November 29, 2010 - 2007 stats, finally!

well, i'm not really sure why i never added up my km totals for 2007. perhaps because i knew they would be less than 2008. but funny looking back, it is clear as to why i ended up with ITB in both legs. too much, too soon, too fast, without a doubt!

Jan 105.14

Feb 163

Mar 165.59

Apr 218.05

May 313.3

June 355.2

July 481.1

Aug 237.15

Sept 242.6

Oct 129.4

Nov 266.4

Dec 235.1

total 2912.03

2008 total 3611.6

2009 total 4002.0

2010 so far 2028 (with 32 days left in the year)

net total from Jan 1/07 to present 12553.63 (the equivalent of running from St. John's, Newfoundland; to Big Sur, California; to Key West, Florida!)

(if you think i am joking about wanting to run across Canada one of these years, this last statistic should prove just how realistic this could be!)

Jenn

November 24, 2010 - 2000k on the year!

Well, I've run 7, 8, and 8k over the past 3 days, respectively. This brings me to 2000k on the year. A far cry from where I had hoped to be, but still a nice milestone. My weight is down 11 pounds from where I was 2 months ago, so that is also satisfying. My goal is to drop down to at least one pound less than what I was when the year started, a goal that seems quite reachable if I can manage 5 good final weeks of running.

Jenn

November 23, 2010 - Canadian Music Legends in Town!

Well, two of Canada's best were in town tonight as part of their Spirit of Christmas tour. Big Pond, Nova Scotia's, Rita MacNeil decided to hit the road, and she twisted the arm of 1970s pianist Frank Mills to end a 10 year retirement to join her.

Rita opened up with a solo set of Christmas tunes that she had written. She was accompanied by a backing band consisting of a bass guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, and keyboards. Then Frank hit the stage and gave us a series of medleys that included both classic Christmas tunes, and solo hits of his own, including his signature tune, Music Box Dancer. Then they closed the show together with a set of more classic Christmas tunes, including Silent Night and Joy to the World.

Among the standout performances were Rita's version of Amazing Grace, and Frank's only vocal hit, Love Me Love Me Love. For an encore, Rita sang her lone non-Christmas song of the night, her 1991 hit Working Man. Then the finale was a lovely version of Silver Bells with Frank on piano.

The show was at St. John's Arts and Culture Centre. I was seated at the back near the soundboard, which was quite interesting to see. I had a chat with one of the roadies there and managed to score a copy of the set list.

After the show, both artists met with fans for an autograph signing. I had a brief chat with both and advised Rita that she was meeting another native Nova Scotian.

Rita and Frank are touring in support of a new album that they have released together as a team, that consists of Christmas classics, as well as a few original compositions.

November 19, 2010 - quick update

just a quick update here. been a busy week. yet another job interview with the provincial government for a senior policy analyst position. as always the interview seemed to go very well. i guess time will tell if the 35th time will be the charm, or not!

smashed my knee into a coffee table this afternoon. not exactly something that will help my running program... lol

i attended the movie theatre for the first time in years, and saw a 3D movie for the first time. i was highly impressed with the special effects of the technology.

i also celebrated a friend's birthday this week with tickets to see Lonestar in concert, a nashville-based, texas-bread, country band that had a couple of major hits in the 90s. pretty good show! we managed to meet up with the singer and keyboard player after the show. much like every other musician from Nashville that i have ever met, these folks seem very down to earth and appreciative of their job and their fans.

i also made an impromptu appearance on the 6 o'clock NTV news on thursday, as i was a 'randomly selected citizen' who was flagged down in the lobby of the building and asked to comment on the latest contract signing between the Government of NL and a private entity in Nova Scotia with regards to the infamous Lower Churchill project. Not aware of the details of the deal, i danced around the question and never gave a straight answer, yet managed to ramble on for almost 2 minutes. afterwards the reporter claimed that i gave one of the best answers of the entire afternoon, and that they would definitely air my comment, and they did! go figure!

well, sore knee, and continuing problems with my left foot, have limited my running this week, and at this point, i have no idea what the weekend ahead will bring.

well, that's enough rambling for now..

Jenn

November 10, 2010 - Jennifer McCreath joins CPath; and consults with and for Eastern Health

Well, a recruitment phone call tonight from the president of Canadian Association for Transgender Health with a request for participation was too good to turn down.

CPath was conceptualized in 2007 and became a formal legal entity in 2008. Founders met at a conference of the World Professional Association for Trangender Health, formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association - the creators and gatekeepers of the Harry Benjamin Standards of Care, the most commonly used and accepted health care protocol for trans patients.

CPath's mission is as follows: The Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) is a professional organization devoted to the health care of individuals with gender variant identities.

As an interdisciplinary, professional organization, the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH) will further the understanding and health care of individuals with gender variant identities by professionals in medicine, psychology, law, social work, counselling, psychotherapy, family studies, sociology, anthropology, sexology, speech and voice therapy, and other related fields.

While i haven't always agreed with everything CPath has done or stands for, I was excited to join as an official member and will look forward to specifically taking part in some internal committee work that will focus on business development. The focus will be on corporate and membership governance structure and policy development.

As a member, I will now become engaged with a variety of health care professionals who have an interest in trans health. This will be my opportunity to promote stakeholder engagement - specifically, engagement with trans patients with regards to the way they go about making recommendations and position statements.

CPath needs to be considered the #1 body of knowledge in the country, with regards to providing advice and guidance on trans health matters. Sadly, the CPath brand name is not recognized here in the health care system of Newfoundland.

My other exciting news is that i have been engaged by Eastern Health as a consultant and advisor with regards to trans matters. Although i am not a medical professional, i have lived the transition experience here in Newfoundland, and i am more than capable of advising anyone of the global best practices with regards to transition, trans protocol; as well as speaking about my personal experiences and lessons learned from them.

Ultimately, to be perceived by both of these organizations as a valuable resource, is extremely exciting. I look forward to helping them both achieve their goals, and in the process, will hope to make life better and easier for transpeople all around the world.

November 11, 2010 - runny nose

well, it wasn't just my legs running today. i am dealing with a little case of the sniffles. oh well, a nice sleep in was probably good for me. i got outside for a light 7k run this afternoon. the cooler weather always seems to make the air seem fresher. i also had a nice 15k run yesterday night. the energy levels seem to be managing well thru this minor sickness. my weight is now down to 212 pounds.. just 5 more pounds to lose in order to hit my target requirement for january's surgery. generally having a much better week than last week, which was quite stressful due to a rather challenging change-management work environment.

the bad news of the week is that i managed to finish runner up in two more job interviews. i believe this now takes me over 30 analyst job interview since i changed my name to Jennifer, without success, so the frustration continues.

Jenn

November 4 2010 - quick update

yes i am still alive folks! i feel badly that i don't seem to be able to make as much time for this website as i would like to. But it's good that i have been so busy. it's been a rather depressing week but i am looking forward to the weekend ahead, where i hope to get in some quality runs and quality time visiting my favourite ducks at the pond.

my nov 1 weight in was an amazing 212 pounds - 10 pounds lighter than i was on sept 26 when i ran my 25th marathon. it is exciting to see the progress. unfortunatly, i have been hampered, yet again, by chronic left foot pain this week, due to the constant standing on my feet at work, so i have not run since sunday, and that seems to have caused a pound or two to sneak back on..

oh well, i'm hoping that i can survive tomorrow at work and then rest up for most of saturday, and have a strong quality run either that evening or on sunday morning, or both.

other disappointing news is yet another 2nd place scoring at a job interview. i believe that takes me over 30 failed job interviews since i changed my name to Jennifer. I am not going to sit back any longer now though. after obtaining feedback from the interview panel, i was not satisfied with their assessment and scoring of some of the questions they asked me, so i will fully intend to partake in whatever complaint or appeal process may be out there.

in other news, i was recently interviewed by an independant journalist for an article that will hit the stands later this month in Wayves.ca magazine - a publication that focuses on the LGBT community in the 4 eastern canadian provinces. based out of halifax, they always seem extra excited to find articles of worth in Newfoundland. The article will be written by infamous colleague Christian Corbet, from Corner Brook Pride Inc. i found it strange that he, of all people, would want to do a story about my newly created organization, and i even expressed concern that i did not want this article to lead to conflict within the community. But given his stake in the company i co-manage, it would seem reasonable to expect that he would say nothing negative or controversial about me, my organization, my stakeholders (both supportive and not).

Meanwhile, i have been very busy behind the scenes with my team as we seem to have a foundational structure in place. now comes the fun part as we will launch the company in a public way in an attempt to solicit buy-in, support, and involvement from stakeholders and other community members. lots of work to do, but i've recently brought on board, another a strong community leader, and the engagement process will continue as the networking contacts are being drafted. a website is also under development and should be live soon, complete with everything we'll need, including a logo, a web discussion forum, the corporate fine print, and a list of FAQ. the hours of hard work are starting to pay off!

other news, i have been engaged as a volunteer private consultant by Eastern Health. They have asked for my help to esstially advise a transperson, as to how they should go about creating a transition project for themselves. so that too, has added to my busy schedule.

i'm also in the early stages of organizing a transgender day of remembrance ceremony in this city for nov 20, and will be engaging, and hopefully collaborating with, the Aids Committee of NL, and via Frontrunners.

so lots on the go, and exciting times ahead!

Jenn