Wednesday 9 October 2013

Moving on up

Come and check me out at my new blog www.quirkycori.ca!

So excited to unveil it. I'm working out the kinks and am going through the painstaking process of porting over my content and deleting it off of this blog so that it isn't duplicated. It's a lot of work but I'm so incredibly excited about it. Huge thanks to my husband James Harris for making this all happen. I feel really good about this change.

Look forward to seeing you at the new digs!

Monday 23 September 2013

What's going on with QuirkyCori?

There are some exciting things happening that will hopefully give me a better platform for my writing.

I'm looking at creating a homepage to showcase my writing, photography and link to my blogs. Yes I said blogs.

I've been toying with some new ideas. I'd love to have a separate area for genealogy writing. I'd love to be able to share my family history story where it is all in one spot and easy to follow. So many times when I start talking about people on my family tree people get interested for a bit and then their eyes glaze over the more I talk. Let's be honest, I can go on-and-on. I find my family history is fascinating, even if most of them were agricultural labourers. I find the journey my family has taken to make it to Canada so interesting.

And there I go again.

I just can't stop!

Moving on, my second idea takes a bit of my travel writing and turning it into a place to be. More specifically, I'd love to be writing about being a tourist in my hometown. There are a lot of things to do here that not everyone knows about.

I was blessed having my parents in my life. They believed that travel should start at home All 6 of us were known to hop on our bikes and head out on different adventures. Wouldn't it be great to harness that enthusiasm and showcase a place that I love?

So lots of things in the works. Looking forward to seeing where I go from here!

Quirky Cori's New Hair

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Night Time Terrors

I'll admit, I do not feel comfortable walking around at night. There is something about not knowing what's coming ahead or what's hiding behind that bush, that tree or car.

The long shadows could be hiding all kinds of menacing things.

That car over there could have a serial killer with a knife ready to take you into a secluded spot so they can torture you slowly using 1000 tiny cuts.

Inside that bush could be a rabid coyote looking anywhere for it's next meal. Seeing your larger frame is enough to make the coyote drool at all the delicious meat it wants to rip from your bones.

The branches of that tree could be housing a long snake looking for it's opportunity to drop on top of you and wrap it's cold slow moving scales around your neck tighter and tighter until your airway cuts off and oxygen no longer can flow through your veins.

There are so many horrible things around any corner, and I've found the best way I know how to cope.

I walk fast.

I constantly look ahead and walk confidently. Someone somewhere told me that nefarious people tend to only attack those that look week. If you look confident, they are less likely to take them on - extra brownie points if you can look your attacker in the eye. I'm told they hate that.

I try to talk to people and at least say "Hi" to people I pass.

But the main thing I do, which may be unique to me, is in my head I write out what the article will look like in the papers the next day. I think about who would've last seen me, what they would say. I want the strangers to notice me so that it's not just the strangler or rapist taking me on. Perhaps someone who noticed me will also see me being taken by force and shoved into the back of the terrorists van and can call the police immediately and prevent them from taking me to blow up City Hall.

So far it works out well for me. Been out in the dark with my head held high, shoulders back, and friendly smile and I haven't been abducted yet.

Stay safe everyone!

Wednesday 5 June 2013

Myers Briggs, Me and the Hubby

After spraining my ankle a few weeks ago, I've been forced to slow down a little. I've been meaning to blog, but like many things, it just kept getting pushed aside as I found myself drawn outside more and more. There were walks needed with the dog, and baseball started again. I've spent some time with my nieces and celebrated many family birthdays. This ankle has forced me to stop a little and put my foot up and rest.

Being me, you'd think that'd be the perfect opportunity to grab a good book and read. And sure I did pick up a book, but the one I chose was different than my norm. Plus I didn't read all of it, only the sections pertaining to me and to my friends. The book is called "Do what you are" and it's based on finding careers to match your personality through Myers Briggs testing.

If you haven't had a chance to figure out who you are through Myers Briggs yet, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Unlike when I took the test for the first time in high school, there are lots of free online tools to help you figure out who you are. My husband took this one: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp but there are so many out there you can just pick and choose.

Through the years, I've been tested officially twice and done a few online just to see if anything has changed. But that's the funny thing - it hasn't. My personality is the same as it was when I was 17 and picking colleges as it is now. As you age, certain aspects of your personality do grow and you become better able to overcome some of the obstacles that are prone by your type, but you stay essentially who you are.

I'm an INFJ.

I'm really introverted. People don't always see it because I have the F for feeler. The F makes me care about people and want to get to know them on a base level. It doesn't mean I'm comfortable in crowds or anything, but it does mean that I'm comfortable talking to people. And in fact, my entire personality is built on wanting to get to know people and understand people.

Knowing that my personality type equates to only 1% of the population, you'd think it's rare. However I have two friends that are both the same type. What are the chances that we are friends? One I have been friends with since kindergarten and feel that I can tell her anything and still have the same friendship we've always had. In fact, we've gone months without talking just to pick up exactly where we left off. Did our personality type draw us together? Who knows.

What I find interesting is that knowing your personality type can help unlock so much understanding about yourself. Me and my INFJ friend were talking with two other friends about the testing and asked if they had ever done it. Through a few wobbly pops, we got down to the nitty gritty to try and determine where each other lay on the spectrum. There are 16 options and sometimes you can be close to the middle (which invariably everyone was). The hubs was listening into our debate over where we sat on the spectrum. Our discussion intrigued him so he took the test online and was amazed to find out about himself.

I don't know if my friends left with the same enthusiasm for the program. If anything, we might have improperly assessed each other based on how we perceived each other. I know that knowing my type has been invaluable in being able to look inward in planning where to go in my life or my career. Here is an excerpt that took from http://www.personalitypage.com.

The Protector

As an INFJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.
INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.
INFJs have uncanny insight into people and situations. They get "feelings" about things and intuitively understand them. As an extreme example, some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident. This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at, and the INFJ themself does not really understand their intuition at a level which can be verbalized. Consequently, most INFJs are protective of their inner selves, sharing only what they choose to share when they choose to share it. They are deep, complex individuals, who are quite private and typically difficult to understand. INFJs hold back part of themselves, and can be secretive.

"It's like getting an instruction manual about myself" my husband said to me later. He couldn't stop talking about it for days and mentioned it to nearly everyone he came across. Since then he's really been working at areas that are known to be an issue for his type such as finishing projects and giving compliments. I'm really impressed by how much he's accomplished and glad that we were able to spark him to look inward. He doesn't feel as bad about feeling and thinking a certain way because he knows that's what it's like to be an INTP. Here is an excerpt from his page:

The Thinker

As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original. They are not likely to place much value on traditional goals such as popularity and security. They usually have complex characters, and may tend to be restless and temperamental. They are strongly ingenious, and have unconventional thought patterns which allows them to analyze ideas in new ways. Consequently, a lot of scientific breakthroughs in the world have been made by the INTP.
The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.

I highly recommend looking at your type to see where you fit. I find that the 16 types can fit so many people and it will help you understand why people are the way that they are. So much better than your monthly horoscopes and can really help you be the best you that you can be!

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Stolen Dreams for The Foundation

I remember a day when I was in Grade 10 drama class. Sitting in the all black room cross legged on the floor, shoes off. I ended up having a very significant conversation with a friend named Andrew. The conversation stuck in my head because it wasn't very often that you made a true friendship in high school. Oh sure you had friends that you partied with and that you hung out with. And sure sometimes you'd end up spilling all your deepest crushes to a close friend, but it's not that often that you make a connection with someone on that base human to human level.

Before you go off spouting that I must've liked this Andrew and that's why it stuck out in my head. I do like Andrew, but not in the way that you think. I liked Andrew for just being real. He was the exact same person the first day that I met him, as he was last summer when I ran into him at a music festival. He's one of those incredibly genuine, what you see is what you get kind of guys. He's sweet and charming and even though I don't really talk to him all that much anymore, I'm 99.9% certain that if I needed something he would be there for me. He's just that good of a person.

Sitting on the drama room floor he told me how he much he was looking forward to the future. He wanted to make music but he wanted to have a family more. He told me that he wanted to have a daughter and name her Drew-Ann and that he thought that Drew was the best part of his name. I remember how much his face lit up under the lights and how great he was at listening and asking questions and letting me do the same. No topic was off limits and even though I don't really remember all the details, I remember sitting in the moment and realizing it was special.

Maybe the moment stood out to me because earlier a month or so earlier we had lost another of our classmates in a car accident and it hung over our school like a cloud. Mani was on the football team with Andrew and I was the football manager at the time. All of us were connected in our shared loss of such a bright star. Friendships had new meaning and his death may have changed some people. Perhaps it changed me. All I know is that one little conversation from drama class sticks in my head and many others have slipped out of it. Andrew touched my life in a way he may never know just by being who he is and letting me see a piece of that.

Yesterday, Andrew, now going by the name of Drew, posted the most heart wrenching thing on Facebook. He and his band had come back from playing a gig in Dundas and had left their gear in their truck which they call their tour bus. Someone broke in and stole the truck and all the contents and took off. Knowing how many hours playing and writing music Drew has done, this must be devastating. They asked anyone and everyone to look for their vehicle and their gear. Someone had to see it. Someone had to know where it was. Police reports were filed and the band waited.

As word spread, devastating news came in from the OPP. The truck was found damaged near Caledonia but the gear was not in it. With all the word out in the music industry, everyone has their eyes peeled to find the gear and get it back where it belongs, most especially a laptop that has all the recent recordings of the band.

Drew's band was just starting to get their start. They just released their first single to the country market and they were nominated in the top 5 at the Toronto Independent Music Awards. Everything was looking up for the band that has been working for years to find the right sound and get the right recognition. The Waterloo Region Record picked up the story and it was shared at the Hamilton Spectator and other papers. Word is spreading and they've already heard of some leads. Maybe you can help by checking out this facebook album that details all of the instruments and gear that was taken. Maybe you can talk to your friends, who can talk to their friends and the word can keep spreading.

I don't want music to die for this band. Drew and his bandmates have worked too hard for too long. Let's help them get back to what they do best, preforming great music.

Saturday 2 February 2013

A Groundhog for your thoughts?

Okay so that's possibly the stupidest title of a blog I've ever written. To be honest, my brain is all over the map and I think I need a big long nap. Of course when I start to nap I begin to think of all the things I could be doing, so in turn I procrastinate against the nap and do something else.
My husband hates this. He likes to nap and will sleep for a short time or a long time but he sleeps. I'll instead sit and play on my computer, or I'll watch tv. It's very, very rare for me to actually sleep. But today feels like it should be a day I sleep. I've got important things going on. It's going to be a girls night don't you know? A night where me and some of my girls go out for a drink somewhere and then for dancing. It's going to be a great night. I have been looking forward to it for weeks. We don't see each other that often so I cherish these special nights.
My blog got interrupted by the dog vomiting on the floor. Poor little guy must've swallowed a chunk of some hard cheese toy that my hubby got him as it came out with the vomit. I always worry about those toys. Glad to know my fears are not unfounded. The dog seems to feeling right as rain now that he's puked and gotten let outside to do his business.
We are so blessed to have him. He's so much different than the first day we met him at the SPCA. He's so lively, playful and loving. He's our dog and follows us everywhere. We actually took him out with us last night and kept a leash on him but didn't need it. He followed us to the car, jumped in and then followed us right back to the house again. He's shown a true aptitude for recognizing our house on walks too and even turns up the driveway when we make it home.
His name is Baxter. We know it in our hearts as he started responding immediately and it seems to suit him so much. He's small but long and fiesty. We had to go through with a cone on his head after the neuter and tried to keep him calm for as long as we could. We've come to discover that he loves to play catch and we've spent many hours laughing at his antics as he jumps in the air to catch the ball.
In other news, I'm headed to Manitoba at the end of the month. My dad and I are going to see my great-aunt. Sad to say it'll probably be for the very last time. She had some strokes over Christmas and spent some time in the hospital. She's had fluid on her lungs and we are both praying for her. She's been really lonely since her husband passed away and even more so since she lost her sister. My great-aunt is of Ukrainian decent and has a very memorable personality. She took an instant liking to James and used to flirt shamelessly with him. She's a tiny woman but has always liked taller men. My heart instantly loved her when we met nearly 20 years ago.
I know you ask, how could I have family reunions every year not meet on of my great-aunts until I was in my late teens. It honestly took my Great Aunt and Uncle some time to make the trek down from Manitoba in a Winnebago but they finally came to the reunion. My dad and my Uncle Ed hit it off instantly and my dad took a lot away from that relationship. My Uncle Ed was the youngest of his family and had a very sharp mind right up until the end. He was a bit of a jokester and had a very dry sense of humor. He told my dad many stories of my grandfather and what life was like for them growing up. My dad's own father had passed when he was only 8 years old so there was a lot for him to know and question over the years as he was moved around.
My Dad has recently started taking more of an interest in my family history project and has really wanted to go and see the resting places of our family members. Last weekend we went to the Mount Hope Cemetery in Hespeler to try and track down my great-grandmother and my dad's stepfather. We didn't find either of them but we did find my great-aunt Kitty and her husband William. Kitty was a very memorable Aunt when I was a child and I have many memories of being in her little house in Hespeler, admiring her silver tea set while she read my mom's tea leaves. We used to do a lot of visiting when I was a kid and were often over seeing people for tea or coffee. My Aunt Kitty had a boistrous laugh and we loved spending time with her, even if we weren't allowed to touch anything in her house. Just once I wish I could've been able to drink an entire cup of tea so she could've read my leaves. Just once I wish she could've been able to tell my future. I know it would be a memory that I would hold onto for all of my days. Instead she just sits in my memory.
There are so many people in my memory. Some are just faces, or stories. Some I actually remember interacting with and the feel of their skin when they gave me a hug.
Lately I've been drawn in by a Maya Angelou saying that I think sums this all up. I'll let her finish off this blog post.

Sunday 6 January 2013

The First Princess of Wales - Book Review

I know that I haven't done a book review in a long time, but I think that may be because I haven't read anything that really swept me away and stayed with me once I closed the pages (or turned off the ipad/kobo.) This weekend, I had the immense pleasure of finding something that was worth writing about.

I'll be honest, having a Kobo has been fantastic. So easy to maneuver, the version I have lights up and it is so lightweight to hold but not too lightweight that you forget it's with you. The biggest issue with a kobo is that if you want to read books they are generally going to cost you money. That's where the library came in. The Cambridge Public Libraries (or if you want to use their silly new name, Libraries Unlimited) allow you to download books online. It's free to use as long as you have a valid library card. I signed up for it awhile ago because I was reading like crazy on the ipad. Now that I have a kobo, I'm really glad to see that I can still get books from them. I signed on the other day and downloaded two historical romances, which as you may know, is my favourite genre to read. The one was your traditional, slightly predictable drama about the Scottish Highlands with lairds and lasses. It was good, but it didn't hit home to me as being something original. Something I would really recommend to someone who wants to read a historical romance.

That's where The First Princess of Wales comes in.

The novel written by Karen Harper takes place during the reign of the Plantagenet's in England during a very tumultuous time in British History. It's all based on true facts surrounding the very first Princess of Wales, Joan of Kent and her star crossed journey to marry Prince Edward, the Black Prince.

I don't think I'm giving anything away by telling you that above. I mean, the book is titled the First Princess of Wales so you have to know that it's coming at some point. What I found remarkable about the story was how much it twisted and pulled your heart in so many directions. You felt for our heroine the entire way through the novel and cringed when she made errors in judgement and cheered when something wonderful happens. You laugh along with her and she bumbles through court and turns from a free-spirited country girl into a lady. At times you want to punch out the king and queen for being, well, kings and queens and you want to shake the royal family so that they can see what you as the reader can see by going on the journey.

It was a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it even if it was a bit long and did have a large number of references to violet eyes and how beautiful everyone was. There was a certain amount of intrigue in the story that kept my mind moving through the pages and wanting to know what happens. I'm also incredibly happy that they stuck as close to the real version of events and didn't fluff over major events to keep the plot flowing.

There was a large amount of time devoted to describing the clothing and the fashion of the day which to mean seemed to show how much research Karen Harper put into the story. She didn't get all the historical facts right, but the clothing at least matched well.

I did find after reading and digesting the book that there was an interesting correlation between the Joan of Kent and the current Princess of Wales, Camilla Parker-Bowles (or whatever her name is now that she's married to Charles.) Both women ended up married to the Prince of Wales after having been previously married and both women were looked at as potentially having relations with the prince before they were wed.

Needless to say, if you are looking for a long sweeping romance where you feel swept along and taken on a journey from England to France and back again, I do recommend this book.