I caught a news story about the G20 protesters, and saw one of them wailing "We were handcuffed in a cell for 20 hours! This is supposed to be a democracy, man!" Uh yeah....because you're OUT now...if it really were the fascist dictatorship you claim it to be, you'd be in jail indefinitely with no trial. Duh. Do they teach any recent history in Ontario schools anymore?
On a nice long sunday bike ride, during one of the few days lately when it hasn't been pouring, I was faced again with the dilemma of where one can pee on a weekend. Once out of lachine, a girl's options are limited. Stewart hall is my favorite spot, but everything closes early on Sundays in the summer or never even opens. Recently, it was announced that huge investments are going to be made to upgrade parks in Montreal but I wonder about the boroughs. You stop at a park, figuring you can use the chalet. Wrong. It's locked. No water fountains either. Where do the kids go to the toilet? I remember the crummy chalet in Houde park where there was almost never any toilet paper. But at least it was open.
Another one of my fave rest stops, a veterans hangout in St Anne de Bellevue near Senneville was closed and the park is being renovated. I have no idea if this was just temporary or if they have moved. It was after 5 when I headed home so I was screwed until Lachine. Stewart Hall was closed. The Dorval Arena had closed. I had stopped there in April and a very nice man who was working a hockey tournament said I could use the facilities. A girl on a bike must rely on the kindness of strangers. Is this a democracy, man, when you have to hold it in on a Sunday?
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
More notes from the worker's underground
The Community Employment agency sent me to a few interesting interviews, including one located in the industrial park in st laurent. I went there the day after a snowstorm and had to cross the highway on foot. It's not exactly designed for public transit or pedestrians. Shortly after that, I got a call from a social worker in the same buildng as the CEA who told me of a job at an office. In st Laurent. I should have said nothing but I asked where, as parts of it are very hard to get to.
SW: what difference does that make?
Me: Well, I have to get there every day, I need to know where it's located.
SW: People take the bus, they take the metro
Me: Yes, but I also have to get out there for an interview and it can take over an hour.
SW: You know you need this job!
Me: Yes, I know. I also have to know things like location, transportation and other details.
SW: I'm giving you a great opportunity. You're nixing it!
It's easy to see how she got to be a social worker. The last time she took public transportation was probably...well never, since it's likely she got a car at 16 and likely had the same job since graduating university. Later, I received a questionnaire from the agency about their service. When asked for comments, I suggested that they start being bit more empathetic to the people they are supposed to help. And stop hiring people who grew up in cloistered, upper middle class eggshells who have no idea what it is to actually have to LOOK for a job.
SW: what difference does that make?
Me: Well, I have to get there every day, I need to know where it's located.
SW: People take the bus, they take the metro
Me: Yes, but I also have to get out there for an interview and it can take over an hour.
SW: You know you need this job!
Me: Yes, I know. I also have to know things like location, transportation and other details.
SW: I'm giving you a great opportunity. You're nixing it!
It's easy to see how she got to be a social worker. The last time she took public transportation was probably...well never, since it's likely she got a car at 16 and likely had the same job since graduating university. Later, I received a questionnaire from the agency about their service. When asked for comments, I suggested that they start being bit more empathetic to the people they are supposed to help. And stop hiring people who grew up in cloistered, upper middle class eggshells who have no idea what it is to actually have to LOOK for a job.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
oh those nutty clients!
I just got a new client which oddly enough, resulted from an aborted project. A woman at a small translation agency, which I had never worked with before, contacted me about a translation one of her translators had done for a company website. They were not happy with it, and I could see the problem. It was very awkwardly translated and sounded stilted, although she had done a decent job with the more technical parts (heavy machinery). I began work on it and the next day, Maryse told me they wanted it done a bit earlier. I suggested that in order to save time, I just revise the English. So we worked in tandem and managed to get it all done. But alas, the company sent back the document with more changes, some of which were reasonable, and more complaints about how 'french' it sounded. While I was doing the revisions, Maryse asked me if I thought they were being difficult, and I said yes, a bit. Some of the mistakes they pointed out were their OWN mistakes, for example and I was beginning to suspect they may never be satisfied, but at the same time they kept raising the bar by wanting it done faster and faster.
Maryse and I agreed that we both did our very best.
While I was working on the revisions, Maryse was emailed by the company.They decided they didn't want to spend any more money and would do the rest of the work themselves. Maryse was sorry to lose a client but I told her my impression was that these people would probably never be satisfied and that they didn't seem to understand much about the work process. We all get impossible clients who don't have a clue and sometimes, it's just best to cut your losses get out of dodge. Just make sure you get paid and that's that. She agreed.
Sometimes, the problems come from communication- when people aren't very good at expressing what it is they want, then crap on your work because you didn't deliver what they want. A few years ago I got a freelance gig writing a help file for a man hoping to sell a software product. he wanted it to be clear, precise and to the point, which was totally at odds with his conversational style which was impossibly hard to follow, almost dyslexic. At no point was I able to get anything resembling a clear, precise sentence. I decided to wait until I got his text. It was simple enough and I submitted it by email when it was done.
When he called me he said nastily, "This is SO not what I asked for."
Me : What is the problem?
M:You didn't do what I asked for.
Me: can you be specific?
M: I wanted it to be precise, clean and easy to read.
Me: I am familiar with help files, and I did it exactly as a help file. I read it over twenty times. Why not look it over and then send it back for revisions?
M: You mean I have to send it back and take more time?
Me: That's how it goes, I can do revisions. Sometimes you need to make changes. It's part of the process.
M: After all the trouble I went through sending it to you? (He sent it via email). It seems to me you don't know what you're doing.
Me: I'm sorry but I've been a journalist and writer for years..
Me: Look you can send it back to me and I'll revise it.
Him: I don't think you know what you're doing.
Me: Then just send me a check for the work I did and we'll call it a day. You can get another writer.
M: Well, ok.
Me: If I don't receive it in two weeks, I'll call you.
I told the employment agency that Mr G was a slimebag,that he was insulting and rude and had tried to get out of paying me. They were sympathetic and removed him from their clientele. I did get paid.
Another story...next time.
Maryse and I agreed that we both did our very best.
While I was working on the revisions, Maryse was emailed by the company.They decided they didn't want to spend any more money and would do the rest of the work themselves. Maryse was sorry to lose a client but I told her my impression was that these people would probably never be satisfied and that they didn't seem to understand much about the work process. We all get impossible clients who don't have a clue and sometimes, it's just best to cut your losses get out of dodge. Just make sure you get paid and that's that. She agreed.
Sometimes, the problems come from communication- when people aren't very good at expressing what it is they want, then crap on your work because you didn't deliver what they want. A few years ago I got a freelance gig writing a help file for a man hoping to sell a software product. he wanted it to be clear, precise and to the point, which was totally at odds with his conversational style which was impossibly hard to follow, almost dyslexic. At no point was I able to get anything resembling a clear, precise sentence. I decided to wait until I got his text. It was simple enough and I submitted it by email when it was done.
When he called me he said nastily, "This is SO not what I asked for."
Me : What is the problem?
M:You didn't do what I asked for.
Me: can you be specific?
M: I wanted it to be precise, clean and easy to read.
Me: I am familiar with help files, and I did it exactly as a help file. I read it over twenty times. Why not look it over and then send it back for revisions?
M: You mean I have to send it back and take more time?
Me: That's how it goes, I can do revisions. Sometimes you need to make changes. It's part of the process.
M: After all the trouble I went through sending it to you? (He sent it via email). It seems to me you don't know what you're doing.
Me: I'm sorry but I've been a journalist and writer for years..
Me: Look you can send it back to me and I'll revise it.
Him: I don't think you know what you're doing.
Me: Then just send me a check for the work I did and we'll call it a day. You can get another writer.
M: Well, ok.
Me: If I don't receive it in two weeks, I'll call you.
I told the employment agency that Mr G was a slimebag,that he was insulting and rude and had tried to get out of paying me. They were sympathetic and removed him from their clientele. I did get paid.
Another story...next time.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Olympic proportions
It's amusing to hear about the 2010 Olympics being referred to as 'jinxed' and 'cursed' and full of glitches.The Cauldron made me laugh, because it reminded me of "Spinal tap" when the pod refused to open on stage and the Stonehenge was only 18 inches high, instead of 18 feet. The fence was another miss, but at least a repair was swift and organized.
But have we forgotten the disaster of Atlanta? I recall stories about horrendous screwups regarding transportation,, scheduling and inept employees. Not only spectators, but journalists who covered were given bad direction and had to rely on gand braindead, inefficient employees who were unable to follow instructions because most of them were probably in written form. Journalists never arrived to events they were supposed to cover and some left in disgust.
Then there was the searing heat. Heat is always an issue in summer games: Mexico city, los angeles, athens..but those are, as they say, DRY heats. There's a reason it's called Hot 'Lanta. If you can't handle the oppressive humidity, you will suffer, but even more so if you're just sitting in it. Spectators had to be sprayed with water in the pitiless afternoon sun,where there was no shade. The horses began to suffer. (Of course, that was also a problem in Beijing, where the triathletes cooked like shrimp in a 27 degree water.) But when Atlanta bid for the games, they said their average annual temperature was 72 degrees. That means 90 in the summer and 50 in the winter.
Homeless residents (mostly black) were chased out of the area, so as not to scare off tourists and guests. However, a white trash lunatic managed to set off an explosive device, then fled and disappeared for 5 years. Obviously, Munich didn't have much of a lasting legacy.
And Lake Placid was plagued with similar transportation problems. Americans seem to have problems with public transportation. Unless it involves massive amounts of cars, it's beyond their scope.
I had a feeling all along that weather would be a problem and thought that Vancouver was possibly the dumbest place on earth for the winter Olympics, even with Whistler. As for the snow, I had a sort of premonition that this would happen. I remembered that Calgary, affected by warm chinook weather did have some snow problems as well.
Quebec city still has plenty of snow and perfect snow making temperatures, but it's not hard to understand why Quebecers would not want to take a dive into yet another Olympic toilet.
But have we forgotten the disaster of Atlanta? I recall stories about horrendous screwups regarding transportation,, scheduling and inept employees. Not only spectators, but journalists who covered were given bad direction and had to rely on gand braindead, inefficient employees who were unable to follow instructions because most of them were probably in written form. Journalists never arrived to events they were supposed to cover and some left in disgust.
Then there was the searing heat. Heat is always an issue in summer games: Mexico city, los angeles, athens..but those are, as they say, DRY heats. There's a reason it's called Hot 'Lanta. If you can't handle the oppressive humidity, you will suffer, but even more so if you're just sitting in it. Spectators had to be sprayed with water in the pitiless afternoon sun,where there was no shade. The horses began to suffer. (Of course, that was also a problem in Beijing, where the triathletes cooked like shrimp in a 27 degree water.) But when Atlanta bid for the games, they said their average annual temperature was 72 degrees. That means 90 in the summer and 50 in the winter.
Homeless residents (mostly black) were chased out of the area, so as not to scare off tourists and guests. However, a white trash lunatic managed to set off an explosive device, then fled and disappeared for 5 years. Obviously, Munich didn't have much of a lasting legacy.
And Lake Placid was plagued with similar transportation problems. Americans seem to have problems with public transportation. Unless it involves massive amounts of cars, it's beyond their scope.
I had a feeling all along that weather would be a problem and thought that Vancouver was possibly the dumbest place on earth for the winter Olympics, even with Whistler. As for the snow, I had a sort of premonition that this would happen. I remembered that Calgary, affected by warm chinook weather did have some snow problems as well.
Quebec city still has plenty of snow and perfect snow making temperatures, but it's not hard to understand why Quebecers would not want to take a dive into yet another Olympic toilet.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Oh, what a relief it is.
I just got over a horrendous bout of a flu-like virus. For the better part of a weekend I did little else besides sleep. I could eat almost nothing and was so weak, I could barely make it up the three steps to my front door to get the mail. I went through four boxes of Kleenex and generally felt as if I had aged in dog years.
When I was a child, being sick meant staying home from school and watching TV, eating my mother's chicken soup and reading my favorite books if I was well enough to concentrate.
No more, however. These days, according to ads for cold medicines, a cold and fever shouldn't prevent you from getting out and conquering the elements.. 'I won't let a cold or fever stop me!' says one superwoman, who rises from her sickbed to go kayaking. It's not enough to just feel well enough to get out of bed. No, we should be conquering Mount Washington, deep sea diving and being lowered into glaciers like Dr Agassiz.
Same for children. One poor mopey child in another ad, sits forlornly in front of a piece of paper. Alas, she's unable to be creative because she's got a cold, but give her decongestant and she's painting pictures again. God forbid the kid should get one day where she just lies in bed.
Adults need to get back to work, so a good decongestant makes sense. But do we need to risk bronchitis by climbing the polar ice cap? and do kids REALLY need to be creative when they have a cold? are they somehow slacking off if they don't take one lousy day off to watch tv and eat chicken soup?
Finally a week later I'm capable of going to the gym. A whole week and no glacier climbing. I'm a failure as a sick person.
When I was a child, being sick meant staying home from school and watching TV, eating my mother's chicken soup and reading my favorite books if I was well enough to concentrate.
No more, however. These days, according to ads for cold medicines, a cold and fever shouldn't prevent you from getting out and conquering the elements.. 'I won't let a cold or fever stop me!' says one superwoman, who rises from her sickbed to go kayaking. It's not enough to just feel well enough to get out of bed. No, we should be conquering Mount Washington, deep sea diving and being lowered into glaciers like Dr Agassiz.
Same for children. One poor mopey child in another ad, sits forlornly in front of a piece of paper. Alas, she's unable to be creative because she's got a cold, but give her decongestant and she's painting pictures again. God forbid the kid should get one day where she just lies in bed.
Adults need to get back to work, so a good decongestant makes sense. But do we need to risk bronchitis by climbing the polar ice cap? and do kids REALLY need to be creative when they have a cold? are they somehow slacking off if they don't take one lousy day off to watch tv and eat chicken soup?
Finally a week later I'm capable of going to the gym. A whole week and no glacier climbing. I'm a failure as a sick person.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The eyes have it
I am going in for laser eye surgery in early February. I would gladly have done this years ago, but it's just now at my advanced age that I can afford it, alas. I remember the interchange from Goodbye Columbus, where Neil tells spoiled Brenda, "Why don't you get your eyes fixed?" This was 1963? Getting your eyes fixed was probably on the same sci fi level as going to work in a jet-pack.
Aside from the good old fashioned vanity, it's really the convenience: no more stupid contact lenses when I want to go to the gym, or cycling. N0 more glasses fogging up in winter. No more contact lens solutions. No more having to put on cheap reading glasses over my lenses to see small print.
I will still need my reading glasses. Everyone else says, I like your glasses. They also always have perfect vision. I quote Brenda Patimkin, "Break the goddam things. I hate them." But even spoiled Brenda coudn't get her eyes fixed.
Aside from the good old fashioned vanity, it's really the convenience: no more stupid contact lenses when I want to go to the gym, or cycling. N0 more glasses fogging up in winter. No more contact lens solutions. No more having to put on cheap reading glasses over my lenses to see small print.
I will still need my reading glasses. Everyone else says, I like your glasses. They also always have perfect vision. I quote Brenda Patimkin, "Break the goddam things. I hate them." But even spoiled Brenda coudn't get her eyes fixed.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Now that I've ignored this blog, will it start acting out in school?
I was sick a couple of weeks ago (a cold, not Swine flu) and had the opportunity to do nothing but lie around and watch tv. A real treat, but it provided me with some valuable insights.
- The Palm Pre girl looks like a giant embryo.
- I don't get One Tree Hill. Maybe it's a generation thing, but The kids in it are so middle-aged. All they want to do is get married and have kids. I'm cooler than they are! Guys in their teens don't want to get married and have kids. They want to have sex. While it's admirable that they don't depict kids as dropouts and dope fiends, isn't there a middle ground between that and being 21 year old parents? Or giving up your dreams and career to get married, have kids and live in an ugly suburb?
-Vampires aren't any more interesting than anyone else, especially if they're living in suburbs like One Tree Hill.
- I get the feeling that the writers of shows like "Criminal Minds" jerk off while writing their scripts, which seem to deal with more and more kinky methods of killing, slicing, dicing and torturing women.
- I've become addicted to Psychic Detectives, on Global at 2 am.
- The Palm Pre girl looks like a giant embryo.
- I don't get One Tree Hill. Maybe it's a generation thing, but The kids in it are so middle-aged. All they want to do is get married and have kids. I'm cooler than they are! Guys in their teens don't want to get married and have kids. They want to have sex. While it's admirable that they don't depict kids as dropouts and dope fiends, isn't there a middle ground between that and being 21 year old parents? Or giving up your dreams and career to get married, have kids and live in an ugly suburb?
-Vampires aren't any more interesting than anyone else, especially if they're living in suburbs like One Tree Hill.
- I get the feeling that the writers of shows like "Criminal Minds" jerk off while writing their scripts, which seem to deal with more and more kinky methods of killing, slicing, dicing and torturing women.
- I've become addicted to Psychic Detectives, on Global at 2 am.
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