Ann-Marie's Blog

Baby Boomers & beyond: ELTON JOHN is coming to Moncton & SAINT JOHN, NB, CANADA

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:10:15 -0500

Elton John is here for 2 nights, in two cities, in New Brunswick.

On September 28, 2008, Elton John will play at the Moncton Coliseum, in Moncton, NB, beginning at 8:00 p.m.

Then two days later:

On September 30, 2008, Elton John will play at the Harbour Station, in Saint John, NB, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

TICKETS: Costs between $95.50 - $149.50 + service charges

CONTACT: Moncton: Tel # (506) 857-4100 or

Online: www.monctoncoliseum.com or www.geg.ca

Saint John: Tel # (506) 657-1234 or 1-800-267-2800

Online: www.harbourstation.com

*** There is a maximum limit of 4 tickets that you can buy.

Look out Baby Boomers, their offsprings, their offsprings offsprings, ENJOY AN EVENING WITH ELTON JOHN....

$200/BARREL FOR OIL = U.S. FINANCIAL DISASTER & probably a few more countries will FALL...

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:25:53 -0500

The U.S. (& probably CANADA, EUROPE, etc) is heading for a FINANCIAL DISASTER according to a Jordan journalist, if we continue to allow oil speculators to control the price of oil. Many 3rd world countries are increasing their desire for oil and want the same driving rights that the we currently have. So the demand is increasing EXPONENTIALLY.

This journalist believes that as the price goes up, when it reaches $200/barrel, we will economically collapse.

What an economic war we will have then, and we will be fighting within ourselves just to SURVIVE...

We have to change our policies from the ground up, since putting increased presssure on the Oil Producing countries to produce more oil hasn't brought down the price of oil...

We as "gas guzzling countries still driving ALCOHOLIC LIVING ROOM cars, trucks & SUVs" have to change our lifestyles on driving and use alternative forms of energy to send the strongest message of all.

If you don't like the predictions, let's change our lifestyle as a country or countries and the oil speculators will disappear.

I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with the manipulation of my bank account due to very high oil prices.....

Here's the website for your viewing: "http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/business/10228320.html"

;>O

WOW! WOW! WOW! We are FINALLY getting a WORLD CLASS SKATEBOARD PARK!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:34:28 -0500

Wow! It's a miracle! Saint John's City Council has finally agreed to construct a $600,000 World Class skateboard park.

Discusssions originated around 1996, but there wasn't a location picked and many delays. In stepped the Fundy Skateboard Association, which was formed to motivate the city into making a decision & keeping it in the forefront within the public's eyes & ears.

New Line Skateparks Inc. have created the design which will be located underneath one end of the Harbour Bridge and will remove a parking area to the Harbour Station. It will be facing the Atlantic Ocean or what we call "The Bay of Fundy" view.

The construction will begin at the end of this summer and hopefully will be finished before the beginning of next summer.

Look out WORLD OF EXTREME SPORTS here comes Saint John to join your ranks and all the additional revenues to follow.

The best part of all, is all the kids of Saint John will have something constructive & fun to do with all of their time, including some adults.

;>)

Finally, I'm celebrating both CANADA DAY and INDEPENDENCE DAY with a different outlook...

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:00:59 -0500

I believe I have the roaming countries in my blood because ironically, in the 1950's, both of my parents came from Europe and became citizens of the U.S. My Dad was from Italy and my Mom was from France. Both settled in New York City, where I was born.

This year, my family and I received our Permanent Residency in Canada, and so on Canada Day, I will have a different outlook on life. I will also be celebrating my native country’s July 4th holiday.

Our Canadian Permanent Residency got me thinking about how the two countries celebrate their "independence".

Four years ago, in 2004, I experienced both national holidays: the U.S. July 4th and Canada's July 1st, having moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada from St. Joseph, Michigan, which was my last U.S. location.

It seems that most U.S. and Canadian communities usually have a fireworks display with family & friends attending barbecues and other events, including running marathons and sports. Canada's national sports are Hockey, Hockey, and more Hockey. Meanwhile, the U.S. has baseball and the anticipation of Football in the coming months.

In the U.S., independence is a bold idea for many citizens: the sense that one's life is affected by a struggle for freedom from an undesirable system of British rule. Thomas Jefferson and his small band of writers crafted their very own constitution from what the colonists wanted for governmental setup, taxation, and other laws - not from leftovers from anyone else's traditions.

The tradition of fireworks displays as a symbolic representation of our freedom stems from the collective memory of the cannon fire on the battlefields against the British in the War of Independence.

Instead, the Fourth of July festivities, like those on Canada Day, have a sense of family - surely a larger one - a national family!
My fellow Americans focus on eating, drinking and being merry; the beginning of summer tends to throw off the chains of the everyday work life and making people feel as though they are breaking free. It's more than just a party; the national holiday is rooted in who we are, how we got here, and what that means to us.

Canada's celebration of Confederation - the formal reason for the holiday on July 1st - seems much less rooted in history. Few would argue that Confederation itself wasn't a significant event or worth celebrating, only that it was perhaps less dramatic than the coming of the American Independence.

In fact, the nature of Canada’s negotiated autonomy from colonial rule really justifies a somewhat lower key celebration. One could argue that instead of battling and defeating the British, Canada’s Confederation and independence grew in progressive steps - from legislative assembly to Dominion to establishing their own strength in foreign affairs at the Treaty of Versailles to the Statute of Westminster in the 1950's - granting them greater control over their legal system - to the repatriation of the Constitution in 1982 to continued debate and discussion over membership and responsibilities within the Confederation itself.

Rather than looking back, Canada Day seems to celebrate who Canadians are as a country now and how they continue to grow and evolve. Sure Canadians have things they need to work on and issues that they need to solve, but the world recognizes that they're trying and doing many things better than any other nation on earth. Canadians are better world negotiators.

The truth is Canadians seem to celebrate Canada on the birthday of Confederation out of convenience. The act of Confederation itself isn't the achievement; their fireworks speak to their twentieth century achievements, including their world recognition as leaders in the pursuit of peace, justice and development throughout the world.

The best part of experiencing both national holidays is that one really isn't better than the other. The American celebration is bigger, bolder and brasher and it reflects the reality of how the United States of America came to be: its brazen beginning merits boisterous commemoration.
Canada, as polite, jovial and good humored as it is, continues to smile good-naturedly at comparisons to its brasher neighbor and wave smaller flags in celebration of what may yet come. It seems to be the most diplomatic of the two countries - and it shows.

That can be just as much reason to be patriotic towards my new country!

So let me know: what do you think about the similarities or differences between the two countries and their independence celebrations???

We MUST Reduce Our Carbon Foot Print or we will no longer exist as humans, and the Earth will still be here without us...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:36:42 -0500

Since I couldn't find the information about the Canadian footprint I will give you info on the U.S. Carbon Footprint. I will find out what the Canadian footprint is, but since my original country is the U.S. I feel that I should write this info.

In the U.S. the EPA has calculated that within a household of two people generates approximately 41,000 lbs of carbon emissions per year. If the U.S. has approximately 304 million people (Dec 2007). That means we have a carbon footprint of 12,464,000,000,000. WOW!!! 12.5 TRILLION. Not including the industry polluters. Think of the Asthma problem now!

Keep in mind, that we are only one country!! Now, add all of the industrial countries; Canada, all of Europe, Japan, Australia and some of the economically growing countries; China, India, etc. It's definitely way past several Trillion.

Why is this important? We have been experiencing global warming; with the extremely weather patterns, getting increasingly worse by the year, if not month to month. Much higher cancer rates, due to the upper ozone levels being depleted. Most importantly, we are leaving many of these problems to our future children, grandchildren or even great grandchildren, if we live that long

We must stop going through DENIAL, and have companies who are holding the PATENTS (and have been holding these PATENTS for years, with the blessing of the auto, oil & gas companies) to our future technologies release the alternative fuels, without maximizing on oil and gas profits, before the future technology is released. This will help many economies that are currently hurting due to digging very deep within our empty pockets for the cash to pump into our cars & groceries!!!

I recently put a downpayment on a SAGA 150cc scooter, since i believe my VW Bug still releases too much carbon on a daily basis.

Remember, the earth was here way before we were, and the Earth will still be here after the human existence is gone!!!

;>)

TD Canada Trust's Green Mortgage & Green Home Equity Line of Credit - Motivator for the public...

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:43:33 -0500

This the first of many green mortgage comparisons created to educate the public. For further details contact the bank stated

Today I went to my bank to open a business account and while I was getting ready to leave, I asked the bank representative if they had any Green Mortgages. She replied "YES!!!"

So, I got all the information possible...

TD Canada Trust has these details:

1) LIMITED OFFER (APPLIED FOR BETWEEN APRIL 25th-JULY 31st, 2008: They will rebate up to 1.5% of the amount of the mortgage or the fixed rate portion of the HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit), when you make ENERGY STAR qualified appliance purchases.

2) STANDARD (after July 31st, 2008) You will receive 1% off the posted interest rate on a 5 year fixed rate portion of a HELOC.

3) STANDARD (after July 31st, 2008) You will receive up to 1% of the amount of the mortgage or the fixed rate portion of the HELOC when you make ENERGY STAR purchases (not installation costs).

4) When you receive the rebate, TD Canada Trust will simultaneously donate $100 to the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

This is GREAT!!! It's an incentive for customers to financially benefit from retrofitting their homes and saving $$$ for the long-term..

;>)

<< Real Estate Agents needed to ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS TO Realtors wantabees....

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:25:44 -0500

My real estate friends, please answer these Real Estate Wantabees? Here's a site that needs to be answered, by a variety of Real Estate Agents & Brokers, for future Real Estate personnel..

Please do them a favor and answer there questions, since I've only been in the business for 4 months so far.

Here's the site: "http://www.43things.com/things/view/11656/become-a-real-estate-agent"

Thank you!!!!!

;>)

Make Your Kitchen GREEN.... And SAVE $$$$

Sat, 31 May 2008 16:31:57 -0500

If building your first kitchen or retrofitting your older kitchen, then consider building a GREEN KITCHEN. Start with picking the best EnergyStar or EnergyGuide appliances before you even consider the rest of the kitchen. That will start the process to saving $$$ every month.

NEXT, when you build the kitchen, forget the cherry, oak or any wood cabinets and granite countertops. Instead, looking for Recycled glass countertops, recycled marble floors, sunflower panels instead of drywalls and recycled cabinets.

A report by Industry Canada, indicates that it will only cost 2% more to build a Greener kitchen and it will save $$$ for the long-term on a monthly and annual bases.

WHAT A WAY TO LET YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS REALIZE THAT YOU CARE ABOUT THEM AND THE FUTURE PLANET'S NEEDS!!!

;>)

Americans & Canadians NEED TO USE LESS GAS: Europeans vs. Gas Producing Countries' PRICE/GALLON.....

Tue, 20 May 2008 19:55:29 -0500

Okay, Americans, Canadians are paying on the average for regular gas $4.70/gallon. Yes, Americans at the moment have it easier to us, and ironically, we have an oil refinery in neighboring City of Saint John, New Brunswick, that sends processed gasoline back to the U.S.

Here's a site that's dated for today May 20th 2008, I'm floored at how much Europeans pay for gas, relative to Americans & Canadians. Some Europeans countries are paying up to $10 - $11/gallon. We have it relatively easily right now. Compared to the next list on this site, we (Americans & Canadians) are paying too much. Venezuela is paying $0.12, YES, 12 cents/gallon.

You might find this article infuriating or happy, it's all relative on how you analyze it..

HERE'S THE SITE: "http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/104996/Why-Gas-in-the-U.S.-Is-So-Cheap"

YES!!! Medical School Coming to Saint John, New Brunswick

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:20:37 -0500

What a wonderful, exciting encouraging and motivating proposal for the Saint John students and their parents, now realizing that a state-of-art Medical School will be housed in the Saint John area. Having a Medical School in the area, will give local students resources for finishing their education locally, without moving out to get the professional training. This will give residents future doctors, nurses and other medical professionals.

Since most employers look to see what services the community have before they move into them. What a ingenious way to entice future employers to locate their corporations in the Saint John, New Brunswick area. This is working on the infrastructure of the community for future years to come.

People will be encouraged to move back, if not, move to Saint John, knowing that their families will have health professionals to visit in a shorter time frame. This is an absolutely wonderful way to motivate the public to a revitalized Saint John in years to come, especially as the uprising energy hub!!!

Our Moral Obligation to Educate Our Public on the Benefits of Conservation

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:21:07 -0500

If car salesmen, are getting a better rap for educating the public on energy efficient cars and how they work and how to obtain them, then as professional REALTORS®, it’s our moral obligation to educate our public on the benefits of conserving energy.

Unfortunately, the poorest of our public, would probably have the least energy efficient homes and not be aware of the energy programs to retrofit their home with very little money, especially if they are given a very low interest loan.

We would get much more creditability if we help our own countries poor and middle class, before and after the transaction of buying or selling a home.

CANADA: Saint John is Growing!!!

Sun, 04 May 2008 15:02:42 -0500

Welcome to Saint John, New Brunswick, CANADA!!! Where people are very friendly and transitioning from blue collar work to high skilled labor & technically advanced market. The area around Saint John is beginning to flourish, especially the Kennebasis Valley, Milledgeville and the River Valley area of Grand Bay-Westfield. WHY? The unlimited resources of minerals and the wonderful scenic hills of continous granite lined streets and waterways. This is an untapped market, getting ready to boom. My vision of the future, is continual job and economic growth, cultural diversification, with a "green" environment. With an increasily "green" environmental future, with the harbour cleanup initiative, this will become one of the greatest harbours on the eastern seaboard. With the building of a clean, environmentally friendly new technology oil refinery and the greenhouse free electrical output of the LePreau Generating Station and potential development of "wave energy" conversion technology, Saint Johners are looking to our children's future.

Parallels to Teaching and being a Real Estate Realtor

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 16:31:20 -0500

One day, when I was sitting at my desk, I thought about how teaching and real estate have wonderful similarities. Then I just started writing the similarities and saw a beautiful pattern within their associations.

Teaching is a wonderful profession, because it demands very broad knowledge of the subject matter, curriculum & standards, enthusiasm, a caring attitude & a love of learning. With teaching, you have to have clear and written-out objectives and know who (grade & age) you are teaching to.

In Real Estate, it demands you be well versed in your subject matter. You must know the laws of the real estate business inside & out. You also have to be aware of your market and who you are marketing to. You technically have transitioned from students to adults and are walking them through a constantly changing environment.

In teaching, you need discipline and classroom management techniques and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. You also have high expectations for your students and you never give up on them doing their best performance. You have to build a trust between your students and yourself, and have their best interest at heart.

As a Real Estate Realtor, you must be disciplined and organized to keep appointments, making cold & warm calls, and following through on sales & listings. You must be good with people, patient, understanding, compassionate, amiable and honest. As a good Realtor, you can easily establish a relationship built on trust between you and the perspective buyer or seller. You have to be an advocate to your client and always have the best interests of your client at hand.

With both teaching and real estate you have to engage people and get them to look at issues in a variety of ways. Form strong relationships and show that you care about them as people.

Do you agree or do you disagree? State your position and why?

Progress is GREAT in Saint John for creating an "Energy Hub" and for cleaning up the harbor!

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:04:50 -0500

It's wonderful to see the busy environment and the growing expectations for the Saint John "Energy Hub". With this endeavor, plus the harbor cleanup, will add to the enticement for future business interests to locate their businesses here in Saint John and their surrounding communities.

Let's make this transition as quickly and smoothly as possible, so the "outside world" and the "locals" can see the progression occurring. This will make the locals have faith in their community and the future it holds. As a transplant from "The States" I would love to see progressive and high end jobs settle in the Saint John community. It has wonderful hills, waterways and abundant natural resources, plus the added motivator; very friendly people.

Progress is GREAT for Saint John. Let's see it happen at a faster pace!!!