I am starting to wonder if the fingerhold I have on reality is starting to slip a little. I have a wonderful friend. She gets herself worked up about a lot of things that she should probably let go. I know we all do that but she makes it an art form. It is fascinating to watch. One of the things that would send her over the edge was stores asking you for your information when all you want to do is buy a hammer or something else pretty insignifagant. It upset her that everyone insisted they have that information or they could not sell you anything. In the begining I thought she was making a mountain out of a mole hill but now I am starting to agree with her. I don't want to end up cutting myself off from society alltogether but sometimes I think the conspiracy nuts have a point. I am tired of having to give out my address, phone number, name, rank and serial number to buy a pack of gum. I am tired of seeing cameras everywhere. It seems when the government introduced the Privacy Act, our privacy went out the window. It kinda drives me crazy that I have no control over who has my information. I have no control over who takes my pictures. It used to be I could run to the grocery store in my sweats and not worry about anyone seeing me. Not anymore. Our local grocery store has pictures posted everywhere of shoplifters taken from their survelliance cameras. Since I don't steal that doesn't bother me.What bothers me is the pictures of the people in the backgroung. The people who were minding their own business just picking up forgotten items in order to make dinner. They now have their picture plastered everywhere too. You use the bank machine, they take your picture. You drive a car through an interesection, they take your picture, you enter a store, they take your picture. Never with your permission. Who knows what they do with those pictures or that information? I am now getting phone solicitors calling me on my cell phone. Where did they get the number? I thought the privacy act prohibitted companys from giving out that information. Since I know I didn't give them the number, where did they get it? Since the phone bil is in my husband's name, I can't call them to ask about a charge on the bill. They cite the privacy act but they can sell or give away my information? Something is seriously wrong with this picture. I know I am starting to sound a little paranoid but I am starting to feel that way. I now make up names and use phone numbers from when I was a kid when I am asked for that information. So if you get a phone call asking for "Jim Shoe" or something equally bizzarre. I appologize. It was me.

It is official. The Legal system has completely lost it. I use the description "Legal" and not "Justice" for a reason. We do not have a justice system in this country. Despite what politicians and the legal community would like you to believe. The last straw for me came last week. A man (and I use that term loosely) kicked a 16 year old boy in the jaw. The boy had to have his mouth wired shut for 6 weeks. The brilliant legal mind in charge of sentencing this "person" decreed that the man should be given house arrest. Okay. Here is the insane part. The man may leave the home any time as long as he calls his parole officer to tell him he is leaving and he MUST TAKE HIS BABY SISTER WITH HIM WHEN HE GOES OUT. WTF?!?!?!? I may have this wrong but my understanding is this man may go anywhere within two kilometers of his house at any time as long as his 18 month old sister is with him. What kind of sentence is that? First it isn't even a sentence if he is free to come and go as he pleases. Second, where the hell is the child protection agency in all this? What kind of situation is this moron going to put his sister in? He can go and kick the shit out of someone but as long as his sister is there it is ok? The judge claims this will foster some sort of family responsibility in the man. From what I read, when the original assault took place, the pregnant mother stood by and watched the attack. Oh goody. That is just the type of family responsibility we as a society want. Where oh where did we go wrong? What has happened to our legal system? Where is the punishment for the attack? Where is the responsibility. Perhaps this man should have been taught to show society some responsibility. I am thoroughly disgusted with this. I have said it before and I will say it again. Maybe judges should be elected and not appointed. Maybe then they will have to have some sort of accountability to the society they are supposed to serve. At least someone in authority is questioning this. http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/manitoba/2009/08/09/10406286-sun.html

I Need A Vacation

Help! I am trapped in a house with three 2 year olds all yelling "MINE". I am starting to think it would be easier to ref a UFC Fight. Or at least less dangerous. Note to self; Never get between two 2 year olds fighting over a bottle. You will end up with a black eye.

Baseball season is still going and going and going and going... when will it be gone? The boy is not happy. If his team wins their next game, they are going to the Provincials. He does not want to go to Provincials. He has missed so much work already for ball he doesn't want to miss anymore. Especially since they don't win a lot of games. What a shock it would be if they actually made it. The girl's original season has ended but she was picked up by a different team. Hopefully that will be over by the weekend. I am exhausted from spending my weekends running from one game to the next. Between two players and an ump, we were at 8 games this weekend. I really need a vacation.

The boy is trying to kill me from stress. A few weeks ago he arrived home in handcuffs. The story goes earlier in the week he had been playing ( a modern version of ) cops and robbers with his sister. He had been wearing his jacket and stuffed the toy gun in his pocket. He didn't wear his jacket again until the day it was raining. He left the house to go to the bank to cash his paycheck. On the way home, he stuck his hand in his pocket and realized something was in it. He pulled out this stupid gun. He shoved it back in his pocket and continued on his way. (This part of the story I got from the Police) Someone saw his pull the "gun" out and since he was wearing a track suit thought he was a gang member and had a gun. They called the police. Three cruisers and six police officers were called out. They pulled their guns on him and put cuffs on him. After they searched him they found his Blackberry and a lot of cash so they started yelling at him to tell them where the drugs were. He kept telling them there wasn't any. When the realized he was telling the truth they brought him home. The nice police officer held me up when my legs collapsed when they told me the story. I told them his Grandma had gotten him the phone and the money was from his paycheck. The other officer said they had already determined that. He was not charged with anything since he wasn't guilty of anything other than stupidity. Of course the whole neighborhood saw him brought home in the police car in handcuffs. They seemed surprised that the boy was not in their system. I am not sure if I should be happy or pissed off. Yes he was stupid to leave the house with a toy and yes it did look bad but assuming because he wears a track suit that he is a gang memeber kinda upsets me. Did I mention I need a vaction? A nice looonnnggg vacation.

I don't get it. I just don't

I might be missing something important here but I am a little confused. In the mornings while I wait for all my munchkins to arrive, I watch one of those morning news/talk shows. They are building up the hype for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Great. They have been profiling some of the athletes. I am starting to wonder though. All the profiles I have seen on the "Canadian" athletes are all the same. Not one of them were born in this country. Everyone of them has moved to this country in order to "represent" the country. I am a little confused. Do we not have enough talented home grown athletes here? Why are Canadian born athletes not being used? I must be missing some important part of the equation. For example the last profile I saw had the athlete being sworn in as a Canadian citizen. So this person has already been selected to represent us in the Olympics and yet they were not even a citizen yet? I just don't get it.

My viewing secret

Yes, I admit it. I was one of the millions of people who tuned in to Jon and Kate Plus 8 last week. I have watched it on occasion. For the most part, I can't stand it. Kate comes off as a shrew and Jon, well let's just say he has a lot in common with a Mollusk. However, being a parent of mulitiples myself, sometimes I do find it interesting. Last week's episode was pretty much what I expected. She didn't tell him he was breathing too loud or any other nitpicking she usually does. Everything was goind along just fine until Kate was critizing the media for following her and her family around. I beleive she said something about following her to the store is not excitng and look over there, there is a family shopping, follow them. ( I am paraphrasing because I can't remember her exact words). I was a little stunned. She was annoyed because cameras follow her and her family?!?! Hello? Last time I checked, she was the one who originally floated the idea for a television show. The story I heard was she actively searched for some sort of agreement for a tv show about her family. Did she not realize that means cameras? I realize that it can be hard to be chased by the media but she invited it into her life. Does she not realize that without the cameras or more importantly, without the public interest in her life, she has no show? No show, no money? From what I have read about her, she is all about the money. It just seemed to me that she was biting the hand that feeds her. Maybe it is time they all stepped back and re evaluated. If cameras following her upset her, maybe it is time for her to stop allowing cameras into her home. Cancel the show. That is just the way I see it.

I only time for a quick post. It is just an observation I had. On the weekend, I was driving out near the airport. Even though it is close, I don't seem to head that direction often. I did notice a slight change. I noticed that the Adult Video store that used to be there was now gone. The landscape seems to change so quickly. I don't know if the store was a vicitm of a bad economy, bad management,a bad location,or was just a bad idea. It just seemed strange to see something gone. The funny thing about it? The Adult Video store was replaced by..... wait for it..... a Vacuum store. That really does give new meaning to cleaning up the area,doesn't it.

Back again

FFFTTTTTT!!! PHHHHWWWWWFFFFF! Yes, I have blown the dust off the blog and fired her up again. For so long I have thought of topics to post. Truth be told, they seem like good ideas in the middle of the night, but in the cold hard light of day I realized they all just sound like bitching and moaning. The last coupld of weeks though have sent me for a loop or two. I need to sort things out. I need to get over them and move on. Okay, I need a good kick in the ass, I need to put on the big girl panties, and I need to accept things as they are. I can't change them. That being said, I just cant' get over it yet. I thought maybe if I put it out there I would get the reality check I need or a pity party. Whichever. Bottom line. I am feeling like for the first time in my life, I am being hit with the truth of sexism. (Or at least my little girl is). I am having a hard time believing that I really have never had to face it but my daughter does. Shouldn't it work the opposite. I fought the battles as a child so my daughters don't have to? When I was growing up I was always told I could do or be anything I put my mind to. "There were no limits. I grew up believing that was just the way it is. Now I am learning that it is not so. For the past two years my little girl has played AA baseball. Yes BASEBALL not SOFTBALL. I get so sick of people telling me that she should be playing softball because she is a girl. She wants to play hard ball. Shouldn't that be enough? I thought so but I guess I am wrong, wrong, wrong. Last season was, for lack of a better word, interesting. The team she was on, won the Provincials for her age group. Hooray but her coach was not really thrilled with having a girl on his team. She was told things like " You are on my team because no one else wanted you" or " I got stuck with you because no one else would take you". These things did not impress me but I chalked it up to the fact that he was an asshole with his own issues to work out. She didn't get alot of playing time but she stuck it out anyway. This winter she was in baseball camp and had some private lessons from a big wig with the local ball association. She improved so much. Tryouts were a couple of weeks ago. Now, I love her to death but I am not blind. I know she is not AAA material. We all want her to be but facts are, she isn't. No biggie. TRyouts went very well. At least we thought they did. She got a call back. They wanted to take another look at her and some other players. Woo Hoo! On the night before the call back, we were at her brother's tryouts. As we were leaving, the big wig stopped the girl and told her how great she did at her tryouts. Keeping in mind she is the only girl in the area to tryout for ball. She was so encouraged by this! She went to the call back the next day, ready to kick some serious butt. The call back was her best day yet. She didn't make either the AAA or the AA team. I don't understand it. She has always played AA. She was not the worst player out there and why did Mr. BigWig tell her how great she was doing? We were disappointed and slightly confused why she did not make it. It happens, move on. I might have except for a few things that have happened since. I have heard a story, or a variation of the story from three people now. The story goes (depending on who tells it) that before tryouts even started, the Association had decieded that she would not be playing. The other story is they didn't want her playing for them because she was a girl and they don't want girls playing. I was stunned. Then I heard her coach from two years ago was really surprised at how much she had improved since he last saw her play. Hmmm, maybe they should have looked at that before they decieded to exclude her. I had sent an email to Mr. BigWig. During some of the training sessions he had mentioned to the girl that he wanted her to tryout for the girls National Team. If she is such a lousy player, why would he encourage her to try out at a National level unless he is some sort of Sadist. Anyway, I emailed him and asked him for the information. I told him she was disappointed that she didn't make the team and is now determined to make the National team to prove to the Association that she CAN play ball. I never heard back from him. He is normally very prompt with responses. It all makes me wonder what the hell is going on. I don't want to sound like one of those parents who can't accept that their child can't play well enough and I probably do but I can't help it. I feel like we are caught up in something but we arent' told what it is. It frustrates me to think it might all be because she is a girl who dares to want to play baseball. There is no rule that says girls can't play and after all, it is just a stupid fucking GAME!!! I don't know what to do or how to make my mind to move on. It has become my issue now. I need to work it out, but I am not quite sure how to.