Your correspondent did not get elected. In fact, your correspondent got fewer votes than the guy who withdrew.
Am I surprised? No. Am I depressed? Even less. I had to make a decision in September whether to run for Council or leave town, and I really wasn't sure I wanted to commit to three more years here. Since I had no money to get moving, running for Council didn't really delay me, and allowed me to confirm what's been obvious for a long time: this town has no use for me.
Consider the following: I haven't had a real job here since 2007 (and I took most of my former employers to Labour and won and I don't regret it for a moment, but the odds of ever getting a job here are grim); I haven't had a real relationship here, ever; the people I've called "friends" either didn't know me when I needed them, or are little more than acquaitances (I've been to exactly SIX people's houses in the 8.5 years I've lived here); there was no one to call when I was assaulted at work in 2008, or when I went to testify at the guy's trial, or when I went home from the vote count last night; there are no arts, music, dance, theater or sports at a challenging level to get involved in; the churches are horribly uninspiring; all the once-beautiful natural places are being ruined by drunks, ATVs and the Town's inept management of green spaces; and adding insult to injury, Canada Post consistently loses my Economist.
So, I needed to leave. I guess I just needed to exhaust all options for staying here. But three years on Council was probably one of the worst choices I could have made, and it's just as well the voters rejected that option. Now I just need to save some money, make a plan, and away I go. Probably as soon as there is a warm spell after tax refunds.
Then I get up the first morning after the lost election, and there is new grass sprouting in my garden. Life stops for nothing. Neither do I. So long, Hay River, and thanks for all the fish!
Am I surprised? No. Am I depressed? Even less. I had to make a decision in September whether to run for Council or leave town, and I really wasn't sure I wanted to commit to three more years here. Since I had no money to get moving, running for Council didn't really delay me, and allowed me to confirm what's been obvious for a long time: this town has no use for me.
Consider the following: I haven't had a real job here since 2007 (and I took most of my former employers to Labour and won and I don't regret it for a moment, but the odds of ever getting a job here are grim); I haven't had a real relationship here, ever; the people I've called "friends" either didn't know me when I needed them, or are little more than acquaitances (I've been to exactly SIX people's houses in the 8.5 years I've lived here); there was no one to call when I was assaulted at work in 2008, or when I went to testify at the guy's trial, or when I went home from the vote count last night; there are no arts, music, dance, theater or sports at a challenging level to get involved in; the churches are horribly uninspiring; all the once-beautiful natural places are being ruined by drunks, ATVs and the Town's inept management of green spaces; and adding insult to injury, Canada Post consistently loses my Economist.
So, I needed to leave. I guess I just needed to exhaust all options for staying here. But three years on Council was probably one of the worst choices I could have made, and it's just as well the voters rejected that option. Now I just need to save some money, make a plan, and away I go. Probably as soon as there is a warm spell after tax refunds.
Then I get up the first morning after the lost election, and there is new grass sprouting in my garden. Life stops for nothing. Neither do I. So long, Hay River, and thanks for all the fish!
2 comments:
Change is good.
Meh. It's costly and stressful and I was really looking forward to spending many comfortable years in my comfortable apartment. You can't always get what you want, that's all.
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