I can’t take credit for the following as I’m pasting the message I received from a former work colleague in response to my whining about my work:
All I can say is work is nuts and it seems to be everywhere. We brought on about 65 summer students starting July 3rd, now the 3rd was really orientation so really only began their tenure with us as July 4th. So far I've had an accusation of sexual harassment, 3 folks in the same building with an eye infection and newly-hired new plumber and casual who made a good job of disturbing asbestos, trekked it through a building, then the lawn supervisor ignored the KEEP OUT signs posted while the clean up is going on, to send 2 students to the washroom; Dept of Labour & Environment comes on site and finds a student wearing no hearing protection he left it on the bus and the supervisor claims to the Dept of Labour he is never issued hearing protection, only the students; the other lawn mowing supervisor decided to drive the sit down mower down the side of the road from one facility to another which is about 7 km away with the gas can on his lap and the Mounties stopped him and I visited two sites and everyone has their safety glasses on the top of their heads like sunglasses. I thought I'd recap in case you forget how dysfunctional our employees can be as well - oh yes to add a little salt to the wound, the lawn mowing supervisor who chose to take the tractor on the highway, is the training officer for the transportation department and I've heard unofficially from a mother of a student that he promised them the next time they go out country to mow, they will leave early and get the work done and then go to the beach. Now, he got caught for this two years ago which is why I'm guessing he wasn't back last year and knowing the folks in that area who know when a tourist comes within range, does he think a big bus full of lawn mowers might not be conspicuous at the beach? Supervisors are going nuts is all I can say.
And this story from the Cuban newspaper Granma about South American weather made me think about my friend in Argentina and how they were managing in their winter:
Cold snap in South America causes numerous victims
BUENOS AIRES, July 10.— The unusual arctic cold that is affecting a large part of South America has led to the deaths of nine people in Argentina and six in Chile, along with hundreds of evacuations, roads blocked by snow and hospitals overwhelmed in a number of countries, the AFP reported.
In Argentina, where people watched in amazement as it snowed in Buenos Aires for the first time in 89 years, at least nine deaths have been attributed to weather-related causes since the weekend. In San Luis, about 1,400 people were evacuated. The provincial government declared an administrative holiday for Tuesday and Wednesday due to difficulties with public transportation.
The unusual mass of cold air that is covering the entire territory forced authorities to ask for prudence in the use of electricity and gas, in the midst of an energy crisis that forced an increase in imports from Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, and a limit on exports to Chile.
In neighboring Chile, at least six people died in diverse southern locations, where temperatures dropped to 18 degrees below zero, while in the capital Santiago, thermometers hit a record 4.4 degrees below zero. The cold led to an increase of respiratory illnesses, particularly among children and the elderly, and it was feared that medical centers were overwhelmed by the large number of patients.
Emergency services were also swamped in Uruguay, where it snowed in the city of Nueva Palmira (southwest).
On checking the weather forecast for next week is for 3 - 12 c in Mar del Plata, a little milder as it's on the coast. Sigh.
The Granma also had a piece about Moncada Day (July 26th) which is their independence day as it is the date of the storming of the Moncada Barracks and beginning of the Revolution. This year the holiday is being called The Day of National Rebelliousness. Now I’m not sure if this is just flowery translation into English or making a statement but you gotta love that title. I sure hope we can access pork to roast I’m feeling a little in need of some rebelliousness myself.
I made it over to visit at the nursing home this afternoon and got to see the floor show as the Catholic priest came to do mass and when he arrived with his little black dog (schnauzer I think with a lovely haircut) there were sparks as the geriatric cat (Bubba aged 22) defended his territory. Made for some interesting duties as one of the staff attempted to remove the puffy feline defender without injury to herself, residents, other staff, visitors or either animal. A nice diversion from the reality of visiting lately as Mom goes downhill. One of the LPNs (who I first worked with 34 years ago when I was a student) said quietly to me this afternoon “you realize she’s really failing don’t you?” To which I replied “I sure do and there’s not a thing I can do about it” The staff are finding the decline hard to watch as well, telling me we’re lucky to have such caring. A life well lived though and she was 93 in March…
On another note, apparently the dog had a wonderful afternoon as she managed to get loose from her run and appeared dripping at the neighbours at noon after a swim in the harbour. She finally returned here about 5 p.m. all dried and very tired. It sure made her behavior better for our walk with the silliness run out of her. She’ll sleep well tonight. If she wasn’t so dense about the traffic she wouldn’t have to be ‘detained’ but it is for her own safety.
There were some folks over looking at our old place this evening according to the spy who was leaving to go unload fish at the wharf when he noticed them. I told him it was a result of my positive thinking and that I’d set tomorrow as a date to have a bid on the house. So keep your fingers crossed.
In order to leave you with a smile I’m pasting a joke my birthday twin emailed to me. I’m certain I’m going to be this kind of Grandma (although I can wait for a while for that honor) as I already can put my size 8s in my mouth quite nicely:
Little Tony was staying with his grandmother for a few days. He'd beenplaying outside with the other kids for a while when he came into the House and asked her, 'Grandma, what's that called when two people sleep in the same room and one is on top of the other?'
She was a little taken aback, but she decided to just tell him the truth. 'It's called sexual intercourse, darling.'
Little Tony just said, 'Oh, OK,' and went back outside to play with the other kids. A few minutes later he came back in and said angrily, 'Grandma, it isn't called sexual intercourse. It's called Bunk Beds. And Jimmy's mom wants to talk to you.'
