Ten on Tuesday: Alphabet Edition

A. Age: 25 – 26 in October
B. Bed Size: Queen, and after years of only having a twin I adore it.
C. Chore that you hate: All the chores!  Worst?  Maybe the cat box or the garbage.
D. Dogs: Nope, only 2 cats – Thunder Kitty and Wolfhammer.
E. Essential start to your day: Diet Pepsi – I don’t drink coffee but I’m a caffeine junkie.
F. Favorite Color: Green.
G. Gold or Silver: White gold.
H. Height: 5’9″
I. Instruments you play: Not at all musically talented.  My only instrument is my iPod.
J. Job Title: Residential Youth Worker
K. Kids: 2 cats and many clients at work.
L. Live: Toronto, Ontario.
M. Mother’s Name: Karen.
N. Nicknames: My parents used to call me Pumpkin, but then Grandma named her dog that…  Unfortunately, Erin doesn’t shorten down well.  One of my coworkers called me Er.
O. Overnight hospital stays: When I was little I had 2 surgeries for my kidney, one when I was 3 and one when I was 5.
P. Pet peeve: Where do I begin?  Can we stick with stupid people?  Ok.  And poor grammar/spelling.
Q. Quote from a movie: I don’t think I have any favourite movie quotes… how about a song?  To change the world start with one step, however small, the first step is hardest of all.  – You Might Die Trying, Dave Matthews Band
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Two baby sisters who aren’t babies anymore.
T. Time you wake up: On a day shift? 6am.  On an evening shift?  Any time between 11am-1pm.  On a day off?  Embarrassingly late.
U. Underwear: Necessary.
V. Vegetable you hate: Most of them, I’ve got the culinary tastes of a 5 year old.
W. What makes you run late: Sleeping in, getting distracted by a book, the TTC’s unreliability, traffic jams.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Lots when I was little for my surgery.  And one when I broke my finger in grade 7.
Y. Yummy food that you make: I’m not a very good cook, but I make Mom’s chicken noodle casserole pretty well.
Z. Zoo Animal: Moose!

(source)

10 on Tuesday : Would You Rather Edition

WOULD YOU RATHER:
1. eat chocolate covered grasshoppers or this freaky squid thing?
I’m going to go with the grasshoppers, because that squid is friggin’ gross and at least the grasshoppers have chocolate on them.

2. never see another movie or never watch TV again?
I think never reading another book would be the even worse 3rd option.  But I’d choose to never see another movie, I really like watching True Blood.  And Jeopardy.

3. be a superhero with a lame power or a supervillain with an awesome power?
I’d rather be a superhero with lame powers, I’m not very good at being bad so I think I’d be a pretty poor supervillian anyway.

4. eat only salty snacks for the rest of you life, or only sweet snacks?
Sweets, for sure.

5. never read another book or never hear another song?
I can’t actually pick.  Books are what I live for.  I spend most of my time/money on them.  I always have one with me.  But I depend on music to get me through the day, especially the subway ride to and from work.  And no more Dave Matthews Band?  I couldn’t handle it.

6. be a whale carcass remover or a sewer inspector?
I think I could handle the whale… although maybe the sewer wouldn’t be good bad either.  From reading books where they have to go into the sewers, I’m left with the idea that it would be kind of creepy but neat down there, not at all gross and feces-filled.  Though at least with the whale carcasses I’d get to be outside on the beach.  Ok, whales, final answer, because I’d probably get scared in the sewers.

7. have no electricity or no running water?
I need running water.  Though, at my parents house no electricity means no water because electricity powers the pump, so I’m used to no electricity meaning no water.  However, given these choices, I’d rather have dark but cleanly.

8. be a dog or a cat?
Definitely a cat, they have the sweetest lives.  Sleeping all day?  Sign me up!

9. always be hot or always be cold?
Rather be cold, then at least I’m not sweaty.

10. be forced to watch all 3 High School Musicals on an endless loop, or the Twilight movies?
I could handle Twilight for the campy-ness.  HSM would get stuck in my head and never leave.

 

Ten on Tuesday brought to you by Roots and Rings

Top Ten Tuesday

Trying something a little different this week: Top Ten Tuesday.  Yes, I’m aware it’s Wednesday, but I love book series so this topic was right up my alley.

Top Ten Sequels I’m Dying to Read

1. Drink Deep by Chloe Neill – I loved loved loved the first 4 Chicagoland Vampires books, and the end of book 4?  Oh my goodness.  I cried a little and raged and was generally distraught for days.  Hurry up, November.  And if something doesn’t happen about Ethan, I’ll be throwing things.

2. A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison – The Hollows series has been my all time favourite so far and the latest book was, in my humble opinion, the best so far.  I love Rachel, Ivy, Jenks, Al and Trent, and can’t wait to see what happens next, especially with hints towards a new romantic interest for Rachel..

3. Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent – Blood Bound was one of the best first books in a series released this year.  Can we speed things up and release the next one, Ms Vincent?  No specific release date listed is killing me.

4. Wrong Side of Dead by Kelly Meding – I’m in the middle of reading the Dreg City series currently and so far I’m adoring it.  It’s an interesting urban fantasy world with a complex heroine and a heart-clenching romance, what’s not to love?

5. Black Howl by Christina Henry – I devoured Black Wings and Black Night in a day each and they left me wanting more.  I loved Maddy and Gabriel and the tension there that has to break soon.  I also loved Beezle, can I get my own gargoyle?

6. Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane – It’s been a whole year now since I read the first 3 books and book 4 is still a long ways away.  More Chess and Terrible ASAP, please!

7. Spider’s Revenge by Jennifer Estep – I loved how unique the world of elementals is and I can’t wait for Gin to finally give Mab what’s coming to her.

8. Summoning the Night by Jenn Bennett – Kindling the Moon was another excellent first book in a series to come out this year.  I really am liking stories with demons in them lately and this series had an interesting take on them.  Also I like Cady and Lon a lot.

9. Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch – I’ve been loving this series because it’s funny and sweet and so different from the gritty urban fantasies I usually read.  I love Kitty and Jeff and I especially love James.

10. Untitled Fever Books by Karen Marie Moning – My other all-time favourite series is the Fever books and I was under the impression that the series was over, until recently when Ms Moning announced she is writing more!  A trilogy featuring Dani, Christian, and Ryodan and then TWO MORE books featuring Mac and Barrons!  *Insert fangirly squeels here*

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite brand of shoes?
Converse sneakers and Birkenstock sandals.

2. How old were you when you learned to tie your shoes?
I don’t know… I assume I learned before kindergarten, so 5?

3. How do you feel about freckles?
I love them.  I got them on my arms this summer and got so excited!

4. I can count to ten in ___ languages.
Four – English, French, Spanish and Sign Language.

5. What is your favorite store-bought ice cream flavor?
Heavenly Hash, it reminds me of my childhood.

6. Were you in ballet or gymnastics as a little girl?
I did ballet (horribly) for two years and then moved on to figure skating (also horribly).

7. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?
Telly!  Mom  always used to tell me I worried about everything just like him.

8. What’s your bedtime?
Depends on what shifts I’m working.  On days, I try to make myself go to sleep before midnight.  On evenings, I’m lucky if I’m asleep before 3am.

9. Do you have any jewelry that you wear every single day?
Just my earrings, currently diamond studs that were a grad gift from my grandparents.

10. Who is the bug killer in your household?
Moi.  When you live alone, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.  Although Thunder Kitty helps.

Loving, Hopeful and Optimistic

We lost an important person this week.

Jack Layton, leader of the opposition party in Canada (the uber-Liberal New Democratic Party, for those of you not from here), owner of a pretty fantastic mustache, and all around cool guy, passed away on Monday following his battle with cancer.  My heart hurts, and I’m not certain I can properly articulate why.

Now, I feel very strongly about cancer, having watched my Mom battle it.  It sucks.  Big time.  But that’s not enough to explain why I feel so sad about this loss of a man I never actually knew.  (Though I did see him in person once on a float with Rick Mercer in the Pride Parade last year.)

Since I turned 18, I’ve been voting NDP.  I know that they’ve been the political underdogs for years and I’ve heard people say that voting for anyone other than the Liberals or the Conservatives is like throwing your vote away, but I’ve always believed that you need to vote with your heart.  Since I was 18, I’ve wanted Jack Layton to be my Prime Minister (and my father… is that weird?).  He built up the NDP party, building trust and encouraging young people to vote, and it payed off with the NDP winning the place of opposition party in the last federal election.  I’ve been passionate about voting and encouraging my family, friends, and clients to do so as well.  And I became so passionate because Layton and the NDP made me believe that we can work for change and make a better Canada and a better world.

My heart hurts because we’ve lost a charismatic leader who believed in progress and change.  The reaction and mourning I’ve witnessed over his passing is incredible.  That, and the message he left for us Canadians have allowed me to keep hope:

…

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

…

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

(source)

 

Rest in Peace, Jack Layton.  May your dreams for a better Canada be realized.

Three

It’s Down the Rabbit Hole’s 3rd Blogoversary!  We’ve come a long way since 2008.

Books

I am a reader.  Big time.  Urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels – the ones with the embarrassing covers.  I have two bookshelves in my bedroom packed with books.  I always have a book with me and feel like something’s missing when I don’t.  I buy new purses based on whether or not it will hold a book inside.  I spend more money at Chapters than anywhere else.  I’ve gone to book signings.  I read book blogs.

Sometimes I think it would be fun to be a book blogger.  I’m constantly reading anyway, and the (two) friends I have converted to UF/PNR fans can vouch for the fact that I can rave about whatever book I’ve just finished or series I’m in the middle of.  It would be nice to have a place to rave about the books I read.  But I worry that it will seem too much like homework to blog about my books, and I will therefore avoid doing it because it seems like a chore.

Anyone have any experience in blogging about books?  Thoughts?  Comments?  Suggestions?

Ten on Tuesday

1. What do you do for a living?
I’m a front line youth worker at a shelter for homeless youth.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your job?
The kids!  My clients are all pretty fantastic, I love getting to know them and really appreciating the awesome things about these kids that other people have thrown away or written off.

3. What’s your least favorite thing about your job?
I get sworn at a lot by angry clients.  I get over-worked and under-appreciated.  It’s sometimes stressful to be needed in so many ways.

4. If you weren’t a ____________, what would you be?
I’d like to own my own summer camp.  Or be a Dave Matthews Band groupie.  Or work in a book store.

5. What is something that you would love to get paid for that you think no one would ever pay you for?
Reading?  Could I get paid to read only the kind of novels I want to read?

6. If you could have any job for exactly one day, what would it be?
I’d like to see what it’s like to be one of those Bay St executives who look really important and have to wear fancy clothes.  I don’t think I could handle more than a day of it, though having my own office would be nice.

7. If you had to do manual labor, what would you do?
I’m not so good with the manual labour… I would be a good construction site sign holder though.

8. What is something you were forced to learn in high school that was supposed to be super important, but you never actually use?
Math, for sure.  Oh and that degree I have in history?  I use that basically never.

9. Who was your favorite boss?  Why?
My camp director pushed me to come out of my shell and work outside of my comfort zone.  I owe a lot of what I am today to him.

10. Where would you rather work: Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (The Office), Wernham Hogg Paper Company (The Office, UK), or Initech (Office Space)?
If I work at Initech do I get to dispose of my old office equipment myself?

A Pretend Extrovert

I am an introvert.  Big time.  I always have been.  To be more specific, I am an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs test, and I’m very much on the introverted side.

As a child, I was shy and quiet.  I had trouble making friends and new social situations scared me.  So did men with beards, but I don’t think that has anything to do with my introversion.  Part of it was my anxiety disorder, I would worry about all of the possible bad things I could think of that could happen at a new place and I would worry about all of the bad things that I couldn’t think of.  But I also have just always preferred to be safely at home.  To this day, if you give me a choice between a night in with a book and a night out on the town, I’ll almost always pick the book.

In spite of my intoversion, I’ve always enjoyed working with people – kids in particular.  As a teen, my camp director/youth minister had a lot to do with fostering this skill.  He would push me past my boundaries to do things, like speak in front of large groups or work with kids with special needs, they were always things he knew I could do but was scared to do.  He is one of the major reasons I work in the field I do today.

Now, I’m a front-line youth worker with homeless teens at a very large shelter.  It involves a lot of working with people in high stress situations.  I get to work with youth when they’re at their worst and help them through a very difficult time of their lives.  I love it.  I get to build personal connections with my clients and I get to see what fantastic people they are and what huge potential they have.

But it is exhausting.  I would classify it as an extroverted person job.  Most of my coworkers are extroverts who love being around people all the time.  They work with people all day and thrive on it, and then they go home and spend time with more people.  Me?  I need my alone time.  I love my job and the good work I do, but I have my limits of how much people time I can take.

I was telling my friend today about how I spent the entire day yesterday holed up in my apartment relaxing, and she told me that when I introvert, I introvert big and she admires that.  To an extrovert, I suppose, spending a day alone in my apartment would be punishment.  But for me a day spent alone with books, music, cats, and my computer is not only a thing of beauty, it’s necessary.  After spending my week in an extroverted job I’m mentally exhausted, I need my me-time where I can be alone and escape into the fantasy world of a good book or just mindlessly browse the internet.  It relaxes me, refreshes me, and gets me ready to face the world for another week of extroversion.

The Kindness of Strangers

It was a rough day at work today.  I had a lot to do and had to do even more to help a new coworker, so I was late leaving and exhausted.  I rode the subway and then the bus home, as per usual, and began the walk down the alley to my apartment.  As I was walking, I moved to walk around two men, probably in their 50s, one with a cane, who were walking much slower than I was.  I had my headphones in and I was walking fast, ignoring the world and trying to get to the comfort of my apartment ASAP, as it was after midnight.  One of the men, the one with the cane, looked over at me as I was passing them, and I braced myself, because usually the people who talk to me in public late at night are the crazy ones.

“Just getting home from work?”  He asked.

I replied that I was, and sighed as I said it.

He then asked if I had a rough day, to which I replied with an enthusiastic yes.

“Don’t worry,” he told me, “tomorrow will be better.”  Then he wished me good night and we parted ways.

It made me a bit teary.  We’ve never met before, we spoke for less than a minute, but he completely turned my day around.  I was ready to go home and keep being grumpy about my difficult day and go to bed.  Instead, this stranger acknowledged my rough day and gave me hope that tomorrow will be better.

He got me thinking.  I’m so good at checking in with my clients, listening to them, acknowledging their struggles and making them feel better, but I don’t do it often enough for myself.  I work a difficult job.  I deal with things daily that most people would never dream of dealing with at work.  I put my heart into my work and sometimes that’s exhausting.  I need to remember to acknowledge what I’ve gone through and then let it be, knowing that tomorrow will be a new day.

So, thank you, strange man with a cane in the alley at midnight, for acknowledging my struggle, giving me hope, and reminding me to check in with myself.