2:22 a.m. - 2003-08-27
Time and Tide
Link to the Masses for the Music Entry
With apologies. I "Write On" everyday.
The rest of ya'll "Rock On"!
I had a dream about seeking the shores of the far North of Canada - waaay beyond the Arctic Circle. It was high summer. The area is considered desert because of the lack of rainfall, and the geology is similar to that of coastal Texas, Egypt, and Nigeria. Large deltas formed over long periods of history. I am inland walking north - trying to find the sea. It is gravelly terrain. Boulders mostly. I am accompanied by an otter (I think) with a rich black coat, a caribou and a shore bird of some description. It has a yellowish cast to it's white body and feathers and it is somehow bringing it's egg with it - rolling it along. We trek over a number of hills and culverts. Brilliant blue sky overhead, almost cloudless except for a few wisps very high up. Finally we are there. Beautiful rolling green ocean - gelid in appearance, frosted with white foam. I want to dive in. I wake up asking "am I crazy"?
My Dad called today to say he and my sister had really enjoyed Cher's concert last night. He said it was like a Vegas stage show. He and my Mom used to travel to Vegas at least once a year to take in the shows. I think that means it was really good. I've only been to Vegas once when I was of age. I had the opportunity to see Sammy Davis Jr. - he was fabulous. I must admit though I really didn't enjoy much else there. It's just too cold - in the human sense for me. It's all about excess - that's not something I enjoy.
I started stair climbing again today. Not much - just 15 minutes, but its a start. I hate losing so much ground in just a week. I rested right after and the tightness I felt after felt like the normal response to exercise. Good thing.
Received another document from Elections Canada today - we get two or three a week it seems. This one was interesting. Every Returning Officer in Canada is appointed for life by the Governor in Council (I think that's the correct title). However, the "for life" means for the life of the existence of the constituency one is appointed to administer. It is the law that every 10 years a revision of constituencies be undertaken based on the most recent Federal census (2001). I think all the constituency boundaries in Alberta changed as a result of the recent redistribution and it will become law within the next year.
That means every Returning Officer in Alberta will be removed from the responsibilities they hold now. It doesn't mean we can't be reappointed. But with a new leadership likely by November, it is common to see change since the appointments are based partly on political considerations. Now in my defense, I have worked with every political party at one time or another because my interests are community/family focused. I don't care who works on a committee with me as long as their goals are the same as mine. I also had fourteen years of experience working elections for all three levels of government when I was appointed in 1996. Returning Officer was about the only position I hadn't held and I wanted the challenge to myself. As far as I know, I don't have any major political connections in any party.
Regardless of how it works out, there was a chunk of the area I administered amalgamated with chunks from the other two constituencies surrounding the new constituency added to our city. I think that was a good move, but it means some really good workers will be lost to this area since we are supposed to hire our staff from residents in our own constituency. I'm going to make a list up of their names and phone numbers (they gave written consent during the last election) so that I can give it to the new Returning Officer for the new area. That staff's expertise will make setting up a new constituency a little easier I think, for whoever takes it on. As for me, it would be nice to be reappointed, but right now I'd just like Elections Canada to pay me for the work I've completed over the past five months. Deal with what is current rather than worry about something over which I have no influence.
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