North America

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Voting Outside Your Riding in the Upcoming Election

We have an election coming up on May 2nd. There are two ways to vote if you will not be in your riding on that day.

The first way is intended for those who are out of the country. It takes the longest and requires a bit of an investment: requesting a special ballot by mail and then mailing it back. Ballot requests must be received by April 26th and the ballot must be in Ottawa by May 2nd. What with Canada Post being what it is, I wouldn’t use this method without paying to register the documents!

If you are in Canada, but not anywhere near your riding, the second method is much easier. It’s what I did in Edmonton in ’08 and will be doing again this year in Lethbridge: going to the nearest Elections Canada office and voting in an advanced poll.

Both methods require a piece of ID with your name, address of your current riding, and signature, or a combination of documents.

Remember that voting is a birthright in this country. Please exercise it!

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The Value of a Local Guide

Jody let me know that for some unfathomable reason, Lethbridge grocery stores offer a 15% discount on the first Tuesday of the month. I was due for a good stock up, so she and I headed out to Save-On this afternoon.

My first pass through the store just about made me sick with sticker shock after two months in the US! But that passed and I was able to recognize deals and began to fill my cart the way I do before heading north. I had budgeted a couple hundred bucks for a really big pantry and freezer fill, so I didn’t do my usual tally of my cart as I shopped. So you can imagine that I was thrilled that after applying the discount I get with my Save-On card and the 15%, I got out of there with a bill of $108!

After, Jody took me down to the Lethbridge Herald office and got me signed up with a couple of flyer routes! It’s paid exercise that I can do on my schedule on set days and while not a living wage will most definitely help my bottom line. I start right now! My car trunk is filled with flyers and I’ll be heading off to make deliveries soon as I print off a map. I would never have thought to apply for something like that and I’m glad Jody suggested it!

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Encouraging Prospects

As soon as I knew I had a place to stay in Lethbridge through to the fall (and that I loved the location!), I was quite motivated to focus my job search here rather than expanding my radius to the entirety of southern Alberta. I’m still leaving all doors open, but I am very encouraged by the number of job ads daily that I can apply for here. In the last few weeks, I’ve been able to apply for more jobs that I’m perfectly suited for in terms of both qualifications and the length of of the contract than I saw in my four months in the Vancouver area!

Just a few months ago, I thought I would never again want a ‘real’ job, but that was before I went to the States. Now, I just want a real job that pays more than just a living wage so I can sock away as much as I can for next winter!

I have an interview lined up with a placement agency on the 15th, but I’ve never had any luck with those sorts of places, so I keep on sending out resumes. I’m averaging three a day, so something good is bound to pan out. In fact, the ads I’m seeing are making me so confident I’ll find something I love that I’m being picky. I might change my tune by the end of the month, but I have the luxury of a couple of weeks to be choosy so I’m not going to grab the first thing I’m offered if it’s not appealing.

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All Hell For a Basement

 

This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be in Medicine Hat. And don’t you ever think of changing the name of your town. It’s all your own and the only hat of its kind on earth.

 

This afternoon my host, Jody, and I went on a little road trip around south-east Alberta, stopping in the town of Medicine Hat, which is ‘The Gas City’, the sunniest city in Canada, the home of the biggest teepee in Canada if not the world, and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book) to boot. Not bad for a town of about 60,000!

It is so good to be back in the flats of the prairies; I have missed them so, so much. There was much snow on the ground and with a few hills in the background it looked very much like the Montérégie landscape of my youth.

I love having a local guide and, especially, a driver. Being a passenger is pure luxury!

the giant teepee, built for Expo '86 in Vancouver

the giant teepee, built for Expo ’86 in Vancouver

the giant teepee, built for Expo '86 in Vancouver

the giant teepee, built for Expo ’86 in Vancouver

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artwork at the giant teepee

artwork at the giant teepee

artwork at the giant teepee

artwork at the giant teepee

welcome to Medicine Hat "The Gas City"

welcome to Medicine Hat “The Gas City”

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windmill outside the Etzicom museum

windmill outside the Etzicom museum

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Ichiban Sushi Bar, Florence, OR

I forgot to write about the Ichiban Sushi Bar in Florence when I was on the Oregon Coast and it definitely warrants a post!

This is a restaurant I would not have walked into for sushi without a recommendation since it is a combination ‘Chinese’ and Japanese establishment. But I was in the electronics department of Fred Meyer and overheard the cashier tell the couple ahead of me that they just had to try this restaurant and that only good things were being heard about it.

I headed there the next day for lunch and was greeted like a celebrity. What friendly, happy people work there! The restaurant is new and the decor is fresh and clean.

The server started by telling me the specials, which included tempura rolls and ones with cream cheese. I told the server I don’t like those and he left me to peruse the the huge and extensive menu that includes several combo meals. I decided to go the more expensive à la carte route and ordered cautiously: miso soup, a tempura entrée, and tekka maki (tuna rolls).

The meal started off well with a miso soup that had a drop of soy sauce in it. The broth was very hearty, the seaweed chewy, and the tofu tender. Perfect! Same thing with the tempura, which included broccoli, yams, zucchini, and shrimp; light on the batter and the oil did not taste old. Tekka maki is such a simple roll, but it’s a good one to test how fresh the sushi is and this one was fresh, with the sweet sashimi almost melting in my mouth.

Everything was so good that when the waiter came by to ask me how I was doing I asked for a menu so I could order another roll!

I asked for something with salmon. I was then paid what I consider a compliment; the server said “I know you prefer traditional Japanese rolls [not entirely true since I like spicy tuna and California rolls], but our Oregon roll is very delicious.” At this point, I can’t recall all the ingredients, but I know it included salmon, imitation crab, a bit of mayo, and sesame seeds. I decided to try it and, oh! YUM! It’s definitely not something I would have tried on my own and I am glad I trusted the server. It was savoury and sweet, tender and chewy, basically everything that defines what makes sushi so addictive.

I would have loved to order one more thing, but I was stuffed by this point so I called for the bill. With tip and only water to drink it came to $20. A bit expensive for lunch, but reasonable for going with individual choices instead of a special.

Ichiban is located right on highway 101, on the west side of the road, just a few blocks north of the intersection with highway 126. It’s up from the road a bit and you could definitely park an RV in the lot.