http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/07/31/lefthanded.html
This could explain a lot.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
So another week has come and gone North of 60. Nothing really new and exciting has happened. It has become dark at night, very dark. I must say I am contemplating a night light as I seem to sleep better in the daylight than the dark. Perhaps some long hidden childhood problem of monsters under the bed makes me seek bright light at night.
It would appear that someone stole my fishing rod out of the office. I'm not sure when it happened, but when I went to loan it out earlier this week it was gone. Of all the things people could take from the office, the fishing rod seems one of the strangest. Yes, it has a retail value of at least $60...who wouldn't want to sell that on the black market when you could have tried to sell a laptop or projector.
I have a number of the prints purchased in Pangnirtung ready for hanging on the wall, and perhaps later today I will get the energy to actually take hammer to wall. Actually it isn't really the lifting of the hammer that is holding me back it is the countless measurements and decisions that are holding me back. How many prints on one wall is too many? Will the prints go with my tile from Mexico or my print from Japan? And does anyone really care?
The weather continues to be generally miserable. The sun did make a brief appearance yesterday but was still surrounded by clouds. Weather reports show the possibility of sun on Wednesday, but with no meteorologist anywhere close to here the predictions of the weather office are generally wrong.
I bought groceries yesterday and thought it might be fun to do some price comparisons. I will need your help with this...please email or post the cost of these items at your grocery store.
One can of the no-name brand of tuna $1.85
Wonder English muffins $3.19
Omega 3 large eggs $4.89
Cranberry Cocktail $9.69
Smart Ones frozen entree $5.69
Our Compliments Baby Spinach (plastic container) $9.99
Secret Antiperspirant $5.99
12 pack of diet pepsi $13.99
When I go grocery shopping I only use a basket. When the cost of a basket can exceed $100, the thought of the damage I could do with a cart seems a bit much.
I bought five corn on the cob the other day for just over $6. The corn was old, tough and not worth the money. Blueberries were selling for a mere $7.49 yesterday and I was able to resist purchasing them...even though I did debate it for a long time.
It would appear that someone stole my fishing rod out of the office. I'm not sure when it happened, but when I went to loan it out earlier this week it was gone. Of all the things people could take from the office, the fishing rod seems one of the strangest. Yes, it has a retail value of at least $60...who wouldn't want to sell that on the black market when you could have tried to sell a laptop or projector.
I have a number of the prints purchased in Pangnirtung ready for hanging on the wall, and perhaps later today I will get the energy to actually take hammer to wall. Actually it isn't really the lifting of the hammer that is holding me back it is the countless measurements and decisions that are holding me back. How many prints on one wall is too many? Will the prints go with my tile from Mexico or my print from Japan? And does anyone really care?
The weather continues to be generally miserable. The sun did make a brief appearance yesterday but was still surrounded by clouds. Weather reports show the possibility of sun on Wednesday, but with no meteorologist anywhere close to here the predictions of the weather office are generally wrong.
I bought groceries yesterday and thought it might be fun to do some price comparisons. I will need your help with this...please email or post the cost of these items at your grocery store.
One can of the no-name brand of tuna $1.85
Wonder English muffins $3.19
Omega 3 large eggs $4.89
Cranberry Cocktail $9.69
Smart Ones frozen entree $5.69
Our Compliments Baby Spinach (plastic container) $9.99
Secret Antiperspirant $5.99
12 pack of diet pepsi $13.99
When I go grocery shopping I only use a basket. When the cost of a basket can exceed $100, the thought of the damage I could do with a cart seems a bit much.
I bought five corn on the cob the other day for just over $6. The corn was old, tough and not worth the money. Blueberries were selling for a mere $7.49 yesterday and I was able to resist purchasing them...even though I did debate it for a long time.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sealift!!! Well, not really. It came by courier. But it is the same idea. 51 cans of Herdez Salsa Americana. My favourite...can you tell? Apparently at one time for a brief few weeks you could purchase it at Arctic Ventures here in town. It all sold within a month and apparently they have never ordered it again. Why would you bring back such a good selling product? In the South most stores would re-order, but not here in the North. If it sells, take the money and hope the next product sells as well. Oh well, we just do things differently here.
It remains foggy, rainy and generally miserable here weather wise. Sigh. I do not want to hear anyone from the South complain of the hot temps you are experiencing unless you are going to say, "I love it" Nor do I want a report from Rankin where the temperature has been about 10 degrees warmer for the past few weeks....we are cold. Not winter cold, summer cold. Temperatures should always be above 10 in the summer...not 3.
Here's to hoping that during the build next month we have warm sunny skies.
It remains foggy, rainy and generally miserable here weather wise. Sigh. I do not want to hear anyone from the South complain of the hot temps you are experiencing unless you are going to say, "I love it" Nor do I want a report from Rankin where the temperature has been about 10 degrees warmer for the past few weeks....we are cold. Not winter cold, summer cold. Temperatures should always be above 10 in the summer...not 3.
Here's to hoping that during the build next month we have warm sunny skies.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
And so summer is over. Today marks the last day of 24 hour daylight for Iqaluit. As of tomorrow (Monday) the length of daylight will be 23 hours and 59 minutes. Sigh. It was good while it lasted. Starting tomorrow we will get 6 minutes less of daylight until December 21...when the sun will finally start increasing again.
Sure, there is still part of July and August to get through that most of you would count as summer, but not for me. Summer has ended in my world. It's a tiny bit depressing. No darkness will not instantly fill the sky, but definitely by the end of the month there will be a noticable change in the night sky...it will be a night sky. One the plus side, by September again the Northern Lights will be back...and that is always nice to see.
It was a quiet weekend for North of Nain. No big adventures and no interesting things to do. I became one of you...I did laundry and cleaned my apartment, bought groceries and contemplated where to hang some of my artwork. Yep, it was a thriller.
Nothing exciting planned for this week either so this may be another good opportunity for you (my faithful readers) to ask questions that you would like answered about life (or at least my life) in the North. I'm not an expert, but I can give you my opinion. Leave a comment or email northofnain@hotmail.com
Sure, there is still part of July and August to get through that most of you would count as summer, but not for me. Summer has ended in my world. It's a tiny bit depressing. No darkness will not instantly fill the sky, but definitely by the end of the month there will be a noticable change in the night sky...it will be a night sky. One the plus side, by September again the Northern Lights will be back...and that is always nice to see.
It was a quiet weekend for North of Nain. No big adventures and no interesting things to do. I became one of you...I did laundry and cleaned my apartment, bought groceries and contemplated where to hang some of my artwork. Yep, it was a thriller.
Nothing exciting planned for this week either so this may be another good opportunity for you (my faithful readers) to ask questions that you would like answered about life (or at least my life) in the North. I'm not an expert, but I can give you my opinion. Leave a comment or email northofnain@hotmail.com
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Where to start my wonderful journey…hmmmm…at the beginning? Wednesday the 11th I headed to the airport for my trip to Ottawa. As some of you are aware I am now a volunteer with Habitat and was flying down to attend the annual fundraising golf tournament. On the plane this lady from Alberta sat beside me and asked questions the entire flight. It started off with, “Is that the Premier?” Yes, that’s him. “Where are his body guards?” I laughed out loud and then said, he doesn’t have any. “Oh, I’m surprised a Premier wouldn’t travel with any.” Then the discussion went on, what do I do for fun, what’s the weather really like, etc. I was relatively happy to answer her questions, but would have preferred a nap. Then I thought she was getting up to use the lavatory, nope, she went to the row behind us and asked the Premier if she could have her picture taken with him. He was kind enough to say yes, but again…I laughed and almost choked when I saw it happen. Don’t get me wrong, I have great respect for him. It’s just I can’t imagine ever wanting to do that with any politician or star. (And I have a thing for politicians and lawyers!)
So I arrived in Ottawa safe and sound as did my one piece of luggage at 5pm. By 5:45pm I was at the mall shopping. I had a big list and limited amount of time to accomplish all of it. By the end of Wednesday night I had made the majority of my purchases including the biggest box of laundry soap I could find…which would eventually get a hole in it and spill out into the trunk of my rental car making everything smell like soap.
I spent most of Thursday morning getting beautified. And then eventually made my way to the Chateau Cartier in Gatineau. I must say I’ve always been very good with directions and kinda pride myself on my ability to get around….so the trip to the Cartier kinda irked me. I picked up two other volunteers at the airport and after a quick stop at the LCBO (read BOOZE Store) we set off. One girl had been there in October and the other had asked someone for directions on how to get there…neither helped. We made 4 calls to the hotel, “We are at ___ and ___ how to we find you?” The hotel was nice and the golf course excellent…highly recommended. The golf tournament was a huge success. We had about 110 golfers and raised about $57,000. My volunteer time was grueling. M and I drove a golf cart to hole #3, set up our chairs, our cooler full of beer and waited. As each team drove by we asked if they wanted to play the hole in one game…no one turned us down and we even managed to get extra cash out of a couple of people as we ‘fined’ them for using crude language. It was a challenging afternoon as we followed the sun around our tee off area and drank our ice cold beverages. I would also like to point out that this is the first time I have ever driven in Ottawa and the fact that I was able to find my way downtown to exactly the store I wanted to visit and then still make it back to the airport on time I feel is very impressive.
I spent Saturday shopping…yep, again. See shoe photos! Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday I spent at the beach. I went to Lac Peche, Lac Phillippe and Lac Meeche. The sand is certainly not as nice as PEI, but overall a wonderful experience. I even went kayaking on Monday. I’ve never kayaked before and must say I really enjoyed it and will plan to include it in my next vacation plans.
Tuesday morning I set off for Ikea…the ever elusive Ikea. I found the store without difficulty and then had to wait ½ hour for them to open. People were lined up by the time the doors opened. I could have spent days wandering around and checking out everything…but I wanted to go to the beach. I did run into the nice gentleman from Iqaluit who fixed my couch (properly…not the one who tried to fix it with chopsticks!), he was down on holidays with his family and mentioned that I was the 4th person from Iqaluit he’d seen in Ikea since the doors opened at 10am…it was 10:15am. I quickly set out to purchase my chair and that was it. Only the chair was not going to fit into the rental car…so I had to return it and now will be paying a lot of money to have it shipped up to me…had it of fit in the car it would have been counted as excess luggage at a cost of no more than $75. Alas, things in my life are not that easy. But, it is nice to know that it is a chair that I want and even with the extra cost of shipping still reasonable by Northern standards.
With tears in my eyes I set off for the airport Wednesday morning. It’s not that I didn’t want to come back to Iqaluit, I just didn’t want my vacation to end so soon. It was probably one of the most relaxing trips I’ve ever taken. I spent my days shopping or at the beach and my evenings in lovely company sharing food and tales. My three pieces of luggage and I arrived safe and sound back in Iqaluit Wednesday. Today is Thursday and it’s back to work time….thank goodness the weekend is very close.
Here are a few things I found during my trip….
1. I am definitely a prairie or Northern girl…the trees overhead really do bother me. If I can’t see the sky I start to get a little wigged out.
2. Nighttime driving takes some getting used to.
3. I should always pack a night light when I travel during the summer months to Southern areas where the sunsets early. (before say…1am)
4. People are very friendly when you mention you are from Nunavut.
5. People have no idea what life above 60 is really like or even where Nunavut really is.
6. I should really not be allowed to shop on my own…as evident from my visa statement.
7. My skin needs more time in the sun as the pink colour I returned to the North with will attest too.
8. I should consider counselling for my shoe problem.
9. $20 goes a long way to entertaining me at a casino.
10. I need to get out more often!
So I arrived in Ottawa safe and sound as did my one piece of luggage at 5pm. By 5:45pm I was at the mall shopping. I had a big list and limited amount of time to accomplish all of it. By the end of Wednesday night I had made the majority of my purchases including the biggest box of laundry soap I could find…which would eventually get a hole in it and spill out into the trunk of my rental car making everything smell like soap.
I spent most of Thursday morning getting beautified. And then eventually made my way to the Chateau Cartier in Gatineau. I must say I’ve always been very good with directions and kinda pride myself on my ability to get around….so the trip to the Cartier kinda irked me. I picked up two other volunteers at the airport and after a quick stop at the LCBO (read BOOZE Store) we set off. One girl had been there in October and the other had asked someone for directions on how to get there…neither helped. We made 4 calls to the hotel, “We are at ___ and ___ how to we find you?” The hotel was nice and the golf course excellent…highly recommended. The golf tournament was a huge success. We had about 110 golfers and raised about $57,000. My volunteer time was grueling. M and I drove a golf cart to hole #3, set up our chairs, our cooler full of beer and waited. As each team drove by we asked if they wanted to play the hole in one game…no one turned us down and we even managed to get extra cash out of a couple of people as we ‘fined’ them for using crude language. It was a challenging afternoon as we followed the sun around our tee off area and drank our ice cold beverages. I would also like to point out that this is the first time I have ever driven in Ottawa and the fact that I was able to find my way downtown to exactly the store I wanted to visit and then still make it back to the airport on time I feel is very impressive.
I spent Saturday shopping…yep, again. See shoe photos! Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday I spent at the beach. I went to Lac Peche, Lac Phillippe and Lac Meeche. The sand is certainly not as nice as PEI, but overall a wonderful experience. I even went kayaking on Monday. I’ve never kayaked before and must say I really enjoyed it and will plan to include it in my next vacation plans.
Tuesday morning I set off for Ikea…the ever elusive Ikea. I found the store without difficulty and then had to wait ½ hour for them to open. People were lined up by the time the doors opened. I could have spent days wandering around and checking out everything…but I wanted to go to the beach. I did run into the nice gentleman from Iqaluit who fixed my couch (properly…not the one who tried to fix it with chopsticks!), he was down on holidays with his family and mentioned that I was the 4th person from Iqaluit he’d seen in Ikea since the doors opened at 10am…it was 10:15am. I quickly set out to purchase my chair and that was it. Only the chair was not going to fit into the rental car…so I had to return it and now will be paying a lot of money to have it shipped up to me…had it of fit in the car it would have been counted as excess luggage at a cost of no more than $75. Alas, things in my life are not that easy. But, it is nice to know that it is a chair that I want and even with the extra cost of shipping still reasonable by Northern standards.
With tears in my eyes I set off for the airport Wednesday morning. It’s not that I didn’t want to come back to Iqaluit, I just didn’t want my vacation to end so soon. It was probably one of the most relaxing trips I’ve ever taken. I spent my days shopping or at the beach and my evenings in lovely company sharing food and tales. My three pieces of luggage and I arrived safe and sound back in Iqaluit Wednesday. Today is Thursday and it’s back to work time….thank goodness the weekend is very close.
Here are a few things I found during my trip….
1. I am definitely a prairie or Northern girl…the trees overhead really do bother me. If I can’t see the sky I start to get a little wigged out.
2. Nighttime driving takes some getting used to.
3. I should always pack a night light when I travel during the summer months to Southern areas where the sunsets early. (before say…1am)
4. People are very friendly when you mention you are from Nunavut.
5. People have no idea what life above 60 is really like or even where Nunavut really is.
6. I should really not be allowed to shop on my own…as evident from my visa statement.
7. My skin needs more time in the sun as the pink colour I returned to the North with will attest too.
8. I should consider counselling for my shoe problem.
9. $20 goes a long way to entertaining me at a casino.
10. I need to get out more often!
Photos from my trip....
The Premier takes a practice swing at hole 3.
One of the MLA's takes a swing at hole 3.
Next year we are going to do a prize for best dressed team. There guys went all out. Matching shirts from CIBC, shorts they ordered just for the tournament and even CIBC Pink for the cure socks. They were styling.
Found at one of the lakes I visited during my stay in the South.
Close up from my kayak adventure.
I gotta admit this kinda freaked me out. Yes, I'm from PEI...but still...the trees were really freaking me out when I couldn't see the sky. I really don't like having things over my head like the trees. Apparently I have spent too much combined time on the prairies and up North.
Me in kayak...taken by me. My first ever kayak experience...loved it.
Shoes...wonderful amazing shoes. The two latest in my collection. They are too beautiful...and too not practical for where I live...but I will wear them while vacuuming or something...anything...I love them...I had to have them.
The Premier takes a practice swing at hole 3.
One of the MLA's takes a swing at hole 3.
Next year we are going to do a prize for best dressed team. There guys went all out. Matching shirts from CIBC, shorts they ordered just for the tournament and even CIBC Pink for the cure socks. They were styling.
Found at one of the lakes I visited during my stay in the South.
Close up from my kayak adventure.
I gotta admit this kinda freaked me out. Yes, I'm from PEI...but still...the trees were really freaking me out when I couldn't see the sky. I really don't like having things over my head like the trees. Apparently I have spent too much combined time on the prairies and up North.
Me in kayak...taken by me. My first ever kayak experience...loved it.
Shoes...wonderful amazing shoes. The two latest in my collection. They are too beautiful...and too not practical for where I live...but I will wear them while vacuuming or something...anything...I love them...I had to have them.
Oh yeah...here's a pic of me enjoying Nunavut Day. Don't worry Mom, it was a temporary tattoo that is long gone.
Here are some of the nice carvings that are decorating the downtown part of Iqaluit. I took these Nunavut Day...yes, I'm a bit slow with the uploading of photos lately. Enjoy.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Hello faithful readers! I'm back in the North and ready to update you on the many adventures of J! But not tonight...
I had a wonderful sunny week down South. I spent most of my time in Gatineau (previously unexplored territory) and a few days at the beach. And I spent a good deal of my bank account...just trying to do my part to help the economy.
For those of you who know me well...you will appreciate that I purchased two pairs of shoes and they are fabulous. Pictures to follow when I find my camera. The shoes I know exactly where they are...they came as my carry on today...not taking any chances on losing them. LOL.
When I arrived in Iqaluit today it was 18 degrees...yep, that's amazing. Right now it is 7 degrees and foggy. If I could afford to charter a plane and just start flying South until I hit sunny hot weather again I would. At least I can console myself by starting to think about the next trip I will take in September!
I had a wonderful sunny week down South. I spent most of my time in Gatineau (previously unexplored territory) and a few days at the beach. And I spent a good deal of my bank account...just trying to do my part to help the economy.
For those of you who know me well...you will appreciate that I purchased two pairs of shoes and they are fabulous. Pictures to follow when I find my camera. The shoes I know exactly where they are...they came as my carry on today...not taking any chances on losing them. LOL.
When I arrived in Iqaluit today it was 18 degrees...yep, that's amazing. Right now it is 7 degrees and foggy. If I could afford to charter a plane and just start flying South until I hit sunny hot weather again I would. At least I can console myself by starting to think about the next trip I will take in September!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Happy Nunavut Day!
For those of you who didn't know, I had Monday off....it's a holiday here in Nunavut. July 9 is the birthday for Nunavut and therefore a territorial wide holiday. Let's hear it for two long weekends in a row!
I headed down to the festivities, ate a musk ox burger and took a few pictures. Musk ox is good. It's not very gamey like moose or caribou. There was face painting (and I sported a Nunavut flag temporary tattoo), and music and lots of people hanging out and just enjoying the nice sunny day. Over at the Cadet Hall they had a checkers tournament, more music, traditional country food to eat and cotton candy! I snagged a nice hat with mesh that I can wear fishing to avoid getting a few bites on my neck, an apron commemorating the event and a snazzy fridge magnet. I took a number of pics of some of the newest landscaping in town...but that will wait for another entry.
I rounded out my day by attending the Canadian North Gala...yep, if it has gala in the name you know I'm attending. It was amazing. Just walking in the doors you felt the transformation. First Air will need to do some major upgrading to their December event to keep pace in the future. It was a fantastic night of music and people. The evening started with drum dancing, throat singing, Arct Cirq, a number of other Nunavut entertainers and a great dj. If you live here in Iqaluit and didn't go...well...you should have.
North of Nain is taking a temporary break. I'm off to Ottawa tomorrow afternoon for a week. While I will be in the South of Canada and I'm pretty sure they have internet there I likely won't do any updates until I return to the North.
At the very back of the line waiting for my musk ox burger.
Yep, it's the Pangnirtung community flag...you have no idea how long I had to wait for that shot.
The Premier hosted the event and the food was cooked by MLA's, Ministers and Deputy Ministers. That's the Premier in the red ball cap.
Just a crowd shot.
And yet another crowd shot.
Traditional canvas style summer camping tent. Easy to set up, easy to pack and lots of room inside.
More crowds listening to the music outside the cadet hall.
One of the many performers at the gala.
Throat singing. I have video with sound to go along with this. Anyone know how I can post it on blogger?
Amazing acrobatics from Arct Cirq. Isn't the stage amazing?
For those of you who didn't know, I had Monday off....it's a holiday here in Nunavut. July 9 is the birthday for Nunavut and therefore a territorial wide holiday. Let's hear it for two long weekends in a row!
I headed down to the festivities, ate a musk ox burger and took a few pictures. Musk ox is good. It's not very gamey like moose or caribou. There was face painting (and I sported a Nunavut flag temporary tattoo), and music and lots of people hanging out and just enjoying the nice sunny day. Over at the Cadet Hall they had a checkers tournament, more music, traditional country food to eat and cotton candy! I snagged a nice hat with mesh that I can wear fishing to avoid getting a few bites on my neck, an apron commemorating the event and a snazzy fridge magnet. I took a number of pics of some of the newest landscaping in town...but that will wait for another entry.
I rounded out my day by attending the Canadian North Gala...yep, if it has gala in the name you know I'm attending. It was amazing. Just walking in the doors you felt the transformation. First Air will need to do some major upgrading to their December event to keep pace in the future. It was a fantastic night of music and people. The evening started with drum dancing, throat singing, Arct Cirq, a number of other Nunavut entertainers and a great dj. If you live here in Iqaluit and didn't go...well...you should have.
North of Nain is taking a temporary break. I'm off to Ottawa tomorrow afternoon for a week. While I will be in the South of Canada and I'm pretty sure they have internet there I likely won't do any updates until I return to the North.
At the very back of the line waiting for my musk ox burger.
Yep, it's the Pangnirtung community flag...you have no idea how long I had to wait for that shot.
The Premier hosted the event and the food was cooked by MLA's, Ministers and Deputy Ministers. That's the Premier in the red ball cap.
Just a crowd shot.
And yet another crowd shot.
Traditional canvas style summer camping tent. Easy to set up, easy to pack and lots of room inside.
More crowds listening to the music outside the cadet hall.
One of the many performers at the gala.
Throat singing. I have video with sound to go along with this. Anyone know how I can post it on blogger?
Amazing acrobatics from Arct Cirq. Isn't the stage amazing?
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Interesting update...
This is the embankment I fell/slid down last weekend while attempting a tan.
This is the view from the suntanning spot I selected.
Except for the giant rocks and lack of sand this could be a beach scene on PEI.
Bay out in Apex finally clear enough for zodiacs to get out in.
Started at approximately 9am Sunday morning...
I'm sitting in my living room doing the normal Sunday morning things, listening to what seems to be shots from a gun outside. I have no idea what is going on. There is one RCMP truck below my window, there is another on the other side of one of the buildings and the....
Ok, that was 5 hours ago. It's now 2:30pm and I'm at my office surfing the net and killing time waiting to get back into my apartment. The RCMP banged on all the doors this am (for anyone living on the bayside of the building) and asked us to evacuate due to the 'situation' on going outside the building. Well, the situation as far as we know is one guy with a gun who is taking shots at our building. No one knows why or really what the he** is going on and no one will tell us anything except we can't go home. So a group of us congregated at the coffee shop to commisserate with each other over our Sunday morning rituals being disturbed. While sitting in the lobby of the hotel (aka the coffee shop) I was approached by a gentleman I've seen around the bar alot and he asked if he could sit at my table, I said yes and the next thing I know I'm going to brunch with him and two of his friends. No, don't take that the wrong way...just a nice man who used to live in Pang who was also kicked out of his room. The four of us had a wonderful chat over a long brunch...but still no access to our rooms. So now I'm at the office...sitting, waiting and wishing I could go home and take a shower.
The crowd has lessened at the coffee shop, with people finally figuring this isn't going to be over anytime soon and calling friends to crash at their homes for a while...day? Who knows. All the radio is saying is that Iqaluit RCMP are asking people to avoid the following areas...which just makes people want to drive by and see what is happening.
Hope your Sunday is going well....and thank goodness tomorrow is a holiday and I will actually still have a day off to veg in my apartment and finish sewing my dress for the gala Monday night.
I snuck back in to my apartment around 4:30pm and no one seemed to notice...of course it would seem that most of my neighbours had done the same. I went for supper at 6:30pm and by the time I got back to my room the whole thing was over. Yes, I have a name...no, it doesn't matter to you who it was. No one is sure yet what the whole story is, but I'm sure it will be all the talk at the gala tomorrow night...and no, I haven't managed to finish my dress yet....but I'm almost done.
This is the embankment I fell/slid down last weekend while attempting a tan.
This is the view from the suntanning spot I selected.
Except for the giant rocks and lack of sand this could be a beach scene on PEI.
Bay out in Apex finally clear enough for zodiacs to get out in.
Started at approximately 9am Sunday morning...
I'm sitting in my living room doing the normal Sunday morning things, listening to what seems to be shots from a gun outside. I have no idea what is going on. There is one RCMP truck below my window, there is another on the other side of one of the buildings and the....
Ok, that was 5 hours ago. It's now 2:30pm and I'm at my office surfing the net and killing time waiting to get back into my apartment. The RCMP banged on all the doors this am (for anyone living on the bayside of the building) and asked us to evacuate due to the 'situation' on going outside the building. Well, the situation as far as we know is one guy with a gun who is taking shots at our building. No one knows why or really what the he** is going on and no one will tell us anything except we can't go home. So a group of us congregated at the coffee shop to commisserate with each other over our Sunday morning rituals being disturbed. While sitting in the lobby of the hotel (aka the coffee shop) I was approached by a gentleman I've seen around the bar alot and he asked if he could sit at my table, I said yes and the next thing I know I'm going to brunch with him and two of his friends. No, don't take that the wrong way...just a nice man who used to live in Pang who was also kicked out of his room. The four of us had a wonderful chat over a long brunch...but still no access to our rooms. So now I'm at the office...sitting, waiting and wishing I could go home and take a shower.
The crowd has lessened at the coffee shop, with people finally figuring this isn't going to be over anytime soon and calling friends to crash at their homes for a while...day? Who knows. All the radio is saying is that Iqaluit RCMP are asking people to avoid the following areas...which just makes people want to drive by and see what is happening.
Hope your Sunday is going well....and thank goodness tomorrow is a holiday and I will actually still have a day off to veg in my apartment and finish sewing my dress for the gala Monday night.
I snuck back in to my apartment around 4:30pm and no one seemed to notice...of course it would seem that most of my neighbours had done the same. I went for supper at 6:30pm and by the time I got back to my room the whole thing was over. Yes, I have a name...no, it doesn't matter to you who it was. No one is sure yet what the whole story is, but I'm sure it will be all the talk at the gala tomorrow night...and no, I haven't managed to finish my dress yet....but I'm almost done.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
My first and only news story related entry...
Ok...many of you may have read in the news the past week that the Premier of here said something stupid. As anyone who knows me is aware...I'm not a great feminist or supporter of the women's movement. Yes, I believe in equality...but enough is enough already. Yes, he said a bad word and yes he shouldn't have repeated it, but get over it and move on. Maybe it's just me and my not understanding women's rights and abuse issues. If I called him a f***ing ba*stard is that abuse as well?
In an intervew with the lady he called the name she said that 'she will not proceed with any legal action against the premier. "I just want to ensure he's really sorry," she said. ' Well, he apologized, via letter, on the radio, to all the press folks that will spread the word. What more can/should he do? Now she is looking for him to resign...seems a bit extreme. How many people out there cannot say they haven't called someone a bad name at some point...generally we don't get caught...or if we do, the press doesn't care cause we don't have a fancy title.
What I think is part of the issue is that the f***ing bitch and her friend both felt the need to mention this slip of the tongue to the press and let it explode rather than keeping quiet and between the three of them. Could it be that someone is trying to move their own political agenda? It is known that believed that the slip may have been 'due to his frustration with NAM's efforts to ensure that "municipalities will receive a fair share of resource royalty revenues through devolution. As respective representatives of the municipalities and territory, (the friend) and (the Premier) have previously been at odds over the issue of resource royalties.'
So I say let's all have a giant hug on Nunavut Day and move on.
Ok...many of you may have read in the news the past week that the Premier of here said something stupid. As anyone who knows me is aware...I'm not a great feminist or supporter of the women's movement. Yes, I believe in equality...but enough is enough already. Yes, he said a bad word and yes he shouldn't have repeated it, but get over it and move on. Maybe it's just me and my not understanding women's rights and abuse issues. If I called him a f***ing ba*stard is that abuse as well?
In an intervew with the lady he called the name she said that 'she will not proceed with any legal action against the premier. "I just want to ensure he's really sorry," she said. ' Well, he apologized, via letter, on the radio, to all the press folks that will spread the word. What more can/should he do? Now she is looking for him to resign...seems a bit extreme. How many people out there cannot say they haven't called someone a bad name at some point...generally we don't get caught...or if we do, the press doesn't care cause we don't have a fancy title.
What I think is part of the issue is that the f***ing bitch and her friend both felt the need to mention this slip of the tongue to the press and let it explode rather than keeping quiet and between the three of them. Could it be that someone is trying to move their own political agenda? It is known that believed that the slip may have been 'due to his frustration with NAM's efforts to ensure that "municipalities will receive a fair share of resource royalty revenues through devolution. As respective representatives of the municipalities and territory, (the friend) and (the Premier) have previously been at odds over the issue of resource royalties.'
So I say let's all have a giant hug on Nunavut Day and move on.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
It has finally happened. The first two ships of the season have arrived. Happy times are here again. The two ships have been waiting about 18km out of Iqaluit for a Coast Guard ice breaker to arrive...and it did yesterday afternoon. I think my friend M described it best last night "The castaways have been found."
The harbour is still full of ice, but if we are lucky enough to get a big wind storm it will be gone in no time, but on the other hand, I can wait for the tides...cause I am scheduled to fly out next week and don't want another Pang repeat. There is still a lot of ice much farther out that hasn't been broken up, but I guess that's what the ice breaker will do over the next couple of days. YEAH!! Sealift!!!
Ok, I don't have an order on sealift, but it does mean there will be more on the shelves. The Chinese restaurant here in town has been out of my favourite noodles for about two months now so with any luck, my noodles will be on one of these ships. Pop, canned juice and other luxeries like that have been low or non-existent in many of the restaurants and stores in town as have many kinds of canned beer. (BTW, we don't have bottled beer or draft---ever) The shelves slowly start to get bare in late winter, early spring. The selection goes down a bit and it doesn't matter, you pick another brand or adapt, but this time of year things are clearly out and unavailable. What does come in might be twice the cost cause it came by plane.
Now do you see why sea lift is important to me?
As I look out my window and watch the harbour goes through changes I can't help but wonder how long it will be until I look out and see water...just water. It's July for pete's sake and the harbour is still full of ice, dirty brown ice. Yes, I went suntanning last weekend...but...knowing that folks down south are taking their boats out and heading to the beach to swim and stroll along collecting shells and all I can do is make ice for a drink...well, it kinda sucks a bit.
On the plus side, I am leaving for Ottawa next week, for a week. I have recently joined Habitat for Humanity (Iqaluit) and will begin sitting as a board member in the next couple weeks. The first build for Habitat is this August and our big fundraiser is a golf tournament in Ottawa/Gatineau Friday the 13th. I have volunteered to go down and help out (read: cheap ticket out) and will pick up some supplies and enjoy temperatures above 10 degrees. Heck, I imagine I will be enjoying temps above 20 degrees during my visit. WOW...think about that. Sigh.
Speaking of my suntanning this past weekend...allow me to paint a picture for you. The day is wonderful, the sun is shining there is hardly a cloud in the sky. I pack my yoga matt (cause the tundra is frozen only a few inches down), my blanket, pillow, book, water, snacks, radio, sunglasses and head out the door. I'm wearing the only pair of shorts I currently own and on top I have a bikini top under a very large, very warm sweater. I drive to Apex and park the truck. I decided that out by the water there may not be many mosquitos so I venture in the direction of the beach, but still up on the hill. I find a perfect spot and begin to layout the matt when I notice the blood running down my leg and the 20 - 30 mosquitos hovering around me. Time to move on. I head for lower ground and decide my best course of action might be to layout on the beach...next to a big hunk of ice. The only problme is the almost 20 foot drop to the sand. No problem, there is snow covering the rocks so I can climb down the snow and make it...yeah, if you don't see where this is going stop now. I toss my bag and blanket over the cliff and then proceed to dig my feet into the snow and slowly make my way down the hill. Which is working great until about 4 steps in when I lose all holds and begin to rapidly slide down the snow. I shoot my left leg out to slow my progress on a rock and that only turns me sideways. I land in a mixture of snow, ice and dirt at the bottom of the hill. I am unhurt or so I thought at the time. I stand up to wipe the snow off my shorts and my ring goes flying off my finger and lands...somewhere. Sigh. I spend ten minutes looking for the ring and did find it! Then collect my stuff and go to layout. I layout the yoga matt, blanket radio, book, etc and laydown. Within five minutes I am again under swarm of bugs so I give up and leave. I head back to the place I had been tanning the day before (Road to Nowhere) and luckily...no bugs. I stay for an hour and a half and then head home. By this time my injuries have had time to fully come out and I find that I have managed to scratch the front of my right calf, scrape the inside of my left ankle and pull a muscle on the front of my right leg...yep, I was in great shape.
So my friends down south, the next time you head to the beach to go suntanning remember me and the fact that in the North one must navigate snow and ice in pursuit of a little colour.
Yep, it's a long post and not that exciting...aren't you glad you kept reading?
The harbour is still full of ice, but if we are lucky enough to get a big wind storm it will be gone in no time, but on the other hand, I can wait for the tides...cause I am scheduled to fly out next week and don't want another Pang repeat. There is still a lot of ice much farther out that hasn't been broken up, but I guess that's what the ice breaker will do over the next couple of days. YEAH!! Sealift!!!
Ok, I don't have an order on sealift, but it does mean there will be more on the shelves. The Chinese restaurant here in town has been out of my favourite noodles for about two months now so with any luck, my noodles will be on one of these ships. Pop, canned juice and other luxeries like that have been low or non-existent in many of the restaurants and stores in town as have many kinds of canned beer. (BTW, we don't have bottled beer or draft---ever) The shelves slowly start to get bare in late winter, early spring. The selection goes down a bit and it doesn't matter, you pick another brand or adapt, but this time of year things are clearly out and unavailable. What does come in might be twice the cost cause it came by plane.
Now do you see why sea lift is important to me?
As I look out my window and watch the harbour goes through changes I can't help but wonder how long it will be until I look out and see water...just water. It's July for pete's sake and the harbour is still full of ice, dirty brown ice. Yes, I went suntanning last weekend...but...knowing that folks down south are taking their boats out and heading to the beach to swim and stroll along collecting shells and all I can do is make ice for a drink...well, it kinda sucks a bit.
On the plus side, I am leaving for Ottawa next week, for a week. I have recently joined Habitat for Humanity (Iqaluit) and will begin sitting as a board member in the next couple weeks. The first build for Habitat is this August and our big fundraiser is a golf tournament in Ottawa/Gatineau Friday the 13th. I have volunteered to go down and help out (read: cheap ticket out) and will pick up some supplies and enjoy temperatures above 10 degrees. Heck, I imagine I will be enjoying temps above 20 degrees during my visit. WOW...think about that. Sigh.
Speaking of my suntanning this past weekend...allow me to paint a picture for you. The day is wonderful, the sun is shining there is hardly a cloud in the sky. I pack my yoga matt (cause the tundra is frozen only a few inches down), my blanket, pillow, book, water, snacks, radio, sunglasses and head out the door. I'm wearing the only pair of shorts I currently own and on top I have a bikini top under a very large, very warm sweater. I drive to Apex and park the truck. I decided that out by the water there may not be many mosquitos so I venture in the direction of the beach, but still up on the hill. I find a perfect spot and begin to layout the matt when I notice the blood running down my leg and the 20 - 30 mosquitos hovering around me. Time to move on. I head for lower ground and decide my best course of action might be to layout on the beach...next to a big hunk of ice. The only problme is the almost 20 foot drop to the sand. No problem, there is snow covering the rocks so I can climb down the snow and make it...yeah, if you don't see where this is going stop now. I toss my bag and blanket over the cliff and then proceed to dig my feet into the snow and slowly make my way down the hill. Which is working great until about 4 steps in when I lose all holds and begin to rapidly slide down the snow. I shoot my left leg out to slow my progress on a rock and that only turns me sideways. I land in a mixture of snow, ice and dirt at the bottom of the hill. I am unhurt or so I thought at the time. I stand up to wipe the snow off my shorts and my ring goes flying off my finger and lands...somewhere. Sigh. I spend ten minutes looking for the ring and did find it! Then collect my stuff and go to layout. I layout the yoga matt, blanket radio, book, etc and laydown. Within five minutes I am again under swarm of bugs so I give up and leave. I head back to the place I had been tanning the day before (Road to Nowhere) and luckily...no bugs. I stay for an hour and a half and then head home. By this time my injuries have had time to fully come out and I find that I have managed to scratch the front of my right calf, scrape the inside of my left ankle and pull a muscle on the front of my right leg...yep, I was in great shape.
So my friends down south, the next time you head to the beach to go suntanning remember me and the fact that in the North one must navigate snow and ice in pursuit of a little colour.
Yep, it's a long post and not that exciting...aren't you glad you kept reading?
Monday, July 02, 2007
Canada Day in Iqaluit.
I watched the entire parade, went down to the grounds to people watch and then took off to suntan. Yep, suntan. It was +7 and the sun was shining so I packed my yoga matt, blanket, pillow, book, radio, snacks and headed for the end of the Road to Nowhere and spent part of the afternoon laying out tanning. I didn't get much (any) colour, but it was nice all the same.
No, there were no fireworks to end off the night...seeing as there really is no night you'd never be able to see them against the blue sky. But I did end off the evening with friends at a movie.
Hope everyone else had a good day.
I watched the entire parade, went down to the grounds to people watch and then took off to suntan. Yep, suntan. It was +7 and the sun was shining so I packed my yoga matt, blanket, pillow, book, radio, snacks and headed for the end of the Road to Nowhere and spent part of the afternoon laying out tanning. I didn't get much (any) colour, but it was nice all the same.
No, there were no fireworks to end off the night...seeing as there really is no night you'd never be able to see them against the blue sky. But I did end off the evening with friends at a movie.
Hope everyone else had a good day.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Happy Canada Day!
I'm off to enjoy the celebrations later today, but while I sit here and indulge in my usual Sunday morning activities I thought I'd share some pictures from my trip to Pangnirtung last week.
Does this look familiar? Yes, it's the back of a seat in an airplane.
Here's a close up of the bandaid holding the table tray in the upright position. It kept falling down all through take off and the flight. When it was time for the decent the flight attendant came by and asked me to put it up. I told her I couldn't so she offered to do it. And it kept popping open. Not a major problem under normal circumstances, but I was sitting in the emergency exit row and that is a definite no no. So her solution was to use a bandaid to hold it together. Well, it worked, but my confidence and that of the gentleman sitting beside me was lowered. If they fix this with a bandaid how is the rest of the plane put together.
The view I have missed every day since leaving Pang...looking into the Fiord and the park. Sigh.
My friend Nancy enjoying one of her last nights in Pang after almost three years. She will certainly miss the community and it will miss her.
Four of the nine puppies the dog next to Nancy had just over 8 weeks ago. They were sooooo cute. I wanted to take them all back with me in my luggage.
Who wouldn't want to camp here or have a bonfire? Great spot for a visit. If you are in the area be sure to stop by.
Look flowers! Spring must really be here.
No doubt you are wondering what I was taking a picture of here...well, it's the guy in the mask. RCMP in Pang were having a prisoner escorted to jail in Iqaluit and used this new 'toy' on him. He either threatened to spit on people or as per community custom they threatened to spit on him. Either way it was decided to try the mask; it is open net/mesh up top and a cotton coverage at bottom that you can't see through. So the identity of the prisoner is secret. But...it's a small town and everyone knew who it was, but still...good try.
The GN building in Pang.
A final view out the fiord. The second view in Pang I've missed.
Had a great visit, nice to see everyone again....and now on to the Canada Day celebrations.
I'm off to enjoy the celebrations later today, but while I sit here and indulge in my usual Sunday morning activities I thought I'd share some pictures from my trip to Pangnirtung last week.
Does this look familiar? Yes, it's the back of a seat in an airplane.
Here's a close up of the bandaid holding the table tray in the upright position. It kept falling down all through take off and the flight. When it was time for the decent the flight attendant came by and asked me to put it up. I told her I couldn't so she offered to do it. And it kept popping open. Not a major problem under normal circumstances, but I was sitting in the emergency exit row and that is a definite no no. So her solution was to use a bandaid to hold it together. Well, it worked, but my confidence and that of the gentleman sitting beside me was lowered. If they fix this with a bandaid how is the rest of the plane put together.
The view I have missed every day since leaving Pang...looking into the Fiord and the park. Sigh.
My friend Nancy enjoying one of her last nights in Pang after almost three years. She will certainly miss the community and it will miss her.
Four of the nine puppies the dog next to Nancy had just over 8 weeks ago. They were sooooo cute. I wanted to take them all back with me in my luggage.
Who wouldn't want to camp here or have a bonfire? Great spot for a visit. If you are in the area be sure to stop by.
Look flowers! Spring must really be here.
No doubt you are wondering what I was taking a picture of here...well, it's the guy in the mask. RCMP in Pang were having a prisoner escorted to jail in Iqaluit and used this new 'toy' on him. He either threatened to spit on people or as per community custom they threatened to spit on him. Either way it was decided to try the mask; it is open net/mesh up top and a cotton coverage at bottom that you can't see through. So the identity of the prisoner is secret. But...it's a small town and everyone knew who it was, but still...good try.
The GN building in Pang.
A final view out the fiord. The second view in Pang I've missed.
Had a great visit, nice to see everyone again....and now on to the Canada Day celebrations.
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