Sep 15, 2007

time for change...and lots of it!

Mark and I are enjoying a nice quiet morning together after Granma Penny took the kids to her place last night...we got to go to the CUPE Solidarity pub night (fun and informing...) dance to the musical stylin' of our friend DJ Randy Handfulls...and sleep in too! bliss :)

thought I would also take some time to update everyone on the status of home, work and family: family first. both of the kids are in a time of change...Sasha becoming more and more a toddler - her play has become more creative and exploratory and her new favorite thing is colouring (something she wants to do all the time she's not asking for stories or running around...and unlike in this pic...she is most often colouring on carpets, walls, tables, drums...) She continues to amaze us with her evolving personality, skill and cognitive development!

she is still a girl of few intelligible words...but she is ALWAYS understood.Penny just shared a good story on how Sasha expresses her desire to go out...she puts her hat on her head, walks to the door and hollers...simple and to the point...who needs words? lol ;)

with Sasha learning something new every day - she can identify many colours, letters and shapes, knows many objects in any of the books on her shelf, understands so many clear requests and can express her needs well with signs, gestures etc. - such great fun to be a part of! even if she does keep us really on our toes now - teehee

a time of change for Che who is becoming more and more a teenager...and now into the high school experience! so far so good and he seems to enjoy it. probably helps for him to have a few more options, and we'll learn more about the program he is in and what his days are like on Monday when we get to meet his teacher.

Che is also fundraising (here he is busking at the Trout Lake farmers market for donations) to participate in the Lance Armstrong Tour of Courage bike race for cancer research. He and his mom have created a team "the Howlin Cats" to race together but they need more money to join. If you would like to help Che out please visit this link
http://www.tourofcourage.ca/site/TR/?pg=personal&fr_id=1030&px=1060321
to download pledge forms or make contributions directly to his profile. I love his Jedi write up! :)

these days I'm trying to stay focused on the positives in our life - first of course is Sasha and Che...and gratitude continues for the friends and family who provide stable support for our emotional and mental health. This is now all that is stable in our lives. We are not alone and we are loved. Do not underestimate the power of positive thinking...especially when it is boosted by positive feedback from loved ones ...this is the only reason i'm not really stressed right now and why I know in a couple of months we'll be back on our feet again and everything is gonna be just fine...

that said, there are 2 significant changes we are facing now...first is the new homeowners have asked we be out by December 1st at latest so the home search is now a priority. the timing sucks so bad as we are not in a good position to deal with a rent increase (which is a reality as wherever we end up we know we'll be paying at least a couple hundred more a month) and moving costs at this point.

perhaps if we had skipped our family vacations to spend all of our time on the picket line, and at least one of us got another job we'd be more financially prepared for this...but we are in agreement that the extra quality time we've had as a family has been far more important and have no regrets about any potential debt load incurred as we stand up with our unions for negotiations in good faith...ahem

which leads us to the second big change...the talks are off again...so the strike continues...

what we were informed yesterday by our bargaining committees is that the City has decided they won't make any commitments on job security and they have now turned to the Minister of Labour to deal with it...not looking promising though some are hopeful a mediator may still be used before the tactic of forced arbitration that would send us back to work with none of our issues addressed.

(sunday update: the province told the city they had to bargain in good faith and therefore would not be stepping in...very good thing!)

even without my concussion my head would still be spinning from the sheer overwhelming force we seem to be up against. most folks on the line are now ready to ramp it up and start participating in some direct actions that would finally give attention to what it is we're standing up for...

there is a very legitimate fear for job security and a threat to public services in general. this power struggle to protect all things public seems to have become the new thread connecting all my life together at the moment. with CPEN it is about defending public education and the rights of learners. with my union it is about protecting public services at the community level. both struggles are to protect what was fought for so that I could have access to higher learning and good jobs. those rights are no longer guaranteed for our kids...but I'm not letting go of them without a fight!

more strike updates & home search news to come. Mark and I are both feeling committed to doing more action oriented stuff so things will continue to stay interesting...

something fun and interesting for me was on friday (before the fun of the pub...lucky me to have such a great day!) i had a super time traveling the town and participating with a little concertina (a very old school format of political protest using street theatre to get your message out) performance called "The Foot"
after performing at the art gallery and at central library, we heard the city had lifted the media blackout...so we decided to take our show to the CBC - here we are!

we had plenty of people come out and say "what have you got for us?" but they probably knew more than we did at that point...so we just said 'we're here to share our show!'

and CBC actually came and filmed it for your viewing pleasure :)
http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/bc/ondemand/video/STRIKErally.wmv
("the Foot" was written by Diana who is leading our group)

i'll end for now with my new favorite quote:
"A dream that I dream alone is only but a dream.
But a dream that we dream together is reality."
Raul Seixas

Sep 7, 2007

fall a frenzy


I realized the other day that it has been a long time since Sasha has had a real play date. aside from family vacations the poor thing has had a lot of fun on the picket line...but at least she's not alone! Many of her buddies have been hanging out on the picket line too...like her best buddy Merlin :)

Gilly and I are determined to rectify that as soon as we get some stability to our schedules again...

this is a huge limbo period right now which has been a roller coaster for us...we know we'll be just fine with a little help from family & friends (gratitude for all the positive energy we've received!!) but have to admit I had a few days where the weight of so much to do and all the limbo time really hit hard...

then Sasha hit me hard with a headbutt in the nose and cracked it (still hurts 2 weeks later!) which I thought was the icing on the cake.

at this low point I then received through my email network a great little gift...a link to a preview of the movie "the Shift" www.theshiftmovie.com

goosebumps and hope abounded after watching the 6 minute gem...so the video clip and an absolutely fabulous weekend on Saturna Island for Elaine & Gord's wedding (really really really amazing weekend!!!!!!!) ...a great time with new friends, time in a beautiful environment...think I gained a few pounds from all the amazing food...but I also conquered my fears sleeping alone outside in my tent...joy! gave me just the boost I needed to get our family through this crazy time :)

while I was off indulging on the island Mark and Sasha spent time with Penny (here with Sasha doing what she has come to love best - storytime!)- escaping from the landlord doing small renovations to the kitchen and back hallway before the first open house.

Granma also came through for us to have an evening off together on Saturday to enjoy a benefit concert for the CUPE 391 hardship funds (have to give more props to 391 who are doing a fantastic job on keeping spirits up and being creative during this strike!! they rock! check out the website and watch the cool videos being done by James and Darcy! www.cupe391.org) - and an opportunity to see Circus in Flames again! this is significant to my 10 years in vancouver as the first time I saw them was shortly after moving here! great local band, lots of fun...too bad my head hurt too badly to dance...

because that was the same day I smashed my head on a concrete planter at Brit and am now suffering from another concussion...number 12 for those of you have lost track over the years ;)

so I still have positive energy (gonna take a while for the glow from our road trips, Saturna & great music we've seen recently to wear off of me) but now I can't think straight at all...brain is kinda spongy still!

potential light at the end of the tunnel...our unions are both at the table with the employer (city of vancouver) this week - will they actually 'talk'? will the cynics be right that we'll be out for a long time? or the hopeful ranks that think we might be back next week?...and a 'sold' sticker has been put on the sign on our lawn -who is the new owner? and what do they have in store for us?...so by the weekend I'll have another update on the work and home front.

one of these days we'll be settled in our home, be back on the job and I'll eventually start my job share (yay!), and our child care will be organized...and maybe then i'll have time to write about all the fun stuff again ;)

below are a few pics from my wonder-full getaway!

and if you have a moment I recommend you check out "the shift" and give yourself a positive boost too...doesn't everyone need it at this time of year? teehee


I met so many great people and had so many great moments...here are just a few highlights:

my road trip buddies: Megan, Judy and Bonnie...women weekend warriors! that is the Saturna Island ferry dock behind us :)


when you arrive on the island you see a sign "Deer - any road at any time"...very true. during the reception we even had a family of deer pass in the field behind the B&B - ridiculously romantic moment that reception...actually all of it!


first of all, this is ravenswood, the house where I stayed with 7 other fabu folks from all over the place. (this shot is from my tent...which I chose to sleep in having brought all the gear)

the wedding took place on the eastern most tip of the island...here are 3 of my housemates heading to the point: Teresa, Jackie and Judy (myself, Jackie and Judy were moms on the loose and had some good bonding and relaxation time together). they were visiting from New York, Nelson and Japan!

here comes the bride...cue the cello...and Elaine and Gord on top of the world together at the tip of the island :)




Gord with 3 more of my housemates: Karin & Ernst - married 50 years next fall and always the last to leave a party, and Patricia (their daughter and Elaine's close friend) who comes by being a wild child naturally...a family that was soooooooo much fun to hang out with! ;)


Javier, visiting from LA was a great character and just about one of the most thoughtful guys I've ever met!...and he got some pretty bad pics of me that I wish I could destroy - lol



some of my favorite ladies from Brit were there too! Here's me and Pat, my guitar mentor for songs of solidarity :)





me with Leslie and Tara...and can't forget Mary! are you relaxed yet? ;)




I know it's blurry...but don't these stars look familiar to some of you?! I taught Elaine how to make them (on the picket line) for her visionary ballroom design...can't believe I didn't think of using them for my own wedding!



Kathy...deep breath and moment of reflection before going home...and ready to take on the world again ;)