Back At It

It' s been a busy week. I've been learning lots at the new office. Stephen, the fellow I'm replacing is very good at what he does and I have much to learn. Today was interesting because he took some vacation so I'm on my own for a while. It's forced me to get involved in a few projects-there's nothing like complete immersion to get you into things. Work for me is all about managing multiple projects. Today I was organizing an event for the plant in Waterville. I spoke to a few people in Ireland, lots of Americans and called back to the plant in Canada several times. Michelin truly is a multinational company.

At home life is good. Jane is getting the house into shape and has been doing some yard work while I'm at the office. She gets some interesting looks from the neighbors mowing the lawn with our reel push mower. Everyone keeps offering up their electric or gas mower. We haven't decided if we're going to get a power mower yet-I guess it's up to Jane.

The observation of the week here is about the drivers. I thought drivers in Newfoundland and Quebec were bad but here they take the cake. Turn signals get used about 25% of the time. Lane changes are random-or at least that's how they seem. People don't turn from lane to lane at corners but swerve wide all the time. The worst has got to be the running of yellow lights. There's more of a hazard in getting rear-ended at a light because the person behind you thought you were going through than getting hit at an intersection. It's forced me to charge how I drive. You almost have to be aggressive.

The other big story here today in the news is the Supreme Court's decision on the Second Amendment (to the American Constitution), that's the right to bear arms. Now I may get myself in trouble for this but I don't understand how an amendment to the Constitution which was implemented back in the days of pirates, indians (not politically correct), and of course the threat of English invasion in what used to be the colonies can still stand up in court. If there's one thing the Americans believe in its tradition. When you think about how things like driving car, having a cell phone, and using the Internet are not rights (they could be taken away tomorrow by the government, technically), but owning and carrying a gun is a right, it makes me wonder. In short the Constitution says that no one can tell an American what he can or can't do with a gun (except in certain key exceptions). Anyway, the mayors of all the major cities are all up in arms (pardon the pun) about it, and rightfully so, gun crime is bound to go up if people can have guns anywhere. As of yesterday many cities like Washington and Chicago had banned guns and restricted how they could be sold, stored, and used. In the end it just goes to highlight another of the differences between Americans and Canadians.

In any event that is my rant. I apologize if I've offended. I feel like this is my outlet since one doesn't talk about politics at work.

On to nicer subjects. I think we finally got a really good picture of Isabelle. Jane took it last night when we went downtown for a walk. Isabelle was playing on a wall in Falls Park and started posing for the camera. It took several tries but this one might be worth framing. Note the scab on her knee. She's been very active the last few weeks.

Tomorrow we might go to the farmer's market and then head to the park for a Canada Day celebration. The Canadian Consulate in North Carolina is putting on an event here in town. Some of the other Canadians we've met will likely be there too. It should be a good time. Maybe pictures in the next post.