Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 246

Today's Daily 5:
  1. Sunshine that was actually kind of warm
  2. wearing a cute hat instead of a heavy toque
  3. marking things off of my lists
  4. driving a car (I know, random, but driving really freaks me out since my last winter accident, so every time I get behind the wheel of a borrowed car to run an errand is a small victory.)
  5. Shopping at Ten Thousand Villages - bought a few fun things
  6. a good natural health treatment
  7. a stop at the library
  8. mindless television in the background while alphabetizing latin word base flashcards
  9. reading a novel
  10. encouraging emails from a couple friends

Safe Injection Clinic and Canada's Election

About a month ago, my friend Kelly, who is a chaplain at the university suggested that I attend a lecture that his friend Meera Bai was giving at another local university.  Meera spoke passionately about her work as a nurse at North America's only legalized drug injection clinic, Insite, in Vancouver.  She shared about how it was her faith in Christ that compelled her work there, and told stories that were incredible.

The Conservative government of Canada is currently trying to close this clinic.  To be honest, I wrestle a little bit with the argument that it condones illegal drug use, but, for me, I think the fact that it is saving lives is key - that it values people as worth saving and caring for.

This morning I came across this article about the clinic in Vancouver, and the fact that it is a bit of an election issue, as we head to the polls on May 2nd.  I wanted to share the article here, and invite discussion.  What do you think of this clinic?  Good? Bad? Indifferent?  I'd love to hear your thoughts (whether you're Canadian or not!)

Change of Plans

I received a call yesterday morning informing me that the job I'd accepted a couple weeks ago had decided I wasn't a great fit, and that Sunday was my last shift.  I was understandably quite shocked, and a little hurt, and also relieved.  I'd actually phoned someone on Saturday and commented that I was feeling like I had perhaps made a rushed decision, and the job wasn't a fit.  I was literally dreading going in to my shifts, the way I'd felt at the job that my roommates at the time fondly referred to as "the soap opera". 

So, I'm looking for summer work again, which is a pain, but also a relief. 

And, I have another chance in this, to practice trust.  In God's provision, and his plans.  Not my easiest skill, but one I'm definitely getting a lot of chances to try for.

In the meantime, this week holds several mornings where I don't have to set an alarm, where I can try to catch up on some sleep.  The mornings are still holding dreams, but they're easier to deal with when I'm getting extra hours of sleep.

For today, I'll head to mom and dad's in a while and spend the day studying.

My list looks like this:
  • arrange for a transcript to be sent to the university as part of my application for nursing school
  • fill out and fax an evaluation form for a class I'm just finishing this semester
  • print off the lecture notes that I took for the history class that my next final exam is in
  • review those notes
  • tackle a bit of the final reading for that class that was set aside the last week or two of class while I was busy working and writing papers
  • begin the process of reviewing and memorizing for my greek and latin words exam next week (there's something like 800 word bases that I need to know...)
  • drop a birthday card for a friend in the mail
  • fit in a yoga practice
  • return a few books to the library
  • make it to a natural health treatment appointment
  • take time to do a bit of reading just for fun
  • do a load of laundry
  • if I happen to be near a branch of my bank, I also have a cheque to deposit
  • I may also do a quick search for jobs and send out some resumes
looking at it written out like this, it seems like a lot, but I'm actually planning a quite relaxed schedule.  Most of those tasks won't take all that long.  It should be a decently paced day, I think.