New Jacket

Another roommate moved out. Now there's only three of us, and we're the three that lived here last summer. It started with us and it ends with us.

I fixed my jacket situation. I went to Value Village to see if they had anything. I'm used to the one in Guelph, which has a pretty random selection. But the one in Kitchener... I wound up buying a new jacket, two shirts, three pairs of pants two pairs of shorts, and a swimsuit. Dropped $90 there. I'm putting that toward the $160 I made from my change jar. Last year I said my change paid for a week's worth of groceries, this year it pays for a new wardrobe.

Got to bring my jacket to an interview, too. We'll see how that goes.

Roommates Moved Out

Two of my roommates moved out today. That means there's only four of us left in the house. Two of the people remaining are the same ones that lived with me last summer. Us three are the only  ones using our lease for the entirety of its duration. The three of us have seen a summer roommate move out in September, then four people moved in, one person moved out at the end of the semester. Then two more people moved in. Then one of the people who'd moved in for the semester moved out, and then another left to do co-op. Since last summer, I've had nine roommates, and in the past twelve months, I've had fifteen. Including my stint in the Residence, my college experience has had me share a home with sixteen people.

Since my roommates moved out today, I can move the panini press and beer machine out of my room. Those were left by last year's roommates, and while no one tried to lay claim to them, I can understand that people may become a little grabby when they're moving away and won't have to face the consequences of their actions. So I put them behind lock and key. Hey, these things were left by MY former roommates. Nobody else in the house lived with them. I'm more entitled to them than anyone.

The panini press is real nice. It's like, industrial sized. You could grill steak on this thing. When we hosted the silent auction for our fundraiser event, I didn't offer anything because I didn't think anything I owned had significant value. But I forgot this press. Someone estimated it at a few hundred dollars. For some reason, neither I nor any of my roommates put it to use.

The beer machine has been put to use by both generations of roommates. The flavour was a little strange for last year's batch, but it was consumable. This year, someone took a sip and threw up. I blame it on the fact that they left it in the baking sun. I went to take it and hide it, and realized that it was still full of beer. It feels so wrong to throw out nearly ten litres of beer, but when it's been left in the sun for half a year and has a history of making people vomit, it's hard to condone preserving it.

Where can you empty almost ten litres of beer? My first instinct was to pour it on the lawn, near where it was set, but I quickly felt that this would be really bad for the lawn. I thought of emptying it in the shower, but I share the shower with others and I don't know if it would be responsible of me to make it beer-scented.  Right now I'm thinking of flushing it. I mean, lots of foul-smelling stuff flows through that particular waste disposal unit. 

Women's Crisis Services on the Respect Campaign

One of our assignments for school was to do a resource binder, compiling all the social service resources. While I was working on it, I stumbled on a blog post on the Women's Crisis Services web page. Here it is:

http://www.wcswr.org/respect-week-reflections-caring-students-make-all-the-difference/

That's the Respect Campaign! The Respect Campaign while I was helping run it! It's a post on the Respect Week Clothesline Project! There's a shout-out to the Extend-a-Family I Choose Dign!ty Day as well! Oooohhhh yeah! I'm a part of a wave of change!

Last year on this day, the temp agency I was with called me and asked me if I could work the following Monday, all nonchalant as if I had been working for them the day before. I felt real good because I hadn't needed to look for work, the work had looked for me. I supposed that they knew when college let out, and knew they could call the community college students that would be looking for work.

I kind of expected them to call again this year. In which case, I would be a little bit less flattered as I am currently flexing my new status as a Social Service Worker and would be required to decide if my pride was such that I would not do work outside my field. However,  they did not call and I realize that this is likely because I changed my phone number. If I want to get some quick work in before Summer Program, I'd have to take the extra step of calling them, and that extra step might just be the deal breaker. Nothing against industrial work, but... I think I might use this time simply to focus on future endeavors.

I need a new spring jacket. That's one thing I often forget when I go to a job interview. I've got a shirt, pants, shoes etc prepared for interview day, but I tend to forget to think of my jacket as a display item and not just something to regulate my temperature. I went into my Summer Program interview wearing a jacket that was missing the little metal tab on the zipper, and which I'd replaced with a safety pin. I remember leaving this jacket at the Donkey Sanctuary in Ways2Work. It's an old jacket, yo.

Also when I went into the Summer Program interview, I was becoming reacquainted with someone I used to work with, who would be a part of the interview process. Of note was the fact that he had grown a beard, whereas I had none. We had swapped facial hair styles since last we'd seen each other. I kind of regretted shaving the day previous, since I had felt that I looked unkempt with heavy stubble. Even though my friend had a distinguished beard, I know that bearded men are more tolerant of the awkward "half-grown" stage of beard development, having had to go through it themselves and I might have trusted his acceptance of my own stubbled face.  I'll have to shave again next Tuesday for another job interview.

I forgot to mention that when I was at the CoinStar machine cashing in my change jar, a fight almost broke out at one of the cash registers (this was at a Food Basics grocery store). I guess I forgot to mention it because this is kind of a dialed-down version of the almost-fight that I interceded in on the bus. This time, I wasn't as near by, I didn't jump in between them, and no one threw a punch. One guy stormed up to another guy and accused him of having bumped his shopping cart into his wife twice. The accused said he had not done anything on purpose. The accuser menaced him never to do such a thing again and implied that he would do something awful to him if he did. When I was putting in my CoinStar tab, the cashier was laughing about it and asked me if I'd seen. I said that I had, and that I had honestly been taken aback, as I had never seen such an altercation in a grocery store. She vaguely said that it happens once in awhile.

Change Jar

I keep a change jar with dimes, quarters, and nickels. I don't put in loonies and twonies because they're worth enough that I feel like using them on a regular basis. There are $1 bills in the States, so clearly they are considered in some nations to be worth enough to warrant a bill. Loonies and twonies are worth enough, in fact, to justify the controversial change purse built into some mens wallets.

Last year I took my jar to a CoinStar (coin-bill conversion machine) and had about $80. I remember writing about that because I compared it to how much I made from keeping my savings account (far more from the change jar). This year, all my friends would talk about how I had the most massive amount of change and it made me optimistic that I would trump my previous year's amount. Well, my optimism was well-founded because I had $160! Double last year's amount! Why did I have so much change this year?

I just got accepted back for Summer Program Leader! That means I'm going to start a garden in Kitchener! It's probably late in the season to start one but hey, there was snow on the ground this morning!

Terrible! I had to put on my winter coat today!

Earlier in the year when I knew school would end in little more than a month, but everything kept going as usual and I couldn't really make myself believe it in my heart, I looked around at the world carpeted in snow and ice. The winter felt unending, and I couldn't connect it to the warmth and greenery of summer that I connected to the end of school the year previous. I felt frozen in time. I remember walking out one day and breathing in a warm spring breeze. I looked around at the snow and ice that showed no signs of melting, but there was a disconnect between the look of the earth and the smell of the air, and at that moment I really believed in my heart the oncoming of a change in lifestyle.

Anyway, the frost came back for one last go. It didn't bring back my frozen state of mind, though.

Have I spoke on this thing about how I don't like spring? Everybody goes on about how it's the renewal of life and how good it feels for the frost to end and for everyone to be loading up on vitamin D again. But to me, I see that blanket of snow ripple away and what it reveals is the garbage and rotted leavings of the previous year. Summer is the time when life is bustling and at it's prime, then Autumn comes and everything bursts into colour and prepares for winter and, before Autumn can really give that feeling of death, winter sets in, covers it all up, and the world rests. Then Spring comes and reveals what Winter covered up, and because it's all a little worse for wear from sitting beneath the snow that long, everything just looks a little worse than you remembered.

I love greenery and foliage, but there really is that awkward time in Spring that I just grit my teeth and endure as a necessary stage in something that will eventually be beautiful.

Forest Adventures

The other day me and a few friends went on a hike in the woods. We ran across a snake. Then we saw another, then another. They were black and yellow, flicking their tongues out, slithering nearer each other. I deduced that they were finding each other. Their paths crossed and they slithered over top of one another, entwining their tails. They crept closer to us... We noticed one coming in from behind, as if they had been drawing our attention to them while their accomplice crept up on us... and that one wasn't alone either.

My friends were quite scared. I acted the tough guy but they zeroed in on me specifically and I cowered when they got within lunging reach. They looked small and harmless, but such a gathering of creatures so fearless in front of those so much larger than them just gave an eery vibe. I suggested that they might be gathering to mate, which I know that gartersnakes (quite harmless) do. I knew that snakes catch scent with their tongues, so as they flicked them, they were detecting each other and drawing nearer. I wasn't sure why theirr gathering spot had to be exactly where we were standing, however.

Naturally, we ran in fear and continued our journey.

A towtruck came down the path. None of us had considered the path passable by vehicle, and there was a great hill that was difficult to climb by foot in the direction it was going. It stopped before the hill, went into reverse, and continued to back down the trail, albeit in a different direction than we had come from.

Since three of the four of us were social service workers (and, as of that specific day, not merely social service worker students) we worried that he might be on his way to attempt suicide. Ready to demonstrate our newfound sense of responsibility, we struck after him through the wilderness. After some time, we came across his truck. The resolution of my friends wavered, and we wondered what nefarious deed he might be committing out in this private place, and what dangers he might present.

Having failed to demonstrate my promised unwavering courage in front of the snakes, I decided that this man was my opportunity for redemption. Alone I moved forward. I passed his truck and stood next to him.

I didn't want to come off too strong, so I decided to make a little small-talk before getting into what I was really after. I said "Do you know what's down this path?"

He described a delightful walking trail that went past an old mill and led to Conestoga College. I made an internal note to try this path in the future.

I  asked him what he was up to. He said he was collecting firewood, which seemed quite believable ass he was collecting pieces of wood that had been heaped in a pile to the back of his truck. I told him that I would tell my friends and left before he could question the statement.

When I returned to my friends I was HAILED for my courage! I told them that he was collecting firewood!

On our way back, we ran across one more snake. It's head was up, poised as if to strike. We stared at it for a good ten minutes before leaving, admitting that the snake was stronger than us.

It was good to go for a romp in the woods! I love all the unpredictability of nature! Reminded me of when I was twelve and thirteen, when I would go walking in the woods with my friends after school.

SSW Completion

Ehhh... Today I finished my last class as a Social Service Worker student. We came in to do a debrief of the groups we ran in our agencies, and the group we were in to assess our groups. We were the last batch of people scheduled to come in. We capped off the year. And now it's done. No more classes, no  more homework, no more placement. It's done.

Went to the Registrar's office today to make sure my name was correct in their system, since my HSF certificate said "Gryphon S Sibbald" had graduated. My middle names are Walter and Barent. There are a lot of letters in those and not one of them is "S".

Turns out they had me in as "Gryphon Sibbald Sibbald". It's fixed now. "Gryphon WB Sibbald" will graduate properly.

If you Google my name, the first hit is my blog. It's of a post where I'd said "Gryphon Sibbald" to lead it away from a former post where I'd said "Gryphon Sibbald" which got me on Google tobegin with.

I'd rather transition this to be the signature Google post.We've had a good batch of consecutive posts, I think. I sure hope I've said Gryphon Sibbald enough to replace it as the new highest hit.

And I forgot to mention it, but this is our 602nd blog post. The 600th was "Stand Up For Mental Health II" a couple posts back.

Beardless Lifestyle

Being beardless isn't as dramatically different as I thought it would be. It was neat to feel the wind on my face for the first time in five years, and for awhile things did seem a little chilly, but it was surprising how quickly I forgot that I even looked different.  People are usually taken aback at first, but get used to it real quick. The first person I ran into worked in a customer service position, and she didn't realize who I was to the point that she tried to serve me as a customer until I opened my mouth. She heard my voice and instantly realized her mistake. Second person I ran into just stopped and chatted with me and he didn't even mention that I shaved. Thought that was odd until I realized he takes his beard on and off, and that to someone who goes both sides regularly, the extremity of the change does not faze him anymore.

When I had the handlebar-muttonchop combination, most people didn't even mention it. I wasn't sure if they just couldn't differentiate between beard styles, or if they thought it looked bad and didn't want to tell me. Most people who expected the funky beard said it didn't look that different, but were shocked by the total clean shave.

I think I still identify as a bearded man. I see someone with a beard and I get beard envy. I shaved once more last Sunday to shock the WALES crew. I'm trying to grow it out but I have some job interviews coming up and I don't want to go in with a half beard. So I'll probably shave a couple more times next week.

I can see how people get into this negative cycle of shaving. To grow a beard you need like, two months where you don't have to look presentable.

Me and my fellow placement student had our closing celebration at WALES. I turned in my Respect vest. Heart-wrenching times.

Stand up for Mental Health II

I went to Standup for Mental Health again this year. If you don't remember what that is, it's stand up comedy done about mental illness by people who suffer from mental illness. It's therapeutic for them, and raises awareness on these issues. It was run by SSW students and was probably the last fundraiser event of the year.

In their raffle, I won bedsheets, sparkling wine, wine glasses, chocolate and candles. And I got five free pizzas. Goes with the cheese board, French press, two hours cleaning service, and thirty free movie rentals that I won in the Rip a Strip raffle. I also took three free pizzas from there, totaling eight free pizzas overall.

Last year at SFMH I won a month of free martial arts training. I always make value on the raffle.

I had my final Respect evaluation last Friday, and we had our last Respect meeting, last staff meeting, and did the recognition event. I clocked in my last hours as a Respect Intern. So that's over.

Somehow my phone got fried. I lost all my contacts, apps, everything. I think it's back to its default setting. And my tech savvy roommate's moved out. I think it still functions as a phone, but can't be sure.

It Happened Again

Well, I did it. I completed the shave. I was a little inauthentic and shaved a day before the agreed-upon time, but I did it because my last day of classes where everyone will be together was today. Since they were my strongest donation base and my reason for doing the event, I felt obligated to make sure they saw both rewards for the effort.

Here's an album of the process.

Standard look.

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My beard at it's longest length for the pre-shave growth. It became strong enough to support 14 pencils!

The final bid's decision on my facial hair design.

I had some fun experimenting before finishing the job.

Final result.

We had a class celebration today. There was a potluck (I made taco dip again), a year book-style compliment sheet that people signed for each other, and an award ceremony where people got certificates for being standouts in certain categories. I got "most school spirited". I feel like that's winning the "biggest nerd" award. What even is school spirit? Is it because I'm a Respect Intern?

It Happened

Well, today was the day of the cut. It got rescheduled to today because the class wasn't satisfied with the request of the last donor, whose bid of $100 went to plucking three hairs off the left side of my face. I gave them the chance to collaborate and, if they could raise enough money as a united entity by the next day, they could vote on another choice.

The next day, they raised $114.75.

So to summarize, I received...

$46.50 cash
$31.25 to save it
$261 from online donations
$114.75 in the final class bid

$453.50 total

Almost twice our original goal of $250!

And here are the results....