Off to cowboy land

Today was a wild ride. We had the Accreditation Canada survey team with us at our workplace. I was up early to get in to take the DO NOT DRINK THE WATER signs down and was advised by the Maintenance employee with the surveyors on the walkthrough that I’d only missed four which they’d found as they made their way. I had a rather (for lack of a better description) intense interview with said surveyors and couldn’t read which way the outcome went. I’d forgotten my lunch so the three stale chocolate cookies I scarfed from the kitchenette drawer to have with my tea while on an Atlantic Node MRSA teleconference call (yes as scintillating as it sounds) served as sustenance.

I remembered to print the boarding passes at about 3 p.m. and was delighted to find that the shore captain and I are sitting in 16A and F respectively – this being more than the 1 meter distance required for droplet precautions so he can sneeze on his seatmates and I won’t even be able to hear him groaning from that far away. Things are looking up. The final details of getting out of the workplace with calls / emails to those covering for me and out of office voice mail and email messages, October calendar distributed and finally locking the door with relief were the usual frenetic closure.

As I turned the key in the car I realized my cell phone was vibrating as I’d turned the ringer off during the high level visit and…. there was a voice mail message my entertainment agency. They were offering a FREE cruise, all gratuities and fees paid out of Portland tomorrow on the Celebrity something or other (I immediately put it out of my mind to ease the pain) to the Maritimes and back to New York. When I called the agent back she said that apparently Celebrity had booked a presenter themselves who didn’t show up so they were trying to help them out by putting someone on the cruise which was already underway. I told her of our cowboy land visit so unavailability but have decided that next fall I’m going to hang out for the last minute as the perks are great and I have the presentations all ready to go. The best thing by a long shot which (almost) happened to me today.

My list of errands for the day was long and included a stop for a parcel at the post office (lobster trap tags) and a package of pepperoni for pizza for Prince Albert on the weekend as they don’t have it out west (apparently garlic fingers or Morse tea either I’m told) and I decided to pick up some garlic fingers (since we won’t be having any for the next 10 days) for supper. I manage to get home, throw some clothes in the suitcase, cook the garlic fingers and head out for my haircut. The prodigal son and his girlfriend arrive and I head to the hairdressers telling them to send him along when he appears. When I’m neatly shorn I call mister on his cell and he says “I’m still trying to get there” so I direct him straight to the haircut, meet him in the driveway, switch vehicles and send the son’s girlfriend to the garage for gas in the car.

Entering the kitchen I see 3 or 4 garlic fingers in the pan and absently muse as to whether the kids or the critters ate them – oh well. When I get back from walking the dog I find mister home with his ears lowered saying that the son and girlfriend have called from the gas station to recheck the PIN for the debit card as “it isn’t working and they’ve entered it a few times” When it suddenly dawns on me that just as I’m leaving for 10 days away, I’ve likely lost access to my debit card as the PIN has been reset I almost sat down to cry. He reassures me that his works – just what I wanted, to have to clear every nickel I wish to spend through him, especially galling as my pay is being deposited at midnight. When the girlfriend arrives with the card and says, “I didn’t want to try it again because that would be three times but (and she names the life partners’ sister yes, my very sister-in-law who works at the gas station) who suggests that she try it again – I came very close to screaming!

After the neighbour stops by for the last minute instructions as she has generously offered to walk the dog during my absence – feeding her is one thing but walking is not usually an offspring duty. I provide a cheque for the girlfriend to drop at the garage and remind myself that it was very thoughtful of her to offer to do this I must be more grateful. The daughter who will provide the transport to the airport is contacted about departure time all is set. We throw a few last minute things into the bags, mister groans, sighs and wanders aimlessly while I finish up the long list of household chores. He has been sent to bed as 3 a.m. will arrive early, especially for someone with a possibly fatal cold and I must head shortly in that direction. I don’t care if this will be a short night, I’m just glad this day has ended!

Our return date is Sunday, October 5th so I will post then but… since daughter # 1 has won that laptop and can access wireless, I may be in technological bliss and be in touch when we return from the Prince Albert visit (where incidentally temps of –1c are forecast for the weekend) and the daughter is off to work on Monday.

I'm posting an article from today's Chronicle Herald which quotes a GPI Atlantic study which found that NS women have less time than ever to themselves - who would've guessed? ME!!!!

If you’ve got a moment, count yourself lucky

A new study says Nova Scotians are working more hours than ever as their free time shrinks.
The report, by Nova Scotia-based research group GPI Atlantic, says on average workers are putting in a month’s more of extra paid work time than they did 10 years ago.
The data is drawn from Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey time use diaries gathered in 1992, 1998 and 2005.

The GPI report found single working mothers are most affected by loss of free time, which has shrunk by 2.7 hours a day or nearly 19 hours a week.

Lead author, professor Andrew Harvey of Saint Mary’s University, says working single mothers have to work longer hours to make ends meet, because of cuts to social service payments following deep cuts to federal social transfers to the provinces in the 1990s.

The report also looked at how free time is spent and found that 40 per cent is used to watch television, 26 per cent is spent socializing and 20 per cent is spent on sports and other active leisure pursuits.

The study recommends that Nova Scotia look to the Netherlands where work hours have been reduced and free time increased by improving conditions of part-time work such as pay rates and benefits