Brrrrr.....

The past couple of weeks have been very cold. This is the main fact that keeps popping into my mind as I sit down to write this post. I suppose we have been spoiled with mild weather up to this point. It has also been very busy at work and perhaps this is why the coldness sticks out in my mind. I was constantly running from one meeting to the next and every time I got into the car it was freezing and of course it never warmed up by the time I got to the next meeting. A viscous cycle of coldness but it's better than global warming.

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on my final assignment for my Management course and compiling tax information so I could get that out of the way. I sent off my taxes last night so I will not have to think about them anymore.

On Valentine's evening (yes the night of the big storm) I attended a Dinner and Auction at the Water Street Dinner Theatre. It was a fundraising event for the local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association. They had a great crowd out for the event considering the weather. I had a great time and they raised much needed money. The organization does great work but is extremely under funded as is the case with many non-profit groups. If you live in Greater Saint John remember to take advantage of the opportunity to do a presentation to the newly formed Premier's Task Force on the Community Non-Profit Sector chaired by Claudette Bradshaw that will be in the area this coming week. The more information they receive about the critical financial situation the non-profit community faces the better. For a listing of dates, click here.

The following evening I went to Fredericton to attend the Premier's State of the Province Address. It was a good evening and I enjoyed the fact that much of the speech focused on social issues in the province and the declining population. I believe these to be some of the more urgent issues in the province. We need to attract and retain youth in the province and better fund the many non-profit groups that are effectively addressing the variety of social issues facing the province. Other than being overcrowded it was a great evening.

The following day I attended a presentation at UNBSJ by a prosecutor from Idaho who prosecutes perpetrators of domestic violence. It was an informative presentation but of course there is always someone around to ruin it. In this case it was a male in the audience who continually claimed that he had research to prove that just as many females perpetrate violence against their partners as males. He obviously must have made up the research himself because all kinds of researchers would prove him wrong it a minute. Obviously it is not always males perpetrating the violence but the split is more like 85% to 15% not 50/50. Anyway, he had his word and we must encourage freedom of speech in this country.

Those were some highlights from my past two weeks. I hope everyone has a great rest of February. I will leave you with an event that is happening on Monday of this coming week:

"Saint John Powers Up"
"Energy Fuels Up Expansion"
"Head East"

What's up with all the Energy talk?
Join us for Appetizers and Discussion that has Kick!

Fusion's Energy Forum & Mixer
Sebastian, 43 Princess Street (across from O'Leary's)
Monday, February 26, 2007
5:30 - 7:00 pm

To register please visit here.