I promise this is my last UW-Bitching post.

R. says:
your name has come up more often lately than you'd imagine

R. says:
c. keeps saying how much more productive you'd be than you know who...

Here's the thing. There is someone working in the office that has worked there for more or less 30 years. She came there the day after she graduated high school. She has never worked another job in her life. She is not bilingual, and has no computer skills (the last time I was there, I asked her to move a window, and she didn't know how to do that). Not only that, but she just refuses to learn new things. This woman is neurotic. Clinically. She thrives on routine. If a new challenge comes up, she becomes very uncomfortable. She's never in a bad mood. She's creepy.

So, she works about 15 hours a week. What's that? No, she's not there part time. She's there at 7am, and least at 5pm. She's paid for full time hours. She's paid well. She's paid more than the office manager, who does a helluva lot more than her. But, as far as *actual* work, goes, it's 15 hours (this is actually fact, I'm not guessing at this).

Why not get rid of her?

They can't afford it. They would have to buy her out, and they simply do not have the money. She's got them by the balls, and she knows it.

Hardy-har-har.

I'm pretty disappointed by not getting to experience Hurricane Juan. I was really hoping for some dramatic weather. I stayed up pretty late last night watching all the reports, and straining to listen for wind/rain/falling trees/flying cows outside my window. Of course, to no avail.

Anyway.

Remember my earlier post about that position I was supposed to have at UW? I had met the girl, who wasn't that much older than me, but was Francophone? That I had felt betrayed because I felt that were not upfront to me about who got the job?

Well, I started to feel bad, if not a little prejudiced about the whole thing. I thought that maybe this woman may have had some qualifications I didn't know about. Maybe her résumé was impressive. Maybe she had some experience that was leaps and bounds over my own? Maybe I should blame in politics?

Ehn, no.

While helping out there on Saturday, I had a frank discussion with E. I finally brought up the subject, cautiously. I finally asked her about her qualifications, etc. Then I asked her point blank - was she hired because of her language? She looked to the floor, and shook her head - yes.

The men and women on the Board (who do the hiring), are, mostly Francophone. UW has had some serious PR issues when it comes to the language (all of the senior staff are Anglo, but those who communicate with the public, except for the E.D., are bilingual). So, the Board has been seeking to hire Franchophones to improve their image.

Fair enough, but I am just as qualified as she is, except I am not Franco. I am bilingual (though I am a petit rusty). I'd understand if I was completely Anglophone. Then, I would like qualifications needed for the job. But, to be told that that was the only thing that separated us? They did not even offer me an interview! I was told upfront that they were seeking an older, more experienced, more visible member of the community.

The whole thing smacks of discrimination. I know this is a very touchy subject, and if there are any Franco readers out there, I'm sorry, and you're invited to share your opinions.

My father had actually suggested that I may have a legal case for this. No, I would never, EVER, do such a thing, but it's all very interesting. If anything, it opens things up for political discussion.

So why do you still work there, ya idiot?

A few reasons... I don't feel like I should punish the staff for the idiocy of their Board... These are some of the best contacts, and references I have.. If I pissed them off, I would have undone a lot of my own networking..... Ultimately, I believe the work I do to help them does, though indirectly, serve to help people... and finally, I do like most of the people in that office, and I don't want to lose those friendships.

But, this has cemented in my mind that I don't think I would ever go back there on a full-time basis. That's all.

With a little help from Sarah, I now have working titles! The formatting is a bit different too, and easier to read, I hope! Sorry the pictures aren't working today - the damn server is down!

I believe in goals.

Something to strive for.

Something to get you noticed.

I also believe in wasting a lot of time at work. I got 9 out of 10 on this. This is a good thing, as I do tend to associated with these types. Well, one of these types.

Well, I guess the titles don't work. There's code I have to put in, but I'm not sure where. Any help?

First off, I'm going to experiment with this new 'title' feature. I like the look of them on other blogs, so I'd like to see what they're going to look like on mine.

Also, I put a counter at the bottom of the page. Last I checked, it was at 11, and probably 10 of those were mine.

Alright, back to my deficiencies (or, why I'm a bad representative of my gender).

I was wearing heels yesterday, and went to the mall last night. About halfway through the journey, the heels were somehow digging into the flesh of my feet, and I could not possibly stand it anymore. I was hoping I could find a pair of $2.00 flip-flops, but could not. The best I could find were 2 inch thick navy blue flip-flops with sequins for $9.99. These were the runner up, and believe you me it took every ounce of strength I had to not buy them.

Also, "With Pleasure" is a damn interesting, and provocative book. I'm at the part where they are discussing the benefits of pornography and prostitutes. I must they they do make convincing arguments. Although they do acknowledge that there are outside circumstances that taint these practices, they are, if only inherently beneficial to civilization. In short, they fill a need. Maybe I should take down Sue Johanson as my idol, and replace her with Camille Paglia?

So, obviously, I'm not shiniest example of a woman. Sorry, ladies.

But, to make it up to you, I have lots and lots of pictures that I just had developed!

This is my Mom. If she doesn't take her medication, she thinks she's a polar bear. This was one of those times.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph - it's me without make-up!

This is our beach. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I may just get a real camera some day. Though, I must say I do get nice results with this $7.00 disposable jobby.

For those of you that live in the Maritimes, did you know that Canada geese actually live outside of zoos?! I don't know about the rest of you, but I had only seen them in zoos, not bleating and wabbling all over town. But, in Ontario (and other places, I would assume), they're like crows to us. I was so shocked to learn this in my recent trip! This is a picture of the geese stopping traffic near the university. There were probably about a hundred or so. I actually took about a dozen geese pictures, but these were the best ones, taken by Jana (who you can see to the far right of the picture) because she was more brave then me.

The next thing I'd like to point out is that my friends like to bare their teeth in frightening ways. Here is Lisa driving her car. And this is Sarah, and her teeth. Apparently, this behaviour is contagious, because this is Lisa and I in PEI.

What's up with that??

Woo, Rock On!

I had my meeting with Joline from S/AM (for those of you that asked, SIDA/AIDS Moncton) this morning. I'm feeling really good about this. I'm so glad I took the initiative (though, admittedly, it did take me a while..). They're going to let me redesign the presentation they usually deliver, and eventually, if all goes well, I should eventually be able to do some presentations myself. Woo! They do presentations in schools in the tri-country area, in the high schools. They don't really do middle schools, though, unless they are requested. I can see things are probably going to be pretty frustrating for me. We started talking about things, and she said that the French districts are usually more relaxed and casual about them. That means, they can pretty much say what they want, and be open. However, the English schools are more uptight about things. For example, they can't even mention condoms during their presentation. Hello? It's about AIDS?? What the fuck?

Anyway, I'm totally excited about all this. Joline is my age, which is nice because it's encouraging to know I could be in her place someday, and I can take her job after I cut the breaks in her car..

Uhm..

What was I talking about? Oh, right. :)

So, there's a training session on the 9th of October, that hopefully I can go to. I imagine I'll be able to, I'll just have to round up some volunteers.

Oh, I also got the impression that I was better off not getting that job at AIDS NB. They are not, as most assume, the 'boss' of all the other AIDS organizations in the province, but they do collaborate with them. Joline gave me the impression that tend to bully the other orgs around, because they have more funding. So, everything happens for a reason. Just as I thought!

Oh, Cabin Fever. Definitely in the "So Bad It's Good" Category. There were a lot of non-sensical occurrances in the movie (including, some girl sticking her finger up some guys bum, a giant rabbit in a hospital, and a boy who looks like a girl screaming 'pancake!' then doing some Matrix-style Judo moves) but it was nevertheless a good, gross, and funny horror film. It was very aware that it was a dumb horror movie (hello? 5 teenagers in a cabin in the middle of the woods?), and it made fun of itself - "I made it, I actually made it! Wow! I made it!" *bang* *bang* *thud*. Heh. Though I've now probably ruined the movie for most of you, I do recommend it (though I know that most of my readers don't like gorey movies, anyway). The other thing though, is that Lisa & I seemed to be the only ones in the theatre who found any of this funny.

It's the end of the day: Random Thoughts!

Meeting up with exes is so good in so many ways. Yup, I'm better off.

Day One of Adventures with Boys is almost concluded. Apparently he gets home at 2:30 in the afternoon. Mom's going to have a fit.

Me & Lisa have decided that I'm pregnant with a child who has malaria. It explains a lot, really.

UW will be giving me the $250 I asked for. Initially they were going to give me $200 + $50 gift certificate to a place of my choice. I don't understand why they would. I asked, but didn't get an answer. Now they're going to give me all the money. If they would have given me less than I had asked, we would have had some problems. I'm going to be working for them this weekend, too, after I'm done work here.

Oh, I'm also meeting tomorrow with S/AM. I brought the tape of the presentation I did last year for UW, just to give them an idea of what I can do for them, maybe. It's going to be hard to fit it into my weird schedule, but I hope I can do *something*.

I'm going to go see Cabin Fever with Lisa tonight. Do you feel itchy?

Ponderosa is the most vile, disgusting, and saddest place on Earth.

For some reason, my mother likes this awful, awful place. We went there last night (free meal, I thought!). But it's just terrible. I've always hated it. It's like the Meal Hall in University, but the food is cold, and everyone is mean. Ugh. It's just terrible. Why do people enjoy this type of restaurant? I mean, I understand the concept of a buffet, but at this restaurant, there are constantly approximately 452 strange looking people up there, sticking their fingers in the weird looking Jell-o, or taking 2 hours to decided if they want limp Casear salad with soggy croutons, or the amorphous, yellowing dish that some people refer to as 'potatoes au gratin'. Everything is probably crawling with e. coli. Ugh. May you all be my witness that I shall never, never step foot in that retched place again.

Oh, also, though has nothing to do with the fact that that place sucks, but every guy who works there is gay. Seriously. It's like The Gap.

I'll return later with a less tormented post. Just had to get that out of my system.

Hey, uhm...what?

I asked UW for $250. Is that fair?

I've heard rumours on Moby's Blog about a Family Guy Movie. Ha, that's odd. After I typed that last line, I went to IMDB.com to see if they had any information on it. All I found was a thread on the discussion board with a guy saying he heard on Moby's site that there's going to be a Family Guy movie. Haha. It's so easy how rumours get started!

So, after some independent, non-Moby related research, I found this. So, though it doesn't look like it will be on the big screen, it does seem that there will be one...eventually.

Hey, wait a minute...

Star Trek?
"Thread"?
"Discussion Board"?
MOBY??

Yup, this was quite possibly the geekiest post ever.

See.. This is why I admire programmers. Some of them use their powers for good. This guy made a "Poem Generator" that turns webpages into poetry. Of course, here's mine (the title I made myself, though).

LEFT SHOE KEEPS SLIDING OFF MY MOTHER

The conspirator
in the parents.
But, we find more.. , gladly
hear any suggestions.There is
funny, My own name? is called
from code below was written by Jenn
at him, a kid when you found
it! /* No, new
hair. did do
all the delicate
issue of the assumption that
I left shoe
keeps sliding off my
mother, of this,
link click on the equation
Seamus+Akira=Shakira.

Pretty quiet around here today, so plenty of time for blogging.

I have some goodies for you all today, too!

For all of you who have seen Pirates of the Caribean, you'll love this.

This was quite an eye opener. I'm always sceptical about how accurate these things are, but if you think of it, it does make sense. It made me momentarily thankful for what I have, but I think I'm back to complaining about student loans and working for $10/hour. It's all relative, I guess. Plus, I've never been one to feel guilty about my own geography.

A patch of dandelions said goodmorning to me today, so I'm feeling pretty happy.

Also, I recommend The Joe Schmo Show for a diversion. It's so bad it's good. I want to take Matt ('Joe Schmo'), and give him a big hug. Last night featured him breaking down into sobs (remember the kind you got as a kid when you had to go to bed and miss the Cosby Show? The kind that had you hyperventilating and choking, and talking only one-syllable at a time?) when they had to 'evict' an old army captain (who is, of course, just an actor). It was hilarious and awful at the same time. If you're okay at laughing at people's misfortune, go watch it.

I've been reading some of the reviews, and a few writers have suggested that the joke is on the audience, and that Matt/Joe simply cannot be that stupid. Well, I think he can. I've been both the victim and the conspirator in many a prank to fully appreciate ones suspension of disbelief in these sorts of scenarios.

Well, that's enough talk about reality shows. At least until tomorrow.

Aaaaahhh.. Done.

The United Way Kickoff went smashingly, I think. The timing was mostly perfect (and when it wasn't, is wasn't my fault.. some people just can't read things in the order they were written...). I think everyone liked my slideshow. One of the men on the board said he didn't see a dry eye in the house, but I think he was just being nice. Ah well. It's done now, and I can go back to PPT Pace.

Hey, life is funny, eh? I mean, people are funny. We interact in such odd ways. I was riding the bus to work this morning, and as we were going down Main Street, some guy in a pickup truck was in the opposite lane. He was singing to the radio. I looked at him and smiled cuz, well, it's funny to see people do that. He saw me looking at him, so he smiled too. When I looked away, he just starting singing LOUDER, until I looked over again. He had this hilarious "Ehn? Ehn?" look on him, and I just cracked up on the bus, as we pulled away from each other. Just thinking about that has made me smile all day. It's just.. Funny. It gives you that feeling that we're all in it together, hm?

Have any of you read in the paper about that girl who ate a poisonous mushroom, and almost died? Her grandmother is one my clients, so I've heard all about it. It's pretty crazy. If you haven't read, this girl and her boyfriend were in the 'Chi looking for mushrooms (of the magic variety, no doubt.. this is prime harvest time). They weren't really sure what they were picking, so they picked this. Long story short, she got send to Ontario to get a new liver, and almost died when the poison caused brain swelling.

I started feeling pretty smug about it. I would never be stupid enough to ingest something that I wasn't sure about. But of course I have! It's sort of scare to think about the risks I took. Hmm.

In the same vein (haha, pun intended..), I bought Requiem for a Dream this weekend. Honestly and seriously, I think they should play this movie to High School students to discourage drug addiction. This movie is HEAVY. Even after the second viewing, I was still affected by it.

Also, I've noticed that this is the 3rd film I've purchased that stars Jennifer Connelly. Do I have a subliminal crush on this girl?

My 100 Things are up! Thank goodness for Fridays!

The Birth of Shakira and Death of Cool (it's not what you think)

Today's post is all about the circle of life.

Johnny Cash and John Ritter both passed away today. Bummer. Everyone should take a moment today to play "A Boy Named Sue".

On the other side of life, I'm proud to announce the birth of at least 3 new fishes in our pond!! We aren't sure who the parents are. They're dark, which would lead one to believe that Akira (the black koi) is one of the parents. But, they might just be dark because they bébés.

My mother, of course, wants to kill them. I don't know how that woman can be pro-life, but would still want to kill every animal that doesn't produce milk or meat. Anyway, to prevent this, I'm naming them. I'm going to go on the assumption that Akira is the father/mother of at least one of them. I'm further going to assume that Seamus is the father/mother of one of them as well. This would produce the equation Seamus+Akira=Shakira. It's perfect. I would futhermore like to name one of them Johnny, in memory of the recent passing of the 2 John's. If anyone would like to name the 3rd one (and perhaps 4th or 5th, if we find more..), I'll gladly hear any suggestions.

There is a bit of a downside to all of this, though. Our wee aquarium could hardly contain our four fish last season, and with the additional burden of these bundles of joy, I don't think we are going to be able to house them all. Therefore, if anyone would like to take our fishes into foster care, I would be forever grateful. As an added bonus, I'll supply all the food. And maybe a little scuba diver for the tank.

Have any of you ever Googled your own name?

Proof of Parallel Universes

That's pretty weird, isn't it? I'm half-tempted to e-mail that person and see if the email ends up in my own inbox. It's sort of like "Being John Malkovich". I mean, the name is one thing, but we even have the same interests!

Hm. Obviously this leads me to conclude that I've been cloned.


On planet Earth, there's not much else to report. Although, it seems Blogger has added a SpellCheck. Hoorah!

UW is continuing to be a pain in the ass. I've also decided, I think, to not go back, regardless of any money they offer. Is that a dumb decision? Am I looking a gift horse in the mouth? I just don't think I can ever get the respect I deserve there. Case in point: Before I left, the plan was for me to become the Director of Community Development. Cool, eh? Nice title, nice salary, etc. But, when this plan was brought to the board, they didn't think I'd be suited for the job. They said they wanted someone more 'plugged in' to the community. They were picturing a politician type. Someone semi-retired. So, even though it didn't work out, I left feeling that I just wasn't suited for the job. Fair enough. But this week I meet who DID get the job. She may be 4 months older than me. Christ, she even kinda looks like me. The difference? She is Francophone. Coincidentally, both of their new employees are. I don't understand it. No, I do understand it.

So, back to my decision. I'll never be respected by anyone there. Ironically, it's because I've been there too long. I still have the label of 'summer student'; not matter what projects I work on. I don't think I'll ever shake it. So, what's the point? Finally, 7 months after I was given the heave 'ho, I'm only now starting to feel betrayed. What the Hell took me so long?

So, my master plan is to convince Eileen (the finance director.. The ying to my yang) to leave, and I'll start my own damn NGO.

Well, it was one helluva weekend.

What an age we live in, huh?

Also, I would like to publicly mock Sarah for being a lame blogger. Boo!

I think I submit a '100 things' soon. When I get the time.

UW loved my presentation so far. They want me back.

Not So Good Things That Happened To Me Today:

My new shoes give me blisters, and the left shoe keeps sliding off my heel so I have to walk funny.
My face is continuing to peel and it's really gross.
I'm going to be working all weekend for United Way.
I'm still broke.


Good Things That Happened to Me Today:

I went to the UW office today and I saw Eileen and I realized I missed her.
As I was being introduced to the new staff, Clare went over what I had done for them, and I felt proud. I really did do a lot.
I realized I have a good handshake, but some people don't.
Most people liked my new hair.
My sister gave me this link (click on 'Relaunch CBC blah blah..).
I had a good meeting today and was very productive at work.
I think I realized I'm too professional for my job.
I cleaned off my desk. Finally.
I woman today told me I walk fast. Haha.
I realized, despite how much I complain, I'm truly happy when I'm busy.

I must be going for some kind of record today!

Everyone, meet Lilliane. She's the one who one the TV! Doesn't she look thrilled?

Yes, 3 posts in 1 day!

So, I met with Rho-Rho from UW at lunch today to talk about what I needed to do. She also brought me these. She then proceeded to tell me I need to have it done by Monday. This Monday. What?

I waited two weeks for this. He comes in, confirms my diagnosis, and is gone within 5 minutes. Ha. I have a new fan now, though, and I can't believe how quiet it is. Our other one was just about kick the bucket, and it sounded like a freight train. Ah.. peace and quiet!

Also, my good friends at United Way have asked me to put together a presentation for their Kickoff on the 15th. Of September. That's 9 days, folks. They are notorious for leaving things until the last minute, and then dumping it on one person. So, I have to put together the presentation, as well as find all the music, and somehow find time to takes pictures of the local agencies, not to mention do all the phone calls to get the information I need. All this will be done on my own time, no less. I'm now faced with the delicate issue of payment. How much do I charge for my services? I technically still owe them half a day somewhere, but still... And why don't I ever figure this out before I agree to take the job? Argh. Also, there is the slight guilt of charging a non-profit for work. They have many volunteers who do work for nothing. However, most of these people are highly paid business men and women who sit on these boards and committee for the recognition, and the networking. I, on the other hand, agree to do the work for little money, and get no recognition, and am usually stuck behind stage, flirting unsuccessfully with the guys from Tel-Av.

I don't like getting up early in the morning. :I

It's been a loooong week this week, folks. Actually, that's awful, cuz it's actually been a short week, hasn't it? Ah well. Last night we had our big draw for our TV. Mrs. Lillian Chaddock in Apt. 148 won it. Good for her! Some people weren't very happy because apparently she's a wheelchair-bound hermit who never goes out. I say she's the ideal candidate for a new TV! If you never go out, what the hell else is there to do? We will be delivering it today at noon.

So, after staying late last night, I had to come in early this morning. The wieners at Unison were supposed to come in yesterday at 11am, but never showed up. They called at 2pm, but at that point the center was full and I would have had to kick everyone out. So, I told them I would come in first thing this morning and call them. He should be coming any minute now. Oh, did I mention I called TWO WEEKS ago??

Another curious thing - two of the residents hooked up. It's funny, because they've been living in the same building for years and years now, but only just lately started gettin' it on. They are like the prom king and queen of the building now. They love the attention.

Last night I experience something I've never really seen before. Both of them just have this aura of love about them. It was quite shocking. As soon as you start talking to them, or even stand next to them, you can feel it. They just love everything, and everyone. You can see it in their eyes. I've never seen that in anyone before, or obviously have never experienced it myself. It that was love is? Or is it lust? I don't know, but I thought it was wonderful. I just hope I'm not 70 when I experience it.

I guess I'm the single one of everyone who hangs out around here, so maybe you can give me some perspective? Is this how it feels? A giant soap bubble of love?

On a completely unrelated note, I'm getting my hair did tonight, and I'm vraiment excited. I'm going to go for a new colour scheme! I'm going to Colin, who actually called me last night wondering why I wasn't there. Turns out the message never got passed along...

Well, Unison guy is here now. Must go!