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8:35 PM - 26.11.04
Walking To Memphis
I was dreaming in French - la belle langue - today. I seemed to be in a boardroom in Ottawa working with another woman. It would have been early May or late September based on the angle of the sunlight at 2 in the pm. We were preparing for a teleconference and were speaking in English. When the phones began ringing we switched over to French. I must have been fairly competent in the language because I was only giving the conversations half an ear while I was multi-tasking on paperwork sitting spread out over a beautiful cherry wood conference table. The dreaming me was responding in colloquial phrases that I - the observer - knew the meaning of but yet could not have known without a good translation dictionary under normal circumstances. The dream ended when the dreaming me got stumped on one phrase and said we had to go get that dictionary. I don't know where that little reservoir of knowledge is located in my brain, but I wish I could find it for waking time - then the calls from Ottawa would be less stressful. I hate not being able to speak as well as necessary en francais.

My youngest and I headed off for a follow up visit to our doctor this morning. It was just a tad nippy. My youngest noted that it was too hard to keep going from warm buildings to cold and back again. He's right, of course. When travelling in winter it's best to stay in the cold once you've gone out rather than seeking temporary shelter breaks. What is toughest on the body and the immune system is to have to keep readjusting it's thermostat to accommodate such significant temperature changes. As we were discussing that I was getting flashes of the movie "Cool Runnings" the story about the Jamaican bobsled team who became so popular in Calgary when they were competing in the 1988 Winter Olympics. They had heart and in this city that counts for a lot - sometimes. The scene I recalled was the one where their trainer - John Candy - was trying to find a way for the team to experience the type of cold that they would face in Calgary while they were still in Jamaica. Funny.

The doctor was pleased with the results of my son's tests - he'd had the full lab suite, an x-ray and an ecg. No concerns. I was really taken aback when he even suggested that the last two be done. My son is only 16, so he shouldn't even be having symptons like that yet. Yes I know it is showing up in younger and younger people but even so.. We did discuss the potential of an ulcer though. Still repercussions from the bullying a few years back. A different course of meds to try and deal with that before doing any other work. We both were put back on antibiotics - those asthma attacks had set us back a bit.

Before going to see the doctor we had popped into one of the big hardware stores close by, because we were early and it made sense. We picked up an upgraded furnace filter to remove more allergens and gunk from the air, cold air return filters, covers for the places we think the cigarette smoke is coming through the wall and surgical/safety masks for the rest of the cleaning duties we still need to complete. My son tried one on when we arrived back home and wondered how he was supposed to breathe through one. I told him that he'd get used to it.

When I assisted with burn patients' care in the hospital we always had to be fully gowned and masked before we could go near them. The skin is the body's first line of defense against bacteria and germs. Burn patients have lost that protection. Half of every day I spent in the hydrotherapy suite - hot and humid - with the gown, scarf and mask firmly in place so that they weren't exposed to anything brought in from the outside or other parts of the hospital. The masks also protected us, since a lot of the patients developed serious respiratory illnesses as part of their injuries - either from breathing in the smoke or the flames. If you need to deal with the discomfort you can - it's better than the alternative. For our current situation masks trump asthma attacks thank you very much.

I had checked three hardware stores out online for prices before we left home. The one we went to - Canadian Tire - was the only one where I could even find the supplies I needed. I looked under heating and ventilation, and building supplies - isn't that where they should be? Anyway they got our business because they had made their site user friendly for non tradespeople too. Retail 101.

In the news today one of those juxtapositions that just demands comment. In the first section speculation that there would be a mini baby boom next summer. Reason? No hockey to divert the attentions elsewhere. I actually had been wondering my self what effect the absence of such a key "cultural" activity in Canada would be. I visualized families spending more time together. Maybe reading books or going to the theater - live theater - or concerts. All the extra time plus the unspent cash on season tickets, booze, munchies et al would make all that possible. Maybe even more volunteerism. Dreamer you say. Apparently what the experts are prognosticating is that well you know - more baby making. I think they were thinking of that one day blackout in New York or our ten day block party aka the Calgary Stampede as a reference. That was story number one.

In the Lifestyle segment of the paper the busy bees had done an online survey about the local population's sexual attitudes and practices. A glimpse of one question had me go back and read through the rest of the survey, even though it really has no bearing on my life. That question? Which would you rather - watch hockey or have sex? 17% responded watch hockey. Uh huh. An extra 17% increase in "the act" is not going to generate a baby boom. I think the experts in the first story are all wet.

One of the really positive outcomes that is already apparent though, is that the many other sports played and the athletes who compete in them in this city are finally getting some press coverage too. No more 15 pages of hockey hype with the back of the last page reserved for "everything else". About time. No more hockey? Well there is life beyond it that's for sure - one that's probably healthier and less violent too. Cross country skiing or tobogganing, skating or a walk in the snow anyone?

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