1:46 AM - 11.10.04
Merci
My youngest and I have spent most of the day doing home repair and care kind of activities. Groceries first. Thanksgiving tomorrow requires certain traditional foods, you know. Met one of my really good election workers there on the job. Asked him if he was willing to give me more time this round if parliament is dissolved. He said yes, and allowed that he was willing to take on more responsibility as well. That is good news. I`d finished my response to the letter of complaint Ottawa had called me about a couple of days ago. The writer had said that the only reason my staff had even given them a hearing was that they had gone to the labour board with a complaint about not being paid for training - although it turns out they had - and that the two had been intimidated into doing the right thing only because of that. At the grocery store I shopped in today, there is a two day training program where workers are assessed. Only after they`ve completed their training are they told whether they have a job or not. Not only that, no one is paid for the time that they spend in the training session. Quite frankly, I think that is wrong, but the labour board allows it, so I suspect that the person in question was pursuing a vendetta. Neither of my staff could recall a mention of the labour board during any of their discussions and neither of them is the type that would make a decision about such an issue without checking with me first. They know better. Oh well.
Next up, when we returned home we basically did the old tear a couple of rooms apart and clean them from top to bottom. The reason? Well, my Dad`s neighbours two doors down have been transferred down east. It would cost them more to ship their furniture than to buy new stuff. They decided new was better. Maybe their employer helps out with the expenses. A lot do simply because of the "Crow Rate" - that evil surcharge imposed when shipping manufactured goods from west to east in this country. Anyway the upshot is that my Dad bought their couch set from them. Mine has been shredded from years of use by boys and cats and it embarrasses me every time I have to look at it. Even using a cover doesn`t help much, the poor old thing is just too beat up. I couldn`t afford to replace it, but my Dad decided that this suite was too good a bargain to pass up. When I know when my next paycheque is coming I`ll make certain he`s the first bill paid.
One thing I did learn today came from the Returning Officer who is currently working in the Ukraine. She noted that the pay that we received is for work done in the past three months and that our bonus still hasn`t been paid. That even makes sense in a wry sort of way. It also means I don`t feel as badly about all the extra work I`ve done the past three months. Does it account for all the hours I`ve put in? Nope, not even close, but something is much better than nothing isn`t it? The timing couldn`t have been better either - gives me some breathing space to look for other work. It also means I know that I will be paid - hopefully - for the work done during the election itself that hasn`t been compensated as yet. I`m thankful that things have worked out as they have. At least I can be certain that my bills are covered that way - at least for the next little while.
While my youngest was sluicing out the floors upstairs, I made a guerilla raid on his room and carried away a sink full of dirty dishes as treasure - I figured I`d find most of my missing cutlery there. Carried out one full leaf bag of garbage too. Scenes from the movie "The Impossible Years" kept flashing through my head. I know very well that a teen`s room is supposed to be considered their private space and respected as much as one expects them to respect yours. However, there comes a point where the idea of a health inspector failing your home based on that one room becomes a question at the back of ones mind too. Who knows what is growing on that month old pizza? Maybe penicillin to be sure, since cheese was a main ingredient, but it could also be mutated "something else" - right? He was quite miffed when he caught me in the act of pulling out all the stuff under his bed - "Is this the thanks I get for helping you with the living room?" Well yes, as a matter of fact it is. You might not sleep better but I will.
My youngest and I were mostly finished carrying the old sofa site out to sit in the garden for now, when the phone rang. It was number three son`s buddy in Vancouver just calling to touch base, he said. He told me about his new job with one of the internet`s big shopping agents and allowed it was an eye opener in more ways than one. "How can people be so gullible" was the theme. He also just finished his first gemology exam and was pleased with his performance, so things are looking up for him. I think though, that he was calling more to find out about my work situation. Even though Calgary is a big city, this community is more like a small town. He seemed to want to hear the details from me rather than rely on what he`d heard elsewhere. We chatted a bit about one of the regulatory bodies that oversees the industry and whether it might become involved. Not at my initiation, but that doesn`t mean that their attention won`t be directed that way by what has been going on in the office the past month or so. It might be a blessing that I`m out of there at that. Well let me correct that - it is already a blessing, except for the loss of income. It would just be the topper in a lot of ways.
Anyway it`s time to take a couple of things out of the oven where they`ve been bubbling along very nicely,thank you very much, and also to change the clothes in the washer. Three or four loads of laundry, three loads of dishes, several buckets of wash water for the wood floors/walls, and a couple of showers in to the mix - means my water bill will get a workout I guess. Good night dear diary. Happy Thanksgiving.
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