Re-Introductions and a Somewhat Weekly Reader

Hello friends. I am back! In your lives, that is.

I know I haven't posted for three weeks. But in those three weeks, I moved to Toronto, unpacked our stuff and set up the apartment, found a part-time job (possibly two!), sent many postcards, cooked many meals, reconnected with old and dear friends, went on a wine tour in Niagara, and ate an awful lot of sushi. So I think you'll agree that I didn't have a lot of time to blog.

My life in Toronto is still in the settling in stage. I am in training at my job at the Morgentaler Clinic here, where I am doing intake. They don't have protesters (there's an injunction), which makes coming to work a lot more pleasant. The job is part-time and it's not nearly as involved, activism-wise, as my job in Fredericton. There will not be a lot of blogging material there, friends. So I am going to have to go in a slightly different direction with the blog. But that's ok. It will still be Canadian content, and it will still be about reproductive justice, and it will still be based on my own personal thoughts and experiences. I'm still hammering out the details but I feel pretty good about what is to come.

In the meantime, here are some of the stories I missed blogging about. Headlines only this week, sorry (caution: some of these articles are from LifeSite, and the National Post which is just as bad):

Pro-life group on cross-Canada trek

UFPC takes on some of my trolls

Mary Wagner jailed for abortion protest

Lots of information and opinions on that awful Linda Gibbons

Most Canadians unfamiliar with abortion laws

Deception used in counselling women against abortion

Kopp won't face justice in Canada

David Little's charges have been dropped

CPCs plague Canada, too

No plan to regulate Ontario's CPCs

I will be talking to you all soon, and much more frequently, I promise!

"A bon voyage, not a goodbye"

My beloved readers, yesterday was my last clinic day at the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton. Tears. For real.

It was a pretty good clinic. Pink Hat was out with her sad little one-limbed Jesus (why won't he heal himself?). I caught a glimpse of Crazy Legs, and the Holy Ghost was very vocal. And guess who else was there, for the first time (that I know of)? Father What-a-Waste, from the March for Life! You guys, what is he doing? He is so handsome and sweet. He told SL that if any of the other protesters started yelling or being aggressive, he was going to be very upset and disappointed. SL said "Wait."

I hope he doesn't come back, but on the other hand, his adorable naivete might add much needed amusement to the volunteers' mornings.

One of our patients today was a character - she was wearing a t-shirt that said "I'm a Virgin (but this is an old shirt)" and she was super sassy. I liked her a lot. When she came out to the waiting room after her procedure, she loudly assured everyone that it didn't hurt, and that the sedatives were AWESOME. It was hard to tell if she was still a bit loopy from the drugs, or if she is just always like that. Either way: awesome.

That is all the cool stuff I can remember.

It was hard to say goodbye to my lovely co-workers, especially our amazing doctor. She is such a warm and good-hearted person, and she has been a really strong supporter in my life for the last three years. What an excellent lady.

So that's it: the last regular dispatch from the clinic. I will continue blogging, probably on Canadian abortion issues until I figure out where I want to go next with this. Ideas are always welcome. The weekly reader will be a little late this week, because I don't know when we will get internet set up in our new apartment. If you think of it on Friday, send some good thoughts our way for the 16 hour drive with two cats. We will need it!

Thank you thank you thank you. Always follow your heart.

One Foot Out the Door

I'm not going to apologize again for blogging so late in the week, because I am in the middle of trying to move to Ontario and quite honestly it is a lot of work. Not the packing and physical moving (we're not quite there yet), but just the making sure I see all my friends enough before we go. I am an introvert so I have to be careful about the amount of energy I expend by spending time with people, but I have so little time! It is hard.

Anyway, clinic on Tuesday was ok. The protesters were getting a bit aggressive at times, and Crazy Legs was out and causing lots of trouble, accusing people of shoving her, etc. Definitely being a pain in the ass.

Inside the clinic, I was training my replacement, which was super fun because she is an EXCELLENT lady. We get along very very well and could just talk for ages. I love when I click with people so easily - it doesn't happen to me a lot. I have quite a few good friends but it usually takes me a while to get to that place with them. Anyway I have a lot of confidence in this person. She is going to be great.

Yesterday we had our annual summer BBQ for the volunteers, which was great fun as always. They really are a wonderful group of people and I'm going to miss them a great deal. I have met some excellent people through being the volunteer co-ordinator. They are all good people who do good work.

This Tuesday is my last clinic day, and then Wednesday is my last day of work. Tears! This has been my best job ever, and I will be very sad to leave it. I'm still trying to decide in what direction I want to take the blog, but I think it will largely depend on what I end up doing in Toronto.

Here are some things I read this week:

Anti-abortion group gets funding, settles lawsuit with UVic.

Graphic abortion images spark outrage.

Weekly Reader AND MORE!

Another week of being terribly late to blog! I guess it's harder to blog about the clinic when nothing very exciting happens. Lately I've had a lot of available volunteers, which makes a noticeable difference - the patients are calmer, and the protesters don't try as much funny stuff.

One of the protesters was giving the volunteers an instructional lecture on rosary beads this week, but apparently it was totally good-natured.

Inside, I went to my last ever staff meeting at the clinic. Our wonderful doctor baked me a cake! It's really starting to hit me that I won't be working at the clinic any more; it makes me quite sad. It's been tough at times but all told it is a great job, and I work with some amazing people. And amazing volunteers! I will miss this gang a lot, and I will definitely be out escorting when I come home over Christmas (at least this year - I have no idea what our schedule/financial situation will be after that! Maybe I'll be home so much, you'll all be sick of me!).

I guess I'll even kind of miss the protesters. They have been interesting characters in my life.

I think I'm leaving things in capable hands. There should be someone hired for my job this week, and I know whoever it is will be awesome. And the momentum is with us, even in Fredericton. The other day someone spray-painted "choice" on the CPC again. It warmed my heart.

Here are a few things I've been reading this week:

You can take a free webinar on Emergency Contraception with the ARHP.

Two articles on abortion on TV (specifically Friday Night Lights).

Abortion still happens after 40.

Chasing anti-choicers around town (AB's #streetcornersforchoice project).