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Sunday dawned bright and clear until my Dad heard from his doctors (finally). He's been having severe intestinal issues and they were testing him for all kinds of bacteria and virus'. The tests came back negative so now he is being tested for colon cancer.
Monday Dad came home from work (side bar: for those who don't know, I live in a small separate apartment attached to my folks home while I'm in school) and told us all that after 25 years at the same company he's been laid off. The owner Tony's has been trying to keep the printing company afloat for a few months now, even delving into his own personal funds but after a meeting with his accountant he found out there was NO money left. They've locked the doors and my dad was give this weeks pay (which we're not sure will clear) and that's all he can do. No severance at all. We pretty much live on Dad's pay as I get very little from OSAP and my Mom's knees make it that she can't stand for long periods of time. She nanny's for my brother but that doesn't pay much. My dad is over 60 (even though he only looks to be in his later 40's) and his prospect of a new job isn't great.
The final *wooohoooo* of my week came wrapped in a pretty good idea for helping out my folks and I'm trying SOOOOOOOOOOOO hard not to be selfish. My brother Michael called this evening and proposed that he, the baby and Andrea move in to help with the cost of living. This really is a good idea. Why pay rent to someone else when you can give it to your folks. I get it. I really do. I also know it's the best and only thing we can do. I would NEVER tell my parents how I really feel but GAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I'll be moved out of my apartment and upstairs into the 8x8 spare room so they can have my place. This while not making my heart to happy dances of joy is livable with. What is stressing me out HUGE is Andrea. She is very much like Eeyore (don't worry bout me) and I have never met anyone as passive aggressive as she is. She lives to play the victim and grates on my very last nerve which is saying a ton as I am very easy going. We all lived together before and it was not fun. My mom was leaving stuff for us all to chip in with when she went to work. It never said who should do what specifically but come on, we're all adults. Andrea would do nothing. One Thanksgiving I asked her if she would do the dishes after dinner as I had a fever and just wanted to lie down. She agreed but in typical Andrea fashion left it all on the table for hours. My dad came and found me and preceded to feed me a few choice words (I am the 'responsible one' in the family so all these things a usually my job by default). After I told him that Andrea was supposed to have done it. I went off in search of her. I told her that Dad was a little miffed and I know in her family they often left stuff till the next day but in my family my folks want it all done after dinner so we don't have to worry about it and frankly our house is too small for stuff lying around. I assured her it was no big deal and I had done them but I just wanted to let her know so she was aware. I promise you I wasn't snarky or mean or the least bit bitchy. I joked with her and smiled the whole time. She proceeded to burst into tears and say, "Fine if you're going to be that way maybe it's just better if I move back to my Mother's house." Huh? She makes me crazy. She is fine in small doses but living together? Last month we took her out to dinner and were supposed to go to Karaoke after wards. The bar was closed so we all went to Tim Hortons to figure out a new plan. We asked Andrea what she would like to do. She said, "Um...I don't know what ever you want to do." Christine said, "You pick Chickie it's your birthday what ever is fine." What does Andrea do? Starts crying. *sigh*
I think what makes me the most upset is that it breaks my heart to see my Mom so upset. She told us today through tears that for a fifth year in a row there would be no Christmas. We bought presents for Paige (my 13 year old niece) and Ethan (the baby) but she wouldn't be able to get anything for anyone else. I tried to explain that we don't care about that at all. We just want her awesome Christmas bake and turkey dinner but that doesn't help. I hate that they have worked all of their lives and never complained and now when they are supposed to be thinking about retirement are worried about losing the house. They have always given to everyone who needed anything. I've had more than 10 friends live with us over the course of my life because they needed a place to live. This was supposed to be a great year. Mom was hoping to get to visit her best friend in Mississippi. I was offered the opportunity to travel to England for 2 weeks to visit a friend who is teaching there. I've never been out of the country and barely out of the province. My family heritage is English, Irish, Welsh, Polish and Iroquois so I was soooo thrilled to have the chance to see where I come from (Not to mention the "Doctor Who Cardiff Tour" yes...I'm a geek) I don't think I have ever been so excited about something but unless something huge changes (come on lottery!!!!) that's going to be out.
Yes I realize that I've just spent enough time typing to cramp my wrists doing nothing but whining. Yes I know there are people FAR worse off than I am. I have heat and food which is more than some. I do hate feeling so selfish, overwhelmed and feeling sorry for myself but I guess I just needed to bitch. LOL
/end rant
My brother and I are going to do all we can to make this a fun Christmas. I'm going to bring my keyboard and guitar upstairs so we can have a carol sing along. Mike's bringing over board games which is always hilarious. Best of all (I hope) is my 'Colossal Christmas Photo Project'. All of our family photos are in bags and not albums. I decided to take them all (thousands and thousands) and do digital scrap booking. I figured that I'm a graphic artist so it would be something I could do that my mom will adore. Originally my dad was going to take it to work and colour copy and bind it but that's now out so I'm going to attempt to turn it into a slide show. I'm super excited about it.
I guess that's it for now. I'm going to hopefully record some festive tunes in the next few day and will post.
/I now return you to your usual sunny happy blog
- Mood:
depressed
I have discovered a brilliant songwriter/singer by the name of Jonathan Coulton.Nothing is off limits for this bard, including Zombies which for some odd reason I find delightful. =) After looking around on Youtube I found a video for the soon to be classic 'Re-Your Brains'. Here are the lyrics and the video. Too funny.
Heya Tom, it’s Bob from the office down the hall
Good to see you buddy, how’ve you been?
Thing have been OK for me except that I’m a zombie now
I really wish you’d let us in
I think I speak for all of us when I say I understand
Why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demand
But here’s an FYI: you’re all gonna die screaming
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains
I don’t want to nitpick, Tom, but is this really your plan?
To spend your whole life locked inside a mall?
Maybe that’s OK for now but someday you’ll be out of food and guns
And then you’ll have to make the call
I’m not surprised to see you haven’t thought it through enough
You never had the head for all that bigger picture stuff
But Tom, that’s what I do, and I plan on eating you slowly
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains
I’d like to help you Tom, in any way I can
I sure appreciate the way you’re working with me
I’m not a monster Tom, well, technically I am
I guess I am
I’ve got another meeting Tom, maybe we could wrap it up
I know we’ll get to common ground somehow
Meanwhile I’ll report back to my colleagues who were chewing on the doors
I guess we’ll table this for now
I’m glad to see you take constructive criticism well
Thank you for your time I know we’re all busy as hell
And we’ll put this thing to bed
When I bash your head open
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re not unreasonable, I mean, no one’s gonna eat your eyes
All we want to do is eat your brains
We’re at an impasse here, maybe we should compromise:
If you open up the doors
We’ll all come inside and eat your brains
- Mood: numb
A lesson that should be taught in all schools . . and colleges
Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , AK
did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor,
she removed all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.
'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?'
She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn the right to sit at a desk.'
They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.'
'No,' she said.
'Maybe it's our behavior.'
'No, it's not even your behavior.'
And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period.
Still no desks in the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to
report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said,
'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily
found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms,
walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk
over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for
the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you
to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom
to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story.
Please consider passing this along so others won't forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans and all the other Veterans in the rest of the world.
Just wow.
- Mood:
grateful
- Mood:
apathetic
I'm not a huge TV watcher (I tend to buy seasons of shows instead of watching them when they air) and I avoid most reality TV like the plague (except for the odd episode of 'So You Think You Can Dance' and "How do You Solve a Problem Like Maria") but there are a handful off shows I'm very much looking forward to returning. I love DVD recorders
I was amazed at how many shows ended the last year with HUGE cliff hangery endings. Though on second though, I shouldn't be surprised at all. With the abbreviated season due to the writer's strike the shows needed to leave things hanging to ensure views returned in the fall. Here's a short list of crazy cliff hangers (some I watched, some folks told me about.) *warning: spoliers ahead if you are behind in your TV viewing*
CSI: Miami; Ended with Caine being shot on a runway (hmmm I'm sensing a theme) and Alex quitting
CSI: NY; Ended with Mac Taylor being kidnapped by a supposed bank robber
Criminal Minds:Ended with an SUV exploding and since all of the cast drive similar SUV's it's up in the air if someone will die
Numb3rs:Ended with Charlies National security clearance being taken away and leaving it up in the air if he will ever be able to work with Don again
Supernatural: Ended with Dean being torn apart by Hellhounds and his spirit trapped in hell
NCIS: Ended with the death of director Jenny Sheppard and the dismantling of Gibbs' team
House: Ended with Amber dying and Wilson leaving the hospital and House.
Law and Order SVU: Ended with
Torchwood: Ended with Owen and Tosh dying and the future of Torchwood in question
Doctor Who Serise 4: Ended with...well I'm not sure, I'm only on Episode 4 but I'm sure it will end all cliff hangery.
Bones: Delivered what I thought was the most shocking season ender of all. It was revealed that Zack Addy, chief lab squint and vocally gifted sweetpea was apprentice to Gormogon, a nasty serial killer.
Craziness!!!
"In Plain Sight"- Simply the best new show I've seen in a while.
This clip doesn't tell you anything really but I thought it was cute. I adore Vincent D'Onofrio. Here is the actual preview.
The other show is Flash Point a Canadian production. Go us!!! It's fantastic and doesn't have that 'ooooo it's a Canadian show ' that some do. It stars: Enrico Colantoni, Hugh Dillon and Amy Jo Johnson
Well now that I've wasted a bunch of time posting this and you've wasted time reading this I guess I'll sign off, happy with a job well done LOL
- Mood:
artistic
So far the day has been up and down. I hitched a ride in to school with my dad, which requires me getting up at 4:30am for an 8:30 class all so I could scout out my class locations. The first one runs 8:30-10:30 and the second 10:30 to 12:30. Thankfully they are fairly close together so I won't have to full out run between classes.
Music was first. (Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk and Rap: Explores in-depth the range of African-American popular musics that have come into existence since the end of the Second World War. All styles and genres are studied from both a musicological and sociological perspective) I have yet to form an opinion about the prof. He's cute, I can mention that much. Otherwise...the jury is still out. He spent 1.5 hours going over the course outline. His first sentence was, "Good morning and welcome to the easiest course at this school. In my day it was called a bird course.". He then went on to say that no one in the class should get below a "B" IF we follow his instructions. I figured "Huh oh...here's where the other shoe drops." But thus far I can't seem to find the shoe. Well unless you slack off and neglect the 150 minimum entry, 30 pg listening journal. LOL
After Music I headed to this one. As I pulled my books out my backpack zipper broke. This is no small bag either it an extra large, Roots computer tote/backpack. It's ginormus!!! I'm not sure what I'm going to do.
~ We're now on break in English class. Wow this course is going to be a TON of work but I think I'm going to like it. The downside is I have a 2 pg paper due next week based on readings from books I can not yet afford. *sigh*
- Mood:
exhausted
- Mood: sleepy
I start school tomorrow and I'm so excited. I love to learn new things and pretty much love everything about academia except for the financial aspects.
Three weeks ago I got a notice from OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) informing me that I still had outstanding documents that I needed to hand in. The papers in question turned out to be an explanation of my student line of credit (which I've been told for the last 2 years has no baring on OSAP so wtf?) as well as a detailed explanation as to why I left school in January last year as well as a letter defining my future and current goals. When I read this I was so furious I was shaking. If I haven't already mentioned what happen here it is.
During Christmas break of last year I found out that I had received the Millennium grant for 3K$ Yay me!!! Come January, I had 4 rides left on my bus pass and no money at all so i had to wait until my OSAP was at school to go in and process it. When I contacted the school they said they had received nothing from OSAP. I missed the first 2 weeks of school while they figured out that they had miss placed it. FINALLY I went in to pick up my forms. The woman hands me my grant money and starts to fill out my osap stuff and then says, "Oh...there was a change to your schedule." I was very careful this year to make sure that I had a total of 30 credits FOR THE YEAR so I had a full time course load. Last year I only had 27 and lost some of the money. Well...here is the kicker. In high school, you are considered a full time student if you have x number of credits for the year, it doesn't matter how you split them up over the 2 semesters. In university, you must have 30 credits in BOTH semesters. I had no idea. So that meant that I was considered part-time for fall. They took back my 3K$ and said I had to be reassessed. I went home and waited another 10 days, missing more and more school. Finally I found out I'm was receiving nothing more from OSAP which that meant is I had to leave school for the year as I have had no transportation, money for books and couldn't pay for my tuition.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore school and value my education so I was heartbroken. After wallowing for a few weeks I contacted York and OSAP and discussed my options. They both agreed that I would have to withdraw from classes and just start back in September. I was VERY adamant about making sure that there would be no red tape upon my return and I would just have to sign up for classes and reappy for OSAP as usual. I was assured from both institutions that it would be no problem. I then called in May to confirm that my OSAP account was clear and that there was nothing waiting to bite me on the butt come September. They assured me all of my files were in order. The first week of August I went online to check when I could pick my courses and found no information. I waited until the end of the first week and then called the school. I was then informed that my file had been incorrectly flagged as inactive and I would have to submit a form to reactivate. 14 day waiting period. After this wait I was finally able to sign up for classes and I was pretty happy with what I was able to get. During all of this
Once I calmed down enough after reading this letter I called OSAP and explained what happened last year (for the 8th time) as well as explaining my student line of credit (it's maxed, no more money incoming). The woman I talked to said, "Just type up what you told me and send it in, it should be fine.". Famous last words. I sent them a copy of my line of credit agreement and a financial statement, I wrote a long letter explaining my trials of last year and what I had learned from it as well as my long term goals. I also sent a transcript of my grades to date (which I'm so proud of) as well as a copy of this years timetable to prove that I have 30 credits PER semester. And again I waited. And waited. And waited. It's now the day before school begins, I have no books, one 10 ride bus ticket, no money and my tuition due the 10th of this month and I've still heard nothing. I got up early and phoned OSAP. Their response? "Oh...well...you're file hasn't been updated and we have no method of tracking incoming mail that may have been received but not opened yet." Um...huh? She then politely asked me if I was SURE I had mailed it to which I responded, "Yes. I took it to the post office and mailed it from there. I even had it weighed out of fear of it being returned insufficient postage. YES I'm certain I mailed it." She then replied with, "Oh, well it's the busy time of the year so it could take up to 8 weeks to process." You've got to be kidding me.
I don't know what I'm going to do. As it stands now I can get to school this week and next but that is it. I'm so very tired of being stressed out.
Yes I know so many people have it worse than I do. Worse case I can't finish my University education and will have to get a job. That said, I've been through so much and had to work so very hard to accomplish this and to have it all taken away not because of bad grades or slacking off but because of money makes me very, very sad.
- Mood:
stressed
- Mood: depressed
- Mood: excited
-Don't use the following in the subject header: Hi Pretty, Hello Dear, Beautiful Angel, and my personal fave; Wanna make sum rl hot cyberz?
The first 3 greetings are way too familiar and make me think you want to scam me or want a green card. The fourth, just....no.
-Why pose for your profile picture kissing a woman, holding a child or dressed in a giant banana suit if you are looking for a date?
If you are kissing a woman, I'm going to assume you are married and are looking for 'something extra'. Posing with a child says to me "I have kids so you better be ready for a SERIOUS relationship" and if this is the point cool, but if they aren't your kids and you just wanna seem like a nice, kid friendly guy save those photos for your photo album. And the bananna suit? What were you thinking???
-Another tip; "What has two thumbs and likes beer? This guy here." is not a headline that generally makes girls rush to email you.
-DO NOT send first contact emails that say, "Hey, add me to MSN" To us women that means, "I'm looking for cyber." Take the time to actually EMAIL something of substance.
-Stop with the "I'm from the
-Don't think by having Tom as your only friend and 3 tiny, obviously stock photos that I'm going to think you are legit, I won't.
The saddest part about having to post this is that the very people that keep sending this crap will never read this but I feel a little better having ranted.
/steps down off of soapbox
- Mood:
bitchy
Well, it was bound to happen. I got my first flame email. I feel all tingly inside. This is what I was sent:
This was eloquently penned by one Babyg. Well baby, if that is your real name, let me correct you on a few things. I am not stupid nor is my ass. Actually I think my ass is above average in intelligence. And as for it being fat, it really isn't. It's the one part of me I wouldn't mind being a little bigger, it's kind of flat. And gaye? Is that any thing like gay? If so, no sorry... I like the boys. Now on to the last point, I have "actue face". Oh no... is that a condition that I can be cured of? I hope so, it sounds deadly. If you meant I have a cute face, well then thank you very much!!!
Now I'm feeling all popular like. People are taking time out of their busy lives to send me poorly written hate mail. Maybe I am destined for stardom. *sighs contentedly*
- Mood: amused
On another note, I REALLY hate Livejournals spell checking system.. LOL
Oh hey! I just reread my eariler posts from 2005 and I do have an update. I stated that I wanted to get a degree in Psychology and I'm starting my second years in the Honours Psychology program at York University. I finished my first year with a B+ average. YAY me!!!
- Mood:
contemplative
I've just received an email from the head of Theatre Aurora and she's offered me a role in "Into the Woods", a lead in "Godspell", "Children of Eden" and solos in her concert series. Their group is pretty neat as they tour their productions. I'm super excited. WOOOT.
Wow...it's been soooo long since I've posted. So long in fact that I couldn't remember my username. LOL I'm going to spend some time changing my layout and then endeavour to actually update.
On the upside, we have a gig on Thursday. I love the place and the people really like us. =-)
- Mood: sore
- Mood: hopeful
