Taking a Breath

Hi, friends. I know it sucks when a blog you like doesn't get updated for a while. You know what also sucks? Stress migraines. So please know that while I love you, and appreciate having readers, blogging is about seventeenth on my priority list right now. Thanks.

I don't have anything to blog about regarding clinic yesterday, because I wasn't there, on account of the aforementioned headache. I do vaguely remember some shenanigans last week though...a car that slowed down so the driver could yell at the protesters. I didn't actually see it happening (one of my escorts told me about it later), but I hope it was my old friend Guy in the SUV who used to come by a lot last year. It's good to have a nutbar or two on our side, as well.

So, because I don't have much to say about clinic stuff, I'll go in kind of a different direction. Last night I spoke on a panel at STU as part of their Sexuality Awareness Week. The topic was "Why Feminism is not a Four Letter Word", and my particular section was about how you probably already are a feminist, and what to do about it. It was quite fun, and I was not expecting much of a turnout, or for people to be as engaged as they were. A couple young women came up to me afterwards to ask how they could get started in feminist volunteering!! So I gave them my info and hopefully this means two more escorts at the clinic.

Tonight I will be up on campus again, this time at UNB. I'm standing at an info booth for ARCC, which should be pretty interesting. Drop by if you're around - I have pro-choice buttons! And of course this is right before Sue Johanson's talk, which I will be sticking around for because I LOVE HER.

This past weekend I was at kind of a mini-conference in Moncton, called Skills for Change. It was put on by the Advisory Council so it was very...how can I say this...government-y? But it's always useful to get media training practice so I definitely enjoyed that part of it. And I have two wonderful friends in Moncton and was happy to have the chance to see them.

So that's a tiny fraction of what's going on with me right now....aren't you glad you asked? :)

P.S. Don't forget to vote for me for Best Feminist Blog in the Canadian Blog Awards!

Meeting Time

No clinic yesterday, as it was Remembrance Day. I couldn't tell you if the protesters were out or not, because I was sleeping in. Which was amazing.

I called a meeting for the escorts, because we've never had one since I've been here and I think it's a good idea sometimes to go over some issues that might have slipped through the cracks. Escorting itself is not that challenging (although having Glare-y Mary stare at you for an hour and a half can take its toll), but there are certain situations that sometimes arise. Like when the police turn up, or the media.

It was a great meeting - I had a much better turn-out than I expected, and everyone had lots of good questions and comments. Plus people wanted to take the tour! I love giving the tour. One of our escorts, CP, even brought a friend, who we didn't scare away! So she is starting next week, which is awesome.

We just have such a great group of escorts. The patients really appreciate having them out there and I feel like they (the escorts) need to be reminded that what they do is really important.

In other news, I'll be speaking on a panel for STU Sexuality Awareness Week (Nov. 24th-28th) on "Why Feminism is Not a Four-Letter Word". I think it's on the Tuesday but I'll have to get back to you. Sue Johansson will be giving a talk on the Wednesday night, so absolutely do not miss that, because she's amazing. AMAZING.

Trying Not to Just Focus on Silver Fox Joe Biden....

OOOOOOOOOOOBAMA!

I can't stop smiling. :)

It's bittersweet, of course, because while a lot of the anti-choice amendments were shot down (hurrah!), a lot of anti-gay rights ones passed. Feministing has the round up.

I know I can't be all taking up my blog with American election stuff, so even though it's ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT, I'll stop now. And leave you with this quote: "Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama is running so that we all can fly." - Jay-Z.

So yeah, life goes on here in conservative ol' Canada. :) Clinic yesterday was pretty normal; thank goodness the weather hasn't become too winter-y yet. We said goodbye to one of our wonderful escorts, MR - we will miss you! Good luck in the next great adventure. We are getting two more newbies next week, so the cycle continues.

A lot of our escorts (and a lot of the people in my life in general) have been deeply impacted by the murder of John McKendy. I never met John but from what I've heard, it's a great loss to the STU community and for everyone who knew him. The manner of his death is especially poignant considering how much of his life he spent working towards finding alternatives to violence. I know this seems out of place on this blog but believe me, it's all interconnected. And I just wanted to extend my condolences to his family and his many friends, students and admirers.

As you can probably tell, all my thoughts are a bit convoluted right now. I didn't really have a lot to say about the clinic per say, but I did think it would be good to check in since I forgot to post last week. There was a woman last week who changed her mind, which is always quite dramatic. Well, she wasn't sure what to do so we sent her home to think about it, and rebook if she wanted to. It is tough to see women struggling with such a difficult decision. I just don't know what I would do.

Ah, I'm all befuddled. I will leave it at that. Well, also one more thing that I never thought I would get the chance to say: THANK YOU AMERICA!...for making the right decision. :)