The Days are Getting Longer...............

I just arrived back in Saint John from a weekend trip to Charlottetown. I noticed that the light was staying around for longer as I would normally be in darkness by the time I pulled into Saint John. It was a great weekend trip. I try to make it home for all the birthdays and it was my Dad's birthday on Saturday. We went out and had "all you can eat" Chinese food. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I think I am beginning to regret it today. Unfortunately, I was assaulted in Saint John on my Dad's birthday 6 years ago so it is also the anniversary for that incident. It seems like so long ago now. I had my cheekbone busted in three places and required emergency plastic surgery in the middle of the night. All that for leaving a gay bar at the wrong time. It is funny to think back now because I feel that Saint John (and even the world) has come a long way since that night. Things are beginning to get better for marginalized folks.

On a more positive note, I spent a lot of time over the past couple weeks working on my term paper for the management course I am taking. I can proudly say that I mailed it last week. I thought it was great so hopefully the marker does as well. It was titled, "Does political decision content alter the decision making process: decision making in the political charged health care environment." I also had a successful FUSION Saint John Inc. Community Engagement Committee meeting last week. Our committee has decided to move forward with an idea around engaging young people in the City in volunteering. The idea is borrowed from Ontario but essentially involves having businesses purchase art from emerging artists and then putting each piece of art up for auction with the bidding being volunteer hours to a specific not-for-profit organization in the City. If you want to get involved then give me a shout.

A little over a week ago I had the opportunity to attend a photo exhibit by the Urban Core Support Network. The exhibit took place at the Saint John Arts Centre and featured works by local women living in poverty. They took pictures of what poverty was to them. It was a very powerful look at poverty through the eyes of those living the experience. A great chance for people to remind themselves of the human beings behind some of these social issues. Often, I find that people get caught up in the work around making changes and forget about the people affected by the work.

Last week I also began physiotherapy for my back and neck. I have already tried massages, acupuncture, chiropractors and yoga so I thought I would experiment with something new. Now I have a bunch of exercises I have to do each day. I figured that would happen but it seems sort of weird to be paying someone to give you exercises to do. On another health note, this past weekend has marked one month of not smoking. Hopefully this is the time that I stick with it.

Some highlights of the coming week include a FUSION Saint John Inc. Steering Committee meeting tomorrow night. It will be the first one since the new committee has taken over so it will be a long one but very positive I think. On Tuesday at work I will be followed by an Occupational Therapy and Social Work student so I will have to be on my best behaviour.

There has been much media coverage lately on the topic of retention, repatriation and attraction of youth to our province. I would enjoy hearing people's ideas on how to solve this problem in the province.

Have a great week everyone!! If you have an comments or suggestions on my posts please feel free to contact me.

January, 13th, +5 degrees Celsius???

Happy New Year to everyone!! It is hard to believe that 2006 went by so fast. It is also hard to believe that it is mid-January and it is +5 degrees Celsius. Unlike many others, I would not say it is great but that perhaps we should start paying more attention to our environment. I recently watched the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" and would recommend it to everyone. It is a real eye opener.

The first week of January was fairly slow with regard to meetings and work as I found that a lot of people took extended holidays. However, due to the ongoing renovations in my basement I could not go away for very long. They actually finished on January 6th which was exactly two months since the flood took place. Two of my tenants have returned and settled back in while I still have two open spots if anyone knows of any Community College Students looking for a place for this semester. I must admit the basement looks very good but I still would not ever want to go through this ordeal again. The City of Saint John has still not accepted liability for water main break.

I have been busy working on my term paper for my management course which is due at the end of January. I have also been trying to decide whether to go back into French this semester or take one semester off and begin again in April. By that time my management course will be done and I will not be juggling two courses and my job.

Last Tuesday, I attended the Annual General Meeting of the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative at the Delta. It was my third year attending and this year I really enjoyed the speaker, Claudette Bradshaw. She spoke passionately of the need to help young children living in poverty, especially those with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects. She believes that these two conditions are the greatest social challenge facing Canada today and that there needs to be much more education and help. She was a very inspirational speaker.

On Thursday, I had a P.R.O. Kids Meeting. We had several new board members appointed and are currently beginning planning for our largest fundraiser, the annual dinner. I have been selected chair of the committee so if you have anything you want to donate for our silent auction or if you want to sponsor the dinner feel free to give me a call (643-2044). All the money raised goes to the wonderful cause of helping kids participate in recreation opportunities where money is a barrier.

I also attended a meeting last Wednesday on early psychosis and how the numbers are increasing with time. The group is looking at creating an early psychosis program in Saint John which would be very valuable to the community. Again, as with most things I write about, education is the key. We have to open society's eyes to the many social needs in our community if we are to become a productive and positive community.

On Tuesday of this coming week I have my FUSION Community Engagement Committee Meeting and I am always looking for new members so if you are interested in attending them please get hold of me (dannyj@nbnet.nb.ca).

Have a great week!