The YMCA in Fort McMurray

Dear Fort McMurray:

Please, oh please, will you construct a new leisure centre and/or fitness centre in Timberlea?

I am tired of going to the YMCA dungeon to work out. While I appreciate they do the best they can with the resources they have, the place is just not fit for purpose. There are no windows. The ventilation is less than ideal. The equipment - the pieces from 1979 and the ones from 2009 - is broken too often. There is only one squash court and the place is so busy after 6 p.m. that it's almost pointless going there because you can't get a full workout in unless you stick around for three hours waiting for equipment.

We pay a good fee ($57 a month) for a facility that isn't fully operational. I shouldn't have to see six treadmills and four ellipticals "down for maintenance" in December with signs on them from October.

What happens to our $ every month? Surely my membership fee alone could have paid for some new dumbbells. Or a few months of a few of our memberships could pay for some maintenance people to get up here and fix the cardio equipment.

Oh wait, the young guy at the desk did tell me they were going to paint it downstairs. Unfortunately, you know what they say about putting lipstick on a pig...

Part of me feels guilty for writing this and putting down the facility, but the other part of me is angry that I have to pay such a fee for a facility that doesn't seem to be well taken care of.

Just where does my $57 go every month? At least if there was a premium facility in Thickwood/Timberlea, the Y would be forced to step up their game a little.

Until then, I'll put the pressure on in my own passive aggressive way and continue paying my monthly fee.

Take that, you southerners

To all of you people who criticize us and call us crazy for living in this "god-forsaken dirthole" of Fort McMurray, I would like to tell you all to stuff it.

As those in the southern part of the province struggle with four-foot-high snow drifts and shutdown highways, we are enjoying (fairly) clear skies. Sure, it's chilly, but it's not unbearable.


Up here, we have come to terms that winter has begun.

We do not cry when it snows three inches (we celebrate that it's not six or eight or ten).*

We do not mope when it's -20 outside (because when the wind hits and it's -20 here, it's actually -30).*

We do not spend the better part of the winter months criticizing our city's inability to clear snow.*

While I can't exactly say we all embrace the winters here--because trust me, they do suck-- we live with them. We know they arrive in November/Decemberish and end in Aprilish.

However, the one great thing about the winters here is that they make you appreciate every single morsel of sunshine and warm weather between May and September. Seriously, few people appreciate summer like the people here.

In the heart of the summer months, it's broad daylight in the wee hours of the morning (I can't tell you how many times I've sat straight up in my bed afraid I was late for work, only to glance at my alarm clock and see that it's 4 a.m.), and it's light out until 11 p.m. (at least). It's nice to be able to start double-header baseball games at 6 p.m. in April on fields with no lights.

Another point I'd like to make is that many people who live here can afford to take a winter vacation to help break up the cold weeks. I know there are many who can't, but it's definitely a perk if you can plan your dollars properly to enjoy this winter indulgence.

So, before I end up ranting about how much I like this place (because, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, I've kind of fallen for it), I'll stop here and tell you all to re-think the next time you want to bash us for living up here.

*denotes the fact I may perform this action in future without any backlash from readers