Making It Up As I Go Along #299

MONDAY...
— Quiet day. I didn’t sleep well last night and am exhausted and still a bit under the weather when I wake... so no work today. Stay home, do some reading up on work while trying to rest up instead.
— Brush off the car and shovel out the space some in the late afternoon. That’s enough to almost kill me... so I guess it says where my endurance is right now with sickness and the like.

TUESDAY...
— Fine enough day. Seem to be over the cold now finally... and do a bit of an evening shift today, working 1:45 to 9:45. It all goes alright.

WEDNESDAY...
— Work is okay. An info session in the morning breaks up the day a bit.
— Drive home is a pain. People around here don’t know what they’re doing when driving in the winter. It takes an hour to get home and we only had a light amount of snow today. Blah.
— Some evening catch up. With some friends. One drops by... another on MSN... and a third on the phone. A social night for a week night.

THURSDAY...
— Work is okay. Have lunch with Shannon, Mark, Leslie, Carole, Michelle, and Trevor. Fairly normal day overall.

FRIDAY...
— Alright work day. Much of the office is empty in the afternoon.
— Meet Karl for supper in the evening.
— I’m now off for Christmas vacation. Back to work a week from Monday.

SATURDAY...
— Travel day. I get up in the morning and do the laundry while watching some TV. Pack in the afternoon and Sheila gets me so we can share a cab to the airport. She’s going to Moncton a half hour before I go to St. John’s. The airport is actually dead... I’m surprised but there no line to check in and none at security either. We chat for a bit while waiting for the planes and then split up when her flight is called. An isle seat means I am thankful for the on demand movies for each seat... I wish I had the window to distract me but oh well.
— A quick time with mom and dad after I land and then they’re off to bed while I watch some TV.


Just a Few Thoughts on Home
Home again home again jiggidy jig. At least one of my grandparents used to say it way back when... and at least one of my parents say it whenever we pull into the driveway of their place in Wedgewood Park. And last night I heard it once again.

For I am home for the holidays. It has actually been the longest I’ve been away from St. John’s. One full year without being back. In fact, last night’s flight in marked the one year anniversary of my getting stuck in Montreal for two days.

Each time I’m home, a few things change. Mom and dad have a new car... and a new stereo. The next door neighbours have a new shed. And I’m sure, when I go out later today, I’ll notice other changes around the city. A new store here, an old building torn down there. Probably another three or four grocery stores scattered a few kilometres away from each other. St. John’s city planning... it’s all about selling off old buildings and parcels of land to the grocery store chains. The chain lucky enough to build the new store will then vacate an old one... and new telemarketing companies will take over... the circle of life goes on.

Needless to say, I find the grocery store issue annoying. Cities can use vacated buildings and parcels of land for so much more... and the city would be enriched and more vibrant because of it. Old Memorial Stadium was a hockey stadium named to honor the war dead. It was in one of the few great recreational belts of the city. A river trail leads to it, allowing people from miles away to walk there without using the roads. A soccer pitch and softball field are right next to the site... and Quidi Vidi Lake at the doorstep of the stadium parking lot. Many a hockey game would be watched there and dad and I would walk along part of the shore of the lake to get to the car afterwards.

So what do you do with this recreational landmark after a new stadium is built? Sell it to Loblaws and convert it into a grocery store of course! People opposed the idea, the city sold it to Loblaws anyway. People remained opposed, and Loblaws built the store anyway. They then closed another of their grocery stores that sat no more than a mile up the road. I’ll drive by it today and see what telemarketing/call centre has moved in. And Memorial Stadium Grocery Store will be one more missed opportunity that I can shake my head at as I pass by.

Another change in the city I noticed came to me as soon as I arrived. St. John’s Airport is quite new. Well, the building got extensively renovated recently anyway. It seems it was only a year or two ago when the final touches were done... and it’s a nice airport. But it already feels way to small for this city. Coming in last night, I came down the escalator to the luggage area without parents there to wave hello. This is because they now keep the family and friends back out of the luggage area. It’s not big enough to hold the welcomers and the arrivers at the same time. So I stood alone for twenty minutes waiting for my bag... and then walked out to my parents as if I had just left customs. We then went on to sit in the parking lot for another good twenty minutes as all the cars were leaving together. Ottawa airport is bigger, with more people parked there for arrivals. But you never wait when you go to leave... you’re on your way. St. John’s, though... is a very congested story. Again, city planning dropped the ball. A newly renovated airport that needs to be renovated once again.

But it’s nice to be back all the same. To look out the back window and see Signal Hill off in the distance, remaining as it always has been. I miss big hills. I don’t see them in Ottawa. Seeing a large formation of shrubby rock like that makes me feel solid. It says that this place is still here and still the same home you knew growing up... despite the superficial changes of the city it overlooks.