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....