Go ahead, where do I park my bicycle, huh?

I think I was in about grade four the last time I saw this. Em and I watched it while eating Goodies. I could remember having seen it long before then and it made me feel nostalgic - and curious and happy and freaked out, all at the same time. Now it makes me laugh because it's SO FUNNY!

I just read that Ernie was supposed to resemble an orange and Bert a banana. I did not know that. The interweb is a world of information.

It all ties together

Holy crap. I’ve been so ‘busy’ that I haven’t told you my good news: I got a job.

Not the job I interviewed for. A different one. A better one. ! The interview counted towards other positions in the department, but I didn’t think it would be anything like this: I am to be part of a newly-formed unit with the provincial government, analysing policy for greenhouse gas emissions reductions programs, which is my favourite topic, after this.

There were two planning conferences here last week - the main source of the 'busy-ness' - and at one of them, I went on a workshop where we toured around this very neighbourhood, stopping at various places to highlight that ever-unanswerable question: Revitalisation or gentrification? As we walked along a stretch of old mansions, I saw a very serene-looking balcony peeking through the trees of one of the lots.

It had little lanterns strung up. I felt peaceful just looking at it. It turns out that this is a housing co-op so we stopped and had a look at it and one of the residents, who was sitting on the porch, told us a bit about it. Then a woman I recognised emerged and offered to show us around. It took me a minute to figure out that she used to date an old friend in Cow Pie. I hadn't seen her in maybe eight years. She's doing her PhD in Sociology now and was actually planning on attending the conference the next day, which was interesting because it was a very small conference.

At the end-of-conference bash, which was the best fun ever, she invited me to a party at the housing co-op. I would get to see the balcony from within!

That was last night. I saw the balcony from inside the house, and it was fabulous, but I spent the night on the front porch. Parties where you know literally one person can be dull. B and I usually end up trying to look like we're thrilled to have one another to ourselves, but last night was different. The people there were welcoming and friendly, and most of them didn't know too many others, either. I met my first ever dental hygienist outside a dentist's office, a Coronation Street fan and another policy wonk. We talked about what 'wonk' might mean. I said 'appendage'; she said 'nerd'.

Appendage or nerd, ever since finding out about this job, a calm confidence has settled on me. Not that all was Impending Doom up until that point, but I had this prickly feeling of things being off-kilter. It' s like I'm on the balcony now.

And just so you're aware, this is outside my window right now:

I love this neighbourhood!

It's the new style

As today is my bloggiversary, I am celebrating with a slightly different version of the same, which I hope you will find at least palatable enough to come back.

Especially you, Lolabola. I am taking a big risk.

Happy anniversary, blog!

I welcome the new year with a story about another makeover, that of One Great City!'s slogan. The mayor is in the process of taking down the yellow-and-blue welcome signs in anticipation of something new. We're not sure what. He himself is vouching for City of Opportunity, which he referred to in the welcome address in the program of a conference being held here soon, capital letters and all.

It's a little bit cheeky, don't you think, jumping the gun like that? What about the public consultation?

I think this really sucks, and not just because I will no longer have a fun name to call this place on my blog. It's just really boring. If there's one thing that gives me a pain, it's the overuse of a word like 'opportunity'. Or 'innovation'. Ugh. We have an Innovation Drive here - it's new. Innovation Drive in The City of Opportunity. It's just more branding, another attempt to associate this city with an image that is really not true to the spirit of the place at all.

I was going to end this with a deeper dive into the issue followed by an insightful (another tired word!) alternative, but I gotta go! Folk fest is calling and I need to pack up my wellies.

The first of July

July?

Already?

July means Canada Day, which I like a lot. My favourite one was when I lived in Korea. I went up to Seoul with some friends to a party hosted by the Canadian Embassy. It was held outdoors in a greenspace with a hill. Nearly all attendees were fellow ESL teachers, congregating from all corners of our tiny peninsula (which is really only a peninsula on the map; in practice it is more like an island). Lunch was barbequed burgers, brownies and Kokanee. The music was all the usual stuff that, unless you’re at a Canadian Embassy-sponsored party, you’d never hear outside of Canada. And, unless you’re at a Canadian Embassy-sponsored party, you’d never want to hear anywhere. But I felt differently in this context. In Korea, I longed for a great many things I had never before thought twice about.

I felt so happy sitting on that hill with my friends, these great people I thought I'd know forever... who knew that one day they'd be just a poke away on facebook?

OK, so maybe the depth of these friendships has deteriorated over time.

This year was similar, but not as fun. It wasn’t bad company or shit music or dull entertainment. It was me.

I have been ‘hanging out, drinking’ too much lately to really enjoy it when I do it. Do you know what I’m talking about? Sometimes fun isn’t fun unless you’ve balanced it out with some nonfun, like work. By Tuesday, I hadn’t put myself through enough nonfun to really get the most out of the fun. I was all out of balance.

On Wednesday, I was back at it: I had my interview, worked five hours and finished two books. Thursday and Friday were similar. Therefore, I sense some fun on its way at the beach this weekend.

My attitude towards fun pains B. He could happily have ten Canada Days in a row, genuinely enjoying every moment. We are fodder for one another's hilarious jokes.