On My Birthday

I had the GREATEST birthday on Sunday.

Sam and I woke up to my way too upbeat alarm. We were in Camrose, at Jen and Colin's house. Last time we visited them, we really only visited Jen because Colin locked himself in his room to play World of Warcraft shortly after we arrived. But this time he stopped playing the game when we got there and even talked to us AND complimented my Charmander t-shirt! He is turning out to be a pretty good friend's husband, although I'm not sure if he can compete with John-Mark, who played a pretty long game of Dutch Blitz with us when we visited Cassy over the summer. The competition is pretty close at this point. (Of course, from my perspective, Bobby Knaus wins hands down. But he isn't included in this particular competition because Sam doesn't know him, or Gen for that matter.)

Anyways, I am way off track now. We got ready and left for Edmonton with a 9x12 pan full of cinammon rolls! Are Sam and I the only ones who didn't know how good Jen is at baking? Seriously. Every time we go there there is something baking, she's just like her mom!

OK back to the story... Edmonton. We got there with a little bit of time to spare, so we got some coffee and my mom called to wish me a happy birthday while we were in the coffee shop. While we were talking, my mom made an awesome insult against Sam and it caught me off guard, so I spit coffee all over the table. Oh well.

When it was time to go, we drove across the street to the science centre, where the BODY WORLDS EXHIBIT is!!!! It was SOOOOO cool! Seriously. We spent FOUR HOURS there and I have only good things to say about it. It wasn't gross or weird, it was educational and awesome. If you ever go, you should definitely spend the extra $6 on the audio tour. I wish I had pictures to show you, but photography was prohibited. I'd usually break a rule like that, but Sam is not a rule-breaker like I am, and I didn't want to deal with her disapproval all day. So you will have to live with the picture of us outside of the science centre. But look how nice Sam's new glasses are! I really like them, and I like to tell people that I picked them out. I kind of did, but that is after Sam narrowed it down to two options. Also, I never notice how much taller I am than Sam until I see pictures of us together. Weird.

After our science centre experience we went on a mini-adventure to find Wonk and Keywee. We thought we knew where their house was because Wonk took us on a tour of it last spring, but we were wrong. I guess their plans changed because that house was definitely empty. So, we went to their school, found some people who knew where they live, and went to their house. Pretty easy, really, but they were quite creeped out that we found them without an address or anything. We got bubble tea with them, dropped them back off at their house, and started our drive back to Calgary.

The drive back to Calgary was the longest 3 hour drive of my life! We were SO tired that we had to switch drivers twice. We stayed up way too late the night before playing with Toast, West Jet, Jen, and Colin. Then we got up way too early because we had to be in Edmonton for our ticket time. Anyways, I was so tired by the time we needed to leave Edmonton that I was feeling really sick. So Sam, who was also tired, started our drive while I took a nap. She made it maybe half an hour, then we switched. I drove for awhile while Sam took a nap, then she woke up and needed to go potty. This was just outside of Red Deer. She was so sure that the rest stop was "at the next turn... no wait, the next one" but we were pretty much in Airdrie by the time we got to the rest stop. From there, Sam drove me home, then herself home, and we both went to sleep.

It was a great day. Here are a couple of pictures from the non-Body Worlds part of the science centre.

I can't believe I have kept the Fair Trade Friday commitment for 3 whole weeks!

This week I present to you Cafe Femenino! Cafe Femenino (their website is linked HERE) is a Fair Trade coffee cooperative based out of Peru that is run entirely by women. I think it's a great idea. Not only do they pay for the Fair Trade beans, they do so in a way that empowers women in an area where women are economically marginalized.

The Cafe Femenino Foundation was featured in the documentary Strong Coffee: The Story of Cafe Femenino, which I saw at last years film festival in Calgary. The Foundation is based out of Vancouver, WA, and provides beans for several roasters in the Northwestern United States as well as Arizona and several Canadian provinces. The Foundation requires that a percentage of roastery profits go towards organizations in their hometowns that serve women. This is a way of serving communities, both in Peru and locally.

In Calgary, you can buy the beans at The House Coffee Sanctuary in Kensington. You can also get them at Grab-a-Java in Mission. Dave, the owner of Grab-a-Java, actually makes an appearance in the aforementioned documentary, as he is a roaster of Cafe Femenino beans. Pretty cool, especially if you love Grab-a-Java as much as I do!

Anyways, the coffee is good and so is the Foundation. If you currently need coffee beans, go get some! (Cafe Feminino ones, I mean.)

A Facebook/Birthday Story

I came home on my birthday and found this written on my wall (my Facebook wall, not my literal wall):

"Hey! I totally meant to say it when I saw you at Church, but Happy Birthday!"

I didn't go to church on my birthday. I was out of town.

I deleted the post off of my wall. The author of the post is a bit of a sensitive sort of person, so I figured if I was going to point out her mistake on my blog, I should also make her untraceable. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this, so it really shouldn't matter.

Know Thy Tastebuds

As we like to do, Sam and I were sitting in her bed one evening eating snacks and stalking people on Facebook. We were having pretzels. I tend to think that I don’t like pretzels, but I seem to eat them about one out of every five times I visit Sam’s house, so maybe I do like them.

Anyways. The pretzels were really dry (I think the dryness is why I think I don’t like pretzels). Sam, in an uncharacteristic act of non-laziness, offers to go upstairs to get some water for both of us. When she came back down and handed me the water, I got a whiff of something that smelled pretty good.

“Whoa, did you wash your hands while you were up there or something?” I ask. It’s a good question because all of the hand soaps in Sam’s house smell quite nice.

“No,” she replied. I’m not sure if she was confused by my question or not.

“Oh. Well did you wash your hands anytime recently?”

“No. I haven’t washed them since I went to the bathroom like 4 hours ago,” she says.

“Oh.”

So I continue to drink my water, but I keep smelling that nice smell. It was so strong and smelled so close!

“Sam, did I wash my hands recently?” I ask. Sometimes Sam remembers what I have done better than I do.

“I don’t think so.”

I keep sipping at my water and pondering (in my head) where the scent could be coming from. I’m maybe halfway done with my glass of water when I notice that Sam is looking at me with a frowny, frustrated look on her face.

“What’s the matter?” I ask.

“I’m trying to trick you and it’s not working,” she responds.

Turns out she had poured a lot of artificial coconut flavor into my water. She was upset that I didn’t notice how bad it tasted. I let her have a sip and she said it tasted awful. To me, it just tasted like water, so I started drinking it again. She then informed me that she really had put A LOT of artificial coconut flavor into my water, and that it probably wasn’t healthy for me to be drinking it.

In regards to knowing thy tastebuds, I say they are hard to know if you haven’t got any.

I'm 23!

Today is my actual birthday. The picture is of my birthday time. Birthday time is not the time of day that you were born. Rather, it is the time that matches the month and day you were born. I like pointing out when it is my birthday time, whether or not it is my birthday. Anyways, I'll tell you about my birthday when it is over, OK?

It's Fair Trade Friday Again!

You had to know Fair Trade chocolate was coming eventually...

Today I want to tell you about Cocoa Camino. Cocoa Camino makes really yummy Fair Trade chocolate products. They make chocolate chips, hot chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, golden cane sugar, and, of course, chocolate bars.

Some of the flavors are very interesting, examples being chili and spice as well as matcha green tea. I really like the chili and spice. Serving chocolate with chili pepper is traditional in Latin America, dating all the way back to the Aztec empire in the 14th century, where the trees that grow chocolate (Theobroma cacao) are a native species and its refinement had been carefully mastered.

You can get Cocoa Camino chocolate at many Fair Trade coffee shops (in Calgary you can get it at The House or Higher Ground, both in Kensington, as well as any Good Earth location), at Ten Thousand Villages, or at most Organic grocery stores. I have yet to see them anywhere else, but let me know if I'm missing a retailer!

A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City

Just wanted to let you know about an event I'm planning on checking out next week that may be coming to a city near you. It's called A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City and it is put on by Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). Here are the dates and locations:

Edmonton: September 18-21 (that's today through Sunday!)
Calgary: September 25-28
Vancouver: October 2-6

The exhibit is a tour that encourages participants to imagine what life would be like in a refugee camp. MSF sets up mock refugee camps in each city. Tours are free and about 40-60 min. long. I think it'll be pretty cool.

www.msf.ca to learn more about this awesome 1999 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate organization.

Tina Fey for VP

Tina Fey, one of my favorites, made a return to SNL the other night. She looks too much like Sarah Palin for this not to be funny.

This was on the back of the pack of stickers I opened today.

Surprise! Orange!

Yesterday was my surprise orange birthday party, put on by Sam's lovely family! I had no idea this was happening, the theme was orange (my favorite color), my birthday is pretty soon, and it was a party!

Here is how it happened... Sam asked me last week if I'd come down and watch Annie with her on Friday (yesterday). Of course I said yes. Yesterday finally came around and Sam and I grabbed some supper at Market Mall, then went to "watch Annie" at Nan and Pa's house.

We get down to Nan and Pa's house, walk in the door, and all of these wonderful members of Sam's family jump out and yell "SURPRISE!" Hopefully you anticipated that part of the story. It was a surprise party, after all.

They were all wearing orange, all of the snacks were orange, and I got a bag of orange presents, including an orange bell pepper! It was really fun. It might be my favorite ever birthday party, and I usually don't even like birthday parties (too much attention).

The weirdest part was my friend Janet (Sam's mom). She was totally the life of the party! She was out of control with her jokes involving the color orange, and then she proceeded to instigate a water fight in the dining room! It was really quite something, and we were all wondering what she had done with the real Janet.

Anyways, it was really fun. Sam's family is really great!

Fair Trade Friday!

Let's make Fridays be Fair Trade Fridays, OK? OK.

Today, I present to you... TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES!

Ten Thousand Villages is a Fair Trade retailer with stores in the USA and Canada. I LOVE this store! Luckily, there are two in Calgary, or I definitely would not have moved here.

I learned of this store from my former roommate and current friend Alison (Smalison), who volunteered there back in the days when we lived in Seattle. Ten Thousand Villages began in 1946 when a Mennonite woman visited an MCC sewing class in Puerto Rico. She bought some embroidered pieces to sell back in her hometown in Pennsylvania and the rest, as they say, is history.

The stores sell artisan work, and I find that it is a good place to buy gifts. They also sell Fair Trade coffee, tea, and chocolate. Mmmmm. The stores are volunteer run, with the exception of a manager for each store. I find that a spirit of volunteerism says a lot about a place. Seriously, people are working there for free in a city where you can get paid $12/hr as a starting salary at A&W. I think that's great. I hope I can work there for free one day.

Store locations are all over the US and Canada (you can navigate the links above to find a store near you). I've been to stores in Seattle, Vancouver, Langley, and Calgary. Check it out sometime!

Sam, I think I forgot to tell you about this part of the evening.

I used the potty at Good Earth, where Sam and I were studying.

I had a little problem as I was going through the steps of washing my hands. For some reason I thought that it was an automatic soap dispenser. So, I wave my hand for awhile under what I seem to think is the sensor. I start getting a little agitated, thinking a bit about how silly it is that everything is automatic these days. Then I see the word "PUSH." This particular soap dispenser was not automatic. Cool.

No Wonder

Two nights ago I got maybe three hours of sleep. It was because I kept having nightmares. Like, I would have the dream, then wake up, think about it, and not be able to sleep. It was odd, my dreams are usually really weird, not really scary.

Anyways, I think I figured it out. I read a lot, and lately I've been reading a lot of depressing books. For example, this is some of what I am currently reading:

We Are All The Same: A Story of a Boy's Courage and a Mother's Love
By: Jim Wooten

This is the true story of a young boy named Nksoi in South Africa. That's him to the left. He was actually a bit of a celebrity, having inspired the South African government to require that children with AIDS be allowed to attend public schools. Born with AIDS, Nkosi is given to a white woman named Gail Johnson when he is only a few years old (not to be confused with my grandma Gayle, who used to have the surname Johnson). His mother, also infected with the virus, is too sick to care for him and dies not long after she gives Nkosi to Gail. I haven't quite finished the book yet, but I know that the kid dies in the end.


Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
By: Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire

Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire was the Force Commander for the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda in 1993 and 1994. We all know what happened in Rwanda at that time, so I won't go there. And if you don't know what happened in Rwanda at that time, well... I guess you could read this book. I recommend paperback, as it's sorta thick.


AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease and Globalization
By: Tony Barnett and Alan Whiteside

This is essentially a textbook on AIDS by two of the most renowned experts on the subject. Some of the numbers in here are blowing me away (this map is not from the book, but it shows infection rates by country... holy sheesh!).

Anyways. I know it's good to be educated, but maybe I should lower the intensity a little bit? Anyone know of any good books about, oh, I don't know, unicorns or rainbows?

Just a minute ago...

Sam: "I have a random question for you."
Ashley: "OK. I'm ready."
Sam: "What's Ferrozza's real name?"
Ashley: "Robyn Bishop."
Sam: "Oh. Nevermind. Wasn't her."

Fair's Fair

So I just finished reading a book called Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet by Carol Off. Perhaps you are thinking something along the lines of: "Sheesh Ashley, enough with the social justice already" or "Do you ever do anything other than read?" or "Get a job you hippie."

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book. The first half was a bit historical and I thought I'd be too bored to finish, but the course of history as presented in this book made a full circle and I was totally into it. I needed to get to the end of the story! My favorite part was that, in the end, the only logical solution was Fair Trade. I'm a big fan of Fair Trade, if you haven't heard. I also live under the delusion that anyone who doesn't care about Fair Trade must not know what it is, so here comes an informative excerpt from the book on the topic:

"For a product to be certified as "fair" requires an even more rigorous screening process than the organic certification. It must be made with no abusive labour practices, in particular no child or slave labour. Chemicals can be used in the growing or manufacturing of a product so long as workers are provided with adequate protective clothing and air quality (though chemicals are disallowed by the organic certifiers). An additional fair trade premium is paid to the cooperative or company, which is supposed to be used communally, to build clean water systems or provide schooling for the children of workers. But the most important aspect of the fair trade system is that it gives people in the developing world some advantage in the amoral jungle of supply and demand where the profit motive reigns supreme."

Anyways, I love Fair Trade and am always looking to discover new stuff that is Fair Trade Certified. Do you know of any such stuff? I want to know!

Richie Rich?

One of Jordie's blog post awhile back (click here if you want to read it) got me to thinking about how rich I am. I figured that I am probably pretty rich in the large scheme of things, but I wasn't really sure.

Then, the other day, I came across some numbers put out by the World Bank Development Research Group conveying the breakdown of individual annual incomes. I also found a website that uses these numbers to give you a global ranking and percentile if you enter your gross annual income. For their calculations, they use a global population of 6 billion and an average annual income of $5000.

I discovered that I am about the 684,923,240th richest person in the world! That puts me in the top 11.41%! Sometimes I think that I'm not making very much money. Perhaps I should spend more time thinking about the 88.19% of the people on earth who make less than I do.

Check it out for yourself:

www.globalrichlist.com