Being a criminology student, I am often asked if I am aiming to become a police officer. No. Sometimes I am asked if my program is even like “that show, you know, CSI.” No, again. My dream job would have to do with something related to policy, law, and research. All three are related in some way. Maybe one day I may work with policing agencies but I think it would not be in a way that I am on their pay roll (at least I wouldn’t want it to be that way), and nothing against those who wish to be apart of policing agencies whether it is as a civilian or not.

Given my past experience with policing agencies, I have grown accustomed to not wanting to deal with police. Not because all are bad apples. Rather it is more of a problem with the entire system in general. The people within the system do not make the system bad. It is the system that produces the problems that are prevalent within it, some people included. The policing agencies can be described front-line enforcers of the entire system. So, you always meet them first before you come across any other key players/institutions.

I remember my interview with Black Coffee Poet and I stated, “In terms of my involvement with the police, I cannot name one positive experience. My identity as an Aboriginal is most often the identity that police see first, and when they see that first, they often make generalizations about me as an Aboriginal woman before anything else.” And it did not matter if I was victim or an offender, my experiences were not positive up until this summer.

My first involvement with the justice system was when I was a youth. My last involvement was approximately 3-5 years ago (it’s kind of faded my memory around that time, and it’s the kind of thing I would rather not remember). However, this summer, I had to come into contact with a policing agency member. I was nervous about having to speak with this member from the moment he knocked on the door. I was too nervous to answer his questions or give a statement (I was on the victim-side of the system this time). I was also too nervous to go back to the detachment centre because I didn’t want to give a statement. From my previous experience with the justice system as a victim and giving statements, I recall it being entirely intrusive, violating, and revictimizing. This was something I just did not want to trigger (and these feelings had already been trigger by just talking to the member, and unrelated to the incidence in question). I was extremely worried to experience victim-blaming all over again because in all honestly, this incidence could have been avoided. I felt horrible as it was after it happened. “Would I be further blamed for the incidence itself?” was the question that kept scrolling through the back of my mind.

Needless to say, I am happy to report that I had my first positive experience with a policing agency. None of what I thought was going to happen based on my previous experience with policing agencies had occurred. While I had legitimate reasons to believe everything was going to occur, based on my history in the system, I am very happy that I didn’t retreat from this entire experience because of my past triggering my present. I am happy that I took this as a chance to learn about myself, others, and to begin to see my experiences as not entirely 100% negative.

The most heartbreaking part of this whole learning experience is still remembering that not everyone involved in the system, whether it be victim or offender, can say the same thing. My heart goes out to all those stuck in the system or lost in the system.

Well this post is one that has two purposes. One is to give an update and the other is to touch more on a particular aspect of my life, and that is healthy eating (or attempts at healthy eating). 

Since being out west, I have noticed that I have struggled with coming up with healthy eating options. This is probably because I am located in a more northern part of Canada and there are limited grocery options in my area. It is also probably because I have limited time to cook or limited kitchen options. I kind of miss my kitchen back in London ON with all its gorgeous kitchenware and stuff! I also kind of wished I did actually bring my magic bullet to make more smoothies for on the go, and I didn’t bring it because I thought I wouldn’t make much use of it. Nope, I think I probably would have used it more than I had in Ontario. 

One of the earlier/difficult things that I have encountered with healthy eating options is trying to plan my meals until I am able to go grocery shopping next. When I normally plan my grocery shopping back in Ontario, I usually go once a week, and usually buy fresh fruits, etc. This is actually much more difficult to do, and so, I have had to change the way I grocery shop and plan my meals—sometimes 2 weeks in advance.

The first thing I realized was the benefit of frozen foods, including fruits/vegetables. I already buy plenty of poultry back home, so meat/protein isn’t that big of an issue for me. For me, I love, love, love eating fresh fruits. Yet, the fresh fruit is a wee bit more expensive than the fresh fruit back in Southern Ontario. I did luck out on scoring a huge carton-thingy of fresh berries for only three bucks! I ended cutting those up and then placing them in the freezer. These fresh fruits help with breakfast ideas and also for late night snack (which I am horrible for). 

After realizing that I could not readily and easily purchase fresh fruit, I noticed that I had to be selective in the type of fresh fruit I did buy. For instance, oranges and apples tend to last longer than say, bananas. I actually love bananas and haven’t bought them since I was out here just because I know that they would go bad before I would actually eat them (I tend to buy them for my smoothies than actually eating them just as a banana). I find that these fruits, apples and oranges, are also one of the cheapest fruits, and probably because they tend to last longer out of the fruit family. Plus, the oranges are super huge which is another plus! 

Another way I adapted to this slight change in environment, I ended up buying lots of chicken, just like I did back home. To go along with my chicken, I also bought some brown rice and frozen corn. This is probably my number one favorite meal to make “slash” eat. It is also considered a “clean” meal which is something I did a lot of back in Ontario. Eating clean is hard to do in Northern Alberta but it can be done!

I have also saw the benefits of eating boiled eggs with my breakfasts in the morning. Along with boiled eggs, I eat hot oatmeal with frozen berries and a little bit of yogurt (no brown sugar or added sugar). My little sister already thinks I am weird for my love of hard boiled eggs (and eating them cold)—I sometimes feel like Napolean Dynamite when I put one in my purse/pocket then take it out right before (or after) programming to eat it.

So, as of right now, I am adapting to the limited grocery trips in comparison to what I used to do in Ontario and I am also adapting to this type of eating/meal planning. One thing that hasn’t changed in terms of storing/eating/cooking of food is that my vegetables/lettuce always seem to freeze! No really, they do! My partner didn’t believe me until I pull out my chopped carrots/celery/asparagus (and even my head of lettuce) from the fridge and they are FROZEN! This always happens with whatever fridge I use and I don’t know why 😦  lol I know how to adjust fridge temps but it never fails, my veggies always get hard! Ugh. 

Ps. I will try to post things I have purchased and type of meals/snacks I have made! 

An amazing Ignite talk by Kandice Baptiste, “What does Aboriginal Education Have To Do With me?”

Good morning and happy Sunday from lovely Alberta!

I thought I would check out previous blog posts that I wrote around this time and see what I was up too or looking at posting (sometimes I work on a post but save the posting for later and never get back to it). There were no drafts but I did find my piece I worked on for a kickass project. Last year, I was invited to work on a wonderful project initiated by POWER: Prostitutes of Ottawa, Gattineau Work, Educate, Resist. It was the “toolbox: what works for sex workers” and the link is HERE. You can check out the entire finished project and read the amazing work from other individuals who worked on it!

I hope you all have a great day!