It's The Little Things That Irritate Me

Like going to the supermarket today to do a simple thing…pick up some milk and a roasted chicken. Then I attempt to check out. The checking out part goes fine, but when I go to put my bank card back in my wallet, it slips and falls down into the void that is the checkout stand, in some random crevice. There is a line-up at the checkout, of course. Never mind that the lady behind me has about 100 things in the express checkout I am at. Pressure is on. FIND THE DAMN BANK CARD!!! We search and root and search and root. Nowhere in sight. Sorry ma’am, did you put it back in your purse, or maybe it’s in your pocket. NO, IT IS NOT IN MY POCKET, I heard it clink as it hit something hard. WTF??? So I tell her to go ahead, check out the lady behind me, she has all of her 100 items spread out on the belt anyhow and I will root through my purse and coat, floor, whatever to see if I can find my damn card. It’s not like there is any money in my accounts or anything (the big cheques have not yet begun). But it is a royal pain in the ass to replace it and memorize YET another number. Mega shopper finishes up and I implore the prepubescent checkout girl to keep looking. She gives me a little spiel about, well, it’s not there, hmmm…guess it’s gone. GONE WHERE? Where in the hell do you think it has gone, evaporated??? WE ARE GOING TO KEEP LOOKING! Oh, ok.

I am pretty sure it went down in the crack below the weight scale, so I ask her to look on the shelf below the scale. She looks on the shelf below the shelf below the scale. No dear, please look on the shelf just below the scale. Oh, you mean here? Yeah, it’s not there. Um, I think it might be, it’s a red card and it might not show up on your red shelf. Oh, really? Hmmm…let me check again. Oh, look, here it is, your card. Ok. GIVE ME THE CARD. Have a nice evening…sure. Later dumbass.

That was one of the little things that irritate me. Ridiculous I know, when there are so many more major things that could irritate a person. It’s the little things that matter.

That DAMN Feral Cat

Stormy scared the shit out of me today...in the pre-dawn hours, I heard this growling, thinking he must have cornered Via or something...oh no, psycho cat had a fake mouse in his mouth (you know the kind, covered in rabbit fur) and was snarling and growling at anyone who came near him. I tried to take it from him and got shredded for my efforts, so then I thought I would try to distract him with another fake mouse...he picked up both in his mouth and snarled at me. The only other time I had seen him do that was when he caught the mouse at A. and R.'s earlier this month...a real mouse, and I could understand it then. So why so feral? I have no idea.

So I went back to bed, deciding to leave him do his thing, but then he jumped on the bed and scratched me! So I decided then to bar him in the bathroom for a time out until he settled down, but how to catch this psycho? I finally cornered him and threw a towel over him, flung the growling mass into the bathroom and slammed the door. I left him in for 15 minutes and when I didn't hear the growling anymore, opened the door, cautiously and out he sauntered, purring like nothing happened. PSYCHO I tell ya. So I picked him up and he was his old self again. WTF? I took the mice then and packed them away for now...

now I must lick my wounds...

Prepare for Bitchfest

Ok, I know my readers on the northern adventures blog want to read my crankiness so lets harbour it here...

I am sick and tired of living in a hotel. One might think, wow, what a luxury. Um, not in the coffin they call my room. As well, it's often noisy at night, doors slamming, some drunk wandering the halls last night and how about how the light shines in around the edges of my door so I feel like I'm in a twisted version of The Ring. The wireless net hasn't worked in my room in days, so I am left to shuffle into the lobby to use it. And because I just don't care anymore, I shuffle down in pyjamas and slippers...let them dare to bring up THAT issue with me...bring it on.

My car is filthy on the inside, thank-you movers. It looks as though it was dragged through the Sahara desert. They are willing to have it cleaned for me but it might involve taking apart the door panels to get at the glass. Great. Feckers. The last time I saw my car it was wrapped lovingly in moving blankets.

And how about throwing in a payday mixup. For some reason, the company responsible for payroll at my old agency managed to royally screw up and pay out $9,000 instead of my expected pay and "eagle eyes" at the office caught it when sorting out the pay slips. DAMN. So now they have sent it back and requested the correct amount, but lo and behold, it can't be done on time so BOINGO!!!! that is the sound of cheques bouncing all over. Thanks a lot, feckers. I am to be paid from the new job today but no one is quite sure where I can pick up my cheque. Great. So I have $4.13. Why couldn't I have just gotten the $9,000...that would have been nice. I would have moved out of this shack and into something decent.

Oh, lets talk about the ice...face plant yesterday, that was nice. My second fall of the week. Loving that. I shall me marching into the Royal Bank today to share my frustration with the ice...they will shudder when I leave. (ooooooooh)

whine, whine, whine...

Check out the New Digs

Well, I have begun yet another blog, and will likely keep up this one to some extent, but if you're looking for how things are up north, check out my new blog at Great Northern Adventures (or not) . I'll see how much time I have to maintain two blogs before deciding whether or not to retire the Dreama Zone.

Last Night On The Island

This is it, my last night on the island. Wahhhh...I am torn, but excited. I know I've rambled enough about leaving and staying so won't repeat it all here. Its been a nice weekend with friends, and tomorrow I shall see my daughter for a couple of days before heading out.

I received a nice package from my future co-workers yesterday - they had a couple of Yukon books in it and a CD Rom with video clips of each of my future co-workers, which was really nice. I was able to have a glimpse into my future workspace, which was also very cool. They seem like a friendly bunch, so let's hope that pans out. Feel free to check out my new blog once I get moved to see what's happening in the Yukon.

I guess I should go have my last local beer...Keith's Light

The Farewell Speech

Just in case I lose it, I thought I might post it here, and share as well. This was delivered by the executive director of my current agency yesterday at lunch. The only edit was to my name, which I replaced with "dreama" as the rest of you know me by, and the name of my agency.

Well Dreama, it’s time to say a few words, and unfortunately for you all, it falls to me to say them.
So, on this important occasion, I’ll begin Dreama. It was just over three years and three months ago (July 29, 2002) that you walked into our agency and our lives, you walked in like you had always been there.

You found your way very quickly. I sort of suspected you would because I recall a video conference job interview where there appeared on the screen an imposing lady with some vivid color in her hair. I don’t really recall any longer what color, but it was something really vivid. Being the conservative sort that I am, I was swept away, and it was immediately obvious to me that anyone who could show up that way for a job interview could probably tackle anything, or be capable of anything. And, you’ve proven that point here time and again. No question.

So, you’re leaving Dreama, and we all want you to know that you will be missed.

How can we replace such COLOR, such VA VA Voom? There’s just no way. No way Dreama.
So, what will we be losing? Well:

Your strong work ethic and thorough approach to your work has always been valued, and even when you obsessed Dreama, we all knew (or at least hoped) it must have been for a good reason.

• You conscientious approach brought closure to many issues and many files, and

• opened up many matters that needed examination, and

• brought forward protection for many children, and more ordered lives for many families.

• Dreama, you got it done.

• Your empathy for, and work with adolescents, was noted to be a sure strength.

• You kept us on task, and made sure we attended to the things needing attention.

• You have a lot of style, and a unique style. You’re Flashy Dreama: The chrome of a 58 Buick

• A great a way of processing things through your life experience and your common sense.

• You never flinched when you had to stand against strong dysfunctional entrenchments.

• You made a “social” contribution here as well as a “work” one. You played well on the team, and you sang your truth for all to hear! .

Go well Dreama. Keep in touch, Good luck in the Great Cold North, and think (name of agency) first when you think of coming South again. Cheers to you Dreama.

Fresh Mouse Is On The Menu

Well, since my friends moved into their new to them home, they have known they had mice…heard them in the walls. They lost their mouser, Rupert to the coyotes earlier this fall. Since moving in here for a few weeks before I head north, I had heard them myself and at one point was awakened by a scuffle under my bed, but had yet to see one.

This morning one made its appearance. Via came charging into my room after one, and as soon as Stormy caught wind of it, he shoved her out of the way and took it for himself and ran into the basement with it, growling the entire time. Not wanting him to butcher it and leave a big mess, or worse, hide it somewhere to rot, I followed him down and had to chase him to get it away from him. It was still alive, barely, so I took it by the tail out of his mouth and threw it outside. I received quite a dirty look from his captor, let me tell you…

Poor Via was upstairs still, sitting in the corner where she had last seen the mouse before Stormy charged in and stole it from her, thinking it might come back…sad. Not that she hasn’t had here share of hunting victories, there have been a few, including some pet mice…but that’s a story for another day.

So hats off to the tag team kitties for catching a mouse. I think they’ve earned their keep here now.

Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy

Today I was treated to a lunch at the Maritime Inn by my co-workers with a healthy turnout as a goodbye thing. Since I wasn’t aware of it until about an hour or so before, it was quite a surprise…I might not have known then if my supervisor hadn’t told me after hearing I was possibly planning to go out on the road for the day. She was worried they would all be at my luncheon with no guest of honour, heh heh. The ED got up and then sat down and then got up again to say a few words…it was very nice to hear how he felt about me and my work. Its one of those things you can pull out now and again after a rough day and read over, feeling good about yourself all over again. Thanks M.

so there was also a gift involved and since I had seen many colleagues come and go in my over 3 years here and my involvement in our “social committee” I knew there would be a gift, so I shamelessly let it be known I didn’t have a case for my laptop and if they were struggling with what to get, that would be it. Groovy. They picked out a wonderful leather case for my laptop and when I got back to my current living arrangement, I checked out all the compartments and resized the padding to fit my computer. It fit very nicely, and then I thought I might grab it by the handle and see how it felt to carry it, would it be heavy, and so on. Only to promptly drop the fucking thing on the floor. I had forgotten to zipper it up and my beautiful laptop, tumbled out of the case it was supposed to be protected by onto the hardwood floor. Didn’t I feel stupid…

Then I became paranoid that I had broken it, and once I finally turned it on, if anything seemed different, I blamed myself…turned out though that it was absolutely fine…PHEW!

We’re heading out to a local bar and grill after work for a few more casual drinks and laughs so I’m hoping that I don’t begin to cry there…I sure did when I tried to speak at the lunch…gawd, it was embarrassing.

SNOW!

First snowfall, November 9th. It's coming down pretty thick out there, no wind and looking so pretty. It will be a mess to drive in, that's for sure. The ground is covered and the trees are picture perfect with the white stuff.

Now let's see how many idiot drivers it takes to create chaos in town. They seem to forget everything they know about winter driving from the previous year, like a brain dump.

Ok, Time for a Time Waster

I could see myself playing this for hours...if I wasn't at work...but a case could be made that it is relevant training to my job as an investigator...(says my co-worker G.).

Try it out...
http://www.20q.net/index.html

have fun!

Enough with the Rain already!!!

It has been raining for months now it seems. Sunny days are purely a memory to me now. What is up with all this rain??? Grey days, soggy ground, and mucky driveways...I have had enough.

It could be worse, I know...that precipitation could be SNOW. Egads.

Was talking to the folks from the Yukon and they already have snow and cold temperatures. During the discussion, we talked about accumulation for the year...the gal I spoke with said they have been getting more snow in the last couple of years than they were used to...how much was that? 2 FEET says she...

Ok, I had to hold back the snickering...and then I told her we get that much in a DAY, let alone the whole winter. Phew! I can handle 2 feet, no problem.

Living Lavida Limbo

Well, its official, I have moved out of my house. The felines and I are bunking in with my friends. Stormy has come down a few pegs...heh heh...the puppy is delighted that he has come to visit. Via sits on the back of the sofa, taking it all in, glad that Stormy has given her a rest for a change. I hope it teaches him a few lessons...

It was hard work, but I got moved out and cleaned up and boy was I exhausted when I got to my friend's house last night. Much better shape today, but still somewhat tired.

got some news about my bloodwork...no surgery required...YAYYYYYYY!

I have only 8 days of work left. THANK FUCK.

My coatrack is missing from my office...I wonder where it went...