Four Days Until Vacation

I love my job but still can't help being excited about the fact that in four days I will be on vacation for two weeks. On July 17th it will be one year since beginning my new position. I have not missed a single day of work during my first year so I believe that I am due for a little break. The past few weeks have been a little more relaxed than normal. I seem to be reading more and spending more time socializing at friends' homes. Two books I am currently reading include "21st Century Irvings" by Harvey Sawler and "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs. I would recommend both of these books to anyone looking for some "heavier" summer reading. After working, reading and socializing, any remaining time has been spent gardening and in meetings. The gardens are doing great despite the poor gardening weather this summer.

Most of my meetings over the past three weeks have been split between FUSION Saint John Inc. and P.R.O. Kids. Both groups have some special initiatives on the go. I spent all day yesterday (and I have the sunburn to prove it) at the Dickie Crossman Memorial Golf Tournament which is held the second weekend in July each year. The organizers always do a great job and proceeds are donated to P.R.O. Kids. It was a beautiful day for it but I am sorry to say that no one got a hole-in-one on the hole (#6 at Rockwood) I was judging. The other great fundraiser happening for P.R.O. Kids this summer is through a partnership with Baxter. Money will be donated to P.R.O. Kids from every 2L container of milk sold during July and August.

For FUSION Saint John Inc., I have been busy with several special events as well. The most exciting involves are very recent launch of the "12 Wonders of Greater Saint John". We are asking people to submit what they feel are the 12 Wonders of Greater Saint John. We are then going to produce a 12 month calendar using the top 12 picks and sell them as a fundraiser for FUSION Saint John Inc. I love this idea for several reasons: it celebrates the positives of Greater Saint John for once, it can be used as a retention and repatriation tool, it helps FUSION to become more sustainable and it engages the community in very important dialogue (i.e. the quality of life in Greater Saint John). Please vote here for your 12 Wonders! I will be on CBC radio tomorrow morning promoting it. Along the same line, FUSION Saint John Inc. was involved in presenting to the Population Growth Secretariat who had public consultations in Saint John earlier this month. Finally, through the Community Engagement Committee of FUSION which I co-chair, we are working away on the ArtConnect event which will happen in September. This is another great idea that will see corporate sponsors purchase artwork from emerging artists which will then be auctioned off to the public in exchange for volunteer hours committed to a local non-profit organization. Both the ArtConnect and 12 Wonders event are looking for corporate involvement so if you are interested please call us at 693-6810.

The highlight of the past three weeks was a trip to Fredericton to see the play entitled "Lyric". This was a two hour play that my younger sister wrote, directed and produced. It played for three evenings on the St. Thomas University campus. It was a very thought provoking play that was superbly written. She has wonderful talent and I look forward to the day she becomes famous and I can retire :-)

As I said in the opening, the weeks ahead contain nothing but vacation and thus relaxation. My parents will be arriving on Thursday of this week. I will probably end up making some short trips to Halifax and Charlottetown during my vacation, but will be staying in Saint John for the most part. I may also spend some time researching a new hobby I want to begin: playing the violin. If anyone has any tips or advice, feel free to contact me. Have a great three weeks!