Canadian girl out and aboot

I got back yesterday and have STUPID amounts of work to do today. I spent the day doing my taxes and am going to meet with my accountant on Friday. I also found out that I have to go out of town on Thursday. Well, I don't REALLY have to, but it will result in less work in the long run, so I'm going to do it.

Fortunately, I had a fantastic vacation. I generally just spent a lot of time hanging out with my mom and dad. We watched a lot of movies "When did you last see your father?" (which wasn't great except that you get to see Colin Firth touch himself in a bathtub), "Brick Lane" (okay), "Extreme Encounters at the End of the World" (great cinematography, a bit slow), and "Catch and Release" (it was on TV and was somewhat amusing.)

I also got to visit with my good friend Heather, play with Fergus, walk Fergus, cuddle Fergus and wrestle Fergus and attended an interesting session on Ecosystems Based Conservation Management hosted by my friend Pete. The session was done by Herb Hammond , who creates sustainable plans for development using a conservation and indigeneous based model. Basically, what he does is use a forest-like model and then plan development into the model, preserving diversity and fragile forest life. Economics is incorporated as one facet of the forest model. It's pretty interesting stuff, but hard for me to describe.

Since Dad was pretty much out of commission, Mom and I also went to our family friend's for a Friday Easter dinner. My holiday was well needed and well deserved, and now I'm back at the grind. Can't believe how busy I am already. Yikes.

Well, I'm not really relaxing. I'm just enjoying the fact that I don't have to drive anywhere this week. Right now I'm catching up on stories that I should have written, doing laundry, writing random things and generally enjoying being at home.

Tonight I have to give a short poetry reading at local reading series.

The Oscars were really good. Mom and I phoned each other multiple times during the show.

1. I really loved Hugh Jackman's opening song thing.
2. I also loved the five presenters theme for the best supporting and best actor and actress categories.
3. There were a number of really good dresses and a number of horrible ones. What was up with Alicia Keyes' eyebrows? And my mom called me to comment on Sarah Jessica Parker's horrible fake boobs.
4. I loved the speech given by Devon Lance Black, the guy who wrote Milk. I was also touched by Heath Ledger's tribute.
5. Did anyone else think that it was horribly tacky that the camera cut to Angelina when Jennifer Aniston was at the mike? (It's over. Give it up. Who the hell cares any more?)
6. My mom called me to yell as Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens appeared onscreen. "Give them off the stage," she cried. I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. We want to see movie stars, people. Actual movie stars, wearing pretty dresses and accepting awards.
7. I wish Kate Winslet had won for "Revolutionary Road", but I was okay with her winning even though my vote was largely for Anne Hathaway.
8. I was also okay with Sean Penn's win, even though my vote was for Mickey Rourke.

I am ready to go back to Edmonton. My brother has this nasty plague and we actually sprayed the entire computer after he was done coughing his gross germs all over it. I really don't want this plague.

I am also feeling the need for my own space and routine. It has been a lovely visit, but I am starting to go a bit stir crazy and want to get home.

I have also been SLEEPING since I got home. We're talking hours of sleep, without any medication. This is fantastic, and I hope it continues when I get back to Edmonton.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I will be able to drive home before Thursday, due to the weather and winter storms. Thursday is still up in the air. I just need to keep on checking the weather reports and forecasts every day.

Yesterday was a pretty intense day as I drove across frozen prairie for about five and a half hours. I was alone in my car for the entire trip. As a precaution, my parents told me to pack extra food, a sleeping bag and an emergency kit. I called them every time I stopped so they could track my progress. It's not a bad trip, but being cold and alone made it more dangerous.

I arrived home in time to hang out, eat salmon chowder and then go to an intergenerational Christmas party with family friends. I ate a boatload of cheese and drank a very strong punch that contained mostly vodka. These culinary delights reminded me way too much of Mongolia.

We came home before 10 at night and I stayed up reading until about midnight. I tried to sleep in this morning, and my sleep was helped by the fact that my mom put Fergus in my room and he cuddled up on the bed with me. He's becoming a very sweet little dog.

Today Dad and I went and did a bunch of errands together. We bought new cross-country skis for me! Very exciting.

My brother called me at midnight to tell me that he was going to come crash on my couch this weekend. I don't know why he is coming into town, but I choose not to worry myself. Perhaps he wants to do some Xmas shopping.

Anyway, I am going to a Xmas party at the Vue magazine tomorrow night and going to see a dance show with Mari on Sunday. I may also go to a reading on Sunday night, but I'm not sure yet.


I have a lot to do today- Finish up my final assignment for food security class, and head to the Pork Science Centre. I was also going to try to get some shopping in, but that might not happen today because of my bro's visit.

I'm watching the election results and had to turn it off because it was making me feel ill. I'm wondering who all these Conservatives are, as I know a lot of people and few, if any of them, voted Conservative. It makes me wonder.

Let's talk about something else. I had a wonderful visit home. I picked up my brother on Friday and we drove home. My parents made us a lovely supper and my Dad, my bro and the bro's gf went to see "Body of Lies" Friday night. It was pretty good, but not amazing. Leo had skeevy facial hair and brown contacts and Russell Crowe had gained at least 25 pounds.

On Saturday, my dad and I went for lunch and then I came home and did some work and went shopping for pants. My bro cooked an Asian supper for the entire family and his gf. He made tempura shrimp, beef satay, stir fried veggies, duck and Chinese greens with garlic. My bro is a pretty amazing cook who doesn't get a lot of opportunity to use his culinary skills. We also enjoyed some wine, which was pretty awesome.

Sunday I stayed home for most of the day and then we went to a family friend's house for Thanksgiving supper. It was quite the event as more than 25 people were present. [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] was in town working the election, so I sprang her for a little bit and she joined us, which was cool. I got to visit with a lot of my extended family friends, and then I drove her back to the place where she was staying and we got to catch up a bit.

Monday I went for coffee with my friend Heather and then went to see "The Duchess" with my mom and her friend. This film is really quite well done, and will probably get Oscar nominations. Keira Knightley was fantastic, as was Ralph Fiennes. It's also an interesting story, with good acting and beautiful scenery and set design. If you're at all into period pieces, I would highly recommend this one. I liked it more than I expected to.

I spent the night at home, watching tv and hanging with my little dog. I spent a lot of time with Fergus, who is becoming quite the sweet little dog. He just likes to hang out and cuddle, and we went for a few walks over the weekend. I'm hoping he can come visit me soon. This morning, I called his name while I was lying in bed, and he came running up the stairs, jumped on the bed and then snuggled in for a little nap with me. He's becoming a very affectionate little guy as he gets older.

I drove home today and did the entire trip in less than six hours. It's nice to be back in my own space, even if I've got a lot to do the next couple of days. I'm going to a poetry reading tomorrow night, which should be fun.

Mom and I had a lovely day yesterday. She went to the market and I did a bunch of freelance related writing pieces. Then she came back and we ate market veggies for supper, including spaghetti sauce, new potatoes and broccoli. After that, we walked to the art theatre to see "Vicky Christina Barcelona", which I would highly recommend. Both of us liked it a lot more than we expected to. It's funny and rings true and the dialogue is excellent.

I fell asleep at 10:30 and ended up sleeping for 9 hours. This was miraculous and almost unheard of!

Today I also had a lovely day. Mom and I had coffee and breakfast together before she left. After reading for a bit, I walked down to the refugee camp in the heart of the city. If the refugee camp comes to your city, please go check it out. It's a free exhibit put on by Doctors without Borders. People who have actually worked with Doctors Without Borders take you on a tour of a simulated refugee camp. It's educational, informative and very moving and you can ask all sorts of questions. I learned an incredible amount from the tour, and would encourage anyone to take it.


After this, I went for a long walk and walked downtown. I ended up going for a fantastic brunch at a little place called "The 9th street bistro". I ate French toast with Grand Marnier syrup, a fruit skewer and mango juice. Then I explored some streets downtown, went to the downtown library and took the bus back home. Now I'm going to do some editing, read and maybe watch a movie.

Really, not much is happening. I have not been sleeping again. There were two days of sleep and then insomnia again. Last night it was my own fault. I started an addiction memoir. I've learned the hard way that if I start reading an addiction memoir before I go to bed, I'm likely to stay up late reading it.

It has been very warm here, which is nice. I've been spending a lot of time at home, working. Yesterday I went out to a garden outside of town, to talk to a guy who harvests and collects native seeds.

Today mom is coming to visit for the next few days.

I am back and am online and mostly coherent. The whole process was long and exhausting.

1. Dad arrived at about 7:30 p.m. on July 29th. We ate supper and then he went and stayed in a hotel.

2. On July 30th, we picked up my trailer. I was worried that not everything would fit, but we ended up having a lot of room. We filled the trailer in two hours, then spent the rest of the day cleaning.

3. We left Grande Prairie bright and early on July 31st. The drive was non-eventful for me, but Dad's battery died and he was stuck in Whitecourt for several hours.

4. August 1st- We carried everything out of the trailer and returned it in Edmonton. We then unpacked boxes for the rest of the day. For some reason, I was absolutely exhausted.

5. August 2- More unpacking, followed by a trip to Ikea. Dad hadn't been to Ikea in years and was stunned by the sheer amount of stuff in the store. I pushed him through and ended up buying a bed frame and mattress, a new dresser, four chairs, and a sofa bed. Yes, I spent a lot of money. We assembled the chairs and then started on the bed until we ran into a problem.

(more later)

Most people know this already, but I seem to have a multitude of readers who I don't actually know, so-

Here's my news-
I'm moving (again). I will be leaving Grande Prairie at the end of July to move to Edmonton. In Edmonton, I will be working for "Alberta Farmer Express", covering agriculture for Edmonton and the surrounding counties. "Alberta Farmer Express" is a provincial bi-weekly newspaper that goes throughout rural Alberta. I'll be working out of a home office, and am allowed to freelance as I see fit. I'm really excited about my new position, but will miss the people of Grande Prairie and my job here. Still, I'm looking forward to being in a larger centre, and being closer to my parents, who are still in Saskatoon. My decision to take this job is also part of a decision to start specializing in agriculture. There are few agricultural reporters, and I foresee a lot of demand for good reporting on the topic, as the food crisis and food issues continue to grow and develop. I'm really excited about the possibility of combining a knowledge in agriculture with my background in international development. In order to improve my knowledge, I'll be enrolling in a distance education course on Food security,hosted at Ryerson University.