State of the diary address…

Since I just renewed the diary, I felt an address to where I want to go with this diary this year was in order. I feel excited and ready to write more now that I have made a solid commitment to the site and this journal. As I will point out, this year will provide me with a lot to write about and post as I have plans and things I intend to do with my new job and new location. With new things will come new experiences which I plan to post here in my online diary.

Now that I’m living in Hamilton, there are a lot of things I plan to do and see with my family. With some large parks and museums within reach, I plan to spend a lot of quality time with my boys and do educational things with them rather than just plop them in front of the television. I don’t mind the tube myself, but this summer I intend to make plans to use at least one day off per week to go out and do something different with the boys. With my brothers here to help out, that goal will be easier to attain. I also have two weeks worth of vacation time to use, so some of that will be spend taking the kids somewhere just for the hell of it. Time with their grandparents will be easier to do as well now that they are only a drive away as opposed to a flight or two away. While taking the kids out and doing fun and educational things are cool, one thing I do promise for them this year is more access and time with my family. It will also be easier to do stuff like that when it gets warmer too…

Not only will time with the kids be important, but so will time with Leah. My wife and I have been working hard to support this family, and in the process we have made little time for each other and for that our marriage has suffered a little bit. We need to make more time not only for the kids, but for just the two of us. It was one reason why I made concert tickets one of her Valentine’s Day gifts. It wasn’t just a sign of affection, but a promise to make more time to do things together. With summer coming, I plan to take her to shows that she likely never would have seen on the island to make the move as much fun as possible. Her first Major League Baseball game will be interesting as well… as I plan to take her to the Dome to experience the game in person. Yet I do realize and acknowledge that we don’t have to spend money or to go big events to hang out and have fun. When the weather improves, I would love to do the simple things like go to a fine art museum and take her to the park to read books and have a picnic.

Like I said above, now that we live in Hamilton I’ve been able to spend more time with my brothers. I’ve been away from them for the majority of eleven years and I have a lot of catching up to do and it will be cool to be here this year for their birthdays as I’ve made plans to do something nice this time now that I am here and have more means to do so. Good times will no doubt be the result.

Not only do I plan to do more for family this year, I still plan to be active with other things as well. One thing I’m still working on is the novel. Started in November for the ‘National Novel Writing Month’ thing, I recently finished Chapter 37 and am now in the 230 page range. Sometime in the next month or so, I plan to write up the thrilling conclusion to this book and seek a publisher in the spring. This will be the biggest professional goal of the year. I’m hoping that this will lead to me never having to clock in at a call center or do real work again. Dare to dream…

I also plan to do more than talk politics but become active in them as well. This might be an election year, and I’ve not only picked a party to support but have mailed in a membership to participate in party events and help promote our cause. I plan to support through volunteer work and partake in rallies, etc. As a soon to be official member of the NDP party, I plan to get involved and actually help promote the party in the coming election and get people to go out and vote out the current party in minority power. Politically this should be an interesting year, especially if Harper calls a premature election.

I also plan to do work for charity again this year. Not only will I have a better chance to participate in real events here in the city, but I also plan to write my third Blogathon. With more vacation time to use to book the event off, and with my brother and Leah here to help with the kids… this year’s will be ten times easier to accomplish and raise money for this year’s charity. I’ve also found a great charity to write for as well: the Greyhound Protection League. This amazing organization dedicated to protecting greyhounds from the exploitation and abuses inherent in the greyhound racing industry. Through education and continued media exposure, the public perception of greyhound racing has be altered from that of a harmless spectator activity to its brutal reality – a blood sport responsible for immense animal suffering and the routine killing of thousands of young, healthy dogs each year. I’ve always had a spot in my heart for animals, so that makes this is a great organization to write for this year. My goal is to raise over $500 for this chairty via the Blogathon. Should be an exciting day of writing, and I will let people know when the event is and when donations start. Chances are this event will be in either late July or early August.

So as you can see, I’ve got big plans not on for 2007 but for this diary as well. I want to document all of what happens here and hope you’ll be here with me to read along and share that experience. As I bring this address to a close, I want to thank those who have been here with me for the last several years and plan to hang around and note and comment in the years to come. I thank you for your contributions as well as your inspiration to help me stay here and keep writing. You truly are the best thing about this diary and it wouldn’t be the same without everyone here to share it with. Thanks again and I’ll be back later today to post again and leave lots of notes. Until then, take care.

Peter