The Department of Imaginary Affairs is pleased to announce our first Ambassador!!!
Linda!
You can look out for Linda collecting stories all summer long. As an Ambassador, Linda’s job is to connect with the community and look for stories all over the East side. So don’t be surprised if you see her at a community event or local organization carrying DIA postcards and asking you for your story. Our goal is to collect 500 stories this summer and Linda is not going to stop until we do. So help her out, won’t ya!
Here are a few words from Linda herself:
Hey future friends!
First blog, you are probably wondering why you are even reading this or you haven’t thought about it and now you are… You are welcome! Either someone made you, asked you, you saw it on your newsfeed, or just as simple as reading it because you are. I will be around, you will be hearing and/or reading from me. So relax, stay tune and enjoy.
My name is Linda Phuong. People call me Linda Pinda Panda Poo, yes it is quite a long nickname but it flows (go ahead, try saying that 3 times). What did I tell you?
A little about myself, I am a graduate student of Ryerson University. I’ve recently got my Bachelor of Social Work degree and now I’m in the ‘real world’, scary right? I do plan on going to graduate school but that’s not for a while. Yes student debt, but I can say for myself and maybe for others, it is a good debt. Okay, it doesn’t sound that great either, so lets just say it is a good investment.
Some of the things I love doing, I love cooking, I love eating, I love sleeping and this may result to why I love going to the gym as well… I love adventures, biking, hiking and exploring. Those are some of the things I like to do! One of many things I’m passionate about is that I love connecting with people and community building. This may sound cliché but I believe that a strong community helps some individuals define who they are, a community that can share common things with other members, and a community that can be called home.
So why am I here? First off, because I got a job here and second, this is part of my passion and I want to be here. When I first heard about this incredible internship, an internship where I can go around the eastside communities and collect stories that will be transformed into giant storybooks for Nuit Blanche 2015, this was something I couldn’t say no. I didn’t know that something like this existed. All I can say right now is, I am really ecstatic to be part of the team.
I as well live on the eastside of Toronto, Regent Park. Wondering if you live on the eastside, the eastside boundaries go from Lakeshore to Danforth and Victoria Park to Yonge St. I love where I grew up, there are so many great memories as well unfortunate ones. Regent Park is my community, a community in which has a lot to share and that is for another time. Do you have stories you would like to share? Please do so! What does the East side mean to you? What would your neighbourhood be like in 100 years? It would be a privilege to read and listen to them. You can say I’m a story monster, a good one. I’m not those scary ones you see in your closets but the one who wants to share your lived experiences. Like I said before, I will be around and maybe in your neighbourhood… hopefully not in your closet.