Olympic fever

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted anything but I must say that cheering on fellow Canadians at the Olympics has been the reason. And I think it's a very good reason as they need and deserve our support. Since I can't be home during the day, I have downloaded the CBC ticker onto my work computer so that I am always up-to-date. It's an obsession with me definitely as I would drop everything just to sit on my butt and watch them all day long. I have not given up reading though as I'm always reading the latest stories from the ticker. Pretty good reading too!

In any case, I finally finished The Jane Austen Book Club and am just reading the comments in the back now. Very different book from what I usually read but still entertaining. I only read for entertainment anyhow. I'm not someone who's looking for a greater meaning through the books I read. I just like to escape into another world where anything can happen. I do find however that I try to identify with at least one character from the book. Or just see which one I am most like. And then I think about whether or not I would really want their life. Inevitably, the answer is no 99.99% of the time. I do have to say though that although some have made comments that Karen Joy Fowler is like Austen herself, I don't see it. Like I said, I don't read that much into books (pardon the pun) in the sense that I don't look any deeper than the actual words on the page. I don't try to interpret them, which is why I likely disliked so many of the novels we were forced to read in high school. As straight stories, they were quite interesting but once we started dissecting them, I lost interest. Then to write essays about them became difficult because I didn't see them in that light. However, since I was adept at following the correct format for an essay and because I had a great memory back then, I was able to get good marks on my essays. But it certainly was not because of my deeper understanding of the material.

Anyway, I'm holding off for now on starting a new novel but I'll likely pick up a new one next week. I'm thinking of going back to the John Jakes series and starting the second novel, Love and War next. I don't want to wait too long to start that one as I'm afraid I'll forget too much from the first novel.

As always, I read the newspaper everyday and something always catches my eye that I feel compelled to talk about. Yesterday, it was an article reprinted from the L.A. Times about the new Vanity Fair cover where Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson appear nude with guest editor Tom Ford (who is fully clothed). I have no problems with the cover itself, merely a comment that was made about it in this article. The author used the term "baby chubby" to describe Scarlett Johansson. Now, although I am slim, I took great offense to this comment since it continues to perpetuate the sentiment that you must be rail-thin (a la Keira Knightley) in order to be considered normal. Quite frankly, I think Scarlett is normal-looking. She looks like a woman with all the curves a woman should have. Anyone who has bones showing is obviously not taking care of themselves. I believe that it's comments like that that have caused so many teenage girls to take drastic measures to be what is considered normal and hurting themselves in the process. This is why I believe that Dove's new campaign for what is truly beautiful is the best thing I've seen in years. Beauty is really not about what's on the outside - when are people going to start figuring that out? Well, when article writers quit insulting others for looking a certain way.

OK, so that's my rant for the day - whew!

Too much reading, no time for writing!

I've been reading so many different things lately that it leaves very little time for writing about them! In any case, I read a couple of very interesting articles in the Calgary Herald at lunch today. The first was about how most women perceive that men act like babies when they are sick. Of course, the psychologists interviewed with regards to this finding say that the perception is there because we don't allow men to show themselves as weak. So when they are sick, or showing weakness, we think they are overdoing it. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with that although I do have to admit it's difficult to see a man cry for example without being surprised that they have it in them. However, I definitely think there is more complaining involved with sick men as opposed to women. I was raised by a very independent mother who always reinforced that we should learn to do things for ourselves. So when I'm sick, I tend to carry on my business as usual and only stay home if I can't sit up for more than an hour without feeling like I'm going to fall over. I don't ask anyone to help me get soup or medicine, I do this myself. Of course, living alone has something to do with this. Anyway, when I'm in the presence of a sick man, I tend to treat them exactly as I always have and expect that they will take care of themselves as I do when in the same situation.

The second article I read today was about the emergence of spa treatments for men. The guy who wrote the article had taken in a few different treatments at the spa and described how good they made him feel, even though he was concerned about losing his masculinity by simply going in the first place. His description of having another male act as his massage therapist (he had some issues with it definitely!) was truly entertaining. He did neglect to mention however if he would ever go again. As someone who has been to the spa only once, I would like to say that I would love to go again but I can't usually afford it. However, I will be going to the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw for the May long weekend and I must say that I'm looking forward to it immensely. It will have been probably close to three years by then since the last, and only, time I've been to a spa. It's so nice to be pampered some times!

Finally, I got the chance to read the big article about "Hot Jobs in the City" from the Help Wanted issue of Calgary Inc. magazine that I snatched from our front desk. The article, written by Anthony A. Davis and Carol Harrington, describes how the Calgary job market has been considered tight over the last year and will only get worse, to the point of "severe shortage", over the next two years. The unemployment rate continues to decrease and we are experiencing difficulties in locating skilled workers. So here's the list of the hottest jobs in Calgary right now (as compiled by Tarah T. Reesor):

1. Intermediate Administrative Assistant
2. Chief Financial Officer
3. Engineering Graphic Technologist (CAD mapping)
4. Front Line Agent (call centre)
5. Geomatics Engineer (location-based technology)
6. Legal Assistant
7. Manual Labourer (warehouse)
8. Intermediate to Senior Oilfield Equipment Salesperson
9. Registered Nurse
10. Sales Associate
11. School Bus Driver
12. VP of Business Development (software industry)
13. Welder

One thing that I have trouble with especially after reading this article, is that if there is such a labour shortage in Calgary these days, why do I have such a hard time finding another job? Obviously part of it would have to do with the fact that I'm not specifically trained in any of the areas listed above although I could easily do a few of them without much training. I'm lucky to find one job posting per week that is applicable to my training and experience and that would still manage to pay the bills. You would think that after 6 years with the same company I'd have an easier time of convincing others that I'm worth hiring. If only I could show them in person what I can do and skip the whole resume and interview process, I'd be hired in a split second. I'm not trying to be conceited here but I am aware of what I can do and I'd like to think that any employer would be lucky to have a hard worker such as myself. Anyway, since my sister-in-law is about to be out of work and does fit into one of the categories above, I would expect that she should have no more than a week at home before starting another job. We'll see!

Finished my book and started another

Well I finally finished North and South after a few months. I never realized how much I had forgotten from the first time I read it but it was fantastic! I decided to take a break from all the war and heavy reading before jumping into the second of the series, Love and War. Instead, I picked up one of my new books, The Jane Austen Book Club and am finding it very entertaining so far. A much quicker read than the historical books I read from time to time. It should only take another week or so to finish this one. I'm still waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to come out on paperback but having just checked Raincoast's website (the Canadian distributor) I now know it will be available on July 25. Finally!!

I haven't been reading much else lately but I did happen to check out my horoscope for the year under the Chinese zodiac. I'm very encouraged by the predictions for the Year of the Snake which stated that it would be an auspicious year for moving, changing careers and business as well as my love life, including marriage! Other than the moving part, I'm excited about the rest and can only dream that they will happen. Although marriage doesn't have to happen in the next 12 months, it would be nice to at least have my love life sorted out. Especially considering that it is non-existent at present!

Jobs and luxury homes

OK, so remember when I said I was looking for the Calgary Inc. magazine that had "HELP WANTED" splashed across the front cover? I had guessed that someone removed it from our office so that we wouldn't get any ideas about leaving (little do they know, many of us have thought that for quite some time already!). Well anyway, miraculously, we received a second copy of said magazine in the mail and I happened to snag it before it reached the kitchen this time! Woohoo! Anyway, I love the section where they include stats of any kind. The ones in this issue of course had something to do with jobs, etc. so here are a few of my favourites:

• 76% of employees enjoy their work but their bosses' quirks make the workplace less enjoyable
• 62% say a key obstacle in performing their jobs is excessive bureaucracy (here, here!)
• 57% say another obstacle is inconsistent management decisions (absolutely!)
• 43% increased trips on Calgary's public transit system from 1995 to 2004
• 42% of workers travel to the downtown core on Calgary transit (this would explain why I need to trample on five people or more just to get off the bus in the morning!)

I haven't finished reading the rest of the articles yet but they certainly look interesting.

I happened to spot the magazine for people in want of luxury homes and associated toys (i.e. yachts) today in the kitchen. I love to thumb through this one as it's amazing how much people will pay for an ocean view or in one particular case, a 2-storey penthouse with 5950 sq. ft. at the top of a 30-storey building in Vancouver. This penthouse broke the previous record for the most expensive condo in Vancouver just a few months ago. The price? $7.75 million!! Unreal! I don't care what this condo and its building have to offer, why would you want to pay so much for essentially an apartment? You still have neighbours in fairly close proximity and will still have to take an elevator every day just to leave or enter your home! However, I have to admit that the rooftop garden and 1500 sq. ft. of decks would be nice features. I just don't know what I would do with all the space!

Community kitchens

While eating my breakfast this morning, I came across an article in the most recent edition of the Neighbours paper about community kitchens. I had never heard of this concept before but instantly thought, "What a great idea!" As someone who is not particularly fond of cooking, I could think of no better plan for getting a bunch of meals made at once that could be stored in my freezer until I was ready to eat them. According to the Community Kitchen Program of Calgary website, www.communitykitchenprogram.com, people get together to plan a 14-day menu based on the current sales at the various grocery stores that week. Each family pays their share of the cost of the groceries then all the meals are made and split amongst the families for later use. The concept is mainly intended to ensure that children are not going hungry and are still learning about proper nutrition. It's also meant to help families learn how to make economical yet nutritious meals.

Although I'm not truly in need of this program, I think it would be a good idea to practice the concept at home. I too often only make enough food for one supper and one lunch then need to make a new supper the next night, which I rarely feel like doing. What I should do is take a Saturday morning and cook up a storm. Then I could have meals for a week or two just as the community kitchens do. Awesome!