It's May!

I can't believe it snowed on May 1. That's just depressing.

So, I was off for the end of last week to go home, recuperate, and move my fiance to Ontario. I spent my time off packing up my apartment frantically, and didn't get as much work done as I had hoped. So, it was a long, hard start to the week this week, but the paper made it out AND I can breathe through my nose. Things are looking up.

I've already been to Canso twice this week, both on Monday.The first was for the end of the Reading Circle, and the second was for the ever-lively council. Council passed it's code of ethics, so it was actually more quiet than usual, with nothing really controversial on the agenda. They have a meeting Monday with Seafreez, which is pretty exciting, and the light-bulb campaign is starting, but otherwise, things in the Town of Canso are pretty much the status quo. At this rate, Guysborough is going to move up a notch for controversy, as I expect both the civic centre and the Lincolnville demands to return next week.

I feel like I'm starting to get a handle on some of the issues in the county, but I'm still out of the loop on so many things. I feel like being new, and not from here, puts me at a huge disadvantage. And, because of the regular turnover at the Journal, our coverage of some things has been spotty at times, combined with a system of archiving stories based on the reporter's whims for saving documents at the time (i.e. I have named two stories fisherman).

I feel like I'm constantly chasing things down, only to find out they're old, and missing other things because I would have never expected them to be important. As Mayor White told me the other night, coming into Guysborough County is kind of like moving in mid-way through a soap opera--there are a lot of confusing sub-plots, spinoffs, and back stories that a newcomer can't possibly grasp. You can get the gist, but never the whole story unless you've been following for a while.

Also, my interests are pretty different from the main audience, so sometimes I feel like I might miss things. The bulk of the population is considerably older, and sometimes our interests differ. I try, really hard, to catch news on everything I think will interest people, but I haven't been following the Continuing Care Strategy/health/seniors issues beat for very long.

I guess I've just been spending a lot of time feeling like I'm floundering. I get cryptic hints that I can't figure out (PS--If anyone knows what 'Watch if Fletcher buys that building" means, please let me know, and I will be eternally in your debt), and there's a lack of background information available about issues that have been going on for years. Back with the CBC, I could just go to the archives and get more information than I ever could need, while here, I need to talk to three or four people with different stories and memories and try to figure out which is the most reliable.

In addition, I'm feeling quite lonely, with council meetings being the closest thing to a social life. My friends are in Halifax, Toronto, and Calgary, my fiance is in Ontario searching for a job, and I'm working my butt off and still feeling behind in Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

Luckily, the next few days are kind of quiet meetings-wise, so while it does mean I have to work harder to find news stories, it also means that I'll have an evening or two to myself for a change. This whole working all day, all night, and over the weekends thing is getting exhausting. But, for now, my weekend is free and clear. I think I'm going to sleep.