Beautiful Sunday

Today was wonderful. Actually, this whole weekend was pretty alright. I did a lot but also managed to find time to rest/rejunvenate. It's a rare occasion when you find that right balance. Saturday morning was Help the Homeless walkathon in DC. My agency was a beneficiary of this so we were all out walking in support of. Walkathons and demonstrations and such take on a whole new meaning and scale when in a city so big. There must have been around 20,000 people for this walkathon and the weather & route were beautiful. We began in front of the Capitol building and walked around the tidal basin, past all the memorials. Not a bad way to start off a Saturday morning, walking 5K with 20,000 of your closest friends. But I guess it took it's toll on me cause I had the sweetest nap that afternoon. Our house is still freezing (it's about 13 degrees in here right now) so laying on my bed in the sun with the block heater on was a nice way to spend the afternoon. It also worked out well because my housemate Marissa and I decided to take in the new Harry Potter movie (it didn't finish until 1:15am!). But it was wonderful. I can't wait for the last book to be out!! Needless to say, I slept in a little this morning. Didn't make it to a morning service but headed over to the church for the after service forum on Energy and social justice. One of the speakers was a rabbi who is the director of the Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light ("a non-profit initiative that helps congregations, religious institutions and others in the Washington, D.C. area work for a more just, sustainable and healthier creation by reducing the threat of global warming"). They have a website to be checked out: http://www.gwipl.org/. More interesting food for faith/political thought. And because it was such a beautiful sunny day I decided to take advantage of the weather and get in a bike ride (I'm still pinching myself - to think it's November 20th and I'm still riding my bike and not freezing). I tried out a new trail which just happened to take me past the huge Mormon temple just north of here. So of course I had to stop by and check out their visitor's centre. I don't really know what I was expecting but of course I was immediately met by a very nice woman who told me all about the good news of Mormon. The centre was set up like a museum with different displays and such like of Joseph Smith discovering the golden tablets. It was pretty cool though (I know that Rhett would have loved it!). And so I ended my beautiful Sunday by attending the monthly Taize service at Christ Lutheran Church in DC with 3 of my housemates. Followed by a very tasty Tex-Mex potluck meal. Now, I look forward to a shortened work week and my second Thanksgiving of the year. It will be good.

Remembrance/Veterans Day Weekend

Another weekend done and gone and a beautiful one it was. The weather was absolutely gorgeous today. And it was made even better by the fact that I got to do one of my most favourite activities - canoeing!! The first time since the beginning of July. One of the women on the volunteer corps board has this tiny 16 pound canoe and together we went out to the canal and had a little paddle & walk. Of course we can't both fit in this tiny canoe together so we took turns. This woman is wonderful though. She's in her early 80's, recently widowed and oh so active. If I can only be as active as she is when I'm her age, I'll be so happy. Anyways, I'm already having dreams of next summer...so many canoeing possibilities!

Our poor beautiful house has been having some issues lately. Fortunately the weather has been nice or else we'd be in trouble. We're having furnace/thermostat problems. That is, they aren't working. It doesn't matter how high the thermostat is set (even 90 degrees - fahrenheit of course) the house won't heat up past 60 degrees (which is like 15 degrees celcius). Not so much fun when it's like 5 or 10 degrees outside and close to freezing at night. But someone's coming to look at the furnace on Friday and I have a block heater in my room so at least I'm set - it's just the rest of the house that must suffer. Our washing machine also decided to quit this weekend. Probably cause it's too cold ;) Anyways, it's only stopped agitating during the wash cycle but will still rinse and spin. So if we want we can at least soak and rinse our clothes. Again, we're too lucky as a new washer will likely be installed within the week. But our house always keeps us on our toes.

One of the more interesting things I did this weekend was go the National Holocaust Memorial Museum on Saturday. If you're ever in Washington, I highly recommend it. Not easy subject matter but so well done. It was just a wonderful way to honour Remembrance Day weekend. The permanent exhibit of the museum is on 3 different levels and you start at the top and work your way down. The top level is about the Nazi rise to power, anti-semitism and events leading up to the beginning of the Holocaust. The middle level is about 'the Final Solution' and the lower level looks to the future while also highlighting some of the heroes of the resistance movement. It's a lot to take in but I found there were certain visuals that really made an impact. The museum has a lot of video footage of the concentration camps and newsreels of the time. Also a lot of artifacts from the camps. You can go inside one of the cattle cars and they have displays filled with some of the artifacts that were taken from the people before they were killed. It really made for some good reflection for myself. Realising how we continue to be guilty of silence even today as there is so much violence, hatred and genocide occuring around the world. Near the end of the exhibition they had one quote posted that I had heard before but it never really hit home quite the same way:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.

- Rev. Martin Niemoller

An important thought for us to take seriously. It was a very sobering experience.

November 6th...high of 24 degrees Celcius!!

Well it's kind of late on a Sunday night, particularly because I have to work tomorrow but I figure I should write now while the weekend is still fresh in my mind. And it was a good weekend so I want to share ;) Saturday night my housemate Valentine and I went and saw the memorials which were incredibly beautiful. I had never seen them in the daylight either but by night they were gorgeous - all lit up. Both the Vietnam and Korean War memorials were especially moving. The Vietnam memorial is very simple. Just two long walls that meet to form a corner filled with the names of every soldier who died during the war. The names are grouped chronologically by date of death. I think perhaps the fact that the Vietnam war is more recent and because there are many parallels to made with the current Iraq war (or so I think) make the memorial particularly powerful. Lincoln & Jefferson were also very nice by moonlight...classic DC attractions.

The highlight of my weekend though was definitely the church service I attended this morning. Valentine and I (again) were planning on attending a service at Luther Place (a Lutheran Church in downtown DC) but when we arrived there for 11 there was a sign on the door saying that the service was at 10 am this Sunday. So we headed back to one of the churches we had passed on the way from the metro stop and ended up at Foundry United Methodist Church. First off, the building was just incredible. The sanctuary had a high domed ceiling and lots of stained glass windows. And there must have been 300-400 people at the service. It was an interesting service for a few reasons. Just this past week the United Methodist Judicial committee (or something of the like) had given one of their ministers the right to bar a gay man from membership in his congregation. This was a big deal because apparently the United Methodist bishops (worldwide) have denounced this ruling. At the beginning of the service the minister spent a fair bit of time explaining the situation and asserting his disagreement and disappointment with the ruling. I've been totally impressed and blown away by the strong political stances taken by all of the DC churches I've been to when it comes to the issue of being accepting of all people regardless of sexual orientation. It makes me excited and hopeful for the Church and Christianity. Apart from this the service was also incredible. They had special music for All Saint's Sunday. A full choir, soloists and string players did Schubert's Mass in G and the music was so moving. The service was very traditional but at the same time very open, touching and personal. All in all, for a first experience at a United Methodist church it was most definitely amazing.

And now, it's Sunday night, work tomorrow and time for bed. Grey's Anatomy has just finished and as per usual, was really really good. So until next week...or sooner.

At Home in My Room

Just a few shots of my cozy little room. It's the former porch and it's the only room in the house with wood panelling. I like it a lot :)

Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

 

SAMHSA Conference

Well it's the weekend once again. And time for Halloween!! I have to say that I had a pretty great week. Wednesday through Friday I attended a national conference here in DC put on by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) about homelessness. Very cool, there were people there from across the US, both professionals and formerly homeless people. Friday I attended a full day session about racism that I really appreciate. We spent a lot of time sharing experiences and doing activities. I found that although the context was specific to the african-american experience in the US, it was very applicable to other contexts (eg. Saskatchewan white-native relations). I don't know if I was able to go away with many concrete tools for working to eliminate racism - it's just so complex and most often not blatantly obvious but very insidious. I guess it's just important to recognise how pervasive racism continues to be in our society and to recognise that we are all part of the problem (and thus all need to be part of the solution). Anyways, thoughts that I am still working through in my own head. I would be open to comments or thoughts. I hope that all are doing well. Halloween party tonight!! My housemates and I are dressing up as pageant contestants (Miss Conception, Miss Matched and Miss Fortune)!!

Great Falls Pics

Located just north of DC, this is within biking distance from where I live. Very cool.



Great Falls Park, Maryland

Delaware

These are from Bethany Beach where we spent the last weekend in September.

At Bethany Beach, Delaware. September 30-October 2

9/11 Unity Walk in DC

Give Me a Dry Cold Any Day

Whew, is it ever miserable out today. Rainy and very cold, but not below freezing yet. I think it's this rain though that will really do me in. It never seems to let up. But tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so I won't give up hope. Life here continues to go well. We continue to get tons of food given to us by people at the church, which is great, but means I'm eating a little too well a lot of the time. Makes me thankful for being able to ride my bike to work every day (except for today cause it's too darn cold and wet). Work went well last week. I've been doing more and more direct service work with our clients which I really enjoy. Doing client intakes and referrals and such. The one down side is that because our agency is so small and we can only provide assistance with certain things the workload really varies. Some days are insanely busy and others are just dead. But I really appreciate the opportunities I do have to work directly with the clients that come in. It's very eye opening and I'm seeing people who have become homeless for very different reasons. I don't know if this is something I want to do for the rest of my life but I'm appreciating what I am learning and being exposed to.

I had a fun weekend and not too busy. Friday night my housemate Valentine and I went to a party at the Mennonite Volunteer Corps house. Who knew that some Mennonites dance and drink ;) They even let in some guy off the street (Marvin) who really seemed to appreciate the dancing and free alcoholic beverages. Saturday I had my first taste of Ethiopian food when I went for lunch with my friend Ilana. It was very good and I would definitely recommend to those who are adventurous and looking for something new. Although I cannot vouch for the Ethiopian restaurant in Regina cause I've never been. But I look forward to going sometime soon ;) I went to Christ Lutheran Church on Sunday morning. Such a beautiful building. Completely made out of stone and built in 1892. The service was really enjoyable and the congregation is very diverse. My housemates and I went last Sunday evening when they had a Taize service followed by Moroccan food - which was amazing (both the service and the food). Most of all, the people are really wonderful and friendly and they gave us free balloons!! There's also a good group of 20-somethings there so I look forward to attending there some more. I must run but I promise that pictures will be coming shortly...which is another story that I think I'll tell right now.

Our house only has dial-up internet but the church decided it was time to upgrade to highspeed. So, they signed up for dsl through Verizon and we received the package last week. On Thursday, which was our start up date, we open the box to find everything we need but the modem. How they managed to forget that is totally beyond me. There was even a smaller box inside the larger box that was marked "modem." Anyways, we called their customer service line and apparently their records showed that the weight of the package they sent us was less than it should have been had there been a modem inside. All I can say is hurray for big corporations. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives today and hopefully our high speed will be up and running in no time.

The Wonderful World of Non-Profits

Whew. It's been a long day...and week. We just finished our big fundraiser tonight - A Show of Support - that included a silent auction, live auction and raffles. Sooooo much work. No wonder my supervisor is a fan of writing grants. Fundraisers are too much work...but fun. This fundraiser was a joint effort between my agency and another smallish agency in the area. So I got to meet a lot of other cool people who are also interested in issues of poverty and homelessness. This other organisation - A Wider Circle - does wellness classes with low-income people and people living in shelters. They have also done a lot of work helping settle Katrina families - 75 families in total which is incredible for a very small agency. Tonight at the fundraiser they had a couple of their Katrina people speak. The one woman actually gave birth to her daughter during the hurricane. She couldn't make it to the hospital and they couldn't get a doctor so her husband had to deliver the baby (the baby's name is Kia Miracle!). Her story was pretty unbelievable. Not being allowed to take food and supplies from stores, having to wade through deep deep water, past dead bodies. Apparently her best friend & her friend's 9 children all died. I still can't comprehend how this disaster was so horrendously handled, particularly because it happened in such a wealthy country. It's really shameful. I heard another story of a man who's mother was in a nursing home in one of the affected areas. He had contact with her for a bit and was trying to find help for her. Nothing was done. She ended up dying and pinned to her body was a note that read "we're still waiting for water." We haven't had too many Katrina families/people coming to us yet but it is likely that we will in the near future. Quite a few families were brought to/settled in the DC area. Right now the Red Cross is still providing for most of them but that assistance is limited in time. It is likely that we will soon be seeing them in our shelters and such. It will be interesting, especially since there are already so many people already in need. Anyways, the title of this post is in reference to crazy fundraising projects. Necessary to continue providing services but an insane amount of work. But, tonight was a pretty big success. I think some big money came in, which isn't surprising in this county - there's a lot of money here. A big change from the prairies ;) But, it is really late and I've been working hard all day. So I'm going to call it a day and crash.
Me and Joan (the outreach social worker) at the fundraiser.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Another fine weekend in Washington, DC (although much wetter than previous weekends). I found work last week to be more draining than usual. I've begun working more closely with the outreach social worker and helping her with client intakes/counselling and such. We have one particularly difficult fellow who is very trying. It's definitely interesting work and I admire the social worker so much. She is truly incredible. Anyways, by the weekend I was feeling very drained so spent much of the weekend trying to get some energy back. For me this meant doing some solo activities. On Saturday I went to the National Museum of National History (one of the Smithsonian museums). It is pretty huge. They had a super cool display of precious gems and minerals. I'm not much of a jewelry person but some of the stuff was pretty impressive and amazingly beautiful. It's all been donated to the Smithsonian over the years so now belongs to the American people (must be worth sooo much money). They even had the Hope Diamond on display. Very cool.
Saturday night we (my housemates and I) were invited to a dinner party at the Pielemeier's (a couple from the Volunteer Corps Board). Their daughter (who is my age) was having some friends over so it was a bunch of recent college graduates and the Pielemeier's. It was pretty fun, until the question of "who's your favourite hero in American history?" arose, followed by a 3 hour discussion. Kind of intense but interesting (at least for the first 45 mins ;)
Sunday afternoon I went apple picking with my housemate Katelyn. A first for me. Followed by a baking extravaganza on Sunday night. Applesauce, apple crisp and apple pie. Fresh apples rock! Monday was a holiday here as well (Columbus Day) so I too had a nice long weekend. Monday night my housemates and I decided to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving (minus the turkey). It was so nice. I don't think I've ever gotten so into Thanksgiving prep. It was a lot of fun. And homemade apple pie for dessert! A very good end to what turned out to be a pretty good weekend (minus the rain). Now I'm busy helping with the final preps for a big fundraiser this weekend. I anticipate it will keep me very busy for the rest of the week. Until then...

And It Rained

Wow. I guess the weather finally decided to make up for all the beautiful days we have had since I arrived in Washington. Not that today wasn't beautiful (it was gorgeous). But it sure did rain (and continues to do so). I'm getting the impression that weather seems to hang in here longer than in Saskatchewan. The rain hasn't let up all day and it's been steadily heavy rain. I don't know much about weather and weather patterns but Washington doesn't get much wind, and it's close to the coast which seems to allow weather (both good and bad) to stick around for awhile. We sure did need this rain though so I'm glad. But I'm also thinking of all our clients who have no shelter. The emergency shelters don't upon for another month so I'm sure that a lot of our guys are toughing it out somewhere tonight. Right now I'm feeling pretty glad and grateful to have a roof over my head where I can stay dry. Anyways, enough weather talk. I'm looking forward to a peaceful long weekend (yes, we have Monday off too - Columbus Day - so I can at least pretend I'm in Canada celebrating Thanksgiving). My housemates and I are in fact planning a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner for Monday night!! So yeah, no big plans for the weekend as of yet (earlier in the week I had been thinking about a day bike trip but I don't think the weather is going to cooperate) but that's ok by me at the moment. Think I'll just curl up in front of the tv with my Moosehead beer and dark chocolate and watch Shaun of the Dead (gotta love zombie movies - particularly the British variety). So good night and god bless.

The Birchmere

Last night I saw a really incredible musical act called the East Village Opera Company (courtesy of the Canadian Embassy). The Embassy has a mailing list to let people know about Canadian arts and culture events happening in the DC area. This week they had free tickets to see EVOC at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia so my friend Carolina and I made the trek out there (how can you pass up free tickets? - how can I pass up free tickets??). My first time in Virginia and my first time at the Birchmere (a music hall where you're seated at tables for the show). The East Village Opera Company was amazing. Classical Opera and rock music. 11 members (a drummer, a bass player, two guitarists, a keyboard player, a string quartet and 2 vocalists). If you're looking for something new and different (whether you're a fan of opera, of rock music or both) I think you'll enjoy these guys. I believe they are based out of New York but the two founding members hail from Ottawa. Anyways, lots of fun, quality music, tons of talent. So check them out... www.eastvillageoperacompany.com


THE EAST VILLAGE OPERA COMPANY "The East Village Opera Company" Decca/Universal
Friday, September 30, 2005; Page WE08 (www.washingtonpost.com)

Roll over, Mozart, and tell Verdi the news: The East Village Opera Company is in the business of bravura rock makeovers.

No tame popera act, the 11-piece ensemble specializes in rocking the classics on their self-titled CD, sometimes reconfiguring arias with Queen-like pomp 'n' roll. The group's Canadian co-founders -- multi-instrumentalist/arranger Peter Kiesewalter and vocalist Tyley Ross -- bring both affection and irreverence to the task, so even when they sound like art-rockers with too much time on their hands, it's easy to appreciate their imagination and chutzpah.

And their talent. Ross, who starred in the Canadian production of "Tommy" and appeared on Broadway in "Miss Saigon," has sufficient vocal power and range to pull off this brashly ambitious project. Another big plus is fellow singer (and recent recruit) AnnMarie Milazzo, who has several shining moments on the group's major label debut album, including her slowly escalating dramatic turn on Alfredo Catalani's "Ebben? Ne andro lontana."
The group rounds up some of the usual suspects here -- Mozart (Overture from "Le Nozze di Figaro"), Puccini ("Nessun dorma"), Verdi ("La donna e mobile") and Bizet ("Habanera") -- then reconfigures their music for string and rock rhythm sections. Kiesewalter certainly isn't shy when it comes to taking harmonic and rhythmic liberties, and he carves out plenty of room for guitarist Ben Butler to introduce his own six-string arias or add a blues-rock flourish. The results may well appeal more to progressive rock fans than to opera devotees, but chances are the company will delight a mix of both.
-- Mike Joyce

Bethany Beach

A beautiful weekend in Washington, DC. My housemates and I, along with our community/spiritual advisor went out to Bethany Beach, Delaware for a retreat. Very informal, we focused on relaxing and getting to know each other better. We stayed in a beachfront townhouse owned by a member of the congregation. It was really wonderful. And we saw tons of dolphins. They swam so close to shore and there must have been 40 or 50 of them. It was unreal. It's still taking me awhile to get used to the fact that it takes so much longer to drive places here. There's just so much traffic. And I still can't quite handle this mile thing. They take so much longer to pass by than kilometres. Oh well, little things. In other news, they have the hugest Mormon temple here in Washington. You can see it when you're driving on the beltway rising above the trees. Five enormous white spires with the golden angel Moroni (?) on top. It has a very 'wizard of oz'-ish kind of feel to it. It's really something else when it's all lit up at night. Anyways, life is going good. I'm definitely keeping busy and will write again soon.

la protestadora

So I realise that I already wrote one post about what I did this past weekend. But I guess my life must be so darn exciting that I still have more to say. It was a big weekend for Washington in general...what with the anti-war march, a national book fair and a green conference among other things. Like I said, I was at a training session that ran from Thursday night until Saturday at noon. At the training I met another girl my age who is part of the Jewish Volunteer Corps here in Washington and she invited me to come along with her to the anti-war rally. So needing to make some new friends, I decided to go along. I also figured there would be some pretty good action at the march. So with my new friend Ilana and 4 of her housemates we headed off to the march. We missed the rally (which had begun at 10:30) so just joined the march at some random point. I have never been surrounded by so many people. It was sooo cool (hands down beat any protest I've ever partaken in in Regina - which, by the way, is one). You may have heard that they estimate ~100,000+ people took part. Yeah, so lots of people and lots of police (even mounted police!!). People were advocating for different issues, not just against the Iraq war. At one point in the route we passed by a group of people who were demonstrating in favour of the war. It was really quite sad to visually see the deep division that exists here regarding the war and realise the complexities of the issue (whether it is the American duty to support the troops no matter what, or whether being against the war means you don't support the troops, etc.). Anyways, it was an experience. An interesting mix of people of all ages. Although predominantly white which is interesting in a city that has a significant black population. Food for thought.

Hmmm, this may be a longish post. On Saturday night my housemates and I went to a party being put on by some of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps people. Cool moment, I ran into my friend Carolina there - the one person I know in Washington. It really is a small world. Anyways, I am totally flabbergasted at the amount of Volunteer Corps there are in the US (I am here as part of the Westmoreland Volunteer Corps which is run by a congregation of the United Church of Christ - they are service organisations). This past Tuesday my housemate Marissa and I went to a potluck for all the volunteer corps in the city. There were volunteers from the Jesuit group, the Franciscan group, the Mennonite group, and some from some smaller groups like our own. Many of these service corps are national which amazes me. I would really like to see something similar develop in Canada (unless there already is and I'm unaware of it). It just seems like a really great opportunity. Back to the potluck, it was really great to get to meet some people your own age who share similar views and values and who are doing the same thing you are.

Ok. Last story. I figure I should talk about work at least a little. I just have one cool story and then I'm finished. Part of my job at Bethesda Cares is to go with the outreach social worker when she does her walks around the neighbourhood to check and see who is on the streets. Either to check up on people she is already familiar with and to also see if there is anyone new. Which I think is really cool because often people need that personal contact before seeking out help (which is true for any of us). Anyways, a new fellow appeared a couple of weeks ago and we'd seen him out a couple of times. Each time the social worker would ask him if he needed any assistance, if he was homeless, etc...and he would always say no. And there's not much you can do at that point. It has to be up to the individual to seek out help. The social worker always introduces herself anyways and lets the person know where we can be found should they decide they would like some help. Anyways, guess who shows up at work today but this man. We didn't even recognise him. He had shaved and had a hair cut and had a shower. It was just a neat moment. I still have no idea what he is up to or where he is staying but it was so nice to see him not sleeping on a park bench. Hopefully he'll be back again.

Community Organising

This past weekend in Baltimore I attended a 3 day training session for work put on by the Industrial Areas Foundation (http://www.industrialareasfoundation.org) which is a broad-based organisation whose primary goal is to build power. Some very interesting and relevant ideas. A lot of time was spent defining, discussing and cleaning up the word power. The argument was made that power is necessary in order to effect change within a community. So, if we want power (and we do) then we must organise people and organise money. What I found most interesting is that the IAF does not organise people around an issue. Instead, they network people within a community who are concerned for the well-being of their community. In other words, organise first, pick issues later. It's all about picking out and developing leaders within a community. The organising process is very much based upon face-to-face meetings with people and developing personal yet public relationships. The IAF argues that people are self-interested (I won't deny it) and therefore people usually do not get involved unless their self-interests are involved (also true I would argue). That is why the IAF is about helping people see that their self-interests are shared by others and that our self-interests, although personal, are often public as well. In sum, it's about connecting concerned citizens together so that they can build power and then make change in their community. Very thought provoking and concrete ideas. I'm obviously still trying to sift through them. The IAF has affiliates across the United States (eg. WIN in Washington, DC, BUILD in Baltimore, and AIM in Montgomery County - that's me!), the UK and Canada (Edmonton!). I actually get to go to my first AIM meeting this Wednesday and I'm looking forward to seeing these ideas in practise. They definitely have longevity in their favour (the IAF was started in Chicago in the 1940s) and they've made some real differences in some communities. Anyways, it was an exciting weekend for me. It helped me see a positive and concrete way to stream my anger about social injustices into action and not merely criticism. Any thoughts or comments would be welcome.


On a similar note, a notice for all you concerned Reginans:

Committee for a Citizen Friendly ReginaDear Citizen of Regina,
Many people in Regina are concerned about the direction in which the current city government is leading us. Even more frustrating is the lack of opportunities for citizens to have a say in many significant issues including:
1. Urban and commercial sprawl;
2. No plan for creating sustainable neighborhoods including social housing, recreation, and libraries;
3. Lack of a long-term plan to deal with racism and its results, such as the disappearance of Aboriginal women;
4. No commitment to publicly financed, publicly controlled, and publicly delivered services.

Some citizens organized a meeting of city residents on May 1, 2005, to see if groups and individuals were interested in trying to revive democracy in city governance. As a result of decisions made at that gathering, a meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 7:00 p.m., Holy Rosary Cathedral Hall, 2104 Garnet Street, to formally create a citizens’ organization to work for a citizens’ voice in city government. This founding meeting will discuss a statement of principles, basic operating procedures, and name, and will begin to discuss the role this new organization can play in the 2006 civic election. Please consider this your invitation to attend and have a voice at this founding meeting. Also enclosed for your further information is the organization’s draft set of principles. We encourage you to share this invitation with other concerned citizens and with any community organizations you belong to.

First Impressions

September 18, 2005
Another beautiful Sunday afternoon in Washington, DC. Apparently thishas been unseasonably warm weather for September but I'm notcomplaining. I'm enjoying the summer that we didn't really get inSaskatchewan this year or the last. It still hasn't rained since I'vearrived here but fortunately the humidity is tapering off. There werea few days this past week when I don't think I've ever been moregrateful for air conditioning. This prairie girl is definitelymissing the drier Saskatchewan climate. Work continues to go well.Still learning the ropes and carving out my place but my co-workersare great as are the majority of the clients. I'm looking forward tothe coming weekend when I will be attending a retreat/training sessiondesigned to teach clergy and lay people how to be effective inadvocacy. I've been spending time this weekend seeing some of theimportant sights in and around Washington. Like last night, I wentwith two of my housemates to a local pub that had a 10 page beer list,divided by country. Pretty awesome. I did Slovakia and theNetherlands. Can't wait to go back ;) I also went hiking yesterdaywith one of the board members for the Volunteer Corps. A 20 minutedrive takes you to some incredible trails. Reminiscent of theCanadian Shield, the first trail comprised of scrambling over rock andfollowed the Potomac River upstream. The water is pretty low at themoment since it's been so dry but it was beautiful. There wereseveral kayakers playing around in some the bigger waves. Anyways, sofar I'm really enjoying my time here. Washington seems like a reallyfun city. Lots of young people, lots of smart young people. And themajority of people are very comfortable speaking up about theirdislike of the current administration. I've definitely seen a lot ofKerry/Edwards bumper stickers driving around. I hope that you are alldoing well. I look forward to hearing from you and will try my bestto send some personalised emails as well. Also, if anyone is lookingfor a fun trip, I'm more than open to having guests come and visit ;)

September 11, 2005
Well, we finally have internet access at our house!! So I decided it would be a good time for an update. I started work at my agency (Bethesda Cares - an outreach shelter for the homeless in Bethesda, MD) last Tuesday. It's a smaller agency so I've been doing quite a few different things - from admin type stuff to meetings to assisting the full-time social worker and so forth. This week I get to go for a ride along with the local bike police! I will likely be given/create a project for the year which will help give a little more structure to my position. I've been able to ride my bike to work which is great. It's a 20 minute commute and the majority of the trip is on a beautiful bike trail. The weather has also been amazing, although a little too humid for my prairies bones. I am however really looking forward to a shorter, milder winter. My roomates are really great - 4 other girls, recently graduated from uni as well. A lot of fun, I think we'll have a good year together. I've been trying to take in a few of the Washington sites. On Saturday I went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History with two of my roomies. Highlights include Bill Clinton's saxophone, Seinfeld's puffy shirt, Dorothy's red slippers and the Fonz's leather jacket. We also saw Julia Child's kitchen and an informative exhibit on America's First Ladies. Today I took part in an interfaith walk of unity for September 11th. It began at a Jewish synagogue and continued along Massachusetts Ave (also known as Embassy Row). I didn't see the Canadian Embassy but there were a lot. It was really neat seeing all the different flags and beautiful buildings. We also passed by Dick Cheney's house. It still feels strange being surrounded by all of this. Anyways, the march ended at the Ghandi memorial after a brief stop at a mosque. It was a beautiful walk and wonderful to see so many different people of all ages taking part in a demonstration of unity and peace. And a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Well it's hard to believe the weekend's over already. I guess a lot of you (or ya'll - as my roomate from North Carolina would say) are feeling the same way. But I can say that I'm looking forward to going back to work again tomorrow. There's always something new happening and if nothing else, that bike ride is incredible. Take care and hope to hear from ya'll soon.


September 4, 2005
Well I made it safely to Washington, DC on Friday after only a couple of snags. I missed my connecting flight in Toronto and ended up having to sit around the airport for a few extra hours but was otherwise uneventful. Customs was no problem, I have my visa and I'm good to go for the next year. Since arriving it's been busy getting to know the other girls in the house, getting to know the area and getting to know my responsibilities. I start work at Bethesda Cares (and outreach shelter for the homeless) on Tuesday. Today and tomorrow will be spent settling in some more and relaxing (hopefully). The house is really nice (I have my own room) and the girls are even better (one more to arrive tomorrow and then our community will be complete). This will be short, just wanted to let you know that I made it here in one piece. I would love to hear from each and everyone of you. And if you'd like to know more about what I'm actually doing in Washington, drop me a line. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.