Field Report - Day 21

1. Still not a fan of the place.

2. Still hate driving.

3. Telling me that "It's a bigger city that still *feels* like a small town" is not a selling feature. I really hate small towns.

4. IT HAS BEEN THIRTY DEGREES (86F) (or close to it) FOR THREE FUCKING STRAIGHT FUCKING DAYS. IN MAY. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A HOAX, MY FUCKING ASS.

5. I got a job.

Not just any job. The first job I applied to that wasn't through an agency.

Not just any job. A job for which I am totally qualified, have an interest in doing, and will totally rock.

***

The barest of details: I will be working as the personal/executive assistant to a small business man who's business is in one of the few industries that thrives in this area.

The downside is, it's on call for the next three weeks, for a rate that's very low.

It will then shift to a steady 20 hours a week, for a rate that is only marginally higher.

IF I can help him find 5 new employees from *outside the Windsor area* including Europeans and North Americans if necessary, I will be full time two weeks after they start. We're aiming for September/October to have that completed. Hopefully with the increase in hours comes an increase in the hourly wage, but we'll see.

***

With only 20 hours dedicated to this employer I'm thinking about trying to pick up a couple of 10 hour a week contracts with local entrepreneurs that might need a little help with getting their administration in order.

That means networking. oh. yay.

***

I was promised a thunderstorm by 11 AM. They lifted the severe thunderstorm warning around 10 AM and cancelled the thunderstorm forecast about thirty minutes after that. It is now 12:45 pm, the sun is shining, there is some haze in the air, and it's getting STUPID hot again.

I WANT MY FUCKING THUNDERSTORM ALREADY.

***

Note: Cooling vests and neck wraps do not work in humidity over 60%. Or rather, they don't work well or for long in humidity. Why no one told me that as I was forking out $40 to purchase them, I have no idea.

***

I was going to apologize for the all the virtual yelling, but it turns out that I really am not sorry about that. No. No apologies.

Uncomfortable

Random strangers often comment on my public transit cane, and immediately start recommending a acupuncturist/therapeutic touch practitioner/ear candler/what ever kind of whatever that saved their lives. When I say "I have MS, that probably isn't going to help me." they all put on this sad frown and say "Oh, that's too bad. You look so good though!"

You. Look. So. Good.

The four words I fucking can't stand any more. They rank right up there with

It could be worse.

or

Look on the brightside. (Okay, that's five words and I cheated. Fucking sue me.)

What I really want to say is

"WHAT the fuck did you think someone with MS should look like?"

but what comes out is

"Thank you."

I think I make Joe uncomfortable with my cavalier attitude about future disability.

I often say things like "That'll give you practice for when I can no longer lift my arms." or "I think I should get a scooter now to practice for the wheelchair I'm going to end up in."

I'm trying to be realistic about this. While it's certainly not guaranteed, it's not outside the realm of possibility.

I'm okay with this bit of information. Novantrone (mitoxantrone) saved my life and having a 0.8% chance of leukemia is way better than the alternative.

I suddenly got really bored of this so I quit.

SHINY

I went from no-tech to ALL THE TECH.

The MS clinic said we should get cell phones because I/we might need to be in touch and I didn't have any way of doing that. I was living quite happily without a mobile device, but I suppose it was time to journey forward into the 21st century.

We could've paid $60-ish each a month for a basic phone/text package (US readers, don't be horrified, that's pretty normal for Canada) or we could pay $70-ish each a month for the full voice/data plan... so we both got BlackBerrys (ies?)

I got the black/pink BlackBerry Pearl flip. Joe got the Curve but hates the buttons, so he'll probably trade it in for the Pearl in the black/black option. (I got the last black/pink one, so he's SOL from that store.)

Problem is they screwed up my data plan, so all I have is voice and text and limited browsing, until they figure out what's wrong. I'm a tad pissy, because I wanted my Google calendar, email addresses and Remember the Milk sent to my phone, but NOOOOooooo... I have to wait until Rogers is damn good and ready to.

I'll give the number out when all this is good. Anyone outside of Vancouver can only have it if they promise to only call if they or a direct blood relative of mine is dead and you can't reach me at home.