the screaming pages

Start the celebration. Tonight is my first Oiler’s game at Rexall since we moved to Edmonton. We arrived in Winnipeg too late to see a Jets game. My first live NHL game was an exhibition game between the Canucks and the Wild. They share a farm team, the Manitoba Moose, and held a game in the old Jets arena.

Growing up in the Maritimes, I didn’t have an opportunity to watch NHL hockey. At university, my dorm was a stone’s throw away from Aiken Center in Fredericton and I often attended the baby Habs (AHL) games – especially if they were playing the baby Leafs. Like many other Maritimers, growing up I was a huge Habs fan. It seems most of us followed the Habs or the Leafs… The Oiler’s dynasty was in full swing but we were loyal to the eastern teams. Sure, I’m dating myself here. This was back in the day when the Nordiques were still in Quebec, the Jet’s were still in Winnipeg, and Hartford still had the Whaler’s. The Ottawa Sentators didn’t exist yet and no one imagined that hockey would fly in Florida or Tennesee…

The hubby has been to many games over the years, but I’ve usually been out of town when he’s managed to get his hands on Oilers tickets. Being from the Golden Horseshoe, he had quick and easy access to the Leafs and Sabres.

We have great friends who purchase season tickets each year and who were unable to attend tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers. So, they did what all amazing friends do – they passed their Club Access seats on to us.

Of course, I’ll be wearing the new Oiler’s jersey that the hubby gave me for Christmas. I should fit right in with this hockey obsessed crowd. I’ll learn lots in time for my second game (against Calgary Flames) on the 20th.

Technorati Tags: hockey, Edmonton Oilers, NHL, AHL

We had a wonderful new year and gathered together at a small house party with some close friends to ring in the new year. Fondue was on the menu and we all ate way too much. After some DVD music trivia fun and games it was time to head home.

2006 wasn’t a good year for me. I spent the first few months far away from the hubby. While I enjoyed my time in Manila, it would have been nice to be able to bring the hubby with me at least once. Alas, his position in the Canadian Forces ensured that that wasn’t an option this year. In the summer I rushed home to help nurse my dying dad, and on September 26 he passed away. I’ve spent the bulk of the year on an emotional roller coaster and am happy to see the back of 2006.

Despite all the ups and downs this year, I have a number of things to be grateful for. I have a roof over my head, warm clothes in the winter and cool clothes in the summer, food on my plate, and a job that I love (most days). Traditionally, we adopt a needy family to support in December. This year, the need is so great that it seems our efforts hardly make a dent.

There has been a startling rise in homelessness in our city in 2006 (here and here) despite the booming economy. There aren’t enough shelter spaces to provide a warm and safe place where those with no permanent residence can come in from the cold and spend the night.

A warming center (.pdf) has opened a few blocks from our neighbourhood and is hosted by the Crossroads Salvation Army. They don’t have a shelter license, so those in need won’t be able to sleep there, but it does provide a place to come in from the cold, get some coffee and food, and receive counseling if they so desire. The warming center is open from 11pm – 6am each day until the weather begins to warm in late April 2007. Funded by the Salvation Army and donations, and run by volunteers, this center offers something tangible to those in need. It may not be the desperately needed shelter beds, but it’s not empty platitudes and as such needs to be supported and the efforts applauded.

I have decided that rather than making a series of resolutions that I’ll never keep tonight, I’ll make a simple effort to support the warming shelter. It’s not much, but as I don’t know where to begin to solve the problem in our city, it’s the least we can do.

This evening, as we headed home for the evening, we took a short detour and dropped by the warming center with coffee, food and warm socks. In a few short weeks, I’m leaving Edmonton for the warmth of India and the Philippines. I know that hubby will drop in with donations on a weekly basis in my absence.

Welcome to 2007. However you exited 2006, keep in mind that 2007 begins with a clean slate.

Technorati Tags: new year, Manila, homeless, Edmonton, Salvation Army

I spent too many hours yesterday searching the house for my address book. After the unsuccessful cleaning session I decided to write up the cards for the addresses I had on file in my laptop and send emails to everyone begging and pleading for all the missing addresses.

We have a family tradition wherein I handwrite all the cards and envelopes and the hubby licks & sticks the envelopes. I had a couple put aside because I’d forgotten the names of a few nieces and nephews. The hubby had gotten into a groove in the lickin’ & stickin’ department and closed off those envelopes before I could pull them out of the pile. Needless to say, I now have to ensure I send out a quick email explaining the situation so that no one is offended when they receive their cards.

After the writing and packing was done, we had to make the trip to the post office to buy stamps. Man, they’re getting more expensive every year. If the stamps increase in price any more, I’ll need to find family volunteers to send a single package with all the cards and gifts. Then I’ll need to beg and plead to have them dole them out to the rest of the family as they see them. As it is, it’s $1.49 per envelope to the UK, $0.89 for mail to the US, and $0.51 for letters to Canada. Mom wasn’t kidding when she said sending cards and packages to family was going to add up to more than $100 this year alone.

Finally, to top off my weekend, it’s Sunday and I’m a few minutes away from hopping on a conference call. Working two Sunday’s in a row and I’m still behind in my workload. We used to joke at work that I needed to be cloned but now I’m starting to suspect that that might not be such a bad idea after all.

Technorati Tags: Christmas cards, work, addresses, stamps

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the traditional gift giving. Sure, it’s great to give and receive gifts from family and friends, but what I really love is our sponsor a family program we participate in at work. Families in need self-identify and we put together care packages with food and gifts based on the size of the family and the ages of any children in the family.

It’s always fun to see what people bring in to fill the baskets with. There’s a standard list of food that is always included, but it’s the little extras each person brings in to add to the baskets that make me smile. You can learn a lot about the people you work with by what they bring to share with others. Who’s a vegetarian, who’s got an addiction to which type of crackers or cookies, who’s a chocoholic, who never grew out of children’s luncheon snacks and who prefers desert over the main meal…

To raise funds for Christmas presents for the children in the family we hold coin collecting contests (bragging rights go to the department that raises the most money), bake sales, book exchanges (donations welcome), and raffle off gift baskets containing items donated by the salaried staff. Extra funds are used to buy presents and items to donate to local children’s charities. Extra food items are sent to the local food bank.

I’ve been participating in the program for 8 years (have I really been working at the same place for that long?) and it’s one of the reasons I haven’t yet been motivated to move to a different company. You can measure a company and its people by the type of work it does in the community and the type of things that it gives back to its employees. The Christmas program supporting internal employees is one of the best examples of sharing with others that I’ve ever experienced.

Another favorite Christmas tradition we have in our small family is charitable donations in place of Christmas presents. The hubby and I started doing this a few years ago when my dad complained that he didn’t need anything to add to the clutter at home. Rather than not sending a gift, we decided to make a donation to charity on behalf of our friends and family members. It was a hit with dad, since he got a tax-receipt for the donation (Scots are notoriously frugal – I wonder why it never rubbed off on me). We pick a charity that has meaning for the recipient – diabetes research, cancer research, etc. It seemed to go over well, so we’ve continued it for the past few years. Mom has pointed out that there is a downside to donations – there’s nothing to unwrap from open under the tree.

This year, I think this year we’ll find something small to send along with the donation…we’ll see what the budget allows.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, gift giving, sharing, donations, charity

The hubby and I were posted to Winnipeg from 1998 through 2003. I like to say that after spending 5 winters in the ‘peg, I’ve done my time in purgatory and will immediately be going straight to heaven. Other than meeting some amazing people while we were there, one thing we really loved about Winnipeg was the variety of different restaurants in the city. Pick and ethnicity and you’ll likely find a restaurant where you can nosh on your favourite nibbles.

While watching the CTV news in Winnipeg tonight I caught a story on the Diner’s Digest website. This site lists all restaurants with health infractions that resulted in the restaurant’s closure. Restaurants will be listed for a year. There’s also a link to restaurants convicted of violations along with the fines levied.

The closures list includes restaurants that were closed due to fires, broken dishwashers, and rodent or other pest infestations. I’m the curious sort so I had to check out the site and determine how many of the restaurants on the list that I’d eaten at in the past. I’m happy to report that I’ve not eaten at any of the restaurants on the convictions list. I wasn’t so lucky when it came to the closures list. On the bright side, of the two restaurants on the list we’d routinely eaten at, one was closed due to a fire while the other was closed due to flooding. At least their food handling wasn’t in question…

It’s a very interesting concept and I for one would be interested in seeing a similar list made available in Edmonton. I do sympathize with the restaurants that appear on the list due to issues such as fire damage and can understand their complaint about the site. Despite the reasons for closure being listed on the .pdf file, owners are concerned that prospective clients won’t take the time to read the reason behind the closure before deciding whether or not to partronize their establishment.

Technorati Tags: Winnipeg, restaurants, health hazards, Diner’s Digest