So a Girl Walks Into a Sex Show...

I never know how to start these kinds of posts.

I have been putting off writing about this for weeks and weeks for precisely that reason. How do you sum up a weekend like that?

In all honesty, I didn’t want to tell people that I was going to the Taboo Show in Vancouver. I thought that people would either condemn me for being involved in “taboo” anything or that they would condemn me for bringing my beliefs to a secular industry.

Fear makes you do stupid things.

My mom had called me during that weekend in January. She had no idea that I was a part of this. Our conversation went something like this...

Mom: “What are you up to?”

Me: “I’m downtown.”

Mom: “Are you shopping?”

Me: “Nope. I’m an exhibitor at the sex show.”

My mother loved that.

For those of you already thrown into major confusion about what this all is, let me give you a refresher ;)

I teamed up with XXXChurch back in January and I was part of their “exhibit” at the 2013 Naughty but Nice Taboo Show. We had shirts and decorations stating our message: “Jesus Loves Porn Stars”--a sentiment I support 100%. We were simply there to talk to anyone who wanted to about what porn addiction can really do to a person as well as to spread the simple message that Jesus loves everyone. He doesn’t love porn, but He does love the people who are part of the industry. We were there for four days, January 17 - 20 and (in groups) did a 3-4 hour shift each night.

And wow. Was it an INCREDIBLE experience!! We gave out stickers with our “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” motto plastered on it to everyone who passed by. Those stickers were a hot item let me tell you. People searched out our booth just to get a sticker. We also gave out “Jesus Loves Porn Stars” books --2000 of them!!-- made up of the gospel of John interspersed with stories of people in the industry. What an incredible way to reach this industry eh?? 

I got to talk to so many people about life and about Christ’s love. One woman looked at me and said, “I’ve never heard anyone say Jesus loves people before...”

And unfortunately, that wasn’t a rare occurrence. 

People have been so incredibly hurt by the Church--a body of imperfect people representing a perfect God. We’re human, we’ve made mistakes. All we can do is love people to Christ. We can’t argue or hate or debate them into a relationship with their Saviour. That’s not how it works. That’s not how He works. It was so LIBERATING to just be able to talk to people and love on them without judging them but also without changing what I believe. There are so many hurting people out there searching for something to fill a void. I loved being able to just BE there--to be available to those who had questions or needed to talk. I wasn’t there to “convert” people. I wasn’t there to preach at people. I was there to LOVE on people. And by our love and our listening ears, I believe we made a much greater impact than any protest ever could.

Moral of the story: It was an incredible weekend that really forced me to consider, “What does it mean to represent Christ in the darkest of places?” I saw things that I definitely don’t want to remember, but I’ve met people that I never want to forget. I was able to make friends with some of the vendors and hear their life stories. 

I had my hair done in a 1940’s pin-up style (can that PLEASE come back in style??) by a girl around my age and we had the best conversation. We talked about how people can look so upright on the outside and yet be so filthy on the inside and vice-versa. We talked about life, tattoos, our passions. And, the best part is, I’m gonna go and see her to get my hair cut in the near future. I love building relationships :)

Please be praying for those we talked to and those that walked by. Pray that they would search and find  what they’ve been needing all along. 

Thank you SO incredibly much for all of the prayer support that you’ve given as well as the encouragement!! I still have about $850 yet to raise to cover the books as well as the booth rental and whatnot, so if you’d like to help out with that go to https://www.myxxxchurch.com/campaigns/view/vancouver-2013-taboo-naughty-but-nice-show.html

And if there are any issues, please let me know!!

An Unconventional Convention (aka !!!!!!!!!)

So as some of you may know, I've been praying and searching for a ministry to get involved with where I live. Enter xxxchurch.

Amanda, a youth leader (from back in my youth days) posted a link on Facebook back in March of last year that said that the documentary "Nefarious" was going to be shown here. Nefarious documents sex trafficking in the US and throughout the world. I highly recommend it! Anywho, it caused Amanda and I to reconnect and she mentioned that she worked with xxxchurch. I had heard about xxxchurch back in my college days (many moons ago) and knew it was an awesome ministry. It's a ministry that focuses on a problem that the church tends to hush: pornography. xxxchurch provides resources and support to those struggling with porn addiction.

Yeah...not a "field" I thought I'd be part of.

xxxchurch not only reaches out to those with porn issues, but also those in the porn industry itself. It takes a different stand than many churches do: it focuses on loving people to Jesus rather than condemning them.

I've been reading through the Gospels lately and have really noticed how Jesus hung out with everyone. He associated Himself with tax collectors, fishermen and prostitutes. And He loved them all equally.

I have such a heart for those in the sex trade and xxxchurch has provided me a way to show that.

In January 2013 (VERY soon!), the Naughty But Nice Vancouver Sex Show will be held...and I'm going!

Strange, I know.

I'm not going because I agree with what the porn/sex industry is all about, I'm going because I want to love on who these people are.

A team of us will be there for the weekend (January 17 - 20) in downtown Vancouver, manning a booth at the show. We'll be there to talk to people and to hand out Bibles that say "Jesus Loves Porn Stars" because, let's face it, He does :)

My team and I could use your prayer as well as your financial help! I have to raise $1000 for the event (most of that money is to cover the cost of the Bibles) and would love for you to partner with me!

If you're from Canada, go to www.taboominstries.com. Click on the "Community" tab right under Amanda's picture. Click on my name and then click "Donate"! And...you get a tax receipt too. Pretty awesome right?

If you're from the lovely US of A and want to help out, I'm still trying to figure out that system, but please let me know (email, text, call, yell loudly) if you want to help! That will give me an idea, even if the system isn't up for a few days.

BUT WAIT!!

For every $50 you donate, your name gets entered into a draw to win a Samsung Galaxy II tablet! And, because it's only my team that's doing the contest, the odds are pretty good that you might win! 

I am Chuck Norris. Clearly.

I consider myself a pretty clean person, but I go through phases where housework seems like the most dreadful chore known to man. Combine that with the fact that I live alone and hardly make any garbage, I don't end up taking the garbage out until it's full -- not a crazy thing.

Well. I started to notice a bit of an influx of unwanted visitors called...fruit flies. Ick. I don't leave food out and didn't see a noticeable source until I went to empty my garbage the other night. And I was attacked. Hundreds of fruit flies surged from the can and swarmed my kitchen.

Disgusting. Soooo disgusting.

Well...what do I do? I go on a fruit fly killing rampage. I had been training for this moment. Our apartment in Azerbaijan had been infested with mosquitoes that first winter and I was an expert at smashing their brains to pulp while they were still flying around unaware. I was especially good at it at 3 AM when I would switch on the light (much to my roommate's delight) and go on a hunt to find that mosquito who was repeatedly dive-bombing my head. Some days we would all keep score to see who was the mosquito killing master. We needed entertainment at times and it was a perfect fit.

Needless to say, I am the Chuck Norris of the fruit fly killing world. But, much to my disdain, the fruit fly numbers didn't seem to be decreasing.

Bring on Google.

First of all I banned my garbage can to my balcony. Mr. Garbage Can was so sad and defenceless but it had to be done.

And then, thanks to WikiHow (quite the little treasure) I devised the following traps...

Numero Uno...

I poured balsamic vinegar in a bowl, put a lovely partially peeled plum in the middle, tightly covered it with saran wrap and poked holes in the saran with a needle. The holes were supposed to allow the fruit flies to get in but, because of their apparent lack of skills, render them unable to escape.


Numero DOS!!

I poured balsamic vinegar (that beautiful liquid), with a bit of dish soap and a drizzle of honey.
No saran wrap required :) The flies are supposed to fly down to taste the balsamic and get caught in the dish soap.

I also sprayed the fruit flies directly with Windex. This does not work. Save your Windex for more philanthropic causes.


And also because I was feeling all creative and smart...

I poured a mixture of honey and dish soap into a dish so that as soon as they touched it they would drown a sweet, bubbly death.


I left them overnight (with the exception of Numero Tres because that was a eureka moment today).


Shall we see how our contenders did??


Numero Uno...

Ahhhh very nice, very nice. Quite impressive I must say.


Numero DOS!!

A little disappointing at first glance. The flies seemed to think it was cooler to hang out on the rim rather than go for a swim (ohhhh look at me rhyme...)

But then...

The watery grave revealed something different. Kudos Numero DOS!!


Numero Tres...

Uh huh...

This is why I don't create how-to websites.


SO moral of the story, my kitchen is almost completely fruit fly free! Now I can chop up food without feeling like I'm about to feed hundreds of tiny mouths.

If anyone has any ideas or advice on this...issue...feel free to share! And I also give you free reign to re-post these pictures as cover photos for Facebook or desktop backgrounds for your computer if you feel the need to share the beauty of domestic pests.


OH! And the lovely link for these ideas can be found here.

Reality Check.

As some or most of you know, I work in an office at a financial firm that deals with insolvency. What is insolvency you ask? So glad you're curious :) When a person is insolvent, they can't pay back the money they owe with the money they're making. Pretty simple and, unfortunately, pretty common. If there's no way a person can deal with their bills, they file for bankruptcy or a consumer proposal: the former which eliminates their debt and the latter in which they pay back a portion.

Coolest subject on the street. I know.

Anyhow, I see files pass through with people owing anywhere from $20,000 to $600,000 -- not including their mortgages. Seeing these numbers (as sad as this sounds) makes me feel pretty good about my current financial situation. I don't have ten credit cards. I don't have collection agencies calling me (though I did get a letter from the library once...). And, I don't lay awake at night with heart palpitations because I don't know how I'm going to pay my rent. Sure I have a visa and a line of credit and a car payment and whatnot...but I throw money at them and it's all good.

One of my best friends came over a couple weeks ago and we started talking about debt. She (and you know who you are ;) ) is a wonder for my generation. Instead of racking up student debt or using credit cards, she worked her way through school and chose to live at home. She will be graduating (very soon, I might add) without a hint of debt. And she's not one of those misers who mooches food and stares at the sidewalk as she walks, looking for loose change dropped from one of those gangstas with sagging pockets. She lives an awesome life...she just does it wisely.

Hmmmm.

That night I sat down with a glass of wine, a notebook and a good dose of reality and started figuring out my debts. Those fun numbers being written down I wrote down my income and expenses.

Hmmmm.

If I kept spending at the same rate, I would find myself in my own office (for a very different reason) within a few years. What fun.

I work in a bankruptcy office and I don't pay attention to my finances. How's that for irony, Alanis Morissette?

So now it comes down to the choice. Do I turn a blind eye to every swipe of the card or do I make productive (albeit possibly painful) steps towards financial freedom, peace of mind and general awesomeness? Do I want to be blocking numbers on my phone in five years or going back to school debt-free?

After meeting with a couple of people at my work, hammering out a budget and watching more episodes of "Til Debt Do Us Part" than I'd care to admit, I finally feel like I have a game plan, and I'm SO excited at the prospect of being in control of my finances.

Because this is what all 22 year-olds do on their day off ;)

I'd love your guys' support, advice, questions and general awesomeness (because you know you have it haha). I'm so glad I'm dealing with this in my early 20's rather than when I'm hundreds of thousands of dollars of debts 20 years down the road.

I shall be posting of my efforts and it may not be pretty. I hope at least it's entertaining.


And thanks to this post, Alanis Morissette is now my Saturday night soundtrack.

Wow...it's crazy to think that my last post is nearly two years old! And oh, how life has changed...

I moved from Azerbaijan to Minnesota, completed my degree and moved from Minnesota to Illinois, couldn't renew my visa and moved from Illinois to British Columbia, moved from a house to a basement suite and, as of tomorrow, am moving into an apartment.

Whew.

It's crazy to think of how fast life moves and how much we learn in such a short period of time. Life is so unexpected and yet I wouldn't have it any other way. I've often asked myself if I would tell my past self what was coming if I had the chance and I always say no. There's something to learn in every experience: the good, the bad and the downright horrifyingly painful. Life doesn't very often happen like we want it to and my life has switched directions more often than I've planned--but isn't variety the spice of life?

All that to say...here's to another chapter.

I've been asked time and time again to start writing once more and I finally am. I hope it's all everyone dreams it to be haha ;)

With wet laundry at my feet, clothes waiting in the dryer, dishes waiting to be washed and a whole life waiting to be packed up, this "first" blog post will be short, BUT there's much more awesomeness to come.

This blog won't be themed because there are WAY too many things running around in my head for me to focus on any one thing because I'd have to have a million separate blogs and, though some of you may love my writing, my full-time job and your excitingly social lives would ultimately cease to exist.

Therefore...

Here's to life. To love. To cooking. To friends. To family.

To watching me take 15 minutes to parallel park on a curve.

And I'm serious about the last one.

People were going to send out a search party because I took so long.


Here is to a new and better beginning.

L'espoir fait vivre.

Recent Cooking Escapades

So, in my attempt to impress my unknown future husband, I decided to work on my cooking skills.

Poached Eggs? Check. Homemade Noodles? Check. Plov (an Azeri rice dish with dried fruit)? Check. Baklava? Amen. Check.

And So It Continues...

Here are a few more from our 4 hour long trip home. When everyone else is sleeping, what do you do? Take pictures of course!

This one is obviously blurry and I love it like that! Taken from our van's window.

Taken in a sit-down restaurant where we stopped for çay (pronounced "chai"), the continent's official drink--aka black tea. I adore colour accent!

Mmmmm contrasts. We all know I like those!

This one reminds me of an African landscape! Also taken from that van window.