Closing in…
Greetings, gentle readers.
So, let’s get the title explanation out of the way first, before the more… interesting (I hope) things.
The contractors were here on Friday while I was at work. The carpet is back down in the bedroom and the closet doors are rehung. Even the bed was put back into place.
The only thing remaining is the chimney pipe extension on the new roof, and the contractor has decided he wants his plumber to do that, since he knows more about it than anyone else. It makes sense, but because of that I cannot yet say that we are actually done. Close, but not quite.
And of course there are still a bunch of paint touchups that need to get done as well, but those are my tasks.
As you can see, there was progress, and I am almost done talking about the major work on the house. At that point I will obviously have nothing else to say and this blog will shut down.
Sorry. No. Or at least, I hope not. I can probably find other things to complai… er… write about.
I worked on Friday, and I really enjoyed it. I even got to teach. For an hour I talked with the advanced sculpture students about sanding and finishing their pieces, answering questions, and generally having a great time. It went really well, and oh man, I really miss teaching. I know those days are over, but I really miss it.
Anyway, I will be back on campus, monitoring the Fine Arts Shop next Friday and three days of the following week, including that Friday as well. So there will be a grand total of four Fridays that I am stretched for time to write these posts. Expect late posts for two more weeks as a result.
While working, I saw this locker. It was painted this way when I started classes at the college back in 2017, and it’s still the same:
There is something about that. I actually love it, despite the dark message.
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Next up, while walking through the neighbourhood in the morning this past week, I saw this on the side of a pickup truck:
Who thought that was a good name for a company? Really? I just cannot believe no one suggested they might need a different name.
And finally, while putting ridiculously expensive gas (thanks to an unwinnable elective war that no one needed) into the car a couple of days ago I saw this on the station door:
That probably looks totally innocuous to my American readers, but I have a story to go with it.
Back when I was in classes and took a summer special projects class in which groups of students were designing things to reduce heat in parts of the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, I mocked up a shade structure in a drawing program and, just for kicks, added the Canadian flag on the overhead screen that cast the shade.
When I showed it to my instructor, he laughed (knowing full well that I was an American) and said, “We don’t do that here.” He meant that Canadians didn’t display the flag or generally engage in outward displays of patriotism. And that was true at the time. Even after the worst president in the history of the USA won his first election and started causing chaos.
But after his second win and the stupid “51st” state rhetoric, combined with his tariff insanity, things changed up here. Flags went up all over the country, and signs like the one above became common. And they aren’t going away.
I suspect Trump wanted to change the relationship between Canada and the USA, but I doubt he had any idea of what he was doing. He changed it, all right, but not in a way that is useful to him.
Looking around up here, Canada is just plain done with the USA. Yes, we’re grafted to the country, and we have one-tenth of their population, but I don’t think things will ever go back to the previous “normal” in terms of the US / Canada relationship. Or trade. Canadians are buying a lot less American exports these days, and they are always looking for alternatives, even if they cost a bit more. Travel to the USA is way down, and it’s staying that way. Canadian businesses are looking to trade with almost anyone else in addition to (or instead of) the USA, and I do not think that is going to change. A diverse customer base is now understood to be important, as is domestic production and sourcing of key products and services.
I don’t have direct observations from any other countries, but I suspect the rest of the world is reacting in much the same way.
It’s sad, but the USA has lost a lot of power and prestige — particularly in the last couple of years — and I don’t see it returning. The era of American exceptionalism looks to be over, and the person most responsible was probably trying to do the exact opposite. Go figure.
All that from seeing a sign on a gas station door. Sorry.
Anyway, that’s the view from north of the 49th parallel, as we wind up our home renovation and hunker down for what appears to be a very warm winter on the way. Take care.
