The Knitting Wars

Earlier this month I began the long process which was learning how to knit. The day before Goldie and Frank (elders at Riverside) began to teach me, my thunder was stolen by Shoshana Okano. She not only one upped me learning how to knit merely hours before I learnt, but she also got training on how to pearl. This news was devastating to me because I am not use to having to settle for second place. Therefore we found ourselves on opposing sides of the battlefield and the knitting wars had begun.

It has been more than a month and I can clearly state that in this competition I was crushed beyond belief. I don't often declare when I lose but I was so pathetic against her naturally gifted knitting hands. Whereas her stitches were nice, loose but perfectly balanced, mine were freakishly tight and I kept missing stitches left right and center. I had barely created a small square in pink yarn and she was already knitting a hat. In my defense her billet mom was a crazy knitter and at the Nechako Manor she was able to get amazing tips from the "In north China we do....." nurse who turned out to be a pro knitter. The playing field was stacked against me from the start and the better she got the lazier I became. Nevertheless I have an appointment tomorrow with Catherine (another Riverside resident) and I am going to give pearling another try. I am really looking forward to that but my true secret weapon is that Frank has promised me (if I get better) that he would teach me how to make these amazingly ugly but awesome slippers. So until then Shoshana you are the goddess of knitting but ugly slippers can change the perspective of everything.

Merry (Belated) Christmas

I have fallen of the band wagon when it came to updating my blog but I am back to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I promise to stay more in sync with my blog and its posts because I have lots to write about but unfortunately from time to time I become slightly lazy. I will update again soon!

The Records of History

The Residents of Riverside have yet to stop impressing me. I love going there in the mornings because everything is so low key. I go there to talk, spend time and to just brighten the day of anyone who so asks. Not only are they usually friendly they also have some of the most interesting stories and things to share. On Thursday I spent some time with this gentleman named Bob. He is in the process of digging out all of his old records and restoring them to their previous state. He began telling me about his first record player when he was a kid a 75 rpm (or something) record player and how the first records held only one or two songs and used only the one side. He pointed to an unopened box and said that they were records that had belonged to his mother. We spent the next half hour going through them and cleaning them up with these cool brushes.
I loved reading the labels, learning about artists I had never heard of and just finding out when and where they came from. One of the last records that I pulled out was a Christmas record. I could not believe my eyes when I read that it was released on December 3rd 1909. It was exactly 100 years to the day (well it was December 4th but close enough) that this record had been released amid Christmas cheer in New York City. How it made it into the hands of Bob’s mother he did not know but it really made me think of how our technology has changed in 100 short years. The change is incredible and I felt like I was holding a piece of history. We take for granted all of the things we have and we forget that not very long ago something as simple as a record was treasured beyond belief. For me this made me realize how quickly our lives change and that in no time at all our present will be history.

A Runaway Puppy!

One of the more memorable moments that happened this week was that I found a four or five month old puppy that had broken into Riverside. It all started at about 9 am when Patrick, one of the residents, interrupted a meeting which Helen, my boss, and I were having. He had sworn that he had just seen a rat with a pink sweater run down the hallways. Helen thanked him for his input but soon forgot about his declaration when he left. Helen had a lot of administration work to do so I got to lead the morning walking group with Isabel and Hilda, two of the nicest residents in the facility. We were coming the the end of our second hallway when this so called rat came running down the hallway on a collision course with Hilda.
After some quick thinking, on my part, I was able to divert the small creature away from Hilda and attempt to catch it. It was then that I saw it was a puppy. It skirted past me and ran into the kitchen. I finally cornered her and picked her up. She was so petrified that she began to pee everywhere. Here I was with this puppy, holding her as far away as possible, as she peed and made a mess. I put her in one of our back rooms and got her some water. We were at a loss of what to do because it certainly was not a dog of one of the tenants and she had no collar.
I felt terrible for the poor creature. She was so scared and I did not want to call SPCA because a dog pound is not a place to be if you are a puppy. Thankfully at about 1 pm a woman came to Riverside looking for a dog in a pink sweater. Supposedly Isabel had taken a scooter ride downtown and saw this lady frantically looking for her puppy. When I brought the dog out to her, she burst into tears of gratitude. The dogs name was Teeka and what had happened was that she had just gotten a new collar, but the collar was still a bit big for Teeka so when she was tied up outside she slipped out of it and went for a stroll. Seeing the dog reunited with her owner made my week. The bond between dog and owner is incredible and it brought a whole new meaning to ‘man’s best friend’.

Teeka is a cross between a pug and boxer.

Drifting to Prince George

It was a regular Tuesday morning. I had woken up at 7:15 am per usual so I could get into the shower first and use most of the hot water. I was anticipating a boring day at the district office seeing that my boss, Sarah, had told me that they needed help from the three arena volunteers to fold five thousand copies of the Vanderhoof Updater. However when Jessica, Thony and I arrived at the offices, we were told that parts of the Updater had not been approved by council so it could not be sent to print. I was slightly cheesed off by that because Sarah had promised us three dozen donuts from Woody’s bakery, which would have been shared between the four of us, and these donuts are to die for. This also meant that we had no set structure for the day. Sarah was forced to think of something for us to do, and she came up with the brilliant idea of going Christmas shopping in Prince George for our Christmas Party/ Picture with Santa event which is being put on at the arena.
I was all for this idea because there are only a few stores in Vanderhoof and I have not been to a mall since I started Katimavik. It was a beautiful day and the road conditions were not bad at all. We were having quite a pleasant drive when I experienced one of the scariest moments in my life. We came up behind this red ford with a trailer on the back which was only going 70 km/h so Sarah decided to pass the truck. As she accelerated her four wheel drive cut out and the entire back end swung out and hit the car that we were passing. Sarah tried to pull away but her car then stalled and we started drifting on black ice. We completely spun around and the proceeded to once again hit the car but this time on the side. If we had not smacked into that car for a second time we would have continued gliding. That is a scary thought for me because the ditch to the one side of us was more than a 20 foot drop.
I am just thankful that everyone is okay. The severity of the crash could have way worse and it helped that the people in the other car were calm and collected. Sarah’s car had to get towed because there was a horrible clicking noise when she tried to drive it again, maybe the axels, and we did not think it was safe to drive. It sure was an eventful day and an experience that really made me grateful for the life that I have.

The Case of the Disappearing Photographs

A huge part of the Katimavik program in my mind is to take as many pictures as possible and then have some of them put up on facebook for all of my friends and family to see. I was following these 'rules' quite faithfully along with most of the other people in my group, even to the point when tagging people in photos became a daily ritual, when I started noticing that I would get fewer and fewer pictures every time I uploaded them to my computer. I could have sworn that I had taken dozens of pictures that particular day but unfortunately only twenty or so pictures would upload. When it happened for the first time I thought I could have accidently erased them, but when it happened a second, third and fourth time I started to become suspicious that someone was erasing my photos for a reason I could not comprehend.

I began to keep my camera with me everywhere I went and when I wasn’t using it I hid it in my room so the ‘picture thief’ could not have his or her chance to erase my photos. Today tragedy struck again. I was volunteering at a radio auction today (totally cool btw) with my friend Shoshana, when I got the idea to have a photo shoot about our day at the auction. I was taking an epic photo of Shoshana showcasing the display board, in a funky Vanna White style, when my camera self destructed in my hand! All of the photos which I had taken from that previous week had vanished into thin air. My own camera was the enemy which I was trying to find. In light of these new developments I am now forced to upload my pictures as frequently as possible living in constant fear that they could disappear at any moment. A horrible reality is what I am now living and if my parents are reading this, potentially a new camera would be a nice idea for that special holiday which is quickly approaching.

The Zamboni and the Arena

Some people have asked me to put up pictures of me on the Zamboni. Their wish is my command so I finally got around to taking a picture while I was driving the big blue machine named Sally. I am not sure if that name is going to stick but I can tell you that Steve (a suggested name) or for that fact any other guys name is out of the question because some of the guys had a problem with those names saying that they did not want to continuously have to "ride a man" day after day. Everyone at the arena is looking for input so if you have an idea for the name let us know.

(The Gate that Separates the Zamboni and the Ice!!!)

(Smiling and Driving at the Same Time)

House Prisoners

I must start off my blog by saying that I had been looking forward to the week that has just pasted, since the beginning of time (or since I moved to Vanderhoof). This week I got to be a house manager with Andréanne. This meant that we got a week off work and we got to cook the food that we wanted to and keep the house spotlessly clean. Our menu was set; we had planned extraordinary meals which ranged from Spanakopitas, Salmon with baked fries to Steak Kebabs. We were just getting ready for a relaxing week where we would be able to lounge around the house doing what we please when reality set in! I for one did not know that dehydrating Spinach would take over an hour and a half, squeezing by hand, to get every single last drop of water out of them, that perogies would take over five hours of hard labour to produce, or that the fried onions and green peppers on the kebabs were perfectly sized for a funny (but annoying) food fight at the dinner table. Andréanne and I worked extremely well together, we are "the babies" of the group seeing that we are both still seventeen, but we are still the best damn cooks the katimahouse will ever see! We had to be innovative in what we chose to make, people get bored if they eat the same things over and over again, but we bit off a fair amount (when it comes to cooking) and were left chewing (cooking) for hours on end.
Before Katimavik I had minimal experience in the kitchen, seeing that my mom was always a great cook and fed me whatever I desired. Cooking and cleaning is much more difficult that I thought, especially here in the katimahouse. Whenever we would clean something up, a new mess would magically appear somewhere else, and putting things away seemed to become more of a nuisance for some people. It was like we were cleaning up space for people to mess up. My mentality by the end of the week was to throw a bunch of noodles in a pot, feed it to the wolves and stick a citrus scented febreeze in the washroom. Don't get me wrong, all of my roommates here are fantastic, but all I am saying is that little help with the dishes after supper would always be appreciated. All of my mom’s grumbling about cleaning up after yourself suddenly makes sense to me, and I am legitimately going to make an effort to keep my things in order and out of the way, well most of the time....I have to torture the next house managers just a little bit.

TOGA TOGA TOGA

We had a toga night this past week and I though sharing these pictures would be useful in showing everyone what Katimavik is all about!

A Month Gone By in the Life of a Katima-Victim

It is incredible to imagine that it has been over a month since I travelled to BC and left my many friends and family back in Ontario. Although Katimavik has been such a unique and incredible experience to date, I cannot deny the fact that I miss everyone terribly in London. Going on Katimavik would not have been nearly as hard if I did not get the privilege to work with some of the most talented people in the city this past summer. I got to spend time with fun, caring and charismatic theatre kids when I took part in my fourth and last High School Project Grease at the Grand Theatre.
Never in my life did I feel so motivated, included and most importantly happy. Everybody in the cast and crew brought something special our group and added to our chemistry on and off stage. The eleven week process went by way too quickly and I wish I could have stayed in that utopia forever. The Grand Theatre was like a second home to me, a sort a refuge where I could become myself and always feel welcome. The Grand Theatre will forever be a part of who I am.
I left London three days after our show ended and although many thought it was too soon, I left on a high point and felt ready to take on an entirely new challenge. I do not want to sound cheesy but Katimavik is like a roller coaster, there are so many emotions swirling around the house and the atmosphere can change in an instant. Katimavik is helping me grow as a team member and as an individual. I love that Katimavik is showing me how I can include my musical talents in my daily life, from performing at my local church and the Cozy Corner to starting a Glee Club at the seniors facility. Theatre is a huge part of my life but I have been unsure of whether to pursue it later in life. Hopefully I can gain a better perspective through Katimavik. I am in a good place right now, surrounded by great people (even if they are not theatre people) and my positive outlook on life is only growing here in Northern BC. Leaving London has made me realize how sweet a life was, from my friends at school, work and of course the theatre. My life almost feels surreal to me right now and I have never been so excited to just live.

To trick and not to treat

Halloween at the Katima-house was crazy. Vanderhoof puts on a special event for Halloween called the Pumpkin walk and we were summoned to volunteer for the event. It is a community event where local businesses set up booths to give away candy while people walk through the forest which is lined with over 500pumpkins. Our job was to collect, (thanks Jazmin and L.A), place and then light all of the pumpkins. It would have been an enjoyable experience except that as soon as we began moving the pumpkins a huge wind/ rain storm came out of nowhere and made us all miserable. The storm passed quickly enough and by the time we began lighting the pumpkins our spirits had been lifted slightly, only to be squashed by cold wins and cruddy lighters.
In an attempt to turn the tone of the house around some of the group, which turned into many of us, which turned into everyone except Tom decided to dress up and go trick or treating. I had gotten into my costume (pink pyjamas and a purple shower cap) and retrieved my pillow case super early and was therefore forced to wait for everyone else. For some odd reason I came up with the brilliant idea to hide under the big rubber dingy sitting in our living room (I will explain why we have one at a later date), and to scare everyone when they came into the room. It seemed like a great idea at the time and I waited in much anticipation for my trick. After I waited for minutes I started to get slightly annoyed but I continued to wait, and wait and wait. I could finally wait no longer and I decided to come out of my boat to see where everyone was at and I found that everyone had already left for Trick or Treating (minus Tom) without me.
I was quite disappointed but I went with Tom to the pumpkin walk, found the rest of the candy loaded group and watched the fabulous firework display, which was provided by the district. I cannot say that freezing my buns off lighting pumpkins and getting completely forgotten about can make for the best Halloween ever but it was sure one to remember.

Toilet Paper Rolls, Chicken Fajitas and Acne

It was an extremely eventful weekend in Vanderhoof. I went to church, we had our first 'real' snowfall and I got my first punishment in Katimavik. It all started when I wanted to go to the washroom in our newly painted bathroom. I was about to use the facilities when I realized that we were out of toilet paper! Disgusted, I ran down stairs ranting that someone had forgot to change the toilet paper. I made someone else change the roll and then proceeded to use the washroom downstairs. A few minutes later I was at the kitchen table muttering to myself how inconsiderate a person must be to not change the roll when Jessica came into the room and announced that I myself had not changed it in the downstairs bathroom. I will admit that I was slightly embarrassed with myself and in the Katimahouse not changing the roll is a Class-A felony, so I was forced to pick a consequence out of the dreaded jar.
Before I get to my punishment I was not the first to get one of these cruel and unnatural punishments. Tristan, who forgot to turn the computer off at night, was forced to wear a dress for the day and Shoshana, who left her razor in the shower, had the unfortunate experience of having to take a freezing cold shower. The punishment that I picked out was that during supper my hands were to be tied behind my back and I was forced to eat our delicious Chicken Fajitas and Greek Salad (thanks Mik and Fred) with only my mouth. Let me tell you it is not one of the most pleasant experiences. There I was chomping down on my Fajitas with my face right in the middle of my plate and then having to slurp up my water in a bowl like a dog. I thought the worst of my punishment was over until later that night Fred told that the acidity in the salsa and tomatoes would give me acne. I scrubbed my face down as a precaution before I went to bed but low and behold when I woke up the next morning I had three pimples on my chin and cheek. The morale of my story I guess is to not be so critical of others because sooner or later you are bound to screw up and your judgement day may end up being well harsh, mushy and extremely funny.

Cannot believe that it's Ashley's Baby!!!!!!!

Friday brought about the end of our first work week here in Vanderhoof and it finished on a high note. I spent a good chunk of my day calling all the tenants at Riverside trying to introduce myself personally but gave up half way when I realized most of them could not understand me over the phone. One lady even told me she didn't like telemarketers and hung up the phone!!! So instead I began to knock on all of the doors to set up little one on one rendezvous. One of my visits was with Isabel, the painter at Riverside. The first thing a noticed when I walked into her room was a huge photograph of her and her husband in their twenties. The two of them could have easily past as an amazing Hollywood couple. I really wanted to ask her for a copy but I did not want to come across as a creepy visitor. We started to look through my landscape photos (four of which she chose for her sketch book) when we were interrupted by a two o'clock phenomenon called the Young and the Restless.
The Young and the Restless, for those who do not know, is a soap opera of which even my mother is a fan. I have not had the real pleasure of watching the show before, so when Isabel offered me juice and cookies I could not resist. Y and R is a wretched show but for more than half an hour I could not tear my eyes away from the drama. How can Sharon not know that the baby isn't hers, and how cold is Ashley to divorce Victor!!!!!!!! Reluctantly I had to leave Isabel and her soap around quarter to three because I had to set up for Shuffleboard and tea time but she has promised to fill me in :P
Tea time was just as eventful. Helen, also in her nineties is a very fierce competitor when it came to shuffleboard and destroyed me 15-7, 16-1, 15-8. It is not that I am bad but she would just not miss a shot. I am really enjoying my time at Riverside. In my time here I will be running the exercise groups and starting an actor’s group for the residence. Oh how this trimester will fly by.

Landscape pictures I took for Joan and Isabel.

I cannot wait to see the finished product which they will create!

My job at Riverside

Seeing that the Arena/District of Vanderhoof job is only part time I was also placed at the assisted living facility here in Vanderhoof called Riverside Place to help out and plan events for the tenants. There are 32 people living there and the majority of them are 85 plus. Every day is different and full of surprises as many of the tenants have amazing talents. One elderly lady is an amazing painter so I took her out today to get landscape portraits of the area. We took almost 100 pictures and we are going to pick our favourites tomorrow. When she first told me she was an artist I was quite sceptical due to the fact that she is 92 years old and very shaky but when she got a pencil in her hand her skill was impeccable. Another man is a knitter and he has promised me slippers!
Another big hit at Riverside is my piano and vocal skills. They already have a list of songs which they want me to learn which include Blue Moon and Love Letters in the Sand. Although the like hearing me play, they are not so fond for my practicing habits. Coincidently the minister of the United Church here in town was visiting Riverside and told me that I could use their Yamaha piano as long as I attend their Sunday service and help out with music. The minister is quite a character. She is what I would call a “in your face Christian” extremely nice but very prominent in her views. It is sure to be an experience and the bonus is that I will get a chance to use and maintain my musical skills.

First Day of Work at the Arena.

It has been another busy day at the Katima-house here in Vanderhoof. Monday morning meant the first day of work for most of us. For Jessica and I it meant trekking the whole two minutes to the local arena (actually we got a ride most of the way there but that is beside the point.) We arrived pronto at quarter to nine and were instantly given master keys to the rink along with keys for the Zamboni :P. We spent the morning familiarizing ourselves with the premise and I was taught how to use the skate sharpener. Supposedly it is one of the most dreaded jobs at the arena but I kind of liked it. (Then again I'm not six feet tall and I don't have to bend my back while working the machine). Three hours later the machine had lost some of its initial grandeur, but then again it beats trying to put up the new time clock in the freezing cold (hahahaha Jessica).
Our afternoon was spent working for Sarrah and the District of Vanderhoof. Our job description is to help plan events and represent Vanderhoof in the area. Our first task is to design and build the Vanderhoof’s float which is to be used in this year’s Christmas Parade of Lights. The task sounds fun but it is going to be laborious and difficult. (On the bright side we will get to drive into Prince George to buy supplies!!). Overall it was quite a nice first day although I wish I could say that about the atmosphere here back at the house :(. I am looking forward to going to work tomorrow and to making sure I make the most of each day here in Northern BC.

On the eve before I start work!!!!!

Wow what a blast Katimavik has been so far. I have only been here a little more than a week but I have already learnt so much (like not to put 15 cups of rice into a cooker for only 12 people). This experience is going to be AMAZING and I am so glad I get to spend it with ten other people that I really like. Sure were going to fight and it will be over the stupidest of things (cough taking showers cough) but arguing is how we grow. I once had a friend, and I considered her one of my best friends but we never argued. Now that I look back on our relationship I see that having everything kept up simmering inside might have been detrimental to our friendship. Nevertheless I still think she is a great person and hope she gets what she wants in life.
That is the past and I have my whole future ahead of me so basically I am starting a blog so all my friends and family can stay up to date with my travels and katimafirsts (when I do something completely new). I miss everyone like crazy but Katimavik is too good of an opportunity to pass up. I hope everyone is doing well and I will be sure to update everyone about my work placements (the Hockey Arena and Riverside Place) tomorrow!!!
Cya later
Jordan

P.S I have just notice that you can put Katima infront of any word and it sounds good!!!!......Katimacouch, katimatravels, katimacatching,katimaawesome...... its katimacrazy :P
....nm Good night :)

I have decided to get a blog :)

Testing one two three this is my first post!!!!!!