blue_lotus13 | The past couple of days....

I've been really quite busy.

1. A bunch of us went downhill skiing after work on THursday night. I only ski about every 2 years, but I had a good time on the mountain. I'm not a big fan of downhill skiing, but I don't mind doing it every once in a while.

2. I had a weird day at work yesterday. I went to interview the store owner of a new Muslim convenience store because I'm doing a story on the rise of ethnic food stores in GP. (We now have 2) THe woman was a tiny Somali lady with 7 children. She was an absolute sweetheart and we had a great time chatting and she modelled a bunch of headscarfs for me. It was quite fun. After that, I went to a farm safety workshop, which was entirely attended by Hutterites. The Hutterites, all of whom were farm managers, were absolutely hilarious and I took a bunch of pictures of them getting strapped into safety harnesses and playing with the harnesses.

3. I watched "Snow Cake", which I would really recommend. It's a Canadian/British movie starting Alan Rickman, Carrie-Ann Moss and Sigourney Weaver. Sigourney Weaver plays a high functioning autistic woman befriended by Rickman's character. It's moving, well-acted, and has a great script. It's also a very Canadian movie and was shot entirely in Ontario. Please watch it if you get a chance. You won't be sorry.

4. Today I am going to the funeral of a co-worker. I didn't know him that well, but I do know his wife. Ryan worked in the pressroom of the DHT for 11 years, while his wife works in circulation and often comes into my office. Ryan had a very aggressive form of cancer, so rare that only 8 others in Canada have had it. It was a child's cancer, so he couldn't get adequate treatment. The whole thing is very sad. I expect that the funeral will be a celebration of his life, with pictures, music and Jack Daniels and coke to be consumed in the back of the pressroom after the funeral.