Another list

Most of the reason that I haven't been posting has been due to lack of Internet (my favourite part of what is quickly becoming an epic is that the Internet service provider who has failed to hook up my Internet for the past two months still tried to send me a bill for the month of July).

However, I've also been on vacation, which has started me thinking about the following.

Now that I have a “big girl” job and I actually get vacation, I’ve started compiling a list of places I want to go. Despite the fact that it’s my list, even I’ll admit it doesn’t seem that exciting. I will say this though – I love road trips, and a lot of these places, given the time and right opportunity and possibly the right people, could turn into road trips instead of flight plans.

Ontario - I have family there, and though I was back there just a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t been back for 10 years before that. And it’s hard to beat laying by a pool with a book.

Montreal and Quebec City and the Maritimes (not necessarily all the same trip) - the furthest east in Canada that I’ve been previously is Hull, Que., though I’ve been further east in the States.

The North - I spent four months reading the weekly papers from the three territories as part of an internship, and I find it fascinating that it’s a completely different culture. I’ve been considering even taking a position for a year at a northern newspaper, but we’ll see.

New Orleans - there’s so many reasons for New Orleans. But if I had to pick just one reason, I’d say the jazz history.

Dallas, Lubbock and Clovis - I have family in Dallas, Buddy Holly is buried in Lubbock and he recorded the majority of his songs in Clovis, New Mexico, which is about an hour drive straight west from Lubbock. The time difference makes it so that when the group was recording, they'd try and get to the studio before they'd left. Now, I think there are these things called speed limits.
Follow-up trip: Clear Lake, Iowa - it’s where Holly died, and while there’s not much there – I’m not sure if the farmer still lets people into his cornfield where they crashed; the ballroom where their last concert was is still standing – I still have to be able to say I’ve been.

Greece - I know they’ve got problems, but it looks so gorgeous!

New York - because it’s New York

San Francisco - because it's San Francisco

(edit, Aug. 7) Coquihalla Highway and Seattle - my childhood summers were spent driving around the country in a pickup truck and tent trailer, and later a fifth-wheel trailer. Except this highway is too steep to haul anything on, so we've never done the Coquihalla. And on my way out to the coast, I'd have to stop at the Enchanted Forest. ;)

And finally (keep in mind this is an evolving list, so more can and probably will be added):
Fort McMurray.

The problem is, I’m not interested in Fort McMurray the townsite. I’m interested in the oilsands surrounding Fort McMurray.
Even though I was born and raised in Alberta, and in Calgary, essentially the headquarters of nearly all the major oil firms, I never really cared about oil until I was an intern with Natural Resources Canada. I realize what an ignorant statement that is – not caring about oil, even though it has everything to do with my everyday life – well, I know that now. (Side note: Normally, I don't think I have much of an opinion. However, when faced with writing an editorial on a topic of my choice when I returned to school, I'm pretty happy with the way my piece on how oil affects our lives turned out.)

Natural Resources Canada essentially has three branches: forestry, oilsands (formerly coal research) and mining and minerals (the Geological Survey of Canada).

I did hardly anything with mining and minerals, and did a little bit of work with forestry, though I had just started a major forestry project when my internship ended. Most of the communications work I did was with the oilsands.

I know I’m a communications major, and yes, math is usually beyond me (I was strangely good at logs and algebra though), but I love science. And the science behind the oilsands, especially the tailings ponds, fascinates me.

So I want to go up there and see what all this fuss is about. I narrowly missed out on a trip hosted by U of A through Mount Royal during my last semester of university, but it was interesting interviewing the people who came back. Sure, I've seen the pictures, but I want to see it for myself. And while I said I'm not interested in Fort Mac the townsite, the social problems from having a ghost population is certainly interesting.