dust in the light, falling through

on monday i worked at the legislature from 11:00 until 4:30. since it was family day, we had a pretty big celebration going on at the ledge, with hot chocolate, a real owl, face painting, carnival games, balloons, ice sculptures, and tours of the ledge every couple of minutes. i spent most of the day giving tours. they were really condensed versions of the tours we gave, but still pretty exhausting because there were so many people in each group. after work, i met becky at the south ledge grounds, where we went skating for 20 minutes or so. neither of us had the energy to skate much longer, but that was the perfect amount of time. i hadn't been skating all winter, and neither had becky, but we did pretty well, i think. neither of us can stop very well, but at least we didn't fall. becky drove me to my apartment, and then went to wash her car while i packed up some craft supplies. she then picked me up and we went to her house for the evening. her roommate sarah was at home, so i made the three of us fried bannock and tea for supper. we talked about aboriginal law, because sarah is going to school to become a lawyer, and i am going to school to become aboriginal. just jokes. but honestly, i don't have any faith that any kind of law is going to make things better for aboriginal people any time soon, and talking with sarah made me realize even more how messy law is. it was really nice to talk to sarah, too, because we've known each other for a long, long time, but i don't think we've ever really considered each other friends. anyways, she is bright and compassionate, and i hope we get to be better friends. after supper, sarah did some reading, and becky worked on beading her moccasins, and i worked on crocheting my raven. becky drove me home at about 8:45, and i went to bed fairly early because i was feeling tired.

i was up at 6:15 the next morning so i could be at the bissell at 8:00, to fill in some volunteer hours for my CSL course. becky works at the bissell, so she came downstairs to give me the tea i had left at her house the night before, and just to say hello. every time i am at the bissell, clients and other staff members ask me if i have a sister who works there. they always think that becky and i are related. people have been thinking that for years and years and years. i don't think we look that similar, except for our body shape and hair color and short bangs, but i really like it when people think we're sisters. it's gotten to the point that i look forward to being at the bissell, just because i am sure that at least one person will ask me if becky's my sister. maybe it's exciting for me because i don't look a thing like my real sisters. anyway, i worked for about an hour at the drop-in, and i spent the rest of the time doing a food survey for jason, the food services manager. i had to go around to clients and ask them if i could do a six-question interview with them regarding the food the bissell serves. the questions were:
a) is 10:30 a.m. (when the bissell serves food) your first meal of the day? if not, where else do you eat?
b) do you eat anywhere else during the day?
c) does the meal at the bissell give you your only food for the day? keep you healthy? provide socializing?
d) what are your favorite kinds of food served at the bissell? do you like the food?
e) rate the service of the food (cleanliness, friendliness of staff, length of lineup).
f) how can we improve the food service? different time? healthier/more/fresher food?
it was really interesting to see how people answered. some clients told me that a lot of inner city people are missing many of their teeth, and therefore have a difficult time eating raw vegetables, which in turn leads to a dietary deficiency of nutrients. they'd prefer to have softer, cooked vegetables. other clients raised issues about the importance of snacks throughout the day for diabetics. still others reminded me of the importance that different kinds of meats play for different cultural groups. most complained about being fed sandwiches.

i LRT'd home after my shift, and took a nice long nap. emery woke me up when he texted me to ask if he could use my sewing machine for a couple of hours later that night. i cleaned up my house, which was no small job, and made some soup for myself before emery showed up. i also worked on my CSL journal.

emery came over at around 7 or so, and he brought a couple of cds for me to listen to (the whitsundays - the band we had gone to see the week earlier, but had to miss because of transit schedules; and plants and animals). i set him up at my sewing machine, and he got to work on some little wallet-esque card holders. i went to go work on my journalling on my computer, but he kept telling me things from where he was sitting and i couldn't hear him from where i was working, so i eventually just decided to chill out in my room (where he was sewing) and talk with him while he worked. it was much more enjoyable than doing homework. plus, my all-time favorite way to hang out with people is to chill and talk while we are making something. emery and i have hung out a lot, but we never just hang out and make things. so nice. he stayed until about 9:30 or so, and then went home. i spent a little bit of time working on my CSL journal, and then i went to bed. i also texted emery before i went to sleep to tell him that:
a) i had forgotten to give back his cds, and
b) i had forgotten to add my usual disclaimer when i told him my kissing-a-boy-behind-a-tree-at-the-u-of-a-last-spring story, claiming that i am not a total whore: i am just addicted to awkwardness and excitement.