570News Blog: Kate Stockmann

It’s that time of year again when we get to dress up and be a little silly.

I’m usually not one to do the whole costume thing. I’ve never been very creative when it comes to finding something unique. Of course when I was a kid I loved it!

One of my earlier costumes was a My Little Pony plastic contraption from Big V. The mask was hard to see out of, but I thought I was the coolest.

By far the funniest Hallowe’en story I have is the one Hallowe’en I stayed home. I was in high school and there was a dance, but I chose not to go. My twin brother did go. As a girl. The following day at school everyone asked me what I thought of the dance, to which I replied, “I didn’t go.” Then they said, “But I saw you there.” Creepy.

Kate

So my old roommate and I hopped on the bandwagon and went to Buffalo this weekend to do some shopping. It was insane. Every second license plate in the parking lot of the Walden Galleria Mall was an Ontario plate.

I have never had to line up so many times while shopping. Surprisingly, the shortest wait we had of the day, was at the border. The Americans standing in line, naturally complained about all the Canadians crowding their mall. (When it takes 50 minutes to buy one sweater, you get impatient)

While it was a fun trip and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, I don’t think I saved any money than if I’d gone to Fairview Mall. The real savings seem to be on books, cards, and CDs. The clothes seemed to be priced about what they would here. And, being honest to a fault, Sherry and I declared everything we bought so we had to pay duty.

I have to say the border guards were very friendly. Particularly coming into Canada.  They all smiled and welcomed us home. Of course they did give us a look when they asked if we had anything to declare. (That piercing “don’t-try-to-lie-to-me-because-things-will-get-real-awkward-if-you-do” look.)

 I think the savings on the dollar would have been more apparent if we’d stayed longer.

Kate

For the past year, I’ve lived with two great ladies. Sherry, Trudy and I have been through a lot together since becoming roommates. I didn’t know either of them very well until we lived together. Now they are like family.

 We didn’t always get along like best friends, but we always respected eachother’s space and tried our best to make our “family” function as well as we could.

 That apartment was more than a place to crash at the end of a long day. It was a home. We laughed there, cried there and it became a kind of social hub for the newsroom. It was the gathering place everyone met before going out for the night. And it was the place everyone crashed when the night was done.

Trudy has this dinning room table that’s a kind of magnet. We’d be puttering around the apartment, maybe getting ready for work or whatever weekend plans we’d have and that table would just suck the minutes away. We’d get talking about one thing or another and before we knew it, it was a mad dash to get where we needed to be. When ever one of us had a problem and needed to talk, it was given we’d meet at the table to hash it out. Loneliness had no place in “The 901.”

 Unfortunately, our lease is coming to it’s end and we’ve chosen to go our separate ways. I have to admit, I’m quite a bit sad to see it all end.

I know that we will do our best to keep in touch, and I truly hope we can. I also hope Trudy hangs on to that table and maybe invites us over once in while to sit around it for old time sake. I’m gonna miss you ladies!

Take care,

Kate

As I was out for my morning run, I marveled at how warm it was. I’ve run for a number of years and usually by this time I have on a sweater and long pants. This morning, I was in a tank top and completely comfortable.

Is this global warming? Have the years of abusing our planet really caught up to us? In Canada, where the climate is temperate, food is plentiful and water flows from every tap it seems more like hype.

But in areas hit hard by hurricanes, drought, and wild fires the “hype” is much more believable.

I enjoy my morning run, in fact I noticed today, I’ve gotten to enjoy it a lot lately, without getting wet. I can’t remember the last time I had one of my runs rained out.

  Already in Waterloo Region there are water advisories in effect. The Grand River Conservation Authority asking users to cut back even further.

Are we doomed? Can we reverse the damage? I hate to be a pessimist but I doubt we can have much of an impact. Even though I spent my run pondering the subject I still drove to work, idled my car in the Tim Horton’s drive-thru, and picked up three coffees in paper cups for the guys in the news room.

I consider myself a socially conscious individual, but even I have not changed my habits. An now, emerging economies like China want to have all the things we’ve enjoyed for years. I’ve read in numerous articles on the internet that China is one of the fastest growing markets for automobiles.

It’s going to take a lot of sacrifice to repair the damage. And there are going to be a lot of people who don’t want to give up the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.

A hectic four weeks of election coverage are over! It culminated with our joint broadcast last night on 570News and Rogers Television.

 It was a fun night for the 570 news crew, getting the results and watching the night unfold. We had reporters at all the local riding hot spots as well as analysis and results.

By far the biggest story out of the night was John Tory’s loss to Kathleen Wynne in Don Valley West. Wynne spent her last term as Education Minister. Education became a hot button issue early in the campaign when Tory announced he would fund faith based schools if elected. He later back-peddled on that, saying he would let Ontarian’s vote on the issue.

I think it was that issue that cost Tory the election. It was not on radar of many voters, but by taking such a controversial stand on the issue, he made it one. By doing that, the heat was taken off McGuinty.

Right after Tory lost his riding, one of the political analysts on our broadcasts’ panel suggested the Conservatives would have to find a new leader if they were to win the next election. He argued that even if Tory ignored the issue in a future campaign, the media would bring it up and it would still dog him.

However, Dean of Arts and Political Science professor David Docherty with Wilfrid Laurier University says the PC party should keep Tory as leader. I suppose you could argue the public has  short memory and overall Tory wouldn’t make a bad premier. 

If they do decide to keep him, I think they should take a look at their campaign advisors. The American-style attack ads didn’t help and they should never have brought a new issue into the mix. They would have been better off letting McGuinty spend four weeks defending the health care premium.

I thought whoever was running McGuinty’s campaign was a genius. Right after Tory made faith-based schools an issue, that commercial came out with McGuinty saying “You know what I like about Ontario public schools? They’re public!” There was no mention of Tory, no negative words spoken. Just him praising teachers and encouraging equality. He had a friendly smile on his face and as mad as I was about having to pay the health care premium, I couldn’t help but look at that ad and think: “Ya, I’d have a beer with that guy.”

Instead of going on the attack McGuinty just sat back and watched Tory sink.  Well played.

Kate

I begin nearly every day by going for a run outside. It helps to wake me up, get ready for the day and clear my mind. It makes me feel free and alive.

 However, sometimes during my runs I nearly get run over by drivers who are not paying attention. This despite the fact I’ve chosen a running route that has sidewalks the entire way.

 The biggest offenders are people turning left at green lights. Sure, there are no cars coming, but I’ve got a walk signal telling me I’ve got the right-of-way. Therefore, it’s the drivers responsibility to check to make sure there is no one walking across the street before they hit the gas.

 I do my best to make eye contact with drivers to make sure they know I’m there. But, tinted windows sometimes make that impossible. I’m literally putting my life in another’s hands.

In the worst run-in with a vehicle, tinted windows nearly cost me my life. The driver of a pick-up truck was pulling out of a parking lot on a busy street. She’d stopped ahead of the sidewalk to wait for traffic to clear, which I took to mean (since I couldn’t see her face) that she knew I was there and was also waiting for me to run by.

 Well,  she was actually talking on a cell phone and stepped on the gas as I was literally in front of the truck. I jumped out of the way just in time. She didn’t even roll down the window to see if I was alright.

I’ve had to yell at drivers making right hand turns at red lights who are looking away from me.  They slowly creep into the crosswalk not bothering to look to see if there’s a pedestrian looking to cross.

What really makes me angry is the fact I took defensive driving courses to get my license. I was taught to check my blindspot before making ANY turn, regardless of whether I have a green light or I’m turning into a driveway.

 There are drivers on the road who never had to learn how to drive defensively and they are dangerous.  They don’t check before pulling out of driveways to make sure the way is clear, they don’t look for pedestrians at controlled intersections and they don’t make eye contact with pedestrians so they know it’s safe to cross.

I think driver’s education should be mandatory and I think people should have to take a refresher course as they get older. I also think Ontario should stop allowing right hand turns on red lights. Usually it’s safe to do so, but there have been too many times some jerk is looking for traffic to clear so they can go and not paying attention to people trying to cross. What if it was a kid in a stroller instead of a runner who can jump out of the way?

I know it’s hard to legislate common sense, but since there’s an obvious lack of it on our streets maybe we can do something to make our roads just a little safer.

 Kate

Charlie’s recovery from surgery is going much better than I expected. In fact, if it wasn’t for two small incisions in his backside, you wouldn’t know he’d been to the vet.

 He’s under doctors order not to exercise too much. (Don’t you wish your doctor would give you an order like that) But little Chuck has other ideas. He has his favourite toys and loves to play with them. He’ll pick the one up and throw it to himself for hours. It’s been difficult to keep him from running around too much.

You wouldn’t think having a happy, healthy, well adjusted kitty would be a problem. But for the past week, Charlie had decided that 4:30 a.m. is his favourite time to play. He’ll grab his favourite toys, (all of which have bells or make some kind of noise) bring them into my room and entertain himself. If I put the toys away before I go to bed, Charlie makes do by pouncing on my feet.

Despite the bags under my eyes, I still think adopting Charlie was a good decision. He’s cute and keeps Aldo company. Also, if I’m on a date and I need an “out” I just talk about my two “boys” and he usually asks for the check within 30 minutes.

Charlie finally got settled so it was time to go the vet. He needed his shots and to be neutered.

 I felt really guilty taking him in. I tricked him to get him into his carrier by putting treats in there. For the past three weeks treats have always meant he was going to get pet or played with. Today, they were used for a much more sinister purpose.

 When I slammed the door shut, he immediately freaked out. He stuck is furry little paw through the bars and cried. I kept telling him it was going to be okay, but I knew full well it wasn’t. In few short hours he would be in pain, and missing part of his manhood.

The vet’s office assured me Charlie wouldn’t feel much. They would be using a laser that would cauterize the incision so it wouldn’t really hurt. But c’mon! That’s still got to sting!

I know in the long run this is the best for Charlie. I’m a firm believer in spaying and neutering. But looking into his trusting face, as he ran towards me to get a treat this morning, made me feel just a little evil.

 I hope little Chuck can forgive me.

 Kate