Gym Lightning

I've been getting back on track at the gym. A favourite workout is to swim at CARI on Saturday morning, followed by a run at another facility. It is not convenient, but it is a good start to the day.

My running has not been fast, but tonight, it bounded by a quantum leap in the right direction. A guy next to me started running at X mph, and I tried to match him. In 2007, this would be an easy pace, but right now it was above my range.

I stayed with the guy through 2 miles and sure enough, he stopped. I finished through to 3 miles. I don't think that I am a better runner. After all, he may have needed to hit the washroom. Who knows. The point is that he helped me raise my game. And for that I say: thanks.

Today and Felicia

'Tis another birthday. This story isn't about this year but rather last year's milestone, my 40th birthday.

The Saint Louis film festival occurs during November. As it happened in 2009, one film had a single showing, on my birthday. According to the summary on the website, it was a Romanian movie about a 40-year-old Romanian woman, Felicia, who lives in Amsterdam. She had been away for 19 years (as I had been). She returned every holiday to see her family (!), but she hated the travel and found it increasingly difficult to leave her homeland. The summary said it was about her struggles with identity, family, and aging.

Though I had considered many grand plans, throughout the year, for my birthday (London? Paris? all-night partying?), I hadn't acted on them. Now, in mid-November with no plan (and many queries from friends "how will we celebrate?"), I was obsessed. I re-read the film description dozens of times.

I decided to spend my 40th by going to see this indie film, alone. I wanted it to give me insight on my own life: secretly, I knew I would be influenced by Felicia's decisions. O Felicia, show me what to do! Our fates will be paired forever!

And so I sat in a dark theatre, almost empty save for 9 Romanian strangers. In short, the movie was awful. It had no plot and only barely matched its eloquent summary. It was 90 minutes of a daughter and mother arguing at an airport. Worst of all, it didn't tell me that I should move home.

The movie was so bad that it was a running joke for a couple of weeks (I did have several big birthday dinners that week, and it made for a good story). However, I eventually learned the lesson. If I really needed a foreign film to guide me on big Life Questions, then I already knew the answers.

Add the Vancouver Olympics, and voila, here we are, writing from Charlottetown. I had dinner with my family last night, and more dinners to come with friends. My first birthday season on PEI since 1990.

Thank you, Felicia. My dear, it has been quite a year.

Lest We Forget

I went to the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in Charlottetown today. I don't know if I had ever been before, but 20 years away gives one some perspective.

It was a cold day, but no one complained. Who would dare complain about some chill in the face of what our veterans have endured.

Later in the day, I visited V and C and the family. After a terrific meal (local organic chicken), we watched a documentary on the NFB website. It was about World War II. Both appropriate and fascinating.

CC

November Rain

Last week was pretty rough on multiple fronts, but it was a good weekend, despite the endless, cold rain.

Good news: I swam and ran, both for the first time in ages. I took a break from running, but I finally admitted to myself that my hair length was preventing me from swimming. The solution: buzz it. My hair is almost as short as it was in 2007, when I seriously mowed it down to make swimming easier. (Not in terms of lap times, but just ease of maintenance).

We'll see if I get faster as a runner. My alltime record for 1 mile was at the same time, in the spring of 2007. Though putting the miles is the dominant factor, I do think improved heat dissipation helps as well.

CC

Milestone

Some news over on Pedaling PEI... 5000 km (~= 3100 miles) for the year! That is some serious pedaling.

Congrats!

CC

Election Signage

Check out some of the signs around town!



I have posted these to Facebook, where only my friends can see them. I figure since they are public, I can also post here for those not on FB.

I am avoiding overt text on here so that Google won't index the words. In this way, things stay relatively anonymous.

First Pick

Alrighty, I'm back from the Big Trip and the London thing is off, so it is time to start planning some stuff. Keen readers know that I have some big plans for my return.

I've made my first pick. I saw a recent CBC news item that the PEI Association for Newcomers needed volunteers. They need people to help newcomers (to PEI, and to Canada) discover PEI. Often there are language barriers.

Count me in. I'm not exactly sure why but this flipped the right buttons for sign-up. I like the diversity aspect and also the fact that I have been from away for so long that I need to discover things as well. I meet with them early next week.

Next up: websites. I've whittled one idea down to a true sweetspot, and will start that soon. I need a web domain and a 'brand'. I have some in mind and may run them past readers via email / in person.

CC

Saint Louis

I'm back from a great trip. This was up there with Paris and Hawaii as one of the alltime greats. This is a bit surprising, as I'm so familiar with Saint Louis, but my friends and colleagues, the energy, and the weather really won me over.

It was 70 F = 22 C and sunny for the entire trip. I wore only sandals (quite a gamble).

Though I couldn't see everyone, I caught up with a few disparate groups (including my old client site, the microbiology folks, and the Dinner Club gang). Every lunch and dinner was an event. In a way, it was a lot like my Christmas vacations of yore.

A major bonus was a partial stay with BryGuy and zee Librarian. Great to see them and everyone else!

As the week went on, I shifted into conference mode, a major reason for the trip. It was terrific. The energy was palpable. I must have chatted with 40 different people from my old employers. Even better, the speakers were great. People are raving about it on Twitter.

For those in Saint Louis, the conference was centered at The Pageant (and some other venues). I've seen Ani Difranco, Joe Satriani, and Eric Johnson there. I have now seen Guy Steele and Douglas Crockford there too (they are just as huge, within computer science). It was very neat and I'm telling you: StL's stock as a tech center is going way up due to this conference.

It is good to be back! It is a bit chilly here but I'll be happy to get back into my routine.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

It is a bit of a weird dream: I have moved back home and yet am in Saint Louis for the first (Canadian) Thanksgiving. The good news is that my Christmas travels will consist of driving anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes.

In the US, Thanksgiving is on par with Christmas in terms of being a major holiday. That isn't true in Canada, so I chose to travel to attend a conference.

It has only been 4 months so it feels very natural to be back! 80+ F and sunny today!

CC

Open Government

I find the notion of Open Government to be intriguing. The idea is not to produce more data by the government, but to shed light on existing data, to present it in modern and innovative ways. A bonus is turning governance into an efficient feedback loop where citizens produce their own data, influencing decisions.

This article in MacLean's describes a modest project in Vancouver regarding trash pickup days. It may seem like a humble thing, but the technology and the idea is not. Note the dozen of other projects that are starting up.

In related news, I am going to Saint Louis in a week to visit friends and attend a conference. One of the sessions at the conference is on Open Government.

In even more related news, my father recently announced his candidacy for mayor in our town. I was hoping to link to something online, but despite the press, I can't find anything online. My sister and I did post to Facebook, with enthusiastic responses from friends and family.

I just realized today. If Dad were to win, could I help with technical solutions to Open Government, starting in the small town? A new mayor and a tech visionary awaiting a mission: that might be interesting.

CC

Update

Just a quick update...

• I thought I was going to Europe on a trip for work, at the end of September, but that has been postponed.
• After the 13 km run for Terry Fox, I feel fairly fit for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately, I also feel exhausted. It has been a long week.
• I only have 2 TV channels and have not yet unpacked my remote control. For those on PEI, I am rocking channel 8 and 13. Surprisingly, I love it. I'm watching much less TV, and yet I still get The National and Compass. I find that I'm watching more stuff online now (which I used to hate).
  
• It has been 3 months on PEI. I have some big ideas about contributing to the community, but I've been slack on all of them. I have another trip (personal) coming up in October, but after that I hope to really get started on some ideas.

CC

Terry Fox

This morning was the Terry Fox Run across the Confederation Bridge.

It was a gorgeous day and a fun run. On the NB side of the Bridge, there were several thousand people. It was one of the biggest events I've been in, larger than anything in Saint Louis, except possibly the marathon. Here is a pic in the Globe and Mail.

I'm pretty wiped now. I was up at 4:30 am and stood around for 2.5 hours after the school-bus ride to NB.

Consequently, it is hard to describe the atmosphere. Suffice it to say that people were in a good spirit, and there were all kinds of participants: wheelchairs, baby strollers, etc.

CC

Running the Bridge

I'm running the Confederation Bridge on Sunday, as part of the Terry Fox run. It will be 9 miles = 13 km, and highly symbolic of my return home, as I'll be starting on the NB side and running back to the Island.

Here is my page if you would like to donate towards cancer research. My thanks to my parents for helping out with the first donation.

For those who may not know Terry Fox's story, check out the Wikipedia article. He is a modern-day hero among Canadians.

Today

There are a lot of memories being shared on Twitter. I feel as though I have nothing left to say. But this is not to imply a callousness, or that I have forgotten that day.

Here is a link to my 2006 post about a moving quote, one which defines the era, in my opinion.

Binky commented on that post, 4 years ago. A lot has changed since then, and a lot has stayed the same.

Billy Bishop

Late yesterday afternoon, Vic and Colleen invited me along to see a one-man play, Billy Bishop Goes To War, up in North Rustico at the Montgomery Theatre. They were surprised at my ready acceptance (I have to be in a rare frame of mind to do things at the last minute, in part due to the burden of being an aspiring athlete and musician).

When we showed up at the place, things looked bleak. The theater is a renovated barn, and no one was there but us and 5 crew members. Yikes.

However, the place filled up over time and it was a delightful evening.

As background, note that Billy Bishop was the leading ace of World War I for Canada, and arguably for the British empire.

The play is his reminiscences from a retirement home in Florida in the 1950s. It was great! The show was a contrast: the stage had little more than a chair, relying on the actor to create a world in our imaginations; yet, on the backing wall, various film footage was occasionally shown.

Despite our shaky start, it was a terrific outing.... A big thumbs-up.

September

It seems that September has always been my new year. As I've probably blogged before, I remember the nervous excitement of the first day of school, replete with new sneakers, clothes, and supplies.

I even like the word: September. It is 2nd only to my birth month as an aesthetically pleasing collection of letters and sounds.

So, it is fitting that September is the first month where I'm really 'at home' here on PEI. I'm in my own place and not surrounded by boxes. I'm starting to find my rhythm again. e.g. I ran 10 km on Saturday and then went to a 5 km event this morning.

Even more interesting is that if I were still in Saint Louis, I would be making a trip to Detroit this week, for visa reasons. So long, Detroit! I'm grateful for the chance to work in the USA, but I won't miss that stress and hassle.

Happy New Year, everyone.....

a link through history

Two unique articles came across the transom in the last few days. I thought there was an interesting "link" between them.

Quote 1

This little town (Charlottetown) is cut off from the world in an aggravating way.

The coast of Nova Scotia is in plain view along most of the southern coast of Prince Edward Island, but the transfer by boat from Pictou takes three hours...

from this article, in 1896

Quote 2

During MacLachlin's decade as CEO [sic], UPEI has also seen its international enrolment quadruple to 500 students, about 12 per cent of its registration.

Would those world-class researchers, and all those foreign students, be on the island without the Confederation Bridge? These are not people who wait for the ferry.

from this article in the Montreal Gazette

Weekend

This is a late wrap-up for a weekend, but here goes:

Halifax

My cousin R and I drove to Halifax, to see R's brother K. K has a wife and baby daughter (who I hadn't met).

With a quick equipment pick-up from Binky (which was a fun mini-visit), we were a cargo-carrying convoy to NS. Just a day trip but well worth it. I had burned some "Onion radio" snippets for the ride, which R found to be absurd and humorous. (In another post, I might test the waters with an idea that merges satire and PEI.)

Lots of thoughts on the day... K is the youngest of our generation, so it is pretty neat to see K as a father. They have a lovely spot and cooked mussels and burgers for lunch. Since R and I are both feral dogs, we were grateful.

I was blown away by how much water there is in the Halifax area. Not just the big harbour but all the inlets, channels, and lakes. I later read on Wikipedia that the coast is very jagged. Neat stuff.

The infant is a cutie. A happy baby, she hardly made a fuss and just watched us. A fun game was slapping a hand on the coffee table, always near by as we are still getting our sea legs. Really great trip.

York Point

On Sunday, I caught up with two old friends. P, K, and I go way back to the playpen. I often mention that I was MC at P and T's wedding in 2001. (He and K are cousins, and K's house is next-door to ours, though about 3/4 mile of fields in between).

I don't remember the last time we were all together. I've seen P often, but I think it was at Christmas near 2002 or 2003 for three of us. Anyway, plenty of catching up...

P has two girls now (adorable in their own right). I haven't met K's daughter yet but thanks to Facebook, I can see the family pics.

Skype

As mentioned, I later used to Skype to video-chat with Miss G in Boston and Vic here on PEI. Video-chat is simply astonishing, though as Vic points out, I waited until I was just 25 miles away from him before I got on the bandwagon, missing out on 10+ years in Saint Louis.

Skype: I've reached 2004

I had a very full, fantastic weekend with dear family and friends, but the main update for now is that I just installed Skype.

Many readers will have already gone through the amazement, but I'm just getting onboard now. I just finished a video chat with a friend in Boston.

It is unbelievable! Free for Skype-to-Skype and $0.02 per minute to a phone! I knew all this, of course, but sometimes you just don't understand the neat-o factor until you go through it yourself.

EDIT: I've also Skyped with Vic, just tonight. He pointed out the irony of us using Skype now that I am back on PEI, about 30 miles away from his house. Point taken, mate, point taken.

So Long Cell

My 314 cell account is officially terminated. That phone (shown here) is 7 years old, and served me well. It has been to 4-5 different countries.

I don't have a new phone yet. There is no harm in calling my parents, though email is probably fastest. I do have a temporary cell so just write if you would like that number.

Sorry for the inconvenience!
CC