On the Quest for a New Couch.
30 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Personal Tags: best, cloth, couch, fabric, L couch, leather, perfect, sectional, sofa
“You’ll see. One day, it will just appear…and it will have a halo around it.” -Steve
Ah, dear husband of mine. He is on a quest for the perfect sectional sofa. What is a sectional sofa? It’s an L-couch. Yeah. Nobody seems to know what a sectional is, but as soon as I reword it as “L-couch”, the lightbulbs in people’s eyes all light up with recognition.
“OH! AN L-COUCH! THOSE ARE COOL…Why do you want an L-couch? Don’t you already have couches?”
As a young couple, we’ve gone through two sets of secondhand couches: one set of $50 Craigslist couches for our first apartment, and another set of inherited couches (from Steve’s grandparents) for our second apartment.
We have concluded that our current living room arrangement of furniture is not terribly inviting, as far as living room arrangements go, and Steve figures that an L-couch would create a more comfortable, inviting, and conversationally conducive environment, especially when we have friends over.
Thus, it is time for a THROW DOWN (of credit card at the checkout)! Time to make the leap to PAYING (lots of) good money for furniture. Time to stop telling friends who come over that we are really loving our floral patterned furniture! (Although i actually don’t mind it. It’s cute. Like old people.) Time to proudly wear our inner Goldilocks on our sleeves and not settle for anything less than perfect! (Although I hope this doesn’t go on for too long – I’m the type that bought the first wedding dress I tried on.)
However, I strongly object to leather couches. It’s just one of those things. I’m never comfortable sitting on a leather couch. I feel either sticky or cold, and require a large blanket in which to swaddle myself before settling in, which can be awkward if it’s not my own house. But Steve is not a fan of the whole microfibre-plush fabric thing that seems to be in vogue for cloth couches right now, and also it’s not good at all for allergies, when friends with dogs come over for visits.
Solution: get a cloth L-couch. 
(I win.) But it’s going to have to be a very specific type of fabric. What kind? I don’t know yet. Something that’s not plushy and doesn’t look like it’s going to absorb too much in the way of dead skin and dog hair.
Guess I’ll just have to wait until I see one with a halo around it.
Then I’ll just know.
Beverly is a Fully Qualified Driver!
13 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in News, Personal Tags: burnaby, class 5, ICBC, road, test
Booked a road test yesterday.
Took the road test today.
Passed.
YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!
I can drive more than 1 person now! NO MORE ‘N’!
One more fear conquered. And it was a big one. For some reason, I’ve been completely, irrationally terrified of road tests all these years. Terrified. Shaking to the core just thinking about booking one. Last time I took one and failed, I fully couldn’t stop crying/shaking/wailing for fully 15 minutes in the car afterwards. It was bad. I don’t know why I’m so scared of them. It took a long time to finally work up the nerve to book the test again.
Some people are frankly terrified of flying, or heights, or spiders, or public speaking.
I can speak in public, do final exams, and all the rest with no problem. Okay, spiders I don’t really like.
But I am afraid of road tests.
Not afraid of driving (okay, i don’t drive in the snow but that’s just part of being a Vancouverite because transit’s so convenient) at all. Not afraid of driving on highways. Not afraid of driving on highways in the dark. Just road tests.
Anyway, even though I screwed up a couple of things, I passed the test, and the examiner even wrote on the bottom “GREAT JOB!!” and “XLNT HWY MERGE!!”, so I’m really happy about that. Good man. Knows where to give encouragement.
Phew.
Never going for a road test again until I’m 75 and they want to take my licence away.
I definitely focused on what I posted earlier today about obstacles and challenges – I approached this test as an opportunity to practice challenging my obstacles, and that helped me get my nerves in order.
This is a good day.
Old Blog Posts are Rather Depressing.
13 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Being a Woman, Mental Diarrhea, Personal
Blogging’s so great for remembering just how you felt during those times that you’ve since tried very very hard to erase, delete from memory. So incredibly fucking depressing. Such a great way to bring back all the incredibly vivid memories, in dated detail of chaos and pain, the where/when/why and more than anything, the I DON’T KNOW WHY what the hell is going on times, or the blessed instances of divine inspiration, only to look back and read the mad ramblings of a _______________ .
Delete.
Delete. Delete.
Delete. Delete. Delete.
But no, I am not going to delete.
I am going to see how I’ve changed. I’ve grown.
I sound different. I am different. I am not who I used to be.
And then there are the silver lining moments in the darkness.
And then there are days of great learning.
And then there are records of great personal accomplishments.
There is no past, because I choose not to remember it.
There may not be a future, because I don’t know if I will live to see tomorrow.
There is only today. I will live today in a way that, should I see tomorrow, will make it all that much better.
More obstacles?
More challenges?
More opportunity to practice challenging those obstacles.
Perfect takes practice.
And today, I will practice.
First Foray into Lending with Kiva Microfunds – kiva.org
03 Jan 2011 2 Comments
in Doing Good, News, Personal Tags: 2011, arts, Cambodia, crafts, donate, gift card, gift certificate, goal, housing, Kenya, Kiva, Kiva.org, knitting, Lebanon, Mexico, microcredit, microfinance, microfunds, microloan, Mongolia, motorcycle, paraguay, peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, team canada, vegan, vegetarian, weaving
So whatever happened to that Kiva gift card that Steve gave me for Christmas?
See http://www.kiva.org/lender/beverly for more information.
The entrepreneurs I chose to support:
1. Villa Universitaria Group in San Ignacio, Paraguay – Retail: To buy meat, vegetables, dairy products and others. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261074
2. Fortunata in Huancayo, Peru – Retail: To purchase mixed vegetables and cheeses, products that are in great demand in the capital. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261218
3. Marilou Landao in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Retail: To purchase more stock to sell in her general store. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261243
4. Amarjargal Suren in Hovd, Hovd, Mongolia – Food: To purchase flour in bulk from Ulaanbaatar for her bakery. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261267
5. Sharito Group in Tecoanapa Guerrero, Mexico – Food: To invest in buying more groceries such as: milk, oil, soft drinks, eggs, pasta, rice, sugar, salt, water, toilet paper and soap for their grocery stores. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261473
6. Jawaher in Nabatieh, Lebanon – Services: To buy special-price textiles for her tailoring business. http://www.kiva.org/lend/261485
7. Munafa Group in Kabala, Sierra Leone – Food: To buy food to resell in the food market. http://www.kiva.org/lend/258705
8. Mikoroshini Group in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania – Agriculture (Poultry): Increase the capital of the business and buy new broiler chicks. http://www.kiva.org/lend/257141
9. Jane Nyambura in Thika-Town, Kenya – Arts: To buy yarn and buttons for her knitting business. http://www.kiva.org/lend/258330
10. San Mom in Khsach Kandal district, Cambodia – Arts: To buy weaving materials. http://www.kiva.org/lend/262473
For those who received Kiva gift cards for Christmas: Hold on till 12:01am January 1st! (er, note for next year…) It was interesting to see that ALL LOANS quickly got funded after Christmas, but Kiva posted a bunch of new loans on January 1st, and apparently do so the first of every month.
Over 98% of Kiva loans have been fully repaid. There is some currency exchange loss or default possible, but all in all, its nice to get most of the loan money back so you can loan it out to someone else or withdraw the funds to your PayPal account.
From a donor’s point of view, it’s very refreshing to not have your money disappear into an abyss of good intentions. The microfinance model encourages and respects ability and accountability, and I think these are wonderful things. Also, it allows you to lend in $25 increments so as make the financing on the part of the lender accessible, to be part of funding a larger loan of anywhere between ~$200 to $10,000.
And, you can choose to loan to the interests you have:
support women: lend to female entrepreneurs
support men: lend to male entrepreneurs
the arts: lend to craftmakers or weavers or knitters (I’m super crafty so this is my special interest)
the vegans: choose to not contribute to butcher shops or animal farming
the motorcycle enthusiasts: choose to help someone purchase a motorcycle for personal or business transport
if you had help from friends and family in buying your first home: help someone with personal housing expenses
etcetera etcetera.
And you can join a team from your local geographical area, university, etc that supports your interests.
Some teams formally or informally set lending goals as well – not to pressure people in any way, but to have something to work towards for those who are able to spare the dough.
For example, some members of Team Canada http://www.kiva.org/team/team_canada have informally set a goal to reach $1 Million in total loans for Team Canada by the end of 2011, and members can participate (or not) as they see fit, whether they are able to financially contribute more, or perhaps re-lend the money they have previously lent out that has been paid back, as many supporters of Kiva are themselves on fixed incomes.
A member of Team Canada has also recently set up a Facebook Fan Page called “Team Canada – Kiva Lenders”, so make sure to join that too, if you are interested in connecting with other Kiva lenders from Canada.
The first repayments from the loans I just made should start coming back in February 2011. While microfunds/microloans/microcredit/microfinance is/are not perfect (and I’m sure there is opportunity for corruption), I think it is a charity model worth supporting, and am hoping to be able to continue to do so in the future.
Kudos to Kiva for making it so easy for average people to participate in microfinance!
NYE 2010: A Night of Sobriety and Excess Happiness
01 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in Being a Woman, Health and Healthy Living, Personal
I did it! Happy New Year! Happy 2011!
No drinking tonight, and am immensely happy about that. I think I’m settling into that age where I think about things like whether I really actually want to drink alcohol.
Maybe I’m getting to the age where I hedge my rollercoaster of emotions and experiences to the safe and happy upper bounds above zero/equilibrium… or maybe I’m just getting to that age where I have much less tolerance for bullshit.
And it’s bullshit that I most likely will drink alcohol when I go out or party.
Not that I can’t hold my liquor at a party. I can.
I just pay for it dearly the next two days.
Three glasses of champagne and I feel seasick for the next two days. Not particularly hungover, just seasick.
Being seasick sucks.
Some people quit drinking because they realize that they’re unable to moderate their drinking.
I don’t like drinking because it makes me feel sick.
Will I quit drinking? That’s like asking me if I will quit going to the park for the sole purpose of sitting on the grass. I don’t do it often, but I like that I can if I want to, but really need to be in the mood, especially if it’s even mildly wet out, which is often the case around these parts, possibly causing laundry. I don’t need to stop drinking altogether, but I really have to be in the mood for it and the two days of torture afterwards.
Also, I really enjoy having my wits about me as a night wanders on.
I had a really good time socializing tonight. I was with friends that didn’t cause social anxiety requiring social lubrication in the form of good ol’ liquid courage.
When I drink, I turn into a mildly paranoid OCD control freak – double checking my conversation because my words don’t come out right, trying really hard to walk straight, trying not to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes because I feel like I have to pee, having that awful feeling of walking away from a party knowing that the fun has ended and it’s just going to be a sobering up ride home on the train sitting next to people who look a little green as if they’re just barely holding it together…
skytrain puke. ooh. nahgood.
I’m still up, going to read some more HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, then going to go to bed, then going to wake up sometime later this morning as cheery as a chipmunk from its winter hibernation as it realizes that it still has a bloody well stocked pantry of acorns from the autumn before.
A night of Sobriety and Excess Happiness. Win. 
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