just some inner musings

A day off at last. Two long days, the end of which left me tired of being so NICE all the time. And tired of dealing with people that have NO common sense. What happened to common sense, anyways? did it go out of style? Shheeeeshhh...
Yes dearie, it is time to retire.
After verbalizing my desire to go with the team to Indonesia in October, which conveniently leaves a few days after we get home from Edmonton, I ran it past the Bobber who didn't object too strenously, which I chose to interpret as approval. I then emailed Mathias, indicating my interest, and he responded within minutes, seemingly gleefully, and told me the steps to take next. Now I am waiting for response to my application to MMI, wondering if they will accept me. They are a Christian organization and one of their question was church affiliation, to which I honestly had to respond as "NONE" having been ousted from my childhood church for non attendance...So perhaps they will reject my participation, and if so, so be it. Not belonging or attending a church makes me no less Christian than the next guy, so whatever happens, I will accept with good grace. I am hoping to go however, as i would get to work in the context of a scrub nurse (my old love from training) assisting with cataract surgery. And the experience of another foreign country would be interesting as well. My 3 weeks in Nicaragua in 2000 was life changing for me, totally changed my attitude towards STUFF... and added immensely to my gratitude level.
We shall see where this leads. Gotta admit i am checking my email rather frequently.
Am looking forward to my sisters visit this weekend, and her hubby of course. We will spend some time at the fair, and hope it doesn't rain too much. And then there is the cowboy cookout up at Lone Pine, that was so fun the last time we went, and I thought they would enjoy it as well. Too bad I have to work Friday, but on the other hand, my friend is having her gall bladder out that day, so I am glad I will be there to look after her.
Time is marching on. Thirteen more work days until the big R day. Yippee! I am so looking forward to an entire month away from that hospital(at least) It won't exactly be a relaxing month, but just not having to go there is really appealing.
I guess that is enough procrastination for one day, gotta do some housework.

Sunday peace

Having sent my husband and daughter out to play finding geocaches(something that JUST does not appeal to me), I am enjoying a quiet day to myself. A person needs one of those now and again. I have the Sirius radio on an old country channel and am enjoying the music that takes me back to s simpler time.
Does getting older,I wonder rhetorically, cause you to spend more time thinking about the past and how it has affected the person you are today? Having just written a small storybook about my disabled brother for his grandchildren, I spent a lot of time poring over old pictures and thinking of long ago events. Now I have had requests to adapt the book for other 2nd and 3rd generation family members so am mulling over that possibility. And my children are still quite insistent that I should put all my stories together as my memoir, but I'm not sure that would be interesting to anyone. But it would be fun to do for sure. And I enjoy writing. Some day when I have more time.
I haven't ranted for a while... hhhmmmm lets see what has ticked me off lately? I can't think of anything at the moment. I need to remember to do it the MINUTE I am irritated, as otherwise it just slips by me. I could of course start on the media, and how in my opinion distort people's perception of how things are, with regards to just about everything. And about the way they shove microphones and cameras in the faces of newly aggrieved families to get a fresh and emotion-laden response. NOTHING makes me angrier, and if I was on the receiving end of that mike/camera combo, they would get a response that they definitely could not air...I used to think criminal defense lawyers were the scum of the earth but many journalists are not far behind. Having said that, journalism is a fine and honorable career, and I for one can appreciate the appeal of writing ones opinions, and getting paid for the honor. But when it becomes a matter of digging for sensationalism and exploitation of people going though crises, it makes me spit nails, in the words of a former head nurse, way back in my checkered past. (see what I mean?)what does that mean anyways, "checkered past" I have always assumed it means less than lily-white. Isn't every one's past somewhat checkered then? Because not one of us has led a perfect life, it just isn't human.Perhaps they have led a life that appears to be uncheckered,ie lily white, but it is all a facade, because sure as the sky is blue, if you dig deep enough, there will be a few black checkers amongst those of ivory. But, I digress...
Anyhow, I've had my say about yellow sap sucking journalists that prey on the unfortunate, the unlucky, and those that have made mistakes but seem never to be allowed to put these behind them. So I'll be done with that then...
Gotta get back to the housewifely duties of folding clothes and planning dinner...

Thanks for the rain!

The weather. It is always there. And people are NEVER happy about it. The sun shines and it gets hot for a few days and everyone is sighing, and tired, and worrying about the drought that is inevitable and how global warming is upon us in apocalyptic proportions, and on and on and on. And how it is predicted to be the most serious forest fire season ever, as bad as 2003... the Kelowna fire year. And then, praises be, it rains. Not just a few drops here and there, but pour down saturate the ground type of rain, that we should be thanking our Creator for. But no, what do the people do? They whine and complain: wettest August in history, imagine it being so cold in August, how fair is THAT for those of us who take vacations in August.
Not me. I am so happy, I hate it when it is hot, especially if I have to be anywhere where there is pavement. Probably a sign of aging(yet another one) this intolerance for temperature extremes. The thought of a move to Victoria or somewhere else on the south island is appealing although I am quite convinced that it will fall into the ocean one day, when the big one hits. So lets not do that. We'll just stay in our quiet little hot/cold town and put up with the weather. And try not to complain too much.
I am reading the book "Three Cups of Tea" Wow, what an amazing story about an even more amazing man. Greg Mortenson, wouldn't I like to meet him one day. How wonderfully fulfilling it must be to have found one's purpose in life. I can't help but feel that I haven't yet discovered mine, besides parenting two wonderful human beings. I feel there is something waiting for me which will be revealed after I loosen that albatross from my neck, which is my job...
Yikes I feel a bit like I have a bit in my mouth. My sweet niece discovered this blog, and I fear that suddenly everything i say will be measured , judged and reported to her mother who is my dear but very straight and righteous sister, who will then chastise me for my less than upright views on life. WOW. Fifty seven years old and still worried of what others may think of me...Gotta get over that. "Love me the way I am or leave me be"
must go, time to do my yoga video. Gotta stay lean and mean in my old age...

a true rant.

Speaking of dogs, I need to vent. Today we took Montana, our crazy Dal, for her mostly daily walk. We walk her on a leash, which is looped around my waist, and she doesn't pull, and walks calmly between Bob and me. We go up to the green space, a walkway which has well spaced garbage container in which responsible people can deposit their doggie's do-do's (responsible people appear to be few and far between as there is often many turds of varying size along the path) Oh I get it! If your dog doesn't CRAP directly ON THE PATH, you don't have to pick it up??? Interesting concept, but stupid and selfish, as "off the beaten path crap" still STINKS and attracts flies. Anyhow, I digress. This isn't what my rant is about.
My real irritation in life is people who think their dog is TOO GOOD to be taken out on a leash. For some reason, they don't have to abide to common dog-people courtesy that says unless you are in a off-leash park (which Armstrong apparently LACKS!) your dog should be on a leash when out and about. So here we are walking along, and at the end of the green space is a bench, upon which sits a man, an aging hippie, who hasn't been told the sixties had long gone, with an off-leash Border Collie lying idly behind him in the shade of the bench. Of course, when we walk by and say a polite hello, the dog rushes out to sniff Montana to see whether SHE has his tail(see previous post) Montana, of course, was not willing to give up hers (as she is quite attached to it)and took offense, pulling her butt away from his inquiring nose. He then returned the offense and snarled, at which point Mr. Hippie intervened and calmly called his dog back to him, amusingly commenting," Scrappy pair, aren't they" Well, no, Asshole, YOUR dog is scrappy, our dog is merely trying to protect what is truly hers. And if your dog was on a friggin' leash, we wouldn't have this issue. Of course we being two of the politest Canadians on the planet, we calmly smiled, then walked away, grumbling under our breath...
You people who think it is okay to walk your dog off leash, this is for you: PPPFFFFTH! When you walk by us with your dog enjoying freedom, do you not think, that your dog is saying to my dog, "nyah nyah na nyah na!, you're on a leash, you pussy!" Do you not think it might be justified for my dog to take offense, and snarl a bit, and if your dog is of the rat-like variety, try to eat it??? And then it of course becomes MY dog's fault...
Enough of this rant. did I make myself quite clear on my feelings about this topic???

A Fable (in memory of Kitty Hamilton)

Once upon a time, long, long ago, in another time and place, dogs ruled the world. The were dog governments, there were rich dogs and poor dogs, and dogs of every color and description. Some were kind and loving, filled with compassion and caring for their fellow dogs, and some were not. Many wondered about the existence of a Dog of a Greater Power, and decided that an appropriate name for that power might be God, which of course, is dog backwards...
One days, in the darkened halls in the back streets of an the dodgier parts of a huge dog city, called Dogdom, there was a very large but secret poker game going on. Now, it must be explained that poker in itself was NOT against dog rules and laws, and was almost second nature to the dog persona, although it was hard to hold cards without an opposing thumb. What made this one secret and illegal is that the doggy government of the day had not condoned it and so was not in on the take. Government, then as it is now, had to condone and get their piece of the action, whether it was gambling, liquor or licensing of any sort...
And so, this particular game was being held in secret. Word got out, and hundreds of dogs from all over Dogdom appeared to get in on this game. The only rule was: "Hang your tail at the door" and indeed, hundreds of hooks were provided for this purpose. (Dogs could easily be distracted by the alluring odor of another dog's tail and it was found to be detrimental to the game, hence that particular rule)
Alas, word spread (it was ever after thought to be the lowly, scum sucking Jack Russell who ratted to the authorities)and just as the night got going, an entire pack of German Shepherds, who were the police dogs of the day, raided the place. Every dog in the house scattered, and took for the exit as fast as their four legs could carry them. The place was bedlam, a cacophony of barks of every pitch, tone, rate and volume. But, their tails being one of the most important and vital parts of their anatomy, they all grabbed one as they made it for the doggy door. In their rush to escape arrest, many of course, ended up with the wrong one.
Ever after, even after Dogdom perished and the world reverted to human dominance, dogs have been seeking their own tails. So if ever you have wondered why dogs greet each other by sniffing each others rear end, wonder no more. They are saying, in the only way they know, "Do YOU have my tail?"