(My) Life Is A Rainbow

So here I am, perched happily amidst the cushions on the "window seat" (i.e. bay window) in our living room (playing with the camera on my computer, obviously), listening to some uplifting tunes compiled on a mixed CD for me by Devon (the best way to listen to music really - when it's specially selected for you by your best friend!!!), alternately attending to some email-related tasks and allowing my mind to wander as I gaze out the window over my shoulder...

Thinking about the kids drama classes that I've been teaching for the last 9 weeks that wrapped up this week... Feeling so bittersweetly proud of myself and my "students," and all the that fun we've had, and all that we've accomplished together over the last 9 weeks... But also a little bit weepy about having to part ways and say goodbye...

I am reminded of my classes at the community centre that I worked at when I first moved to Toronto, EIGHT YEARS AGO NOW!!! Those "kids" are teenagers now! Holy crap! Gosh, that was a special time and place in our lives... I am filled with wistful pride as I remember how devoted some of my "students" have been to me. The thought of it all just warms my heart so completely. It is so gratifying to think about being "successful" with my intentions of sharing my passion for the arts and for life with these young people. And also, I've loved them all. So, so, SO VERY MUCH. And I think that's been clear to them as well.

And now I find my mind wandering to memories of when I was a student of various children's art classes, or a young pre-teenage volunteer assisting remarkable artists in Vancouver, where I grew up... I caught myself thinking about this 'chain of role-modelling' that I seem to find myself a part of, and how remarkable and beautiful I find it to be... To realise that I am so very much who I am today because of the incredible teachers and role models that I had as a young "apprentice" in the arts world of Vancouver, and to now be able to see myself as a role model and teacher for other children, teens and youth... It is basically just a total honour to find myself as a link in this precious chain of creativity, arts appreciation and personal support!


Well, there's more mind-wandering to be done before the sun sets here at my bay window perch, and so, I shall...

Happy Valentines Day to Me!

Well, I'm sick. But actually, today I seem to be feeling a little better than I felt waking up over the last few days. Maybe that is partly because I don't have to work anywhere today. I'm certainly not feeling any better because of rest! Laura commented to me this morning that I "sure do have a remarkable resistance to sleep; to be able to not sleep despite sickness, exhaustion and neo-citran!" To which I replied, "Yeah, no kidding. Hence the premise of the one-woman show" (For those of you who don't know, I wrote, produced and performed my own one-woman show in 2006, the premise of which was a young woman trying to fall asleep... but it also dealt with some more interesting topics too!)

Okay, so I've been sick. And sleepless. But happy... Mostly.

Part of my happiness has to do with the fact that I have started teaching again!!! Would you believe it? I mean, some of you must be thinking... But she just quit the bookstore last week??? And I thought she had to stay until the end of the month??? Well, yes, you are right. I do have to fulfill my commitment to the bookstore until the end of the month, but I have negotiated some reduced hours, in order to accomodate my new teaching jobs.

You see, just a day before I had planned to give my notice to the bookstore (in order to make space in my life to pursue the things in life that truly inspire me and make me happy - and make me more money too!), I got an email from a company that I used to teach lunchtime and afterschool drama classes for asking me if I wanted to come back and teach some classes this term. Apparently they were really in need of teachers and would be so happy to have me back, they'd take me even if I had limited availability! So, I took on teaching three afterschool drama classes (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday) and reduced my hours at the bookstore accordingly. I'm still leaving the bookstore though, because I know there are still bigger and better things out there for me!

I've also agreed to volunteer, with my friend Mark, to meet once a week with the teenagers that we worked with a few years ago (we helped them to create a memorial presentation about their friend Drew who was murdered in 2004, and then also a play about violence). I don't think that this time we will do theatre work with them, but rather I think we will meet once a week to hang out, eat, talk about our lives, how we are doing, and maybe start to think about personal goals and values. Mark is doing his Masters in Adult Education so he's a really great resource for these types of activities. And we've both been through so much with these "teenagers" (who are getting older!) that we just really felt like being a part of their lives again... for good times, and to see if we can't do something productive together again!

Oh, did I mention that we had our first meeting with this new "teen group" on Tuesday (after I taught my afterschool kids class)... in the middle of yet another snowstorm!?! Yes. Miraculously, 8 people showed up. And seemed interested in continuing to meet. Yay!!!

Ok, so anyhow, that's been my week so far. I've also had to put in some extra hours at the bookstore (because my boss is away, again) so you can probably understand why I'm underslept, overtired and sick!

But today is Valentines Day. And I decided to start the day off by writing a love letter to myself! Cheesy? Perhaps. But useful in bolstering one's sense of self and self-love? Absolutely! So I have no shame.

So far, it's been a lovely Valentines Day morning, just hangin' out with me, myself & I, and also my dear roomies Laura & Henry. I plan to just relax, take care of my still-sick self and take the day as it comes...

WITH LOVE!

X's & O's

Like A Proud Mama

From now on, if ever you run into me and I am with my good friend Thea, I am going to turn into one of those impossible-to-curb, over-the-top enthusiasts. I will introduce you to her and say "This is my friend Thea. You know, my friend who wrote and published the novel." But it won't stop there. I will likely make her show you the tattoo on the back of her neck that matches the one on my forearm (that I designed specifically for me and her and our friend Tiina to get) and I will tell you about how we are BFF's and how proud I am of her; How hard she works, how smart and sensitive she is, what an incredible and inspiring person she is; How proud I am of her, and... How Proud I Am Of Her! And you might be tempted to say, "I know all this already Meghan, I read your blog" But it still won't stop me...

So, check it:
Thea's Book Launch @ Women's Bookstore in Toronto
Friday, April 13, 2007
(If you're COOL, you'll be there)

MEANWHILE, IN PRESENT-DAY NYC...

This morning I had the absolute pleasure of meeting up with my friend (and interestingly enough, Thea's ex-boyfriend) Kurt for breakfast followed by a stroll through Central Park. Oh my goodness, I actually just wrote about my stroll through Central Park - I love it here so much!!!

When Kurt and I parted ways midday today, I made a quick pit-stop at the Apple Store (a very cool space - maybe you can find pics of it online if you google "Apple Store in NYC") because I forgot my ipod charger in Toronto, then I subway-ed myself back downtown, where I got off the train a few stops out of my usual way (an exploration tip from a new NYC friend of mine) and walked home through the West Village.

THE best thing that happened to me all day was when some 10 or 11 year-old kid shoved a flyer into my hand on the Avenue of Americas. In photocopied, yet authentic handwritten child-writing it read:

BUY FAIR-TRADE
COFFEE Buying Fair Trade
-----------------------------------------
Products will help farmers have
better lives with a living
wage. What is Fair Trade? Fair
Trade Coffee is coffee grown
by farmers and bought by
us at a fair price. Just asking
for a cup of fair trade coffee
could be helping lots of farmers
have better lives, and it tastes
no different. Fair trade coffee is
actually in most cases more
organic. Just something to think
about as you're drinking your
triple mocha latte-chino. Nah,
just joking. Help farmers, buy
Fair Trade.

Okay I am seriously going to give up my Starbucks habit. I promise kid, I promise.