Put your name on it

Long weekend, Thanksgiving Day in Canada. This one I was not prepared for, I always thought it was the second weekend in October, not the first. Anyway, people were preparing and I was totally oblivious.

To top it off, there has been overtime at work. I was planning on working the weekend. Well, the best laid plans.

It was quiet at work yesterday. I got a lot of stuff done. There is a temporary position in Vancouver for 6 months. It was open to select parts of the department, but not our part. I complained about it, and the next day they added us. Score!

Problem is, it is 6 months in Vancouver. That city is not cheap, and I am not moving out of my place for 6 months. I guess there is a chance I could get a permanent job there, but not certain. These things usually do not work out for me.

The last time I gambled on a job in another city I wound up unemployed. Luckily I had applied for a permanent job before I left. So I was on unemployment for 6 months. Ironically enough, that was when the divorce went through....so my income was really low.

Back to Vancouver, I am not sure if it is better than Edmonton/Vegreville. The weather is nicer and there are more people. But it is very expensive. I could live without car, but not sure about bike. Insurance could be high.

We'll see, it doesn't hurt to apply. I could always say no.

The show and tell from the week before at work went better than I thought. We had a group meeting and I guess we hit one out of the park. I am not thinking promotion.....the offices overseas though.

The days are kind of cold now, you could ride a motorbike, but not very long. So I have basically parked it.
The think has to be fixed, the shop called and they want to do it soon.

The problem is they want to take it apart, assess it and then notify insurance company. If this was a car, it is part of the estimate. For a bike estimate, they don't take anything apart. So it means I pay for the estimating on top of my $500 deductible. The insurance company said this dealer always does this. So I could pay $1500 to get it fixed. I haven't decided yet.

The TV went, a lightbulb, I ordered one online, it came and it was not secure in it's case and the damned thing didn't work. I found a guy in town that fixes stuff in his garage. He is looking at it. I returned the light, hopefully for a credit.

As I said it is Thanksgiving. The start of the alone days. I have a feeling my son will be tied up with events all weekend, as is the case. Every time I am with him it is cut short as there is some family event for the ex. Considering he lives at her house, it isn't fair. But that is one of the reasons why we are no together. He is 21. If he wants to see me.

The other part of my family in town, my sister, gave me a lecture about my choices a couple of weeks ago. I guess I chose to be gay. Therefore my aloneness is my fault. I could chose not to be gay and be in a relationship. Then the world would be good.

Ironic, as last Xmas, she tore into me about something. I am not the best at Xmas anyway, it is a time when I am really alone. I thought we made progress this year. She actually spoke with me and called me to go to O'Byrnes. But maybe it was part of an agenda. She sells Melaleuca and the owner is a homophobe, maybe in their conferences they have sessions on curing the gay.

I came to town in the car today with the mountain bike on the rack. I went for a ride, got to thinks through all that shit. I think it is time for a timeout.

Normally all this shit happens when I start to get my feet on the ground and assert myself.

It was a great day for a bike ride. About 10 degrees, so it wasn't too hot. The wind was about 20 kph which was no problem in the River Valley.

Went to a beer party last night. We had to bring 12 beer and then we drank them and rated them. This was not the same as drinking beer in a bar. Some of the beers sucked. There were a couple, brought by the same guy ironically, which I could not finish. I dumped them, considering the cost.

Good to hang out with friends though. Marley the dog, liked the beer.

A friend told me 'Put your name on it.' when I was leaving. What a simple mantra and truth for everyday. Put your name on it, I was here godammit!

I saw End of Watch, what a good movie.

I have an idea for long weekends, there are some people that would like the 'day' to use whenever they want, why doesn't the employer see if there are enough of us to warrant the place being open on Monday. I know, contract - union - bargaining. Just a suggestion.

Later