There Are No Geeks and I Must Scream

I'm quite enjoying my new job, but there's one thing I miss: fellow geeks. Sure, there weren't many at the Alberta Liberal Caucus, but at least a handful of my colleagues (Nik, Amanda, John, Ryan, Neil, a few others...) could be counted upon to get my SF and comic book references.

Just the other day our team met briefly to discuss a Hallowe'en costume contest.

"We could go as Transformers," one of my colleagues suggested. "One of us could be Iron Man, or..."

"Wait, wait," I broke in. "That's the Avengers. The Transformers are the Autobots and Decepticons - you know, Optimus Prime, Starscream..."

I trailed off. No, they didn't know. You'd think by now I'd be used to baffled stares and "Wow, is he ever a geek" looks, but I keep forgetting not everyone is as immersed in popular culture as me. Or is obsessed a better word?

Vejur on the Dance Floor

Well, that's what it looks like to me, anyway. I shot this at Amanda and Mike's wedding Saturday night.

Mike and Mandy Married at the Muttart!

Tonight my friend and former Alberta Liberal Caucus colleague Amanda Krumins married Michael Somkuti, an inspiring young teacher I interviewed for the Alberta Teachers' Association last year. Sylvia and I had a fantastic time at the wedding, held in the Muttart Conservatory - great food, great music, great times with friends old and new. Congratulations, Mike and Mandy, and may you enjoy many centuries of wedded bliss! 

Resolutions

About a year and a half ago, my friend Amanda mentioned a study she'd heard about claiming that resolutions stood a better chance of being completed if they weren't talked about. So a year ago today, I silently resolved to blog once a day during 2011. With this post, I have completed that goal, despite the interruptions of three long-distance trips.

Not every post was a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, but I think a few entries were worthwhile. When I have access to a computer again, I'll post a list of my favorites.

Since I started posting daily, traffic to this blog has increased dramatically, and I'm grateful to every reader who has stopped by. Thank you for spending some time here, and thanks especially to those who have left comments - many of which are funnier or more insightful than anything I've written here.

Happy New Year, and may you and yours enjoy peace, prosperity, health and happiness in 2012.

Pints and Politics with Kent Hehr

Last night Kent Hehr, Alberta Liberal MLA for Calgary-Buffalo, hosted the first of his popular Pints and Politics get-togethers to be held in Edmonton. Somewhere between 30 and 40 people of various ideologies and affiliations showed up to eat, drink and discuss Alberta politics. MLAs, candidates for provincial and federal office, political party members, caucus staffers and politically-minded citizens from a wide variety of backgrounds gathered together for mostly cordial discussions of the issues of the day.

Even folks in the same party can disagree over specific points of policy. Actually, Kent and I are just posing here, using the "rhubarb rhubarb" trick for fun. I think he looks more convincing than I do - probably why he was elected in 2008 and I wasn't!

John Santos was David Swann's Executive Assistant, and he's transitioned to a new role as Alberta Liberal Caucus media liaison. Once again, I've forgotten to take off my security pass after leaving work. John was kind enough not to point this out, (unlike some of my former colleagues, cough cough).

Several ex-coworkers showed up last night, and it was great to see them again. Even as roles change, connections remain, and the ties of common citizenship bind us all together.

Photos by Andrew Fisher.

Forever Saying Goodbye

The best thing about working in politics is becoming friends with passionate idealists who really want to change the world for the better. The worst thing about working in politics is the high turnover. Today was Tanara McLean's last day as the Media Liaison for the Alberta Liberal Caucus.

Not only was Tanara great at her job, she also brightened up the office with her energy and enthusiasm. She was an extremely talented videographer and podcast producer; I'll miss those shows. But she came from the world of media and back to the world of media she returns. Pretty soon I'll be able to point to the TV and say, "Hey, I knew her!" Thanks for two great years, Tanara.

I would be remiss if I didn't also belatedly mention the departure of correspondence/public relations whiz Amanda Krumins, who left us a couple of months ago. Amanda's one of the smartest people I've ever worked with, and her refreshing candor always left an indelible impression at meetings. When she joined us back in 2007, I was finally able to talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel at work without being looked at like a crazy person.It was a blast working with you, Amanda.

Change is, of course, the lifeblood of politics; such comings and goings are an indelible part of the political life. But it can be hard to lose the comfortable familiarity of fulfilling office camaraderie. Amanda, Tanara, Neil and so many others - I still think about you, and I hope you're all doing well, wherever you've chosen to travel.

2011

Thanks to my friend and ex-colleague Amanda for throwing a fun New Year's Eve bash, even if we did inadvertently miss the actual countdown!

Sylvia and I look pretty innocent in this photo. But colour and typography can turn even the most innocent image into something dark and disturbing. I was fooling around with Photoshop for a few minutes and wound up producing this:

Hopefully 2011 will be less insane than this image seems to hint!

Trail of the Skulker

Yesterday I startled two coworkers out of their seats.

First, I innocently walked into Amanda's office to ask her a question. The words "Amanda, would you mind..." left my lips and prompted her to shriek and leap out of her chair.

Barely a couple of hours later, I walked into Michael's office to ask him a question. This time, my inadvertent victim coughed up some food, did a spit take and yelped, "Earl! Gah!"

A few years back, while working at the Western Board of Music, I scared Gloria coming up out of the basement and Leslie coming around a corner - or perhaps it was the other way around.

I routinely scare Sylvia at home.

None of this is deliberate. I would have thought that someone of my girth would make more noise while stumbling around the office, but apparently not. In any event, my apologies to all I have startled.

Giggle.

The Annex

I co-wrote and directed this video, prepared for last night's Legislature Press Gallery Christmas party. After a couple of weeks of hard work and stress, I wasn't at all sure whether or not the crowd of MLAs and reporters would like it, so I was very relieved when people laughed at all the right spots - and quite enthusiastically. My coworkers told me that Premier Stelmach, Health Minister Ron Liepert, and a number of reporters and broadcasters all had very nice things to say.

Whew. I was worried, because the video I prepared in 2006 was, frankly, terrible.

There are a few inside jokes here, since the video was directed at MLAs and members of the media, but there are still some chuckles for the wider Alberta audience.

I'm very grateful to Amanda Krumins, who came up with the idea of parodying The Office, to Kim Dewar, who acted as cinematographer, to Derek Volker, who handled the props and music, and to the Alberta Liberal MLAs and Alberta Liberal leadership candidate Mo Elsalhy, who were such good sports about the whole thing.

I'm most grateful to Kevin Taft, who provided the hobbyhorses and indeed the idea for the hobbyhorse scene. Kevin's self-effacing sense of humour really shines here.