Not A Target – World Humanitarian Day 2016
All my life, the Sunday before Memorial Day has been marked in church by current and former members of the armed forces standing to be acknowledged, many times in uniform. Heads bowed, we remember those who gave their lives for the country. We thank those who served...
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The Nose Job
Sometimes, living in hard places is nothing compared to doing hard things. Plastic surgery is hard. It doesn’t seem like it would be. You’d think it’s for the weak, but you’d be wrong. You have to be strong to admit that there’s something you don’t like about...
read moreDo You Want To Die a Virgin?
Mwesigwa opened the large black gate and waited for me to pay the driver. I wasn't sure it was him, and his face didnt register recognition of me either. The last time I passed through these gates was over 3 years ago, when Mwesigwa was still young enough to want to...
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2015 Indicators: My Year In Review
I recently had to write a midterm report for the project on which I’ve been working since September. In reality, there wasn’t much “writing” to do because it’s a numbers game. The format of the report looked more like a chart you’d fill out at the doctor’s office to...
read moreSaying Goodbye to Grampy
In two hours I will be touching down in Montreal and catching another flight to St. John, New Brunswick. It's time to say goodbye to my grandfather. I didn't know my grampy very well, but I loved him. Growing up, we didn't get to visit my father' family very often...
read moreHumanitarians After Hours
Last night’s party did not disappoint. When I say party, I really mean a handful of the housemates sitting in the garden laughing at each others sporadic dance moves (my coffee grinder and the Italian’s moon walk, for example) and enjoying the fresh air and cheerful...
read moreA Reflection on Influence
Sometimes, when I’m in an important meeting, I ponder how it is that I ended up at the table. I am a person with very little power. I am not a tall, white male. I have no claim to fame. I can’t buy my way into anything. In fact, I’m always looking for freebies –...
read moreMental (un)health
This writing challenge is turning out to be more difficult than exercising. At least Jillian (Michaels) only yells at me for 30 minutes. But this writing just drags on and on. The good news is, tonight I finished work at 6:30 so I had time to work out (HIIT via...
read moreQuitting
Have you ever watched the Fox Reality Show, Solitary? My friend, Bea, was on season 4. She is a badass woman (no other way to put it – she even applied to live on Mars). The show pit contestants against each other, but also against themselves. For weeks contestants...
read moreThe Refugee Crisis in Europe
Until tonight I’ve had two messages sitting in my Facebook inbox that I’ve been pretending I didn’t see. One is from a longtime friend who asked me if I had a minute, could I please give a rundown on the refugee crisis in Europe (clearly she doesn’t know how long it...
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