Dark Days for the Sun King?

CD in Play: UNKLE, Psyence Fiction

Ya gotta love it when the media starts to latch-on to a good nickname. The arrogant and autocratic leadership style of Stephen Harper has earned him the nickname, the "Sun King". Louis XIV of France (b.1638-d.1715) earned himself the title because of his belief that France and the French court ought to revolve around him as the planets revolve around the Sun.
With the Maxime Bernier scandal still churning away here at home and making the papers abroad, (something like 320 news outlets in 28 countries have picked up on the story) discontent with the Harper government has been bubbling up in the press. Questions are being asked about just how fit are the New Conservatives to hold power? After all, Bernier isn't the only minister to land himself in trouble and Harper has had to reshuffle his cabinet two times in three years. (a third "minor" shuffle will happen in June) Personally, I think these questions should have been asked to moment it became apparent just how little regard Harper has for Canadians and democracy. Harper's seemingly colossal phobia of the media makes one wonder just what is it that he is afraid of?
Reading Lawrence Martin's Thursday column in the Globe and Mail ("Even a Sun King needs help sometimes") it is interesting to read the passage he highlights from Preston Manning's book, Think Big. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"Not a team man. Not a big advocate of democratic decision-making. The flaws of Stephen Harper are spelled out in Preston Manning's book, Think Big.

In the Reform movement of the late 1980s and '90s, Mr. Harper wanted to do everything himself, Mr. Manning said. "He had serious reservations about Reform's and my belief in the value of grassroots consultation and participation in key decisions and my conviction that the adjective to distinguish our particular brand of conservatism should be 'democratic.' " Not only did Mr. Harper take a dim view of democratic tendencies, Mr. Manning recalled, but if he didn't get his own way, he would get up and leave.

A harsh assessment but, in his management style as Prime Minister, Mr. Harper, called "the Sun King" by some, has not exactly contradicted it."

Not exactly an endorsement. Mr. Harper promised an open and transparent government, but demonstrated through action nothing but disdain for the very concept. Our current government's cabinet woes and incompetence - from Rona Ambrose to John Baird, from Tony Clement to Jim Flaherty, from Vic Toews to Gordon O'Connor and from Bev Oda right back to Mr. Bernier - further illuminate the need for an election as soon as bloody possible. Oh, and let us not forget Stockwell Day, David Emerson and the still unelected Canadian Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Michel Fortier. This government has hardly stood for the honesty and integrity and integrity they promised to deliver three years ago; In fact, it is hard to see how different they really are from the Chretien era Liberal Party?
There are many things that should have brought the Conservatives to their knees before now - the unsafe restarting of the 51 year old Chalk River NRU Reactor, the firing of Linda Keen (by Minister Gary Lunn) and the medical isotopes crisis that was overplayed to justify said restart stands out to me as shining example of the lack of regard that the New Conservatives have for the people of this nation. In fact, I would say this scandal should have rocked the nation harder than Bubblehead Bernier and his for-hire bit-o skit and boobs "girlfriend", Madame Couillard. But I will take what I can get at this point and hope that the opposition parties finally have what it takes to bring this government down.

RIP Sydney Pollack and Harvey Korman

Song Stuck in My Head: Genesis, "The Carpet Crawlers" (from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway)

Director, producer and character actor Sydney Pollack died on the 26 May, 2008 after a nine month bout with cancer. He was 73 years old. While I was not a fan of all his films, Pollack's Three Days of the Condor (1975) held me firmly in place when I watched it on television as a kid. Condor was probably as responsible for my interest in film as Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark - and may have had more of an impact on my imagination in some ways. Some of Pollack's other film's included:

• Castle Keep (1969) director
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) director
• Jeremiah Johnson (1972) director
• The Way We Were (1973) director
• The Electric Horseman (1979) director/actor
• Absence of Malice (1981) director/producer
• Tootsie (1982) director/producer/actor
• Out of Africa (1985) director/producer
• Havana (1990) director/co-producer
• The Firm (1993) director/producer
• The Interpreter (2005) director, executive producer, and actor

Update: I have been working on a political blog post and just learned that Harvey Korman just died. Perhaps best known to all as the ridiculously villainous Hedley Lamarr in Mel Brooks classic comedy, Blazing Saddles, Korman had a long run on both film and television. Other workd by Korman included: The Carol Brunette Show, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I and he was the voice of the Great Gazoo on the Flintstones. Korman died at the age of 81 of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The Wrong "Right" Hands

CD in Play: Bob Dylan, Desire

As previously stated in this blog, I am not overly enamoured with Barack Obama. I was more supportive of John Edwards. He came out with a clear campaign that I supported and I thought he was the person that our neighbours needed most to clean house. The more I listen to Obama the emptier his rhetoric sounds. He makes bold, general statements and speaks in vagaries that say little about him as a candidate. He has vacillated and flip-flopped, but because of charisma he doesn't get called on it.
My Dad compares Barack Obama to former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau. I wasn't alive to experience Trudeaumania first hand, but I did experience the disillusionment. Trudeau said a great many general things, made no promises and disappointed many in a generation actively seeking something new, something better: Trudeau never really delivered on that. That said, I liked Trudeau despite his many faults and shortcomings.
Despite my misgivings and suspicions about Barack Obama, I do prefer him to Hillary Clinton. I remarked earlier on this blog that Clinton's persistence was really just obstinacy, an inability to let go. However, it comes to my mind that Clinton may have something else in her's. She's willing to stretch this out so Obama has less time to focus on his Republican opponent, John McCain. By forcing Obama to continue to fight for and spend money on a nomination most people agree he has won, Clinton is weakening his shot at the presidency. It seems to me that Clinton would rather delver the United States into the hands of a man like John McCain for the next four years just to improve her chances for winning the Democratic nomination in 2012.
Anyone voting for Hillary Clinton needs to to take a serious look at the possible ramifications of their candidate's course of action: America could end up in the wrong"Right" hands for some time to come as a result.

What is Happening Right Now

Currently listening to: Government Propaganda courtesy of some New Conservative MP whose name I did not catch.

Some MP is currently justifying how the government has boosting spending on defense and tied it in as an integral part of the government's funding/investment in Education. The echo is pretty bad and I am having a hard time hearing what is being said. Now some guy from Boeing is talking about their partnership with the government. I swear someone has added some reverb to his mix on the mic.
This may have to do with the Western Economic Diversification Canada funding annoucement that Nina Grewal made yesterday on campus. Seems there has been an increase in research for universities for aerospace technology. Yesterday it was about funding for Business students to start their own businesses. I dunno, it is pretty boring and there is a lot that I am not catching because of the ambient noise and the crappy mix. Now some guy who looks like Dan Rather is at the podium. Is that Dan Rather? Nope, some guy named Ron. Ron Rather? Now some hippy is talking about technology to help Canadian soldiers detect explosive devices in the field. Visual analytics. Elections applications.
Hmmm... it is over and I have little clue what the hell was being presented. Seems like it is something that has defense applications for the Air Force and the Army, practical day-to-day applications for Big Business, civilian aerospace applications and is able to be used elections. And the only news team coving this for television is Fairchild TV - the all Chinese station. I didn't see any notepads at all and no other recording devices.

In Passing

CD in Play: David Bowie, Low

Robert Rauschenberg, 1925-2008

American artist Robert Rauschenberg died of heart failure on the 12 May, 2008. Influenced by the Dada and Fluxus movements, Rauschenberg was a key figure in moving American art away from Abstract Expressionism towards Pop Art. His "Combines" could be said to have had a tremendous impact on the World of Art as we know it, using multi media including three dimensional objects in his work.
Though I have been heavily influenced by Abstract Expressionism in my own work, (toward which, it seems, that Rauschenberg had considerable antipathy) I do admit a debt to Rauschenberg in that he inspired me to use other media - denim, photos, photocopies, broken glass, screws, tinfoil, stones, grass, leaves and hair - to create said work.

My-o-My-o-Myanmar

What can I possibly say about Myanmar/Burma that hasn't been said already? Nothing, but I will surely repeat what I know many others before me have said: the Burmese government is one government that is in desperate need of overthrowing. This week, the Globe and Mail reported that the dictatorial government of Myanmar put aside discussion of the relief efforts needed to assist its citizens after the devastating cyclone that has killed at least 48, 000 and caused 28.000 to go missing. The Red Cross and the UN have stated that the death toll could exceed 100, 000 people very soon. Instead the "RanGoon" squad that governs Myanmar (poorly) thought it best to conduct a referendum and a new constitution that heavily favours their regime. The government claims the new constitution met with with a 92% approval rating.
Burma engages in genocide of its ethnic monorities and is estimated to have pushed 800,000 people into forced labour. (read slave labour) Child labour and human trafficking are said to be commonplace. Women have no rights and rape is a common form control used by the military.
I feel unclean.

Transmissions From the Satellite Heart

CD in Play: Henry Mancini, Experiment in Terror (Soundtrack)

I don't have a vehicle of my own. A majority of my friends in the Lower Mainland do, but I do not. This is a reverse from where things stood when we were in our twenties. *Sigh*. I use my Dad's when I am able. My Dad bought a new truck recently and I took it out on Friday and just tonight to ferry some stuff between his place and the storage locker. Anyhow, he went for the option with Sirius satellite radio.
In some ways satellite radio is in the same state as satellite television: X number of channels and nothing worth listening to. The Jazz stations suck. The Soul stations simply need to find theirs. No Al Green, no Isaac Hayes, no James Carr, no WAR. There isn't much choice in the way of Classical/Orchestral/Choral music. There are all Sinatra and all Elvis stations. As of yet there is no all Led Zeppelin station. Really, a lot of what is out there is just the same old same old, just without the commercials.
Driving with my Dad we usually settle on stations we both like or can tolerate like CBC, BBC World and Bluegrass and the old time Country station that will play stuff Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash. But driving on my own gave me the chance to check out some of the stations that he would not be able to tolerate.
One station, Faction, is irritating. It should just be renamed Tool, because that is all they seem to play along with Tool's legion of clones. (well, and Nas too) The DJs seem like pretty typical L.A. space cadets. Hard Attack is pretty much just Grindcore and Death Metal, it seems. Some of it is interesting, but it gets repetitive. Left of Center seems like a true Alternative station and I like some of what I hear, but it doesn't hold me for long. Garage can be pretty cool, bouncing between the 1960's and today. Plus it is hosted by music geeks, which scores high ratings from this music geek. There is a 90's Alternative station that has yet to play anything truly alternative from the 90's. Buzzsaw is mostly classic metal and hard rock like Zeppelin, Sabbath, Iron Maiden. Octane falls somewhere between Buzzsaw and Faction. Yes, there is an all Hair Metal station and no I do not listen to it. I have only ever liked one Motley Crue song in my life and it was from their first album.
There is a Station called Spectrum - yawn. One called Jam On, double yawn. Classic Rewind, which is everything I ever hated about the 1980's with a few true gems thrown in to throw me off. Classic vinyl is fairly standard classic rock fare. But then there is The Vault, a station that is anything but your typical classic rock station.
The Vault pulls out the oddities, the tracks from albums that you like but would never dare dream of hearing on regular rock radio. Live versions of David Bowie's "Station to Station" and songs from Lodger. Van Morrison songs, interesting Van Morrison songs, that regular radio would never think to play. Jethro Tull that isn't "Aqualung" or "Bungle in the Jungle". King Crimson's "Sartori in Tangier". They actually played Pink Floyd's "Come in Number 51, Your Time is Up" from the Zabriskie Point soundtrack. (a reworking of "Careful with That Axe, Eugene") My biggest complaint about The Vault is that I have yet to hear any Soul, Funk or R&B and that is a huge oversight if that is the case.
The other stations could take a page out of the The Vault's book, as far as I am concerned. Play stuff that isn't par for the course. Play stuff that actually sounds different from the rest of your play lists. Branch out, explore. There is a lot that stations like Buzzsaw, Octane, Hard Attack, 90's Alternative, Faction, Left of Center and even Classic Rewind and Classic vinyl could do to diversify their play lists and be better stations - be the kind of stations that could never exist on regular radio. (apart from community and college radio, that is)

Hillary "Rottweiler" Rodham Clinton

CD in Play: Isis, In the Absence of Truth

Tenacity is an amazing thing, an admirable quality. Greater personal tenacity in the appropriate areas of my life might have seen me through some dark times and in a better position today. However tenacity will only take you so far and at some point a person really does need to learn when to let it go. Failure to learn this can lead to heartache, heartbreak, financial woes, emotional and personal difficulties and so.
About a month ago, I would have used tenacious to describe Hillary Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination. Things looked good for her, even though Barack Obama was standing on fairly even footing with her. But their campaigns have dragged on (and on) and I think most Democrats are wishing they could just get it over with. She is in debt and she is losing ground. Super delegates are abandoning her for Mr. Obama and she's resorted to divisive tactics such as race and gender baiting in order to pull ahead. Mr. Obama is wisely turning his attention to John McCain and I think Ms. Clinton had ought to consider her attention to other areas as well.

Soy un Perdedor

CD in Play: U2, October

I'm a driver, I'm a winner . . . things are gonna change, I can feel it - from "Loser" by Beck

**Re-Edited for mistakes and new content at 22:30 7th May, 2008. Some really odd mistakes that I don't recall making.

Okay, I'm not the loser in question (translate the above title) but a former co-worker of mine is. Let us refer to said loser as LJ. LJ was an alright guy to work with for the most, but he was lazy and had these really weaselly tendencies when he started off. Initially, his laziness wasn't such a big thing - he was mainly just clocking in his time but still doing his job a bit better than half-assed. LJ was in his early 20's and directionless.
At one point he wanted to be a cop, but he didn't want to get a criminology degree. He also didn't want to give up smoking pot. He wanted more out of his life than his ex-convict relatives, but wasn't prepared to put in the effort. If the Staples "Easy" button actually worked, LJ would have his pressed 24/7. Responsibility was pressing down on him and the desire for better was there, but not the drive.
His buddies were in trades and working down at the docks. They made good money - better money than he did. LJ wanted the cars and the women, but was failing to impress the way his buddies were. So LJ decided that he would pick up a trade and get into construction. He got the job as a general labourer to start and was very happy. I let him know that the foreman (with whom I was acquainted) would be keeping a sharp eye on him and he would really have to pull his weight. He stated that he would, no problem given the money he'd be making.
LJ was sick of our site and failed to show up for his shifts for his last week and a half. He had claimed the need for a holiday. I had warned him not to shaft the company, to stay on good terms and keep those bridges intact. But he burned them and burned a few of the people he worked with.
Two months later I get a call from human resources asking me what I could remember about LJ and his final weeks with the company. I told H.R. what happened and how he had really been slacking off on the job leading up to when he had given his notice. (finding secluded spots to sleep, for instance) Apparently a driving school had called the company looking for a reference. We all shook our heads and carried on with things.
As my own time on the job is winding down, I've been wondering about happened to LJ? My hope had been that he had bounced back and got some sort of work ethic going so he could get going with his life. Tall order apparently. One of my former supervisors dropped by today and shared with me what exactly has become of dear, young LJ. LJ has become a drug dealer. More specifically, he runs crack to people looking for delivery. He has already done some jail time and is right back at it, a dope dealing crack for suckers.
LJ's life was X-Box, pot, booze, hip hop and getting laid. LJ was lazy in all respects, most of all with his mind. I have always stated that crime and criminal activity/behaviour is not as cut and dry as many right wing people claim it is. But sometimes it is. Sometimes the cause is just the stupidity of youth, pure and simple. Sometimes it is a a result of an underlying mental disorder. Sometimes it is because a person's life is getting away from them and they have no idea how they can get it back. But sometimes it is just because a person is just too damned lazy to do anything else. Because a person expects everyone else to carry the ball for them.
LJ stated that his great fear was becoming like his father and his uncles. Maybe it was the main reason he wanted to become a cop. When his father, a thief, tried to recruit him into a life of crime he resisted. His cousins avoided a life of crime and his sisters avoided it too - so what is his deal? He is lazy. He is too lazy and irresponsible to pick himself up and do what he has to do to stay legit. To lazy to figure out that if you want better you have to slug it out and work at it.
So here's to LJ, another one of life's big losers. Another statistic coming to crime study near you.

Speed Racerrollerball

CD in Play: Isis, Panopticon

Unlike some people, the Japanese cartoon Speed Racer was not a feature of my childhood. I don't recall it ever being on television in my area, though I do remember seeing pictures. I wasn't crazy about Japanese animation in my youth anyway. (I hated G-Force) I did try watching it when Teletoon was running it nearly a decade ago, but found it unwatchable.
But then all the Speed Racer toys started popping up and I saw the adverts on the sides of buses. Proving that it is truly bankrupt for ideas, Hollywood has made a movie out of Speed Racer. I saw the television ad a couple of weeks back and thought it looked more like an adaptation of 1975's sci-fi cult classic, Rollerball. They race in an indoor track it looks like and there are all kinds of traps and pitfalls waiting to put an end to our "hero".
Today I was reading a short interview with Christina Ricci in 24hours. She plays Speed's girlfriend in the film and they talk about her choice of roles over the past few years. Whatever. What interested me was the synopsis of the film which reads:

...the movie tells of a young race car driver who learns that wealthy corporations are using their profits to pay off drivers and fix racers.

Wikipedia's synopsis:

Speed Racer is a young man with natural racing instincts whose goal is to win The Crucible, a cross-country car racing rally that took the life of his older brother, Rex Racer. Speed is loyal to the family business, run by his parents Pops and Mom. Pops designed Speed's car, the Mach 5. The owner of Royalton Industries makes Speed a lucrative offer, but Speed rejects the offer, angering the owner. Speed also uncovers a secret that top corporate interests, including Royalton, are fixing races and cheating to gain profit. With the offer to Speed denied, Royalton wants to ensure that Speed will not win races. Speed finds support from his parents and his girlfriend Trixie and enters The Crucible in a partnership with his one-time rival, Racer X , seeking to rescue his family's business and the racing sport itself.

Hmmm... not exactly Rollerball, but still pretty damned close in my books. In Rollerball, corporations have taken over and now run the world. They use Rollerball to anesthetize the masses and undermine any notions about the strength and power of individuals. The corporations use "priviedges" to buy-off players. They adjust the rules and shift things around so that the outcomes will always favour their ends. Basically, both films are about the individual against the monolithic, all-powerful corporations.
I dunno, sounds like a film worth skipping.

Rant

CD in Play: Fugazi, 13 Songs

Politics is important. People are apathetic about politics. People are apathetic about politics because they don't see what difference their vote could possibly make. I have not voted in some time. Part of this has to do with the notion that a certain debtor could track me down using the political registry. This particular debtor made my life hell for a few years so I decided that I wasn't going to take the chance of letting them find me. I have not not voted due to apathy, however. I have been inclined to become apathetic. I have been inclined to become apathetic for many of the reasons many of you might have.
Apathy is a luxury we can no longer afford: especially given the rather undemocratic, paranoid and secretive manner in which the Minority government of Stephen Harper's Conservatives has conducted itself since taking power. Not only do we have the reprehensible Bill C-10 (see the National Post Article, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, and the blog RUK) but MacLean's magazine reports that the New Conservatives have killed an information registry that was set up under Brian Mulroney's Tories 1989 Access to Information Act. According to the article, the registry was open to the public and professionals in order to keep our Government accountable. A publicly accessible online version had been in the works beginning in 2003.
Keep in mind that Harper got in on promises to open up government, to make government more honest, transparent and accountable. Since taking power, Harper has done whatever he could to inhibit media access to government and has been unnecessarily secretive and clandestine. When Preston Manning and the Reform party was running in 1993 against Chretien and the Liberal Party and Kim Campbell and the Old Conservatives they had a slogan saying, "It is time to clean the plaque out of Ottawa". (it was attached to a a roll of dental floss) Looking at what Harper has been doing, I'd say that the slogan still stands.
Canadians have to wake up and look at what we have holding the reigns of this country and take action. Get out and vote. I say this as someone who has advocated abstention as a right and a valid means of political expression. I still believe we should have the option to vote "No Confidence" on our ballot and to have our lack of consent and lack of approval officially recognised, but until then and under this government I say vote. No Canadian on the right or the left should accept the government we have now. The New Conservatives are creating a Canada where we will have even less of a voice, even less recourse than we have now. Canada needs to be opened up further for the benefit of all Canadians. The New Conservatives are closing things up. Democracy in this country has always been weak and it is getting weaker.
Our apathy is what political slimebags count on to move their adgendas forward.

2 modnaR

CD in Play: U2, Boy

OK, I'll take your computer

One of the things I have been trying to figure out is how I am going to afford a new computer? Too much going on money-wise to really make the effort. Circumstances at my Dad's place seem to have played into my favour. My Dad has been looking to get a new computer since the one he currently uses just cannot handle all the graphics programs he is running and the ones he wants to add. His wife's computer has been extensively compromised by spyware and his step-daughter's Mac laptop has encountered some difficulties.
The step-daughter is getting Mother's old computer which is being cleaned up and refitted. My Dad has a new computer and his wife was initially going to get his old computer. But she doesn't actually require much out of a computer. So I will get his old computer and she will get mine. (with much grumbling I am sure) Mine is old but it will suit her for what she will use it for. She spends roughly less than four hours on a computer a week at most.
I'll have a lot more memory and a better operating speed which means I can finally play my copy of Call of Duty 2 and Civ IV. Sad, huh? I will also be able to create power point presentations. Macanuck can smile and shake his head as smugly as he wants, (and I know you will Trent!) but this is a step up for me.

Battlestar Galactica

The show has been really good so far and my fears at the end of Season 3 have been abated. I will be looking forward to Caprica.

Viti

Vancouverites, Lower Mainlanders and visitor to the region - stand up and imbibe in style. Viti is a newish private beer and wine store connected to the Moda Hotel on Seymour and Smythe. They have an interesting selection in wine, beer, cider and spirits. Artisinal, hand-crafted rums from Guyana and Jamaica. BC Meade. Merrydale ciders, both old favourites and hard to finds. Beers from all over. Good quality. Interesting selections. Worth your while. I am currently sipping on a Lindemans Kriek Lambic beer. Think sour cherry beer.

Saskatchewbacca

CD in Play: Sonic Youth, Murray Street

The Telephone Blues

I am getting ready to move in a month's time. As such I am trying to organise my belongings, see people, and figure out what to do once I get to Saskatoon. SaskTel still holds the monopoly on phone service in Saskatchewan, so I have to transfer my phone with Bell over to them. They have a deal with one another for these sorts of occasions, though I gather it is Bell who is the one used to gaining the customers and not the other way around. My first hic-up is that I do not have a credit card (student loans) and have had to get my Dad's help in that area. I have no idea how I will swing this in Saskatchewan. Frankly, I have never really wanted a credit card, but c'est la vie...
It also appears that I may have to get a new phone as SaskTell uses GSM (the same card as Rogers and Fido) while Bell and Telus use CDMA. My preference is for Nokia or Sony Ericsson and I will not use Motorola or any phone from Korea - they rate the worst for radiation and toxic components. However, Nokia and Sony Ericsson seem like a non-existent entities in Saskatchewan. I am wondering what I do with my current phone in that case. Seems like a waste that I cannot just convert my phone over to GSM. I was thinking that maybe I should just get a prepaid phone for June and then look into some sort of a bundle including internet for when I get my own place. Je ne sais pas...

Get with the Programme

I was recently trying to figure out what degree I am going to focus on. I figure I can come out of the University of Saskatchewan with a double BA in History and Art. I had thought about getting an honours degree in Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS) with another BA in Art. Apparently the programmes aren't compatible. When I decided to return to school get my degrees and then get my teaching certificate, I had decided to focus in on Art as my primary objective. However, I saw the CMRS programme at the UofS and was struck by how good it looked. In fact, the CMRS programme at the UofS is exactly what I was looking for back when I was looking at universities in the 90's. However, only the Universities of Toronto and Calgary were evr spoken of when I was looking for Medieval Studies in Canada.
To be an Art teacher or a History teacher? More to the point, which one would I rather pursue as a Masters degree? Put that way, I think an honours degree Art is the way to go for me. History is a back up. History is what I want to teach if I can't get an Art gig. Fact is, teaching is going to allow me to pursue art so it makes sense. I love history and am passionate about it, but at my age I am looking at what I can do past the mandatory retirement age. I was talking to a man who is with the SFU education department and he sort of helped me to make up my mind. He's a working artist as well as a teacher and just getting his feedback helped to give me some perspective.

Money (That's What I Want)

My Dad, who worries quite a bit about this move, has been trying to convince me to stay in Vancouver until the end of June. As it stands, I will have less money than I thought. Certain costs just jump out at you and I am putting away $100.00 less than I had set out to put away. It is tempting to stay the extra month - it would certainly be fiscally prudent. But then the Old Man has always been overly concerned with numbers and that concern has always paralyzed him in many respects. He's missed out on a lot of opportunities because of his fears. I'm not a gambler by any means, but I am willing to take risks he won't.
Staying here another month gives me a respectable whack of change to take to Saskatchewan. However, I have to think about competition for apartments and getting a job. I figure I should be able to land a job quickly and will keep my eyes peeled for better opportunities as they come along. I also plan to use the Employment services at the university to help me along. Landing a job quickly should allow me to sit on my money and not have to worry as much about dipping into it.
I figure I can make it on what I will be taking - I made it in Montreal with quite a bit less. However, if any of you wanna take up a collection on my behalf I am not going to turn my nose up at it...