Tuesday April 1, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 1:40 PM ADT
I have to admit something...
I’m jealous.
When I read yesterday on the net that The Eagles we’re coming to Moncton I was jealous. Then when I saw who was on the bill as the opening acts my jealousy increased about a million percent.
For a guy my age, it’s possibly an uncommon thing, but I love the music that came out of the 70’s.
When I read that thousands of people could have the opportunity to see The Eagles, John Fogerty, Sam Roberts and K.T. Tunstall, I have to say that they are lucky so see such great musical acts all in one night.
I have seen John Fogerty in Edmonton last summer and I enjoyed it immensely. Probably one of the best concerts I have ever attended. He played every song I wanted to hear (that’s a lot of songs by the way) and sounded great.
I also enjoyed the two Sam Roberts concerts I attended back in my days on the east coast. “We were Born In A Flame” & “Chemical City” are two of my favorite albums and the music sounds even better live.
My fiancé says that K.T. Tungstall is very good too.
I was at the Rolling Stones concert in Moncton a few years ago … and I had a blast. I’m sure everyone who will attend the Eagles show this summer will have a blast too.
Take it easy everyone ;)
Wednesday March 19, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 6:35 PM ADT
Last week, I talked about all the things that make the grass green on this side of the fence. But now I must discuss the reality of the many things that make this place not so great.
1) Cost of Living
In the midst of an economic boom last summer, I was in a little pickle of a situation. My rent was ridiculous. Now I know in places like Fort McMurray you can rent places like a Holiday Camper sitting in someone driveway or a basement apartment that only includes a couch and a bathroom for astronomical amount of money. I guess it is what it is, but my first experience living in an oil town was an expensive one but not to that extreme.
Housing can be very volatile as the price follows the up and downs of the economy.
I would also like to bust a myth that keeps going around. The price of fuel. If you live in Southern Alberta or Edmonton chances are you will see lower prices at the pump. Unfortunately, that statement doesn’t hold true for the entire province. Today at my local gas station the price of a liter of regular is 1,14.9$. Compare that to the 1,13.9 in Moncton or 1,19.7 in Halifax and the saving are very minimal.
If you want to look at day-to-day items, I would say they are mostly the same. If you factor our low 5% GST and 0% PST then most items are cheaper.
2) Staff Retention
From fast food restaurants to banks, every employer has the same problem: Keeping their employees. When you have multiple companies fighting for a small number of capable workers there are bound to be people that will jump from one job to another.
Unfortunately this problem is deeper than a few employees jumping from job A to B. Some restaurant owners don’t want to open new locations because they feel they can’t hire the staff to run them.
Therefore, if you want a burger at lunch, you will have to wait. If you want a coffee at 7 am you will have to wait. Some coffee shops drive-thru look more like parking lots and the line-ups inside are often at the door. Imagine Moncton, Halifax or Fredericton with only 3 coffee shops (I won’t tell you the name of this coffee shop, I think you can figure it out for yourselves). There would be madness in the streets I am sure of it.
The labor shortage is somewhat relaxed in the summer when most students are on summer holidays. But I feel very awkward being served by 12 or 13 yr old at a restaurant store or gas bar. Maybe it’s just me but I thought the only jobs acceptable for pre-teens were a paper delivery boy, babysitter maybe even lawn mower. I guess times have changed.
Personally, I see the effects of this problem at my place of employment. When I started working with my employer, our office was staffed with 12 employees. In a few months we fell down to 10, then 8 then 6. I can assure you, our office ran a lot better with 12 employees rather than 6 but that’s the reality of this market.
3) Services
With exploding populations, governments can’t keep up. Most streets are mediocre to poor condition. The main roads are clogged with traffic. There are other numerous issues as well but they are basically the same you would find anywhere else in Canada.
In the end, for me, I felt I had two choices. Stay on the east coast and continue to work at a dead-end job, living a life that I felt was going nowhere. Or, move to Alberta; get a career and my life in the right direction. So far, I'm happy with my decision.
Monday March 10, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 12:53 PM ADT
In this blog I thought I’d describe some of the things I enjoy about living in Alberta.
1) The Summer
I always hated those summer days in New Brunswick when the mercury reaches the 30s and the humidity made it feel like you were in a dryer full of wet towels. The few weeks of summer we do get here are very enjoyable. The dry air makes summer more comfortable and enjoyable.
Another enjoyable feature of the summer season (If you live in the northern areas of the province) are all the extra daylight hours. With the sun setting so late at night, one can play that extra round of golf or swim in the pool a little longer.
2) Big Events
Living on the East Coast we often don’t get to see all the big events such as concerts, live acts, ect. (Although things have been changing with the Rolling Stones, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill performing in Moncton the last few years). I’ve been to a lot of concerts since I’ve been here. Most notably the Eric Clapton and John Fogerty shows as well as the many Edmonton Oilers games during the winter. I always enjoy big events even though they are expensive. They are definitely exciting and the experiences are very memorable.
3) The Mountains
This one is very obvious. The views are breathtaking and the wildlife around this areas is amazing. I hear the skiing in this area isn’t too bad either.
4) Food
A farm fresh steak from an Albertan farm can’t be beat. I’ve also discovered perogies. Maybe they exist in the Maritimes. I certainly don’t know. I’ve never seen them in the grocery store but they are delicious. Now if only I could find a place in Alberta that can make good Acadian “Fricot”.
Next Blog: The Not so Great Things about Living Here.
Wednesday February 27, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 2:44 PM AST
After a long winter, spring is finally starting to appear. I know for you folks on the east coast it’s been a long snowy winter.
You have my deepest sympathies.
This winter in Alberta wasn’t all fun and games. A few weeks ago, We had to endure (again) minus forty weather. I think Sam Roberts said it best in his song "The Canadian Dream".
During this song the words ”Everything moves real slow when it's forty below” are stated over and over.
I was still living in New Brunswick when I first heard this song and didn’t really understand what theses words meant until I experience extreme cold weather for myself.
As I drove slowly to work that day (My car and everyone else’s only being able to go 85 km/h on the highway since our engines couldn’t handle the cold) I enjoyed the beautiful glow of the city lights through the ice fog.
Once I arrived in the city the traffic volume was significantly lower as some people chose to stay home rather than brave the ice-cold weather. A sidewalk that would normally be filled with pedestrians is virtually empty. Who could blame them?
I for one am welcoming the springtime weather. Unfortunately it's not summer yet.
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 11:41 AM AST
In Alberta we have a holiday that falls on the 3rd Monday of February. It’s called Family Day.
I’m sure you have heard of it before, either on the news or maybe on television. The first time I found out that we had this little break in the middle of winter I asked myself …
Why would we need a special day to spend time with our families?
I mean, aren’t we supposed to be spending time with our families as much as we can throughout the year?
I feel this holiday has the same type of aura as St. Valentine’s Day. Most people don’t need a special day to tell their significant other how they feel about each other.
But it’s defiantly nice to get a nice card, some chocolates, a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant and maybe a movie to top it all off.
As I drove around town yesterday, the downtown and industrial areas seemed like a ghost town, the parking lot at the city park was overflowing and the movie theater seemed quite busy.
It looks like most families took advantage of this extra day off to spend time with their loved ones.
How I spent my Family Day?
I went to the movies with my beautiful fiancé. Afterwards we had a nice pasta supper and we took advantage of the lovely weather to take a walk in our neighborhood (Something we have been itching to do but couldn’t because of the very cold weather we have been getting lately).
Do I need a special day to spend time with my loved ones?
No. But it's well appreciated. :)
Friday February 15, 2008
Luc LeBlanc - 7:34 PM AST
To truly understand how I got to Alberta, I must go back a few years to 2002. I was recent graduate of CCNB – Bathurst in the field of Environmental Technology. I had a college diploma, ambitions and dreams.
Like most post-graduate students I headed into the adult world with the dreams of finding a good job, getting my own place, buying that new shiny car and living basically the same life as everyone else.
The first step to achieving theses dreams was to find a job. I started by responding to ads in the newspaper, applying online and knocking on doors to any position I thought I was qualified. Some places didn’t have openings, some didn’t respond to my application or my phone calls but a few did respond and offered me a job interview.
Excited to finally get my shot, I did everything I could to get that job. I got my best suit dry cleaned, my shoes shined and I even bought the best kind of deodorant to make everything as close to perfect as can be.
Off I went to my job interviews. Some were in Moncton, one in Summerside but most were in Fredericton. After all theses interviews I got the same feedback: You have everything were looking for BUT you don’t have experience. How was I supposed to get experience if I didn’t get a job? I guess I was caught in a catch 22 situation.
So I took the best job I could find in Moncton, working on a production line saving all my paychecks to return to school.
A year later, I returned to school at NBCC – Moncton in the wonderful field of Geographic Information Systems. This time it would be different, this time I would not fail to get a job, I would take any job offered to me to ensure that I could fulfill my hopes and dreams.
During my course I was hired by an Alberta company looking for workers. A few months later, after 3 years of college, months of searching, a 9 hr flight and more than 3500 kilometers traveled I finally arrived in Alberta.
Almost 2 years later and I am still here but not without going through a lot of ups and downs.
This blog will be my little way of sharing with you the reader all the pros and cons of living in Alberta. From sky-high rental prices to –44 degrees temperature. From the West Edmonton mall to Rexall Place and everywhere else my travels might take me in Alberta. I look forward to sharing my experiences of this province though the eyes New Brunswicker and a young adult.
