Happy New Year, Indeed

Craig Buntin might have been about the happiest guy out there to see the calendar finally roll over to 2008 a few weeks back.
Consider what's gone on in his life since the Canadian figure skating championships were held last January in Halifax. First his longtime partner and girlfriend Valerie Marcoux — the woman he'd won three straight national titles with from 2004-06 — decided it was time to move on with life and retired from the sport.
That left Buntin, who would dearly love to represent Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the city and province of his birth, without someone to get him there. And just beginning to think about an agonizing search that, months later, would finally lead him to Meagan Duhamel, whose hometown of Lively, Ont., is an appropriate match for her personality.
Then, a month after Marcoux's retirement, Buntin learned that his mother, Jan, had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. It has been become a cause and a crusade of the highest order for him ever since.
"I'm in the process of trying to organize a show to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's research," said Buntin, 27, who was born in North Vancouver, B.C. "I'm getting artists, I'm getting venues, I'm just out trying to get something together."
Buntin isn't sure yet where the show will be held — he says a small venue in Montreal is "gung-ho" to be a part of it, but he might also consider something in Toronto, where Jan Buntin lives.
"Right now, I'm looking at Montreal," he said. "But if Toronto is something that's going to raise more money or more awareness, then that's where it will be.
"But everything's still up in the air."
That might describe life in general. At least until he found Duhamel, who was so enthused about the prospects for their partnership that she's almost instantly packed her bags and moved to Montreal, where the duo is now based.
It's been a major race against the clock ever since.
"We haven't had a minute to waste, and have been taking advantage of every day and every hour we have together," said Buntin. "And finally it's coming together right now."
They finished sixth (and last) at HomeSense Skate Canada last November in Quebec City. But it's been leaps and bounds ever since.
"Oh my God, you can't even compare," said Duhamel, 22.
Now here they are, after a fine Canadian figure skating championships debut Friday night at Pacific Coliseum, sitting in second place after the short program, a mere 1.25 points behind first-place Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.
"When we holds hands and we step now, we're stepping in the same direction without even thinking about it. It's great," said Buntin. "But what you see right now is just a shadow of what we're going to be. Even tonight wasn't as good as we can be. It was very good and we're happy to come out at our first national championships like that. But we have a lot of potential. We've worked so hard and just being here is an accomplishment in itself."
Buntin admits he's sees a lot of himself in Duhamel, who had never lived away from home and family but didn't think twice about making the big move to chase her dreams.
"It's not home and I don't have my friends there and family," she said. "But the skating aspect of it I enjoy. The training centre is a lot different than I'm used to and I think it's been a really positive change."
Her partner might look at the end of 2007 the same way.
"Honestly, this past 12 months has been the most trying, difficult 12 months of my life," said Buntin. "But just to be here ... I haven't felt this appreciative for what I do. I haven't loved doing what I do like this in a long time."