| Monday, May 19, 2008 |
| More Contruction Pics! |
I've had to get my head back into school mode today because I have the wonderful opportunity of requesting credits for all my crisis centre training, so I've been working on putting together an essay basically proving that my training and experience covers as much as a class would. It's been kind of neat going through my old materials and looking at all that stuff again - I can remember writing posts on here about hearing my first call on speaker phone and how I cried through the whole thing while another volunteer talked...and writing about actually taking my first call and getting reamed out by the caller who said "what are you, like 16??".... ahh those were the days :) And if I'm lucky, I will be able to communicate all that I learned over the phone in a 1 hour interview that will allow me to basically take out an entire class (4 credits) that I would've had to take! I am also going to try and get some credit (2 credits) for leading my outreaches while in YWAM, though that topic is a little harder to narrow down into a subject and essay. We'll see though.
The house is coming along nicely, Craig and his dad are down in the basement right now putting the rest of the dry wall up. In a few days the cabinets will get here and it really start to look like a furnished basement. It will be nice when it's all done - the guys have really been working hard and I'm sure are ready to be done with it all. I'll post more pictures of our floor once we've been able to paint and get all the pretty (ugly) wall paper off the walls.
Other than that, not too much is happening. Last weekend I sang on the church worship team which went really well, and then afterwards went out for sushi with 2 girls. That was so great to have some girl time and I am really hoping some good friendships will develop from that. Also this Tuesday softball starts, which I am really looking forward to. And I have to go to the dentist tomorrow which I am really NOT looking forward to :(
   Labels: Empire State College, Vancouver Crisis Centre |
posted by jamie @ 3:08 PM  |
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| Thursday, June 28, 2007 |
| Insight |
Last night I went to my last shin-dig at the Vancouver Crisis Centre. It was a workshop on trans-gendered mental health and it was phenomenal. I wont go into it too much, otherwise this could be a really long post and I don't want people to lose interest. Just a few thoughts, and definitions to start.
gender identity: A person's internal self-awareness of being either male or female
Transgendered/transsexual: A person whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned to at birth.
Imagine this... you are a little boy, you think like a boy, feel like a boy, you know you are a boy. But when you look in the mirror, you see a girl...you see yourself in a girl's body, and you feel out of place. You feel lost and alone because how do you explain this? You go through childhood wondering when you will fully become a boy. Then you hit puberty, and your body takes a very sharp turn towards womanhood. You're hormonal and going through the same physical changes and discomfort other kids your age are, on top of that you realize that something is terribly wrong. You do not fit the mold, you do not feel complete... You decide you do not want to live anymore.
This is often when we talk to you, at the crisis centre. It's your last hope, that maybe out there somewhere, someone can help you. Or maybe you feel you are beyond help, but you want to speak to someone who can't see you, one last time.
The suicide rate among transgendered youth is extremely high. This is why we had the workshop, to inform and educate crisis line workers. But I went because I see myself possibly working in this field some day. I have always been interested in gender roles from the psychological aspect, and as a Christian I am aware of the spectrum of beliefs and ideas people have. It's a tough one. And honestly I'm not interested in debating whether it's 'real' or not, because I absolutely believe it is. And if there's something I can do to help these kids who feel lost, then that's what I want to do.Labels: transgender, transsexual, Vancouver Crisis Centre |
| posted by jamie @ 9:12 PM |
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| Sunday, April 29, 2007 |
| Moviestar |
Today I gave an interview for a documentary that the crisis centre is putting out.. it was crazy.. like full on studio with a big michrophone hanging in your face and a green screen in the back. And they powdered my face before shooting. Weird experience, but cool.
And yesterday Craig and I went to his cousin's in Maple Ridge. Craig was bottling beer while I watched their kids. Here's some pics from that time. Nothing much else to report. Here's something to think about - in 3 months from now we will be arriving in St. Catherines, ON. Wow times flies.... I haven't really begun to think about what it will be like to move away from this place I have called home for 5.5 years. I've more just been excited about the new things that will come with that move, like being closer to family. But I am also leaving behind some family here, which will be really sad.   Labels: St. Catherines, vancouver, Vancouver Crisis Centre |
| posted by jamie @ 9:53 PM |
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| Friday, April 20, 2007 |
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Here it is - my first graphic design 'job' (well, job in the YWAM sense..not the paid kind, haha) It's for a YWAM conference that Randy and a few others are hosting next year having to deal with how we affect cities, and how they affect us. Should be pretty cool!
Tonight I have my Crisis Centre volunteer appreciation night, at the WISE hall. I went to this last year as well, it's just a really nice time where the staff give away awards and prizes to the volunteers. I have been with the Crisis Centre here in Vancouver nearly 2 years now. That seems crazy to me.. I remember how scared I was to take my first call and how I had a really mean person in my 2nd week and didn't want to do it anymore after that. Good thing I got back on the horse! Since then I have been involved in 2 serious interventions (both in the middle of the night!) and called the ministry of children and families twice. I seriously recommend it for anyone interested in getting involved more in Vancouver and looking for training and experience in this sort of field. It's been great!Labels: Randy Parizeau, vancouver, Vancouver Crisis Centre, YWAM |
| posted by jamie @ 8:24 PM |
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