Poor Blog

Poor blog I've been neglecting it. I've been indulging in my postcard hobby and Oh! so nice to be able to walk on the streets with no snow or ice. Above is a shot of the steel mill, which use to be Canadian, was bought by Acelor(France), which was bought by Mitaal(India) and then by Rio Tinto(Brazil). Now ChinaAlco, is buying up Rio Tinto, shares, because they are broke.All this in the space of a year.Crazy globalism
My son mentioned that even though steel production is way down, tin is way up. Why?
People are buying more canned food due to rising food prices and the recession. That's sad,although it is keeping the mill busy and workers employed. There have been so many layoffs.The plant where my son has a part time job has cut an entire day of production and cut staff.

My shopping trip to Toronto on Saturday was enjoyable,with a super fast commute.I took the 6:20 bus home and was in my house changing clothes,by 7:07. If it was always like thatI would never have transferred from Toronto.Then I remember those awful rush hour commutes,of 90 minutes and even 2 hours. No way do I want to go through that again.I have said this many times.We need a dedicated bus lane on the highway.That will never happen because the car is still king around here,so we are left with a half assed public system. When it works it's brilliant, when it doesn't,it's a nightmare.

Been a week now since I quit the Amantadine. I can't say that I notice any difference. The main reason I started taking it was to help me get through the work day and avoid taking so many days off.That didn't happen.I have taken a record number of sick days the past couple of months,therefore I see no point in continuing on a drug that had minimal effect. The side effects were not that big a deal but enough of a nuisance to be glad they are gone. What drug next? I don't know Right now I need to concentrate on losing a few pounds,well more than a few, several. The days are getting longer and if this decent weather holds up I'll be able to do some longer walks and not be worried about falling.
Can't give a work update right now except to say things are moving along.It really hit the fan last week, which is a good thing. I should have some news by the end of this week. Not that I'm holding my breath.

Valentine

Another lazy blog post. Getting ready to go out shopping.

This is about all I have energy for this week. I just don't feel like writing. Going shopping in Toronto tomorrow which will actually be a nice break

Love is...

I know this comes as a surprise, I actually hope it’s a pleasant and welcome one. I’ve been thinking about you and just wanted to say hello and to let you know that I still "Love My Friend"! I pray that all is fine in your world! I remember telling you that we are Friends to the end and nothing has changed here! Every relationship/friendship takes some hurdled and bumps but that's what makes us strong. I Love you! Happy Valentine's Day! Sandra, your Friend to the End!!!

My life long friend hurt me deeply months ago and I have not spoken to her since. I admit I missed her and I thought of her often, but I could not get what she said out of my head. For that reason, I refused to hang on to our friendship.

When I received her above email, I cried and picked up the phone and called her. The first words out of my mouth were, “I missed you too”. She start crying and when she composed herself she said, “I wondered if you were going to email me back and what it was going to say. I am happy you called, I love you and I missed you. I was depressed about my son and said things to you I did not mean.”

I explained to her, “Words are more hurtful than being physically hit, because words rewind in your head often and the hurt is felt over and over again. In order to move on, I forgiven you months ago, but I was happy to receive your email. I love you too.” We continued to talk as if nothing happened between us.

Valentine Day this year means more to me... because I have my friend back.

V-Day is not just about expressing love to a significant other, it is also a day to let everyone you love KNOW IT.
Your children, mother, father, sister, brother, friends, lover, etc.

Fall Girl

Had another fall,the fourth one now this winter. A real spectacular one. The entire right side of my body is sore ouch, ouch. At least I can walk normally and since I'm an almost total left hander can still work. This time I can't say it has anything to do with MS. It's simply that the sidewalks and roads are skating rinks,with lots of black ice out there. I have to give up my morning short cut and stick to the heavily salted main streets. The temperatures are supposed to be above normal all week going up to 11C today. That should get rid of the mess. It would be nice to not have anymore snow, but that's very unrealistic.

Had another very long,boring,meeting yesterday about my medical accommodation.A woman who is on the new team reviewing all the claims, and my union rep,trying to sort out the whole mess. They have decided the best way to proceed is to cut out the middle men/women, and go to the top.I certainly have more than enough documentation! They can never say(management) I didn't go through the proper channels(which got me nowhere) or that I didn't cooperate fully. In fact I was told I gave too much information and was too co operative. Well, I think that the old saying "give them enough rope" applies, and will work to my advantage.I also know that I'm not alone in having my case drag on endlessly.

One thing is certain. I can't handle anymore of these long meetings.I came out of that one exhausted and feeling feverish. My rep is going alone to the next one on Thursday. I think that best. She's a good speaker,has lots of confidence and has been through all this herself. I'll post an update later in the week. Maybe with some good news? (son in background :"we've heard that before")

I really wish on the morning news they wouldn't show a report about a mummy casket being opened. Doesn't go well with my bagel and tea.

It is Not Procrastination It’s MS Fatigue

I feel tired all the time more so when I think of all I have to do such as housework, studying for class, preparing for meetings, etc. There are days I can stay in bed all day and not move unless I have to go to the bathroom. When I feel like that and do it, my mind does not let me rest because I am thinking about what I have on my plate to do.

I am one of those types of people that hate to be late or unprepared for anything. I would be in bed feeling guilty about not completing a task and possibly not being prepared for a meeting or test. At one time, I convinced myself that I was a procrastinator.

I complete my tasks and meet deadlines, therefore, I stopped feeling guilty when my body wants to rest. I stopped feeling guilty when I pace to do my housework and I cannot complete it all in one day. I stopped feeling guilty when I have days or weeks before a test or meeting to prepare, but wait close to the day of to start preparation. Pacing and resting when my body tells me is what matters and what is important.

It is not Procrastination It’s MS Fatigue...bite me!

Volunteering and The Economy

Tonight I want to ask your opinion (if anybody is out there) on volunteering .
The reason I ask, is today I got into a spat on a forum ( note to myself: silly pointless waste of time) . One of the administrators on this website, who is a volunteer, is constantly reminding people of how it is an unpaid job, and how busy she is to not have much time to attend to her duties. Anyway, I finally got fed up and blasted her. I find it an insult to volunteers in general that this person feels the need to remind everyone that what she does has no compensation .
Well isn't that what volunteering is all about ?

"You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45)


This quote is not intended to imply that only Christians volunteer


Alarming to read in the newspaper about the heavy job losses in January and worse to come. The city estimates it will need another $3 million to cover social service costs this year. That over and above the 5% property tax increase . My wage roll back feels minor in comparison,although I really don't get how cutting my wages will stimulate the economy.

My own review of the Canada and U.S. stimulus packages ? A big thumbs down for many reasons. Cutting income taxes is irrelevant when people are unemployed. Offering rebates on sales taxes for a car purchase and a tax credit for the interest on a car loan,is pointless. Most dealers already offer zero interest on a car loan and many are willing to suck up the sales tax. The problem is people don't have any money to buy a car and even if they want to,they can't get credit.Toyota just leased another 180 acres of land to park all the cars they can't sell .This on top of the hundreds of acres they already have.

Same goes for the enticements to buy a new home.What's the point if you know the house will be worth much less in a year( and it will be )yet you still have the same mortgage.Isn't that why people walked away from their homes in the first place? What bank is willing to give a mortgage to the no money, no job, no down payment, crowd now? The very thing that created the housing bubble,which has resulted in the mess we are presently in.

As for the credit for home renovations, once again you have to spend big money up front to get a meager refund in a year from now.

Infrastructure spending ? Great if it goes to fix the crumbling systems already in place. Most of that money is going to new projects like highways. Yeah just what we need,more highways for more urban sprawl.

We should do what the people of Iceland did this week Insist that our government fire all the bankers and start over again.