How I Broke My Ankle in One Easy Step

This year has been rather challenging – homesickness, immigration and looming unemployment. So I was surprised that in many ways coping with a broken ankle has been harder than all these things combined. Writing about my experiences has been extremely cathartic. I can see how far I’ve come: from not being able to walk down a hallway to racing from place to place on my crutches, being able to get in and out of cars and how much more bearable the pain has become. Furthermore, my own fears become more manageable when I write them down.

Immigration: an explanation

Several people have asked me how I am applying for permanent residence in Canada. This blog post is about our personal experience of preparing an application. It does not, obviously, constitute legal advice.

You are not automatically entitled to permanent residence when you marry a Canadian! However, you are allowed to apply for a visa. We are applying for an in Canada Spousal or Common Law Partner visa. As the name suggests, you must be married or in a common law relationship with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and currently living in Canada. In order to apply, you must complete several reams of paperwork.

Good Vibes Note

Have you heard of Good Vibes Notes? It’s a sweet template designed by Lisa Currie to help you send notes to your friends. My friend, a very talented artist, created one just for me! And you can see it here!

Thank you so much!

Well educated

I’m not poorly educated. I finished secondary school. I have a B.A with a major in political science from a very respectable university. However, I still feel that I have enormous gaps in my knowledge. There is simply so much that I don’t know about world history, feminist history, transgendered politics, political ideologies, philosophy, literature, anti racism, science, mathematics, religion and I could go on.

Wife, who is a teacher and also incredibly smart, says that education is a life long journey. That you won’t just wake up one morning and know everything in the world. I do agree that it is a life long journey. However, I’m not quite sure how I should approach this journey.

Sometimes I am a little bit broody that I am no longer a student.  I had access to an amazing library. Then I remember that I hated writing eassys in my first, second and then the first semester of third year.

So if you had to recomend three, easily accesible* books that would enrich another person’s understanding of the world, what would they be? What are the books that transformed your life?

*By easily accesible, I mean that they could be purchased on Amazon or in the public library of a conservative city.

Summer

Australians and Canadians have very different attitudes about summer.

Australians enjoy the beginning of summer. It’s nice to see the sun peek out from behind the clouds, leave our jackets in the wardrobe and plan barbeques. However, as the weeks where the temperature never dips below the high twenties, even at night, pass, as the beaches become more and more crowded as people attempt to escape the sweltering heat, as the sidewalk burns and the public transportation stops working … well, winter sounds like an amazing respite.

However, Canadians enjoy every moment of summer. It’s amazing to watch the snow melt, to leave coats and boots and mittens and hats in the closet. It also signals the beginning of numerous outdoor festivals and events. People take holidays in order to spend time with their friends and family.

Which is where I have been. Spending time with Wife (she alternates between loving my company and wanting to murder me). Spending time with friends. Rekindling old connections and making new ones.

And I’ve been loving it.

Bad day

I’m tired, it’s raining, there is a problem at work (so now I’m thinking about quitting and joining the drag king circuit) and I’m having trouble finding a new pair of jeans.

I’m hoping that I can convince Wife that tonight should consist of all-you-can-eat sushi, watching last night’s episode of the Colbert Report and perhaps re watching the episode where he rips his shirt off and throws the “CEO” of BP off the building, cuddles and thinking about how much I like this job compared to other jobs I’ve had (the poop on the fitting room floor makes this problem seem really small).

How do you cheer yourself up?