23:16 - 01.09.06
Station - Pluto
The past few weeks I have been getting visions of my Mom in her best dressed-up party look. My Mom loved parties. One thing I really admired about her and my Dad was that they could walk into any room or social situation and be perfectly at ease. I, on the other hand, prefer to find the darkest corner to hide in, if I attend at all. Their social panache is as much a talent as playing the piano or solving really scary math problems. I always liked the way my Mom did her hair and make-up. In the recent manifestations she is wearing the earrings that only came out on very special occasions. I hope whatever she is preparing to celebrate is also something I can celebrate too.
Yesterday morning around 7 in the am there was a loud banging on my storm door. I had the core door open so my cats could visit with their outdoor friends, you see. I don't normally answer the door when I'm in my jammies, but the knocker was obviously intending not to leave until she had her way. She appeared to be one of the neighbours a few doors down. She wore black pants and a vivd blue t-shirt with the word "security" blazoned across it in large yellow letters. She was holding the kitten of the neighbours to the west and was shaking it quite vigorously. She beckoned imperiously when I appeared at the top of the stairs and refused to state her business. I decided the kitten needed to be rescued from her, so I went down the stairs to the landing. "This yours?" she growled as I came nearer. The poor thing was struggling to get free. This neighbour was a very big woman height and girth wise. I pointed next door and said the kitten belonged to them. Not another word to me, she just turned on her heel and stomped off toward the neighbour's door. I heard the banging on a door begin again. She ordered the neighbours to keep their cat out of her flowers and strode off to work I guess. Good morning to you too.
I had been tired after my museum trip the day before, but I was really pleased too. The fatigue was the normal underused muscles reacting to the exercise, rather than the overwhelming exhaustion that was permeating the entire body since after the election. Guess all I need to do now is walk as much as I can until those muscles get back some strength now. Time to try out the yoga again too. I spent the day working on the computer - mostly election stuff, but also a fair amount of research. Alternating the two activities so that I didn't feel deprived of other forms of interaction. You know - dishes, litter box duty and laundry. Those did get done around supper time though. Calls from another Returning Officer asking for some help with her assignment. Where is the local rep? Well you know she doesn't know how to do this work. Uh huh.
Today mostly the same. I hadn't intended to spend so much time on election work, but I guess 4 hours went by before my first break of the day. Some of it was finance - looking for proof of payment before approving a long past due invoice that arrived at my home yesterday. I called Ottawa as well as the supplier, because I know I approved those expenses when I first received them. The invoice was quite distinct you see. Don't want to pay the same bill twice do we? Not on taxpayer dollars.
Then it was paperwork and documentation for my youngest's schooling. They had asked for some more information and I had to ask for a letter in return. As soon as my youngest's Dad had learned he was working, he contacted the maintenance enforcement department to insist he not provide any more support for him. His contribution pays for one weeks' grocery shopping per month, sometimes. Anyway gathering all the relevant bits of documents requested by the department included a letter confirming his return to classes. The legislation requires the absent parent assist with expenses until their child is through high school. I don't think his Dad should begrudge him that.
Continued on with calling one developer whose plans for a new community are not yet documented on the city planning website. Our deadline for submitting that information means that I might not be able to wait until it is posted there. Another email to the landlord confirms that I definitely do not have an office space anymore, but now his response meets the criteria that head office set as what they required before allotting me more hours to do another search. I email asking "pretty please" may I be allowed to do my job AND also be paid for my time. My assistant calls after spending all August at the lake. She was gloating about that one memo where head office stated that if certain legislation was passed all Returning Officers across Canada would be terminated immediately. "I knew about it because they told us what they intended at training last October" It makes me more certain that she was taking direction from the local rep last election, instead of from me as the current legislation states. Uh huh. She didn't think it was quite as amusing when I pointed out that if the legislation was approved that she would be working on all these tasks all on her own. That was the work she avoided last event even when given directions to do some of it. Guess I should have caught on then and let her go, but I was a bit tied up with other responsibilities. Whatever. I have no control over the next moves of head office.
Number three son came by after work so he could drive me over to one of the big courier firms in town to pick up a package. They are tucked in up around the airport in a corner where no busses go you see. They tried to drop off a package on Monday, but I hadn't heard them knocking. A delivery from Microsoft don't you know. You remember last year when all my computers crashed at once last October? You know when all that weird stuff was going on at the warehouse too? When my youngest and I took the hard drive from my computer into the repair place, they said that they couldn't reload my Windows 98 because it was fried, but that they would set me up with the operating system I have now. They gave us a key and insisted that the copy they loaded on the hard drive was legitimate. Apparently it isn't, because I got a nice note from the MS people a couple of weeks ago stating that it wasn't licenced. Fine. I paid for the copy they said I had to have and thus this little shipment. I don't know what was going on astrologically last fall but human nature certainly wasn't in it's best dressed behaviour that's for sure.
It also seemed to be a day for communications from friends today. Just checking in after summer break, I guess. I stopped feeling sorry for myself when one of those emails arrived. One friends hubby's test results came back midweek. He has cancer and there is a rush to get him in for surgery right away. There were tears washing around the electrons in that missive and I'm pretty sure they were in addition to mine. I've never met my friend's husband, but she is just a very decent person who deserves the best. It's trite, but one wonders why the nasty people of the world never seem to have to pay any price for their meanness, but a family like this one has to face so many sad things. Buddhism helps one stay balanced sometimes when nothing else seems to be, but I don't think even Job got a full answer on that question did he? I know I'm whining again dear diary, but that is so I don't find myself filling a human up with the negativity. Electrons can neutralize a charge in the correct circumstances you see. Good night dear diary.
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