Category Archives: Life

New Jobs New Outlooks

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I started a new job. To date, I am just casual/on call (which means that my phone is always on and by my side so that I can pick up shifts), but I have begun a new job. I am working in an emergency shelter.

To be honest, it isn’t the job I thought I would have when I finished my Masters in Counselling. I had all sorts of grand ideas about setting up private practice somewhere and settling in to that working world. Now that this has happened and I am getting into the rhythm of working here, I am enjoying it and right now I would rather be doing this then establishing a practice. Not to downplay the important work that is done in private practice – work that I have participated in myself in my sessions with individuals dealing with marital conflict, anger and alcohol use, mild depression, identity questions, and grief – but there is something quite satisfying in working with people on a more base level of survival: providing food and shelter and basic human contact.

The kicker is that some of the individuals I see regularly at the shelter are not individuals I would have placed in that arbitrary category of “homeless” or “needing shelter housing”. They look just like me. They don’t all have that glaze of addiction over their eyes. Some are quite well-dressed and well-groomed. They are intelligent. In other words, they don’t, at least not obviously, all belong in that ‘other’ category of “mentally ill” or “addicted”.

Others do, and I have already had my share of entertaining encounters with those who are high, drunk, or experiencing delusions and/or psychosis. We’ve had to call the paramedics but, thankfully, not the police (yet). All in a day’s – or night’s – work as they say.

While I make it a practice to not talk about work on my personal blog, sharing my responses and reactions to working in this field is something I feel okay about doing because it is about my own personal growth and will hopefully be able to continue as I spend more time with a segment of society we often ignore and overlook. I’m looking forward to getting to know people and sharing parts of life with them.

[As I was writing this, I checked my rss feed and read this post by Tall Skinny Kiwi on choosing to be homeless and thought it an interesting comparison/compliment to the individuals I work with and challenge for our spiritual life.]

It’s September?

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Apparently getting back into town means one has to already be running at top speed when land is hit. Since I arrived home on Friday, I have managed to take first aid, schedule orientation shifts at a new job (more later), attend 2 meetings and give a presentation at a third, work, sleep, eat … you get the picture. All of this sunshine doesn’t help with the need to be indoors to accomplish most of this. I’ve got some crafty stuff I want to finish – inside – but find myself fairly reluctant to stay indoors when it is so stunningly gorgeous outside. I just want to be outside with a book! Not inside with a sewing machine!

I did manage, partially because this machine travels outside, to get through some of my photos and put about a dozen of my favourites online. They’ve been added to my Sailing the West Coast album, beginning with this photo.

UPDATE: It appears that I’ve been slack on the updating of photos. So in the Europe album, begin here for some from my time in France last spring and in the Daily Life album, beginning here are a few from this summer.

Back on Land

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Despite having spent nearly two solid years living and working on the Pacific Grace, I have probably spent more coastal time on the Pacific Swift. As a result, I have a lot wonderful pictures of the Grace and few of the Swift. Case in point. We passed the Grace as we were going north to Brooks Peninsula and they were headed south. We had stunning weather nearly the entire time.

More stories and pictures to follow soon… and the pictures will likely get put here.

Fog

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I’m sailing the West Coast of Vancouver Island right now, but I couldn’t resist leaving a few West Coast sailing memories to keep you company while I’m gone.

Fog. It is a way of life when sailing around Vancouver Island. Hopefully we are not encountering too much of it this week.

Sailing the West Coast, I have had full days of fog, with the blast of the fog horn going off every minute or so. It is amazing how one becomes so accustomed to hearing the horn that one is able to tune it out. Life carries on with minimal interruption after awhile. Conversations pause mid-word to allow the blast to pass and then pick right back up without any notice.

When the fog lifts and the fog horn goes off, it is a strange silence that descends over the boat, especially if the motor is also off. All of a sudden the fog horn becomes noticed again, this time in its absence.

It is interesting how we are able to tune out annoyances so that life can continue without any interruption while they continue to occur. Then, when the annoyance ends, it is like a weight has been lifted and peace descends. That which we didn’t know was bothering us is gone and all of a sudden we realize just how much it was taking out of us.

I wish you clear days and smooth sailing, on and off the water.

Going Sailing in the Morning

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I’m getting on a bus this morning to head over to Ucluelet. There I will board the Pacific Swift for 10 days of sailing around the West Coast of Vancouver Island before returning to Victoria. I am looking forward to this trip in so many ways.

I have been involved with SALTS for 12 years. From my first trip, as a high school student at a new school in a new city and province, I was hooked. Three days was not enough. I arrived home and immediately signed up to go on a 10 day trip the next summer. Since then, I have been a volunteer and professional crew in several different roles. Soon, ten day trip were not enough and I worked for them for two years, sailing around the Pacific Ocean.

There will be no remote South Pacific Islands on this trip. However, the coastline I am about to explore is amongst the most beautiful in the world. From rugged rocky coastlines to sandy beaches, from tall spruce and cedar forests to the red flashes of arbutus, from rolling breakers to natural hot springs.

It will be a wonderful ten days.

Here are some of the memories from previous trips… I look forward to making more soon…


Getting Crafty

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The last few days I have been at a loss for what to do. Since my Major Case Presentation was finally accepted on Tuesday (!!) and my degree was conferred, I have had some time to fill. So I started making things. Thursday morning I went and picked up some fabric scraps. One of my favourite local clothing makers sells bags of their scraps for $10-$15. It is luck of the draw, but I’ve gotten some good pieces of fabric out of the bags. I have enough large chunks of silk-screened fabric or wools to make some skirts and some other things. The smaller pieces will be saved for patchwork projects or something of the like. Thursday afternoon I sat at the kitchen table and created patterns (based on existing clothing) and sewed a shirt. Photos will follow when I actually wear these articles. It is fun to have ideas bouncing around in my head and things I’d like to create. No idea if any of them will actually look good, but it will be fun to try.

Where Have I Been?

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I have been doing a lot of talking and writing lately, just not here. It is hard when you exhaust yourself in talking – in the most wonderful way possible – to then re-talk through things in writing on a blog. Even harder when the talking lasts for hours and goes far past my bedtime. But the talking has been good, so good.

The writing has also been a lot of thesis rewrites. But in good news, it is all accepted now and I am completely finished. That is a wonderful weight off of my shoulders to first of all have it finished and second of all have it finished before I go sailing next week.

It does bring the “What next?” question to the fore. I am planning on staying in Victoria for the time being, continuing my part time work, picking up casual shifts with other organizations, volunteer counselling, and continuing to be involved at church. Other than that? The future is wide open. Suggestions being taken.

Grace Redux

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It is important to be thankful for the things that make life good.

Unexpected messages from old friends.

Hummingbirds on, what mum called, “butterfly plants”.

Portabella mushrooms, marinaded, on sandwiches.

Coffee.

Running at twilight.

Wedding invitations.

New yarn to knit with.