It's gone

It's been awhile since I've walked through Queen's Park. Today, as I was walking through, I noticed a bare spot where my favourite tree used to be. I always loved this tree because of how it's branches were formed. To me the tree looks like it's lifting its branches to the skies and holding up the weight of the world. But I'm not surprised they cut it down. Each year it looked more and more diseased. "The old has gone, the new has come."

A little bit of Hallowe'en

Okay so I don't go all out for Hallowe'en, but today I went to the St. Lawrence Market and I found this perfect little pumpkin (of comparable size to a tealight as you can see in the photo). As soon as I got home from the Market, you can see what I did.

There area a few people who do take Hallowe'en more seriously though. Building management for this apartment building, for example. Look at the effort they put into decorating the building ....and just for Hallowe'en. Quite interesting. I expecially like the 2 feet sticking out of the ground below, with a sign reading "Did not pay his rent for many months".

Fortunately my landlord is much more understanding :).

Blue Like Jazz

I finally finished Blue Like Jazz this morning. I've been working through the book since August - it took far longer to read than I expected.

I wanted to read the book because it was highly recommended and touted as a live-changing book by a couple people from my church. Over the last few years, I've noticed more and more how trendy certain things can become....and I think reading Blue Like Jazz is a bit trendy right now. I say this because stores like Chapters-Indigo can't keep it stocked for very long. I picked up my copy at Crux on sale for about $5 (regular price $19).

The book itself was interesting, and I wouldn't say it was a waste of time to read it. The author, Donald Miller made some interesting points about Christians and Christianity - how we miss the mark in so many ways with the way with interact with our friends, our community, ourselves, and our God. Blue Like Jazz is as its subtitle reads: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality.

My problem with the book seemed to be more in the delivery. I found the author's approach really difficult to follow and to "engage" in. I didn't connect, and I couldn't relate to the author's perspective. First of all Miller writes in a stream-of-consciousness style, throwing grammar and punctuation to the wind. Now I can't claim to be an expert when it comes to grammar and punctuation (and I commit similar crimes regularly), but I am slightly appalled by what Miller can get away with in this bestseller. Didn't they edit the book before it was published?! I found following Miller's thoughts equally as frustrating. It's like following his thought process, but without knowing quite what he's thinking. You follow the story blindly wondering what the heck he's talking about, and hoping he gets to the point soon (perhaps this is the "Sensing" part of me coming through). I also found his male perspective coming through much stronger than I was expecting. I don't find I have the same kinds of questions Miller has about Christian Spirituality - I don't feel like I'm missing the mark. I'm not sure this was the book for me, but I don't want to say it's not worth reading.

I'll close this with one of my favourite passages from Blue Like Jazz :
"We would eat chocolates and smoke cigarettes and read the Bible, which is the only way to do it, if you ask me. Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn't. It is a chocolate thing."
~ Donald Miller (p. 47, Blue Like Jazz)

I S F J

Today I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test.

I was surprised to find out that my personality type hasn't changed from when I first took the test online 5 years ago.

My personality type is :
I S F J : Intravert, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging
Actually I have a borderline Intravert/Extravert and Judging/Perceiving personality. Sensing and Feeling were very clearly defined. More about the ISFJ personality here. And, it's good to know that one of the ideal careers for ISFJs is an archivist. So I guess I'm in the right spot.

You can take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test here. This is where I took the test 5 years ago, and, though the test is different, my results were pretty much the same.

"No Tinkers Here"

I can't resist.

I had some time to kill in the Halifax International Airport, so I browsed the Clearwater store. I was drawn in by a rack of pajamas with lobsters all over them (I bought a pair, of course!).While browsing the shelves I noticed a calendar that made me laugh out loud, and even blush a little. The Nova Scotia Cancer Centre calendar is titled "No Tinkers Here: South West Nova Lobster Fishermen Bare-it For Cancer". I kid you not! Check it out.

These are the gems you find in airports: Lobster pajamas and naked fishermen!

Surprise! ...I'm home!

Thanksgiving was fantastic! This year I managed to surprise my family by flying home to NS without anyone knowing. My mother was in tears, my grandparents were speechless, the weather was perfect and the break was much needed. I had a fantastic visit with my family. It was so good to simply be, to laugh and play with family, to talk with the folks who know me best.

Most of my visit was spent at our family cottage. The cottage is my favourite place in the world. I could happily spend the rest of my days there and never get tired of it. There's no better place to be. I think it's because I love spending time with my family and I have a lifetime of fond memories at the cottage. And I think I have more of an appreciation for the natural environment - a side effect of living in the city for longer than I'd like.