I Get It, Dad.

Work has me flying back and forth between Fort McMurray and Edmonton quite a bit for the next three months or so.  It's surprising how fast a human can adapt to a new set of conditions.  My first shift was 8 days and by Day 2 or 3 I was feeling like I had already gotten the swing of 4AM wakeups, camp buses, camp food and 8PM bedtimes.  While I'm at site, there's so much new stuff to learn and work with that the hours fly and before I know it, I'm bussing back to camp to eat dinner and workout.  Camp life is not too bad ... I was able to eat my fruits and veggies, use the gym facilities and finishing reading this book during my free time:

So much delight in this story.  Reminds me of the detached, matter-of-fact narration and topsy-turvy events in movies like Royal Tenenbaums and Amelie.  

I have to say, I now understand why my mom used to make my sister and I help clean the house and make sure there was delicious food to eat a couple of days before my dad would get home.  Because when I got back to my condo late at night in Edmonton after my 8-day shift in Fort Mac, I was HANGRY!!  Just a grumpy tired hungry sleepy ogre who ended up crawling into her bed.  Lesson learned.  I am definitely not driving home from the airport at 10PM while still in 8PM bedtime mode.  Instead, I'll be snacking on the plane and then taking a cab home.  I don't even know how my dad did it for two decades while having to deal with jet lag as well.  I've definitely gained a new respect for how my parents operated while my dad was out working at camps and my mom made sure the household was in good working order.    Now I am enjoying my days off before I fly out again.  The days off aspect of this rotation is quite lovely.  I don't even have to go to the office at all.  I can instead enjoy hanging with Hachi and getting delicious amounts of sleep and exercise and socializing and Netflix and books.  It's gorgeous outside too:

Somehow recent weather patterns have caused a beautiful frosty white coating on the tree branches plus it's been foggy lately too.  So winter wonderland-y.    

Some Hope, Please.

I am quite shocked at who America elected, and I don't really know what to expect.  This is one case where I hope one’s bark is worse than his bite.

I'll focus on something positive amidst this doom and gloom.  I finally read the China Study, a book I've heard about countless times from plant-based eaters via social media.  And now I know why.  It's based on an enormous and long-term study on the diet and resulting health of thousands of people in rural China.  This book has countless implications for society, and I see why the dairy, meat and pharmaceutical industries want to hide, criticize and downplay the contents of this book.  North Americans continue to look for a shortcut and magic pill while consuming hideous amounts of animal protein. The links are very strong between this way of life and diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, obesity, MS . . . even dementia!  The list goes on and on.  The research is right there and society is ignoring it.   I couldn't resist and immediately had to order a copy for my parents and my aunt in the US.  I commend both Dr. Campbells for ignoring food industry bullying and standing their ground in order to publish this book.  Same goes to others like Dr. McDougall and Dr. Esselstyn who have also been paving the way out of this unhealthy mess the First World has managed to get itself into.

It really is as simple as eating much more plants and being more active.  You live longer, the animals live longer and there's enough for everyone to eat.  Plus it's nicer to the environment.  I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY MORE WINS YOU CAN HAVE.

SIDENOTE:  There is an interesting role that Filipinos play in plant-based eating research.  Dr. Colin Campbell was brought on to study unusual rates of liver cancer in kids in the Philippines, which led him to isolate aflaxotin, a carcinogen that was found in moldy peanuts used in peanut butter.  He then went on to find out that many of the rich kids were getting liver cancer, which led him to figure out that the poor kids, who couldn't afford animal protein, were not getting liver cancer despite exposure to aflatoxin.

Dr. McDougall noticed that Filipino men who were first generation immigrant workers in Hawaii were much trimmer and healthier than their second and third generation counterparts.  The second and third generation Filipinos had traded in their rice and vegetables for a more Western-based meaty diet, becoming heavier and sicker in the process.  Dr. McDougall was amazed at some of the older first generation Filipino workers saving up to go to the Philippines and bringing back much younger wives and even starting new families well into the age of retirement.

Spreading Light.

I've been contributing to Amnesty International for maybe a decade now but hadn't actually been to any events until tonight.  My sis and I went to go see Alex Neve (Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada) speak tonight and it was so inspiring to see someone stay strong and composed and compassionate and eloquent despite having to describe much horror and apathy in the world.  His key word as a long term human rights activist? Perseverance. Decades and decades of it. 

Much progress has been made and there is still much to do.  Amnesty international had done great work exposing and fighting human rights abuses and continues to do so.  Its  simple but bright yellow candle logo wrapped in barbed wire is so very apt - I walked away from that speech feeling sadness because of all the injustice and suffering but also hope because I was in a room full of people that care passionately about the world out there.  

Booked Lunches.

A Canadian and two Italians have been kidnapped in Libya.  I hope they are okay.  As rewarding a career as my dad had in Libya, I am grateful that he is home safe and sound despite the forced early retirement. 

Mind Farts
-saw Bridget Jones' Baby with girlfriends and laughed. really. hard!  much of the time, sequels don't live up to the hype but this was wonderfully awkward and crazy.  and the female characters have sure aged gracefully :) i like how that was portrayed.  no spoilers, but i hope i can still go nuts at music festivals when i hit my forties.  i think that may be a key to aging gracefully ... you gotta keep appreciating the new stuff, including music!
-also laughed (and cringed and snorted) really hard while reading Augusten Burroughs' memoirs.  very big contrast to my last read about North Korea.
-three cheers for the public library, which allows me to keep inhaling books.  maybe it helps that i've been able to lunch on my own and read quite a bit - my usual work lunch buddies have been bringing their own lunches ... possibly to save money in the current sketchy economy.  i've noticed that even the usual busy restaurants are not as busy anymore
-another reason to lunch on my own: my fabulous mother veganizes Filipino dishes to feed her vegan daughters.  my lunch today is a delicious eggplant adobo :)

A Rude Awakening.

This morning I woke up to BBC announcing that Indonesia will be going through with the execution of Mary Jane Veloso, and that Philippine president Duterte had given the "green light" to do so.  It saddened me immensely.

Admittedly I have not read up in detail on Mary Jane Veloso or Duterte but what I've gathered so far is disturbing. To me, Mary Jane seems like a poor woman who was taken advantage of and duped into smuggling drugs.  I mean, wasn't her recruiter arrested for screwing her over?    

And the stories I hear about Duterte's lack of class and tact and diplomacy when in the public spotlight and all the murders just completely blow my mind.  I can't help but think "WTF?!" Admittedly I am half a world away and don't see things first-hand.  I hope it's not as bad as it seems in Western media.  I know many of my relatives in the Philippines appreciate the changes that have happened since his presidency.  Yeah, I need to read up more on this.  

Mind Farts

-just read Charles Robert Jenkins' book about his many years in North Korea as a captured US Army deserter. He married Hitomi, a Japanese abductee. I had no idea there were so many abductees of so many backgrounds.  Hitomi's mother was kidnapped with her (they were going for ice cream in their Japanese hometown) and her whereabouts are still unknown :(

-really enjoying calisthenics classes. Honestly the closest thing to adult playtime.  I can now *sometimes* hold a handstand for a measly second, but it feels great when I do do it ... I am beginning to feel my bones stacking properly in the right alignment :)

-vegan donuts/cupcakes are really good here ... I've already skipped dinner a few times to eat them.  I think it's very possible to be a fat vegan in Edmonton nowadays 

-I keep running into salsa people ... Maybe it's a sign I should start dabbling in social dancing again?

I Stand Corrected.

Hachi was just fine at daycare and had a blast :). When we picked him up he was same old happy self.  Yay for good doggie daycares!

Browner and Back to Real Life.

Just spent a week in gorgeous Kauai.  I already miss the perfect temperatures and the sea breeze against my skin.  Glorious glorious brown brown skin.  I couldn't help but lay on the beaches and bake my skin as brown as possible.  I know, I know ... Not the healthiest thing to do but I honestly do love being tanned!  I shamelessly used to fake and bake for performances (my poor paler teammates had to try and fake and bake or even spray tan even more just to catch up).  In Kauai, it didn't help that there were so many beautiful shades of beautiful brown skin around me.  Hawaiian folks are soooo damn lovely!

It was so easy to get used to living in shorts and tank tops and sandals and NEVER ever even think about sweaters and jackets and pants.  In a perfect world I would live by the beach with Hawaiian temperatures and wake up and fall asleep to ocean sounds.  There is really nothing quite like it.  

When the waves were huge and crashing crazily against the rocks, I thought to myself:

"NATURE IS THE BOSS OF ME."

I felt like a speck by the enormous sea.  Combined with the extra backdrop of super starry sky, one feels extremely tiny and in awe of everything at the same time.    

And can I gush about the lush sceneries?  

How much more breathtaking can you get? 

It's tough to be back in dry Alberta, but I am looking forward to picking up the little munchkin from daycare tomorrow.  The doggie daycare posted a pic of him on Instagram and it almost looks like Hachi is sad and missing us and the little guy on the right is comforting him.  

Awwww.

Mind Farts

-I send mental bad karma to the idiot that previously sat in my seat on the plane and left his/her chewing gum on the seat which then got all over my clothes: I wish you food poisoning and a year of bad dates.  Grrr!

-Had my first taste of soursop in Kauai. Yum!  Quite a strong taste though - I find I can only take a bit at a time.  Not like mangoes or papayas, which I can annihilate quite easily.  And the hard shelled avocados were amazing!  Hard to believe they were ripe because they were so hard but sure enough the lady at the farmer's market wasn't lying - they were ready to eat :)

-Pretty interesting how the Filipino community has thrived in Hawaii.  My parents still got to eat Filipino dishes and chat in Tagalog/Bisaya with the locals during our trip.  A lot of Illocano folks in Kauai!  A trip to the Kauai museum revealed that back in the early 1900's, Illocanos were encouraged to come to Hawaii because they were thought to be hard workers.