Finally a reboot!

I let this blog languish for a while. I just couldn't find the inspiration to write. But I've been contemplating my values for the last while and I knew that in order to better follow what I believe, I needed to express myself. The final kick in the pants came when I heard a radio host that I quite like to listen (Chad Daniels from the Zed Drive Home) say that he wasn't going to vote. Finally, my muse woke up. Now I just gotta keep it talking.

I made a really good decision to move from Edmonton to Red Deer. For my career, it was a definite step up. For my family, it was a step in tune to our values. The other night I took my boy swimming at the Dawe Centre. I was a bit nervouse that we would be pushed out by swimming lessons and adults trying to do laps in the pool. But the renos at the Dawe have done wonders for the old place. I wasn't the only dad bringing his child at 6pm on a weeknight. Ben even played ball with a boy his age. Yes, the swimming lessons were present, but it felt like a family place. In Edmonton I wasn't far from Grant McEwan, but the times I went swimming, we were the only family in the pool. Other places we went were dominated by teenagers that failed to see the toddler in the wading end of the pool. But even the Collicut Centre has plenty of young kids playing with their parents while the teenagers enjoy the wave pool.

So I want to contribute back to Red Deer. I want to get the discussion going about this great city. I'm going to try and write something at least once a week. I'm also on Twitter @trvthseeker78. Red Deer is not alone in this big country and small world, so I welcome those from around the world to also contribute. We should all be proud of where we are from, and this is why I am writing.

another reboot

While discussing the latest labour market statistics might be interesting for some, I realize (now) that for most people it is quite boring. While I very much believe that these things do influence our lives, it is time to move onto a more interesting and dynamic topic - Alberta's culture.

This topic is not without it's detractors I'm sure. How the heck can I discuss Alberta's culture when the whole nation is mired in a debate about whether we can even define Canadian culture? Well, first of all, I am a strong believer that Canada does possess a strong and vibrant culture unique to itself. You see, I believe culture is more than the TV shows a country watches, the celebrities it idolizes and the opera it produces. I believe culture is a collective road map that a group of individuals follow, whether at the micro or macro level. Culture is the means we get to work, what we talk about when we get there and what we do after work. It is individual choices and the array of choices that present themselves to an individual. Culture is no less than the collective expression of a group of people. So a lot of Alberta's culture will have similarities to the rest of Canada and English speaking North America. But some things are unique, and that is what I want to talk about.

There are plenty of stereotypes that exist about Alberta. Images of redneck, highrolling, conservative , arrogant cowboys spring to my mind. But this stereotype does not do the 3.5 million citizens justice. Alberta has a strong multi-cultural community. It is a province with several dynamic and growing cities that is still proud of its rural heritage. From the stage in Rosebud to Manulife Place in Edmonton to the cathedral in Grouard, Alberta's culture is informed by it's history and shaped by each individual who inhabits this province. It cannot be pinned down to an exact definition, but it can discussed. And that is what I hope to do with this blog.

Alberta's Labour Market

I read the blog of Penelope Trunk quite regularly. While she can be quite controversial, she is a very successful blogger and I think she has a lot to say about how to write a successful blog. In her most recent blog she writes about how important it is for a blog to have a topic - a focal point. Now my blog hasn't had this focus and I think that is part of the problem as to why I'm not updating it as much as I should. Penelope is right, you need to focus. And it's really not hard to find that topic. It took me a trip to the toilet to figure out what my blog topic should be...

I did a quick search on Google blogs and found that no one is writing about Alberta's labour market. While the topic may sound quite boring at first, it is a favorite topic of interest of mine. Alberta of course is my home and I am interested in everything about this beautiful province. The labour market has so many different facets to it and it is something I always have a comment about. So really, this is something that I will find it easy to write about. I'm still seeking truth, but I'm a little more specific now - I'm searching for it in Alberta's labour market.

Of course this won't stop me from writing about other things, but the blog needs a focus, a theme. I'm looking forward to writing more about this. This appears to be the fall/winter of writing - I'm starting to engage in a few different writing projects and I hope this will further help to develop my skills as a writer.

So, I hope this new direction will get me to write more - Friday is the release of the newest employment numbers. I'm really not sure where we went in September. And it's bad luck to voice one's predictions. I find that if I write them in a secret place they come true. If I tell everyone my prediction, I'm wrong.

Blogging is fun

I used to be on a website that claimed it was a virtual republic - www.titulia.com . Things didn't really work out there because of personality conflicts so I decided to move on. But I did discover one thing. I enjoy writing. I used to do it way back when I was a high school student and in University but since then I've only done a bit here and there. But while I was on Titulia, I discovered I enjoyed writing again. So its time to start writing again. Sometimes I'll write about politics, sometimes about my 2 year old son. Sometimes it might even be about nonsense. But I'm going to try and post a blog at least once a week. And I hope to have fun and meet new people have engage new discussions while doing it.