September 29: Working for the fun of it

I am amazed with the empowering and positive attitude that is rooted in the Immigrant Women’s Health Centre’s philosophy. Each time I work with Anna and Lina, and others in the team, I get loads of warm fuzzies. So it was more fun than work to spend a day on their mobile clinic today (day 2 of the 5 1/2 weeks of work). A bonus is that I get to practice Spanish today.

Remember the major wipeout I had on my bike a couple weeks back? I just found out today how major a wipeout I had. My bike had been an awful ride since, so I stopped by the bike shop today. It turns out that I bent my handlebar, twisted my rear wheel, misaligned my gears, and jammed my gear cables. With this much damage to my bike, it’s a wonder that I didn’t do more damage to my body. After doling out a significant amount of money, my bike is just purring. I was keen to spend some time on my newly tuned up bike so decided to ride to my evening event. This turned out to be a good thing because my car would have been stuck in traffic for a good hour if I had attempted to drive. The last Blue Jays home game of the season was being played against the Yankees around the corner from home. Oh how I wish I could cancel my plans and go to the game instead! I admit to being a bit of a traitor, as I am a huge Yankees fan.

But then, other obligations require my presence elsewhere. I have been the organizer of an internet based adventurous dining group for the past 2 1/2 years. Its membership has grown from under 200 members to about 700 members currently. Tonight, I am hosting an event at L.A.B., recently opened by the only mainstream vegetarian chef in Toronto, Howard Dubrovsky. While this year is dedicated to right brain function, tonight’s event did tap into my chemistry background with molecular structures on the walls and test tubes forming light fixtures. To add to the conversation, we had a material science engineer and chemistry/biology teacher in our midst, lending their viewpoints to the discussion of food preparation in the realm of molecular gastronomy.