How I Spent My Christmas...

For those of you who did not complete the Evelyn Woodhead Speed Reading Course...

1. After the 2007 experience in which 7YO - then 6YO - woke us up at 1:30 and we finally got up around 3:30, he was told not to wake us until 6. I heard him at 5:09 when he came to "see if we were awake." At 5:19 he came back to ask what time it was (he knows how to read the clock). I said, "It doesn't count if you wake us up to ask the time," but we got up.

2. Lo' and behold, Santa had come. From us, 7YO received Pokemon figures, a Star Wars-Transformers thing (that about put me in the nuthouse last night), Mouse Trap, a game for his DS, and a game for the Wii. The Wii, you may recall, had been purchased as "the big gift," a family gift. Santa brought a car that you can drive on the wall, on the ceiling...

3. We had a quiet morning, a nice breakfast, and P started cooking around 11.

4. Although it was fairly mild, we had a nice fire going in the wood stove. This is a "thank goodness" because, well, see #5 below.

5. At 3:15, when we were about 20 minutes from sitting down to dinner... THE POWER WENT OUT. At first I thought perhaps a circuit had flipped, though I knew this was unlikely. Nope. Power was out in the neighbourhood, and I don't know how far beyond.

6. P made gravy on the woodstove, got the brussel sprouts and stuffing hotter on the woodstove. Everything else had been ready and waiting to be served.

7. I went and found the trusty battery-operated Coleman lantern, cleaned it off, and put the batteries in. P put candles on the table.

8. Things to know - we rely on an electric well pump for water, everything in the house is electric, it gets dark around 4:30.

9. We ate. It was delicious. We put the pie on the woodstove to stay warm.

10. We couldn't do the dishes. We couldn't flush the toilets.

11. 7YO whined about all the things he could not do without power. A good learning experience.

12. We played Mouse Trap by lantern.

13. We went to bed around 8. The house was still warm. ICF + woodstove = fabulous.

14. The lights flickered on around 8:30... and then went off again.

15. The lights came on around 1:30 this morning.

16. We have power. I'm posting this in real time.

17. There's nothing magical about 16 so I'm adding 17 just to avoid a pattern.

18. I like even numbers.

There you have it! I would never have imagined that, after all we've been through, we'd sit down to our first Christmas dinner in the house, in Canada, together and have no power. But, we knew there would be power issues in the area and one of the reasons we wanted this particular kind of wood stove was because we could cook on it. I consider this a victory of sorts.

And now, on to Boxing Day!

Not so random thoughts...

and in no particular order.

1. It's snowing, again.

2. P is back - for good!

3. 7YO is beyond excited for tomorrow.

4. Our builder is the devil.

5. The devil is in the details.

6. An anonymous donor gave $1,000,000 to the folks in Burnsville, MN, mostly already poor, whose apartment complex was destroyed by fire. Those are the stories you like to see.

7. Al Franken is up by 46 votes in the never ending recount in Minnesota.

8. Another expat family has arrived. The folks at Alice in Canada crossed the border last night. Woo-hoo!

9. I love our wood stove.

10. I think we need to buy a snow blower.

11. We're starting to think that most of the people in New Brunswick are crooks.

12. We hope we're wrong.

13. Crazy as it sounds, Facebook and my blogger friends saved (some degree of) my sanity these past four months. Thank you!

14. I'm still able to get up from sitting without pain. Thank heavens for Cortisone.

15. I'm looking forward to a new year that is much less stressful than the past year has been.

16. We're trying to figure out what our next car will be. We're torn between a more practical vehicle for where we live v. a smaller, fuel efficient vehicle. Even if we could get our hands on one, we can't afford a hybrid SUV. Advice is welcome.

Okay, I have to go sequester myself and do some gift wrapping. Then it's one more run to the store before we hunker down for the holiday. Regardless of what you celebrate, or do not, best wishes for a wonderful winter weekend!

No Surprise

In a First, Gay Rights Are Pressed at the U.N.

By Neil MacFarquhar
Published: December 18, 2008

An unprecedented declaration seeking to decriminalize homosexuality won the support of 66 countries in the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, but opponents criticized it as an attempt to legitimize pedophilia and other “deplorable acts.”

The United States refused to support the nonbinding measure, as did Russia, China, the Roman Catholic Church and members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Holy See’s observer mission issued a statement saying that the declaration “challenges existing human rights norms.”

The declaration, sponsored by France with broad support in Europe and Latin America, condemned human rights violations based on homophobia, saying such measures run counter to the universal declaration of human rights.

“How can we tolerate the fact that people are stoned, hanged, decapitated and tortured only because of their sexual orientation?” said Rama Yade, the French state secretary for human rights, noting that homosexuality is banned in nearly 80 countries and subject to the death penalty in at least six.

France decided to use the format of a declaration because it did not have the support for an official resolution. Read out by Ambassador Jorge Argüello of Argentina, the declaration was the first on gay rights read in the 192-member General Assembly itself.

Although laws against homosexuality are concentrated in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, more than one speaker addressing a separate conference on the declaration noted that the laws stemmed as much from the British colonial past as from religion or tradition.

Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, speaking by video telephone, said that just like apartheid laws that criminalized sexual relations between different races, laws against homosexuality “are increasingly becoming recognized as anachronistic and as inconsistent both with international law and with traditional values of dignity, inclusion and respect for all.”

The opposing statement read in the General Assembly, supported by nearly 60 nations, rejected the idea that sexual orientation was a matter of genetic coding. The statement, led by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said the effort threatened to undermine the international framework of human rights by trying to normalize pedophilia, among other acts.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference also failed in a last-minute attempt to alter a formal resolution that Sweden sponsored condemning summary executions. It sought to have the words “sexual orientation” deleted as one of the central reasons for such killings.

Ms. Yade and the Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, said at a news conference that they were “disappointed” that the United States failed to support the declaration. Human rights activists went further. “The Bush administration is trying to come up with Christmas presents for the religious right so it will be remembered,” said Scott Long, a director at Human Rights Watch.

The official American position was based on highly technical legal grounds. The text, by using terminology like “without distinction of any kind,” was too broad because it might be interpreted as an attempt by the federal government to override states’ rights on issues like gay marriage, American diplomats and legal experts said.

“We are opposed to any discrimination, legally or politically, but the nature of our federal system prevents us from undertaking commitments and engagements where federal authorities don’t have jurisdiction,” said Alejandro D. Wolff, the deputy permanent representative.

Gay-rights advocates brought to the conference from around the world by France said just having the taboo broken on discussing the topic at the United Nations would aid their battles at home. “People in Africa can have hope that someone is speaking for them,” said the Rev. Jide Macaulay of Nigeria.

********
United States: Nay
Canada: Yea
Mexico: Yea

But, hey, let's keep in mind that the only two countries that have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child are the United States and Somalia. The rationale of the United States? That it could mean international law might trump U.S. state and federal law and the rights of parents to make decisions about raising and educating their children. Read into that however you wish.

Peace Fellowship

I just felt like posting something positive about a recent college graduate...

"Recent Hamline University graduate Sarah Houghton has received a prestigious Rotary World Peace Fellowship, one of just sixty awarded worldwide, and one of thirteen awarded to students in the United States, which she will use to earn her master’s in international relations from International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.

The Rotary Foundation awards up to 110 Rotary World Peace Fellowships each year, including sixty master’s degree fellowships and fifty professional development certificate fellowships. Rotary World Peace Fellows are chosen from countries and cultures around the globe, and selection for the master’s degree program is based on the strength of an applicant’s undergraduate degree, the relevance of their post-graduation work experience, and their anticipated ability to have a significant, positive impact on world peace and conflict resolution.

Fellows are recognized as future leaders in promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their lives, in their careers and through service activities.

Houghton, who majored in global studies and East Asian studies at Hamline and speaks Chinese and Spanish, hopes to dedicate her career to fostering peace and world understanding by addressing the roots of poverty in struggling countries. Currently, she is serving as director of a water project in Bolivia, also funded by Rotary International. There, she is working with engineers and craftsmen to provide clean water to Bolivian families who have highly contaminated wells.

Houghton graduated summa cum laude from Hamline University in 2007. During her time there, she received an independent research grant to study in China, where she spent time as a grant and publication’s translator for NGO Women’s Legal Aide and as a English teacher for CCTEC Engineering Company, Ltd. She also spent time as a math and reading tutor for elementary school children, was a Model United Nations teaching assistant and president, participated in mediator training, was a student orientation leader, and took a leadership role in several diversity efforts and events on campus. She received a host of awards at Hamline, including the Global Studies Student of Year in 2007.

“My professors at Hamline were instrumental in pushing me academically, mentoring me and helping me to reach my post-graduation goals,” Houghton said. “I chose Hamline because I liked the combination of the small school in a big city. I was impressed by the academic programs, student activism and the access to mentorships, due to the small student-to-staff ratio.”

An active volunteer with a number of nonprofit organizations, Houghton currently serves as ambassador for Etta’s Comedor de Niños, a community center she helped to found in Bolivia. She has also volunteered as a kindergarten teacher at an orphanage in Bolivia, helped out at a Minneapolis food shelf, and spent time as a language camp counselor at Concordia Language Villages. Houghton hails from Ishpeming, Michigan and graduated from Negaunee High School. Her parents, Bruce and Katherine Houghton still reside in Ishpeming. They met each other at Hamline University, where they graduated in 1974 and 1972, respectively."

Not bad for someone who is about 23, if that.

Update on the Knees

As some of you will recall, I've had one hellacious time with my knees this year. On or around 10 July I went to the after hours clinic, since I don't have a family doctor. She wrote a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and said to take ibuprofen. Sometime in early August I called the ortho to see what kind of wait we were looking at. The woman on the phone said 18-24 months. Longer story short, I got an appointment, for today, with an ortho in Calais, Maine. It's about 90 minutes on a good day, meaning clear weather and no border wait.

This morning 7YO and I went out to wait for the bus. It is always right on time, 7:30 sharp. At 7:32, I came to call the school closing line. BTW, they've had two closures in the last two weeks. Turned out, the schools were open, but the buses were running an hour late. So, off we went. We had to do the trick of shifting to first to make the first two downhill corners to the main road, Carlisle Road. Then, we slid a tad and I noticed cars a way down that had their flashers on and were crawling. So, I did the same. We made it to the school - the street of which was well sanded. The principal and the two teachers I spoke with looked at me like I was clearly insane to think of driving to Maine. Practically, and stupidly, in tears, I said, "I've waited four months for this appointment, I can't cancel it." I had some extra time so I knew that I could go slowly. It's all secondary roads.

Off I went, at about 8:00, but only after hearing that 18 cars had slid off the aforementioned Carlisle Road. I took it very slowly on 105 and was reassured by those being equally as cautious. After a while - it was supposed to be creeping its way toward 10 C (50 F) today - people picked up the pace, even passing me on a double yellow line. I was supposed to be at the office at 9:15 for a 9:30 appointment. Fortunately they are on Eastern time so I actually had 2 and quarter hours to make the trip. At 9:18, their time, I was sitting at the border. I arrived at 9:20. Whew! They had a sign, "If you are 15 minutes late you will have to be rescheduled." I would have sat down and cried.

I only waited about 5 minutes - after the 10 minutes it took to get me set up in the computer. The LPN, or whatever she was, took some more history and the ortho came in at what was probably about 15 minutes later. Let's even say it was 10:00. Hold on to your hats. I was with him for 45 minutes. I never even got that kind of time with my primary care physician doing a "complete" physical!

I won't bore you with the whole deal, except to say that after actually listening to me - something that the two doctors I saw about my knee in Saint Paul (one acronym: HMO) failed to do - he said that while I did have "very mild" arthritis in my knees, the real problem was Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. Reading this site I was, like, "Duh?!"He freaked me out when he asked about some things (e.g., Can you bend your thumb all the way down to your arm? Answer: Yes, in my non-arthritic hand.) He said I had "loose joints," said something about collagen, and said that, judging by my history (e.g., I rode 1600 bike miles in the summer of 1998, did the Breast Cancer 3-Day - 6o miles - in 2004 and 2005, have always done a lot of load bearing activity with, shall we say, an extra load?) I have simply trashed my knees. This all combined with being knock-kneed (I always thought it was just fat), a complicating factor.

So, he patiently went through a list of about a dozen options (e.g., do nothing, ibuprofen, heat/ice on up to surgery) and told me what he did (exercise) and did not (MRI) recommend and why/why not. We decided on a cortisone shot in each knee. He would have done my shoulder - which he said is likely a pinched tendon - but didn't want to do three shots and I opted to focus on my legs since they have been soooooo bad.

Then, having talked about the fact that I am paying out of pocket (I still have US health insurance, but it's a $2300 deductible), he said that he wasn't going to charge me for the shots. Huh? Wow. I don't know how much the office visit will be because contrary to the sign which demanded payment, they said they'd send a bill. I opted not to even ask. Ignorance is bliss - until bills and payday.

After picking up some milk (US$3.14 a gallon instead of about US$6.44 a gallon, adjusting for litres/gallons and the $), which we go through like there's no tomorrow, I headed back. The roads were great on the way back. 7YO was having a blast at a friend's house. Thank you, R, thank you!

My legs are a bit sore, but I can already tell a little bit of difference in how they feel when I get up from sitting. He recommended straight-leg lifts to work on my quads, but no leg extensions; ibuprofen, heat/ice, avoid stairs (which I already do when I can), weight loss (of course) and come back in four weeks. We discussed Synvisc, at about $1100 a knee. If the cortisone and dropping some pounds doesn't help I will consider it. At least then my deductible will be done and anything else for the year is covered at 80%! I just can't keep being so immobile if there is a good option.

So, that's the latest. Someday I'll get a call from the guy here. And, I'll go. Who knows what will be happening by then and I wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity to get in the door.

Oh, the really - is this ironic or coincidental? - thing is that on the way to Calais, the Fredericton CBC did a segment on the problems with the after hours clinics. Apparently, even though they post hours, e.g., 6-10 pm, people have shown up at, say, 9 to find the doctors gone. Turns out that the after hours' doctors are volunteers who come after their "day jobs." They have the right to limit how many people they will see or go home if there's nobody waiting. That was interesting to learn. Needless to say, health care here is in serious crisis. Then, I heard a segment about a pediatric nurse from here who has been living in the UK. She wants to come back, but they want to require her to do all kinds of training in areas in which she has no interest (e.g., psychiatry). She's going to come back and fight them.

As always, there you have it!

Reminders

Yesterday, 12 December, would have been my cousin's 53rd birthday. I say "would have" because Lisa died in July 2001. Her eldest daughter was several weeks away from her 15th birthday. Her younger daughter had turned 13 that March. Lisa was a successful business woman and her husband was and is a nice guy, also successful in his work as a hospital administrator. She had the "picture perfect" life - slender, non-smoker, great family, beautiful home... She was first diagnosed with breast cancer. It looked like she was going to be a survivor, but then she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Even with such an aggressive disease, they were ready to write up her success when things took a turn for the worse. Ultimately, she lost her battle with cancer.

Today, 13 December, I found out that a colleague found out yesterday that she has cancer. From her Caring Bridge site -

"Several months ago (August of 2008), she started experiencing back pain. After an initial MRI, she was told she had a fracture in her vertebrae. For several months Deanna diligently wore a brace to heal the fracture. The past two weeks, the fracture, however, got worse.

On December 8th, Deanna had another MRI and at the doctor's request, a subsequent biopsy of the lower back. She was admitted to the hospital on December 10th because the biopsy had come back malignant. She was admitted by the Spinal doctor, but the Oncologist quickly became involved. It turns out, the bone in the vertebrae had weakened, and had fractured because of the cancer within the back.

After a CT Scan, the news became worse, and that it was not only in the back, but had also gotten to the pelvis, with a couple spots on the lung. Because the form of cancer appeared to be estrogen based, the breast was still the likely culprit. This had not been verified. The doctors still needed to verify the source as the breast, so an ultrasound and biopsy of chest was proposed, and conducted on Thursday, December 11th."

On the 12th they confirmed that the cancer originated in the breast. She has started Tamoxifen and begins five days a week radiation on Monday.

Deanna is a successful academic, adored and respected by students and colleagues, alike. She is involved in her field - religion - locally and nationally. Like my cousin, Deanna's husband is a good guy. Like my cousin, she has two girls, 9 and 12. I am just stunned by the news. This is someone who is not overweight, doesn't smoke, is a vegetarian, gave birth twice (a factor related to breast cancer), etc.

Please keep her in your thoughts. Thanks.

Friday, Friday, Friday

Still working on getting settled. I won't go into the absolute and continuing nightmare of the house as eventually I'll have to wherewithall the update the other blog. Rather, I want to mention a few of the good things that have been happening...

The doorbell rang on Tuesday evening and it was one of our neighbours. They live across the street and a few houses down. She and her teenage daughter had come calling - with a Christmas wreath for our door and the daughter's "card" for babysitting. A sitter right across the street? Score! We chatted for close to an hour. That was a really nice welcome.

The next evening 7YO had his school's Christmas Concert. And, yes, it was a Christmas concert, even including a few less secular tunes like Away in a Manger. That was really weird. It was a great event, but weird to have it be explicitly Christmas oriented. BTW, the school has about 100 students and the auditorium at the high school was close to SRO. I guess it's really one of "the" big events of their year.

The next day 7YO got his gerbils, Brownie and Zipper. He didn't touch his DS or turn on the TV at all. Today, he did watch a DVD and, I think, played a little DS, but all of sudden he'd yell, "Gerbil break!" and go running to his room to visit them. He's having a blast.

Since her arrival last week, P has been cooking up a storm. We've already had ginger carrot soup and butternut squash soup. This evening we had a delightful supper of pumpkin curry soup, spinach salad, and roasted garlic w/ warm baguette. Yum. Let me tell you, immersion blenders absolutely rock.

Earlier today we stopped at the craft show - lots of very good local artisans. Alas, we don't know where we're going to put what we already have so we left empty handed. But, it was fun to look!

Tomorrow we plan to get our Christmas tree. To get to the main road from our house you go down our street (only one direction as it is a dead end), go down another street (only one direction as it dead ends at the turn to our street), and get on a road that takes you to the main drag. At the bottom of that road is the home of a fellow who sells trees. So, we can get one right here in the neighborhood. Then it's off to the farmers' market, of course.

Sunday will involve a lot of baking as I'm taking cookies to the department party on Monday. And, for me, it might involve a lot of shelf hanging. We can't put any more things away until I finish the closets.

P leaves on Wednesday. As soon as I drop her off I'll be on my way to Halifax to pick up a friend from high school at the airport. We met in French class in 1970. yes, we've known each other for 38 years!! Yikes!! She'll be here through Sunday. So, things are busy. Somewhere in all of this I've got to do more work for the course I'm scheduled to teach beginning in January.

It's getting cold. They're talking snow this weekend, but probably not much. Fortunately we should have a garage by the middle of the week. Again, weather permitting.

That's the latest from merry ol' Fredericton.

December?

It's been a busy week. P arrived Wednesday evening - in the rain, hallmark of our entire Canadian adventure. But, we were glad it was rain and not freezing rain or snow as we feared that she might end up spending the night in Toronto.

Since that we have tried to unpack - mostly kitchen stuff - and get a bit more settled. It is a bit inaccurate to say "we" as my legs have rendered me quite useless. I was great at folding the packing paper and bubble wrap for re-use, but forget carrying much of anything up the stairs. It is very frustrating as normally I would have done 5 times the "settling" that's been done thus far. There are blinds to hang, photos to hang, cupboards to organize... but I'm moving at a fraction of my normal pace. Oh, well. It will happen eventually.

We need to get 7YO's room set up as we have promised that when that is done he can get two pet gerbils. I had a mouse and a hamster (at different times) when I was young - though not this young - and when we stopped at the pet store I asked myself, "I agreed to this why?" Oh, well. He's soooo excited. I guess that alone makes it worth it. And, it is all about taking on greater responsibility - his, not mine!

P has done little more than unpack and cook. We had a nice quiet "Thanksgiving dinner" today. P got to play in her new kitchen! Tomorrow she has to buckle down and start studying. She's here until the 10th and then it's back to Minnesota for 12 days of final exams. But, come the 22nd, she's here to stay.

I can't believe that tomorrow is December. Fortunately I have no real holiday shopping left. 7YO's gifts are stashed in my office. And, we agreed, as a family, to work toward a more low-key holiday. We'd really like 7YO to think about it as more about family and giving and less about the gifts. Although P looked out the window this morning and thought that we might actually find a suitable tree on the back of our lot, but I think that next week we'll be going to the Farmers' Market to find one.

That's about it for catching up. I'm trying to follow what I can of the goings-on in Ottawa. I have to make time to do more preparing for the class that begins in early January. And, I continue to wish that I could move a little more quickly. But, as I've said before, we're here!

Imagine my surprise...

Yesterday morning I woke up and, glancing out the window, thought, "Oh, my!" It had snowed. It was snowing. I had no idea it was coming. I snapped this picture out the side door.


As I was taking the photo, I could hear gun shots. No kidding. But, yesterday was the last day of deer season. The things you have to learn...

We were on our way to pick up pup, via the Farmers' Market. We live on a street that, at some points, is probably at about a 45 degree angle; up from a street that, at some points, is probably at about a 45 degree angle. That street connects to a road that, while it eventually deadends is a major thoroughfare in the community. As I was approaching the "T" where you turn onto that road, we just kept sliding. All I could do was say to myself, "I hope there's nobody coming." Fortunately there wasn't. We made our way, slowly, to the market downtown, and then out to the boonies to pick up the pup. Let's just say that the first time I went I told the proprietor, "I'm glad I didn't have to find my way at night," meaning it would be frickin' dark. Her reply was to laugh and say, "Heard the banjos, did ya?" But, telling myself not to care about the people who were probably annoyed, I refused to drive any faster than I felt comfortable doing. Ask me how glad I am about our new Blizzaks! But, what was with the radio - whose station is just up the street from the market - saying that we were expecting a few flurries. Had they looked out the window?

We then made our way back home and seeing that the road had not yet been plowed decided to forego yesterday's scheduled swimming lesson and hunker down. Unlike yesterday, which was gray, gray, gray, today looks to be a beautiful blue sky with sun. And, no hunting. Maybe we'll take the pup for a stroll in his new neighborhood.

Here's a photo taken yesterday afternoon. This is what I see when standing at the kitchen sink.


Beats the view we had in Saint Paul!

Here's what's happening...

1. We have Internet access. My lifeline. On Wednesday, I stopped at a friend's house to pick up blinds that I had had sent to her place, not knowing when I'd be able to receive mail at home. She said, "So you don't have utilities?" And I said, "Oh, we have water, electric..." She cut me off and said, "But no Internet. It's 2008. I consider that a basic utility." I was really pleased to hear somebody who "got" that!

2. We went to a hotel on Tuesday night because the house/construction zone was just too crazy. We came back on Wednesday. Phone and Internet went in Thursday. Almost all of the builder's stuff is out of the house. With a few minor things, what will remain inside is what may end up being know as "the list of 1,000 deficiencies." Oh, well.

3. This morning 7YO and I were outside while the guys framed up the concrete forms for the garage. He wanted to play and I thought, “Great!” I told him he could go just to the edge of the trees as long as he could see me. Then it dawned on me that I had been told that one of the concrete guys was going to be late because he was going to “get in a morning hunt.” So, I asked, “What are the rules about hunting around here?” Two of the guys debated whether it was 250 metres or 400 metres from housing. Then D said, “If he’s going in the trees he ought to have an orange vest on.” Holy @#$% Batman! So, I told 7YO to stay in the “yard.” That would be the open area that is the septic field. Fortunately, deer season ends this weekend. Life in the "country."

4. I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. In the US, I hadn't set foot in a Wal-Mart for years. But, here my choices for run of the mill household stuff are basically Zellers or Wal-Mart. And, Zellers just doesn't seem to offer much in the way of selection. Some things I can get at Canadian Tire. Others, I cannot. I hate shopping at Wal-Mart.

5. It's Friday night. Tomorrow we get to go pick up our pup from the kennel. Well, he's 9 and a half, but he's our pup. He's been there for five weeks. I would never have dreamed it would be that long... 7YO has a new job - taking pup outside. He's never not had a fenced in yard. I wish it weren't already so damn cold. And dark. I hope I don't end up dealing with his encounter with an animal while I'm here alone. Do skunks hibernate?

6. It's Friday night. P arrives Wednesday night. Since her flight should get in before this time, that's technically fewer than five days. I think I might stay in bed for two weeks. She can't wait to get in the new kitchen, clean, organize, etc. I'm toast. Dried up, left in the toaster too long, crispy, toast.

I guess that's it for now. Tomorrow it's an early run to the Farmers' Market and then off to pick up the pup. Back to the house to get him familiarized with the new space, etc. Off to 7YO's swimming lessons. Back to the house to do more cleaning. My legs/knees are screaming at me for the little bit of box moving I did earlier today. But, so it goes. And, again, I'm toast. Crunch.

Five Months

We arrived in Fredericton five months ago today. The theme of this journey has been rain. It rained for most of our trip from Minnesota. It rained for weeks this summer, delaying the building of our new house. And, it's raining today...

But - tomorrow night we will be sleeping in our new home. For those of you who don't visit the blog or catch me on Facebook, here's a snapshot from ten days ago.


There's still a lot to be finished outside, but the goal has been to get us inside. BTW, the roof is galvanized metal, not white.

7YO is exploding with excitement. He can't wait to be in his room. So, tomorrow morning I'll drop him off at school and when I pick him up - new house! Meanwhile, I'll unload the car, start moving things up from the basement, and try to get somewhat settled. Fortunately I've been told that the guys doing the build will be standing by to help move the beds, table, etc. up. This is going to be one crazy busy week! And, P arrives in 10 days!

Lesbian Moms Attacked

This is so sad - and frightening...

This aspect doesn't appear in the above article, but I feel compelled to add it here. The perpetrator has alleged that one of the women used a racial epithet toward him. She denies it. I have no idea. I wasn't there. I will say that, even if it is true, it doesn't justify the assaults. But, it does complicate things. Ugh. The whole thing is so ugly and unfortunate.

I also have to add that, thus far, I have had nothing but overwhelmingly positive experiences at 7YO's school. I wait for him, outside the school doors, each afternoon. There is always the same group of us. One father from England, another who just moved back after living in the US for about a dozen years, a young mother who has probably never been outside the province, a stay-at-home mom closer to my age whose husband is an academic... We chit-chat - often about the weather, of course. Although they've only met me, they know that 7YO has two moms. It came up in talking about why we moved here. At least one of these parents attended the school, as did 7YO's teacher. The school has about 100 kids. It's a very close-knit and comfortable community. Hard to imagine something like this incident. That's not to say there aren't folks who will choose to keep their distance, but so far things have been great. This incident a good reminder that you just never know what absolute nutcase is going to appear. So sad.

More on Prop 8 - Please Read!

This - also reproduced below - says it so much better than I ever could have. Please read! It conveys exactly what I have been feeling about the Obama/Proposition 8 "tension."

Judith Warner
November 13, 2008, 9:00 PM
What It Felt Like to Be Equal

I had barely finished sniffling over Barack Obama’s victory when I received an e-mail message from Amy Silverstein, the wife of my best friend from high school, Angela Padilla.

She had been glad to read last week’s piece on “the groundbreaking immensity of the election of our country’s first African-American president,” she said.

Up to a point.

“I wanted to make sure you knew and appreciated that despite this seeming like an amazing step forward for all who have suffered discrimination and/or who are deeply committed to eliminating it, this election was anything but that for G.L.B.T. people and our families,” she wrote. “Especially in California, but in three other states as well, the electorate convincingly voted to deny us basic civil rights and made clear that we are a long way from being seen and treated as equal. Protecting traditional marriage is simply code for discrimination. There is no ‘triumph’ for us, and the long period of pain, indignity and injustice continues.”

There’s nothing worse than being told you have a major blind spot. That your self-assured joyousness is built upon exclusion.

Particularly when the person telling you this is right.

Now, I hadn’t exactly ignored the spate of anti-gay ballot initiatives that had passed — in California, Arkansas, Florida and Arizona — on Nov. 4. I’d read about the success of Arizona’s long-attempted gay marriage ban and California’s Proposition 8, which prohibited gay marriage just six months after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the right to marry was fundamental, and constitutionally protected, for all.

I’d read about how voters in Florida had decided to target not only same-sex marriage but all relationships that were the “substantial equivalent” of marriage, like domestic partnerships and civil unions, and how in Arkansas, where gay marriage was already banned, voters had decided to deny anyone “cohabitating outside a valid marriage” the right to adopt or be a foster parent.

How strange, I’d thought, reading about how, on the day of progressive victories — Obama’s historic win, South Dakota voters’ rejection of a wide-ranging abortion ban, Californians voting down a ballot initiative that would have required parental notification for abortion — these states had passed such uniquely reactionary and discriminatory measures. How ugly. That’s really too bad.

And then I’d moved on. As most people who were not directly affected by the anti-gay rights measures did. There was just too much else to feel good about.

“I think the country was like, ‘Look, you get Obama, call it a day and go home,” is how Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic state representative in Arizona, who’d opposed her state’s anti-gay ballot initiative, put it to The Times last week.

Ed Swanson couldn’t move on.

The day after the election, the San Francisco lawyer and his husband, Paul Herman, a stay-at-home dad, had had to face the fact that Proposition 8 could mean that their marriage would be invalidated. They’d also had to go to parent conferences and tell the teachers that their five-year-old daughter, Liza, might be struggling in school because she was scared that her family might fall apart.

Liza, who has a twin sister, Katie, had peppered Swanson and Herman with questions once she’d realized that marriages uniting “a boy and a boy” were no longer allowed.

“They can’t take yours away, right?” she’d asked her parents. “They can’t take yours away when you have children, can they?”

“That’s when we realized she was afraid something would happen to us,” Swanson told me by phone on Wednesday. “We said, ‘They can’t take us away from you. We will be here for you forever.’”

“It’s difficult to explain to a five-year-old why it is people don’t want your parents to be married,” he continued. “They’re young enough that there was a chance they could have grown up thinking all their lives that their family was equal and accepted. Now they’re not going to have that chance. They’ll have to spend at least part of their lives knowing that their family is something that people don’t feel is acceptable.”

Jeanne Rizzo, the C.E.O. of the Breast Cancer Fund, can’t quite move on either. She spent election night in a reception room at San Francisco’s Westin St. Francis Hotel. She and her long-term partner, Pali Cooper, were married in September, one of 18,000 California couples who managed to wed in the short space of time between the California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage and the passage of Proposition 8.

In one room, Obama supporters were jubilant. In another, opponents of Proposition 4 — the parental notification initiative -– shouted their glee. In hers, the opponents of Proposition 8 saw their joy at Obama’s election turn quickly to “absolute disbelief and pain” as the results of the ballot initiative came in. “It was such a kick in the stomach. The whole hotel was just rocking with joy. We felt so disconnected from it,” Rizzo recalled when I talked to her on Wednesday.

It wasn’t that she begrudged Obama his victory. It was just that his historic triumph made the insult to her community all the more painful. An awful thought came to her that night: Now we’re the designated cultural outcasts. “It’s almost like we’re the last group you can be openly bigoted about,” she told me.

“You look around and you think more than half of the people in this state voted to take this away from us? At a time when we’re celebrating the election of an African American to the White House? I don’t know how you heal from it,” she said. “It’s hard to get it out of your bones.”

It’s easy, if you’re straight, to file away the gay marriage issue in a little folder in your mind, to render it, essentially, inessential. It can fall into the category of “bones you throw the religious right because things could be so much worse.” Or “things that would be great in a perfect world.” Or “what’s the big deal?” because you don’t actually get what a big deal it is to be able to get married when you’ve never had to consider the alternative.

Many of the gay men and lesbians I spoke or e-mailed with this week didn’t fully realize what a big deal it was to be married either. Until they were.

“I don’t think I had realized until then what it felt like to be equal,” Swanson told me. “Paul and I went on a honeymoon in Santa Fe. People would ask and we’d say we’re on our honeymoon; we just got married. We could say it not because it was a political statement but because it was a fact.

“I don’t feel equal anymore. It was a great feeling, while it lasted.”

New - maybe - Expat Blog

Allow me to introduce Kurt and Laurie, of Nanaimo, BC and Roseville, MN. Their blog can be found here. I met Laurie back in Minnesota, though, as I recall, we originally "met" through some immigration listserv. As you will see if you visit their blog, they'll be spending the winter in Nanaimo. They are permanent residents and even own a home (currently rented out) in Nanaimo, but are still trying to decide whether to really make the move, for good. Take a minute to visit the blog and welcome them!

Olbermann on Prop 8

This morning I received three emails from my sister, in California, making sure that I had received the link she had sent me. She wanted to be sure that I saw Keith Olbermann's "Special Comment" on Prop 8. Both the text and the video are available at the Countdown website.

I couldn't bring myself to read through the comments - in a scroll I could see too much ignorance and hatred - but I posted this:

I can't think of the right adjective to describe KO's comment. The degree to which he accurately addresses this (red herring) issue of "redefining marriage" is the best I've ever heard - and I teach about sexuality and the law. My sister, in California I might add, forwarded me the link with the note, "I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She forwarded it to me because I couldn't watch his show.

You see, I'm now living in Canada - where my family has legal recognition, where my partner and I are married and treated equally. Our son is able to live in a country where his family "counts." Lest you think, "Ah, but that's just legally. How do people really act?" Let me tell you that we're in a fairly conservative province and nobody bats an eye. Even compared to (formerly) progressive Minnesota, it's just a non-event when people realize that we're a family.

Perhaps you're reading and saying, "Good riddance." Well, so be it. Between the two of us we have two master's degrees, two law degrees, and a Ph.D. Not exactly slackers. But, we were willing to take our chances in a new country because of the hatred that persists across the US. Oh, and on this veteran's day, let me add that I'm also a veteran of the US Army and Army Reserve. Yeah, not welcome there either.

So, Keith... right on. You said it best. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My family thanks you - albeit from a distance.

******

I have to add that one of the coolest things about this moment was my sister's inclusion of the comment, "I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She is a very reserved person and, even in email, this was really something.

So, if you're down here and you haven't seen the video, please watch if you are able. Thanks!

BTW - Before you offer corrections, I do know that some cable subscribers in Canada do get MSNBC. I do not. And, yes, in Canada, today is Remembrance Day.

Young People Making a Difference

Please go here to read about one of our graduates and what he will be doing for the next year.

If anyone can spare even $5 or $10 to help fund his efforts, that would be terrific. Thanks!

State Sanctioned Hatred

This is long, but worth reading -

Bans in 3 States on Gay Marriage

SAN FRANCISCO — A giant rainbow-colored flag in the gay-friendly Castro neighborhood of San Francisco was flying at half-staff on Wednesday as social and religious conservatives celebrated the passage of measures that ban same-sex marriage in California, Florida, and Arizona.

In California, where same-sex marriage had been performed since June, the ban had more than 52 percent of the vote, according to figures by the secretary of state, and was projected to win by several Californian news media outlets. Opponents of same-sex marriage won by even bigger margins in Arizona and Florida. Just two years ago, Arizona rejected a similar ban.

The across-the-board sweep, coupled with passage of a measure in Arkansas intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children, was a stunning victory for religious conservatives, who had little else to celebrate on an Election Day that saw Senator John McCain lose and other ballot measures, like efforts to restrict abortion in South Dakota, California and Colorado, rejected.

“It was a great victory,” said the Rev. James Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego County and a leader of the campaign to pass the California measure, Proposition 8. “We saw the people just rise up.”

The losses devastated supporters of same-sex marriage and ignited a debate about whether the movement to expand the rights of same-sex couples had hit a cultural brick wall, even at a time of another civil rights success, the election of a black president.

Thirty states have now passed bans on same-sex marriage.

Supporters of same-sex marriage in California, where the fight on Tuesday was fiercest, appeared to have been outflanked by the measure’s highly organized backers and, exit polls indicated, hurt by the large turnout among black and Hispanic voters drawn to Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy. Mr. Obama opposes same-sex marriage. [bolding mine]

California will still allow same-sex civil unions, but that is not an option in Arizona and Florida. Exit polls in California found that 70 percent of black voters backed the ban. Slightly more than half of Latino voters, who made up almost 20 percent of voters, favored the ban, while 53 percent of whites opposed it.

Julius Turman, a chairman of the Alice B. Toklas L.G.B.T. Democratic Club, a gay political group here, said he called his mother in tears when Mr. Obama won the presidency, only to be crying over the same-sex marriage vote in a different way not much later.

“It is the definition of bittersweet,” Mr. Turman said. “As an African-American, I rejoiced in the symbolism of yesterday. As a gay man, I thought, ‘How can this be happening?’ ”

Proposition 8’s passage left only Massachusetts and Connecticut as states where same-sex marriages are legal, though both Rhode Island and New York will continue to recognize such ceremonies performed elsewhere. Civil unions or domestic partnerships, which carry many of the same rights as marriage, are allowed in a handful of states. More than 40 states now have constitutional bans or laws against same-sex marriages.

On Wednesday, five months of same-sex marriages in California — declared legal by the State Supreme Court in May — appeared to have come to a halt. “This city is no longer marrying people” of the same sex, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, announced at a grim news conference at City Hall, where hundreds of same-sex couples had rushed to marry in the days and hours leading up to Tuesday’s vote.

The status of those marriages, among 17,000 same-sex unions performed in the state, was left in doubt by the vote. The state’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, reiterated Wednesday that he believed that those marriages would remain valid, but legal skirmishes were expected.

The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Santa Clara County, as well as several civil rights and gay rights groups, said on Wednesday that they would sue to block the ban.

Some opponents of the proposition were also still holding out slim hopes that a batch of perhaps as many as four million provisional and vote-by-mail ballots would somehow turn the tide.

The victory of the social and religious conservatives came on a core issue that has defined their engagement in politics over the past decade.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor in Florida, said many religious conservatives felt more urgency about stopping same-sex marriage than about abortion, another hotly contested issue long locked in a stalemate.

“There is enough of the population that is alarmed at the general breakdown of the family, that has been so inundated with images of homosexual relationships in all of the media,” said Mr. Hunter, who gave the benediction at the Democratic National Convention this year, yet supported the same-sex marriage ban in his state. “It’s almost like it’s obligatory these days to have a homosexual couple in every TV show or every movie.”

Supporters of the bans in California, Arizona and Florida benefited from the donations and volunteers mobilized by a broad array of churches and religious groups from across the ethnic spectrum.

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, a pastor in Sacramento and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said the campaign to pass Proposition 8 had begun with white evangelical churches but had spread to more than 1,130 Hispanic churches whose pastors convinced their members that same-sex marriage threatened the traditional family.

“Without the Latino vote,” Mr. Rodriguez said, “Proposition 8 would never have succeeded.”

Frank Schubert, the campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind Proposition 8, agreed that minority votes had put the measure over the top, saying that a strategy of working with conservative black pastors and community leaders had paid off.

“It’s a big reason why we won, no doubt about it,” he said.

Proposition 8 was one of the most expensive ballot measures ever waged, with combined spending of more than $75 million. Focus on the Family and other religious conservative groups contributed money to help pass the same-sex marriage measures in all three states.

Forces on both sides viewed California as a critical test of the nation’s acceptance of gay people, who have made remarkable strides in the decades since the 1969 riots in New York at the Stonewall Inn, considered the beginning of the gay rights movement.

Scholars were divided on how large a setback Tuesday’s votes would be for that movement. Andrew Koppelman, a professor of law at Northwestern University and the author of “Same Sex, Different States,” a study of same-sex marriage, said the outcome had a silver lining, namely that it was closer than in previous statewide measures.

A 2000 ballot measure establishing a California state law against same-sex marriage passed with 61 percent of the vote. That law was overturned in May by the State Supreme Court.

In Arizona, where same-sex marriage was already against the law, the victory for Proposition 102, which amends the State Constitution, was met with a shrug by some.

“I think the country was like, ‘Look, you get Obama, call it a day and go home,’ ” said Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic state representative who led opponents against Proposition 102. “And frankly, I’ll take it.”

Jesse McKinley reported from San Francisco, and Laurie Goodstein from New York.

Back to the US?

If you are a US2CA expat who, with Obama's election, plans to move back to the States - or you know someone who fits that description - please contact me. I have a media contact who would like to speak to such an individual. Thanks!

Post-mortem

I've been reading others' posts, in blogs and on Facebook, thinking about the election results. Compared to many of my friends and acquaintances, I feel like a real "party-pooper."

I'm glad to see history being made. I'm relieved that we don't have to worry about Palin becoming the president. I'm thrilled that McCain lost. But, I don't really believe that change is coming. How will "change" be measured? Will the chokehold of capitalism, consumption, and individualism be lessened? Will we really be out of Iraq any time soon? Will all citizens of the US be granted the same rights and privileges regardless of sexual orientation? No, no, and no.

In California, a constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples is winning 52% to 48% with 92% of the precincts reporting. That is incredibly disappointing. In Florida, one of the places I grew up, a constitutional amendment banning marriage and all legal protection for same-sex couples passed 62% to 38%. Not surprising, but still offensive. In Arizona, where I attended graduate school, a second attempt at a constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples passed 57% to 43%. And, in Arkansas, a ballot initiative banning adoption and foster care for all unmarried couples passed 57% to 43%. So much for truly caring about the lives of kids.

One acquaintance, on her Facebook page, wrote that she is "is disgusted in CA, AZ, AK, and FL. Suck it hatemongers." One of her "friends" replied via comment, "Not everybody has a problem with how AR voted." Ick.

To be fair there were some "good," imho, results (e.g., Massachusetts, Michigan, South Dakota...), but when it comes to writing discrimination into state statute or constitutions, bigotry prevailed. So sad.

I put off posting anything today because I just didn't know what to say. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But, I can't help but thinking that if I were still sitting in Minnesota, nothing in my life would really have changed, or even feel like it had changed. I would still be a second class citizen. My family would still not have legal recognition. And more people have expressed their belief that it never should. Sorry, but I just can't find it in me to be more joyous about yesterday's results.

Voting Problems?

November 4, 2008
Actor waged 5-hour battle to cast vote
From CNN's Mythili Rao

Robbins' name was missing from rolls.

NEW YORK (CNN) — When Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins showed up at his West 14th Street YMCA polling center in Manhattan to vote Tuesday morning, election officials told him that his name was missing from the register.

"I went to vote where I normally vote and I was not listed. I asked for an explanation; they had none," Robbins told CNN.

He said he has been voting in the same district since 1992. He has not missed one election, and has not changed addresses or political affiliations.

"The poll worker said my name was in the book for the primary two months ago, but missing for the general election," he told CNN.

Although Robbins was offered the opportunity to fill out a provisional ballot, he was set on using the voting machine instead.

"Refuse provisional ballots — they're throwing those out, they can throw those out," he told viewers of "Real Time With Bill Maher" last month.

"If that's your last resort, take it, but fight for your right to vote," he said. "It's your right as an American."

It took Robbins a total of five hours — and a judge's order — to do so today.

"I'm just waiting for an explanation. I want a real explanation, and I want that explanation for the hundreds and thousands of people in my district and throughout the city who are experiencing the same thing today," Robbins told CNN.

A New York City Board of Elections representative did not return CNN's calls.

Polling places nationwide have seen heavy turnout — and accompanying delays and glitches — for the presidential race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

********

How many people - without the tenacity, connections, or whatever - will have had this experience, and not the same outcome?

Four Years Ago

Four years ago last night, P and I sat up watching the election returns. But, what interested me was not so much the presidential race, but the results of the various ballot measures across the country. In particular, I watched as state after state, 11 in all, passed efforts to amend their state constitutions to "define marriage as between one man and one woman." The language varied and some were even more all-encompassing in their discrimination. I said, as we watched, "I think we need to get out of here." Now, four years later, we're "out of here" which has become "there." And, while it has not been without its challenges, I'm sooooooo glad to be in Canada.

I have had various folks ask why I'm not a big fan of Obama. Aside from the things that have been thoroughly addressed elsewhere on the US2CA blogs, the stick in my craw is his position on same-sex marriage. I routinely explain that I have no use for his "separate but equal" stance as separate is never equal. But, this article, brought to my attention by P, is a good one for answering the question. As she suggested, maybe he's taking a page from the Wellstone playbook. The late Paul Wellstone (D-MN) supported the Defense of Marriage Act, but later said that he had changed his mind regretted having voted as he did. Only time will tell.

So, here it is, the eve of the US election - the outcome of which, I think, is not a done deal. And, while P is, physically, in Minnesota. "We" are here. The house is almost done, 7YO is settled into his new school, winter is approaching... And, to echo sentiments expressed elsewhere - [though I do want Obama to win] his presidency won't do anything to improve my life, or that of my family. We'd still be second class citizens. Oh, Canada! Oh, Canada!

Update on John McKendy

FREDERICTON - Police recovered a body Saturday they believe is that of a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant in the killing of St. Thomas University professor John McKendy.

John McKendy, a 60-year-old sociology professor at St. Thomas University is shown in this undated photo from the university's website.

RCMP said they received a call just before 11:30 a.m. after the body of a man was discovered inside a car at a hotel parking lot in Moncton, N.B.

"We were alerted by someone in the region who called the RCMP in Moncton. We dispatched officers and discovered the body," said RCMP Cpl. Claude Tremblay, at a news conference in Fredericton.

"Police have determined that the car was rented earlier in the week by 27-year old Nicholas Wade Baker."

Police stressed that no positive identification of the body had been made.

They said it was found inside a silver coloured Chrysler with a Nova Scotia plate on it. It was a rental car from a company in Fredericton.

Just prior to the discovery Tremblay said the Mounties had laid a charge of first degree murder against Baker in the killing of McKendy.

The 60-year-old sociology professor's body was discovered in his Douglas, N.B., home early Friday.

Baker was identified as a suspect by police shortly afterward. They said he had no fixed address but had family in South Carolina.

Although police hadn't offered comment on family ties the Globe and Mail reported Saturday that Baker was married to McKendy's daughter and that she was found injured in the home and taken to hospital for treatment.

Canada Border Services were notified and police issued two pictures of the suspect, described as being about five-foot-eight with a slim build.

Despite what appears to be a major break in the case there are still more questions than answers. Police didn't release any further information, including how the man in the car died.

"We're not going to talk about that," said Tremblay. "It doesn't serve any purpose for the investigation, and out of respect for the family, they've gone through enough and don't need to see that."

Meanwhile, investigators still haven't revealed how McKendy was killed.

McKendy, a Quaker, came to the Fredericton school in 1974 and his research focused on social inequality and the sociology of religion and work.

On Saturday, Dawne Clarke, who teaches criminology at Saint Thomas, remembered her friend.

"He was kind and compassionate and gentle," Clarke said. "He never said a harsh word about anyone ever."

Her husband Stephen Pidwysocky, also a Saint Thomas professor, said McKendy was an example to others.

"We always talk about what a kind person or a nice person should be like. He was that, he was just a very nice, kind person," he said.

"John was a person who opposed all forms of violence."

University president Michael W. Higgins said McKendy's commitment to learning was exemplified by his passion for teaching.

Higgins said the campus ministry and grief counsellors would be brought in to provide assistance as needed.

A vigil was planned for Saturday afternoon in the university chapel.

Source

Homicide in Douglas/Fredericton

Some of you will likely see this story in the Canadian papers. Some of you may remember that we're building our house in Douglas. Others might remember that I'm a sociologist. Thus, I thought I'd post that I didn't know John McKendy, though, given his social justice work, it is highly likely that our paths would eventually have crossed. Anyway, I just thought I'd post this since some of you may "connect the dots" and wonder if his department is the one with which I'm affiliated (no, he was at St. Thomas), etc.

I was driving this morning and heard the report of a "suspicious death on Island View in Douglas." That's exactly where 7YO and I were going this evening. When I got to his school for pick-up at 1:30, they had the place in lock down. So, tonight we went to his friend's house, on Island View, and had to drive right by the street - it's actually off Island View - where you could see the police tape across the street. I haven't seen any coverage. What's particularly heartbreaking is that he was, apparently, a Quaker; had done volunteer work in Africa; was a great teacher, etc. He recently presented at an event called the New Brunswick Social Forum. The title of the session at which he spoke? Alternatives To Violence: War From Renous To Afghanistan.

May he rest in peace.

Miscellaneous thoughts...

CNN is talking about how "only" 13 US soldiers died in Iraq in October... and "only" 6 were combat deaths, or some such. WTF? I am so disgusted, offended, by the use of the descriptor "only." I know what they mean, but it still pisses me off. I can guaran-fucking-tee them that the families of those soldiers aren't thinking of them as "onlies."

I haven't been following much of US politics - and I use the term loosely - until recently. So, I just found out that in addition to anti-gay, anti-family initiatives in California and Florida, there's more hatred and stupidity out there. I didn't know that my former home of Arizona is trying again. And, in Arkansas, people will vote on prohibiting adoption by unmarried couples. Guess we know who that is aimed at.

And, in Colorado -
"The approved ballot title reads:
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term “person” to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as “person” is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law?

The proposed initiative says:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. Article II of the constitution of the state of Colorado is amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read: Section 31. Person defined. As used in sections 3, 6, and 25 of article II of the state constitution, the terms "person" or "persons" shall include any human being from the moment of fertilization.

Because the amendment defines a fertilized egg as a person, even before being implanted in the uterus (a common definition for the beginning of a pregnancy), opponents suggest that the amendment may outlaw certain methods of birth control that focus on interfering with the egg's implantation."

California and South Dakota are at it, too.

In California, "'[t]he initiative would prohibit abortion for unemancipated minors until 48 hours after physician notifies minor’s parent, legal guardian or, if parental abuse has been reported, an alternative adult family member."

In South Dakota, "If the state's voters approve it, the South Dakota Constitution will henceforward ban all abortions in the state except for those performed because of rape, incest or to protect the woman's health."

Just my opinion, of course, but... WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

Note: If any of these have, for some reason, been kept off the ballot at the last minute, I've not read about it. Feel free to post updates via comments.

Quebec Immigration

Immigrants must sign paper pledging Quebec values

"Quebec has introduced a mandatory declaration for immigrants requiring them to sign their commitment to respect the province's common values.

The immigrant declaration follows on recommendations issued by The Bouchard-Taylor Commission, a provincial public inquiry on the issue of so-called reasonable accommodation of cultural and religious beliefs."

What do you think?

Palin - A bitch, witch, and moron

Now, using such language to describe another woman is something I reserve for the exceptional. For example, people like Michele Bachmann. Add Sarah Palin to the list. The other day she said, while talking about the role of government, "I don't know what to think of having in my family Uncle Barney Frank or others to make decisions for me." I completely agree with this interpretation of that remark: "Barney Frank is a high profile Gay Democratic Congressman. In cases of child molesting, the term funny uncle is a derogatory term for a family member who molests children. Conservatives believes gays are predatory child molesters and what better way to make that point than to make gay Congressman Barney Frank the uncle." Source

For an interesting, imo, exchange on this comment, go here.

She is, or should be, a complete embarrassment to the Republican party. I don't know which is worse, the fact that she is truly stupid or the fact that she's a bigot. I guess in the role of vice president - or, worse, president - I'd have to go with the former. But, I am so tired of the degree to which people running for public office choose to wave the flag of homophobia as a badge of honor - and feel empowered to do so.

In talking with Andy Scott the other day, he echoed a sentiment I've heard from others. In short, politicians in Canada would be fired or run out of town for saying some of the things that in the US garner the bigots more support. Interesting.

Why, given the polls, do I even bother? Will anyone remember Sarah Palin in a year? For extensive discussion of why I think we should be concerned, go here.

BTW, in an earlier post I wrote about not being sure about voting. I do not like Obama because he thinks I'm a second class citizen. But, the thought of Palin in the White House should terrify the world. So, holding my nose, I did submit my vote for Obama/Biden. I'm so glad I'm here...

Harvey Milk

I can't wait to see this movie. I may have to drive to Halifax. I may have to drive to Boston. But, I really want to see it on the big screen.



But, for the real thing, check these out, too:

Andy Scott

For the past 15 years, Andy Scott has been a Liberal MP from Fredericton. He chose not to run in this last election. Rather, he is now heading up the Social Policy Research Network at UNB. His office is around the corner from mine. We met for the first time this morning. I had known that he once did graduate work here. I knew he was retiring from Parliament. I knew he was a Liberal. What I didn't know was his role in the issue of same-sex marriage. Read on.

While casually chatting about what brought me/us here, etc. I discovered that he, in fact, had at one time been the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. It was to this committee that, in 2002, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada directed the question of same-sex marriage. It was as chair of this committee that he broke a tie in a vote on the issue:

"The first signs of movement in Ottawa came on June 12 when the Standing Committee for Justice and Human Rights barely voted to recommend that Parliament accept the Ontario decision. The tie-breaking vote for equal marriage came from the chair of the committee, Liberal MP Andy Scott, in a process that included the replacement of opponents to same-sex marriage with more agreeable M.P.s.

While we watched Mr. Scott on live television, we applauded the New Brunswick Member of Parliament as he spoke about being "informed" by the recent court decisions and the testimony about marriage heard by the committee. Mr. Scott's public support was an important and significant step forward. Since Mr. Scott's lead, other M.P.s have been listening and learning, building consensus for the final approval of same-sex marriage in Parliament." Source

So, we're chatting away - talking about immigration, same-sex marriage, the fact that he was once attacked in his F'ton office over the issue, religion, the Charter, Section 2, Section 15... and he goes over to a stack of framed materials. He is just getting settled in his office and they were not yet hanging. Then, he pulls out a framed copy of the Charter and gives it to me. To keep. I had a copy on my chalkboard in Saint Paul. It's in a box somewhere. But, it isn't framed and it wasn't from Andy Scott. I am so tickled.

Then, I told him that I'd like to talk with him about the war resisters sometime. He responded by telling me that for a while he was sending one post card a day on the issue. He said there was a time that he thought, "Why should I keep doing this?" And, he realized that if, as a member of Parliament, he wasn't willing, why should someone not in Parliament do so.

This has been a very cool morning!

Need a reminder?

SAN FRANCISCO - A girl in pigtails bounds into the kitchen after school and asks her mother to guess what she learned that day. "I learned how a prince married a prince, and I can marry a princess," she exclaims to her mortified mom.

This television advertisement for a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California urges voters to "protect children" by approving the measure.

There's not a word about education in Proposition 8, but what public schools will be required to teach about same-sex marriage has emerged as the central issue in the campaign...

Go here for more, if you can stand it.

I knew there was a reason I, as a rule, avoided US "news." And again I ask, what is wrong with these people? I mean, I have the academic take. E.g., It's really about gender; people aren't worried about same-sex relationships per se. They're worried about how it disrupts the gender binary. But, that just doesn't help when I try to imagine why people spend so much time and money hating/fearing/discriminating against people whose lives don't really affect them at all. Maybe these people - and those like the woman in the video over at Moved to Vancouver - just have to focus on something besides their lives. Maybe they're so freaked out about health care, the economy, mortgages, and so on that it gives them something to keep them distracted. All I know is that they piss me off.

Still here!

Well, we arrived just over four months ago. And what a four months it's been. Just to recap - we spent 16 June-30 September living in a sub-let in the heart of downtown Fredericton. Of course, the "we" varies as my mother was with us from our arrival until we went to Boston on 30 July. Then, quite unexpectedly, on 20 August P left for Saint Paul to attend school. So, 7YO - a real trooper if I do say so - and I have been hanging in, just the two of us. Well, three with our pup! On 1 October we moved to what we thought would be a short stay in a fellow expat's place in historic Marysville. It was a great unit, but getting up off the frameless futon and out of the camp chair was really grueling on my legs. I was getting more and more furious over the delays with the build.

Peppered throughout this time are the various dates that we were told we'd be able to move into our house - 15 August, 1 September, 15 September, 1 October, 17 October... If you're sensing a trend there, you're right. I've tried to keep most of the build info on the other blog, but I thought - given that I actually have some time to breathe - I'd post an update here.

So, on the 10th of October I had a major meltdown on PR, the builder's "project manager," though he hadn't been managing our project. I had been told that the septic was going in that afternoon and that the kitchen cabinets would be delivered. When I stopped by on a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon... not a soul in sight. Nothing. Zero. Nada. And they were still saying 17 October. Yeah, right.

Well, PR and D, the builder's brother and business partner, were furious. Not at me. They had no idea that there had been so many errors, nor that I had been given the timeline(s) that I had. They were furious that things had been going so badly and they didn't know. On Monday morning I was told that they had rented an "executive suite" in downtown Fredericton for as long as we need it. The upside is that we have a completely furnished unit, including kitchen, cable, and Internet. The downside is that it's not dog friendly. So, our pup is spending a couple of weeks - and I hope that's all - at Foster's, the great dog hotel in Durham Bridge. Since we've also no yard here and I haven't been able to walk more than 10-15 minutes, I know he's better off. I swear when he comes back after being there he's depressed! The other night I received an e-mail that he was spending the evening in the owners' house watching movies with them and their pets. So, mostly "upside," with one major "downside."

P came to visit last weekend and, with minor chaos - again, see the other blog - we got all of our stuff out of storage and into the basement of the house. She had to leave before the crack of dawn on Monday and will be back five weeks from yesterday. That time she'll be here for two weeks, going back only for ten days of finals.

What else?

I bought my first set of winter tires today. Nobody I knew in Minnesota bothered, but with the kind of snow/ice here - and that fact that we'll be in the "country" up a couple of hills - everyone said it was a must.

Turns out that one of 7YO's classmates just moved here from Hudson, Wisconsin, a town within reasonable commuting distance of Saint Paul. Her father grew up here, went to the same school that his daughter and 7YO are attending, but, after spending about a dozen years in the US, has returned because of the downturn in the economy. 7YO also has a new classmate from the Netherlands. One of the parents I often chat with is from West Yorkshire, England. All in all, a nice mix of folks and nobody - yet - bats an eye when I explain why we came to Canada.

I've been spending a lot of time shopping for furniture as we didn't bring much with us. While this isn't my idea of fun, it's been even less fun because we have an awkward living room space. We're hoping that the sofa we've chosen fits okay, but if not, we'll probably swap it for the love seat. We're getting the ottoman - in the same red - too, with the idea that we can put a nice tray on it and have it triple as a coffee table, foot rest, and extra seat. And, we decided to go - in my view - a bit suburban and get a cushy, double reclining sofa for the basement/tv space. But, hey, it's all about the comfort. We're doing it in a chocolate brown microfibre. I'm so glad to be done with that! Now I'm on the hunt for a harvest table. I'd like to get one made from reclaimed wood, but I don't know if I can do so without going to Maine... Anyway, we're buying furnishings with the understanding that we will eventually have a house!

Tomorrow I'm having an engine block heater put in the car. It was 10 years old in August and it did fine in the Minnesota winters, but it was in a garage. Last year you could tell it had to make the extra effort on those below freezing days. Since our garage won't be ready before the snow flies - oh, yeah, 'cause that was today - I decided to keep it "warm" - and not think about the extra burden on my carbon footprint.

I am really glad we're here. I confess that, since my income still comes from the US, I'm thrilled with the exchange rate. I wish I had time to do more with the stuff happening locally re sustainability, peace, etc., but I'm just not inclined to get a sitter so that I can go off without 7YO. He's loving his swimming at the Fredericton Indoor Pool. I love listening to the CBC as I drive. It's been a hard move, but most of that has to do with the house and P's departure. I realized the other day that none of this would be easier if I had moved out of Minnesota, but within the US. And, had I moved to a less hospitable community it would be much harder.

I am trying to get some work done, but mostly I am shopping, chauffering, dealing with the build, and trying to keep up with the more mundane requirements of life - e.g., laundry, groceries, etc. I am now off to read to 7YO before he goes to bed. I will be so glad when we are in our own home, school is just down the road, and I can focus on things besides "the move."

More as it happens!

Hello, hello!

I've been without regular and reliable Internet access for two weeks... but, I am here in Fredericton - thought it was touch and go there for a bit... Right now I'm at a cafe downtown having my second bowl of the most amazing Spicy Pumpkin Soup and an Internet connection. Please check the building blog for a bit about what has been consuming my life.

I did want to post a few quick things. First, I received word just this morning that my proposal for teaching on-line during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years has been approved. That is huge! Second, the Gregg Centre at UNB has worked things out and I will officially be a "Visiting Fellow" for the year. Third, P arrives tonight for the weekend. Things are looking up all around.

I look forward to having regular Internet access again and getting back in touch. Hope all is well with everyone!

October?

How did that happen? Not much news. We're still waiting to move. One building nightmare after another. We're taking a couple of nights at a hotel so that I can get caught up on email and do some work while 7YO watches tv. And, we've had the good fortune to be invited to someone's home for Thanksgiving and then some apple picking. Sounds delightful. P arrives on Thursday. If it hadn't been so ridiculously expensive to have her change her ticket ($1000) she would have been arriving tonight. Earlier in the week I was in meltdown mode. Time marches on. I wish I had the energy to write more.

In all the driving I'm doing - to school, back, on errands, to school, back - I'm listening to the radio a lot and enjoying learning more about politics, etc. Just to give you an idea - our car was purchased in August 1998. Before leaving MN in June of this year, just shy of 10 years old, we had right around 97,000 miles on the car, or an average of less than 10K a year. We put 2,000 miles on moving out here and, since the odometer turned 100,000 on 1 July, we've logged another 7,000 miles. Whoa! Glad to see that gas dropped 8 cents a litre this week!

Hopefully once we get settled I can get back to more regular - and interesting - posting. I'm also missing keeping up with others' blogs. Fingers crossed that within a couple of weeks I'll be writing from our new digs in beautiful Douglas, NB...

Countdown

In less than three weeks we should be moving into our new house. It won't yet have siding or a garage, and the "yard" will be largely mud, but as long as we have a bathroom... That, of course, is up in the air because the government people who inspect septic systems, etc. are, apparently, taking their own sweet time.

P arrives on the 16th for a long weekend - just in time to help with the aforementioned move. We can't wait. Other than that, fall is upon us. I hope the leaves hold on for another two weeks so that P can see them in real time. Here's a sample taken from the highway out to the house.


Off to make dinner for a little boy...

Whoosh!

That would be the sound of time flying by. It's weird. On the one hand, time is really flying because I'm constantly busy with house stuff. On the other hand, it's dragging because we're counting the days until P arrives for a visit.

I do have a great "serendipity" story. We have been renting a small place in downtown F'ton since 16 June. The owner saw this as a great opportunity to spend the summer at his "camp" - as they say here - and not have his house sit empty. It's been great in many ways (e.g., proximity), not so much in others (e.g., cost). Enter one of our fellow expat bloggers. She and her partner have a townhouse here - they're moving north later this fall - that has been rented out. But, their tenant is moving out this weekend. So, in a real win-win, 7YO and I will spend our last 2-3 weeks there and their place won't sit empty. I guess the rain this weekend means I don't have an excuse not to start packing and cleaning...

What else is happening? Before leaving Saint Paul, P bought 7YO a Game Boy so that he would have something to play with on the long, 2,000 mile, drive east. He had only recently seen and played his first video game. A friend of his had received a Wii for Christmas. We said firmly, we will not be getting a Wii. Never say never. As I mentioned in my last post, we broke down and have purchased one as a Christmas gift. But, lately, 7YO has been wanting a DS because there are some newer games not available for the (so old school) Game Boy. Well, I came up with a plan/plot. First, I wanted to do something for 7YO because he has been such a trooper through all of this. Second, I wanted a carrot.

7YO, for whatever reason, has not wanted to remove his training wheels. He tried once, fell, and decided that was that. So, we had a chat about video games, exercise, etc. E.g., unlike some of his classmates who bring their portable game systems to use at recess, this mean old mother says no, recess is for running around. We struck a deal that, if he would work at riding his bike, he would get a surprise. So, on Thursday, we removed the training wheels and he manage to ride about 10 feet or so on his own. Doesn't sound like much, but it is. He then got his - are you ready - limited edition Pokemon Nintendo DS. Woo-hoo. Yesterday's riding went well, too. So, from no-gaming to three gaming devices in a matter of months. Hey, whatever it takes.

And while I'm on the subject of parenting, kids, and bribery... he desperately wanted a hamster. After a little research, and talk with several of the kids - and I mean kids - who work at the pet store, we decided that gerbils were a better choice. If anyone reading has an opinion on the selection and care of small rodents, do chime in.

Well, since it's a miserably rainy day - and I don't want to clean and pack just yet - I'm off to actually sit and read the paper. You remember, large, paper, primarily black and white, gets on your hands? I didn't manage to stay awake for the debate, so I'll have to see what those who write for the Globe and Mail have to say.

As I say, more as it happens. Be well.

Welcome and Update

Please extend a warm welcome to a new US2CA blogger over at Alice in Canada! And, another Maritimer - yea!

I've been remiss in posting, largely due to exhaustion. Last Friday, 7YO and I drove to Portland, Maine, where we met P who had picked up a priceline ticket to Boston and driven up for a quick visit. We spent the brief time we had shopping, eating, and attending a Green expo. I felt so, well, Canadian - picking up my birthday present, the new iPod touch, and a Christmas present for 7YO, a Wii. On the way back I filled up the tank at the border - gas in NB had gone up to about $1.39 a liter - and picked up a gallon of milk - $3.52/gallon instead of $3.58/two liters. Normally I wouldn't go out of my way to shop down south, but since we were there anyway... The savings paid for the gas for the trip and then some. Unfortunately P had to leave at 3:45 am on Sunday to head for the airport and was back in St. Paul before we were out of the country.

This week has been a whirlwind of decisions regarding the house - outlet placement, lights, change of tub, change of part of the flooring - and major stress about the whole thing. We should be moving in on 15 October - delayed because of the finishing of the pine flooring. P arrives on 16 October for a long weekend so it's almost - almost - good timing. I would much rather be in at the first of the month, but that's not going to happen. Once we're in, we still have major work to be done - e.g., the siding and the garage. But, at least we'll be in.

I've started writing in earnest. I have an office at UNB so that I can work there. I'm doing some work for our realtor on the side. But, my day consist mostly of this: get up at 6, feed the dog, shower, get 7YO up, fix breakfast, make his lunch, dress, drive 7YO to school at 7:30 - about 9 miles, stop at the site, run errands (i.e., groceries, house-related stuff, walk dog), pick 7YO up at 1:30, stop at the site, come "home," snack, homework, email while 7YO watches "his" shows, make dinner - Kraft Dinner, hot dogs, spaghetti, ham, pizza - get 7YO in the shower - coerce him into using soap, argue over toothbrushing, read, get 7YO in bed, email/web stuff, let the dog out, and in, and out, and in, go to sleep, lather, rinse, repeat. Yes, I'm exhausted!

So, I'm off to bed! But, I swore I was going to get something posted today and the new blog was the perfect catalyst! Hope all is well with you and yours!

Chasing the Maple Leaf

Anybody in touch with the women of "Chasing the Maple Leaf" and know that they're okay? In my click through my US2CA blog list, I see that their blog is no more. ??

Postings on Palin

I just wanted to share these postings that appeared on an academic listserv I read -

". . . I was also appalled by Palin's speech. The line that struck me--and which hasn't received much coverage--was this:

"Al Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's [Obama's] worried that someone won't read them their rights."

I was astounded to hear the whole horrible Bush-Cheney defiance of laws of war and slighting of American ideals echoed in that line. And the enthusiastic response of the crowd was also horrifying. The authorization of enhanced interrogation measures and the loosening of
the laws of war have wrought havoc on our soldiers (as we saw at Abu Ghraib). Soldiers are being encouraged to transgress moral and legal boundaries. But it is these young soldiers who have to live with the memories of what they did and who are also legally liable for these
transgressions!

Wasn't it John McCain who took a stand against the Bush administration regarding interrogation measures? How sad to see McCain condone this kind of rhetoric."

Another wrote: "There are reports that she is a Christian Dominionist, apparently a Pentecostal offshoot group/collection which was involved in the appalling evangelizing and sectarian biased religiously intolerant activities at the Air Force Academy and Naval Academies in recent years. I have nothing polite to say about the Dominionists, who basically want the USA to be a theocracy and are also I think an end-of-days type group. There is lots of scary stuff around about them. One of the bloggers at dailykos has links up involving the churches that Gov Palin belongs to."

And, another: "Isn't America a wonderful place? Where even poor white trash can dream to become Vice-President? No wonder Palin likes guns--she needs them to facilitate shotgun weddings. . .I maybe have more guns than she does, and I, too, don't kill things for sport (I eat what I hunt and field dress myself and haul out myself on foot, not from a helicopter).

Did the list know that she slashed funding for Special Needs programs by 67%? Now that she has a Special Needs child, I have been trying to see if funding has been restored.

I wonder how the Republicans might have responded if one of Obama's girls had become pregnant? Considering how the Republicans treated Clinton, I think there's more than enough hypocrisy to go around. Why is one family's business private and another's, not?

God help us, if you believe in a Creator, if she were to become president."

Just thought that some of you might find their thoughts of interest.