Haven

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Election Day

Canada is having an election today to determine who will form its 42nd government.

In just under 12 hours, the polls will close in BC and the wait for the results will begin. This is the most important election of my life so far and I wonder if any will surpass it. There is so much at stake and so many possible outcomes. The best possible outcome is change, with a categoric New Democrat win that would end our bipartisan system. The worst possible outcome would be status quo, with the Conservatives, headed by Harper, remaining in power.

I’ve always been moderately interested in our politics, keeping a weather eye on what’s going on, and voting either Liberal or NDP depending on how the former has behaved in the previous mandate and who its leader is.

I’ve never voted Conservative and it wasn’t until this election that I’ve been able to articulate just why that party is the antithesis of everything I believe in. This is also the first election where I cannot understand why anyone in good conscience would vote for that party and have not been shy at expressing my disgust at those who do, I who have always believed that, unless you’re voting for a xenophobic national socialist party hell bent on destroying the country while trampling the human rights of part of their populace, to each their own at the polls. Well, certain actions by the Conservative party have made it clear that it also no longer has a place in a free, just, and democratic society.

The list of what Stephen Harper’s government has done to this country is long, disgraceful, and borders on dictatorial. It includes:

-a refusal to fight against climate change

-muzzling of scientists and destruction of knowledge

-turning our peacekeepers into soldiers and abandoning our veterans

-favouring environmentally destructive economic development, such as mining, instead of renewable resources

-supporting Middle East dictators

-refusing to investigate the epidemic of violence against Aboriginal women

-passing the ‘Fair Elections Act’, which has proven to be just another way to corrupt the election process (which is so bad, this election has gotten an international observer!)

-passing Bill C-51, which grants nearly unlimited powers to go after ‘terrorists’

-passing B C-24, which makes Canadians with dual citizenship second class citizens

-promoting xenophobia against Muslims to gain votes

And that is just off the top of my head.

I went to my local candidates’ debate the other night and this really helped me narrow down the root problem with the Conservative philosophy, setting aside all the racism and corruption under Stephen Harper. The NDP, Liberal, and Green party members had a lot to say on a number of topics, showing how they would improve all aspects of Canadian lives. The Conservative candidate was focused on economics only.

And therein lies the crux of my issue with the Conservatives, they are the party for people for whom money is the deciding factor in their life and their only measure of wealth. I think it’s pretty to clear to anyone who’s been reading me for some time that money plays a role in my decision making process, but is in no way the crucial factor. If it was, I’d be in a corner office overlooking Parliament Hill right now.

Yes, money is important. But so is a just and free society with clean water and air. Canada is supposed to be multicultural country rather than a melting pot. That, to me, is what defines us most.

I was eating at a Japanese restaurant yesterday and there was a young Muslim family sitting in the booth in front of me. As they left, the woman, clad in a hijab, caught my gaze as I made silly faces at her precious daughter. Her expression was defiant and I wonder if it would have been such just a few weeks ago, before the stupid debate on the niqab refueled the fires of Muslim xenophobia in this country.

The thing is, I’ve known and been friends with Muslims most of my life. I’ve read the Quran. I know there are as many types of Muslims as their are Christians and that the average Muslim we meet on the street is about as midway on the scale between barely religious and extremist as the average Christian. I am so tired of this Muslim xenophobia and I cannot believe that the outcome of our current election could very well rest on the strength of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country. I feel like we’re living under the George W. Bush Administration and, in fact, The Guardian agrees with me.

I voted last week, in the advanced polls. I have campaigned hard for my party of choice. There is nothing more left for me to do but go to bed early tonight and hope that I wake up in a better world.

I wish I could say I was hopeful, but I’m not.

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An Extremely Lazy Productive Day

I was up around 5:30 this morning because I went to bed so early. Knowing this would be my last chance for a down day until my first weekend in Mexico, I stayed in bed for nearly three hours doing some Spanish studies on my iPad. So, lazy, but productive. 🙂

When I finally got up, I did get dressed, but I very quickly wound up in my lounge chair with an exceedingly good cup of coffee and more Spanish exercises. I passed the entire morning that way, getting up only to do the work involved in getting a clean load of laundry onto the clothesline!

I’ve been working on my Spanish all summer, but I’m rather at cramming time now. We’ll see if there are any improvements when I get to the border! I use the free Duolingo app, something I wish had existed all those years ago when I was first learning the language. It allows me to do grammar drills, write (need to work on those pesky accents), repeat back, comprehend orally and in writing, and more. I can’t believe it’s free. I’ve worked through the entire program and am now working on strengthening exercises for the verbs. I wish I could find a similar application that would go from French to Spanish because the verbs would make a ton more sense that way. I keep finding myself translating from English to French to Spanish, and back again.

This afternoon, I started packing in earnest! I’ve really only got the kitchen and office to close up now, as well as add a few things to the clothing bin and pack up the suitcase for the trip down. But don’t think I’m anywhere ready to go. It will be quite a flutter of activity Wednesday and Thursday as I start to close down the property and load up the truck!

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A Scotiabank Account Can Save International Travelers a Lot of Money

Withdrawal fees sure add up when I’m traveling outside of Canada. In addition to CIBC’s $5 charge, I have to pay the other institution money, too. I wanted to rein in that expense this year, and since there are Scotiabanks in Mexico, that was the logical place to start. As it turns out Scotiabank is part of the Global ATM Alliance network and an account with them means free withdrawals at banks all over the world, including Scotiabank in Mexico and Bank of America in the U.S.

After 25+ happy years at CIBC, I had no desire to start over with another bank, but I thought that getting a very basic Scotiabank account made sense. It would be $3.95 a month for up to 12 transactions and would mean that I would gain the following:

-up to 12 free withdrawals per month

-being able to take out smaller amounts more frequently and not having to carry a ton of cash on me

-not having my main bank card on me when out and about

Transfers between banks are now easy thanks to Interac e-transfers, so I could transfer my allowance from my CIBC account to my Scotiabank account at no cost and with no significant delay. There is also the possibility that I could link this account to my PayPal account in addition to my CIBC one, but I have to double check that.

I confirmed all of this during a chat session with a rep and then booked an appointment for 10:30 this morning to open an account at my nearest Scotiabank branch, which is in Moose Jaw (another reason I don’t want it to be my main bank!).

I convinced my neighbour Caroline to turn today into a girls’ day out. We took off around 8:30 this morning. She had errands to run around the Scotiabank, so she did that while I went in and did my thing.

Opening the account was quick and painless. The rep who assisted me did not attempt to upsell me or get me to switch from CIBC. It was strictly do what the customer, who appears very knowledgeable, wants, and absolutely nothing else. I had been told to present two pieces of ID, but ended up having to show four for some reason. Finally, I had to make a token deposit to cover at least a month’s fees. That was it!

Scotiabank isn’t super convenient in Maz, unless I can find the one that is supposed to be on Aquiles Serdán in Centró, but there is one near the big Waldo/big Ley and also, of course, by the Soriana on Rafael Buelna. So it’ll be fine. It’s not like I have to go to the back end of nowhere that I otherwise have no reason to be.

Caroline was coming into the bank as I was going out, talk about good timing! We got back in the truck, went to Kal Tire to have my truck tires re-torqued, and then headed to the north end of town. Bulk Barn was our first stop, where I loaded up on spices to take down with me.

Then, we went to Walmart, where I decided to price a burr coffee grinder so I can grind my own beans this winter. I have a grinder, but I also do spices with it and there’s starting to be cross contamination. It is also very difficult to make a coarse enough grind for a French press with that grinder. Walmart had what I wanted, Black and Decker brand, for $36.95 and I decided to get it. even though that wasn’t cheap! Well, it rang up at $16.95… I believe in karma, so I spoke up. The teller said, “Are you happy with the price that came up?” I said yes. “Then that’s the price!” WOW.

We then made a stop at Superstore, a store that just makes me cranky… I ran a couple of quick errands and then sat in my truck with my phone while Caroline stocked up for the apocalypse.

Then, it was beyond time for lunch. She was game to try DK Sushi, so we went there and both came out pretty stuffed! She had some cooked sushi as well as vegetarian, plus tempura and beef teriyaki. I had my usual spicy tuna and eel, with bites of some of her vegetarian rolls, plus dumplings. It was really nice to linger over a long meal with her and we ordered in two rounds since our first orders weren’t quite enough.

I drove us home into a slowly setting sun, helped her get all her purchases in house, then collapsed with a glass of wine and some pet cuddles before dragging myself back to my feet and heading home.

It’s been a great day! I shouldn’t have to go to town again before leaving on Friday so now I can focus on closing up the property and packing!

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Ready to Roll

I went to Kal Tire in Assiniboia today to have two new tires installed on the truck, the third to last thing I need to do to make the truck ready to go. The second to last is having the tires retorqued and the last is to top off the oil.

I had been quoted $122 per tire installed, which was about $270 with the tax. So I was surprised that the bill was over $340! I explained what I was quoted and the cashier promptly took off the extra service charges, no questions asked.

I continue to absolutely love Kal Tire and am so grateful we have one here in Assiniboia. Caroline and Charles also have nothing but good things to say about the franchise either, and have been to nearly as many different Kal Tires between Manitoba and BC as I have, and I also have experience with the one in Whitehorse!

I am going to Moose Jaw tomorrow to open up a Scotiabank account, so that’ll give the truck enough miles to have the wheels retorqued there. I’ll do a post about the new bank account once it’s opened. It is going to be my first concrete step towards my new Mexican life…

As for the truck oil, I bought loads since I can’t get the correct weight in Mexico and will check and top off the level myself before leaving. The air filter is fine and I’ll pick one up on the way to have replaced in Mexico before I leave in the spring.

It’s been rather a long day. I had an appointment at the bank at 11:00, but couldn’t get the tires done until 1:00. It’s hard to kill time in Assiniboia, but I did it. After the bank, I checked out the Salvation Army and was very disappointed that they have jacked up their prices sky high. I won’t be shopping there anymore. 🙁

I then walked to 121 Steakhouse and had a very long and leisurely lunch, lingering over what was probably a gallon of coffee. Coming out of the restaurant, I got a call from Caroline who was having a cabbage related emergency. I promised to pick one up for her.

Then, since it was a gorgeous day (it’s been a blessing of an October), I ambled to the Village Food Store to see if they still had ice cream. Yes, and my favourite flavour (brownie)! I enjoyed it as I walked most of the way across town to the grocery store, where I bought the biggest cabbage I could find, then lugged it back to my truck. It was heavy!

It was only about 12:20 by this point and I had another 40 minutes to kill, so I walked to the Home Hardware to pick up another can of butane for my new flambé torch, just to make sure I don’t run out over the winter. I really missed my broiler last winter for roasting veggies, searing meat and browning cheese, and thought that a flambé torch could be a suitable alternative. I’ve been experimenting with it and am liking the results!

I went back to my truck, which was parked in front of Fields, and decided to pop in and see if they had a whisk. No, but they were selling DVDs super cheap, so I picked up a few. Then, it was finally time to go to Kal Tire.

There, I sat with a book on my iPad while they quickly did the work on my truck. I was home by about 2:00 or so and went to deliver the cabbage, as well as have a cup of coffee and cuddle with C&C’s neighbour’s kitten, who looks just like my Tabitha. Their dog also made sure to get his own cuddles in!

Caroline might be going to Moose Jaw with me tomorrow. I hope so!

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Knocking Out Projects

The printer is rather a pain in the arse item to drag along with me to Mexico, but it’s necessary for work that I do for one of my clients. Last year, I determined that it had to travel in the cab with me because dust and water gets into the truck bed, even with the canopy. Soon as I got it in the truck, I realised that it was taking a lot of precious cab space because I couldn’t really store anything on top of it, not even a bag of bedding. I thought that it might be nice to have a shelf over it, but was not in a position to build anything.

Even if my tools and materials hadn’t been scattered to the winds last year, I didn’t have a workshop or tools with which to easily knock out a project like this. Today, it took just 30 minutes, including the design and cleanup phases, to build this:

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So now, the printer can sit behind the passenger seat and I can put a tote or my suitcase over it. I can store two totes on the driver’s side and in the middle, too, if I run out of space in the back. But I’m not bringing the cot for this trip, so I suspect that cab space won’t be as precious as it was last year. It’ll still be nice to know that I can toss things behind me and not risk damaging the printer!

I have to say that my once disgusting shed is quickly turning into my most favourite part of my property. I just love how bright it is in there and how fresh it smells, never mind that it is so full of potential!