Another Sad Tale of Shameful Acts

After reading an article in The Toronto Star this morning, tears literally were brought to my eyes.

An Ajax couple are devastated after a robber broke into their home and stole a pendant filled with their son's ashes. The couple lost their baby son six years ago, 16 days after he was born. Lorraine Hutchinson received a pendant from a dear friend and her husband, Dave, placed some of their baby's ashes inside as a gift. Lorraine started to run after the death to cope with her grief and her husband explained she could wear the pendant and now run with her son.

I hope the person who robbed the couple's home at least returns the pendant. Assuming this person didn't realize what he or she was taking, hopefully the priceless jewellery isn't just thrown away. What a tragedy.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/425221

Life is throwing me a Curve Ball

Lately I've been feeling like a large weight is sitting on my chest. It feels as though i'm literally going to cave in. That or just give up and be one of those people who hide in their apartment out of fear of facing the world on any given day.

It's not that anything terribly bad is happening to me, but little things seem to be happening in my life all at once. The car breaking down, coordinating maid of honour and bridal tasks and upcoming responsibilities, extra expenses I wasn't expecting, job dissatisfaction, family stress. I realize I get too caught up in worries and don't enjoy life as much as I should. I'm a constant ball of tension.

I need a vacation but we booked our honeymoon which is four months away. I need a career change but need the stability I have in my current position for the wedding, rent and now car rental payments. I feel as though I'm trapped in a large box with some room to maneuvre myself but very limited space to go where I want to be going.

It's Spring and the weather is beautiful, yet I'm still feeling anxious, tired and helpless. Very depressing I know. I need to bring myself out of this rut somehow and get a hold of my life. I know only I can change how I'm feeling. I just wish I had a genie who would grant me my life's wishes. I would take away my stress, provide myself with more money and never have to worry about stepping into an office, with it's politics, again.

Goodbye to an Old Friend

Unfortunately, my 626 Mazda Cronos passed away this weekend.

The 1993 vehicle was on its last legs, but we were in denial about the severity of its health issues. Driving on the Gardiner Expressway on our way out of Toronto, the car suddenly died. We were in the fast lane and managed to pull it over to the shoulder. Yes we were one of those people. The people you see at the side of the road on a busy Saturday afternoon, knowing full well a nice day suddenly turned into their nightmare. Yes that was us. To top it off, CAA was expired. Luckily they were nice enough to send over a tow truck anyways.

The mechanics gave the car a grim diagnosis that would cost thousands of dollars to repair. The timing belt as well as the water pump burst. Not only that but we had we had a hole in the muffler among other things. To fix the car would have cost more than it was worth. We had to make the decision finally to 'put it down' and walk away.

So now we are carless. Saying goodbye to that car was difficult but it was the right thing to do. I'll have to see how renting goes as purchasing a new car just isn't feasible at this point. The wedding is already eating up our savings! In the meantime rest in peace good car. You have been good to me but now it's time for us to part ways.

Timmy Does have a heart!

Thank goodness there is a heart or two in the land of timbits.

Read on:

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/422936

Tim Hortens - What will firing a single mother solve?

On my way to grab my usual large coffee, double milk this morning, a coworker blatantly asked me if I felt comfortable purchasing something from a Corporation that fires single mothers.

I had not watched the news last night or this morning so of course I was interested in this statement. Opening up the front page of The Toronto Star, there it was, "Tim Hortons fires single mom over free Timbit".

In London Ontario, a single mother of four was fired from her job at Tim Hortens for giving an infant one timbit. One 16-cent mini donut! I thought I had missed something, so I read the article once more. Nothing in there did it say this woman assaulted a patron or employee, stole lunches for her or her friends or did anything that would justly constitute getting let go. Literally, this woman gave a small child a timbit because the child's mother - a regular - was having a hard day.

It seems to me, some people truly weren't provided with a heart when they were born. What kind of manager would terminate an employee for this behaviour? If anything at all, the woman only deserved a warning. The thought that this actually happened for this lame excuse has me wondering whether they were just waiting for this woman to cross the line somehow so they could let her go. There must have been some other underlying reason other than the fact that she simply gave away one timbit to one infant.

This brings me to a point I feel strongly about. I realize personality plays a large role in fitting in with coworkers at a job, but just because an employee and manager don't click, does this mean it's right to fire that person? Do some people use their upper management level and authority to the wrong advantage? Perhaps some managers need to learn how to resolve conflict in a constructive way rather than shove them out at the first sign of difference.

I feel for this poor woman and I only hope someone at Corporate Tim Hortens will realize what a cheap move this actually was. Perhaps they did this woman a favour and she will move on to sweeter things.

Honeymoon Booked!

We officially booked our honeymoon and are ecstatic about travelling to St. Lucia at the end of September!

We have both been so engulfed in planning our wedding day that the honeymoon was always an afterthought - up until last week. Originally, Aruba was the destination of choice. We both had our hearts set on the new Aruba Riu Palace. Wow what an extravagent place! We would have felt like royalty, however after much consideration and research, it was determined we would have to leave at 6a.m. the day after our wedding! Silly charter flights.

Upon this discovery, we were determined to find an alternative. Aruba was our number one destination due to the fact that it is apparently a Caribbean island least likely to be hit by a tropical storm. We will be departing at the tail end of the hurricane season (June to November) and didn't want to take any chances. Barbados, Curacao and St. Lucia were all alternative suggestions by travel agents.

Sandals Resorts never crossed my mind until we flipped through some brochures I had picked up at the latest bridal show I had attended. Shuffling through the pages, we came across the Sandals Regency in St. Lucia. What a beautiful looking spot! We booked it the next day. Now I have to wait four months until paradise.

Tall Comments - please go away

I was grabbing a coffee at Timothy's yesterday in my neighbourhood when a tall comment peaked out it's little head from a stranger who was eyeing me up and down.

I'm not clear on whether this strange man was trying out a pick up line or if he was just being flat out rude. Here I was, minding my own business, stirring the milk into my Irish Cream coffee when from behind me I hear "Wow you're tall, let me guess you play basketball?". The cringed feeling that entered my body must have appeared on my face. How could it not? This is the worst comment a man can make to a woman who already feels amazonian in heels, let alone having a bloat day. Nothing against female basketball players, I just don't feel I look very athletic. As I turned to him and said "no", then tried to continue on with my business, he then says "no? ok ok let me guess, high jump then?" Instead of letting him continue I gave him my bitchiest look and walked out. I hope he got the hint.

Seriously would he be asking a shorter than average person if she is a jockey? Does she gain winnings at Woodbine for riding horses? I mean really? Would that comment not be offensive? Then how do people think making basketball comments to me is perfectly ok? I know I'm tall. Duh, I've lived in my body for the last 28 years. I know I grew well above the average kids in my class, always standing in the back row for photos, looking down at my crush's head in grade school as we slowly danced to "I will always love you" during our school dances. Oh I'm well aware, so pointing out my height will in no way flatter me. Now letting me know I'm model tall is ok. That's associated with beauty and glam. I'm ok with that!

I suppose this person was just socially inept. After venting to my fiance afterwards, he assured me he finds me attractive and I'm happy to say that is and should be what is most important.