Looking ahead while glancing back

I don't really ... DO New Year's resolutions.

Not officially, anyhow. I think I tell myself in my head, what I would like to accomplish in the following year.

Clearly I've either accomplished everything without much difficulty... or promptly forgot what I had resolved to do...

Because either way, I have no idea what my resolutions have been in the past. I guess... and maybe this is vain of me... I don't really have any big vices.

But this has been a year of firsts, and huge changes... so why not add to the list of changes. I guess.

So here goes, on my list of New Years Resolutions 2008...

1. Spend half an hour before I go to bed tidying up the apartment. This means wiping off the stove, putting those last dishes in the dishwasher and starting the load, taking out the garbage... just the little niggly things that I normally "leave for the morning" but then never do. And instead end up with a mountain of crap in my apartment.
2. Being physically in my bed by 11. I do not get enough sleep. This can be very obviously seen by my neighbours when I run out the front door.... limping because one of my boots is only half-on.
3. Waking up at 7. It would be good if I had a paper to read in the mornings.... because then I could have a coffee, a bagel.... and read the paper before leaving for work (like a normal adult....) but maybe I'll just have to be satisfied with reading the back of the cereal box like I have for the past 21 years.
   
4. Making sure I actually eat breakfast. I do enjoy it, but it's hard to eat a bowl of cereal when limping out the door....
   
5. Eating at the dinner table, not on my lap in the living room. I have a DVD-R. Jeopardy can wait.
   
6. Minimize the online shoppings. This is a biggie. Packages in the mail is just sooooo much of a pick-me-up.... and who DOESN'T like new toys... but I have to stop just buying things because I can. It makes them less valuable, I think. What's the point of pining for something if you just get it right away? That's what I'm going to tell myself anyways...
7. Be more proactive. This goes for a number of things,
   

In looking at my resolutions... none of them seem like they are going to make my life better by leaps and bounds.... but I guess they are things I know I "should do".... but don't... and maybe that's the point.

*insert thoughtful noise.

Question period

Over the holidays, I have come to the realization that maybe I've not really done a very good job of telling my "southern" readers where and how I live.

So here goes. I'm going to do a general hit on the particulars of my community life... and (I may regret this later... but oh well) open the comments section up to any questions folks might have.

Here goes, Mr. can o' worms!

1. I live in a town/hamlet of about 2300 people. Doesn't sound like much, but its actually the second-largest community in the territory.
2. It's not big population-wise, and its not big geographically either. According to wikipedia, it is about 24 km-squared.
3. Location-wise... we sit right on the Hudson Bay. On my 20-minute walk to work I pass by the bay. There's also a big lake that sits in the middle of the town. I'll make sure to post a nice map of this soonish. I just have to scan it when I get back
4. We have an airport, a pretty big one... which is needed because it is (like basically all communities in Nunavut) a fly-in community. We have several flights a day that come in... from Edmonton, Winnipeg, Iqaluit and other surrounding northern communities.
   
5. These flights also bring up food and supplies. So its not like we eat canned veggies and freeze-dried meats all the time, but the "fresh" fruits and veggies we do get... are a little worse for wear. The tomatoes are more likely to be hothouse, and lack that deep juicy red colour (and flavour). The pears, often bruised. Not a nectarine in sight. But I guess that's the price you pay.
   
6. And speaking of, yes, things are significantly more expensive. Rumour has it things aren't as bad in Rankin as other communities. A co-worker once told me when people from Arviat (neighbouring community) come to Rankin it's like us going to the Walmart in Yellowknife. Shopping spree. On average, things are around 2 to 2.5 times the price of what they would be "down south". There are some exceptions: lettuce, for one... asparagus, for another. But a pineapple runs between $12-20... and a 10lb bag of potatoes goes for $20 (yep, killer for an island girl). A 2L bottle of pepsi costs $9. Which drives me crazy when I see them going 3 for 5 bucks here hahah.
7. As a result... once a year there is a "sea lift" service. People order a year's worth of dry goods, dog food, pop ... as well as have things like cars, 4-wheelers... ski-doos etc. shipped up via barge. Several barges arrive between August and mid-September to deliver these supplies. It's like Christmas!
   
8. There are three restaurants in town. They all basically sell the same food, just vary in price. None of it is that great, nothing to write home about. But its kind of something you might eat if you were tired of cooking, not something you crave.
9. We don't have a McDonalds. Or Wendy's we kind of have a KFC/Pizza Hut, but .... it is limited in selection, and not really very good either. And quite pricey. Nine bucks for a chicken sandwich... and that doesn't include the fries ... and nothing comes with a pop. Nothing.
10. There are no bars. You can drink at the hotel (but only if you are a guest, so you have to be really desperate ... and spend $200 bucks for a room so that you can have a drink. And if that's what it's come to... well then you have other problems. There is also the legion... which is probably about the size of my apartment, and you can only drink there if you are a member. Membership is something like $70 for the year.
    
11. There are no liquor stores. All alcohol comes via special order. Generally, the way it works is you are "granted" (or ... you purchase, is probably the better way of saying it) a temporary liquor license. Then you pick from a list of available products (there are easily hundreds of beer, wine, spirits, mixed drinks etc.). You pay for the license, and the alcohol... and a couple days later it arrives via plane. Then you have to pay the shipping. It costs at least 30 bucks to have cargo shipped up from anywhere (that's the flat base rate) so you order a goodly bunch at a time to make it worth your while.
    
12. There are two main stores. The Co-op and the Northern. The Co-op is much like any co-op... but with slightly more household items (like fabrics, televisions etc.) and the northern is a bit more like a Walmart, with an expanded grocery section. There aren't really any clothing stores. You can buy clothes at the Northern, or through their catalogue. Or order online .... or wait till you go down south... like a lot of us do.
13. Mail comes twice a day. It's fantastic. You get mail at 10 and 3. It is easily the best part about living up north. Oh, and the lack of slush. I hate slush.
    
14. At this point, there are no cell phones. But that may be changing in the near-ish future.
15. In the dead of winter we get down to about 4 hours of direct sunlight ... from 10 to 2. The sun starts to rise at about 9, and is mostly gone by 3 or so. But that's going to get better, as we're over the solstice-hump.
16. Yes, it really is quite cold. It's been pretty steadily at -30 for a month or so... and the windchill makes it at least -40. I have the longest walk of anyone I know... 20 minutes to and from work... so I wear my Canada Goose parka, North Face boots (warm to -40... but I've never had them leave me anything but toasty) and wind pants (actually, combination wind and waterproof. I don't have down-filled ones like some people I know, but mine work just fine, and they were like fairly cheap from Mark's). The only thing that I bought down south that wasn't really suitable for nothern living was my mitts... I always just wore knit mitts... "grandma knits" is what we called them... so that was one of the first things I got when I arrived north, a suitable pair of mitts. All in all... I wear about a grand's worth of winter gear when I leave the house for any period of time. Crazy eh?
    

Okay, I think that is all for now... but I will add to this list as things occur to me. Hope this helps answer some questions!

Northern Blog contest!

I'm re-posting this from Kara's blog, because I think it is a really cool idea, and not to mention kind of fun-sounding!


In celebration of Blogging in Nunavut I'm introducing the Nunies in conjunction with Nunavut Blogs!. The Nunies are a simple recognition of the best that blogging in Nunavut has to offer. Here is how it works...

From now until January 21st, 2008 there will be the opportunity to nominate blogs in two categories:
1) Best Nunavut Blog
2) Best New Nunavut Blog (the blog must have started in 2007)

and a third category for...
3) Best post of 2007

To nominate blogs for the first two categories send an email to the Nunavut Blogs! email address nunavutblogs AT yahoo DOT ca. You can nominate up to five blogs but you can only make one submission. Oh yeah, The House and other Arctic musings, is ineligible to be nominated... my award, my rules.

To nominate the best post of 2007 send a link to the post to the same email address. To be eligible for the two blog categories the blog must be primarily about Nunavut, written by someone living in Nunavut, or written by an expatriot Nunavumiut now living elsewhere. The post can have the additional criteria of being a post about Nunavut, not necessarily by a blog falling into one of those other categories.

After January 21st the top five nominees will be posted and voting will open for a week, with the Winners being announced in the beginning of February. What do the winners get??? Not much really, a nifty badge to post on their blog (that I've yet to design), a little promotion of their blog, and dinner for two at the House, should they ever make it up this way. If anyone else wants to donate a prize you can let me know.

Please spread the word, so as many people as possible take part in the nominations/voting.

I've not yet decided who I'm going to vote for... like Kara, I too am more or less dangerously addicted to my northern blogs. I have them all booked marked in a folder in Firefox, and I open them all in tabs. But it is hard to pick a favourite.

Good luck to all!

never satisfied!

Here I am, surfin' the internet at lightening-speed.... and I'm still annoyed that my program download is going to take 9 minutes...

Because, you know, up north.... it'd probably take an hour, and then Qiniq would promptly email me, congratulating me on being such an active member....

but then bump me down to dialup.

Jackie the recluse

So as I think I eluded to in my past post...

 

I am spending much of this Christmas break somewhat under the weather... I wasn't feeling too hot on the plane ride from Winnipeg to Toronto (and that's before we had to make several attempts to land... ug)...

 

And normally I fly so naturally, it's like I was born with wings! But I had to do some serious mind-over nausea meditation to make sure everything stayed where it was supposed to.

 

So unfortunately, it was not just the flying that made me less-than-my-cheery self... I ended up home, but nice and sick for Christmas Eve eve, Christmas Eve, some of Christmas... and Boxing day.

 

Not completely "can't function" sick... but "not fun to be around, not really all there" sick.

 

So maybe as a result of that... maybe thanks to my newfound "quieter" lifestyle, I felt somewhat at odds with the boisterous "father's side of the family" reunion.

 

But that's okay. And I think the aunts/uncles/cousins (all 25 or so...) sensed that... and I only had to explain things in great detail once or twice, which was great. Not that I mind explaining things, but I'm 100% not good at it when I'm at only 50 per cent brain capacity (like I have been the past couple days).

 

Anyways, all in all... a satisfying Christmas/Boxing day. Lots of good food (probably too much... especially for my poor, recovering stomach)...

Merry Christmas!

Well I've been outrageously terrible at the blogging thing of late, but I think you'll agree I have good reason.

 

I'm actually home, in PEI right now...

 

Nope, not in Winnipeg, as I had previously announced...

 

But home, sleeping in my old bed, eating food that I didn't have to cook...all around a good time. Or not eating, as I've been sick to my stomach since Sunday...

 

Okay I'll back up. I decided to surprise my family by coming home for Christmas this year. They had no idea, and I had to be ultra-sleuth about it... not even mentioning it on my blog... because my parents and sister and many others from the island read it.

 

And ... as you can imagine word travels fast.

 

I will make sure to update all the intricacies of my grand adventure in due time... but it's Christmas morning, my grandparents are here (LOVING Sully... haha) and there is still some wrapping to do.

 

And with that, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year...

 

And those who have the chance to visit with friends and family, consider yourself very lucky. I know I do.

A little splash

A couple weeks ago, there was a woman from Nova Scotia (Kerry Lawson) who gave an "introduction to yoga" session here in Rankin Inlet. Jaime and I went ... in hopes, really, that it would be someone gaging interest for yoga in the community, and would be starting up a class in the new year.

This wasn't the case, but in the process... somewhere between the deep breathing and the chai tea, I knew I had to do a story about this woman. Well, not just her, but what she does, and why she does it, and the experiences she's had up here.

I had a little trouble "selling" it to co-workers, but I just... I had a vision of what this story could be.

She came into the studio, and told me about her grandmother dying of Alzheimer's... of the children she's taught yoga to... of the reactions she's had from the elders.

Now, I'm not really a yoga buff. Sure I have a pair or two of yoga pants... but they are more for lounging than asanas... but this whole thing just called to me.

To make a long story short, I ended up sending it to syndication (for those who aren't really on the up and up re: CBC's inner-workings, that just means that the story gets offered up to all the morning or afternoon shows in the country).

Now here's where the actually cool part of the blog entry comes in. I got an email from her yesterday, well a couple ... really. Telling me:

Just got an email from an important person in gov who said they heard the show this am on the Yoga. She said it was very good, and well done. That means alot, cause this person is pretty critical and sensitive to Inuit issues and it was the gov people I always worry about hearing any interviews....

...

also....so much has happened as a result of this last trip and the meeting with the Elders....its all very amazing and positive.

...

Wow, more emails...seems your story has started something. Seems its the part about the Elders saying they used to do "games" that resembled the Yoga that has caught attention. Its funny that the similarity wasn't ever noticed before...even the Arctic Winter games remind me of Yoga-the concentration, some of what they do looks very much like Yoga poses...

anyway, its very interesting. CBC has done 4 stories so far in the last 3 years on the Yoga I do in the North with the youth but this one is the first that has had responses.....

I just thought that was the coolest thing of all time. That government folks are hearing my stories, and its making them think in different ways.

I guess that is... really... what makes this job worth doing.

*happy smile, dumb grin