I am not kidding, but...

perhaps we really have turned a corner. Hold on to your hats, we may on the way to having two good posts in a row in this blog!

You may recall that, in late April, P was offered a two-month position at UNB. I don't even recall whether or not I posted about it, but that was then extended until April 2010. Of course they love her, it has been great, etc. Let me hasten to add that some of these work-related posts would be far more interesting if I included details, but I hesitate to do so in a public forum. So, the Cliff's Notes version is that yesterday she received a call from the director of the New Brunswick Public Library System. And, if everything goes through HR without a hitch, she'll have a new job. It's a one-year, but it's a provincial job paying $6/hr more than the position at UNB. She will have an opportunity to work on her rusted-out French and, most importantly, she'll be internal. Right now, with a provincial hiring "freeze" I guess they can actually hire; they just can't advertise. The folks at UNB have been great and, after originally declining interest, they encouraged her to pursue it since it's in her career field. Fingers crossed that it all works out! I actually went shopping without stressing about the cost of groceries. What a difference it makes for us to both be gainfully employed.

In other news, you may know Richard Florida's work - The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class? His latest book is Who's Your City? - with Canadian content! He, too, moved from the US to Canada. Imagine my delight...

Best cities for families, overall -
Ottawa/Gatineau, Toronto, Calgary, Fredericton, Guelph

Best cities for cost, overall -
Ottawa/Gatineau, Quebec City, Fredericton, Toronto, Montreal

Best cities for families, gay & lesbian -
Ottawa/Gatineau, Toronto, Fredericton, Calgary, Guelph

Best cities for cost, gay and lesbian families -
Ottawa/Gatineau, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Fredericton

I'm not sure what the last ranking says - maybe that those in Fredericton feel compelled to spend more money traveling to spend some time in more queer-friendly large cities?!? Weird that it would be ranked lower in "best for cost" than the bigger cities listed. Anyone with a guess as to what explains this?

I'm sure we can quibble with the methodology and I've not read the book yet, but just seeing that Fredericton was even on the radar was great. But, get this - I had looked at the book in a store and decided I'd pick it up at the library as it isn't one I feel compelled to have in my collection. The library has the original hardcover - sans Canadian content! Grrrrr!! The above, therefore, is from the website.

So, there you have it. We're on a roll!