Well, we're moved in.
It took 3 loads of the van, and 2 with the U-Haul (How did we get so much stuff? I have no idea..) and we are finally in the new place. Just in time, too. Guess what the forcast is for tomorrow?
SNOW!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Moving Soon!
I've been counting down the days since last Saturday. Only 3 days to go until moving day! Today we got everything finalized and sent to the lawyer's office. Now we wait to get the keys, and Friday we can get the house organized.
This will probably be the last post until after the move - the computer will be taken apart, and we won't be back online until Sunday.
This will probably be the last post until after the move - the computer will be taken apart, and we won't be back online until Sunday.
Monday, October 23, 2006
My Baby's Growing Up!!!!
It's started to happen. Nathanael has had his first weekend away from us that wasn't at Grandma's. It was very strange having absolutely no contact at all.
As some of you know, Nathanael is a member of the Winnipeg Boys Choir this year. Every October the boys go away to camp for a weekend. They really get to know each other as a group. They know each others strengths and weaknesses both personally and vocally. They rehearsed every day for a couple of hours. Mostly Christmas music, including my favourite Chritmas Time is Here from Charlie Brown.They also had a scavenger hunt and a marshmallow roast on Saturday night. Nathanael was exhausted but very proud of himself for being big enough to go away.
As some of you know, Nathanael is a member of the Winnipeg Boys Choir this year. Every October the boys go away to camp for a weekend. They really get to know each other as a group. They know each others strengths and weaknesses both personally and vocally. They rehearsed every day for a couple of hours. Mostly Christmas music, including my favourite Chritmas Time is Here from Charlie Brown.They also had a scavenger hunt and a marshmallow roast on Saturday night. Nathanael was exhausted but very proud of himself for being big enough to go away.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
It's Bronchitis
Ah... Went to the doctor on Saturday. I thought the coughing might have developed further... and it has. Bronchitis. The first time I had it was in 2000, while I was teaching in rural Manitoba. This will be the fourth time.
The doctor told me that each time you get this, you become more succeptable. This one came on pretty quick, but I didn't act fast enough. I sound like a chronic smoker - funny thing is, I don't even smoke.
The doctor told me that each time you get this, you become more succeptable. This one came on pretty quick, but I didn't act fast enough. I sound like a chronic smoker - funny thing is, I don't even smoke.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
More election stuff
Well, I tried to find out stuff about the candidates online....
First, the Counselor Candidates...
Trudy Turner's site, http://www.trudyturner.ca/ shows that she's definitely aware of what's going on in the ward. If you click on the issues link, you will see a list of issues. This isn't something she came up with on her own - most of these were in the Neighbourhoods Alive! document for St. Matthews and (darn, I've forgotten the other neighbourhood - sorry!). Of course Trudy was involved in the creation of that document, so it's not surprising to see similarities...
Don Salter has an interesting site - http://www.donsalter.com/ I found the chat area the most interesting - Don, you are much more articulate on a blog than in a debate (remember John A Steen?) Heed your wife, man - NO JOKES.
Harvey Smith (incumbant) has a site - http://www.harveysmith.com/index.htm - that had a lot of great links - except that there is no mention of the election at all. It's like it's business as usual and he expects to win. I emailed Harvey about this, as i wanted to compare his answers at the debate at John A Steen to what was in his platform. The answer came from his campaign manager:
Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. I don't want to email my questions to anybody - I want to compare platforms.
Now to school trustees...
The only website I can find for anyone is Cindy Gilroy-Price. http://www.cindygilroy-price.ca/ She impressed me at the debate I went to last week. Her site has only a few links though.
There are mentions of each of the other candidates - I can find them at work and in various other groups, but no mention of thier platforms. Unless you go and talk to them, you have NO idea what they stand for.
I toyed with posting my notes from the two forums I went to... maybe I will...
First, the Counselor Candidates...
Trudy Turner's site, http://www.trudyturner.ca/ shows that she's definitely aware of what's going on in the ward. If you click on the issues link, you will see a list of issues. This isn't something she came up with on her own - most of these were in the Neighbourhoods Alive! document for St. Matthews and (darn, I've forgotten the other neighbourhood - sorry!). Of course Trudy was involved in the creation of that document, so it's not surprising to see similarities...
Don Salter has an interesting site - http://www.donsalter.com/ I found the chat area the most interesting - Don, you are much more articulate on a blog than in a debate (remember John A Steen?) Heed your wife, man - NO JOKES.
Harvey Smith (incumbant) has a site - http://www.harveysmith.com/index.htm - that had a lot of great links - except that there is no mention of the election at all. It's like it's business as usual and he expects to win. I emailed Harvey about this, as i wanted to compare his answers at the debate at John A Steen to what was in his platform. The answer came from his campaign manager:
Hi,
Sorry that we are not totally up to date in the technology department but
we have been more old school in the campaign and prefer the face to face kind of
canvass. Nevertheless, if there are any questions that you may have we would be
glad to answer them.
Harry Paine
Campaign Manager
Needless to say, I wasn't impressed. I don't want to email my questions to anybody - I want to compare platforms.
Now to school trustees...
The only website I can find for anyone is Cindy Gilroy-Price. http://www.cindygilroy-price.ca/ She impressed me at the debate I went to last week. Her site has only a few links though.
There are mentions of each of the other candidates - I can find them at work and in various other groups, but no mention of thier platforms. Unless you go and talk to them, you have NO idea what they stand for.
I toyed with posting my notes from the two forums I went to... maybe I will...
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Coughing.. And coughing... And coughing...
and coughing.
I caught something last week that has just ravaged my throat. Today I can't sing, so I listened to the words of the songs and sang them in my head at church today. I find that refreshing in church, actually. Makes me THINK about the words of the songs, instead of just singing the words out in harmony, which can sometimes happen. (that's another post entirely.)
No fever or sinus problems - just a really sore throat and a headache for the Advil to take care of. I'm not going to work tomorrow - can you imagine a worse thing for a music teacher to have than a sore throat? I wouldn't make it through the day.
TTYL
Chris.
I caught something last week that has just ravaged my throat. Today I can't sing, so I listened to the words of the songs and sang them in my head at church today. I find that refreshing in church, actually. Makes me THINK about the words of the songs, instead of just singing the words out in harmony, which can sometimes happen. (that's another post entirely.)
No fever or sinus problems - just a really sore throat and a headache for the Advil to take care of. I'm not going to work tomorrow - can you imagine a worse thing for a music teacher to have than a sore throat? I wouldn't make it through the day.
TTYL
Chris.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Election forums
Went to two election forums this past week - one for Councilor of Daniel McKintyre, and the other for the School Division ward (WSD1 Ward 2 - my employer!)
The first was really well attended. The community centre was packed out, which gave the room a great buzz. The reason was that Red River College had made the forum a required assignment for thier journalism students, and the students were all there to listen to the candidates, but also to get interviews from the residents who attended the forum. I got interviewed three times, and I turned 2 people down because I really didn't want to do a lot of talking about something that I was there to listen to. How do you express an opinion about three people whom you have never heard talk before?
Actually, I shouldn't say that - I had heard Harvey and Trudy at the Neighbourhoods Alive! meeting the previous week. Didn't get much of the chance to talk to them about thier election platform, though. Don Salter was a new person to me, and I didn't know much about him.
The students actually seemed to outnumber the residents - which was really too bad, as it meant not a lot of people were interested. There were some really good questions - maybe once I get my notes organized, I can make some comments about what was said.
As to the school Division forum - it was a lot less people, had NO media coverage of any type (CBC was at the counselor forum), and was, in my mind, more interesting than the counselor forum. The smaller number of people was disappointing, but also meant that a lot of our questions got answered. The format was better - the questions were vetted by the moderator, and read out by him.
Personally, I feel that the School Division race is going to be an interesting one, although a difficult one to follow. Since the forum, I've been watching the news for articles about the trustees positions - nothing. Another disappointment was that many candidates for trustee don't have an online presence - not even a blog to just chat into.
Maybe I just expect everyone to be online now. I know that's not the case, but it's easy to forget.
later.
The first was really well attended. The community centre was packed out, which gave the room a great buzz. The reason was that Red River College had made the forum a required assignment for thier journalism students, and the students were all there to listen to the candidates, but also to get interviews from the residents who attended the forum. I got interviewed three times, and I turned 2 people down because I really didn't want to do a lot of talking about something that I was there to listen to. How do you express an opinion about three people whom you have never heard talk before?
Actually, I shouldn't say that - I had heard Harvey and Trudy at the Neighbourhoods Alive! meeting the previous week. Didn't get much of the chance to talk to them about thier election platform, though. Don Salter was a new person to me, and I didn't know much about him.
The students actually seemed to outnumber the residents - which was really too bad, as it meant not a lot of people were interested. There were some really good questions - maybe once I get my notes organized, I can make some comments about what was said.
As to the school Division forum - it was a lot less people, had NO media coverage of any type (CBC was at the counselor forum), and was, in my mind, more interesting than the counselor forum. The smaller number of people was disappointing, but also meant that a lot of our questions got answered. The format was better - the questions were vetted by the moderator, and read out by him.
Personally, I feel that the School Division race is going to be an interesting one, although a difficult one to follow. Since the forum, I've been watching the news for articles about the trustees positions - nothing. Another disappointment was that many candidates for trustee don't have an online presence - not even a blog to just chat into.
Maybe I just expect everyone to be online now. I know that's not the case, but it's easy to forget.
later.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Neighbourhoods Alive!
Well, I've had time to reflect on the meeting I went to last week Thursday about this initiative from the provincial government. The program has been extended to the area that I currently (and will in the future) live in. Nice to know that the province is considering putting some $$ into areas of the province that need some improvements. Makes you wonder where the city and feds are .....
The meeting was really informative - a powerpoint presentation that supported the talk (instead of distracting from it) and a chance to talk with and network with area residents and business owners. Of course, the biggest thing was Crime... Being in the West End has been an eyeopener for me as far as what people are like. The other items we talked about were physical environment, Parks and Recreation, Housing and Community Involvement.
The best part was watching different resident getting together, figuring out what we can do to make our neighbourhood a better place for everyone. With this being an election year for city and school trustees, it was even more important - two of the candidates for our city ward were at the meeting, and it was a chance to pick their brains too.
Well, gotta go - there's a forum tonight on the city election that I want to go to. More later.... maybe.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/ia/programs/neighbourhoods/
Link to the program site.
The meeting was really informative - a powerpoint presentation that supported the talk (instead of distracting from it) and a chance to talk with and network with area residents and business owners. Of course, the biggest thing was Crime... Being in the West End has been an eyeopener for me as far as what people are like. The other items we talked about were physical environment, Parks and Recreation, Housing and Community Involvement.
The best part was watching different resident getting together, figuring out what we can do to make our neighbourhood a better place for everyone. With this being an election year for city and school trustees, it was even more important - two of the candidates for our city ward were at the meeting, and it was a chance to pick their brains too.
Well, gotta go - there's a forum tonight on the city election that I want to go to. More later.... maybe.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/ia/programs/neighbourhoods/
Link to the program site.
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