Can You Hear Me Now?

Thursday, March 20 ~

Did you know my babies are two years old now? I don’t know their exact birthdate, but I know it was the first week or so of March. And I still love them more than anything! They make me laugh out loud every day. It’s awesome. I highly recommend at least two cats per household.

Ah, yes. I remember it well.

And so do they.

I’m insanely busy with work at the moment, but today is full of other stuff, and I don’t have time to devote to work before I have to do something else, so I’m writing this. It’s much easier to be interrupted during a blog post and then pick it up where I left off, than it is work. You see, today I had Home Care at 10:00, a Home Care nurse/supervisor is coming by at 12:30 for a meeting/assessment, and then my friend Shawna arrives from Winnipeg sometime after that and will be heading to my place straight from the airport. I get her for a few hours before she goes to another friend’s to spend the night, and then I’ll see her again on Sunday. In between, she will be with her boyfriend. Remember, the guy AH brought out with him, like, 3 years ago, when we were dating, and I wanted to go out when Shawna was in town, so I told him to bring a friend? Yeah. That guy. They’re still together!

Hmmm… reading that old entry reminds me that I used to have a life. I really miss Christine, too! She’s living in Ottawa now, going to law school! Who’d a thunk it? Ahhhh, the days of only needing a cane to get around. Before all the surgeries and falls and broken wrist and extended hospital stays and weight gain and anti-depressants… God, I’m working on getting back there, I sure hope I can.

Speaking of AH, yes, we still talk and stuff. I actually got rather short with him on the phone the other day, when he called me in the middle of the day when I was knee deep in work. My head was wrapped around what I was doing, and he asked me “has the government made new laws or something?” Huh? “my (brother/nephew/cousin I can’t remember) received a bill for $500 for filing his taxes late. Why?” How should I know? Is he incorporated? Yes. When’s his year end? Don’t know. Well, it depends on when his year end is, how late he filed, how much he owed when he filed… I can’t help you if you don’t know all that, the CRA charges penalties and interest to late filers when they owe. Duh. I’m busy, I gotta go.

I haven’t heard from him since then, can’t imagine why. I get stressed when I’m really busy and the phone rings off the hook for all sorts of reasons. It’s that time of the year…

My psychologist at the Clinic for Mind/Body Medicine has moved her office over to the hospital close to me!! I’m sooooo happy. No more sitting in a car for over an hour each way. Best of all, both my weekly commitments (to Troy’s for work, and this appointment) are in the NE not too far from me, so none of my regular trips will be long ones. AND I get AH as my driver a lot when I go to places nearby. AND, this is the hospital with a Second Cup right in the entrance I use, so I think I literally cried tears of joy when Jennifer told me she was being transferred there.

The Home Care nurse just left. Wow, we went over a lot of stuff! I’m really excited. She’s referring me to a foot clinic, where they can make a bunch of stuff to help me walk better, including fixing up the ankle/foot orthotic I had made a couple years ago (when I broke my wrist and was staying at Carewest, where the physio dept. got one made for me - to help my right foot lift up when I walk - but I have never been able to use it because I can’t get it on by myself or even with help!) and special shoes and a lift for my right leg, which is shorter than my left leg. My gait is so messed up from all these years of funny walking (and breaking my ankle in 2002). She’s also going to check with their volunteer centre to see if she can find someone to go to the pool with me twice/week!!! Someone to help me get in and out of my bathing suit. She said it may take a couple of months, but there is hope that I can get back in the water. YES!!! Next week my Home Care worker, Harpal, is getting training and supervision to exercise with me 3 mornings/week, so if I get that exercise M-W-F and then can add in water exercise Tues. and Thurs., PLUS stuff to help me walk better and safer (so I actually will walk more), I am ON MY WAY. I’m so excited. She’s also referring an occupational therapist to get me a new walker… mine is wrecked up and an old model. Pita has pretty much ripped the foam off the handles, and the plastic tray I use every day is cracked and broken.

I LOVE SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE!! There, I said it. We may not have a perfect system, but until I saw Sicko I didn’t realize just how GOOD we have it. I’d be living on the street if I lived in the U.S. with the amount of health issues and hospital stays I’ve had! Plus I’d probably have to buy my own walker. Which are, like, $600. Now, if we could just get air conditioners for persons with MS made a medical necessity instead of a non-medical appliance that isn’t covered by Aids to Daily Living, that would be nice.

My friend Sheldon made the funniest video ever, but he recorded it on Facebook, so I don’t think you can see it unless you have a Facebook account.

Please go here to laugh now.

If you’re unable to see that, I filmed it off my computer using my camera and uploaded to You Tube, but obviously the sound and quality is not nearly as good as the original. I’m hoping Sheldon will start a comedy channel on You Tube and upload videos so we can all watch his silly antics on a regular basis.

Friday, March 21 ~

Shawna showed up yesterday afternoon, and we went to the mall. Big surprise, huh? I bought Easter stuff for Jason and Sheldon ’cause we’ll be seeing them on Sunday, including a singing duck which I hope will become the official mascot for their Kitchen Radio. Anyway, we ate, shopped, and talked. Then I ended up getting caught up in Thursday night television without finishing this up. I think I’m going to like that new show Miss Guided, unless it’s on opposite The Office when it comes back. There is no contest. But Miss Guided was funny, and I love Judy Greer.

Okay, well, I better get my ass in gear and get some work done today! Happy Easter everyone, enjoy your weekend.

The litter boxes were cleaned and aired out to dry.

“Okay, let’s trade”

We have a winner!

I found my last disposable camera the other day, one that I was using when I got my digital for Christmas in 2006. I got the pictures developed, and there were a bunch of cute ones on it. These are a couple of my favourites; I’ll upload the others soon, there are some cute ones!! Pita and Pepper don’t hook up like this often, anymore. I miss those days…

Pepper reminds me of the girl in the pink dress in the Charlie Brown dance

Speaking of Pita, it’s getting worse with the trying-to-keep-her-inside. I thought it was getting better, after I accidently shut her out in the hall when I didn’t know she’d snuck out there, and it took about an hour and a lot of her whining before I realized it. I thought, “good! Now maybe she will be scared to go out there again…” but that didn’t last long. Now one of the women who works in the rental office next door (the one who doesn’t get mad at me when Pita is in the hall) has taken to letting Pita into the office to roam around. She just loves her. OKAY, that’s nice and all, but now Pita KNOWS there is all this life out there, other places to go, people to see… today, after it took forever to get her back inside, she walked around whining and moaning for two hours. She kept going to the door and crying. Sigh…

This is the best comeback of the week year:

The woman is now weighing the pros and cons of having skim milk versus two percent milk in her latte, and she says, “God, I don’t know, I just feel so, like, fat today. I feel like such a big fat cow.”

Then she turns to me, and she says, GET THIS, “How do you stand it every day?”

I blink.

The adorable pierced-and-tattooed boy en flambe blinks.

Several heads in the cafe pop up because nobody can believe this woman actually said this to a total stranger. I feel as if the sitcom camera is pulling in tight for a closeup on my reaction.

But the gods of snark are smiling upon me today. I reply, straightfaced, “You know, it’s normally not too bad, but today I’m having one of those days where I feel like a shallow dumb bitch. How do you stand it every day?”

I wish I could have been there! I don’t get comments like that, I think because I’ve got a walker or scooter or something as my shield. People must think I have enough to deal with, without the fat remarks (to my face). But I’ve certainly been subject to them in the past, even when I wasn’t, what I would consider, “fat”. People can be so rude it’s astounding.

Speaking of being rude, I’m trying my best not to be, and to be happy about the fact that a crazy lady is planning to move into my apartment building, and most likely using me as a reference. Brenda has called me a few times over the past year with some pretty crazy stories and cries for help. Now she may be my neighbour. I really don’t want that… she says she will be here on Thursday to look at the place and fill out the application. I may actually talk to the office about her, because she is trouble. You know when your gut just SCREAMS at you to stay clear of someone? Yeah. I’m already worried.

So… work is picking up in a major way, today one big client delivered their entire year’s worth of stuff, and tomorrow another one will… which means between now and the end of March, when their GST’s are due, I’m swamped. I’ll also get a few more tax returns to do. I did my own yesterday, and woo hoo! Decent refund coming. First time in a long time, thank you medical expenses (I wrote off my electronic lift chair, and all those Quantum Release Therapy sessions added up!) I spent over $4,200 on medical related stuff. Ouch.

So what I’m trying to say, is expect even fewer updates than usual.

Pita’s eyes ended the last entry, so Pepper’s tongue ends this one.

Oh my God, I am so mean. I just changed a couple of photos that stupid people were hotlinking to from my blog, to this scary naked dude. One of the sites was using a photo I have here as the entire background to the Welcome page of their Chat room. And now everyone will be welcomed by Ugly Naked Guy. I CRACK MYSELF UP.

By the way, Ugly Naked Guy is a man that contacted me on Facebook once (and then I blocked him), and when I looked at his profile, there was only a photo album with 2 naked pictures of him. I laughed so hard I decided to save them to use just for this purpose. He is simply naked, standing over his underwear drawer, sorting tighty whiteys. And he is quite unattractive. If you want to see the picture, you’ll have to email me and ask for it, ’cause I’m not posting it here! Or you can hotlink one of my photos and wait for me to catch you and change it. Hehe. But please don’t.

My mom was here over the weekend. I barely recognize my apartment!! The clutter in the living room, dining room and kitchen is gone. The filing in my office is done. She did SO much to help me sort through crap I’ve been meaning to sort through for ages. But I put it off because it is easier with two hands and some of it involved standing for long periods of time. Last weekend my Stepdad put together my new CD stand, and finally, it is full. And the top of my hutch in the living room is not littered with stray CD and DVD cases and discs. YAY! It looks nice in here again, I actually want to live here.

Oh, update from last entry, my new friend is Sander, not Saunder. He requested me on Facebook so now I know for sure. He also has an 80mb audio file of the Polyjesters‘ show last Saturday which he’s letting me download as I type this. YAY I like new friends.

I am just crushed that Jeff Healey passed away. I only ever met him a couple times myself, briefly, but some good friends of mine have worked really closely with him over the years. So it was very sad news.

Back in December I ordered some tote bags off Make It Right. I finally received them today, exactly 3 months after I ordered them! At the time I ordered them, they didn’t have all the notices they have up now, about how the bags are hand made from the pink material used to showcase where the houses would be going (OMG maybe Brad Pitt touched them!!), and wouldn’t be available until after January 15, and that they’re not in mass production, etc. etc. I had no clue and actually ordered a couple for Christmas gifts!! Then they changed the site. So, Lisa, I have a pink bag for you. Happy belated birthday, even! And Kim, I know pink’s not your colour, but it’s for a good cause, and they don’t come in any other colour. Carry it proudly.

Today was our Provincial Election. I was out all day, as my appointments at the Clinic for Mind/Body Medicine take all day because of the way Access Calgary schedules things. So my day consisted of sitting in a car, sitting at my appointment, and sitting in a car. Long day. I was pretty beat by the time I got home (sitting in a car for well over an hour each way is draining! Especially when the driver is singing songs in Punjabi the entire time) but I still mustered up the energy to get my scooter out and go to the school a few blocks away and vote. My neighbour Richard was working at my polling station, handling all the voters from my apartment complex - about 750 people. He said I was only the 35th he’d seen ALL DAY. That means probably 700 people in my complex didn’t even bother voting! Ugh. Oh well, can’t blame them really, it seems this province will never change parties*, so why bother. PC stands for Political Corporation, not Progressive Conservative, as far as I’m concerned! Hee. Political Corporation. I just thought of that. Did I make it up? Political Corruption. Political Caca. Whatever. Can we get a Hillary over here?

*I’m writing this a couple hours before the election is over, so we don’t actually know yet, but based on the past 37 years it’s an educated guess.

Whoever wins, I hope they do something about AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped). I still don’t have my benefits for March, which were supposed to be deposited last Tuesday. When I called about it, I was told they couldn’t release my funds because I hadn’t “filed my annual report”. Well, I never received an annual report to file! “Oh, well, my clients are responsible for knowing their Diary Date and getting their reports in on time, I don’t call them if they are late”. Well, in the past 10 years, there was only one other time I didn’t receive the report, and I was called about it, sent another one, and filed it. Every other year, I just file it when I get it. I wasn’t even aware I had a “Diary Date”. And thanks for changing your rules without letting me know. So, she faxed me a report and I filled it out and mailed it (they won’t accept a fax back because they need your original signature). I was able to fax over attachments, however, such as my tax assessment and bank statements. So I did that. And this morning she wakes me up by calling with a million questions, and “fax me this, fax me that” because she doesn’t understand what self-employment means, and I’ve only been doing this for 10 FUCKING YEARS, BITCH! I am NOT ripping you off, but how in the hell do you expect someone to live off $1,050 AISH benefit when their rent is $1,000 and they’re not allowed to earn more than $400 a month before they are deducted benefits. So EXCUSE ME if I collect more than $400 a month, I have write-offs because I am self-employed, it is one of the great benefits of BEING self-employed on the AISH program. And I’ve been doing this for 10 FUCKING YEARS, so why don’t you just ask your boss and stop bugging me. Sigh.