tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71451335234687684462024-03-18T23:47:37.491-04:00Meditations of a Surprised Christo-PaganThe sometimes confused ramblings of a Canadian Christo-Pagan, including thoughts on spirituality (of course), feminism, fat acceptance/HAES and whatever else I feel like talking about.Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.comBlogger170125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-75301956597923654012023-10-27T09:57:00.002-04:002023-10-27T09:57:57.705-04:00It's Time To Stop Shaming People For Having Harmless FunThis morning, as I was browsing my news app, I came across this article from LADbible. For the TL;DR version: guy runs right into Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station in London, hits the wall pretty hard, shouts "Fuck, it's closed," and runs away. The article recounts the scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in which Harry's unable to get to the platform, speculates Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-63079992444043530452023-09-12T10:54:00.002-04:002023-10-27T10:06:52.866-04:00Nostalgia For better or worse, I'm an older Millennial. My childhood was filled with bright colours, wild 80's hair, awesome music, weird and sometimes dangerous toys (for example, I knew someone who broke her ankle using a Skip-It, and I myself incurred a number of minor injuries on my childhood best friend's Pogo Ball), and technology that was considerably less advanced than what we have Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-41629530989661577732019-06-09T16:47:00.000-04:002019-06-09T16:47:02.525-04:00UnexpectedYesterday something happened that I'm not exactly proud of—but first, I think I need to provide a bit of context.
A few years ago, my best friend introduced me to an old friend of his from high school. She's lived an interesting life; while I don't think it's best for me to provide details, I can say with certainty that she is well-travelled, creative, insightful, and an interesting personZillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-73709520364890990202019-05-20T02:46:00.000-04:002019-05-20T02:46:44.918-04:00Reclaiming my voiceThis post has been a long time coming, I know. It was never my intention to abandon this blog; but for a time, I believe I lost my voice.
Not my physical one, of course. But written? Absolutely. It was a gradual process, and one that I think I believed I deserved in some twisted way. Several years ago, I became involved with a feminist group on Facebook (I Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-12119418265148159832017-07-02T00:42:00.001-04:002017-07-02T00:42:18.606-04:00Canada Day MusingsI have a confession to make: my best friend and I went to see a fireworks display tonight, which is probably pretty damn problematic, because it was in honour of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
As I write this, it's a little after midnight. I am sitting in my room, and I hear occasional bangs from other fireworks, which are probably being set off by people in their own backyards. Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-82067530986289018172017-06-11T21:27:00.000-04:002017-06-11T21:27:05.850-04:00PotpourriLast night, when I was talking with my Anglican-born best friend, who is now the music director at a Roman Catholic church (I consider it amusing that we've ended up doing music at churches in each other's denominations of origin), he mentioned that he thinks it's odd that the priest there doesn't believe that God specifically sent Jesus to die. I laughed and told him, "Welcome to the Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-87155374540142756082017-01-23T20:47:00.002-05:002017-01-23T20:47:39.796-05:00Protests and Pink Hats and Safety Pins...Oh, My!Given the events of the past few days, I suppose that it's entirely understandable that I'm thinking about various Women's Marches and the reasons for them. I'm also thinking a bit about something that may seem a bit frivolous at first look—those pink "pussy hats" that so many people have been creating and wearing as a form of sartorial protest.
I've been reading a fair amount of criticismZillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-21644408538476943802016-11-17T21:50:00.000-05:002016-11-17T21:50:33.402-05:00Companions on the JourneyI've had a lot to think about lately, and this blog—half forgotten even by its authoress—seems like a decent place to start writing it out.
First, the obvious: it's been a little over a week now since my American neighbours' disastrous election, in which the outcome that I, and many others, had feared actually did come to pass: the angry, shouty jack-o-lantern with a straw hairpiece became the Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-22988307670086433952015-11-25T18:12:00.001-05:002015-11-25T18:12:55.748-05:00An Extra Reason to CareWhen I was working on my teaching degree, I had to take a class on educational law. It was an interesting subject, if a bit dry, and I always looked forward to that class.
The room was set up with a number of round tables, likely in order to facilitate discussions (and there were many). This was helpful during group work, of course, but if you were unlucky enough to have to sit with yourZillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-43919478610805462572015-11-08T20:13:00.001-05:002015-11-08T20:13:02.175-05:00I'm still alive!It's been quite some time since I last felt like writing here—inspiration has been fairly rare of late. But I've missed this blog, and I think I'd like to get back to it.
Few of the good things have changed. I'm still singing in my church choir, still a practising Pagan, and still working with young students who are having trouble with reading. My depression is still (mostly) Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-1633750832499575772015-02-02T11:09:00.000-05:002015-02-02T11:09:01.408-05:00Please don't be THAT Vegetarian.Before I get to the rest of the post, I want to make something clear. I like vegetarianism. I tend to lean that way myself, but for various reasons, going vegetarian full-time is not currently a good idea for me. Yes, I've thought seriously about it (and tried it, which did not go well for my health, mental or otherwise). No, I have not closed my mind to the possibility Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-91464235988463242762014-12-31T23:38:00.000-05:002014-12-31T23:38:51.013-05:00Some thoughts at the end of 2014It's been a tough year on the emotional front. I've had a harder time controlling my depressive tendencies, but I've largely managed to do so; however, I've been neglecting my writing across the board, not just here, and I think that hasn't been doing many favours for me. I think that in some ways, I need to find my voice again; I've had a tendency to silence myself in recent months, Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-2473106545020115692014-10-09T08:48:00.001-04:002014-10-09T08:48:23.362-04:00PaintbrushI've broken one of the cardinal rules of online article-reading: never read the comments.
The story itself—about Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman who has terminal brain cancer, and who has decided to end her own life on a day of her own choosing, surrounded by her loved ones—is one that I find fascinating, tragic, and comforting all at once. Fascinating, because of the moral issues Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-90500782122467264972014-09-14T18:19:00.001-04:002014-10-09T08:51:03.067-04:00I've heard this before. That doesn't make it any nicer.
There's so much that I'd like to write—I've been working on posts about the gathering I went to at the end of July, actually—but right now, I've got something on my mind that's been bothering me a bit.
You see, a couple of weeks ago, my best friend confessed to me that although he loves me, he can never find me attractive because I'm fat.
I'm not in love with him, but it hurt almost as Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-66718284458341395702014-07-21T06:49:00.001-04:002014-07-21T06:49:00.074-04:00Time to sweep away the dust and displace a few cobwebs. :)First of all: I'm still alive. :) The past few months have been good, if uneventful, ones. I have to admit that I haven't felt moved to write for a while now—which is, historically, not a good thing for me, as a lack of writing ambition has usually been a sign that I'm going to start slipping back into that special living hell that is depression. But so far I've actually managedZillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-84645583884888630632014-04-10T09:00:00.000-04:002014-04-10T09:00:21.279-04:00Sexual Immorality
Recently, I made an appearance as a guest musician at my best friend's church. This has happened once before, and the experience was pleasant enough that I was looking forward to doing so again. This proved to be the case this time as well. I find the people there to be friendly and welcoming; I find them to be almost overwhelmingly so at times, actually, but that's mostly Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-33099680745925780962014-03-10T17:56:00.001-04:002014-04-11T00:53:10.631-04:00A meditation on my closest friendshipOn Saturday, I spent about seven and a half hours with my best friend. This is hardly unusual; we've been in the habit of spending long periods of time together for most of the time we've been friends. In some ways, this surprises me a bit; while I am no longer as socially awkward as I used to be, and I'm certainly not as shy, I'm still very much an introvert, and long periods of Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-69592099104660773182014-02-08T11:20:00.002-05:002014-02-08T11:20:30.247-05:00MarshmallowsI don't think I've mentioned this before, but I'm a former Girl Guide. I went all the way through the program from Brownies to Pathfinders—"Sparks", for girls who are about five years old, wasn't introduced until I was about seven or eight—and I earned my Canada Cord in 1999. I was a little bit older than the average for it, but I joined Brownies about a year later than most girls, Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-18971486772883010122013-11-22T17:04:00.000-05:002013-11-22T17:04:11.711-05:00Inspired By Teo BishopI've been thinking quite a bit about Teo Bishop's recent re-conversion to Christianity—perhaps quite understandably, because part of the story of his spiritual journey rather strongly resembles my own. Well, on the surface, at least.
I've never been a frequent reader of his main blog, Bishop in the Grove. A friend of mine has frequently linked to posts of his on Facebook over the Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-6629424739040330042013-10-18T16:41:00.000-04:002013-11-22T17:16:53.899-05:00Here Come the Food PoliceOne of the things that I like the least about teaching Primary-level students is the fact that we're expected to police their food choices, right down to the order in which the students eat what's in their packed lunch—sandwich first, maybe the beverage if it can't be put off until after the fruit or vegetables have been consumed, and only then, if there was time and the kid was still hungry, Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-40373029194606866512013-07-19T13:14:00.001-04:002013-07-19T13:14:37.900-04:00You think we live in a post-racist society? Think again.I've been hearing and reading things about George Zimmerman's murder trial that are, quite frankly, still pissing me off. ESPECIALLY the verdict.
Here's the case as I understand it. Last year, Trayvon Martin, a seventeen-year-old kid, was walking through the gated community where his father lived. He'd just been to the corner store to buy iced tea and some Skittles. He Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-33911931697735687652013-07-18T20:48:00.001-04:002013-07-18T20:58:59.712-04:00Signal BoostWhat follows is a link to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. You can probably guess what I thought of the decision that the jury in Zimmerman's trial made. A post about that is coming soon. In the meantime, though, please check out their website.
The Trayvon Martin Foundation
Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-36267208288525656282013-07-01T07:50:00.001-04:002013-07-01T07:50:23.637-04:00This Is Fat PrivilegeI know that most of my recent posts haven't been particularly spiritual, but please bear with me. I've been working on a few posts with a more "on-topic" bent to them lately, but right now, after having encountered several of the things that usually trigger my difficulties with eating in the last several days, I feel the need to rant, especially because I've been stumbling upon a lot of Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-72952164453955691232013-06-14T14:29:00.001-04:002013-06-14T17:08:30.403-04:00FatI recently went with a friend to see "Weird Al" Yankovic perform a concert. It was a great evening—we ran a couple of errands, had dinner together, and then attended the concert. Aside from the fact that I forgot to bring earplugs (I have sensitive hearing, so the volume level that night was not comfortable), I really enjoyed myself; he has a tremendous amount of energy for performingZillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145133523468768446.post-78788239988080218092013-05-15T23:10:00.002-04:002013-05-16T17:13:28.026-04:00Thanks, I Think: Reflections on Aging and ChangingYesterday was a dear friend's birthday. The celebration, which is always fun, this year involved dinner at a local sushi restaurant and, once we'd all gone to her home, a game of Cards Against Humanity. Photography ensued, of course, and this morning, she posted some of the results on Facebook and tagged people in the photos in which we appeared.
A couple of people I haven't seen in Zillahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00818031446903225167noreply@blogger.com0