Heat Wave Hits Saint John!!

Wow, can you believe the weather lately? Of course, it all came after my summer vacation was over. Oh well, maybe next year. For now I will just enjoy it whenever I get the chance. I don't really like the heat anyway :-)Not a whole lot exciting happened this week but here is the run down:

Last Thursday night FUSION Saint John Inc. had a get together at Boston Pizza on the East side. This was a different venue for FUSION but it worked out well with about 50 people showing up and enjoying their patio. These get togethers are part of FUSION Saint John Inc.'s "About Town" series which promote networking and welcoming new Saint Johners to town. Come out to one whenever you get the chance!

The rest of last week was spent working away at my new job. It was only the second week so things were quite busy. I am enjoying it very much though and look forward to developing some initiatives around employment, education and housing for people living with mental illnesses. I love helping others!

On the weekend I did more gardening, went to friends house warming get together and washed the car. I am still trying to sell it. You think there would be some interest in gas-efficient cars like the Echo with today's gas prices.

And here we are on Monday of a new week. Tonight the Mayor will proclaim Pride Week in the City of Saint John. The actual week does not start until next weekend but Council only meets every other week so it had to be done tonight. I hope they get a good crowd. Port City Rainbow Pride has a great week of events lined up which can be found on their website. I am not sure which will be more exciting on tonight's Council agenda: the Mayor proclaiming Pride Week or the City staff's reaction to last weeks presentation by John Ferguson on the pension plan issues. Either way, I will not be able to make it tonight due to other commitments and will also miss the Pride Parade on August 12th due to my 10 year high school reunion. That should be interesting!

Back on Track

Hello everyone! I usually like to post once a week but I am almost a week late this time around. I do have an excuse though. Last week was my first full week at the new job and it was a little hectic. However I have met a lot of the staff at Centracare and they are all very nice and friendly. I also met many of the individuals who work with mental health consumers in the community and they are great as well. This coming week I will be meeting with even more of the service providers in the community. Due to the regional nature of the position I will also have to get to Sussex and St. Stephen soon. I have also been doing a lot of reading as there is much new research in the area of psychosocial rehabilitation.

On Wednesday night of last week my parents stopped in for an overnight visit. They had drove my sister back to Fredericton. It was a great visit. I showed my mother the house and gardens as she had never seen them before. My grandmother lives with them in P.E.I. and therefore it makes it hard to get away for any length of time. We had supper at Billy's Seafood and then toured around a bit. They left early the next morning. It was great to see them and I look forward to their future visits.

On Friday evening the Saint John Youth Cabinet held an environmental roundtable with Hon. Trevor Holder, the Minister for the Environment in N.B. Trevor had been traveling around the province having these consultations and he wanted to meet with the youth in Saint John. It was an interesting chat. Admittedly, I had to leave early but the youth were asking some pretty good questions in regards to harbour cleanup and air pollution.

I have been on call this whole weekend for Victim Services. I actually had more calls this weekend then I have had since beginning to volunteer with the program. But it is good practise for me as it can sometimes be awkward dealing with victims of crime. They are in a situation that you can only try to understand. It all went well though.

We attended a friend's summer party on Saturday night out in West Saint John. Well very west, almost ot Grand Bay. She lives on the water so it nice to just sit around and enjoy the company and views. Unfortunately it was overcast and began to rain later in the evening. I think I may have to start looking for some property on the water. I really enjoy the cottage setting. It seems though that the properties that do come onto the market that are on the water are a little out of my price range :-)

Finally, I wanted to mention a couple of events that are coming up this week:

Over the past year FUSION Saint John Inc. and the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) have partnered to develop a unique mentorship program called "FUSE the Gaps". We helped approximately 5 area youth address and overcome some of the barriers associated with finding employment and/or furthering their education. The program pairs a FUSION Saint John Inc. member with an area youth with limited resources and in need of guidance with the goal of helping the individual find and begin their career path. It has been a successful and heart warming venture to date. However, we are currently in the process of revamping and better organizing the program for the upcoming school year. We need your help! If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of youth in our community that are less fortunate then we want to hear from you. We will be holding a short meeting on Monday, July 24th at 5:00 P.M. at the Business Resource Centre located at 40 King Street. Please RSVP Danny Jardine at dannyj@nbnet.nb.ca if you will be attending.

The next event in Fusion's "About Town" Series is a Summer Fun mixer at Boston Pizza. Join us on the Boston Pizza Patio for a relaxed evening of fun summer drinks and yummy food specials. Rumour has it there will even be a drink and pizza named in our honour! If the sun refuses to shine, we'll move the party to the contemporary sports bar area. Come prepared to chat up old friends, make new acquaintances, and welcome newcomers to Saint John! Start your weekend early! The "Summer Fun" mixer will be held Thursday, July 27th, between 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Boston Pizza, 120 McAllister Drive.

That's it for this week! Have a great week!

Two Days Left at My Current Job

Wow, the time is flying. It is hard to believe that I start my new job on Monday. My co-workers and volunteers had 2 different dinners for me last week. They gave me cards that said wonderful things (well mostly) and gifts. I finally got a new watch! I haven't had one in a couple of years (I am not big on time) so it is great to have one now. The last one I had I lost while gently pushing sperm out of a flatfish during my Masters thesis work at U.N.B. Saint John. I am sure you wanted to know that! They also got me a garden bench that turns into a picnic table, it is quite neat and a wonderful additions to our gardens.

I spent Saturday volunteering at the Dickie Crossman Memorial in support of P.R.O. Kids. I was a judge on Hole #3 to see if anyone got a hole in one. It didn't happen but it was a wonderful day weather wise and the 6 hours in the sun (with sunscreen of course) did wonders for my tan. It was a great event though with many teams participating and everyone having a good time.

I had my monthly massage yesterday and it was wonderful as usual. Yes, I have one every month. Hey, I even read research yesterday that states that regularly massages lowered stress hormones in people and had long term positive effects on moods. Luckily I have an insurance plan that covers the cost because I know many people are not so fortunate. If you never had one you should try it out, it is a good treat for yourself. Anyway, today when I went into work and stretched the wrong way I tore something in my neck. Needless to say I know have a chiropracter appointment for tomorrow. Guess you can never win!

Tomorrow morning I have a meeting with the Education to Employment working group of Vibrant Communities Saint John. We have been working hard on addressing some of the barriers that individuals in poverty face when attempting to gain employment. We will soon have our report done and I look forward to sharing the facts with you all. I am part of a smaller working group of this larger group that is specifically looking at what is already available to people trying to find employment and what gaps and barriers exist. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of them but it is the hope that this group will make some recommendations that will help to turn this situation around.

On Friday night we will be attending the Telegraph Journal reporter, Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon's, photo exhibit at the Imperial Theatre. I have inserted an image here advertising it that I hope you can read. We will then be heading to a friends house for a going away get together of a good friend of mine. I spoke of her in a previous post having to leave the province so her "educated" partner can find employment. She was the first friend I had in Saint John as we were roommates when I first moved to Saint John in 2000. I will miss her!

Finally, a note on something coming up:

Over the past year FUSION Saint John Inc. and the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) have partnered to develop a unique mentorship program called FUSE the Gaps. We helped approximately 5 area youth address and overcome some of the barriers associated with finding employment and/or furthering their education. The program pairs a FUSION Saint John Inc. member with an area youth with limited resources and in need of guidance with the goal of helping the individual find and begin their career path. It has been a successful and heart warming venture to date. However, we are currently in the process of revamping and better organizing the program for the upcoming school year. We need your help! If you are interested in making a difference in the lives of youth in our community that are less fortunate then we want to hear from you. We will be holding a short meeting on Monday, July 24th at 5:00 P.M. at the Business Resource Centre located at 40 King Street. Please RSVP Danny Jardine at dannyj@nbnet.nb.ca if you will be attending.

My vacation is coming to an end......

Well, not much for this post: I have had the flu and been on vacation for the past week so that pretty much equals doing nothing. It has been a very bad cold/flu and I even lost my voice at one point. That may be a welcome thing for some in Saint John :-) It was nice to get home for an extended vacation as I am usually rushing to P.E.I. and back on a weekend but this time I had 5 days. My newest niece is growing fast. I had the opportunity to visit some old friends during a Canada Day party that one of them was having. It is always nice to catch up on old times with friends; hear what everyone has been up to over the years. I have included a picture here with some of them. It was a good warm up as my 10 year high school reunion is this August. My family was great as well and my brother and I attended a Flyball tournament in Charlottetown. I have never watched it live before and it was quite amusing and interesting. I must get my dog enrolled! Of course, the closest league around here is in Fredericton I believe.

Anyway, as normal, I drove back into the fog last night and have been catching up ever since. As if the fog is not depressing enough, when I surveyed my vegetable garden after arriving home, I have found Late Blight!!!! As an Islander and having worked for Agriculture Canada for several summers I recognized it right away. It is a fungal disease, normally attacking potatoes and tomatoes/peppers. Basically my garden is toast for this year! I thought it may be a bad year for this disease due to the amount of moisture and fog we have been having. Once you get 3 or 4 days in a row you have to really start inspecting your plants. This is my first time ever having the disease in my garden. On P.E.I. I would have to report it to the government, but I checked here and do not believe you have to in N.B. If anyone is into history, you may recall that it was Blight that caused the Irish Potatoe Famine in 1845. Anyway, I will survive and after all it is just a garden and is replaceable.

I have started some summer reading as well and would highly recommend to everyone the book called, "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. It is an amazing book if you are enjoy reading that sort of material. It is an older book, but hey I just got the free time so am taking advantage of it. I could blab on here forever today but I feel as though my thoughts are not as organized as normal so I am going to stop for now. I will try to make the next post more readable and organized....it is just the vacation getting to me :-) Have a great week everyone!