Saint John Life on Your Terms

Station 1 Skatepark Opens in Saint John

2008-11-05T10:07:00.001-04:00

This Halloween marked the grand opening of Station 1, the new skatepark for the Saint John Community. Long anticipated (and overdue in the minds of many) the park is a safe place for local boarders and bladers to practice their skills without worrying about the usual confrontations with nervous pedestrians.

The park is located under the Main St. viaduct, adjacent to Harbour Passage and Harbour Station, making it easy access for many local youth in the community. One west-side kid I spoke with at the ribbon-cutting was really excited that he could “skate the passage straight to the park”, while my neighbours in the south end feel comfortable letting their kids use the pedway system through the Uptown to get to the park on their own. And the place has huge potential for some amazing events – just look up at the underside of the viaduct and you can imagine an awesome lighting and sound system, flags and other necessities of an outdoor party!

Since the grand opening I’ve swung by the park to see how long the buzz will last. If anything, I think it’s actually busier this week – word must be getting around. It’s great to see so many kids out being active and having a great time in our Xbox world (hopefully not ditching school while they’re at it!). I only hope more girls get out there – I’ve only seen two so far, which I find really strange… if we’d had something like this where I grew up I know my sister would have practically lived there. Get out there Bettys… I know there must be a few of you somewhere in Saint John!

"Community Conversations" begin in Saint John

2008-10-26T17:02:00.003-03:00

The City of Saint John is in the middle of a public engagement process called “Community Conversations” – senior city staff and the councillors for each ward host town hall-style meetings where residents can air their concerns and share their ideas to improve our community. Today I attended one of the Ward 1 (West Saint John) meetings and was impressed on a number of fronts.

Congratulations to city staff for running a very well organized meeting. I’ve been involved in similar events and it can be hard to keep such a group focused and on schedule, not to mention be sure that everyone at least has the opportunity to be heard. Their challenge when this process is complete will be to ensure the proper follow-up occurs.

I was also pleased to see such an engaged group of residents show up on a Sunday afternoon – too often I think people take the easy road of sitting back and griping about issues rather than trying to take action. These residents were involved, had obviously thought about their needs, and you better believe they’ll be following up on the items discussed!

Last but definitely not least, I met a teen by the name of Erin who to me represents everything that’s great about this community. All too often youth can feel neglected and ignored, and as a result most choose not to participate in “the process” or try to affect change. Yet here was Erin, giving up her Sunday afternoon to speak out about issues that concerned her, and doing it very well I might add.

And how does she represent the Saint John Community? Simple – like many of our residents she actively took part, was listened too by the people who can make things happen, and will very likely have a positive impact when it’s all said and done. I sincerely hope she keeps it up, and inspires more like her to get involved.

Federal Election - what happened to long term planning?

2008-10-06T10:28:00.004-03:00

With only a week and a day to the federal election I feel that the political junky in me has been very well behaved. I have purposefully avoided using this forum to rant and rave like I do at home and with friends… but something happened this morning that made me decide to break my fast.

I ran into a couple of neighbours on my walk to work this morning who were deeply involved in a debate over which party/leader/local MP had done the most for our riding since the last election. Although I don’t know these two individuals that well, I do have a lot of respect for their intelligence and ability to think for themselves. Which is why I was a little surprised at the narrow focus of the conversation – they were only discussing what had occurred since the last election, and we all know how long ago that was.

Many people fault corporations for their short-sighted, immediate-term thinking based almost exclusively on quarterly shareholder returns. The big players in HR consulting all agree that this kind of short-term focus is not only unhealthy for the organization as a whole, but has a definite and proven negative trickle-down affect on everything from the frontline workers to the consumer and therefore eventually the shareholder.

If we’ve really accepted that this philosophy of immediacy is so bad for business, then what on earth makes us think it would be good for the country? Let’s all take a deep breath and agree that no matter where you land on the political spectrum, the issues of the environment, the economy, education, health care, immigration, etc. have long-term impact, were long-term in development and are long-term in the solving. I humbly suggest that this time around we vote based on which party/leader/local MP we believe has the soundest long-term strategies around the issues we care about, and the conviction to follow-through in the long run.

Oh yeah, and while I'm at it I can't resist saying - if you choose not to vote I choose not to hear your complaints.

An Intimate Evening with Elton

2008-10-01T09:57:00.002-03:00

Last night my partner and I went to see Elton John. Yes, Sir Elton himself visited the Port City yesterday and played an intimate little concert at Harbour Station – just us, Elton and ten thousand other excited fans loaded down with cell phones, digital cameras, blackberries and anything else that would take a picture and/or glow in the dark.

Saint John was one of the many stops on his latest tour. The music was good, his piano playing was fantastic, but for me the buzz in Harbour Station was the best part.

The great thing about the venue is that it’s large enough to fit a healthy crowd – so you get that wonderful buzzing energy inherent in an event like this – but small enough that even the nose-bleed seats are great and you have this sense that the strangers surrounding you are actually friends and family.

Last night was a perfect example of that feeling. From time to time during the concert I “went walk-about”, a habit of mine at concerts – I don’t enjoy sitting still for too long when the music’s on, and if my section isn’t dancing then… In my travels I ran into so many friendly faces and witnessed those little heart-warming moments that never get recognized (I mean you, the guy who gave up his place in the line-up to the men’s room for an elderly gentleman who obviously needed the break).

I also discovered the best section of Elton fans – who of course were relegated to the nose-bleed seats furthest from the stage. When I wandered into their section looking for a good photo op they invited me to stay and enjoy the party with them, and had it not been for my poor hubby left sitting by himself I definitely would have!

All in all a great night of entertainment and a really wonderful example of why I think the Saint John Community is the best place to live – our natural sense of community and desire to be neighbourly to everyone.

Saint John makes its Video Debut

2008-10-01T09:47:00.002-03:00

Last Friday Enterprise Saint John and the Life on Your Terms team, in partnership with Alpine Lager, hosted the premiere party for the Chris Cummings music video Welcome Back!. About 1,500 people from the Saint John Community joined us to celebrate the accomplishment, enjoy some entertainment from Chris and be the first in the world to see the video.

The crowd was absolutely wonderful – so supportive of the project and the local team that put it together, and so excited to see the finished piece and celebrate with Chris. Although things were a bit hectic backstage I was able to sneak away a few times to check out the scene, and saw residents of all ages and backgrounds had turned out (the little kids whizzing around the dance floor may have been my favourite).

So what can you expect next? Look for the video to be aired on CMT in the next couple of weeks (I’ll try to keep you posted as we receive more details) and if you like it and/or you want to help promote our community vote for the video on count down shows and request it as much as possible! The more requests and votes it receives the more airplay, and the more airplay the more face time the rest of the country gets to have with Saint John.

You can also submit a story in our contest on Life on Your Terms and win an evening for you and nine friends with Chris Cummings in the Moosehead Suite of Harbour Station, compliments of Alpine Lager.

Official Worldwide Video Release in Saint John

2008-09-22T09:25:00.003-03:00

On Friday, September 26th all area residents and visitors can join Chris Cummings and the Life on Your Terms team for the official worldwide release of Chris’s latest music video Welcome Back!.

This is a free public celebration at Harbour Station – no tickets are required at this general admission event. Doors open at 6:30, showtime at 7:00, and the schedule features entertainment from local talent, the unveiling of the video and a concert from Chris.

We’ll also be announcing details of a contest where you can win an evening with Chris at a Sea Dogs game, in a private box with all the trimmings!

Hockey Home Opener

2008-09-22T09:08:00.004-03:00

My partner and I were invited by some friends to the home opener game for the Saint John Sea Dogs this Saturday. We started the evening at the Church Street Steakhouse (a.k.a. Churchill's Pub) for an early dinner, and once again I was impressed to learn that if we had not made a reservation that night we would never have found a table.

For those of you not familiar with Saint John, this is important to point out because it's indicative of the energy and growth happening in our "sleepy little city", that's not so sleepy anymore. It's the first year in the nine I've spent here where reservations were not only a good idea but really necessary!

And as proof positive of this sentiment the hockey game itself was a sell out crowd. Of course the Sea Dogs trounced ValD’or (6-0), so much so that I was genuinely feeling bad for the guys by the end of the game!

Hip Heritage in Saint John

2008-09-12T11:58:00.001-03:00

Last night we staged a photo shoot outside Happinez, the “little bar with lots of wine”… the shoot was for a print ad promoting the Saint John Life on Your Terms brand, which we’ll be placing in a UK publication promoting relocation to Canada. The basic concept was a casual, impromptu street party that featured a contemporary activity (i.e. dance party with spinner) juxtaposed against the historic backdrop of the Brodie Building.

To stage and execute something this complex is not only difficult, but typically extremely costly. Since I hardly have that kind of money in my budget we were being very creative in how we could pull this off, namely by asking friends to volunteer their modeling services and loan props and equipment.

True to form you answered our call Saint John, thank you! Dozens of you showed up to fill up the space in a way I wasn’t even hoping for. You were all patient with us, particularly given the steep temperature drop once the sun went down. And those of you who were innocently going about your evening and were yanked off the street into the mix were very good humoured about the interruption!

Thanks to you we’ll have an ad piece that will showcase our community in such a unique way. And thanks to you, I and many others had a fun evening out on the town!

Who says you can’t get There from Here?

2008-09-08T12:01:00.003-03:00

This comment – that you “can’t get there from here” – is a bit of an on-going joke in my family. Essentially it refers to the numerous times on family vacations we’ve become lost, asked for directions, and received that response in one form or another (yes, some people actually have said that). What does this have to do with Saint John? Well I’ve been in communication with a few people who are thinking of moving to the east coast and they have this common characteristic where they think that transportation in our region is really limited – a “you can’t get there from here” misconception that I’d like to clear up.

Take for example my brief excursion to Nova Scotia last week for a change of scenery and some camping. We were bringing our eleven year old somewhat-arthritic dog with us, who refuses to sit or lie down in the car, so the scenic four hour drive around the Bay of Fundy was not an option. But not to worry, a quick jump over the Harbour Bridge to west Saint John and we hopped the Princess of Acadia ferry for a very comfy three hour ride across the Bay to Digby, NS. Easy on the dog, easy on the car (almost as old and even more rickety than the dog), easy on our backs (wander around on deck in the sun, eat a meal in the cafeteria, stretch out and sleep in the lounge, whatever)… a little pricey on the wallet though since driving our 4 cylinder would have been a bit cheaper. But the point is that we had choice in how we wanted to travel, and oh by the way you can get there from here quite easily!

Another example – my best friend from childhood visited from Saskatoon over the long weekend, and flew into the Moncton airport. She thought that WestJet doesn’t fly into Saint John… wrong. In fact, SunWing provides many direct flights to southern vacation destinations from our Airport, along with AirCanada, Westjet and a handful of charter services.

And for you commuters out there who wonder about public transit – check out the Comex (short for Community Express) service for the bedroom communities of Grand Bay-Westfield, Rothesay, Quispamsis and Hampton. Only one year old and these services (express commuter services to the city – leave your car at home, save on gas and no parking worries) are so popular that Saint John Transit is adding additional bus runs to accommodate the uptake. I imagine that as soon as we get our first snow fall their ridership will see another increase – why shovel if you don’t have to?

Or if the “forty foot limo” isn’t your style, the Saint John Parking Commission provides the Share your Ride service – an online matching service for carpoolers. Just hop on the website, fill out the brief form and you’ll be matched with others from your area who need to carpool at the same time and to the same neighbourhood as you.

And if your method of travel is a little greener than most (i.e. you bike, walk, scoot, etc.) I think you’ll find that Saint John is pretty friendly. I walk myself, so I can attest to how peaceful your walk to work can be in this community – although if you’re friendly and open to meeting new people plan extra time to get to work, everybody wants to chat! I hear the biking situation can depend on your neighbourhood – some are more bike friendly than others but almost all have some type of trail system you can take advantage of. And scooters and Smartcars are very popular here – they certainly make parking in the historical Uptown a lot easier!

"Behind the Scenes" images online

2008-08-27T12:43:00.001-03:00

My pics of the making of a music video are now available on the Life on Your Terms web portal...

Congratulations Saint John, it’s a Music Video!

2008-08-27T09:19:00.004-03:00

Last week we filmed Chris Cummings’s next music video in the Saint John Community – what a whirlwind!

It’s funny, I actually studied some film in college and often wondered if I had made the wrong choice in walking away from that profession – it just seems so cool, sexy and exciting from the outside. And of course the creativity involved is really attractive. But after last week I’m convinced I made the right choice… not because it isn’t cool, sexy and exciting, but because I genuinely don’t have the stamina to keep up!

I’ll try to put together a more detailed post in the near future (for now I’ll be concentrating on uploading the behind the scenes photos, which I’m sure is more appealing to many). For now though I really want to thank the Saint John Community for all of the amazing support we received on the project.

Honestly, I expected people to be excited about this thing because it is such a great, fresh idea, but I was genuinely touched by how many residents showed up to help out on set. In every municipality we had a following – some wanted to be extras and some were content to help by holding a sign or piece of equipment and watching the show. And of course our corporate sponsors, those wonderful folks who stepped up to lend us their planes, trains and automobiles (yes we had all three, and a boat!) really contributed to what will be a very complex and rich final product.

Like I said, I’ll try to get online again this week and net out some of the details of the shoot, but in the mean time THANK YOU SAINT JOHN!

Filming Locations & Schedule for Music Video

2008-08-14T11:13:00.002-03:00

Filming for Chris Cummings's next music video starts next week!

We've taken the unusual step of publicly releasing the working schedule and list of locations so that Saint John Community residents and visitors can join us on location and have a chance to be an extra in the video.

Everyone involved in this project is really impressed with the public response! When we've needed help Saint Johners have been there for us, whether it's borrowing a Bricklin or opening a private facility the answer is always an excited "Absolutely!". Just more confirmation of that friendly, welcoming attitude people have here, not to mention our growing sense of pride in our home.

Thank you Saint John for all of your help and enthusiasm, we can't wait to see you on camera!

A Morning at Mispec Beach

2008-08-09T13:36:00.002-03:00

If you’ve never made the short trek out to Mispec Beach you’re missing a lot.

Because I always have my dog with me – and dogs aren’t allowed on the beach – I would normally avoid the area during the summer (dog people can generally use the park unmolested during the off-season). But because the sun seemed only to shine over that part of Saint John I decided to go for it and hope that anyone using the park would not take issue with my very friendly, very large shepherd. I could not have picked a better morning to do it.

Mispec Beach is a beautiful white sand beach in a sheltered cove just outside the city limits (but still maintained by the city). There are a few hiking trails through the adjacent woods, one leading to a gorgeous little waterfall that I recommend checking out.

This morning it really did seem like the sun was shining just for the beach, and we had timed it perfectly to hit the lowest tide. On our arrival the crescent of sand was flanked by low hanging clouds to the east and north, with the morning fog hugging the line where the ocean meets the beach. Other than myself and Chewy (my dog) there was just a lone photographer taking in the gorgeous scene.

We enjoyed a beautiful morning on the beach playing fetch and running in and out of the ocean with the surf. Absolutely perfect. That is until I noticed the oil slick that was being brought in with the surf. I have no idea where this came from – the nearby working fishing wharf and ships arriving at the Canaport facility are two likely culprits. All I know is that it was horrifying to see since I’ve been coming to this beach for years and have never seen anything worse than a discarded beer can.

I notified the staff of course and reported it to the Saint John Police in the hopes that they’d call the right authorities for clean up. Now I have my fingers crossed that they’ll actually pursue it so we can all continue to enjoy mornings at the beach like this one.

Chris Cummings Tickets Available Tomorrow!

2008-08-06T10:09:00.003-03:00

We're only thirteen days away from the arrival of the Warren Sonoda (director of the Welcome Back! video), which will kick off our four days of filming for Chris Cummings' new music video.

Starting tomorrow, free tickets to the concert scene filming at the Imperial Theatre (Thursday August 21st) will be available in various locations around the Saint John Community. I expect this event will be an absolute blast - very chaotic for those of us involved behind the scenes of course, but for lucky area residents who can take the afternoon to join us in the comfy padded seats of an airconditioned theatre it will just be fun with neighbours and friends.

Doors to the theatre will open at 3:30pm, but bear in mind that this is a general admission event so first come, first served! The two hour mini-concert will of course feature Chris singing a few of his songs, and be prepared for a number of repeats of Welcome Back! for filming purposes! Jessica Rhaye and Dominiqe Dupuis will also be performing.

After the concert, from roughly 6:00pm to 7:00pm we will all be working together as one giant mass to capture what we hope will be a scene that will showcase the essence of Saint John - our awesome people, great sense of humour and strong sense of community. So again, be prepared for a bit of chaos, probably a lot of shouted instruction through a bullhorn and possibly a couple of "reset, do it again!" bellows from the director. Countdown Saint John - see you on the big screen!

French Medical Services in Saint John

2008-08-06T09:45:00.002-03:00

I know the buzz right now is all about the newly released French Second Language Program, but since I'm no educator, have no children and haven't been in school in over ten years, I think I'll stay well away from that one.

I did however find out just yesterday that the local Francophone Association in Saint John is completing a French language medical facility at the Samuel de Champlain location in Millidgeville. Planned to open on October 1st of this year, the fully equipped facility will provide medical services in French including basic patient care (beginning with a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practioner), family care (when a Francophone physician has been secured, which they are very actively recruiting right now), and video conferencing with specialists (ex. a psychologist in Northern NB). They have also secured at least one tenant in the building - a Francophone massage therapist.

Fully half of the facility is set aside to be rented by other Francophone medical service providers, which if you ask me is a no-brainer business opportunity for a dentist, dietician, alternative practioner, you name it. As far as I can tell this is a first of it's kind facility in Saint John (unique), is ideally located on the grounds of the only French public school in the community (captivated market) and because it's new and designed for this purpose I suspect it's a heck of a lot easier to set-up shop in than retrofitting an older building (cheaper in the long run and less stress!).

I think this is a pretty exciting development for Saint John and a beneficial service not only to local residents, but to all of the visitors from around the province (particularly the predominently French-speaking north) who come to Saint John for services at the Regional Hospital.

Camping & Cross-dressing

2008-07-28T11:37:00.002-03:00

If you read my earlier post you’re probably wondering what the deal is with the cross-dressers from the campground… aren’t we all!

Harding’s Point Campground is located on the Kingston Peninsula, a ferry ride across the river from Grand Bay-Westfield’s Brundage Point River Centre. The campground has a couple of fun events throughout the season that visitors and long-time residents can participate in – things like Christmas in July for the kids, or this year it’s Halloween in August.

One of these long-standing traditions is a “fashion show” for the adults, which happens in the evening after the kids have gone to bed. It includes good music, more than a few drinks, and yes, cross-dressing. Part of the tradition even later that evening is for the “ladies” to cross the ferry at least once to give the ferry passengers a good laugh. For the first time this year these partiers have a destination on the Grand Bay side of the ferry – the new Brundage Point River Centre – which conveniently has a bar. And even more convenient for this year’s fashion models was the private wedding happening in the River Centre when the ferry landed, which made for a perfect party crashing opportunity.

Of course, this is Saint John where everyone is welcome, so rather than crash the party this lively group of middle-aged and above drag-queens ended up being welcomed with open arms! The attached pic is one of me (frozen just in off the water as you can tell from my blue lips) and a 73 year old diva.

Life is all about perspective

2008-07-28T08:54:00.004-03:00

Did you have a good weekend, or a bad one? With the exception of having to face some of life’s more serious challenges, I submit that the answer is all in your perspective – consider my Saturday…

Picture it, Saint John, two thousand and eight (couldn’t resist, Estelle Getty was my favourite Golden Girl)… I slept through my alarm, therefore missing my opportunity to bring my recyclables to the redemption centre only open in the morning. I ran out of gluten free toast and so was not able to have my planned quick breakfast, delaying my trip to the beach. When we arrived at the beach (and long before that for that matter) it was blanketed in fog – some would say not the best weather for taking in a sand sculpture contest at New River Beach.

Later that afternoon we went for a trip up the St. John River in my brother-in-law’s boat to check on some waterfront property we’re considering. The water was rough, and since his boat has only two padded seats, my rear is pretty sore today. By the time we arrived at the property we had run some pretty rough water and hit some big swells, going at a good clip of course. It was at this point that we realized we’d managed to split the primary side seam of his boat from bow to stern. It was shortly after that, while limping back downriver but against the swells (more sadness for my rear), that we realized we were out of gas and had almost seized the motor. It was shortly after that that we saw the incredibly ominous fog bank slipping silently upriver towards us – did I mention that we were completely soaking wet from the rough ride?

So, at first glance we could say that’s a pretty crappy day. Or we could shift our perspective and look at it the way I’ve chosen to… I got to sleep in. Instead of boring toast I had a fantastic omelette for breakfast. Because of the fog I had the first beach experience of my life where I wasn’t uncomfortably hot and sunburned. If we hadn’t stopped to look at that property, we likely would have sunk my brother-in-law’s boat. If we hadn’t split the seam we would have been going too fast to be able to salvage the gas-deprived motor. And our return timing was just too perfect – if we’d been in any later we would have frozen in the fog, but if we’d returned any earlier we would have missed the Harding’s Point cross-dressers crash a wedding at the River Centre (I’ll explain that one in another post). All in all a very good Saturday!

Music Video being shot in Saint John

2008-07-25T09:01:00.007-03:00

On Wednesday Chris Cummings, successful country recording artist, announced he'll be recording his next single and shooting the corresponding video in Saint John! He'll be covering John Sebastian's song Welcome Back! (known as the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter) and theme the storyline of the video around his own experience of moving away and years later being drawn back home.

We're so excited to be working with Chris on this project! When he originally approached Life on Your Terms looking for ideas of potential partners, it took us no time at all to realize that the project was a perfect fit for us. The Welcome Back! message fits perfectly with our drive to bring people back to Saint John (or here for the first time for that matter), and Chris is a model of this growing phenomenon. Of course the song itself will give many late Boomers and early Gen-Xers a wave of nostalgia, and with his new take on the song we're sure Chris will gather a whole new generation of fans as well. And the prospect of showcasing what life is really like here - our natural beauty, our wonderful people and the economic boom - in such a long-lasting medium is really sensational.

Residents and visitors to the Saint John Community (Grand Bay-Westfield, Saint John, Rothesay, Quispamsis & St. Martins) can participate in the video - we're particularly excited about shooting the concert scene at the Imperial Theatre and then making our way down to the Boardwalk that evening so Chris can perform in the finale of Kent Country Star. We'll be announcing extra opportunities as they are identified - stay tuned Saint John!

Elton John Tickets

2008-07-22T17:06:00.002-03:00

Just like half the city, my partner and I were online at 9:45am this past Saturday to try to snag Elton John tickets (believe me, being up before noon on the weekend is a big feat for us). We decided to double-team the system - Sean clicked refresh twenty times a second trying to get into the online booking, and I spent the next two and a half hours hitting redial on the phone. I discovered that I can do all kinds of things with one hand, like mowing the lawn, sweeping the driveway and brushing and bathing the dog. Not quickly mind you, but it gets done.

Anyway after hours of trying we got no where and figured it was sold out, only to hear on the radio that many were having system troubles and there were still tickets left. So we ended up going to Harbour Station and buying the tickets straight from the wicket... how very sneaky.

See you at the show Saint John!

Music Video being shot in Saint John

2008-07-22T16:58:00.002-03:00

Tomorrow morning I, along with a well-known recording artist, will be announcing the details of a music video that will be shot in and prominently feature the Saint John Community!

We're making the announcement in the lobby of the Imperial Theatre at 10:00am and everyone is welcome (everyone who will fit in the lobby that is) so please join us Saint John (and Grand Bay-Westfield, and Rothesay, and Quispamsis, and St. Martins!) to learn about this awesome project and how you can be in the video!

Rosie O'Donnell in Saint John?

2008-07-15T16:46:00.004-03:00

Was Rosie O'Donnell really in Saint John today? Her cruise ship, Norwegian Dawn, certainly was, and all day I’ve overheard conversations where one person swears they experienced a Rosie sighting while the other swears the first must be crazy because they saw Rosie somewhere else in the city at the exact same time. One way or the other I certainly hope that all of those cruise ship visitors (including the comedic maven) had a fantastic time in our community.

I’m particularly excited for the twenty or so couples rumoured to have been married here today. I figure those newly-weds will have good luck in their marriages no matter what, as we had rain, and fog, and brilliant sun today… whatever wedding mythology you prescribe to we had you covered – congrats!

Oh how I missed the sweet, soft, cool fog!

2008-07-11T09:39:00.002-03:00

There was nothing quite as welcome as that thick bank of fog we drove into as we returned to Saint John from our week in Southern Ontario. Yes, read it again, I am glad to see the fog!

While everyone here in Saint John was grumbling about the gray mist, I was melting in 30+ degree heat in Ottawa and missing my fog. I think there’s nothing quite as nasty as being too hot, and Ottawa was too hot! And to the thousands of you who think I’m crazy just look at it this way – when it’s too cold you can put a sweater on. When it’s too hot – well there are only so many layers you’re able to ditch before the local authorities get anxious.

Heat aside we did have a great vacation – I got to tour around the St. Lawrence River with my father on his boat (and beside it on a scooter, where I was almost caught in a freak hail-storm), my partner got to visit friends of ours in Toronto. I spent Canada Day in Ottawa with my sister (sorry Saint John, but our capitol really does have you beat for this holiday) and saw really awesome fireworks from an island in the middle of the river behind Parliament Hill. I attended my first Buddhist ceremony (my mother’s wedding) and had a fantastic time drinking and dancing with my family (my 88 year old grandmother was the queen of the dance floor). And we topped it all off with a fabulous dinner in Riviere du Loup at a place called Restaurant le Saint Patrice and a visit to Le Parc des Chutes, which was spectacular lit up in the early evening. A note on the restaurant – half Italian half French cuisine, I cheated on the gluten-free thing and had a seafood pizza which was well worth the consequences!

And now I’m back in my beloved Saint John, and up until this morning was surrounded by beautiful fog. Today it’s 24 and sunny – guess it’s a day to have lunch on an Uptown patio and plan which Salty Jam concerts to check out this evening!

Confessions of a Procrastinator

2008-06-27T09:24:00.003-03:00

Well it only takes a quick glance at the date of my most recent post to figure out that I can be a pretty skilled procrastinator. Sentiments like “I’ll get to that tomorrow.” and “I can hardly write about today when I haven’t covered yesterday yet.” can add up to a month or more pretty quickly.

So my message to all of you out there in internet land is – please don’t think that my lack of posts reflects a lack of activity in Saint John! Quite the opposite actually, it’s proving to be one heck of a busy summer.

And what’s been going on here for the past few weeks? Here’s a list of just some of the amazing activities I’ve taken part of (remember since I choose to be lazy whenever possible, this is only a sampling of what’s actually going on!):

2008 Faces of Fusion: gala evening for the youth of Saint John, with this year’s focus turned to population growth (specifically immigration) and retention of newcomers. While everyone else enjoyed their salads and wine, I participated in a speaker’s panel with Minister Greg Byrne and Nathalie Godbout, discussing the primary issue as it relates to Saint John. We were followed by keynote speaker Jian Ghomeshi, who talked to the crowd about his personal experiences as a visible minority growing up in Canada and what communities like our can do to make newcomers feel welcome.
The Benefits Blueprint was announced: in a nutshell, this initiative is a joint attempt by all levels of government, community representatives and the private sector to identify and develop the exciting social, economic and community opportunities that will result from our current and projected boom.
Animal Rescue League Annual General Meeting
Saint John Volunteer Centre Annual Appreciation Tea
World 3 on 3 Street Hockey Tournament
Uptown Saint John Gallery Hop: 11 locations this year, this event is really growing! Not to mention how difficult it was to get a table at any restaurant or bar Uptown…
Reversing Falls Public Consultation Session: a tour of what turned out to be the very large site the city and its partners are planning on redeveloping, then a project presentation and public input session. The intent is to make the Reversing Falls a world-renowned tourism destination… thank goodness! One of my only childhood memories of Saint John (my family used to vacation on the East Coast long before I moved here) is how desperately disappointed I was in the Falls. Of course, I was expecting a dramatic height of water climbing up a cliff – I doubt the developer could really do much about that.
Tourism Orientation Tour of the City
Cruise Ship season starts: I love everything about Cruise Ship season, except for the delays in the pedway system (if you’re new to the community here’s some advice – give yourself lot’s of extra time to walk to your meetings on a ship day!).
Disability Awareness Week: congratulations to my employer, Enterprise Saint John, for winning the Employer of the Year award!

Like I said, my actual list is much longer than this, but this is a good summary. I swear I’ll update my blog more often from here on in… as soon as I get back from vacation!

Internet Marketing Awareness Program

2008-05-15T10:01:00.001-03:00

I attended the Internet Marketing Awareness Program – developed and presented by the UNB Electronic Commerce Centre – on April 16th. In general I was really impressed with the curriculum and found the diversity in the classroom interesting as well.

Aside from trying to cram way too much info into a day-long session, I think it was a great workshop and would recommend it to anyone looking for a crash course. One thing to keep in mind though, you must have some basic knowledge of industry terminology (ex. Google Analytics, web-banners, etc.). I was lucky enough to have recently spent time online researching the stuff, so I felt pretty comfy with the content, but there were a few in the class who could have really benefited from the background.

If you have the opportunity to take the course – particularly if you are a small or medium-sized business/non-profit without an in-house marketing department – definitely do it, you get more than value for the $100 tuition fee (which by the way includes a 30 minute consultation session after the program)!

How Local Employers can help Grow the Workforce

2008-05-15T09:28:00.002-03:00

Much of my time and attention in the weeks following the National Job Fair in Toronto has been spent communicating with some of the more eager job seekers we met at the Fair. These are the folks who either a) grabbed my card and actually bothered to follow-up or b) stayed in touch after receiving their chosen job postings via email. There’s a quality that all of these people share – they are all keenly interested in pursuing relocation to Saint John.

Another commonality is that they all seem to be very aware of the possibility of being disadvantaged in a job competition due to the fact that they aren’t living in Saint John. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked, “Will I even get an interview if I’m not there?”

So here’s where Saint John Community employers can help grow our workforce (and help me to answer “yes” to that question in the future):

If you aren’t already, open up to the idea of virtual hiring – get professional advice regarding screening techniques if necessary (there’s tonnes of free info on the internet of course);
Be comfortable with the idea of telephone interviews. You may have to work a bit harder in order to qualify people because you lose some non-verbal communication, but the long-term results could be worth it;
Investigate web conferencing and other technologies that incorporate video into your communication. Heck anyone with a $15 webcam and a free MSN Messenger account can do it!
Think about allowing candidates to share documentation with you via email, FTP, etc. that will support their applications. For example, if you’re hiring a finish carpenter and generally prefer to see the persons work in person (but in this case can’t), allow that person to take photos of a previous project or submit letters of reference from past clients;
If you still feel uncomfortable screening long-distance candidates yourself engage a hiring agency.

National Job Fair Results

2008-05-15T09:10:00.003-03:00

April 7-10 my colleague and I were in Toronto at the National Job Fair, representing the Saint John Community and a number of local employers who took advantage of our open-access job bank. Here are some quick tidbits to give you a sense of the trip:

9,900 job seekers attended (we were busy)
155 exhibitors (NB Zone, Ontario & Alberta Zones, Government and Retail Zones, etc.)
A variety of backgrounds – welders to doctors to customer service reps to counsellors, and everyone in between
115 types of positions in our job bank (thank you Saint John area employers for your support!)

Our results? Over 100 emails to send to very keen job seekers upon our return (emails included the job postings the candidate had chosen from our job bank, application instructions and community information) and dozens of connections made with other employers who may not have had a chance to post their position but we knew would want to talk to these candidates.

I came home from this trip feeling really charged about all of the incredible things life in Saint John has to offer these people. I couldn’t even guess at the number of candidates we spoke with who were genuinely excited about the prospect of life in a small coastal city, with friendly supportive neighbours, opportunities for their families, a growing social and multicultural scene… all of the reasons that we live here and choose to stay. There was no need to “sell” Saint John; just the truth about day to day life here was appealing enough for these folks. Not surprising if you ask me!

Saint John @ the National Job Fair - Calling all Employers!

2008-04-01T11:37:00.004-03:00

Next week Life on Your Terms will be representing the Saint John Community at the National Job Fair in Toronto. Along with other Enterprise Agencies, we will be representing the province in a concentrated effort to attract "Come-from-aways" to the region. Of course, demonstrating the variety and number of job opportunities in our community will be critical to our success!

This massive job fair expects to attract eight to twelve thousand job seekers with a variety of expertise, experience and education levels. Statistics from previous National Job Fairs indicate a healthy portion of the attendees are very willing to relocate, and with all that's great about this community I suspect we could convince a few more!

We are offering all Saint John Community employers (i.e. Grand Bay-Westfield, Saint John, Rothesay, Quispamsis & St. Martins) the opportunity to post - for free - their immediate and upcoming employment opportunities in our online jobs database for use at the fair. This opportunity is extended to regional and national employers who need staff at their Saint John locations. Please click here to access the online form to post your jobs.

The database allows you to post future positions (i.e. 6 months out, 2009 opportunities, etc.). These career opportunities are just as important as your immediate needs as most people who are relocating for employment will need some time to iron out the details of their move!

For more information on the initiative or the database please contact myself at: 632-6169 or/ sstashick@enterprisesj.com.

Aliant Business Pitch Challenge a Success!

2008-03-28T10:04:00.008-03:00

Every year a business pitch competition is held in Saint John - it's an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their product/idea to community business leaders, receive feedback on their idea and presentation and in the case of the competition winner, gain a little start up cash.

This year’s competition, sponsored by Aliant and presided over by both big business executives and small business owners, was in my humble opinion a resounding success! Competitors road in a limo with three judges and had five minutes to make their pitch and answer questions. So if anyone in Saint John was wondering why they saw the same two limos rounding the Uptown area over and over and over again, now you know.

There were almost thirty competitors this year – some with product samples in tow and others brought full blown cheering sections to pump them up during the down time. But what down time? Sebastian Café, this year’s venue, was absolutely packed when I walked in. And the energy was sizzling – people were excited about the competition, having a great time networking and meeting up with old acquaintances. At one point someone from the crowd even grabbed the mic and sang “Irish Eyes” and a Rat Pack song that escapes me at the moment… only in Saint John!
Congratulations to this years winners – the judges were so impressed with all of the finalists they decided on a three-way tie for first – and to the organizers, hosts and volunteers who made it happen. And a special congratulations to every contestant who had the guts to step up and compete in a nerve-wracking but very worthwhile experience!

Zen in the City Centre

2008-03-28T09:41:00.003-03:00

As a result of holding the launch party for Saint John Life on Your Terms at the Yoga Outlet, I was invited by Jenna and Jay (owners) to take my first official yoga class. Aside from a few poses a girlfriend of mine taught me ages ago this was to be my first intro to this form of exercise.

I didn’t really have any expectations walking in, so I was really surprised to find that after the first ten minutes of class I was shaking like a leaf with the exertion of holding the poses and staying balanced… and reminding myself to keep breathing! The hour absolutely flew by and during the last five or ten minutes of relaxation in the “Deadman’s Pose” I almost fell asleep. Now that’s my kind of exercise!

A couple of words of advice to other yoga rookies out there:

Wear form-fitting clothing so you don’t expose yourself during the “Downward Dog” and a few other poses
Introduce yourself to your neighbours as a rookie so they’re more comfortable with you watching how they complete their poses (avoid being a creepy person)
For the love of Mike, DON’T FORGET TO BREATH!

Wildlife Sightings - Spring is Here!

2008-03-26T09:46:00.003-03:00

You'd never know it based on the snow flying outside, but spring has arrived in Saint John. I can say this with confidence because all of a sudden every local animal you could think of is out and about, and most of them are travelling in pairs.

This weekend my partner and I took a drive up the river to look at a property we're interested in (by the way, if anyone has waterfront or waterview property for sale please let me know!). It was a gorgeous sunny day and as usual the water sparkled, reflecting perfectly the still-bare tree limbs that are coated in ice and resemble Christmas tinsel.

The day was so perfect we decided to take the long way home which includes a couple of ferry rides - here's a list of the birds and beasts we saw on our two hour cruise:

My first robin of the season... spring really is here! Although he flew right out in front of the car and we just missed him - we almost killed spring!

Canadian geese with goslings (I didn't know they hatched so early)

A very unusual small flock of water fowl that seemed to be nesting on ice floating in the middle of the river - if anyone can hazard a guess I'd be interested to know what they were

More deer than I could count

More molting bald eagles that I've ever seen in one day!

An unidentified eagle being harried by some crows - huge bird, flying solo... may have been a golden eagle but he flew behind the trees before we could get a close look

A white hare...

...who unforunately met his match in the fox we saw just moments later.

Life on Your Terms in Korean, Chinese & Spanish!

2008-03-20T12:31:00.004-03:00

Saint John Life on Your Terms is going multinational! Over the course of this year we'll be working hard to present the portal in Korean, Chinese and Spanish to showcase our community and our great stories in those languages. To my knowledge, this initiative is another Saint John First - are there other communities presenting themselves to the world in five languages?

To ensure we're doing this properly we've enlisted the help of groups of volunteers representing each language to guide us in the translation, content and design of the mirror sites. I am very grateful to the members of our Korean Advisory Committee for the work that they've helped us with to date, and I look forward to more of the same with our Spanish and Chinese Advisory Committees!

There is still time to participate in this exciting initiative. If you are interested in volunteering with one of our Advisory Committees please feel free to contact me!

Tim Hortons Marketing Secrets

2008-03-20T10:56:00.003-03:00

This year the CNIB Vision Dinner featured the presentation "Tales from Under the Rim: the Marketing of Tim Hortons" by Ron Buist. I must admit I was very excited to hear this presentation as Roll up the Rim is one of my first choices when I think of a successful marketing campaign (right up there with Madonna... you don't have to enjoy her music to appreciate her brilliance in marketing).

Unfortunately there were not a lot of secrets revealed - more of a history of the organization from a marketing perspective, which was interesting enough in it's own right I suppose.

Anyway thanks to CNIB for a nice dinner and networking opportunity, and I hope the work of your staff and volunteers to put the event together paid off!

Third Tuesday comes to Saint John

2008-03-20T10:23:00.003-03:00

I attended the second meeting of Third Tuesday in February... hosted at the Opera Bistro (translation: awesome food, good wine, great atmosphere) this networking event is an opportunity for those in the fields of communications, PR and marketing, to get together with the computer geeks of the world (please note I use that term with a lot of admiration, respect and maybe even a bit of awe - who knew a string of zeros and ones could do such cool things?) to learn about electronic marketing techniques and meet the people who can make such things work. And the mix of attendees is great - programmers, PR pros, established business leaders and entrepreneurs... stunningly enough I was not the least technically inclined person in the room!

I understand this network is a rarity in Canada - Saint John is in the company of major urban centres like Vancouver and Toronto, and has kept pace with those players (Montreal's Third Tuesday group started at the same time). Just another example of how our "quaint little town" continues to be an early adopter and innovator, true to our history!

Sea Dogs + Rescue Dogs = Fun!

2008-03-18T15:57:00.004-03:00

I had the unique opportunity to volunteer as a dog handler for the Animal Rescue League at, of all places, a Sea Dogs hockey game. I was excited about the exposure the organization would get at the event, but have to admit also a little leary about bringing shelter dogs to such a frenetic environment. But never-the-less myself, a handful of other volunteers, three cats and two dogs trudged through the snow to Harbour Station for the game...

I will never cease to be surprised by the resiliency of animals. In an open environment, surrounded by strangers who have little to no doggy manners, horns and bells and other noise makers sounding like crazy, the odd loose puck... and not a single incident. In fact one pooch was so relaxed we thought we'd need a crane to get her up off the floor.

My thanks to the members of our community who came over to visit us, made donations to the shelter and share their own pet stories. An extra special thank you and congratulations to the new parents out there who have since adopted every single animal we brought with us! And thanks to the Sea Dogs for inviting us and helping us gain critical exposure for our work.

By the way - I missed most of the game but the Dogs won... I hope they can keep it up for the playoffs!

Tea by the Sea

2008-03-18T15:41:00.002-03:00

In early February I was in the Village of St. Martins (home of the famous Sea Caves and gateway to the Fundy Trail) for a couple of meetings. In January I was contacted by a Village resident inviting me to visit her Tea Room and discuss the Booktown initiative in the community.

There are a couple of reasons why I'm blogging about this - first and foremost is the impressive east coast hospitality! Jackie had read my earlier blog entry about travelling and eating out as a Celiac and immediately offered to make me a gluten-free chocolate cake. I expected, at best, a store bought cake as hard as cardboard and just as flavourful. But I was pleasantly surprised by amazing homemade soup with gluten free bread for dipping, a boat-load of tea (50+ varieties on site I believe) and a true homemade chocolate cake.

Over the course of a very leisurely lunch Jackie and Eric filled me in on the Booktown concept (www.booktown.net) and the challenges of being a "Senior-preneur". Watch for a feature article on Jackie & Eric and their unique tea room/book store this spring!

Life on Your TV

2008-03-18T15:34:00.002-03:00

Saint John Life on Your Terms was featured on Rogers First Local and Daytime TV shows in January and February. Thank you to everyone who tuned in and subsequently contacted me to suggest changes and additions to our community information portal (www.saintjohnlifeonyourterms.ca). A special note of appreciation goes to Margret Kennedy's hubby - Margret was our first "Work on Your Terms" feature and agreed to be interviewed for First Local, and apparently almost every aspect of her life made the cut except for him!

House of Languages make SJ feel like home

2008-03-18T15:02:00.004-03:00

On January 28th the Saint John Free Public Library officially opened it's newly expanded "House of Languages". The "House of Languages" is a large collection of books, magazines and other reference material in a number of languages other than English, including French, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, etc. for loan through the library.

This project was borne of nessecity as the National Library of Canada stopped circulating mult-lingual texts in the 80's. So the Saint John Library, with the support of a significant donation from the Skinner Family Foundation and the help of a large group of volunteers representing each language group, took the initiative to develop their own collection.

I had the opportunity to chat with a few of these volunteers at the 0pening event, and discovered the importance of this collection to new immigrants in our community. To read - for pleasure or purpose - in your first language is something I had completely taken for granted. Of course I would feel more "at home" in a community that provided me with cookbooks from my home country for instance, or my recognized national newspaper so I can get all the news from the home I had just left.

Congratulations to the Saint John Library, their staff and volunteers who put a tonne of work into a project that will help immigrants in our community feel welcome and at home!

A Month & A Half in a Paragraph

2008-03-18T14:56:00.002-03:00

Although you'd never know it from this blog, Saint John has been hopping through the worst part of winter. So busy in fact that all I've been able to keep up with is a few notes on the events and activities I've experienced through February, with the intention to sit down "some time in the very near future" to blog about them. So I'll do my best in the next few posts to summarize some of the more noteworthy experiences of the month...

A Vacation Away Reinforces the Value of Home

2008-01-28T09:13:00.000-04:00

This weekend my partner and I went on our annual pilgrimage to Halifax. It's a lovely city, great fun to play in and we've found a fantastic hotel that is like our home away from home. We had an incredible time - took lazy drives around the gorgeous Southern Shore area, ate and drank far too much, shopped a bit, etc. It was a great trip all around. (This is another bonus of living in Saint John - it's proximity to everywhere!)

Strangely enough, I noticed on this trip some of the small differences between Halifax and Saint John (they share a tonne of similarities) that made me value Saint John even more. A small thing that cropped up was how accommodating people were... not - at the restaraunts we visited.

I'm a Celiac (allergic to gluten for those of you not familiar with the term) which can make eating out an interesting challenge. I'm constantly having to ask about ingredients, what brand of product is used, kitchen practices, etc. It automatically makes me a difficult customer for the staff, which is awfully frustrating for me because I don't have any choice in the matter (and I really don't want anyone to misunderstand my fussiness and do something unkind to my meal!).

I find the level of knowledge about this allergy in Halifax is really really high - a huge plus for me. What's weird about it is, if I'm not able to eat a specific meal on the menu at the places we frequent in Saint John, it's an automatic that the chef will alter the meal (if possible) so that I can have it. I've actually had chefs make me my own special meal completely off the menu and they seemed genuinely happy to do it. This was not our experience in Halifax, and come to think about it it hasn't been my experience in most cities I've visited.

So to all of you food service people in Saint John - thank you! Thank you for making it easy for someone with a unique diet to have an active social life. Keep up the great work and I'll keep coming to see you, and encourage everyone else out there to do the same!

FYI - here are some great places to visit if you are a Celiac and want a great meal in Saint John:

Opera Bistro (they always have an alternative bread available and rarely use flour as a thickner, so if you just want a sandwich or soup for lunch this is a great spot. also tonnes of choice on the dinner menu)
Sebastian (choices on all sections of the menu and a chef who is willing to accommodate. Awesome martinis!)
Churchill's/Church St. Pub (excellent greek salad, great mussels and generally lots of other choices on the menu)
Irving Big Stop (huge omelette, excellent greasy breakfasts served late in the day and willing to accommodate you in the kitchen)
Shucker's/Delta Hotel (somewhat limited choice on the menu but what they do have tastes great)
Billy's Seafood (same comments as Shucker's)
Saigon Noodle (Vietnemese food, #9 is the best cure for a head cold I've ever known! Lot's of choice because they use primarily rice noodles in the dishes)
Thandi's (limited choice on the menu but they try really hard to accommodate)

I'm always interested in trying new spots so if anyone out there has a suggestion let me know!

Do you know a Saint John Success Story?

2008-01-24T10:22:00.001-04:00

Are you an example of Life on Your Terms? Do you know someone who is?

Part of my role as Saint John Life on Your Terms Coordinator is to interview and feature people in our community who exemplify Life on Your Terms. Those are people who love living in Saint John because our incredible quality of life allows them to be active in our community in some way (they volunteer, they're entrepreneurs, they have an active social or recreational life, etc.).

If you or someone you know have a great Life on Your Terms story to tell, I want to know about it! You can contact me by commenting on this post, emailing me or through the Contact Us page on the Life on Your Terms portal: www.saintjohnlifeonyourterms.ca/contact.cfm

Just do your friends or family a favour - if you are recommending someone else for an interview make sure you give them a heads up first!

Living in History

2008-01-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

This weekend I spent almost all of my free time working on home renovations. Doesn't sound too exciting at first, but a couple of things that are unique to living in Saint John actually made it really interesting.

My current challenge is my living room (or our "Ball Room" as I call it because with such high ceilings and our limited furniture the room echoes) which has original lath and plaster walls, wooden mouldings and original fireplaces. I grabbed a book from the Saint John library about rehabilitating old buildings to make sure the contemporary practices I was familiar with weren't going to ruin the historic nature of the property, or the original construction materials. From this book I learned a couple of things:
a) don't assume that you can apply current renovation practices to old properties - nine times out of ten you'll do yourself more harm than good!
b) researching history when you live in it is way more fun than my high school history class was - using the photos of mouldings, cornice work, fireplaces, etc. I was able to date the house more accurately than anything else we've found yet, and it was more like a personal treasure hunt than an assignment!
c) doing the work yourself can be rewarding as well as frustrating (not to mention cheaper) - had I hired a contractor I would never had found the scrap of newspaper in my wall dated 1892 (they used anything for insulation back then)!

Everyone talks about the historic nature of this community. I'm told we have the highest concentration of historic properties in Canada in our city. Since I'm living in a home that was built at the turn of the century, as were almost all of the homes on my block and my neighbourhood in general, I think that's probably true.

If you haven't experienced it I think it would be weird to read about how it was fun to spend a weekend crack-filling (covered in plaster dust), and reading about old mouldings. But when you're sitting in the middle of a room where materials were hand selected, cut and transported, and you read about how someone spent hours shaping a single ornamental piece by hand, how it was installed without the aid of aircompressor equipment or hydraulic lifts... let's just say I now have a lot more appreciation for that skill, and wish I'd paid more attention in history class!

Life on Your Terms Official Launch

2008-01-16T19:09:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow (Thursday, January 17th) we're officially launching the Saint John Life on Your Terms webportal to the community, the media and the world! Anyone interested in attending the presentation and demonstration of the portal (and yes we'll have snacks!) can join us at the Yoga Outlet, 87 Germain St. at 10:00am.

If you miss the launch but want information on this True Growth initiative please contact me:

by posting a comment on this blog
by sending an inquiry through the Contact Us section of the Life on Your Terms portal (www.saintjohnlifeonyourterms.ca)
by calling me @ 506-632-6169
by emailing me @ sstashick@enterprisesj.com

Need a winter blahs pick-me-up? Volunteer!

2008-01-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

It can be so hard to stay positive and energetic in the winter, especially if you work during the limited sunshine hours we have or, god forbid, you hate the snow! Over the last little bit I've also been feeling dragged down and grumpy, like many this time of year. But I've got the best cure for the winter blahs ever - giving back to my community.

Every Wednesday evening I answer the phones at the local country radio station for "Animal Rescue League Radio Bingo" (yes, you can play bingo by listening to the radio - technology huh?!). My part may not sound too glamorous but to our players out there in radio land it's a pretty exciting night, and that energy travels right through the phone. Not to mention the sense of satisfaction I get from knowing that I'm helping to fund the food, shelter and care of our community's homeless animals.

On Thursday I worked with the Urban Core Support Network's Policy Advisory Committee, working on our strategic plan for 2008. This committee is trying to affect positive change in social assistance policy in New Brunswick - right now we're trying to help people living on social assistance make a more satisfactory and permanent transition to the workforce through changes in legislation. I imagine that would sound awefully boring to many people, but when you start thinking about how that could make the lives of thousands of people better it quickly becomes more exciting than any movie I've seen lately. A much more fun and productive way to spend two hours if you ask me.

Over the course of the weekend I went to the animal shelter to start working with a dog who had been there for over six months. As you'd expect, he was starting to show some behavioural problems that might prevent him from ever being adopted. Now I've met some great people in my life but with all due respect to my human friends, not one of you can make me feel as elated as a troubled dog when he makes a breakthrough and gives me a goofy grin!

In between all of these little experiences of course life goes on. But I think when we spend any amount of time focusing on something other than, or bigger than, ourselves the day-to-day routine feels... well less routine. And the minor frustrations that can sometimes threaten your sanity slip back into that state of nothing more than minor.

So if you're feeling a bit down or bored, call your favourite charity and ask them how you can help. Or if you don't have a favourite, visit the Saint John Volunteer Centre and get matched up with one. Or do something nice for someone or something else. It sounds cliche but if you ask me it really is the best way to bring your smile back!

Can work be fun?

2008-01-03T14:02:00.000-04:00

The first of October was full of changes for me - a new job means a new environment, new coworkers, new daily tasks, a massive learning curve - a lot to manage all at the same time. For the first time in my life, what's made it surprisingly easy for me is actually the work environment itself (this includes the coworkers). It's a relaxed, empowerment-oriented place that operates more often than not like an extended, yet close family.

Take our company Christmas party as a case in point. My work holiday party experiences from the past have either been a) massive affairs where you holed up with people you knew for the entire evening, only because there were so many people there that mingling was way too uncomfortable, or b) non-existent. So imagine my surprise when I found myself preparing for a full afternoon and evening of traditional Christmas activities that included the whole staff!

A group of us started out by traipsing over to the City Market for CBC’s annual live broadcast. And yes, this is a picture of us singing “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” to the entire Maritime listenership (my apologies to those of you who heard me).

Afterwards a couple of the guys ran up the street to King Square where they bought our 9’ Christmas tree – and manhandled it up the three flights of stairs to our office! Trimming the tree was a staff affair with almost everyone contributing – either by doing or directing. By the time the tree and the rest of the office were festively decorated we had enough food out to feed a small country, and enough “cheer” to wash it down.

During the afternoon staff family-members, other tenants in the building and some of our community partners started dropping in. It was so friendly and relaxed that everyone had a chance to mingle without obligation or anxiety. And meeting all of those new people really enhanced the fun for me!

We ended it all with a trip to Harbour Station for a Sea Dogs hockey game. A winter storm had been tormenting Saint John for most of the day so we were all very grateful for our heated pedway system (for readers not familiar with the city you can walk most of the Uptown core without ever setting foot outside – ideal for bad weather days)! It was an active game to say the least – battle for first place with Halifax, I counted six fights but I think I missed at least one. By my estimation everyone had a fantastic time and a few brave souls even kept going after the game.

So the long and the short of it is that I apparently work not only in a community where life is on my terms, but also with a group of people who live and work that message. What a way to start the holiday season – Happy Holidays everyone!

Small Town Service & Family Values in the City

2007-12-11T13:19:00.000-04:00

In November I took a day or two off from work to turn my attention to my beloved beast of a house and the horror that is renovating! I have a 100+ year old Victorian home in the heart of Saint John's south end (for you readers who are not from the area, the city is known to locals by it's directional quarters, a nod to it's history as separate communities decades ago). The beauty of my place is it's "bones" - eleven foot ceilings, original hand-carved mouldings, marble fireplaces, etc. The challenge is… well it’s over 100 years old and as my grandmother says, the older you get the more maintenance you need!

Now I consider myself to be a relatively skilled do-it-yourselfer. I can tackle many carpentry jobs, install most flooring, even do some basic wiring, etc. But with my fixer-upper-house I am facing all kinds of interesting little challenges where a little advice, if not a full-fledged professional contractor, is absolutely necessary. So late in November I found myself looking for that advice at a local family-owned business called Ritchie’s, which is as far as I can tell the original Home Depot for Saint John.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! To me these folks are the epitome of customer service, something becoming a real rarity these days. The staff know their stuff, they know their products and they know their suppliers (in most cases personally) so if you’re looking for something that they don’t have they can pretty much get it for you. And another rarity – they all seem happy to be at work! The place is full of smiles, helping hands and practical jokes – jokes that you can participate in if you’re game!

I’m not posting this to provide any sort of commercial endorsement mind you. I just find that we’re so surrounded by stress these days that it’s wonderful (and truly unique) to have a relaxing, fun experience shopping. And it’s made even better by people who aren’t worried about clocking out for their break on time, or how something isn’t their problem or not their department. It’s just so nice to have a retailer genuinely understand and apply the definition of customer service!

I grew up in a very small town where all the businesses were family run. When I lived in other cities there were times when I would have given my right leg (or left for that matter) to have that kind of experience again. Lucky for me I’m now in Saint John where that kind of business is still alive and well.

Fall in Saint John

2007-12-11T10:40:00.000-04:00

Written October 2007 - sorry for the late post!

Welcome to my life! This is the first entry in what will be an on-going exploration of the Saint John area through the eyes of a self-proclaimed Converted Maritimer (or “Come-From-Away” as the natives call me). My promise to you readers is to do my absolute best to explore every nook and cranny of life in our wonderful community. And as part of that promise I want to encourage all of you to let me know (email me or post a comment through this website) if you are curious about a person, place, activity, historical occurrence, etc. that you’d like me to explore – I’m all ears!

I’ve struggled for a place to start – there’s just so much to pick from around here it’s hard to know where to begin. But since I’m a true Canadian at heart I’ve decided to let one of our favourite subjects – the weather – dictate our first experience together. Since fall is upon us and is in my opinion the most glorious season going, I’ve decided to take you all on a photo tour of the outdoors and just some of the natural marvels unique to this area.

So I started in Grand Bay-Westfield, a quiet community that sits on the spot where the Saint John and Kennebecasis rivers meet. Grand Bay-Westfield is becoming well known for its eco-tourism and health and wellness activities, so if seemed fitting that I join the Hearts in Motion Walking Club for their inaugural walk. We paraded down the Heritage Trail system, a blend of nature trails, picnic areas and scenic interpretation kiosks. It was a blast spending an hour with this spunky group, who walk together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning.

Heading toward Saint John I crossed the Harbour Bridge (fantastic view of the skyline, especially at dusk!) to the city’s north end, home of all 2,200 acres of Rockwood Park. Here you have your pick of everything from paved driving parkways to backwoods hiking and mountain biking trails, not to mention the ten freshwater lakes in the park for you canoe, kayak or swimming enthusiasts. There’s also a campground, golf course, rock climbing, and a horse stable. This place is so huge I can honestly say that in the eight years I’ve lived in the city I’ve not even come close to walking all of the trails, and believe me I’m working on it!

Heading east we move on to the Town of Rothesay a family-oriented community just fifteen minutes from the city core. Strung along the banks of the Kennebecasis River, this is the kind of town where the locals know all the best trails, photography spots and places to simply kick back and relax. Today I visited the Rothesay Yacht Club, which sits on a flawless little bend in the river where the silent misty mornings and blazing sunsets are spectacular. Boating enthusiasts flock to this spot, and in the summer this is the site of more rowing, boating and beach activities than I can count.

A little further east takes us to the town of Quispamsis, which sits just a little further up the Kennebecasis River. This is where I visited Meenan’s Cove Park, which boasts a fantastic combination of facilities for the whole family (BBQ pits, ballpark, beach, etc.) and a beautiful backdrop of Mother Nature’s artistry (i.e. the river!). This is a great place to bring the kids for an afternoon of games and exercise, or if you prefer my speed (which is extreme laziness) you can simply find a shady spot on the river bank and relax.

And last but certainly not least, I took a lazy forty-five minute scenic drive to the Village of St. Martins, gateway to the Fundy Trail. St. Martins is actually no more than thirty minutes from the city core if you take the highway, but if you have the time I strongly recommend the Fundy Coastal Drive. If you’re a photo nut this is the perfect place for you – the rolling vistas leading to sheer cliffs or the red clay beaches framed by the clear blue water are not to be ignored! It’s also the home of a number of covered bridges, pebble beaches where finding sea glass is as difficult as simply looking down, and the famous tidal caves.

The seafaring history of our community is so strong that even an import like me can’t help but be taken up by it. Exploring this area by following the water seems like one of the most natural and most rewarding ways to spend a beautiful fall day.

Come back soon – and often – to find out more about the wonderful community that adopted and converted me!