Thought I'd mention that I was not, as predicted, eligible for E.I. Quelle suprise eh?
On the plus side I was hired by Carewest (they got to know me when I was working for office jobs). They asked me if I was free so they could hire me through officejobs, I informed them I was no longer WITH officejobs so they hired me as a casual. So, I did, in a roundabout way, get a little bit of revenge on officejobs as they've dipped out on several hundred dollars (so far) that they would have made from Carewest. The best part is that Carewest isn't obligated to pay them a "finder's fee" as I wasn't on officejobs books when Carewest hired me.
My pregnancy is going well. I'm 25 weeks now and still nauseous every day. Something they DON'T tell you about pregnancy in school is that it can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. I think, of all my pregnancy discomforts that the carpal tunnel is the worst. I feel like I'm wearing a glove on each hand that is filled with crawling beetles.
We know the sex of the baby, it's a girl. We've decided on a name but that's going to be a secret (unless Kristy blabs) until delivery day.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Injustice for all?
As mentioned in my previous post I am pregnant (13 weeks, 2 days) and HAD a job at the drop in centre.
Well, hold onto your butt because I've got a helluva story to tell!
As you may be aware, there is a little bit of a flu going around. They call it "SWINE FLU!!!!!!!" People. Young people. People with chronic health conditions. And pregnant women are dying from this flu. My mother works in a medical office and on Oct. 29 she heard that 3 pregnant women had died in the past week from swine flu and that another was fighting for her life in ICU. This, as you can imagine, caused her some distress when she thought of her only daughter who has diabetes and a bun in the oven working in a homeless shelter in downtown Calgary. So, to protect her only chick she came to the Drop In Centre (hereinafter referred to as "the DI") and asked me (well, actually TOLD me) that I was getting an H1N1 shot now if not sooner. I took her upstairs with me to tell my boss that I was leaving early to get my H1N1 shot. In the course of our conversation my mother mentioned my pregnancy. My boss said it was fine for me to go and get my shot and I told her that I'd see her on Monday.
That night I stood in line for 4 hours with Chris and got my H1N1 shot. My luck being what it is I spiked a fever and felt sick the very next morning. I went to the doctor and was informed I had (probably) H1N1. I phoned my boss and informed her of the situation and told her I'd be back in 10 to 14 days. She said, fine, I asked if i needed a doctor's note, she said not to bother as she could tell from my voice that I was sick.
On November 12 I was feeling human again and returned to work to take my CPR course. After my course I was called into the hiring manager's office (his name is Steve). He informed me that "we" had a "couple of problems". The first problem was that I'm pregnant and they just weren't sure I could fulfill my duties (let me remind you that I am a secretary!) The second problem was my mom. They were "disturbed" by the way she "stormed" into the DI.
Now, Steve not only works for the DI, he also works for Officejobs. I asked Steve if, since they were firing me, I could return to officejobs and temp. He informed me that Officejobs was no longer "comfortable" having me on their books because my mother's behaviour was too "erratic" and they couldn't feel safe that she wouldn't "charge into a client's office" to come get me in the future. He said that he's been in HR (human resources) for 15 years and had never seen a 28 year old woman be "dragged out of work by her mother".
Needless to say, I've filed a human rights complaint. Not only can they not fire me for being pregnant (which they did) they can't fire me for something a family member did (which they did). So, I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how things go.
I haven't received my final paycheque yet (even though they fired me over a month ago). I did however receive my ROE (record of employment) from officejobs. I was amused (but not surprised) to see that under my reason for termination they put "insufficient work". What a bunch of cowards. They don't even have the integrity and honesty to say why they fired me. Although, thinking about it, is there a governmental code for "Sarah's mom scares me"?
I'm not so mad at the DI for firing me (I wasn't really enjoying it there. I've found that before I worked there I used to be very sympathetic to homeless people but working there soured me. I am very angry at officejobs for taking me off their books. They've essentially denied me the opportunity for future employment. I've been hobbled.
So, Chris and I are back to surviving (there's really no other word for it) on just his wages. I really have no idea how we'll survive once the baby arrives. Knowing my luck I won't be eligible for EI (despite having paid into it since age 14).
I'll keep you posted with, hopefully, more optimistic posts.
Happy Chanukah to my Jewish friends.
Well, hold onto your butt because I've got a helluva story to tell!
As you may be aware, there is a little bit of a flu going around. They call it "SWINE FLU!!!!!!!" People. Young people. People with chronic health conditions. And pregnant women are dying from this flu. My mother works in a medical office and on Oct. 29 she heard that 3 pregnant women had died in the past week from swine flu and that another was fighting for her life in ICU. This, as you can imagine, caused her some distress when she thought of her only daughter who has diabetes and a bun in the oven working in a homeless shelter in downtown Calgary. So, to protect her only chick she came to the Drop In Centre (hereinafter referred to as "the DI") and asked me (well, actually TOLD me) that I was getting an H1N1 shot now if not sooner. I took her upstairs with me to tell my boss that I was leaving early to get my H1N1 shot. In the course of our conversation my mother mentioned my pregnancy. My boss said it was fine for me to go and get my shot and I told her that I'd see her on Monday.
That night I stood in line for 4 hours with Chris and got my H1N1 shot. My luck being what it is I spiked a fever and felt sick the very next morning. I went to the doctor and was informed I had (probably) H1N1. I phoned my boss and informed her of the situation and told her I'd be back in 10 to 14 days. She said, fine, I asked if i needed a doctor's note, she said not to bother as she could tell from my voice that I was sick.
On November 12 I was feeling human again and returned to work to take my CPR course. After my course I was called into the hiring manager's office (his name is Steve). He informed me that "we" had a "couple of problems". The first problem was that I'm pregnant and they just weren't sure I could fulfill my duties (let me remind you that I am a secretary!) The second problem was my mom. They were "disturbed" by the way she "stormed" into the DI.
Now, Steve not only works for the DI, he also works for Officejobs. I asked Steve if, since they were firing me, I could return to officejobs and temp. He informed me that Officejobs was no longer "comfortable" having me on their books because my mother's behaviour was too "erratic" and they couldn't feel safe that she wouldn't "charge into a client's office" to come get me in the future. He said that he's been in HR (human resources) for 15 years and had never seen a 28 year old woman be "dragged out of work by her mother".
Needless to say, I've filed a human rights complaint. Not only can they not fire me for being pregnant (which they did) they can't fire me for something a family member did (which they did). So, I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how things go.
I haven't received my final paycheque yet (even though they fired me over a month ago). I did however receive my ROE (record of employment) from officejobs. I was amused (but not surprised) to see that under my reason for termination they put "insufficient work". What a bunch of cowards. They don't even have the integrity and honesty to say why they fired me. Although, thinking about it, is there a governmental code for "Sarah's mom scares me"?
I'm not so mad at the DI for firing me (I wasn't really enjoying it there. I've found that before I worked there I used to be very sympathetic to homeless people but working there soured me. I am very angry at officejobs for taking me off their books. They've essentially denied me the opportunity for future employment. I've been hobbled.
So, Chris and I are back to surviving (there's really no other word for it) on just his wages. I really have no idea how we'll survive once the baby arrives. Knowing my luck I won't be eligible for EI (despite having paid into it since age 14).
I'll keep you posted with, hopefully, more optimistic posts.
Happy Chanukah to my Jewish friends.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Good News and Bad News
I've had an anxious couple of weeks. I had my IUI treatment in September and was told to take a pregnancy test on October 11. I took the test on October 11 and it was negative. Meanwhile I've been miserably nauseous, able to smell a single scent molecule from a mile away and haven't have a period. Finally, tired of constantly carrying a pad around with me, and running to the bathroom every 3 microseconds to make sure I'm not bleeding and therefore ruining my trousers, I peed on a ClearBlue digital pregnancy test. I figured it would be negative (as usual) so left it to do its thing while I made myself a snack. Snack in hand I checked the stick and noticed that the digital read out read: "pregnant". I did a double take and read it again. It still said "pregnant". Utterly speechless I grabbed poor Chris by the scruff of the neck and dragged him (poor thing was quite confused by my behaviour) and thrust the stick at him. I then burst into tears (like you do).
I have, of course, called every living person within the Mountain time zone to share my news.
I'm absolutely ecstatic at the moment. I had really started to give up hope. I thought we would certainly be going through IVF and that even that would probably fail. I'm nervous about a miscarriage but I will cross that bridge if I come to it.
On the bad news side of things. I called my mother to tell her the good news and she informed me that my biological father was in the hospital and will probably die tonight. I feel bad about that. Even though I barely knew him, I still love him and am sorry that he's dying. Obviously I can't go down to see him (and what would be the point?) I'll try to make it out to the funeral though.
In other news. I've got a job at the drop in centre in Calgary (a homeless shelter). I'm working as a medical office assistant with 2 doctors and an RN to whip into shape. I started on the 13th and am enjoying it so far.
I have, of course, called every living person within the Mountain time zone to share my news.
I'm absolutely ecstatic at the moment. I had really started to give up hope. I thought we would certainly be going through IVF and that even that would probably fail. I'm nervous about a miscarriage but I will cross that bridge if I come to it.
On the bad news side of things. I called my mother to tell her the good news and she informed me that my biological father was in the hospital and will probably die tonight. I feel bad about that. Even though I barely knew him, I still love him and am sorry that he's dying. Obviously I can't go down to see him (and what would be the point?) I'll try to make it out to the funeral though.
In other news. I've got a job at the drop in centre in Calgary (a homeless shelter). I'm working as a medical office assistant with 2 doctors and an RN to whip into shape. I started on the 13th and am enjoying it so far.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Why I Prefer Dogs to People
Things that bring me joy. Apparently the injured dog did later die from his injuries. There was a massive hunt for the rescuer but they never found him/her.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
My second cake (ish)
I just finished my Wilton Course II and am now presenting my readers (all 2 of you) with my final project. *drumroll please*
Sunday, August 9, 2009
RMS Titanic
A few months after we were married Chris told me he was going to build me a light up model of the Titanic. Tonight it's finally finished (according to me anyway, Chris still wants to make some minor adjustments). So here, for your wondering eyes to behold, after a long 3 year wait is (drumroll please) the TITANIC!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Good Words to Live By
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
-Marcus Aurelius
I wish I had the eloquence to have said this, it pretty much sums up my own thoughts.
-Marcus Aurelius
I wish I had the eloquence to have said this, it pretty much sums up my own thoughts.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Me on Mah Hawg!
When we went to Ontario we stayed with Pam and Peter. Peter had a bicycle that he'd attached an engine to. This is me riding it. I'm a regular Hell's Angel!
Tub Puppy!
Mush after her bath. (Now she smells like coconut instead of like... something I'd rather not think about!)
Mud Puppy!
I took Miss Mush and Miss Maya (actually, at her age I should probably refer to her as Ms. Maya).
Anyway, Mush went for a swim then decided to roll in mud in the parking lot (why not? she doesn't have to clean the car!)
May I be blessed by his noodley appendage!
I had a warm shiver run through me today. I saw a car on my street with a decal of his holiness the FSM. This decal was HUGE, it covered the entire back window... makes my Darwin fish seem small and insignificant.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
My first cakes
A Cake I made today, just for shits and giggles. The colours aren't right in the picture, the green is much lighter than appears in the picture but c'est la vie!
As it's Hailey's 5th birthday today I thought I'd make a birthday cake in class for her. Unfortunately she won't get a chance to eat it because by the time she, her mom, Mikey and Erik come to Calgary the cake will be stale. :( You can't see it in the picture but the cake is only about 1 inch high. Apparently if you open the oven while a cake is baking, it collapses. OOPS!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Cake
I had my first cake decorating class last night. Tonight we take in our cakes and do our first decoration. In the interest of science I will post pictures of my cake. You can laugh, yes. But please don't point AND laugh.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
New Bird
Just saw a new bird at my feeder. It's a "Smith's Longspur". Looks a bit like a sparrow but yellow instead of brown.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The joys of estrogen
Saw Dr. Edwards today (he says I'm fat). Well, he didn't say it in those words but the general gist of our conversation was that I'm a whale in need of immediate intervention.
It turns out I won't be getting my IUI treatment this month. I missed my LH surge so will have to wait another month. Joy of fucking joys. It never bloody rains but it pours. The nurse at the clinic informed me that I've been crying and emotional lately as a side effect of the clomid. Apparently, the longer you're on it, the more severe the side effects get.
I've exchanged my weepy sadness for irritability and anger at the world at the moment. I'm pissed off that nothing ever seems to go right for me, I'm pissed off that my ovaries feel like they're on fire and I'm pissed off that I'm fat.
I had a young man come to the door yesterday selling christian books. I politely informed him that I had no need for his books and that I was unemployed and poor so couldn't afford them if I did want them. He was very polite and offered to pray for me. I figured what the hell, it can't do any harm and it will make him think that he's being useful. So he prayed for me to get pregnant. (And if I DON'T get pregnant, for me to be content with god's will). Oh well, his heart was in the right place.
I came home to a very wet, very angry cat today. Apparently old Murdoch got out this morning while Chris was letting the dogs out, and was stuck in the rain all day. Serves him right I say.
It turns out I won't be getting my IUI treatment this month. I missed my LH surge so will have to wait another month. Joy of fucking joys. It never bloody rains but it pours. The nurse at the clinic informed me that I've been crying and emotional lately as a side effect of the clomid. Apparently, the longer you're on it, the more severe the side effects get.
I've exchanged my weepy sadness for irritability and anger at the world at the moment. I'm pissed off that nothing ever seems to go right for me, I'm pissed off that my ovaries feel like they're on fire and I'm pissed off that I'm fat.
I had a young man come to the door yesterday selling christian books. I politely informed him that I had no need for his books and that I was unemployed and poor so couldn't afford them if I did want them. He was very polite and offered to pray for me. I figured what the hell, it can't do any harm and it will make him think that he's being useful. So he prayed for me to get pregnant. (And if I DON'T get pregnant, for me to be content with god's will). Oh well, his heart was in the right place.
I came home to a very wet, very angry cat today. Apparently old Murdoch got out this morning while Chris was letting the dogs out, and was stuck in the rain all day. Serves him right I say.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Milk of Human Kindness
On July 4th, over night, my PT cruiser was broken into (don't worry, she's okay!) my iPod was stolen, Chris' house keys (why they were in there I do not know) and about $20 in change.
I filed a police report (you can do that online now), called apple to report my iPod stolen (pointless btw, they don't give a rat's ass) and prepared to start scrimping and scrounging to be able to afford a new iPod.
Last night I got a message on facebook from a girl named Heather who said she'd found my iPod on her front lawn (she plugged it into her computer and my name came up so she looked me up on facebook). She returned it to me. All my songs were still on there and, weirdly, the adaptor cord (so I can plug it into the car and listen to it) was still on it too!
I figure the little jerk who stole it plugged it into his (or her) car and didn't like my taste in music (lol) and so threw it out the window in disgust.
In any case some of my faith in the species has been restored.
We're out 200 bucks though. As the house keys were stolen (and the thief knew where we live) the police strongly advised us to get our locks re-keyed. It turned out cheaper for us to go to Home Depot and buy new locks (not by much but a bit) so we've changed all our locks. On the plus side, that means we removed our electronic keypad which we were going to do when we put the house up (keep if for ourselves at the new house).
So, all in all, apart from us now being COMPLETELY broke, not much harm was done.
Our VISA is in the stratosphere because of the IUI treatment (I haven't even fully paid for the treatment yet, I've still got another $250 to pay on the day of the treatment). We're hoping that this treatment works first time around because it works out to $500 per treatment and we just don't have that kind of money with me not working. My parents are helping us out a bit but I can't (and won't) expect them to carry the entire burden. If it comes down to it that we need IVF we're going to take some money against the equity in the house (risky in this economic climate but insurance won't cover a single penny.) I find it irritating that abortions are covered by Alberta Health Care but fertility treatments aren't. I fully believe abortions SHOULD be covered by AHC but I also fully believe that fertility treatments should too. I get REALLY pissed off when I see that addictions counseling and drug and alcohol rehab are covered as well. I can sympathise with poor Americans having to pay for this myself. It makes you feel shitty.
I filed a police report (you can do that online now), called apple to report my iPod stolen (pointless btw, they don't give a rat's ass) and prepared to start scrimping and scrounging to be able to afford a new iPod.
Last night I got a message on facebook from a girl named Heather who said she'd found my iPod on her front lawn (she plugged it into her computer and my name came up so she looked me up on facebook). She returned it to me. All my songs were still on there and, weirdly, the adaptor cord (so I can plug it into the car and listen to it) was still on it too!
I figure the little jerk who stole it plugged it into his (or her) car and didn't like my taste in music (lol) and so threw it out the window in disgust.
In any case some of my faith in the species has been restored.
We're out 200 bucks though. As the house keys were stolen (and the thief knew where we live) the police strongly advised us to get our locks re-keyed. It turned out cheaper for us to go to Home Depot and buy new locks (not by much but a bit) so we've changed all our locks. On the plus side, that means we removed our electronic keypad which we were going to do when we put the house up (keep if for ourselves at the new house).
So, all in all, apart from us now being COMPLETELY broke, not much harm was done.
Our VISA is in the stratosphere because of the IUI treatment (I haven't even fully paid for the treatment yet, I've still got another $250 to pay on the day of the treatment). We're hoping that this treatment works first time around because it works out to $500 per treatment and we just don't have that kind of money with me not working. My parents are helping us out a bit but I can't (and won't) expect them to carry the entire burden. If it comes down to it that we need IVF we're going to take some money against the equity in the house (risky in this economic climate but insurance won't cover a single penny.) I find it irritating that abortions are covered by Alberta Health Care but fertility treatments aren't. I fully believe abortions SHOULD be covered by AHC but I also fully believe that fertility treatments should too. I get REALLY pissed off when I see that addictions counseling and drug and alcohol rehab are covered as well. I can sympathise with poor Americans having to pay for this myself. It makes you feel shitty.
Friday, July 3, 2009
A Heartless Murderer in my own house!
I got up to let the dogs out this morning and noticed a male robin sitting on the neighbour's roof cheeping in a most distressed manor. I couldn't figure out why until I saw the carnage that my beloved Murdoch had wreaked upon a female robin (presumably sad man's mate).
Murdoch was looking at me as if to say "do you like the gift I brought you?"
I was like "no you jerk!"
Now he's offended and is giving me the cold shoulder. I can't believe he'd even be able to take down a robin, he's dumber than a brick and de-clawed. Amazing.
We've still got lots of red winged blackbirds, common grackles, house finches, sparrows, chickadees and magpies to keep us company. Also, I assume this wasn't the only pair of robins in the neighbourhood. I'll have to teach him to kill the pigeons instead, they're a bloody curse!
On another note. Kristy is coming to live in Calgary at the end of the month. She's driving up with the kids (Erik will drive the u-haul) on the 22nd (it will probably take a few days to get here but yippee! I get to see my god kids).
Murdoch was looking at me as if to say "do you like the gift I brought you?"
I was like "no you jerk!"
Now he's offended and is giving me the cold shoulder. I can't believe he'd even be able to take down a robin, he's dumber than a brick and de-clawed. Amazing.
We've still got lots of red winged blackbirds, common grackles, house finches, sparrows, chickadees and magpies to keep us company. Also, I assume this wasn't the only pair of robins in the neighbourhood. I'll have to teach him to kill the pigeons instead, they're a bloody curse!
On another note. Kristy is coming to live in Calgary at the end of the month. She's driving up with the kids (Erik will drive the u-haul) on the 22nd (it will probably take a few days to get here but yippee! I get to see my god kids).
Monday, June 29, 2009
In other news
I forgot to mention in my previous post. I've signed up for a cake decorating class. This should be interesting! I'll post pictures when I make my first creation.
Usually, as the only left hander in the class I quickly become the teacher's "special project" as I can't do what everyone else is doing. (I hate to break it to you right handed people out there, but you do everything backwards!) I'm willing to bet my cakes will be ass about face but it's a chance I'm willing to take. I've wanted to take one of these classes for ages now (going on 5 years) and kept putting it off. My class starts on July 14 if anyone has any ideas for what sort of decoration I should do on my cake please tell me!
Usually, as the only left hander in the class I quickly become the teacher's "special project" as I can't do what everyone else is doing. (I hate to break it to you right handed people out there, but you do everything backwards!) I'm willing to bet my cakes will be ass about face but it's a chance I'm willing to take. I've wanted to take one of these classes for ages now (going on 5 years) and kept putting it off. My class starts on July 14 if anyone has any ideas for what sort of decoration I should do on my cake please tell me!
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