1st World Problems

 My word it has been a while.  Over the time I have not been here many things have changed, as they tend to do. And the other things that haven't changed are the ones that will bring you down.  Now, you know I can't resist talking at least a little about politics. So let's get that out of the way.  Alberta, we are on the cliff. As of July 1, 2022 (according to Google) our province's population was 4,543, 111. That is a lot of people. Through the magic of politics, 42000 people elected our current leader, on their sixth shot at it.  I am sure you know about our current leader. How can you go anywhere without hearing about her next try at speaking her truth into existence and then backtracking on what she said like a three year with red hands telling you that they aren't the one who got red paint all over your walls? I never thought I would be able to say anything positive about our last leader, but at least Kenbabe never seemed to be actively trying to tear our p...

 I'm Back! It's been a while. And there really is no reason other than every once in a while, you need a break from the routine.  I also spent last week in Newfoundland with my mom and daughter. We spent the week living within our own schedule (for the most part) and stopping whenever we felt like it to see whatever sparked our interest. One stop was a shipwreck, another for an ice cream cone.  Whenever I spend time somewhere other than where I live I wonder whether I could live there or not. I think we all do some form of this. New places are just that, new. We are on vacation and have the time to poke around instead of the seemingly endless race of routine when we are living our normal lives.  Vacation places don't have the same issues. Unless you do research or watch the news where you are staying, you don't really know what is going on there. The politics of home and the difficulties in the local area are lost to us.  So when we think about relocating, are w...

 Here we go with a brand new month.  June brings with it many busy days, my daughter will be graduating from junior high, my son will find out when he goes into the navy, and it's finally summer. All very exciting things. June brings with it all of the end-of-school-year stuff as well. Last night we attended my daughter's last band concert at this school. She played, she emceed, she told some bad jokes. It was a good night for her. One highlight of the night though gave me a little bit of hope in our society. I would like to see it as a purely Canadian moment, but I don't think our country is the only one that looks out for each other.  Anyways, the venue the concert was held in has paid parking lots. For whatever reason, of the four pay stations that were in the lot, only one was working. The line got longer and longer as the machine wasn't exactly all the way user-friendly. This is where the good part came in. When someone would finish paying for their parking would f...

 It seems my post yesterday was written just a touch too soon.  In traditional narcissistic behavior, it seems someone just couldn't help himself. And he is back for another round of "let's see just how far I can push this province until I bankrupt it financially and emotionally". He is giving off real Ross and Rachel "I didn't cheat, we were on a break vibes" with this stunt. Our friend Jason Kenney is like that itch you just can't get to. After less than 24 of being gone, he came back. Someone on his team even posted a not-at-all staged video of him walking into the board room to get down to business. Our little dancing buddy even got a (not rehearsed at all) standing ovation from the ministers within. Only a couple of them had the dignity to look uncomfortable about the backward pageantry of it all. I guess the good news is that he has said he is only back in leadership until the UCP party finds a good leader. Looking at the majority of the candid...

 If you have been reading my written meanderings for a while, you are probably expecting me to be super excited about what happened yesterday. Unless you haven't heard.  Jason "Kenbabe" Kenney made it through his leadership review by the skin of his teeth (incidentally, I hate the phrase it makes my teeth hurt). And then took the podium. From the crowd's reaction to his speech that I watched, his announcement that he was stepping down came as a surprise for everyone.  My initial reaction when I heard was one of elation. Then excitement. Now I am worried.  Jason (the real-world embodiment of Randy from The Trailer Park Boys) was not the right leader for the average Albertan. Own an oil and gas company? Do your kids go to a private school? Do you believe that public healthcare is terrible, and those who can afford to jump the line are the ones that deserve health care? Then he was your man. For the rest of us, who work every day and don't have much of their paychequ...