Anyone home?

I checked my profile, and now have had a total of 892 visits to my blog...yet lately no one id dropping a line. I know you're all busy people, but I'd like to hear how life is in your corner of the world. Here isokay right now...if you like rainstorms in the middle of winter. Yup. Rain...with thunder and lightning to boot. EarlierI saw a hugeflash of lightning and the lights flickered momentarily so I'm wondering where the bolt hit. Probably the arena, or someplace on the golf course. Oh well.
Christmas is early here in Strangers' camp....Mom has the Christmas decorations up, except for the tree...right now if anyone was to drive by our place they would see an 8 ft inflated snowman on our deck. Kinda creepy looking, but hey, Mom and Dad think it's cool so I guess I can deal with it. It has a motor that keeps it filled with air. The resaturant is decorated now too...I guess every year the buisinesses compete for the best decorations...last year Mom came in second so this year she wants top prize which I think is just bragging rights. Its all good.
So, am working hard on changing my corner of the world...have started a newsletter (kind of an underground one) which details failed promises of our Council and Mayor, and have set up an anonymous email so that the people can email me and my associates with their concerns...hey Wayne....I was thinking lately maybe I should run for Mayor. I can't screw up half as bad as Council, and I at least listen to the people and what they want for the community. For right now tho, am willing to be a thorn in their side for the common good. Case in point...apparantly we have the right to obtain a copy, free of charge of all the bylaws pertaining to this township...however, anyone who asks is told to go to the website. So I did, and all I found was the agendas and minutes of Council meetings from Jan of this year until August. No bylaws. Hmmm...so I went on every search engine the other night...spent 3 hours looking for a copy of all the bylaws, and wouldn't you know it? There nowhere to be found. So I intend to go to the Township office in the morning, and ask for a copy, and if they tell me to look on the internet, I'll tell them they are not there. If they do not get me a copy as I request, then I will bring it up on the Public meeting. I will ask the Mayor directly what he's trying to hide from the people, because I asked a former Councillor if I indeed had a right to a copy, and I was assured I was. I will also ask why we were told at the last Public meeting that the water meters were talked about as early as March, but the first mention of it was on the JUly Council meeting, and it was labelled as old business. Huh? I'm happy that my parents support my willingness to go and challenge the powers that be here...I've talked to several people who run businesses here that say if they do not see a business rate for their meters, come Spring, they'll close up shop. And if the Downtown core closes, there is no town. Period. The Downtown businesses provide jobs for people, and also help the local economy by keeping the money in town. If I don't get the answers I'm looking for, then I will also ask the Mayor publicly to step down as Mayor and hold an election so we can get someone in there that actually gives a damn. In the meantime I'm trying to tell as many people as I can to go to this meeting and speak up. Wish me luck y'all. Blogger question time...what have you done to help your corner of the world? It doesn't have to be some major thing...even helping one person can make all the difference. For me...it's what I'm doing now I guess. Let me know...until next time Bloggers!....

I'm envying all you people who still don't have snow...

Yup...I'm just not a winter person. I'm not. I dislike snow. The other day the snow was blowing soooo bad...when I went to the store to get smokes ( a block away), I could barely see 2 feet in front of me and the snow was so powder fine, it gt into my lungs and sent me into a coughing fit. I get to the store, and the owner saw me and laughed because I had a good two inches of snow completely coating my hair. Oh yeah. The weather has dipped to -30 already with the wind chill, and have had snowfall so bad that Highway 614 was closed. Oh yeah. I was a little miffed at Mother Nature as this week I was to take driving lessons in preparation to getting my Driver's Licence...yeah yeah...I don't have a drivers license...I know. I figured if I get it, I'd like to take lessons because I don't want to learn other peoples bad driving habits. Plus, if I learn in the winter, I have the chance to learn how to handle adverse driving conditions. Soo, the classes have been bumped to Dec. 9. Okay, that's provided that we don't get yet another 3 feet of snow dumped on this little town. Lessons are expensive here...these classes are costing me $700. Yup...it's steep, but I can afford it Thank God. So if all goes well, by end of January, I'll be a driver. Sweet. I have driven around town with my Dad, and my Aunt actually let me drive 54 kilometers on Highway 614...but that was in the summer, and according to her, I did great. So, I don't have that fear behind the wheel that I used to have. I can see why some people enjoy it, and why others despise it. Wish me luck. I really want to do well. And get people to stop asking me why I never got one when I was 16, or looking at me like I have 3 heads.
So, seeing as I don't share the same interests as the majority of the townsfolk (which is to get drunk on a nightly basis at the local watering hole) I have taken to getting involved with town issues. Lately we had water meters implemented inour Township, which was decided on without a public vote, and we were told after the fact that water would cost 98 cents per cubic meter. Okay, so I went to the last town meeting, where our Mayor broke the news during question period that there will be surcharges added to that sum, bring the total cost for a cubic meter of water to 1.98-2.05. Yikes. The surcharges include sewer, and intrest on a 2.5 million dollar debt that the Mayor wants the people to pay off over a 10 year period. Uh huh. Okay..keep in mind we already pay for water and sewer thru our taxes, so basically we pay for these services twice. For the local businesses this spells bad news. One restaurant here in town used over 150 cubic meters of water in 6 days! Considering how small our town has become, and also considering it will get even smaller once Newmont mine shuts its doors for good at the end of this year, the sum we pay for water is simply unacceptable, regardless of the fact that the Township stated that we would get 18% taken off taxes. Because when you do the math, only those who pay over $4000 a year will see any difference.The rest of us have to suffer. And this town is trying to promote itself as a retirement community...well, I don't know too many retirees here who can afford the cost of water...not when they're on a fixed income. Soooo...this isn't the only thing the Mayor has been sneaking around with....he's also "entertained" the idea of using the old Geco mine as a storage facility for (drumroll please) low-to-high level radioactive waste. Yup. Geco is not far from the community, and the prob with this is that this could potentially cause more problems if this shit was to end up in our water. Disgraceful. He (the Mayor ) said (and I'm quoting him here) "It would mean 25 Billion dollars infused into this community". I replied "I don't care...not when it concerns my health!". Come on! As if anyone wants to live with that shit literally buried in their backyard! I know he doesn't care because as he said earlier in the Council meeting, he was going to be gone next year anyways. So there is another Public meeting coming up, and it will include these topics as well as proposed usage fees for 2006 for the residents, and I'm sure the atmosphere in the room will be worse than the last Public meeting. At the last meeting, a guy standing at the back ofthe room hollered out "I'm gonna punch you out, fuckin asshole!" and another guy was taken away by police. Oh yeah....there will be loads more angry people there. I think the Mayor and Council should stand behind a chain link fence, in case people start throwing things. Like chairs and rotten fruit. I've been spreading the word to everyone to attend this meeting, not because I intend to start a riot, but to tell people that complacency will kill this town...if they want to save it and make it a prospeous place again they need to let the Town Council know that they are supposed to be working for those who elected them in office in the first place. The Mayor apparantly said out loud and in earshot of people that "the townspeople are easy to fool". Some are...when people refused to let the contractors into their homes to install the meters, the Town said they would pay for them, and so once people quieted down, there goes the Mayor proposing hikes to the water charges. He's ruthless in my opinion.But this is one gal who can see thru the bullshit. I know that whenever theMayor opens his mouth, he inserts both feet. This is one gal that won't stand idly by and let him do this to the people who have called this place home. It's not fair to them. So I feel good that I'm letting my voice be heard. I don't give a shit what the Council thinks of my displeasure, and I'm going to do what I can to help fix my corner of the world. More and more people have put their homes up for sale, and its harder for those who have elected to stay to make a living. Wish me luck in my little crusade eh Bloggers. Like the lyrics in a well known song state..."If you don't like what you got, why don't you change it? If your world is all screwed up, rearrange it!" Peace!

Apparantly...

Some of my Blogger friends have sworn off the Internet for a time. Okay. I forgive you. Hope you're all doing great. Just let me know you're still popping by. Thanks for posting your fave outdoor activity on the last entry Zinky...It's nice knowing people still check out this little Blog tucked away in cyberspace.
I forgot to mention another interesting tidbit about White River. Apparantly, this area had the coldest day on record sometime in the 1940's...believe it or not the temp there dipped to an astonishing -72 degrees C. Yup...this is not a typo. The coldest place I resided in went down to
-60 C for an entire week. For those of you who need a clearer picture of how cold just -60 is...in 30 seconds, exposed skin will freeze. So just thinking about -72 C.....BBBRRRRRRR!!!!! Holy crap! That weather just says to me "Don't make any friggin plans for a while...at least until it warms up to a balmy -40". Right now the temperature here in Manitouwadge is about -16 C. We're getting colder...and the days are getting shorter and shorter. No wonder people get depressed this time of year.
So...I don't have too much to report....although I did see a dentist recently..hey ma...No Cavities!!! Whoo hoo! Other stuff....hmmm....working alot, which isn't too bad because I get to cozy up to a super warm pizza oven. No risk of frostbite in Strangers camp, that's for sure.
Okay....all this talk about cold weather puts me in the mood for a hot beverage....soooo...you guessed it, my Blogger question is coming up...what is your fave drink on a cold winter day? Mine is tea...preferably Chai tea sweetened with milk and sugar and a cinnamon stick. If you haven't tried this stuff yet, try it...it's soo good, you'll never go back to regular tea again. The Green Chai is also very good. I find the Stash tea company makes the best Chai I ever tasted. It's available in Safeway stores here in Canada. I am not trying to advertize here people...just giving my humble opinion. So...if you have tried it because I suggested it, tell me what you think.
Okay...this Stranger is getting sleepy, so I guess I should get my arse off to bed...lots of stuff to get done tomorrow. Goodnight fellow Blogges! Sleep well.

Hi.

Wondering what my visiters are up to. Since I've started my humble little blog, I've had 872 visits. Thank you. Soo...why don't you drop me a line? Whats up in your corner of the world? Okay...again I do not want messages from bloggers who try to use the space on my comments section to advertize. I am not interested. Believe me. I don't go to your blog pages and advertize some site that say..advertizes Goat Appreciation or anything. If you say you like the Blog, then be specific about what you like about it. K? Thats all. Thanks.
Okay, enough about that. I've spent the better part of two weeks here in White River. If you don't know where this little place is...it's along the Trans Canada Highway between Marathon and Wawa. Also an interesting note...this is the very place where a little black bear was purchased by a soldier from Winnipeg who became the much loved character Winnie the Pooh in A.A. Milnes books. Yup..Winnie was a she...later to be placed in the London Zoo where she became a popular attraction. FYI Christopher Robin was A.A. Milnes son. Just thought I'd share a bit of that with you. So I've been here helping out at my relatives restaurant...waitressing, cooking and such. I like working here because I've been meeting a lot of people from many different places. I've taken to handing out the business cards and inviting people to send postcards when they get to their destinations, which I will then post on the wall. I've recieved some positive feedback on this idea, and hopefully soon we will have postcards from all over Canada and the States.
I was supposed to go home the other day, but wouldn't you know it...we got hit by a massive snowstorm that closed the road home for a time. It is now clear, but if I'm to get home, I'll have to get there before Sat night, because another round of snow is on the way. It's getting cold now...wind chill in the mornings is now -21C. Yeah. it's not that bad...yet. But in this part of the world...longjohns are a necessity. I think back to those days in High School where we'd go without toques or scarves or mitts or even (gasp!) ear muffs....risking losing various body parts to frostbite just to look "cool". Man...such dumb logic eh? I really hate being constantly cold...maybe it's the Mediterranian blood that flows thru my veins that make it so I crave temperatures over 25 C. I dream of someday being able to live right along the equator. No snow. I know...I'm a Canuk...I should love the snow, but I don't. I dislike taking off the boots and inadvertently stepping into a puddle of melting snow, wetting my socks. Blech! I dislike how my hair gets dry and staticky when I wear a sweater, and I walk around all day, shocking myself when I touch something metal. I don't cherish the idea of stapping on a pair of narrow waxed boards and taking off down a hill at an ungodly speed.
Don't get me wrong...as a child....I loved making snowmen, having snowball fights, and once my sisters and I actually made an igloo. But I had snow pants back in the day, and a very overzealous mother who insisted on putting so many layers of clothes on us that we literally waddled down the street, unable to put our arms down to our sides. Hey she wanted to make sure we wouldn't get sick. And I never did. Thanks Mom. So, sometimes I look atthose at those carefree kids, so warm in their layers of winter gear happily making making snow angels and playing 'King of the Castle' on a huge snowbank and I long tobe able to do that too. Okay technically I could, but I don't seem to have the time to release the inner child. But if I could tomorrow ( and if I had a pair of snowpants) I'd grab a piece of cardboard or even a large Hefty garbage bag and slide down a hill. Yeah they had Crazy Carpets in the day, but cardboard and garbage bags are equally effective.
K...so I guess I don't have too much to say at present, so here's the Blogger question...what is your fave outdoor winter activity and why? Hopefully some of my visitors have something to say. Until then....blog ya later!

For all you Blogger Spammers...

Lately I've noticed that I've been getting comments on my Blog, advertizing their services or websites and whatnot. I will say right here and now I do not want spam comments on my site ever again. And leave my Blogger family alone too. This is not a place for you to advertize...this is my Blog where I share thoughts and rants to my friends who live far away. If you haven't noticed already...I don't post links to websites such as yours for a reason. If you continue to do so, I will have you reported. I mean it. Thats all.

Childhood friends and bittersweet memories....

JUst this past week, I got in touch with a good friend of mine I knew way back in Junior High, and have been catching up after over 10 years of losing touch. It's been terrific. My friend, P, and I hung out at each others houses...played together...at one point in my life I felt like she was my only friend. I could talk to her about anything, and I never felt judged. She moved away some years later, and we lost touch, and I missed her terribly. To hear that she has a family of her own now, and is happy makes me happy. Over the past year, I've gotten in touch with half a dozen people who found me, and it's been terrific. Sometimes, when I look back on all the fun times I had with friends, I find tho that my mind wanders back to the pain others in my classes inflicted on me. I'll admit my Blogger friends, that I wasn't popular at all in Junior High. It was the most socially awkward time of my life. Picture this...a bad perm, problems with my weight, coke bottle glasses; add to that that I was painfully shy, and you can see why I was such an easy target. I had days where I didn't want to go to school because I knew that certain people would make me feel low about the way I looked. I'll admit here and now that these bullies did drive me to a few suicide attempts. Thank God I didn't succeed.
One girl in particular made my life a living hell. She used to tell me all the time (on a daily basis) that I was worthless, ugly, a loser, a geek, fat, I had no friends...blah blah blah. The day I moved from Grimshaw C.H. came up to me and said, "I'm sooo happy you're leaving, I'm throwing a huge party at my house." I walked away. I swore someday I would show people I was somebody. The funny thing was she did get her comeuppance years later. I'd moved a few times and I had heard thru the grapevine that she'd dropped out of school, got pregnant, but I couldn't confirm those rumors until one fine day in Peace River. By then I was 16, and had recently lost 55 pounds in 6 months. For those who want a picture of how much weight I lost, I went from a 34 inch waist to a 24 inch waist. I looked amazing for the first time in my life. One day I was walking by the SAAN store in P.R., and I noticed a girl my age approaching. She was obviously pregnant, and pushing a baby carriage. It looked like C.H., but I wasn't sure so I walked past her. Suddenly I stopped and turned around. The girl was looking at me, her jaw dropped in amazement. It was her. Now, what did Stranger do? I smiled, turned, and went on my way. What can I say? Karma's a bitch.
Now there were guys in my class that used to treat me like shit too. Once when I was 19, I was brave enough to approach one who made Grade 7 a nightmare. On the first day in Grade 7, he turned to me and said, (and I'm quoting here verbatim), "I hope you fail so I never have to see your ugly face again." I saw him in the bar when I was 19 and told him that what he said years before hurt me more than he would ever know. He actually told me he'd forgotten that incident, but apologized profusely nonetheless, which helped a bit with closure. Still tho, incidents like the one I've described have stuck with me after all this time. When I think hard about it, I would've rather they hit me than use hateful words, as I find the words far painful. I spent years finding my self worth again. But I want to thank you haters out there, because you didn't break me. You were close, but guess what? I'm still here, and I'm strong now. You can never hurt me again, because I won't let you.
I want to thank those few friends that I did have: those who I've gotten in touch with again, those friends I havenow, and for those who are now with God, thank you for being my friends, and seeing my inner worth, for you people saved me from doing the unspeakable. Okay, I'm a little vaclempt right now...forgive me...talk amongst yourselves while I pull myself together here.........................................................okay I'm better now. Bless your hearts, and a big hug and good Karma is being sent to you right now.
Blogger question now....what was your painful moment? If that is too much for you to answer, then who was the friend in high school that made the tough times bearable? Also, I know this entry is a bit heavy...I'm revealing a lot of myself here, but I think I need to put it down. Some people have said that you can't truly find closure on certain things until you're in a place where you feel secure...then for some reason your mind opens a door to reveal a painful time so that you can deal with it. I'm finding that over the past 10 years, I have been able to find closure on a lot of things. It's all good. So leave me a message...give me your two cents.
Peace!