Notes for Week 3

1) For your next blog post, I want you to consciously go out of your comfort zone in some way and write about that experience. It can be a small thing—wearing a new pair of shoes, trying something unusual on a restaurant menu—or a big(ger) thing—venturing into a part of town you've never visited before. The point is not to be made uncomfortable as much as to try something new. Make this experience a story—a blog post, even!

2) Your assigned text for week 3 is "Why I'm Breaking Up With My Blog," by Tracey Chappell. Please read the post and come to class ready to answer the following questions:

• What does this piece have to tell us about the history of blogging? 
• What does Chappell have to tell us about how blogging can shape and enhance one's life?
• What of her blogging advice is useful to you?
• What have her challenges in blogging been? 
• Tracey Chappell died in May 2015. She's enormously missed by her family and her writing community. How does knowing about her death change the meaning of what she's written here? 

Dear Sleep, I love you.

What I love is my cousin Nikhil. I wish he'd known that...perhaps he wouldn't have killed himself. Sometimes I think he did know and still made the choice to do such a hurtful act - I'm not sure which truth I find harder to accept. The question leads me to question the whole idea of truth. It seems like a surreal concept that people can be so passionate about. We try to associate it with logic and fact when really it's a matter of perspective and individual experience. While in Paris to identify Nikhil's body I tried to put together the pieces of what happened. This was my funny younger cousin, from India, who insisted on moving to France to attend a top school, received a scholarship and was living what he described as his dreams. Three days passed full of translating French to English in my brain then to Hindi for Nikhil's father who understandably was devastated. In a state of confusion on how his dream turned into this nightmare, I even went back to Paris a second time on a  search for the 'truth' on what transpired. I spoke to as many people as possible - taking notes, asking questions trying to make some sense of what could have driven him to make that choice. I still have all the notes tucked away safely in an envelope marked 'Important Documents.' As I slowly accept I will never really know because no one but him knew what he was thinking, I acknowledge that I may never open the envelope again. I will keep it tucked away like the whole gut-wrenching experience. The mere thought of the topic is so draining that it brings me to the thing I really love which is sleep.

I absolutely adore sleep. My appreciation for it has grown rapidly. It's a need and a luxury all wrapped up in one. It's a time of rest and distance from my own thoughts and I can't seem to shake my desire for it. Even now, as I write, it feels like my sleep is calling my name, inviting me into the blissful place of comfort. I have the ability to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, the kind insomniacs pray for. At times this feels like a gift and a curse. Part of my brain is aware it's an unproductive habit. Sleep isn't helping me find a new career, it doesn't make me feel loved, it doesn't help me get my homework in on time or lose the 27 pounds I managed to gain within the past year but I still love it. It's all I want to do during the days. Sometimes I wake up early on a Saturday just to create the opportunity to indulge in an afternoon nap. My love for it transcends places and temperatures. Cold, rain, sun - I enjoy sleep in all settings and temperatures. My favourite place to sleep is on the beach, with sun on my face with the sound of the ocean. A big, plush bed with the sound of the rain is a close second. For my birthday this past year, I travelled to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands and indulged in daily afternoon naps in my own little beach cave. As a result, I remember it as one of my best trips.

Two years ago I was working 60 hours a week, working out at least an hour a day, socialising and thriving off a mere six hours of sleep. I used to brag about how little sleep I needed. Now sometimes even after I wake up from a nine hour slumber and have a coffee, I'm exhausted. The more I sleep, the more tired I feel. Now I know this may sound like I have a 'problem' or have slipped into a form of 'depression.' You may be thinking I'm a certified 'sleep addict' in the midst of a downward spiral due to the experience of losing a loved one but the bizarre thing is, I'm generally a very positive person. I meditate regularly, I believe in the attitude of gratitude - I even keep a little gratitude jar full of post-its where I write down my many blessings. The people I love come to me to talk about their problems and I'm fortunate when they select me as someone to listen to them or even offer advice. I understand loss is a shared, human experience and death is a reality of life. What I don't understand anymore is what about life is really better than sleep. I appreciate my family, my friends, laughter - all these things are in my gratitude jar but I just don't feel they compare to the joy of sleep (sleep is also in my jar, perhaps on more then one post-it). The warmth of a soft blanket, the cosy feeling of a perfect mattress, the bliss felt right before drifting off into a deep sleep - it's such a peaceful experience. I know I can't pass my life in a slumber but a part of me wants to. Even in my happiest moments full of energy and laughter, a small part of me is looking forward to slipping into my bed. Even now as I'm typing, writing, creating and enjoying it as  healing, expressive process, I'm looking forward to finishing so I can crawl into my bed.

For the Love of Music

One thing I know I could never live without is music.  It is something I have loved for as long as I can remember.  I think it’s because it was always present in my house when I was growing up.  Whether it was a pop tune blaring from the radio in the kitchen while my mom cooked dinner, or the soulful music that could be heard from my uncle’s 8-track, it always made me happy.   

I often wondered….. why is it that I can remember the lyrics to a song from 10 years ago, but can’t remember what I ate last week?  I think it’s because music means something to me.  What I love most about it is that it can take you to places just by hearing the beat or the melody of a song.  Music has the ability to unleash emotions, to make you feel the way you did when you heard a song for the first time, whether it was a happy occasion or a sad one. 

To me, live music is the best kind of music. Whether it’s watching a band like Keane or seeing a legendary solo artist like Elton John perform, it’s such a magical experience. There’s just something about being in one location with a group of people who like the same type of music.  It generates an indescribable energy at a concert.  And if you’re lucky, you’ll have the opportunity to see an artist who feeds off this energy.

Speaking of energy, I had the chance to see Madonna in concert for the first time last night.  I had never been a huge fan of her music, but I wanted to see her in concert at least once in my lifetime.  There's only one word to describe her show:   WOW.  She’s still got it!   She's what you'd call a true performer. The dancers, the staging, the costumes, it was like something out of a theatre production.  She not only danced (in high heels no less), but she sang live and played several instruments. 

That’s what’s missing from some of the newer artists today.  How many musicians actually sing live at their concerts anymore?  When did lip-syncing replace singing? 

I think that's why I like discovering artists that haven't reached mainstream status yet.  These artists write their own songs, they play different instruments, and they're truly about the music.  It's not just about the image, it's about the talent.  

The Mountain

The best thing about going back to the place where I grew up is that nobody can find me unless they really try.  There is no Internet, no cell phone service, and it's a hundred kilometres from any town that anyone has heard of.  You can fly over the property in an airplane, soaring across the Selkirk mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, and not see any sign of human existence for more than half an hour.  I love this place.  Six acres of wilderness that's almost as wild today as it was when my family moved there in the early 1970s.   

We did manage to tame it a little bit. Dad created our own electricity with a Pelton wheel and 1000 feet of pipe, harnessing one of the streams that tumbles down the mountainside. Mom tilled the clay soil, mixed in a lot of goat dung and created several gardens that have thrived for decades during the short growing season.   Today, there's a verdant front yard full of clematis and rose bushes where there used to be thistles and rock.

But many other things remain untamed.   Grizzly bears and black bears still wander across the property from spring until hibernation time.   On winter nights, coyotes still perform their eerie vocalizations outside the bedroom window.   Five meters of snow continue to fall between November and March, turning the wood-frame house into an igloo-like tunnel.  Like clockwork, the sun disappears behind the mountains in the second week of December every year, and emerges again in the first week of February.   And the only communication is still an old-fashioned landline.

As a journalist and television producer I have travelled to some of the remotest corners of the planet and have encountered very few places that feel as technologically remote as my childhood home.  Many of my friends are in media, and based in big cities around the world.   For those who visit, it takes time to adjust to life on the mountain.  Some of them don't adjust.   "So there's really no way to get a signal here?" a colleague asks with no small amount of irritation.  Sure there is, if you want to spend thousands of dollars hooking up a big satellite dish near the top of the tallest cedar tree at the top of the property.   And we've considered it, if only to make it easier to work from the mountain.   But so far, we've decided against it because we know it will change everything irrevocably, and we aren't ready to give up the delights of disconnectedness-- a rare place where the outside world, and its expectations of instant responses, can be put on 'pause'.

The BC government has promised that every resident of the province, no matter where they live, will soon have access to the Internet.  It seems to be a reasonable promise in one of the world's wealthiest countries.   And I'll admit that life on the mountain will be easier once I'm able to connect more readily to my city-based work.  (I'll even be able to post blogs!)  But I also know that letting the world in with a single click will irrevocably change what I love most about life on the mountain.

My trip preparation routine

I love traveling because, for me, it means meeting a new culture, a new atmosphere. I love the sensation of thinking for two or five days –depending how long is my trip- how would I feel living in the place I’m visiting. When I was living in Barcelona I used to travel at least twice a year. Now that I live in Toronto I continue travelling but mostly to go back home.

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons for traveling because it’s a way of avoiding extreme weather conditions. The truth is, though, that choosing these seasons often brings you rain so, the perfect weather for traveling doesn’t exist!

As my friends say, I have developed a trip preparation routine, and I love it.  The first thing I do after deciding my destination is Google it for doing some primary research: reading the history of the place, learning some basic words in the new language, etc.

After having a general idea of where I’m going I use go to a bookstore to read some guides. I do a quick research but usually just buy one. I confess that depending on the destination I will choose one or another. I don’t have a favourite one.

The preparation continues underlining the guide and starting a list of My Musts of the city. But that list needs other recommendations too. I need to know places that don’t appear in the books – and I don’t mean finding secret treasures, I mean normal places someone went and liked-. That’s why I usually try to find friends, or friends of friends, for asking personal tips.

The next step is marking on the map all the places I want to visit. And I do it creating zone groups. I just prepare the zone groups because I don’t like to know exactly what I’m going to do every day. So I get different itineraries and once I’m there I will decide how to spend my time.

Another step that I consider vey important during my preparation is having a list of restaurants or local markets. Every time I’m traveling I try to visit three different types of gastronomic places: The first ones are restaurants -full of locals- offering lunch menus. The second types are the food markets –I love buying some fruit, wine or local ingredients and preparing delicious sandwiches or meals-. Finally, in every trip I do, I try to choose a special restaurant for having a special dinner -I have to admit that the criteria I use for choosing depends on the place I’m visiting-.

The last step -but not least- of my trip preparation is to find a place to stay. The first option is always finding someone’s friend with an apartment for renting. If there is no success, I try airbnb. I personally prefer apartments than hotels. I love spending time in my new home imagining how would it be my life there. For me, spending some time cooking local dishes, having a glass of wine or reading a book after all day walking it’s also part of traveling.

Our First Class Post

This is our first blog post. We are very excited to be working together and learning from each other. 

We are pleased to be working at The University of Toronto.

Notes in Preparation for Week 2

There will be no class next week, as we're breaking for Thanksgiving, but we meet again the week after that.

1) Your own first post (Show Us What You Love!) should be up on the class blog by Wednesday at midnight. Please come to our next class ready to give feedback on your classmates' blog pertaining to what works about each post and why.

2) Your assigned text for Week 2 is "Why the Future of Blogging Starts Now", by Navneet Alang. Please come to class ready to discuss the article and ready to answer the following questions about it:

How are blogs different from other kinds of social media? What can a blog do that other forms of social media can't?
What are the advantages and disadvantages (from the point of view of the blogger) of admitting that blogging is "small"?
"So the future of the blog is neither death nor triumph"—how does this point fit into the conversation about blogging we've been having already?
How does this article change or clarify any ideas you have about your own future in blogging

3) Your next assignment will be to write about something particular to your neighbourhood—a restaurant review, a profile of a person or a place. The reason for this approach is to keep on looking outward, to encourage a variety of responses (because you all like in different places), and to remember the connection between blogging and engaging with the world around you. Please come to our next class with an idea and be ready to begin writing this post.