Invisible Wounds

This morning at Missions Fest Vancouver while manning (or should I say womaning) the Living Room Ministries/Sanctuary exhibition booth, I was approached by a senior military Chaplain with the Canadian Forces. He was an older French Canadian fellow from the Ottawa area and seemed relieved that our type of ministry existed. Ah, since my blog is relatively new, I'm going to take a moment to explain to you what my volunteer work consists of. I facilitate a faith-based (Christian) mental health support group at the Burnaby Campus of Simon Fraser University. It's called MEND which stands for Mental health, encouragement, nurturing and encouragement and meets every second Friday evening. Feel free to email me at mentalhealthsupport@shaw.ca for more information. Anyhow, I'm part of the Living Room mental health group network (http://www.livingroomsupport.org/) but MEND is different in that it's geared towards young adults.

Back to my story... According to this experienced Chaplain, many of the young soldiers coming back from fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan return "healthy". The trouble is that many are wounded emotionally and therefore have gaping invisible wounds. "A lot of the time they seem fine on the surface until that last bit of stress pushes them past their emotional limit. Sometimes it can be something as small as a photo or a bad arguement that makes the hurt soldier shift into a state of panic and psychological turmoil." Honestly on the basis of what I was told by this concerned servant of God, there simply aren't enough support groups for these people who have so bravely served our country. The Chaplains and psychiatric staff working with the Canadian Forces all seem to be overworked by the insane number of cases on their plates. Post traumatic stress disorders, panic disorders and anxiety disorders are plaguing our veterans. I wonder if Prime Minister Harper takes these realities into account when he deploys our troops?

Anyhow, I told the Chaplain to email me. I would be happy to help our young men and women in uniform cope with combat related mood disorders. On Rememberance Day this year we actually devoted our meeting to that particular topic meaning that I was equipped with a working knowledge of what was being explained to me today. I hope that I can assist him in the setup of our support groups at Canadian Forces bases across the country. I'm confident that he'll do an excellent job of it.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, remember to pray for the mental health of our combat veterans!

Moving

On this past Tuesday, I moved out of the family nest for the first time. Despite the difficulty of the move and having a few less conveniences, I made the right decision to leave home. I take pride in the fact that I've organized all of my belongings and am more self-sufficient. I cook all of my own meals without relying on my Mother and every morsel of food tastes that much better. Money's going to be tighter but the pros seem to be outweighing the cons so far.

To those of you who have been on your own for at least a few years, are there any tips you have? Any other things I should expect as a result of the move? Let me know. This phase of my life is extraordinarily new.

Galaxy Blue Orchids

Above is a picture of my all-time favourite flower, galaxy blue orchids. You can see that they're in a corsage meaning that they're not very freshly cut and appear dehydrated. I have many reasons for loving this plant. The contrast between the aquamarine/turquoise centre, the magenta inner petals and the indigo outer petals or even the slight sweet fragrance. My reason however is the significance of their appearance in my life. I first saw them years ago when I was little at our local grocery store's floral cooler room. I would stare at them and let me imagination run wild about where they were picked and how tropical it may or may not be there. Did the flowers grow on a misty island or in a boring climate controlled greenhouse?

The first time I ever saw them given as a gift to someone was when my aunt Molly visited my Grandma and handed them to her at the door as she walked in. Ever since they've had some special meaning. Whenever I was down or even thought a negative thought, they seemed to appear out of nowhere. Displayed in a friend's house, outside of a corner store, in a TV commercial etc.  The strange thing is that no matter how many times I mentioned my appreciation for this particular variety of blue orchid, nobody had ever bought them for me. Well, until my boyfriend gave me the above corsage for a Christmas function we attended. He may be a total weirdo (keep in mind that I'm rather strange too) and have bizarre political affiliations but hey, he was thoughtful enough to remember my favourite flower and endeavored to find them on a cold wet and blustery December night.

So what's my reason for posting this? Ladies, don't give up on finding love. Even if it takes over 26 years for a man to buy you your favourite flower, it still happens eventually and men still listen. I may not end up with my boyfriend forever and we may not marry but you know what, he's still an awesome friend either way. When looking for love, be certain that your special guy is a great companion and buddy. Hormones and romance can wear off however, good listening skills and thoughtfulness usually don't suddenly fade away in a man. I felt this needed to be said. Also, don't let your man buy you with extravagant gifts. Men who try to bribe women into a relationship are usually scum. It's the small things that count and that includes small gifts. Little poems, compliments written on post-its, picking a flower and putting it in your hair, opening doors etc. are all far superior to a $1000 gold necklace in my estimation. Go for substance, not bling. Please!!

Five Teas I'm Enslaved To

Over the years, I have come upon many types of tea and have a definite top five favourites. Please allow me to now share my comments and suggestions for their usage and what foods they can help create or compliment.

Tea Grading Scale: http://www.wtea.com/about-tea_grading.aspx
This will help you purchase tea with a better knowledge base behind you. Always go for tips and pekoes.

White Tea:
White tea often comes in many different blends. It has a mellow flavour and can be blended with lots of sweet fruits and fruit derived products. My white tea preference is when it's mixed with berries or berry blossoms. Tazo has one called berry blossom white. I don't think they carry it in full leaf quality or better. It's probably just a mix of twig and leaf fragment but it's a good intro to white tea. Tetley has some decent ones too. Get a feel for it before you drop $20+ at a specialty tea store. Some blends have a bitter aftertaste, you really need to read up before you buy.

Chai Tea:
Another often times hairy but tasty tea variety. Watch out for strange chais that are too heavy on spices like cumin and cardamon. Many a chai tea can also be nutmeg and clove heavy. I had one chai with so much clove/clove oil that it partially numbed my mouth. So look out! Reckon what spices are in most chais and taste them in boiling water by themselves to see if you like them at all before you buy chai!

English Breakfast Tea:
It's tough to go wrong here. A light breakfast tea with mild citrus notes often times. Just buy the grocery store brands and move up from there. I like Twinings. Oh how snobby. :P

Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard's tea staple. He and I have very strong views on Earl Grey. Remember the episode where he's given Darjeeling? Not pretty. I don't mind Darjeeling so I wouldn't throw a fit like Picard but yeah, when I ask for Earl Grey, give me Earl Grey. Stay away from Twinings in this tea variety. They've done some sacrilegious tampering in the past. Go with Tetley. Anyhow, look out for these three things: #1 Too much bergamot. Some companies go crazy with the bergamot oil to the point where it forms a thin film at the surface of the cup of tea. #2 Too much citrus peel. Sometimes the blenders like to pile in the lemon peel which makes the tea sort of bitter. #3 Too many cornflower petals. They add in nice notes but do you want your tea to taste like flower petals? Probably not.

Darjeeling:
Yes, yes, I do like Darjeeling. Not every day but around once a week. In fact, I'm long overdue right now. Did you know that Darjeeling is halfway in between an true black tea and an oolong because of how it's aged? I rarely like oolong but there is something about Darjeeling that balances the notes out. Also, true Darjeeling tea must come from Darjeeling, India. It's the same idea as how Champagne must come from Champagne, France. I've only had it once but I prefer white Darjeeling. It's sweet and mellow and nearly caffeine free. Anyhow, when buying Darjeeling make certain it's from India, otherwise it's not authentic!

Happy Tea Drinking (and feel free to ask questions)!

China Owns You

Despite their lack of proper environmental protection or labour laws and many other laws protecting general freedoms and civil rights, China has somehow managed to end up owning a quarter of all U.S. treasury bonds. So America, how do you feel about owing a communist state one quarter of your debt? Let's just say that the troubling predicament you find yourselves in makes me that much prouder to be Canadian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/18/us-federal-deficit-china-america-debt

I hear so much talk within Republican circles about the evils of socialized medicine. How do those invalid and misinformed fears compare to the conundrum I have brought to light? China owns much of the US with money that was generated in unethical ways according to many Americans. That's fine but Obamacare is not? Please explain USA. Some of you do have an interesting dialogue here. Warning, it's more than a little profane at times.
http://www.topix.com/forum/albuquerque/T686N1METJS8KE197


Here is an example of one of the many corporations in China that makes massive profits as a result of a total lack of labor unions and workers rights. Many disagree with zealous political commentator Alex Jones but in my estimation, he's 100% right about the unhealthy and unamerican relationship between the U.S. and China. 
http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/01/19/daily-show-digs-on-foxconn-for-mistreatment-of-chinese-workers
http://www.prisonplanet.com/meet-the-new-boss-china-owns-the-united-states.html
 
So Americans, next time you cross a bridge or other piece of government funded infrastructure, take a moment to think of or pray for all of the poor, tread upon Chinese workers who paid for it.

What do you my neighbours to the south have to say? Sorry, I'm continuing to use the suffix -our. As a Canadian, I speak English. You know, that language from England. I might even use the word aluminium just for you. When a language called American becomes preeminent, I'll use your spelling rules, I promise.