It’s almost 10:00am and for breakfast, I danced to a fun montage of movies put to music.Dancing at the Movies on YouTube
I slipped a bit of seaweed on my tongue and went out to Stanley Park where I walked and jogged, spoke with Americans and Australians, touched the seven majestic sister stumps and smelled the most beautiful fragrant yellow roses. After two hours of communing with nature, I arrived home and had my second breakfast: miso soup with dandelions, tofu and green onions, a nutritional supplement shake, and water. Yummy, satisfying and just right.
Raw Food has come to mind, but I’m not sure if it’s for me.
Janice Uncategorized
I cycled around the city again after 5 weeks of limited movement and I am so happy for it. It’s been a year since I’ve visited one of my favourite local grocers in the Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood, Home Grow-In, and it felt great to return and see how much they have grown. Deb and her staff are so friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is one of conscious community that loves the Earth and its bounty. They have chairs outside to relax and enjoy the freshly delivered produce that comes from within 100 miles of the city. I took a few minutes to sit and enjoy an orange and freshly baked multi-grain bread. It was very simple and yet satisfying for a snack.
This one act of taking the time to seek out quality nourishment in a practice of yoga, exercise and fresh vegetables completely shifted my state well-being to one lighter and less worrisome than when I had left the house.
Janice Uncategorized
All day, I was looking forward to my swim. I had two consecutive days of swimming mover than 4 laps. In fact, Monday was exceptional because I practiced in the water for about 40 minutes. So today, I was all excited to repeat and build upon improvements. I get to the locker room, roll out my towel and realize, “UH! I forgot my swimsuit.” I have done fitness studio classes without my runners but somehow, I don’t think it would have gone so well to swim in my thong and tank top.
A woman a few lockers away started to curse herself out because she forgot her runners. And she started to call herself stupid just for forgetting. I thought that was sad. I find that word offensive even when other people use it on themselves. When we were younger we weren’t scolded for using words like “fuck” or “shit”, but words like “idiot” and “stupid” were never to be used. They were considered the most cruel terms to lash at others. And this confused me because it seemed like the rest of the world (at the time, teachers and classmates) were okay with using “idiot” and “stupid”. From where I stand now, I see that my mom was right.
I had fun despite not going for a swim. I revisited the empty hardwood studio, which I so very much enjoy for movement. And as a result of my forgetfulness, I also discovered that I can do a headstand for about 30 seconds! I think I can probably go longer but there were others so close to me that I didn’t want to push my limit and hit anyone.
Janice Uncategorized
Being an artist is very very difficult. The most difficult part of it is not learning the techniques of the craft or perfecting a style. The most difficult part is continuing to choose to be an artist, each day.
I have tried not to be an artist - to deny myself of creative and artistic expression so that I could conform to the jobs and environments that seem to yield desirable results: money, security, appreciation and respect. I have failed miserably at resisting my right brain impulses. While they have posed great challenges to me, they have also saved me. Being an artist is difficult but it is my preferred and natural way of experiencing the world. It means coming from a place of holistic thinking, seeing how things connect and where unlikely and interesting pairings can occur. Being an artist is about choosing creative expression. Choosing creative expression is about honoring and celebrating oneself and all those who contributed to your shaping as an individual. Being, choosing, expressing…a cycle of life, renewal and growth.
Janice Uncategorized
Welcome! I have been off my blog since last August and I am really happy to be back. What have I been up to? I took a time-out from needing to be “up to something”. I spent the fall and winter getting in touch with my personal truths and re-evaluating my life choices. I took the time to be with myself for the sake of being; releasing the self-imposed and external expectations and obligations. I slowed down to a halt, abruptly and unexpectedly, and found reserves of patience, strength, and resilience that I didn’t know I had. I connected spiritually, physically and mentally to my creativity and at the turn of 2009, I began the process of applying it.
Some new skills I have begun developing are: hand-building and throwing clay, fashion design, and jazz dance. Having moved to a new house in September that has a fantastic roomy kitchen for baking, I baked at least once a week for a month or more. Cookies mostly, sometimes cakes and I’m getting into pies now, but not nearly as frequently as once a week. I am writing much more now too, with joy and acceptance.
In February, as part of my work to uncover more of my hidden self, participated in the Transitions Career Exploration program. It was a great experience in which I was reminded and affirmed of my purpose and life values. I met some wonderful people, with whom I hope to stay in touch and develop friendships.
March has been about sowing the seeds and gratefully, one lovely sprout popped up this past Sunday. At the request of International Service Learning Advisors, I created a forum theatre presentation for UBC’s Go Global Volunteers as part of their pre-departure series. It was a pinch of time to prepare the scripts and cast the roles, but it all worked out and I look forward to future possibilities to work with Tamara, Zahida, and Kristin.
I look forward to April’s possibilities.
Janice Uncategorized
It amazes me how quickly things can change. On thursday night at11:30pm, I decided to give notice to vacate my apartment @ Dunbar & W16th ave. after Jennie and I decide that it would be best to share a suite to live and work from. I spend parts of Friday finding listings and create a viewing agenda for us to follow during the weekend. Saturday morning, we hit the streets. The open houses for the garden level suites have trails of students and young couples looking for new homes; several needing to find something in one day because they have come from 4 hours away, or more.
We take a break at a coffee shop on Broadway and Vine and look through the classifieds of the Vancouver Sun. Finding our specifications for quality and value did not prove an easy task going through the fine print. I made a few more calls and left messages. We viewed three suites that morning and went back home until it would be time to head out for the afternoon open houses. While I was making my lunch, I got a return phone call from Edwin, the landlord of a 4 storey house. He had a pleasant voice, the price was one of the best I’d seen for a 2 bedroom and he could show it to us that day.
I was so optimistic about Edwin’s suite that we decided to skip all other plans and just go straight there. As soon as I walked in, I was smitten. Every step further into the place simply confirmed that this would be our place. He was supposed to show it to someone else after us, but we just kept talking and making friendly. By the time the next couple came around, we had already written up our own receipt and the deposit cheque.
This is my second great apartment find from the Vancouver Sun. In my experience, Craigslist gets the mobs when it comes to housing, but the Vancouver Sun advertisers seems to go for quality, not quantity.
Janice Uncategorized
I’ve wanted to explore Italy, and many other parts of Europe since I learned their names and shapes in grade 7 social studies. In a couple of weeks, I make this fantasy a reality. Along with Jane Gair, I’ll be presenting the workshop that I designed in 2006 for a pilot research project at UVic. We explored the use of art and reflective process drama to teach medical students about empathic communication. I’m excited to be able to take it to Prato, Italy for the 3rd International Social Sciences Conference.
Having spoken with Deidre Scherer this afternoon, the artist of the exhibit we used for the workshop in Victoria, B.C., I’m optimistic that the work has great potential for applications in other areas of medical education. While I’ve known the value of using the arts and reflective practice for many years, it’s satisfying to see that others are also recognizing the value, upon hearing of the work.
Janice Uncategorized
Today I had a glorious dayfor several reasons, starting with my morning. I woke up before 5:00am to the emerging sounds of the bright sunny morning; birds chirpping and zero traffic. I decided to walk down to Cobs bakery and fetch a mini-loaf and I was happy to take time to get acquainted with the neighbourhood at the bottom of Dunbar hill. I rediscovered the joy of taking an early morning stroll and freshly baked bread for breakfast. A bit reminiscent of mornings when I walked the Camino in Spain. Another highlight to my day was meeting up with my former co-workers at Peak Gold. I got the most lovely card with a sassy pair of cuff links…and was even sent home with a delicious chocolate cake! Yum!
The sun was incredible! I have never felt so sun-deprived anywhere as I have living through a winter in Vancouver. I may need to make my residence in this city seasonal…for summer only. To remedy my vitamin D deficiency, I sat on a blanket with Yumi under the sun whilst processing our shared state of artistic unemployment. After talking a bit about various options within the Vancouver Arts community, she shared a comment made by an established theatrical actor and hollywood celebrity. After approaching two professional theatre companies in Vancouver with a request to work as an actor and a willingness to take any role, only to be turned away, the seasoned actor said that the Vancouver Theatre scene is more difficult to break into than the Los Angeles film scene. This is the sorry state of the theatre Vancouver theatre scene…and so we moved onto more optimistic perspectives - like all the other artistic endeavours we are also excited about.
I showed her the greeting card that I got earlier that day and said, “See this. I can do this.” And I went home and selected all my greeting card ready photos. Touched up, cropped, tuned and sent them for printing. In a few days, I’ll have greeting cards to sell. I know that by the way I’ve written it here is can easily sound as if making greeting cards is a meantime thing, but I’ve actually had it on my mind to do for many years. For whatever reason, today I just decided that I was ready to do something with the idea. I’ll sell them individually and in little mixed bundles. I’ve also been a long time collector of poetic and inspirational quotes, and sometimes will come up with my own verse. So designing greeting cards feels like a great opportunity to marry my love of images and words. Even though e-cards are animated and less expensive, I’m still a fan of mailing a card. There is something about holding the sentiment in the hand that I feel has a special value to it.
So if you’re one who likes to keep cards on stock for the uexpected or nearly forgotten occassion, keep Jea’s cards in mind. I’ll post here when the first batch is ready.
Janice Uncategorized
I am blogging while sitting in a Bolt Bus, cruising down the New Jersey Turnpike. It’s an amazing age when we can blog and email from a seat on a bus! If I book online at boltbus.com, I could get a ticket for as low as $1! I bought my ticket this afternoon from 34th St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan so I paid $15 for this trip. It’s a brand-spanking new bus and our driver is super friendly and professional, with a great character for service.
The sun is shining and I’m on my way to Philadelphia for the Arts in Health conference. I’ll definitely come on board the boltbus for my return trip to NYC. There are only two other passengers aboard this bus, but that’s only because it’s a new service. I’m sure that when the rest of the commuting world in NYC and Philly find out about boltbus, these seats will be in high demand.
The first thing I’m going for after I check-in at the hotel, is a Philly cheesesteak, baby!
Janice Uncategorized
