[Summer Activity]: First time Dragonboating!
This past Wednesday (July 14), I went dragonboat racing for the very first time!
If you don’t know what dragonboating or what a dragonboat is (because trust me, I sure didn’t), here is the definition according to ever-reliable Google results:
A dragon boat is a very long and narrow canoe-style human-powered boat. It is now used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing. A dragon boat team consists of about 20 paddlers sitting 2 abreast/side-by-side, with someone who steers in the back and a drummer in the front. The team of paddlers must work together to hit the water with their paddles in time, to propel the boat forward.
My friend, who I affectionately call Chable (but her actual name is Ileiren) has been dragonboating for 8 years and her and her husband lead/coach University of Alberta dragon boat teams. She gave me an open invitation to come down and experience a dragonboat practice with one of her teams and that offer has been present for nearly two years now. I finally took her up on the offer and so on Wednesday, Mike and I headed down to the Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival Association headquarters (located at 9734 – 98 Ave.), got our life jackets, paddles, and a crash course in “Dragonboating 101,” as Chable says.
We learned that we have to sit with our butts/side of our butts pressed firmly against the side (or “gunnel”) of the boat. Our legs need to be placed in front of us. One hand near where the actual paddle part of the paddle starts and one hand gripped up at the top of the paddle. As per Chable’s instructions, we had to lean forward while reaching our arms and paddle out to hit the water, then sit back up as the paddle motion finishes. That motion is repeated throughout the dragonboating session. Done right, our legs should get the most work out, because all the force is supposed to come from the leaning forward and backwards. I, of course, did it wrong, and was left with extremely sore arms as I used my arms to give my paddle power. The team we were with, the University of Alberta United International team was made up of international students from the U of A. Many of the teams veteran boaters weren’t there that day so the practice went a little rough. We weren’t as timed in unison as the ideal dragonboat team should be but we had tufts of timely, powerful paddling and whenever those brief moments happened and I actually felt that I was maybe doing it right, I was filled with a feeling of extreme satisfaction. The light spray of river water on my arms and face was also nice. It was also quite a sight to see the other dragonboat teams practicing around us — how intense they were and how impressively fast they could speed up the river (yes, we were boating UPHILL!) and how in unison they all were.
All in all I thought my first dragonboating experience was pretty good. I only took three breaks, which Chable said was pretty good for my first time (I don’t know if she was just being nice for my ego lol). Mike didn’t take any breaks, he was sweating and extremely tired by the end of the hour-long practice but he was pretty proud of how he’d done. He really liked it actually, if he didn’t work just as much as I did, and at odd hours, he wouldn’t mind taking up dragonboating for a summer. I, on the other hand, am far too weak to be a dragonboater. At least my arms are anyway. Except, again, done properly, dragonboaters arms’ shouldn’t be all that exerted, because it’s all in the leaning forward of the legs, but again my technique sucks.
Still the weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, we were with a great group of people and had our dragonboating crash course taught by a very sweet and patient friend, and I am glad that I finally did it!! I recommend everyone to try it out if they get the chance! I guess lots of corporate businesses sign up dragonboat teams for the annual Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival, so if you’re in a corporate business, lol, get a group of 20 together and try it out! Chable says the corporations pay $1,000 to sign up a team ($50 per member), and you get 2 practice sessions before the festival. Chable’s team (and others) pay more to practice several times throughout the summer just because they love it so much!
This year’s Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival is August 20-22. Apparently dragonboat teams from across the country have come to compete in this festival, so it’s a pretty big deal. I think this year I’ll go and watch! I recommend you do too! :)
June 14, 2010 – Dragonboat Practice!
Linda
RTNDA National Conference 2010 Session Recap: State of the Industry
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on some sessions at the Radio and Television News Directors Association (electronic journalists) National Conference 2010 — where some of the biggest players in the broadcast industry in Canada got together for three days to discuss the industry, where we’re at it, how to improve as reporters and more.
My task was to sit in on two sessions and write something of a summary/recap of the newsworthiest topics that came out of the sessions.
Here is the article I wrote for the session entitled “State of the Industry.”
RTNDA National Conference 2010
Session Recap Article: State of the Industry
By Linda Hoang
From learning how to deliver news across a variety of platforms to finding ways to better reach audiences, the final day of the 2010 RTNDA National Conference kicked off with a packed room eager to hear from a panel of six major players in electronic journalism on the state of the broadcast industry.
Moderated by Greg O’Brien (Cartt), the discussion centered around the thoughts of Peter Menzies (CRTC commissioner for Alberta/Northwest Territories), Troy Reeb (senior vice president of news and current affairs with Global TV), Robert Hurst (president of CTV News), Doug Rutherford (vice president of Corus Radio Western Canada), Jennifer McGuire (general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News), and Colette Watson (vice president of Rogers TV and president of CPAC).
How would the industry rebuild for the future?
The panelists all touched on a shifting paradigm in the industry and the same message resonated throughout the discussion – that “digital is the future” in news broadcasting.
Newsrooms must begin to deliver content on multiple platforms and audiences now want more inclusion in the news gathering, journalism, process, said McGuire.
“It isn’t a matter of if we build it, they will come, they (the audience) can build their own news experiences now,” she said.
Menzies presented a slideshow of industry statistics and social media trends, which concluded with specific tips for newsrooms going into the future, who wish to become “leaders in the digital economy.”
Broadband expansion, access and affordability and the convergence of “telecom” media and “broadcasting” media were at the top of the list.
Following suit, Watson reiterated the need for industry to grasp technology.
“We have to fit this (digital) world,” she said.
Reeb re-assured those attending the session that traditional journalism is still alive and healthy and touched on citizen journalists.
“Citizen journalism, it’s not really journalism until we (newsrooms) verify it and put our stamp on it,” he said.
Rutherford spoke on behalf of the radio industry, stating that radio’s biggest challenge is also its biggest opportunity: technology.
“Everything we produce has to fit in the hands of the consumer. We have to figure out how to do that,” Rutherford said.
He adds that delivering local news is not the same as it once was.
“The definition of local has changed. It’s not just local news, it’s about what people are talking about locally.”
Breaking down the barrier between AM and FM was another issue Rutherford listed as something to be tackled in the radio industry going forward.
During the question and answer period, a representative with BCIT asked how to train the journalism students of today and tomorrow to be successful in a digital industry.
Reeb’s answer to that question was to get out of the thinking that there are individual journalism streams of print, television or radio.
“There are no streams,” he said. “Teach multi-platform journalism.”
Hurst also introduced a surprise topic of discussion when he posed the question, “Where are the young men coming into this business?”
Gender balance in newsrooms is becoming a growing issue where Hurst sees that the ratio of qualified women reporters entering the industry compared to qualified men entering is five to one.
Despite the impending digital change the industry will face in the coming years, one message stood out strong by the end of the session – that no matter how many platforms or different ways newsrooms and reporters must begin to master order to deliver news to audiences, one fact remains the same; journalism is still about finding the story and storytelling.
RTNDA National Conference 2010 Session Recap: Social Media Bootcamp
I recently had the opportunity to sit in on some sessions at the Radio and Television News Directors Association (electronic journalists) National Conference 2010 — where some of the biggest players in the broadcast industry in Canada got together for three days to discuss the industry, where we’re at it, how to improve as reporters and more.
My task was to sit in on two sessions and write something of a summary/recap of the newsworthiest topics that came out of the sessions.
Here is the article I wrote for the session entitled “Social Media Bootcamp.”
RTNDA National Conference 2010
Session Recap Article: Social Media Bootcamp
By Linda Hoang
Social media can and must be used in newsrooms in this new age of journalism.
That was the sentiment that echoed at one of the last sessions at the 2010 RTNDA National Conference, the “Social Media Bootcamp.”
Moderated by Andy LeBlanc (Leap Leadership Corp.), the bootcamp panelists included Doug Lacombe (MBA, president of Communicatto), who offered a business perspective on the use of social media tools like Twitter, CTV Calgary’s Camilla Di Giuseppe, who talked about her own positive personal experiences incorporating Twitter-use into day-to-day reporting and anchoring, and media lawyer Matt Woodley, who discussed the negative implications that social media can bring to a newsroom.
The session began with a quick survey to see how many conference goers in the room were social media users. The answer? Not very many.
Social media is not a fad and news directors must begin to adopt these new practices into their newsrooms.
The computer, the digital devices audiences are now on constantly, is the source to which newsrooms as well as advertisers, must tap into to reach those audiences, Lacombe said.
He advises news directors to think mobile, think viral, and to especially encourage personal branding of company reporters on platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
Di Giuseppe talked about the many benefits she has found using Twitter.
“It’s a news gathering hub,” she said. “If you ask people for pictures, they’ll give you pictures, they’ll give you information, you just have to ask.”
Twitter is a great source for story ideas as well, Di Giuseppe said, advising that news stations should be monitoring Twitter feeds to find news.
But what Di Giuseppe praises most about using the social media tool in journalism, is the connection it creates between reporter and audience.
“Tweeting” (sending an update to Twitter) during a newscast, “following” someone who follows you, those are ways that make audiences connect more with the reporter and therefore with the company itself, increasing loyalty.
But Woodley cautions session attendees.
“Be careful. There are a number of pitfalls,” he says.
Social media is opening up a variety of legal cases that have never been dealt with before.
Posts made on the Internet are permanent and instantaneous, Woodley says.
“Figure out what your liability issues are (when using social media).”
Woodley adds that he sees social media being the big driver towards development of privacy laws in Canada in the future.
One question that arose out of the Q & A period was; what should newsrooms do about employees who are reluctant to adopt these new social practices?
Di Giuseppe suggests social media tutorials, one-on-one training, and teaching by using examples of others in the business who have had success with social media.
Whether the panel convinced anyone in the session to sign up for Twitter as soon as they got back to their hotel rooms that night, one thing was made very clear as the social media session came to an end.
News directors and all newsmakers can – and must – embrace new technologies and opportunities in order to succeed in the changing industry.
Tweet, tweet.
My ‘Sun’ Scrapbook!
So I haven’t posted up the Edmonton Sun articles I’ve been doing regularly over the past two months. As my “freelance”-ing shifts are basically five days a week, I’ve had the opportunity to do a number of stories but I just haven’t been able to keep up with in terms of posting on this blog.
What I have been doing is collecting all of the hardcopy versions of my stories and putting them into what I have named my Sun Scrapbook, a scrapbook with my newspaper clippings.
I had meant to do with this all of the stories I’ve ever done — with all the publications I’ve written for — but much like posting on this blog, the work just piles up and I end up leaving it, so this Sun Scrapbook is the first physical collection of my writing that I’ve ever put together. (The other hardcopies of articles I’ve done for other papers are all piled together in a box in a closet that I hope to eventually sort through sometime in the future).
Anyway, this blog post is my way of bridging the gap between the avalanche of blog posts where I put up my articles to… the fact that I probably won’t be doing that for EVERY story I write anymore.
What I will talk about briefly are the situations and the people that I got to go to and speak with over the past several weeks, and who will now be immortalized forever in my ‘Sun Scrapbook’ !
So far this summer I got to write stories about a brave little boy with a facial birth defect and the generosity by Canadians who helped change his life.
I went to my very first homicide crime scene and after that I went to a gigantic house explosion site that rocked (and continues to rock at this point) a northend neighbourhood in the city. It’s technically also considered a crime scene still so that puts my count of crime scenes been to at 2.
I visited the Edmonton Garrison way more times than I ever imagined I would in my lifetime. What once was a long process in driving out and Google Mapping and trying to figure out where the heck a building was located, I now know my way around the base fairly well I’d say.
I pitched my first story idea — perhaps a long time coming but coming up with original ideas has always been something I struggle with. I can certainly go out and do any story you ask of me but coming up with my own to do is a task that brings me great headache oftentimes… I am working on that though!
I met a firefighter who delivered his own baby and spoke with a man whose wife and son were killed in the terrorist bombing of Flight 182 Air India in 1985.
I also became familiar with other newspaper journalists as well as TV reporters and cameramen who I continually see at events that we all attend.
And in the midst of it all I’ve become closer to the people in the newsroom, I’ve been learning loads, and I’ve been having a blast.
I’ve also (in my mind) made mistakes (minor, but still), and disappointed myself in some stories — whether I didn’t dig deep enough or I didn’t get another voice for a story when I could have or should have. Every time something like that happens I silently yell at myself and tell myself I’ll do a better job next time.
It’s a truly great experience, working for a major daily newspaper.
There is so much that I still need to learn in order to improve myself, but I feel that I am getting an invaluable opportunity working here this summer and I know that this will help me become an even better reporter in the future, and an even better student as I finish off my final year of TV Broadcasting come this Fall.
Linda :)
[Summer To Do List]: o10. Go to a baseball game – CHECK!
(excerpt from “[List]: The Quintessential ‘This-Is-What-I-Want-To-Do-This-Summer’ List!”)
o10. Go to a baseball game (edmonton capitals website) 
Last summer Edmonton’s baseball team was renamed the Edmonton Capitals and heavy advertising started to try and get people to come out to the baseball games! I’ve started seeing those familiar billboards popping up around the city again (“HAVE A BALL FOR JUST $10!”) and I have to say, I really would love to go to my very first baseball game! The first game starts June 1st and I think even going to the first game would be quite an experience. I am not a very sports-y person but I do have good times watching sporting events with friends and I think i’d quite enjoy watching baseball live, even though watching it on TV is fairly boring.
I went to my very first baseball game Saturday night! It was the Edmonton Capitals vs. Maui Na Koa Ikaika and I had so much fun!! We got there about twenty minutes before the game was scheduled to start. I’d never driven to Telus Field before and it’d been a long time since Mike had been there so we didn’t really know the best parking place and we ended up parking three blocks away when we realized after that we could have parked right across the street from the field, (Lot 1) doh!
Now I had been seeing baseball game billboards and hearing ads about the games on the radio so regularly the past couple weeks that finally I got Mike (and our friends Paul and Sam) to come out to this particular one for mostly one extra special reason — apparently Saturday games are called “Saturday Night Movie” where after the game they throw up a big screen right in the middle of the field and play a movie for free! Put that together with cheap tickets and we were sold! We got box seats (sounds cooler than it actually is) and the game started off with a home run for Maui, dang! And that pretty much set the stage for the rest of the game, the Capitals did not do very well so for my very first time actually seeing them play, they didn’t make the greatest impression!
Despite the lack of Capitals’ stellar performance on the one night I choose to watch them play (I heard they did a lot better the night before though!), I still had a blast!!!! It’s just something about being outdoors beneath bright blue skies and a shining sun on a summer day just spending time with friends, cheering every once in awhile, boo-ing every once in awhile, and buying snacks and food that’s really not healthy for you on a Saturday night that is just undeniably fun! I wasn’t drinking that night (designated driiiver!), but I was still highly satisfied in the food and beverage department. I ended up going through two diet pepsis, potato chips, two sets of nachos, a LOT of popcorn and a perogie dog!
Unfortunately I was stupid because the perogie dogs are supposed to come with potatoes, onions bacon and sour cream and the potatoes are kind of shaved like hashbrowns but I didn’t realize! I thought they were onions and I hate onions so I scraped off all of the “onions” and then realized that they were actually hashbrowns. A ruined perogie dog. It was really just a bun, wiener and bacon, lol. Still satisfactory. The potato chips were delicious though! They reminded me of the cactus cut potatoes from Boston Pizza (quite possibly my favourite appetizer EVER. Okay, not ever, but definitely my favourite appetizer from Boston Pizza.)
And a Capitals game recap is not complete without mention of their mascot – Frazzle the Roadrunner! I definitely don’t think Frazzle looks like a roadrunner. My friend Sam and I had to ask him what he was and since mascots can’t speak, he ended up doing charades to tell us what he was! ha ha. We got a picture with Frazzle. I asked him if it was air-conditioned in the suit, which made everyone laugh. It was a genuine question! It made me think of when I was in California last summer and there were people in costumes in Hollywood on the walk of fame — it gets soo hot I just can’t imagine being out there is worth it if it’s not air conditioned inside the suit or something!
But overall the baseball experience was great. I learned about balls and strikes and outs. I learned about home runs and how to tell when a ball is likely going to be caught. I sang that famous baseball chant that everyone seems to know the general tune of. Mike and Paul reminisced about when they used to play baseball and other baseball stories. I talked about how in Elementary School we used to play chinese baseball with the giant red rubber ball. We were also encouraged to “clap out” players on the Maui team but I really don’t understand how clapping makes the person screw up it just feels like we are cheering for him!
The after-game movie (Shrek) was pretty sweet. There was a fairly big crowd of families/teenagers/kids present and a lot of people went to get lawn chairs and blankets (my group included). We only had one blanket though and it was definitely not enough to keep us all warm! I’m pretty sure Mike and I both got sick because of not being adequately dressed for the chilly nighttime weather. As the movie went on and the weather got cooler more people picked up and left. Finally we left too just before Fiona arrived in Duloc. I have never watched a movie outside before! I know that there are a few outdoor movies during the summer that play in Churchill Square in Edmonton but I’ve never gone and I had actually meant to put that on my summer to do list too but forgot. Still, great experience, despite leaving early. I had a great night out and a great experience. I would recommend a Capitals’ game (or any baseball game outing) to anyone looking for a good summertime outing with friends. It was so fun and I think great memories have come out of it.
I also installed a gallery plugin to Wordpress (finally!) so I can now post fuller-sized photos in gallery-format in my posts! Here are a few of the pictures I posted throughout this blog but in big form, plus a few others. I know it also says View in PicLens or whatever, I’m trying to get rid of that but don’t know how yet. It looks better going through the slideshow normally, NOT through PicLens!! Like I said, I only just installed the plugin and I haven’t had time to go through it and customize and figure things out so I’m sure my future galleries will be a bit better! ;)
June 5, 2010 – Edmonton vs. Maui!
[List]: The Quintessential ‘This-Is-What-I-Want-To-Do-This-Summer!’ List!
This summer I don’t expect to travel too far out of Edmonton in terms of summer activities and vacationing, but that doesn’t mean my summer can’t and won’t be fun-filled and packed with day excursions! :D I have compiled a list of the places/things I’d like to attend/do this summertime. As they get checked off, I’ll add more posts about my experiences! ;)
- o1. Visit the Royal Alberta Museum (museum website)
I used to drive past the Royal Alberta Museum every morning and afternoon for two years going to and from school. (This was when I went to the west-end Grant MacEwan campus for Journalism!) Every day I drove past but not once did I ever actually enter the museum. I saw as the different billboards outside of it went up every few months that showed what special exhibits the museum was housing that particular season (the one that pops up most in my mind is a big red heel, when they were doing an exhibit about the history of high heels, I really wanted to check that one out!) but never did I go into any of those exhibits. I’m not going to lie though, I did have to visit the museum once, about two years ago. There was a press conference happening just inside the museum and I had to cover it for the newspaper I was interning for at the time. I was probably in there for a half hour tops. I wouldn’t exactly call that a museum experience. This summer I fully intend to go to the Royal Alberta Museum for the first time! - o2. Visit the Muttart Conservatory (conservatory website)
There is a picture of me from when I was a wee little girl where I’m standing with my mom surrounded by flowers and a lot of green shrubbery. Later on in life I found out that picture was taken at the Muttary Conservatory. I was too young at the time to really remember the experience and since then I’ve always wondered what the insides of the “triangles” in Edmonton would be like. I’ve always also wanted to have a little photoshoot outside/near by the triangles too! It’s just a very unique design that I don’t think you can find anywhere else. Also, now that I’m working at the Sun I find myself driving to and from events in downtown a lot and the way to get there is always via 98 Ave., passing the Muttart triangles. This summer I will visit the Muttart! - o3. Go to the Old Strathcona Farmers Market (farmers market website)
I used to eat at the New York Bagel Cafe in Old Strathcona a lot with my brother. It’s in the same vicinity as a large building with the painted words OLD STRATHCONA FARMERS MARKET on it. I never, ever saw the market ever open, but then I realized it’s because it’s only open for a few hours every Saturday. I have been doing more grocery shopping lately and I’d really like to stop at the farmers market and see what it has to offer, both grocery-wise and just community-wise. I feel I rarely do things that are community-centric and I think taking a trip down the Old Strathcona Farmers Market couldn’t get any more community-centric! - o4. Watch a scientific IMAX movie at the Telus World of Science (science centre website)
I could have said that I want to visit the Telus World of Science in general (which I do), check out some exhibits, such and such, but I have done that before (class field trips and what not). What I don’t think I’ve ever done (or can really remember doing) is checking out one of those scientific IMAX movies that they play exclusively at the science centres. My only IMAX experience ever was watching Avatar, so I think it would be really cool to see what an educational, scientific IMAX movie would have to offer. I shall see this summer. - o5. Go to the dinosaur museum in Drumheller (royal tyrell website)
Dinosaurs are my favourite extinct animal and the Royal Tyrell museum is the ONLY museum in CANADA devoted to dinosaurs!!! Apparently I was taken here when I was around 5 years old but, as with other destinations I’d like to hit up this summer, that’s too young an age for me to actually remember the experience so I’d like to visit this museum and I tell ya, I can’t wait. Roar!! (That was a dinosaur roar). - o6. Go to a beach… in Alberta
I love the beach! Last summer I laid out on the sands of Huntington Beach for like four hours. (I fell asleep listening to music) It was great! I have never been to Alberta Beach (I hear it’s not that great) but if it’s an excuse to lie out on a towel by the water in a bathing suit (given that I am in shape by that time and am not embarrassed to wear a bathing suit lol), then I want to go! - o7. Go on a roadtrip
I’ve only ever been on family roadtrips but I’d like to go on a non-family one! This summer I’d like to roadtrip outside of Edmonton to the different rural communities in this province. I know there are really weird, different monuments in rural Alberta like giant sausages and mosquitos and stuff, and I’d love to see them and take a picture there! :) I’ve also never been to Calgary, which is strange for people to hear living in Alberta for 20 years and never stepping foot in the other major metropolitan city, but with these roadtrips I’m hoping that I can cross a visit to Calgary off my list too! - o8. Go to the Art Gallery of Alberta (art gallery website)
The Art Gallery of Alberta opened just a few months ago and it looks really incredible on the outside. The architectural design for the AGA is really one-of-a-kind and I really want to see if the inside of the AGA proves to be just as pleasing. I also particularly would like to go to the AGA on the last Thursday of the month (probably not in time for the month of May, but definitely the last Thursday of June!) because the last Thursday night of each month is free admission! Hehe. I’m still technically a poor student, can’t you tell? - o9. Swim at the West Edmonton Mall Indoor Waterpark (waterpark website)
Edmonton is home to a lot of pretty cool and unique places and I’d say having the world’s largest indoor waterpark, is something to brag about. Despite the waterpark being only a 20 minute drive away from me, I’ve only ever been to it probably a total of two or three times in my life, and that was years ago. I think the last time I went was when I was ten years old. I’d love to go to the waterpark this summer (pending working out and making my body look good in a bathing suit!) - o10. Go to a baseball game (edmonton capitals website)
Last summer Edmonton’s baseball team was renamed the Edmonton Capitals and heavy advertising started to try and get people to come out to the baseball games! I’ve started seeing those familiar billboards popping up around the city again (“HAVE A BALL FOR JUST $10!”) and I have to say, I really would love to go to my very first baseball game! The first game starts June 1st and I think even going to the first game would be quite an experience. I am not a very sports-y person but I do have good times watching sporting events with friends and I think i’d quite enjoy watching baseball live, even though watching it on TV is fairly boring. - o11. Go to Edmonton and area summer festivals (edmonton festival calendar website)
Edmonton is called a few things. City of Champions is one. Festival City is another! There are a lot of festivals that take place throughout the year, especially during the summer and I’d like to hit a lot of them up in the coming months! There’s the Rainmaker Festival at the end of May, the Streetperformers Festival in the first part of July, a Taste of Edmonton Festival that runs the same days that Capital Ex runs and the Fringe and Heritage festivals in August! Phew. I’m sure I’m missing a ton, but those are just the ones that I could name off the top of my head. And of those six festivals, I’ve only been to three of them before! So Summer 2010 could definitely be the summer to check the other six off my list! - o12. Go to the zoo (valley zoo website)
I’ve never been to the Edmonton Valley Zoo. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to other zoos and animal-related centres (a zoo in Portland, an aquarium in Chicago), but I’ve never stepped foot in the one nestled in my own city. I hear bad things about the zoo though, like how it’s so small it makes people sad because you feel bad for the animals trapped in there, but I’d still like to experience it for myself. And I shall! - o13. Go to the Calgary Stampede (stampede website)
I debated adding the Calgary Stampede to the “festivals” point but I felt the Stampede can stand on its own. I don’t really care for rodeos, well, I wouldn’t know, I’ve never actually been to one, but going to the world’s largest rodeo at the Calgary Stampede would be great! Plus I really want to wear a cowboy hat and jean shorts with a plaid button-up shirt! Ha ha. And driving to the Stampede would allow me to cross off “road trip” as well. - o14. Go to Fort Edmonton Park (fort edmonton website)
I think by the end of the summer I’ll probably be exhausted of trying to go to all of these touristy city spots but I would like to take at rip to Fort Edmonton Park. I vaguely recall going there on a field trip in elementary school, but I’m sure I had a good time and I’m sure I’ll still have a good time if I went this time around. I like learning about the past, old-style clothing and looking at historical things though so I think the experience should prove excellent. Plus, how could it not when it’s billed as North America’s largest interactive historic park? - o15. Watch a summer meteor shower
I kind of watched my first meteor shower this past November. When I say “kind of,” I mean because it was FREEZING outside, the skies were super overcast, and we waited until close to 2 a.m. without actually seeing much star action. I swear I spotted a shooting star but Mike says I was just lying to try and make it seem like I had a successful first meteor shower experience. Anyway, I’d like to try again, this time in the summertime, this time, when it’s super nice out with clear skies! There are two meteor showers slated for this summer — one at the end of July (The Southern Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower) and also in August! (The Perseids Meteor Shower). Apparently the Perseids Meteor Shower is one of the best ones you can witness too! So yes, I hope to have a meteor shower picnic and viewing this summer and I fully intend to actually see stuff this time! (btw, my cold november meteor shower experience was still super special <3)
So there are 15 things I’d like to do this summer. Of course it’s not the overarching, absolute list of everything I want to do but it’s certainly a pretty solid list (in my opinion). Surprising how many cool things there are to do in and around this city over the summer hey?
Linda ♥
Freelance Work for the Edmonton Sun (Week of May 10-14)
- May 11 2010. City will get 62 homes for needy News, Page 8.
- May 11 2010. Military to practise search and rescue in Grande Prairie. News, Page 17.
- May 12 2010. Marking your territory News, Page 22.
- May 13 2010. Champs rally for a cause News, Page 6.
- May 13 2010. Fringe Theatre’s 2010-11 season kicks off Edmonton Sun Online.
- May 13 2010. Fringe Theatre’s new season (VIDEO) Edmonton Sun Online.
- May 13 2010. Grits would reward voters with tax credit News, Page 11.
- May 14 2010. Youngest Alberta lung transplant recipient going home News, Page 3.
- May 14 2010. Wild fire sparks E-town air alert News, Page 4.
- May 15 2010. Boy’s family needs help News, Page 3.
News: Youngest Alberta lung transplant recipient going home
Published in the May 14th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News
Youngest Alberta lung transplant recipient going home
LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun
After nearly nine months in hospital, the youngest child to ever receive a lung transplant in Alberta has finally gone home.
Eight-year-old Tahir Asif, who was dying from clogged lungs caused by cystic fibrosis, successfully received a double-lung transplant at the end of April.
He left the Stollery Children’s Hospital Thursday.
“It was really hard to breathe before, but now it’s easy,” said a smiling Tahir. “Much easier.”
Tahir had been making regular trips to the hospital since last August to treat his condition. He carried an oxygen tank with him and in March needed to be put on a ventilator 24-hours a day in order to breathe as his health spiralled downhill.
“Tahir was dying. He was stuck on a ventilator and really only had a few months to live at most,” said Tahir’s transplant surgeon, Dr. John Mullen.
Mullen and a nine-member transplant team spent seven hours operating on Tahir on April 21.
“It was a little more challenging than our usual ones, but still went very smoothly,” Mullen said. “And he has had a very, very smooth and rapid recovery.”
Tahir told reporters he couldn’t wait to get back to his Riverbend home and play at the nearby park.
“Going on the swings and slides and monkey bars,” he shyly said. “Before I couldn’t go on the slide because I needed an oxygen tank, but now I can go on the slide.”
Tahir’s doctors said it was difficult finding a matching donor, noting the process is much harder with children because of their small size and complications that could occur as the child gets older.
“We were quite concerned that we were not going to find a donor for him,” Mullen said. “There are not enough donors.”
“So many people are waiting for lung and heart transplants and sometimes they just die because they can’t find anybody,” said Tahir’s father Asif Jutt, who has been touched by his son’s ordeal.
“We should all think about signing our cards to sign over our organs.”
Tahir’s parents are hoping their son will be healthy enough to go back to school in the fall. He would be entering Grade 3 at Brander Gardens Elementary School.
Mullen says although the new lungs don’t completely cure Tahir’s cystic fibrosis, he could very healthily live on into adulthood.
“His lifespan is unlimited at the moment, but we don’t know for sure.”
Cystic fibrosis is a life-shortening hereditary disease where mucus builds up and clogs the lungs, causing infection.
The first pediatric lung transplant at the Stollery was performed in 2002. Only four other lung transplants involving patients under the age of 17 have been done in Alberta.
The Stollery Children’s Hospital is home to one of only two programs across Canada that are specifically dedicated to lung transplants for children.
Tahir’s family, including his 10-year-old brother and six-year-old sister, moved to Edmonton from Yellowknife last summer in order to be closer to the Stollery.
News: Boys family needs help
Published in the May 15th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News
Boys family needs help
LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun
Maddox Flynn was born just a few days before Christmas two years ago with lymphatic cystic hydroma, a severe and rare malformation on the left side of his face.
After trying several injection treatments to the two-year-old’s face without success, doctors told Maddox’s parents Nicole Champagne and Mike Flynn that there was nothing they could do for their son.
But the family never lost hope.
“When you’re told that nothing can be done, don’t stop believing,” Flynn said at the family’s west-end home Friday.
The family has found a surgeon in New York City who specializes in facial malformations and birth defects, who could clear the malformation and help restore symmetry back to Maddox’s face.
The biggest problem — the cost.
At bare minimum, the two-part operation would cost the family nearly $50,000. That’s excluding travel expenses, post-surgery procedures and if Maddox had to stay extra nights in the hospital, which could cost up to $10,000 per night.
The family had been seeking financial aid from the government, but due to the short time frame they’d been given — the American surgeon wants to operate on Maddox on May 21 — Champagne and Flynn decided to turn to the community for support.
If they don’t get enough money in time, the surgery would have to be postponed to the end of the year, which means both Maddox’s self-esteem, as well as his malformation, could worsen.
“He’s starting to notice people looking at him differently, kids running away from him,” Flynn said.
“If this isn’t treated soon, he could start feeling emotional scarring.”
But since reaching out to the community, the family has been overwhelmed with support from strangers across the province and across the country.
“I got a call from a stranger from Ontario and he started crying because he said he would go into debt to give Maddox some kind of life,” Champagne said, on the verge of tears herself.
“It just means the world to me and I know that it will give him a good life and he deserves it, he’s so beautiful.”
“We just want him to get better,” Champagne smiled as she watched her bubbly little son run around their home.
Although Maddox isn’t expected to be able to see out of his left eye once the surgery is completed, he will be able to fully open and close his eyelids and should be able to speak properly.
The family has set up a trust fund for donations to help pay for Maddox’s surgery. E-mail maddoxflynntrustfund@hotmail.com.
Dr. Milton Walen, the surgeon operating on Maddox in New York, could not be reached for comment.
News: Wildfires spark E-town air alert
Published in the May 14th issue of The Edmonton Sun. News
Wildfires spark E-town air alert
LINDA HOANG
Edmonton Sun
Edmontonians may not be breathing easy, as smoke from a wildfire wafts over the city.
Alberta Health Services has issued an air-quality warning for Edmonton and surrounding areas, such as Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan.
“Get inside, stay inside and hopefully the wind will change,” said Dr. Marcia Johnson, acting medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services.
People with respiratory problems, heart or lung conditions, smokers or children who are active outdoors are advised to stay indoors and keep windows shut, but the warning extends to those in good health as well.
“Even in normal people you can feel an irritated throat, you can start to cough, you can just feel very uncomfortable under smoky conditions,” said Johnson.
An air-quality advisory was already issued for Redwater and surrounding areas Thursday night. Giant plumes of smoke have been billowing off the wildfire near the tiny town of Opal, about 60 km north of Edmonton in Thorhild County. The blaze has been raging out of control since Wednesday afternoon.
One home and surrounding buildings have already been consumed by the fire, but so far there have been no injuries, as residents remain on alert.
State of emergency
The province’s wildfire fighting force has dispatched 60 firefighters, four helicopters and numerous water bombers to the area that is under a state of emergency.
An additional three helicopters, three dozers and 100 crew members joined the fight Friday to contain the fire.
With the winds shifting Friday, a spokeswoman for the County of Thorhild hoped crews would be able to gain control of the fire that has grown to about 2,200 hectares.
“It is in our favour,” said Candace Revega, with the County of Thorhild.
A number of concerned Edmontonians spotting smoke in their communities have also been calling 911.
Edmonton Fire Rescue Services says citizens should be aware that the main source of the billowing smoke is from the wildfire burning outside the city.
“We want citizens to always know that 911 is the best number to call if they think there is an emergency, but smoke related to those calls were because of fires happening outside the city,” said a spokesman with Fire Rescue Services.
Thorhild County issued a fire ban Thursday, while a full fire ban was declared for all areas of Strathcona County Friday morning. A fire advisory has also been issued for Sturgeon County.
The air-quality advisory is in effect until the wildfire has been contained, but warm, dry weather and shifting winds forecast over the next few days are expected to make containing the wildfire difficult.
– With files from Candice Ward