2008 wrap up

It's New Years' Eve baby! Time for the last blog entry of 2008.

I got home from Toronto on Sunday and have spent the last few days enjoying being at home, mostly in my pajamas, often with a nice glass of Cab Sauv. We're going on a ski trip in, oh, 4 hours... which I haven't yet packed for... I am in denial about having to leave my house and more importantly my own bed yet again. Boo hoo.

So, I need to make this a quickie and get on with my chores. This year has been a good one for me all around, with some great trips and general uber busyness. For 2009, I am resolving to:

• blog at least once a week. This year I had 34 posts, next year I'll have (at least) 52
• limit business travel to Vancouver only
  
• take a couple of nice holidays, thanks to my overtime and holidays that are being carried over
• really settle into this house. It's been a year and we've barely done anything - I am starting with the little spare room which will soon become my home office. Then there's some painting and minor repairs to do before we move to the big stuff which needs to be contracted out - windows, doors, fence, landscaping, oh my.
• start eating healthier and getting more exercise
• get going on my university courses!

Not too bad, it's a big list but there's nothing wrong with thinking big, right?

Happy New Year to all!

One last blog from Calgary

Tomorrow I am heading out to Toronto for 3 weeks. Crazy! I have been so busy with work , I haven't been focusing much on this trip and now it is here.


Incidentally, Calgary is looking like quite the winter wonderland these days. I really love the view from our house, it is so treed in and the snow looks so festive.


Jasper is also enjoying the weather.




And here is a gorgeous shot of the tree on my front lawn:


I love how the snow gathers on the branches.

In other news, my grandparents gave us this fabulous stand mixer and I am dying to whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies:





I love it for its looks, if nothing else .

You want to hear about government waste? Here is an excellent example.

I just read this communique announcing the new policy on area of selection for external federal government jobs.

This is a prime example of a well meaning but ill thought out policy.

Basically, government jobs that were advertised to the public used to be open only to people in a reasonable distance of the job location, except under certain circumstances such as a skill shortage or executive position. The thought was, presumably, if we can hire Johnny Local to do this clerical job in Toronto, why would we consider hiring someone from Winnipeg or Nunavut?

Then, people started to complain. Why can't they be opened to all Canadians? So the decision was made to open officer level positions and up, to all Canadians and all persons living in Canada. (Preference is given to Canadian citizens, but citizenship is not a requirement.) This was a political decision as I recall but I cannot remember who made it. In any event, it seemed like a nice inclusive policy at the time, and I'm sure it made for good PR too.

Now it has been a few years since that happened and what do you suppose the result is? Departments have all but ceased external hiring for these levels. Nowadays, chances are if you are getting into the feds, you are getting in via an entry level clerk's position. No matter that you have a Master's and will leave that position as soon as the ink dries on your letter of offer of permanent employment. You need to get IN to get to the other, more senior level jobs.

And now, the decision has been made to open ALL jobs nationally. From receptionist to policy analyst, all external opportunities are now open to everyone regardless of where the job is or where that person resides.

As I said, a very well meaning policy meant to equalize opportunities for those seeking employment in the public service. But, but, but.

When the government hires a person for a position outside of their area of residence, it must pay the costs of their relocation. There is a cap for external applicants, but it is still an expense. Not to mention, the expense to the organization in testing and interviewing all of these people, whether they are ultimately hired or not. (No, it is not allowed to give preference to someone in the same city as the job.)

If 25 people from Vancouver apply to a job in Toronto, that hiring organization has to be prepared to administer all of the same exams and interviews. That could mean flying candidates or interviewers across the country.

More worrisome than the money involved is the expense in time. A larger area of selection equals more potential candidates. This costs more in HR and management time to deal with these larger pools of candidates, which also contributes to delays in staffing. Leaving positions vacant for months while a hiring process is conducted is certainly not ideal, but hardly avoidable under the circumstances.

The length of time it takes to hire people into the government has been cited as one of the main reasons why people look elsewhere for employment. The public service is facing a huge labour shortage and desperately needs high quality candidates. I will be interested to see how this policy works out, and particularly whether there are any funds earmarked for these additional costs.

To keep things interesting (and see how many people bothered to actually read this) I added a poll. Check the sidebar to the left.

Harper's Constitutional Crisis, day 2

I assume that most of you will have been following this on the news. What happened Stevie, did you forget that you have a minority government again? Or did you just honestly think that you could just bulldoze whatever you wanted through, based on the Liberal disjointedness and the recent election?

I really liked what Rick Mercer had to say on this, so much so that I will reproduce it:

Like a trip to Baskin Robbins

RICK MERCER

Globe and Mail Update

November 28, 2008 at 3:09 PM EST

Okay we just might as well admit it and get it over with. Stephen Harper is a genius.

Here we are faced with a global economic crisis. Nations all over the world are struggling to figure out how to protect their citizens — who are terrified. We've seen unheard of cooperation between political rivals all over the industrialized world.

But not in Canada. Not with Stephen Harper. Not on his watch. No my friends, he has one goal and one goal only and it has nothing to do with governing: how can he use this crisis to destroy the opposition?

And wouldn't you know, he almost did it.

Enlarge Image

Rick Mercer (Image courtesy of CBC)

Stephen Harper decided Canada doesn't need a stimulus package; all we needed to do was cancel the subsidy that political parties get.

Which would have saved the government about $26-million. That's about the same amount Harper spends on bodyguards every year when he visits danger zones like Thunder Bay or Nunavut.

But the real upside for Harper, of course, is that the entire opposition would have been crippled or destroyed. It gives me great faith to know that as our economy crumbles Harper is on the case trying to come up with new an innovative ways to cutback the Green Party's office budget and bankrupt the Liberals. And then the world will be a better place.

Maybe he has a point. Maybe that's why Canada keeps refusing to give the man a majority. It's not because he's a mean little man obsessed with revenge, but because we just have too many choices. We go to the voting booth and get confused. Like that first trip to Baskin Robbins.

Maybe we'd all just be better off if Conservative was the only flavour on the menu.

Well we almost found out. Because if Stephen Harper got his way on this, democracy would have changed forever. And not a single citizen will have gotten to vote on the matter.

Special to The Globe and Mail

I really need to get a thank you card for Stephen Harper though. After what I imagine was quite the crazy morning at the PMO yesterday, he postponed the opposition vote to my birthday. You know, to "let Canadians voice their opinions". Is that Harperspeak for "scramble together a real economic plan prior to the vote"?

Watching this Conservative government crumble in an unprecedented coup of a two party coalition supported stategically by a third, well my friends, that would be a better 30th birthday present than I could ever have asked for.

Things DO get better with age....

I have often heard people say that their 30s are the best years of their lives because they've figured themselves out and made their mistakes during their 20s. I always sort of thought my 20s were pretty good so I wrote that off as something that happens to other people.

I was thinking about it though and I really have learned a lot. I know how to take care of myself a hell of a lot better and certainly live more comfortably than I did at 20 (or 19.75, as the case may be). 10 years ago, I lived in a basement apartment with 2 roommates - it was a very nice apartment mind you, and I only paid $175/month. Ah, St. Catharines.

But I digress. I guess I was thinking about this because I am turning 30 next month which is a pretty big milestone. Your whole life you think back to certain times - 18, 21, 25, 30... I am pretty okay with it though. It's not like I have a screaming 20's club-goer lifestyle or anything. I expect that a month from now will be exactly like today.

I must admit though, the idea of being less than 10 years from 40 kind of makes me

New hair! And other exciting news...

I scored tickets to the Leafs game, and I also just picked up tickets to the Nutcracker Ballet in Toronto. Sweet! The hockey tickets are nosebleeds but there were really cheap so I'm happy with that. And I've never been to the ballet or the new Opera House so that should be cool, and help me get in the Christmas spirit since I won't be decorating at all this year due to my travels.

Oh, and I got my hair done today

What do you think?

Calgarian Culture

I couldn't help but notice this advertisement on the events list on the right of the page.

That's right folks, Viagara Falls. And a mere $89.



Also on deck for the next week is the only Flames vs. Leafs game in Calgary this year. I wouldn't mind going actually, I've never been to a NHL game and why not see the Leafs lose in person for once?

All kidding aside, it's been sold out for ages so it probably won't happen. Tickets for this game are not cheap either - I've seen up to $700/ticket for prime seats. There are so many things I would do with $1400 before that. (Like pay the mortgage maybe?)

Or possibly:

Slacky McSlackerson

Yep, that's me. I'm a bad blogger, I know. I've just been enjoying doing nothing lately, I have to confess. No real excuse.

This weekend I bought some art for my office:






And I am going to order this one from art.com to fill the last bare space on my wall:



All with nice black frames. The walls have been bare for a few months so it'll be nice to get something up finally.

I'm still trying to get up the motivation to develop some photos to fill all of the empty frames I have hanging around here. Maybe tonight's the night... we'll see. The season finale of my favourite show is on so I may not get around to it.

I'm heading to Vancouver on Tuesday for a few days after a nice stretch of being at home. Then back for Hallowe'en and we're into November. I will be taking a couple of shots at skiing at Canada Olympic Park before the real skiing starts up and I have to deal with actual mountains.

In other news, I am a student again - finally got registered in my first couple of classes at Athabasca University, hoping to finish my effing degree already. After transfer credits, I have 13 courses to go. The nice thing is that it's a distance learning university so even if we up and move again, I can finish it from anywhere.

Keep reading, I will be back more often, I promise!

Election Night in Canada

Here it is. Election Day.

As Rick Mercer so eloquently put it, the day on which there's nothing left for the candidates to do but get into the fetal position and wait for what happens.

I proudly cast my ballot today, secure in the knowledge that while I may be a little drop in a big pond, but dammit, at least someone, somewhere, will know that there is at least one Liberal in Alberta. (Gregg won't tell me who he voted for. )

So in my riding of Calgary-Nose Hill, Diane Ablonczy has won the past 5 federal elections under the Reform, Canadian Alliance, and Conservative banners. Last election, she won by 28,372 votes. This is the woman who was recently quoted in the newspaper saying that Preston Manning is her political hero.





Seriously.

I take solace in the knowledge that while we're deep down in Conservative territory here, the rest of the country is not so cut and dry. I will definitely be glued to the tv, hoping for an upset... or perhaps a coalition government??

Long time, no blog

AKA, I am all over the freaking place lately.

I haven't read the blog lately so if I'm repeating things, I apologize...

I came home from Toronto on Sunday evening after 10 days there and 5 in St. John's. St. John's was nice and a lot of fun but it wore me out. Toronto was good too but I was sure glad to see my own bed at long last. Gregg is still out there so the house is awfully quiet... minus the intermittent caterwauling a la Jasper.

But he will be flying out to meet me in Vancouver on Thursday (Gregg, obviously, not Jasper). I'll be leaving Sunday for 12 days of meetings, training, job interviews... I'm on the interviewing side this time though. It's pretty cool, I always wanted to be on the other side of the table and see how people present themselves - I could do without the pre-interview paperwork though.

When I get back from Vancouver I'll be heading to Edmonton a few days later for two more days of interviews. And then I think I'm putting a travel embargo on for a few months. It can be fun and is nice especially when you go somewhere with nicer weather, but 6 cities in two months is a bit much, even for me.

Todd, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear I'm getting excellent use out of the suitcase.

I do have lots of pictures to upload and I'll try to get around to that at some point.

Cypress Hills and Saskatchewan

The weekend of Aug 8-10, we went camping at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, aka Elkwater or the campgrounds of my youth. While there, we finally got to go swimming, and it was nice, sunny, super hot weather. Elkwater is 45 minutes or so away from Medicine Hat, so some friends met us out there and we stopped in the Hat for a quick visit with my grandparents too.

On Saturday, we decided to hike up Old Baldy, a small but steep hill overlooking the campground. From there, we went on a much longer than planned 9k hike through the trees and also through some (shadeless) meadows.

Here's the view from the top of Old Baldy:



I probably should have taken a photo of the lake, which was on the other side of the hill. Oops.

Here's the start of the Horseshoe Canyon Trail:



Farther in, desperate for shade in 34 degree weather:



And our reward for the trek: Horseshoe Canyon. This is the natural border between the Cypress Hills, which are quite forested and sit at the highest elevation east of the Rockies, and the endless rolling prairies.



Along the way, there was an unmanned outdoor Forestry Museum, which was kinda neat. This is some kind of antiquated forest clearing equipment:



And some of the flowers along the way:




After we came back from camping, I headed to Regina and Saskatoon for work. Didn't get much picture taking done, but here is a shot of the approach into Regina:


I regret not taking more photos, especially on the drive between Regina and Saskatoon - it really is the Land of the Living Skies. And I thought Medicine Hat was flat.

Anyway, after all that, we've just been chilling out this weekend. It was really hot yesterday and today, and then a severe thunderstorm warning was issued late this afternoon. A storm did roll in pretty intensely for about 15 minutes, then blew off.

Here's one last shot of the kitties enjoying the patio, shortly before the cloudburst:

My apologies, dear readers

I do have some updates but have been busy busy busy these days. We went out to Banff National Park to camp at Johnston Canyon last weekend, but I haven't had a chance to upload the pics yet. Look for a double post early next week, after we return from Medicine Hat and Elkwater (Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park) where we're heading off camping this weekend.

Also, next week I get to tour Saskatchewan for work so maybe I'll have a few shots of Regina and Saskytoon for ya.

Finally, the Stampede

Sorry it's taken me ages to get around to posting these.

On Friday, July 4, the Stampede kicked off in Calgary. There's a massive parade downtown and everything basically shuts down, including the roads and bridges into downtown but not including my workplace.

Anyway, after the parade we took the afternoon off and headed down to the grounds to take in the rodeo, which was actually pretty fun.

The admission gates:


Opening ceremony for the rodeo:


Yee-haw!







And this one's for Tim - the rodeo clown:


The Stampede is basically the CNE with cowboys. Midway, exhibits, new-fangled products, junky food (Gregg ate a bag of deep fried oreos and lived to regret it), gambling and drinking. The big place to drink on the grounds is Nashville North, which is a huge tent with (apparently) big name country musicians on stage. We passed it twice - once at about 1:00 p.m.:


This is the corral for the line up. That sign says: It is a 6 hour wait from this point. We passed by and laughed and said to each other naively, who the hell would wait 6 freaking hours to drink in a tent?

Little did we know, here was the scene by about 4:30:

Notice that the line extends far beyond that sign. Crazy.

The Calgarians sure like their Stampede, and I must admit that it's pretty good. All week, there are big party tents set up all over downtown and pancake breakfasts all over town, some free and some private. I actually saw cops, walking the beat and harassing the derelicts (and drinking on the job, as a matter of fact). Gotta love that Alberta Advantage.

So, back to the here and now. I'm busy redoing the guest room this weekend - paint, trim, doors, etc. I'll post a pic when I'm done (and now I've committed to all of you, it WILL be done before our guests arrive next week!). (What guests, you ask? Robyn, Trevor and Amanda are making the trip to go to the Nine Inch Nails concert on Tuesday! Whee!)

And since I just uploaded the contents of my camera, finally, here are a couple of shots of the front of our house (taken a couple of weeks ago). The majority of these plants came up this spring, yay previous owners for planting perennials.