Away …
I’ll be off spending some quality time with my family at my favourite vacation place ever … that lacks internet. There will be no posting for at least a week! No worries, I’ll be back soon.
A little frazzled
Only 23 more days to go!
I apologize for the lack of serious news posts lately, my trip to Colombia is taking up an enormous amount of time and headspace, resulting in a constant state of spazzed out.
Today is my final day of work here at the Kourier-Standard. Yesterday was a little crazy, with delayed pagination and fewer staff. But we pulled it off, and my last paper is coming together very smoothly this morning.
The rest of my life is slightly more chaotic.
The walls of my room are bare, but the floor is certainly not. I can barely walk from my doorway to … anywhere. Tonight the move begins, but I probably won’t be completely organized, moved out and cleaned up until a few days before I leave, due to family vacations happening over the next few weeks.
I am eagerly awaiting a call from the Colombian Embassy, which will mean my visa is approved and will soon be in my hands. The only other major purchase still to be made is travel insurance. So much to do when leaving the country for nearly a year …
Verdict comes early
Judge Douglas Cunningham has come to his decision regarding the fate of Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien, and will reveal his verdict a week earlier than planned on Aug. 5.
This might mean I can actually cover it, even though I’ll no longer be officially employed by the Kourier-Standard. This is too big to miss – I would even just go as a bystander. And I’m sure I will be standing – the courthouse is going to be packed that morning, no question.
Introducing Eduardo
I have a new favourite thing.
Instead of buying a ginormous suitcase for the big move to Colombia, I decided to invest in an expedition-type backpack. This way, if my goal of hiking the trail to Machu Piccu is realized, I will be good to go. I expect it to inspire future adventures as well.
I named it Eduardo. Yes, I name things – like my camera, car and computer. I chose Eduardo because it means “guardian of prosperity”, and I thought it was a nice way of calling it “holder of all my stuff.”
My new favourite thing
City Chase
I wasn’t able to participate in City Chase this year, even though last year was a blast and definitely made me want to go back for more. However, I was able to get involved in the annual race by interviewing the winners – both team members live in Kanata.
Here’s my story on their big finish:
A team from Kanata took first place in last Saturday’s annual City Chase and will be representing Ottawa at the national competition this fall.
Mike Reade and Mike Bessuille, friends since attending classes at Earl of March High School together, competed in their 12th City Chase, an urban spinoff of The Amazing Race reality series.
On Saturday, they crossed the finish line in almost the exact same time as last year – but this time, no one was there ahead of them.
The duo, both 39-year-old Bridlewood residents, competed for their fourth year on July 18, taking on 450 other teams to compete for chase points across the city.
Photo courtesy of Mike Reade and Mike Bessuille, winners of the 2009 Ottaw City Chase.
From performing a short children’s play to answering trivia and navigating an obstacle course on a skateboard with one member blindfolded, the team raced around Ottawa to be the first to cross the finish line at Major’s Hill Park.
Within the first hour, the team – known as the Moops, a term from a Seinfeld episode – had about half of the necessary 10 chase points.
“We knew we were running a good race from the beginning,” said Bessuille, who works at Adobe.
“We’re pretty good at the challenges,” said Reade. “That’s one of the reason we do so well. We stay away from the ones that have a long line up.”
He said they missed needed buses twice, so they had to make route adjustments on the fly.
“We were on the buses for like 45 minutes, I thought the whole race was slipping away from us,” said Bessuille.
But they completed the 10 challenges in three hours and one minute; the second and third place teams both finished within three minutes after the Kanata duo.
Reade, who works for Nortel, said the race was more complex and difficult than last year, but having his wife and two friends ready at home to look up locations, plan routes and answer questions was a huge help.
“They’re just as much a part of the team as Mike and I are,” said Bessuille about the support system.
“The clues were harder this year as well, it wasn’t as obvious,” explained Reade. “We had to spend more time working through it.”
Last year, due to one wrong answer on a trivia challenge, the team had to complete an extra chase point than they expected and put them in third place.
“We really wanted it this year,” said Reade.
Read the rest here.
Kanata craziness
Crazy stuff going down in Kanata over the last few days. From a gas station robbery to a fatal car accident … to the man who ran down five cyclists on March Road. They are all still recovering in the hospital, and one has not yet regained consciousness after the Sunday morning collision.
Last night, a cyclist on Blair Road was struck by a car and was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Scary stuff. An evening accident is more probable, especially if the biker isn’t wearing reflective gear. But still, drivers should be paying well enough attention to realize there is someone on the road ahead of them.
Food banks deal with recession
This week we published a feature I wrote on how Ottawa food banks are dealing with the recession. Across the city, demand has generally increased and so far, supply has gone up as well. That might not be the case as more job cuts and slashed hours hit formerly faithful donors. Here’s my story on the current situation:
It’s Wednesday morning, and the usual army of workers is in formation at the Kanata Food Cupboard. A couple dozen volunteers spend hours sorting donations, boxing up cans and stacking food – tons of it.
Iris Steg stocks shelves with a smile at the Kanata Food Cupboard.
Quiet chatter bounces around the large rooms, which seem to shrink as food donations are heaped on the floor and fill the shelves. The volunteers, who have all become friends as they work for a shared goal, return every week, establishing a routine and taking responsibility for a sorting station or type of food to shelve.
The 600-plus force that serves the Kanata Food Cupboard is well-trained and devoted.
And extremely necessary.
As the recession sweeps across the country, hundreds of people in Kanata have had hours slashed or given pink slips.
Jim Wiper, chair of the local food bank, said the number of clients asking for help has grown by 20 per cent each month since the spring.
It’s a big jump, he said, adding that they went from serving 140 families each month to more than 180, or nearly 1,000 individuals. Many of them are new, not used to asking for help to put food on the table.
“We knew it was coming,” said client co-ordinator Karen Waters about the increase.
Blasting off – finally!
After a month of delays and five attempts, the space shuttle Endeavour finally left the launch pad for the International Space Station yesterday. Canadian Julie Payette is on board, making national history by having two of our astronauts hanging out in the stars at the same time. Woo!
Mechanical problems caused the first few delays, then the last couple were because of poor weather conditions.
I can’t imagine the mental strain on all of those astronauts dealing with those multiple delays. They have to be in perfect shape and condition, prepared to the max for take off to ensure everything goes exactly right. After so many postponed launches, I’m sure it must be difficult to get their head in the right place each time.
Now, video footage shows some debris hit the shuttle on its takeoff, though officials say it’s too early to tell if there is any major damage.
Bluesfest with a media pass
Bluesfest has been rocking the capital for a week already, with a whole weekend of shows still to come. I was able to snag a media pass for the entire festival, which has been a blast! Even though I wasn’t able to make it for some of the local performances, I have thoroughly enjoyed profiling Kanata bands, practicing my photography skills and shoving my way past screaming crowds to reach the pit.
I still would not call myself a professional, but I managed to snag a few shots that I’m pretty proud of. But with my brother’s 70-300mm lens and a blue paper that lets me slide past security to the stage, the accomplishment doesn’t seem quite as impressive.
Here’s a sampling of what I took. (Note: I don’t know how to remove the option of saving photos off this page, but please don’t do it! These pictures are not for public use.)
Saturday, July 11: Rachael Yamagata
Saturday, July 11: Hey Rosetta! lead singer Tim Baker pounds the keys.
Saturday, July 11: Hey Rosetta! violinist Erin Aurich added so much to the rock tunes.
Saturday, July 11: Josh Ward plays bass and belts it out for Hey Rosetta!
Tuesday, July 14: A typical Ice Cube expression.
Tuesday, July 14: The rapper opened for Our Lady Peace on the main stage.
Tuesday, July 14: Our Lady Peace rocked the main stage. I heart Raine Maida.
Tuesday, July 14: Steve Mazur, OLP guitarist, rocks out.
Tuesday, July 14: Raine Maida climbed the stage to take video on his flip cam while singing All You Did Was Save My Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nK4MwL5p_o).
Cheryl