Last week my boyfriend (now fiance!) left his week long stag in Montreal. I spent the weekend building a blanket fort based off of one of our favourite shows, Community, to surprise him. The night before he was to arrive home I was sitting inside said fort, and it occurred to me this would be a great way to propose to him.
Our wedding is planned for October, and we told our parents we had decided to get married in January, but we had yet to get officially engaged. My boyfriend was getting more and more stressed due to what he perceived to be the pressure of creating “the perfect” proposal. I realized that I was letting him do it because I wanted the story, something cool to tell my friends. It occurred to me that I was putting other people’s reactions and opinions ahead of my love’s well being. So I decided I would take matters into my own hands. We’re an atypical couple anyway, we tend to do things backwards, so I figured we should have an engagement as unique as our relationship.
I turned the blanket fort into a scavenger hunt, complete with instructions and pictures copied from the “Pillows and Blankets” Episode of Community, where they built a giant blanket fort called New Fluffytown. I had several steps, with the last step leading to an enclave under a desk, where I had written a letter explaining that I was sorry I had let him get stressed about such a simple 4 word question, especially a question that in my eyes had only one answer. It then told him to open the box behind it, which contained his ring (handmade ebony wood ring, same as mine), and a card that asked him to marry me.
It was Mother’s Day, so I was having dinner at my family’s house when he arrived home. I got live-feed reaction texts from him as he reached each step. By the end of it my family was as anxious for his reaction as I was!
This is what he saw as he came home:
Welcome home board and instructions
The narration from the beginning of the “Pillows and Blankets” Episode of Community, with my cousin and I’s names instead of Troy and Abed.
His reaction texts as he reached different steps of the scavenger hunt:
First step: I had laid out pj’s and beer in the fort
Last step, he’s reading my letter that tells him to open the box.
He opened the box with a card asking him to marry me and his wedding ring.
Here is my fiance’s version of how it all went down, from our wedding page:
“Hi, this is Vinod… I think its about time I add a message to our wedding page and also to our loved ones on Facebook.
Title: Its Official Official.
Let me explain. I just got back from a 6 day bachelor party in Montreal that was for myself and my best friend Ped. It was a great trip however, the most amazing part for me was a realization. Before this trip I have not been away from Lacey for more than the business hours during the day & on this trip all I could think of was “why didn’t I get her a room where we were staying??”. The realization: Apparently I don’t need space from my love for even a second. What I truly enjoy is getting even closer & closer to her, which happens to be what happens with us every second that passes.
So, I get home last night after 6 days. Excited to just hop into bed and wait for Lacey to get home from Mothers Day dinner at Aunty Naomies. I open the door to what I can only describe as New FluffyTown. The 2nd largest & most extravagant blanket slash pillow fort built in the world next to the one built in Greendale Community College in 2012. (From one of our favourite shows, Community, see link) I thought to myself, how the hell does this women understand me so well!!
I spent the next two hours following an adventure maze that led me to a plush living room with 2 of my favorite beers and my most comfortable PJ’s laid out for me. After enjoying the bevy’s in my flannels I followed the instructions that took me through other rooms that left me speechless and finally to the last room.
The last room. A letter, a box, a question and a ring. I don’t know how many men have been swept off their feet so let me tell you my brothers. There is no better feeling in the world. Especially when the proposal is coming from someone who already has your heart and still feels she has the need to ask for it.
I said yes, I got down on one knee when she got home & she said yes. The engagement is now official official (finally with 5 months till our wedding)…. We’re a little backwards, it’s the only way we roll.
Stay tuned for a little dinner, live music and dancing to celebrate. Nothing fancy, we’re going to pick one of our favorite restaurants in Vancouver.
Love you Lacey!!!!! My love bug.”
And here’s a preview of the Community episode that inspired this:
I have been offered a spot as a contestant in the 2013 Miss BC Program.
This may come as a bit of a shock to those who know me. I’ve never been much of a girly girl. While I enjoy dressing up now and again, I can usually be found free of makeup in jeans and a t-shirt.
I wasn’t particularly interested in pageants until 2010. I was living in Africa, volunteering at a monkey sanctuary for a year. On my weekly Skype call to my mother, she mentioned that the daughter of a man she worked with had been crowned Miss BC, and was using her title to raise awareness of human trafficking. She was speaking of Tara Teng.
Until that time I was unaware that a pageant could be anything more than a beauty contest. I’ve now learned that the Miss BC Program is much more than this.
The Miss BC contestants come from all walks of life. There is no age, weight, or height restriction, and no bikini category. Contestants are encouraged to coordinate their own fundraisers to raise money for Cops for Cancer, which benefits the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Miss B.C. titleholders:
■are the voice for their community and province
■are role models for young people
■are recognized for their talents and accomplishments
■attend various community events
■believe in themselves and in the difference that youth can make
■represent charities across British Columbia
The Miss B.C. Program contributes to charity and community whilst enhancing the self-esteem and personal development of young women across British Columbia
I do not believe in judging people based on looks. This is why the Miss BC Program appeals to me. The emphasis is on charity work and social involvement, rather than superficial esthetics. 2012′s contestants included single mothers and women in wheelchairs.
As part of the program contestants receive training to continue their journey to become well-rounded women. Activities include:
-Modelling
-Interview training seminar – conducted by PowerTalk
-Manners and Etiquette Training – conducted by Elizabeth Etiquette(www.elizabethetiquette.com)
-Self Defence Training – conducted by Mitra Castano, of Triunity Martial Arts(www.triunitymartialarts.com)
-Choreography
-Self-esteem and Assertiveness workshop – conducted by Wilma Boyd “Self-esteem is a way of thinking, feeling and acting, which implies that you accept, respect, trust and believe in yourself”.
Amongst my goals for the next 5 years is starting and running my own business. I can appreciate how each of these skills may play a part in enhancing my abilities as a business woman, in some small way. Especially of interest to me are the interview and assertiveness as public speaking does not come naturally to me. Years of customer service jobs have provided me with the ability to fake it, but I am determined to learn to also enjoy it rather than seeing it as a necessary evil.
The winners of each year’s program have each chosen a topic on which to focus their awareness and fundraising campaigns. Previous campaigns include promoting blood donations, and ending human trafficking.
Those who know me could likely have guessed, that my focus would be in the form of wildlife conservation. I have dedicated my life to the protection and preservation of all the species of this earth, from the monkeys in Africa to the raccoons of BC. If I were to win I would hope to spread awareness of the need to support local wildlife rescues and rehabilitation centres, to save our animal neighbours.
I will soon begin searching out sponsors to help support my place in the program. The donor who contributes the largest donation receives their name on my sash, a 30 second description of the company by myself on television, a spot on thee website, and a stand at the vendor fair at the pageant. All donations above $20 receive a tax receipt. If you are a business looking for some promotion, please contact me via my Facebook page.
Justin Bieber has been known to monkey around a bit -- he just turned 19 a little over a month ago, after all. But now it's the singer's new pet, a capuchin monkey named OG Mally (Original Gangster Mally, naturally), that's making headlines -- and for all the wrong reasons.
The pop star received the monkey, then 14 weeks old, as a birthday gift (he turned 19 on March 1) from producer Jamal Rashid (a.k.a.
I honestly can't even comprehend anymore after working with primates why anyone would want one in their house to begin with. They are smart, curious, destructive, and often aggressive, especially when denied their natural social structure, environment, and diet. Having a wild animal as a pet is a recipe fr distaster that often results in euthanasia.
Volunteering abroad is an overwhelming concept for some new volunteers. Saving and fundraising, choosing a volunteer project, acquiring visas, packing lists, and travel safety amount to a massive headache if you’re unsure where to start.
I have two eBooks which will be available here soon, “How to Choose the Right Animal Volunteer Organization for You”, and “Travel tips for Volunteering Abroad”, both based on my experiences as a volunteer overseas.
In the meantime, I’ve assembled a list of resources with links for you keeners out there to get a head start in preparing for your amazing adventure. Links
This article on Reverse Culture Shock, from the University of Iowa, because coming home a changed person to people who don’t understand your experience is a surprisingly difficult situation.
Travel Hacking, learn how to get free trips with airmiles. Books About Volunteering
Yesterday marked the second annual collaboration of BC Pets and Friends with UBC`s Stress Less for Exams event. Last year over 100 UBC students signed up to spend a few minutes petting and playing with new furry friends. BC Pets and Friends is a therapy animal program which provides free pet visitation, on an individual or group basis, to long-term care facilities in the Lower Mainland. They screen and train dogs and cats and their people to interact with the disabled, elderly, chronically ill and mentally ill in an institutional setting. (source)
This was the second year in which my dog Michi, a seven-year-old male Pomeranian, has participated in this event. Last year my Mom attended the event with him, spending 2 hours entertaining the students. This year, I was able to join them.
Michi`s Therapy Dog badge.
The excitement on student’s faces was obvious when they got the chance to hang out with dogs of all different breeds and sizes. Many students were missing their own pets back home, and a couple gravitated to us especially because Michi reminded them of their own small dogs.
Michi doing tricks for his audience
Kayla, who is studying Sciences, said, “I think they’re cute! This makes me soo happy!”
Mina, an Animal Biology student, remarked that “it was destressing, relaxing, really nice.”
Others students had only quick visits with Michi during their 15 minute time slots in the program, but had nice things to say to us as they moved on to visit other dogs, such as;
“Thanks for having your dogs here, it’s so sweet.”
“I’ll never forget today, it’s going to be one of those university experiences.”
UBC students feeding Michi treats
Some benefits of the pet program for students include:
Reduced stress- sometimes even more than human friends! We all know that sometimes talking to a friend can be a great stress relief but research shows that spending time with an animal may be even better. This may be due to the fact that animals love us unconditionally. (Animals are also great listeners!)
Increased physical and social activity- even if you are not a pet owner, taking an hour or two out of the day to play with an animal is a great study break and provides a bit of additional exercise.
Improved Mood- even just stopping on the street to pet a dog can drastically improve your mood! In fact, research has shown that pet owners tend to have a lower incidence of depression than people that do not own pets.
Hannah, an Arts student, described her experience as “possibly the happiest moment of my college life, shortest 15 minutes ever! I wish 15 minutes of class went that quickly!”
Pets and attention from happy students
From my point of view, it was easy to see the effect on those who came and went. It served as a happy distraction from the stress of finals week, leaving smiles on the faces of everyone who left through those doors. Michi and I are looking forward to visiting again next year, and in the meantime we can be found volunteering at a care home in the Lower Mainland.
Greg over at Animals Deserve to Live has nominated me for a Liebster Award. The award is given to up and coming bloggers who haven’t acquired a large following. Liebster is a German word which means sweetheart, darling or beloved. You honour me in nominating me for any award, as I started this blog a few years ago to keep my family updated on my life when I was living in Africa. My readership has slowly grown since then as I’ve focused of conservation, volunteering, and travel posts. I just want to say thank you to everyone who follows me, I hope you’re enjoying the ride!
What is the Liebster Award?
The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for them.
Choose eleven new bloggers to pass the award on to and link them in your post.
Create eleven new questions for the chosen bloggers.
Go back to their page and tell them about the award.
Each blogger should post eleven random facts about themselves.
No Tag Backs!!
11 Facts About Me:
I grew up on army and airforce bases throughout Canada.
I have moved 18 times. I am a master of packing.
I have pet tarantula named Jeeves I rescued when his owner abandoned him at my clinic.
I was once nearly gored by an elk.
There is a monkey in South Africa named Carleton, because I paid to name him.
I actually enjoyed my internship with cows and wish there was a way to work with them that didn’t support the meat or dairy industries.
My dog Michi is a certified therapy dog, he volunteers at the care home my mother works at.
I love spicy food. Learning to cook the Sri Lankan and South Indian dishes my fiancé prefers has been fun!
I am getting married in October, and my wedding dress cost me $15 on Ebay. I dislike extravagant weddings and commercialism.
My Mom comes from a huge Mennonite family who came to Canada from Russia in the 1920s. I am related to so many people in the town where my Gramma lives I could never learn them all.
I have a dream to get a degree in Primate Conservation and work at as many primate sanctuaries as I possibly can.
My Questions from Greg:
When was the last time you rescued or came to the aid of an animal? December, when I left my job as a vet tech in a clinic, before that it was nearly daily!
What is your favorite book of all time? The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I appreciate the theme of placing importance on connecting with the earth as opposed to material objects and money.
Are you Vegan, Vegetarian, Carnivore, or other? I have been vegan for a year and a half.
What is your favorite movie of all time? The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis and Mila Jovovich, I know nearly every word.
What is your favorite meal? Mashed potatoes and (vegan!) gravy. Best comfort food for me, coming from a Mennonite family.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Africa. Madagascar to be exact. I would be totally content to live in a hut in the baobabs studying lemur behaviour or biology.
What is your favorite color? Red. I guess it’s a power colour, maybe that’s why I’m drawn to it.
How long have you been blogging? Honestly, I’ve been blogging since I was a preteen, though back then it was trivial day-to-day teenage drama. I have had this WordPress site since 2010.
What do you like most about being a blogger? I’m an inherently awkward person. I’m terrible at small talk and meeting new people, but I can write. This is a way for even the people closest to me in life to know what happens inside my head.
What hobbies do you have besides blogging? I enjoy yoga, meditation, cooking kickass vegan meals, and volunteering.
If you could end factory farms, would you? Absolutely. I’ve not yet worked out what the ideal situation for the remaining feed animals would be if they were granted freedom, but we’ll get there.
Swamped, because we vet techs need to look out for each other!
Ecoprimate, Paul runs a fantastic conservation blog.
The Handmade Hippie, because she also works as a vet tech, likes yoga, and is vegetarian.
My Questions for the Nominees to Answer:
Which would you choose: a large house, nice car, and well-paying job, or a year of travelling around the world in hostels with no more than $20 in your pocket at any given time.
What is your favourite climate?
What is your definition of a `successful` life?
If you knew when you would die, what would your last meal be?
What is one little thing you can always count on to brighten your day?
What is your dream job? If you are not doing it yet, why?
What was your favourite childhood cartoon?
Do you live to eat or eat to live?
If you were (or are) a broke college student, which one meal could you eat every day?
If you could choose to be immortal, would you?
Are you type A or type B?
Thanks again to all my readers, and I am happy to pass this on to other bloggers you should really get to know.
Jane Goodall turns 79 today. She stills travels 300 days a year to spread her message of conservation and support for great apes, especially her chimps.
As a female primatologist she is an inspiration to me. At the age of 23 she left home to explore her passion for Africa in Kenya, 1957. She was sent back to England by Louis Leakey, the archaeologist who had hired her as secretary, to study primate behaviour and anatomy. In 1960 she returned to begin work at Gombe National Park. By 1962 Leaky had arranged for Goodall to return to England to receive her PhD.
Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute, is the former president of Advocates for Animals, and is a devoted vegetarian and advocates the diet for ethical, environmental, and health reasons.
Jane Goodall is a huge part in how my African experience came to be. On December 24th, 2010 I was watching “Iconoclasts” with my mother. That particular episode featured Jane Goodall and Charlize Theron interviewing each other in Africa. Like Goodall I have always had a huge interest in Africa, I’d always felt it was a place I needed to visit. Watching Jane interact with the chimps brought back the feelings I had experiences working with lemurs and monkeys. As I sat there watching I suddenly burst out crying, startling my mother, and told her “I need to be there.” She nodded and said, “So go.”
I left the room as the episode ended, went back to the University of Wisconsin Primate Jobs website, where I had landed many a time, dreaming of performing any of these jobs I was so unqualified for. This time, however, I was unexpectedly rewarded. There, listed between all the jobs I had no business even looking at, was a posting for a Vet Nurse.
I felt tingles as I read the job description and realized, this was a job I was qualified for. I had a couple of years clinical experience, as well as husbandry of primates. I felt my chances were low as I assumed that there just be any people like me desperate to work with primates, but I assembled and rewrote my CV and cover letter, and applied for the job on December 26th.
I got it.
I would not have had the opportunity to spend that amazing year caring for 500 vervet monkeys in Africa had it not been for watching Jane Goodall speak on Iconoclasts. Because of her inspiration, at 22 years old I moved by myself to South Africa to spend a year as the vet nurse at the Vervet Monkey Foundation, learning about wildlife rehabilitation, conservation, behaviour, and activism. I came back dedicated to spreading the word for the conservation of primates worldwide.
Myself feeding orphans at the Vervet Monkey Foundation
Thank you Jane, for being such an inspiring and compassionate person. I wish you a happy Birthday and many more to come.
Speaking of women who have shaped my life, today is also my mothers’ birthday! I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am for having such an amazing woman in my life. From raising my brother and I (often as a single parent on military bases), supporting my dream to work with animals from a young age, to paying my loan payments during my year in Africa, my mama has done so much for me that I could never dream to repay her for. I love you mama, Happy Birthday! <3
The voting is closed, and you can now watch my video directly on Youtube. It details the time I spent working with vervet monkeys in South Africa as the Vet Nurse for the Vervet Monkey Foundation. The activities my friends and I took part in included canyon drops, holding tarantulas and scorpions, shark tanks, and visiting Kruger Park.
I have a dream to travel the world, a dream shared with a vast majority of people.
As much as I love travel, the thing I love more is animals. My love of animals led me to become vegetarian over five years ago, and a year and a half ago I made the leap to becoming vegan. A vegan diet is too extreme for most people, but the fact is that it is slowly becoming more mainstream. Combine that with my choice to go gluten-free and sugar-free, and as soy-free as possible, has many asking me what’s left for me to eat. I’m not going to get into that now, but suffice to say I’m not starving and I don’t feel deprived, I rather enjoy the challenge of experimentation in the kitchen.
Travel, however, does not mix well with my eating choices. Even travelling outside of Vancouver means my meal options at any restaurant have dropped to slim to none.
My Destination‘s Biggest, Baddest, Bucket List Contest ends in 5 days. The prize involves a fully paid 6 month round the world trip, visiting every continent to take part in crazy activities, in exchange for blogging and making videos along the way.
Click through to view my entry and VOTE!
Now most people in this contest are doing it for the fun trip. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want it for the same reason, but I have ulterior motives as well. I plan to use this trip not only to outline fun adventures in other countries for thrill seekers, but as a guide for vegetarians, vegans, and celiacs on where and what they can eat in all of these countries. I would plan to keep track of every meal, no matter how basic or elaborate, the cost, and if I had to let one of my restrictions slide (I will eat gluten, sugar and soy if that’s all there is, but at no point will I choose meat over being hungry for a day).
My other inspiration for the trip would be to chronicle my visits and experience at wildlife sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres around the world. I want to make first hand reviews of all of these foundations accessible in one spot. When I look at visiting conservation centres overseas, it is hard to find a well written, descriptive, and impartial testimonial from any former volunteers. I should hope that my experience should help guide any aspiring wildlife veterinary professionals or simply those with the time and enthusiasm to lend a hand some guidance in choosing the appropriate project.
I’m at under 100 votes on the contest. I realize I’m nowhere winning the fan favourite category so I am relying to my chance of being a judges pick.
That being said, there are 5 days left and we can turn this around.
Please click through to the BBB contest link, and share on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn so your friends can vote too. If you have the time, you can watch the 3 minute video I made about my year in South Africa.
I have to say this contest would make my conservation travel blogging dreams come true quickly, but even without a win, I am determined to make this happen, and I hope you’ll stay along for the ride.
I'm a vet tech with a passion for travel, volunteering, wildlife, rehabilitation, conservation medicine, primates, and activism. I also enjoy blogging and am a happy, healthy vegan. (Above: myself with an orphaned vervet monkey, see Vervet Monkey Foundation menu above for details)
(finally with 5 months till our wedding)…. We’re a little backwards, it’s the only way we roll.
and South Indian dishes my fiancé prefers has been fun!
by Pearl S. Buck. I appreciate the theme of placing importance on connecting with the earth as opposed to material objects and money.
with Bruce Willis and Mila Jovovich, I know nearly every word.
