We've all heard it before...

"The thing is, it's not even the right question."

My friend Amy looked thoughtfully at her peppermint tea as she used her stir stick to pull out the tea bag, wrapping it tightly around itself like a slug enveloping a tree branch.

I took a sip of my pumpkin spice latte. "What's the question then?"

Amy strained the last of the water from the bag and rested it on a plastic cup lid.

"People ask why youth aren't engaged in politics, but instead they should be asking politicians why they're failing at engaging the youth. It's their job to sell themselves to us, not vice versa."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Sasha as he took a break from his cinnamon bun to join in on the conversation.

I have to say, there's something satisfying about discussing political engagement in the warmth of a downtown Starbucks on a rainy Sunday. But today's ponderings and debatenstances (yes, that's a mix of debate and happenstance) were for more than our own geeky amusement- we were getting Amy's head in the game for her appearance on Goldhawk Live on CPAC. She was going to be on a panel for the topic Our democracy is broken - how do we fix it?... because that's what happens when you're Canada's Next Great Prime Minister- you're kind of a big deal and become parts of panels that say lots of smart things and stuff. Or so I'm told. I live vicariously through Amy's brilliance.

In that cozy hour or so at the back of the cafe, we had probably one of the best conversations on the topic of youth engagement/ general voter engagement that I've ever had. Which is saying something considering I spent a year working on exactly that topic while at Historica and ran my own Next Great PM campaign on youth engagement.

With Amy and Sasha's brilliance and general political know-how, we came to a few conclusions...

1. It's not just about youth not participating in the party system.

It's also about the parties purposefully reaching out to youth to include them in more than simple token gestures and offers. But this will only if they see it as worth their while, so...

2. Make the system benefit parties that reach out to all voters.

"Why not cut out the funding machine and make all party funding tied to the votes you receive?" Sasha pointed out. "Suddenly that 18-30 becomes a lot more relevant..."

3. "Youth" is not a defined demographic. Not even close.

"In every other case, parties are considering different races, genders, incomes, employments... but 18-30 are somehow considered some homogeneous group when the parties and media are discussing politics," said Amy.

And it's true- 18 to 30 ranges from high school students to university or college students or even people well established in their careers-- and are just as diverse in terms of race, income, employment, region... why are they suddenly the same when it comes to the polling booth?


... I returned home full pumpkin spice and political reform vigour. Maybe I've found my topic for my Political Affairs research article?

And, of course, Amy was fabulously well-spoken and knowledgeable on the panel as the only female... and the only person under 40. Oh the irony of old white men debating youth engagement in politics.

Priorities

It's Monday night and I'm pantsless on my couch with a glass of white wine obsessively refreshing sites, waiting for the Gossip Girl season premiere...

... but I'm watching the National until I get my sweet hour of rich upper East side kids. Because I'm that dedicated to my studies.

Can I also add that I adore the concept for this new "Make the Politician Work" series? It's a beautiful mix of CTV and Global's human interest kicker pieces with the CBC's geeky didacticity (didactic-ness?). I mean, yes, it's propagandist and too superficial to take seriously, and it kind of offends me that it gets more run time than the actual news, but the CBC is trying. Sort of. I will give them points for that. And Mackay looks cute in uniform.

The real question is: how will they be able to top this first episode? Get Harper to do a topless carwash for the Calgary SPCA? Oh, the horror.

Settling back into the student lifestyle...

It was tonight as I was making dinner that I realized washing lettuce then shaking it like a madwoman over the sink (and, consequently, pretty much the entirety of my closet-sized kitchen) is a pretty poor replacement for a salad spinner.

I'm also kind of impressed at how long I've lived without a bread knife. Carbs are key.

But then again, today I slept in, met with a prof, hung out at the bar while editing my pitch, and running errands in the Market in the sweet Ottawa sunshine. And tonight I'm off for pints and great company at my favourite pub in Little Italy. A totally fair trade-off for slightly damp salad and a moderately mangled baguette, I think...

My last weekend in BC...

... and it makes me sad. But what better way to spend it than in Salmon Arm at the time-honoured family bonding/beer gardening/enjoying awesome musicing Roots & Blues fest?

Catch y'all on the flipside...

A letter to my previous internship that I seriously considered sending

Dear CFJC newsroom,

I have noticed your new "Firewatch 2009" advertisement that has been playing consistently on channel 7.

I approve of the jump cuts of shots of forest fires and men battling the elements. Big helicopters dumping water! Drama! Excitement! Exclamation mark!

But may I offer one small tidbit of a suggestion?

I humbly request that the epic circa-1995 newsroom music be replaced with Sarah McLachlan's "World on Fire"...

Don't pretend you don't want to.

Indubitably yours,

Meg.

There's just one catch...

Walking along one of the (many) strip malls in town today, I passed a women's clothing store and felt compelled to look in the window.

The models looked comfortable and well put-together, albeit a bit preppy. I yearned for their crisp and functional look that refused to sacrifice comfort for the sake of style.

It was then that I noticed that all of the models were sporting baby bumps.

This isn't the first time as of late that I've caught myself accidentally eyeing maternity clothes... While walking 4th through Kitsilano the other week, Gloria and I determined that maternity clothes are starting to get too cool for their own good, especially the brightly-coloured jersey wrap tops and dresses they're charging an arm and a leg for in the Kits shops.

So comfy! And so stretchy! So convenient to cover my inevitable "back to school" beer belly! ... I digress.

But seriously, why is it that pregnant women are getting the good stuff? I want in on the colourful and stretchy goodness that will hide my belly, too.

Maternity clothes in non-maternity sizes: it should be the Next Big Thing. Because, while I really want stretchy waisted pants, I refuse to procreate to get them.

To the Island and back again

It was a typical evening drive in Saanich when the old mix CD turned to its next track: Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes".

"Yes!" I exclaimed, thrusting my fist in the air and getting ready to ballad about endless stories and territories.

It was then that I realized that not everyone shares my love of old Shakira. I looked sheepishly to my friend Dee, who thankfully looked as enthusiastic as me.

"Wait!" she exclaims. "Before we go all out..." she closes the car windows.

"You mean we can sing out loud to circa 2000 Britney Spears without shame, but not Shakira?" I asked incredulously.

"Don't look at me like that," sighed Dee. "Shakira is amazing. But a window-closer."

As usual, Dee was right. I quickly remembered the time last week when I pulled up to a stoplight belting Alanis Morrisette at full tilt only to discover that the car next to me also had its window open. Dammit, why weren't they like the 99% of cars in town smart enough to roll up their windows and let the AC work its magic in this dry and dusty desert?

The problem with not posting as regularly as I'd like means that there are too many things to write about. It seems too long past to write in detail about my last few days at the TV internship (I think blog years is like dog years... so even a week suddenly becomes almost 2 months. Right?).

I celebrated the end of internship #3-- and the August long weekend-- by visiting Dee, one of my very best friends from high school, out on Vancouver Island. Gloria and Friso came along for the adventures as well, and we had a brilliant weekend of wandering the downtown, enjoying the patio weather, riverfloating and hiking and trail running and movie nighting and eating and visiting and all sorts of other good things. And I think we ended up stopping in every small town between Victoria and Nanaimo in the process. I even managed to interview an artist for my MRP at a farmhouse out in Duncan and was able to justify a bit of art gallery-ing in the name of "schoolwork". Happy sigh.

As I sat on the ferry deck on the way back to the mainland, I had no doubt in my mind that this time back home was exactly what I needed this summer. In the last four months I have moved thrice and tried my hand at three very different types of jobs in my field-- which has been both exciting and at times overwhelming-- but the chance to hang out with old friends and live in, rather than just visit, the place I call home has made all of the difference.

I'll end this before it gets any sappier.