Life is like a cookie....

Words of wisdom I suppose. The surface is bumpy but full of goodness maybe? I dunno ... anyways I just wanted to let you all know that my photos from my trip will be posted on www.fotki.com/Veebz so go and check them out. Let me know what you think.
Ciao for now,
~V

Lets Talk about .... Politics ... yup politics.

Ok kids... this is my attempt to rage against the increasing trend towards voter apathy.
First, I understand that it is difficult to get "excited" about Canadian politics, but as painful as it can be ... it is still an important part of maintaing democracy. I think that much of this is lost on the future generation. Now, I am not claiming in any way that I am a particularly politically minded or knowlegable person. This is the problem. Who of us can actually say that we are? When was the last time you actually came in contact with a running candidate. Most of us know who the PM is, and this is a good start, but how about the leaders of the other parties? With less than a quarter of the eligable voters showing up for the last federal election, I fear that Canada has fallen into a slump that will lead our country down a path that will be irreversible should the current trend continue. For hundreds and hundreds of years people have been fighting for the opportunity to vote. World wars have been waged for the right to cast a vote. The excuses for not voting are becoming worse and worse. Some University students interviewed today on Global said they dont vote because they cant spare the 10 minutes it takes to walk into a polling station and put an X in a box. You can take time off work to do it! It isnt a big deal. It is only because we can that we dont want to .. which is really backwards if you ask me. I am fairly certain that if you said on campus "No, I am sorry ... you cant vote," that we would get the largest voter turnout in history. I fear that it will take a dictator to prove to the youth of this counrty that they have the responsibility to vote. It is a cliche ... but if you want to change the way things work, first you have to change the way you think.
Secondly, I am a little concerned about a recent decision made by the supreme court. The decision bans any private citizen or group from spending any money on campaign issues during an election period. How and who does this benefit? How are important issues that need to be brought to light supposed to be addressed? Aside from using those lovely green spaces that are provided for us by government to create crop circles spelling out the issues, our voices are more or less silenced. It is even more difficult to get people involved with the threat of a five year prison sentence looming over their heads.
I understand that posting all of this on an obscure blog on the internet isnt really going to change anything, but I was just wondering what everyone else thinks. And hey ... it is a start right? And free ... so technically totally within my rights lol
Ciao,
~V

Back in the city again

Well Kids... in case it wasnt evident, I am back. Slowly readapting to Canadian society, weather and altitude. The flight home was interesting and took for ever.
My flight out of DC was delayed for unidentified reasons. Josh and I sat in the airport and watched the planes taxi around. It was a beautiful day and all I wanted to do was put on a t-shirt and go sun by the reflecting pool. I waited until the last possible minute to go through security where the guy, again, made me take apart my entire outfit. Better safe than sorry though. When airports DONT have really tight security now, I get scared. We were in Pheonix about 4 hours later. It really is a desert. Lots of cacti and sand dunes. you could see where rivers had created erosion and then dried up thousands of years ago.
What was supposed to be a twelve hour trip turned into a 15 hour trip as a result of a missing plane. My flight out of P{heonix was delayed because they had booked all the passengers for the flight, they had just not booked a plane for it. So we all had to sit around and wait while they found us a plane. This I can say though, if I had to spend four hours in any airport terminal, I am glad it was that one. They have a lot of shops and bars and little coffee shops. This has always struck me as amusing because after you go through security you can buy a whole bunch more stuff that is never checked.
The flight home was long. Another four hours in a smaller plane. Regardless of the faulty rational, I always feel a little safer in smaller planes. It really makes no sense but for that reason alone I felt a littler more at ease coming home. We flew over the Grand Canyon which was amazing. I think a little bit of the impact was lost on me as a result of the sheer altitude, but still intensly interesting.
I forgot how beautiful Alberta can be. As we banked into the airport we flew over Pigeon lake. It was sunset and the light was reflecting off the water and the ripples from the plane were visible. I had left Edmonton while it was still covered in snow and returned to a place of lush green pastures and tilled crop lines. The immensity of my trip, sheer exhaustion, and the relief of being able to get off the plane hit me and I started crying. It had been almost 48 hours since I had slept and I was ready to be finished with my flights.
So, with that siad, I have been a little incommunicado for the last couple of days. I started work again yesterday and I am having some troubles with my schedule next year and trying to find funding.
My birthday is on June 6th and I am looking for suggestions for things to do if any one should have some. Failing that I figure we can combine Wade's welcome back Kareoke night with a Happy Birthday Vic night on thursday. Either that, or weather providing, I thought it would be kind of cool to go t o Hawerlak park and have a big picnic on the Saturday. Any thoughts? Let me know.
Off to work,
~V

Could it be any other colour?

In light of the new BLOG craze ... I have decided to cave and get the new toy. If y'all dont know yet, I am home from DC. Unfortunately, due to jet lag and unfortunate scheduling at work, this will be a brief intro. That and, like Joel, I just wanted to be able to post back to y'all.
TTFN,
~V