Dirigible In The Atrium

Dirigible is a funny word. This dirigible is a blimp. It appeared in the atrium of the building I work in. Now you know as much about it as I do.

And That's The Kind Of Day It's Been

Today was oppressively hot and humid.

I started off the day with a dentist appointment. (Just a bi-yearly cleaning.)

Approaching the dentist's office, I realized that it was going to be a hot ride to the university, made more uncomfortable by the fact that I wouldn't be allowed to drink anything until a half hour after my fluoride treatment. (My dentist is the type that still gives them to adults. Some friends say their dentists say it's unnecessary and/or pointless, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.)

The cleaning went smoothly... well, as smoothly as it ever does. There's an occasional accidental poke with something sharp, and the x-ray thing hurt my gums as always, but my teeth are all holding up to the level of care I've been giving them.

Normally I just get a toothbrush to take home. At the end of this visit, I got a whole goody bag:

Toothbrush (a different brand than usual), plane-friendly-sized toothpaste (the kind I'm using!), and a tiny spool of floss. I flashed back to being a six-year-old coming home from a birthday party.

The party stopped when I got back to the front desk. When the receptionist tried to run my insurance, it said it had been cancelled. WTF!?!??!!!!! I *know* I'm not the only person who gets re-hired every four months... *why* can't the university remember to renew my insurance each time!?!??? Last summer it took something like two *months* after I discovered the problem to get my supplemental health reinstated (I don't *care* if everyone is going on vacations, make sure *someone* is doing the effing job!), and I had this same nonsense the last time I was at the dentist! I was just looking at my pay stubs yesterday, and I was being deducted for the health premiums. I was *peeved*.

I asked the receptionist if there was a phone I could use, so that I could talk to my benefits person, and have her talk to the receptionist so that she knew what to do. My phone call rang then went to voicemail. (Grrr.) It said to press zero if you wanted to be helped right away (gee, that's why I'm *calling*), and so I did. I got put on hold. (Grrr.) Finally she said that my benefits person would talk to me. (She's *there*?!?? Why didn't she pick up the phone?!?!?!!!) Apparently, even though my supplemental health was hooked up properly, the dental coverage was separate, and *wasn't* set up! (The term started at the beginning of May. They had *two* months to get me set up!)

I had the benefits lady talk to the receptionist, the receptionist is going to submit a paper form next week, and she'll contact me if there's still something I owe after that. (I'm only covered 50%, but then there's the supplemental, and it's all just confusing.) *sigh*

On the way from the dentist's office to the bus stop, I found a forgotten Blackberry. I stood there for a minute, wondering how best to get it back to it's owner. (The device was password protected, so my usual technique of looking for an entry labelled "home" or "mom" wasn't going to work.) Luckily, the owner realized she had left it behind, and came rushing back. (She didn't seem that interested in my suggestion that she put contact information on the back of the device. Whatever.)

The first bus to work was air conditioned. Ahhh! There was a longish wait downtown, where I tried to stand in the shade of the lamp post. (I could also have pulled out my umbrella for shade, but it was rather gusty.) The second bus wasn't air conditioned. Luckily by then I was allowed to drink my water. Unfortunately, I realized I had already drunk over half on the way to the dentist, and had very little left. (Plus it was warm by then... much less satisfying.)

I made it to the university by half way through what should have been knitting lunch... but there were no knitters. I guess something came up. (We're a pretty small group.)

Work was slow this afternoon. I remembered some other questions I had for the benefits lady, and so e-mailed her around 4:00. Looks like she stared her weekend early, because she didn't reply. (Did I mention I dislike my benefits lady?)

The first bus home was also air conditioned. Yay! (In fact, I decided to catch a different one than I intended simply because it was air conditioned.)

They hadn't yet closed Osborne for the Canada day preparations by the time we got there, so traffic was better than it might have been.

Reaching the Village, I saw that the farmer's market had started up again for the season. I hopped off the bus and bought some local honey (I've been hoping to run into that guy before my supply ran out again) and some garlic scapes. Mmmm!

When I was done shopping, a bus arrived quickly. However, it was most definitely *not* air conditioned. Although it would have taken me home, I decided to hop off and visit Wolseley Wool, which was having a customer appreciation night. (I had initially intended to go, but had been wavering due to the oppressive heat and humidity, which was worse than earlier. WW isn't very close to bus routes... it's not too far, but not as close as you'd like when Winnipeg gets to either end of its temperature extremes.)

WW had punch with ice! I drank some punch, ate a few nibblies, petted the yarn, and bought some yarn to make gifts. Then I went back out into the horrible heat.

In addition to not being air conditioned, the next (and final) bus was packed like sardines. By the time I was home, I was *drenched*. The cool blast of air that greeted me when I opened my apartment door was heavenly, as was the cool shower.

I love my AC! Looking at the weather website, today's temperature peaked at 34 C (humidex 43 C)... I could tell that it wasn't quite as bad as the worst days in NC, but it was still bleeping hot.

And that is the kind of day it's been.

Blip Effects

Yesterday's blip seems to have had several side effects. There were reports of network problems, the A/C in the building adjoining mine seems to be struggling, and the toilet water makes you think the previous person didn't flush (challenging, with auto-flush toilets) and should perhaps discuss things with their doctor. :P

Blip

Odd... the lights just flickered in my office and the hall, and the ventilation has stopped hissing. I wonder what's up? (And what effect it might have on the "do" going on downstairs...)

Bright Spot

On the way past the florist in UMSU, I noticed they were giving away soon-to-expire roses. I asked if they were free with purchase, or free to anyone, and they said I could have one. I selected a lovely yellow, and then rescued a "vase" from the staff room recycling bin. It made my pizza slice on cardboard for lunch feel much classier, and now it's brightening up my office. :)

I need to treat myself to flowers more often! (Even if they aren't free.)

I haven't decided yet if I'll bring in a real vase, or stick with the water bottle.

Knitting to the Rescue

Turns out this is the perfect knitting project to help me get my marking done.



I have both hands full of yarn, and so have to untangle myself and set it down to move the post-it notes.



(There are separate charts for front and back, so I have two post-its to move.)

The rows are short and quickly completed. I love seeing progress.

After I mark a few questions, I let myself knit 1-3 rows (depending on how much I've marked).

It's saving my sanity, plus helping me make progress on my marking. Another late night tonight (if I can stand it), and I should be done. :)

Strategic Snow Placement?

Do you suppose they're trying to train us out of using the shortcut over the lawn? (It's now been several days since this photo was taken, and given the new paths *over* the snow piles, their strategy didn't work.)

Funny Sign

I love it when someone with a sense of humour gets to order the signs. :)

(Seen in a Phys Ed building at my university, while preparing for the final exam.)

How True...

I always have the worst time finding what I want on university websites. (They must be designed by PR people.)

Daft!!!!

Note: This post is so I can vent in a way that doesn't involve yelling at actual people. If you aren't in the mood to read a venting rant, feel free to ignore this post.

Aaaaargh! I *still* don't have my benefits straightened out! It's been over a month now that I've been calling them. (I started calling June 14, when my dentist notified me that my coverage has been cancelled.)

I have claims from this spring I want to submit. I can't submit them until they get my benefits retroactively reinstated. (They were fine in the fall when I had my previous dentist appointment. I was slow submitting my spring claims due to a crazy-busy schedule last term.)

The question isn't whether I'm eligible, but whether to call me a sessional or casual employee. (Some of my jobs are in one category, some are in the other.) My total hours clearly give me benefits, and the benefits don't even differ in cost or what I get! The only differences are that one has the year starting in September instead of July, and one front-loads the payments so that benefits continue over the summer when you may or may not be working.

In either case, I would have paid all my benefits by now, so just flipping bill me for whatever I haven't been charged yet, and let me submit my claims!!! Figure out the rest later! I don't *care* which you call me. Sheesh. Grumble.

I politely asked them to expedite my case, since they've dithering for over five weeks now. (Apparently, part of the problem is that they keep going on vacation. Given the current financial state of the university, they are probably somewhat understaffed too.)

I would *not* have paid ~$500 for a decent pair of glasses (including eye exam, frames, lenses), if I had known that I wouldn't be able to claim at least part of it. Pharmacare has decided my income level means I need to pay around $1000 before they start helping me with my prescriptions again. I WOULD LIKE TO SUBMIT A CLAIM OR TWO, IF YOU PLEASE!!!!

Gah. Ms "We're Working On It" promised me an e-mail by the end of the day. Probably because I asked if I could have her supervisor's information, so I could find out what is going on. Last time she told me that her supervisor is looking at the case, which is why I asked for the information... but she perhaps thought I wanted to complain about her. If it gets things moving, I'm not going to enlighten her as to why I wanted the information. She did offer to have her supervisor call me when she gets out of her meeting... but I'm in an office with no phone.

Grump. Whine.

Miscellany

Curses... the engineers are restless again.

I had a weird dream last night. In the dream I went down to NC to finish my degree. My parents helped me move down, and I was able to rent a place in the same neighbourhood as before. The department had changed some... it was bigger, grad students only had study carrels in a vast open area instead of shared offices, and there was weird stuff happening with the elevators again. (Weird things tend to happen to the elevators in my dreams.) I found a friend of mine there who, in real life, has moved on, but in the dream was still there as well. She and her husband had a condo nearby, and took me over to see it. On the way over, I kept finding pebbles in my mouth, and was using my finger to sweep around my mouth to get them all out. After spitting out quite a number, I discovered that the pebbles were actually my teeth breaking up and falling out. My friend gave me a baggie to keep them in, in the hopes that a dentist could fix things. But they kept falling out, and the teeth bits were very thin and brittle... it was like they were just the hard outer coating, and all of the insides had dissolved. I was near toothless by the end of the dream. Other parts of the dream included kids in Halloween costumes (on the way to the condo, and then at the condo), very poorly carpeted stairs at the condo (the carpet was basically not tacked down), and a very bizarre bathroom in the condo whose water pipes started spraying everywhere. Due to the problem with my teeth, I was staying with my friends at the condo, and trying to see if I could cancel my lease so I could go back home... my dental coverage hadn't started yet in the US.

I could use a nap right about now.

Ugh...

I could really use a decongestant right about now. I took one (plus an antihistamine) this morning, but it's worn off. *sigh* I really should have stashed the bottle in my backpack, or bought a second bottle for the office before the campus pharmacy closed for the day.

One more hour before I can go home, and then at least an hour to get home...

Hoar Frost

There was some absolutely *gorgeous* *thick* frost on Wednesday morning. The fog that created it had lifted by the time I got to the university, and so the sun created a lovely winter wonderland. Here's some photos so you can enjoy it too!

(PS: Click through to get biggy view. It's worth it.)

How Nice!

Usually when there's "music" coming from the atrium, it's the Engineering "band", or the engineers having a beer bash. Right now there's a woman singing in an operatic voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar. It's *lovely*! I'm not sure why she's there, but I certainly approve! :)

Pretty Photos

Taken earlier this past week:




Click through to embiggen. They definitely look better in biggy view.

Just What I Expected

Latest response from the Union:

Yes, I made a mistake typing out the full address. Sorry about that.

At the last CUPE XXXX Annual General Membership Meeting in April 2009, quorum was lost partway through discussions and voting on the by-law changes (perhaps you remember the event). Some by-laws had been approved and these were forwarded to CUPE National for final authorization in June. It is the remainder of the by-laws that is to be approved by the membership at the January 26 meeting.

Copies of current and previous by-laws were made available at the April 2009 meeting. Both sets were also available on the website -- and the membership was notified of this -- for several months prior to that meeting. A notification of the January 26 by-law vote, including the location of the proposed by-laws on the website, was first issued to the membership by email in November 2009. Yours is the first complaint of its kind.

If you would like to take an active part in helping to improve the administration of this Local's affairs, I encourage you to seek nomination to one of the Executive, or Trustee, positions. There is currently one of each vacant.

So, to summarize:
1. The membership is not involved, as predicted.
2. No one has whined before, so why are you whining now? Didn't you get/keep information from last April?
3. You sound like you're interested in having things run properly... so please step forward, so we can give you lots of work to do.

Yeah, I realize I'm putting a negative spin on things. ;) I figure that if I'm paying for it, I can mock what I'm getting. (Especially if they make it difficult for me to take moderate interest in the goings-on. My choices seem to be all or nothing.)

Union

As a sessional employee of the university, I belong to the CUPE union that also represents student employees. Recently they sent out a meeting notice. Since I seem to be working here a bunch, I thought I'd find out a bit more about my union. (Not that I get much from my union as a sessional employee.)

After reading their e-mail, attached meeting flyer, the web page it directs me to, and their response to my e-mail enquiry about something... I am getting a strong feeling that my union is run by a bunch of baboons. I suspect that participating more in my union will lead to a great deal of frustration, and probably no personal gain unless I wanted to put in the effort to run for office and "fix" everything myself. (I'd rather get a good night's sleep, thank you.)

I suspect that my participation in my union will go right back down to zero. I don't need the additional stress.

Winter

What the outdoors actually look like:



(Photos taken yesterday morning. Or was it Monday morning? I think perhaps it was Monday morning. The hoar frost sure was pretty, though.)

Admin Building

Admin Building

Earlier this week when the dark clouds parted to let in a blast of late-afternoon sunlight, I happened to be leaving work, and was able to snap a quick photo before it faded.

*Gasp*! Not *WEASLEY*!!!!

This morning was rather brisk, so I put on my lovely Weasley sweater, and then went to brush my teeth. Looking in the mirror, I discovered the following problem at the elbows:

One of those stitches is down to a single thread!!!

When I went to take photos tonight, I found an even *worse* problem at the hem, although it will probably be a faster repair due to smaller area:


Although it's nowhere near as dire, this spot near the collar looks like it could use a little reinforcing:


I don't think I can risk wearing Weasley again until the elbows and hem are repaired. I have worn it enough that it's generally getting thin all over, but I just think of it as a "light" sweater now. I suspect the thickness of the new patches will make them stand out, even though I'll be duplicate stitching them in.

Klaralund #1 (the blue-green one) is also awaiting a major repair at the bust-level seam. (I need to rip out the whole seam, unpick the cast-off, and then live graft the seam so that it has stretch, and stops breaking.)

If I don't get knitting and/or repairing, I'm going to have problems staying warm this winter! (Strangely enough, yarn only keeps me warm once it's in sweater form, not all balled up in the closet.) Right now I have four sweaters that are in good condition. (That I know of... but then I thought Weasley was fine too!)

*Yawn* Time for bed! (I was doing so well, and then I started answering work-related e-mails and posts... *sigh*)