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Unproductive and Loving It (Sorta)
I suppose there are a number of little tasks around here I could work on... I could start the renovations to the master bath we had been planning for a while. I could be working on sets for an upcoming concert of DC's Different Drummers. I could order additional photo albums to allow me to finish filing the prints in the dining room. I could be rehearsing some singing calls for upcoming square dances.
Instead, I am doing none of these.
At the moment, I have Mary Chapin Carpenter playing on iTunes, I'm sipping a can of Coke Classic (washing down the slice of chocolate cake I had for breakfast), a load of jeans are in the washing machine and I'm procrastinating working on my own self-assessment for this year's performance evaluations due Dec. 1. When I logged into the office to get the self-assessment forms, I checked e-mail and discovered there was precious little which happened across the Thanksgiving weekend so far --as it should be.
In short, I have no high priority or especially time-dependent tasks on my plate, just a handful of very, very low priority items. It's times like this I have difficulty getting motivated to do anything as no single minor task has sufficient drawing power on my (brief) attention span to get myself out of my chair, and all of the tasks pull in different directions so there's a certain twisted equilibrium to my inertia.
What I really want to do is take a month off of work, pack my bags and head back to Canada to work on the pending elections. The minority Liberal gov't is scheduled to lose a non-confidence vote in 24 hours, triggering a general election. Before I moved to the US, I volunteered in a number of low-level positions for candidates of all three major parties --well, the ones that existed 10 years ago anyway... the current Conservative Party IMHO has no connection whatsoever to the Progressive Conservatives of the 1980s and early 1990s-- both provincially and federally. I miss the tight five week make-or-break campaign period, the fierce intensity of the campaign coordination, the near-instant feedback of what works & what doesn't, the preparation for public appearances and such. There's a particular focus which American 4+ year long election campaigns lack.
The only way I'll get back to Canada for such a campaign however would be to quit my current job and risk a divorce for being away for a month. Another time perhaps. I'll just have to content myself to watching it all on satellite TV. The idea of a winter campaign isn't particularly pleasant, so perhaps it's for the better.
Instead, I am doing none of these.
At the moment, I have Mary Chapin Carpenter playing on iTunes, I'm sipping a can of Coke Classic (washing down the slice of chocolate cake I had for breakfast), a load of jeans are in the washing machine and I'm procrastinating working on my own self-assessment for this year's performance evaluations due Dec. 1. When I logged into the office to get the self-assessment forms, I checked e-mail and discovered there was precious little which happened across the Thanksgiving weekend so far --as it should be.
In short, I have no high priority or especially time-dependent tasks on my plate, just a handful of very, very low priority items. It's times like this I have difficulty getting motivated to do anything as no single minor task has sufficient drawing power on my (brief) attention span to get myself out of my chair, and all of the tasks pull in different directions so there's a certain twisted equilibrium to my inertia.
What I really want to do is take a month off of work, pack my bags and head back to Canada to work on the pending elections. The minority Liberal gov't is scheduled to lose a non-confidence vote in 24 hours, triggering a general election. Before I moved to the US, I volunteered in a number of low-level positions for candidates of all three major parties --well, the ones that existed 10 years ago anyway... the current Conservative Party IMHO has no connection whatsoever to the Progressive Conservatives of the 1980s and early 1990s-- both provincially and federally. I miss the tight five week make-or-break campaign period, the fierce intensity of the campaign coordination, the near-instant feedback of what works & what doesn't, the preparation for public appearances and such. There's a particular focus which American 4+ year long election campaigns lack.
The only way I'll get back to Canada for such a campaign however would be to quit my current job and risk a divorce for being away for a month. Another time perhaps. I'll just have to content myself to watching it all on satellite TV. The idea of a winter campaign isn't particularly pleasant, so perhaps it's for the better.
non-confidence, and visiting the governor-general
you were just a young whippersnapper (in what? grade 7?) when the last minority gummint fell - Joe Clark's, in 1979. I remember voting in that election. The "instant feedback" we have today, what with the web and all, certainly wasn't there back then. But yes, the election campaigns ARE short if not sweet.
we survived the winter election, I'm sure we can do so again. The campaign is prolly going to be 7 weeks as opposed to the minimum 5 weeks. could you manage to get up here for SOME of that?
I'll just have to content myself to watching it all on satellite TV.
CBC is carrying the non-confidence vote (6:45 or so this evening) on all media - radio, TV and cbc.ca
The idea of a winter campaign isn't particularly pleasant, so perhaps it's for the better.
this from the man who doesn't really remember NOT knowing how to ice-skate? who grew up in the frozen wasteland of northern ontario? my my my your days among the cherry blossoms of DeeSee HAVE thinned your blood!
Should we get another minority gummint [I think what I'd like is a reduced Liberal minority, with the NDP really holding the balance of power, ie enough seats to make more-than-half when added to the libs], it'll be yet more interest. But I think the new GG is pretty spiffy herself.