Just another snowy day

Its Tuesday December 9th, my second full day of being unemployed, I really did want to get down to the EI (Employment Insurance)Office, but it snowed today.
Well we are having a bit if a winter storm, and the roads were pretty crappy, but the fact that it took over an hour to go from my home to Bells Conner's. Usually this drive takes less than 10 minutes, perhaps 20 in rush hour, I figured it would take me an hour and a bit to get to the EI office, but I gave up. Yep I had enough, hell is just about 8pm and its still snowing, guess I know what I'm doing when I get up tomorrow morning ( Hint I will be using a great gas powered device!)
So I will try for round two tomorrow.
One of my biggest fears is that my last employer terminated my employment,not laid me off, that's the phrase used on my record of employment, "terminated" , but the HR lady made it clear to me it was a lay off, so what the hell didn't they just say so!
So I'm a bit concerned about that, it s not like I'm not trying to get a job and just take advantage of the system , sit on my ass for a year and collect money for noting.
But I would like to take advantage of any kind of retraining or education program that I may be entitled to, just saying.
Well like I said , I will try again tomorrow, got to make sure Ive got the iPod loaded, I fear it may be a long day.
Oh well at least I got the Christmas tree up today.

Timing is everything.

Ok ,you know how "they " say timing is everything?
Well from my point of view can agree with that.
Let me explain, I just got laid off, yep ,Friday December 5th was my last day at a job I loved , for many reasons including I got to work with people who are smart and it only took me five minutes to get to work and I got to work with lasers, cool.
So the timing thing, try this on for size, this month , we have Christmas, my mother, aunt and father in law are all undergoing treatment for cancer and I have lost my job and there are a few other things that have been an ongoing challenge for the past year, like I said it's all in the timing, in this case bad timing.
Wow I do sound a bit whiny and bitter and perhaps I just might have a right to be , if this happened to any one else I know I would not begrudge one bit for feeling bitter, I know I am!
So the timing is the shit, nothing I can do about that , and if you want to give advice about karma or astrology or phen shy (maybe my desk is not facing the right way?)You may have to cover you ears when I give you the reality check.
What has happen in my life is totally out on my hands, bad timing is just that bad timing, bad luck, its that same as when you have good timing and good luck , same coin different side.
So I figure I have a choice, or choices, I can sit around and blame my bad luck and bad timing on whatever , Ok I can blame the economy, but again that's just the way it is.
Or I can take advantage of a nice break to help those in my family who need an extra hand and also see what else is out there I can take advantage of to help me get in to a better job market.
So we shall see , It could have been worse.
The one big bummer was I was finally eligible for stock options (sigh)

Its cold and Im old

As I write this, (or rather type) it is a cool 14C or 57F. Ok so it is 8:30 at night and it is the 16th of September and my birthday is this weekend, so whats my point?
Ah.... good question, ok , hows this. I'm turning 45 this Sunday, but I don't feel it, ok I do feel older I have a few more aches and pains that I didn't have 5, 10 or 20 years ago but I expect that.
I mean I don't feel 45, my wife says she marred a 6 year old, I do have a youthful out look, or perhaps its that every time I see a new and shiny tec toy I want it (ya I'm still bitching about a new computer)
But I don't feel 45, when I was a kid 45 was OLD! I mean 45 your life was over man end of the line!
But now, well to me its just another trip around the sun, no big deal.
Is it weird to feel this way? Or does it really matter?
I am a bit wearied out by the fact that I'm not freaked out that I'm turning 45, make any sence to you ?
Perhaps I should plan for a mid life crises , any suggestions?
I happen to like my life the way it is right now, well I might change a few things but nothing to crazy
Maybe I will get that new computer, something in red
And as for it being colder, I like the cold, less bugs and I sleep better, what elce could you ask for.

Caint keep clean

Ok what the hell is wrong with me!
I'm 45 , (That may surprise a few of you ) and I cant seam to keep my shirts clean,
Really, I'm just doing a load of laundry right now, and I am amazed at how many food stained shirts I have!
Ok so I may not shave every day and the last tine I wore sute , or rather a tux, I was getting Married(And I looked good if I must say so !) But I do try to keep my self looking clean if not at least respectable.Except for my one or two tee shirts that have gotten me in to a bit of trouble but that's another story.
I do try to not drop food all over the place and I believe that I am as neat as the next guy, but some how or another I do end up getting my dinner on my self.
Oh I try to be careful, I don't over load the fork, and if the hamburger happens to be a bit drippy, I get extra napkins, but some how I end up getting stuff on me.
Perhaps that's why my wife will laughs at me when I buy and try out the latest stain removers and special laundry vounderstuff, guaranteed to remove any stain from any think , no mater how tough or set in it is!
So now I'm trying out Oxy Clean, I think its just hyped up hydrogen peroxide, you know what makes you hair go really blond, what you put on a cut and then watch it bubble away in the wound?,
Ya that stuff, mind you in its more pure form if will burn the skin right off you and you can use it to make rocket fuel. Fun stuff.
I once spilled a 40% solution on my hand , yep it burned, and I still have a bit of a scar, OUCH!
So what is a guy to do , I will not go around eating with a bib, well maybe if lobster of ribs oar on the menu, but I just cant seam to get it right .
Perhaps this is one of those life lessons, I'm just learning how to keep clean and get the stains out,.
I'll let you know how well the Oxy Clean stuff works, and if it dosent that Billy Zan better watch out.

Ok God now what ?

Ok I am going to rant , and I believe I have good reason to do so , I just lost a good friend today ,she was a wife , mother and best friend to her husband,and two young children .
All of a sudden for some reason she had a massive heart attack and never woke up. This is not fair. It never is, it sucks the big one. They were on their way home from a Florida, Disney vacation, a time for fun and happy memories. Now that will not be how it will be remembered. God had a lot of explaining to do.
Yes I am angry .
I believe I have a right to be , and I know her husband and the rest of the family will be angry too, they have more of a right to feel that way.
But they also know that they are loved, by family and friends , who dropped everything they were doing and drove 12 hours straight to be by their side. That is Love, plain and simple. Friends and family just doing what ever is needed to do. It dosent take much. Just a willingness to help.
But what I fear is the fake platitudes of those who speak of a higher power and a higher reason for this tragedy. There is no higher power or any reason for this, just bad luck.
And that what makes me so dam angry, there is no one to blame, no one to point a finger at , nothing to rant and rave at .
The anger will pass, the sorrow will last and the love we feel for those who have gone before us we hope will always be there, we need to remind our selves that life can be short and cruel, but can also be filled with wonderful people, and if they touch our lives in a way that filled our hearts, then we have a right to be angry at their passing, but let the anger fade and let the memories and love live on .
What else can we do? Anger never solved anything, but love can.

The Pod 5 Idol

Ok if you want some fun , and a bit of strangeness you can watch all the fun here!

If you'r sick stay home

Hey sports fans!
This is a script for a rant I'll be doing on an up coming show, let me know what you think, I'm always looking for feed back!
Enjoy!

Ok now I am going to rant!
This is something that I”m sure will polarize any and all of my listeners, this is more divisive than sex politics and religion all rolled in to one!
I'm talking about the scourge of the 21st century , sick days and being sick at work!

Hell yes I have a very simple philosophy about this , if you are sick stay home, I don't want your crap!

Now I'm not talking about not coming to work because you have the sniffles, no I'm talking about coughing up a lung, having a fever, being so tired you cant think, looking like something my old cat Max had dragged in , you should stay at home and take a sick day!

You are no so important that the place will fall apart with out you ! If it does you are doing a shitty job and should not be a manager! Or you manager it a twit and should get their ass fired!

You see my point is this and its really simple, I don't want to get you crap, so if you are feeling crappy don't come to work, stay at home, stay in bed for the day , watch TV drink lots of liquids have a snooze, do what ever you like but stay the hell away from me!

I do not want your cold or flu or pink eye, ya we had to force that guy to go home!

What are you people afraid of, you'll get fired? No you cant they have laws for that , looking bad at work, looking like a wimp? “Oh no I have to show up and suffer at work today or no one will respect me “ Or my other favorite, and this was said to me by a manager at my work, “Be a man, and just suck it up!” A manager said that, not a good idea to say such things.

There really is this culture in many work places that you should suffer sick at work. and if you do take a day off because you are sick ,people will look down on you , I have seen people who should have been in the hospital , I'm not kidding , I know one listens to this podcast, you know who you are.

I have even heard one coworker call another “inconsiderate “ because that person stayed home, because they were sick! High fever sick!

I think there is a culture of martyrdom in the work place today, you know those people, “I'm sick , but I'm here, so I'm better and tougher than you, and you should feel sorry for me. “

No I don't , and you are an idiot!

I do not want your illness, plane and simple, I do not want you cold or flu, or what ever, oh and getting a flu shot does not give you the flu! But it sure helps when you work with morons that think flu shots don't work.! Did I just say that out loud?!

Ok how this for another reason to stay home, and not spreading you crap to every one in the place, what if you are like me, I have a very sick family member, they are having chemotherapy right now and is in no shape to drive them self, so as a good boy I offer to help with driving her to the hospital for her treatments, now if I get sic I cant go near her, I can not be in the same house, I'm not kidding.

Or what if you have kids, of you better half? Do you want them to be sick because “Martyr Boy “

In I.T wanted to be a tough man and spread his influenza around?

Say home! Get better, if you take one day of rest you will recover much faster than being at work and not being able to let you body heal, its not rocket science, ok its medical science, but you get my point, use common sense!

An if the fools at work think your a wimp because you didn't come to work , well just smile to your self and think that now your rested and healthy you are and how quickly they will drop from bird flu when it finally gets here. Did I say that out loud?

Blinded By The Spice

Blinded By The Spice

Ok it seemed like a good idea at the time, of course thats how all stories that end badly start.

I like birds, I like feeding the birds and where I used to live we had lots of big trees and shrubs and telephone wires for the little (and not so little) birdies to sit on.
So I had five bird feeders out in the back yard, one big one shaped like a old red barn, another made from a pop bottle, and a couple of smaller plastic ones that I had in the smaller trees for the smaller birds.
I went thought over one hundred pounds of bird seed in the winter season, they loved the black striped sunflower seeds, and so did the squirrels .
But of course that was to be expected, loss of feed by rodent is a sad but relvent fact of life for any bird lovers .
So I did what I could to keep the little bastard out of my feeders, scraps of tin and plastic to block there way, self closing doors on the feeder to keep them out , grease on the poles to impede their climbing. I even started thinking of using a high voltage Tesla coil to fry the little buggers, but thought better after a slight electrical problem with the prototype . ( Yes high voltage can cause hair to smoke). Guns were out of the question , I do live in Canada!
So I ended up going to chemical war fare, this was to be a no holds bared, fight to the finish there was to be no mercy! I looked on line and found a sure fire solution to the squirrel problem. Capsicum pepper.
This stuff is hot! This is what is used in pepper spray, very nasty!
Just what I needed.
,I followed the direction on the package , I mixed 6 ounces of the pure capsicum pepper power to fifty pounds of bird seed taking care to wear a mask and do the mixing in a well ventilated area, hey I always read the instructions!
And so with the new mix in the feeder I waited eagerly for the bastard rodents to start their feeding, boy were they in for a surprise!
Oh ya there was a surprise all right! Canadian black squirrels love spicy food! I kid you not, the were chowing down on the stuff faster than before! I gave up , I figured it would be easer to let them clean out one easy to reach feeder than to try to keep them out of all the feeders, so that what I did it worked, and there was peace in the land!
But they wanted revenge, they did not like being toyed with , so they hatched the plan of revenge!
I like to take a walk in the winter on a hiking trail that s not too far from where I used to live, so many people go to feed the birds that chickadees will follow you and land on you to see if you have any thing for them.
So on a sunny winter afternoon I took a walk with a pocket full of bird seed, it was fun and relaxing to have the chickadees and blue jays landing on you and eating out of you hand. At peace with nature, enjoying the day.
Until I got an itch in my eye, I went to scratch the itch, oh shit....oh shit...oh shit.
My eye was on fire, it sealed its self shut with a fiery pain that was like nothing I had ever felt! I brought my hands up to may face to try to stop the pain........oh crap, the other eye.Shit Shit Shit! Now I was in lots of pain , I cant open my eyes I cant see, and I don't dare to touch my face until I can clean my hands.
Oh did I mention I was in the middle of the woods , I had walked about three kilometers in to the woods, oh and it was the middle of the week , so the place was very empty.
Oh shit indeed!
The little bastards were having their revenge, I was on my knees tears streaming out my eyes , but unable to open them to see, and the pain, the pain!
I never want to piss of a cop , capsicum pepper is a bitch.
Well I finally calmed down , washed my hands in the snow, then my eyes, it wasn't perfect, but I could see well enough to walk back the car and by the time I got to the car the fire in my eyes was down low enough I could see to drive but felt warm enough to toast marshmallows, I went home to finish crying.
My eyes were red for a couple of days , and when asked, I started out by saying "I had this idea..."

I hate the "C" word

I really do hate the "C" word.
No I'm not talking about the crass and vulgar term used to describe part of a womans anatomy or personalty, No not that "C" word.
I'm talking about the other one, cancer.
I just found out that one of my favorite Aunts has stomach cancer, and they really cant do to much for her.
Well ok, they can do kemo and a new drug therapy, but surgery just wont help at this point.
I'm not a doctor and I really have no idea how these things work, maybe thats why I feel like I do , you know the feeling , you want desperately to help, but there is nothing you can do , so you look for other was to help but at this point there is still nothing you can do , so you end up feeling helpless and frustrated.
Yep feeling like shit.
And being one of the younger kids in the family, and the only guy left, well, I really want to be able to do something, its like I have this duty to fulfill.
Ya old fashond, but I think my heart is in the right place .
So now we wait, see what further tests and therapys will do,I have faith in science and medicine and mans ability to solve problems. But there are time when you have to deal with the card that have been dealt.
So for now we wait and see what happens next.