The Defend Our Coast rally was pretty cool...loved seeing ppl bringing their kids and it was more organized than the last one...there was not any mishmash of issues sandwiched in to the proceedings...I don't care for turning up to an event about tankers and pipelines and having it laced with other unrelated issues – it is a real turn off for me. I have a real dislike for poor public speakers – I understand the nerve factor and the fact that we are not all blessed with outstanding public speaking skills...I think it really takes away from a cause though – that's just me being an asshole. I will admit 3 crappy speakers are completely erased by a good one though which is always nice. There were a few really great people speaking who articulated the issues and solutions well. Kudos to you! Anyone brave enough to get on that stage with the news cameras rolling and 3000+ ppl staring at you...way to have some balls...but please go to toastmasters now.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY COUSIN-IN-LAW DAVID!
Training is getting real now yo! The dreaded role playing is underway....and it is a necessary evil...I am absolutely horrified of the prospect of call taking...I assume that after the training is complete in mid-January 2013 we will all be prepared enough that the horror will subside. Interestingly....I am the only person there who is not in midst of pursuing a masters degree-apparently this training is counseling practicum level stuff. One woman said 4 yrs of a Psych BA and there has not been 1 mention of any of the material we are covering right now so that is pretty interesting...it is some intense business and the language required to handle these situations is going to be really fun for this casual-assed verbal nightmare of a gal...really looking fwd to it though.
ARGO: great flick...I did fall asleep briefly but that was not b/c the movie was boring at all...I just have narcolepsy...I have no idea how long I was asleep for but I managed to piece together what was going on once I woke up. I really liked the story – no idea how skewed the portrayal of actual events is in it but...the overall gist of it is cool knowing that something of that nature was pulled off! Very enjoyable political drama!
Little Ms AJC got extended until the end of Nov @ work...WOOHOO! This is fantastic...a bunch more pay chqs to squirrel away for a trip next year and it allows her to coast through the month that she will be going to California for 10 days to visit some family...she will have a few days of work once she is home then chill for 5 days waiting to get her wisdom teeth yanked then have some stress free recovery time then get back at getting a seasonal job to carry her through Dec etc. Great news!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
12 Years
May 29 1976 - Oct 24 2000
Such a warm, funny man...sad I never got to watch you find yourself.
And now on with the day...
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Funny Face McGoo
Nice hanging with Maggie and Sidney last weekend...Sidney seriously makes the best faces of all 3 year olds ever. He is a true ham. Maggie did not get much rest unfortunately but...she claims the escapism was good for her. Her due date being the beginning of Feb. 2013 is creating some issues b/c she has 2 staff members who did not bother to consider the implications of them spitting out babies in Jan. 2013 and April 2013. See the issue there? Not enough staff to operate a business...and replacing them is not easy as few people on PR are qualified so.............she could very well end up like a Chinese Rice Paddy Woman (EDIT: this is not intended as a racial slur at all...Asian women who farm and work hard are hardcore and are not afforded such pampering as North American women are - it was used as a complete compliment) and pop the baby out and have to go right back to work which is fairly bogus. Not quite what she had in mind for certain. We won't talk about how all of this has impacted her prenatal care and plans to birth in Nanaimo with the previous Dr who knows what went sideways last time re: her blood disorder...now she is stuck in PR unless she is flown out due to emergency. Ugh – complicated BS.
Interesting volunteer training on Monday...we split up into groups for 3 to do an exercise and I asked them both why they volunteered (I like getting in people's heads)...one lady said she had always wanted to and also wanted to learn more about abusive relationships b/c 15 yrs ago she had been married to someone (9 yr relationship) who busted her arm...the hospital staff and friends and family all told her to leave him b/c she was in an abusive relationship – in the 9 yrs they were together he got physical 4x...we have been learning that not all relationships of this nature are 'abusive'....abusive relationships generally entail a level of manipulation, control and other mindfuckery and sometimes but not always physical abuse...so as this woman has been going through the training reading about all the factors and such she is realizing he was not a classic abuser at all...he had a shitty temper once in a while and acted like a fool and hurt her but there was not ever mindfuckery, manipulation, emotional abuse or anything that would constitute it as an abusive relationship (he went to meetings and groups and counselling and always maintained he was not like those men but that is also a typical response – he told her he never tried controlling her or make her feel worthless or bad – he never tried to downplay his behaviour or make excuses)...so while the 3 of us are talking about this she says that relationship was amazing for her...she was 95% happy with him....me and the other gal in the group look at each other and I announce I have never been anywhere near 95% in my life in a relationship...and the other gal agreed she never had a 95% relationship either...the woman also says that in the 15 yrs since she left him b/c she felt she was under such pressure to do so she has never been in another relationship b/c no one she meets measures up to her ex husband...total regret...
I have been thinking about this a lot since...mainly b/c I am relationship retarded and this blows my mind. In the last few years I have basically come to the conclusion (that is obvious to everyone else on the planet that has ever been in a normal relationship) that being in a relationship requires a certain amount of compromise/shit eating (not literally)/selling out of one's expectations...I get it – humans are not perfect...I know I could never be anyone's be all end all perfect companion b/c I am way too neurotic and psycho – but it all comes down to acceptance which I am apparently really shitty at. Perhaps if you really love someone acceptance comes easier (I assume this to be true) in which case I have yet to really "be there"...so...anyhow...it was interesting b/c I think ppl assume if someone breaks their wife's arm they must have an abusive relationship...it is easy to assume that...I would assume that even now...but really sometimes ppl are just assholes with horrible tempers and do stupid horrible things and external factors are involved and are not necessarily abusive as a whole. This makes me rethink some of my previous judgments about certain people and really clears up some I had...case in point I have 1 ex who was abusive and covers the gamut of behaviors to be a textbook abusive asshole...this is no surprise @ all – I knew he was back then and studied him like a science project until I ended it which then brought on the fun of dealing with such an asshole after a breakup...I changed my # and email account and never looked back... he stopped calling my boss at work trying to get me fired after I called the cops. Revisiting his personality via FB 12+ yrs later did not last long b/c he is the same asshole and Wendy P and I had fun mocking him before I blocked him finally. Fun times...the rest however are just regular people...some losers - some not...
The Led Zeppelin reunion concert last night at the movie theatre was great...such a kick ass band...closest I will ever come to seeing them live so I savored every moment. No Quarter was my favorite of the night...I could have curled up in my seat with a blanket and just closed my eyes grooving to that forever. I drank Lisa's drink by accident...no big deal right? Yeah – unless I would make out with someone I don't generally want their spit in my mouth...no offense to Lisa at all...but we aren't friends "like that"....so I am rather mortified that I got her spit in my mouth and in turn she got mine in her mouth b/c now it is like we are lesbians or something crazy.
Lisa was kind enough to part with her old record collection and gave me dibs...oh it is 80's madness!!! I gave back the Jimmy and Kristy McNicol record and a few other gems (haha) but scored some Streetheart, Blondie, BeeGee's, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Dr Hook etc Oh and don't forget BONEY M!!!!!! BAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA too funny. Thank you Lisa! Come over and listen to records please!
Interesting volunteer training on Monday...we split up into groups for 3 to do an exercise and I asked them both why they volunteered (I like getting in people's heads)...one lady said she had always wanted to and also wanted to learn more about abusive relationships b/c 15 yrs ago she had been married to someone (9 yr relationship) who busted her arm...the hospital staff and friends and family all told her to leave him b/c she was in an abusive relationship – in the 9 yrs they were together he got physical 4x...we have been learning that not all relationships of this nature are 'abusive'....abusive relationships generally entail a level of manipulation, control and other mindfuckery and sometimes but not always physical abuse...so as this woman has been going through the training reading about all the factors and such she is realizing he was not a classic abuser at all...he had a shitty temper once in a while and acted like a fool and hurt her but there was not ever mindfuckery, manipulation, emotional abuse or anything that would constitute it as an abusive relationship (he went to meetings and groups and counselling and always maintained he was not like those men but that is also a typical response – he told her he never tried controlling her or make her feel worthless or bad – he never tried to downplay his behaviour or make excuses)...so while the 3 of us are talking about this she says that relationship was amazing for her...she was 95% happy with him....me and the other gal in the group look at each other and I announce I have never been anywhere near 95% in my life in a relationship...and the other gal agreed she never had a 95% relationship either...the woman also says that in the 15 yrs since she left him b/c she felt she was under such pressure to do so she has never been in another relationship b/c no one she meets measures up to her ex husband...total regret...
I have been thinking about this a lot since...mainly b/c I am relationship retarded and this blows my mind. In the last few years I have basically come to the conclusion (that is obvious to everyone else on the planet that has ever been in a normal relationship) that being in a relationship requires a certain amount of compromise/shit eating (not literally)/selling out of one's expectations...I get it – humans are not perfect...I know I could never be anyone's be all end all perfect companion b/c I am way too neurotic and psycho – but it all comes down to acceptance which I am apparently really shitty at. Perhaps if you really love someone acceptance comes easier (I assume this to be true) in which case I have yet to really "be there"...so...anyhow...it was interesting b/c I think ppl assume if someone breaks their wife's arm they must have an abusive relationship...it is easy to assume that...I would assume that even now...but really sometimes ppl are just assholes with horrible tempers and do stupid horrible things and external factors are involved and are not necessarily abusive as a whole. This makes me rethink some of my previous judgments about certain people and really clears up some I had...case in point I have 1 ex who was abusive and covers the gamut of behaviors to be a textbook abusive asshole...this is no surprise @ all – I knew he was back then and studied him like a science project until I ended it which then brought on the fun of dealing with such an asshole after a breakup...I changed my # and email account and never looked back... he stopped calling my boss at work trying to get me fired after I called the cops. Revisiting his personality via FB 12+ yrs later did not last long b/c he is the same asshole and Wendy P and I had fun mocking him before I blocked him finally. Fun times...the rest however are just regular people...some losers - some not...
The Led Zeppelin reunion concert last night at the movie theatre was great...such a kick ass band...closest I will ever come to seeing them live so I savored every moment. No Quarter was my favorite of the night...I could have curled up in my seat with a blanket and just closed my eyes grooving to that forever. I drank Lisa's drink by accident...no big deal right? Yeah – unless I would make out with someone I don't generally want their spit in my mouth...no offense to Lisa at all...but we aren't friends "like that"....so I am rather mortified that I got her spit in my mouth and in turn she got mine in her mouth b/c now it is like we are lesbians or something crazy.
Lisa was kind enough to part with her old record collection and gave me dibs...oh it is 80's madness!!! I gave back the Jimmy and Kristy McNicol record and a few other gems (haha) but scored some Streetheart, Blondie, BeeGee's, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Dr Hook etc Oh and don't forget BONEY M!!!!!! BAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA too funny. Thank you Lisa! Come over and listen to records please!
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Post-Birthday Ramblings...
Pretty uneventful birthday...I took the day off so I spent the day doing laundry and reading my volunteer stuff b/c I had training 630-930...not a terrible way to spend your birthday. Last year was such a shit show I really didn't mind the uneventfulness. Last year I made the mistake of making a plan for my b'day and going to Vancouver b/c Liam Finn was in town ON MY BIRTHDAY so it seemed like the right thing to do. My intentions were good...but it played out very differently...broke my damn neck and was in excruciating agony (almost didn't go but...IT WAS LIAM FINN!!! I couldn't not go) – everything went absolutely sideways...I strayed from my hotel plan and took an old friend up on an offer to stay at her place and it was just.completely.horrific. "You can stay at my house Jen, I do not have a couch to sleep on or a spare bedroom with a bed – but here is a lawn chair cushion you can use on the floor with your busted neck...oh and I have no pillows so you will have to use your jacket...and don't mind the rabbit shit all over the floor or the fact you are paying for the birthday dinner and my concert ticket and lunch and that I am ranting about having to pick you up at the ferry even though I offered." FML. I won't be revisiting that nightmare ever again. So yeah – this year was quiet and nice. Had a few meals out with friends and I get to see Ryan McMahon 2x this week so it is pretty decent.
Training is going well...it is a weird scene when while sitting in the middle of these sessions and it hits you full force that the material you are learning mirrors so much of your own life...I would love to pick my step dads brain one day and ask him where he was at when he was standing at the burning barrel on our farm in Edgerton, AB tossing all of my mother's things into the burning barrel while my little brother (4 yrs old) and I (10 at the time) stood around watching. I recall the moment quite vividly...I was horrified that he was throwing my mother's box of nail polish and stuff into the barrel...and we stood there watching it burn, being startled by the loud pops when the glass bottles blew up...I think I asked him for the nail polish b/c I knew it would make my mom so sad to lose all her nail polish (oh the mind of a child) but he dumped it. As an adult I understand the crazy dynamic of adult relationships...at the time though – the writing was on the wall...they divorced 3 yrs later. Initially the head trainer did say depending on my upbringing I may find that the training stirs up things and she was not kidding. Some of the programs available in 2012 are astounding...completely underfunded or not funded at all by the gov't.
In other news...ok not really news but...Thanksgiving approaches...A. and I are doing our usual yummy chicken breasts with stuffing and taters and veggies and gravy and cranberries and whatever else...I am going to ask her this year if her and I can cook it together...I promise to take ativan 1st so I am not a bossy asshole HAAAAAAAAAAAAA....or maybe I will do it all and request her presence in the kitchen to chat etc while the cooking is done....
Not surprisingly – A. finds the govt office environment boring as boring gets and the dynamic as an invisible temp is also a little disheartening...no one's taking a vested interest in making sure these temps know anything or are doing anything correctly so it is pretty lame in the regard...She will get 3 full paycheques by the time she is done (she assumes there will be no extension as there doesn't seem to be enough work (at their level) at the moment b/c they hired so many temps...so those 3 chqs will get her a nice trip somewhere...
Training is going well...it is a weird scene when while sitting in the middle of these sessions and it hits you full force that the material you are learning mirrors so much of your own life...I would love to pick my step dads brain one day and ask him where he was at when he was standing at the burning barrel on our farm in Edgerton, AB tossing all of my mother's things into the burning barrel while my little brother (4 yrs old) and I (10 at the time) stood around watching. I recall the moment quite vividly...I was horrified that he was throwing my mother's box of nail polish and stuff into the barrel...and we stood there watching it burn, being startled by the loud pops when the glass bottles blew up...I think I asked him for the nail polish b/c I knew it would make my mom so sad to lose all her nail polish (oh the mind of a child) but he dumped it. As an adult I understand the crazy dynamic of adult relationships...at the time though – the writing was on the wall...they divorced 3 yrs later. Initially the head trainer did say depending on my upbringing I may find that the training stirs up things and she was not kidding. Some of the programs available in 2012 are astounding...completely underfunded or not funded at all by the gov't.
In other news...ok not really news but...Thanksgiving approaches...A. and I are doing our usual yummy chicken breasts with stuffing and taters and veggies and gravy and cranberries and whatever else...I am going to ask her this year if her and I can cook it together...I promise to take ativan 1st so I am not a bossy asshole HAAAAAAAAAAAAA....or maybe I will do it all and request her presence in the kitchen to chat etc while the cooking is done....
Not surprisingly – A. finds the govt office environment boring as boring gets and the dynamic as an invisible temp is also a little disheartening...no one's taking a vested interest in making sure these temps know anything or are doing anything correctly so it is pretty lame in the regard...She will get 3 full paycheques by the time she is done (she assumes there will be no extension as there doesn't seem to be enough work (at their level) at the moment b/c they hired so many temps...so those 3 chqs will get her a nice trip somewhere...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)