Making It Up As I Go Along #345

SATURDAY...
— Saturday feeling like Monday all day long. Even as I get ready for bed I’m thinking it’s Monday night. This shift is mind blowing.
— Watch a movie after work with Melissa and Nick.
— I miss out on a nice condo downtown. I decided to put an offer on it but missed out by a matter of hours. The place was on the market for 12 days and I happen to go look at it and decide to make a bid the same day someone else does. It’s disappointing.

SUNDAY...
— Second dayshift. Not as quiet as yesterday but not a busy day either.
— Ball after work. We lose again. I get some hits and have some plays to make in the field, but many of my hits are weak and I’m tired of losing games to teams of stiffs. Tonight we lost to stiffs.

MONDAY...
— Sleep from 4:30 to 9:30 this morning... up for a while getting groceries and watching some TV... back in bed from 1:15 to 3:00. The sleep is working pretty well on these shift changes... so far.
— In to work for the night shift... it goes well. Sort of busy for a few hours, not busy at the end of the night. I do the gym around 12:30.
— Newfoundland is no longer a “have not Province” and now Ontario is! Craziness to see my home province make the leap. I guess no more stupid Newfie jokes... and bring on the Ontario ones! First one... What is there to do in Ontario other than drink? There... see how witty those Newfie jokes weren’t. Blah.

TUESDAY...
— Up just before noon. Warmer day today... it’s nice. And walking the pond I see the beaver is still at work. A good 7 to 10 trees were dropped since my last walk a week ago.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work last night was nasty busy... but I need some busy times to test myself. Phil and I take turns breaking for the gym. I go at 2:00 AM... and some guy shows up to jog on a tread mill... kinda weird.
— After work, I actually take a few minutes to walk the pond at 6:20 AM. It’s quiet and the muskrat are all over at that hour. Ducks are everywhere too. Lots more still here than I thought during the day.
— Obama is President. Should be an improvement by a great margin.
— Do an afternoon pond walk too. Didn’t sleep much this morning so I’m a zombie after supper.

THURSDAY...
— A home day. Watch some movies and not much else.

FRIDAY...
— Out for a few hours looking at condos. Not much comes of it... interesting but nothing that’s going to get an offer from me.
— Walk to the grocery store for a few things and get a pizza and salad in the evening and watch some more movies.


Have You Seen My Have Province? It’s About Yea Tall...
Don’t let Quebecers sway you... I come from the most unique province in the country. Quebec’s uniqueness is there, don’t get me wrong. And in many ways the Quebec and Newfoundland are similar in their uniqueness. But Quebec’s uniqueness is a bit of a lazy person’s version of unique. The most obvious trait of uniqueness is in Quebec’s favour... a different language.

And obvious works for the lazy man’s analysis. So the result is a Québécois “nation” and exaggerated importance for one province. Despite the fact that a small minority of the country are predominantly French speaking, the French language gets equal status. And it only takes a federal election to see how worried politicians are about gaining favour among the Quebecers.

The other interesting oddity around the Quebec issue is that language seems to signify a type of race. It’s politically incorrect to make fun of the French. A Quebec joke will get you into trouble pretty quickly around these parts. I’ve even heard talk of racism against Quebecers. A fairly over sensitive and outlandish proclamation.

The other province which shares the power of the Nation with Quebec is Ontario. Alberta is close, and in some ways it’s right there. But going back to a federal election, the areas that get the royal treatment from those looking for votes are Quebec and Ontario. A political leader who can gain the majority of seats in these two provinces is well on his or her way to winning the election.

So it strikes me funny to see the most powerful province in the country, a province that exudes supreme confidence among the group... the quarterback of the political football team known as Canada... Ontario... has become a have not province.

And guess who has passed Ontario in the rankings. Lowly ol’ Newfoundland. Going back to the football team analogy, this is like taking the quarterback out of the game and replacing him with one of the punt return special teams players.

Newfoundland is, in my experience here in Ontario, the most misunderstood and underappreciated province in the country. I even have friends who laugh and joke with me about Newfoundland’s patheticness. In their minds, Newfoundland is the likable province of yokels. The people of Newfoundland aren’t bright enough to have ideas. They’re too unsophisticated to breed leaders. And they’re too lazy to be counted on. They’re only really good for party entertainment. That guy who drinks too much and starts falling over the furniture... in the National party, that guy is the Newfie.

Too many times I’ve heard the same old stereotype of the drinking prowess of the Newfoundlander. After all, we must be good at drinking... what else is there to do in Newfoundland?

Most mainlanders who have never been to Newfoundland figure the only reason to go there is to party. Hit the bars... drink bad rum with a crazy name... kiss fish... and not understand a word anyone there says... that’s Newfoundland.

So this week, it did me some good to see the big and cocky Ontario being relegated as have not while the goofy Newfoundland joined the ranks of have.

To be honest, I don’t understand a thing of this have not versus have distinction. I still don’t think I could go home and get a job doing anything other than waiting tables for minimum wage and for twenty hours a week. And it still seems that Ontario’s unemployment isn’t skyrocketing (although I suppose the car manufacture industry would argue that point). But I love the irony of the situation. And I hope it clears the way for Newfoundland to get the respect and understanding it deserves.

I’d like to see an end to the Newfie joke. I know these jokes are usually told in good natured ribbing attitudes, but they’re a sign of the complete lack of knowledge people have about the place. They think of Newfie jokes when Newfoundland is brought up in the same way as the CN Tower or Maple Leafs come to mind when Toronto is mentioned.

The fact is, Newfoundland is completely unique. Cape Breton Island comes close to it. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Newfoundland without actually being there. But even Cape Breton doesn’t do it.

Newfoundland’s isolation brings part of the appeal. The fact that the province is cut off from the rest of the world brings it it’s uniqueness. There are times when you just can’t get to Newfoundland. Rough seas stop the ferries and winter storms or spring fog can keep out airplanes. Even a misplaced moose can keep you out of Newfoundland (a moose once got loose on the runways of St. John’s airport and couldn’t be corralled before the arriving planes had to be diverted back to Halifax). Newfoundland’s isolation makes it as specialized and unique as a village in the Amazon rainforest. From a people standpoint, Newfoundland is a little like the Galapagos Islands. The people there have been allowed to develop without many of the outside influences.

And it’s this same power of nature which isolates the island that also creates the uniqueness of the place. Family and friends take on an added importance to the Newfoundlander. After all, if the winter winds are howling with snow drifting up your door, it’s friends that come to dig you out. And before the storms, family gather in one place, to ride out the weather together with a pot of soup on the stove and winter boots against the heater, ready for the shoveling out that will soon follow. A fire in the fireplace and a deck of cards help pass the time between soup and shovel.

It’s not sophisticated... this image. But the assumption shouldn’t be made that it’s dumb either. It’s okay to accept time outs due to the weather. It keeps you humble as a person to know that sometimes you don’t have control. And the comradery that comes from shoveling out after a storm shows the generosity of the people. Only a few short decades ago, if you didn’t work in cooperation with your neighbours, you may not make it.

My wish is that being a have province will act as a catalyst for Newfoundland gaining respect on a national level. On a political level, Newfoundlander’s greatest qualities are sure needed. A little cooperation and humbleness on a federal level would go a long way.