Life Is Not Purgatory

A Day Long Remembered (aka #3)
With the passage of the Civil Marriage Act by the House of Commons there is little chance of it failing to pass the Senate, and next-to-no chance of it failing to receive Royal Assent. This means that in a little over a month Canada will be the third nation (after The Netherlands and Belgium) to universally acknowledge same-sex marriages. Now I’ve read more than a few op-ed articles that oppose the entire concept of gay marriage, and the liberalization of our family structure, and it pains me to see that it always degenerates into a fear-mongering attack on where we are headed: legal polygamy, incest and pedophilia.

It sickens me that these mostly religious leaders, attempt to tap into the basest instincts of their congregations in order to combat something they find morally repugnant. I fully support the positions of many religious orders that they should not be forced to perform weddings they find unacceptable on religious grounds… that very solidly lands in the protected territory of religious freedom and that also needs to be protected. In a free and democratic nation, people have the right to be intolerant bigots and the law must protect that minority as well.

However, it is not for the Church to dictate to the State what it does within its secular institutions, such as the registries office. I think that in twenty years when most of the rhetoric fades, this will be well-remembered as a conscientious, if contentious Act of Parliament…

That being said… I cannot condone the invocation of closure on this measure, there was no pressing national interest at stake, and the most the ninety-some Conservative MP’s could have done was delay the legislation for perhaps a few days. I am greatly unnerved by passing of the motion to invoke closure on the debate of this bill, and hope that in the next minority Parliament, such procedural rules are quashed. We need more debate in this Country not less, and while I opposed the position of the Conservative Party, they certainly should have had the ability to each speak for their allotted fifteen minutes of time.

T-Minus 4 Hours
Well... I got a 6:15am phone call (on my office line) from my (big)boss, for which we'll say... listener discresion is advised, followed by the apology at 6:28am - which was much calmer. It's been a stressful week but my (direct)boss has committed to me that I'll be able to take the next two nigts off and come home!

So... I'll be leaving town in a little under four hours, and then gear myself up for another 4 to 4.5 hours on the road!

See you all in town... by the way anyown up for a matinee movie on Thursday or Friday?

Feeling Isolated
We're all cut off, Highway 1 to Calgary is closed due to flooding as is 1A through Cochrane, and due to a mudslide in Banff National Park that highway to Jasper is for emergency use only. Highway 40 south is closed passed the Highwood pass, which now means that we are isolated from the rest of the world except for Canmore and Banff.

Wonderful Roaming Charges
So I had to switch my phone to a local number, I was being HOOOPED with roaming charges... so my new number is (403) 688-1123. Feel free to pass that one out, I have Unlimited Incomming calls so it's all good.

On the Rebound
It has been almost two weeks since my fifteen month relationship ended and although I felt at first that I was getting through it just fine, I’ve been noticing that I’m not okay… and that the five stages of grief (shock, denial, anger sadness and acceptance) would not apply in this case…. I was wrong.

I think the shock of it all is just wearing off… I know when I left Boston Pizza that Thursday night I wanted to talk to her like I used too before we ever started dating, but I just couldn’t… there was still too much emotion there…

Does this mean I’m going to head into the other stages soon… not if I can help it… maybe I can just bypass the rest and go straight to acceptance… but I doubt it.

Reasonable Doubt
It is when unpopular verdicts are rendered - such as in the Michael Jackson case that centre around 'hot button' topics of human sexuality like rape and pedophilia – that the fabric of our justice system is tested.

I sat on a jury for three days, a trial against a man charged with Sexual Assault. We acquitted after in 15 seconds of deliberation, so ‘reasonable’ was our doubt.

The jury made their decision after days of deliberation – we must accept that they did so after the most careful thought and let it be, regardless of how offended we may be at the allegations themselves.

I am certain there were those who questioned our verdict, but all I can say is a jury of 8 women and 4 men were not convinced of the guilt of our accused beyond a reasonable doubt and this jury of 8 women and four men, must have done much the same.

I have no regrets, and most of you know how much of a ‘hot button’ sexual crimes are for me… and I think the Jackson jury will be able to sleep soundly at night.

Four New Hires
Not one... not two... not three but FOUR new people start this week and three of them have significant front office experience! Which means that I will be very likely able to make my trip to Purgatory next week!

Tough Week
Things did not go at all well this past week, with the Director of Operations on paternity leave there is a lot of murkiness as to my position here and he isn't here to clear it up. I've identified the person I'm likely going to spar with the most here and for awhile there I gave considerable thought to just throwing in the towel.

However then I had a talk with the boss and things settled in place in my mind, I'm just going to let her be all testy and confrontational... and I'm just going to ingore her. She can pick all the fights she wants, and eventually I'll tire her out.

I'm hoping to be in town for Purgatory, but I still have no idea if thats going to work out or not... I should have a better idea by the end of the week.

Dreary and Dismal
It's raining... it's been raining since I passed Wetaskawin on the trip back, and the lack of sunshine has done little to lift my spirits. Although I did have quite a good time at the pub last night and it din't even cost me a dime. A group in-house bought me my Smirnoff Ice (with a lime wedge) that I nursed for about two hours and I bought the Apprentice Chef de Partie a beer (that the waitress bought for me). Played darts with the Banquet Chef de Partie and a couple of ladies from the Delta and then went back to residence.

I did some schedule changes that give me Wednesday evening off, and all of Thursday with a return to work on Friday evening... I plan on going to Calgary to do some shopping and to see Episode III. I had thought about driving up to Edmonton but I think I'll pass on that for now.

C'est Lavie
After a little over fifteen months I have joined the ranks of the single once again. Although I am more than a little disapointed emotionally, the rational side understands that it is for the best. It was the most amicable break-up I've been through and though I still care for her and indeed she for me, we both knew it was over before we even started the conversation. I wish her the very best.