Day - 6 - 157 -- Taking Time

We began the day with a welcome from an Algonquin elder who spoke to the recent report on murdered and missing indigenous women and girls. It was very moving. Later in the day the awards ceremony for many familiar faces brought feelings of pride that our profession rests in such capable hands. A former student won the national Morgan Medal for student research. That made me smile. This was followed by the opening reception, after which I had a chance to get the feel of that enormous stage and hearing the sound of my voice in that huge ballroom. The lap mic worked well, but I'll need to stop by very early tomorrow to check on the speakers notes once they can get these up on the monitors. Otherwise, I guess I'm ready to go. <smile>

The day ended with a wonderful dinner with two dear friends. After dinner, we walked to the National War Memorial. The square had been busy earlier in the day, since today marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, when 14,000 Canadian troops landed on Juno beach in Normandy and parachuted from above. The allied forces landed about 150,000 troops along an 80 km shoreline. This involved major combat, but German strongholds were breached, making this the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. That would take another 11 months and would see many Canadian lives lost and many others wounded. Visiting the memorial felt right today -- a small way of recognizing the service and sacrifice from D-Day and the battles that followed.

Two songs came to mind today -- one for each of the main themes of thought. The first marries a lovely melody with lyrics (in French) that speak to dreams and loss. It seemed fitting for the remembrance of courage past. The second brings an upbeat sound to what I felt at the end of the evening -- as prepared as I will be for tomorrow. Why not a sport metaphor here? <grin> This is from the solo career of a singer-songwriter that has been featured here before as part of the original roots rock group and alone. Enjoy!

Beauté Perdue -- Luc de Larochellière

Centerfield -- John Fogerty

Day 6 - 156 -- Exciting and Eclectic Day

What a long but exciting day! Travel hiccups early in the day took last minute problem solving while in near panic mode. Arrived at airport earlier than I'd expected, which gave me time to review speeches, do e-mail and make some notes. Flight went smoothly. At hotel I met with a number of colleagues and two good friends. It was wonderful to have even a short time to visit. The evening held an event for first time conference attendees that was a happening place <smile>. I then headed to meet with a former colleague who is now a senator. She showed me around the new senate building and I sat in the gallery to watch the end of the day's session. The highlight was the first speech by a new senator from NWT. In her traditional Inuvialuk dress, she spoke of her family's history with government policy. She encouraged the group to keep Truth and Reconciliation in mind when debating any bill in the chamber. The other highlight was meeting the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, a fellow Saskatchewanian. So, the day was filled with wonderful experiences -- so privileged.

I've chosen a song by a Dene singer-songwriter who grew up in Yellowknife, NWT. She notes that the song is about healing and the impact of colonization, and brings together cultural and popular music. Enjoy!

K'eintah Natse Ju -- Leela Gilday

Day 6 - 155 -- Moving to an end

Many more small tasks done today to get ready for the next few days filled with presentations and visiting in the off moments. It has taken a lot of work to get to the point when things are ready to share with others. Research and writing can be so isolating. It is wonderful to be able to tell others what one has done while squirreled away buried under words, files, and ideas. The constant editing brings thoughts of overthinking every word -- a necessary but painful process.

Moving from the mere idea through expansion of related ideas to a final coherent product brings a form of joy. Being able to discuss ideas with others brings excitement. The whole thing is an amazing journey. So, a song about travel seemed appropriate for today. Love the roots rock group singing this one. Lyrics present aspects of disrupted plans and the frenetic pace that accompanies getting it done. Enjoy!


Travelin' Band -- Creedence Clearwater Revival 

Day 6 - 154 -- Multitasking?

The day has been full of running from here to there and back again via an even more circuitous route. Many tasks were completed and others set for ending tomorrow. Much of this involves two big presentations this week. Who knew there would be so many preparations involved <smile>? I'm ready to head off to sleep, so the post will be shorter than usual.

I found myself day dreaming while in the midst of multitasking. The latter doesn't really exist -- just the latest invention to make us think we can do and have it all <smile>. The selection today is an updated version of an older song -- as in older than me <grin>. The singers do a wonderful job on this one. Enjoy!

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes -- Disney Channel Stars

Day 6 - 153 -- Visionaries

Most items on that infamous list have been completed. <smile> While doing some of the hand sewing and mending, I was listening to a biographical documentary from PBS American Experience about the work of Rachel Carson. It was very well done clearly showing the social and political nature of the 1950s and 1960s along with her writing about the oceans leading up to Silent Spring. Her writing fell into the genre of science communication. Rather than purely research writing, she wrote for the general public. Her works helped people to understand the integrated aspects of nature. She then moved to a discussion of the dangers of human hubris in controlling nature through chemicals and technology. This was a time when side effects of technological inventions on humans was not part of any conversation. If it didn't kill a person outright, it was deemed safe. Her book, Silent Spring, pushed a paradigm shift, where proof of safety became the main concern -- a very dramatic change in regulation of science and technology. She died at 56 -- never seeing the change in mindset resulting from her work. 

Later in the evening, I watched Jersey Boys again. The story parallels the careers of many musical acts of the time. From the outside, it may have appeared to be a charmed life, when it held many pitfalls and pain along the way. I will admit that hearing Jersey accents for a couple of hours made me smile. It is a unique sound. The music made me smile more, though. From the early to the later sounds, I found it all fun to hear again. 

From this day of biography, I was left with two songs continually playing in my head. Interestingly, they both deal with vision -- much like the two biographies did figuratively and literally. So -- its a two-for kind of day here. <smile> While each has been covered and charted many times by various artists, I'm sticking with the originals for sharing today. Enjoy! 

My Eyes Adored You -- Frankie Valli 

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You -- Frankie Valli 

Day 153 - increasing costs

Today was uneventful -- laundry, cleaning, and such and some sunshine outside the window.  The task that took a bit longer to complete, was balancing household accounts for the past couple months. It takes very little time when one does it regularly, but I haven't gotten to many of the mundane tasks due to work tasks for much of the last while. So, today the number game took me a couple of hours to complete. Good news -  it is done!  Bad news is basic things seem to be increasing in cost.

Hmmm. Looking at the cost of basics today had me thinking of how one is to be able to retire. Savings and RSPs are necessary, but how much is enough? All the planning tools I've seen are based on 'educated guesses' -- another area of crystal ball gazing in the guise of evidence, it seems. <smile>. The tools say that some costs become less after one retires and this often mentions clothes. Based on the fact that I live where there are few age-appropriate clothes available, I do spend very little on clothes over a year. I expect this may actually increase in retirement, but not likely by much. So, relying on a reduction in that budget line leaving more for another budget line appears to be pure folly. Perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket or two to help with feeling secure (though according to my e-mail messages I've now won billions of euros). <smile>

Lyrics from the selection today reveal that I am not alone in the worries sustaining self through life <smile>. There were many potential songs to choose from on this topic, but this one seemed to float to the top of my mind. Enjoy!

Money, money, money -- ABBA

Day 6 - 152 -- Finding Work Helpers

A bright sunny and warm Saturday. Much of the day involved the usual household chores with a few extras thrown in for good measure <smile>. I have one more item to complete this evening and most of the list will have been addressed.

Why are my time estimates for tasks so far off the actual time needed -- even after years of doing similar tasks? Perhaps I take extra time between individual items. Not that I'm staring at the ceiling, but I always find other little things to do. They just hide somewhere and then jump out at me demanding attention. I could push them back into their hiding holes, but for some reason I just plow forward. Is there such a thing as 'binge chores'? <grin>

I often wonder if I could find the elves or gnomes to do the work while I sleep at night. Never been able to find this in the Yellow Pages or online. There are many other fairy tale ways of getting work done. I chose a fun one to share today. I do apologize for the chipmunk sounding rats <grin>. They are cute, though. Enjoy!

The Working Song -- from Cinderella