Tag Archives: New Year’s Day

I resolve | 2013 Edition

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Here are my resolutions for 2012, I didn’t do that bad on them except for the losing weight and being more active.

  • I do need and want to lose more weight and get into shape.  I am going to double down on last year’s goal of biking a total of 750 km’s a year.  I need to use Run Keeper more but I will definitely start hitting the bike trails around Saskatoon, no matter how unfriendly the city is to cyclists.
  • I need to get more organized.  I have some tools and plans and I want to both implement but document the process.  Last year I underwent a massive decluttering exercise (which I should start again today to get rid of the 2012 stuff that has accumulated).
  • I will write and blog more.  Last year I wanted to write daily but that isn’t going to happen.  Expect 3 posts a week here.  Not quite Kottke-esque but not really slouching either.
  • Read 12 books this year.
  • Paint three paintings this year.
  • Listen to more current music.  I love my jazz and blues but it’s time to discover new music.
  • Plan a date with Jordon every two weeks.  I am terrible at this but 2013 is the year it will change.
  • Play tennis weekly this summer.  I know the City of Saskatoon has let it’s (west side) tennis courts deteriorate (like our roads, snow removal, and a lot of other things) but I do want to develop a decent tennis game this summer.
  • Pick up a winter sport.  I don’t know what this will be but I need to be more active starting tomorrow.
  • Spend more time with friends in 2013.  I am horrible at keeping up with friends and it is a part of me that I want to change.
  • The Cooking Blog was either feast or famine in 2012.  I want to be more consistent with it including shooting some video and a lot more photography.  It should be fun.

So those are mine.  What are your resolutions in 2013?

I resolve

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I guess it is time to make some New Year’s Resolutions for 2012.  Here are mine.

  • Continue to lose the weight I have so far by using LoseIt.  It’s been a great system for me so far and I want to keep the momentum going.
  • Play tennis regularly in 2012.  The City of Saskatoon as made that harder as they have allowed most of the city’s tennis courts to deteriorate badly but there are some by E.D. Feehan that I plan to frequent.
  • Volunteer at The Lighthouse weekly.  This way I get to see Jordon and give back to the community.
  • Blog every weekday here and post a recipe each weekday to The Cooking Blog.  That is over 500 posts between the two of them. Gulp.  As Anne Lamott says, “Bird by Bird”.
  • Post more photos to both sites and to Flickr.  I really want to spent some time this year working at being more creative.
  • Purging my life full of stuff and keeping the things that mean the most to me.  I am reading SoulSpace and a big part of the books them is that we have too much stuff and that gets in the way of doing what is really important.  It’s probably one of the reasons why Jordon loves the cabin (there isn’t much stuff up there) so much. I plan to say goodbye to a lot of electronics, books, music, collectibles, and stuff in 2012.
  • Paint three paintings in 2012.
  • Read 12 books in 2012.
  • Adopt Dave King’s philosophy of riding my bike a lot more.  I am setting a goal of 750 kms for 2012.  We will see how that goes.

So what are your plans for 2012?  Jordon’s resolutions are over here.

Now open on Christmas Day?

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Some stores in West Edmonton Mall were open on Christmas Day

A small number of stores in Canada’s biggest mall were open for five hours beginning at noon Saturday as merchants were preparing their stores for Sunday’s Boxing Day rush.

Ali Chovkair, a manger at the Coliseum, a men’s clothing store near the mall’s massive movie theatre, said opening for a few hours on Christmas was worth it since a number of attractions at WEM are always open during the stat holiday.

“Some customers hate to come here on Boxing Day because the mall is so busy,” said Chovkair as dozens of customers were seen sifting through his store.

Many items in the store were marked down by 50% and one winter coat in the store was valued around $30.

“For them, it’s a good idea to come here today because it’s so slow in the mall,” said Chovkair.

Stitches, another clothing store near the Ice Palace at the mall, was also open for business on Christmas for the entire afternoon.

It was the first time the business has ever been open on Christmas Day, said one employee who didn’t want to have her name published.

“We will definitely do it again,” she said while helping a customer. “We’re so busy we had to call in staff. We never expected to be this busy.”

Close to 70 customers were seen in the store sometime around 3:30 p.m. and some who were visiting the mall to watch a movie, or to go skating, were surprised to see some of the stores open.

Long lineups were also visible at both of the store’s tills.

“Seeing these stores open on Christmas Day is extremely odd,” said Donna Wendel who was able to find a deal after watching a movie Saturday.

Zelia Tavares, a resident from Kelowna, B.C. who is spending time with her Edmonton family at the Fantasyland Hotel, said she wasn’t surprised to now see stores open on Christmas Day.

“All of the stores would be definitely closed in Kelowna,” Tavares said. “It’s a good way for the employees to make some overtime. They are making a good amount of money.”

Yeah that must have been fun to have to work on Christmas Day.  Yes there is overtime and yes other people have to work on Christmas but since when is retail an essential service.  Well Safeway has been open on Christmas Day since 2004 in some parts of the United States although Walmart stays closed.  For all of the grief that Walmart gets, good for them for staying closed. 

My problem with opening on Christmas has nothing to do with the religious aspect of it.  Stores have been open on Easter Sunday for years.  It’s the lack of ANY day that a FAMILY can get together any longer.   Saskatchewan has Family Day but it’s just a big shopping holiday as well and the result is that even more retail staff have to work.  If you are open on Christmas, Easter, New Years, Thanksgiving, and every other holiday, when does it allow for any family life.  I have worked for over 20 years in retail and I still don’t get off two days in a row. 

Already I am not allowed to take holidays in December and this year is the first year that I have ever had Christmas Eve off of work.  Without exception I have closed up the store on Christmas Eve and then had to come in on Boxing Day for store opening and never had any say in it because of seniority issues.  Of course Zelia Tavares doesn’t mind the stores being open because she doesn’t have to work in them and is in Edmonton for a family holiday.  It reminds me of the all of the Christians shopping on Sundays and then lecturing me for working in a place that opens on Sundays. 

It’s a sad commentary that as a society, we can not stay away from the malls for even one day a year anymore.  Yet governments and opposition parties don’t want to do anything about it because they don’t want to hurt business yet we ignore the impact it has on families.  Retail workers work for wages that are barely above minimum wage, don’t get tips, and in many cases have unions that have collectively bargained away labour laws for more perks for senior staff.  If there is an industry whose staff need to be protected from it’s employers, it is retail.  There is no reason why stores can not be compelled to close on Christmas, Easter, Remembrance Day, Canada Day, and Thanksgiving Days each year.   That still leaves 360 shopping days a year.  More than enough to get the salad dressing that you can’t be without.