My knees are completely shot. So are my ankles. My shoulders and upper arms have become a tangle of knotted muscles. You’d think that I just completed an adventure race or climbed a mountain or something equally demanding. But no, all I’ve done is take a canoe instructor course over the weekend. And there are still two weekends to go.
It seemed like such a great idea a few months ago. A three-weekend lakewater instructor course — a chance to brush up on old skills, learn a few new ones and become an instructor to boot. Three enjoyable weekends spent out on the water. Carey Robson, the master instructor running the course, is a fantastic teacher but the curriculum is intense and the pace is grueling. And did I mention that there are still two weekends to go?
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Rants —
11-May-2005 17:33
I’m going to be out of the province on election day (May 17) so I took advantage of advance voting which started today. So it’s too late to sway my vote — yes, Gregor, I’m talking to you.
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Rants —
06-May-2005 19:58
The provincial election is in full swing here in B.C., so when I answered the phone tonight and was asked to take a political survey my Spidey-sense immediately started to tingle. My first reaction was to determine who was conducting the survey (Ipsos-Reid? EKOS?), but she politely told me that it was confidential to prevent introducing bias on the part of the surveyor. It turns out that wasn’t necessary.
The questions started off innocently enough. “What issue facing BC concerns you the most?” “Do you vote regularly?” “If the election were held tomorrow, who would you vote for?” “Who would be your second choice?” But shortly after rating the three major parties’ leaders, the questions took a sinister turn.
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When British Columbia’s Green Party revealed their campaign platform on April 13, I was disappointed to find their website in tatters, still covered in the cobwebs of the 2001 provincial election with the new platform nowhere in sight. But I’m happy to report that they have since given it a much-needed a facelift and the new website is a much more friendly place. And it even includes a news feed.
I’ve read through the 2005 Green Book to get a better understanding of the party’s platform, but the key points are well-summarized on their (new) site:
- Sustainability
- Social Justice
- Grass Roots Democracy
- Non-Violence
- Community Based Economy
- Gender Equality
- Diversity
- Decentralization
- Personal and Global Responsibility
- Ecological Wisdom
Sustainability is really the crux of the platform and what attracts me to this party. We really need to take a long-term view to ensure that quality of life is not only improved in the short term but also for generations to come.
The Green Party is worth checking out prior to casting your vote on May 17. They offer a refreshing alternative to the union-backed NDP and the pro-corporate Liberals (whose spending policies seem to make no sense whatsoever). Unfortunately the Greens’ poor communications have left them in the shadow of these two giants. The media hardly acknowledge their existence and fail to take them seriously when they do, despite winning a popular vote of 12% in 2001.
BC-STV, anyone? (explanation from CBC)