Happy Turkey Weekend!

The turkey is a-cookin' as is the stuffing in the crockpot. Mmmm.... I am a terrible granddaughter: I am not travelling 2.5 hours to my grandparents' for the turkey dinner with the fam. My immediate family is all in Disneyland and quite honestly, I don't have a whole lot in common with the others with the exception of DNA. I'm not sure if my fave cousin (with whom I share no DNA, but is still my fave) is going--they were in Edmonton earlier in the weekend and were awaiting a guilt trip from my aunt. Besides, I am (a) a better cook, (b) run on Sundays, (c) can control what goes in said food.

What else is new? Well, I joined Curves last week in an effort to tone up a bit and hopefully improve the running. I love the fact that it is on my way home from work so I can work out before stepping foot in the door. Yay!

Nerm and I are just hanging out, studying some histology. I ordered some CE courses when I was trying to get a job at the ME's office and now that I didn't get the job, my motivation for studying has disappeared. However, two exams, multiple choice questions, and a pass mark of 60% means that even without much studying I should be able to rock 'em. Going to S.B.'s tomorrow for that.

Better get moving, somehow it's 1400h already!
H =)

OMIGOD, how'd it get to be October?

Wow, it seems like only yesterday it was September 1!

Big news: I QUIT MY JOB!! I have been a happy dancing fool since I submitted my resignation on Friday, September 26. I'm officially unemployed this week because they wouldn't let me take my vacation at the end of my notice. They wanted me to come back and work one day after my vacation. WTF?!
"Fine," I said. "Pay out my vacation. I'm done." Their rationale for it is pretty skewed, too.
"What if you hurt yourself on vacation and claim LTD?" they said.
"What if I hurt myself on the day that you want me to come back to work and claim LTD? How is that different?"
"Ummm...."
I love being smarter than other people, especially when they realize it! Oh, and get this. They told me that I'd have to come back for one day at 1300h on Thursday, the 2nd. Um, did you not read my letter that was quite clear that my last day is Friday, October 3?

So I'm doing schoolwork, knitting Jorja's blankie, hangin' with Nermal and trying to get some running in. My new job starts next Tuesday. I can walk to work, it's still 4 days/week...money's pretty close. Really, who could ask for more? I haven't had a single regret about quitting, which makes me know that I've made the right decision. I feel great and my friend Alli says I sparkled at work (I never sparkled at work before) as soon as I handed them my resignation. WHOO HOO!

So, here's to ME!

September is all about changes...

and I'm not sure I'm ready for all of them!

On Sunday, Sept. 7, I had to say good-bye to my beloved Doodlebug. We had some good times together and it was time for her to go. We did it on our terms, though. Dr. Kim and Christie as well as my mom and dear friend Joanne were all here and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Coming home to an empty house was so hard. I have no idea how my mom has done it since my dad died.

The day before Kitty's last surgery, one of the strays at the clinic came to sit with me while I was waiting for her. Long story short, she'd been waiting 6 months for me and Kitty to come to the clinic. On Monday, Nermal Ruth came home to stay.

She's so cute! She scared herself when she caught a glimpse in the mirror--I'm sure she got a good 3 inches of air. She loves looking out of the patio window to see what's going on. No one at the clinic ever heard her purr, but she started within an hour of being home and she hasn't stopped since!

Here she is:


Lookin' out the window


Just bein' cute!

And now all of the leaves are turning and falling off the trees. It's so much fun to crunch through them! Melissa's is on Saturday and it should be interesting! I haven't ran since the day Kitty died, let alone anything close to 22K! Oh well, as long as I'm moving, I don't care.

H =)

End of Summer?

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted here and oodles has happened. After the fridge saga, Kitty got sick and my life has consisted of trips to and from the vet. Two dental surgeries, 7 teeth, 6 facial drains and too many syringes of antibiotics too count, and I think she's finally on the upswing. Her Cat-titude is returning but she's still not eating much on her own. Darned finicky cats!

This picture was taken in May before she lost a lot of weight. Pretty cute old girl, isn't she?

Weight-wise I'm pretty happy, all things considered. My last official WW WI was on August 6 and as of yesterday morning, I'm down 1.8 from that weight. So apparently even when I eat my emotions, I can maintain a fairly stable weight. Time to kick it up a notch, though. My weekday running partner, L moved to Fernie this weekend, so I need to find a way to motivate myself. I'm exploring all of my options....

On the boy front, my e-Harmony subscription expired and I'm not renewing it. In the last week though, I made it to "open communication" with a guy who seems pretty cool. We're having tea on Wednesday so I'll let you know how that goes. I also went back onto Plenty of Fish....not sure if that's going to last very long or not. We shall see...

So today has been pretty lazy so far. I've got laundry sorted, and one load in, but I think I'm going to have to go get more soap before I can do much more. I also saw that it's only 21 days till Melissa's so I think I should go find some hills to at least walk up!

Fall has officially arrived here in Cowtown--yesterday the high was 6C and it rained all day. I'm sad to see summer end, but hopefully the fall will bring a healthier Kitty and a lighter me!

I must remember my mantra: The flab stops here!

The fridge saga continues...

My fridge was successfully fixed on Wednesday! Turns out the socket that the light bulb fits into needed to be adjusted so that the bulb could make contact to complete the circuit and the timer needed to be replaced (it would get stuck in defrost mode, which is why the fridge was warm inside). But the saga continues . Here is the latest email exchange:

Sent by me:

"I received the voice mail you left Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 1838h MST where you informed me that you would be back in Calgary in "the next couple of weeks," that we can "probably deal with the payment then," and that you will contact me when you are back in Calgary.

I understand this to mean you will be covering the entire cost of the repairs. Is that correct? The bill for the repair (including replacement timer, labor and service call) was $216.30 and the replacement light bulb was $2.09 for a total cost of $218.39 (see attached).

Also, please clarify which dates that you will be in Calgary and would like to meet--it is a very busy time of year when I am often not home.

Regardless of when and how this particular issue is handled, the Landlord & Tenant's Act requires that you provide me with contact information, including a physical location in Alberta (s.18(1), (4)). A telephone number where I can at least leave a message would also be appreciated.

If I have misunderstood any of the above, please clarify in writing by Tuesday, July 29, 2008."

To which she replies:

"Thank you for your email. You do understand correctly that I will be covering the entire bill, nothing else was ever discussed. I'm very pleased you had the fridge fixed on your own, although I was somewhat surprised that you had turned my repair guy away and asked him to leave. I understand he was about 40 min late but you should have let him in to asses the situation as I had requested. I do understand you are a very busy person, but there are situations that are not always perfect, so having some flexibility is sometimes necessary.

Unfortunately, I do not know the exact date I will be back in Calgary as my husband and I do have many details to work out prior to our return, but I will provide you with sufficient notice so you can fit our meeting into your busy schedule.
My address in Calgary that you may send any correspondence to is XXX Everbrook Way [notice there's no quadrant of the city included in the address], T2Y 0A6. My telephone number is 403.xxx.2071.

On a side note, I am not sure why you have decided to change the way you communicate with me by quoting the tenancy act and quoting everything I say. In the time we have known each other have I ever mistreated, misguided, misinformed or mislead you? I believe I have been 100% honest with you and have rectified every matter in a timely and professional matter and have never broken the tenancy act, would you agree? I am very familiar with the tenancy act as I do have my own current copy and my husband and I do have other properties we rent and do work with management companies so we are very much involved in the legal process. If you feel you must continue to correspond in this way, that is your right, but I feel it is not necessary as I have always felt our relationship has been based on honesty and integrity."

Wowsers! To which I replied:

"I’m sorry if you were offended by my e-mail, but for reasons unrelated to our contract, I fully document business related phone calls. This ensures that both of us completely understand each other and offers an opportunity to clarify details or refute them if necessary. It protects my interests (as well as yours) and ensures that we are both aware of each other’s expectations and responsibilities. The language is clear and concise to avoid misunderstandings and if you were offended, again I apologize, but this is the way that I handle all of my personal business. Since we have a business relationship, this is the way that I will document telephone conversations with you—it’s not personal.

Laslo buzzed my front door at 1852h MST on Tuesday, July 22 (the door rings to my cell phone which captured this time), which is more than 40 minutes late as you indicate in your email. I had by that time already tried to contact you at the number you told me that you would be available at and left you a message informing you that I was going to call an outside repair service. At that time, I also sent you an email stating the same. I had not received any communication from Laslo indicating that he was running behind schedule, nor did I have any way of contacting him. I contacted Murphy Appliance and arranged for a service call on Wednesday after the technician had ascertained what the likely problems were. When Laslo arrived, he told me that he was late because he went to another property that you own because you had not given him my address. I told him that he was late, I had already made other arrangements (I still had not heard from you) and I had another engagement that evening. I had already cancelled plans to attend my faculty reception (that is held once a year) to accommodate him at 1800h, and I was unwilling to change yet another set of plans. I did not hear from you until 1245h on Wednesday, July 23, which is more than 18 hours after I called to tell you that I was making other arrangements.

Thank you for providing me with your contact information—neither of which I have ever had before (the phone numbers I have for you are 403-xxx-9026 and 403-xxx-1555). [Notice neither number is the one she gave me....hmmmm...perhaps part of the problem?]

My VISA bill is due on August 8 and since you are not certain when you will return to Calgary, could you please put a cheque in the mail for me."

I decided not to answer her question regarding her never breaking the act and not acting professionally, because I can think of at least 5 occasions where she has! As Cowgirl Warrior advised, she's obviously taken this personally, so try and soothe her ruffled feathers without stooping to a personal attack. Good side note though, she called just as the guy was processing my VISA. When I hung up, shaking my head and muttering about landlords, he told me, "When a landlord calls me, I don't take the job. They've inevitably tried to fix it themselves, made a mess of it and then don't want to have to pay what it costs to fix it properly." Which totally made me feel better!

Alas, now I am trying to breathe deeply and just be. I bailed on Folk Fest last night to go to bed early (I made it by 11, which is 2 hours earlier than every night this week) but I've been up since 4:30. I'm going to clean my kitchen, go through the fridge to make sure I've ditched everything that went bad, throw in some laundry, get groceries, have a nap and THEN get to the park for the party!

Sorry for the long, ramble. Thanks for listening! Have a great weekend.
H-woman =)

Why am I surprised?

By my landlord's continued stupidity? I shouldn't be!

So my fridge quit sometime between Sunday night and Monday evening. I thought it was just a light bulb, but replacing that didn't work. So I do all this troubleshooting (which I think most people wouldn't even do), tried to call landlord and receive the following message: "The customer you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later." So I send an email, outlining what's happened and what I've done.

Long story short, she arranges to have some dude, Laslo, come at 6 last night. He didn't show! I tried to call (like we had agreed I would do when Laslo was done) and SHE WASN'T THERE! So I leave a message and then send her the following email:

"Hello XXX,

It is currently 1826h MST. I have just phoned you at 604-XXX-XXXX [she's in BC, I'm in AB] and left a message informing you that Laslo has not yet arrived and that I am calling an appliance repair service to assess the refrigerator.

This is the second time one of your agents has not been on time. I lost 2 hours of work time today between waiting for your call this morning and leaving early to ensure I was here by 1800h. I also canceled evening plans.

Please provide me with a mailing address so that I may forward the bill to you."

So far, she tried to call me at 8:20 last night (I was out listening to my friend play at a local tea house) but didn't leave a message. She also hasn't responded to my email.

Oh yeah, Laslo eventually showed at 6:55. Apparently she didn't tell him WHICH house (she apparently has more than one) to go to. Sorry, I've already called a professional repairman who will be here between 10 & 12 this morning and I'm on my way out the door. Funny, the first thing my guy asked was where I lived....maybe that's because he's a PROFESSIONAL!

Rant over.
Happy Wednesday!

Postie School

Soooo....after much thought and number crunching, I decided NOT to attend Postie School. I thought it would be silly to take a $17/hour pay cut to not even have guaranteed hours. It sucks, but my new mantra at work is "Ohm, pension and benefits, pension and benefits." Still waiting for the ME's office...