Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
counting the commitments
well – it’s two o clock and i’ve already far surpassed the normal workload for the day – abusive members of the public, protests and all….. i surprise myself sometimes at how well i am able to handle the issues that arise in my place of work – that actually, i really am pretty good at what i do (even when operating with a slight hangover, a cold, and only 4 hours of sleep).
i’ve got a lot on just now and keep making new commitments, not out of obligation, but because the divergent weirdness of my life seems endlessly fascinating to me at the moment – i don’t really want to let go of any of it. i made the list below as a way of reminding myself of what things are in the schedule not to be forgotten in the pace of taking possession of my new home and moving in (this being a complicated process). my plans for the weekend include turning my old G3 laptop into a music server and making it function as part of my stereo system, designing a piece to work on for the may 7th art and craft show/auction, and taking apart the chinese bell tree i have no use for so i can turn it into an set of hanging chimes. plus, i also have to start packing, book a mover, and my friend harsfa has threatened to visit on saturday if the weather isn’t too yuck.
one major missing thing is the need to start playing my fiddle again (and working the vocal cords) since it’s been ages since i’ve taken music seriously and i’m starting to really long for it. the party last friday reminded me that i love my violin more than almost anything else in the world and i’ve been woefully neglectful of late (unforgivable!)
so yup – i’m counting the commitments right now, knowing that with my really good headspace i am pretty confident of getting most of these completed within the necessary time period. (sheesh – i just looked at the time – it is now waaay after two – i got dragged away for more working….)
Life:
Union Convention – April 8-10
Moving – April 29th
Seattle – April 30th
Victoria – mid-May
Seattle Folklife Show – May 28th
Projects:
Writing Piece for new online magazine – Fear of Monkeys (soon)
Campaign bio and speaking points for PSAC BC elections (April 7th)
Talk for Bob Everton Colloquium (May 6th)
Piece for Art & Craft Auction to benefit the Hastings 7 (May 7th)
The Little Sister Guide to Fighting Big Brother (book – ongoing, completion Dec 2005)
School:
Paper for Psych 323 (Due May 31)
Final Exam for Psych 323 (May 31)
worth on the planet?
it’s been one of those plug-in the headphones and work like crazy days. there is something about reformatting 100-page reports for the internet that depresses the hell out of me… my temperment is not so suited to tedious monkey-work, and after a day of it i start to wonder about my worth on the planet. i really am thinking that the minute a union communications position comes up i should get the hell out of here…. i mean, if i am going to stay in communications work i’d like to get back into regular strategic communications and out of technology project management. as long as i stay at fisheries i’ve been pigeon-holed as a geek and that’s probably the role i will stay in…..
there’s a lot of pressure here at work right now to assume a larger supervisory role for communications-technology work across the region – but with only a single person working for me now i’m afraid of overloading both her and i without getting the functional resources we need. it wouldn’t be so bad if everyone used the same systems – but unfortunately we have the most chaotic server and systems set up i have ever even heard of – which means having to navigate multiple environments to complete essentially the same tasks. i’m supposed to be working on an integration project when we move to the new internet server but since this is the busy time of year for us – i’m not getting to what i have to do on that yet.
i have a union meeting tonight and am meeting jess later for drinks – this should all make me feel more sane — for the meantime i think i might steal a little time at the end of the day to work on my book….. useful yes?
is this the twilight zone or what?
to answer the question of the day: yes, i am now a homeowner. i handed over my deposit last night and the next few days are to be spent dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. i will be moving at the end of april and then will plan a sleep-over housewarming for all you city folks to come and see.
now i have to start packing.
no, i don't want a free newspaper
the last three weeks have seen a free newspaper blitz during the commuting hours of the downtown core – promotions for the regular papers (the province, the sun) are all well and good, but what has spurred the whole rush is the introduction of two new free news dailies aimed at the “younger” market (that would be gen-x and under) – the metro and 24 hours. supposedly i would fit into this market, given that 32 is apparently considered within the target range for these rags – but if so, i would like to know why i’m being spoken to like a 12-year old?
both the metro and 24 hours contain news stories pared down into an infotainment format, with all journalistic pretenses removed (including the very basic standard of spelling and grammar). it’s not like the average canadian newspaper holds these standards very high in the first place…. but come one – page two of the first edition of 24 hours boasts an article (with photos of supermodels) titled “sexy: more than skin deep” while page six amounts to nothing more than an advertisement for condos in the downtown core. almost every news story is simply pulled off the reuters newswire (tip to editor – learn how to spell reuters) and there is almost no local substance beyond the advertisements.
it seems these new freebies are a product of corporate worries that younger readers aren’t buying newspapers. while it may be true the purchasing of newspapers is on the decline, i believe the introduction of these dailies misses the mark entirely and fails to recognize that those of the computer-saavy generation tend to get our information primarily online. the reality is, if i want reuters news stories, i will just go to the website or to another news aggregate such as google and select from the topics i am interested in rather participate in the cutting of old-growth forests to get material more expediently tranferred via digital media. it’s a shame to see more environmental destruction (and more clutter on our urban streets) with no actual purpose beyond making the rich men more money.
so no, i don’t want a free newspaper – i want good journalism free of advertising even if it means paying a nominal sum – but i guess i don’t fit into the sterotypical target market, so who would listen to me?
(an interesting side-note is that glen clark, former ndp-premier of bc is the president of the pattison-owned 24-hours which may explain why ndp-apologist bill tieleman has got a column in the new daily… after all, he was clark’s campaign advisor for many years. now clark and tieleman cozying up with staunch socred-turned-liberal jim pattison? ick.)
exhaustion
according to the woman who reads tarot for my mother this is a good time for me to buy a house and making a good investment – it’s in the cards she says. i suspect this positive reading had some influence on my parent’s decision to guarantee the mortgage i signed the papers on yesterday. this afternoon i removed the subjects from the conditions of sale and moved my deposit from the savings account into the chequing so i can hand that over tonight.
in the past ten days i found a house & moved forward with that, told the story of my divorce at least eight times to various creditors and bank people, drove to chilliwack to see my lover, went to victoria to see old friends and party, met a new person with whom i spent two days, started a new employee at work, visited my parents, and gone many nights without sleep. today i am coming down with a cold and i think i know why – total exhaustion on every front. good exhaustion – yes – very good – but becoming ill nonetheless…..
if i catch up on my sleep, i’m sure i will get better in no time – at least i need that to be the case as work needs me this week.
Red Cedar 