I Dare You to Drink the Vinegar

I do not understand why some of those who I know that are atheist are very insensitive to the fact that not everyone agrees with their view and similarly that their view is just as legitimate as those who are religious. I tend to shut down in these types of conversations as they tend to deteriorate quite quickly into a type of science versus religious type argument focusing largely on distaste toward both Christianity and Islam. Why am I not entitled to my beliefs? And honestly, why should I be respectful of your belief that there are no deities when you cannot be respectful of the fact that I have a belief in a particular deity? Further, when I disclose this fact why should this make me some sort of expert on theology? I don't have answers to these questions. I just know that it annoys the shit out of me when this becomes a regular topic of conversation when I socialize with certain groups of people and the pattern of the conversation is predictably offensive every time. Peace, Mi...

I supposed the point of Blog is twofold: A project of self-indulgence in which we imagine that the world is interested in any of the things that we do in our lives  An opportunity to share. When you read about my experiences and they are like your own then maybe you feel a little less weird, a little less scared, a little less alone.  This is just a thought, but I would probably have more readers if I posted more pictures of myself in sexy poses. It's as if this is some sort of foreshadowing for the next decade.  I sometimes wonder what types of message women/girls who post naked photos of themselves on such websites as facebook/myspace/makeoutclub/bmezine want to convey to the public. At the centre of this is the eternal question: is this empowerment or is this exploitation ? Do they post these photos as a display of liberation and empowerment, or is it because they want people to write them emails about how good-looking they are? Are they trying to fit in? When I look ...

An old friend was here on vacation for a couple weeks. At one point in both our lives we were really good friends but I don't think we've hung out in at least a few years now. It was nice hanging out with my old friend. It was kind of sad too though. As we talked he revealed that the way he lives his life is kind of an attempt to recapture when we were undergraduate university students, devoid of all responsibility except maybe sometimes making it to class and trying to get decent grades despite binge drinking 4 nights a week. He told about his fear of growing up and becoming an adult with adult responsibilities which I pointed out that, unfortunately he already has. My judgmental perspective was that he was just living in denial of it.   It's not a fine line between this new prolonged adolescence the masses of middle class kids who went to university because their parent's wanted them to, have jobs that maybe they like or maybe they stay in their safe office job becaus...

Is there a way for one person to make a difference? I guess we won't know unless we try. Commission on Human Rights for the Philippines (CHRP) Development Academy of the Philippines Love, Michelle D. 

HOUSING RESOURCES Atira Women's Resource Society "Atira Women’s Resource Society is a community-based organization that supports all women, and their children, who are experiencing the impact of violence committed against them and/or their children. Through education, advocacy and outreach, Atira is an active voice in the struggle to end violence against women and their children. Our feminist-based philosophy informs all our work with ourselves, each other and the community." The Kettle Friendship Society On July 19, 1976, a group of 20 concerned individuals prepared a brief addressing the need to develop a support service for individuals who were or had been receiving psychiatric treatment in the community. The mandate of this group was to provide "care" as a complement to existing treatment facilities by attempting to enrich lives, broaden personal and social horizons and encourage participation in community life. It was intended to offer a low key, softly d...

Abstract The Aboriginal population of Canada has much poorer health in comparison to the rest of Canadians. The cultural climate of Canada is largely defined by dominant white middle-class ideals rooted in a history established by European peoples that colonized the nation. The values and beliefs of marginalized cultural populations such as First Nations, or Aboriginals, have largely been ignored as Europeanized perspectives determine cultural norms. This paper attempts to address the questions how can traditional Aboriginal medicine be integrated into the Canadian health care system and what is the nurse’s role in this process as they are the most populous branch of primary public healthcare providers?   There is a current desire to return to traditional healing methods to both revitalize the culture and shift western ideologies of the biomedical model of medicine. It is apparent that there are many differences existing between the health paradigms of traditional medicine and...

Harm reduction is not new to nursing. A harm reduction perspective is key in positioning nurses in a compassionate, relational space that breaks down stigma related to substance use.  Reducing Stigma of Drug Use  The central principle of harm reduction is the recognition that some substance use within any society is normal, meaning there will always be some people using some substances for various purposes.  This goal is relevant to individuals using drugs because currently many cultures and societies view substance use, especially use of illegal substances or misuse of prescription substances, as morally wrong and stigmatize those individuals who choose to engage in their use.  The goal of reducing stigma involves actively countering social exclusion and stigma of substance use and substance users.  Further, work towards this goal places an emphasis on promoting and supporting community mobilization, as seen in organizations like VANDU. The individual drug user...

I sit at home a lot waiting to be called in for overtime. I wish someone would make a comprehensive website for the purpose of addictions counselling in the Vancouver area...or maybe throughout all major cities in Canada. I feel like the city of Vancouver doesn't have a good way to access resources. Is someone going to address this almost insurmountable gap?  Vancouver Child and Family Services Youth Detox love, Michelle d.

It's July 1st. It's Kelly's 27th birthday and...I lost the will to complete whatever I intended to write in this blog entry. The magic was lost. Peace, Michelle D.

I hadn't talked to anyone outside of work in four days. Going out last night was a strenuous task. The idea of leaving my apartment and meeting new people, hanging out with a friend from my Margaret House days seemed like a well-conceived plan but it didn't translate well into practice.  I'm not sure why but lately I find myself not having the energy to make new social relationships. This lack of interest in being social combined with hanging out with three people slightly my junior in different places in their lives boozing while I remained sober proved an unpleasant combination. I found myself being increasingly irritating by being told that I am incredibly fascinating because I: "don't emote". What the fuck does that mean anyway? That's not a compliment. Well, I'll fucking tell you right now: To express emotion, especially in an excessive or theatrical manner. That's not a fucking compliment...Especially when this is followed up with, "You ...

Each day I find myself increasingly dissatisfied with everything.  Right now I am watching Qiuncy , which if you do not know is an old tv show about a medical examiner (like orig Crossing Jordan I suppose). The episode is about a young adult that has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who kills his family insighting a debate about how mental illness must be treated in accordance with the legal system. Whatever. As I watch this I realize that attitudes towards mental illness have not changed that much since the 1970s.  We think we've come a long way but there is still the same amount of stigma and misunderstanding attached to mental illness. This show is really about fear I suppose because it is a complete pile of bullshit that most schizophrenics have command hallucinations telling them to commit crimes such as murder which they compulsively follow. http://www.world-schizophrenia.org/   Blah blah blah blah.  This sucks.    Love,  Michelle D.

Kelly (my life partner) is in Calgary right now on business.  We live in Vancouver. I am sitting alone in a cold apartment watching the local news with a feeling of intense sadness is my heart related to mostly PMS but also partly feeling inadeqeute for not being able to force myself to finish my masters thesis and partly because I really miss my family right now.  I feel maybe a little more like I want my family here because I know that without me there are only my brother and mother back in Calgary which means it is mostly my mother alone in the house with the tv blaring and missing her dead husband, my father. So today I feel like I have lost my will to live and a cancelled free haircut has driven me to nearly giving up on everything.  Sometimes I wonder if the reason why I cling to this thing that is my unfinished thesis is because it is a part of me that began with my father and I feel like if it is over then I am losing part of him. Does that even make sense?  ...

Those of you that knew me may or may not remember it. It was called S.P.O.R.E.S. An acronym that stood for nothing. Anyhoo, I was browsing through my word documents and I found some stuff that I wrote another zine that I was going to begin putting out post-S.P.O.R.E.S that I never finished. Here's a dismal piece of teen angst...although I just turned 20 when I wrote it. What the fuck happened to the 5 years in between then and now? University I suppose. Whisper softly to me, the words I want to hear… I am incredibly tired right now, you couldn’t even imagine…hmmm…actually you probably could. No sleep and a lot of coffee make Michelle a bitchy, bitchy, horribly irritable girl. Jesus, how the hell do I even keep friends? The last four days have lasted at least three weeks. I wake up early, go out come home a 3 a.m., repeat. The other night I couldn’t even think straight, I had no fucken clue what day it was. That’s not saying much though because right now I’m not really sure what day...

I watched the infamous fight between Elisabeth and Rosie on YouTube. The issue is that she's a pretty white Republican, and Rosie O'Donnell is an overweight lesbian liberal. There are many things I dislike about The View in general, mainly because of the ridiculous discussions they have, which all the hosts engage in. However, Elisabeth Hasselbeck is simply an idiot. She was on Survivor Season 2, right? She lost? But she's pretty, so she's on a show that's supposed to be a new-type talk show, and she's supposed to represent the opinions of 20-something American women? In all honesty, she appears to be an incredibly uninformed conservative. I'm not sure what her background in journalism is, and I'm not sure what her educational background is, but nonetheless, it seems she gets all her information from Googling things. I don't understand why she seemingly views everything so black-and-white and is so quick to defend the American government, believing...