It's sort of a confusing start.

Where to from here -

It reminds me of counting backward yet moving forward. Another year of double zeros though at least this time they've been split up, divided by a one, changed. People say change is good, for the better even. Maybe my luck will change for the better in the new year. Maybe Newfoundland's luck will change for the better too. This is what we all wonder as we pack up the Christmas tree, unpack our suitcases and consider the pounds we packed on over the holidays. Am I right? Hey? We ask ourselves, where will 2010 take us? Will it be somewhere good? What should we bring? As a person who packed and unpacked around about eighteen times last year, these questions run a loop in my mind.

Where will 2010 take us? I know where I would like it to take us. I hope it takes us into a financially and environmentally responsible decade where minimum wage becomes competitive with the rest of Canada and politicians are held accountable daily. I hope transportation to and from the island becomes safer, less costly and more efficient. I hope Labrador roads continue to improve to a point of actually being paved and that isolated communities are better cared for throughout the long, cold winters. I hope dental care is made affordable and available to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I hope tuition rates drop and the high interest rates applied to federal student loans are made a scam of the past. I hope doctors are encouraged to settle in aging communities where they are greatly needed and I hope heritage structures in rural areas are protected rather than demolished. I hope people keep returning from Alberta. Oh, and I hope St. John's finally gets a decent hockey team.

Will it be somewhere good? It could be. I mean, oil and gas exploration in the province continues to grow. Minimum wage has increased to 9.50 and is set to increase by 50 cents again in July bringing Newfoundland's minimum wage earners on par with their counterparts in Ontario. Politicians are actually being punished (though not nearly severely enough if you ask me) for lining their pockets and filling their gullets with our money and seem to be heeding the outraged citizen if at least for the moment.

The Atlantic Vision is being scrutinized by all after spending nineteen hours out to sea and though Marine Atlantic blames it on the weather, we all know it's been windy here before. Air Canada has determined yet again that a direct flight to Europe is feasible only after a competitor, Go Travel, started offering flights. All very suspicious indeed but the monopoly has been challenged at least for the time being. There is some sort of drivable road in Labrador, better late than never, and the Williams government is promising to turn their gaze beyond the Avalon. Tuition is frozen even if the ground isn't and provincial student loan interest has been abolished (though the Federal part is what's painful.)

There are three doctors in Flower's Cove! An all time high in my memory and inter-provincial migration statistics claim we stopped hemorrhaging people to the mainland. On the downside, most of us can't afford even a conversation with a dentist, people keep tearing down saltboxes and they use Mile One for Bill Cosby shows.

What should we bring? Maybe the hardest of all the questions.

How do we prepare for the future? The unknown.

I can only say what I hope to bring with me as we'll all need different things I guess. I will (or at least try to) bring an open mind, informed opinions, patience and optimism. I will bring determination, confidence and professionalism...whenever possible. I will bring an appropriate amount of outrage (and I don't mean full on temper tantrums, I will try to leave those in 2009.)

I will bring punctuality, discipline and thoughtful articulation. Not thinking before we speak is a prevalent characteristic throughout the island and though it is sometimes funny, it more often gets us in a hot mess. I would prefer less foot in mouth moments in 2010. More than anything else, I am going to bring myself to the new year. Meet whatever the future holds in an engaged fashion because avoiding only allows things to fester and like a cancer, grow. Oh, and I'm going to bring my parka. Cause it's got to snow sooner or later, right?

What are you bringing?