I am SO Close to Being a Crazy Cat Lady

I've seen this on a few blogs, and today on My Life In a Nutshell. As I am thoroughly committed to NaBloPoMo, but it's Friday and I feel spent (I napped today... I never nap!), so I am going to post a meme.

Go to your Pictures folder on your computer, pick the fourth folder within the main folder, and then the fourth photo. Post and explain the picture.


Luckily, this isn't as embarrassing as I expected it to be. Still, it proves that I am aboard the train right to Crazy-Cat-Lady-ville, as I am home on a Friday night blogging about my cat.
This is Thunder Kitty. He is sitting inside of my lap top bag, because he's always getting into silly situations and finding crazy places to hang out that he thinks are comfortable. He is a year and a half right now, but in the picture he's about 6 months. So little!! I thought he was a big guy then, but now, at 15lbs, he wouldn't even fit in that lap top bag. I inherited Thunder Kitty after a co-worker brought him from her neighbour's barn to live with us for the summer at camp. Unfortunately, he was a mean kitty, and I was the only one who actually liked him, thus I adopted him when camp finished and I moved to Toronto. Half of my family is highly allergic to cats, so needless to say, he was not necessarily the most popular family member. Now, though, he's grown on them (with the exception of my sister, who will not admit that she likes him... actually she will not admit that she doesn't hate him). Since his kitten days, he's calmed down a lot and become a lot friendlier. Still, he's never been a cuddley kitten, so I completely love it the rare moments when he does cuddle with me. I love this cat crazy amounts, and I don't know how I would have survived living all alone in the big city without him. He is the closest thing to a boyfriend, sadly, and I have had to restrain myself from getting another cat because I know that takes me dangerously close to being a crazy cat lady.
So there you go! That's the story of the 4th photo in the 4th album in my pictures folder!

Things That Scare the Crap Out of Me

Yesterday, on the Gardiner Expressway - a highway that I drive on frequently, literally 15 minutes from my house - a truck carrying copper tubes and wires driving on the 427 overpass fell off the overpass and onto the highway below, crushing cars.

The truck was heading south toward the eastbound Gardiner Expressway when its trailer detached, burst through the guardrail and plummeted about 20 metres onto the QEW.

The trailer crushed four cars and scattered an estimated 25,000 kilograms of tubes and wires across three lanes of traffic, shutting down the highway and nearby arteries for most of the day. The highway reopened last night.

After losing its trailer, the truck hit a guardrail before coming to a stop further along on the ramp, Woodford said. (http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/531604)

This makes my crash seem minute.
Can you imagine driving and having a truck falling on you!? I had nightmares about this happening long before this really happened.
It's just so close to home... I could have been driving there!

See pictures here.

They are blaming driver fatigue and mechanical issues. So, please, everyone, don't drive if you're tired! Being responsible for causing a terrible crash would be so terrible, and being responsible for someone's death would be even worse.
Please be so careful driving. I don't believe in the term "accident," crashes are not accidents. If everyone was driving safely, this would not happen.

Doing the Best I Can

It's been a long day. I am going to talk about the most frustrating part of it.

I don't speak French. I took up to grade 10 French and am able to understand it if spoken slowly. We have a client at the shelter, a refugee, who only speaks French. On top of this, I think she may be kind of bitchy. Anyhow, in the past few weeks, I have found that I know enough French to interact with her. None of the other staff on today spoke French, which left me as the one to be her contact. She had an eye appointment that she needed to attend. She did not want to attend, as she was too "fatigue" to go. Not a good enough reason, as the appointment was already booked. I told her the best I could that the eye doctor was "tres important", and she agreed to go if I would escort her. The deal was, I was to take her there, talk to the receptionist, and go back to the shelter.

I was already frustrated with her before we got there.
When we arrived, she discovered that the doctor did not speak French, only Italian and English. This was not good to her. Then, I had to tell her that the receptionist wanted her refugee papers. She was not willing to give them to her. The combination of the two made her state that she did not want to see the doctor. I tried to reason with her and explain the importance of it to her, with my extremely limited French.

I was getting pretty fed up.
It was at this point that another lady in the waiting room spoke up. This lady, who does not know this client, does not know me, does not know where we are from and does not know the situation, decides to tell me that they pay $60 for their appointments, so there is no point wasting the government's money to make a girl get her eyes checked who doesn't want to go.

I. Was. So. Pissed. But I didn't say anything. I turned around and ignored her. I wanted to give her a piece of my mind, but I blanked.
After a few minutes, I explained to the receptionist that she did not want to see the doctor, and she said that was fine and we left.
I was frustrated with the client, I was pissed at the nosy know it all lady, and most of all, I was disappointed in myself.
Why didn't I know French better? I could have convinced her to go, I could have been a better advocate for her. Where are my Child and Youth Worker skills? The skills that get stuff done and help kids. Most of all, where was my voice?

I froze when that lady spoke. She disgusted me. I actually felt bad for the client who was frustrating me so much. She is a refugee who has had a really tough life so far. She is in a country she doesn't know, and in the biggest city in that country. Hardly anybody can talk to her or understand her. Can you imagine how difficult that would be? So who is this lady to judge her and judge me by saying I am forcing her to do it? She has no idea what she is talking about. Really, I am proud to live in a country where people can seek refuge and get the help they need. Lady, you are a Canadian citizen, you've probably never been a victim of traumatic events and unjust governments, you have probably never had to go to a brand new country where no one can speak to you in your language, you have money to pay for an eye appointment. So take your fucking chequebook out of your ass and stop butting into other peoples' conversations where you are not wanted or needed and do not know any of the background information.
I wish I didn't freeze. I wish I was able to say that to her face. I wish my response wasn't silence and ignoring her.

I just have to keep remembering something a professor of mine said: "Everyone is doing the best they can."
My client was doing her best to cope with the situations she was faced with in the ways she knows how.
That lady was trying to stand up for her beliefs (however erroneous I know them to be).
And I was doing my best possible job as a CYW to deal with the situation at hand and use my skills to make things work out the best way possible for my client.

"Everyone is doing the best they can."

Scatter Joy, Inspire Hope, Share Love, Seek Peace

1. scattering joy, 2. Hope, 3. share love, 4. Seek peace!

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

I am a Canadian...

...So I can't vote in tomorrow's American election. However, this election is something that effects us in Canada almost as much as the Americans themselves.
That is why I cannot stress this enough:
VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE! I don't care who you vote for (*cough*Obama is my choice*cough*), just go do it! Every voice counts, so make yours heard. People have fought and died to have a say in how the country is run, so please don't let their sacrifice be overshadowed by your apathy.
Remember, if you choose not to vote, you had better not complain!

My House Still Smells Pretty!

I bought this Wood Wick Cinnamon Sugar Fusion Candle at Chapters this weekend, and let me tell you, it is the best freaking smelling thing ever. It was a little expensive, but totally worth it. My house smells like Christmas baking and I don't have to lift a finger. I thought y'all should know.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words... Right?

It's only day 3 of NaBloPoMo, and already I don't feel like writing. Instead, I was artsy tonight and made a collage. As of tomorrow, this will be in the mail to a dear friend and a special surprise.

This counts as my post for today.