12:20 a.m. - 2004-07-19
Day and Night
Well if it is true that saunas help one cleanse one's system and lose weight I should have really made some progress today. It was above 30C/90 F by noon and, with no air conditioning, our home is like a sweat box. By supper time I turned the cold water on in the shower and let it run in order to cool things down. The poor cats were all just stretched out on the floor - those fur coats you know. I took a mister and wetted them all down. The adult cats disappeared down into the basement where it is relatively cool with the boys for company, but it isn't a kitten friendly environment so me and one or two of their moms stayed upstairs to supervise them.
Finances were a theme today - as in where is my paycheque? Most staff were paid on Wednesday but there are always a few glitches that have to be dealt with, aren't there. After dealing with a couple I changed my voicemail number to give the 1-800 number that workers have to call to get anything done. I have no influence whatsoever. The only exception was my new Assistant. She is on salary like me so we are dealt with differently. She hasn't received any pay in that position yet. It's not surprising since she took on the task - at Ottawa's request the day before the election. Her paperwork more than likely got lost in the shuffle since it was sent to one of the legal staff first because of some of the issues surrounding the change.
Also talked with one of my staff about a letter of recommendation. That's one of my favorite parts of the job. Helping really good workers find more permanent employment. It was very easy to write her letter and we went on to talk about personal things. She'd had been at a wedding in the mountains this weekend. If I ever remarried - not very likely, but whatever - that is the way I would want to have it. Someplace quiet and a beautiful natural setting, an ocean ceremony would be a second choice. This sounded like a big affair but I think all I'd want is something very small and intimate. I don't like crowds or social functions at all. I like them even less when one is expected to be "on show". Not my idea of a good time.
Anyway then we started discussing discrimination in the workplace based on different stereotypes. It is very frustrating and deciding when to speak up or when to just suck it up was another long analysis. Sometimes it is imperative to say something even if it doesn't help you. The reason some behaviour continues for so long is because it is never exposed, let alone challenged. I talked about the trouble I had in the past two elections identifying who was acting in a manner that made people of non-European backgrounds quit - if they actually were hired to start with. I had asked a number of people I knew from different backgrounds to work with me but found that they were leaving without telling me what had happened. It is very difficult to fire someone who is acting in a discriminatory manner unless you can be certain that you have grounds. I had to split up two people who had been a team for the past two elections who I suspected of being the source of the problem, in order to determine who was doing what. Even so, it took a good deal of time this time to catch the behaviour because it was cloaked as a lot of other things. The only real way to see what was happening was to look at the pattern of behaviour and the people who were always on the receiving end of such, once the person was isolated so that they had to do their own dirty work. I know that the people being discriminated against are often too afraid and too tired of dealing with it to take on another battle. If it isn't dealt with well one can also be labelled as a troublemaker which makes one's own personal situation even more precarious down the line. Anyway we talked about women's issues in general and then those of single moms and of people who are poor. All circumstances that the two of us have in common and where we have experienced the same treatment in the workplace as a result.
A lot of people raising their frustrations about how difficult it is to raise their own children without running into interference and censure. That happens when there isn't enough money to buy all the bells and whistles that people now judge as showing parenting skills. Expensive clothes and toys seem to count for more than the quality of the work done with the child themselves. Very shallow and not a good harbinger for the future either.
Time for bed I think, work soon.
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