fred

i've acclimatized to changing time zones one week at a time. i'm now at the homestead, looking forward to reading my stack of books on the deck, sorting through beach glass with simon, and generally hoping the rain will stop.

i'm so disappointed to find that fredericton keeps expanding southward. UNB has leased off parcels of the woodlot, and we now have big boxes moving in, cluttering the drive to new maryland. i have seen the future, and it looks like edmonton.
you can drive for an hour in any direction without hitting a dense collection of trees (not a forest mind you, but a patch of trees). every neighborhood has its own mall: southgate, northgate, bonniedoon, kingsway, west ed mall of course, and south edmonthon common. each mall has all the same stores..... it's a gross nightmare, a city of malls with no gathering area and a ghost downtown that is empty of life by 6pm every night (except when the oilers win, then people get in their cars and drive all over the downtown waving at each other--but they don't get out).

oh fredericton. i'll be doing all my shopping downtown, at the Victory. and i can walk there.