Making It Up As I Go Along #263

MONDAY…

--- Birthday time is home time. I took the day off. Still, not able to do much with some morning thunder and lightning and rain most of the day. I head out for an hour in the afternoon (gas, return beer bottles, groceries)… but that’s it.

--- Lots of people getting in touch with me today though… about a dozen or so e-mails and several phone calls. It’s nice… I sort of thought maybe I’d get three or four e-mails and two calls… although two and a half hours on the phone is too much tonight.

TUESDAY…

--- Slow day at work. Set ups aren’t too bad or anything but I just have a hard time not watching the clock as I do them.

--- A couple of bits of bad news today. A sad day for some family… and some disappointment for a friend. Together, it has me thinking of a couple of other people today.

--- On the positive side, it’s birthday cake day for several of us. A bunch of us all have birthdays within days of each other so rather than have five different cakes and cards among different teams, they shut down all of QC for a bit and give five of us cards and a big cake. So that’s nice.

WEDNESDAY…

--- Not a bad day. I spend most of it checking other people’s QC work.

THURSDAY…

--- Again, spend most of the day helping Janice by checking other people’s work.

--- Go to the officer’s mess for a couple of drinks after work (with Leslie, Sheila, Janice, and Leslie’s husband and some of his friends). Then we go for some supper.

FRIDAY…

--- Shortish day due to a staff luncheon. I drive with Carole, Melissa and Jaymie… and sit with them, Leslie, Laura, Janice and Krista. It’s decided that Laura has bad taste in Will Ferrell movies. She hates “Stranger than Fiction”… the fool.

--- Quiet night around the house after I got some groceries on the way home.

SATURDAY…

--- 58 years ago today, Newfoundland became the tenth province of Canada. I can’t say this is an event I look back on with a “oh happy day” point of view. I love Canada and all but I had the second class citizenship that Newfoundland has been force fed by the rest of the country… and I am often left wondering “what if” when it comes to that vote. Newfoundland is the only country in the history of the world to voluntarily give up its independence. And that isn’t a fact that makes me proud to be a Newfoundlander.

--- I am so sick of the bloody pet food crisis! For more than a week, the CBC has made tainted pet food as a top story. Sweet mother do we live in a boring country!

--- Karl comes over and we watch four James Bond movies with pizza helping us through. Good time.

Mixed Bag

Two subjects to hit upon today…

Being ‘Picky’

I was recently talking to some people about being single. It was actually started by four of us working together (two guys and two girls) and the girls asking both of us guys why we’re single. The verdict by the ladies… we’re both too picky.

It got me thinking… being told you’re too picky is really a dulled down way to insult someone… without necessarily thinking you’re doing any insulting.

Too picky is code for a few things…

1… You just aren’t that much to look at. When you’re told that you are too picky, it means that they think if anyone of the opposite sex finds you even slightly appealing, grab on quickly and hold on tight. You’re basically being told that you have no ground to stand on when it comes to relationship choice. To say “no” is simply foolish.

2… You’re a drab individual. See item number 1 and substitute personality for looks.

3… It’s time for you to settle in love. I can understand certain levels of settling in life. I settled on a cheaper car when I moved to Ontario. I had to decide how much money to put towards several aspects of my life and the car got only so much. So no dream car came my way… I settled.

You may settle in your job. I mean I don’t picture anyone growing up wanting to be a meat cutter… but people do it for years because it’s a paycheck and they find different avenues of life to get reward from.

But to settle in love? I don’t see it. To meet someone and think “well, they’re okay I guess”… and then to still plan to be with that person for the rest of your life because you just don’t want to be alone… well that doesn’t seem all that rewarding to me.

If there’s anything to hold out for… to wait to be wowed by… to feel like you’ve just won the lottery in… I’d think it’s love.

So to have someone tell me I’m too picky, it irritates me some. Whether they know it or not, they’re telling me that I should settle in regards to that which should be the most important avenue of your life. To just be happy with companionship. Well, I can get companionship from a kennel.

Second Class Citizenship

I just saw on the news, Saturday, that this was the 58 year anniversary of Newfoundland joining Canada. It's always something that I stop and think about... the vote was very close (I actually think it was 51% to 49% to join Canada) and in recent years, there has been talk that it was actually fixed... that most people really wanted to become independent instead... so that Newfoundland would be like Iceland.

Here's a trivia question that doesn't leave a Newfoundlander proud. What's the only country in the history of the world to willingly give up it's independence as a country? Newfoundland.

Anytime I think of that, I think of Mel Gibson in Braveheart... giving the patriotic speech to the army before they run across the field of battle... telling them how "they can never take away... your freedom!" And then I think about Newfoundland and I’m left a little ashamed.

Sometimes I wish Newfoundland split from Canada. I love Canada... I'm Canadian first... but I hate how Newfoundland is disrespected by much of the rest of the country’s citizens (and completely ignored politically). My home province is treated like some welfare case. If decisions are made in the country that treats Newfoundland unfairly, the people there aren't allowed to complain. If they do, you just get this backlash of "They should be happy to get what we give them". It really isn't a country where everyone is treated equal... it's much more of "know your place and deal with it." Sometimes I think the rest of the country expect Newfoundland should stay poor... they seem to not want to help the province help itself... they'd rather just throw some scraps at it and say "here, we're taking care of you, now be quiet." I think if the day ever came when Newfoundland did split off and be its own country again (not that I expect it) I'd go back. I guess I’m just too big a sucker for the Braveheart speech… and I’d be afraid to miss it by staying here.

But, as I say, it won’t happen. And my first choice would be that it doesn’t. I just want to see more fair treatment of the people across the nation. Those from Quebec are basically Canadian Royalty. So much politic bowing is given to Quebec that it sickens me. I like the people I know from Quebec… I’m just so tired of politicians willing to sell out other parts of the country, in order for Quebec to be made happy.

Fact is, this is a country of ten provinces and three territories… but it’s realistically run by three provinces. Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are all that really matter for Canada. Politicians aren’t concerned about what is or isn’t fair… they’re concerned with making the people of those three provinces happy. If that means dragging political heels on Native issues in British Columbia, so be it. If it means selling out Newfoundland’s rights… that’s okay too.

Alberta has oil… and so does Newfoundland. But it’s accepted that Alberta is to have a better deal when it comes to the management of that resource. Why? And the French have been politically designated as a nation within a nation. But if you want to define nations… there are dozens of nations of people in this country. Why stop at the French? Native groups make up many nations all by themselves. Newfoundland is at least as distinct (and possibly even more so) than Quebec. BC life is one that is different from anywhere else in the country. As is prairie life… and even city life. Should we come up with an urban nation too? All I ask is for fairness. Treat the people of the country equally. But the problem is… this doesn’t make political sense. And that is one of Canada’s major flaws… to allow the most diverse country in the world to be run by the whim of three provinces.