23:16 - 03.03.08
Duti - full
Most of the day was taken up by duties, dear diary. First up, I finally wrote my letter of protest to the city with respect to the application made by the tenants in the other half of my duplex to use their half to run a business out of. This area is zoned for residential use, not commercial. They knew that when they moved in. Neither they nor the landlord should have the right to change that by fiat. I waited this long, because I wanted to be certain the tone wasn't too strong or came across as hysterical. For that to be fully accomplished, I probably should have waited even longer to gain a cooler perspective on the issue. However, the posted notice stated that our submissions had to be in to the woman handling the file no later than Wednesday. If I cut it too close and something went awry - for example my computer crashing - then I would lose the chance to have my say. Sent that off around 3 in the pm and received acknowledgement back from her less than ten minutes later. How's that for efficiency? No feedback on the status of that file, because it has to be circulated to all relevant stakeholders first. At least I did my part as best I could.
Changed gears after that, leaving the house to go vote in the provincial election that was held today. The school with my polling division located in it is only a couple of blocks away. It was around 5 in the pm when I walked in the doors. I was surprised to see so few people in attendance. Normally, at that time on election days, there are line-ups as people register and then cast their ballot. There was a bit of a glitch at the beginning. Apparently some of the polling divisions had been redesignated to different sites than those listed in the newspaper, including some listed for the school in which I voted. I had to make changes like that with a few of my polls and polling stations when I was a federal Returning Officer, because of the population growth and voting patterns that have changed. The difference in the federal election is that elector cards, telling people where to attend to vote, were sent out from Ottawa even before we were allowed to see them. They weren't always accurate, because the quality control people several thousand miles away aren't familiar with our city. No matter how diligent they are, there are some real oddities in the layout of our communities that one has to see to believe, let alone designate. Add in losing and having to rent other polling places due to circumstances beyond our control. Meant there were always a few people missed in the amendment cards sent out. One has to take responsibility for those errors and I did, but it does help sometimes to explain some of the barriers one faces when planning out the logistics for that many buildings, staff and electors all at the same time. Glad I don't have to try and organize something like that for those two large cities in China that I mentioned yesterday. My head hurts just thinking about it. What is really disappointing is that less than 40% of eligible voters in this city cast a ballot. Does that mean I get twice the say in policy decisions after it is verified that I participated. Guess not since access to the Premier, the last while, has been determined by who can pay the fee for a meeting. That has nothing to do with democratic principles, does it? Nor does this.
Walked a few blocks over next in order to pick up some groceries after that. The cats' litter really was stinky and the laundry soap was long gone too. Carried home just over $40 in essentials, just barely making it home because of the cumulative weight of all the articles. It is the fact that food and household supplies are so much more expensive now that accounts for the amount of money spent. That same amount of goods a few years back cost a third less. Sigh. Made supper while my youngest tended to the cats. Then we watched the DVD "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Interesting to see the difference in Bill Nighy as an actor in both that movie and the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD that we watched last night.
Anyway I have a busy day tomorrow, so good night for now dear diary.
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