it's all true

borrowed from this lady, here are 10 things about me that you may not have already known.

1 - most people are surprised to learn that by nature, i am an introvert and shy, sometimes painfully. although i do enjoy public speaking.

2 - things i love include writing, learning new cities, q tips, david suzuki, the smell of scotch tape, earl grey tea, chocolate fudge cake from nairobi java house, kofi annan, alberta beef, barack obama's smile, the smell of pine trees, music that almost makes you cry, going out for breakfast even though i don't like most breakfast foods, airports, novels, daytimers, creme brule, medium or dark roast black coffee, that feeling that you get two days after you've used your muscles, french red wine, tulips, buying clothes, and receiving mail both electronic and snail. that list is not exhaustive.

3 - i could tell my sister anything. while i wouldn't tell my brothers anything, i could be anyone or do anything with them.

4 - my recent love life reads like a soap opera drama. do you know anyone who actually went to an airport expecting someone to arrive only to find out they had never bought a ticket for the flight? well, now you do.

5 - i have really big feet for my size. i would quite like to trade them for a more user-friendly pair.

6 - i want to be famous. but not in the celebrity way. in the way that i am known for something. and i google myself regularly.

7 - my newest canadian hero is louise arbour. she will soon be the executive director of the International Crisis Group.

8 - i am neither a cat person nor a dog person, i am both. and i don't think you should have to choose between them. my dog has one eye and my cat sleeps on my bed every night. my brother says that although you are never supposed to talk about a girl's weight, my cat seems to have lost her waist line in recent years. that is also true.

9 - blueberries are my favourite berry.

10 - if i won the lottery, i would go back to uni and study my little heart out. i would also travel around the world, staying in the cheapest as well as the most luxurious hotels i could find. i'd drink san pelligrino exclusively and provide numerous microfinance loans to people in canada and abroad.

small victory

i had a last minute invitation to attend the metropolis conference held in calgary this weekend and after having some last minute (and gorgeous!) cards made up, i hiked over to the lovely hyatt hotel and participated in discussions on human trafficking in canada and internationally. and i learned a lot.

but more importantly, in a ballroom (that admittedly was not full), i got up and made a comment and asked 2 questions to one of the panelists after the formal presentations were completed. i was rather proud of myself because i often think i have something to say but just keep quiet out of shyness and anxiety, but this time i didn't and although i wasn't as articulate as i would have liked to have been, i did get my point across and made a plug for my own experience in the topic of the panel. i am not sure that my comment was well received because it was directed towards academics who spend their careers trying to uncover new information, but i thought it needed to be said, so i did.

and i did it in stilettos.

if you are wondering, my comment was: when dealing with human trafficking, academics, programmers, and donors alike continually make calls for more numbers, more statistics, and more evidence and yet there are some out there that seem to be disregarded constantly. and it will never be possible to properly quantify an illegal and covert activity where the victims rarely surface or identify themselves as such. and if you get caught up on the fact that we do not have numbers, we will all be paralysed from taking action.

i would like to relate this back to my goals (as i knock 'em down one after another). i think this is a small victory for goal 3 - reduce my level of anxiety.

first impressions and substance use

today i learned how to twirl my pen, you know how those kids did that in high school? well i have half been able to do it for years but today i tried it while i was in the library and did not fling my pen across the table and hit someone, so i feel that it was a success.

now i want to learn how the hair dresser (stylist? i never know what to call them) can straighten my hair so well that i have worn it for 2 days, slept on it once, and walked in the rain and it is STILL NOT FRIZZY. wow. i am going to try for day 3 which might not actually be that hard because apparently our flat has not had hot water all day.

i love my new hair, i especially love it because while it was being done i did not have to make small talk and i just sat and read my book. would you like to know a little known fact about me? i am really bad at small talk. i revert back to my childhood of shyness and come out with stupid giggles and ask dumb questions to which i already know the answer.

i am drinking coffee to stay awake for the first time in my life. i have never been so dependent on caffeine to keep going, but i suppose that the life of the student requires some substance dependence and caffeine is better than most.