[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio while the boy plays with blocks ]
So I recently changed my Facebook Profile Picture to this:

And I am wondering if I should change my profile pic here.

Thoughts?

(Of course I would have to make it smaller.)

[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Enjoying the boy’s naptime ]
Just a quick update to let you know that I got all the pieces that I wanted that went to auction. The Husband Unit was successful. My next step is to head to the Art Show to pick-up my bounty.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Watching Whatever is on TV ]
Well today has been a blur of panels. All four of my panels were today, so I have been tooing and froing all over the place. One of the problems of this hotel, and why I don’t think we will be back once the Double Tree is up and running is how much we are spread out and how hard it can be to find certain rooms.

Excellent example, I wanted to attend a panel that was in the squash court. Yup. The squash court. And it was in another building. I could have taken the tunnel, but that would have taken ten minutes. Luckily I ran into someone who pointed us to the shortcut across the parking lot.

Panels today were interesting:

1) Flashpoint – where we talked about this great Canadian show on CBS. We loved the fact that when Jules and Sam realized that they could not have a relationship unless one of them quit the team, Jules challenged Sam to quit as she had seniority. Yes – finally! A strong, career minded woman who doesn’t give it all up because of a man.

2) The Mentalist – I got to be the moderator. I mentioned Joe’s comment about Manimal Handsome. We thought the show had a good premise, but it was flawed as we get very little character development.

3) I Loved That As a Kid! – We talked about how books we loved as a kid, that might not be loved by kids today. We ranged far and wide.

4) It May Be Too Dark For You, But Your Kids Like It! – About the dark turn that children’s fiction has taken in the last few years. We tossed out titles like mad.

Art show wise, two pieces I wanted went to auction, so Husband Unit is off bidding on them. This year it only takes three bids to go to auction. In previous years in has been five, but last year, only three things went to auction, making a very boring art auction. Hence the change.

I also got two necklaces before the cut-off, but I was also bidding on another necklace, but I didn’t know if I got it. We will see tomorrow when I pick up my art.

Now off to bed with a book.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Castle ]
So the Husband Unit, the Boy and a close friend, the Artisan, headed out to our anual Geek Trek.

The trip was long due to us leaving about 2.5 hours late. Totally a result from having a small child who is old enough to get into trouble, but small enough to not help. So instead of getting her at about 2 or 3, we arrived at 5:30 pm.

Then came the registation, the unpacking, the finding and eating of dinner. In between I made it to the dealer’s room for photos and a quick visit to the art show to see a dear friend, Heather Bruton. Husband Unit and the Artisan are off at Larry Stewart Live, while I babysit the Boy, who is asleep in the travel playyard, leaving me time to write this all down.

Polaris has moved to a new venue in Toronto. The old hotel is undergoing massive renovations, and would not be able to accomodate all that this convention is. So this year, we are in Richmond Hill at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel. And boy are they happy to see us.

No, really! The staff are all wearing "Sheraton Parkway Welcomes Polaris" ribbons. They have a greeter directing people to the free non-alcoholic punch. The hotel staff know where con-related things are and are helping you find them. They also know that Con guests get special perks and make sure you know them.

Wow.

The other hotel was polite, but that was about it. we befriended the staff and that helped, but they could care less about us.

On the other hand, this hotel is older, and smaller than the previous venue. The dealer’s room is half the size (at least) and there are very narrow aisles between tables. The spill over is in the hallway and is going to make moving difficult with a stroller tomorrow. I can’t imagine wheelchairs in that insanity.

Still, this hotel is near a whack of good places to eat, so dinner won’t be hard to find.

We will be juggling childcare again as my mother has had to cancel at the last minute due to her work. It will mean less convention time for us, but we will cope.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding My Son ]

233 years – looking good!

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Listening to My neighbours sing “Roxanne” ]
142 years young!

[  Mood: Sick ]
[  Currently: Watching My son play with my mother ]
Alan Rock, the president of the University of Ottawa was on the CBC yesterday discussing a new program that will offer free tuition to the children of Canadian military personnel killed in the line of duty.

I love this idea. My husband and I have already started drafting a letter to our alma mater, Carleton University, asking them to participate in this program.

But why stop there? I think all post-secondary institutions should do this. Colleges, Universities, Apprenticeship programs. If your parent was in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice, you should get a free pass to post-secondary. You’ve already given up enough.

We ask the men and women of the Canadian military to do superhuman things on a regular basis, and they do it. They have jumped out of planes into raging blizzards to save us. We have sent them around the world to fight for us. They are routinely asked to sacrifice time with their families in order to save the day. And they do so willingly and with pride. So when one of them pays the price of this with their lives, we owe them and their families.

This measure is the least we can do.

In fact, I think this program should be extended to the children of police, fire and ambulance workers who are killed in the line of duty. Again, for the reasons above.

But small steps first. Get my alma mater on board, then the rest of the institutions in Ottawa, then Ontario, then Canada.

Who’s with me?