Dept. of Don't Despair
Saturday, 2 July 2016 04:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rPost Canada Day Report
I wanted to post something happy after my last extremely emotional rant. The world is still pretty fucking awful, but there are good things going on as well.
For one thing, yes, yesterday was Canada Day, and as a Canadian ex-pat here in Chicago, I wanted to say I am so very proud to be a citizen of My Home and Native Land. It's got its share of problems, (and, no, getting rid of Harper doesn't eliminate them all), but I think that people in Canada still seem to have hope for the future. I'm sure people who are living there could tell me I'm wrong, but I will continue to be proud of my refugee-welcoming, single-payer-health-maintaining, multiple-party, funny, wry, quixotic, musical, ethnically diverse, totally uncategorizable country-folk and nation. I even have some Tim Hortons coffee in my freezer, and I may make a pot to celebrate, eh?
Still in a Canadian vein, I've completely forgotten to tell anyone that, for the first time in a long time, Bob and I are going, together, to Canada, on our own dime - no help from family, thanks to a situation that allowed me to buy the airline tickets - this September. No illness, no funerals; in fact, we're going to celebrate the birthday of Rob, my step-dad. He and I have birthdays very close together, so it's sort of a birthday present to myself as well.
And one of Rob's daughters has arranged for as many of his kids and grandkids, and stepkids as possible to go with him on a trip on the Bluenose II, the famous Nova Scotian schooner (or the current iteration of her.) This, for me, is celebrating the history of an amazing man on a schooner that reflects the amazing history of Nova Scotia. (Curious? Here are some links about the Bluenose and about the Bluenose tradition.) So yeah, an actual vacation; we'll be there for 10 days, and then I'll have about four days to decompress back here, before going back to work.
And tonight, Bob and I are helping Drs. Gonzo and Bob (don't ask), our closest friends in Chicago, celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. Love, patience, kindness, friendship - put them together, and they can build a life together.
Tomorrow I get to work some overtime, by visiting Wilmette's July 3 celebration (Wilmette, like Chicago, does its fun, games and fireworks on the 3rd. It's a Chicago thing.) Extra money, doing something I really, really like doing; it's a change from some of the recent work-related heaviness, and that's good. Then on Monday, Bob and I and our friend Jack, and perhaps Andy, will traipse up to Evanston's lakefront, listen to a concert band, and watch fireworks on the 4th. And maybe I'll end up feeling a little misty-eyed again.
So, yes, good things. Good, strong things that remind me life can still be worth it all.
I wanted to post something happy after my last extremely emotional rant. The world is still pretty fucking awful, but there are good things going on as well.
For one thing, yes, yesterday was Canada Day, and as a Canadian ex-pat here in Chicago, I wanted to say I am so very proud to be a citizen of My Home and Native Land. It's got its share of problems, (and, no, getting rid of Harper doesn't eliminate them all), but I think that people in Canada still seem to have hope for the future. I'm sure people who are living there could tell me I'm wrong, but I will continue to be proud of my refugee-welcoming, single-payer-health-maintaining, multiple-party, funny, wry, quixotic, musical, ethnically diverse, totally uncategorizable country-folk and nation. I even have some Tim Hortons coffee in my freezer, and I may make a pot to celebrate, eh?
Still in a Canadian vein, I've completely forgotten to tell anyone that, for the first time in a long time, Bob and I are going, together, to Canada, on our own dime - no help from family, thanks to a situation that allowed me to buy the airline tickets - this September. No illness, no funerals; in fact, we're going to celebrate the birthday of Rob, my step-dad. He and I have birthdays very close together, so it's sort of a birthday present to myself as well.
And one of Rob's daughters has arranged for as many of his kids and grandkids, and stepkids as possible to go with him on a trip on the Bluenose II, the famous Nova Scotian schooner (or the current iteration of her.) This, for me, is celebrating the history of an amazing man on a schooner that reflects the amazing history of Nova Scotia. (Curious? Here are some links about the Bluenose and about the Bluenose tradition.) So yeah, an actual vacation; we'll be there for 10 days, and then I'll have about four days to decompress back here, before going back to work.
And tonight, Bob and I are helping Drs. Gonzo and Bob (don't ask), our closest friends in Chicago, celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. Love, patience, kindness, friendship - put them together, and they can build a life together.
Tomorrow I get to work some overtime, by visiting Wilmette's July 3 celebration (Wilmette, like Chicago, does its fun, games and fireworks on the 3rd. It's a Chicago thing.) Extra money, doing something I really, really like doing; it's a change from some of the recent work-related heaviness, and that's good. Then on Monday, Bob and I and our friend Jack, and perhaps Andy, will traipse up to Evanston's lakefront, listen to a concert band, and watch fireworks on the 4th. And maybe I'll end up feeling a little misty-eyed again.
So, yes, good things. Good, strong things that remind me life can still be worth it all.
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Date: Monday, 4 July 2016 02:19 am (UTC)Meanwhile, have a photo of a happy just-got-engaged couple. Taken in London about a week ago. Enjoy :-)
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Date: Monday, 4 July 2016 04:48 pm (UTC)Canada and Iceland, eh? Since neither country wants to run the world, it might be that they'd be fit to. Still, they'd need to know how to scale up their good points ....
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Date: Thursday, 7 July 2016 10:16 am (UTC)oooh, vacation! Did you know that I've been to Lunenberg, to see the Picton Castle? My friend (who shall not be named on the Internet) did one of their world voyages, maybe a decade ago? I went with on her initial interview-visit, one weekend.
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Date: Tuesday, 26 July 2016 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Saturday, 2 July 2016 11:22 pm (UTC)*HUGS*
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 03:57 pm (UTC)*hugs back*
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 08:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 04:01 pm (UTC)By the time we get to Nova Scotia, however, I suspect I'll be more excited about the fact that we're going there, hurrah! With luck, I'll bring back some decent pictures, and post at least a few of them.
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 09:27 am (UTC)Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 02:10 pm (UTC)One day I so want to immigrate to Canada. I just feel like the climate would be a lot better for my asthmatic lungs, and for my disabled kids as well.
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 04:04 pm (UTC)And the medical and educational support system in Canada, while it still have some significant problems, is a good one, so your boys might benefit.
I've been here in the U.S. for 35 years, largely because I fell in love with BB and with Chicago at roughly the same time, and there are aspects of the U.S. that I love, even though I never took American citizenship, but I always will love my home and native land.
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Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 03:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sunday, 3 July 2016 04:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, 5 July 2016 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Tuesday, 5 July 2016 02:26 pm (UTC)