Just wait until Mulcair is PM, makes a sweetheart deal with France and opens a Citroën dealership.
Next thing you know, all government cars will be Citroëns, with the contract a secret because of national security. It’ll be the biggest scandal since the used British screen-door submarines.
Remind me the next time I’m in Calgary, and I’ll bring you the Bible from my hotel room. And if I stay at the Fairmont Palliser, I can also bring you a book on the teachings of the Buddha–last time I was there, I noticed that both books were in the bedside drawer.
Our frat used to have a bullshit reading room – a small library of propoganda texts that various cults and troubled nations had sent us upon request. The beauty of it all was that the library was also the bathroom, so folks had lots to read when sitting on the pot.
The recent round of “Were your parents/grandparents born in the 19th century?” threads reminded me of my favorite ancestor-whom-I=never-met, and a vagrant memory from my childhood resulted in a “WOW!” moment for me.
My great-grandmother was born in the Province of Canada, on a farm about two miles east of the capital at the time, Kingston. When she was born, the young queen had been on the throne for not quite four years, and down south of them, the President was two months in his grave – and there was still lasting resentment that the Vice President now considered himself President. The year was 1841.
She lived through a lot. My great-grandfather met and made her his second wife, after losing the first to some illness. She had two sons, one of whom died in young adulthood, and one spinster daughter. Her two grandchildren, my father and my aunt his sister, ended up giving her unique birthday presents – Aunt June was born on her 64th birthday, and my parents married on her 96th birthday. She died that fall.
But here’s the interesting thing: her brother kept that farm, and it stayed in the family for decades. When I was about ten, we went to visit them. The memory that just surfaced, though, is of the patriarch of the family, nearing 70 then. His father was active in Tory politics after Confederation, and “When I was about your age, boy, I went with him to meet the Prime Minister. He was our M.P., you know.”
Until now, I never put two and two together. PM who was MP from Kingston towards the end of the 19th century? Omigod! I am one degree of separation from old Sir John A.!
I’m not talking about the student protests because they just annoy me (they went past our house last week making a racket during Game of Thrones!!! You do NOT interrupt Game of Thrones!!!) and I’m too tired to be coherent. I think attacking the subways is stupid and the longer this drags on, the more harm they do to their cause; I’d say the same regardless of the cause - they are hurting the wrong people by smoke bombing the metro IMHO.
But fuck 'em.
I GOTTA JOB!
I just signed the paperwork today, I start in a couple of weeks and I’m very happy; this is a perfect place to start the career I want. It’s about freaking time, but the salary is good, the bennies are good, I get three weeks vacation to start and this is what I want to do. So…yay me!
Good for you. It is a real pain being out of work. I had it happen for the first time in 18 years two years ago. Not fun. You end up doubting your worth and abilities even though they shouldn’t be related. Not fun at all.
Thanks everyone! It has been a really tough year for me (and I know I’ve whined enough about it online…). I’m very excited about this job and can’t wait to start! I’ve already worked at this company before as an intern, so it should be easy to get settled in, but it’s going to be a massive learning curve for the job itself. Still - I have two undergraduate degrees: I can learn anything!