22:56 - 10.12.07
In Humane
Friday I received an email from the second piecework company I work for offering an assignment this week. Bonus - I had to receive specific equipment first you see, so I could carry out all the tasks assigned. Did some checking and found some irregularities that had to be addressed first. Also received a check-in note from one agency wanting me to come in for some updating work. Cautious optimism there.
Saturday was an assignment at the first quality assurance company I have been working for since the summer. Beta testing a new software they want to roll out soon. I signed up for the work partly because I wanted to see where their head office was as well as meet some of the contacts I have made there, face to face. It was bitterly cold, but there was still a ten minute walk once I hopped off at the correct train station. The area is criss-crossed by major roads as well as train tracks, so it meant a close attention to what was going on around me was important especially since signage was negligible. On the way up one semi-industrial street a car slowed then backed up toward me. I was relieved to see it was a woman with a young child in tow. Sprinting to safety would have been a challenge if there had been someone with negative vibes inside. She was looking for "any optometrist" offices nearby. I pointed at the big shopping mall not far away by car standards, but she stated she didn't want to deal with any of those doctors. Hmmmmm. I explained I was in an area about which I had very little knowledge and apologized while moving on. She thanked me kindly and drove off in the opposite direction.
About two blocks later I found the offices I was looking for tucked up in a corner way out of sight in a strip mall - round a blind corner and by a number of service docks. Their premises were secured and alarmed. The reason became obvious not long into the session when shouting began outside and lasted for an extended length of time. Both of the IT people doing the testing ignored the commotion but I was taken aback - it sounded somewhat threatening. The testing itself was very easy and straight forward. Some glitches very apparent in the coding that need to be addressed first, for certain. Coffee and doughnuts, as well as company logoed material, was provided as part of the thank you for being involved, in addition to the fee agreed upon in advance. There seemed to be a secondary purpose for having me visit their offices too. Apparently the one client really likes the information I gather for them, but was curious about the reason for me being able to collect it so much quicker than most of their other assessors. The one tech allowed that they had tried doing the assignment themselves and found it impossible to complete. I just noted I had worked in the industry - a long while ago - and what I was being asked to do now was a common task required then. I also don't have trouble memorizing the large amounts of information we are required to know, so the two together make me quite efficient. I was done their testing in just over half an hour, although they had scheduled me in for about twice as long. Bonus. Home again much earlier than I had anticipated before the storm blew in. So I thought.
The train that goes directly to my end of town was making good time until the next to last station. As we pulled into the platform the driver came on the public announcement system to announce that there was a train broken down across the switching lanes that provide entrance to the last station - mine. He would keep passengers updated, but had no further information at that time. The woman across from me on the bench was a new Canadian. She had had to ask me, on boarding in the downtown, whether she was on the correct route to get to her destination. Yes she was. She really didn't seem to understand the full gist of the announcement and asked me to paraphrase what was said. Given how cold it was we decided to wait together inside the train where we were warm and, most importantly, shielded from the wind. Started chatting about ourselves and our lives to pass the time.
She has only been in the country for about a year - northern China being her place of origin. Quite honestly her conversational skills in English were phenomenal. We discussed alternate medicines and she gave me lessons in her language. She stated that she thought I looked very young for my age and surmised it was likely because I relied on Chinese herbal medicines rather than western ones. I know that is considered one of their most desirable benefits, but I never really considered that aspect before; looking more for alternate treatments that had less side effects along with minimal invasion of normal body processes. Too many western treatments create a long or life-time dependence on them, instead of reactivating or replenishing one's own natural metabolic processes. The driver announced - about 15 minutes later - that it appeared the breakdown was serious. He said he had been instructed to off-load his passengers - us - and to head back downtown. Great. We stood at the bus stop at that station where regular busses arrive that then go to the last station, but were worried that being it was weekend service we might have to wait a very long time. Walking warmed us up for certain, although it was frustrating when we arrived at the two thirds point of the journey between stations only to see two trains going to our station; no busses though. Obviously that train breakdown wasn't that serious after all, but the service on the rest of the line took precedence over our travel needs. Decided to see it as my daily session of exercise - wading through ankle-deep snow at high speed for about two miles, I guess. The lady with whom I had just spent a very instructive walk needed to catch the same bus as I did, so we travelled on together. We were quite chilled by the time the bus arrived to take us on that last leg of the journey, but the talking made us forget that aspect until we stepped on to the heated bus. Finally exchanged phone numbers and said our good-byes just over an hour longer than the normal trip would have taken. Made a new friend, so I felt it was worth the time.
Sunday was pleasant until about supper time. One of our male cats - Mel - headed downstairs for my son's room obviously in some pain. I followed him down to determine what the problem was. At first we thought it was a sprained foot or something, Mel being a haunter of the highest places he can find in the house. Maybe he twisted one of his limbs in a descent at some point. Checked him over carefully, but couldn't find any spots that gave him pain. He seemed to just want to rest and cuddle up to one of the heaters, so I left him to go finish making supper. By the time I returned to my son's room with his meal, it was apparent that we were dealing with a very sick cat. Called the local animal clinic one block away - closed on Sundays. Called the emergency number offered. They were open - on the far side of town. Bus service - even for a healthy animal - isn't a good choice and Sunday evening schedules made it a no go. I asked if there wasn't something closer, thinking the cab fare was going to be well over $100 before the clinic charges were assessed. Called one of my sons that has access to a vehicle. He arrived shortly thereafter with his girlfriend to take us to another clinic much closer to us. My son's girlfriend had taken her dog there and warned us the fees would likely be very steep. She also told us they wouldn't release our pet until we paid the entire cost up front. She said that if it hadn't been for her access to her mom's credit card, she would have had to forfeit her pet. The problem being partly that every extra day the clinic kept her pet they added another $500 on to the bill. Oi. I would have gone back home at that point except that - having worked in a hospital for humans a long time ago and spending at least half of each day assisting with critical care patients - I knew that it wasn't likely our cat would survive until the morning when we could take him to the local clinic. The vet who checked him over at the emergency clinic confirmed that assessment. The problem was a blocked bladder that was about to burst. Surgery would be necessary within the next couple of hours or he would likely die. Cost was estimated over $1000. Oi again. The amount was tough enough to deal with, but we were told that half had to be paid up front before any care would be given that included euthanasia as well. My son with the car had that much cash available to him and offered to pay for the deposit on the surgery, since my youngest son was obviously devastated by the unexpected choices confronting us. I was thinking of the 10% of citizens in the US with no health insurance who were confronted with the same kind of dilemma. Terrible to have the value of one's life - animal or human - to be diminshed to the size of one's bank account - up front yet. The entire amount was supposed to be paid within two days. When we explained to the vet that we simply could not get that amount together, he offered to set us up with a promissory note instead. Still not happy, but my youngest simply seemed too distressed about another loss in his short life to withdraw consent to care. Besides I love my pets almost as much as I love my sons, too. If it hadn't been for their unconditional love the past year or two I don't think my sanity would have been guaranteed what with vicious neighbours and dealing with similar treatment through Elections Canada, as well as coping with the illnesses that just never seemed to let up. The way I saw it was that my bills had been kept up to date until this month. The choice in the short term was to pay this and let the other payments ride - not good for a credit rating or the bank account of someone who is still without full time work. However, if I got a job in the next few days - weeks - I knew I would really regret allowing short term pain - significant as I know it will be - override the life of a treasured member of our family. Maudlin and foolish I suppose a lot of people would think, but I've always valued living beings over things. Sigh.
The big shock came today when their office manager demanded I return today to "complete some paperwork". We had been told last night that all the paperwork was in order. When I arrived at the clinic, after an hour's travel by bus, it turned out what she wanted to do was tear up the promissory note on the basis of - "we never do that". She claimed she couldn't find a copy of the signed note from the night before. I stated I had my copy at home and wouldn't accept a change in the terms. She had also increased the amount of the bill to almost double the amount the doctor had calculated on his computer the evening before. She wanted it paid before she released Mel back to me. She became quite threatening and demanded photo identification and my credit card, with vague threats to what might happen to our cat if I refused to comply. She started out slowly and in between various discussions I visited with Mel and the vet who expressed great frustration with her constant interrruptions as she returned over and over to demand more from me each time. The vet said his surgery was quite easy - catheterisation and an intravenous flush of his system to get rid of the toxins from the blocked bladder. He also stated that the amount of the "insurance" granted - the paperwork that was the original come-on from the accountant - would determine what action he took beyond removing the catheter late tonight. I explained that I thought it unlikely that an insurance application by me would be approved given I didn't have anything but casual employment right now. That was, indeed, the case. By that time the accountant was livid with my "lack of co-operation"; threatening to ruin my credit status if she wasn't paid by this weekend. I have a clean history of paying all my bills, but having to find nearly $2000 in less than five days at Christmas is totally unreasonable. Her other threat seems to be an unspoken one of euthanizing our cat - that is what had been done to my son's girlfriend too. I have the original estimate written up by the first vet and I don't see where any additional charges can legitimately be levied since the information package we were given the evening before stated we would be contacted each time additional work was necessary as well as the vet today stating he wouldn't add to the expenses, understanding our financial situation. I don't understand why a longer period of payment can't be allowed, but the accountant was actually harassing me in front of other pet owners by the time the end of my visit arrived. To say it hasn't been a good couple of days is an understatement. My youngest's birhtday is tomorrow and I'm not certain what I can do to make sure it is pleasant for him with all this hanging over our heads. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Think I'll go cuddle with the other four cats and pray none of them get sick within the next few years.
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