Guess where I am and win US$ 300.00 - First UNIVERSE=WIDE Contest

 

Guess where I am and win US$ 300.00

First Universe-Wide Contest

You can be anywhere in the world or in space (as in the Space Shuttle) or in the moon or in another galaxy, you can be any age, any gender, any race, any being - so long as you can e-mail or someone can for you then you're in.

Guess where I am and send your answer, full name, address (no P.O. boxes), e-mail, telephone (or something similar) number by e-mail to ilovetotravel77@hotmail.com by November 1, 2014.  The winner will receive US$300.00 in cash in the recipient's country currency.  This will be sent to you by wire remittance anywhere in the world.   If you are from outer space, do contact me when you visit earth and perhaps we can convert the prize to something of value to you, like gold nuggets or Skyflake crackers or TP.

The money will be sent after contact verification by December 15, 2014.  The winner will be responsible for any and all applicable taxes.  If prize money is erroneously received by a party other than the winner, this will not be the responsibility of the organizer.

If there is more than one correct entry, there will be a draw.  Incomplete details will be null and void.  Only one entry per person or being.  The winner's name and country/planet/star (not address) will be published in this blog.

Published Originally on August 28, 2014

FOR PARENTS AND KIDS, NO SCHOOL IS NO FUN

Children and their parents rally for Back To School for both teachers and students in Kensington, Vancouver

For months now striking teachers on the streets were and still is a common sight in Greater Vancouver.

But when I got off the bus in my neighborhood at the corner of Kingsway and Knight Street, I saw elementary age kids holding placards with words like “Teachers” and “School” and Parents”.  It turns out the adults with them were their moms (mostly) and dads.

Petrice Brett who has daughter going into Grade 4 said, “Our community is very close knit, so we are  very familiar with one another, but we are not an organized group, just disheartened parents ready for change.”

“We got sick of talking and decided to take action the best way we can.”

So how did passersby and drivers responded on that sunny September 3rd afternoon?  For some reason, plenty of honks sounded cheery, and people said “Thank you”.

Petrice’s daughter who was there said, "it was fun and I like rallying for the teachers".

For the more than 40,000 public school teachers who went on full strike last June 17, a few weeks before classes were to end, the holdout goes on as of the first week of September when the new school term was supposed to have started.

Parent Deb Copland said, “The teachers are striking for better classroom sizes and more support for kids like mine (dyslexic and written output).”

“The teachers need to see support from parents and we need to show the government we want kids back in our public schools. Writing letters is great but sometimes actions speak louder than words. We felt it was time to act.”

The teachers’ walkout and the government lockout, at first had a soft impact, arriving at the onset of the summer break.  But when private schools and higher institutions were normally opening their classrooms the first days of September, the fun of days off for onlookers from public schools was wearying off.

“Everyone is scrambling. Some have family support, some are relying on communities to help and some are involving their kids in camp programs,”  according to Ms. Brett.

 IMPORTANT NOTE:

 

The BC Ministry of Education has opened an online registration for parents of public school students 12 years old and under to receive $40 per student for each day school is not in session due to the ongoing BC Federation of Teachers’ strike.  You can register at http://bcparentinfo.ca/.