12:54 a.m. - 2003-03-02
Ah Hah
I did the stair climb with Miss Kitty for the first time in about three weeks. Between the twisted knee and the side effects of the antibiotics I was given for an ear infection (tendonitis), it wasn't reasonable to risk more damage to the joints before now. I don't really understand why only the left side was affected, but that's how it shook out. Miss Kitty and I both enjoyed the play time and it felt good. It is also muy good not to look like Festus (Gunsmoke) when I walk anymore.
Went and picked up groceries today. All of a sudden a snare drum could be heard throughout the store. Turned out to be the Shriners promoting their circus here in a couple of weeks. Clowns were marching along with the drummer, playing with the little ones and handing out passes. The rest of us relaxed and enjoyed the fun. I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't realize how much I needed something ordinary and fun to occur. All the saber rattling and venom being kicked up, both locally and globally, has weighed a lot heavier on me than I would have believed possible. I think it's because one doesn't have any control over the sources of aggression, but is required to cope with the negativity and the fallout. It would be nice to shut all the bullies up in one virtual boxing ring and leave them there to duke it out. The rest of the world could then get on with more productive activities. Guess not though.
My total bill when I finished shopping certainly gave me pause. I had sat down and looked at my T4 slips the other evening in preparation for doing my taxes. When I added them up to get my total income, I had a hard time understanding why my finances were so tight when I wasn't working. I thought I had been quite careful. Truth is, I was thinking in 1990 dollars for the new decade. When I sat down with pen and paper and wrote down the essential monthly expenses, it didn't take long to figure out where it had gone. I didn't even cipher in things like clothing, school fees, or entertainment, because those aren't the things that keep food on the table and a roof (heated if possible)overhead. I should probably check the Statscan site to see what the cumulative inflation rate was over the last decade, but I'm not certain I want to know. Treading water is enough of a challenge without being told it is likely to go on for quite a bit longer, which is likely. My only consolation is that even people who are living on nearly double my income seem to be having trouble making their money stretch enough to meet expenses. I guess I should be pleased with the fact that I have coped as well as I have.
I should have read my newspapers on the days they arrived this week. When I read through them this afternoon, the lights went on. Apparently, one of the reasons Elections Canada looked to be gearing up early for action was because one of the leading candidates for the ruling party's leadership, had posited the idea that EC should administer their vote to clean up some of the mischief and bias that occurs in party politics. In truth, something should be done about that for all of the parties, but I'm not certain an organization that is supposed to be non-partisan and apolitical could succeed in reining in the party politics. Truthfully too, I would have a very difficult time administering a vote, where children as young as twelve were allowed to cast a ballot and people who are not Canadian citizens are allowed the same privilege. Unless someone actually has enough information to understand the effects of their choices on the whole of society, I don't think balloting should be allowed. For those adults who note that they own property and pay taxes even if they aren't citizens - fine be grateful that you are being allowed to profit from our economy, that is your price of admission. Certain rights of citizenship, like voting, should be exclusive to Canadian citizens. Oh, and the leadership race? Not until the late fall. Ok. The other interesting piece was on the Kyoto Protocol. It appears there is some backtracking and shifting of positions occurring. The old East versus West routine, so that our Premier - Canadian for Governor - can haul out his old "let's secede from the union" spiel on behalf of his patrons who still don't like being held accountable for their actions.
I spent time mulling over one other thing that came out of the last work week too. End of Friday T2, after 4 pm, emailed me to let me know I couldn't work late on the nights I have my belly dance class to accumulate hours to put toward taking in house courses, because I wasn't eligible for said courses. Besides, she noted, she needed me physically present all day, every day in the library. This, in spite of the direction earlier that I am not to help with research and that I'm strictly to catalogue data. So why does it matter which hours those are? More confusing is that during the team meeting, she said some courses would be mandatory for everyone or should be, and urged us all to sign up. Then, in addition, she tacked on another change to my work conditions. Originally, I had been told I was required to work 40 hours per week no more no less. No problem. I had been taking half or three quarters of an hour for lunch so I could leave at 4:15 pm. That gets me home just after 5pm. If I don't leave until 4:30 pm, then I'm walking in my door close to 6 pm, because that is when the transit schedules switch over to slower service. That extra hour is what I've been using to make certain I get the extra rest I need to stay healthy after the last couple of years of bad health. The health problems were due mostly to too much stress and too many hours of work trying to keep my guys and me housed and fed. As long as I put in the time, as a contractor who invoices by the hour, I don't believe anyone should feel they have the right to control every variable in my work day. What next? Someone telling me when my washroom breaks are scheduled? If, perhaps, this was being applied to everyone else as a company policy then I would accept it, but neither the PC nor B are held to those hours. I'm not spending company time on the phone for personal business, nor do I socialize during the work day as do the rest of the members on the team. So why am I being singled out this time. Sometimes I wonder if it wasn't always planned that this assignment would be terminated on one pretext or another. In so doing, justification could be provided for hiring the PC on full time. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to think that maybe they should succeed. They deserve each other. I usually don't get or feel this rebellious in a work situation, I can usually find enough to be grateful for just having employment, but I am really frustrated with the garbage that has continously been thrown out since I started. Top it off with the fact I forget to pull my CD case out of the drawer it was in when I left Friday. Given that I'm not allowed any secure space to keep my things, I don't even know if it will be there when I arrive Monday morning. Just frustrated. In some ways, an election call in the next little while would work well for me, but it makes no sense to leave our country so vulnerable with all the international flak right now.
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