Earth Hour

I think everyone who participated in Earth Hour should be proud for being a part of the community / world effort to reduce power consumption. I think it is a great idea, and overall worth the advertising costs etc. The results were pretty amazing.

Here is a picture of Sydney Australia before and after;
And Toronto's skyline (practically the other side of the world) during their Earth Hour;
I happened to be at Gemini's house enjoying a nice dinner and hanging with his family and a bunch of family friends. We ate by candlelight, and then the boys picked up a couple of acoustic guitars and played and sang. There was some piano, and bongo drums, and it turned into a night of entertainment. The lights were out much longer than an hour, which I'm sure is the case for many.

My family at home enjoyed a game of Monopoly by candlelight (which I am sorry I missed), and played until after midnight.

The TV's were off, the families and friends together, and it was a great experience at the same time as saving a bit of energy for the environment.

But I pose this question; why not do this more than once a year? Is it that big of a deal for stores or families to sacrifice an hour once a month say? I thought it was fun. I think sitting and playing board games in the dark, and turning off the TV once a week would be nice.

In any case, pat yourself on the back if you participated, because I think it was fairly successful overall.

Growing Up

There is something about getting older that is disturbing. I've decided this lately as I approach some resemblance of adulthood, and my 25th birthday.

I have fixed my future for about four years in terms of career path (ie. more schooling). My supervisor keeps suggesting that I map out exactly what I want to do for the remainder of my career, and figure out all of the baby steps I will have to take to reach my goals. But the problem is, it is much easier said than done. I don't have major long-term goals. I am focusing on one year at a time, and hoping everything falls into place for me. This is a strategy that has worked for me so far, and I'm hoping it doesn't fail me soon.

I miss being able to plan 4 months at a time. I got used to that in high school, when life was conveniently separated into four little chunks. I would fit as much into the first chunk (Sept-Jan) as possible in terms of schoolwork so that when I started to burn out at the end of the year, my classes were easier. And then it was SUMMER! A time to request a few more hours of part-time work, and otherwise read, or sleep in, or whatever the day turned out to be.

Even better were the days when summer meant playing continuously for 8 weeks. We could stay up later, watch cartoons, have sleep-overs, and just have fun. And it seemed like the longest 8 weeks of the year.

And we were soo freakin cute as kids!
Especially this one;
Who is now considered a woman, and has a whole life full of hard decisions left to make. She was so adorable as a kid. I used to wrap her up in a big white towel after her bath and call her my "little bath larva". And now I try and advise her about college!

Growing up sure is taking some getting used to...

Happy Birthday Mama Dukes

I know it has been a lifetime since I blogged last, but I have been busy becoming a potential PhD. But now that my transfer is done I have no excuse. But more importantly,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA DUKES!!!

You are amazing!
I hope today brings you more than just snow and cold, and that you get at least a bit of time to relax and enjoy your special day.
I'm looking forward to a great dinner tonight in your honor.
Love you tons
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo