Ten Things I Would Like To Do

The other day at work we were discussing the ten things we would like to do before we hand in our tickets and take our final journey. I had to think about it for a few minutes, because I can think of about 100 things I would like to do, but mostly I am constrained by my rather limited financial situation. Even doing any of the top ten is pushing it a bit, but I can dream. The very first thing on my list would be to go to Africa. I have always dreamed of visiting Africa. My mother was born there, and when my brothers and I were growing up we heard so many wonderful stories of my mother's life there. I grew to love everything about Africa, and I still have a few treasures that my mother brought from Africa. I hope one day to be able to walk in the places she spoke about.

The second thing I would like to do is to visit the palaces of India. I think India has the most beautiful architecture of any country in the world. There are whole tours people can take, just visiting the palaces. And I love Indian music. Occasionally when I am running late for work in the morning, I will grab a taxi, and usually the taxi driver is playing Indian music on the radio. There is something about the Indian drums that is mysterious and addictive, and oddly relaxing. It would be a whole new experience to hear it in India.

The rest of my list, in no particular order, are some of the other things I would like to do.

3. See Phinnaeus and Marigold graduate from university. That would be wonderful.

4. Attend an Academy Award ceremony.

5. Have a complete makover.

6. Learn to speak Russian.

7. Visit Russia.

8. Write a short story.

9. Do a painting that someone would think was good enough to buy.

10. Take an ocean liner across the Pacific Ocean. (I know, I know ... they don't exist anymore. How sad.)

It was very difficult narrowing my list down to just ten. I could easily stretch it beyond 100. What would be your top ten?

While Rome Burns...

Anyone who knows me, knows I have never cared for Obama. I have always been suspicious about his motives for being President, suspecting that he prefers being a celebrity rather than being President of the United States. I was never impressed with his speechifying -- his words are like pretty bubbles that float up into the air and have no substance. As a Canadian, I am not invested in what he has to say, and his promises of "hope" and "change" do not affect me. Unfortunately my opinions of Obama have caused me some difficulty with the Obamamaniacs on both sides of the border, but whether it is a blessing or a curse, I am often able to see people as they really are. I was right about the disengenuous John Edwards, when he was still the front runner for the Democratic nomination, and I feel very strongly that I am right about Obama too. Obama is fiddling while Rome burns.

I sometimes feel like the small child in Hans Christian Anderson's story about yet another legendary emperor; as his procession passes by the child yells, "The emperor is naked!" No one wants to hear it, because it does not admit failure on the part of Obama, but rather on the people who elected him in good faith. (And no, I am not a Republican, or the Canadian equivalent...)

One of Obama's campaign promises was, "I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year." The main part of that promise was the public option, which was shot down yesterday, and so far it looks as if Obama is missing in action. He seems to be more interested in campaigning for the 2016 Chicago Olympics rather than being a strong President and fighting for something for which the American people elected him. It looks as if the health care reform in the U.S. will end up being more like insurance company reform, with the insurance companies monitoring themselves. It's all about business and profits, and nothing to do with health care.

I read the following on a blog the other day, "There are other insufficiently addressed problems with unionized government workers providing healthcare. Some of it has been quite forcefully said: chances of survival of cancers and other life-threatening diseases are much greater in the U.S., than, say, in England or Canada, where rationing plays the main role in holding down costs. That is to say, some of healthcare savings may be paid for with higher mortality." That is complete bullsh*t -- pardonnez mon français. I work in the health care system, and there is no rationing in Canada. Ever. Is that that sort of nonsense upon which people have based their decisions?

Everyone loves Americans, and it's really sad to see them being jerked around this way. They elected a President to represent their interests, and that is not happening. Polls have suggested that anywhere from 65% to 76% of Americans want the public option in their health care reform. Canada has a population of 33.7 million people, all with universal health care. France has a population of 65 million, all with universal health care. America has a population of over 305 million, and a huge percentage of them -- larger than the whole population of Canada -- have no health care coverage at all. Another large percentage, greater than the population of France, have less than substantial health care coverage.

American folks need to hold Obama's feet to the fire. The first thing they need to do is to get a large bowl of popcorn, sit down for an hour and a half and watch Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko". Love him or hate him, Moore's movie on health care in other countries will be a real eye-opener. Health care should be about helping people who are ill, not about making a profit from them.

The rest of the world all hopes the best for the American people, and at the very least they deserve an effective President. Obama needs to show some leadership, and have a "stern chat" with the five of his fellow-Democrats who voted down the public option. I do hope Obama will prove me wrong, but I have my doubts...

Warning ... Adult Content ;-)

When I was growing up on Vancouver Island, I used to love camping. My friends and I would pitch a tent and set up camp right at this spot, the Little Qualicum River Estuary, where the Little Qualicum River flows into the ocean. My friend's father owned property there, and we would set up camp for the whole summer. One summer Roy Orbison gave a concert in a town a few miles away. My friend and I hitch-hiked to the concert, got into the concert for free, and got free rides home afterwards. Oh, to be 17 again.

Camping was great fun, and we had our camp set up like pioneers. We bathed and washed our hair and our clothing in the river. We cooked over a camp fire and slept peacefully every night in our sleeping bags, after a day of swimming and hiking. After a while, living outdoors became almost second nature. We wanted for nothing, we had everything we needed -- we thought. Today my cousin George sent me a picture of the latest in camping equipment. Just when folks thought they had everything for the great outdoors, et voila!

The Rain In Spain Stays Mainly In ... Vancouver

Right on cue, the weather here in Vancouver has turned to a rainy, blustery fall, and I love it. Ever since I was a little girl I have always enjoyed dark, rainy days. They rejuvenate me. I remember in grade one or two, looking out the window at the leaves blowing around, and the rain pelting down, and feeling cozy and sort of anchored, in a way. I suppose it's whatever we get used to in our lives, but some of my best days have been dark, rainy days. I have more energy when it's raining, and I am more creative on rainy days.

Ray Bradbury once wrote a short story called "All Summer in a Day" about a group of children who lived on a planet where the sun came out only once every seven years, and only for two hours. The story was about a little girl named Margot who waited and waited for that day, but the other children locked her in a closet and forgot about her, and she missed the two hours of sunshine.

"Margot!"
"What?"
"She's still in the closet where we locked her."
"Margot."
They stood as if someone had driven them, like so many stakes, into the floor. They looked at each other and then looked away. They glanced out at the world that was raining now and raining and raining steadily. They could not meet each other's glances. Their faces were solemn and pale. They looked at their hands and feet, their faces down.
"Margot."
One of the girls said, "Well . . .?"
No one moved.
"Go on," whispered the girl.
They walked slowly down the hall in the sound of the cold rain. They turned through the doorway to the room in the sound of the storm and thunder, lightning on their faces, blue and terrible. They walked over to the closet door slowly and stood by it. Behind the closed door was only silence. They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out.

Well, I don't miss the 110 degree Fahrenheit temperatures we had this summer. I love the rain. Bring it on -- I'm ready for it with my yellow rain slicker, my yellow puddle jumpers and my yellow umbrella with the blue flowers. I have been busy with other things and so I have been absent from my computer for a few days, and I haven't had a chance to visit all of my favorite blogs, but I will be over to visit you soon. In the meantime, here is a little video I took of the rain this morning. Welcome to Vancouver.

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It...

Thank you, everyone, for all your wonderful, thoughful comments on my post about Robert. The work-related situation has indeed been stressful, and I have been a bit depressed bummed out about certain things over which I am powerless. As my mother would say, "This too shall pass..." I think people can deal with almost anything in life, and trust me, I have had to deal with some things -- but negativity is always demoralizing. Negativity negates everything we are and everything we do. It goes the core of our very beings.

I once had a friend who could see only the good in people. A person could be the worst good-for-nothing reprobate, and my friend would say something like, "Gosh, did you ever notice how 'So-and-So' is very kind to small animals?" My friend was able to bring out the best in everyone he met, just by looking for the positive attributes in them. It's a gift. And in the alternative, when we are constantly on the receiving end of negativity, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We turn inward, and start to see ourselves in a negative light, and we cannot do anything right. I'm sure we have all felt that way at some time or another. There should be a special place in the ninth circle of hell for individuals who make other people feel that way. No one has that right, no matter who they are.

So, I could use some laughter today. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell me a joke. I know you know some -- in fact, I'll bet you know some great ones. Laugher is the best medicine, so let's have a chuckle.

Lack of Compassion, A Cautionary Tale

I have found lately that the world has become a very hard place. In all the necessity to multi-task, perform and produce beyond our abilities, and work outside the box -- a term I loathe -- we exert ourselves in order to prove our worth to the organization, but we have lost our humanity. We are beginning to bear more than a passing resemblance to the Deltas and Epsilons in "Brave New World". We are expected to be robotic, and not have lives outside of work, or -- God forbid -- human feelings.

Yesterday, a young man with whom I have worked for several years, stood up, put his access pass on his boss's desk, and walked out of the office. He had had enough, and in my heart I cheered for him. The young man, Robert* (*not his real name) had given his notice to quit a couple of weeks ago, and had been planning to go back to school. Just hours after he gave his notice, his father died. His father had also worked in our organization as a physician, and was loved and respected by everyone. Last weekend was his memorial service, and everyone turned out to pay their respects. As a result of his father's death, Robert felt a bit lost and decided going back to school at this time was more than he could handle. He approached his boss and asked if he could retract his notice to quit. After all, no one else had been hired for the job yet, in fact it had not even been posted. Robert's boss would have been happy to give him his job back. She likes him, he does a good job, and it would have saved her a lot of effort having to find someone to replace him. But the final word did not rest with her, and a "higher-up" said, "No, Robert could not have his job back."

I often use the phrase, "If I ruled the world..." when I see something with which I do not agree. In this case, if I ruled the world, Robert would have his job back, and he would have the opportunity to grieve his father's death with as little turmoil in his life as possible. But that, unfortunately, was not the case. He was made to serve the rest of his time at the job, in an office where his father also had worked. Robert now had not only lost his father, but he had lost his job, and his connection to his father and the folks who were part of his and his father's lives for such a long time. Can you even imagine the weight of the sorrow Robert is carrying?

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think there was a better way to handle this situation. Robert has worked at the organization for six years. He deserves better; he deserves to be treated like a human being, at the very least.

"When the individual feels, the community reels." Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World".

You must be very careful not to show your humanity; someone may be watching.

Raise A Reader

Yesterdayday was Canada's National Raise-A-Reader Day. Canwest Raise-a-Reader is a national campaign to generate funds for local literacy programs and increase awareness about the importance of encouraging family literacy. The Raise-a-Reader program has raised $12.7 million for literacy beneficiaries across Canada since it began in 2002. Through the volunteer efforts of people across Canada, Raise-a-Reader is able to provide the necessary funding and resources to family literacy programs, libraries and school libraries in the greatest need. ... The CanWest Foundation

I have loved reading ever since I was a little girl, but I haven't had much time to read lately. Work-related issues have been so stressful, I come home from work and collapse in a heap in my big, cozy chair. I have had a couple of books on the go this summer, but I just can't seem to get to them. In fact, I have been too busy to blog, and I noticed my "followers" numbers are steadily decreasing, probably because I have not had a chance to visit anyone.

But in honor of Raise-a-Reader Day, I have a little quiz for everyone. Well, actually I pilfered borrowed it from one of our local newspapers, but I thought it looked interesting. I'll go first.

"What was your favorite book?" "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck.

"Who was your favorite fictional character?" "Doc", the marine biologist in "Cannery Row", who is one of the most wonderful characters ever written.

"What book are you reading now?" "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" by J. Randy Taraborrelli. It is an unbelievably sad story about a woman who didn't believe in herself.

"Where do you like to read?" In my big, cozy chair, or in bed just before I fall asleep.

"Turn to the last paragraph you read, and type the first two sentences in the second paragraph." Also at this time, Marilyn continued to receive letters from her mother, Gladys, while in England. Gladys seemed somewhat better, judging from one she wrote, dated July 25: "I am very unhappy, daughter. I wish there was some way to join you in England where I am sure we would have a lovely time. May God be with you and may He find a way for us to be together again very soon. Love, Mother."

I have fears that computers, television and video games have taken children away from the world of books. I think it should be essential for all parents to turn off the electronics and encourage their children to read. The world of books is a magical kingdom that nothing else can replace.

The Land Of Ice And Snow .... Not ....!

It is almost October, and here in Vancouver it is 87 degrees Fahrenheit -- as we speak. This is a photograph taken from the Burrard Bridge camera just moments ago. If you look closely, you can see the palm trees swaying in the light breeze. If this keeps up, there won't be any snow for the 2010 Winter Olympics which Vancouver is hosting in February 2010. But, do you hear me complaining? No. My only problem is, I was scheduled to take a vacation next week, and I have had to cancel it. That is almost sure to guarantee the weather will continue to be balmy and hot.

INDIAN SUMMER ... Emily Dickinson

These are the days when birds come back,
A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.

These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, --
A blue and gold mistake.

Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,

Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!

Oh, sacrament of summer days,
Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,

Thy sacred emblems to partake,
Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!

Off With Her Head...!

Sometimes at work I feel like Alice from "Alice in Wonderland". In our office, we have all the cast of characters: the Mad Hatter is quietly mad; The Queen of Hearts bellows,

"Off with her head...! Off with her head...!"

The White Rabbit runs to and fro, to and fro; the Cheshire Cat sits quietly in a corner, grinning.

Cheshire Cat: "If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter."

Alice: "The Mad Hatter? Oh, no no no..."

Cheshire Cat: "Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction."

Alice: "Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him..."

Cheshire Cat: "Of course, he's mad, too."

Alice: "But I don't want to go among mad people."

Cheshire Cat: "Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here. You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself."

Alice: "It was much pleasanter at home, when one wasn't always being ordered about by mice and white rabbits."

Would you please pass me some of that magic mushroom, or maybe the caterpillar might share his hookah pipe? *sigh*

Happy Birthday, Russell...!

Today is my friend Russell's birthday. Bailey will probably bake him a cake -- chocolate of course. Bailey is rather partial to chocolate cake, even though he knows he's not supposed to eat it. Russell will then have to rush Bailey to the vet. Bailey will then come home and roll in some eau-de-skunk. It will be just another day in the life of Sir Mow-A-Lot and his trusty friend Bailey.

Happy Birthday, Russell...!