01:13 - 06.12.07
violence
I've actually had to open the windows and turn down the heat the past couple of nights. Warmest parts of the day. The reason is a chinook flow of warm air that seems to only descend during the night. First case of carbon monoxide poisoning arose this evening as well. Even the emergency response teams were overcome. Tough way to find out one's furnace isn't working. I think about half a dozen people had to be treated in hospital as a result. Winter weather always seems to test and reveal any mechanical flaws in one's home or vehicle. Round these parts it's always wise to try and have a backup plan that doesn't require access to electricity or gas or working machines. For example, one of the best forms of insulation is untouched snow. It is actually made up mostly of air pockets, which of course trap warm air. The principle on which the building of igloos operates. I've noticed that nightly warming trend in other manifestations too. Normally when snow falls on sidewalks and decks it remains in its frozen state. The past few days one can tell that there must be a warming trend because the lowest layers have been turning to ice. I don't normally completely shovel off my deck in winter, for example, because untrodden snow is a great way to see what human traffic is travelling around one's home. Makes it easier for police to get a good cast of a prowler's footprint, for example. But that ice forming underneath is very dangerous to the safety of anyone who needs to walk up to one's door. I have home insurance but I really don't want to have someone hurt on my property under any circumstances.
It seems there has been at least one important birthday arising each day since the sun entered the astrological sign of Sagittarius. Family, friends and people - living and dead - who have had a major influence on how I think about things or the development of my perceptions of values and ethics. Could be I resonate with them because my rising sign at birth is Sagittarius too. Or it could be that my oldest and youngest sons are Sagittarians. Both birthdays due within the week. Lots to celebrate even without Christmas, eh? Maybe it's one of the traits of Sagittarians too, but when I took the "are you left or right brained" test on-line my scores indicated that my brain activity was balanced between the two hemispheres. I guess I'm always of two minds. But wait wouldn't that be more a Libran or Geminian trait? the test results went on to say I was mostly an auditory learner. Could be true I suppose. When I am really interested in something I read I can visualize pages later on and read off them as though the book was still in front of me and I know I can often learn what to do just by watching someone else for a short while. However it is also true that I retain information better when there is music playing when I'm working. The brain seems to encode the information in the notes of the music. Sometimes by just recalling a song that was playing while I was studying I can recall the details of the material as though it was being sung by the musician on the recording. Thinking about how one thinks can be a bit mind boggling; pun intended.
I managed to do some damage to the rotator cuff muscles of my right shoulder last week. Downward facing dog pose from my yoga practice likely to blame. The right shoulder and opposite left hip were compensating for the weakness and instability in the left elbow that was damaged this summer. But, you see, it felt soooo goood at the time - all that stretching and moving - that I didn't notice until after the fact. It could also have something to do with those cats playing tag around me as I shifted from asana to asana too. Oh well.
It didn't stop me and my youngest from ripping out the first of the cupboards on Monday. That new microwave table being the incentive. Sitting in the middle of the living room for want of space in the kitchen was an issue. Besides that, it offered much more value storage and space-wise than the existing cupboard. Took us a couple of hours because I wanted to be certain that the wall wasn't damaged when the old cabinet was removed. Screw driver and crow bar were necessary because the builders had made certain the old unit was tightly attached to both wall and floor. Then there was the clean up after. That always seems to take at least as long as the actual work. Asthma kicking into high gear didn't help the process either, but it finally did get done. I'll have to wait for a few days while the lungs recuperate before I do any more renovations though. One of the real bonuses of that one small activity is that the microwave table is built at a height that is much more comfortable for me to prepare meals. I swear the original kitchen was designed by someone over six feet tall with equally long arms, who thought gourmet dining meant using a fork when eating out of the can. Bleagh.
Yesterday I alternated between sending out more resumes and moving furniture around, while cleaning and decorating the upstairs for Christmas. The cats were not amused. I did receive two responses to those resumes so that was a bonus. Of course the one responder simply stated she could not open my resume - oh no! She wanted me to resend based on the information in the cover letter I had included with the application. At least she let me know. I was a bit panicky because I was afraid that all the other resumes I had sent out might also be defective. Most employers request the document either be a .doc or a .txt file so I keep copies of both at the ready. The call from the second employer calmed me down considerably since I was wracking my brain - both sides - trying to figure out what might be causing the glitch. Must be something in their software - right? I often read the articles in the HR newsletters around work issues. There was one last week that made me realize I wasn't alone in a frustrating job search and was actually much better off than I've been feeling. The article was directed at lawyers. It was a guide to surviving as they looked for work in an employers' job market. At least I am not carrying the debt load for all those years of university as well as having to pay all my other expenses. Lawyers make substantially more than I do, but even so one can't pay the bills with potential earnings. Most creditors will only accept cash.
Violence seemed to be one of the most discussed issues in my enewsletters and ezines the past few days whether it be in the playground, the home, the community or between nations. I think the jailing of the one teacher in Sudan was the trigger for considering how embedded it is as a first line response for too many people and governments. One of the things I noticed when I was more actively involved in Amnesty International - reading all the reports flowing through providing the background information necessary to formulate an effective response - was that there was a direct correlation between the level of violence - physical, financial, environmental, spiritual, or social - within a social or political unit at street level and the level of violence with which the governing bodies of those entities treated their citizens on a first response basis. The more violent the government was in response to it's citizens, the more violence between citizens. Rather straight forward reason to work harder at finding peaceful solutions to conflicts. I'm not talking about all those spam solicitations to join dating/romance and associated "self enhancement" sites either. You know what dear spammer - I can't enhance what I haven't got, wrong gender dearie. There seems to be someone sending that stuff through my Diaryland email account. Might have to shut it down just to stop the abuse of those internet services. Bleagh.
Anyway time to go read to those cats. Good night dear diary.
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