Calgary to Edmonton
Calgary just passed the 1,000,000 people mark (or did it just dip back to 999,999 when I departed!). That's a major milestone for a city that's flooded with corporate $$ and destined to, some say, become the next Toronto. Prior to my departure, the front page of the Calgary Herald had a picture of a bouncing baby boy '#1 million' with a beaming mum n dad. If Western Canada continues its trend of increasing affluence then that kid's got a bright future ahead. It's predicted that this particular oil boom will continue for a long time to come.
What's unique about the Albertan oilfields (or 'Oil Sands' as they are known) is that the oil is mixed up with grit so it has to be extracted through some technical process. It's not just a matter of pumping it out of the ground, jumping up in the air and yelling a great big Texan 'yee haa'. As the world's primary oil fields start to dry up and the price of oil rises, the world's eyes turn to Canada to supply much needed energy. With India and China consuming monstrous amounts of fossil fuels as they gallop head, scarce oil reserves will be horded. Dubya will no doubt be getting his greedy mitts on some top grade Albertan oil. I heard something about a possible pipeline being constructed to pump the extracted oil all the way down to the US.
The economy is overheating and while young '#1-million kid' may be set to cruise through life, a strange paradox is occurring in the here & now for many others, many in my age bracket i.e. the thousands of workers flooding into Alberta who can't find a place to live and who's quality of life outright sux. If I chose to work up in the oilfields after my stint in Edmonton I'll probably be earning a tidy wage but working long hours and paying a fortune for rent and food, if I can find a place to live at all. At least I don't have a family to worry about. I've heard terrible stories about the homeless and seen it with my own eyes on the streets of Calgary. I'm not an economist so I'd really like to know why the housing developers couldn’t seem to build affordable accommodation. Is it just greed? I'm meeting shortly with a relative who is a member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly. I can't wait to here an educated insider's view of this mess.
So I departed Calgary last week with my cousin, headed for the city of Edmonton to the north. We diverted off the main road to the small town of Stettler where she works part of each week in a small law firm. Perhaps someone will make a lawyer out of me yet 'cause it looks like it's in the genes! My cousin is quite impressive - an Oxford Rhodes scholar and former law professor. We've realised that we're almost complete opposites and that what I loathed in my past jobs she would love and vice-versa. She's the linear/concrete-thinking left-brained lawyer to my intuitive/abstract thinking, right-brained 'anti-lawyer'. She's found she doesn't like the small-firm lifestyle, dealing with unpredictable people off the street but that's what I'd like to get my hands dirty doing. The managing partner of the small firm offered me a job on the spot so if I do a few exams and qualify to practice in Alberta, this could be a good launching pad for my future. Gotta think about it.
I'm working this month at the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. I'm just in the box office selling tickets (I'm going to miss the moving around outdoors. The Stampede turned my soft little public service body into a lean shock of gristle). Because the Fringe is a non-profit organisation I get paid next to nothing so this month will be tight. I could easily get a second job but to be honest I could use a break after the last month n 1/2. The bonus is that I get to see as many shows as I want for free and with over 100 theatre companies represented it'll be a blast. It'll be a whole different environment to the Calgary Stampede.
I'm already feeling more at home here in Edmonton. Calgary is a hectic city where the status quo is 4WD-driving corporate types. Not much by way of culture. There's not as much money in Edmonton and it just seems a bit more downbeat and 'real'. There's the university of Alberta, a vibrant music scene and of course the Fringe shows that theatre has a strong input into local culture as well.
This'll be a fun month. I'm staying at a hostel right next to trendy Whyte Ave. Should meet a bunch of people. I'll have no transport costs and my entertainment will be Fringe, Fringe and more Fringe. George Orwell and Bertrand Russell have been taunting me from my backpack of late so now I'm going to pull out the hefty tomes I've been lugging and get readin'! MG
What's unique about the Albertan oilfields (or 'Oil Sands' as they are known) is that the oil is mixed up with grit so it has to be extracted through some technical process. It's not just a matter of pumping it out of the ground, jumping up in the air and yelling a great big Texan 'yee haa'. As the world's primary oil fields start to dry up and the price of oil rises, the world's eyes turn to Canada to supply much needed energy. With India and China consuming monstrous amounts of fossil fuels as they gallop head, scarce oil reserves will be horded. Dubya will no doubt be getting his greedy mitts on some top grade Albertan oil. I heard something about a possible pipeline being constructed to pump the extracted oil all the way down to the US.
The economy is overheating and while young '#1-million kid' may be set to cruise through life, a strange paradox is occurring in the here & now for many others, many in my age bracket i.e. the thousands of workers flooding into Alberta who can't find a place to live and who's quality of life outright sux. If I chose to work up in the oilfields after my stint in Edmonton I'll probably be earning a tidy wage but working long hours and paying a fortune for rent and food, if I can find a place to live at all. At least I don't have a family to worry about. I've heard terrible stories about the homeless and seen it with my own eyes on the streets of Calgary. I'm not an economist so I'd really like to know why the housing developers couldn’t seem to build affordable accommodation. Is it just greed? I'm meeting shortly with a relative who is a member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly. I can't wait to here an educated insider's view of this mess.
So I departed Calgary last week with my cousin, headed for the city of Edmonton to the north. We diverted off the main road to the small town of Stettler where she works part of each week in a small law firm. Perhaps someone will make a lawyer out of me yet 'cause it looks like it's in the genes! My cousin is quite impressive - an Oxford Rhodes scholar and former law professor. We've realised that we're almost complete opposites and that what I loathed in my past jobs she would love and vice-versa. She's the linear/concrete-thinking left-brained lawyer to my intuitive/abstract thinking, right-brained 'anti-lawyer'. She's found she doesn't like the small-firm lifestyle, dealing with unpredictable people off the street but that's what I'd like to get my hands dirty doing. The managing partner of the small firm offered me a job on the spot so if I do a few exams and qualify to practice in Alberta, this could be a good launching pad for my future. Gotta think about it.
I'm working this month at the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival. I'm just in the box office selling tickets (I'm going to miss the moving around outdoors. The Stampede turned my soft little public service body into a lean shock of gristle). Because the Fringe is a non-profit organisation I get paid next to nothing so this month will be tight. I could easily get a second job but to be honest I could use a break after the last month n 1/2. The bonus is that I get to see as many shows as I want for free and with over 100 theatre companies represented it'll be a blast. It'll be a whole different environment to the Calgary Stampede.
I'm already feeling more at home here in Edmonton. Calgary is a hectic city where the status quo is 4WD-driving corporate types. Not much by way of culture. There's not as much money in Edmonton and it just seems a bit more downbeat and 'real'. There's the university of Alberta, a vibrant music scene and of course the Fringe shows that theatre has a strong input into local culture as well.
This'll be a fun month. I'm staying at a hostel right next to trendy Whyte Ave. Should meet a bunch of people. I'll have no transport costs and my entertainment will be Fringe, Fringe and more Fringe. George Orwell and Bertrand Russell have been taunting me from my backpack of late so now I'm going to pull out the hefty tomes I've been lugging and get readin'! MG
posted by Matt G at 10:22 AM
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