so much to do, so little time

it has been a very busy week. a friend of mine purchased the bedroom suite mom wanted me to list for her, so we had to do some cleaning out of drawers. i came across a simple tie. dad always wore a dress shirt and tie in his working career (that i remember). the tie was The MacQuarrie Tartan and i think i (with mom’s help) got it for dad for a father’s day gift. it was ok while i was doing the packing up of clothes, and it was not until i got in the safety of our home, talking with k, that the tears came. not many, but memories flooded in. yes, i miss my dad.

after much discussion and tears with mom, it has come to selling their home. we had a rough winter, and the house now is just too much for mom to deal with alone. 30 years ago, a family of three,( plus dog & pregnant cat) moved into that home. and now a family of one plus a young pup will be leaving there. mom is, naturally, having a difficult time with it all. but it will all work out for the best for everyone. she has decided that living in our fair city, in the same park as us is the most reasonable choice. she doesn’t want to live with us…she wants her own space. it will be better for everyone, eventually. the real estate lady came out yesterday and all the paper work is done. the signs go up today and the home will be posted on mls today. our agent is so very kind and helpful. she is determined to make this transition for mom as seamless as possible, and that is the most important thing right now.

the boy got his apartment approval and he will be leaving us june 1. it has been wonderful having him here, but it is time. he has been a good tenant (he has always paid his rent on time), and i think he is looking forward to having his own place again.

k is doing very well with her course. it is getting into the really hard stuff now, i told her it was always darkest before the dawn. she will graduate (hopefully with honours) on june 13. we are all very, very proud of her accomplishments.

meanwhile, i am still amongst the ranks of the unemployed. god, that sucks. anyway, i have been very diligent about applying to jobs that i have seen advertised on the job bank page, as well as careerbeacon .  cross your fingers, teeth and toes that something comes of this search soon.  i had also tried to reactivate an employment insurance claim that has some remaining weeks on it. when the blow up happened, i was told that my manager had ” no alternative but to lay me off” those were his words. however, when i finally received my ROE (record of employment), those dreaded words QUIT were on it. now i get to fight about all this. in fact, i am taking this disagreement today to the EI office, as well as the human rights commission. i might not have a leg to stand on, but they are going to hear my case. i am citing workplace health and safety (cologne+my asthma= hospital), discrimination (the good ole’ boys club VS one woman driver), and harassment (being lead, dragged, into the manager’s office by the owner and told that he had no time for this pettiness that i was to deal with DM.)  it might not come to anything, but i am at least going to make my voice heard. after all, anyone who has read me for the past two years knows that this is not the first time that i have had to deal with scent issues in the workplace, especially when policies are in place to protect the sufferers. sometimes, it sucks to be the VOICE, but by god i am not going to take this laying down. so there.

and on that note, i am tired. i have been tired for a long time now. i was hoping that the dead end job driving was going to be the last one for me. but alas, the workplace bully saw to it that i would be once again starting over. WHEN WILL IT END?

Rest in peace, Kayla

Friday, May 02, 2008

The End of Kayla’s Journey

Kayla Marie St.Cyr

August 7, 1990 - May 2, 2008

Kayla went to heaven this afternoon at 4:40. I held one of her hands and her dad held her other. She was surrounded by family and her dearest friends. Now she is at peace.

Thank you to all who travelled this journey with us.

copied and pasted from susan’s page i have been following this very inspirational young lady’s journey nearly as long as i have been in blogland.

Flood 2008

The worst flooding has overtaken the St.John River Valley with near record breaking fury. The river crested at 8.33 metres, second highest in recorded history. Widespread flooding all along this great river.

The highest record was 8.63 metres set in 1973. it is devastating to the area. main street                             riverside drive                    union street

fredericton north.

we live away from the river at a higher elevation, so there is no risk of flooding at our home. i feel so badly for everyone who has been affected by this terrible situation. not just in fredericton, but all along the st.john river.

fort kent, in northern maine, has also been affected severely by the wrath of the st.john.

FACT SHEET: Aroostook County and State Flooding UPDATED

May 1, 2008
3:15 PM

Date: May 1, 2008, 3:00 pm

• Historic high flooding on the St. John River in Aroostook County continues, although rivers continue to recede

• Major focus is Aroostook River at Masardis, Van Buren and Washburn; Penobscot River at West Enfield and Eddington; Squaw Pan Dam; and Saco River in Cornish

• Dams in Washburn (Aroostook County) continue to be monitored

Shelter:

• U-Maine Fort Kent, 43 Pleasant Street, Fort Kent

Transportation

From MaineDOT:

• Damage from heavy flooding has forced the closure of Route 11 from Patten to Knowles Corner in Moro Plantation. Flooding from the West Branch of the Pasadumkeag River damaged the bridge supports of Tucker Bridge, dropping the bridge seven inches. MaineDOT crews will construct a temporary bridge until permanent repairs can be made. MaineDOT crews are currently replacing culverts and repairing washouts on that section of Route 11 and will start construction of the bridge soon. If repairs go as planned, that section of Route 11 will reopen next weekend.

• Currently, there are four bridges that are closed due to flood damage. They are the International Bridge in Fort Kent, Fish Bridge in Fort Kent, International Bridge in Van Buren and Tucker Bridge in Moro Plantation. These bridges will remain closed until they are inspected by MaineDOT engineers. Engineers need to wait for the waters to recede before they can inspect underwater bridge support systems, as well as the understories of these bridges.

• MaineDOT reports 45 roads across the state affected or closed

• A section of Route 1 between Fort Kent and Madawaska is CLOSED, detour map attached.




River Watch 2008

River Watch 2008 / 9 p.m. / Flood warning extended (08/05/01)

NB 603

May 1, 2008

FREDERICTON (CNB) - River Watch 2008 and the Department of Public Safety’s New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization are continuing the major flood warning to all areas along the St. John River, effective today, Thursday, May 1, 2008.

Persons living or working along all streams, tributaries and rivers in the St. John River valley are asked to remain on alert, as we remain above or near flood stage in many areas. In the middle and northern basin from Saint Francois-de-Madawaska to Woodstock, water levels should stabilize overnight.

Major increases to water flows and levels have been seen in northern and middle parts of the basin from Saint Francois-de-Madawaska to Woodstock, with significant flooding being reported in Madawaska County.

As of 7 p.m. the water levels in the middle and upper basin were:

The water level at Edmundston was 142.73, flood stage elevation is not available.

The water level at Perth Andover was 78.14, flood stage is 77.2.

The water level at Simonds was 49.64, flood stage 48.5.

The water level at Hartland was 47.88, flood stage is 45.7.

The water level at Woodstock was 41.71, flood stage 41.4.

Currently, water flows and levels are beginning to level off in Fredericton; however, they will continue to increase downstream. This trend will continue for the next several days. Water levels are not expected to reach the 1973 level.

As of 7:30 p.m. water levels were as follows:

In Fredericton, the water level was 8.25 metres and is expected to decrease slightly to 8.2 metres by Friday morning and decrease on Saturday to 7.7 . Flood stage is 6.5.

In Maugerville, the water level is at 6.73 metres and is expected to increase to around 6.8 metres on Friday and decrease on Saturday to 6.6. Flood stage is 6.0.

In Jemseg, the water level is at 5.64 metres and is expected increase to 5.9 metres on Friday and increase again on Saturday to 6.2. Flood stage is 4.3.

In Grand Lake, the water level is at 5.71 metres and is expected increase to 6.0 metres on Friday and to increase on Saturday to 6.2. Flood stage is 5.0.

In Sheffield-Lakeville Corner, the water level is at 6.13 metres and is expected to increase to 6.2 metres on Friday and increase on Saturday at 6.3. Flood stage is 4.8.

In Oak Point, the water level is at 4.67 metres and is expected to increase to 4.9 metres on Friday and increase on Saturday to 5.2. Flood stage is 4.7.

In Quispamsis-Saint John, the water level is at 4.41 metres and is expected to increase to 4.7 metres on Friday and to 4.9 metres on Saturday. Flood stage is 4.2.

The next report will be issued on Friday May 2, 2008.

A complete list of weather warnings is available from Environment Canada at: http://meteo.gc.ca/warnings/nb_e.html.

A variety of self-help advice is also available on the NB-EMO Public Alerts site at: http://www.gnb.ca/RiverWatch.

A list of traffic advisories can be found on the Department of Transportation website at: http://www1.gnb.ca/cnb/transportation/index-e.asp.

08/05/01

MEDIA CONTACT: Andy Morton, River Watch 2008, 506-453-2133 or 1-800-561-4034.

08/05/01

•    international bridge between fort kent maine, and claire new brunswick. perth andover waterloorow1973/2008 king street two blocks from river.

king street at carleton fredericton southside.

from south to north, westmorland street bridge.

 

*photos stolen from facebook groups, provincial archives, nb riverwatch site.

sunny + jobless= busy.

yup, just like the title says. been really busy. scanning want ads, applying online for various positions, creating job profiles. ACK. i had two job interviews last week. unfortunately, i have not heard any response since. maybe i made a poor impression? maybe i was too eager? hmph. i applied to a few more jobs over the weekend, and i hope something materializes soon.

i brought mom in to our fair city on friday to meet with our real estate neighbour lady. i had made an appointment for us to view a home in our park. it did not appeal to mom. that’s ok, there are 4 more just listed, two right on our street. i will make appointments for these, and the two others for this saturday for mom and us to see. meanwhile, i sent a very detailed description of her home to our r.e.n.lady, and she gave us a “sight unseen” price, based on the recently sold listings for comparable properties in her area, etc. it gives us somewhere to begin from. mom knows she has to move before this coming winter, it would be just too much strain on all of us were she to stay out there. the house is large, and well, too much for someone of 80 to maintain.

she was a bit stressed about “all the stuff” she would have to move, and how would it all get done. by breaking the tasks down to individual rooms, it won’t be so daunting. and there is selling stuff. there are a few online pages, like the kijiji website, where you can advertise for free buy and sell ads, etc. so, i listed the master bedroom suite, with pictures, and have had some response. no takers yet, however. we’ll see how things go. in the grand scheme of things, it will all go smoothly. i want it to be as easy as possible for mom. the last couple of years have been really hard on her. she relies on me greatly, and i will do everything i can to make it ok.

with the old job: i am still going to prepare a complaint to the local labour relations office. things just were not right there with regard to how the issues i faced were handled. my layoff was unjust in my opinion, and not that i want to go back to work there, i need to make a point.  the number one reason i am not there is due to whistle blowing. there are laws here regarding that, and also some discrimination. i have everything documented in my own words (who else?) for the LRO. we’ll see what comes of that. meanwhile; this wednesday is pay day from there. the day i turned in my logged hours to my manager, he approved the hours, and we discussed that my final pay and ROE would be mailed to me. it better be. i need that stuff.

sunday we got the bbq out of the shed. hot dogs with toasty buns were the order of the day. yum, the first bbq of the season. there will be many more before the bbq heads back into the shed before the snow flies again. i love barbeque. don’t care what i cook, ,hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, pork, steak, matters not to me, love it all!

since i do not have a job yet, i have been spending more time with mom, and doing some spring cleaning, as well as tossing out. like she said there is a fair lot of stuff, but doing each room, is alot easier. today i am going to tackle the master suite. otherwise known as dad’s room. all his clothes and stuff are still in there. i have been waiting for a cuce from mom that it is time to sort through and donate, etc. she asked me to remember to bring boxes and so on, so i guess that means we’re ready to roll with that. local guy, DM, is coming on wednesday to clean the yard; like truck away fallen tree branches, rake the lawn etc. mom thought it would be a good idea to have some junk boxed and bagged up to take to the dump too. i have a small list of things to take out with me today, including a brief stop at the store.   saturday, we ( i mean me) spent cleaning downstairs. i did some major dusting, and packing up some no longer needed items. i also organized a few shelves with her christmas ornaments and decorations, etc. did a load of laundry and gave the downstairs rooms a thorough vacuuming. i had a great feeling of accomplishment, and did not wear myself out. my back must be getting stronger. that makes me happy.

so i guess that is all from here for now. i am really going to add new pictures….i promise. have a good week, everyone! 

today (and updates as of friday 25thapril)

so, as of today, i guess i am unemployed again. i went in to the office yesterday and submitted the time sheet for the hours i am owed. i spoke with D and told him i was not quitting, he was going to be laying me off, as he said was the case the day before. so we shall see what he puts on the record of employment. i feel this is wrong, but i have no more fight left. i will again, do the job hunt, and i will be successful, and i will do my best. and we’ll see where that takes me.

i have to do a phone interview for the cubby job, at my convenience, and it takes about half an hour. yippee. i have to look at it as temporary. i am not cubby job material. been there done that, got 2 ‘t’shirts.  i prefer to be outdoors, driving. B took that away from me by being an a-hole.

update…did the phone thing fo one cubby-job, and dropping off resume & application off at another cubby-job. i understand that both of these places take scent issues seriously. and if i can do a cubby-job for like 6 months…

update….have applied to 4 cubby-job, including one work from home one, which would be so perfect. no hews on any of them.  i also had an interview for the freddy beach parking police yesterday (thursday). i will hear back from larry by day’s end today, or monday morning at the latest. fuck, i need a job!!!!!!!!!

..meanwhile, easter weekend saw mass quantities of snow here. now our yard looks like this. (note, i am gonna put a picture here, i promise). can you imagine all this bareness? in a matter of weeks? the river levels are rising, and flood watches are all the latest news.

mom is seriously thinking about putting her house for sale and moving in here to our fair city. i am ever hopeful that she could get a nice mini home near us and once she got used to it all, she would find that she has a great deal more freedom than she has currently. i mean, we can still see her doctor in her village,,,(as it is now, i go out, take her, and then i come back), this way it would be one trip instead of two for me. she would also have access to dial-a-bus or any of the taxi companies here.  of course, she would need to downsize with regard to furnishings, but i have told her to let me take care of that. she is afraid of leaving dad behind, but i have told her that wherever she goes, there he will be, because she carries him with her, as i do.

update,,,made an appointment via email for a viewing of a few minihomes here in our park. hope mom takes a shine to one of them, then we can get the ball rolling on selling her home, downsizing, and getting her settled in here. i also compiled information about her home for the agent who is showing us the homes today (friday). she will have a print out of what her home is worth based on information i gave her as well as market evaluations for homes that are listed and/or have sold in the area. 

k has 2 major exams today. accounting and ms word. i know she will do well. she knows this stuff. i am hopeful that she will get good grades and that will, in turn help her to find gainful employment, not just a job. i think i mentioned that she is taking computerized office administration at a local college, through our provinces employment and education program. i want to do that as well, learn something that i will find a career at later. not just a job, which is what i am looking for now, i guess.

update,,,,,k did very well on her exams. we are so proud of her. not much longer and her course is finished and she will graduate. that is june13. with a cap and gown and all the fixins’.  her class average as of friday (today) is 93%, i am so proud!!!!! 

the cats are all fine. keeping us entertained as always. through facebook and catster, my cats have lots of friends. imagine, the crazy cat lady strikes again.

i have always had an interest in photography and writing, i wonder if i can combine the two and make a living? not likely. it is a difficult field to break into, and at my age….well ya know. i had visions, years ago, of sitting in a loft studio, with a lap top and piles of papers laying around, looking out the window at a tree lined lake. coffee stained robe, overflowing ashtray, cats curled up all around me, and me, writing up a storm, meeting deadlines, and cashing in the royalty cheques. lol.

ill

so the scent issue has raised its ugly head once again. B, the guy at work who co-ordinates the orders, has been wearing quite a heavy scent of cologne since thursday. i spoke to my supervisor/manager; D, about this, and he said he would speak to B. friday was the same thing, only this time, B wore what seemed to be twice as much of the stuff, and purposely walked by me closer than was necessary in my opinion. again, i reported the offence to D, who said he would talk to B again. by this time, however, i had been exposed long enough to require use of my rescue inhaler, more than once i might add. fucker.

today, i thought it was going to be taken care of, but NO, B still wears the offensive scent, and it has in deed made me sick. i had to leave work today because of him and his ignorance. my supervisor/manager, D was gone for dinner break, so i went higher, the owner of the warehouse, DV. i had written a note to D as to why i was taking the rest of the day off, which DV initialled, and he said he would speak to D and the situation would be handled.

i am very frustrated. this has always happened, the higher ups say they will do something, and nothing ever comes of it, and then a conflict between the culprit and myself arises, and i am the one who winds up leaving. fed up, you bet. in this time of scent awareness and obvious education toward environmental illness, asthma and COPD, why must i still deal with the harshness? why must i leave my job, which i still enjoy, because of some idiot’s uncaring?

it has been three months since i started there. i have really enjoyed being there, except for B, who is a pain in my ass, and now chest. i am going to the ER later to see a doctor for the mighty zythromax meds that my chest needs to heal.  i have again needed to keep my rescue inhaler within easy reach, after over 6 months of not even needing it. i have doubled up my maintenance steroid inhaler (which i am supposed to do in the event of an incident, or exposure to a cold) in order to keep my asthma under some kind of control. i hate having asthma, and i hate being the one who always has to be singled out in the workplace because of it.

i am educating myself on NB labour laws and workplace health and safety issues, so that i will have  leg to stand on if need be. i cannot be fired from this, and i will fight as long as i can, but you know what? why should i have to fight? i am so frustrated………………….

pictures

just some random pics. enjoy! this is SETH. He turned one year old in february. is he not the most handsome boy? and here is MURPHY. he is a shepherd/husky mix, and the amount of shedding he is doing right now proves that. he is also the most handsome boy. here is TEDDY. out at mom’s place. he is also a most handsome boy. see, my faithful readers, it isn’t all about cats!

pet peeves (for this week)

and it is only tuesday. my main concern, as it always is, is the way some people drive. honestly, how DID they get their driving license? if i were the instructor, i would have ended the lesson mid way through and tossed their sorry ass out of the car, without coming to a full and complete stop !!

yesterday, i watched as a woman sped past me (in a 50km/hr zone), and ran not one, not two, but three red lights. it is a wonder she had not caused an accident or something. jesus. if there is one thing i cannot tolerate anymore, is fast driving in slow zones. last fall, i was honked at, and flipped off, because i was driving 30km/hr in a school zone, and then passed in said zone…..WTF?  as well, you know how everyone is always saying NOT to talk on cell phones and drive? well, i saw one of our city’s finest, chatting it up on his way down town. nice.

speaking of the boys in blue, i saw an RCMP car today with a burned out headlight, on the drivers’ side. um, just yesterday i saw a policeman who had a lady pulled over for the EXACT same thing. it was all i could do, not to pull over, pull a u-eeeeee in the road and make a citizen’s arrest. of course, i would not want to make a scene, so i just drove along, minding my speed and heading off to my delivery.

people always seem to be in such a fucking hurry. slow the fuck down, ass-hat, someone is going to get hurt. pay attention to the road signs, they don’t give D.O.T. the big bucks to just hold the shovels, after all……on my way home from work tonight, i saw the effect of being in a hurry, and not paying attention. three cars are now damaged ( i don’t think anyone would have been hurt) because of what i think was a lane change gone wrong.

oh, and with regard to pedestrians and their “Right of Way”; i do not mind yielding to this, however, remember what your parents first taught you, what your teachers first taught you, and for fuck’s sake, Elmer the Elephant first taught you….STOP, look BOTH ways BEFORE crossing the street. fuck off.

getting back to department of transportation, i hope there is enough money left in the road budget to fix the potholes. holy crap, there are many of them this year, i can deal with frost heaves, but big, gaping holes in the road, um, no. i try and get my deliveries done in a timely fashion. this is not a simple task this winter, what with foot deep dumps of snow week after week, and now big splashy puddles , under which are gaping holes. damn.

that’s all, i’m pooped.

changed the template again, have used this one before. sometimes a change is as good as a resEt.

be sure to click the link for Jeff’s photo page. he is an awesome photographer AND in the family! happy sunday everyone.

exercise

,,,takes on many forms. it can be something as simple and inexpensive as going for a walk, or it can be quite extreme, like joining a high end gym, or having a personal trainer. i am fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds without ever leaving the comfort of my living room. you see, we bought a nintendo wii system, and have the sports discs, and the extra controller and nunchucks. and, i live with the fitness guru, k. she tries to keep me in line and on track. as you might have read way back, k was very into yoga and exercise dance videos from denise austin. she still enjoys that, but the wii is alot of fun.

we usually begin with the fitness portion. we have created miis’ and there is a short program that you do and it calculates your wii age based on the results. um, she is 27, i am 80. whatever….i’m tired, ok? then after our fitness are calculated, we play 2 games, we each pick one and play. i love the bowling, k enjoys boxing. we both like golf and tennis. tonight was bowling and boxing respectively. usually we play about an hour. enough to work up a light sweat and get the heart rate up. k says that nintendo is working up a game called wii fit. maybe you have heard about it. well, when it becomes available here, we will purchase it. we’ll call it an investment in a healthy body.

there are other forms of exercise which i have recently (and often) partake in; the fine art of shovelling the driveway. we have had so much snow. i shall take some pictures tomorrow and will add them to this post. this winter has been a real trial. no where to put the snow makes for some really high snow banks! as well, it makes my job as a driver so much more difficult. i can hardly wait until spring, and subsequently summer. it will be a welcome job, mowing the lawn, in about august when the snow finally melts.

happy easter everyone! more later. poet.