Fighting the good fight

Well, I think I may have finally recovered from the election. On Sunday, I was pretty much out knocking on doors all day, with a brief break when there was a brief rah-rah session when Jack Layton dropped by Bloor Street. It was an interesting day of canvassing, since I was in an apartment building where I'd guess about half of the people I talked to couldn't vote, because they weren't yet citizens. It really gives you a huge appreciation of how mutlicultural this city is, when you speak to people of all different colours and cultures, all in one 20 storey apartment building at Bloor and Dovercourt.

Monday, I spend a couple of hours as an indoor scrutineer for Olivia, followed by many hours of outside scrutineering for Gord. I'd never done either of those things before.... basically, inside scrutineers hang out at the polling station and keep track of who votes, and make sure everything's done fairly (like, trying to ensure the Liberals at least pretend like they have respect for the democratic process... because, wow, did I ever hear some stories!) Outside scrutineers check with the inside ones to see who voted already, then go out and knock on doors of people who said they were supporters, but who haven't voted yet - and beg them to pleeease get out and vote!

So, after many hours of canvassing, hanging out with a great candidate with a grasp on the issues, who could actually make a real difference in how the country is run, talking to hundreds of people who were supporting us, and totally believing that yes! this is really happening! feeling that people are really coming around... these disparate people, from wildly different backgrounds, are coming to believe that progressive change is needed, to clean up the environment! to bridge the gap between rich and poor! to really make the country a better place to live!

And then the results come in for Davenport... and they're exactly the same as last time... and I realize that I've made no change at all, along with hundreds of others who helped out that day, and the status quo remains.

I went to the party at Lula Lounge, and in my exhaustion felt totally miserable. A feeling I have yet to entirely shake. That's what I get for being so damned optimistic sometimes.

But, on the bright side, Olivia won... finally! Ah, how I miss my old neighbourhood sometimes.
And I met some pretty cool people over the course of the campaign, and I'm totally thankful for the experience.

After canvassing at that apartment building at Bloor and Dovercourt, where so many people weren't yet citizens, I felt like I was working towards the next election. I guess maybe I was. Along with all the other NDP supporters, who are made up largely of 20-30 somethings, maybe sometime soon we can push those Liberal and Conservative dinosaurs out of the way... if only they weren't so damned heavy!

If you hadn't noticed, there's an election on...

and people put absurd, colourful signs on their front lawns. And other people try hard to ignore these obvious signs, and pretend that it all doesn't matter. But I sorta think it does matter, at least a little. That's why I've been spending much of my time volunteering for the ndp lately. Last election was the first time I ever did such a thing, calling people on behalf of Olivia Chow, and hoping not to be yelled at. This time, I'm going door to door... I've gone out a couple of times for Olivia, and yesterday went out with my own candidate, now that I live on the other side of Ossington, Gord Perks. Most of the canvassing I've done for Olivia was tiring, but yesterday was actually pretty fun. I talked to Gord a bit, who's a very down to earth, intelligent guy. I especially enjoy talking to people who are considering voting Green, and going on enviro-rants. Or the people who aren't sure if they'll vote at all... even if I don't convince them to vote for the good guys, I feel like I'm doing something positive by getting them out to vote at all.

So, yeah, get out and vote... you have one week to tell Martin and Harper to fuck off.

(On a side-note, I asked Gord where he went to school, thinking he had an M.A. or PhD in Environmental Studies or something... apparently he's pretty much entirley self-taught. Even though he teaches a class at U of T. Which makes me think twice about the M.A. in environmental studies that I've been contemplating lately.)

For your amusement, here's some election related links:

Paul Wells

Babble (the Rabble message board election thread)

PM Forever - a turn-based game that allows you to run a campaign. Hurry though, because it apparently stops working after the election.

Felix 1990(?) - 2005

Amongst the events of December, the most significant and sad was the death of my cat, Felix. Those who knew him throughout his life might be familiar with him as an aloof, rambunctious kitten, or in his later years as a sometimes ornery but increasingly affectionate cat. He went through alot in his 15 years... going from an indoor to an outdoor cat... moving from my dad's to my place... living with a dog... but I'm glad to say that I was with him throughout it all. There will never be another cat quite like him, and I miss him.

Here's a pic of Felix and I from a couple of years ago.

Have I told you recently to come to my DJ night?

Well, get your ass down there. Tonight, or next Sunday, and every other sunday after that. It's a new year people... spend it with fascinating people and rejuvinating music. Make new friends. Drink cheap pitchers of beer. There's a projection TV with a dvd player there now, which I'm starting to use to put cool movies on in the background. I plan to have asian films playing over the next month... give your senses a feast of sight and sound! Join us!