A little overwhelmed
I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and here's why-
1. I've been working and driving a lot since the end of January. This is the busy season for ag conferences and so I've been on the go a lot. In the past 2 weeks, I have been to Leduc 3 times, Red Deer, and to a variety of meetings in Edmonton. Next week I'm in Morinville and Red Deer. The driving and the hours of listening do take their toll. However, I'm learning a great deal and it's hard not to get excited about my work and some of the things I do. Last week, I learned about the possibility of pennycress for biofuel. This plant is a weed, but produces better oil than canola, making it immune to the food vs fuel debate. The plant also has phytoremediative characteristics and can take metal out of soils. It's already been proposed as a growing project for Detroit. Actually, Detroit itself is very interesting right now. The destruction of the auto industry in the city has resulted in many opportunities for growth in urban agriculture. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears to the ground on this one.
Similarly, the urban sprawl in Calgary has also resulted in a variety of opportunities. I met a producer who is in charge of helping with the organization of a new farmers' market for Calgary- the Kingsland market. I'm going to do a story or two about it and am very excited about the project. So work is good, even though it's crazy busy.
2. My parents are in China. They flew there on March 16. My dad took a netbook with him, but I didn't hear from them for a few days, which made me a tad worried, mostly because my mom had a cold and I wanted to know that she was able to get into the country without getting quarantined. I wasn't sure if Dad could get through because of the Great Firewall situation. However, he managed to email from his gmail and he is getting emails from my hotmail, although he is unable to open my friend's Picasa photo albums. Parents are having a lovely time in China. However, it's weird to have so much limited contact with the parentals. I'll confess- I talk to the parentals almost every day. This is partly because they are my good friends and partly for security reasons. Since I live alone and travel all around the province by myself, it's good for at least one person to know where I am. When I go on long road trips, I call my mom when I am leaving and when I get back, so that she knows I am safe. I also email my parents frequently and send them links to interesting articles, youtube clips, etc. I feel like a bit of a baby because their absence definitely has an impact on me.
3. My computer has still not been fixed. It's with another tech and hopefully the problem should be resolved, but it does give me more challenges for working and I have a few deadlines that I need to meet. I might end up spending some time at an Internet cafe to get all these things done.
4. I need to sort everything out for my trip to Toronto, figure out what to where etc. This is a very cool opportunity, but it's basically a version of "So you think you're a poet" and I want to give a great performance and knock the judges' socks off.
5. One of my checks was extremely late. I was fretting a bit because I could really use that cash when I'm travelling to Toronto and have some expenses related to my dance recital and dance classes. Fortunately, it arrived and things will be good.
6. I have to acculturize Fergus to Henry and Mari. We went over there last week, and the two dogs were not best friends. Fergus is a very timid guy and Henry is extremely friendly. He jumped all over Fergus and Fergus growled, but as time went on, they sort of ignored each other and Fergus found some comfy places to sleep and hang out. I know that Mari will take very good care of Fergus and I hope that he does not cry too much when I leave him. He's a bit of a suck and a rather timid little guy, but I'm sure it will be fine.
Just writing this all out made me feel better. I'm also going to have a peaceful day alone, do some work, walk the dog, watch some DVDs, and go to the market. Tomorrow I teach my teen writing group and then I'm going to see Shanghai Express, which I've been trying to see for years. This is the movie that defined the concept of "dragon lady" and made Anna May Wong into a star.
1. I've been working and driving a lot since the end of January. This is the busy season for ag conferences and so I've been on the go a lot. In the past 2 weeks, I have been to Leduc 3 times, Red Deer, and to a variety of meetings in Edmonton. Next week I'm in Morinville and Red Deer. The driving and the hours of listening do take their toll. However, I'm learning a great deal and it's hard not to get excited about my work and some of the things I do. Last week, I learned about the possibility of pennycress for biofuel. This plant is a weed, but produces better oil than canola, making it immune to the food vs fuel debate. The plant also has phytoremediative characteristics and can take metal out of soils. It's already been proposed as a growing project for Detroit. Actually, Detroit itself is very interesting right now. The destruction of the auto industry in the city has resulted in many opportunities for growth in urban agriculture. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears to the ground on this one.
Similarly, the urban sprawl in Calgary has also resulted in a variety of opportunities. I met a producer who is in charge of helping with the organization of a new farmers' market for Calgary- the Kingsland market. I'm going to do a story or two about it and am very excited about the project. So work is good, even though it's crazy busy.
2. My parents are in China. They flew there on March 16. My dad took a netbook with him, but I didn't hear from them for a few days, which made me a tad worried, mostly because my mom had a cold and I wanted to know that she was able to get into the country without getting quarantined. I wasn't sure if Dad could get through because of the Great Firewall situation. However, he managed to email from his gmail and he is getting emails from my hotmail, although he is unable to open my friend's Picasa photo albums. Parents are having a lovely time in China. However, it's weird to have so much limited contact with the parentals. I'll confess- I talk to the parentals almost every day. This is partly because they are my good friends and partly for security reasons. Since I live alone and travel all around the province by myself, it's good for at least one person to know where I am. When I go on long road trips, I call my mom when I am leaving and when I get back, so that she knows I am safe. I also email my parents frequently and send them links to interesting articles, youtube clips, etc. I feel like a bit of a baby because their absence definitely has an impact on me.
3. My computer has still not been fixed. It's with another tech and hopefully the problem should be resolved, but it does give me more challenges for working and I have a few deadlines that I need to meet. I might end up spending some time at an Internet cafe to get all these things done.
4. I need to sort everything out for my trip to Toronto, figure out what to where etc. This is a very cool opportunity, but it's basically a version of "So you think you're a poet" and I want to give a great performance and knock the judges' socks off.
5. One of my checks was extremely late. I was fretting a bit because I could really use that cash when I'm travelling to Toronto and have some expenses related to my dance recital and dance classes. Fortunately, it arrived and things will be good.
6. I have to acculturize Fergus to Henry and Mari. We went over there last week, and the two dogs were not best friends. Fergus is a very timid guy and Henry is extremely friendly. He jumped all over Fergus and Fergus growled, but as time went on, they sort of ignored each other and Fergus found some comfy places to sleep and hang out. I know that Mari will take very good care of Fergus and I hope that he does not cry too much when I leave him. He's a bit of a suck and a rather timid little guy, but I'm sure it will be fine.
Just writing this all out made me feel better. I'm also going to have a peaceful day alone, do some work, walk the dog, watch some DVDs, and go to the market. Tomorrow I teach my teen writing group and then I'm going to see Shanghai Express, which I've been trying to see for years. This is the movie that defined the concept of "dragon lady" and made Anna May Wong into a star.