Goings-ons

Well, so far this week has been a busy one - I've spent lots of time at the gym, we've been able to hang out with family and friends and... there have been a few birthdays. First - volleyball: the camp is great - the fun and knowlegdable all-female coaching stuff has made it a super week, and the athletes have, by and large, been pretty good too. Probably the most rewarding thing about coaching is when you actually see an athlete make a change and/or figure something out and then light up like crazy... it's awesome. It happened today, so I came home on a bit of a high - as I'm sure did she. Yay. Things around Erin and Fred's have been busy too - family has arrived and everyone is having fun; furthermore, with only two days to go before the big day, everyone seems calm, and relatively stress free. The phone is ringing off the hook but whatever. I've also been able to hang out with my sister Claire - last night Steve, Claire and I went out for sushi... sooo good. After dropping Steve off here, Claire and I went back to her place, watched some Sex and the City and passed out - perfect. I still haven't seen the movie... but it's on my list of things to do. Well, it's not - but it should be! What else... birthdays - I'm referring to Canada Day and Quebec City. Not that they were both entirely happy days - in BC the carbon tax went into effect on July 1st - what a way to celebrate... seriously. Oh, wait - they did give every BC resident a $100 tax credit. Er, yes - that makes it all okay. We briefly watched the news on CBC on Tuesday and it prompted me too look on their website at stories and comments; consensus? Money grab in the name of environmentalism. Oh, and to curry favour with ... well, with almost anyone who lives outside of BC. Seriously. My favourite comment (I only read the first two pages... there are 338 comments on the story):

Man produces 3% of all C02. The other 97 % is produced by nature. So Canada produces 2% of 3%, or .06% of global C02. Since the total amount of all C02 in the atmosphere is only .038% (or 380 parts per million), if we multiply .06% by total C02 .038% we get a very tiny number .0000228%. (equivelant to 1/5 of 1 part per million), and Canadas total contribution to atmospheric C02. If Canada completely ceased any burning of fossil fuels, thats the difference in atmospheric C02 that would be achieved . If you break it down regionally, to provincial emmissions, you get an even more insignificant number. So Gordon Campbells tax grab is nothing more than that. It will have no affect on C02 levels, but will punish people for driving to work and heating their homes.

I have no idea how accurate that information is nor do I have the energy to look into it (pah! the energy!) but, the punishment for driving to work and heating homes (and shipping and buying food and goods) will, in my opinion (counts for very little), most strongly affect northern, rural, and smaller communities; it will affect tourism and economic development, and create an even bigger divide between Vancouver's Lower Mainland and the rest of the province. Anyways - what a lovely birthday present for British Columbians. I know nothing really about Quebec City and its 400th birthday but it is one of the oldest cities in North America... so bravo. The city we lived in in Yaroslavl is celebrating its 1000th birthday in a few years but whatever - QC, like Canada, is a young bud.

Other goings-ons: the stampede is starting tomorrow - or was it today? Meh. And tomorrow is my last day of coaching... and then the wedding! Yay! So. I'll have pics up soon - the camera will come out of its bottom-of-the-purse hibernation. It will. My mom is coming for the weekend too, so it will be great hanging with her and Claire. Another yay. And now, bedtime... and a big yay for that!