no thanks to our lawyer...I'm getting really cheesed off with our immigration lawyer. When we moved I phoned her 7 or 8 times to give her our new address, she didn't call back for three months. Finally, I sent her an email. Not nasty, just not overly nice. She wrote back with a tale of woe about suffering a miscarriage and being in hospital for 3 months. A sad story to be sure but couldn't she have had a partner or someone phone her anxious clients and let them know that they were without a life raft in the cruel sea of bureaucracy? Now, Chris has his landed immigrant status but he doesn't have his card. Without his card he can't travel out of the country without some sort of special permission from an embassy (we actually don't understand what the issue is which is why we hired a lawyer). I have called her every night and left a message every night since November 22 (it's now the 29th) How frigging long does it take to return a freaking phone call. Especially to someone who is paying you $1400 for your effing services?!?!?!?!?! I'm ticked off at her!
I've got an interview on December 3rd at Child and Family services. Hopefully I'll get the job. The girls are quizzing me and trying to surreptitiously trying to give me an ace in the hole. I think I'll be okay.
We've been leaving Mush out periodically while we're at work. So far she's eaten my best shoes ($125.00) Chris' dress shoes ($40.00) my favourite rug ($52.00) and some sort of plastic thing. Her toys are untouched. Little darling! If she keeps this BS up I'm probably going to strangle her!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
My opinion on the Robert Dziekanski matter
My mother phoned me last night and we had a heated discussion about the death of Robert Dziekanski in the Vancouver airport at the hands of police. She thinks the police behaved heinously, I think that, while they over reacted, they did the right thing. For those of you who are gnashing their teeth and organising a mob to come for me, let me tell you WHY I feel this way.
Police deal with strung out drug addicts and mentally ill people all the time. They know that someone high on drugs has super human strength. A man high on drugs or in the grips of mental illness can easily overpower 4 policemen and injure them in the process. When I was 16 I had an insulin reaction and beat the tar out of 4 big (over 200 lbs each) men, one of whom was a former Olympic wrestler. If a 16 year old girl can do that a 40 year old man definitely can. The police didn't know why he was behaving irrationally (actually only he know that, saying he was frustrated from being detained is, although it looks painfully obvious, conjecture) they saw a man acting in an irrational manner and (maybe) assumed he was high on drugs. Looking at the video tape of his behaviour, he easily looked like someone either high or having some sort of mental moment. I believe they judged him to be potentially dangerous and so protected themselves and the surrounding civilians accordingly.
Another argument brought up by my mother was that he didn't speak English. Well, whose fault is that? If you're visiting Canada you are wise to learn at least a few phrases English (or French). Even if all you can say is "Where's the bathroom? I need a Polish interpreter. " etc. If you were going to visit Poland wouldn't you learn a few simple phrases? If you're planning on immigrating to a country (as he was) you should definitely have at LEAST a rudimentary grasp of the native tongue. When in Rome and all that. So, yes, he was frustrated and locked in the secure area of the airport (my husband was held for 4 hours when he came over to marry me and was not a happy camper). However, he chose to throw things around, and threaten people.
His choices led him to being restrained by the police. If he had learned a few important phrases in English (please contact my mother Mrs. so and so) and acted like an adult and remained calm he would be sitting at him mother's house right now bemoaning the fact that Canada wouldn't let him immigrate because of his criminal record (5 years for robbery in Poland).
I feel saddened by the fact that he died because of the taser blast and admit that the police could have been a bit more sympathetic to him but I would rather the police have tasered him and got him under control than for them to wrestle with him and have him kill or injure one of them. My fear now is that next time someone's acting up in public the police will be afraid to take him down and he'll wind up killing someone.
Police deal with strung out drug addicts and mentally ill people all the time. They know that someone high on drugs has super human strength. A man high on drugs or in the grips of mental illness can easily overpower 4 policemen and injure them in the process. When I was 16 I had an insulin reaction and beat the tar out of 4 big (over 200 lbs each) men, one of whom was a former Olympic wrestler. If a 16 year old girl can do that a 40 year old man definitely can. The police didn't know why he was behaving irrationally (actually only he know that, saying he was frustrated from being detained is, although it looks painfully obvious, conjecture) they saw a man acting in an irrational manner and (maybe) assumed he was high on drugs. Looking at the video tape of his behaviour, he easily looked like someone either high or having some sort of mental moment. I believe they judged him to be potentially dangerous and so protected themselves and the surrounding civilians accordingly.
Another argument brought up by my mother was that he didn't speak English. Well, whose fault is that? If you're visiting Canada you are wise to learn at least a few phrases English (or French). Even if all you can say is "Where's the bathroom? I need a Polish interpreter. " etc. If you were going to visit Poland wouldn't you learn a few simple phrases? If you're planning on immigrating to a country (as he was) you should definitely have at LEAST a rudimentary grasp of the native tongue. When in Rome and all that. So, yes, he was frustrated and locked in the secure area of the airport (my husband was held for 4 hours when he came over to marry me and was not a happy camper). However, he chose to throw things around, and threaten people.
His choices led him to being restrained by the police. If he had learned a few important phrases in English (please contact my mother Mrs. so and so) and acted like an adult and remained calm he would be sitting at him mother's house right now bemoaning the fact that Canada wouldn't let him immigrate because of his criminal record (5 years for robbery in Poland).
I feel saddened by the fact that he died because of the taser blast and admit that the police could have been a bit more sympathetic to him but I would rather the police have tasered him and got him under control than for them to wrestle with him and have him kill or injure one of them. My fear now is that next time someone's acting up in public the police will be afraid to take him down and he'll wind up killing someone.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Who needs sleep anyway?
I've had a horrible couple of nights for sleeping. Last night I dreamed that I was in a strange country/city/planet (who knows) and they were cutting the spines out of dead people and grafting them (the spines) onto living people so that the dead people would still be alive. I have no idea how that would work but that's how my subconscious thinks immortality will be achieved. Weirdly, I've been dreaming about a lady at work. (Not in that way you perv!) in my dreams I always deeply disappoint her in some way. It's bizarre. We don't really interact much day to day. I did discover something potentially useful last night. I noticed a bit of a trend. When I have difficulty getting to sleep (like last night) I end up having a reaction in the middle of the night. Last night I went to bed at 10.4 tossed and turned all night then at about 1 am I woke up and I was 2.2.
Christopher is making a chicken curry for supper and it smells delicious. We're taking turns cooking and doing other household chores because I was feeling a bit burnt out with doing it all the time.
We left Mush out and about in the house today, we half expected to come home to a catastrophe but apart from an ugly flower arrangement having been demolished, the house was in pristine condition (perhaps Mush was simply saying she didn't approve of the flower arrangement?)
We've got Bob the carpenter coming round soon (I always want to call him Bob the builder but I'm too mature to do that). We're hoping he'll put in new kitchen counter tops for us. Chris could do it but he doesn't have an appropriate saw for cutting arborite so we thought we'd hire a professional.
We're going to have to get a new sliding door for the patio, it's a gale force wind in our dining room...and that's with the door closed. We might actually put in French doors (Chris can install). It's wonderful having a handy husband. I don't know how people cope with an inept husband, we'd definitely be in the poor house with all the home improvements we've been doing.
Christopher is making a chicken curry for supper and it smells delicious. We're taking turns cooking and doing other household chores because I was feeling a bit burnt out with doing it all the time.
We left Mush out and about in the house today, we half expected to come home to a catastrophe but apart from an ugly flower arrangement having been demolished, the house was in pristine condition (perhaps Mush was simply saying she didn't approve of the flower arrangement?)
We've got Bob the carpenter coming round soon (I always want to call him Bob the builder but I'm too mature to do that). We're hoping he'll put in new kitchen counter tops for us. Chris could do it but he doesn't have an appropriate saw for cutting arborite so we thought we'd hire a professional.
We're going to have to get a new sliding door for the patio, it's a gale force wind in our dining room...and that's with the door closed. We might actually put in French doors (Chris can install). It's wonderful having a handy husband. I don't know how people cope with an inept husband, we'd definitely be in the poor house with all the home improvements we've been doing.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Life is just a bowl of cherries
Still waiting for a call from the HR person at child and family services. The ATL (administrative team leader) sent my resume for the 3rd time and told the woman to email her back as soon as she received it. Can the government do ANYTHING efficiently? Um, no, that's why they're the government. Stupid question.
Christopher and I have our immigration meeting next week, that should be fun. We'll see how personal they get.
I've bought most of the christmas presents, the only people we need to buy for now are the 2 dads, grandpa, James, Jack and Katie-May. All right that sounds like a lot but it really isn't. I've bought Chris his birthday present, silly goose thinks I've bought him a video game but doesn't realize I don't find that personal enough and bought him something else entirely. Poor him.
Christopher and I have our immigration meeting next week, that should be fun. We'll see how personal they get.
I've bought most of the christmas presents, the only people we need to buy for now are the 2 dads, grandpa, James, Jack and Katie-May. All right that sounds like a lot but it really isn't. I've bought Chris his birthday present, silly goose thinks I've bought him a video game but doesn't realize I don't find that personal enough and bought him something else entirely. Poor him.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
or perhaps in 4s and 5s....
We received the piano yesterday, it's in good working order and sounds good. It needs a bit of a tune.
Took Mush to the vet, her back end has been collapsing every now and then. The vet says she's got a bone disorder, I can't remembe what he called it. But it's affected her bones causing her pain and that's why she'd been collapsing. He's given her some pills and I'll take her back in a month's time to get her checked over again. Joy.
My 2nd cousin, Helga was found dead in her house on Sunday morning. Turns out she died of liver failure (for those who drink...that's what will happen so don't drink).
That's about it, no more news good, or bad.
Took Mush to the vet, her back end has been collapsing every now and then. The vet says she's got a bone disorder, I can't remembe what he called it. But it's affected her bones causing her pain and that's why she'd been collapsing. He's given her some pills and I'll take her back in a month's time to get her checked over again. Joy.
My 2nd cousin, Helga was found dead in her house on Sunday morning. Turns out she died of liver failure (for those who drink...that's what will happen so don't drink).
That's about it, no more news good, or bad.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Bad Things come in threes.....
Lousy day today. I bought a piano from a coworker and it was supposed to be delivered last night, the piano movers didn't call, or show up. I called the company this morning and they didn't take responsibility, the man said, it wasn't his fault they didn't show up, um, excuse me, if it's not your fault, oh owner and manager of the company, whose fault is it? So, I called another company, they can't move it for at least 2 weeks. The next one couldn't give me a definite answer and I had to tell him my phone number about 6 times (not my usual hyperbole, he really couldn't seem to figure it out). Now I'm waiting for a call back from someone...anyone...oh well I'll just have to be patient.
So, last night (Halloween) Chris was eating some candy and his crown fell off (basically his whole tooth fell out). Poor guy. Fortunately today our dentist was able to get him in at 3:00.
Here's where the day gets lousy. At work they're doing some sort of work in the ceiling. As the workman came into my cage...er, I mean office, he opened a ceiling panel and I saw (cue scary music) some fibreglass insulation. I thought, it's miles away from me, it can't hurt me. Well, within minutes I was scratching like some sort of demented person. I scratched myself so badly I was bleeding. However, intelligent person that I am *ahem* I ignored it and thought, I'd run to the drug store and get some antihistamines on my lunch break. My mind was changed for me when I went into the admin area and one of the girls screamed and told me to get myself to the hospital. After looking in the mirror (I looked like a victim in a slasher movie) I decided to heed her advice and get the truck out of there. I drove to Chris' work so that he could take me to the hospital (as an aside here. We take 1 car to work, I drop him off then continue to my office. On the way home I pick him up. I had to get him because if I was at the hospital for 12 hours he'd be SOL for getting home) We went to the hospital and they gave me some antihistamine (by this time I looked like I'd had lip implants) sent me home and told me a) to come back if I was unable to breathe b) not to be alone for at least 24 hours and c) not to EVER drive again while experiencing an allergic reaction. So, joy of joys poor Chris had to take the rest of the day of work so he could babysit me, and I got to sit in the dentist's waiting room for and hour while he had his tooth fixed. Oh yes, and if they're still working on the ceiling, I can't go to work tomorrow. I'm no longer scratching the hell out of myself, although I've got deep furrows on my back and my shirt is blood stained. Where the lumps were I've got little red dots, it looks a bit like I've been bitten by ticks or fleas, very sexy.
Christopher is in a bit of discomfort so instead of a nice hot curry we're having soup for dinner tonight. How fun. I might just make the curry and feed him the soup.
So, last night (Halloween) Chris was eating some candy and his crown fell off (basically his whole tooth fell out). Poor guy. Fortunately today our dentist was able to get him in at 3:00.
Here's where the day gets lousy. At work they're doing some sort of work in the ceiling. As the workman came into my cage...er, I mean office, he opened a ceiling panel and I saw (cue scary music) some fibreglass insulation. I thought, it's miles away from me, it can't hurt me. Well, within minutes I was scratching like some sort of demented person. I scratched myself so badly I was bleeding. However, intelligent person that I am *ahem* I ignored it and thought, I'd run to the drug store and get some antihistamines on my lunch break. My mind was changed for me when I went into the admin area and one of the girls screamed and told me to get myself to the hospital. After looking in the mirror (I looked like a victim in a slasher movie) I decided to heed her advice and get the truck out of there. I drove to Chris' work so that he could take me to the hospital (as an aside here. We take 1 car to work, I drop him off then continue to my office. On the way home I pick him up. I had to get him because if I was at the hospital for 12 hours he'd be SOL for getting home) We went to the hospital and they gave me some antihistamine (by this time I looked like I'd had lip implants) sent me home and told me a) to come back if I was unable to breathe b) not to be alone for at least 24 hours and c) not to EVER drive again while experiencing an allergic reaction. So, joy of joys poor Chris had to take the rest of the day of work so he could babysit me, and I got to sit in the dentist's waiting room for and hour while he had his tooth fixed. Oh yes, and if they're still working on the ceiling, I can't go to work tomorrow. I'm no longer scratching the hell out of myself, although I've got deep furrows on my back and my shirt is blood stained. Where the lumps were I've got little red dots, it looks a bit like I've been bitten by ticks or fleas, very sexy.
Christopher is in a bit of discomfort so instead of a nice hot curry we're having soup for dinner tonight. How fun. I might just make the curry and feed him the soup.
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