Hmmm....

I got into work yesterday just fine and read some more of ICB. I got a lot of empties between the shift although I had a slow start to the first half. It was one of those disasters of an evening last night. I got a CC sale and Super and his “lieutenant” left me alone along with about 8 of us in the back. We got moved in the 2nd half to the other side. I got the rest of the empties to fill my bag. I also let Super know I’d be gone from this evening night due to Lodge night. Most of my calls last night were either not home or hit by the recession. But one of my callers was telling me when we were talking about EI that it takes about 1-2 weeks for a client to get their first cheque. EI has sped processing of claims up quite a lot over the years. I recall it would take up to 6-8 weeks of being on welfare before the first cheque arrived and you’d get something like about $800 on about 6 separate cheques depending on what the rate was. Then your off assistance and collecting UIC. At one time while if working part time, you could have your claim on hold and still work temporary. You simply mark on the card that your working but temporary. UIC didn’t pay anything but when the job ended it was a matter of a two week turnaround and your claim continues. I did that a lot from 1990-1994 before the Feds “reformed” UIC and now call it EI. Also I think the caller said they give 41 weeks but It’s different from Province to Province. The thing about that is I wont need to go through the job search while on a medical. It works out to be 10 months and if Anne got us that subsidy that could be a nice bit of time off for me. Not like this is something to look forward to but it’s hoped that the economy will turn around by then for people that will have to go on EI. I hope going on EI is in my forecast. I need to be working. I did get 2 CC sales though. I got a $!00 sale from my 3 levels of support to finish off the shift. I ended up with $400 on a slow night. But at least they got $150 in CC’s out of me.

I was glad to get the train and a seat by myself to read more of ICB and at Rexall Place who boards on the train but my wife. She said she got pulled off because the ticket police were checking for tickets and she couldn’t find hers. She did of course find it when she was on the platform and they let her back on my train when she saw me pull up. She said Pizza wasn’t hiring so she couldn’t get me an application, which was too bad. But she said the Summer is usually slow for them but it will pick up again. Who knows maybe in the Fall. We had a nice chat on the way home.

Greg runs a Sunday shift and I was thinking out loud yesterday when he was talking about it with Edgar and sitting beside me and in kind of a passing reference I mentioned how I’d like to swap Friday’s for Sundays as long as I can get my cheque on Friday. This might be a good idea but right now I’m on thin ice as it is. Greg said if he can set it up with Rob would I like to attend that shift? I said I’d have to see about it with Anne. I Anne and I talked about it and she’s warm to the idea. But we’ll see. Anne likes the idea but not this weekend but next weekend. This weekend if I get my vacation pay I’d like to get a whack of books and take my wife out to Red Lobster for dinner and go see Star Trek.

What I like about this idea of having Friday’s off is I can go in and get my cheque and go to the job bank on my way in and look around for another job on Fridays. This has potential, if Rob lets me off Fridays for Sundays that is. It’s really hard on me Friday night/Saturday morning because I get very little sleep Friday night. I could try it out for the summer at least. If I still have this job.

I was kind of disappointed to hear about Pizza not hiring. I know I want to get out of where I am now but on my terms. Because this last Monday I came within a hair of being terminated and what with me writing such a low total last night stacked against Subvere’s 11 CC’s in a 4 hour shift and his $1,000+ total did nothing to raise my profile in the bosses eyes last night. My chances of me keeping this job are slim little alone changing my hours around. My back up plan should I be terminated? Right now I don’t really have one but maybe I can get hired on the old guard company I used to work at. That office is located on 124th st. I know exactly where it is and I might investigate that option one of these Friday afternoons if Rob lets me tweak my current schedule and swing up that way with my resume possibly in September. That would coincide with my 9th anniversary of this job. For the time being I’d like to stay low. Anne came up with this idea: Ask Rob for a week off. Come back on a Sunday. Friday-Sunday. In that week apply at the guard company. If I get the job then I run up to the Police station, put in for my guards license, “can I wait to see if I get my guards license before you place me?” type thing. If I get the guards license I’ll ask for the Pacific Rim Mall site again. Weekend guard work. They give their employees that don’t have a vehicle a ride home after 2am. Or at least they did at that time back in 1994. If all that works out then I’ll leave this job. It all hinges on A.) I get a week off, B.) I get the guard job, C.) I get the guards license.

I was thinking that if I ever won the Big One (which I didn’t last night) I’d like to go to SF Conventions or a Con as they are often referred to in the genres. This is where to meet editors and agents and others in the industry. The last Con I went to was Non Con here in Edmonton 30 years ago this October. From what I recall of it I had a great time. I especially enjoyed the costume shindig that came later that night. But the best part is meeting with all the different authors that attend these things, especially he bigger Cons. I’d like to go to World Con in Montreal this year.

Speaking of authors in the genre by now most of you have heard that the SFF genre lost another heavyweight: David Eddings (1931-2009) has passed away. In all honesty I never read any of Eddings work. I now wish I had hearing about his death and his more known genre work like the “Belgariad” and “Dreamer” series makes wish I had paid more attention to this author of 20 novels. I believe there are recent Omnibus collections of his work still available. The achievement of writing and publishing 20 novels is in itself amazing. News of this sad event has already hit the Blogsphere. Eddings wrote all his novels longhand and I kind of like the idea as well. I have 25 years of writing my diary longhand. Eddings died at the age of 77. RIP Mr. Eddings.

And if that weren’t enough actor David Carradine passed away today. I have fond memories watching his performance in “Master of Kung Fu.” To me that was his breakout roll. Seems Carradine committed suicide. He was 72. RIP Grasshopper.

Last night on Coast we were listening about the Loch-Ness monster. Of course of interest to Thelemites is where “Boleskine House” sits. I did a Google earth search for Crowley’s home but it just points to a marker. But the premise of the program was more about “krypto zoology.” I didn’t hear any reference to BC’s own “Ogogpogo.” The Ogogpogo is Canada’s answer to Loch Ness monster or “Nessie” which contemporary culture nick names it. The Ogogpogo hasn’t really got a nick name but still it’s one of the most famous “draws” of it’s kind in British Columbia.

Ah the markets are up again. The DJIA is sitting just around 8700+ points. Oil lost a lot yesterday but is now just under $70. I doubt oil is going to climb up to $90 like it did last year. I’d be happy to see oil around $60-80 between now and mid October.

I’m off work today but I’m curious to see if Rob put my vacation pay bid in on Monday. Most likely why he brought me into the office or that’s probably what inspired him to pull me in because of my vacation pay release request. I doubt it but it just seems slightly ironic timing. Or am I going to have another repeat of last December 19th where payroll is going to hit me up with an unexplained “overpayment” again like the last time. If that happens then I’m going to get on the phone next Friday when I pick up my cheque and I’m going to try and get a hold of HO payroll: “Don’t make me call in Albert Employment Standards on this. I will if I have to.”

I’ve got an easy Lodge night this evening. I’m going to enjoy tonight at the Lodge and not worry about payroll my job or anything. It’s going to be a nice relaxing night off.

Anyway gang, that’s all for now

e. Jim