There's a mumps outbreak in the metro Vancouver area. The public health authority is recommending booster shots for children, teens and young adults born before 1996, and returning to school (including post-secondary) in the fall.
You can get a booster at your public health office immunization clinic (call for details). There's one at the Poirier Rec Centre in Coquitlam on Wednesday, September 3, in the McDonald-Cartier Room from 5-7pm. It's free of charge. Or, you can go to your family doctor, who will also give the booster shot.
The Minister of Education announced that mumps boosters may be available in the public schools this fall, but if you don't want to wait to find out, you can go get it now. Just don't tell your kids that mompoet told you. I don't want it to be my fault!
question: why are all of my posts today about health issues?
mompoet - detecting a theme
Sunday, August 31, 2008
wisdom teeth
Alex got all 4 wisdom teeth extracted on Thursday. He is recovering very well at home, and deciding whether or not to go in to work on Monday.
The oral surgeon did an excellent job. Alex was given IV sedation so he slept through the procedure, which took about 30 minutes. I waited in the reception area with other moms and grandmas. When he was done, I was summoned to the recovery room, which is down the hall and around the corner, and has its own discreet exit, so partially sedated, gauze-mumbling patients don't stagger through the waiting area and cause incoming patients to feel alarm.
We have been following the detailed instructions for pain relief, hygiene and a gradual return to eating chewable foods. Alex has been stuck at home all weekend, and is determined to go out today, although he's not sure if he's ready to drive the car. I have stocked up on yogurt and applesauce, and have been making a lot of pudding. I cooked the softest mainstream recipe that I know for our shared supper last night (cheese tortellini Alfredo).
I'm glad that Alex made it through this young adult rite of passage with relative ease. This is something you have to do just once, then it's done.
question: do you still have your teeth of wisdom?
mompoet - still wise, but not in the teeth
The oral surgeon did an excellent job. Alex was given IV sedation so he slept through the procedure, which took about 30 minutes. I waited in the reception area with other moms and grandmas. When he was done, I was summoned to the recovery room, which is down the hall and around the corner, and has its own discreet exit, so partially sedated, gauze-mumbling patients don't stagger through the waiting area and cause incoming patients to feel alarm.
We have been following the detailed instructions for pain relief, hygiene and a gradual return to eating chewable foods. Alex has been stuck at home all weekend, and is determined to go out today, although he's not sure if he's ready to drive the car. I have stocked up on yogurt and applesauce, and have been making a lot of pudding. I cooked the softest mainstream recipe that I know for our shared supper last night (cheese tortellini Alfredo).
I'm glad that Alex made it through this young adult rite of passage with relative ease. This is something you have to do just once, then it's done.
question: do you still have your teeth of wisdom?
mompoet - still wise, but not in the teeth
The Wart Chronicles - Final Chapter (I hope!)
The last time I checked in about my plantar warts, I was trying duct tape and also going for freezing with liquid nitrogen at the doctor's office (weekly). While I did not notice any change in the size or appearance of the warts, they started to bother me less. Then life got busy, and I got distracted by other pressing concerns, so I stopped making freezing appointments, and just let the feet be. Over the past few weeks, the pain has crept back to the point that walking is distinctly uncomfortable.
I had not been to the podiatrist in probably 10 years, so I looked up Dr. Brooks' number and called, and got an appointment for the very next day. Dr. Brooks worked magic with his little blade, shaving away seemingly microscopic layers of skin. It didn't hurt (much) and I knew I'd feel much better when he was finished.
After about 10 minutes, the doctor was finished. He told me he thought he'd got rid of most of the warts. To be sure, he put on some medicine and covered each spot with a tough bandaid. I asked him if I'd need to go back to my regular doctor for any more freezing. He said no, because the warts are gone.
I walked out of the office feeling like I was stepping on clouds. No pain, except for a few phantom jabs that kept me awake for a few minutes the first night. Probably my feet were remembering what I'd been putting up with for far too long. And now I walk without limitation or ibuprofen as a crutch. I should have done this weeks ago.
question: do you ever postpone the obvious then wonder why?
mompoet - happy feet
I had not been to the podiatrist in probably 10 years, so I looked up Dr. Brooks' number and called, and got an appointment for the very next day. Dr. Brooks worked magic with his little blade, shaving away seemingly microscopic layers of skin. It didn't hurt (much) and I knew I'd feel much better when he was finished.
After about 10 minutes, the doctor was finished. He told me he thought he'd got rid of most of the warts. To be sure, he put on some medicine and covered each spot with a tough bandaid. I asked him if I'd need to go back to my regular doctor for any more freezing. He said no, because the warts are gone.
I walked out of the office feeling like I was stepping on clouds. No pain, except for a few phantom jabs that kept me awake for a few minutes the first night. Probably my feet were remembering what I'd been putting up with for far too long. And now I walk without limitation or ibuprofen as a crutch. I should have done this weeks ago.
question: do you ever postpone the obvious then wonder why?
mompoet - happy feet
carless NYC streets
My mom sent me this delightful link from the New York Times, and wondered, "Wouldn't it be nice if we did this in Vancouver?" I think so, definitely.
question: would you join in the fun?
mompoet - I would stroll
question: would you join in the fun?
mompoet - I would stroll
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
dreambly-peg
There's this big house that I dream about from time to time. Every time I dream it, we are just newly moving or moved in, and still deciding where to put things and which room will belong to whom and be used for what. It's a weird house, multi-leveled and situated on a steep slope, with large rooms, not all regularly shaped or laid out. The rooms also seem to have been built at different times, and in different styles, still it is all one house. Whenever I am in this house, I worry about being in one part of the house and being to far away from my family members and others who are in the house (guests, extended family, workers there to do renovations). Often in my dream I explore the house and find rooms that I did not know were there, and that are sometimes inhabited by people who I did not know lived in the house. Sometimes the rooms are frightening, like dark cellars and gaping decrepit halls, but in these dreams I am always looking for more rooms that we can use to live in, store our stuff, use for activities.
This time I dreamed that we were going through the house room by room, making an inventory of things that needed to be fixed. We came to one room that looked pretty good but all empty. I noticed a mark on one wall so I went to check it and discovered that the entire wall was made of poster-board like you buy for school projects. It was stuck to the wall studs with staples.
I also had a guest staying over in this dream, up at the highest level of the house, in an old-fashioned bedroom with bay windows. The guest said she had a lovely sleep, then departed. Then the bedroom expanded into a gymnasium and a stream of young people in gym clothing came in and began playing soccer. They were accompanied by a young adult coach. I spoke with him and he told me these youth were from another country and didn't speak English, and that they love soccer. The previous owner had allowed them to come in every day to play soccer in her house. I decided it was okay if the janitor who worked in my house (apparently I had a janitor working there) would help keep an eye out, and if the kids would not kick balls too hard at the walls or break anything. I asked to speak with them but they could not understand me and would not listen, so I kicked them out of the house and told them to come back tomorrow if they were willing to listen to the rules before they played.
Then I woke up.
question: what does this one mean?
mompoet - going places in my dreams, sometimes the same place, but always a new situation
This time I dreamed that we were going through the house room by room, making an inventory of things that needed to be fixed. We came to one room that looked pretty good but all empty. I noticed a mark on one wall so I went to check it and discovered that the entire wall was made of poster-board like you buy for school projects. It was stuck to the wall studs with staples.
I also had a guest staying over in this dream, up at the highest level of the house, in an old-fashioned bedroom with bay windows. The guest said she had a lovely sleep, then departed. Then the bedroom expanded into a gymnasium and a stream of young people in gym clothing came in and began playing soccer. They were accompanied by a young adult coach. I spoke with him and he told me these youth were from another country and didn't speak English, and that they love soccer. The previous owner had allowed them to come in every day to play soccer in her house. I decided it was okay if the janitor who worked in my house (apparently I had a janitor working there) would help keep an eye out, and if the kids would not kick balls too hard at the walls or break anything. I asked to speak with them but they could not understand me and would not listen, so I kicked them out of the house and told them to come back tomorrow if they were willing to listen to the rules before they played.
Then I woke up.
question: what does this one mean?
mompoet - going places in my dreams, sometimes the same place, but always a new situation
Monday, August 25, 2008
damp
Our two weeks' vacation have not been very sunny on average. Lots of rain and cloudy days with bits of sunshine. These pictures were taken one day last week at about 2 in the afternoon, although it looks like about 8 at night due to the gloom.
We are making the best of it. It's still warm outside, and it's still good to not be at work, and relaxing with the kids before school begins. We would like a beach day or two, however. These will probably arrive on September 2. Oh well.
question: how's the weather where you are?
mompoet - rain on my flip flops
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Last Week's Poetry Slam Reviewed
Here's a review of last week's slam. It feels good to hear a couple of my poems remembered and mentioned, and to know that we are still attracting new audience members who enjoy what we do.
question: have you been to the slam?
mompoet - liking this very much
question: have you been to the slam?
mompoet - liking this very much
Saturday, August 23, 2008
pne again
We made our second trip this summer to the PNE, this time to see Fiona perform at the Festival Square stage with her Lindbjerg performing arts friends. This time we arrived at fair opening time, and had an earlier day, hopping from show to show, and ending up at Lindbjerg's 6pm performance.
We began with the pig races, or should I say "race." There was also a duck race, and a pig that trotted through a hoop and fetched at stick. It was good tongue-in-cheek silly fun, with 29 minutes of buildup, and 90 seconds of total racing (75 seconds ducks, 15 seconds pigs). About 250 people watched, inside the animal barn. This event continues to be controversial in a low-key way. While Richard, the MC, assured us that the pigs and ducks are happy, healthy and well-fed, some say that they run for food because they are hungry, and that's cruel. Here's a youtube link. What do you think?
Then we went to the Superdog show. Here's a youtube link for that. The show is as glitzy and hyper as ever. The dogs are so compelling with their energy and personalities, that it doesn't matter that the format stays pretty much the same year after year, with neon and glitter and pumped up pop music adapted to dog themes. New host Chase does a good job of keeping things moving forward, and whipping the crowd into a cheering, clapping, chanting frenzy, but I do miss Herb Williams, who retired a couple of years ago. Here's info about the once and present hosts. Several thousand people came to see the Superdog show, which is apparently the biggest draw of all of the shows at the PNE every year. I don't think the dogs were hungry. They are rewarded with favourite toys, praise and cuddles.
After the Superdogs, we saw the Flying Canucks. Five handsome young men jump off of platforms onto 2 trampolines and do gravity defying stunts, including wall-walking and freestyle ski and snowboard aerial tricks. It's a combination of gymnastics, cirque de soleil and ski hill fun, and did I mention, cute boys? No wonder this show is popular with teen girls. I wondered how soon it might become an Olympic event. About 100 people watched the Flying Canucks show.
Then we went to the Lumberjack show. It's pared down from the old days when they used to alternate with the demolition derby in the big pit arena just past the Mad Mouse ride. Still, all of the classic events were included: carving a chair out of a log with a chainsaw, swede-sawing speed competition, log rolling, pole-climbing and axe-throwing. Lots of burly-man lumber camp jokes spiced up the show, which was watched by about 500 people.
Next up was Wheels of Steel - ATV races, freestyle sport bike competition and BMX aerials. Every exciting moment was punctuated by bursts of flames out of a couple of centrally located flame-stacks. This youtube clip summarized it to perfection. A thousand people watched this spectacle.
Finally it was time to see Fiona's show, real kids and teens singing on the community stage in Festival square. We got there early and relaxed on our blanket with a bit of supper. Andy had a foot long hotdog and rootbeer. He said it was good, and good value. I had wonton soup from Vina Vietnamese restaurant and an ice tea. A bit more expensive, but yummy and nourishing. The Lindbjerg students did a fine 40-minute performance of selections from this year's productions of Peter Pan, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Hairspray. It was a welcome change after watching several performances of running, chasing and shouting. No flames were thrown, either.
After the show, the kids went on a few more rides while we strolled around and looked at the prize home, which is lovely this year. We left before 8:30. It was a long day, and I think we saw everything there was to see. I found it a bit overwhelming, but it is the PNE and it was a lot of entertainment for $10 discounted entry fee.
So phew! Here I am at home, enjoying a lazy Saturday, feeling like we did the fair just right. I'll be back next year for more of the same, I'm sure. In the meantime, there's a week left, if you haven't gone yet.
question: do you go to the PNE?
mompoet - oink, woof, jump, chop, zoom, tra la la, home sweet home
We began with the pig races, or should I say "race." There was also a duck race, and a pig that trotted through a hoop and fetched at stick. It was good tongue-in-cheek silly fun, with 29 minutes of buildup, and 90 seconds of total racing (75 seconds ducks, 15 seconds pigs). About 250 people watched, inside the animal barn. This event continues to be controversial in a low-key way. While Richard, the MC, assured us that the pigs and ducks are happy, healthy and well-fed, some say that they run for food because they are hungry, and that's cruel. Here's a youtube link. What do you think?
Then we went to the Superdog show. Here's a youtube link for that. The show is as glitzy and hyper as ever. The dogs are so compelling with their energy and personalities, that it doesn't matter that the format stays pretty much the same year after year, with neon and glitter and pumped up pop music adapted to dog themes. New host Chase does a good job of keeping things moving forward, and whipping the crowd into a cheering, clapping, chanting frenzy, but I do miss Herb Williams, who retired a couple of years ago. Here's info about the once and present hosts. Several thousand people came to see the Superdog show, which is apparently the biggest draw of all of the shows at the PNE every year. I don't think the dogs were hungry. They are rewarded with favourite toys, praise and cuddles.
After the Superdogs, we saw the Flying Canucks. Five handsome young men jump off of platforms onto 2 trampolines and do gravity defying stunts, including wall-walking and freestyle ski and snowboard aerial tricks. It's a combination of gymnastics, cirque de soleil and ski hill fun, and did I mention, cute boys? No wonder this show is popular with teen girls. I wondered how soon it might become an Olympic event. About 100 people watched the Flying Canucks show.
Then we went to the Lumberjack show. It's pared down from the old days when they used to alternate with the demolition derby in the big pit arena just past the Mad Mouse ride. Still, all of the classic events were included: carving a chair out of a log with a chainsaw, swede-sawing speed competition, log rolling, pole-climbing and axe-throwing. Lots of burly-man lumber camp jokes spiced up the show, which was watched by about 500 people.
Next up was Wheels of Steel - ATV races, freestyle sport bike competition and BMX aerials. Every exciting moment was punctuated by bursts of flames out of a couple of centrally located flame-stacks. This youtube clip summarized it to perfection. A thousand people watched this spectacle.
Finally it was time to see Fiona's show, real kids and teens singing on the community stage in Festival square. We got there early and relaxed on our blanket with a bit of supper. Andy had a foot long hotdog and rootbeer. He said it was good, and good value. I had wonton soup from Vina Vietnamese restaurant and an ice tea. A bit more expensive, but yummy and nourishing. The Lindbjerg students did a fine 40-minute performance of selections from this year's productions of Peter Pan, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Hairspray. It was a welcome change after watching several performances of running, chasing and shouting. No flames were thrown, either.
After the show, the kids went on a few more rides while we strolled around and looked at the prize home, which is lovely this year. We left before 8:30. It was a long day, and I think we saw everything there was to see. I found it a bit overwhelming, but it is the PNE and it was a lot of entertainment for $10 discounted entry fee.
So phew! Here I am at home, enjoying a lazy Saturday, feeling like we did the fair just right. I'll be back next year for more of the same, I'm sure. In the meantime, there's a week left, if you haven't gone yet.
question: do you go to the PNE?
mompoet - oink, woof, jump, chop, zoom, tra la la, home sweet home
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nelson is touring with poets
Last night, at the Vancouver Poetry Slam, Decatur Georgia poet, Stacie Boschma rocked the house with her performance. Stacie's poetry is the kind I like: direct and honest, telling stories about real-life situations, revealing truth and beauty with humour, intelligence and heart. She started out with "Freedom," remembered by many of us who saw her perform it at the Women's Showcase at iWPS 2007 in Vancouver, then segued to others including "The View from Gotham" (the Batman poem), "Pineapples," and "Love in the Key of Panda." Stacie was appreciated tremendously by the packed-house audience. We hope she'll return soon. In the meantime, I bought her CD, Happy Rainbow Poems from the Unicorn Petting Zoo and The Shout Rainbows EP.
I first met Stacie at iWPS07, where she performed and volunteered. We've been in touch by blog, email and facebook since. I was hoping we might get her to visit Port Moody, but she and her friends Hollin and Arrie had to leave their three beloved dogs in the US because they did not have the complicated paperwork required to bring the dogs across. So on Canadian performance days they have been border-hopping so as not to neglect their canine companions.
I have known Stacie to be a lover of animals since I met her. She has shown a special enthusiasm for our pet plastic rat, Nelson, who has travelled quite a lot in the past couple of years. I have told Nelson about Stacie, and he asked if he could come to the slam to meet her. You can imagine how excited Nelson was when I asked Stacie if she would take the rat on the road to share adventures with her and Hollin and Arrie and the dogs. He was grinning from whisker to whisker! So Nelson will be away for a time. We know he'll have a spectacular adventure, and we hope he'll write to us once or twice and maybe send a photo. We're grateful to Stacie for packing him along. I have told Nelson to be polite and not eat all of Stacie's potato chips (or if he does, to pretend it was the dogs).
If you would like to catch up on some of Nelson's adventures, here's a compilation of my Nelson blog posts.
question: where would you take Nelson, if you could?
mompoet - happy to see my gypsy rat doing what he likes best
our neighbour, the sun
NASA's astronomy pages for ordinary people just posted this article about "living with a star." If you were interested in the concepts shown in the fiction movie Sunshine, you'll enjoy reading the real story.
question: which atmosphere do you like better?
mompoet - wondering what it would feel like to crawl out from under the blanket
question: which atmosphere do you like better?
mompoet - wondering what it would feel like to crawl out from under the blanket
Sunday, August 17, 2008
a bit more about Trooper
These are the guys who played at my high school dance. Come to think of it, I think it was actually a lunch hour "Sock Hop," but it might have been a dance. The difference was at the dances some of the boys dressed like KISS and some of the girls wore long dresses (me) and brought mickeys of vodka with tang crystals shaken in (not me). At the sock hops we just brought chocolate milk from the cafeteria and we wore star jeans.
question: do you remember?
mompoet - were we cool or whut?
question: do you remember?
mompoet - were we cool or whut?
PNE from the centre of the universe
Sometimes, when I attend a large event, I find a way to stay mostly in one spot, and get the experience from one vantage point. I find that I am less overwhelmed this way, which allows me to be more observant. I have also noticed that everything I need to do or see makes its way to the place where I am, and I have a full experience, even if I don't seek them all out myself.
Andy and I went to the PNE on Saturday. It was opening day, and also the day that Fiona and her friend Dani were set to perform in the talent show. The show took place at the Rogers Amphitheatre, the main outdoor stage at the fair. Fi and Dani did a wonderful job, singing a song from the musical, Wicked. They didn't win, but we were very pleased with their performance, and they were happy to be in the show.
After the show, it was supper time, so while the girls took off with some friends for a few hours, Andy and I looked around and found fair food for supper (pizza, mini donuts and root beer for him, Vietnamese salad roll, wiggle chips and ice tea for me). Fair food is unfairly expensive, but it's part of the experience. I brought a water bottle from home, and found places to refill it throughout the day, otherwise we would be paying $3 minimum every time we needed a cool drink on a very hot day.
We ate our supper at the Rogers Amphitheatre. By 6pm, the lawn was filling already with people grabbing spots for the Trooper Concert. The crowd was all ages and styles. Waiting 90 minutes wasn't hard because the people-watching was great. Luckily, we brought a blanket, so we could keep a bit of a spot for ourselves. Everyone was wiggling up tight on the lawn and the bleachers behind.
Trooper has been around forever. This local band played at a couple of dances at my junior high school in the early 70s, then went on to become famous in Canada and make a bunch of albums. They still have a lot of loyal fans. I wouldn't say that Andy and I are big fans, but we were curious, and thought a free concert would be a lot of fun, which it was. The show was nostalgic, jarring (I forgot about that song "Three Dressed up as a Nine,") and entertaining. The band played well, although the sound was a bit rough on and off through their 90 minute set, and there were a couple of overly-long solos that would have been refreshing if they were not so overyly-long. The overall impression I got is that Trooper is a bunch of old musicians, still able, very earnest about their work, and appreciative of their fans. After the show, they sat in a tent for over an hour, signing CDs and meeting fans.
After Trooper we took a short walkabout then returned to guess where? The Rogers Amphitheatre, where we spread out the blanket one more time and waited for the girls to rejoin us for the evening finale show, Rolling Thunder. This was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen: loud country music, dancing, lip-synching, huge trailer trucks with dancers inside them and on top of them, fireworks and big flaming torches that felt like they burned our eybrows everytime they flared, mechanical bulls and real lumberjacks sawing logs with chain saws. I am not exaggerating. Oh, there was a giant inflatable someone - lumberjack? Glen Campbell? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
For a fairly strange and wonderful day at the PNE, it was a perfect ending. We made it home by midnight after dropping off Fi's friends at their homes.
question: will you go to the fair this year?
mompoet - PNE tip for the year: The women's washroom downstairs at the Agrodome has no lineups (go in the front doors and turn left to go down to the lower level.)
more blueberries
I found one last bag of frozen berries from last summer, and made some scones for breakfast this morning.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
elusive blue
My favourite, favourite, favourite summer fruit is the blueberry. It comes at the end of the summer, but not so late that summer's all the way over. There are still good watermelons available for a lovely watermelon and blueberry bowl at breakfast time (or anytime really).
Now that I'm on vacation, I want to go pick blueberries. Our favourite u-pick usually is open a couple of days each week, as the berries ripen. I phoned today, and found out that Thursday is the next day for picking. I'll plan to be there at 8:30 when they open.
I usually pick about 40 pounds of berries. We eat berries for a couple of days until we begin to turn blue, then I freeze a lot. Through the winter they are delicious in muffins, pies and pancakes. I also like to add them to apple crip.
In the meantime, I could not wait, so I bought a basket of blue at the produce store. We had berries at breakfast. No watermelon today, so I ate mine with cut up nectarine and prune plum (also in season) and peach yogurt with toasted almonds. A big bowl of yum.
question: what fruit do you seek in summer?
mompoet - collecting buckets for picking
Friday, August 15, 2008
With work like this, who needs a vacation anyway?
This is a photo of me at work the other day. Our summer kids camp was visited by the reptile refuge people. They brought some awesome lizards and lots of snakes. I have never held a snake before, so I was thrilled to have a cuddle with "Oreo" the California King Snake. He felt warmer and softer and somehow more alive than I had imagined. Every part of him was moving all of the time. He seemed to want the warmest, darkest corner at first, then he tried to get down to the floor. I just kept re-directing him to stay in my arms so he slid and curled and hung out with me for a few minutes. It was a very cool experience.Today is my last day at work until after Labour Day. We have 2 weeks of at-home vacation now. It will be good to relax with the kids before school/college begin, and work shifts from snakes and barbeques to full-on programs and events.
question: do you like reptiles?
mompoet - now I know that I do!
Monday, August 11, 2008
anniversary haiku
August 12, 2008
twenty-four years, love
today our bed fell apart
no superstition
just a card, I said
but not the one with dumb boy
dog and smart girl dog
I will fill your car
with chocolates for your drive
to work this morning
I give up I don't
know why love works for us I'm
just glad that it does
Happy anniversary sweetie. I can't believe how smart (and young) we were 24 years ago.
question: do you know why loves works?
mompoet - I'll never know so I'll just be glad
twenty-four years, love
today our bed fell apart
no superstition
just a card, I said
but not the one with dumb boy
dog and smart girl dog
I will fill your car
with chocolates for your drive
to work this morning
I give up I don't
know why love works for us I'm
just glad that it does
Happy anniversary sweetie. I can't believe how smart (and young) we were 24 years ago.
question: do you know why loves works?
mompoet - I'll never know so I'll just be glad
Friday, August 08, 2008
wirblblubnderwug
This week has been like a washing machine of unexplainable occurrences, near-misses and silly coincidences. Kind of like God's grab bag of "what next" all dumped out on the table. Looking back, it's mostly too trivial to mention and some of it personal (surviveable but confidential), but cumulatively enough to make me feel caught adrift in some kind of raucous rapids of WOO WOOOOO WOOOPS!
The highlight of weirdness that I can tell you about is Alex's first car crash. First of all, he is 100% okay, although his eyeglasses look like someone put them in the Cuisinart for a minute. He didn't bump his head, so we're not sure how that happened to the glasses, but it did, and luckily the lady at Lenscrafter was able to reshape them to nearly new, and he'll get new glasses this Fall anyhow.
Here's what happened: Alex had the car on Wednesday to go to a softball tournament hosted by his work. I took the bus to work, and was planning to walk home after, but just as I was about to leave, one of our senior ladies from the rec centre fell down on her way out to the car, and wasn't able to stand up. We called the ambulance, and I sat on the ground with her for about an hour waiting, while my co-workers brought ice for her injured wrist, cold water for her to drink (it was hot outside) and a blanket to lean back on. The ants were crawling and some little flies were biting us, and she was in a fair bit of pain with her wrist (which turned out to be broken), but we chatted and she kept remarkably good spirits while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. We even joked about what was worse - falling down or sitting on an anthill for an hour, as we suspected we might be at one point. By the end of that I didn't want to walk home, or ride on a steamy busy, so I called Alex for a ride.
Alex was heading out to pick me up when he was rear-ended. He and another driver were stopped, waiting to merge from our neighbourhood onto the highway when a third driver drove into the back of the car behind Alex, bashing car number 2 right into him. Kind of car bocce, I guess. The worst part is that driver #3 left the scene, and Alex and the other driver did not get her license plate number. Alex was shaken up but unharmed. Our car has some damage, which our insurance will fix. Driver #2 was driving a great big car that was not damaged and he is okay too.
The nice part of the story is that our neighbour was driving home from work, and noticed Alex by the side of the road. He stopped and helped Alex. He helped take down the other driver's information, then drove Alex home in our car. He even phoned his wife and asked her to pick me up at my office on her way home from work. This was just what we needed. It was such a comfort to know that Alex didn't have to deal with this stressful situation all by himself. And what a kindness to have my friend pick me up and bring me home to Alex, tired and worried as I was. We always say we have the best friends in the world living all on our street. This is just an example of the kindness that is shown to us by these friends. Thank you Wayne and Karen. You are the best.
I am grateful that this all turned out okay. I always think that a near miss is a special blessing. It's too bad it happened, but good that it happened the way that it did, and was not worse. Every time we stumble and fall into soft arms, I am reminded of this.
question: what has your week been like?
mompoet - counting blessings and ignoring mosquitoes
The highlight of weirdness that I can tell you about is Alex's first car crash. First of all, he is 100% okay, although his eyeglasses look like someone put them in the Cuisinart for a minute. He didn't bump his head, so we're not sure how that happened to the glasses, but it did, and luckily the lady at Lenscrafter was able to reshape them to nearly new, and he'll get new glasses this Fall anyhow.
Here's what happened: Alex had the car on Wednesday to go to a softball tournament hosted by his work. I took the bus to work, and was planning to walk home after, but just as I was about to leave, one of our senior ladies from the rec centre fell down on her way out to the car, and wasn't able to stand up. We called the ambulance, and I sat on the ground with her for about an hour waiting, while my co-workers brought ice for her injured wrist, cold water for her to drink (it was hot outside) and a blanket to lean back on. The ants were crawling and some little flies were biting us, and she was in a fair bit of pain with her wrist (which turned out to be broken), but we chatted and she kept remarkably good spirits while we waited for the paramedics to arrive. We even joked about what was worse - falling down or sitting on an anthill for an hour, as we suspected we might be at one point. By the end of that I didn't want to walk home, or ride on a steamy busy, so I called Alex for a ride.
Alex was heading out to pick me up when he was rear-ended. He and another driver were stopped, waiting to merge from our neighbourhood onto the highway when a third driver drove into the back of the car behind Alex, bashing car number 2 right into him. Kind of car bocce, I guess. The worst part is that driver #3 left the scene, and Alex and the other driver did not get her license plate number. Alex was shaken up but unharmed. Our car has some damage, which our insurance will fix. Driver #2 was driving a great big car that was not damaged and he is okay too.
The nice part of the story is that our neighbour was driving home from work, and noticed Alex by the side of the road. He stopped and helped Alex. He helped take down the other driver's information, then drove Alex home in our car. He even phoned his wife and asked her to pick me up at my office on her way home from work. This was just what we needed. It was such a comfort to know that Alex didn't have to deal with this stressful situation all by himself. And what a kindness to have my friend pick me up and bring me home to Alex, tired and worried as I was. We always say we have the best friends in the world living all on our street. This is just an example of the kindness that is shown to us by these friends. Thank you Wayne and Karen. You are the best.
I am grateful that this all turned out okay. I always think that a near miss is a special blessing. It's too bad it happened, but good that it happened the way that it did, and was not worse. Every time we stumble and fall into soft arms, I am reminded of this.
question: what has your week been like?
mompoet - counting blessings and ignoring mosquitoes
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
dum-poet
First real day back to work after my road trip today, and I am filling in for two weeks for my boss, who is now on vacation.
My first wondrous accomplishment as acting boss was to cancel this week's staff meeting. I decided instead of emailing everyone on the first day back after a long weekend, I would go say hi to people in their offices, and tell them the meeting was canceled. Everyone was happy to see me and glad to hear about the cancellation.
Then I got back to my desk and saw on my calendar that the staff meeting is next week. Oh my. So I sent out a group email saying that not only is there no staff meeting this week, but there's no staff meeting next week, when the staff meeting is actually planned to be held. I added to my message the idea that we might still want to have our usual pre-meeting potluck lunch, or if everyone's too busy to cook, I'd be glad to collect money and go get takeout. Even if we don't have a meeting, it will be good to have lunch together. Email replies-to-all in the affirmative began to trickle in, containing various opinions about what to have for lunch.
At this point, I realise that our lunch meeting is usually the second meeting of the month so it's not really next week, it's in..er...three weeks, at which time I'll be on vacation. So I send out a reply-to-all clarifying that next week isn't actually the lunch meeting, but let's have lunch anyways because everyone seems game. So far, so good.
Now there's a knock at my office door. My friend Alan Smith (not his real name) pops in to tell me that I accidently addressed the email meant for him to Alice Smith in the Finance Department at City Hall, and poor Alice has been forwarding silly lunch discussion emails to him all morning. He says it's no problem really, but from now on, could I please...
Shortly after my other friend, Richard Jones, (also not his real name) tells me that all of my emails meant to go to him have gone to his daughter, Betty Jones, who has a summer internship at the museum. She's been forwarding the lunch/meeting muddle missives to him all morning.
Very carefully I send out one last email, double-checking the automated address designations of each recipient, to be sure they're all going to the right people. I clarify: no meeting this week, no meeting next week, lunch next week. I quietly request RSVPs in person, or on a slip of paper in my letter tray at reception, then I turn off the computer for the day.
phew, I think.
But of course now everyone has to bug me. "Hey boss," someone says, "nice one! Are you inviting everyone from city hall to our lunch meeting?"
"Yes," I reply with as much dignity as I can muster. "And tomorrow I am going to email the mayor and ask him for his recipe for blueberry muffins. And the next day I will text message the director of our department, and tell him I have a two day rental on Superbad if he wants to borrow it for the second day, just so long as he takes it back to the video store when he's done."
Yes, that is why they pay us the BIG BUCKS.
question: did you ever stick your foot in it, extra deep?
mompoet - duh
My first wondrous accomplishment as acting boss was to cancel this week's staff meeting. I decided instead of emailing everyone on the first day back after a long weekend, I would go say hi to people in their offices, and tell them the meeting was canceled. Everyone was happy to see me and glad to hear about the cancellation.
Then I got back to my desk and saw on my calendar that the staff meeting is next week. Oh my. So I sent out a group email saying that not only is there no staff meeting this week, but there's no staff meeting next week, when the staff meeting is actually planned to be held. I added to my message the idea that we might still want to have our usual pre-meeting potluck lunch, or if everyone's too busy to cook, I'd be glad to collect money and go get takeout. Even if we don't have a meeting, it will be good to have lunch together. Email replies-to-all in the affirmative began to trickle in, containing various opinions about what to have for lunch.
At this point, I realise that our lunch meeting is usually the second meeting of the month so it's not really next week, it's in..er...three weeks, at which time I'll be on vacation. So I send out a reply-to-all clarifying that next week isn't actually the lunch meeting, but let's have lunch anyways because everyone seems game. So far, so good.
Now there's a knock at my office door. My friend Alan Smith (not his real name) pops in to tell me that I accidently addressed the email meant for him to Alice Smith in the Finance Department at City Hall, and poor Alice has been forwarding silly lunch discussion emails to him all morning. He says it's no problem really, but from now on, could I please...
Shortly after my other friend, Richard Jones, (also not his real name) tells me that all of my emails meant to go to him have gone to his daughter, Betty Jones, who has a summer internship at the museum. She's been forwarding the lunch/meeting muddle missives to him all morning.
Very carefully I send out one last email, double-checking the automated address designations of each recipient, to be sure they're all going to the right people. I clarify: no meeting this week, no meeting next week, lunch next week. I quietly request RSVPs in person, or on a slip of paper in my letter tray at reception, then I turn off the computer for the day.
phew, I think.
But of course now everyone has to bug me. "Hey boss," someone says, "nice one! Are you inviting everyone from city hall to our lunch meeting?"
"Yes," I reply with as much dignity as I can muster. "And tomorrow I am going to email the mayor and ask him for his recipe for blueberry muffins. And the next day I will text message the director of our department, and tell him I have a two day rental on Superbad if he wants to borrow it for the second day, just so long as he takes it back to the video store when he's done."
Yes, that is why they pay us the BIG BUCKS.
question: did you ever stick your foot in it, extra deep?
mompoet - duh
Monday, August 04, 2008
Nelson's Trip to the East Kootenays
Nelson went on a road trip last week. While in Cranbrook he had a baby mouse which proves my father's contention that mice are baby rats. We left the baby in Cranbrook, mostly because Nelson is not very maternal, but also because the baby seems to have imprinted on my sister's cat, Mr. Kitty. You can see that baby is all furry from snuggling with his surrogate mom-cat.
haiku movie review - Mamma Mia
Pierce Brosnan should not
I repeat: should not, sing in
a movie again
corny love story
woman-power greek chorus
and spandex - good stuff
this one's for the moms
aphrodite lies waiting
for all who dare sing
question: did you see it?
mompoet - still giggling
I repeat: should not, sing in
a movie again
corny love story
woman-power greek chorus
and spandex - good stuff
this one's for the moms
aphrodite lies waiting
for all who dare sing
question: did you see it?
mompoet - still giggling
I am back
It's August 4, and my 3-week experiment of writing just for myself is winding down. I have been writing my morning pages, and writing exercises and reading poetry and various other good stuff. I feel like my creative motor has been restarted, and lots of stuff is chuffing and belching out. I have decided to recommence regular blogging, but to put my own writing first. So if I skip a few days here and there, it's because I am turning to the blank page, looking inward, frolicking with my muse.
Summer is a good time for this. I just took a spur-of-the-moment week off and drove up to Cranbrook with Alex. It's been 3 years since I visited my sister's home there, mostly because she was out of the country for a couple of years, then she returned this time last summer so we left her and her family to resettle before arriving as stay-over guests. We've enjoyed several visits here, but it's not the same as when we go there. The thirteen hour drive across the south end of our province was a nice time to talk with Alex alone. We got onto topics like "who is God?" and "the nature of fear." When you are hurtling forward in a car together it's just easier to open up and talk about big ideas and feelings. Once we got there we had a great time. I took my writing and reading stuff and found time each day to do some of each. Mostly we just enjoyed the company of our loved ones. The cousins had a great time together, and we visited Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho, where I rode a wooden coaster that is now my second-favourite in the world. This is not my video, but it does represent the experience pretty well. I like the design of this coaster. You pretty much reverse in a big loop halfway through, and travel back parallel to your original path. Much fun.
Aside from that we have enjoyed celebrating Fiona's birthday, Alex receiving his high school transcripts (yes, he has graduated from Grade 12), and lots of fun in the sun around town. Now I'll sign off, and post a few photos of Nelson's East Kootenay adventure, under a separate heading.
question: have you taken a break from your routine lately?
mompoet - coming up refreshed and energized
Summer is a good time for this. I just took a spur-of-the-moment week off and drove up to Cranbrook with Alex. It's been 3 years since I visited my sister's home there, mostly because she was out of the country for a couple of years, then she returned this time last summer so we left her and her family to resettle before arriving as stay-over guests. We've enjoyed several visits here, but it's not the same as when we go there. The thirteen hour drive across the south end of our province was a nice time to talk with Alex alone. We got onto topics like "who is God?" and "the nature of fear." When you are hurtling forward in a car together it's just easier to open up and talk about big ideas and feelings. Once we got there we had a great time. I took my writing and reading stuff and found time each day to do some of each. Mostly we just enjoyed the company of our loved ones. The cousins had a great time together, and we visited Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho, where I rode a wooden coaster that is now my second-favourite in the world. This is not my video, but it does represent the experience pretty well. I like the design of this coaster. You pretty much reverse in a big loop halfway through, and travel back parallel to your original path. Much fun.
Aside from that we have enjoyed celebrating Fiona's birthday, Alex receiving his high school transcripts (yes, he has graduated from Grade 12), and lots of fun in the sun around town. Now I'll sign off, and post a few photos of Nelson's East Kootenay adventure, under a separate heading.
question: have you taken a break from your routine lately?
mompoet - coming up refreshed and energized
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