Lest we forget

Today is Remembrance Day.  And while I strongly believe that we should be recognizing the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers and their families on a daily basis, I realize that most of us take our liberties for granted. Remembrance Day forces us to pause for one minute and honor the brave men and women who fought (and continue to fight) for our freedom. 

My grandfather (who is no longer with us) and my grandfather-in-law (now a feisty 93 year old fella) both proudly served in WWII.  My grandfather drove a tank. A FREAKIN TANK!  He and the rest of his regiment plowed through France, basically destructing anything that showed even the slightest hint of German influence. My grandfather-in-law lived in cold, muddy trenches for almost 4 years.  I don’t like walking through a single puddle, and he willing sat in a giant one for 4 long years.  My grandfather was 18 when he made his way from Saskatoon to Toronto to enlist in the armed forces.  Let me repeat that, HE WAS 18!  Just a mere 5 years older than my precious Ty.  C’s grandfather was, I believe, a little older when he left his family and safe life in Canada for war torn Europe, but he was no older than 25!   

The horrors which they saw day in and day out are unimaginable.  In fact, neither man ever talked about their military careers.  They went to Europe, helped save the free world, came home and didn't looked back.  Never mind that they both survived their ordeals, the fact that they were able to be normal, functioning adults upon their return is absolutely incredible.   I know that neither men, and probably not a single veteran or soldier will read these words, and I realize that I don’t say it nearly often enough but THANK YOU!  We owe you big time!

Random rantings: Get a hair cut and get a real job!

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but somehow over the past....say...I don't know....34 years, I've turned into a real grumpy, old bat.  This new personality of mine seems to have appeared completely out of thin air.  I used to be such a nice person......you can laugh, that's OK cause I am too!

Whereas I used to smile and help old ladies cross the street, I now yell at them to "hurry up and learn to move it, cause I ain't got all day".  I needed to quote that, cause well, I've actually used those words before.  Hey look, in my defense, my grandma was moving really slow!  Anywhoooo. 

Like I was saying, I'm morphed into a really cynical person.  I'm leery of cute babies, and of people who are happily married.  I question women who claim to enjoy motherhood. And I snicker behind people's back when they have something stuck to the bottom of their shoe.  Basically I'm just mean! To help cope and hopefully return to my once gleeful self, I've started a special series of blogs called "random rantings".  What better place to share my thoughts and/or alcohol induced opinions about the stories and events I hear and read about all day long.  And there ain't a darn thing you can do to stop me, so ha!

For my very first rant, I'm going to start with the occupation movement!  And before I go any further, I am as close to a tree-hugging hippie as you can get, when you've got bills to pay, 3 hockey playing, always growing, constantly eating boys and a mortgage bigger than the national debt.  So I don't want to hear or read any comments about me being a Harper loving conservative - NONE!

I freakin love the whole idea of fighting the "man", and standing up for what you truly believe in. I would absolutely attend any type of protest that was well thought through and clearly had a purpose. The problem with the "Occupation" movement is that it has none of that!  It is one of the worsts planned and disorganized protests I've ever seen.  Yes, they have movements spread throughout the world. However, if you look closely, its only the first world cities which are "hosting" these protests.  The people who are actually affected by global social injustice are the ones who are making $1.00 a day sewing COACH bags and GAP sweaters in the back of some seedy factory in India and China.  And they wouldn't touch the protests with a ten foot pole, cause they know the real effects of standing up to corporate greed.  More on this later.

And yes, the protests  have a lot of media coverage. The only problem is that its not mainstream media, where any sort of coherent message is heard by the masses.  The only media source that gives a flying fart about this movement are very small and very unknown underground media.  So the only people hearing about any positive aspects of the occupation are the protesters themselves.  Next to that, the whole world of hard working folk, like...well myself, are laughing at them. 

Seriously, you've been living in a park for about a month, in $20,000 yurts which were purchased by Jimmy Hoffa and the other boys down at CUPE.  Why aren't you working like the rest of us?  If I didn't show up to work for a month cause I was "protesting" I know I would get canned.  So how can it be that hundreds of protesters can stick it the man for so long.  There are 3 possible reasons.

A) You are already homeless, living in a park.  And you think this whole  "occupation" thing is great cause you've upgraded from a cardboard box to a spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath yurt

B) Mommy and Daddy live in Rosedale and support this new phase you're going through.  But they secretly have their fingers crossed that you'll outgrow it at some point and get a real job

C) You have tons of OSAP money left over, and its only because of your enormous loan that you can hang out all day.

I highly doubt its the former is true.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that the protesters have forced the homeless to relocate.  Can't have a protest fighting social injustice and greed with stinky homeless guys around.  They might mess up the new American Eagle hoodie you just bought.  I have a feeling that most people sitting down at St. James park are there simply so that when they have 2 kids, a mortgage, car payments and a real job, they can look back at say "I was there".  Kinda like Woodstock.

The protest is meant to send a world wide message to stop corporate greed.  And to create social justice for all.  Pretty lofty goals I must admit, but sitting in a yurt smoking dope all day long is definitely the way to make some serious changes around here.  It worked....well never...but I have a good feeling about this time. 

Actually, I don't.  As I go about my day WORKING, I see that not a single normal, employed person is affected by the protests.  Which means the CEO's of the big mean corporate world are definitely not feeling the pitch. They're just looking down at you from their 5,000 square foot, marble decorated offices and laughing.  Heck, they've probably just rolled a big fat doobie made with 100 dollar bills and are getting high off of the hard work of people like me!  And that can't be stopped by singing kumbaya all day long.

Having the right to protest and not face the very real possiblity of being killed or seriously hurt is a privilege that most of the world does not have.   But just because you have the right to speak doesn't mean you have to step up to the mic to blab on about nothing in particular.  Cause by you sitting in a park smoking dope all day long ranting and raving means that real stories of social injustice and corporate corruption get bumped off the evening news and eventually ignored all together. 

Standing up for the rights of others is a very noble thing to do, but please actually do it.  If you want to make real change, go down to the local soup kitchen and volunteer.  Or become politically active (by which I mean actually vote or run for office; sitting Timmies trying to sound smart does not constitute political activism). 

To make global changes, you need to hit the CEO's where it hurts.  In their wallets.  Stop buying the newest iPhones (which by the way, I love!), stop shopping at the GAP and boycott Starbucks.  Cause only then will they understand the impact of their evils ways, and start to make changes. 

And furthermore, stop blaming the big, bad evil CEO's.  We're all part of and support a system where the "haves" continue to rob the "have-nots".  We (and by "we" I mean mostly white, North American consumers with expendable money) have to understand that you CANNOT buy a sweater from Walmart for $10 and expect that the Indian worker who assembled it is making a liveable wage - it just doesn't work that way.  "We" have to, therefore be willing to pay higher prices for the goods we soooo must have.  Only then will the scales of social justice begin to even out.

But that will NEVER, EVER HAPPEN! North Americans love our commercial goods way too much.  We are far to willing to bitch and complain about how bad the world is, without realizing that its our commercialism that makes it bad place to begin with.

Rant over, continue with your day :)

Chicken noodle soup or children: which is more important?

Before I dive into this blog's topic, I have to once again begin with an explanation.  I realize its been a long time since I last blogged.  Some of you were probably concerned that my past life had finally caught up with me and that I was serving time in Kingston.  But don't worry my minons, I've just been well...busy.  So to get you caught up with the happenings of my life, I've created a brief overview of the past few months.  My boys have made me cry, scream, bury my head in shame (literally), laugh until I've almost peed my pants and drink.  I have been busy cheering and yelling at about 548 hockey games. I hacked up a lung with a darn cold that just wont go away. And I have put enough kilometers on my bus that I could have made it to Mexico by now!  Mmmmm, tequila.....

So there you have it.  The synopsis of my life.  With that over and done with, we can move onto the topic of the day, which I haven't quite decided on yet, so pay attention, there may or may not be a quiz at the end.

Believe it or not, but driving a school bus is not as lucrative as you may think. I've been told that there are great perks to being a educational transportation specialist, but I think someone hid them, cause after 10 years of searching I  still can't find them.  Sure, I get to wear 24 layers of clothing  just to stay remotely warm, and theres nothing better than smelling like diesel at the end of a hard days work.  And don't even get me started on the sexy footwear that goes along with the job.  But stock boys at the local grocery store get paid more than me, and that, in my humble opinion, is a problem.  Let's break this down by looking at the responsiblities of a school bus driver verses a nightime stocker (grocery store version, not rapist)

As an educational tranportation specialist, I am solely responsible for the SAFE and TIMELY pick up and delivery of 70 small, innocent children.  I must navigate the treacherous roads of God's country, steer clear of crazy, java drinking commuters, all the while keeping an eye on the bunch of darlings sitting behind me. I must be "professional" when a parent or teenage CHILD, curses and swears at me. I must brave near boiling temperatures in the summer, and in the winter a bone chilling wind so cold it would send the abominable snowman running for his mommy.  And do it all for about minimal wage (sometimes less). 

A stocker must, well, stock.  They ensure that the labels of soup cans are facing the right way, and that the oldest (therefore grossiest) products are front and centre. Thats it.  The hourly rate for the average stocker is about $1.50 more than I make.  Let me remind you, there are no slippy roads, no caffine deprieved commuters, no snot dripping children, only soup cans. And when was the last time a soup can yelled at you?

What the F*CK is wrong with this picture!  Now, I may not be the brightest bulb but I know that soup cans and children are not the same thing.  You drop or dent a soup can and that sucks cause now you have......well...a dented soup can.  Drop or dent a child and that REALLY sucks.  Do you have any idea the amount of paperwork involved in a dented child incident?  Craziness! 

You're probably thinking "gee, if the job stinks so bad, just quit and go work for Bob Loblaws" (that was his real name. Say aloud, it sounds funny!) But heres the thing, despite all the crap and low social status that comes with driving a school bus, I really, really, really like doing it. And while I wouldn't say no to a pay raise, the one thing that would make bus driving perfect is, in the words of the great Aretha Franklin "a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T".  I'm not an idiot, so don't treat me like one. 

If a big-time CEO of a big-time company based out of, for argument sake let's say Cincinnati, wants to improve the safety record of their company, there is no need to invest millions of dollars on gizmos. There is no need to spend a gazillion dollars on gadgets.  All the big-time CEO needs to do is respect their employees.  Let them know that the village idiot could NOT do their job, and let them know this by finally firing the village idiot.  If you do something wrong at your job, you will be let go - plain and simply.  By sending a message that it does take someone special to be a school bus driver, you encourage more diligenous amongst workers.  Cause right now, the good, the bad and the retarded (pls see foot note below) drivers are all lumped together. Which, by the way, is not working. This one-size fits all attitude does not encourage the bad drivers to improve, it makes the good drivers think "why should I freaking bother?"  And children begin to resemble soup cans.

So dear big-time CEO, if you happen to be reading this, please don't invest in another "safety" devices.  Don't make me sit through another training seminar. These tactics don't make for better drivers, only disgruntled ones. Please just let me know that you respect the hard work I do day in and day out. A simply "thank you" would be lovely.  Well that and a sweater at Christmas. 


Footnote: I use the term "retarded" as a means of describing those who just don't have a brain.  I would never use that word to describe those whose daily struggles include asking blatantly obvious questions or meddling in other people's business, for these people I prefer to use the term "Larry".

Good night, I'm here all week - enjoy the roast beef!

The 9 year old card shark

Last night, when the older boys were out acting like a bunch barbarians on the ice (aka playing hockey), “K” and I enjoyed some mom and son time together.  Since it was late at night, I had thought we would climb into bed, read a few books and discuss the recent downturn in the American economy (good times, good times).  “K”, on the other hand had other ideas.  Like any good “G” boy would, he wanted to play blackjack - betting and all. I love my children with all my heart, and I am always looking for teachable moments in our daily activities. However, I wasn’t sure if swindling him out of his allowance money would fall into the “life lesson” category.  But when he pulled out the cards, poker chips and starting laying down the ground rules (dealer draws on 16 and stands on all 17’s, house pays 3 to 2, etc), I knew he was no rookie.  When he asked if I wanted a complimentary drink from the bar, I knew the gloves were off!

Still clinging to hope that we could incorporate some learning into the dealings, I convinced myself that math  was somehow involved.  And it was.  He had to add up the numbers, calculate bet amounts and figure out a payment plan for the money I borrowed from him. But because he's still only 9 years old, he needed help with the numbers. Not being the stealthiest kid around, he did his counting aloud. While I was waiting for my drink refills, he would sneak in some finger counting - so freakin cute.  And despite his numerical troubles, he still won. Actually, to say he won would be a huge understatement, kicked my butt is more like it.  And the little jig he did as he walked away, tells me he was relishing in his victory a little too much.  This definetely turned into a life lesson - for ME!  Never trust someone who can bat their eyes, is under 5 feet tall and can do fancy card shuffling tricks.

  When I was tucking him to bed later on in the evening, he took my cheeks into his hands and ever-so sweetly told me "Mom, I'll always love you....even if you fall behind on your payments"  Such a loving son!

Mangled Mouths and the poop truck

Returning to school at my age wasn’t as glamorous as it sounded.  Sure, I had an excuse to wear my pajamas in public and the student discount was sweet, but the overall experience was very different from when I was there 15 years ago.  First of all, pub nights aren’t as fun when you’re dragging 3 boys along (although I’m pretty sure K could drink me under the table).  And when your professors are younger than you, it’s nearly impossible to plead “my kids are sick and my bills are overdue, so can I please get an extension” because they still live with mom and dad, and think that money grows on trees.  But the biggest drawback of finishing school at my age is that, unlike many of my younger classmates, (who still have OSAP money leftover and are discovering themselves by travelling the world) I need to find a job ASAP.  Having been in school for the past 5 years, I was able to escape the drudgery of full time work because I was “studying”.  But now that my academic career has come to an end, I have no more excuses. 

The very idea of having a double income is enough to drive my husband wild.  Being able to actually afford the finer things in life – like housing, clothing and food – has always been a distant fantasy for my family.  OK, it hasn’t been that tight, but I’m pretty sure Peter is sick and tired of us stealing from him to pay Paul.  C wants me to get a job so badly that instead of “sexting” me, he now forwards me the classifieds.

There is only one little problem – I don’t want to find a full time job (teaching or otherwise).  The past year was so freaking stressful that just thinking about working makes my hair turn a shade of gray that even 10 boxes of Nice n’ Easy couldn’t hide (that’s not to say that gray can and does look regal and fabulous on certain people J)   All I want to do is return to driving the school bus.  Not to brag, but I’m a kick-ass bus driver.  Unlike in the classroom, when I’m on the bus I’m calm, cool and 100% confident in my ability to get the job done.  The heart palpitations and sweaty palms which frequently greeted me at the classroom door don’t even bother showing up the bus stop, cause they know they’re not on the manifest, and the board wouldn’t let them ride with me (inside joke!).  Sure the pay sucks with bus driving, but the hours let me still tend to my “motherly” duties (read: I can nap in the afternoon and dine with my peeps on Thursday mornings)

To ease the hubby’s nerves, I’ve been sending out teaching resumes like crazy. But the fish aren’t biting – actually I think the pond is barren.  Well, not quite.  There are teaching jobs, you just have to know or be sleeping with someone to get them - I’m not that kinda gal.  Seriously, it can take years to get a full time permanent teaching job.  And requires that you be at the beck and call of a school board for the first 2 or 3 years.  That means no steady income, or benefits; two things which I can’t sit around waiting for.  This brings me to the point of this blog (sorry it took so long)

Ask any small child what they want to do when they grow up, and you’ll get a variety of answers.  A firefighter, a teacher, a NHL goalie are common responses.  No one ever, EVER says they want to drive the stinky poop truck that empties septic tanks.  But someone ends up doing this job.  How does that happen?  I found the answer in the strangest place - the orthodontist’s office.

I took the boys to an orthodontia consultation several weeks ago.  And without divulging too many details about the state of my boys’ mouths, I’ll just say that the doctor was booking his trip to Europe before we were out the door.  It’s going to take years and thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work to get the 3 boys’ teeth on the straight and narrow.  Sure, C’s insurance plan through work covers a portion of the cost, but nowhere near what we need it to.  That means that not a single track of metal will touch my boy’s pearly whites until I have a full time job with benefits. 
 

And that is how someone ends up driving the poop truck.  We all start the journey of life with an endless supply of hopes and dreams, then we become adults and get our asses whooped by reality.  We sign up for the poop truck gig thinking “I’ll just do this until my dream job comes along”, but then kids show up (and we all know how cheap kids are) or the rent goes up and all of a sudden you can’t walk away from the poopy job.  So you suck it up (literally) and keep working the crappy job, just so your kids have a better life than you did, or at least give have a chance to chase their dream job.

This is why I’m so hesitant to pursue jobs outside the realm of education. Sure I went to school for 5 years with the sole goal of becoming a teacher, but there are no jobs and my kids have mangled mouths.  Neither their teeth nor their very dry university funds can wait until I get a permanent teaching job.  But I know with 100% certainty that stepping away from the teaching industry means that I’ll never be back.  Our family will get used to the increased income and benefits, and we won’t be able to afford me walking away to join all of other teacher-wannabes chase jobs. 

So right now, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I want to do the responsible adult thing and get any job.  But I also don’t want to let go of my dream I worked so hard to reach.     Sigh………

Reading and Testosterone: An impossible mix?

There are few things in life that I absolutely adore. Most activities catch my attention for a week or two, and then slowly fall off the radar (that gym membership seemed like a great idea at the time). SWV, sleeping in and reading, however, have always been things I enjoy and are constantly fighting for my love and admiration – granted I tend to pit them against each other. If I could somehow find a way to read a great book, while enjoying a glass of SWV while sleeping into till noon, well I’d be a very happy woman. Despite my best efforts, I am yet to figure out how to drink in my sleep! Anyways – back to my point…….which is around here somewhere……give me a second….I just had it……ahhhh yes here it is……favorite things.

I love reading. I also love finding a book to read. I don’t like spending $19.95 on a book which sells for $1.05 in the States, nor do I like wasting paper, so I almost always get my books from the local library. I could (and have) spend hours cruising the aisles searching for my next read. The hunt for reading material is probably the same feeling shopaholics get during a 50% off sale at H&M’s – minus the snobby sales person, cat fights and shameful credit card bills. Yet, for some reason the family doesn’t share my enthusiasm for free books. When asked if they would like to join me, they often use the very stealthy tactic called “I was bored out of my skull a minute ago, but all of a sudden I think I might clean something so she won’t drag to that hellish place”. My husband reluctantly comes with me so he can use the angled parking and to ensure that I don’t “accidently” bring along 3 days’ worth of food rations just in case I get “stuck” in the self-help section. But he never, ever borrows books – EVER! Where did I go wrong????

Once I get the books home, I tend to be consumed by the books. In fact, when I’m reading a good book, nothing else matters. Rather than Sunday night “fancy dinner”, we have “fend for yourself night”. The “smell it to see if it’s still good” rule is re-enacted and the dust bunny population reaches epic proportions (see my September 8 2010 post). And again, my family doesn’t seem to understand. They say things like “Mom, I haven’t eaten in days…. I’m really hungry” or “My head stuck in the banister again” but I want to encourage their budding independence, so I ignore their pleas and keep on reading. Actually, my oldest has been known to pick up a book now and then. Twilight and Harry Potter were huge hits in the G household. But ever since Edward and Bella became the June and Ward Cleaver of the vampire world, T has all but sworn off reading. And despite my best efforts (read: bribes), I can’t get any of them to pick up a book. I’ve brought home graphic novels (I meant chapter comic books! You dirty pig!), sports magazines and choose your own adventures but still not a single page is turned in our house.

This lack of boy reading doesn’t appear be isolated to my house. Over the weekend, I took an informal poll, and discovered that while most women I know love to read, their male counterparts don’t. Why is this? I understand that most of “Heather’s Picks” from Chapters are oriented towards women, and adolescent girls have a billion “lovey-dovey” books to choose from, but there are tons of books geared towards men/boys. A quick Google search came up with a great book list - click here if interested. So I don’t understand why they don’t read.

I love being totally engulfed into the fictional lives of the books’ characters. If you’ve read “Sarah’s Key” then you know exactly what I mean. I am also disappointed if I can’t get into a book. I’ll push past the boring stuff hoping to get hooked, but it doesn’t always happen and I need to walk away (maybe they need a Viagra for book readers!) But I don’t give up on reading; I simply head back to the library and check out another book.

Maybe they don't like reading because it requires that you sit quietly for more than 7 ½ seconds and for my boys that is virtually an impossible task. But if you were to put a video game in front of them, they’d be good for hours. So really, there is no excuse.

Maybe it’s that men/boys just haven’t heard of any good “man” books. Maybe Don Cherry needs to start a book-club! I’m sure the ‘rock’em and read’em’ series would be a huge hit!

What about you? Does your husband/boys like to read?

I'M BAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!

Hi there, remember me? The funny, smart, beautiful, well-organized, professional, sexy,sweet girl of your dreams. No? Then why are you reading my blog? Its cause I smell good isn’t it? Its ok, it can be our little secret. Well, after 8 long months I’m back! I missed you so much. But I was so freakin busy with school and family demands that I barely had time to shower (maybe I don’t smell that good after all!). But that’s all water under the bridge; the important thing is that we’re back together – happy and smiling, right? So how have you been? How are the kids? The job? Enjoying the summer? Good, good, glad to hear that everything is well.

Since I finished school several months ago, some of you were probably thinking that the blog was also all done – well my friend, you were wrong. I enjoyed spilling the details of my personal life all over the internet so much, that I thought I keep doing it. Plus I’m bored. I’ve decided to keep the title “My Journey to Teaching” because it conveys the image of professionalism and I might be able to convince someone that I am actually a certified teacher. Well, that and I couldn’t figure out how to change the name and still keep my dedicated followers connected. So stayed tuned my little minions, I’ll be posting useless yet funny tales of an unemployed teacher very soon!

Love ya!