with tear filled eyes........

Eyes are swollen and not another drop of tears are left at this time.

Glenn and I took our 13 year old cat to the vet 2 weeks ago (the vet had been our vet for the last few years) and she said he had chronic sinusitis so Weasel had been on meds for the last 2 weeks for that. Believing her till Thursday when weasel and I went back to the vets because he was just not getting better. I told the vet that something needed to be done because he was not getting better at all. I couldn't afford to keep doing the thyroid tests she suggested because it was draining us dry. I also reminded her that both her and her assistant said that the test for the thyroid that kept coming back was not really an issue since he was sick and that the test usually came back slightly high when a cat was sick anyways. Although she still wanted me to keep doing the tests in which I said we could get it done after he was better so we could get an accurate result back. I just wanted her to focus on the new blood panel of blood work, the white blood cell count test, the urine sample test and possibly new meds she. went off saying "Who told you I was ripping you off". I was like "I never said you were ripping me off I said however that these tests every 2 days in the last 2 weeks were getting expensive and I couldn't keep affording it especially when the thyroid test really isn't an issue with his nose and the results were always the same in the end anyways”.

The thyroid test kept coming back as slightly elevated but both her and her assistant keep telling me that it meant nothing just that he was sick and as long as he was sick they couldn't count on the fact that they were accurate. So I wanted them to stop taking the test and just deal with the sinusitis issue that they told me he had since it had been 2 weeks and he was getting worse. They kept poking and prodding him.. He was shaved in small different locations all overall his body and had large bruises from all the blood work and meds he had been giving and taking in the last 2 weeks.
In my opinion it was unfair to him as well as my pocket book, especially when nothing was working. So needless to say she got mad and told me I should get a second opinion. Meaning she was no longer going to deal with me and weasel anymore and we should get out. I packed him up in his carrier and said fine I will get a real vet and she was a fucking bitch for doing this to us because I wouldn't pay for another thyroid test that day. Even though I was going to be paying for a new full blood panel test, a urine test, an office visit, different meds, as well as any new meds they wanted to give him in the office, another $300.00 in their pocket but I could not keep squeezing out 60.00 every 2 days for the thyroid that kept coming back slightly high. Been there done that and nothing had changed.

So when i got home Thursday afternoon I was spitting fire over what happened and started to call other vets. I need to get weasel medical treatment asap. I found one that had an opening Friday at 9:30 am. I was relieved that my other vet hadn’t ruined it so I couldn’t find medical attention for weasel before the following week, since appointments are hard to find when we need a vet right away. Well needless to say that night I got bladder infection so at 3 am while trying to deal with it myself by drinking a 3.78 litre jug of cranberry juice, I texted Glenn to ask him if he would take weasel in for me, thinking it was only a visit to get more blood work done and stronger meds. He agreed the next morning and came home from work and picked weasel up and off to the appointment they both went. Instead of the blood work and new tests the new vet took one look at him and told Glenn she was 95% sure it was cancer. She said she would run the test in her clinic and it would take about 10 mins., longest 10 mins of Glenn’s life. At this time I tried to get a hold of Glenn on his cell but he wasn't answering me. Why was he not answering me? I began to panic. The vet ran a test in her office and came back and said yes for sure it was feline Leukemia cancer.
Glenn called me and told me he hadn’t wanted to call before he was sure and if he had of talked to me he would have only told me what the vet said without any proof yet. I was shocked he went in for what we had been told was chronic sinusitis and now had cancer. How do we go from that to this in only 2 hours? Glenn asked her how he could have gotten it since he was an inside cat, he ate expensively good food, had his shots yearly, he was fixed and blood work done regularly. He even had his teeth cleaned and such a year ago at a cost of $900.00 bucks to help prolong his life. She said it's a gene that either stays dormant for life but can activate itself if it chooses and it was no one’s fault.

She gave Glenn really only one option. We could have him on chemo therapy but at his age she was again 95% certain he would not survive that treatment, she said if he was younger the odds were better but he was in cat years 68 and human 13 and the cancer was spreading fast in his body. She said he would die from the chemo and cancer battling it out before the chemo could even start to take effect. The cancer was spreading faster then she had ever seen it spread. She said that the other vet should have had the same exact test results since we had done a full and mini blood work panel 2 weeks ago and she also confirmed that the thyroid test would be elevated since he was so sick and doing it over and over would not have changed the results at all with him being sick like he was.

Glenn was so mad and yet so hurt after he was told all this. The vet said we could bring weasel home over the weekend to say our good bye’s and bring him in Monday to have him put down if we wanted to. We couldn't handle that since neither Glenn nor I would have ever gone back to have him put down if we brought him home one last time. We would have convinced ourselves that he would have gotten better and in the end he would have suffered more than he already did. So we made the decision that we would not let him suffer anymore and have them do it that day (Friday).

I didn't go to the vet’s cause I knew I could not handle it emotionally, I would have wanted to grab our cat and run out of the clinic and so Glenn stayed with him alone. While weasel purred and face rubbed Glenn for the last time, Glenn told him how much we all loved him, thanked him for being part of our family for so many years and he promised that the pain would stop, then weasel went to eternal sleep, while in the arms of Glenn. At home the kids were called home from school and when they arrived they were told what had happened. It was an afternoon of tears and memories, swollen eyes and aching hearts for all of us. Our home feels one soul empty now and even our other cats’s sensed the sadness and have been gathering around to offer comfort and support but even with 5 other cats which we love dearly the pain of losing Weasel has been heart breaking. It will take time but I know we will work through it and find peace, where anger and hurt now reside.

Some look at pets as property, in our house our pets are our family members, they are our children, our brothers and sisters, our hearts. So when one of our hearts dies it's as if all our hearts die. So it may seem silly to some but to us it's a great lose.

We are now one less strong but time heals all wounds they say, I know in time our hurt will subside and we can just be grateful and honoured that our beloved weasel now is in complete peace without pain. He will forever be missed and loved. A painting I had done of Glenn and weasel for our anniversary a few years ago hangs above our bed as a memory of love. He will always be with us if not in body but soul.
So tonight and every night give your family pet member a hug and tell them you love them, because tomorrow might be too late. One more day with Weasel healthy and happy will never happen again but our memories of him will always be around.

Thank you all for your kind wishes and posts on face book. You all are wonderful friends and At times I don’t feel I deserve you all but I am glad you believe I do. Love you all and thank you again










"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

Children ..... Fragile minds, False memories.....

Growing up is hard. Growing up never really understanding your childhood during a divorce or a separation is harder. Children tend to blame themselves, where blame should clearly never have been put on their shoulders but of the shoulders of the people who raised them. Now this blame doesn't have to keep going on into the child’s adult life as the child who has grown into an adult has the option of finding out what really is the truth. An adult child can think for themselves and decide if what they were told is either truthful or untrue by listening to both sides in an objective way, if at all possible. This can only happen if the adult child choses to put some closure to memories that they find painful. In a perfect world children would never have to grow up with the emotional baggage that belonged to their parents, but our world isn't perfect, is it?

All the same though I am taking about a child, who has not become an adult but is just a child. A innocent child who bombarded by their parents comments and half truths. Children see things differently. The things adults tell children can be, and usually are forever etched in a child's mind. Truth and fiction becomes interwined, it becomes confusing and said enough times it becomes believable truth to a child. Tell a child a lie over and over and that child will come to believe it to be true, false memories can take the place of true memories. As I once read in a book by Orson Scott Card in which he wrote “Surround a child with lies, and he clings to them like a teddy bear, like his mother’s hand.” This statement has merrit even if it came from a fictious story.

Deception is the worse a parent can do to a child in the end. To grow up never sure of what is true or what has just been said so many times that belief is inevitable. A child mind is fragile and should never be played with by revengeful adults.

Divorce seems to be the biggest cause of false memories for children. He said, she said, is an adult game that affects the children involved. It is even worse if one parent ends up being absent in the game so the child only hears from one adult. A child who is told by one parent that the other parent is a “bad person” over and over begins to believe these comments as true. Some parents don’t even realize what they are doing to their child in the end until it is too late. Some parents never realize it was ever too late in the first place. Parents going through life may have anger against one person or another in their lives that they voice openly to their children. Children are our best listeners. Most parents are not out to hurt their child but the child is always hurt when they are told something by one parent about the other. Years of how one or another parent feels about certain issues or feelings are etched in a child’s mind till the child comes to believe what they hear must be the truth, which in turn wiggles and snares itself into the child’s mind so the child has a strong belief of something not completely truthful, just truthful in the mind of the adult who may be hurt or angry at the time it was being said.

We all do it, even in innocently speaking to our child gives the child a belief that no one else could give that child. After all it is coming from the most trusted source in their lives, their parent(s). Is it right to give a child one side? Is it right to allow our emotions to mould our thoughts when speaking to our children? Even children should be allowed to make up their own minds in the end.

Let’s explore this a bit more. Two people who stop loving or decide they cannot live together anymore call it quits. They have children; those children who love both parents are suddenly thrown in the middle of adult chaos. Both parents are mad at each other; let’s face it when a relationship ends a lot (not always the general rule though) of the time those people are hurt, confused, ashamed that their relationship didn’t work out, they are hurt that they loved their partner but they feel their partner didn’t love them, either enough or at all. Feelings are raw and emotions are high. One parent tells their child(ren) “Daddy didn’t love us so he left us” Is this true did the daddy leave the child(ren) or did he leave the mother? “Daddy has a new family who he loves better that is why he never calls or visits” Is this true again did he go off have another family just to replace the one he had? Is that really the reason he doesn’t call or visit? Now daddy says to the kids “Mommy didn’t love daddy she loves someone one else” Is this true, did mommy really just stop loving daddy? “Daddy is not allowed to call or visit you.” Did mommy really make it so daddy couldn’t see his kid(s)? Parents telling their child(ren) even worse things then the examples above, because they don't want the other person to be invoilved in the child(ren) life. The comments vary but the facts remain that each parent makes comments to set doubt and confusion into their child(ren) minds. Whether it is intentional or not, the seeds have already been planted by one or both parents. What is a child to do? Who is a child to believe? It makes it worse if only one parent is in the picture and makes comments discrediting the other, for whatever reason is not in the picture, who cannot defend themselves. The child(ren) now have no way of knowing what the other side of the story is. They will begin to believe what they hear the most of.

Defending yourself, now that should never have to happen if both parents would put their emotions aside and think of the child(ren). I have watched too many people confuse their children with angry and hurt emotions that they are feeling over a break up. Friends, who are on the verge of breaking up, divorcing, or separating, tend to say things about their partners that should never be said around their children. Parents who have told me that they feel that their child(ren) should know the truth from them and not from the other parent. What gives these people, who are logical and caring people, who would never intentionally say bad things in better times of their lives, the right to suddenly tell their child(ren) the truth as they see it now. Mommy and daddy were the greatest people for the last x number of years are now what, uncaring brutes, thoughtless, unworthy, losers?? How does one go from being a great person, to all those bad comments that two people will say about each other to their child(ren) during a divorce or separation.

A child’s mind is sensitive and they may not show it but deep inside they are taking it all in, quietly. They are beginning to believe things that are being said time and time again. They are confused who they love and who loves them back. They are in turmoil and no one notices until they start to lash out, then parents act confused why their child would lash out against them. They will blame anyone else but never stop and think “was it something I said”? Yes, it was something you said. You’re the adult act like it. If your relationship or marriage is something you cannot work on then by all means end it. Just don’t end it for your child(ren). If you need someone to talk to find another adult, but always make sure your child(ren) are never within ear shot when you bash the other person. Never make snide or rude comments about the other person to your child(ren). You’re the adult, what you feel today about a person you never end up feeling the same way 20 years from now, but your child(ren) will. They will always have those comments etched in their heads. It will affect them even if they don’t understand why they feel that way. The relationship with your partner has ended for two of you; it did not end for the children. They will always have the parents they have before you divorced, even if one or both parents find love with another person. Don’t punish them as if they were the ones who could not keep your relationship going or they were the cause of your emotional anger and hurt.

Someone calls you fat or ugly as a child, you remember that in the back of your head, you diet as an adult, you try to change your looks the best you can, and you do whatever it takes to change those feelings you have now because someone made a comment when you were a kid. Those feelings were etched into your head years ago but they still have their effects working on your mind as an adult. You never forgot how you felt back then.

Kids who come from divorced parents will always remember too, it is up to you to make sure they don’t get caught up in your emotional baggage of hurt feelings. Time heals most wounds but comments last a life time.

Be just that, the one person your child(ren) can trust never to give them false comments even when you’re hurting inside so much you want to explode. Remember that raw hurt you feel today will not be raw in years to come. Those feelings will fade and disappear, your comments now; never will.






"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

I was inspired .... part 2

Here are the essays of my other two children ..... they are sooooo creative in there own little ways hahahaha

Tim: Age 17

"My name is Timothy. This is my story. One day I was watching TV and I seen a commercial. I was like, “OH MY GOD! This movie looks intense! What is it!!!!” Then the announcer spoke “Watchmen, in theatres this FRIDAY.” I was like, “I HAVE TO SEE THIS OR I WILL DIE!” So, I went down stairs to speak to my god-like mother who does not like me to do stupid stuff to go see a movie, like write an essay. But when I arrived, she told me she knew that this movie was being released. I replied with, “WE HAVE TO SEE IT OMGOMGOMGOMGROFLCOPTER!” and she said I have already gotten 3 tickets; I will get 2 more when it comes out.

I thought this would be great. So I went up stairs to play some Madden 09 and rape random people online like I often do when I am bored. So I owned this one guy whose online record was around 53 wins and 43 loses. He was playing as Colts, and I was playing as SD Chargers. He was the away team so he had to flip the madden coin to decide who would chose to receive and kick the ball first. He chose heads, and the coin came up heads. He decided to do a Kick Return. So my kicker got on the field and kicked the ball to his 10 yard line (it was a weak kick compared to his others). I ran my guy to him and used the Madden Hit stick on his player. He was down on the 34 yard line. His first play was a HB Dive, which I guessed he would do some sort of run, so I called the BLITZ on him. He lost around 3-4 yards on the play. His next play was a HB Screen, which I did not expect. He threw the ball to his half back, which was on the left side of the field. I switched to control my Safety and hit pushed him out of bounds. He was on my goal line. His first play in the RED ZONE was a HB Strong Toss to the right, my BLITZ stopped this fairly well. Next a QB sneak, but once again, I had my BLITZ ready, so he only gained a few yards. He was now on my 2 yard line. Stopping him with a BLITZ would be very hard because he had many options to get his touch down. So I called a ZONE BLITZ on him. He got to the line of scrimmage with 4 wide receivers, so I put my line on spread formation and putting my SS as a QB Spy. He passed to his wide receiver and my Safety seen this. He ran towards his wide receiver and jumped between him and the ball. “INTERCEPTION!!” is what the announcer of the game yelled. As I landed this interception, I spun my SS in a half circle around his wide receiver, and then ran about 5 yards up before his linemen knocked me out of play. My first offensive play was up. I chose an I-Formation – Double HB set, ISO. LT, my running back ran the ball through the middle for a gain of 4 yards. Next play I chose was a STRONG formation, HB Stretch. My QB stepped back a few feet then handed LT the ball. LT sprung to the right of the field, but the other player called a corner BLITZ. I thought I was a goner, but I hit the hit stick forward and LT ducked under his arm, but since his guy got a hold of me, his defensive players were crowded around LT. I thought this was the end, 1 running back in the middle of 5 defensive players. Nope, LT broke out somehow with the hit stick. It was open field, 1 on 1, LT versus the players Safety. I ran forward with LT, thinking I got this touchdown. As I was running forward, his guy dived in front of me. LT was down, I did not expect a dive to the legs, and I was expecting a Madden Hit Stick to make me lose some yards, maybe injure my player, or even cause a fumble. Next play came up, First and OPP 38 yard line. I decided to give Chambers some yards this game. I chose to do something little, just enough to give me about a first down, so I chose STRONG formation, Curls. My QB snapped the ball, backed up, then passed to Chris Chambers. He caught it of course, Easy first down. I was now on his 28 yard line. My next play was going to Chambers once again, this time; I wanted it to be a touchdown play. I chose a SCREEN PASS play. I was on the line of scrimmage. I sent my running backs to the right of the field and set my linesmen to a pinch formation. Once I snapped the ball I ran to the LEFT of the field away from my team. The other player was expecting another insane run by LT, but not this time. His players ran away from my linesmen and towards my QB, the only player on the left side of the field. I stopped moving backwards, planted my back foot, and lobbed the ball to Chambers. Wide open field. Chambers caught the ball, and ran it in for a touchdown, Easy 6 points on the board. He started his dance in front of the cameras. Now it was time for the 1 point conversion. I set up my field goal team and got on the field.

As I was about to set the kicking position of the ball, a message appeared on the bottom of my screen saying, “DISCONNECTED FROM XBOX LIVE”. I lost a game that was going to be a win for me. Why? All because of SHAW and their random disconnections, if I got to see this movie, it would make up for this disaster that happened in my life, and make me feel okay that I did not receive that win. That is why you should let me see Watchmen."


Keegan: Age 14

"Why I Would Like To See Watchmen....

Watchmen. How will it even benefit me? What's the point of seeing the movie? Well, first off, i'd like to say, yes it will benefit me, and there are many reasons to see this movie. It could change my entire future. After looking into some research, and thinking deep in thought, I have come up with some reasons why I should see this movie. In the next few paragraphs are some reasons why I believe this would contribute to me quite greatly.

As I said in the above paragraph, I would say some reasons listed why I should see this movie. First of all, it could change my entire life. Just the plot alone, I could be inspired to go into military. Or possibly even just be inspired to create a novel and/or illustrated book with something as great as this plot. That is, if I see "The Watchmen". Just maybe this could even teach me a lesson. I could learn more about the Soviet Union and about the American government. Wouldn't you like to educate me? I think that this could be a life changing event. It could possibly mean my future.

Now, maybe you believe that this won't educate me. You could in fact be correct. But, I could become out of the loop by not seeing this movie. It could ruin my social life. After the revelation of "The Dark Knight", I was in the loop. I knew what everyone was talking about. But, if the same thing will happen with "The Watchmen" that has happened with "The Dark Knight" I could become very popular. Maybe even so popular, the government would buy me into college. Fourteen years I have worked to contain my social reputation. I don't think you nor anyone else, would like it to completely fall to pieces after this.

Maybe you think I’m lying about all of this just to get the essay done. But, to me, I think this could be a personal accomplishment for me. Every kid deserves a chance to accomplish one of their goals. Well, this is a goal of mine. And, I believe I deserve the chance. I have thought to myself deeply about why I should see "The Watchmen". And, I believe you should think deeply to yourself on how this could affect me. If I don't go, I might be scarred for life. But, if I do go, I could be the most accomplished kid of my generation. The choice is yours. You have the fate to decide my future. And I hope you pick the correct choice."

After we read these short creative essays, we told the kids that they all won and we would all be seeing the watchmen together. I am sure they were not completely impressed since they all thought that only one of them would win the contest. It was a fun way to mess with the kids.









"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

I was inspired ... So my kids have to write short essays

Yesterday I checked my Horoscope and it told me children will inspire me and it happened, I was inspired to tell my 3 kids that if they wanted to go see "Watchmen" in the theater they needed to write me a essay on why they even want to see this movie in theaters. So far only 1 of them has replied. It was told to them that it is suppose to be a contest and who ever won got to attend the movie night with their dad and I. What they don't know is that all will win and be allowed to go but this is fun to acually see just how much they really want to see this movie. Here is my youngests son's short essay.

Erik: age 10

"I think I should go to the watchmen because I have been really good and I have marked all the days until it comes out and I have been waiting. So as for Tim/Keegan are not really waiting. Tim has been nagging you, lets not lie now he has and keegan just dose not, so really forget about her and I have always been good at going/leaving the movie theater, as for tim and keegan push me around and tim has pushed me into a guy, keegan has pushed me down and don't tell tim and keegan this cause they will kill me. Also tim and keegan havent read the comic book or wanted to so yea i wanted to but i did not know we had it, by the way!"


He even added pictures to his email to add extra content. It's funny that he just wants me to forget about his sister. I almost cried laughing when I read this. Can't wait till the other two finish their essays on why they want to see "The Watchmen" in theaters. Will keep ya posted.


"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

My Horoscope Today

So today I checked my horoscope, first time in years. This is what it said

My horoscope for March 03

Capricorn
( Dec. 22-Jan. 19 )
"You don't have to be aggressive to get what you want. Don't let a personal relationship you have with someone interfere with what you need to do to get ahead. Children will be a source of inspiration."

Let’s break it down a bit; first it tells me that I don’t have to be aggressive. Well if it knew me at all, it would know that I have an aggressive attitude in general and if the stars are right then I was born with it and it is completely out of my control. So saying I don’t have to be aggressive is like saying I don’t have to breathe oxygen. If no one was aggressive in what they wanted we would all be just blobs on our couch’s hoping and praying that things would just magically appear for our taking. So we do need some aggression to get what we want in life.

Next it tells me that I should let personal relationships interfere with what I need to get done. I need to get a lot of things done, make dinner, clean the house, finish the cloths, and somewhere in there have a nap. I have to say I want a personal relationship to interfere with all the things I need to do except maybe the napping part; that I can’t allow anyone to interfere with on any level, personal or not. If someone wants to come over and do all these things for me, hey who am I to tell them no. I won’t interfere at all and they are more than welcomed to interfere if they feel the need.

The last part says children will be a source of inspiration. Who’s inspiration? Mine or theirs? If they mean my inspiration, well I have to agree that yes, my napping is due to the children’s inspiration, I need all the energy I can get to deal with them after school and until bed time. I agree whole heartedly on the last prediction. My children inspire me daily to store up my energy; they inspire me to take regular naps even when they are home. They wear me out, they make me feel like I should already be in an old folks home, they have sucked the life from my body and yet, I love them dearly. These children have inspired me to dream of ways to bottle their energy and use it for myself; so far all tests have failed miserable. Children have so much energy they could afford to lend some out to us older folks. Kids are inspirations to all this is true. We as parents are inspired to come up with new punishments cause they didn’t learn the last time, new foods cause they are picky eaters, new entertainment cause they get bored fast, new rules cause they can’t follow the last rule we made, new language cause they didn’t understand the last language we spoke to them and new reasons why we keep doing it. So yes kids are a source of inspiration but mine will not only inspire me today but everyday till they all grow up, move out and have families of their own. At that point I am hoping the napping will stop and I can enjoy a full day of being completely awake.
So don’t think of your child as life suckers, think of them as inspirations of your daily life. Without them we might just end up losing a lot of important needed sleep.
Who knows with all that sleep loss we might have ended up like Stephen Hawking or as Oprah Winfrey, One will never know.

Read your horoscope and see if it predicts your day ahead.







"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

Alberta Health Care a Scarey Place to Be...........

Use Card with Care

You know what I am talking about. Every Tom, Dick and Judy (Harry moved to the USA back in 2000) runs off to the doctor’s office, usually a medical center or a local hospital, because you can’t find a family doctor even if you wanted to in this city, because OMG! They have a cold; flu or little Johnny fell down and scrapped his knee (well he should have been wearing protective gear in the first place)
Our medical system is splitting at the seams and where it is splitting? The same place we all view from guys who wear their pants too low and bend over.

We bog our own system down by going to the doctor’s for things that we can deal with at home, like colds and flu’s. Crazy thing is our society will head off to the doctor for simple things daily. I stubbed my toe... run to the doctor’s... I have allergies... run to the doctor’s...My nose is running ... run to the doctors... My fingers just fell off my hands.... run to the doctor’s... ok well that one is a good reason to run to the doctor’s; I just got carried away for a sec. We all know these people. Some are even in our own family. Some are even our selves. Oh you know who you are don’t act shocked now Mom. We know our medical system is lacking yet we add more and more pressure to it by visiting hospitals and offices over things that they can’t fix.

We older generation, fell off bikes, skinned out knees had chunks of flesh removed due to these falls and others falls. We got mono, chicken pox, ear infection, colds, flu’s, mumps, measles, broken toes, and stepped on nails and not one of our parents rushed us to the doctor, they took care of us themselves, well mine did anyways. They gave me a shot of whiskey and cleaned out my wounds and told me to be careful next time. When I was sick they would make me stay in bed, brought me food and drinks and I was so bored I had nothing better to do than sleep. I got better, we all did. Yet, we as parents our selves will rush our kids off when they have a small cut to the nearest doctor just to make sure it’s cleaned properly. A little dirt in the wound never killed anyone besides any local drug store now carries disinfectants we all can use safely. No need to see a doctor for most things.

Antibiotics are now a joke; I hear them laughing at me whenever I actually need them, egging me on saying sure take me but fat lot of good I am going to do for you. They don’t work with our immune system like they use to. We all received too many of these drugs for flu’s and colds at one point in our lives. Even if you were like me and didn’t get these wonder drugs they still wouldn’t work as well because the disease has gotten smarter and become immune. Instead of staying in bed, sleeping, drinking plenty of fluids and eating chicken soup we ran to the doctor’s and expected them to give us the miracle cure. The Catholic Church hasn’t had a so called miracle in centuries but we expected that by going to the doctors when we have common diseases would have resulted in that miracle cure the moment they write the prescription. Always ending up being disappointed, walking out after a 2-4 hour wait, still sick, only now we are so tired we wish we hadn’t even gone in the first place.

With all the medical cuts back when Ralph Klein was premier (yes, I voted for him... please send hate mail to your trash cans instead of me please, I live with my shame daily) of Alberta, we have never recouped those losses’ since. Even in our, well last year, booming economy they never really recouped what was cut from the medical world. It’s like when I take money out of my savings, I never seem to be able to add it back in and catch up.

Our doctors ran from Alberta, like camels running for water, to the USA. Why did they run, you ask yourself?.... Answer; MONEY... Doctor’s in the USA make more money per patient then doctor’s in Alberta. They have a better chance of paying off their medical school loans in the USA then in working in Canada. I can’t blame them really and neither should you. We train them and the USA benefits from them. The cost schooling, opening your own practice, paying employee wages and so on can make doctor’s in Canada live in poverty. Oh! don’t for one minute think that our doctor’s are rich just cause they have MD behind their names ... maybe that was so in the 80’s, but this is the year 2009 and our doctor’s can barely afford to pay off their medical school loans . I know labours that make more in a year working, and then doctor’s do with their own practices. The kicker is they both can end up working the same amount of hours in a day, but the doctor’s still only pulls in what the government says they are paying them per patient ... There is no real over time compensation for doctor’s, like there is for the construction worker. So they run, and we lose valuable medical care in our province.
I don’t agree with a privatized medical system. I am 110% for a social medical system. We just need to start thinking more.

I learned from reading reports on our provincial health care that: among the provinces, Alberta applies the smallest percentage of provincial gross domestic product to health care spending, and Alberta’s spending on physician services in 2005-2006 per capita is drastically lower than the number of people we have per capita in our province. This means less doctors more patients for the ones we have managed to keep in our province.In the past 3 years only 83 newly graduated physicians opened practices and in those same years Alberta only gained 200 physicians per year. Physicians came to Alberta from other provinces, but nearly as many left. Alberta is one of the few provinces that don’t offer a program with recruitment and retention bonuses.

See chart below for clarification:

Province Provides Based on
Newfoundland Bonuses paid to Geographic Location,Length of
Salaried physicians practice

Prince Edward None N/A
Island

Nova Scotia None N/A

New Brunswick Bonuses and location Geographic location, length

Grants paid to all physicians of practice

Quebec Recruitment Incentives Geographic location, length of
practice, practice type
(hospitals, etc.) Specialty
Type


Ontario Retention incentives Geographic location,
specialty type

Manitoba Retention Fund Length of practice

Saskatchewan Recruitment Geographic location,
length of practice
and retention incentives

Alberta None N/A

British
Columbia Retirement fund matching Geographic location
recruitment and retention
benefits

Northwest
Territories Recruitment Geographic location,
length of practice
and Nunavut and retention benefits

Yukon
Territory Recruitment and Length of practice
retention bonuses



(I stole this from a recent report I read)
Economic pressures already described are making Alberta a less attractive destination to practise. Physicians have told the Alberta Medical Association:
• Staff costs are going up dramatically and we cannot recoup those costs.
• Young doctors cannot afford to come to Calgary and Edmonton.
• Utilities and computerized medical records costs have both increased substantially, causing income to decrease.
• It is very difficult to recruit and retain physicians when there are significantly increased overhead costs and no differential for high-cost locations.


I can clearly see why they do not want to stay in Alberta. No incentive at all. Not even free meals at the hospital they work in. What they need is just that incentive, make them want to stay and give our province their skills.
Keep in mind one big word; Heritage Fund. Could we not use this large amount of money? $14.5 billion, as of the third quarterly report in December 2008 says we have, in laymen terms we should be able to. Ok, so it’s down 2.5 billion from 2007-2008 year end due to global economic turmoil but we still have 14.5 billion. I am sure a few could put their heads together and come up with some incentives to keep doctors in our province. If I can come up with ways to keep my kids off drugs can’t the government come up with ways to keep our physicians in our province.

We need more physicians simply to care for the same number of Albertans living here as well as those coming in to the province because aging patients require more intensive and complicated treatments Baby boomers are on their way folks and they need medical attention. Those “help I have fallen” necklaces just don’t scream compete medical care. What do we do with them once they have fallen if we have no doctors available to treat them.

Our doctors are also aging this means we will lose even more in the coming years if we do not start replacing them now. Alberta has an immediate shortage of more than 1,000 physicians, in five years, that shortage will be increased to 1, 500. This means we need 500 new physicians a year to make sure we replace the aging ones who are getting ready to retire and provide for the baby boomers who are coming of age.
The end result is this people. The next time you are sitting in a medical center and want to complain that the wait is too long, think about how many doctors are actually on staff, think about why the person next to you is there, is there illness greater than your own? Should you even have come to the medical center in the first place over something that you could have dealt with by drinking plenty of fluids, sleeping, and eating better? Think of all those reasons before you come completely unglued at how unfair it is that you should have to wait 1, 2, 3 4, or more hours to see a doctor. Use common sense, going to the doctor’s because you have a fever of 99.5degrees F doesn’t mean you will die wait till it is 102 and your pain medication; Advil, Tylenol, or aspirin is not lowering the fever. Don’t bog the system down because you need a bandage or you self diagnosed your symptoms on the internet and you think you suddenly have the Ebola virus. If you have a family doctor make an appointment and wait till the day comes to visit them don’t rush to the local emergency room cause you can’t possibly wait a week till you get in. Common sense; we all have it. Forgot what it means?

(Copied from Wikipedia)
Common sense (or, when used attributively as an adjective, commonsense, common-sense, or commonsensical), based on a strict construction of the term, consists of what people in common would agree on: that which they "sense" (in common) as their common natural understanding.

If you think it is bad in the medical facilities now wait till all those baby boomers start coming of age, you ain’t seen nothing yet friends.


:)

Reality TV... Need I Say More?

I am sooooooo sick of reality TV... When reality TV hit the air waves back in the early 90’s it was great. You could watch someone else’s life and think how great it is that you’re not them. I was the biggest fan (well not the biggest but I watched them faithfully) shows like “Survivor” and “Big Brother.” Now its 16 years later and these shows are still going. Who watches these shows anymore? Not I!! Reality bites, I can barely stand to watch life before my own eyes, let alone someone else’s messed up life. I want to live in fantasy not reality.
Now they have shows like “The Bachelor”: a show where women compete with each other to marry some loser who can’t find a woman in real life (these woman have no self respect). “So you think you can dance”: coupled and individuals compete for, who knows? They just dance on stage. “Intervention”: addicts can be humiliated on international TV trying to kick an addiction habit (nothing like a good humiliation to help people get their lives together). “The Surreal Life”: Has been actors living together in one house doing wacky things to get attention (wasn’t there a sitcom similar to this?). Many new ones keep popping up every few months. More and more actors, singers, and ordinary people who seek their 5 minutes of fame are popping up with their own reality TV programs. Is our society that desperate that we need to watch other people humiliation in order to be entertained? Seems so, at least at one point in my life I thought so.
Did you know that a recent survivor show pulled in 2.5 million views from Canada alone? 2.5 million viewers! Wow! I didn’t even know Canada had 2.5 million people, I assumed we must have a lesser population since I have been asked by a few (2-4) Americans if I knew “Bob” in Ontario. I just assumed I must, since I have been asked so often, can’t admit I don’t know “Bob” in Ontario what if he was famous? Then I would be the only Canadian who did not know “Bob”. How good would that look? Our country may be big but our population is small compared to the USA, so I begin to see our population as smaller than apparently it is. There were more viewers watching “Survivor” then we have viewers watching what our country says is our greatest sport “Hockey Night in Canada”, even during play offs.
Reality?... What is reality? Who knows but I do know it’s not the reality shows that the TV broadcasts. In my reality, life is a bit more boring then what I have been watching on TV lately. I can’t remember the last time I was stranded on an island and had to eat rats, or forced to live in a house with other crazy people....... oh wait, I am living in a house with other crazy people, I call them my family... sorry my bad.. Well I do know it’s been awhile since Simon sat in my house and told me I couldn’t sing or dance and it’s been, like... ummm... never, since I was teamed up with a Geek and was classified as a beauty. The meaning of “Reality” in these shows are contrived, fixed and edited.
We never get to see the person who spends the day in bed reading, or the people who sits and drinks coffee in the morning for 30 minutes before running off to work.
Can you imagine the commentary on drinking a cup of coffee??
As john sits down at the kitchen table with his hot mug of coffee he almost spills a drop as the coffee sloshes back and forth in the cup...Cue audience to moans in anticipation...John pulls out the chair and slowly sits his tired body into the seat, placing the cup in front of him, staring off into the distance wishing he could have gotten another hour of sleep. In the distance someone’s car alarms goes off because they forgot to hit the right key button when they got in. John sits staring off into space. Eyes fighting to stay open while he slowly lifts the coffee mug to his lips and takes a sip... Cue crowd to gasp... John successfully sips his coffee without spilling a drop, this time. To think, that was just the first minute of John’s exciting morning we still have another 29 to go. Reality is not really what we want to see, because reality is boring. 20 minutes of the camera showing the bathroom door, waiting for the occupant to come out from whatever they are doing in there, would make us turn the channel instead of gasp and awww at what might be happening behind those doors.
Hey! I want a reality TV show. I would be good at it. While I slept people could make sure the monsters under my bed didn’t escape... The kids don’t like staying under my bed all night and someone has to let me know if they try leaving... right??...
I want more fantasy, I want to pretend that I live the exciting life of the actor who stops crime, or tracks down aliens from other planets. I also want to have a family that is perfect, you know the one where the kids never complain and always seem to understand what their parents are trying to teach them and in return they only get 5 minutes a day to learn all this and put it into action. I also don’t want to ever have to clean the bathrooms again. On TV those bathrooms always stay clean no matter who uses them. I want my kitchen to look as if we never make a meal, but yet dinner always appears on the dining room table, never brunt or under cooked but looking like it was made in an overpriced restaurant by a professional chef. I also want to never have to wear the same outfit in any episode, especially the “I don’t care what I look like cause I am not feeling well” jogging pants. Yes! I want my own reality show.
So since I can’t have one I will stop watching the reality shows on TV and go back to watching my fantasy shows where at least I can pretend it’s my life and it’s an exciting one. At least in my fantasy shows I am an overly educated, crime/alien/forensic investigator, sarcastic yet witty minded spoken woman, who can kick ass against anything or anyone thrown in her way. Maybe this year I will win a primetime Emmy. Stranger things have happened.






"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

Nothing worse than others telling you how to raise your kids.. so I will ....

You know more and more I am disliking people who tell me what my kids can watch, eat, play, and wear. Who the hell do they think they are... really!!.......... They act like a mafia crew if you should buy your child an x- rated video game or take them to a movie that might have sex and violence. I mean don`t think for a minute kids are stupid. If they don`t view or play it at home they will view or play it at someone else’s home. Like Mine.
Let`s talk about the sex for a second. I am not talking porn here, that`s a whole other conversation for later. I am talking about the scene where the guy and girl kiss, start taking off some cloths and fall into bed with the assumption of having sex till they cut to the morning after shot. You know fake sex. Come one people it is fake sex it takes less time in real life then what the movies portray. Just do not get me wrong, I am not saying or even agreeing that children should be watching porn. That is just wrong on so many levels that I wouldn`t even know where to begin. Again kids are not stupid. They know that the stork does not bring babies, and if they don`t well as a parent you really need to get over your shyness and talk to them because otherwise when they come to you and say I am pregnant you can`t get mad cause it wasn`t their decision it was the STORKS! Damn Stork`s got me 3x`s before I realized who my husband really was.

Then there is the violence on the TV news. I mean the violence there is at least real. You don`t see reporters taking fake blood, splattering it all over someone`s body, while they set up mass destruction in the back ground so a report can tell us about a war in another country. “No, those are real dead people that you are watching on TV, my son”. “No, they will not get another 10 lives to try that again like your “Gears of War 2” character does if you save the game and die”. The evening news is real violence. It shows humanity at its finest. Yet growing up I hated the news and I remember my parents telling me that “watching the news keeps me informed of the world around me”.., Riiiiiight, informed, like I wanted to be informed that real people actually kill other people over the stupidest things. No fake blood, no getting shot 10 times and taking a potion to mend your health, no running from monsters and escaping. No driving a car into a wall and walking away from it. Oh you know what I mean. Humans die in real life... Video game characters come back for revenge.

However, whether you believe in allowing your kids to watch rating 18+, PG 14, Mature, PG 13 or G shows, movies, or video games, or not, do you really think that others have the right to tell you whether you can or cannot. You’re the parent, if you actually taught your kid(s) right from wrong then they should know the difference between what violence they see on the TV news vs. the Violence they watch in movies or play on video games.

My son was 4 when he first started to play a on line game called “Counter Strike” for those who do know of this game it is terrorists vs. counter terrorists, a game where you stop a bomb going off and save the day. Play either terrorists or counter terrorists and you’re always a hero either setting the bomb or defusing it. Anyways, my 4 year old played it and he is now 10 and still plays this game. His first words were “go go go” sitting in the back of our minivan playing finger gun with all the passing cars (tinted windows are a mother`s best friend in cases like this). Is he violent? Hell ya! he is violent but only in game.
When he is not gaming he is the sweetest kid around. He would tell me every day I was beautiful even if my eyes were swollen, hair so matted I would have been better off shaving it all off then actually combing it out, dried saliva on my cheek and wearing oversized flannel nighties. He sings to himself all the time (even now he still does it), sweetest voice. He helps his friends at school with work if they don`t understand, he walks home a little girl every day, right to her day care door because he worries she might get picked on by older kids. He does this even though he is the smallest 10 year old in his class, he does this even though he knows there isn`t much he could do if someone wanted to hurt his little friend. He even does it knowing if he had to defend himself he would end up getting his ass kicked. Yet he does it all the same. He loves all animals great and small and will take a spider outside and set it free if he finds one in the house, instead of squashing it.

Why does he do this? He does it because we raised him to have respect for all life and all people. All our kids are raised the same way and will stand up for others even in the event it might get them an ass kicking by a bully. He also does this because we talk to him, I don`t mean talking to him as in asking him to clean his room, I mean really talk to him, Find out how his day went, if he talks to us about what someone else does in school and that they got in trouble for we ask him things like “how did it make you feel” or “do you think the person was in the right for doing what they that got them in trouble.” We question, We support , but most of all we listen (even if it was just with one ear). It not like he only tells us what bad things others do he also will be honest and tell us about what bad things he does to and I have had the principal say he is honest and never tries to blame anyone else for what his part in the situation was. Not like we have gotten those calls a lot either, 2x since Kindergarten to present.
I can be thankful for small favours that is isn`t a rowdy kid like my oldest one was ... OMG, I was at the school more often then I was home. The school should have given me my own office with my own desk and name tag for all the times I had was called in over my oldest son`s fighting in school, then he hit grade 6 and all the fighting stopped. Just stopped, not sure where it went but it left.

My kids are not perfect ( but neither am I and but they don't know that) let me make that 100% clear. They were devil spawn in disguises. They have been feeding on my soul for years but I always talked to them (yelled begged, cried and bribed too) till they fully understood I meant business. They are not perfect to this day but they are still learning and I am still teaching. At least until I have nervous breakdown and they have to change my diaper because I am in a state of constant denial, in which they cannot bring me out of or until they have kids of their own and begin to teach their own kids what is right ( this last scenario is what I am rooting for personally, as the thought of wetting myself and having them look after me scares me more than being a grandmother), I will continue to teach them what is right and they will continue to learn. It may kill us all in the end.

Letting our kids watch violence and such on TV doesn`t make them violent, what makes them violent is not teaching our kids the difference between real and fake. You can`t be the parent if your kid is raised by someone else who morale’s are different than yours, you can`t be an effective parent if you let the TV raise them. You especially can not be a parent if you`re your kids friend. Want to be a friend to a kid then be a friend to their friends. Joke laugh, give advice but sound as if it`s their idea when they make the right choice, but know that their actions don`t reflect upon you but your kids actions do. I am not saying tell your kids friends to do things that are wrong but you don`t have to drill it into their heads like you do with your own kids. They have parents and that is their job not yours. It like grandparents giving a child candy before supper when the parent said they couldn`t have any earlier. The grandparent are completely unaffected that the child will no longer eat his or her dinner, but they got to be the best person alive at the moment the candy was handed over.

Sit down and watch a violent or scary movie (if your kid can handle it, not all kids can and you’re the best judge of your own kid) explain to them at every possible scene that it is not real and ask questions like "ya, think if ya got shot 10 times you could get up and kick butt” or "Do you really think all that blood is real" comment like ... "ya right! That was sooooo fake, did ya see their eyes move" or "gawd, did ya see how Michael Myers was run over by a car and yet he still got up, is that fake or what?"

Listen to your kids more, don`t always judge. Beware of their friends but don`t ban them from the friends you don`t like, know who and where they go. Don`t let them use the term “peer pressure”, make them accountable for their actions cause let`s face it, we won`t actually do something we don`t really want to do in the first place deep down inside. “Peer pressure” is a cop out and my kids know never to tell me that such and such told them to do it, because I, myself have tested the whole peer pressure excuse on them all the time to eat their damn veggies and they still refuse. So in my house Peer pressure is a fancy word for doing something they know was wrong, only they chose the wrong version and now they are grounded without parole. Don`t ever let them off easy and say things like; “well next time maybe you will know better” cause if they really liked it they won`t care and just do it again. Remind them in a nice way to use the brain that your seed gave them while they were forming inside you. Make sure they understand exactly what will happen to them the next time they do something like that again. An Eye for an Eye. Gawd if only that statement was true... an eye for an eye ... So they kill your fish, you kill their gerbil... your new shirt cut into pieces cause the fabric was soft and they wanted to use it to build a bed for the cat means their shirts will now be cut into pieces for you to use as cleaning rags around the house... yep the eye for an eye theory really doesn`t work in the real world. It just ends up making us look like animal killers or costs us money to replace clothing. But you can take away the cell phone, video games and MSN chat. Leave them with what they came into the world with; NOTHING. At least for a short time anyways.

Nothing worse than a kid who cannot talk to their parents about things without being told “don’t be stupid.” Now I am also not saying that kids don`t have stupid ideas, we all know that strapping a cape on and standing on the roof, ready to see how high you can fly is not really showing the world your intelligence level. At least that is what the kids told me when I tried it last summer. And yes, you can hear me say “ OMG! That is the stupidest thing you have ever said since the last stupid thing you said” but they also know I am not calling them stupid; I am calling the idea stupid. If your open with your kids they will learn from you, talk to you, and even be able to tell you things like... “I swear if that bully does not stop picking on me I am going to go postal”. You may be shocked but at least you can do something before it becomes another school shooting in the papers. Just know while you’re sitting there with a bottle of vodka in your hand, after your kids says something like that to you, that they trusted you enough to bring their problems to you before they got to their breaking point. Even adults have a breaking point, why shouldn`t our kids.

All I am saying is I really hate it seeing everything rated.., As a parent, if the front of a CD shows me something that would make me look under my bed for the next week, I have the right to decide if my kid should watch it or not and no one else should have influence over that. If I go to buy a video game for my kids to play, in which has them killing other players in a GAME. It is my right as a parent to decide if this game is really a game I want them to play. It is not the right of some woman or man in my country or another country, who has never had kids or has kids but who chooses to have them raised by a nanny, that has the right to tell me I should not be buying a game that is rated above my child`s current age at the time of the purchase. If it was then I want child support from those people starting from child birth to present day.

It works both ways too. So don`t ever ask me or anyone else if I or they recommend your kid watching or playing something because the only answer you`ll get out of me on that is your the parent do what you feel and know is right for your child. Didn`t your parent ever teach you right from wrong? I thought so.



"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

National Geographic: Oil sands in Alberta

In March of 2009 an article is going to be released in the National Geographic magazine. This article is focused on the oil sands in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

Let me explain. This article isn’t in support of the oil sands, it isn’t suppose to show the work the oil sands is doing in a good light, this article is purely to show sludge-covered tailing ponds and the sprawling oilfields. In essence it is to tell a story of companies who suck out all the natural resources of the land and give nothing back.

Our Government is calling this article “Fair.” Fair??.... Screw that...Fair is showing both the good and the bad. If that is not the correct term then all dictionaries should be changed immediately. It’s just a piece that tells one side, a bad under your bed, lights turned off scarey dark side.The kind you tell your kids if you want them to stay in bed and not ask for one more damn glass of water. It says nothing about how the oil sands has created many jobs for not only people in our country, Canada but all over the world, and Newfoundland. The oil sands have given back by helping pay off Alberta’s great debt.

They are not just taking, but as they take, they are shifting back the washed sand, planting new trees,and giving the land a cleansing. Let’s face it, bush (and not George) that grows wildly and freely only ends up burned by hot weather and natural lightening (as apposed to campers who forget to put out their camp fires when they leave the area). Fires destroy more land then what the oil sands is doing. Just look at what BC has gone through due to fires.

The oil sands are working to restore the land which 30 years ago no company would have done what they have done for a community, town, city, province, or country. 30 years ago it would have been laughable if you said that an oil company was working with environmentalists in preserving the land that they sucked out natural resources from. Today we have companies doing just that, yet tree huggers are still coming out of the wood work screaming murder like they had been touched sexual by a moose.

Come off it. I don’t see articles on the “good” things the oil sands are doing. Oh they are there, but used only as bird cage paper. Good doesn't mean shit. We only get interested when it means someone or something is causeing great mayham over, acually who cares over what it is as long as it's aweful and we can shake our heads and yell at the top of our lungs will we read about it. Search Google about the oil sands in Alberta and it's site after site on how the oil sands are the "most destructive projects on earth". I see they have not met my kids then.

Now do not even think for a second (cause thinking can be painful to some) that I do not believe in nature and in preserving our forests and our wildlife. I am completely on board for preserving all these things. I ride the boat of conservation.(they serve booze) I love wildlife (even if they would like to see me dead) and believe in making sure animals are not extinct (like the wolly mammoth).
I believe forests play an important role in our environment (and not just a place to urinate when you have to go now, not in 50 miles).
I am however not on board when it comes to just bashing companies that are working to not only take resources but give back to its community and it’s country.

The oil sand not only provides jobs, but they donate money to different charities, hospitals, and government funded services, this includes education.

Now Obama, yes, the United States's new President is trying to put forth a Carbon Capture and storage solution, sounds pricey, how much is in your wallet?, in which he is on the case of the Tar Sands... hmmmm wonder why .. Did the USA run out of all the oil they "got" from the Middle East. So now what let’s go "barrow" Canada oil... or at the very least make a profit from Canada's oil. About 75 percent of Canada's oil sands output are shipped to the U.S. market, and American refineries in the Midwest and Gulf Coast are being reconfigured to handle those supplies. Not enough I assume for Obama. Doesn’t this president have more to worry about in his own country.... Like Health care for the millions of people without it, jobs for the millions who live in far worse poverty then even our own poverty stricken folks in Canada and His country’s reputation of taking what they want in brutal ways. Let’s not even mention how the USA government works for their people to help them achieve the fundamentals in life. Instead they make a suggestion for a new money grab which in turn will force Oil companies to pay a certain fee in advance for the emmissions they may produce. Could we not come up with a better plan? Are we really that uneducated that we think that by the oil companies paying money to distrubute emmissions into the air is the best solution. Ok I want to dump toxic waste into the river and I can if I pay $19.99 to the government... Wonder if I can get a quanity discount? hmmmm
But let’s not get into country vs country since this is about the Oil sands. I can just say that Obama must be pretty bored to pick only on the Tar sands in Canada while his own country suffers so much.

Back to the oil sands... As I write this right now a friend is working up north for the oil sands and they are building a add on, to one of the plants to reduce their emissions’. This will help make their work and our air stay cleaner. So are they not doing anything to help stop the erosion of your environment as some would like you to believe? Yes!, they are, but tree huggers only get attention if they find fault. Hey I want attention look at me running with the moose in Fort McMurray naked... woot me ... awww shut up get on topic and stop dreaming... The oil sands are trying to stay within the governments environmental guide lines. Shit happens, mistakes happen, but when they do, they correct them. They are very committed to them. They have people on Staff like environmentalist, biologists and more that help them ensure they are processing and following local laws and reclamation services. They are not just hired because they are pretty.(look at me being pretty, in the forest.... weeeeeeeee!) The oil sands are not the big evil corporations we use to hide from and who lived under our beds at night (that's called the boogie man/woman).
Yes, they are making money... huge money ( you ever see the size of those cheques they hold up for publicity shots), but who doesn`t want to make money, who doesn`t want to own their own home, drive a nice vehicle, pay for their kids education, have kids, go on vacation... gawd! Not me (I say with sarcasm) ........... blah.....

The oil sands are one of the safest places for people to work. These companies have one of the highest standards of safety in the world as well as setting new standards across the country. They pay top wages and provide some of the best working conditions for staff in the world. Syncrude is on the top 50 employers in Canada for woman in the working field to work for. Every company relies on the oil field whether is directly or indirectly. So the next time you start bashing the Oil sands just ask yourself, if the food you and your family are eating is something you would like to keep providing to them on a daily event. cause if you do then stop and think.
Love them or hate them the oil sands contribute billions of dollars in wages to people throughout Canada and the USA and to turn that tap off would make this recession (we are going through) far deeper then we could ever imagine.( I would have to switch my kraft macaronii to no name macaroni)
I could go on and on (and almost did),as there as so many issues that have been raised from this article that I should be addressing but let’s face it, this would turn into a book instead of my personal rant... So I stop, but if you have a comment please post it. I would love to spare with others on this topic till I get bored.




"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

Some people on forums make me want to scream or at the least Rant

Ever joined a forum where you think everyone will be helpful and nice..? Ya right! Like there is such a thing in the first place. Over the years I have joined many forums from gaming forums to Pet Forums and not one of those so called helpful people were truly helpful. If anything they tend to be these overly opinionated folks, who think their shit don’t stink and everyone should bow down and kiss their ass cause hey! They know more than you. In reality they are people who no one listens to them off the forum so they really nail the people who ask questions on the forum they belong to. Give me a break! You know shit and if you knew shit well then I guess you would have a light in which glows over your head and you could heal by the touch of your hand.

I was part of a forum where someone posted about a guy who surrendered his parrot to an organization because the parrot’s medical bills cost was going to cost him something like $12,000.00 to amputate the birds’ wing. $12,000.00 to amputate a damn wing ... omfg! I would like to meet the person who would not have a problem coming up with that kind of money to get their birds’ wing amputated. But yet a moderator and owner of the web site posted that and I quote “We, as owners MUST consider the conquences of not being able to properly provide medical care for a bird. If you cannot afford vet bills, do not own a bird, dog, cat or anyother pet.......”

This statement alone is funny and ridicules. First the poster should use spell check and learn to use spacing. But what is really the funny thing is that this person is saying is that $12,000.00 is reasonable to amputate a birds’ wing. I mean come on who gets a pet and thinks they should have at least 10 grand in their account if they want to have a dog, cats, bird or any pet companion. If I we all were forced in society to have a large saving to own a pet or rescue a pet then my gawd, no one would have pets as companions except someone like Bill Gates. Even pet facilities are run off the charity of others.

So then the poster goes on to say, well let me just quote the post for you folks this way I don’t have to keep posting quotes in order to rant.
This poor Grey was brought into to this group (Name with held) , by a "SO CALLED" loving owner. Who has for the past 8 years neglicted it's health care. MONEY.... This some do who profess to love their birds.

This darling came into the facility with an E Collar, and the owner stating the vet said it was going to cost $12,000.00 to amputate the wing, etc. It has also plucked it's tail off and the nails are awful.


(video link removed)
Here is the update video on Buster's amputated wing.

"We, as owners MUST consider the conquences of not being able to properly provide medical care for a bird. If you cannot afford vet bills, do not own a bird, dog, cat or anyother pet......."

So reading this post, the poster first says that the owner of the bird neglected the birds’ health for 8 years... Wow! 8 years. The how can this poster even claim that the bird came into the facility with an E Collar and the owner stated the vet said it was going to cost $12,000.00 to amputate the birds’ wing? Didn’t the owner go to the vet if he knew what the cost was and the bird had a E Collar when it arrived at the facility in which was stated in the post the bird had on. Come on I watched the video too and the people in the video said clearly that the guy had went to the vets. He just could not afford the huge outrageous vet bill. The poster called this guy a “so called loving owner.” Didn’t he love his bird? Didn’t he have to make the hardest decision of his life to give up his companion because he alone could not afford the cost of the medical procedure? Did this guy not do the best he could for his bird to surrender him to an organization that let’s face it, could possibly afford the bill to help the bird. Instead of helping this man with the bill or with finding him a vet that would help his bird’s medical condition, they took the bird from him and this guy will never see his bird again. The guy could have just kept the bird ignored the problem and the bird could have died. I mean isn’t that what “so called loving owners” really do to their companions? Instead now he will never see his bird again. All because this loving owner did what was in the bird’s best interest by giving him up so the bird could get the medical treatment it needed.

Others posted in reply to this original poster.
Saying crap like and again I quote:

“I just cannot imagine a person, who is suppose to love any creature they take into their home, dumping it because of a medical cost. We would not do this to a human being”.

And

“I am glad that he got the care he deserves..
My mom worked for child services for 15 years and unfortunately people
do unspeakable things to innocent children and pets.”

Come on who are these people. First off if the bird needed its wing amputated or it would die then he didn’t just “dump the bird” he was working within a time frame so the bird received the treatment it needed before it did die. Second I agree people do, do unspeakable things to their children as well as to their pets but if this guy was doing the unspeakable to his bird then why would he just dump the bird at the facility. Like I said before, he could have just kept the bird and the bird could have died in the end.

People are hypocrites. We jump to conclusions and brow beat others because it’s easier to think of people as inhuman jerks then to stand in that person shoes and give them credit for doing what was bestat the time. The poster only commented on the fact that the guy surrendered his bird because of the vet costs. Never once saying the guy must have made the hardest decision of his entire life or that the guy must have really loved his bird enough to give the bird to someone who could afford the medical bill. Nope we bash, call names and make people feel like crap, because we are so much better. You think for one minute the original poster has that much money laying around for her bird’s medical bills? You think for one minute if she was faced with a decision like this guy was, she would have made a better choice? I don’t think so personally, but I don’t know either way. What I do know is people who criticize are either hiding their own faults or trying to make their selves look wonderful. In the end they just look like asses.

It is so easy for people to hide behind their computers and bash others but much harder face to face. Poster’s like this might actually have to see the human side to things and be kinder in their opinions towards others.

So the moral of this story is Make sure you have all the facts before shooting your fingers off in a forum. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Ask the obvious questions before making your mind up at the expense of others. But the most important thing I can teach is to not believe everything someone says cause there are always two sides of the story and you only heard one side. In this case one opinion from a poster who really believes they are a better human specimen than anyone else on this planet. They would have to be if they bash others.

So before anyone sends me comments like “well you’re bashing the poster for bashing the guy.” I will answer: Yes! I am. I do have a soft glow to my skin and over my head as well as I can heal others if I have the right medication to give them at the time. Seriously though, I don’t go out of my way to bash anyone who does the right thing for their pets. I also do not make assumptions without the full facts.





"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"

2008 Hair Day Experience

So I finally did it.... I finally got Hair extensions... 18 of" lovely long locks of hair... After months of deciding if I would like it... I broke down and did it... woot me ...I have someone else’s hair now mingled with mine, a bit creepy, But makes me wonder if I can now commit crimes and they won’t be able to DNA my hair... Nah I have bad luck in general so I shouldn’t push it. So for now I will stay a law bidding Citizen.
Well anyways let me tell you my Hair Experience. So as you know I got hair extensions.... Again.... yaaaa Me... A couple of weeks later I was back at the shop for maintenance. (Wow sounds like I was taking my car in for a check up rather than just getting my hair done) As I sat in the chair as people in the mall walked by getting my hair done an Older woman came in. She was wearing a toque and was looking at all the wigs in the small shop. I watched her since I had nothing better to do while she asked about this wig and that wig. Each time looking nervous and scared, scare of what? I had no idea. After about 10 mins., she told the guy who was doing my hair that she would be back ,she was going to get her hair shaved off. SHAVED OFF... OMG... I thought... Did she not know that she didn’t have to shave off all her hair to wear a wig? I mean she did have short hair as it was from what I could see from what was sticking out from under her toque, but hey, each to their own as the saying goes.

After she left the guy who was doing my hair said quietly that she had the big C. The big C!! OMG she had Cancer. Well to me the big C means Cancer, at least which that is how everyone says Cancer when they really do not want to say Cancer out loud, in case that by just saying it would mean your next in line to get it. Like someone is just walking around with a bag of Cancer and if they hear you say it they pull out the cancer and hand it to you...like playing tag and your it.... We as any human who has any sort of conscience I said “OMG, that poor woman” and immediately felt bad and guilty. Guilt? What really did I have to feel guilty about? Not like I had the Cancer bag and handed it to her. But guilt is something strongly intertwined into my system... so yes! Guilt is what I felt.

So as I sat there drowning in my guilt the lady came back to the store. I couldn’t even look her in the eye. I felt so bad, I was afraid she could tell I felt sorry for her, like it was written on my forehead in a big black marker. People with Cancer don’t want strangers feeling sorry for them. They don’t want to be treated different. They have cancer not a third eye. I am sure even if they had a third eye and cancer they would not want anyone feeling bad for them. They have a hard enough time dealing with the drugs they may be taking, chemo, the fear that they will die from their cancer, the tests they have to go through daily, weekly or monthly. The last thing anyone wants to see is pity in the eyes of a stranger. So I sat there trying to pretend I didn’t know about her cancer from the guy who was doing my hair.

She hadn’t shaved off all her hair as she had told the guy doing my hair. From the sideways glances I was giving her I could clearly see she still had some peeking out from under her toque. But she was back in the shop looking at a few wigs. The other shop keeper asked her if she wanted to try any one. She did and after 15 mins., she had narrowed her choice down to 2 beautiful short haired wigs. I got enough courage to say “they both looked great on you”. This brought tears to her eyes... OMG!! Emotion... Now I was doomed... Strangers crying always make me uncomfortable. How do you comfort someone you don’t know? Do they want a hug? Do they even want you to see that their eyes are ready to over flow with tears? This was just great I said to myself. I was making this woman cry. What a jerk I am. So I turned my head and stared at myself in the small mirror provided as the guy doing my hair pretended to be busy fixing the extensions. The female merchant asked if the lady wanted them both. In which the lady said she could only afford one and she just couldn’t decide between the two. Guilt over whelmed me once again. I was flooded with thinking here I am sitting in the chair getting my extensions fixed because I am so damn vain and this woman who was sitting close by, was losing her hair from the chemo she had to take. A woman, who wasn’t in the shop out of vanity, wasn’t trying to make herself beautiful because our society says woman should look great all the time and spend thousands of dollars for vanity. She also wasn’t there because she wanted to be. She was there because she had cancer and the cancer was taking away her hair. She could only afford one wig. One wig that if she decided one morning she wanted to do something different she couldn’t because as we all know Wigs are one style per wig.

At this point I had an idea... Yes, anyone who knows me sometimes it is best if I don't get ideas casue they tend to be the wrong ideas, but this idea was the best I had at the moment. So I went for it. The guy who was doing my hair was done and it was time for me to pay. As he was putting away his supplied I walked over to the lady and said which wig do you like the best. She again stated she liked them both. I told her them to pick one that was the higher price cause it would be free for her today. At first she didn’t seem to understand what I was saying. After a few seconds she completely understood what I meant and tears started to form in her eyes and she tried to protest. But I told her that it was Almost Christmas and no one should be sad at a Christmas and if she wanted both wigs then she would have both wigs. She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her to hug me. Tears in my eyes started to form and I knew I had to get out of there before we both stood there crying like newborn babies. I gave her a quick hug and as I started to pull away she said “I don’t even know your name” I said “it doesn’t matter who I am” in reply she said “please what is your name.” After what seemed like eternity I said “Melanie” and pulled myself out of her embrace and walked over to the register where my hair guy was standing. I told him to put the price of the more expensive wig on my bill. He looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was but the guilt, not the feeling of being sorry for her, was stronger than anything I had felt in a long time.

Now do not think for one minute that lady was making me feel guilty. I was making myself feel that way all alone. This woman wasn’t asking for charity from strangers. This woman wasn’t asking for anything but her cancer to be cured and her own natural hair to stay where it was. She was dealing with something all woman are afraid of Cancer and the loss of her hair. To a woman the hair is the most important thing people will see. We go to great lengths to make sure our hair looks great. Women spend thousands of dollars on their hair a year. I know some woman that refuse to go to the doctor’s without fixing their hair beforehand. To lose it was and is traumatic for most woman in our society. This particular woman was not given a decision it was happening to her without consent. So yes, Guilt made me do something in which others would say was a nice thing. Being completely honest I did what I did to eliminate the guilt I was feeling. I didn’t do it for her but for me. Selfish? Maybe so but isn’t anything nice done because one feels pangs of guilt? Doesn’t one give to the Salvation Army’s Christmas fund at malls and shopping centers because somewhere deep inside they feel guilty for all the people who are homeless, abused, or just so the less fortunate families can enjoy a meal too. Do we not give to the less fortunate because we feel guilty that they are not as successful as we are? Somewhere inside by giving we feel better for it. It absolves us from guilt most of the times. If they are honest they will say yes.

I paid the bill and walked out as fast as my legs could carry me before the tears in my eyes that threatened to over flow, dumped their load and brought my soul to its knees. It was Christmas and everyone deserved to be happy even if it was for a brief moment. It is now February 2009 and I still think of that lady in the shop and hope with all that is in me that she survived her Cancer. I hope she had a wonderful Christmas. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.









"...I won't let it happen. I won't... I won't let this world exist without me!"