"You see that tower looming over the horizon? Yeah, I think I'll climb it. Why you ask..?"

Sponsor My Canada Life CN Tower Climb and support WWF-Canada

In one week from now I will be preparing to haul my foodie butt up the world’s second largest freestanding structure. In case you’re wondering, that’s a whole 1,776 steps to the top, baby. “Why would you do such a foolish thing, at 7 AM in the morning on a Saturday, might I add?”, you may be asking yourself.

On April 17th, I’ve decided to unselfishly give up my warm bed on a VERY early Saturday morning to support the World Wildlife Federation in their annual CN Tower Climb, which raises money for their campaign against climate change. I’ve chosen to participate because, whether climate change is real or not, it’s always better safe than sorry. I’m dead scared of being all too aware that it’s human nature to act only after tragedy strikes. I’m participating because it’s all too easy to be complacent and place the blame on others, or deny reality altogether.

Please help support this initiative – whether it’s because you admire my courage to get out of bed on a weekend before the sun rises and drag my body up nearly 2,000 steps, or because you realize the immediacy of our need to address climate change for the sake of our lives and those of our children’s – either one will do. Any and all support will contribute to a better tomorrow.

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up – The Real Deal

I used to have this book when I was a kid. Still do actually. I don’t know who gave it to me, or what age I was when I started contributing to it myself (a lot of the parental bookkeeping of cutesy keepsakes fell through when my parents got divorced, and I took up the slack)…anyway, I digress. It was a book that had one page per school grade, with a space for that year’s school photo, a few lines for age, height, school attended, best friend, favourite subjects, etc. etc. At the very bottom, dead centre, it had a space for the scribbled response to the enviable question every child is asked – “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Not surprisingly, my responses changed by the year, very drastically may I add. For example, in grade 2 my answer was “Nurse – so I can help people” (not sic – my spelling has improved slightly since 1992), and by grade 4 it was “Ballet Dancer”. In grade 7 it was “Radio DJ” – which stayed my goal for a whole 3 years. Now that’s commitment.

Even as children, dreamers as we are with that familiar mantra “you can be anything you want to be” still ringing true, pre-concept of financial obligations, we are presented with a limited range of career options. Ask a group of kids what they want to be – guaranteed you won’t get many answers outside the range of doctor, dentist, fireman/policeman, singer, lawyer (P.S. why do kids say lawyer? Do they even know what that means?!). Point is, it isn’t until you’re well on your way to the end of your education, and into a career choice (forced upon you in grade 9 by career courses and pre-requisites), until you really realize the potential of career opportunities out there. And also when you simultaneously realize the reality that 99% of those opportunities are virtually impossible to obtain, make a life for yourself out of, live happily, retire happily, and be proud of life lived, all at once. Call me a pessimist – I see myself a realist.

That said – I came across a “which career path is right for you?” quiz today. Being bored at work, I figured I’d give it a go, hoping it would recommend me to “unemployed bum that charms the bank into filling her bank account bi-monthly while living a fruitful existence”. I was pleasantly surprised by the twist in this quiz, i.e. what do you REALLY want to be when you grow up? Let’s take a look, shall we?

1. What's on your nightstand? What books and magazines you're reading can be pretty telling about what turns your crank.

Ok, easy enough. A biography called “Rock On” by a young professional that dreams of working for a New York power house record company, but finds out that said record company life is nothing like the life of a rock star. The book is a reflection of the benign, pretentious existence of office life and those who dwell within it. I read the book, saw a reflection of every office job I’ve ever worked staring back at me, and felt sad. I left it in my bad for weeks before I had the courage to face it again.

But wait. That's NOT what turns my crank. What I usually have on my nightstand:

Biographies about people who live crazy, exciting, often drug and alcohol filled existences that allow them to reflect on their life, regret their haphazard existence, but wouldn’t change a thing.

Explanatory and self-help books by psychics who put the meaning of life and death and beyond into perspective.

Historical non/fiction about exciting events that happened at exciting places in history. And often how/when/if I can visit them.

2. Out of all your friends' jobs, which one are you most jealous of? Why?

I’m most jealous of my best friend’s job as a nurse. Because she gets to go to a job every day where, no matter how the day goes down - good or bad, long and tedious, or fast-paced and hectic – she’ll know at the end of the day that she made a difference in people’s lives. And also that there’s crazy demand for those in her field and she won’t likely have to worry about getting laid off or finding a new job.

3. What's the one thing you've been talking about doing forever that your friends are sick of hearing about?

Probably grabbing a working visa and travelling to Ireland or England and working there for a year or two. But because of the crappy market, my debilitating fear of change, and of not finding a job and having to run home with my tail between my legs, I haven’t done it.

Oh, and getting a dog. Saying how much I like dogs. Saying “I want a dog” over and over at random intervals in the day.

I want a dog.

4. What's the one off-the-wall, pie-in-the-sky job you've always wanted to try that no one knows about?

Being a travel agent. Ok, maybe that’s not off the wall enough. Being a travel writer that has an unlimited travel budget, gets to choose where she travels, stay as long as she wants, and write about whatever she wants.

5. If you could start any business or organization, or sell any service or ware, what would it be?

I’d start a travel company, kind of like Contiki, but one that has buses/trains coming and going through destinations at various times a day, so you’re not forced to leave a place on your tour if you’ve decided you haven’t seen/experienced enough there. The difference is you’d have meet up places with people on your tour, (i.e. booked on the same tour as you), so you can still travel with friends on your tour, but meet up with them on a later date and time if need be, and never feel like you’re missing out on an awesome experience in a foreign place because your tour has decided it’s time to up and leave (Hello, Glasgow. We never had the chance to get to know each other).

6. If you could work anywhere in the world, in any country or organization, where would it be? Doing what?

That’s a hard one. I’d say Dublin, Ireland doing whatever, just because I love it there. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could be a bum sitting on the street just looking around, day after day, watching the world go by, and be absolutely content with my life.

7. If "debt," "years," and "practical" weren't words in your vocabulary, what would you be doing now -- besides sipping margaritas on your own tropical island?

Travelling the world on my own watch, going where I want to and for however long feels right. And when that wore thin, I think I would finally have enough worldly experience to choose which career is right for me. Until then, those evil words “debt”, “bills”, “practicality”, on top of “societal pressure” will continue to push me down the path I’m on now – until, hopefully, a fork in the road presents itself toward some other, more fitting unknown.

Olympic Fever!!

So like all good, proud Canadians, I've been watching the first 6 days of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games with my eyes glued to the screen, baited breath, rapid pulse, and heart glowing with pride. I've surprised myself. As of Friday afternoon, I answered with a resounding "no" to Sympatico.ca's poll, "will you be following the Olympic games this coming week?". And I believed it.

You see, my fandom of the Olympic Games is newfound. Three years ago, as I stood in Vancouver's city centre gazing up at an icy, translucent rock glowing a blue "3 years, 2 days, 3 hours, 14 minutes", I thought to myself "cool digital display, wonder how it works", and nothing more. As national advertisements went out for an open casting call to carry the Olympic torch in its relay from sea to sea, I never once considered applying, as I knew the experience would mean nothing more to me than maybe getting my (literal) 15 minutes of fame in my community. And when it passed by me in the street outside my workplace in Downtown Toronto, I cheered along with the others in my Olympic red mittens (a practical Christmas gift that do keep my hands toasty warm), I briefly felt a surge of "wow - this is happening in my country", which dimmed as the flame failed to stave off the bitter cold, and I was forced to run for the comfort of the nearest Tim Hortons.

I believe the Olympics are overrated, overvalued, and place emphasis on the less important qualities a country has to offer. What do sports and athleticism have to do with a country's greatness? Why do we place such value on a handful of a country's "elite" being able to bring home a pile of metal because they ran, swam, or jumped through a hoop the fastest, farthest, or highest?

When China hosted the Olympics two years ago, human rights issues were brought to light in the country's treatment of Tibet and its people, as well as human rights issues in its own country. And yet these issues were trumped on the world stage by Chinese athletes earning shiny metals, razzle dazzling the media and viewers all over the globe. My issue is - why do we allow sports competitions to define a nation? Why not social welfare, poltical stability, living conditions, and the humanitarian aid we offer to others in need? Hundreds of doctors, nurses, social work volunteers, and military personell travelled to Haiti in the past month to aid a population in crisis, going unnoticed, and likely uncelebrated - all while a well-to do athlete slips down a mountain, or scores a few goals, or skates the fastest, and becomes infamous and synonymous with a country's high status in the world. One that says, "yes, we're the best".

Ok, so I sound like I'm damning the hard work of athletes who have trained their entire lives to get where they are, and that's definitely not what I'm out to do. Everyone has their calling, and being an Olympian is no small task. I can tell you when my opinion in the Olympics changed, when this Olympics became special for me.

The moment Alexandre Bilodeau was announced as the gold medal winner of the men's downhill. The moment his Australian counterpart who won Silver visably showed disdain for coming in second and walked away as Alex tried to shake his hand. The moment Alex hugged his disabled brother and said "I did this all for you - you were my inspiration". The moment Alex invited that spiteful Aussie up onto the top of the podium and put his arm around him in celebration. Those were the moments that were truly Canadian for me. I love this country, it's people, it's land, it's hospitality and warmth. Canada, you truly are the best country in the world! Let's show the world who we truly are!

Another One Bites the Dust

Well it's day 10 of the new year, and I've realized I haven't set any New Years Resolutions yet - well, offically that is. How are yours doing? Did you have a left over cookie from Christmas and totally give up on your plan of a healthy diet? Or miss a workout, give in to a cigarette, and tell yourself your whole plan is ruined?

The nature of a new year's resolution is destructive in itself - when we place a giant time stamp on something and don't achieve it, it gives us the excuse to quit, and to accept failure. I remember years ago, I had a piano teacher who mentioned to me that she doesn't believe in new year's resolutions - because if you realize that something in your life needs to be addressed, then why wait until the calendar gives you the go ahead?

Time itself is a human invention and really truly exists in the human mind. Nature knows no concept of past or future, only present. Too we often forget that the minutes, hours, days, and years - those elements comprising the 365 day calendar - are an entirely a human creation. The Earth existed well before, and will exist well after, time is kept by humanity.

In this knowledge, I wonder why we are so keen to place timestamps on goals, or more importantly, how we determine failure. If failure is "I only lost 1 pound this week, instead of the 5 I planned - this is never going to work!", then how can you ever move forward? Do you think your body says "hey, it's January 1st! Better boost my metabolism, another year has rolled around".

Well I believe it's essential to set goals, I don't believe we should use the excuse of a new year, or a new month, or our birthday, etc. to say "it's time to do this". Live every day like it's your last, and work on things day by day to the best of your ability. If it takes you a little longer to accomplish something, so what? It's never too late to accomplish anything, so long as you're alive, and using a calendar to justify giving up or not trying in the first place is simply a cop out.