Human Greed

Today, in the aftermath of the Hurricane disaster of the Gulf Coast region, gas prices jumped at the jumps by as much as $0.25 a litre. Gas bought and paid for three or more weeks ago at a much lower price jumps ridiculously high, and we are asked to believe that it's the cause of Hurricane Katrina? I'm not buying...more like Hurricane George strikes again. It's no secret that this administration is gleefully hoping the price of oil hits $100/barrel this year. I hate this planet.

Around the Kitchen Table

I had a well written post about the Israeli settlements ready to go, but a 12-lb cat decided to play critic and stepped on my off button, meaning the world would never see my original clever observations on the situation. To sum that up:

A man was taped dangling his baby out of an upper floor window a la Michael Jackson as the reporter's underlying voice weakly justified the action as symbolizing that these Jewish Settlers believed that the actions of the Israeli government would harm future generations. No, dangling babies out of windows harms future generations, fuckwit. Self-emolliation harms future generations. MURDER harms future generations.

The whole point was this: How far would you go to struggle for what you believe in, even to the detriment of those around you?

In other news, Dad came out of surgery alright this morning. He was having the lump on his neck removed after testing could not eliminate the possibility of cancer. The last time he went in for surgery, he reacted very, very poorly to the anesthesia, resulting in his immobility for several days. This time he's doing far better. The mass is on it's way for more testing as this goes to print.

Mom's got a stress test tomorrow morning because the doctors want to find out more about symptoms of her screwed up heartbeat, which is bad timing given the incredible stress she's under right now with various family crises, both minor and major. My parents are getting old. Time sneaks up on you. It seems like only yesterday that my mother and gramma watched me graduate from high school...now mum's 62 years old, and it's more than likely that she won't be there to see my future kids graduate. My kids will only be forming a relationship with their grandparents before the frailties of old age claim them. But such is the continuity of life.

This weekend is gearing up to be insanely busy, which doesn't suit my need to have downtime. I am getting used to going to work now, but I still need time to just relax. Heather's going away party, games night at Lori's, Emma's birfday party, Auntie Margeret's birthday, Dale's Birthday, curing the world's ills, controlling the cosmos, etc. No rest for the weary.

And as if you couldn't tell that my attention span is waning, especially after spending so much time on a brilliant post, only to watch it die in cyberspace, I've now run out of patience with this post. Plus, Purrball's treading dangerously close to the keyboard. and I can't do this a third time.

Shoulda been a race car driver

Yesterday, we got in the car at 10:45 and drove to Jasper. It was "WE" time. We stopped in Edson to clean some insect remains off of the car, and to buy an Alberta Road map (cause we don't have one, and although you don't really need one with all the signage, it's good to have one, plus I love maps). Rod got stung by a wasp. Hmm...how long would it take to find out if someone's allergic to wasp stings? The obviously violently allergic people would no doubt carry whatever medical implements necessary, but what if you have no idea if you are allergic? And should I be making plans to seek out the hospital in Edson or Hinton?

We got back on the road and stopped at Obed Mountain, which is the spot of the highest altitude of the Yellowhead highway, and Rod made comments about throwing me down on the boulders at the rest stop for a sexfest, but you know me, I quickly ruled that motion dilatory. Back in the car for a few minutes drive to Hinton so I could pee in the relatively luxorious surrounding of a gas station washroom (Nature rarely trumps the need for actual plumbing), and then back on the road again to Jasper. We got to the park and paid to enter for the day and all was well. We stopped and took a mini frolick break at the sight of the commemorative stone marking the Athabasca River (the water's cold says Rod, Wuss says I), and then onwards again to Jasper.

We bypassed the townsite and went straight to the Jasper Tramway, because Rod really wanted to. It's pretty cool. The tram takes you up to the top of Whistler's mountain, and from there you can hike just over a kilometre up to the summit, and of course, it's a wicked view. Mountain tops and lakes and highways oh My! I called my mom to say I was on top of a mountain, and she told me that a nasty family situation had further developed into a fullblown crisis, so it took the shine off of my experience...from the top of the world to the pit of despair in a record quarter of a second. We decided to head back down because of the cold...I was smart enough to at least bring a sweater, and I was a little chilly. Rod left his jacket in the car because at the base, it was like, 25 C, but at the top, it was like, 13 C. I started to get a splitting headache, so it was time to find a drugstore. We found one and bought a bottle of Advil Liquid Gelcaps for migraines, and two of those puppies had me sitting pretty by the time we got out of the park.

We stopped in Hinton for supper at the Boston Pizza, and just sat and reflected on our day. I had us getting home at 10:45 pm. And I was feeling alright, so I took over driving at Edson. I set the goal of being into Edmonton proper by 10:15, and speed demon that I am, I got us there in spite of a few idiot drivers hogging the fast lane, at 10:14, with 30 seconds to spare. We were home just after 10:30. Damn, I shoulda been a race car driver. Nothing gets the testosterone going like pedal to the floor and passing cars with much more impressive horsepower.

Good day. We sort of plotted out the route we'll take when we drive to Vancouver some time in the next month, and I cautiously brought up the possibilities for getting our stuff over the mountain when it's time to move. I don't want to suddenly say to Rod with a month to go that we need to discuss these things and then watch him go into the mental equivalent of rocking trauma over the impending change about to take place in his life. I like to gently implant the ideas long ahead of time and then let him gradually get comfortable. Besides, men like to think that they are the originators of ideas, even though all women know that we are the planners, and we can subtly implant suggestions in a way that doesn't offend the delicate male ego. :p

She fell

If you've been wondering where I've been as of late, the simple answer is working, sleeping and eating. This waking up early to go to work thing is still working itself out. I'm still wondering what I've gotten myself into at this job, but it seems to be working out. Three weeks on and I'm still going, so I must be doing something right. But I will obviously have moments where I will be frustrated about the jobs, and I remind myself that it's okay, I'm human...I think. And a fairly boring one at that.

Festivals kept us busy for a while too. K-daze, Heritage days, Taste of Edmonton, and co-inciding with all of this was the World Masters Games. Daddy entered in the golf competition and did fairly well. In his age group, he placed 17th of 56 on the first day, 35th of 52 on the second day (and what a bad day it was for him, because he wasn't feeling well too), and 18th of 54 on the 3rd day. He's no spring chicken, but he kept within 10 strokes of the leaders, so ain't too shabby. Chris also took part in the games in several cycling events, doing alright for himself too.

But August has started off in spectacular confusion. I can't put my finger on it, but something seems entirely out of sync in my world. I've just had this nagging feeling that there is something seriously wrong, and it's frustrating because I can't figure out what it is. I'm aware that my life has changed radically since last year...meaning I can't go back to school this time, but I'm fairly well adjusted to that. My goal has shifted from graduating to saving up for the move and putting my energy into finding ways into Grad school. But still there's a sense that something is missing or worse. There's a hint of vulnerability or helplessness in the mix that I'm very afraid of, like I'm expecting to be hurt in some way. Until I figure out what's wrong, I'm stuck, and what's worse, I'm dragging myself and everyone else down.

So like Alice falling through the rabbit hole into a strange and perilous world, I have fallen too.