissions and to ignore this promise would be an international embarassment.
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Kyoto was always designed to be the first step towards the long-term changes we need to make to protect our health, our environment and our economy. Like the vast majority of Canadians, I support Kyoto and expect Canada to take a lead role in this critical global issue.

Please don’t let us down.

Sincerely,
(your name and address automatically added here)

The form also allows you to add your own comments, so this is what I added:

As a Canadian I am embarrassed by the knowledge that Canada was the second country to sign the Kyoto Protocol and despite this excitement and eagerness we continue to look the other way with regard to Canada's contribution to Global Warming.

We all have to do what's right for ourselves - check out the website for more information.

moving desks

I spent all day yesterday moving offices.  Packing stuff up, hauling it to my brand new desk, in a brand new building and then attempting to organize--what can only be described as--my semi-organized clutter into a resemblance of a normal desk.  When I arrived this morning, I was surprised to find that my desk did in fact look similar to the multitude of neat and tidy desks that make up our open office space. 

 

Now, I simply have to keep it this way.

I have a feeling that's going to be the deal breaker for me.

Not that I don't want to keep it clean and tidy and beautiful.  I appreciate neat - A LOT.  I just have a hard time keeping things that way.  I'm hoping that my husbands theory (that if everything actually has a home then it becomes a lot easier to put away) is going to ring true, be effective and possibly even help me to improve my cleanliness in our home.

Time will tell.

Bubble Tea

Mmmm...I just had a HONEY MILK TEA with PEARLS.

Delicious!

If you've never had one, you should try. Although it's probably safer to try someone else's first. The tapioca pearls creep a LOT of people out!

(note: picture nicked off the internet - although mine was the same colour!)

siblings

It's curious, I'm not sure where it came from, but I was driving along today and had a bizarre realization. My dad is a "because I said so" parent, and though many things have changed over the years, I know that his attitude was consistent throughout both my own and my siblings upbringing. And despite this, or perhaps more likely as a result of this attitude, all three of us have a problem with authority, especially being expected to blindly follow instructions without explanation, rhyme or reason.

My sister is the baby and the princess, and she knows how to work it. She pours on the charm, looks you straight in the eye and tells you how SHE wants things to be when confronted with unexplained authority.

My brother has the strength & resiliency of steel, which will forever amaze and inspire me. If you don't respect him, you can expect less than nothing from him and he will take your punishment without question.

Myself, I am the weakest in this respect. I am the oldest and I strive for a harmony that comes with taking care of others. If a request is reasonable, if it is spoken to me with respect, if I can understand the need I will agree. However, if I feel taken advantage of, or disrespected I WILL stand up for myself.

Perhaps the truth is that none of this has to do with the "because I told you so" parenting style we encountered but rather is just the natural trend of our family: strong willed and persistent. I really don't know what the answer is, but I certainly found the idea to be extremely ironic.

changeeverything.ca

I heard about the http://www.changeeverything.ca website for the first time on the radio. I didn't really know what it was, but I was intrigued.

Then I heard about the changeeverything.ca website at work. I heard it was a vancity initiative that had their look and feel, but wasn't about banking. I was told it was a website designed to help real people make changes in their lives and connect with other people with same values, moral and/or goals.

Cool. I've been meaning to check it out for ages and I finally did.

It was easy to register, it's easy to post things you want to change in your life, your community or your world and it's easy to discuss a plethora of topics of interest to you. Of course for me, the environment is my primary interest for discussion, but that's certainly not the only topic people are discussing. I've already posted two changes I strive to make in my life and just finished commenting on a different discussion thread.

I think it's a great initiative, it feels proactive and I'm happy I've jumped on board.

bus-ly inspiration

I ride the bus a lot now, nearly every day, and though it can occasionally be slow, annoying, sweaty and smelly there are also a few benefits. First, I don't have to drive in traffic, I can listen to my ipod, I can play sodoku puzzles (sometimes), I can sleep and best of all, I can people watch. During my approximately 1hr commute I see a lot of people get on and off the bus and I often find my mind wandering, thinking about what their lives must be like, where they are going, what kind of job they must have - you know, people watching.

I often find myself inspired and composing blog posts in my mind. Unfortunately, when I arrive at work, it turns out I actually need to work and those lovely thoughts often dissipate throughout the day. Why not write them on the bus you ask? I have two responses to that, first off I am prone to motion sickness and have been working my way up to reading. So far I can do sodoku on the way to work, most of the time. I tried writing one day and I had to stop because I felt sick and that lovely feeling stayed with me for the remainder of the bus ride - ick!

Just the other day however, someone or something on the bus must have reminded me of my brother, because I found myself envisioning something a little more substantial than a blog post. I was imagining a book, the lessons my brother has taught me. Please don't misconstrue, my brother is not older and wiser than me, he has not sat me down at the kitchen table and taught me much of anything, but he had a hard time growing up and I was his rock and THAT taught me everything.

I could easily cover a chapter each about love, compassion, strength, courage, morals, anger and of course pain simply by recalling the experiences of our childhood.

Maybe I should.
Maybe I will.

just a few honeymoon photos

Downtown Playa del Carmen - Despite the heat, locals play soccer on the beach, and you can see the ferry to Cozumel in the background.


The Beach Club view of the ocean - the weather was changing and the waters were choppy, but it only added to the beauty.


Xcaret "ecological reserve" was full of brightly coloured and beautiful animals - here you can see the Macaws.