Conspiracy??

It appears there is a little conspiracy going on in the office. S pulled a prank on L yesterday, so she got him back. Then she decided to get him back again today. He came in the office today and went to log into his computer and the mouse wouldn't work. There a note attached to his monitor saying "You have balls!" He picked up the mouse to look at it and started laughing hysterically. Then he came over to me saying "Someone took the ball out of my mouse. Did you take it?" Who me? No it wasn't me. Finally L came over to his desk when she heard him frantically trying to find out who did this and where was his ball? She made him sweat a few minutes, but she finally showed him that she had put it on top of his tackboard. Had he looked around enough, he would have found it. He was laughing hysterically. He vows to get her back. I can't wait to see what he does. What a great laugh!

Cleaning up and bracing for the next one.

Well...I'm told unofficially we received 95 cm of snow in 24 hours. Officially it is said we got 80. I only know it was way too much snow. It has been brutal. It has been over now for 36 hours and still many secondary streets have not been cleared. There is too much snow for the ploughs to get through, so dozers and backhoes have been a common sight. There are many people walking dangerously on the roads to get some much needed supplies before our next storm arrives tonight. Another 15-25 cm on top of this! Where are we going to put it?

I ventured out today to finally get some groceries. The stores have been closed for the past two days because they just could not get cleaned up enough for people to get into the stores and personnel couldn't get dug out to run the stores. Pulling into the parking lot was mind blowing. The snowbanks were so high the parking was limited. Many of the parking spaces were filled with these gigantic mounds of snow. (I wouldn't have wanted to be the person who threw the snow up there.)

I knew I was in trouble when I arrived there at about 10 a.m. (a usually quiet time) and found no carts to be had. I went back out to find out and actually waited for someone to put their groceries in their car and confiscate their cart.

It was amazing how bare the shelves were. Almost no bananas let. Bread was almost impossible to find. The only thing left was the stuff nobody wants. Milk? What milk? The shelf was completely bare of any sort of milk whatsoever. Some people were waiting and were told the delivery would be there in about 10 minutes. So I went to pick up a few more things and went back in time to find that the delivery was already gone and so was the driver. I looked around and got the last 1 litre of white milk and one of the last 2 litres of chocolate milk. I continued through the store. Almost no chips available. Eggs were hard hit. It seems the staples were the things going quickly. I proceeded through the check-outs. As I was finishing up paying for my order, someone said the next milk delivery had arrived. So...off I went to the back of the store and stood there for a moment while the delivery was being wheeled in. Just what I wanted. I quickly grabbed two 4 litres bags and headed back to the quick check out and head home. This little adventure took much longer than it normally would have. Every isle was busy. I seemed to get behind a crowd no matter which way I turned. I sure was glad to get back to the safety of my abode. I think I shall stay here until the next one blows over. Will we get to work on Monday? I hope not...*evil grin*

Walking in a Winter Juanderland!

Well the storm is finally over and we have had 80 cm of snow dumped on us in 24 hours. It has truly been a White Juan! It is unbelievable!!! The whole province is still shut down to allow for clean-up. So...wax your shovels, stretch well before you start, and rest often while you are shoveling. This will be a workhorse kind of day. Take care not to overdo it.

Let it snow, let it snow...make it stop!!!!

Holy cow!! We are in the midst of the worst blizzard I can remember since I was a kid. It has been raging wild for over 12 hours now and is expected for another 12. By the time it is over, we will have about 60 cm of the white stuff dumped on us. It is crazy! Cars are completely buried in places and the entire province has all the public school systems shut down. The province has declared a state of emergency, and shut down government offices again like they did for Hurricane Juan. This makes the 3rd day since the end of September that they did that, and the first times in the 23 years I've worked for them. What's happening to our weather patterns? All I know is, I don't like this much. It can stop any time.

Not a shovel to be found on the store shelves anywhere...Hurry up spring!!!

Duhhhh....

I did something really silly today. As I left the office this afternoon, I turned my head as I crossed the street to see if my bus was coming. Nothing in the distance. I continued to walk up the hill. Halfway there, one bus pulled in to pick up passengers, but it was not my bus. Where the heck did it come from? There was nothing there a second ago. As it pulled out and I continued walking, I caught sight of something on my left. I turned my head in time to see my usual driver pull up to the stop and open the door for me. I got on the bus and sat down.

It was then that I had a "duhhhh" moment. I realized that the drivers would be switching soon, but I wasn't sure of the date. Was it today? My morning driver was not the same, so it could be. Then the thought hit me that I wasn't sure which bus I got on. I didn't actually see the sign, only the driver. Did I get on the right bus? I tried desperately to read his sign display on the panel up front. I couldn't see that far. Then I tried to see a reflection of the sign on the side in the bus window. No go. He turned down the right street. Maybe it is the right bus. Next stop someone who usually gets on the bus got on. OK...maybe I am on the right bus, but no one else looks familiar. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Still, better be sure. I didn't dare ask the driver. He is often cranky, and I was afraid he would think I was stupid. (At this point, I couldn't really dispute that.) Can't ask him. So then I strained to catch a glimpse of the sign on the side in the windows of the businesses we passed on the street. Blinds in this window...can't see it. No glare in this one...can't see it. Ahhh...there's one that I can see in. The window is too short to get a good glance as the bus flies by. The bus pulls up to a red light. Ahhh...I'll look in that window. No reflection on those windows. Finally a set of windows long enough and reflective enough for me to read the sign backwards. YES!!!! I was on the right bus. Checked the website when I got home and found out it is next week that the drivers change routes. I best be on my toes then for sure. Meantime, I can relax for this week.

Oh well...if you can't laugh at yourself someone else will laugh at you. And how was your day?

Valentine's Day: Another Hallmark Holiday

Well...Valentine's Day is just around the corner. A wonderful day of the year for some, a sad day for others. In any case, it is a Hallmark Holiday, another day when Hallmark hauls in a big load for all those mushy cards. I've never quite understood why we should have one day of the year to let someone know how we feel about them. Why can't we do that everyday? If someone is special to you, they want to know that, they need to know that, on a regular basis, not just one day of the year. Everyone needs to be wanted and loved, even if they say they don't. It is just as wonderful to get flowers or candies or some personal gift that says "I love you" on a day that is not imprinted on a calendar. Those gifts do not have cost anything either. Remember the intangibles: a walk in the park, a drive in the country, quality time together, cooking a meal for someone, etc. You get the idea. The other thing that upsets me is that some people expect to be pampered, wined, and dined on Feb. 14, even when they have treated their significant other with disrespect the rest of the year. Why should they be "rewarded" for that? Gifts are supposed to come from the heart and be given with meaning, not from a sense of duty or expectation.

Wherever you are in life, I hope your Valentine's Day is the way you would like it to be.

Multi-tasking

People talk about multi-tasking all the time. Computers are know for being able to multi-task, doing several things at once. But is it really multi-tasking or just a façade? Have you ever tried to get your computer to open more than one application at the same time, copy files, and print from yet another application all at the same time? What happens? Most of time, the computer will crash. So does it really multi-task? I say no. It still can only perform one task at a time, just like the brain that developed the thing in the first place.

People claim they multi-task all the time. It is very difficult to do two things at once. Have you ever had trouble patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time? Remember that from when you are a kid? That just proves that the brain cannot successfully do two things at once. Sure, we may switch back and forth between tasks, constantly switching gears with our brains, but we still are only doing one thing at a time. So the next time someone asks you if you can multi-task, think about what your answer will be.

One thing at a time, one moment at a time, one step at a time, one day at a time. Today is all we really have. Yesterday is history, tomorrow has not yet come, so live in this day only and deal with tomorrow's issues tomorrow. If we worry about tomorrow, we miss what we have today. Look ahead only long enough to plan, then come back to the present and enjoy it. Embrace life!!

The Scoop on Poop

Yesterday I had the pleasure of perusing a book intended for grades 3-6 students. It was entitled The Scoop on Poop. The books explains how all different animals poop, why they poop, why it is brown, smells, and what it is made up of. It also explains how animals use it for mating, cooling off, and even building their homes.

Did you know that termites have the largest poop houses of any animal? There is a picture in the book of a woman standing beside a termite house (and yes, she was touching it) and it stood about 6 feet tall. How cool!!!!

Did you know that in some places in the jungle that people use cow dung to coat the outside of their huts to keep it cooler inside.

Did you know there are more than the two names that we use for it?

There was also a picture of an ostrich having a poop. Let me tell you that I would not want to be standing behind that sucker when it let loose. And you thought the seagulls were bad!!! Thank God that ostrichs don't fly.

The animal that has the largest poop is the African elephant. He can drop turds that weigh a hundred pounds. Don't stand behind him either. They poop enough to completely fill the trunk of a car each day. I'm glad I'm not cleaning up their barns. Sheesh!!!!

I couldn't help but laugh as I went through it. It was great. The kids are gonna love it!!!! Can you imagine the talk around the supper table the night after the kids read that in school? I wish I were a fly on the wall. I would like to have a copy too. What a great conversation piece it would make to leave it on the coffee table. Shall I invest in one?

hahahaha