The Lonely Glove

I have been invited to participate in a pre-Christmas art show in November and possibly sell some of my paintings. The only problem is, I haven't been doing much painting in the past few months, and this art show is just the incentive I need to get started again. I used to paint everything I saw. This little colored pencil sketch was done several months ago when I lost one of my favorite gloves, and all I had left was its lonely mate. I was about to throw the remaining glove away, when I found the other one lying in a pile of leaves outside. Et voila! I had both gloves again and I was so happy. A few days later, I lost them both. At least they are together.

For some reason, I enjoy working with colored pencils. I have tried watercolor, oils and acrylics, but colored pencils are my favorite medium. They're very forgiving, and they appeal to my sense of being in control of my drawing. I have never been a big fan of "happy accidents". Perhaps that is why I will never venture out of the realm of being a "drawer" to being an "artist". A true artist lets the painting go and allows it almost to paint itself, much the way a writer will let a book write itself. The artist or the writer is the medium, guided by their art. I can never do that. At the same time, after I am finished with a drawing, I find it difficult to part with it.

"Sell it? But I spent so much time on it!"

This little apple is called "Phinnaeus's Apple". He was in Cubs and all the little fellows held an apple sale. I bought an apple, and I wanted to preserve it before I ate it. When I pass into the Great Beyond, this will belong to Phinnaeus. I could never sell it.

So I have my work cut out for me in the next little while, but it is just what I need at the moment, to regain my centre, and to get away from the silliness at work.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and to all my Canadian friends,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Doctor Will See You Now...

Yesterday at work we were given a briefing on how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, particularly H1N1 -- commonly known as swine flu. It is highly contagious and for some inexplicable reason British Columbia has a higher incidence of it than any other province in Canada. Unfortunately, once the infection starts, it grows exponentially at a very rapid rate. However, there are things people can do to stop the spread of the infection, and in particular there are things we can do to prevent getting the infection ourselves. The first, and most obvious, is wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands.

It's amazing how many people don't know how -- or even when -- to wash their hands. Even the most obvious times seem to elude some people, and I have seen folks use the washroom and then leave without washing their hands. Ewww ... do I really want to touch that doorknob now? The correct way to wash your hands is to count the alphabet from A to Z. Using hot, soapy water, clean the palms and backs of your hands, in between your fingers, and if you can, also underneath your fingernails. When to wash them is -- often. Without venturing over into obsessive compulsive territory, you can never really wash your hands too much, especially when there is a threat of an infectious pandemic. Carry a bottle of Purell with you as well, and use it often. Purell does not clean your hands, but it kills the viruses and bacteria. Only washing your hands will get rid of them.

With colds and influenzas, people are often contagious even before they know they are sick. So we have no way of knowing whom to avoid. It's a good rule of thumb, however, that if someone uses your phone or your keyboard, wipe it off with a disinfectant before you use it. I know that sounds extreme, and perhaps a bit discourteous (do it when they can't see you), but it is a good form of prevention. One of the things we were told in the briefing was to keep our computer mouse and keyboards disinfected, and to wash our hands before and after using them. The keyboards can be disinfected using Clorox Disinfecting wipes. Alcohol apparently failed to kill any microbes.

I'm hoping the H1N1 (swine flu) does not turn into a pandemic, but we do seem to be teetering on the precipice of it. Simple hygiene can do a lot to prevent the spread of it, however. And for goodness sake, if you're sick -- stay home...! Don't be a hero and come in to work or go out to public places. I work with so many people who do that, and first thing I know the thoughtless idiots little darlings have shared their crud with three-quarters of the rest of us.

I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flu-enza.

Is It April Fools Already...?

Did I miss something? Shouldn't a person have to actually have effected peace somewhere before being award a Nobel Peace prize? This question is not meant as a criticism of President Obama, and I don't mean to sound mean-spirited -- I honestly feel a bit embarrassed for him. I would think one would feel better winning such an esteemed prize, knowing he had in fact accomplished the goals for which the prize was awarded. Everyone knows I'm not his biggest fan, but in this case I think most folks can share my confusion. For which particular action did Obama win a Nobel Peace prize? Enquiring minds want to know. Despite the title of my post, I am not being facetious, I am genuinely curious. Maybe the folks in Stockholm felt bad because the folks in Copenhagen awarded the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro.

Maybe I have a chance of winning an Academy Award after all...

The Poisonous Workplace

How many of you folks work in a poisonous workplace? Probably more than a few. Every organization has initiatives in place in order to keep their employees, if not happy, at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs. If your organization is anything like the one where I work, you probably receive questionnaires every year asking you how satisified you are with your job, your management, your working conditions. You fill out the questionnaire, and that's the end of it. Nothing ever changes, because apparently no one who reads the questionnaire seems to care.

I try not to post about my work place too much because, well, one never knows who is reading our blogs. But things are so bad where I work that I feel the need to "vent", as it were. Stress is a killer, but even more dangerous than stress is the feeling of helplessness. This is a feeling that permeates many workplaces at the moment, and I think ours is no exception. And it is taking its toll on people at all levels, not just the so-called "front-line" employees. In the past five years, in our relatively small office, these are the folks who have been affected:

A. Had high blood pressure and died of a heart attack.
B. Had high blood pressure, a heart attack and cancer.
C. Had cancer, died.
D. Is battling cancer and recently had a heart attack.
E. Had cancer, died.
F. Has high blood pressure.
G. Has high blood pressure and heart disease.
H. Is battling cancer.
I. Had a stroke while sitting at her desk.
J. Quit suddenly, due to stress.
K. Is on a four-month stress leave as of yesterday.
L. Several more have quit because of stress.

If I were an office administrator in an environment like that, I think I would want to take a serious look at what is going on. Instead, the approach is to crack the whip even more. Disciplinary steps are taken against folks who speak out about increased work loads.

How does this happen? What kind of a society have we become where people are so expendable they are regarded as pieces of machinery -- robots. The bottom line is how much money the organization can save. People leave and jobs are doubled up, folks are forced to take on more responsibility.

I rarely -- if ever -- hear laughter in our office anymore. I do see a lot of frustration and tears. In the past few days I have witnessed people crying, I have had other folks asking me, "Is my face red? I think my blood pressure is soaring today." And these are folks in management as well. Yesterday I had lunch with one of the doctors, and she was so stressed and upset about a situation, she just needed to talk to someone. She told me she always feels better after talking with me.

The situation in our workplace has taken a toll on me as well. I go home at the end of the day, and I am too demoralized to do anything. I rarely paint, I don't enjoy blogging as much as I used to do. I don't read as much as I used to read, I feel as if a switch inside me has been turned off. Do any of you have any suggestions? Believe it or not, we belong to a union in our workplace -- a union that used to be one of the strongest in our country. I think it's time to get them involved. Having said that, I like my job, and I love the people with whom I work. They're a wonderful bunch of people, but enough is enough.

In the meantime, please bear with me, and I hope you will continue to visit my blog. If I don't always have the opportunity to reply to your wonderful and thoughtful comments, I love hearing from you. Have a fabulous day, everyone...!

The Cringe Factor

Is anyone else besides me getting tired of people who air their dirty laundry in public? It seems to be turning into a huge, money making industry, and folks are trying to outdo each other in shock value. The latest to hit all the talk shows is MacKenzie Phillips with her admission that she had a ten-year consensual sexual affair with her own father, John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas. Ewwwww....! Why on earth would someone admit to something like that?

It is not up to us to decide whether it actually it happened or not. Only two people know for sure, and one of them is conveniently not here to defend himself. In any case, whatever the truth is, the cringe factor is way off the charts. Is it possible that someone could be that hard up for money, they would write a book about something so personal? Does MacKenzie Phillips really believe we would be interested in this particular revelation? Well, obviously a lot of people are interested. That's what shocks me -- not MacKenzie's disclosure, but the fact that people are interested. I'm not a prude -- far from it -- but isn't this just going a little too far? What can we expect next?

The other night I was having a bit of a "lazy" night, watching TV and vegging out relaxing. As I surfed through the TV channels, all I saw -- on almost every station -- were "news" reports about David Letterman, Jon and Kate (with her annoyingly bad hairdo), and MacKenzie Phillips. There they all were -- live and in living color -- being interviewed on almost every talk show and faux news broadcast up and down the channels. It was like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Yesterday I read on the CNN website that Letterman apologized to his wife on Monday night's show. I guess, for whatever reason, Lettermen felt it was necessary to do that in public, but how much more do folks have to witness until this has played itself out.

If MacKenzie Phillips really did have a ten-year consenual sexual affair with her father, well, I feel bad for her, but I really don't want to hear about it. I guess the next step for her will be as a guest host on The View.

Fun ... With A Little Help From Our Friends...

We Canadians have almost made a cottage industry out of dissing our politicians. American Rep. Joe Wilson's little outburst during a recent speech by Obama to the joint session of Congress was nothing compared to what goes on in the Canadian House of Commons. It is famous for being rowdy and noisy, with MPs often shouting insults at each other, even when someone else is speaking, and there is a lot of pounding of desks going on. And Canadians love to hate their politicians. It doesn't matter who's in office -- we love to hate them. So, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I rather like Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen. I know I am going to have a lot of Canadians who will jump on and say, "Whaaaaat!?" The thing I like most about the Harpers, though, is they're from Western Canada, and they actually acknowledge that Canada's third largest city is on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Also, Eastern Canadians are always so smug, and it gets tiresome.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is known for being just a tad straight-laced, even though he's married to a blonde who rides a motorcycle. Harper has a Master's degree in Economics and he is a bit on the stuffy side, and he may be what is known in the U.S. as "Republican Lite". However, I have always believed that still waters run deep. So ... here is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the National Art Centre gala in Ottawa on Saturday night. As the National Post said, "This is not a man who puts himself 'out there' and it must have taken considerable guts to have stepped on to a stage with one of the greatest musicians of our time."

Occasionally we have to stop taking life so seriously, and just have fun.

Norma Jean And The Kennedys

I have just finished reading a wonderful biography of Marilyn Monroe, "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe", written by J. Randy Taraborelli, that dispels all the rumors and myths we have heard over the years, particularly about Marilyn's so-called relationship with the Kennedys. Both JFK and RFK were known philanderers, and JKF did indeed have a one-night stand (perhaps two nights) with Marilyn, but afterwards he basically told her to "move on with her life" and he refused to take her phone calls. Nice guy, that JFK... A few months later, RFK invited Marilyn to sing "Happy Birthday" to the President for his 45th birthday, which she famously did, wearing a skin-tight dress. Her attitude was, "They want Marilyn, I'm going to give them Marilyn". This iconic photograph taken at a house party later that evening is the only photograph of the three of them together. Of note, Pat Kennedy Lawford, the President's sister, was one of Marilyn's closest and long-standing friends, and cherished their friendship.

If Marilyn were alive today, she would be recognized for what she was -- a brilliant comedienne, a wonderful actress, singer and dancer, and a young woman who got caught up in the world of Hollywood stardom, self-doubt and drugs. In reality, she was an intelligent woman, well-read, well versed in the arts, literature and politics. She painted, wrote poetry and was an astute businesswoman who started her own production company. She had created the persona of "Marilyn Monroe" and constantly battled the chauvinistic attitude of the men who controlled the movie industry and refused to take her seriously. She was a feminist before her time, but she had become type-cast as "Marilyn" and could not break away from "her". She was trapped in her own creation. If you want to see three brilliant performances, watch "Bus Stop", "The Seven Year Itch" or "Some Like It Hot". If those movies were to be produced today, Marilyn Monroe would be nominated for an Academy Award -- and probably win -- for all three performances. There is not an actress today who can even come close to those performances. Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson, Kate Winslet -- eat your hearts out.

Marilyn's downfall was that she ultimately allowed herself to be controlled by the men in her life, including Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller, and her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson. Dr. Greenson took advantage of her fragility, and pumped her full of barbiturates. He planted someone in her house -- Eunice Murray -- to watch Marilyn 24 hours a day and report back to him with her every move. The weekend before her death Marilyn had been seen injecting drugs intravenously, and when the people around her expressed their concern, she said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing". When Marilyn died, her body had enough Nembutal, Demerol, Librium and chloral hydrate in it to kill ten people. Since her untimely death in 1962, we have all seen what drugs have done to dozens -- hundreds? -- of entertainers in their prime: Jim Morrison, River Phoenix, Andy Gibb, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Farley, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson -- the list goes on. Marilyn was simply another victim of drug addiction, the same way that Diana was another victim of a drunk driver. These woman were beautiful and larger than life, but in the end they died stupidly and needlessly -- no murder conpiracies, just carelessness and stupidity. Despite all the rumors and innuendoes, there is no conclusive evidence to prove otherwise. And, almost 50 years after her death, the world is still fascinated with Marilyn Monroe because she did indeed have that magical something that defines not only an actress but a star, which is all she ever wanted to be. Perhaps one day the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will have a posthumous award category. Norma Jean Baker should definitely get the long overdue recognition for her brilliant creation and portrayal of "Marilyn Monroe".

An Invitation To My Treehouse

Well, here it is another wild and crazy late Saturday afternoon, and I thought I would finally sit down and visit all my favorite blogs, but my eyes are bothering me again -- sigh -- and I have to rest them from the computer. I wonder, are computers bad for our eyes? We take it for granted that they aren't, but still I wonder... I Googled my question, and there are things we can do to prevent eyestrain, such as keeping the monitor 20 to 26 inches away from our eyes, and slighly below eye level, and keeping a soft light focused on the screen to soften the glare. This picture is the view from my desk as I sit at my computer, and I think I'm just going to turn the computer off for a while. I'll be back very soon. In the meantime, you are all invited to drop in for coffee, tea -- or the beverage of your choice -- in my little treehouse.

That Great Canadian Pastime ... Sled Dog Racing

Now that fall is officially here, it is the kick-off for those three great Canadian events, NHL hockey, CFL football playoffs ending in the Grey Cup, and my favorite -- dog sled racing, or as it is more accurately known, sled dog racing. Canadian Thanksgiving is next weekend and it is the day we bring the dogs out of their refrigerated kennels, hook them up to the sleds and set them off. Dogs love sled dog racing, and they look forward to it even more than we do. Sled dogs are part of the family here in Canada, they're very docile, tame and well-loved by the polar bears. When a polar bear strolls through our back yards, as they often do, we just send one of the dogs out to play and distract them. It always works.

When any of you folks come to Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, you will find that the better hotels will offer good rates on dog-sleds for getting around the city and sight-seeing. They'll even provide a driver. Unfortunately sled dog racing is not part of the official Olympics, although there may be some "off-site" contests. It was used as a demonstration sport in the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid New York, but for some reason it just never took off -- so to speak. Not enough Canadians there, I guess.

If you prefer to get around on your own steam, you will find snowshoe rental kiosks on every corner, and snowshoes come in all sizes for every member of the family. When you put on your snowshoes, you can tell which is the left and which is the right by making sure the loose ends of the straps point outward. That way you won't step on them. Be sure to have the kiosk owner give you a crash course in snowshoe walking, and you'll quickly get the hang of it. If you can walk, you can showshoe. And, if you find yourself being chased by a polar bear -- which is fairly rare, but it can happen -- don't try to outrun them in your showshoes. It's pretty tricky, and you will definitely be on the losing end of the race. If you can, try to find a sled dog to distract the polar bear until you can make your escape. This hardly ever happens, however, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Welcome to Canada, eh, and enjoy your stay...!

My World, And Welcome To It...

Hello, all my wonderful friends, I have been spending time away from my computer for the past few days, because I am having a bit of a problem with my eyes, and reading things on a computer screen is very uncomfortable. I often get allergies in the spring and fall, and when that happens my eyes look as if a vampire has attacked me. Cucumber slices are my friend. So if I appear to be missing in action, it will be only temporarily.

In the meantime, this afternoon I picked up a People magazine for something light to read, and it contained an article about Jon Gosselin, and another about John Travolta. It occurred to me, after I had read the two articles, how diametrically opposed these two men were in their approach to fatherhood. Jon Gosselin has paraded his brood of children in front of the television cameras, for all the world to see, while John Travolta fiercely protected his only son from the prying eyes of world. None of us knew Travolta's son, Jett, was autistic until after Jett died. Being a parent is hard, and hardly anyone ever gets it right. It is fraught with land mines that all parents step on occasionally. But does anyone else think it's time for the Gosselins to start protecting their children, and get them out of the limelight? Those eight children have been a cash cow for their parents, and even after the disintegration of their parents' marriage, the children are still being exploited. "Oh, look, see Joel being potty trained! Oh, watch, see Mady throw a tantrum!" Most folks don't even want their children's pictures posted on the Internet, while those morons the Gosselins are showing every intimate detail of their children's day-to-day lives. The cringe factor is starting to go off the chart. Stop...!

And speaking of cringe factor, is anyone else starting to feel really sorry for Jennifer Aniston? She seems to be a likeable enough woman, albeit not overly attractive, but sort of pretty in a "girl-next-door in a really small town" sort of way. As far as her movie career is concerned, she's hanging in there, and actually did a fairly good job in "Marley and Me", but she just seems to be bounding and rebounding from boyfriends to beaux. What seems to be the problem? Perhaps they all think Brad Pitt's shoes would be difficult to fill. I like Jennifer Aniston, I think she has a bit of a Mary Richards quality about her, and she's got spunk.

Lou Grant: "You know what, you've got spunk!"
Mary Richards: "Well, yes..."
Lou Grant: "I *hate* spunk!"

What do you say, we all get together and find a nice man for Jennifer Aniston.

Oh, goodness, look what happens when I get my hands on a gossip magazine...! Have a fabulous weekend, everyone.