Years ago a relative suggested I should start a blog. Between work, volunteer activities and spending time with friends and family, my calendar is always full. I was told a blog would be a great way for people to keep abreast of my activities.So after years of procrastination (I never considered myself as the blogger "type") I've finally decided to start a blog.
My grandfather used to write daily logs. Each evening he'd sit at the dinning room table and write about the day's events. They weren't musings nor could you consider it a diary; it was mostly about business projects or what the kids had been up to: if someone was sick, had had a dance recital, or maybe an interesting function he'd attended that day. I always enjoyed reading his notes, and have decided that I would use a similar style for my blogging: depending on the day, I may just document the events that have transpired. But I will likely stray from my grandfather's style and throw in some personal reflections.
So here we go...
Today was a busy day at work. For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a Professional Engineer and am employed by Efficiency NB as their Energy Advisor. I help set policy and technical standards related to energy efficiency programs. It's a very interesting and rewarding job; I have been at ENB for over 4 years and in that time frame we have helped 10,000+ homeowners to reduce their energy consumption, manage their energy expenses and lessen their impact on the environment.
After 5 years of offering the same program, we decided to shake things up a bit and on April 1st we re-launched our residential programs. Financial incentives have been tailored to reflect both the amount of energy savings and the cost to perform the upgrade; the higher the potential for energy savings, the more money you'll get. I had a lot of fun over the past year doing an analysis of the program's previous structure and figuring out how we could get a better return on investment. By offering higher incentives for products such as geothermal, solar water heating and insulation, (and lowering incentives for items with the least potential for impact) it will be easier for homeowners to achieve their desired energy efficiency targets. And the government will be getting a better bang for their buck: for every dollar invested in home retrofits or a newly constructed energy efficient building, we will see greater reductions in energy consumption and therefore more savings back into the pockets of homeowners.
After spending the day working on technical documents for the revised program and finalizing a reference sheet for translating technical terms, I went for my allergy shots. I have monthly shots to help combat my dust allergy; I can't go anywhere without a box of tissues for my stuffy nose! I've been getting shots for about a year now - they appear to be helping, but it really takes about 18 months before you can be sure. Fingers crossed that things improve over the coming months...I'm sure my co-workers will appreciate the absence of nose blowing!
After my adventure at Allergy NB, I went to the Citizen's Advisory Committee meeting. The CAC is made up of 10 citizens of the City of Saint John and we provide input to the development of a new municipal plan. The process has been dubbed PlanSJ. I'm very excited to be involved in this project - tonight's meeting was to preview the presentation for tomorrow's workshop. Each phase of PlanSJ involves workshops to get feedback from the public. Now that we have a Growth Strategy in place (where we will/won't grow), it's time to talk neighborhoods: some are residential, others commercial, some mixed-use and others industrial (it wouldn't be SJ without an over abundance of industrial lands!). The conversation will focus on appropriate density (urban vs. suburban neighborhoods), use (residential vs. commercial) and the type of buildings appropriate in each area. The results of tomorrow's workshops will set the tone for the by-laws to be developed and enforced under the new plan.
After PlanSJ I was off to Churchill's Pub with some fellow CAC members to talk hockey, politics, waterfront development, and whatever other topics came up! (The Sea Dogs are now up 3-1 in the 1/4 finals...by the way)
And now I must go to bed - another busy day tomorrow!
I've created this blog as a way for friends, family, or anyone else who wants to read it, to keep up with what's happening in my life. Not likely to be controversial, but hopefully insightful and occasionally fun/funny :)
