Highest gas prices in Canada saves lives.
Yet antoher fire has hit our lovely Okanagan. This time it's a factory, but a huge one, that has taken out at least one building near it, and has caused officials to start talking of evacuating the grocery store and some homes in the area. You see, we've had very little rain, and slightly higher than normal temperatures for this time of year. 5 degrees hotter, and they'd probably evacuate the entire town of Westbank. Click
here for a good picture of the fire.
I've been thinking lately that these realyl odd summer storms we're getting, where it gets extremely windy for about an hour, then spits for about 20 minutes, and then the wind blows all the clouds away, and then the sun comes back cannot be a good thing. The last fire season we had was a doozy, a scary one at that. We don't need another stifling hot summer and a ton of fires. The smoke in the air was REALLY bad, but with the ash raining down on everything, and no rain in the forecast made living here almost unbearable.
In other news, we, in our fabulous town of Kelowna, BC, have by far the highest price of gas in ALL OF CANADA. This is fucking BULLSHIT, for a number of reasons:
1. *I* live here.
2. I have a car with a bigger engine and about 80% less gas efficiency than my last car.
3. *I* live here.
4. I thought everyone said we weren't paying the "sunshine tax" anymore. WTF???
The ONLY good thing about all this is that the amount of street racing has almost dropped off the map, because nobody can afford to use their engines like that.
I remember last year when gas prices hit a new high, the ICBC people were pissed at how few car plates they had, because everyone was taking their cars and SUVs off the road because they couldn't afford to drive them anymore. Even my little 96 Cavalier costs $57 to fill up. I know for a fact that the SUVs are now at $80+, and they have to fill up more often, because gas efficiency and SUVs don't belong in the same sentence.
My final bitch of the day:
I just got my (fucking) Fortis bill today. My apartment isn't all that big, but the bill was still $113!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!! This is insane, there's no way I use that much power. Assholes.
Cars.
This morning I tried to put in a Yoga DVD I've had for more than 6 months. My back was very sore from the night before (not that I did anything to it, I just wake up some days with a very sore back) so I couldn't even do the first 2 poses. And all it involved was sitting up straight. I could feel the core of my back about to give out, so I bent it out to save a day and possibly a week of walking like my great grandmother, who couldn't walk upright for at least the last 15 years of her life.
I gave up after watching it for all of 10 minutes, and came back here to read all the websites I can't catch up on during the week. Today is Victoria Day, the holiday Monday. I work 4pm-9pm tonight, and I'm not all that concerned about it. I thought today would be hard to deal with, because it's an overtime shift, and sometimes it's tough for me to want to go into work. But I know that if I don't go in, nobody will be there to work, and that will be bad. Especially since I took all these shifts because nobody wanted to take them. Next week, when we need these same shifts covered, I will not be volunteering. I know I need the money, but I also need my sanity, and sometimes it's worth getting a normal paycheque.
I did my taxes 2 nights ago (way late, I know) and found out I'm getting around $156 back. WOW. That's the most I've ever gotten back since I was 18 and starting doing my taxes. And next year, I will still be with this company, which means my taxes will only involve 1 T4, not 5 or 6 like previous years.
Today when my laundry is done, I have to run down to the SPCA and pay my sister the montly payment of $200 for this piece of shit car I've got. Sure, it's pretty to look at, but when I got it back from the shop, I tried to drive to Kamloops. As per normal, I had to stop in Vernon to pee. When I went to turn on my car, it wouldn't start, and the "THEFT SYSTEM" light came on, a light I never see when starting my car. I called my friend, asked him to look up that light on the internet, and didn't get a lot back. I called the shop, and was told 235345 things to try, none of which worked. I called the friend back and said not to worry about it, because the shop was looking into it. After the promised 20 minutes the shop still hadn't called back, so I called 411 and got the number for a Chevy dealership. The dude I talked to was an asshole and wouldn't help me troubleshoot all that much, so I ditched him and called the shop back. I reiterated over and over that this never happened to me when I drove to Vancouver with 3 people in the car, and they didn't seem to hear me. Finally, and god knows what caused this, the engine cooled down, or whatever, and right before the help they were sending got here, the mother fucker started again.
I drove more, and got to Kamloops. They told me once I got there to leave it run for about 10 minutes and then turn it off. So I sat in the parking lot knowing all my friends were looking at me sitting in my car, wondering what the hell was going on. We had dinner, made some plans, and shock of all shocks, the car started just fine, after sitting there for about an hour. We had a great time, just sitting around talking and drinking, and then we went back to the house and slept. We got up the next morning, had a Timmy's breakfast, showered, and went shopping. I drove that car everywhere, up and down hills, going 90 kms/hr up the hill and back down again. And still, the car started fine.
I thought maybe that one thing was a one-off and I wouldn't worry about it. I passed Falkland and thought that maybe I should stop to pee, but figured, nah, the next town, Westwold, is all of 10 minutes away, I can totally wait. So I left Falkland, rounded a corner, and wouldn't you know? There was the world's slowest mother fucking train I have EVER seen. So by this time my bladder is about to float away, and there's nothing I can do about it, so I patiently wait. I took a couple of pictures of the train because there wasn't anything else I could do to keep my mind off of the bladder situation.
The train finally ended, and blissfully, I got into Westwold, parked the car, and RAN into the shop. No key was needed for the bathroom door, THANK GOD. I walked out to my car, much more relazed than I was when I went in, and tried to start the car. DENIED.
I called the shop's customer service girl on her cell phone (long story about why I have that number) and she said that the mechanic should still be in the shop, even though it was 6:30pm. So I called the shop, and sure enough he answered. I explained the problem again, and he was lost for words. He said they had spent some time researching this on the internet and came up with about as much as the friend who looked into it the previous day had. He was still on this thing that the fuel pump was gone and would need to be replaced, so I explained to him that this mechanic dude in Westwold across the street from the gas station I stopped at had come over to take a look, and when turning the key, the fuel pump isn't working at all. So, we tried to disconnect the battery and leave it for a bit. For some odd reason, it only took about 20 minutes, and the same thing started. I got home, and as I was heading into town, I remembered that the friend from earlier said he had something for me, even though the last thing I wanted to do was spend any time with anyone, I went over to his place. Naturally, because it was more highway driving, the car wouldn't start again. So we drove to my place in his parent's car, dropped off the 19 inch monitor, and came back. We unhooked the battery again, thinking it would start soon, which it obviously didn't. So we waited more and more, and then out of nowhere, the THEFT SYSTEM light went out, and the damned car started. I've worked 2 shifts since then, and not a damn thing has happened to this car. It's almost like it's only certain speeds that set off the light.
This whole thing is so BEYOND explanation, it's ridiculous. And the worst part of all is that the shop thinks this has nothing to do with them, even though this NEVER happened before the $1800 fucking head gasket was installed. Something definitely went wrong here. Argh.
Murph.
It was decided amongst my friends and I that my new nick name must be Murph, as in Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will, especially where I am involved.
My car is STILL NOT READY. This is day 14 of this ridiculous ordeal. It was a freaking head gasket, what the hell. AND, of course, bad things happened, and the price jumped by $600, to make this an $1800 repair, not the $1200 it was looking like it would be. Fine. Whatever.
I got a new kitty, and 3 days later had to return her to her owners. I did nothing wrong, but she is NOT meant to be with other cats, and of course did nothing but hiss and growl at me. When her original owner came to get her again, she heard the growl and was shocked that her darling kitten would make a noise like that. I LOVE cats, but I could not get this little bitch to love me. And, she hated Belle too, which wasn't a good sign either. I expected some hissing, and some establishing of territory, but this girl was completely insane, and would let me pet her and scratch her ears for about 15 seconds before she remembered that she hates me, and then would take a swipe, with her full nails extended.
The next 2 weeks will be completely insane. Here is what it looks like:
Thursday: Get up.
Call shop, have them come get me and take me to my car. Pay for car (or at least the first $1000, since that's all I can afford).
Go grocery shopping.
Clean house.
Vaccuum stairs and clean windows, as part of the contract where I am the maintenance chick. We won't even talk about what a terrible mistake that was.
Do laundry.
Explain to Brendan that I'm completely nuts, and have decided yet again that I can't make the Tupelo Honey show.
Call Earl and Nola, and try to make plans for coffee/lunch/whatever.
Call Tammy's cell and hope she answers, to ask what time they will be in Kamloops.
Decide whether or not to attend the Tupelo Honey show, thus making me look even more insane, especially if I show up at the show after all.
If I decide to go, call sister and make arrangements to head to the show.
If not, pack and decide what I'll wear today, and tomorrow.
Make sure there's a place for me to sleep in the Loops.
Travel to the Loops.
Come home with just enough time to do the rest of laundry, do dishes, prepare lunch for the next day.
Saturday: Work 10:30-9
Sunday: Work 10:30-9
Monday: Work 4pm-9pm overtime.
Tuesday: Work 4pm-9pm overtime.
Wednesday: Work 10:30-9
Thursday: Day off due to knowing I'll need to clean and do laundry.
Friday: Work 10:30-9
Saturday: Work 10:30-9 This shift is 100% 10 hours of overtime.<---After work I have plans with a boy!
Sunday: Day off again.
Monday: Work 10:30-9
Tuesday: Work 10:30-9
Wednesday: Work 10:30-9
Thursday: Work 10:30-9
Friday: Spontaneously combust.
And during all this time, I will consistently worry more and more each day about when we will be finding out about who got the supervisor position, and simultaneously looking for a new job, should the only person in all of my company whom I CANNOT work with to save my life get the job. Sounds petty, but I know my limits, and everything he does will test them. I don't have enough mental strength to hold my tongue, and eventually will get fired. Maybe I should transfer to Calgary?
Good times.
Nothing new to report.
I got a new cat today, she's 6 months old, and an ultra bitch. I'm already wondering who I can give her to. I haven't even given her a chance, and I already don't like her.
I also wanted to say that I'm really enjoying October Road, which sucks ass because that means it's destined to be cancelled.
Car stuff.
Nothing much has been happening as of late, just thinking about work, working, and dealing with my car.
I was hoping that it would only take one day for this to get repaired, as trying to find a ride to work some days can be super challenging. However, someone at work was very nice and drove me every day, even though she was arriving 30 minutes early for her shift. Someone else I work with felt bad that due to my shift, it hasn't worked out once yet that I've spent a day with a tech, or gone to Penticton for any training, and VERY NICELY offered to flip a coin with me, even though he was scheduled to go. And I won.
So to Penticton and back we went, very quickly. I've never really been out that way before, but holy hell is that highway dangerous. I can see rear ending happening a lot there, especially in the winter. And the poor techs have to travel all over the place, as there's also Summerland and Peachland to deal with. Nuts.
Anyway, the training was fantastic, and I can't wait until part 2, as certain areas of my job are finally coming together. I am beginning to understand the nature of cable, how it works, how noise is traced, what causes outages, and how contractors, and sadly, Telus are to blame more often than not. Even worse than those 2 is our customers! Drunk drivers hit a pole, and angry customers call us. Some guy died due to drunk driving? SO? THE GAME IS ON, FIX IT NOW.
Today I have an interview for another supervisor position in another department, and I can't drive myself there, because 5 days later, the car still isn't ready. I'm hoping all the stars will align, and I will call the car shop after the interview, and they will say, hey, guess what! It's ready!
The one bonus to all this car stuff: it appears the extra $600 part will NOT be necessary, because I took it in early enough! Yay me!
