York University Book Sale, "Hey Guy Buy Me"

Yesterday I went to another conference. I must admit I am getting a tad tired. I will talk about that one in the next blog. My book sale at York University was fun. I got to see many people, I have not seen in a while. As soon as I entered Central Square, I was greeted by someone I know but have not seen in a year (I go to York once a year) and he immediately told me about the pancake sale for the United Way and treated me to the most delicious pancake I have ever had. When I lined up, there was all the brass from York serving and the Chef asked if I would prefer a pancake from the Chef? Did I have to be asked twice? Nope! He did not fail me. It was huge, and buttery and fluffy. I coated it with whip cream and some syrup and decorated it with a cherry. Oooooh good. I am surprised to find a Chef at the Cafeteria but I do believe he is a chef. If he can create anything else close to his pancake, than I am sold. I wish I could afford my own chef, cleaner, gardener ………dreaming……….. I did sell more books this year than the year before which is pretty good for me. Again, I was asked if I had written another. “Yes.” I replied to the tall older man. “It will be out by the next showcase.” It is a good thing that I wrote another book. I have a tough crowd. “Is it going to be the same?” he asked. “No, It’s different.” I replied. One student looked my book over very carefully. “What I like about your book is that it is easy to read.” “Yup” I replied. “I want everyone to be able to read it. Just like Harry Potter.” My old colleague who saw me was sitting with me and that started a chuckle.” The tall handsome student left and returned in a little while. “May I buy your book?” he asked politely. “Yes, you may.” I responded just as politely. I hope he likes it. It has cartoons. The day passed quickly. I had brought my Hallowe’en candies and this was a first that the students did not make them vanish in five minutes. What has happened to the students? Have they lost their sweet tooth? “Why do the students seem more serious this year?” I asked out loud for anyone to respond. “Because their tuition went up.” The woman at the next table responded. Tuition became the topic ( I am still paying off tuition expenses from going to the University of Toronto). I was pleased being in my element. I love Universities. I enjoyed talking to the students, staff and seeing old profs and colleagues. Each year that I go there, it is as if I have never left. “Why don’t you come more often. I like seeing you." Yup, it was like going home for an annual visit. And the pancakes……….sooooo gooood.

"Hey Guy Buy Me" will be at Showcase York University, Central Square.

Time is going so fast for me. I try to put the brakes on but life just speeds. I will be selling my book, "Hey Guy Buy Me" at Central Square, York University this coming Tuesday from 0900 to 4pm. Why not stop by and say hello and better still, buy a book. My second one is still with the publisher and it will be ready for my spring sales. Remember, I wrote this one for fun. So come and say hello. If I know you, bring me a coffee and donut. If I do not know you, just buy the book. I am bringing some Hallowe'en candies, because this year I had less than half of the people I had last year (rain and cold). No dogs trick or treating this year either. No teens (delightful) either. Still adults trying to grab handfuls of candy, though their kids would take only one. Now, the kids need to train the adults. There is hope in our future after all. I enjoy going to York once a year, whether I need to or not. I really loved using a York University binder when I was going to the University of Toronto. I loved both schools for different reasons. Both gave me a wonderful education. Both gave me friends for life. So, I hope to see you soon. Silva

Funeral for Patrice Vincent

I sit here and watch the funeral for a man of 28 years of service to his country who was run over by a car by a recruit of terrorism. I feel bad for this man who will never be able to retire. I feel pain for his mother. But I also feel sorry for the family of the one who slayed. It is wonderful how we have all attended the funeral even though it maybe by a television screen. I see our strength as Canadians as we grieve as a country. I see our strength as a country who can unite in sympathy and compassion. We are a great country. We are a free country. And that is how it will remain.

New Mayor For Toronto

This should be an interesting four years. Our riding voted for Ford. As I walked to the voting poll I was stopped by a neighbour and asked who I was going to vote for and I said Ford. It was not an easy decision. My neighbour no longer embarrassed of who he had voted for began talking about why he voted for Ford. "Subways, we need subways. We have needed them for a long time." "Yes, I agreed." "What is the problem? Even if they do a few stops every few years to make it more cost effective." I nodded. "He took off that rediculous tax." Yes, I thought. I also thought of the cost of 5cents for each bag he relieved us of. If only he would go to charm school so he could play nice, I thought. Last night I heard a professor on the news speak about the marginalized voting for the Fords. Apparently we have 300,000 poor people living in Toronto. Did 300,000 people who are poor vote? I do not think so. So where did the votes come from. I will be watching this Mayor very closely. It is the first time he has won any election. Would he have won if the people of Toronto didn't want to get rid of a Ford? That is the question. It was difficult for me this time and I had not decided who to vote for until one week before. I don't care for name calling or bullies. HOwever, the day I decided to vote for Ford, I wrote this pasted underneath for my blog. The elections I don’t remember a time when I followed an election so closely in deciding who to vote for. I recall the Jimmy Kimmel show (I hope I spelled it right) saying if the people of Toronto voted for Rob Ford, what does it say for the rest of the politicians in Toronto, or words to that effect. It was said jokingly and I took it that way. However, jokes have a way at tugging at the truth. Why did we vote for Rob Ford? I recall how I was teased at times at the beginning and at other times, people became downright rude after asking who I was going to vote for and I said Rob Ford. When did it happen that people were suddenly chastised for who they voted for in a democratic society? However, Rob’s years in politics was an eye opener for me. It had me examine my city in a new way. I saw reporters who I have always respected turn into paparazzi. Where was the professionalism I had grown to see? I saw politicians cut and bite into each other like self absorbing bullies in grade school. I saw a gang style mentality living in the political world. I also saw a business man doing his best regardless of his addictions controlling much wasteful spending from spoiled politicians. I remember when council had to buy their own coffees and one politician knowing that the news camera was on her complained about how time was wasted because she had to get her own coffee. Really? We did get some of our taxes back and we could stop paying for grocery bags. There was a lot done in the four years that Rob was Mayor. What I found most touching was when we had our electricity go out, it was the dethroned Rob Ford out there for the people of Toronto, not the stand-in. And, when Rob Ford became sick with cancer, I continued to see the ugly side of people with a constant attack. I have been following this election very closely and I watch as candidates attack each other relentlessly. Though my major was psychology, in my first year I had to study general courses. We were informed that it would broaden our perspectives and they were right. I studied analytical thinking and another course was analytical writing. That is exactly what some high school teens were doing when they were watching some bantering between the politicians in the debate. They had to eliminate what is fallacious to determine what each candidate was promising. I was quite entertained and inspired by these young people who are our future. There is promise for more possibilities. However for now, if we can focus on what we think is important in alignment with the candidates than that is what can be a factor in how we vote. What is important for me regarding how I vision my city? I have lived here for most of my life. I have watched my city grow in population. However, our infrastructure is outdated and with global warming, I know that we will get a wake up call. We have too many cars and I have to admit I detest taking the city transportation system and avoid it. I know we need subways. We need it bad. We need business women and men politicians who know what budget means. We need someone with vision to move our city into the 21st century. We need politicians who do not make whimsical promises because there are no repercussions. We need to be able to make our own decisions and vote and not be afraid of what our peers think. Today I made up my mind. My priority is subways and continuation of curbing wasteful spending. I have seen that happen and so today I contacted my choice to erect a sign on my lawn (the sign was never placed on my lawn). Take that! I love living in a democratic society. Let’s keep it that way and respect the choices we each make. That is what makes our country great.

Terror attack failed to stop us from moving on. Thank you Prime Minister for your leadership and thanks to the allied support.

We have had two days within three where homegrown terrorists killed two of our soldiers. Both were put down. The acts were those of cowards. But unfortuntely they are just unhappy pawns from a bigger picture of those those full of hatred who prey on the discontent. Running people down with a car is probably as low as it can get and shooting a man unarmed standing over the tomb of the unknown soldier is quite sad. But the missions failed. There is no terror, only sadness for two soldiers and their families. I was moved hearing our Prime Minister speak as well as the NDP Opposition Leader last night. Even our Premier who I did not vote for impressed me. I saw politicians come together as the Canadians that we are in support for our country. I thank the USA for standing by us and perhaps others should learn how to get along with their neighbours. Of course England and others supporting us is very warming. This is a funeral not only for the falmilies of the fallen soldiers but for all of us. Thank you to the world. How unfortunate that there is such driving hate and more so that they think God would ever endorse such hatred. God is not the one about hate. Evil is in the guise of hatred. My sympathies are to all the families who are suffering.

Senior Fair was successful

I attended the fair which was an education fair for seniors. I spent most of my time getting coffee from the funeral services exhibit because there was free coffee, water and hand clenser. I told them that I was their best customer which caused a good chuckle from the previous somber appearance. Since I am still alive and relatively healthy, I am not a real customer, am I? Coffee was great! Lunch was provided and healthy with the veggie option of cheese in a bun. There was a salad, yogart and a choice of orange or apple. I had an apple the day before with my slices of veggie pizza. Holistic was the theme of the day and I must admit I was troubled about food choices suggested to promote youthful skin, avoidance of aging spots etc......As I looked around the room at all the wrinkles among the group where the medium age may be 75, I thought that promoting youth rather than embracing maturity was a tad disappointing. There was also a strong promotion for messauges. At some point it was suggested as a possible replacement of medication as was the holistic medicine. There was no mention that if you are taking medication and you take anything that is holistic you should inform your doctor. There was nothing mentioned that before stopping a prescribed medication to replace it with what is considered natural, consult with your doctor. None of that was mentioned because there was a negativity associated with medicine. No one even mentioned their qualifications and that spoke volumes. So yes, the fair was successful because it brought a community together and treats were provided. It was successful because the importance of nutrition was explained. However, if you believe that natural products are better than scientifically tested medicine, ensure that anything you digest as an effect. Check with your doctor!

Seminar at Sunnybrook, Dr Koenig from the University of Duke, USA. What a guy!

Yesterday was a fun day for me as I met up with some peers and listened to another speaker. Dr Harold Koenig is “the co-founder and Director of Duke University’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, North Carolina. He serves on the faculty at Duke as Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Professor of Medicine.” He has published more than 40 books and has peer reviewed approx. 400 articles. I wished more of my profs were like him. He was funny, inspiring and looking for us Canadians to go South to do research with also the promise of scholarship. And why not? We have not kept up with our own research here at home. I don’t like research myself. I think it is extremely important but I also think that my own boring experience with statistics and research methods in undergrad was a good indication of why I did not like it so much. Our courses was more of how to get rid of students and force them into social science rather than let me turn you into a great researcher, it is very easy and it is really needed in the area of religion and spirituality up here in Canada. If you like, why don’t you come down here and I will train you, but you need to show potential. Potential? Yup, I got lots more than that! I am a potential in progress. Yes, sir, I am. This was the second American speaker in a month and I loved his style. Today he is back in the States seeing his patients as a medical doctor. I am impressed. “Where does he get his energy?” I remarked to colleagues. He was talking all day and never took a break. I always leave people alone when we are given breaks because I think they need them too. But this guy was like the ever ready battery that does not stop. “He’s American. They are all like that. They have an abundance of energy that does not quit.” My colleague responded. I looked at him to see if he was joking, but he wasn’t smiling. He was serious? Do Americans have more energy than Canadians? Better rephrase that. Do Professors of Psychiatry at Duke University have more energy than Professors at ……………? Wait, how are we going to measure that? Rephrase again. Naw. I do not have enough energy and I need to get ready for another event. Plus I have an enduring cold that will not go away. I don’t normally impress easily but Dr Koenig impressed me with his kindness, passion and humour. He has lots of it. He also suffers from chronic pain. He is the second physician that I know of who suffers and is such an amazing healer. The morning was spent with the results of his research. In a nut shell people who are depressed and are religious fare better, live longer and are heavier than people who are not religious. These are people who are seriously ill. This did not apply to people who identify themselves as spiritual. I am not doing the research justice and I have to admit I was surprised by the findings. I remember from undergrad and other seminars that controlled studies where people in hospital were prayed for by a group without their awareness became better more than the control group who were not prayed for. This has been repeated with the same results. I had to wonder why we in Canada are not doing more of this kind of research especially since there is always money in research. The closest I came to research was my grad research proposal. I required a research course for my Masters. I did that at the University of Guelph which was not accepted on my list of courses at U of T. That is annoying because sometimes I forget to submit it as part of my Masters qualification. However, I had more courses than I required. I remember that all my text books in psychology were American and I inquired about this. We just didn’t have enough of us wanting to write the books. That has changed as I see the authors of some psych books who I recognized as profs. We have a lot of talent in Canada so do research and write books. Hey, you can go South. They have lots of scholarships. I am still paying for my years after undergrad. But, I am not complaining. We do have a good education here and that is why people, down under like us. We need to maintain that quality and not think quantity. So for more information about Dr Koenig check out http://www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/. The afternoon was mostly about research and that I had already studied to death but I stayed because of the company. Refresher never hurts. I also felt I was rather living a pampered life having a private practice. I don’t work in prisons, nor do I work with the criminally insane so I feel that I am relatively safe in my work with others. Not, that I have anything against prisoners nor the criminally insane. But, my interest is in emergency response workers. Someone needs to care for those who care for others. Someone needs to care for those who do the work that no one else can.