Ya know, ya can't work both sides of the street. This was brought home hard to me this morning when I was asked by the president of our tennis club to speak to the manager about her outfits. When hired, this young lady dressed "properly". In fact, her contract stipulated "proper attire". But she failed to get what "proper" meant and her outfits gradually morphed into pole-dancing attire. Before the meeting I looked up "proper" in the dictionary just to have something to fall back on. It says........"correct, suitable, appropriate, fit, becoming, decent, respectable, according to strict definition". Who wudd'a thought I would have had to tell the manager what "proper" meant?! But she is south american and I had to spell it out.
Man, cultural differences are HUGE. I guess in Columbia men rule the world and women have to attract them to get a bit of power. No, "guess" is not the word. I know that's the case. As a mother of daughters, I am so proud of the fact that they advance because of their brains and education. In so many other countries, women have no alternative but to advance because of their physical and sexual attributes (I was going to say "tits and ass", but thought that might offend someone). Truth be told, women can be trophy wives in Canada too. We all know them. But women can get ahead on their own steam and for that I am so grateful.
One of my cousins was a "trophy wife" and she suffered mightily. But in her estimation the rewards reaped trumped the related degradation, else she would not have struggled miserably through that life. My mother used to say it was as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one. I tried, believe me, I tried. I dated lots of well-heeled, eligible young men and even got serious about one of the richest men in Canada. But I could not fall in love with him. Now when I see him at weddings and funerals I wonder about what might have been? But I know what would have been. We both know. Our respective marriages have worked out for the best.
On a related matter of nature, I was sitting on our balcony watching with annoyance a spider climbing on the wall. Bone laziness prevented me from fetching the ladder and bashing it. So I sat and watched it. As it spun its web I became transfixed. What a lovely creature it was. Back and forth it went, round and round it went, spinning and spinning its web. To think I was ready to clobber it! Most of need to get into the brain of that spider and learn something about commitment and dedication.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thoughts on cooking and grammar
I am trying to be more vegetarian. No clue why, except that I have never seen a fat vegetarian. That would be a benefit. I know people who won't eat anything with a face. Now that would be too tough for me. But the internet is a goldmine of recipes. Tonight I made vegetarian pie and it was wonderful. I have worked my way through vegetarian cabbage rolls, vegetarian stew, vegetarian lasagna and lots of vegetarian soups. But biting the bullet and giving up steak tartar would be just too tough.
I have been noticing people's speech habits. Listen and you will hear everyone saying, "the thing is is..." They repeat the word "is" for some reason??!! Worse is, "the thing was is..." It's everywhere and I hate it. Lots of people muck up idiom -- like saying they were going to "home in" on something, instead of "hone in". Or, something is a tough "road" to hoe, instead of a tough "row" to hoe. I guess hoeing rows is a thing of the past, but who hoes roads? I was talking to someone the other day and she ended every sentence with....."type of thing". Either that or..."and that". It was painful. A typical sentence would be, "I was coming in to work, and that, and I decided to buy a coffee, type of thing." Seriously. All I listened to were the "type of thing's" and the "and that's". I didn't retain a word she said. I kept waiting for her not to do it, but she didn't relent once!
Trouble is, I have always been a speech and grammar snob. I judge people by how they speak. Shoot me, but it's true.
I have been noticing people's speech habits. Listen and you will hear everyone saying, "the thing is is..." They repeat the word "is" for some reason??!! Worse is, "the thing was is..." It's everywhere and I hate it. Lots of people muck up idiom -- like saying they were going to "home in" on something, instead of "hone in". Or, something is a tough "road" to hoe, instead of a tough "row" to hoe. I guess hoeing rows is a thing of the past, but who hoes roads? I was talking to someone the other day and she ended every sentence with....."type of thing". Either that or..."and that". It was painful. A typical sentence would be, "I was coming in to work, and that, and I decided to buy a coffee, type of thing." Seriously. All I listened to were the "type of thing's" and the "and that's". I didn't retain a word she said. I kept waiting for her not to do it, but she didn't relent once!
Trouble is, I have always been a speech and grammar snob. I judge people by how they speak. Shoot me, but it's true.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' was a fabulous book I read at the cottage a few years back. A first novel by Kate Atkinson, it facinated me. Read it, if you haven't. It won a number of prizes, but what drew me in was her unique use of literary devices -- such as telling the reader in the last sentence of a chapter what horrible thing happens in the next. So one had to read on and was never disappointed.
Now, I am living "behind the scenes at the museum" because I work at the War Museum. What fun it is! I deal with aged vets who take their roles as "living artifacts" in the various galleries very seriously. Dedicated Canadians beyond belief, they come in for coffee when they have given a tour and I just love listening to them chat. They actually discuss real battles in which they have fought and their comrades died -- coupled with the state of the cookie bin and the coffee. The latter are my responsibility and so far I am keeping up. A couple of times I have had to navigate a vet's motorized wheelchair in and out of the office because backing up and making a three-point turn proved impossible.
My life over 40 years as a smarty-pants career woman has been outstriped by my work making coffee for these men and women. What the hell does any of it matter when every day I get a laugh and a ton of anecdotes from such great people!? Everything falls into place and into a proper perspective. Every day these (mostly) men get dressed in their finest, pin on their medals, get into their wheelchairs, lean on their canes or walkers and head into the War Museum to tell their tales.
As for me, I have learned a new skill -- Quickbooks -- and am now the bookeeper for the "Friends" office. I have also been promoted from coffee gal to Deputy Secretary to the Board. But believe me, if I had not earned my stripes making coffee and schleping office chores, I would not have been given my added responsibilities.
As to high heels? I am wearing them all in sequence and they are all happy to be once again trotted out in service. Since I retired, my high heels have been gathering dust, but they are proudly serving my outfits. We all feel at home again.
Now, I am living "behind the scenes at the museum" because I work at the War Museum. What fun it is! I deal with aged vets who take their roles as "living artifacts" in the various galleries very seriously. Dedicated Canadians beyond belief, they come in for coffee when they have given a tour and I just love listening to them chat. They actually discuss real battles in which they have fought and their comrades died -- coupled with the state of the cookie bin and the coffee. The latter are my responsibility and so far I am keeping up. A couple of times I have had to navigate a vet's motorized wheelchair in and out of the office because backing up and making a three-point turn proved impossible.
My life over 40 years as a smarty-pants career woman has been outstriped by my work making coffee for these men and women. What the hell does any of it matter when every day I get a laugh and a ton of anecdotes from such great people!? Everything falls into place and into a proper perspective. Every day these (mostly) men get dressed in their finest, pin on their medals, get into their wheelchairs, lean on their canes or walkers and head into the War Museum to tell their tales.
As for me, I have learned a new skill -- Quickbooks -- and am now the bookeeper for the "Friends" office. I have also been promoted from coffee gal to Deputy Secretary to the Board. But believe me, if I had not earned my stripes making coffee and schleping office chores, I would not have been given my added responsibilities.
As to high heels? I am wearing them all in sequence and they are all happy to be once again trotted out in service. Since I retired, my high heels have been gathering dust, but they are proudly serving my outfits. We all feel at home again.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
I was right about the Governor General
It seems that our Governor General and her husband do not deserve the honour bestowed upon them. They wanted the Queen and her consort to stay at a hotel!!!!!! They did not want them to stay at Rideau Hall. How incredible! She has never stayed anywhere but her rightful home here, Rideau Hall. I was right about the GG knowing neither her place nor her role. She and her French husband now believe their own press. Whatever you do, or don't, like about Stephen Harper, he was brilliant to send her to China while the Queen was here. God knows what other regal upstaging she -- or more likely her husband -- would have tried to pull off. Even more brilliant, he has made her Canada's UN envoy to Haiti. As i said, last time I checked Haiti was not part of the Commonwealth and so not part of the GG's responsibility. Yet she loves to visit there at the expense of the people of Canada, so now she will be posted there.
Read David Warren today to get a good analysis of the Crown as the lynchpin of the entire Canadian constitution. He rightly rails against the Liberal politicizing of the Crown over many decades. The Queen is above politics and her portrait should never have been removed from all federal buildings, as the Liberals have systematically done. He says...
"It was incredibly irresponsible to play at changing what cannot be changed without demolishing the whole Canadian constitutional order. It was incrddibly foolish to start stripping the lion and unicorn off public stationery and the Queen's portrait from all public places. Her Majesty, being above politics, it was an incredibly vile act of disloyalty to politicize her office."
Hear hear.
Read David Warren today to get a good analysis of the Crown as the lynchpin of the entire Canadian constitution. He rightly rails against the Liberal politicizing of the Crown over many decades. The Queen is above politics and her portrait should never have been removed from all federal buildings, as the Liberals have systematically done. He says...
"It was incredibly irresponsible to play at changing what cannot be changed without demolishing the whole Canadian constitutional order. It was incrddibly foolish to start stripping the lion and unicorn off public stationery and the Queen's portrait from all public places. Her Majesty, being above politics, it was an incredibly vile act of disloyalty to politicize her office."
Hear hear.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Cosmetic surgery taken way too far
I read today about Muslim women who are now getting surgery to repair broken hymens before getting married so they can appear virgins. It costs about $3,500 and is becoming quite commonplace. So, now we have young girls undergoing vaginal mutilation before puberty and then suffering hymen recovery procedures before they get married. This is sick. The procedure is necessary because the groom's family inspects the sheets after the wedding night to be sure the bride was a virgin. Must be a bunch of money involved, is all I can say.
But how far removed is this from the Chinese and Japanese women who undergo eyelid fold surgery? Any how different is this from the latest fad in India, where women are going under the knife to get dimples? In the west, our obsession is with breasts. Thousands of women have to get bigger ones. We are also obessed with plastic surgery of all kinds. Chin tucks, eyelid procedures, liposuction.......you name it, North American women are getting it done. And all to be more fetching. It is a sad reality that we think we have to change our physical appearance to be accepted. All sick. Remember my blog about 'Toddlers and Tiaras'? Well, that's where it starts. Thank you, Moms everywhere.
So, when my daughter does a half ironman, as she did this past weekend, and comes in first in her age category I am so proud. I stand in awe of this woman.
But how far removed is this from the Chinese and Japanese women who undergo eyelid fold surgery? Any how different is this from the latest fad in India, where women are going under the knife to get dimples? In the west, our obsession is with breasts. Thousands of women have to get bigger ones. We are also obessed with plastic surgery of all kinds. Chin tucks, eyelid procedures, liposuction.......you name it, North American women are getting it done. And all to be more fetching. It is a sad reality that we think we have to change our physical appearance to be accepted. All sick. Remember my blog about 'Toddlers and Tiaras'? Well, that's where it starts. Thank you, Moms everywhere.
So, when my daughter does a half ironman, as she did this past weekend, and comes in first in her age category I am so proud. I stand in awe of this woman.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
One little, two little, three little Indians....
Flipping open today's local paper I came across three different takes on what it means to be an aboriginal in Canada today. Amazingly, or not, each was completely different. The first was a letter-to-the-editor by a man talking about the many unique privileges afforded Canadian aboriginals. He cited everything from the non-payment of taxes and the many lawless road blockades to the smuggling and other criminal activities that are tolerated by the authorities simply because....well, simply because they are. This gent's bottom line was that unlike the rest of us, aboriginals consider themselves outside of and above the laws you and I have to obey. He concluded by noting that "the litany of apologies by federal and provincial governments for attempting to bring aboriginals into the Canadian mainstream furthers this notion...yet we hear a constant stream of accusations from partisan groups that the royal treatment accorded them is not enough." Well, no argument from me on that one. I nearly wrote a letter myself, but restrained myself (for the moment).
The second was an article by Matthew Coon Come, grand chief of the James Bay Cree and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Now, if ever there was a guy with a vested interest in keeping his portion of the $8 unaccountable billion we give the natives every year -- yes, every year -- I'd say Mr. Coon Come qualifies. Anyway, his bottom line was that Canadians have been guilty of centuries of both official and unofficial "genocide, ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction". He asserts that unless all Canadians keep discussing this travesty and tragedy, reconciliation "will remain a distant and difficult goal." He is also including the residential schools and their original (legitimate) victims. The thing I have a big problem with is that most of the "victims" in the media today are two and three generations removed from the actual events??!! How does this work? Many people have experienced abuse, but encouraging it to continue to drag people down generations later is simply irresponsible. In fact it is complete b-llsh-t. I'd wager that Mr. Coon Come and his fellows have had a big, guilty hand in the genocide, ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction of their own people.
Before he gets to his conclusion, he rants, weeps and wails about "the oppressive laws and policies that resulted in the withholding of such essentials as clean water and education". Last time I checked, it is the native leaders themselves who withhold these necessities by not passing on the money to their band members. Simplistic, I admit, but when Ottawa gives the money carte-blanche to the native leaders and their people continue to suffer on and off reserve, where else can you point the finger? It always amazes me that the natives can't see this reality?! Now and then, a few band members will organize, hold a press conference and demand accountability from their leaders, but these fizzle and fade.
The third was an article tucked away on the back page entitled 'First Nations Women encouraged to pursue science'. Now this was a fabulous article. It featured a woman named Becky Code who graduated with a B.Sc. in geology and geophysics from the University of Manitoba. She did this thanks in part to a program called "Operation Minerva", run by the Alberta Women's Science Network, which encourages young aboriginal girls as they pursue their education. The successful graduates then become mentors to younger girls and so pass on the keys to a better life. This network also offers scholarships to woman for study in science and engineering with some targeted specifically to aboriginal women. Challenges and barriers for native girls are met head-on -- especially for those living on-reserve, who have to take a bus to classes. Living on-reserve means there is a disconnect between how they view their future opportunities. As we see so often, living on-reserve means drug and alcohol abuse, teenaged motherhood and suicide. Operation Minerva works against these demons to keep these girls in school. Too bad this article was hidden on a back page. I would have liked to have seen it juxtaposed right beside Matthew Coon Come's wail.
So, instead of following Mr. Coon Come's mantra and continuing to lament the dismal pasts of their grandmothers and great-grandmothers, these young women are getting off the reserve and into a productive life for their own children and grandchildren. Bravo to them!
The second was an article by Matthew Coon Come, grand chief of the James Bay Cree and former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Now, if ever there was a guy with a vested interest in keeping his portion of the $8 unaccountable billion we give the natives every year -- yes, every year -- I'd say Mr. Coon Come qualifies. Anyway, his bottom line was that Canadians have been guilty of centuries of both official and unofficial "genocide, ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction". He asserts that unless all Canadians keep discussing this travesty and tragedy, reconciliation "will remain a distant and difficult goal." He is also including the residential schools and their original (legitimate) victims. The thing I have a big problem with is that most of the "victims" in the media today are two and three generations removed from the actual events??!! How does this work? Many people have experienced abuse, but encouraging it to continue to drag people down generations later is simply irresponsible. In fact it is complete b-llsh-t. I'd wager that Mr. Coon Come and his fellows have had a big, guilty hand in the genocide, ethnic cleansing and cultural destruction of their own people.
Before he gets to his conclusion, he rants, weeps and wails about "the oppressive laws and policies that resulted in the withholding of such essentials as clean water and education". Last time I checked, it is the native leaders themselves who withhold these necessities by not passing on the money to their band members. Simplistic, I admit, but when Ottawa gives the money carte-blanche to the native leaders and their people continue to suffer on and off reserve, where else can you point the finger? It always amazes me that the natives can't see this reality?! Now and then, a few band members will organize, hold a press conference and demand accountability from their leaders, but these fizzle and fade.
The third was an article tucked away on the back page entitled 'First Nations Women encouraged to pursue science'. Now this was a fabulous article. It featured a woman named Becky Code who graduated with a B.Sc. in geology and geophysics from the University of Manitoba. She did this thanks in part to a program called "Operation Minerva", run by the Alberta Women's Science Network, which encourages young aboriginal girls as they pursue their education. The successful graduates then become mentors to younger girls and so pass on the keys to a better life. This network also offers scholarships to woman for study in science and engineering with some targeted specifically to aboriginal women. Challenges and barriers for native girls are met head-on -- especially for those living on-reserve, who have to take a bus to classes. Living on-reserve means there is a disconnect between how they view their future opportunities. As we see so often, living on-reserve means drug and alcohol abuse, teenaged motherhood and suicide. Operation Minerva works against these demons to keep these girls in school. Too bad this article was hidden on a back page. I would have liked to have seen it juxtaposed right beside Matthew Coon Come's wail.
So, instead of following Mr. Coon Come's mantra and continuing to lament the dismal pasts of their grandmothers and great-grandmothers, these young women are getting off the reserve and into a productive life for their own children and grandchildren. Bravo to them!
Monday, June 28, 2010
The Queen and I will meet again
Very excited. Received a call this morning that I would be invited to attend the Tree Planting ceremony at Rideau Hall on Wednesday, where Her Majesty would be...of course...planting a tree. Sure enough, the invitation arrived. To meet The Queen once in a lifetime is wild enough, but twice! I am over the moon. This event will require a hat and I have one I plan to wear. Not a huge brim in case I block someone's view, but lots of plumes and feathers. There is quite an article in the local newspaper about wearing hats to meet The Queen. I also googled "hat etiquette" a while ago and learned a ton about where and when to wear them. One thing I did not know was that if The Queen is not wearing a hat, no one else can. Apparently, the hat is a substitute for The Crown, so if she has not donned her symbolic crown, no one else can trump that. Happily, she never appears without either a crown or hat during state visits. I gather the hatless rule is for those occasions when one visits her during the day at her place, Buckingham Palace, for example, and she is just wearing an old tweed skirt and cardigan. Then you will be asked to doff your hat.
Brian, being in Houston, doesn't get to go this time. Well, that's what happens when a daughter marries an American.
I have been dining out, as they say, on my original Queen-meeting story for four years; now I will have another one with which to bore people to death. Having been raised by strident monarchists, having spent lots of my childhood making scrapbooks of every visit, having waited for hours in sweltering sun with my mother and grandmother on the side of highways for a fleeting glimpse of her as she drove by...I know they are dancing up there at the prospect of their daughter again meeting the Monarch -- something neither of them had a chance to do.
So, more news at 11 on that file.
Brian, being in Houston, doesn't get to go this time. Well, that's what happens when a daughter marries an American.
I have been dining out, as they say, on my original Queen-meeting story for four years; now I will have another one with which to bore people to death. Having been raised by strident monarchists, having spent lots of my childhood making scrapbooks of every visit, having waited for hours in sweltering sun with my mother and grandmother on the side of highways for a fleeting glimpse of her as she drove by...I know they are dancing up there at the prospect of their daughter again meeting the Monarch -- something neither of them had a chance to do.
So, more news at 11 on that file.
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