1:11 AM - 21.11.04
Fire in The Head
Number four son was disposed to chat the other night. The one job he has is unionized and it has been quite an eye opener for him. Strike vote taken by the workers had been affirmative, so 72 hour notice was filed with the company. He was told to show up on Monday and either work or picket. It's one of those places where turnover of staff is astronomical because of the work conditions. The .30/hour raise just didn't do enough. He's one of the lucky ones being that he has a second job that he loves. Since it is close to Christmas maybe he can even take more hours there. The problem with strikes is that the loss of income during the event is rarely made up within a year to say nothing of getting ahead financially. The company may hurt from the loss of business but the staff will quickly realize that they are going to hurt more. They deserve to be fairly compensated but I'm not certain that this is the best option for them.
Plumbing woes again and I'm really getting fed up. Last night the pipe under the kitchen sink gave way again. Can't run any water at all without flooding the basement. That's in addition to water that is coming out cloudy from all the taps - something that wasn't an issue before the old hot water heater was replaced. Not only that each time one of us has a shower, that also floods the laundry room downstairs. My youngest had a look at what the plumber had done and figures the pipe he put in was cut too short for the space. I'm not certain why that would cause a major leak but I do know I don't want the same fellow back in my house again. Guess I'll deal with that on Monday.
The antibiotics are still making me feel like a Mack truck hit me. Ditto for my youngest. My entire store of energy is basically used up just by reading my email and the newspaper - then I have to go rest for a while. Got fed up with the mess that has been accruing though and did some housework then napped again. This evening was spent going through the election finances again that one last time before all the originals get sent off to Ottawa. I'll do that tomorrow while the Grey Cup is on - Canada's version of the Superbowl. Just like Thanksgiving our playoffs are quite a bit earlier than our neighbour to the south. It's simply a function of the weather.
Yesterday there was a skiff of snow all over when we woke up. Apparently it was just enough to cause major rush hour problems before it melted with the sunshine. Hundreds of accidents according to news reports. Absolutely not necessary either - it's just the drivers here won't acknowledge the change in road conditions and act accordingly. Means instead of getting a life they sometimes take one - or two. By nightfall it was warm enough that my neighbours to the west decided - at 3 in the am to set their firepit ablaze. Loud music and the usual drunken arguments to with that. It's rather unnerving to watch flames flicker inches from the wood fence or lie in bed watching those same flames light up the ceiling in a way ythat makes one reluctant to close one's eyes. I didn't - finally gave up and went surfing on the computer. At least I was conscious enough so that if it got out of hand I wouldn't have my home burnde down while I slept. Anyway it's quiet out there right now so maybe tonight will be better. Think I'll crawl into bed now so that I can get in a coupleof hours - just in case. Good night dear diary.
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