ordinarily I’d be just coming out of the office right now. This morning Anne went to Mac D’s and got us that breakfast sandwich. When she came home, what a disappointment. Just a sausage patty between two matching size pancakes no egg/cheese, nothing, really lame. It took me all of 5 bites to complete. Must be because of all those Mexican workers MacDonald’s have been acquiring lately to fill worker shortage positions here in Alberta.

Over the last number of years there has been a worker shortage here in Alberta. Even in our own office we’re lucky if we can have our section filled little alone the other 10 station that have been more or less vacant since we came to the new office and even in the old office we seldom have ever had it full. Not that I’m complaining mind you. Means more work for me. The only concern I have is what if this is just a back door immigration gateway for Mexicans wanting to leave Canada for the US as soon as they get their first taste of winter here? Why employees don’t want to work at MacDonald’s? For the same reason they don’t want to work for my company: We start new employees off at $8/hr. When a studio suite starts at $500/month, 1 bedroom $650.month, 2 bedroom $750.month, 3 bedroom $900.month, well it’s not hard to see why. Apartment building owners can raise the rent 2 times/year. There are no rent controls. Also, I’m wondering what kind of perks at the expense of current workers at MacDonald’s are these foreign workers getting? The “trouble” with the Alberta economy because it is based on Oil is we have up years like now and down turns. In other words we are a boom-to-bust economy. We here in Alberta are not immune to economic recession. Since I’ve been here over the last 29 years, we’ve been through 2 of these recessions. One I’ve weathered through was in the early 1980’s. I was lucky to get my old job back at the Army & Navy Dept Store, which lasted 7 years. The last recession was in the early 1990‘s and I was able to barely come out of that one “alive”. I have a feeling we here in Alberta will be in for another economic recession within the next 3-5 years. It’s not a matter of how but when. I’d say maybe 2010 or 2011 the bottom of this growth cycle will fall out. This recession will be politically motivated as well. The one in 1980 was an imposed economic recession brought about by then PM Perrier Trudeau. He imposed the National Energy Program, which sank our economy in a recession that took years for Alberta to climb back out of and even then it was temporary. Then here in Edmonton we had an NDP (anti business/far left) Mayor, which didn’t help matters much. She lasted one term, thank God. The current economy really got underway in about 1997 and has been going strong for the last ten years, keeps fingers crossed.

On another topic Anne got some advice from someone that befriended her about accommodations. An apartment complex that has half subsidized accommodations and half non-subsidized accommodations and they allow pets. It’s in this area, well sort of still NE but Anne is going to look into it for us. If we can get “in” (yeah like wait in line.) then maybe we can get a nice 2 bedroom for about $600/month. She’s going to look into it when she has 2 days off next week. Of we can get our rent subsidize and keep our pets, get the big screen TV, then fine. I’d be a happy camper.

So, tonight, there’s the Oiler hosting Nashville hockey game at Rexall place. Can the Oilers win another one at home? It would a nice way to end the Oilers dismal season for the fans at the Rex since this is their last home game of the season tonight. Sigh, no Oiler playoff hockey. I hope the Av’s get can kick out Calgary of the last playoff spot  But since the Oilers are not in the playoff’s, I’ll be rooting for the Vancouver Canucks my old team. When I first moved to Alberta 1976-77 the Oilers and the Calgary Flames were not in the NHL. Even the Colorado Avalanche (formally the Quebec Nordiques) weren’t here. I rooted for the Canucks then and I will again this year. But next year if the Oilers can rebuild in the off-season, they could become a Stanley Cup contender again. With about 8 games remaining in this regular season even the Stanley Cop Champs, Carolina Hurricanes could be knocked out of this years playoff race, Anyway, we shall see. Another win here for the last Oiler home game would be great for the fans and the Oilers themselves. Then they go on a 6 game road trip, which ends in Calgary.

I’ve been reading J Allen Irwin’s blog as part of my regular daily blog rolls and now that he’s a publisher he’s been expressing his frustrations as an editor and publisher and the headaches he and others of his craft go through. I find it totally amazing that writers submitting work to him can’t follow simple guidelines. ‘Come on kids, they aren’t that hard’ and when the guidelines say science fiction don’t send him horror. I mean how hard is that? Yeesh. Sorry J, what you don’t go through for the love of what you do. Anyway, check out J’s blog. I highly recommend it see his books on the right sidebar we don’t always agree on issues but he’s a pretty nice guy. I’m trying to get his latest book. His blog is here.

e. Jim