Life Is Not Purgatory

We're Black
I don't know how long I'm going to to keep the template like this (I hate how it looks).

O' Canada
My country is far from perfect. Our political leaders (Progressive Conservative and Liberal) have consistently abused the public purse to the benefit of their political parties. Those same leaders abuse the appointment system by appointing party faithful to high-paying positions to at as Ambassadors, Senators, Immigration Judges, and Crown Corporation Executives. However our leaders also fear us, the electorate, as they know that they can only exploit us so far, before it becomes too far. I believe the Liberals will be hurt at the polls this year, not routed as the PC's were in 1993, but likely a minority government - a prospect which is good for democracy, if stressful for the Prime Minster. It is my hope that a competent Governor-General is appointed that can handle the demands of an unstable Parliament.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada has issued an appeal to lower the voting age in Canada to 16. I think it’s a marvelous idea. At sixteen, those would-be voters are still likely in high school and there would be no better venue to discuss the political process of voting than in Social Studies, where part of the curriculum could be examining the various candidates, perhaps even inviting them to speak to these voters. Polling stations are traditionally located in school gymnasiums… it's not like they have far to go to vote. With youth voter (under age 25) participation backsliding to a measly 22%, encouragement of this level may just force some youthful vitality into our aging political system. If it skews the voting record because of a more youthful view on life, perhaps it will force older, jaded-voters back to the polls to prevent a takeover by the young.

In China, weblogs like mine - hosted on free-sites like blogger - are being blocked on the orders of the Central Government, sparking protests throughout the country and a furor across the 'net.

In the United States, a constitutional amendment is underway to prohibit marriages between gays and lesbians. In a nation which prides itself on 'strong democratic tradition', the effort to undermine equality rights should be met with abject horror, not support… but this is the nation that passed the USA Patriot Act.

My country is far from perfect… but it is mine.

Oy!
I lost the argument… kind of. Basically it boils down to I had better not… or else.
/sigh/

Candle?
I am arguing with someone whether I get to write something in my weblog or not, that relates to them. Hmm…. I'll keep you posted.

Binary Constellation
After a long delay, I have returned to writing my weblog. It has been an interesting couple of weeks, between getting over the infection, to not quite being 'up' to writing all the Purgatory characters I need written, to losing my boss to another hotel in the mountains and being forced to welcome a new General Manager into this one. It's a little tough, but as in all things there is always the silver lining - at least this one I can see even if it’s a little tarnished.

I had an hour-long argument with a friend of mine over lunch today. It's amazing how quickly tempers flare in regards to role-playing. It's even more apparent that we have two entirely different styles of gaming, and with it… different expectations. You know an argument about gaming has gotten a little out of hand when one person starts yelling and balling their fists. (sigh).

Oh well… I think I am going to skip out of work early today… I'm just not up to it… hopefully I'll be up to meeting my new GM tomorrow. If I'm lucky, the two of us get along so that I don't end up having to look for another job.

"The free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last loose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."
-- Anonymous

Infection Aftermath
So... it wasn’t broken, but I did have acute and severely infected Cellulitis right where I thought I had broken or cracked it. So I went on oral antibiotics, then after not responding to initial medication he doubled my dosage the next day. When that failed to work to report to any hospital emergency room to start on IV antibiotics. I was sent to the Grey Nuns Hospital and waited for several hours to get in for my dosage and the medium-term IV materials .. My thanks to Tim for spending his Wednesday evening with me in the waiting room, and for Don, and Brian. for joining him while I was actually in getting my treatment.

After three days of IV antibiotics, I was discharged from the program as the infection had all but been eliminated, and put back on oral antibiotics. Now, all I have to do is wait for the cellulitis itself to go away and I should be fine right? Mostly. Apparently I have a family history of Varicosis, which means… I have bad veins in my legs. After a weeks worth of inflammation and infection I now experience pooling of the blood in my left foot, which means I need to keep my foot up as much as possible until my body recovers and my veins start working properly again. Otherwise I apparently run the risk of blood clots and developing my familial varicose veins much early than family medical history would assume.

So… I am off work for the next week , keeping my leg up, hot soaks to increase circulation, and generally being miserable.