01:00 - 19.02.06
Grey Tuesday
Today began a lot earlier than I had planned for last night. My youngest wandered into my bedroom before 8 am phone in hand. He sleeps with it, you see. This morning the penalty for that was that he had to come get me to listen to the voicemail of the one political candidate's representative - the one that missed our meeting last night. I decided to ignore it, since I had told him the night before that I would call him at 8:30 this morning. It's Saturday - I sleep in occasionally, you know. Anyway the phone rang again at 8:15 am. It was him again. His first comment was that the coffee shop we had originally planned to meet at was closed - forever. I had told him that last night when he called and tried to reschedule that meeting. "Well there's another coffee shop next door." "Yes so what's your point?" "Well I'm at the closed coffee shop and we can't meet here. You can come to this other place - right now." At that point I must admit I was rendered speechless - a very difficult task, as most of my family can attest. I thought maybe I was still sleeping and this was a weird nightmarish sequence. He was nattering on again and I finally burst out with "What are you talking about, I agreed to talk with you on the phone at 8:30 this morning to reschedule a time, there was no agreement to meet anywhere". "Well why can't you get here now?" "Well lets see then. I am still in bed, because we agreed to touch base later this morning. I also do not have a vehicle to get to the place you are standing in and walking - after dressing for the weather - will take at least another half hour. Now you are demanding I attend you immediately. Is that correct?" Well yes. I thought for a moment and then explained it would take me a bit to get ready to go outside. Could I walk to his home, which on the information sheet he provided and swore to me was accurate with his personal particulars, was just a few blocks away from my home. "Well how are you going to get there without a car?" Huh? I was beginning to think I was dreaming again like Alice - only this new Wonderland had a rogue joker instead of a rampant queen. I said "Well your address is ......, is it not?" Well no I live several miles away from your home. Great. Let me think about this and call the other people I have real scheduled appointments with to see how I can fit you in to my schedule. Oi.
Called my Dad at that point, because taking him out for lunch was one of the commitments I had truly made. He was part way between work and home so I had to wait for him to get back to me. Checked email to make certain no new obligations from those sources had arisen until he responded. Knowing his schedule, I then called the other political rep to confirm the time I had set to meet him at one of their constituency offices. It is a few blocks from where my Dad works, so I wanted to ensure that I could schedule the two times back to back. No problem there either. I had planned to take the bus, because cabs cost so much, but accommodating the weird rep meant that it wouldn't be possible to do all three meetings unless I did take a taxi. Ouch. Called the early moning scamp back and explained how I could fit him in for the morning. He sounded resentful that he was going to have to wait at home for me, so I asked him if he worked downtown. Well yes. I have appointments downtown on Tuesday - two days befor the deadline. I would be willing to work him in then, if he would confirm the information on his persoanl information sheet was correct about his work address and phone. Well no - they aren't. Fine. Could I have your new work address. He gave me a partial address. When I asked for the balance of it he said "well we have the whole ... floor don't you know" Well no I don't, since you haven't even given me the name of the company you are working for. He whispered, as if it was a big secret, that the initials of the company were .... I'm not certain what is going on with this guy, but I'm glad that I only have to deal with him one last time - hopefully.
Got on with my day getting ready for my real appointments - those that were actually scheduled. Wondering if it was my mind or sense of humour that I was losing, as I showered and dressed. Called a cab, because by then I was too late to negotiate the half time transit service we get on weekends. Interesting discussion with the cabbie about history - how ours intersected. He had been an immigrant from Asia to northwest Germany before coming to Canada. We talked about the impact Alexander the Great had had on his culture and why that made him feel he had a kinship with other countries that had been invaded by the Greek/Roman cultures. I talked about the successive wave of invasions across the British Isles that seemed to intensify after the Romans left in about the 6th century. This blog about the celebrations of those ancestors arrival near the Isle of Skye was in the back of my mind as we talked. Blondes and redheads among the Gaels were a clear sign of the affiliation with the Norsemen.
The meeting with the other political rep was interesting. I had expected just a short five minute discussion as I signed off on his paperwork, but he wanted to discuss things technological, polling day issues and about their party's takeover of the reins of power. That was why he was heading off to Ottawa tomorrow. He'd be back in a week, could he schedule more time with me then to discuss other issues of concern. Fair enough, but the ones he is citing are ones that are strictly legislated. He'd be better off talking to his own leaders about changing the legislation. He knows I don't break those rules, so why the meeting really. Don't know.
Finished off there about an hour later and then walked down the street to my Dad's store. We headed off for Big T's - the restaurant that is barbeque and brisket New Orleans style. Great music in the place and we got to talking about history again. This time family history and the musical history of this city during WW II when my Dad was a teen. Louis Armstrong and the Big Bands then, don't you know. For all the complaints about the "mischieviousness" of the current adolescent culture, my Dad can tell tales of Zoot suiters and gangsters from the Capone era running black market goods out of tunnels under some of our prairie cities. La plus ca change, la plus ca meme - just more hair grease with duck tails and less hair gel with the mowhawks, or vice versa. After that a discussion of his upcoming plans for vacation. Can't decide between Cuba and New Zealand. Cost a length of stay are the issues you see. H'ed prefer New Zealand but wants to take at least a month there. His neighbour, who is his travelling partner, may not be able to get that much time off from the hospital where she works. That segued into a discussion about the further erosion of our public health care system as seen by someone who works in intensive care all day. Didn't even notice how much time had passed by the time I returned to my front door. Neither my youngest or the cats were amused.
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