00:25 - 12.04.06
Two step
One of the things I like best about being home all day - even if it is because of illness - is that I can spend the time researching on the net. It is amazing what one can learn that way. I receive one newletter from Butterflies and Wheels which is a site for philosophers. It and another philosophers' publication have some great thinking games that I like to sharpen my wits with once in a while. Today there was a request from one of the editors to read the opening chapter of his new book about unrequited love. Apparently his agent hadn't liked his inclusion of anecdotes from some of his regular readers. I recall the request for stories, but didn't really think much about it at the time. After reading the chapter, I found I thought it was quite enjoyable. Philosophy doesn't have to be dry and it should be passionate. Reasoned passion, of course, especially with a topic like this. Besides that it never hurts to know that what you think is an experience unique to you isn't. Less isolating and more humanizing in the end. The other item based on a philosophical point of view was about the current state of racism in Europe and the rioting that is becoming part of that scenario. This profile of an East Indian philosopher was almost an answer in some ways.
I had responded to a journaling post by my favorite astrologer some time last week. He was musing about the price of fossil fuels and his country's dependence on less stable regimes as a result. I aksed him why he hadn't thought of alternative forms of energy. He sent back a link to this biofuel company that has Willie Nelson and Morgan Freeman as directors. Pretty cool. It helps the agricultural community, creates local employment and has the potential to reduce the pollution over our countries quickly and substantially. Now if they could only adapt a heating system so I could use vegetable oil instead of natural gas I'd be happy. I don't think I can wait for that development to install a new heating sytem into my home, but at least it's something I can look for in the future. And here I thought all I could learn from his site was astronomical phenomenon. Guess I need to learn how to use an astrolabe. Maybe that will sharpen my wits, or something, too.
About my essay on good work habits yesterday? Well yes, and whose alarm didn't go off - or wasn't heard - this morning? It meant my youngest had half an hour from bed to bus stop. Good thing we'd gotten most things done the evening before, eh? There was rather an odd email from last elections landlord for my office. As I noted yesterday, he had said that the space was open now, but he couldn't guarantee much after that. Today he sent over jpegs of the floor plans of space that is available. That says to me that maybe someone from Ottawa called him, which means they are a little more concerned about parliament dissolving than they let on to us. Wish they'd just treat us as partners in the process and tell us the truth. We can take it. I did sign up for that one seminar on Human Resources management - the one on occupational health and safety responsibilities.
Heard from one of the other Returning Officers too - one of the others who has a nearly impossible area to find office space available in. He was not a happy man and his comment was that he still hadn't been paid for all the extra hours he had had to put in to get the space and then make certain it met all those health and safety requirements for his workers. He had to take that one place that didn't even have water on site, remember? I commented back that I hadn't been paid either and wasn't happy about it. It's hard to be expected to be on call at their whim yet still have to beg for basic remuneration. I told him I'm guessing the legislation that was tabled today was a possible reason for the office search question. The opposition is threatening to bring down the government on some of the proposed statutes there. One of the pieces in it is that Returning Officers would be appointments through the CEO, instead of a parliamentary committee as it now stands. Apparently there is the feeling that we weren't all appointed because of our merits and that may be so. I started working on census and election tasks in 1983 and progressed through the ranks. Maybe that isn't good enough, but neither is parachuting in someone with a degree who has never even set foot in a polling place. I wonder who is going to tell the new RO's appointed "on their merits" how the current assessment - and thus their remuneration - process really works. I know I have had the privilege of working with some really great people at EC and with our first local rep. On the other hand there are some real duds in the group too. I don't know whether any process is fool-proof where selecting staff is concerned. According to the HR e-zines I get, they say a 30% success rate for new hires is the average in the private sector where the process is ostensibly "non-political". I also wonder if that means that EC will be required to actually follow the federal employment and privacy laws and regulations such as the Canada Labour Code and PIPEDA. It might come as quite a shock to their current system.
Doesn't really matter at this point. My focus should be on getting healthy enough to hold down any job - right? I need to make certain I am more consistent with the exercises especially. Right now I resemble Sesame Street's Ernie's comment to Bert about being all floppy and soggy. Today the excuse was the weather front coming in you see. It caused one of those seeing auras migraine and I just couldn't get past that pain. What a wimp, eh? I had been telling my youngest the day before what route I would walk if there was a major disaster downtown - I had just gotten an e-friend's account and photos of the tornados that ripped through his community in Tennessee, you see. Decided that thinking way outside the box in planning travelling routes was called for as a result. Seems straight forward in summer when the ground is clear and the temperatures are such that being outdoors for long periods isn't much of an issue. I think I'd have to rethink that again for a winter time shut down of transit. Hope it never has to be tested out. Right now though it is more important that I build up the stamina to climb escarpments and foothills first, then we'll worry about the rest. Anyway time to rest so I can tackle some stair climbing tomorrow. Good night dear diary.
�
�
