We're definitely here...!

Mike & I arrived a month ago and I think that the shock is finally starting to wear off. We've been shocked by a number of things, and - in no particular order - these include:
1. How expensive everything is here, from housing to food. Don't get us started on the liquor stores, which Klein (grrrrr) privatized some years ago. The farmer's market is mostly peopled with well-heeled, urban shoppers who don't mind dropping, oh, 50% - 200% more than we're used to paying at the Kitchener Market (man, do we miss that place).
2. How much work an M.F.A. in theatre direction entails. Mike has stopped freaking out (that's a novel experience in itself) but is frequently overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work.
3. How much money there is. Alberta is, indeed, booming; this, however, has come at a huge cost. Today we heard that oil companies owe around $200 million in uncollected royalties, and the environmental impact of the oil sands project is staggering.

On the upside: the squirrels are cute, the air is still relatively fresh and people are, for the most part, quite nice. There are kittens on the farm (which I must find homes for!) and lots of cousins in the offing for Thanksgiving. It's been great to see old friends (some of which I have 30 years of history with), while Mike's professors and fellow grad students are a superb group of people. There is TONS of theatre here - we've seen the first show at U of A's Studio Theatre, a rather intriguing producation ("Mrs. Klein"). I've had some fascinating meetings re: potential jobs, and a few more are in the offing. Nothing definite yet, but I'm learning a lot.

Let us know what you'd like to see on this blog. Coming soon: top weekly picks from The Edmonton Journal, which - thankfully - is a fantastic newspaper. Recently, Ralph Klein stated in the Journal that gambling was the only vice he's maintained (LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE).