Bookstore

Oh, the other day, I had a glorious trip to the bookstore. My whole family went and we all got some awesome treats! I just love browsing all the different books and magazines. I could stay in a bookstore for hours.

And what I love is seeing so many people at the bookstore because they're doing the same thing!

I ended up with 4 books that I've wanted to read for a while. I got an awesome promotion too...but 3, get one free. And the next day, I got my book that I ordered off of e-bay. Book heaven.

Now, if I could have a beach and a week to just read.

Skull Fracture

My daughter recenty hurt herself. And the other day, we got to go to BC Children's hospital to see a neurosurgeon. That place is really a place of miracles and tremendous work. I don't know how many times I've had to go in, but enough for me to be truly thankful for that place.

Anyways, I finally got to see the cat scan. You could see a distinct skull fracture and the pool of blood that formed on the inside and the outside. And the blood on the outside is what caused her "squishy head." The neurosurgeon was very clear that there was no bruising of the brain. Phew.

A battery of tests were done that day. And at the end of it, the neurosurgeon made it very clear that there should be no contact sports for a month. Yeah, like my daughter ever did contact sports. But she will have to stay away from activities such as throwing a ball, etc. The neurosurgeon also mentioned that he is not expecting to see us again. The body will take care of the blood and fracture and it will take weeks for the "squishy head" to go away.

My daughter was extremely fortunate that she wasn't seriously hurt. It's her noggin. And once again, a big shout out to the staff at BC Children's Hospital.

Insensitive People

Yesterday, the office got word that one of our business lines will be around, but with less staff. Basically, 3 people in this business line will have to find some other work or make some other choices. But there is no room for them there based on some review that was done. Even in government, jobs are not safe anymore. Granted, these 3 folks will have some time to do their job search and make some choices for themselves. And they have the support of management to find something different. Regardless, this is a difficult time for these folks. No one likes to hear that there won't be a job for them.

But what kills me is the insensitivity of some folks in the office. Comments include:

"Well, it's not like they did much work."
"I guess they figured they didn't need all of you."
"It's not like it was a business line that was functioning well."
"I would have gotten rid of them sooner than this."
"If I was still in charge, I would have shipped their work to another government department a long time ago."

Some of these comments were said directly to those affected staff. Umm. Think whatever you want to think, but give these people some space to deal with this news. Who the heck wants to hear these types of comments? Yes, we've all been unemployed at some point, but I highly doubt that people said that kind of crap to you. It's just rude, insensitive and just mean.

I've worked in this business line. And though I have my complaints about it, I know that the business line churns out good work and churns out results that actually make a difference in the real world. For those that made nasty comments to the affected stuff, maybe you should all learn a bit about the work that these folks do. Just because you're on the phone a lot, or have a number of files sitting on your desk, your work can not be compared to the work that these folks do. Their work is different but it's not to say that they are not busy and that they are not important. Honestly, how would you feel if someone said those awful things to you just after you got the news you were going to be unemployed.

I can not believe the audacity of some folks. I can not believe people can be that insensitive. I can not believe how righteous some folks are feeling about these people getting fired. And I can't believe how bloody oblivious the commentators are to how they are making the "fired" staff feel.

UNACCEPTABLE behaviour in the workplace such as this just makes me sick in the stomach. It's unbelievable how toxic some people are and they can not take responsibility for their own actions. You folks suck.

Half Birthday

Oh, another half birthday. This year, my daughter turns 6.5 years old. It's great! My daughter, family and friends all have bought into the idea of this tradition. It sure makes life a little less hectic as Christmas Day is nuts. December in general is crazy. June is a good month to just catch up with people and have some good food.

My daughter is also at an age now where she has a lot of kid's parties to attend. She happened to go to one before her half birthday this year. She had a ton of fun at both parties. Good stuff.

But I have to admit that for every year she gets older, so do I. And boy, after prep and the 2 birthday parties, and just regular life, I was pretty tired. Too much excitement for this girl. I totally took a nap today as I felt jet lagged. I hate that feeling.

I still can't believe my baby is now 6.5 years old. Where does the time go?

Reselling

I'm not sure I count as a big time merchant account reseller. But I have been helping out a number of friends sell their stuff and taking a cut from it. It's not glamourous work, but it's something. And they're just happy to get rid of their stuff.

Someone just offered me to do a job for a storage full of stuff. I'm thinking of doing it. But part of me is a little worried as it's quite a bit of work. And I'm not complaining about work, it's just that, I'm wondering if I have enough time. Sometimes I turn down things because I know I'm going to be expending so much energy that I'm just going to be a cranky cow for weeks on end. That's not fair to my family. I can expect to have bad days and bad times due to circumstances I can't control. But if I can control the situation, then I can say no to jobs.

Well, we'll see what happens...maybe with summer and less activities, I can take this on.

Solutions

I really am amazed at all the different diet solutions out there. From shakes, to operations, to cleanses, to pills. The latest one is Lipovox. Part of me truly thinks that they are all pretty much the same, well at least in terms of pills. So why are some so expensive and others not? The research has already been done....

Anyway, I'm not sure I like the sound of this one. Lipo - means fat. Ok, I can deal with that. But vox is voice. Fat voice? Well, do you really want to hear my fat voice? Yeah, didn't think so. Maybe they should spend a little more money on the marketing and naming of this product.

Benefits

Someone asked me recently why I stay working for the government. Yep, it has its issues, but I dare you to find me a workplace that is always a happy place. It doesn't exist. It's just how you deal with things.

And even though my place of work does have its issues, it's about the bigger picture. It's about my social security benefits...specifically my pension. Yes, I save a monthly RRSP. But who knows what will happen with that. Secondly, I'm excellent at spending money. So in terms of my retirement, I'll be ok, but with the pension, I should be fine. Yes, I don't retire until 2031 and that's a long time from now. But looking at the future, that pension will come in handy.

So I will put up with whatever crazy stuff and crazy people at the workplace. It's all about my pension.

ATVs

I was watching tv the other day (suprise, suprise) and it was some outdoor living/sports channel. The show had to do with atv racing. Ummmm. No thank you. The thought of tree roots sticking up and me going full speed on a machine to race spells danger and suicide all in one.

Before you think I'm a total party pooper, I've done the atv'ing before. Actually, I did it while I was in Australia and I had acres of farm/forest to use the damn thing. It was totally fun...but racing at full speeds like these folks? Seriously, someone is going to get hurt.

And as I write this, I just realize how old I sound.

Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is a weekly activity for me. And this week, I had to go more than once as I was getting ready for my daughter's half birthday. Going once a week is more than enough as I hate the line ups. I really do try to go during non busy hours, but sometimes due to timing, it's not possible.

So, on one of the trips I went to, I got everything in record time and saw that there were no line ups at the registers! Oh wow! It's like winning the lotto. So I scoot to one of the free cashiers and I place my items on the machine. Everything is going tickety boo. I take out my credit card to go and pay. She's getting my receipt...waiting for my recipet...still waiting for my receipt. BOO. I knew it was too good to be true! There was something wrong with the receipt printer.

Yep, paper was stuck. Ok, not a big issue. But I got a newbie cashier that had not encountered the printer issue before. She then picked up the phone to call someone. Yep, I stood there waiting...and waiting...and then the line ups picked up...and of course a ton of people are now behind me with the scowl wondering what the hold up is.

I need a sign that says "not me!" And the sign should point to someone else. Don't get me wrong, I felt bad for the girl because she's flustered and she's new. But I really just wanted to get out of there.

Shoes

Guys make fun of women all the time about their shoes. How come women have more than 2 pairs of shoes? Well, my question is, how can some guys only have 2 pairs of shoes? A pair of running shoes and a pair of black ones.

We as women, need black shoes. But we need them in heels and in some form of casual style and of course, the black shoes for work! But we need that in brown too. Of course we need sandals, the pretty ones to go with an outfit, the ones that are Teva like for everyday wear. We also need rain boots...and snow boots. I think I'm missing out a whole bunch of categories here, but you get the drift.

But in this house, there is 1 woman, yes me. And there are 2 girls. And their shoe collection is getting big too. I can only imagine what this place will look like when they are teenagers and want the all the different categories of shoes.

I better go and get a second job now.

Injury

Anytime your spouse starts an e-mail/conversation with "don't freak out," you know it can't be good.

I was at work today when I get an e-mail from my husband writing me from home and he starts with that dreaded sentence. In a nutshell, my one daughter collided with a kid last week and when she fell, she fell onto the cement and her head took a bit of a beating. She was taken to the clinic just to make sure everything was ok. In the past week, she seemed fine, no behaviour changes, etc.

But this morning, according to my husband, my kid was bouncing on the bed and said "daddy, feel my squishy head!" Or something to that effect. In fact, when my husband touched her head where she hit the cement last week, indeed there was a squishiness.

Off to the hospital they go because no head should feel squishy. Better to be safe than sorry too. A CT scan was done and there were neurosurgeon consults. Throughout these hours, my husband is texting me and keeping me updated.

So he calls but has to leave a message. "Don't freak out but...." OMG. That's what I'm thinking. When I finally got a hold of my husband, I was told she had a skull fracture. The squishiness was the blood pooling, like a blister inside her head. Yuck and bloody freaky. So what can we do? Basically nothing. Just monitor and she will go for a check up next week. But that means no playing on the playground, no jumping, no biking. Basically nothing fun and quiet activities only.

Hee hee. That to a kid is like hell. Hopefully hell doesn't last too long for her.

Half Birthday

Today was a baby shower at work for one of the staff members. I'm so glad that he brought the baby in with his lovely wife. The baby was OH so cute! And did the cooing in all the right places! Sweetie pie.

Everytime I go to a baby shower, I never can believe that my babies were so tiny at one point in their life. My eldest will be having her 6.5 birthday in just a week's time. I'm not sure how the last 6.5 years just whizzed by. She's yapping up a storm and having intelligent conversations with me. I remember when she could barely say momma or walk.

I'm hoping that if I close my eyes, maybe will slow down just a little.....

Pasta

I try to make meals half interesting for my kids so that they'll eat. I understand that they don't like all the food I make...but I try to make at least one thing they like each night.

But sometimes my kids are so boring. I tried buying the bow ties, swirly shapes and shell shapes of pasta. Nope. They didn't want that. It wasn't cute. All they wanted was straight spaghetti or spaghettini. Well, how boring is that?!

Yes, I admit, I have tried making cute bento boxes for my kids in the hopes that they'll eat certain things. But nope, that didn't work either. So I slopped their food in. Seem to work just fine if not better.

So keeping it simple sometimes really is the best way to go. Sounds good to me. Regular boring spaghetti is way cheaper than the cutesy stuff.

Funeral Costs

Everytime I go pick up one of my kids, I see a sandwich board next to this funeral home. And it says, "buy now and save the HST!" Yes, it's true, I could save on funeral costs. But it sounds so tacky. The message I hear is, "you're going to kick the can soon, so why wait?" Shudder. My dad would just be appalled to see that sign.

But really, it is almost as expensive to die than to live these days which is slightly ironic. The cost of a funeral is high. In my younger days, I was all for the coffin, etc. And now, I just think it's so over done. I really have thought about cremation instead. The thought is, I can also be wherever I need to be after my death. Hee hee. I'm portable. I'm not sure if my family will be nearby as they may move away to other places and they couldn't easily come and visit.

Hopefully, I have many more years to think of this stuff. I'm going to pass on saving on the HST this time around. Thanks.

Eye Cream

I've been asked to product test an eye cream. I was told it was one of the "top rated eye creams." That's great and all...but sometimes I think it's just some guy in the back that writes up these ads without any actual proof.

Until I see the product or even try it, I can't even begin to comment on it. But how many times have you bought something because it was the "best of" or "rated number 1," etc., that you're totally disappointed when you finally try the product. I would rather have marketers call a product an "good product, you get what you pay for," or something along the lines of "we're telling you the truth, it's a great product, but we don't need to say we're number one and we cost a hell of a lot less." Yeah, right. As if that's ever going to happen. Just doesn't have that same zip of a line.....

Reality TV

Oh, I'm a sucker for reality tv. I watch a ton of them. But hey, I have standards and refuse to watch the Bachelor and Bachelorette!!!

Besides some of the big reality shows, I tend to like the ones that air on TLC. The wedding ones are always hilarious. From bridezillas, to folks that break down at the drop of a hat. From women who are crazy wearing corsetsthat will make them faint, to those that couldn't care less what hangs out from their dress.

But then there are wedding shows that just focus on the food or the dress. The food ones are always good. And the dress ones are just so full of drama. I also get to snicker how people could pay THAT much for a dress.

Either way, I'm stuck with reality tv. Might as well find some shows that I like!

Proctoring

Every 6 months, I go and do a proctoring gig. Basically, watch a whole bunch of people do a test and make sure they don't cheat. It's a very long day as I get there before 7am and I don't get home until about 7. Most of that time, I am walking around and concentrating on watching everybody. But it's good money and I can't say no. This time, my money will be used for my Seattle trip with my 2 peeps!

Anyways, I always get amused by proctoring day. If anything, the fashion sense is awesome. This time, I get a really nice mix. I had those that were in their regualr preppy wear. There were those that were dressed to the nines...though I can't understand why as I'd be so uncomfortable writing an exam with 4 inch heels and all dressed up. Umm. Hate to tell you, this is the written portion, I'm not interviewing you.

Then there are those that are the opposite extreme where they are dressed for the dump/beach. Muscle shirts, tattered shorts and sandals. Some are of the yoga crew...every item is yoga related. Both of these camps are understandable as all of them are comfort related.

Then I got an eyeful with someone's shoes. This one guy had the most tattered t-shirt, with a scarf on, the boldest and biggest black glasses with the most horrid jeans...and with these shoes!!! OMG. I could not keep my eyes off of these shoes!



Look at shoes, try to concentrate on cheaters, look at shoes and continue.

Overall, an uneventful day. No cheaters. But that's good...that also means no paperwork.

Managing

I have no need or want to be a manager. It's just not me. I like being independent and doing my own projects, etc. But in any office, there are a ton of folks that are called Managers, Team Leaders, Supervisors, etc. Doesn't matter to me. I know who I report to and that's all that matters.

But what amazes me is how much crap managers get. Don't get me wrong, there are some managers that totally deserve it. However, some managers are dealing with some very strong staff. So it really becomes a dance of how managers and staff need to work together to make it workable. And staff need to realize that managers sometimes just have to tow the office line. Sometimes they make extremely difficult decisions but no one sees why those decisions came into fruition. Sometimes those decisions are really for the best because the alternatives are terrible. But staff always want someone to blame.

So it amazes me how many folks want be manager. It's got to be the title, the pay and the power that goes with it. But these folks should definitely not be manager because they don't get it. There are a small handful of people who don't want to be manager at my office who I would see as the ideal managers. Thoughtful, respected by other members of staff, can do the job already so they understand the realities of the job, etc. But it's a lost cause, they don't want to be managers.

For all those in the office complaining right now (which is a lot!)...sure, go ahead and complain. But either do something about it. Or throw in your hat to be management and see how difficult the job can be. It's always easier to give criticism. But I'd love to see those same folks take it and make difficult decisions.

So, work with management to make the situation workable for you. It'll make life for you and those around you so much more bearable.

Fish

It's about that time of year where my dad goes and gets a ton of salmon and in turn, he uses it for himself or sells it off to other folks. He makes a small profit. But if anything, he just loves having that much salmon in the house!!!

It's really awesome when we go out for dinner and he brings a salmon along so we can have Chinese Sashimi. Similar to Japanese Sashimi. But the salmon slices are placed on a plate, with peanuts, fried vermicelli, ginger and some other goodies...when mixed up, OH SO GOOD!

Though it's that time of year, I think he's going to give it up! And that's because he says it's work that is taxing on his body, the amount of scales that are left on his clothes after he finishes cleaning all the fish, and just the amount of flies in the backyard while he's cleaning the fish.

But if his body can't take it, then by no means should he be doing it. No point in hurting oneself over fish!!!

Tuesday

This week, my husband is on a business trip. I wish I could have joined him as it would have been so much fun! Free accomodations would have been awesome. But it was not meant to be. That's ok.

But that also means a total change in my schedule. In terms of waking and sleeping, eating, etc. I think this week is a total write off for work! But I do what I have to do.

I think when I'm tired and just not "feeling" it, I read a lot of things incorrectly. Or I'm not processing things well. Ummm...meeting was turned into bleeding. Nope, not good. Book was turned into booky. Hmmmm. Then on FB when everything is already wonky....nuphedragen was turned into a Newfie dragon. Realtor was turned into reality.

Ugh. My brain has really shut down on me this time.