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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

A bidiot and a smart-panties fall in love over English 

“If you like, leave a message.”

‘If you like’ is the first expression I unintentionally taught Jack. He heard it on my voicemail when he called to schedule a service call to fix my fridge. It was 2009 when we had landlines and voicemail, and left messages. That voicemail resulted in our nine year relationship, one that was made richer in part by our shared project - him to master English, me to better understand how difficult English is to learn.

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Typing - the dark-horse high school course

Elude is a fun word to type. That “de” at the end just rolls off the left middle fingertip. I thought this the day “elude” came up as the Wordle word. I’ve been using the daily puzzle as a way first to exercise my brain and second to strengthen my writing muscle: I write stream-of-consciousness for five minutes starting with the Wordle word. I do this exercise in white font so I can’t see what gibberish is coming out and, more importantly, can’t correct it. All part of a generative writing technique to get words flowing without overthinking.

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Third Act, First Scene - Deputy Executive Director, CHFT 

I have been hired as the Deputy Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT). CHFT is an umbrella organization of 185 non-profit housing co-ops** in Durham, Toronto, and York Region representing more than 50,000 co-op members. The news of my new position hit the housing world on Tuesday and I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response. Thank you for making me feel appreciated and for assuring me I’m not the only one who thinks this is a logical next step for me. I couldn

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Jacinda Ardern ran out of gas and she’s not the only one

I was stunned this week when Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, announced she would step down in February. Her words reverberated through me - she no longer has enough in the tank to carry on.

Ardern’s had a helluva run as PM. She’s led New Zealand through a number of national crises including the Christchurch mosque shootings and the explosion of the volcano on White Island, an offshore island that had been a tourist attraction for years. And then, of course, there was her approach to COVID 19. She took decisive action to contain the spread before, it seemed, other countries really got their heads around the potential impact of the virus. Sure, it’s a bit easier with a small population of 5 million people well away from other countries. But she was a powerhouse and we all watched her in awe.

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Blood, it’s in you to give

That's the Canada Blood Services (CBS) great tagline. I do so love double-meaning. But I'm not just commenting on their clever marketing today. No, I want to tell you why I was there this week to make a donation. And why you should go too.

When I grew up, my father was a regular blood donor. He didn't make a big deal about it, just went off to give a pint from time to time, as one of the many things he did to help society function - religiously pay his taxes, get involved in community groups, vote, and so on. He'd joke about going only for the cookies and juice but I knew there was more to it. When, in his 70s, he was denied the opportunity to give because of his escalating blood pressure, he was annoyed, declaring he should be able to judge the risk on his own accord. I suspect by that time, he'd given several hundred times.

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Hunk, chunk, drunk, and monk: how’d your pandemic go? 

As regular readers know, I’ve been super-COVID-compliant. But while the pandemic is not over, it’s been such a long three years that even I've gotten to the end of my masked-up, sanitized, and risk-averse rope.

With the “end,” comes reflection on the upshot. With such a lengthy period of confinement, people built on their pre-existing tendencies resulting, I gather, in one of four options: hunk, chunk, drunk, and monk

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Eight things I’ve loved about my time at Iler Campbell 

Friday was my last day at Iler Campbell, the law firm I joined in 2005 as an articling student and for which I was co-ordinating partner for the last seven years. It was a great 17 years. Why’d I leave? Well, as I’ve written here and here, sometimes you just gotta take a risk and pursue a dream, letting go of things that, while still good, may be approaching their best before dates. This is one of those times.

Back in October, I decided to make a spider for the occasion. “What is she talking about?" I hear you ask. As a kid, I didn’t have advent calendars. Instead, while others had a chocolate treat at bedtime in the lead up to Christmas, I enjoyed brutally ripping a leg from my paper spider. When the spider was reduced to a body, it was the magical 25th. (Hey, I couldn’t make this up if I tried - just reporting my childhood.)

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Christmas - great for many …  not for everyone 

To those of you who celebrate Christmas, we made it. The December marathon has reached its peak. Whatever you haven’t done is likely going to have to wait til 2023 now.

Phew. No, seriously, phew.

Was it fun? Are you having fun now? For many, the answer is a resounding “no.”

Chantal Kreviazuk emphasized this in a pre-concert message she posted on social media on December 15. That day, if you recall, w

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Celia Chandler Celia Chandler

Chandlerville - Part 4

“Are you really building a house out of your garage?” people ask. Yup, that’s what I’m doing.

"Won’t it be too small?” they go on. Nope, indeed it will not.

And then, “Where will the car go?” Is their next question. Outside where it belongs. I want to add ‘wouldn’t it be better if we put people inside and inanimate things outside.’ I stop short though. I’m already nuts in their eyes.

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