Peace and Quiet: HA!!!

For about the fifth day in a row, it’s been sunny here. Chilly thirty degrees Farenheight but sunny. The snow’s melting (banks are down to 5′ now lol).

And Enbridge Gas left me a voice mail message asking me to go and take a meter reading.

Seriously.

The message said that they’d send a representative in two working days to take the meter reading himself/herself if I can’t do it. It would be worth taking time off of work to watch someone try to do that. Just might do it too. The snow in the back yard (which is where the meter is) is chest height, and I”m 5′8″ tall.

Heh heh heh.

Met pal-of-pals Pauly and his wonderful wife H for dinner last night. H and I have talked a lot, especially since Pauly was in the Heart Institute. We are very much alike–H called us ‘bookends’–and dinner was one big hoot. We’d gone to the same high school and left it only a year apart. Are both, umm, instigators and stubborn. And all three of us have the same sense of humor! It was a fab time. One of those that does your heart good, know what I mean?

Nothing much else is going on. Was supposed to go to the movies on Friday with pal P (who still works in the hellhole) but was way too tired to do that. April is tough for some reason, as I’ve noted before. Tiredness, less patience (friends tell me I’m generally too patient) and changes in eating/sleeping are all part of the deal. My psychiatrist says that this is one of the trademarks of being bipolar II. Well, whatever it is, it’s weird that when the rest of the world welcomes spring, I turn into a grouch.

Am fighting that!

Mom’s doing fine physically, a bit scattered as far as other things go (I show up wearing a ski jacket, and she asks me why I’m not wearing a coat).  The Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe is coughing a little bit but generally is fine and happy.  Little Bro is back from European vacation, Sis doing fine too except for a nasty sinus infection.

Ah spring!!

Robins have been sighted, not by me but by a few others (pal P for example, had one at her office window!). Cardinals abound, and my feeders are starting to emerge from the snow.

Well, have put off cleaning up/laundry/cooking all week and yesterday, so that’s on the agenda for today.

Hope your weekend was fun, world.

BJ

Stereotypes

Blogs are personal, and this one is no exception.  It contains my views and experiences.

One of the strongest values I have is that I find stereotypes distasteful and totally unacceptable. Unfortunately, being human, it’s not surprising that they’re so pervasively, even if unconsciously, held. To my way of thinking–and that’s what you get here, my thinking–using stereotpyes in advertising is unacceptable when it’s used to reinforce notions of superiority or inferiority of any one group relative to others.

I don’t believe that any race (color), religion or country of origin is superior or inferior to another. I don’t pass on 1/3 of the jokes that land in my mail box because they’re stereotypical or racist, or could be offensive. The one exception I make is when it’s so ridiculous that it’s clearly not meant to be a weapon.

If half the advertising that now promotes one group as superior used a different group (say, southern US accents) as superior, there would be considerable protest, even in a country as non-protest oriented as Canada.

To be blunt, I resent the heck out of being told that one group is superior, period. That includes Hitler’s blond haired blue eyed notions, the Zimbardo prison experiment developments, and current advertising practices.

Lest it be said that I”m anti Brit (because it’s Brit accents today that appear in most of the commercials to which I object as ’superior/high quality’), I’ll point out that:

a–I married a Brit descendant of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Not exactly a good guy in human history, but definitely and thoroughly Brit;

b–my own family (father’s side) fled England with Mary Queen of Scots;

c–my maiden name (despite the very Irish nature of my mother’s family), is extremely Brit (on my father’s side). It arises from an actual physical part of Britain, includes a lot of literary and military historical figures.

I don’t believe that southern US people marry their cousins/relatives as a regular practice. I don’t think that Italians/Polish/Ukranians/French people are mentally inadequate. Blondes obviously are no less or more mentally gifted than the rest of us. Irish aren’t necessarily failures with women, and Catholics aren’t necessarily baby making factories/slaves of Rome. Californians aren’t necessarily laid-back.  Nor are all Americans bigots or stupid.

That last one is a stereotype I’ve put up with since arriving in Ottawa. Quite a racist comment in itself, but that’s not my point. The point is that stereotypes suck. Of any kind, any race, any national origin, color and religion, physical or mental attributes. 

I wish to h*ll that Madison Avenue, and its equivalents, would give up the ‘one type’s best’ approach. They haven’t sucked me in, and I’m betting that I’m not alone.

Samples of the nonsense: Sensodyne, Air Wick commercials, How Clean Is Your House series and the presence of Simon Cowell in American Idol (though the latter isn’t advertising, it sure isn’t consistent with the title!). There are lesser known, more ridiculous stereotypes–I include them here to demonstrate how very stupid they are. 

Thanks Peter T, and apologies to Sis, COB and all my other blonde friends…

Blonde Cooking Diary

Monday

It’s fun to cook for Tom. Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat 12 eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls.

Tuesday

Tom wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without dressing. So I didn’t dress. What a surprise when Tom brought a friend home for supper

Wednesday

A good day for rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed kind of silly but I took a bath anyway. I can’t say it improved the rice any.

Thursday

Today Tom asked for salad again I tried a new recipe. It said prepare ingredients; lay on a bed of lettuce one hour before serving. Tom asked me why I was rolling around in the garden..

Friday

I found an easy recipe for cookies. It said put the ingredients in a bowl and beat it. There must have been something wrong with this recipe. When I got back, everything was the same as when I left.

Saturday

Tom did the shopping today and brought home a chicken. He asked me to dress it for Sunday. I don’t have any clothes that fit it, and for some reason Tom keeps counting to ten.

Sunday

Tom’s folks came to dinner. I wanted to serve roast but all I had was hamburger. Suddenly I had a flash of genius.. I put the hamburger in the oven and set the controls for roast. It still came out hamburger, much to my disappointment.

GOOD NIGHT DEAR DIARY. This has been a very exciting week! I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try out a new recipe on Tom. If I can talk Tom into buying a bigger oven, I would like to surprise him with a chocolate moose.

*************************************************
A blonde goes into a coffee shop and notices there’s

a ‘peel and win’ sticker on her coffee cup.

So she peels it off and starts screaming,

‘I’ve won a motor home!

I’ve won a motor home!’

The waitress says, ‘That’s impossible.

The biggest prize is a free lunch.’

But the blonde keeps on screaming,

‘I’ve won a motor home!

I’ve won a motor home!’

Finally, the manager comes over and says,

‘Ma’am, I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken.

You couldn’t have possibly won a motor home

because we didn’t have that as a prize.

The blonde says, ‘No, it’s not a mistake.

I’ve won a motor home!’

And she hands the ticket to the

manager and HE reads…

(YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE THIS !!!!!! . I PROMISE!)

‘W I N A B A G E L’

Don’t blame me folks, I just pass them on ;))  !!!

Happy Friday world. Have a lovely weekend.

BJ 

He is/was not happy with new boss because of nb’s intellectual type of bullying.

I’m used to that, thanks to the hellhole, and the bullying here is nowhere near as bad as it was there.

Thank.the.Lord!!!

Am so relieved…….

Just a quick update.

Ode to Plurals…

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

And, in closing, if Father is Pop, how come Mother is not Mop?

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

OK world, I knew it was too good!

Pal of pals (and retired–lucky guy) Pauly and I yakked today. He had had lunch with a current dearly-loved by both of us colleague.  After talking to him, Pauly said he was so put off of our current boss that he wouldn’t have a beer with him.

For Pauly, this is a very serious thing.

The colleague, a very cool, laid-back expert (and hilarious too) is so frazzled that he’s probably going to leave soon–I can just feel it. In part the boss gives achingly detailed, micromanaging and usually inappropriate feedback–to the point of rewriting and miscasting the documents in question (hence the LOL Cats item above).  It’s frustrating the heck out of this poor soul.

My other dearly-loved pal at work (the one who looks better than but sorta like Keanu Reeves) is close to being in the same boat for the same reason.  He did tell me that the new boss had been told some nasty lies about me by the old one (I was far too mouthy for that guy, and he was too always wrong as far as I was concerned–remember I wasn’t medicated then!). But I know I’m me, so does everyone else and eventually the truth will out.  Neither of the guys chats at work much, but then they are swamped.

And I’m wondering why I haven’t been moved to an office with the whole group. True we are supposed to move soon but in this organization that’s like the temporary buildings’ (this is an Ottawa joke. The temporary buildings were built near Dow’s Lake during WWII and stayed occupied for 40 years) actually being temporary (I couldn’t find a photo to include here but believe me they were fugly!).  Word’s been put out that I may be moving with them…but no results yet.

My work, well in one case is busywork, the other stuff I think is genuine but now I’m wondering.

What is the boss doing that got Pauly so ticked? I asked if it had to do with me and he said no. I can’t think of much else that would get him that angry. I had been worried about being (a) laid off, (b) assigned to one big whopper of a jerk (someone who took delight in backstabbing me in the late 1980s, then got promoted into my job when I fled) in this new/old organization, or (c) having a salary cut. There are nasty cutbacks in the future possibly.

But none of these things would really be that bad! No I can’t afford to retire at all, but the taste I had of not working for three months (even though I was exhausted) was terrific. If I was assigned to the *sshole (he’s in the same class as the manager of the hellhole but it’s way more personal with the *sshole), I might–might–be able to stand it now that there are harassment laws and I”m medicated. The salary cut possibility? Not likely but beats the other two options. Anything can be scaled back.  Heck I could even work at Burger King! Well, only if I didn’t have to stand all the time but you get what I mean…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus

It doesn’t look good for the new/old boss at the moment–he is messing up royally by ignoring the politics and people side of the job. He is just blinking naieve and unfortunately for him, it’s hitting him and the fan big time now. People can do some right nasty things when they feel insecure and he’s insecure to begin with. That’s not a judgement call, it’s just how he is. Our group and its work can seem like black magic at times, and we’ve just been dumped into a much larger organization. The nasty little *sshole works there too, but it’s a field I used to be an expert in (left it in 1991). 

So we are all insecure at the moment. Especially me, but then I was awake until 4:00 this a.m. (don’t know why, maybe it’s spring, maybe the sleeping meds are losing their punch). 

I’ve noticed that all the guys leave at least an hour early fairly regularly, especially the one I work now. I love them all, but just don’t get this. My current guy is also coming in late too but he has some home stuff to deal with too.  Today I was the only person of the four of us in the office after 4:00, and I came in before they did too (I think. It’s not like I check!).  Looks like a morale crisis to me. Geez I just left one of those!

This is all quite confusing. There are times I feel like ‘bear with little brain’!
(pic from http://www.poohfriends.com/).

On the other hand, there’s a full moon, I’m exhausted, and we are all as insecure as possible due to the org changes.

http://www.netaxs.com/mhmyers/moon.tn.html

Stay tuned, sports fans!

p.s. There were other dumb annoyances today–the brand newly cleaned car got rained on/splashed, can’t find a spot for swimming at the only pool I can get to in town, blah blah blah.

But I just realized something: I’m not only my mother (and father’s) daughter, I’m the descendant of generations of some pretty smart, savvy, wise people. They might not be here in flesh but they are in spirit. Their blood runs through my veins….I’ll find a way to deal with whatever is coming.

Luv, BJ

Somehow the term outside is higher (36 degrees farenheight) but it feels a lot colder inside (I mean colder than it did when the temp was 10 degrees colder). Hmm must be getting old (chortle chortle).

It.is.snowing.again.

Not much. Just enough.  Wicked winds, though.

Well, good. We haven’t had neeeeeeeeeeaaaaaarly enough snow this year. What’s a few more centimeters at this point?

Dar and GI must be very happy with their decision to move into a condo!! I would be too!! Not that I shovel much snow these days, but they sure do charge enough for doing it for me.

It was a strange day, world. Pal P is having a very hard time staying in the hellhole. One of the newer kids left our part of the org at one level, got a promotion at his new place (to P’s level) and is now getting promoted one level again to return. No way the kid can do that level work, he just isn’t seasoned enough.

Sometimes the worst, and cruelest, thing that you can do to a person is give them a job that they think they can handle, when you know that they’re not ready for it. Organizations and people tend to remember mistakes far more or longer than they do accomplishments. And the contrast in the treatment of the two people —the kid versus P—is absolutely head-shaking material. She works hard, is smart, keeps her head down and delivers. The kid is flashier and ‘one of the boys’. Pal J used to call it ‘the p*nis club’ because no matter how well  women in that org delivers, they’re never part of the club.  Come to think of it, the membership’s pretty decrepit. But there’s a principle (or lack of same) involved.

It’s devastating to P’s morale and for once I found it hard to cheer her up. Things there suck big fertile lemons and there isn’t much to do except escape. I want to help her so much but so far haven’t been able to find anything. Am not giving up though! Am betting that if she retired and joined a rival organization she’d get the training and exposure she needs in the blink of an eye. There’d be no holding her back then. But that’s quite a huge decision to make……

Is anyone out there watching Big Brother 9? I was and the satellite dish failed right in the middle of episode 19. Grrr. And the CBS.com feed didn’t work either.   This isn’t exactly encouraging people to watch, CBS. Think about it.

On the bright side, got tons of work started and some done today. Stuck to healthy eating (actually that’s been going on for a while), got groceries including food for Mom’s cat (I swear she’s trying to starve the poor guy), gassed up the car and washed it (got another ticket half price) and with relief, unloaded the stuff chez me. I had run out of just about everything food wise, so had Mom cat-food-wise, and the car was almost drained of gasoline. So it was about bleeping time all that got done.  Noticed that the walking is becoming much easier to do, you folks were right.

Mom, Jean her bud and I were supposed to go to the theatre tonight but no one felt like it. Wind was/is howling, I was exhausted from work…Jean didn’t want to go and Mom didn’t either. BONUS night off!!!

Called Sis to thank her and her partner for the Sunday Easter cooking/meal, which was wonderful. I love my little sis.

On Monday, got all the flippin’ laundry done, changed the litter of The Most Spoiled Cat In The Universe, did the recycling, garbage, dusting and polishing.  Then noticed that Miss Smokey was coughing much more than usual. Off to the vet she went. X Rays were taken, shots of antibiotics were given, and a compensatory pillow of catnip was purchased by Yours Truly.  She’s much better now, $291 later. Not that cost matters all that much. As long as I can, I’ll pay.  What can I say, she’s my (15 year old) kid!!

So tonight was a very blissful, restful evening. Am finding that I need a lot more of those these days.

How about you all?

Luv, BJ

TOP TEN  THINGS YOU CAN SAY IN THE OFFICE:
>
>10. I need to whip it out by 5.
>
>9. Mind if I use your laptop?
>
>8. Just stick it in my box.
>
>7. If I have to lick one more, I’ll gag!
>
>6. I want it on my desk, NOW!!!!!
>
>5. HMMMMM, I think it’s out of fluid!
>
>4 My equipment is so old, it takes forever to finish.
>
>3. It’s an entry level position.
>
>2. When do you think you’ll be getting off today?
>
>1. It’s not fair. I do all the work while he just sits there!!!
>
>                                          …..
>
>
>TOP TEN  THINGS YOU CAN SAY IN IN A LAW FIRM:
>
>10. Have you looked through her briefs?
>
>9. He is one hard judge.
>
>8. Counselor, let’s do it in chambers.
>
>7. Her attorney withdrew at the last minute.
>
>6. Is it a penal offense?
>
>5. Better leave the handcuffs on.
>
>4. For $200 an hour, she better be good!
>
>3. Can you get him to drop his suit?
>
>2. The judge gave her the stiffest one he could.
>
>1. Think you can get me off?
>
>                                                         ….
>
>
>TOP TEN THINGS YOU CAN SAY ON THE GOLF COURSE:
>
>10. Damn, my shaft is bent.
>
>9. After 18 holes, I can barely walk.
>
>8. You really whacked the hell out of that sucker.
>
>7. Look at the size of his putter.
>
>6. Keep your head down and spread your legs a  bit more.
>
>5. Mind if I join your threesome?
>
>4. Stand with your back turned and drop it.
>
>3. My hands are so sweaty I can’t get a good  grip.
>
>2. Nice stroke, but your follow-through leaves a lot to be desired.
>
>1.  Hold up! I need to wash my balls first.
>

    I urgently needed a few days off work but I knew the boss wouldn’t
>allow me to take any leave.  I thought that maybe if I acted crazy he would
>tell me to take a few days off, so I hung upside-down from the ceiling and
>made funny noises.
>
>
>       My co-worker, a redhead, asked me what I was doing.  I told her that
>I was pretending to be a light bulb so that the boss would think I was
>crazy and give me a few days off.
>
>       A few minutes later the boss came into the office and asked, ‘What
>in the name of good GOD are you doing?’
>
>       I told him I was a light bulb.
>
>       He said, ‘You are clearly stressed out.’  Go home and recuperate for
>a couple of days.’
>
>
>       I immediately jumped down and walked out of the office.
>
>       When my co-worker, the redhead, followed me, the boss asked her,
>’Where do you think you’re going?’
>
>       (You’re gonna love this… )
>
>       She said, ‘I’m going home too, you can’t possibly expect me to work
>in the dark! ‘
>

Well……..I dunno…….

 Clean can be funny.
>
>       One day, a man came home and was greeted by his wife dressed in a
>very sexy nightie.  “Tie me up,” she purred, “and you can do anything you
>want.”  So he tied her up and went golfing.
>
>       *****************************************
>       A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran
>into the house.  She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs,
>”Honey, pack your bags.  I won the lottery!”  The husband said, “Oh my God!
>  What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?”  “Doesn’t matter,”
>she said.  “Just get out.”
>
>
>
>
>       ********************************************
>       Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and
>the other is a husband.
>
>
>
>
>           *************************************
>       A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver’s license.
>First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test.  The optician showed
>him a card with the letters … “C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.”  “Can you read
>this?” the optician asked.  “Read it?” the Polish guy replied, “I know the
>guy.”
>
>
>          ***********************************************
>       Mother Superior called all the nuns together and said to them, “I
>must tell you all something.  We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent.”
>”Thank God,” said an elderly nun at the back.  “I’m so tired of
>chardonnay.”
>
>
>
>
>                   ********************************************
>       A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.
>Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.  “Careful,” he said,
>”CAREFUL!  Put in some more butter!  Oh my gosh!  You’re cooking too many
>at once.  TOO MANY!  Turn them!  TURN THEM NOW!  We need more butter.  Oh
>my gosh!  WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?  They’re going to STICK!
>Careful.  CAREFUL!  I said be CAREFUL!  You NEVER listen to me when you’re
>cooking!  Never!  Turn them!  Hurry up!  Are you CRAZY?  Have you LOST your
>mind?  Don’t forget to salt them.  You know you always forget to salt them.
>  Use the salt!  USE THE SALT!  THE SALT!”  The wife stared at him.  “What
>in the world is wrong with you?  You think I don’t know how to fry a couple
>of eggs?”  The husband calmly replied, “I just wanted to show you what it
>feels like when I’m driving.”
>
>
>
>           ***************************************************************
>       Fifty-one years ago, Herman James, a North Carolina mountain man,
>was drafted by the Army.  On his first day in basic training, the Army
>issued him a comb.  That afternoon the Army barber sheared off all his
>hair.  On his second day, the Army issued Herman a toothbrush.  That
>afternoon the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth.  On the third day,
>the Army issued him a jock strap.  The Army has been looking for Herman for
>51 years.
>       *******************************************
>
>       Forward this to at least 5 people and see what comes on your screen,
>you will laugh your head off!!!!!!!
>
>
>
>       This works.  I don’t know how.
>