Bad Start to Oh Seven

Before I start ranting at you, here's a couple of pictures of us with Jeff in Toronto, like I promised ya.


This arms-length self-portrait was taken as the streetcar was opening it's door and the driver (conductor?) was waiting for me and Ali to get on. Hence the quickly formed, ill-conceived facial expressions and composition. I think I look kind of like Harpo Marx.

And by the way, we're both feeling a lot better now. Turned out to be just a cold, but what a roller coaster of a one! Every time I thought it was over, there was some new symptom ready to show itself. Now that we're healthy again, it's time to get back into shape. We had our first yoga class of the season tonight, and it felt pretty great. Made me realize how quickly I can lose flexibility, though.

So, right now this whole city is very bummed out, as its favourite ex-patriates, Paul Gailiunas and Helen Hill were victims of a random shooting at the front door of their home in New Orleans. Paul is OK and Helen is dead. It's really one of the most tragic things you can think of, as they were known by everyone as the friendliest, nicest, most socially-conscious and giving people imaginable. Many have remarked that if the gunman was looking for money, all he had to do was ask and they would have gladly handed over everything they own. They were a huge inspiration that was immediately missed when they left Halifax for New Orleans a few years ago. I hardly knew them at all, but I feel like they still managed to inspire even me immensely, just by their positive presence in the city. I think most people who had any contact with them at all when they lived here feel the same way. I guess there's going to be some sort of memorial type activity for Helen this weekend.

In other random violence news, more and more people keep getting attacked on The Commons at night. It's happened to a couple of people I know now. A group of junior high school-aged boys waits for someone to come along when no one else is around, and then beats them up. The boys usually don't take anything, either, satisfied with just getting some aggression out. It's quite sickening.

And finally, drivers' contemptuous, if cognizant at all, attitude toward cyclists and pedestrians continues to escalate. No one stops at crosswalks anymore, for instance, unless you actually step out in front of them, and then they act like you are a maniac for stepping out in front of a moving car. Usually they will actually speed up if they see you waiting. Corners are supposed to be the same as a crosswalk, pedestrian-wise, but you can forget about that unless you actually do have a deathwish. And I just heard about a friend of a friend whose leg was broken by a woman starting into an intersection, without looking, after stopping at a stop sign. The woman asked the manglee whether she was all right, and then drove off when an answer was not immediately forthcoming.

It's a difficult time for theists, that's all I can say.

- Andrew