June 2005

30 slipping 

29 panfest 

28 damn

27 golf & garages

23 why, you lilly-livered ... 

23 finally!

22 and now

22 super-geek

20 unbelievable

20 glory be

17 do not exceed recommended dosage

16 bargeld

15 success

14 woo-hoo!

13 the taxi driver

10 moving day fun!

09 golfing

07 goddamn

07 ow.

06 relief

03 men in uniform

03 delinquency

i'm awfully glad the long weekend is here.  i'm going to unwind a bit.  maybe i'll pick up that new john ralston saul book, 'the collapse of globalism.'  that should be a good read.

anyhoo ... i think i'm driving bill to the shop so he can pick up his car.  ...right after he gets rid of the two chuckleheads at the front counter.

happy canada day everyone.  here's something to digest:

The old clich� about having all your eggs in one basket takes on new meaning with Canada and the United States, because there is something even more wrong about having all your eggs in someone else's basket. It is worse still if that country is much larger than you and worst of all if they don't have all their eggs in your basket. This is not a relationship. It is a dependency. Canada's survival will depend largely on its ability to change that dependency back into a relationship. And one of the key factors in doing that will be the redistribution of our trade. But we can't do that if we have no politicians willing to take the lead.  

John Ralston Saul, 'Reflections of a Siamese Twin'

the house passed the same-sex marriage bill yesterday.  :D  now *there's* something canada can celebrate on Friday.

despite our requests to keep our company name *off* the signs, there it is.  fuck.  *ugly!*  it kind of makes me ill thinking about it.  geh ... idiot woman.  

so it appears that our garage package will be a little slow in coming.  the trusses aren't coming for another 5 to 6 weeks.  meh.  that's annoying.

the new system of a down cd, 'mesmerize,' is pretty good.  you should buy it.  "it's a violent pornography; chocking chicks and sodomy; the kinda shit you get on your tv..."  sorry.  a song is stuck in my head.

i don't feel like writing today.  i'm tired and whiney and i want to go home.  :P

friday, i played golf in a texas-scramble tournament.  i didn't do especially well, but i'm confident things will improve.  i started lessons on saturday.  it was so helpful to hear someone explain the mechanics of things.  now i know *why* you put your feet in a certain position when using a certain club.  fellow golfers are full of crap when they give you advice, i discovered.  it all makes sense.

now, if only the golf courses were more ecologically sensitive.  then i'd feel better about supporting the sport. 

(and now politics...) did anyone else find the events of thursday night to be particularly entertaining?  it was *beautiful.*  way to go paul martin!  hehehe ... i can just imagine the liberals, ndp and bloc mp's holed up in a room waiting for the conservatives to get on the shuttles leaving parliament.  then, when most of the tory's were gone, racing to the floor to cast votes on the budget.  beautiful.  i think they saw that episode of 'the west wing' last season where something similar was done.  

the conservatives were left making their usual "outraged" comments.  they compared paul martin to bin laden and hannibal lector.  they called jack layton a 'national socialist.'  (brilliant ... maybe he just thought of the word socialist and wasn't aware of the nazi-fascist-thing.)  the pm's spokesperson, scott reid, had a gleeful moment:  "Its not surprising that Hannibal Lector should spring to mind for Mr. MacKay given the growing number of Conservatives who believe the party should soon eat its own leader."  *sigh*  canadian politics have become far more interesting of late.

it appears that the alberta tory's want to allow child labour once again.  soon, *12 year olds* will be able to work at fast food places.  what the hell?   a good idea to put a 12 year old into the labour market rather than paying people more to put up with a fast food job?  have they not noticed that test scores for older children go down when they work?  if a kid's test scores are lowered at an even earlier age, how are they going to catch up as school work becomes more and more difficult.  unbelievable.  this pisses me off.

now, these aren't vietnam-type draft dodgers (there is no draft); they're people who find this war morally reprehensible.  many say they're cowardly.  i don't think they're cowards ... i think they're human.  

military training is all about breaking down a person's inhibitions about killing.  i don't think it's cowardly to find yourself at the end of basic with a sense that something's wrong.

(certainly the military has its function and we'd be s.o.l. without it if we were attacked or faced a *real* threat.  but this military?  overrun with politicians and technocrats?  *this* is not what we need.  never before in history have economies been so dependent upon arms sales/production.  war was seen as an immense burden and something to be avoided if possible.  now the arms trade is worth something in the trillions and wars are an *opportunity* to show off product.  "check out our shiny new bunker-buster!  don't mind the dead. try a free sample on your own political dissidents."  but i digress ... )

canada needs to grant these people sanctuary.  during the vietnam "police action," trudeau asked our immigration officers to allow draft dodgers into our country, despite breaking american law.  i don't think it's unreasonable to extend this allowance to people who voluntarily enlisted (many at a very young age) only to find themselves forced to fight in an illegal war supported by lies and spin.  (well, illegal according to most of the international community.)  

imagine yourself at 17 or 19 years old.  how easy was it for an authority figure to influence you?  i don't imagine it's a simple matter for any young enlisted person to retain a sense of real right and wrong when those months of training play upon the most animalistic instincts.  

    "what makes the grass grow?"

    "blood, blood, blood!"

    (kill piggy!  *sheesh*  'the lord of the flies' isn't a far-reaching comparison.)

go here.  there's a petition.  (i know, i know ... an e-petition.)  but it's been signed by the likes of david suzuki, ann-marie macdonald, june callwood, maude barlow and others ... so, maybe it's not completely pointless.  the ndp recently called for canada to provide sanctuary to these soldiers who are following canada's example in protesting the war in iraq.  

i agree.

i'll probably go with jill to adopt a couple of kitties from the humane society this afternoon.  of course, i'll be tempted to save someone myself.  *sigh*  but i will resist the temptation.  my kitties wouldn't be entirely pleased with me.  

i don't have much to say today.  i'm feeling kinda mellow.  i should get to work.

the hours are crawling by.  i can't wait to get away from work today.  

building managers asking silly questions, clients appearing at *my* coffee spot, coworkers seemingly unable to order their *own* supplies, delinquent tenants demanding their security deposits ...

i'm so sick of interacting with these dullards.  gah!   enough!  

i'm not answering my phone anymore.

...

and my desk just broke.  *sigh*

forget it.  i'm going home.

sweet ...   :D

poor, poor rae:  yesterday we spent *hours* looking for her husky, maggie, after she'd dug a hole underneath the backyard fence.  at a loss, rae ended up calling the pound to see if maggie was taken there.  and, yes, she was at the pound.  sans collar, strangely enough.  

we went there together and discovered that she had a broken pelvis - she'd likely been hit by a car.  we took her to the vet and the x-rays showed several bad breaks.  she'll be going into surgery in the next couple of days.

can you believe that someone hit her and didn't stop to help?  i suppose i can believe it, but i'd rather not think about our species' often frightful behaviour.  

i imagine the vet bills will be horrendous.  apparently, there is pet health insurance available.  that might be something i'd buy.  i'd feel awful if i couldn't help my kitties because treatment costs were out of reach.  *sigh*  

the thunderstorm last night was something else.  i'm kind of glad the noise (and scared cats) woke me up.  the power went out and reset the alarm clock.  stupid alarm clock.  it's supposed to have a battery backup.  hm.  at least the coffee maker remembered when it was supposed to start percolating.  

did you hear about the u.s. congress wanting to cut funding for PBS because they thought it wasn't sufficiently "fair and balanced?"  ha ha ha.  republicans have whined about the 'liberal bias' at PBS for *years.*  nixon vetoed its funding because PBS didn't show him in a good light.  (is it possible to show nixon in a good light?)  PBS isn't necessarily liberally biased  ... it presents information in a socially progressive way.  wait.  maybe that *is* a liberal bias.  ah well, maybe they can't help providing intelligent programming.  

although there *was* that tucker carlson show... 

i'm amused that the new chairman of the corporation for public broadcasting (the agency that provides 10% of PBS's funding) is a republican buddy of karl rove.  (rove, who was featured on 'american dad' last sunday as Emperor Palpatine.  it was pretty funny.  particularly the part where the son is impregnated by an alien and his sister states that even a boy has the right to choose.  the dad responds, "Not in this house! We�re conservatives! That�s the one way we don�t like to kill things!")  did you know president bush referred to karl rove as 'the architect?'  jesus.  

anyway.  i'm done babbling for today.  

this guy has a fleet of vehicles in a parking lot.  some in other tenant's parking stalls, others in the fire lane.  (*mysteriously,* our bylaw signs have disappeared from the parking lot...)  his cat is pissing in the hallways and he's belligerent towards the resident manager.  he's the *lousiest* tenant i have right now.  

crazy client, so desperate to fill a vacancy, actually allowed him to move into another suite.  jesus!  nice for her - she doesn't have to deal with this fuck.

he's writing letters *every* day ... letters that go on and on rambling about whatever pops into his little brain.  maybe he thinks someone actually reads them.  i certainly don't.  

gah.  i hate this guy.

may the gods help us all.

he's decided to drop the crazy client (see below) as soon as possible.  she and her crappy buildings and her stingy approach to building maintenance can find some other sucker willing to put up with things.  the money is *not* worth the time and effort required to keep her semi-happy.

you know, she'll go so far as to ask our maintenance guys to see her for a 'meeting' so she can tell them about some cheaper brand of electrical tape she found.  "it's a dollar cheaper than the other brand they're using.  are they trying to take me?  why don't they want to come to the meeting?"  *sigh*  

in other news: i joined the nine inch nails official fan club this morning.  it's $60 per year and has some nifty perks.  if you're interested, go here.  it's called 'the spiral.'

i'm going to rip off these nails.  i had gel nails put on for rae's wedding, but they're just getting annoying.  do you know how difficult it is to play guitar with these things?  ehh ... yeah.  they're going to have an encounter with a bottle of acetone, i think.

ohhh ... speaking of the crazy client's crappy buildings:  one of the crazy, crappy tenants is on my shit list.  this guy has been physically aggressive and threatening to my building manager.  i had the great luck to speak to him on the phone last night, unfortunately just before i'd intended to go to bed.  

apparently, i'm a meanie-pants.  imagine the nerve of a property manager telling someone that he had to be out in 24 hours!  gah!  i understand he also had a problem with my letter to him earlier this month saying he couldn't leave his garbage strewn on the lawn, had to pay rent on time (if at all) and couldn't leave derelict vehicles in the parking lot.  i'll be happy to see him gone.  i'll leave the bailiff and the police to deal with him.

and she's insane.  so it's either difficult to please her or incredibly easy.  i never know which it will be.

*sigh*  we'll see what today has in store.

here's a funny story about this client.  her husband decided to call the building managers, pretending to be a potential tenant ... this might have been a good plan if the managers didn't know his voice.  one manager says, "Is this so&so?"  and he immediately hung up.  *good save!*  ... not a good way to engender respect among your employees.

i guess you'd find that story funnier if he's had the opportunity to dehumanize you over the telephone.  mhmm ... nice guy.

this means we can get on all that landscaping and basement development.  maybe the kat will build me a dungeon ...   :D

geh - the other office is having "computer issues," according to an email i just received.  i guess i'll be heading over there this afternoon.  somehow, i've become the 'computer girl.'  trust me, if you know anything about computers (even as little as me) *don't let anyone know,* because you'll never be able to get around to doing your real job.  

ah well.  i don't mind a break from the monotony of reconciling accounts.  

why, oh why, do people insist on trying to rent these homes?  sure, i can understand not wanting to sell the house where your children grew up or the house 'mom' lived in all her life until she died last week, but ... jeez.  we try to tell people that there's a *very* small market for these places and that they should expect to wait a while before a tenant is found, but it doesn't seem to sink in.

i have one more gigantic place to rent at $2000, plus utilities.  and the owner won't allow pets.  or smoking.  or young children.  *that* makes things awfully difficult for me.  

if these people decide, in a couple of months, that *i'm* not doing my job and try to run away without paying our fees and their advertising costs, their account will go to a collection agency.  it's happened before and there's little more frustrating than that.  

*sigh*

i guess today is 'reconciliation' day.  there's a pile of accounts to finish off.  i should get to it.

thanks to tina, my favorite girly in the whole wide world, for giving me the heads-up!

*sigh*  it's a long time to wait though ... and that's sad.  very sad.  

rae needed a ride to work this morning.  luckily for her, i was up a bit early and was ready to go out the door when she called.  something about being locked out of her garage...

jill's car was in leduc.  i had to pick her up too.  

i've done a crap-load of driving today.  at least i had good company.

rae got me a cute sake set ... so i don't begrudge the taxi service.

you know, i went to the statcounter website to see who's been to this site lately.  it shows what url visitors came from, what their search keywords were etc...

well, there is, apparently, something horribly wrong with the people of manitoba.  someone found my site while searching for "horny mother-in-law."  

jill and i had a good laugh about it.  

ew.

 ... no, i didn't use those words while describing my mother-in-law who came to visit.

she bought a townhouse in mill woods. it looks like a nice place from the outside. now she'll get to learn about all the fun stuff that comes with home ownership.

i wasn't really aware of how a house can just drain the bank account. i find myself discovering new ways of spending money every day. gah - it never ends.

this year we're landscaping the backyard. since the kat and i wouldn't be happy with just a lawn, we've come up with a complex (and stupidly expensive) plan. lots of gardens, shrubs, a gazebo, a patio, a deck, the *one* tree the homeowner's association allows us to plant etc. ehh ... i've planned out things according to when certain plants are in bloom, how they look in the fall, which will need pruning, shade ... everything. i'm sure it will be lovely when we're done. oh - we're also building the garage this year.

now, i just need to find the money. i accept donations. :D

i had some good drives, some good putts ... and i won the booby prize for 'ladies shortest drive.'  *sigh*  the ball traveled vertically and landed about two inches from the tee.  the guy handing out prizes made sure to announce the distance.  

i ended up walking away with an armload of things ... a bocce ball set, a picnic kit and a zip-up jacket.  a pretty good haul for my efforts, i think.  

the next tournament is june 24.  unfortunately, one day before i start golf lessons.  ehh ... next year, i'll astound everyone with my new skills.

now ... back to work.  

people are annoying.  

   client:  my statement printed on april 5 shows these four expenses on the property.  my statement printed on april 30 shows five expenses on the property.  i think you charged me twice for one of these items.

   emma:  do you show two of the same expenses on your statement?

   client:  no.  each one is different.

   emma:  ...   ...  so, you haven't been charged twice for anything.

   client:  i don't know.  the total at the bottom of the statement changed from the first statement to the second.

   emma:  there was an additional expense on the property, so the total expense amount changed.  (thinks: one plus one is two.  two plus one is three.  must ... not ... hit ... client...)

   client:  are you sure?  i don't know.  this is all very confusing.

   emma:  yes.  i'm sure.

   client:  oooo-kaaay.  i'll believe you.

fuck.  how did this person manage to fill out the forms required for the mortgage on her property?  gah!  no wonder they hired someone to collect the rent.

my brain hurts.  

so, i'm back to work again.  yesterday was a short day for me.  i went home with the intention of sleeping, but soon found myself attached to the xbox.  *sigh*  that csi game is kind of (read: really) addictive.  

i like being able to listen to my music in the mornings again.  god! i missed my routine these past three weeks.  i missed updating this blog.  i missed playing my guitar.  i missed getting up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and *not* putting on pants.  blah.  i suppose i have a new appreciation for things.

the kat's mom returned to san diego safely and without any hassles.  she commented that the canadian customs agents are *far* friendlier than the american ones.  i understand she said, "good morning," to the american agent at the edmonton international and he took offence at her attempt at normal human interaction.  is boorish behaviour proof of a dedication to homeland security?  bah. 

did i ever mention the cool shoes i wore at rae's wedding?  i sewed little silver skulls onto them.  very tasteful!  yeah.  

so, the kat and i have the house to ourselves once again. *thank the gods* i nearly lost my mind.

this morning, we woke up at 4 am to get my mother in law to the airport. i think i got a total of 3 to 4 hours of sleep.

it *would* have been closer to 6 hours, if not for the complete idiot who called the emergency line:

"idiot" (screams) -there's water coming into my suite from the apartment above!

"emma" -did you knock on the door upstairs?

"idiot" -no, but the lights are off so i don't think anyone's home.

"emma" -uh huh. it's one a.m. he's probably asleep. go knock on his door. getting a plumber out there at this hour is going to be horribly expensive. not to mention the cost of the locksmith to open the door.

a few minutes later...

"idiot" -no one's there.

"emma" -ok. i spoke to the plumber. he wants to know how much water is flowing into your suite. put a measuring cup underneath the leak and tell me how many seconds it takes to fill.

"idiot" -well, over the past 6 hours, probably a cup of water has come through.

"emma" (aside) -what the fuck?

"emma" -this is *not* an emergency. a plumber will be out in the morning, so put a bucket underneath the drip. (dumbass)

"idiot" -but...?

"emma" -use a bucket.

"idiot" -but...?

"emma" -bucket. it can wait.

i couldn't sleep for a couple of hours after that brilliant exchange. bleh.

eventually, i made it into work. now, i have this cold, sickly feeling in my gut and i feel like crap. i'm grouchy too.

much to the distress of a mini-brain tenant who got pissy with me. he kind of backed away and (i think) understood his dumbness.

ugh.

ruthie is letting me go home early. i'm going to have a nap before i commit homicide.

nighty night.

looks like i might get the kat to the show tomorrow night in uniform.  *purr purr*  

i'm still not sure what i'm going to wear.  maybe i'll go to b&d emporium to find some hot new boots.  *purr purr*

ehh.  anyway, i'm at the office once again.  it feels pretty good to be out of the house for the day.  it's harder than i imagined, living with another person.

the kat and i are quite compatible.  it appears that we're quite different from his mom though.  i don't know.  since she arrived, i've been doing my best to make conversation and entertain her, but i suspect i'm falling short of the mark.  we just don't have much to say to each other.  thankfully, i have only a few more days of talking about the weather and the cats.  *sigh* 

only a few more days of abstinence!  :D 

sorry.

this saturday, my mom is taking her out for a couple of hours and i'll be all alone in the house.  i think i'll listen to really loud music and watch 'the simpsons,' a show i don't think she cares for.

speaking of this saturday, i think the kat and i will escape for the night.  there's a thing at suburbs that seems interesting.  (yay!  dress up time!)  i'll have to find a long coat to cover up my attire while i get out of the house...

hm.  i'm feeling kind of mellow right now - or, rather, kind of spaced out.  bleh.