Welcome to my new domain! I’m excited :P Well, I get a lot more storage, a lot more services and a lot FASTER services for a lot less money (umm… I wasn’t actually paying for the old service…but at least I’m saving my family money). And the new address is a lot less cumbersome to remember. Just type laurelindon.com and go. It was time I got my own dot com, five years after everyone else :P

After reviewing a lot of hosting services, testimonials and recommendations, I chose bluehost.com to host my site, because they offer a serious and reliable service, a lot of add-ons and a decent amount of bandwith (which I think it will be hard to exceed :P) for a good price. There are thousands of hosting sites out there, and many of them look very serious, so choosing one was hard. I ended up paying for a middle of the road alternative at $7/month with free registration.

Hopefully it’ll work flawlessly. I’ve weeded out some bugs already. Update your bookmarks ;) In the near future this site will have some new features (one of them will be migrating this page to WordPress).

Enjoy!

The aftermath of a severe ice storm that swept the Niagara Peninsula. For a few days, the world was a Swarovski crystal palace…

The aftermath of a severe ice storm that swept the Niagara Peninsula. For a few days, the world was a Swarovski crystal palace…

The aftermath of a severe ice storm that swept the Niagara Peninsula. For a few days, the world was a Swarovski crystal palace…

Christmas shopping

Also, when I’ve gone around shopping, I’ve used the camera on my mobile phone to take pictures of interesting things I’ve come across. These pictures are from Zellers, a Canadian chain. How about a bona fide Norwegian spruce in plastic for a mere $229? No twigs and needles on the floor! Or the most expensive plastic tree, for $299? And then you can buy inflatable outdoor decorations that are all the rage now. A reindeer pulling Santa out of the chimney, a penguin, perhaps a merry-go-round that plays music as well? Or the executive model, with a mechanism sprinkling white expanded polyester balls over a family of snowmen, encased in a giant transparent ball!

I’m celebrating Christmas in the United States this year. It’s going to be exciting :) The way people decorate their houses here is crazy! There is a reason why newspapers at home reports “American conditions” once someone adorns their house with a couple of hundred brightly coloured lights. The last couple of years I’ve gone on expeditions to document this phenomenon. See my slideshow from 2004. I didn’t do that this year; there is no snow, so everywhere looks pretty sad and pathetic. Here is one picture, though, that I took this year.

Reflection seen in the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.

These Canada geese lined up for me on the edge of the Reflecting Pool, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

So the strike was averted in the 11th hour.

That means I’ll have to sit my exams… *sniff*

Well, actually, that’s good, because otherwise I would have had to take them in January instead.

Anyways, I would like to know what they agreed on.

(Disclaimer. Because of my affiliation with BUSU, my stand on this issue will remain neutral, as per BUSU’s official policy.)

Look here for details: http://bufaweb.com/content/view/145/1/

(Disclaimer. Because of my affiliation with BUSU, my stand on this issue will remain neutral, as per BUSU’s official policy.)

The strike date (5 December) is coming closer, the negotiations are still in a deadlock, and no information is forthcoming from the University about contingency procedures. Will we have to take exams in January? Will reading week be cancelled? Who knows.

Implications of a strike for students

A friend of mine made this newsletter discussing some of the repercussions a strike will have for the student population.

Click here to open it (or right-click–>”save as” to download):

	Download
	(link removed)

(Disclaimer. Because of my affiliation with BUSU, my stand on this issue will remain neutral, as per BUSU’s official policy. I still encourage you to get informed.)

In May 2006, I partook in a one month trip to Peru and Ecuador, called Solidarity in Action, which is a programme run by the Campus Ministries of my school, Brock University. The objective of this trip was to learn about social justice and culture in Latin America. I went to Lima, Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecuador, along with 50 other people and the campus chaplain, where we volunteered for charity organisations. This was not a conventional holiday.

I am currently working on making a web site with pictures from my experience. I believe I promised it would be launched within the end of October – make that the end of November. I’ve spent far more time working on the design and stucture of this website than content.

Meanwhile, to learn more about Solidarity in Action, visit

http://www.brocku.ca/campusministries/solidarity/index.php

Pictures from my experience are coming soon!