I did not get to see my Mother, but I did send her a card and we talked on the telephone. How lucky I am to have her! She lives near my two sisters, and their children, so she was kept quite busy with comings and goings, . . . → Read More: Rosetta the Puppet]]> I had a wonderful Mother’s day!

I did not get to see my Mother, but I did send her a card and we talked on the telephone. How lucky I am to have her! She lives near my two sisters, and their children, so she was kept quite busy with comings and goings, not to mention her own busy social life.

Mother’s Day was sunny when I set out to pick up Terra at her apartment to bring her back to our little house in the city. Lares was visiting his mother, who Terra texted early in the morning, while chatting with Attila and I, to keep her mother-in-law company while Lares and his brothers and sisters slept in. Soon Lares and the gang there were awake and off they all went to spend their day together.

Terra wanted to do something special for me. First she thought, breakfast out! No, my allergy eliminates that option. Then she thought, I’ll make something special for breakfast for Mom! No, Attila was already making pancakes. Then she thought plants for the garden. Our yard is soon to be dug up to put new drainage tile around the foundation, waterproof the walls and grade the slopes. I knew what I wanted though… rhubarb!! So Terra and I took ourselves off to shop, visiting a wonderful nursery in Selby, Ontario. Terra procured for me two wonderfully healthy rhubarb plants; she even planted them for me! The tag says not to harvest the first year after planting, so no fresh rhubarb from the yard this summer. I can’t wait until next spring!

Luna called tonight, returning the call I made to her to thank her for the Mother’s Day Card.

Rosetta The Puppet: Imagine That

The grand babies were feeling very chatty tonight, Imp sang us a song she learned in school today, the Coin Song. Imp also told us about her puppet, who she allowed to speak with us and at my request got Luna to take a picture and send it to us. The puppets name, Rosetta. Not your conventional puppet, but anyone with an imagination can see Rosetta’s charm. Elf talked a bit, but really prefers to spend time face-to-face, with lots of eye contact and hugs, the telephone is not his favourite thing. Tink, only two, told us about her doings, quite the little talker she is! When we were saying goodbye to Luna, we could hear Imp and Tink singing happily as they pretended to be crocodiles eating Elf, who was giggling.

And so ends the day today. Well done universe!

Worldly Distractions

On the Screen

Finding Neverland
I loved this movie, cried all the way through it. Peter Pan, the version starring Mary Martin, was magic when I was a child. My mother used to tell us, when she was putting us to bed at night, that Peter Pan would not come until we fell asleep! She was right of course, Peter came for us frequently as we slept. There were certain things my Mother just knew.

Weather

13 °C
Condition: Sunny
Pressure: 102.2 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 12.5°C
Dewpoint: -2.1°C
Humidity: 36 %
Wind: WNW 8 km/h

Quote 

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
Thomas A. Edison
1847 – 1931

Me, I am stealing my legislated break time, 15 minutes, what a heist!! I am told I can take my two fifteen minute breaks, but there are consequences, social consequences, if . . . → Read More: Forked Tongues]]> We watched an episode of Better Off Ted, where a international corporate employee stole all the creamers daily as an act of individuality.

Me, I am stealing my legislated break time, 15 minutes, what a heist!! I am told I can take my two fifteen minute breaks, but there are consequences, social consequences, if such a break is actually taken. It is easier on me and more pleasant to simply work non-stop for eight and half hours.

Better Off Ted is a comedy, I think it is funny because it is parodies the truth about competition and corporate oligarchy. The only thing the series omits is the rage and alienation that employees experience, the anger is palpable in these work environments if one is even mildly sensitive to human behaviour.

My absolute favourite bit about the Veridian corporate work environment is the commentary on the daycare provided by the company for workers who are not management stream. This is actually very black humour.

Quote found on the internet:

“[daycare worker to child]
Then you are a lucky girl. Because this morning…
we’re going to be painting white lines in the parking structure.

[parent Ted]
Uh, the kids paint the parking lot?

[daycare worker to parent Ted]
Not the whole parking lot. Just the lines.

[parent Ted]
- But still, that seems a little- – Innovative?

[Ted's boss Veronica]
It is.
At Veridian Dynamics, we’re molding the children of today…
into the workers of tomorrow.”

Better off Ted

This is my second post today, unusual; but it feels good to be writing.

The unfurling leaves adorn the trees like shimmering jewelry. The sun wanders through newly laid paths to reach the earth below.

And, well, here is what it means to be a red blooded biped on such a glorious spring day…

The screens on the windows are one of the . . . → Read More: Beauty and the Beast(s)]]> Beautiful weather at last!

The unfurling leaves adorn the trees like shimmering jewelry. The sun wanders through newly laid paths to reach the earth below.

And, well, here is what it means to be a red blooded biped on such a glorious spring day…

The screens on the windows are one of the greatest human inventions, a wonder of the world.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

16 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 102.1 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 15.8°C
Dewpoint: 5.7°C
Humidity: 51 %
Wind: SW 8 km/h

Quote

“To freely bloom – that is my definition of success.”
Gerry Spence

Hats off to the successful blackly!

I haven’t written in a while. I am missing it.

I do not expect another good . . . → Read More: Good With The Bad]]> I had a good day today. At work, I had a good day at work. It wasn’t great, but it was not painful, my standards for a good day are pretty low at this point. And the sun came out in the afternoon making the drive home gorgeous.

I do not expect another good day anytime soon, but having one is something to be grateful for. It was three weeks ago today that I was told I would be let go. And it was one year ago today that I started this job.

Nothing much else going on. Attila and I have been eating falafels every night for dinner, love them. Our falafel balls are baked rather than fried, so they are lower in fat and we heap them with cucumber, tomato, hot sauce and tahini sauce.

I just wanted to record that I had a good day, I need to take the good with the bad!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

7 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.1 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 7.4°C
Dewpoint: -3.8°C
Humidity: 45 %

Quote

“Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me.”

Sigmund Freud
1856 – 1939

I am still working and surviving the experience. It is miserable. The small players are scrambling to gain power and garner all material rewards for themselves alone. In my opinion they have been pitted against one another, inspired by a plastic carrot. The higher ups are scheming to . . . → Read More: Dividing up their money…]]>

Hoya in the April Sunshine

I am still working and surviving the experience. It is miserable. The small players are scrambling to gain power and garner all material rewards for themselves alone. In my opinion they have been pitted against one another, inspired by a plastic carrot. The higher ups are scheming to “mine” the situation till the vein runs dry. The highest up is living in some kind of distant fantasy that does not include the welfare of those lower on the hierarchy. Anarchy reins, the hounds of hell are scouring that landscape.

I just keep working, doing as good a job as I can because doing a good job is the only thing left to me, and it keeps me busy. The pain in my head comes and goes, it has stopped getting worse.

In the meantime it is the weekend, the sun is shining and I have Attila’s excellent company. Bits and Bobs, this and that, we are puttering around the property. The weather is cool enough that we still require one firing a day in the masonry fireplace. This means there are still wood chips on the floors and ash dust coating all surfaces. There is also an endless supply of fluffy soft cat hair, mixed with ash dust. Every cleaning job is a temporary reprieve.

Attila and I will head into the distance today to hear live music played. We pay a pittance to attend small venues with mixed entertainment. These venues offer some of the worst stage entertainment I’ve ever been exposed to; which is always tolerated graciously by the audience. It also offers some of the best stage entertainment I’ve ever been exposed to. It is a package deal, and I love the energy of tolerance and sharing.

I am reading poetry more regularly now, but not writing anything these days. I wonder if I will ever write a poem again. My sensitivities lie deeply buried these days, as I navigate the working world of greed, manipulation and partial-truths. It is my hope that once I have been ejected from this environment, no matter how violently, I will recover myself. It could happen.

And so I read the poems I have written in more hopeful times. And I play my bodhran, which is a joy. Measurable wavelengths of joy, received and given.

The 1998 Tercel is on the road again, quiet as a mouse, with working brakes, and sound tires. Attila is now able to work overtime when asked, and so am I. Turning down overtime goes badly for workers in the long run, we avoid saying no whenever we can.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

4 °C
Condition: Sunny
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 3.5°C
Dewpoint: -3.4°C
Humidity: 61 %
Wind: NE 11 gust 28 km/h

Quote

“If all the rich people in the world divided up their money among themselves there wouldn’t be enough to go around.”
Christina Stead
1903 – 1983

Note

Christina Stead

Christina Stead

Christina Stead 1938

“…an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations…

Her father was the marine biologist and pioneer conservationist David George Stead. Stead was a committed Marxist, although she was never a member of the Communist Party.Although her birth and death were both in Sydney, Stead lived many years abroad in England and the United States. She first departed Australia in 1928, and worked in a Parisian bank from 1930 to 1935. Stead also became involved with the writer, broker and Marxist political economist William J. Blake, with whom she travelled to Spain (leaving at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War) and to the USA. They married in 1952, once Blake was able to obtain a divorce from his previous wife. It was after his death from stomach cancer in 1968 that she returned to Australia.Indeed, Stead only returned to Australia after she was denied the Britannica-Australia prize on the grounds that she had “ceased to be an Australian…”

Sounds lovely doesn’t it?

Not always though. I have suffered in the past from migraine headaches. They have resulted . . . → Read More: Kaleidoscope]]> Kaleidoscope: kaleidoscope |kəˈlīdəˌskōp|
noun
a toy consisting of a tube containing mirrors and pieces of colored glass or paper, whose reflections produce changing patterns that are visible through an eyehole when the tube is rotated.

Sounds lovely doesn’t it?

Not always though. I have suffered in the past from migraine headaches. They have resulted in a loss of sight. The pain of headache goes away, but so does my vision. All I can see is a kaleidoscope of colours and angular shapes. I did retain limited peripheral vision during these episodes.

This has been stress induced in the past.

The headaches are starting again. It has much to do with being told I don’t have a job, while being kept around temporarily with an overload of work. Knowing all along of course, that when that work is completed I am out of a job; that any morning I may be escorted from my desk. They want me to be cheerful. I smile. I work. My head hurts, a lot.

If my vision goes I’m done for. I wouldn’t dare drive nor could I do much in the way of work on the computer. It would also slow down the job search. Sigh.

May my employers live in interesting times, well away from me!

A little rain is falling in my world, but this too shall pass.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

0 °C
Condition: Sunny
Pressure: 102.8 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 0.2°C
Dewpoint: -6.4°C
Humidity: 61 %
Wind: WSW 8 km/h
Wind Chill: -3

Quote

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”
Albert Camus
1913 – 1960

My work environment has evolved into almost complete chaos. Half the staff were fired, I was one of them. The lucky ones were let go immediately . . . → Read More: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!]]> Oh Dorothy! It isn’t Lions and Tigers and Bears in my world right now, oh that it were the only the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow!

My work environment has evolved into almost complete chaos. Half the staff were fired, I was one of them. The lucky ones were let go immediately to look for other work. I am being kept around because I am useful, for now, and for who knows how long.

The new branch manager keeps trying to convince me to go all out to save the company. Buddy, I’ve been fired, probably at your suggestion. Look elsewhere for a knight in shining armour. Really!!! This takes navel gazing to a whole new level.

So, universe, are you listening up there. I need a viable alternative, whatever that might be. I am open to suggestion universe, surprise me if you need to. But please, make it good if you can.

Attila and I are making progress in getting the 1998 Tercel back on the road. I picked up brake shoes from the automotive supply store on my way home from work today. Hopefully these repairs will give the car a new lease on life, until we can live comfortably with only one car.

It snowed yesterday, all day. It all melted away and the roads were wet but not slippery, no ill effect on driving conditions. After that amazing warm spell, the weather seems very chilly and wet!

We have had a lot of freezing weather in the last few weeks, and still the daffodils are bursting to bloom!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

8 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 101.9 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 7.5°C
Dewpoint: -2.2°C
Humidity: 50 %
Wind: N 13 gust 30 km/h

Quote 

“Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom.”
Michel de Montaigne
1533 – 1592

About a decade ago I had a week to remember, and not in a good way. Unforgettable. This week was another such week. I will relay the experiences in order of importance.

Quite by accident, I found the Death Notice for my . . . → Read More: That change I was talking about earlier…]]> Change has been in the air and it is beginning to materialize.

About a decade ago I had a week to remember, and not in a good way. Unforgettable. This week was another such week. I will relay the experiences in order of importance.

Quite by accident, I found the Death Notice for my cousin, which came as a shock because I had not heard that she had passed away. Only 54 years old, her life taken by cancer.

Then Harriet called to tell us that the cancer that Hogan had about two years ago has reappeared. We are hoping that he continues with his winning steak, rooting for him all the way.

And last of all, I was told today that the company I work for is shutting up shop and that my job will disappear in six months, or perhaps much sooner. Worse news for three of my co-workers, who were laid off this morning. It was a very rough day, witnessing the whole process.

I am home now. I’ve changed into my pyjamas and I am about to watch an episode of Farscape and eat Tortellini and Pesto.

Some good news did come this week. Our little Toyota Tercel can be resurrected for a reasonable cost. We had looked at new cars, and we are now truly thankful that we resisted the temptation to go further into debt to purchase one. Timing is everything they say. I think the universe if taking care of us, I really do. With only one job to travel to (that will be Attila’s) we won’t need two cars!

I am still feeling very happy!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

8 °C
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 101.0 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 7.9°C
Dewpoint: -5.0°C
Humidity: 40 %

Quote

“Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.”
Sholem Asch
1880 – 1957

The little car that we bought in 1998 has decided to retire. Attila had been driving it to work and back until last Thursday, when the brake lines failed completely, just as he arrived home. Unfortunately that was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, as they say. We have had thirteen years . . . → Read More: Straws]]> Change!

The little car that we bought in 1998 has decided to retire. Attila had been driving it to work and back until last Thursday, when the brake lines failed completely, just as he arrived home. Unfortunately that was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, as they say. We have had thirteen years of continuous service from this little car, a Toyota Tercel. It is time to say goodbye.

It is also time to say hello to sharing a car; the car we purchased new in 2009. There are no other transportation options. There is no public transportation here. Taxi service begins at $30 per trip and the meter runs from there. Walking and cycling are not feasible options based on distance, the types of roads we travel and the fact that I am a senior citizen and cannot suddenly take up cycling 40 km, twice a day. Walking to and from work would not leave me without enough time to sleep at night. We thought about ATV’s but they are not allowed on the roads in this area.

Sharing is a good thing in many ways. It is more economical. Attila and I enjoy seeing each other at the beginning and end of each work day. At the same time sharing is difficult. Atilla and I work at locations 40 km apart. Our schedules are dictated by our employers, and do not offer any flexibility. Our already demanding six-day-a-week work schedule has become even more complicated.

Time will tell though. The universe undertakes gift giving in convoluted and mysterious ways. This may or may not be a gift. Don’t you just love a mystery?

So, for now we are adjusting our set, that is our lifestyle, to graciously accommodate the loss of our second vehicle.

It snowed yesterday, several inches. It snowed overnight last night, several inches. It is supposed to snow today. Winter is grasping at straws (straw, seems to be a theme for me today). The snow will be gone by tomorrow.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-1 °C
Pressure: 101.0 kPa
Temperature: -0.7°C
Dewpoint: -0.7°C
Humidity: 100 %

Quote 

“It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.”
W. Somerset Maugham
1874 – 1965
Of Human Bondage, 1915