wheezy takes a spin

no joke, I just found in my blog post "drafts" a piece with this title.

Something in me remembers that it was going to be an amazing entry- one so amazing that it needed time and thought before putting it down on the page... but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

Something to do with Florida.

Dad and Gale are down there now... if only I had the money for it this year! It's not that I'm over winter- it barely feels like it's begun- but... oh vacations.

Praying for either the lottery to come thru for me, or some magic in payroll. This job change is terrifying financially.

Happy New Year's Eve

It's come, yet again, to my attention that I need to win the Lottery.
And when I do...
le sigh.....

money money

.. and I don't mean the band. (Although... I do have some love for the boys)

right now... me and ebay are in love.
sweet cross border shopping!

also

in other news... I took up pirating again tonight, after quite a long hiatus.
Too long.
I have no POE.
And I have no idea what's going on.

to add insult to ... er.. no, just insulting.

I don't know who should be taking it worse... me? or the folk singers?

Today was my day off... Mondays are my ONLY official day off, I also get every other weekend. How did I spend this day? Mostly in my Pj's playing puzzle pirates... a little Jack a la 24, then off to my car to visit Dalton before going to my Dad's.

My car.

I walked to my car. The door wasn't closed properly. Which isn't normal, as my door frame leaks a little, so I'm always careful to close it fully. Also not normal... my CD case sitting on my seat. Also not normal, my sunglasses case sitting on the seat. Also not normal, my registration in the back seat. Also not normal, the console open.

Someone broke into my car!

And by "broke into" I mean, they opened the door... I don't lock it, I don't have time to get the window fixed were it to be shattered. I immediately opened the trunk... *phew* drum still there, CD player still there, Krazy Karpet still there. Nothing missing from the trunk. I go back to the driver's side... and tally the loss. One pair of sunglasses (3 years old) and $1.75 in Canadian Tire money (which I'd counted at the car wash the other day).
Not too bad.

So at first I felt violated... someone went into my space and took my stuff.
Then I was insulted.... what? they don't like my taste in music?

A plug

So, fantastic news this week at work, we're getting a pay increase! We're still not at "industry standards" but we're moving up a little at a time.
"What will I do with my Retro pay?" has been the question of the day for many.. and I'm flip flopping back and forth on my decision.... it's not a tonne of money... a little over $500 before taxes, AND it's nearly income tax time... well, it IS income tax time, but I'm still waiting on three little pieces of paper *le sigh*...
I need a new mattress for my bed... sometime soon. Not desperately soon, no springs are stabbing me in the back yet, but it's an old one, laying on a sheet of chipboard in the frame of my bed. So I've been doing some pricing here and there over the past year....
Saturday I found myself in "Heavenly Dreams" It's the place beside CDCI West, it used to have some other name, but in the past year it's changed, the owner there now is Scott Keller.
I like local, so I will be buying from him. Not just because he's local, but because he bothered to put the time and energy into a sale that he may not have even profited from. He even encouraged me to check around for other prices.
So, I go in, and Scott comes up to me and asks how he might help, I mention that I'm just starting to price things out and I'm not really sure what it is that I'm looking for. Scott then takes thirty minutes of his time to explain a whole PILE about mattresses. (pun may or may not be intended). I came in knowing very little... and I've spent time in and out of stores all over... and left with a grasp on what I need to know to make an informed purchase. All the while Scott kept in mind that I likely wouldn't be buying from him, and helped me to figure out how to make the comparisons between brands and even how to compare same brands between different shops. He took the time to answer even my obscure questions..
Did you know that there's a brand of mattresses that has parts produced locally?
Anyway, I know this reads like a cheesy advertisement... but well... it is. Your regularly scheduled blogger will be back later.
Go check them out.

tap tap tap tap tap tap

So, this morning I was to pick up "fred" from the Blue Box ("Beyond the Blue Box" a store that sells second hand items, money going to charity, and employs many of the developmentally delayed adults in our community). Generally I go a few minutes early as I'm on my way back from dropping another individual off. This also allows me time to wander the store..
You never know what you're going to find there... really.
My first apartment in University was furnished nearly entirely from that store... tables, chairs, end tables, most of our dishes...
Today I was wandering around, looking for cross country ski shoes... with no luck (I've never seen cross-country shoes there yet... take your pick of down hill though) so I switched my focus to cameras, looking for a fun find... nothing today... I moved over to the computer section... and I noticed a series of cases varying in size under the shelving unit. I pulled out a scuffed smaller sized case and unzipped it.... Inside? the cutest little manual typewriter ever!
I tried it out, the ribbon was still good, the keys all worked, all the capitals and numbers and symbols worked... the return bar made a satisfying click-whir noise as I pushed it across....
I was smitten.
But there was no price.
So I was downcast.
Knowing I had little money with me (lol, or in the bank) I brought the case to the counter....
I asked the cost.
Marie smiled at me "since you're a friend (motioning to the cue of people still jabbering at me) it's free of charge today."
gleefully I giggled like a school girl and thanked her over and over...
I have some serious writing to do!

the good news?

I'll be receiving a double pay cheque next week.


Also, There's still all that money in my account that belongs to someone else, AND Santa was very generous this year. I have a cushion.

do they want me to stay?

work can be a little bit... uh... disorganized.

the Thursday before I was to return to work I still hadn't heard from them as to where I was to report ... I went in and filled out a return to work paper and phoned my manager at home to tell her it was there and remind her that it needed her signature before it was sent (so I could return from my LOA) the next day.
I never thought of it again.
A few weeks ago I discover an error in my favour by the bank... I've been doubting the contents of my account since the investigation began. I just operate under the assumption that I have my pay cheques in a timely manner and continue on with life.
Yesterday (I've now been "back to work" for nearly 4 weeks) I received an urgent message at 2:55 that I was to phone a manager. I phoned and discovered that my return to work papers had not been delivered. Not only that, but because of this, I didn't receive my pay. Not only that, but I was to be terminated the next day for failure to return from my LOA in a timely fashion.
With that, I searched the office, the paper was not to be found... thankfully, I wasn't going crazy, there was someone there who remembered me coming in that day (December 8th) to fill in the form.
So, I dashed to the computer to print out a new form that I could fax to this other Boss (as my own was out of town). The computer program generates an error, the program shuts down... I open it again... the program generates an error, the program shuts down.
Now, maybe I should mention at this point that the form needs to be filled in, signed by me, then sent to this other manager, filled in some more, then faxed to the corporate office BEFORE 4pm, at which time the office is closed and I'm pretty much outta luck.
I restart the computer at 3:10. I hit print at 3:15.
The printer is not working.
The fax machine is not receiving.
I restart the printer.
Still not printing, I phone PTBO, they try faxing it to me again.
no dice.
I drive to another program at 3:30.
Arrive, hurriedly explain that I need their computer, and dash to the office.
I print, fill out the form and fax by 3:43.
I drive back to my program.
Throw up.
And then dive into the mess of financial disasters left for me by my Coworkers.
Welcome back to work.