Winter here, lately! We had a big snowstorm this past week. I got caught without snow tires. I parked my car down at the neighbour's and it is still there, with a mushroom cap of snow. I plan to shovel it out tomorrow morning. It just seemed easier for the last couple of days to get a ride in to work with my neighbour, and be an hour late for work. Hey, it's the slow season. I don't mind if my bosses don't. And, I don't think they do.
Snow is still around, though the weather folks keep predicting it will melt soon. That white, sparkly, frosty look on everything. I do love it. Yes, it switches things up. We have to get someone with a snowplow to come do the driveway, or else shovel it ourselves. We've got to drive slower and dress warmer. But, I do love it. That fresh coldness. That wet dryness coming down through the air.
My computer which died in Fogo is still dead. I'm working on it. I'm getting a trained person to work on it, actually. Until it's fixed I'm borrowing a computer from my boyfriend. It's small, one of those tiny notebook sort of things. Hard to get used to the smaller keyboard with my giant hands. OK, normal-sized hands, but still.
Other lately: I launched my "Dream Big - Cape Breton" project. And by that I mean I created a Facebook page and added a bunch of people to it. This project has been in development since the summer, when I read an editorial in The Victoria Standard (our local paper, we live in Victoria County, Nova Scotia) about young people leaving the island. It got me all fired up and I pitched a column to the editor of the paper.
I also talked about it with all the young people I hung out with all summer. And now that there is a Facebook page I'm getting all sorts of good feedback.
The project is part journalism, part personal journey. I'm doing research (read: reading) on Cape Breton's history. And I'm setting up interviews with folks all over the island to talk about dreaming big for Cape Breton's future. What makes this place so awesome? What makes it a great place to live? What are the obstacles that cause people, especially young folk, to move away, and what can we do about it?
I see it as a group project done by an individual. If that makes sense. I see it as me listening, listening, listening, then reporting about what I've heard. Bringing voices together.
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