tuesday morning update

So it's fair time for a quick update on the goings on at the Depot:

Now that it is nearing mid-July, I am getting more active in the recruitment and promotions for the BiL Pre-employability Project for Women. It's an 11 week program for women who must meet the following requirements:

- Residents of Notre-Dame-de-Grace or Côte-des-Neiges
- Immigrant or a visible minority
- Canadian citizen, permanent resident, landed immigrant or have refugee status (but not refugee claimants)
- Be able to speak and write English
- 35 years of age or older (although this is a flexible requirement)

Every Tuesday morning I go to Multicaf, a food bank in Côte-des-Neiges, a neighbouring municipality to NDG. I hand out pamphlets to the clients who come there for a free breakfast and a food basket. The vast majority of clients at Multicaf are, as in the Depot, from South America. I am still puzzled by the large Mexican population here in Montreal, since climatically speaking there couldn't be two places more disparate. I am guessing that this has something to do with the existing Mexican population that has settled in Montreal since who knows when. I am also going to begin faxing information and posters to several organizations in the NDG/CDN and Montreal area that are oriented toward ethnic communities, especially women.

Yesterday I biked to Multicaf for the first time, and save for a few detours I got there on time and safely. Riding up Avenue des Pins was a lot more strenuous than I had anticipated, and at many points my legs felt weak from the vigorous pedaling that uphill biking requires. As much more experienced bikers wheeled breezily past as I wheeled my bike up the steeper parts, I couldn't help but recall a time in high school when I went hiking with some environment club kids up a local mountain. I was definitely part of the slower people, while the more agile hikers always remained several paces ahead. Perhaps this was a subtle prediction of my numbered days on the west coast....or maybe that I should get into better shape.

On that front, riding my bike to work on the Maisonneuve bike path has been exhilarating. I love the feel of wind on my face, the warm sunlight peeping through trees and even the bumpy, uneven cracks in the roads. They are a constant and comforting reminder that I have both wheels on the ground. To be quite honest, the fact that I am on wheels is a bit terrifying sometimes, but life is too short to keep our feet on the ground at all times.