President of Pyrogy Day Produces a Playlist!

On Nov. 28, my family got together to participate in Pyrogy Day 2010. Pyrogy Day is capitalized because I, self-proclaimed president, decided it would be and I didn't even wonder what Caps and Spelling would say about that... not. Anyways Pyrogy Day is an annual event that brings the Polish (and significant other) side of my family together. We spend the day making a billion dozen pyrogies (cheese and potato, sauerkraut, soy cheese, potato and garlic, pizza) and drinking. By the end of the day, we all sit around eating our creations and trying to keep our eyes open from a hard day's work. I feel like that's the closest I will ever get to being a Hutterite. 

Anyways, this tradition has been in my family since I was just a little kid and over the years, as people have gotten older, they have tried to get out of it. Well since I labelled myself the president, people have gotten their shit together. (Pardon the language) Anyways, I'm good at harrassing people into doing stuff and organzing events, like this, and making them fun. Since there is somebody who cares enough to plan it out, I think the others feel obligated or possibly feed off my excitement. Anways, enough about me.

It's important to know that there are only three important rules to Pyrogy Day:

1-It is important to have a drink in your hand. I believe in this rule for most social situations. But this will make things more fun. It will seem like less of a job and more of a ...hobby!

 (Which it should be. If it still seems like a job, you're not doing this step right)

2-It is very important to create an unusual pyrogy- one year we added an M&M to the pyrogies when we thought perhaps we would elect a new president (that didn't work out), another year we added pink dye to one batch of pyrogies (this was vile), and this year the pyrogy purse was created.

3-Lastly, it is important to not stop until it is over. Don't think that because the dough duo is having issues with rolling, that that means the pinching people can take a break. NO. We are all here for a purpose people. (I've been told I'm a slave driver. Except I'm not- I brought spinach dip to the event)

So this year, to keep the rythym going, I decided to make a playlist of all songs that reflected, made me think of, or reminded me of all things pyrogy. The criteria for this was rather broad. It could be a song that I've heard in the past on Pyrogy Day or one that reminded me of someone in the group or just something to encourage the masses to keep going when they feel like they can't pinch another pyrogy. (It's hard to believe this happens but, for some, it does.)

Warning- this is one of those times to exercise the act of taking nothing I say seriously.

So I will just provide an excerpt of my playlist (since there were 32 and I'm not that energetic right now)with a description as to why I chose such song:

1) Tom Petty- Free Falling: I chose this song because when he says he is "free, free, free fallin'" and is "gonna fall out into nothing" that he really means he is going to free fall out into nothing but pyrogies. And when he says he is "going to leave this world for awhile" it is to live in pyrogy land where nothing eles matters. I was there on Sunday. It was a real treat. 

2)Cyndi Lauper- Girls Just Want to Have Fun: Obviously, right? Not many parties can happen without Cyndi's tried tested and true contribution. This song is good for a mood lifter, a pace quickner, and, don't forget, the embarrassing family singalong. Not that we do that. We are way to cool for that garbage...much to Morgan's dismay. (brother's girlfriend)

3)The Beatles-Here Comes the Sun: Not only does the lovely guitar music put a smile on the faces of many, but the lyrics are relatable. Besides keeping my spirits high, it was also for the pinching people who may feel as though there job is never over. This song was to tell them that "here comes the sun," which means that though you're job isn't over yet, it will be at some point. So chin up and keep on pinching. (yeah, I'm just that lame)

4) Telekinesis!- Coast of Carolina: This song was picked because it is how I think pyrogies feel about their pyrogy makers. Its really a deep connection that can exist only between creator and creation. Like a bond between parent and child. 

5)It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year- Andy Williams: Also from that super annoying Staples commerical my dad would always sing when it was time to go back to school. In this case, however, it is for Pyrogy Day, which is a magical time. Fantastic really. Other than my birthday, it ranks pretty high on my list of favourite days. 

The pyrogies from this day are destined for consumption on Christmas Eve when my family gets together for a Ukrainian Christmas Dinner, which is meatless. However this "meatless" rule is not really a rule as we have pickerel as well. And that is a meat, in my opinion, anyway.
Until next year, that's all for the P-Day of 2010. 

David Sedaris at McNally Robinson

On November 22, Winnipeggers were treated to a visit from well-known writer David Sedaris. McNally Robinson was packed with avid readers, curious shoppers, and tired students to hear Sedaris read from his latest collection, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary. 


Either McNally Robinson wasn't expecting such a large turnout or the building isn't set up for big crowds at book launches and readings and signings because there were few chairs and many people milling around the store, bumping into one another. However, once the event, hosted by CBC Manitoba Information Radio's Terry McLeod, began, the audience soon forgot their crowding discomfort and were immediately engaged in the sound of Sedaris' voice. 


I had never read anything by Sedaris in the past but was looking forward to hearing from the NY Times Bestselling Author. I was pleased to find his work funny and easily understood. Since I didn't know what to expect, all I did was hope that it wouldn't be some boring author who wrote in a form of English that I didn't understand.  Sedaris' work was made funnier with his (slightly) high-pitched, reedy voice. Sedaris had his audience cracking up so frequently that pauses between laughs were shortlived. 


No photographs were allowed to be taken at any time during the reading but I managed to snap a couple after he had taken his seat to sign books-until probably three days later, judging by the size of the line up. 


Sedaris said that when he goes on tour, as he is now, he likes to have a theme when he writes about it in his journal. The theme for this tour is jokes. He writes down all the jokes that he hears from people at his events. Among them was his joke for men at a job interview:
When at an interview and it is time for you to ask them a question, as them what the difference is between a Camaro and an erection. Then say, " I don't have a Camaro." 


I was struck by his genuine-ness when it came to his fans, he made sure he heard from everyone during the question portion and answered each with detail. He also doesn't leave the store until he has signed all the books that people brought in. No matter if it keeps him signing into the night. On his way to the back of the room to start signing, he stopped to ask the person that I had gone with if he had eaten that night and where he was going to go for dinner. 


Sedaris is also the author of Barrel Fever, Naked, Holiday on Ice, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim (etc). One of the questions posed to him from the audience was how he handled privacy since he tends to write about his personal life a lot. To this he responded that he felt he knew what his family would and would not approve of him writing about. However, if he includes someting about his family members, he always gives it to them to read beforehand. He also mentioned that there are some things that he thinks about writing about his late mother, but won't because he knows she would not have approved. 


Sedaris is a very entertaining speaker and his book reading was a success. How do I know this? I have added his latest novel to my Christmas list.




Sedaris will be returning on May 3, 2011 at the Burton Cummings Theatre. Tickets for this event are available at ticketmaster.ca.

CW Blog Assignment- The Recipe for Leaving

Ingredients:

1 fleeing female
1 large crowd
1 waiting jet plane
A medium-sized duffel bag
1 impending ticket
½ an hour before departure
A cup full of confidence, a sliver of doubt

Preparation:

Blend one fleeing female with one waiting jet plane.  As the timer shows the last half hour, mix a medium-sized duffel bag with one impending ticket. Sift through the large crowd, soaking in conflicting emotions. When the alarm signals it is time, a sliver of doubt is enough to melt a cup full of confidence. 

One Art- The Good (Review)

One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan't have lied.  It's evident

the art of losing's not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster

Such a strong Birdsong.

Short Story Review: Birdsong
                        By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A)   Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born September 15, 1977 in Nigeria. She has had a celebrated career as a writer, winning numerous literary awards. Adichie got a degree in Communications and Political Science from Eastern University in 2001. After attending John Hopkins University, she graduated with a master’s in Creative Writing in 2003. And, in 2008, Adichie received a Master of Arts in African Studies from Yale University. Shortly after this, she received a MacArthur Fellowship award. 

B)   I felt Adichie’s article was a particularly strong piece of writing. I could feel the narrator changing within the story, starting as a young, naïve woman who was infatuated with a married man. In the beginning, she mocks her co-workers who are determined to marry. As her affair deepens and the two move in together (for 13 months), the narrator grows out of her young, lovesick stage and realizes how oppressive her relationship is.
In the beginning, her lover claims to be a better man than others and would allow her to move on whenever she wanted. But, instead, he moves her in and they spend most days together where he expects her to act in a certain manner. She is expected to retrieve meat pies when he wants them, cry when he is angry with her, and not be greeted by name.  At the end of the affair, the narrator is more self-confident and has a more feminist approach to relationships. This is apparent through her heated exchanges with her boss regarding Christianity and why it was the female’s job to cut the birthday cake every time (traditional roles). She seems more confident and cynical towards the male gender. Examples of this were when she confronted men at work and wanted to slap the young boy who wanted to clean her car’s windshield. Lastly, she exerted confidence when rolling down her window to yell at the mysterious staring woman.
One thing that I didn’t follow within the piece was the identity of the woman in the car next to her. The story consists of the narrator, who is only once referred to as “Auntie” but is otherwise nameless. The narrator constantly switches between flashbacks and the present as she sits in traffic beside a woman who resembles her ex-lover’s wife. The woman is not confirmed as the wife, however, the story ends with her smiling and heading towards the bridge. I sense that the bridge is a hint as to the identity of the woman, yet I cannot find a prior reference to the bridge.

C)   This article appeared in the September 20, 2010 issue of The New Yorker. 

Hanging on the wall forever.

A volunteer reception was held at the Tijuana Yacht Club for Cancer Care Manitoba on Nov. 18. Many events that had donated to the organization were being honoured with their name on a plaque.

In May of 2009, I lost a good friend and second mother, Jacqueline Epp, to ovarian cancer and at her memorial party we encouraged guests to leave a donation for Cancer Care. During Jacquie's 18-month battle with ovarian cancer, Cancer Care helped in numerous ways, like the Look Good Feel Better program.

Every year Cancer Care holds a reception like this, with the exception of 2009, celebrating those who have raised money for the organization. I spoke to Chelsea Hermus, the special events coordinator from CancerCare Manitoba, and she said that there were people present that night who had raised up to $500,000. (Not me but hopefully someday)

The event started at 6 p.m. and went later than 8 p.m., which was its projected finish time. The workers gave out lots of free drink tickets, the dinner was very good (Bud, Spud, and Steak style but actually good) and the cakes... *sigh* To make what would otherwise be a long story-short, the cake selection was fabulous. I scored a table right across from them for myself and the other two joining me, so the cake fumes were identifiable. I was able to make eye contact and glare at the people who would walk by and consider the chocolate cake. (Just a little sneak peek at my chocolate obsession)

Anyways, on a more human note, I've been thinking about possible ideas for my IPP next year and haven't really narrowed them down much further than a not-for-profit event. I think it would either be a CancerCare or Ovarian Cancer Canada event. I have been an avid fundraiser for OCC for a few years now, so I'm leaning more towards that option. When Jacquie first passed away, her son and I were thinking of fundraising ideas, one of which we may still pursue. A hockey tournament and the proceeds would go to OCC. But all ideas like that are still in the works and there are a lot of them. Any ideas are welcome on that topic.

I managed to crop the mock-up of the plaque that will hang in the hall of CancerCare Manitoba building off of McDermott Street so that Jacquie's name was readable. 

She will be represented on the plaque as BBQ in memory of Jacqueline Epp.

This reception was an amazing experience and I am honoured to have attended it for the purpose that I did.

More professional pictures to follow...

Remembering: The Soldier's Story

Photo from: Maple Lake Ontario blog

             Private Alan Sheldon returns to his hometown of Stonewall, Manitoba, where he was born in 1925, to remember the soldiers that have served his country at the Royal Canadian Legion.

            Sheldon left to join the Second World War in 1941 after turning 18 to fight as part of the Allies, which were lead by the British Empire, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States of America.

            The Allies fought and won against the Axis power, lead by Germany, Italy, and Japan in a global military conflict that took place in Europe and lasted from 1939-1945.

            For his service in the Second World War, his uniform is decorated with nine different medals, including the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, the France and Germany Star, the Italian Star, and the Defence Medal. Sheldon keeps these medals in pristine condition, much like he keeps all of his mementos from the war.

            After spending two years in North Africa, Sheldon traveled over to Italy for a year and a half. Opening his bag of keepsakes, he removes a white dinner plate found in 1944 in the rubble of a bombed hotel in the town of Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast of Italy.

            “The entire hotel was demolished from bombs, but I saw something sticking out of the stones. It was a dinner plate without a scratch or crack. I threw out my mess tins and ate off the plate until the war was over,” recalls Sheldon of his discovery.

             Sheldon did not always have the luxury of having food on his plate, though. He and his fellow soldiers were often given no food, just hard cookies and tea bags. When water became hard to get, they resorted to hot water from the engine of a train for their tea.

            “Those cookies were the hardest and blandest things I have ever eaten,” said Sheldon, while pulling a box of them from his bag of keepsakes. As he opens the lid to the box, he muses, “Not a speck of mould after 66 years.”

            From his bag, Sheldon continues to pull out a leather zipped case that held many letters to him from countries giving thanks for his aide in the war, papers of his discharge when leaving the army, and a letter from future President Dwight Eisenhower upon his deployment into Europe, wishing him good luck.

            Sheldon also brought along many of the letters he and Vivian, his late wife of 68 years, had sent back and forth during the war.

            “We started numbering our letters to each other while I was away. At the end, we were at number 408,” he says, smiling.

            Sheldon replaces each of his mementos into his bag with care, trying to keep each token from his time overseas in perfect condition to pass on to his children or grandchildren one day.

            “I will never forget but for many young people, it probably doesn’t seem real to them. I show these memories to my grandkids to make it real for them,” says Sheldon.

           

Remembering: The Ceremony

Photo by: Megmet

             By 10:40 a.m. on November 11, the Royal Canadian Legion in Stonewall, Manitoba reached its capacity. Four hundred people adorned with bright red poppies sat tightly in hard plastic chairs as two hundred others lined the walls with a common purpose: to commit to a collective moment of silence in memory of those who have risked their lives for their country.

            “The town is going to have to start thinking about having the service at the arena,” says Julie McConkey, an 84-year-old resident. “It’s getting too crowded in here. The turnout keeps getting bigger every year.”

            As the trumpet from the Stonewall Collegiate Institute band faded on its final note, the lights in the hall went out. Leading Seaman Stan Davis, president of the colour party, marched down the aisle, while reciting In Flanders Fields by John McCrae with a lit torch in his hand. The emotion in his voice brought tears to the eyes of several people in the packed hall.

            “It is comforting to see so many people show up today and to know that the sacrifices of others have not been forgotten,” says Davis as his eyes scanned the crowded assembly.

            Davis, a veteran of the Korean War, says the torch is a symbol of honour, justice, and freedom, all principles that our soldiers fought for. Davis has been a member of the colour party, a group of veterans and war enthusiasts who dress in uniform for funerals and parades, for 37 years.

            Reverend Leonard Oracheski, who presided over the service, reminded the audience that the men and women who risked their lives for our country should not be forgotten. He says at closing, “At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”

Winnipeg Ghost Walk with Veronica Neufeld

The three of us outside MTC

Photo by: David Driedger

It was a relatively chilly night on October 29, when a group of CreComm students braved the night and faced the spirits that are thought to haunt the Exchange District. Hosting the Winnipeg Ghost Walk was Veronica Neufeld, a CreComm classmate with extensive knowledge on the historic sites in this part of the city.

Veronica getting started...

Photo by: Palmer Fritschy

I will not be disclosing the information about each building for two reasons. One, I think this tour is definitely worth taking so people should find this out on their own. And, secondly, I don't want to mess this up as it was over a week ago that I was on it. (Blame my Internet provider for this)

Photo by: Palmer Fritschy

Huddled around the Burton Cummings Theatre, we began our tour with the story of those who haunt it because it was the last place they were ever really happy. Veronica regaled us with the haunting of the Marlborough on Smith Street. We found out what was hidden within the walls of the Old Masonic Temple and heard a story from Pamela, a fellow CreComm-er, about an experience she had at an event being held there. We also walked to the Old Market Square and heard about the first hangings in Manitoba and how jail cells remain under the ground of the Square. Pantages Playhouse Theatre was also a building we walked to and heard a story about a woman in a white dress. Ironically enough, when we looked up to the window which Veronica said we would see the woman, a white dress was visible. Normally the tour would involve entering the Playhouse but there was something going on there that night and the white dress was probably part of that and not the ghostly white dress from Veronica's story. Our guide had her own experiences to share about the Playhouse before moving on to our final destination, the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Here I got the above picture taken of me and two gentlemen whose names I cannot remember.

At this point it had started to snow and the 75-minute tour was over, so the CreComm-ers headed over to the Kings Head Pub for some drinks to warm us up as we sat around discussing our own ghost stories and Halloween ideas, among other things. As a sidenote, I think it's really starting to freak me out just how soon the lovely Class 3 is going to be separated. So sad.

I was blown away by how much Veronica knew about this area of the city. I had talked to her earlier in the week and she had mentioned being nervous because she needed to memorize the information about each haunted location. But she was awesome and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. She went above and beyond, recommending buses to the other people participating in the tour and how they can get home the quickest.

This was really a fantastic tour, very fun, spooky, and informative. I definitely recommend this to others.
The tours are still available through November so it's not too late! You can just show up at 7:40 PM at the park across from the Burton Cummings Theatre with $10, $8 for seniors and students and the experience will be yours.