Dogs

I should be dog sitting the cutest little pup this weekend, and then our potential-dog for a trial over the holidays. I think I could make a dog happy... and if there was a dog in the house, we would need a bigger yard (YAY BIG RED!!) and would also have a reason to shout at the children about leaving things on the floor. At the moment those are just things on the floor, but with a dog... well, everything would change. I'm hoping to walk trial dog this weekend too.

Rob's funny

Anyone who knows me probably knows Rob too. And you would be familiar with his very bizarre sense of humour. Right now it cracks me up when he is 3 floors up on the scaffolding outside our house, knocking on windows as though he were on the ground knocking on the door. "Oh hello," he'll say when I finally get to the window. "Could I please have a..." oh he makes me laugh!! goofball.

Dear USA

So, I have often felt a lot of things that I would never post on the internet, but mostly I wasn't fond of living in the USA. Something didn't feel right. I didn't belong here. Tonight, as I cried about the changes that are possible now, I realized that what has been happening since I arrived here ten years ago for love has been a complete pile of shit, politically speaking. The last time I was in North America for an election Bill Clinton was nominated while I was at a U2/Sugarcubes concert in Vancouver, long before Bono was a figure in international politics (No - the Northern Ireland conflict was not International in the sense I'm referring to - it was a repressive colonialist regime in the only third world country in the West, but I digress). Then I moved overseas, where most of what happened here was like watching a farce played out in the pages of the WIDELY READ newspapers. Then I ended up "immigrating" home to Canada and finally to WNY, during a political campaign where "That's a Pataki" (with Pataki being synonymous with mistake/gaff/idiotic move) was the leading smear slogan - I still reference this but no one gets what I'm saying...

Anyway, while I cried a bit tonight, overwhelmed by seeing the people finally vote without corruption for something I could agree with, I realized that I never had any faith here. Clinton was demonized at the end, and then Bush cheated his way through two elections... how was I to have any faith?

As they said on Democracy Now tonight (and I paraphrase, for I've been celebrating), we'll celebrate with Barack and the others tonight, and then we'll reassume our critical stance, as journalists and citizens are meant to do in a democracy. But let's celebrate this for what it is -- it is a HUGE fork in the eye of racism and racists politics. It is a huge step forward for the voiceless, who might have a voice for the next four years. It is a signal that change is possible, even in the face of corruption. And to jump on the bandwagon, I will join the Obama Camp and suggest that this is an opportunity for hope. Certainly, it is a change from the regime we were forced to live under for far too long.

corporate media is lazy!!

I am writing to express my deep concern over the quality of the written component of your 'news' website. This evening I went to the WKBW site to see the coverage of the presidential election, and was intruiged by a "Top Story" posted on the main page of the site. When I read the copy below the story headline, I was disappointed to find no less than TWENTY basic spelling, grammar, sentence structure and punctuation errors in a "news" story that was less than 350 words long. This is appalling, and undermines any faith I have in the quality of "news" that you're putting forward. Although the story entitled "Lost Little Girl Goes Home" might be part of "You News," there is NO excuse for this kind of garbage being put forward as a news story, indistinguishable from the content generated by credentialed journalists. I am an unabated supporter of the freedom of the media, and the burgeoning citizen journalist trades, but there is no reason that the public should be subjected to content that hasn't been passed across the desk of an editor who will craft the story for public consumption. Citizen journalism exploited for corporate media purposes (and to support the job cuts of larger corporations) should become part of a collaborative project in order to protect the integrity of the professional journalism it stands alongside.

I can no longer send my school-aged children to your site for news, since I cannot be assured that what they access will not be checked for basic grammar and punctuation. As this is the case, can anyone be assured that the stories have been fact checked?

I stand in solidarity with the remaining employees who try to fill the news hole, but I insist upon a higher standard of professionalism in the content you produce or air. I only hope that the "multi-media journalist" job opening you currently post is filled by someone who can write a proper sentence.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

strike

So, my union at school may be calling a strike; we'll know on Sunday whether or not it is going to happen. I am pulled in two directions about it: one which says that it is unfair to the foreign students who pay so much to attend classes and don't have the benefit of the union, and the other, which wants to participate in collective bargaining for the things we're entitled to and have a right to demand. Ugh.

Also, I want to finish my thesis, so 20 hours a week on the picket line is going to cut into that kind of plan... but either way, I'm on board, and will do what I have to do as one piece in the giant machine of the university.

Honestly?

Between those stupid girls in their ugly Uggs, and the Ipod phenomemon, I'm investing in orthotics and hearing aids when I have money for stocks.

"A new warning for MP-3 Player users.
Scientists in Europe say you could suffer permanent hearing loss if you listen with the volume turned up loud for five years.
There's growing concern because now you can crank up the newer MP-3 Players louder and louder- without any loss of sound quality."

dogs

We found a dog and I'm in love. He's the sweetest pooch ever, and tomorrow I have to try to find the owners who let him go without tags, and with a confusing pink leash. While I am not inclined to draw gender stereotypes based on pink or blue, most of thug life is, and so "Chester" the boy dog's pink leash and too-tight harness beg a lot of questions. We had been wanting a dog, but knew that this would be a bad year for a puppy, so this find is a godsend, except that we don't know if we get to keep him or not. *sigh*

Grad School Started

So, classes started yesterday. Of course, I missed my first one. Honestly, I thought it was at 2:30 and went for coffee with friends, only to learn it was a 1:30 start! Oops!! I'm a little overwhelmed; I have to finish my thesis (sent a copy to the second on my committee yesterday), write my SSHRC and OGS applications, teach my Tourism tutorials, and take theory and an environmental politics class with two really demanding and very clever women. Ack!

And the commute is going to kill me. It will literally kill me. I spent 5 hours getting home yesterday, only to turn around and go back tomorrow morning at 7. I take on this burden like it is my fault that I have a family and kids, and that I decided to better myself with this education, therefore I have to make all sorts of sacrifices, but I'm trying to shake that feeling that this is mine alone to bear. We'll see how it goes.

I think its high time for another girls night out. Perhaps I should tell the ladies....

Saorise had her half -birthday. Four little girls came to stay the night, and three little girls remained when it was time for real-live human beings to function in the morning. Somebody couldn't hack the pressures of sleeping away from home - it happens

Fitness

I've been working for the Ride for Roswell all summer and yesterday was the big event - the numbers I have heard suggest that more than 6,000 people turned up and more than 2 million dollars raised.  It was an amazing event to be a part of.  And now I'm inspired to get into shape.  All sorts of women around me are raising their fitness levels and I'm in - I'm on to get back into shape, and to lose the extra girth I've developed.

Who knew blogging could be so easy? I actually came to Blogger to be all voyeuristic tonight and suddenly I'm posting myself. Whoops! It was never intentional, but since I'm here...

Me n' the fella printed some crazy shirts today and tonight - more than 12 hours of printing - some of these silly designs were FOUR prints per shirt. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that a big fat check would be arriving at the end of it...

Now we're relaxing with super Doon who was here to help with the house next door, and watching a movie. What a day!

I didn't type a keystroke on my thesis all day, but I DID figure out more about the recent history of Guatemala, learning more about the Death Squads and scorched earth policy... the world can be a horrible place for some people...