Everyone has one weakness.......right?

Another week has past and yet I have failed again. You might wonder, at what? Well I have been trying to quit smoking for several years now. Some may have never even knew I smoked. I kept it fairly low profile, I mean I am a smart person and know it is unhealthy and I am very healthy in every other way, so I guess I sort of hid it. Anyway, I try to quit about every month, in fact those who do know me well often have to ask if I am stopped now or smoking again. I have tried all the methods. It is my one weakness....I feel most other areas of my life are quite on par. I have quit for months a time before (7 months once), but always seem to go back to it for some reason or another. Anyway, it was bothering me today so I thought I would write about it and hope that someone out there may have a different solution/method. Let me know if you do!

The past week was full of events as always. My uncle from Halifax stopped in on the long weekend and stayed until Wednesday. He is business salesperson and stops in a couple of times a year for a night or two but this time he stayed for 5. I love him but my dog doesn't so this made things interesting, anyway he only bit him a couple of times. Hey, I offered to put the muzzle on him but my "manly" uncle said it was okay. Moral: when someone offers to muzzle their dog for you then you should probable take them up on their offer as they know their dog best.

On Thursday night I attended a "Partnerships and Fundraising" workshop presented by Gary Chouinard from the N.B. Museum and hosted by the Saint John Volunteer Centre. It was an excellent workshop and I learned some new tips on how to get funding for all those events I am involved in. I kept thinking the whole night that there are just so many great causes and only so much money to go around that it is sad situation. I myself give to numerous charities but I also wish I could give to many other as well. The charitable sector is a huge sector that does many wonderful things but it is sort of depressing to think that we need so many services. It shows us the state of the world these days!

On Friday, I attended "Lunch with the Arts" at Prince Charles School. It was a wonderful event, as always. The children performed songs, displayed their art, acted a play and much more as guests enjoyed lunch. Although I do not have children and therefore none were part of this event, I still felt very proud of the talent and determination of these children. Congratulations to you all!

The weekend was quiet as my partner attended a wedding in St. Andrews, leaving me with no vehicle. I mowed the lawn, gardened, took the dog for walks and had some friends over on Saturday night. I also had today off and decided to test my luck again on the river. I went fishing on the Hammond River today and only caught a catfish which I returned to the river. It was a beautiful day though and I enjoyed the peace of my outing.

This week is Disability Awareness Week:

Disability Awareness Week May 28th - June 3rd, 2006 "Inclusive Education ... Learning Together"

Disability Awareness Week (DAW) continues the tradition of National Access Awareness Week first established in 1988 to promote better community access for people with disabilities. This campaign happened in response to a request from Rick Hansen following his Man in Motion World Tour. For ten years, a national committee coordinated planning for the Week in communities all over Canada. In 1998, a decision was made in New Brunswick to continue celebrating an annual awareness week but with a new name to ensure that all issues related to persons with a disability could be promoted. 2006 will mark the 19th consecutive annual Disability Awareness Week in New Brunswick.

Two key events that I will be attending are the Town Hall meeting on Tuesday at 7 PM at Loch Lomond Villa and the Employer's Luncheon at the Trade and Convention Centre on Wednesday at lunch. Everyone should try and take part in something. An events calendar can be found here.

Have a great week!

Every Long Weekend Must Come to an End

I am writing this post in the morning for once so please ignore any typos and/or at length rambling. I was actually supposed to have today off in lieu of Victoria Day Monday as Mondays are always a day off for me but have come into work as I have a new program beginning today. This program is called "JobSmarts" and will help 14 individuals develop their job hunting skills. Sorry it is full already if you are wondering!

I spent a lot of time this week writing to politicians. I wrote a letter to the editor about the Mayor and his comments around "Harbour Clean Up" in the paper earlier this week. He keeps saying he is "non-political" but I believe he means "non-partisan". He should support Paul Zed's postcard campaign as much as he should support any initiative from any party focused on Harbour Clean Up! I ended the week writing the Premier yesterday to make him aware of my frustrations regarding the job market in Saint John. I will keep you posted on any replies I receive.

Wednesday of last week was International Day Against Homophobia and there was a local march and church service which was featured in the Telegraph on Thursday. I would have liked to take part but as always my French class took precedence on Wednesday night. I guess they had around 45 people out though which is great for Saint John.

On Thursday I had both a P.R.O. Kids and C.Q.S. Care Centres Board Meeting. Both of these organizations are doing great. P.R.O. Kids has placed almost 200 youth so far this year and is on track to exceed last years placements. At the Care Centre meeting we did some work around Board development and planning. There was also a meeting last week regarding the upcoming Greater Saint John Community Foundation Annual Harbour Passage Gardening Party. For more information go to the Foundation's website.

The weekend's weather was not to cooperative for outdoor work but I did go fishing on Monday for the first time in New Brunswick. I got up at 5:00 A.M. and went to several different lakes around the area. I went to Little River Reservoir and Loch Lomond Reservoir but did not have much luck. I saw lots of wildlife though and managed to stay somewhat dry. If anyone has some good spots for trout fishing around the Saint John area then I would love to hear from you. I fished for many years in P.E.I. but have no experience around here. I find it hard to access most of the lakes, perhaps I should try the rivers.

The week ahead looks fairly calm. There is a couple of events I would like to promote:

Jessica McCormack (soprano) & Edward Phillips (baroque & modern trumpets) with Elaine Boulanger (piano and organ) IN RECITAL PORTLAND UNITED CHURCH, Tuesday, May 23 2006 7:30pm FREE WILL OFFERING

Lunch with the Arts
A Focus on the World at Prince Charles School

Friday May 26, 2006
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
Prince Charles School Gymnasium
$70.00 for a table of 6
$12.00 for an individual ticket

Sandwiches/Sweets/Punch
Catered by Slocum & Ferris, City Market

To purchase your table/ticket, please call:
Deborah Fisher at 632-6071

Have a great week!!!

A Weeks Vacation

Well this week was pretty uneventful which is exactly how I had it planned. I had the week off and the weather was mostly cooperative. I mostly did yard work. We have put in 5 new gardens so there has been a lot of mulching and planting to do. I also mowed the lawn and fought the dandelions. I recently sold my ride on lawnmower and got an old fashioned reel lawnmower. It is environmentally friendly and works great plus you get a lot more exercise. I would recommend one to anyone thinking about it. It amazing how much the plants are up already this year, it should be a good season. I also got an early start on the vegetable garden and planted some of the potatoes. I have a window-full of herbs waiting to be transplanted outside as well but it is still a bit early for that. I have included some garden pictures from last year.

I had hoped that I would hear on some of my employment submissions this week but have not. Sometimes I wish I could get a job related to promoting N.B. and coming up with solutions for the "brain drain". I finished reading "Visiting Grandchildren" on my vacation and feel I have a better understanding of the dilemma we face. As I have in a previous post, I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in better understanding the Maritimes and how we got where we are and what we can do to move forward.

I began thinking during my vacation of things that I used to love doing in P.E.I. that I stopped doing when I moved to Saint John. One of them is fishing!! I used to go 6 times a week during the summers in P.E.I. I always skipped school on the first day of the season. I had a boat and all the gear and knew the waterways of P.E.I. like the back of my hand. Well, I am going to start again. I plan to buy a license this week. However, I lack knowledge on N.B. fishing so if anyone has any input on some good spots near Saint John then please let me know. I have signed up to this fishing website and hope to get some good tips on there as well. I fly fish and spin/cast fish and tested all my gear on the weekend.

Well I have saved the best news for last. On Friday, I became an uncle again. My brother's 2nd daughter was born in Charlottetown. Her name is Regan and she is healthy and happy by all accounts. I better get the adoption machinery rolling and my own children soon; we'll see?

It is back to work tomorrow so I better get to bed. It was a great week! I hope to hear more on my job prospects this week and get back into the meetings and community work that I love so much. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

A Weekend in Halifax

I just got back from Halifax and thought I would take a few minutes to update the blog. We had a great weekend and the weather was beautiful. It was a jam packed weekend! We spent Friday night at Casino Nova Scotia (no major wins to report), on Saturday I had a massage at the Westin and we went to EVITA at the Neptune Theatre and on Sunday we went to Bedford United Church to celebrate their congregation becoming an Affirming Congregation and we took the Digby Ferry (Bay Ferries) back to Saint John. It was nice get away and Halifax is a wonderful City. We need to create that atmosphere here in Saint John!

So what happened since my last entry? Well on Tuesday of last week the Federal Government came down with their budget. I was invited to attend a "Budget Watch" by the Saint John and District Labour Council at the Hotel Courtenay Bay. I imagine everyone now knows the results. I guess I was disappointed by the lack of funds for Harbour Clean Up and the slashing of Kyoto commitments. There was some good news if you are middle to high income earner, but little was offered to those who need it the most. I guess we will just have to keep moving forward and hope for the best.

On Wednesday of last week I had a final meeting with our Many Faces of Violence Project. We are currently planning our final event More details will follow in later posts but basically we will have a Coffee House at the Saint John Arts Centre in mid June to unveil a new poster for Domestic Violence. This poster will be created by a young Saint John artist. This has been a great project and I believe we have raised much awareness. Thanks to all who helped us out!

I decided to take this coming week off so I will be busy in the gardens and applying for some more employment positions. As I have said before, I am looking for something new and more challenging and the leads I spoke about in previous posts have not worked out but I have some new ones! I needed a break so this week is it! Lets hope for good weather.

Looking forward, don't forget it is Mother's Day this coming Sunday. Oh where would I be without my Mother? She is a truly inspirational person and our families rock. I am sure many people can relate so show your mother how much you care this Sunday. Also on this coming Friday there will be the:

SAINT JOHN ARTS SUMMIT II - TWO STEPS FORWARD AND BEYOND.

8 am to 4:30 pm. Coastal Inn Fort Howe, 10 Portland Street. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required. Presented by the Saint John Community Arts Board and the Cultural Affairs Office, City of Saint John, over 100 community stakeholders will participate in this summit to look at where Saint John has been and where it needs to go to continue growing a vibrant arts and culture community in the region. The three main objectives of the day-long summit will be: 1. to update the business, arts, education, and government communities on the progress made since the first Arts Summit was held on March 30, 2001; 2 . to build awareness amongst them on the importance of the arts to the economic growth of the community; and 3. to inspire these sectors to continue working towards new initiatives and move Saint John forward artistically and culturally, and in keeping with the objectives of the True Growth strategy. The summit will feature speaker presentations, a facilitated priorities exercise, lunch, and the establishment of five top community priorities for moving forward in the arts and culture sector. To register, please call (506) 649-6040.

That's all for now. Have a great week and I will be thinking of you all while on vacation :-)