Beautiful Tree

I just thought that I'd post this beautiful tree. I found it on campus this fall. I think it's appropriate to post this tree, especially in this time of bare and brown trees. The season of fall is never long enough. I usually try to go on as many runs as I can in the fall so I can fully enjoy the changing colours of the trees. I still do enjoy going for runs in the winter. Every season has it's perks:) My favourite thing about running in the winter is the silence - It is my favourite "sound". That reminds me of a discussion in one of my Religious Studies classes. The professor asked - "what is the most beautiful sound?" One student replied "Silence" and my professor said "You must be a mystic". There is something so special about silence. It seems as though in the silence there is room to breath and room to find God. The combination of nature and silence is a powerful experience that speaks to me.

Crazy for Wii

The other day I was absolutely crazy. I got up at 4:30 in the morning to wait in line at Best Buy for the hottest item of the Christmas season - the Nintendo Wii. Even though it was just -2 C it felt like -20 because I was just sitting there in the cold for 2.5 hours. Thank goodness the manager came out and gave tickets to the first 56 people in line. I got the 55th one!!! I can't believe I did this because I wasn't even sure if I would like the Wii. I was sitting there with a bunch of gaming enthusiasts. Well, I'm sure Zak would like to hear me admit, I'm starting to enjoy it. I've even started to play the game Zelda that I got for his birthday.

Here's a picture of me all bundled up in the cold. I got some good "Poisonwood Bible" reading in, although I had to stop after 1.5 hours because my fingers were getting numb:) Thank goodness for my MEC -5 sleeping bag!!!

Christmas Challenge!!

"It's not about the PRESENT, it's about the future."

Yes, I know that it's still early to think about Christmas presents, but I have to mention a great Christmas giving idea before you all snatch up gifts for people. I know my Mom is one who starts early on the present buying:)

I cannot take credit for that quote at the top of this blog. It's part of MCC's Christmas giving idea. I know one thing that drives me crazy about the Christmas season is how everyone goes into spending mode. We become so buyer oriented that we forget that we're actually trying to buy something nice for someone and we'll settle for anything on December 23.

MCC has some great ideas that involve giving gifts that are actually needed. There are many projects that MCC has devleoped and you can choose one and donate the money in someone's name. You buy a goat in your friend's name, or give 10 school kits to help kids get a good education, or even give money to help artisans in their product development so that they can support their families.

So this year I challenge you all (and myself!) to give a gift that will make a big difference. Even if you just give one gift, you are helping a group of people on the other side of the globe who are struggling with poverty. Don't wait until it's too late. You can drop by your nearest Ten Thousand Villages (starting soon) and even get a nice card and ornament with your purchase of a "Living Gift". Or you can go to the MCC website where there are even more options than what is offered at Ten Thousand Villages.

http://www.mcc.org/christmas/

Defining Fair Trade

In the last couple of days I have been thinking about what exactly defines a Fair Trade product? The thought began when someone told me that American Apparel sold Fair Trade clothing. I looked up their website and discovered that all of their clothing is made in LA. The workers are paid really well and they even have an onsite massage therapist for those sitting at sewing machines all day. Their standard is to treat their employees fairly and to make clothes in a "sweat-free" atmosphere. Some people call them a fair trade company, but they are not officially certified by TransFair as having Fair Trade products.



Today I googled "Fair Trade" and it usually lists current items in the news on your selected topic. It led me to an article from the New York Times on a new clothing store called Fair Indigo. It is based out of Wisconsin and advertises its clothing as Fair Trade. Unlike American Apparel, this company employs workers from other countries such as Peru and China to make their clothing. The owner of the company sets high standards on who he employs to make the clothes for his company. The clothing manufacturers must pay their employees above the minimum wage, as even people in Canada don't live that well off of minimum wage. This company is not certified by TransFair either, but they did say that they are working with TransFair USA to develop a certification for Clothing.



The trouble with clothing is that there is a longer supply chain before you get to the acutual clothing product. Fair Indigo doesn't use Fair trade cotton or silk or leather to manufacture their products. They believe that the most impact that they can make to help those in poverty is to pay the clothing manufacturers a fair wage. This is a good part of the reason why TransFair has not certified clothing as Fair Trade. It is a big job to define the criteria for Fair Trade clothing. Products like bannanas, rice or coffee are much easier to certify since they are primary resources. These products don't need to go through any modifications before they are sold.

Personally, I think I would rather buy clothing from Fair Indigo than American Apparel because I believe that it is important to help those in developing countries. On the other hand, you could argue that buying from American Apparel is a more sustainable practice as you are not importing clothing over such long distances and it is better for the environment? Which side of the argument would you take?

Another question is, should TransFair certify clothing? If yes, what are the standards that should be implemented to certify clothing? Should it just be paying workers fairly, or should the company be asked to use fair trade cotton as well?

Yep, it's a lot to think about!

New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/technology/25ecom.html?ref=business
Fair Indigo: http://www.fairindigo.com/index.php

Everyday Ave

Right now I am about to start one of my least favourite assignments of the week. An ECON 101 online assigment, which means I need to do the weekly reading before I do it and it's due at 10pm tonight. . . the exciting Production Possibilities Curve:)


I try to entice myself to sit down at my desk and actually get some work done by surrounding myself with things that are special to me. First of all there is my beautiful antique teacup. I love the rich colour of it. I love to drink loose leaf teas and even Yerba Mate out of it. I'm sure that Opa would love to see me drinking Mate out of an English teacup rather than and ox horn from Paraguay! I guess that's the way our Canadian culture has become. We're just a melting pot of many different cultures. I love my new moccasins and Native art. I love Indian food and Latin Jazz.


I cannot forget my yummy dried mangos to keep my tummy full and my mouth busy while I study. Of course it's the best dried mangos ever from Ten Thousand Villages. I think that it's so resourceful that the producers in Columbia sell the fruit from the trees that shade the organic coffee beans.

Ok, well I'm all settled in - it's time to work!!

CAUSE Rocky Mountain 1/2 Marathon - September 2006

I just got back from a great trip to Canmore where I successfully completed the CAUSE Rocky Mountain 1/2 Marathon. Thankfully it was a beautiful day - not too hot or too cold. I managed to beat my Mississauga 1/2 Marathon time by about 5 minutes, so I was quite happy with that.

I've posted a lovely video that Zak took with my new camera so you can see me right before my race! Just go over to the links bar on the right hand side of the page and go to "Pre-Race Video". The link will direct you to my Photobucket Site.