Peru Overview, With Help From Mom

Each time I travel it seems that I 'report' about it differently on Always Standing. Some of the styles I have used include single photo updates, a series of photos, a rare video post, standard responses, slightly cryptic messages, written posts, live updates, scheduled itinerary details, but most frequently a long list of notes provided as a summary.

My mom has a very consistent documentation style on her blog vicarious travelling, she posts each day of her trip separately and outlines the events like a diary entry. Her goal is to share details with friends, like she would if she was emailing them about the trip. She includes a lot of photos each day, and often captions them (something that I never do.) I figured that because she had also described a big portion of the Peru Trip, I would send you over to her blog for the days that related to my time there.

- MARTES - Tuesday December 29 - We arrived in Cusco in the afternoon, so Jason and I are mentioned (with a photo of us shopping) at the very bottom of Mom's post.

- MIERCOLES - Wednesday December 30 - This is the day that the three of us went horseback riding into the mountains around Cusco. Rereading her post now I am reminded of watching the lightening hitting the hills on the other side of the valley - it was incredible.

- JUEVES - Thursday December 31 - Mom only has a short written post for this New Year's Eve, which was when we spent the afternoon doing a bit of a practice hike. I got good pictures of both Jason and Mom during our walk.

- JUEVES 2 - Thursday December 31 - After she got home from the trip, Mom wrote about the last 6 days in more detail and included photos. This is her bigger post about our Cusco hike.

- SACRED VALLEY 1 - Friday January 1 - The first full day of the G Adventures Tour was a trip in a van around the Sacred Valley.  No real hiking to deal with at this point. Her first post is mainly about a weaving place that we visited.

- SACRED VALLEY 2 - Friday January 1 - We also saw various Inca Sites and had lunch at a local restaurant, my mom has lots of photos from this day. Three posts worth.

- SACRED VALLEY 3 - Friday January 1 - This is her final post from New Years Day, mainly focused on Ollantayambo, a town where we visited an amazing Inca Site and then spent the night at a local hotel.

- DAY 1 - Saturday January 2 - The pictures from the first day on the Inca Trail are perfect! They show the sites, the camp, our food, and how much fun we were having (though at the same time, I was still pretty nervous at this point about what the other days would bring.)

- DAY 2 - Sunday January 3 - This day was hard. Everything I had read told me it would be hard and it was. The last hour uphill was very very very difficult and I practically crawled up the last 50 meters. Then, in a surprising twist, the last 2-3 hours doing down hill was even harder for me! I ended up wishing I was still going up hill since the steps down were very painful on my ankles. I was dehydrated and unhappy during that descent.

- DAY 3 - Monday January 4 - Everything I had read was right again - this was the best day on the Inca Trail! I loved every second of it. If you could have seen me I was beaming from ear to ear all day and how could I not be on a day that was an incredible combination of jungle, physical challenge, ancient ruins, mountains, cake, waterfalls, llamas, and more.

- DAY 4 - Tuesday January 5 - We made it to Machu Picchu! My mom has a great picture of the three of us posted.

I am glad to be able to link over to Mom's writing to share my experience in Peru with you. You may want to also read her Reflections or Recommendations for the trip as well. Oh, and like me, she loves to receive comments so feel free to post some either on this post or any of hers.

TB - Curves Diet

I discovered The Curves Diet back in Ottawa. I was working out with JennB at Curves and decided to try their Weight Management Program. It was very easy to do when I was living with JennB, who did all the cooking. During the first half of 2010, 7 months, I probably lost about 40lbs through exercise and following the diet guidelines with absolute precision. Then I went on my big trip for a month and a half, during which I lost another 10lbs from all the walking, strange food, and still adhering to the basic rules of the diet. The last part of 2010 I moved to Toronto and started my Masters at Ryerson - the stress from that pulled off another 10lbs, leaving me quite thin. Over the next 5 years I have put that 60lbs back on and maybe a little bit extra. Off and on, I would try following the program again but never with the same dedication and gusto. I do like a lot of the recipes though. I decided last week to start again and have dove into it with my complete focus. I hope to see similar results as before, but recognize that it is slow going. Today, I decided to do a throw back to all the Always Standing mentions of the only diet that I have every enjoyed or been able to follow:

The Curves Diet

- Making The Switch : The first mention of the program
- The Undiet : Too much food
- Guest Writer - Blogging - Steph : Steph mentions the diet in a Guest Writer post while I was in Russia
- Final Week : It looks like I decided to start it up again during my last semester at Ryerson
- Fuck February : I don't think I kept it going very long that Fall but decided to try again at the start of 2012
- Back Under The Threshold : 2 years later it looks like I returned to the diet

This time will be different than my previous failed Toronto attempts. I am already being stricter with myself. Not only do I plan to keep going until I reach my goal weight, but I also vow not to eat a single french fry until my wedding day (on which I will have them as part of my dinner entree at the pub.)

Third Time's The Charm?

In 2013, I planned to post on Always Standing everyday, though quickly lessened that to 6 times a week. I wasn't even close, in fact with 234 posts written in 2013, I was actually only writing 4.5 times each week. I decided to renew the resolution in early 2014 and try again to post everyday. I did a bit better last year and wrote 40 more posts than the year before, but I still didn't push over that 300 mark.

I think the main reason that I missed the mark again in 2014 was that I took two big breaks. In July and again in December. I should have better planned for Always Standing during vacation time, written ahead or had Guest Writers. I hope to improve on this and not have such long hiatuses in the future.

So, I am going to try again. I would like to try to get a post up pretty much everyday in 2015, without the liberal use of backdating that I increasingly started to use as a crutch. Let's see if this time next year the little number in brackets beside 2015 reads 365 or more!

Ranting In (Not About) The Comments

I know that just a while ago I was ranting about readers of Always Standing not leaving comments on my posts. However, this post isn't a rant about comments but instead directing you to read my rant that I have placed IN the comments. A few days ago ERin approached me about writing something for the blog and I posted it yesterday - a post about Climate Change. I let the topic sit with me for a day or so and then this afternoon drafted my personal response to the issue. (Which, you will note, is different than my mother's, who was the first person to weigh in.) I typed out my triad into a Word document, it was about 1,000 words long actually. Well, it turns out that you are only allowed to post 4,096 characters per comment so I had to split my rant into three parts, thankfully they posted in the proper order. Please go and read it there, I count it more as my post for today than this small one explaining it.

Guest Writer - Climate Change - ERin

 From ERin

“Why is your generation so passive when it comes to climate change?”

Recently, this question was posed to me while I was in lecture. The person who posed the question, Jim MacNeil is a well know Canadian consultant, environmentalist and international public servant. MacNeil was a lead author on “Our Common Future”, a well known report that came out in 1987 from the World Commission on Environment and Development (or the Brundtland Commission). The report defines the term “sustainable development” and discusses how we as a society can develop sustainably as opposed to the unsustainable development practices of late.

During the lecture, he argued that our generation (20 something’s) did not seem to be interested in enacting change. He referred to the loss of sea ice in the Arctic in 1997 which was recorded as the record low. This question really affected me. Were we, as a generation apathetic towards climate change and the environment?

Some of the reasons that people in the class suggested for our passiveness included:
--- Today is not the same as the 1960’s- the 60’ was filled with different social movements, feminism, and environmental movement spurned on by Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”
--- The world is far more connected today due to the Internet- there is a dilution of information; there are so many different causes that people can only care about so many!
--- People are more interested in the economy and bettering themselves through economic development
--- NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) For the most part, climate change does not seem to affect us directly
--- Climate change is far too abstract...it seems like it is too large of a concept and we as a generation are too few to be able to enact and change

I agree with some of the points raised by my colleagues, but do you think we are indifferent towards climate change? I look forward to your opinions!

Last WOTS Review

The fifth and final review Mom and I did of the 2012 Toronto Book Awards finalists for the WOTS blog can be read HERE

More WOTS Reviews

Our third review - of Copernicus Avenue by Andrew J. Borkowski - is HERE.

Our fourth review - of Six Metres of Pavement by Farzana Doctor - is HERE.
This one is predominantly Mum writing and some editing on my part since I didn't get a chance to read the book yet.

 One last review to go and then it is FESTIVAL TIME on Sunday!!

Second WOTS Review

Mom and my second review for Toronto's The Word On The Street: HERE

Bio & First WOTS Post

Here is this year's bio for Mom and I on The Word On The Street blog : HERE

Our first review is up too! HERE

Toronto Book Awards 2012

My mom and I are reviewing the Toronto Book Awards finalists again this year for Kristen at Word On The Street so stay tuned!

WOTS Was Wonderful

After a very very long day, I am sitting down and reflecting on the last 17 hours. It was an amazing experience to witness first-hand the inner workings of a huge Toronto festival. I was on site starting before the break of dawn until well after sunset. There is great news to report: The Word On The Street went off without a hitch, and thankfully got treated to a beautiful sunny day.

I have been writing reviews for WOTS Blog and I go into the office to visit, hang out, and help Kristen on occasion. However, I was actually hired for the day as Kristen's production assistant. I was given a walkie-talkie, which made my week. The area was divided into zones so our team had 6 other walkie-talkies and our own channel to communicate on - which was good because we (I) had no trouble filling the air time. I also got to drive around in a golf cart for a couple hours which was quite a relief after walking back and for across Queen's Park seven times within the first hour I was on site.

Being a production assistant meant that I was the direct line for the 24 volunteers Kristen had for the Exhibiting team, so that I could screen questions and concerns. This meant that Kristen had to coordinate all the large issues and spent the day trying to work her way around to personally checking on each of the over 250 exhibitors. She did an incredible job. I have watched her work on/with this festival for over a year now and she is obviously very dedicated and very talented. However, today I got to see someone who I feel rose beyond intelligent, elegant, and hard working and became almost superhuman. There are no words for how well she did today. Everyone involved should be very proud, it was a truly magnificent event.

WOTS Review #2

You can see more of my Toronto Book Awards posts on the WOTS blog. The second book I did was Étienne’s Alphabet which really was an amazing read.
- See it featured HERE
- See it reviewed HERE

WOTS Review #1

My first actual review is up now on the WOTS blog. Seriously the book was incredible! I read it so quickly. As soon as I was done my mother borrowed it and trumped my impressive two day reading by finishing it in an afternoon. Check out what I say about Alissa York’s Fauna HERE.

WOTS Featuring Fauna

Looks like I'm posted more on the WOTS blog than here at the moment.
Check out the next one HERE.

WOTS Again

Another post I did is up at The Word On The Street blog...

Check it out HERE

WOTS Guest Blogger

As part of her job as Marketing and Special Events Coordinator for The Word On The Street (WOTS) festival, Kristen manages the WOTS blog. There are a number of guest bloggers who review various books, I am going to do a series on The Toronto Book Awards. I have already started and it is a lot of fun. I will let you know when various posts go up. I have also added a link to the WOTS blog on the right.

See my bio HERE
See my first post HERE

Texas Timeout

In a week I am going on a little trip to Texas. I'm spending Reading Week with my parents, who have rented a house for just over a month near the small town of Rockport. It is very close to the Gulf of Mexico though not super warm. I'm looking forward to another trip, but because school is so crazy I don't have time to write a bunch of posts to schedule for the time I am away. So, I need guest writers again!!! It worked out so well this summer I was hoping I could do it again but on a much smaller scale. I need people to write one or two small posts for Always Standing. You can have your choice of topic and multiple people writing on the same thing is fine.

Reading Week Writers!!
-What was your best Reading Week?
-How productive were you on Reading Weeks?
-What would you be doing if you had a Reading Week this year?
-Do you think universities should have a Reading Week in the Fall semester?
Please email or send me a message on Facebook to let me know if you are up for writing a little something, I would need the posts by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Thanks!!

Guest Writer - A Swan On Saturday - Part III - Heather

I had been wanting to post about the Greek myth 'Leda and the Swan' for a long time. I was a little weirded out by the idea of a women having sex with a swan. Then I realised, why should I write it when I'm friends with an expert on the subject!?! I asked Heather, fresh back from completing her MA in Greek and Roman Archaeology at Newcastle University in England, to write up a post. Please enjoy this final post in a three part series.

From Heather:

A Swan On Saturday - Part III - The Bestiality Sexuality

Greek gods were anthropomorphic, meaning that they looked like humans. But the Mediterranean was full of zoomorphic (animal-like) gods at the time, and so Greek cultural and artistic traditions, closely tied to those of Mesopotamia and Egypt, were familiar with portraying an animal in a human pose. Take Egypt for example. Most of their gods were animals or at least half animals, and yet they were often seen standing on two legs or seated on a throne like a Pharaoh.So the idea that a swan could mate with a woman wasn’t so far fetched. And sculpting a lewd statue of a woman who is, literally, parting her legs so a swan can enter her is nothing to the society who painted scenes of orgies and prostitutes on their drinking cups. When you look at all the examples out there, da Vinci’s is actually rather tame. Yes, Leda is naked and Zeus the Swan is cupping her butt with his wing. But at least he’s reaching for her face with his beak, instead of her nipple, like here:
Modern artists are still inspired by this story, and they don’t seem to shy away from the bestiality either, like this 2008 painting by Steven Kenny:
I think the most shocking thing is that Renaissance artists would portraying the coupling of a woman and beast, but sex between a man and woman was too risqué.

Guest Writer - A Swan On Saturday - Part II - Heather

I had been wanting to post about the Greek myth 'Leda and the Swan' for a long time. I wanted to look into the strange story of why there would be sex with a swan, what is this myth? Then I realised, why should I write it when I'm friends with an expert on the subject!?! I asked Heather, fresh back from completing her MA in Greek and Roman Archaeology at Newcastle University in England, to write up a post. Please enjoy this second instalment in the three part series.

From Heather:

A Swan On Saturday - Part II - The Myth

Leda was the beautiful Queen of Sparta who unwittingly attracted the attention of the ever-horny, womanizing top Olympian, Zeus. Zeus decided to seduce her. To do so, he turned himself into a swan. For some reason. Maybe it was a secret fantasy of his, and what good is being the head of a pantheon of gods if you can’t pursue all your secret fantasies? In his disguise, pretending to be pursued by an eagle, Zeus fell into Leda’s lap for protection. Of course, Leda took one look at this most beautiful specimen of swanliness and simply had to have him. Or let him have her. Whichever way that works (though really, it doesn’t with a swan).

Leda and the Swan shared a magical night, the kind where time slows down and feathers float through the air, though in this case they were Zeus’ and not from a pillow torn in the heat of passion. Zeus flew off into the night, and Leda returned to her husband’s bed for more carnal exploits. Apparently, for all his swanliness, Zeus hadn’t quite satisfied Leda.

Months later, as these things go, Leda gave birth to two eggs. Yes, eggs. The eggs cracked open to reveal two sets of twins, one sired by each man, one divine and one mortal. They were Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Polydeuces. Helen became Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships and a ten-year war. Clytemnestra became the wife of Agamemnon, leader of the Greek forces in Troy, who she promptly killed to be with his cousin. Castor and Polydeuces have their own story of heroism and brotherly love, and eventually became a constellation and the astrological sign Gemini.

Funny thing is that this isn’t the only instance of bestiality in Greek mythology. Pasiphae fell in love with a bull, jumped into a handy cow costume, and soon gave birth to the Minotaur. Zeus turned his lover Io into a cow to hide her from his wife, Hera. He also turned into an eagle to carry off Ganymede, and a bull to carry off Europa. The Satyrs, who had sex with anything that moved, were half goat, and the Centaurs, who raped many a maiden, were half horse. Oh, those crazy Greeks.

Guest Writer - A Swan On Saturday - Part I - Heather

I had been wanting to post about the Greek myth 'Leda and the Swan' for a long time. I especially wanted to discuss the amazingly creepy painting by Leonardo da Vinci. (Somehow he is able to make a swan look like a porn star!!) Then I realised, why should I write it when I'm friends with an expert on the subject!?! I asked Heather, fresh back from completing her MA in Greek and Roman Archaeology at Newcastle University in England, to write up a post. Please enjoy this first post in a three part series.

From Heather:

A Swan On Saturday - Part I - Introduction

Chris called me the other day to talk about this painting of Leda and the Swan by da Vinci. I had seen the painting before, and others like it. Leda and the Swan was a popular Greek myth for appropriation by Renaissance artists. Chris was surprised that da Vinci had managed to make the swan look so human, and, let’s face it, overtly sexual in nature.

I was reminded of a statue I saw when I was in Venice in March. It was Leda and the Swan, and the pose was so erotic that my friend and I actually had a lengthy discussion about it:

That statue, from the Venice Archaeological Museum, is actually a Roman copy of a Greek original. So da Vinci was in good tradition. Upon further perusal of Google Images, it has become clear that all Renaissance portrayals of Leda and the Swan are very sexual, in a way that a 21^st century audience can find disturbing because of its implications of bestiality. Clearly, the Greek, Roman and later Renaissance artists had no such qualms. In fact, they portray Leda and the Swan in a far more sexualized way than they were comfortable portraying an actual man and woman.

But wait! Who are Leda and the Swan, you say? Well, that’s the real reason that Chris was asking me about it, and that’s coming up in the next post!