What happens next?

Back when the pandemic started in March of 2020, I had just found myself out of a job.  The reasons don’t matter for this tale, but rest assured I was surprised and needed a new job – the sooner, the better.  Fairly quickly I had an interview lined up but didn’t get that job.  By that time jobs had started to dry up because companies were either closing due to the pandemic or were setting staff on furlough until they ramped back up.  What was supposed to be a two-week shutdown to flatten the curve, turned into months.  Still, though, I persisted. 

A friend pointed me at a certain job search website and at a particular job.  It looked interesting and I decided to apply.  I was contacted about the job and provided a copy of the job description.  They had some concerns because the title under which they listed the posting was not actually the work that the person would be doing. 

The “company” is actually an Indian reservation and their jobs and job titles don’t necessarily align with the pre-existing selections available on job search websites.  I read the job description with interest.  Most of my experience up to this point had been in the field of executive assistant, but these folks wanted more of a project manager/coordinator.  My friend convinced me to toss my hat into the ring and so I did.  Due to Covid-19 lockdowns, it was a couple of months before I could actually have an interview.  What a unique experience that was.  I’d had plenty of interviews in my career, with some being solitary, and some with small panels.  This interview was with a panel of six people, easily the largest one I’d ever faced. 

Aside from the size of the panel, only one person was going to be asking the questions, which was fine with me.  But what questions!  This interview was like nothing I’d ever experienced in the past.  I was prepared to answer the usual stuff like “why did you leave your last job”, “tell me about yourself”, or “how did you prepare for this interview”, but nope.  Not one of the ‘usual’ questions was asked.  Instead, they wanted to know how I would structure meeting minutes so that they would be approved by council.  They asked a few situational questions and some that were designed to see where I fell ethically and with respect to confidentiality.  Of course, they also wanted to know what my view were around natives, whereby I told them I was part native.  That sparked a conversation about which group I was with.  I explained my family history as far as the native side of my family.  I was thrilled when a few days later I was offered the job.  I went in, signed the paperwork, and started my crash course in learning all about the legalities of how matrimonial real property is managed on reserves when a spouse dies or a relationship breaks down.  

The project I was hired to take on was to help this particular community create their own law governing matrimonial real property (think “family home”).  There were challenges – some from individuals, some from the virus causing shutdowns or severely limiting how many people I could have at a meeting, and even my own health with needing cancer surgery.  As the end of my 51-week contracted neared, a special exemption was made to hire me as a term employee for one year.  Without this exemption I would have needed to leave the job at whatever stage it was at, take at least one week off, and then reapply to be hired again into the same job for another 51-week contract.  Weird rules, but I can roll with it.  Now the end of my one-year term is looming.  My supervisor and HR both want to ensure I stay on.  I’m pretty sure that chief and council want me to keep on as well since we have a meeting scheduled for a week after my contract is scheduled to end.  Still, though, unforeseen and tragic events have caused delays in a decision being made or a contract or permanent position being offered as yet.  

The good news is my project is moving along nicely, despite the challenges over the past almost two years.  I believe we can see the successful conclusion ahead of us within the next several months.  

The question I have now is “What happens next?”  I really like the people here.  The drive, while long at just over an hour, is full of fantastic scenery and so isn’t really a hardship.  I think I’ve come to fit in really well – so much so that sometimes people forget I have only been here two short years and expect me to remember events that predate my employment.  It’s kind of cute.  But still…this week I will make sure all my files are in order.  I will have everything as ready as can be.  I won’t take my personal stuff from my desk or off the walls of the office yet.  I have applied to another position available within the same office, so I’m hopeful for that.  The problem is that things move slower than anticipated at times.  I’ve heard my husband talk about “island time” and how things in Jamaica (for example) always move much slower – on island time.  I’m convinced this is slower than that.  Even so, I want to stay.  I’m not sure I can go back to the frantic grind I used to function in.  I know I don’t want to. 

A beautiful sunrise picture I took
on my way to work one day.

I Protest aka The Redneck Agenda

I live in Canada and like anywhere else, the whole vaccination discussion and restrictions due to Covid is wearing thin.  We all want to go back to some semblance of normal, but I think for the most part we’re following the science and doing our part to stay safe and healthy. 

Recently a bunch of truckers decided they wanted to protest the border being closed if they were not vaccinated.  They decided to start a convoy to Ottawa to carry the protest to the federal government.  Despite the fact that our government has no control over the United Stated government’s rule that truckers must be double-vaccinated to enter the United States, the movement gained momentum.  Before we knew it rumours were flying around that the convoy was long enough to stretch across our two largest provinces (it wasn’t).  A go-fund-me page was set up and millions of dollars were donated to support the protest and the protestors.  

The convoy and various independent supporters landed in Ottawa and proceeded to essentially blockade and occupy the city.  I’m all for peaceful protest, but these guys went on to desecrate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the National War Memorial, and the Terry Fox memorial statue.  For those of you who don’t know who Terry Fox is/was, he was a man who had lost a leg to cancer and at the age of 22 decided to literally run from one side of the country to the other to raise money for cancer research.  He almost made it halfway before having to stop his race and dying from cancer shortly afterwards.  In the 40 years since then, hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised for cancer research in his name.  This is his legacy.  So, to see the statue of a Canadian hero being defaced on top of the other desecrations was too much.  These protestors had stomped their way over a line.  

The protest continues.  What these folks also don’t realize (or refuse to acknowledge) though, is that their protest has absolutely no hope of forcing the government to resign and allow them (the protestors) to assume control of the government.  It also has no hope of forcing the US government to allow unvaccinated individuals across their border.  It certainly has faint hope of forcing the government to end restrictions, mainly because this control rests with the provincial government and not the federal government.  It also has absolutely no hope of forcing the government to lower the price of gas.  I can’t even remember all the list of things they are supposedly protesting now.  

Before recent events I would not have said this, but exactly how uneducated do you have to be in order to be a redneck?  These people are saying the Covid vaccine has been rushed to market without testing.  Apparently they know better than all the scientists who have been working on a vaccine like this since the SARS outbreak of 2003.  As for being untested, this vaccine had the largest testing pool for clinical trials since the beginning of time.  Tens of thousands of people wanted to be used as test subjects.  Also, if you’re going to make a successful protest to the government, learn the facts first about what your government actually has any control over.  Not only that, but don’t show up at your “peaceful” protest with flags depicting racism and hate.  Leave the swastikas at home because they have no place at this kind of event.  Showing up with this stuff and then spewing bigotry and hate is not the way to make a positive impression on the government, except maybe the conservatives.  Only this morning I heard on the radio that our local conservative representative called counter-protestors “idiots”.  Not the way to gain my vote! 

It is unbelievable how polarizing this whole Covid event has been.  People I know personally are showing me how they truly are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.  However they land, I just want to say that these so-called protestors do not represent me or my opinions in any way whatsoever. 

 

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate - There really isn't a question

I guess it’s time to give my Piece of Mind on the whole covid vaccination/no-vaccination argument. 

When the vaccination was first announced, my initial thought was, “I’m not getting vaccinated”.  To be clear, I’m not anti-vaccination by any means.  I’ve had a variety of them throughout my life after all, and have ensured that my son has been vaccinated all along too.  I just didn’t want a vaccination because I’ve always been really healthy and know that any flu or cold only gives you little more immunity for next time.  However, Covid is different.  It has been from the start.  It’s highly contagious and more virulent than your regular flu.  When I sat and gave it some heartfelt thought, I realized several things: 

1.  I’m older (over 55) and have had to deal with some recent personal health issues;

2.  I have an older husband (over 60) with underlying, pre-existing health issues;

3.  I have two people in my life – a sister-in-law and a best friend – who are going

     through treatments for cancer and so their immune systems are compromised;

4.  I work in a closed First Nation community with the natives deemed high-risk.

These considerations all made the decision pretty easy.  Fortunately for me, the government prioritized First Nations to the front of the line when distributing the vaccines and the governing council of the reserve decided that all staff members who worked on the reserve, but who were not members of the First Nation community, would be offered the vaccine.  To make it even more helpful, they also decided to include staff members’ families who reside at the same residence and therefore were considered to be within that person’s “bubble”.  This is how me, my husband, and our son were vaccinated near the beginning and I truly appreciate the consideration of the First Nation in doing that for us. 

Now, our provincial government has declared that everyone must have proof of vaccination (or valid medical exemption) in order to go into businesses that are deemed ‘non-essential’.  This includes dining in at restaurants, hair salons, fitness clubs, etc.  Ironically, although I must have proof of vaccination in order to dine in, the servers and other staff are not required to have proof of vaccination to work there.  Although I do understand the logic (i.e., you can’t force people to vaccinate for their job except in hospitals and certain other settings), I do think that part wasn’t really well thought out by the government.  What will happen though, is that the poor worker at the front door of your local restaurant, aside from finding you a booth, will now be the one who has to verify your vaccination status.  This will definitely lead to some hot heads in the coming days. 

There are many arguments on both sides of this.  I believe one of the strongest is the whole issue of your personal health information being confidential as per PHIPPA (Personal Health Information Privacy Protection Act).  People have lost their jobs over intentional or accidental breaches of this Act, and as individuals we have long been told to guard our personal information.  Now the government wants you to voluntarily (not really) prove that you have received the Covid vaccine.  Arguably, failure to do so when requested therefore tells everyone that you have not been vaccinated – which is still giving up personal health information.

From the perspective of someone who has been vaccinated, I like the thought of perhaps not having to practice such stringent avoidance among other similarly vaccinated people.  As for the unvaccinated…I’ve got nothing for you.  Most anti-vaxxers I’ve discussed the issue with say, “If you’re vaccinated and the virus will be not so bad for you if you get it, why are you worried about me?”  The simple answer is that I’m not really worried about whether you get it or not, or whether I give it to you or you give it to me.  I’m worried about getting into a car accident and needing to be in the ICU at the local hospital, but you’re using what should be “my” bed because you got sick with Covid.  If you’d had the vaccine, the virus would likely not have been so bad that you needed hospitalization. 

Out in western Canada it’s so bad that hospitals are at capacity with 90% of their Covid patients being unvaccinated.  Ninety percent!  That is not a small number by any means.  They are talking about potentially having to triage and prioritize their patients.  This means that they will essentially have to decide who receives potentially life-saving treatment and who doesn’t.  Personally, and this is somewhat harsh, I say that if you can’t be bothered to get vaccinated, then when I need a bed at the hospital and I have been vaccinated, let’s put you in the hall, or even back in your car and send you home, and let those who really give a crap about their personal health and that of others have the bed. 

Pandemic Education Woes

Like most parents in Ontario in 2020, when the March break started and it was announced that it would be extended by a couple of weeks, we figured that would be that.  Little did we all know.  Before the end of that first few weeks, the government announced that schools would remain closed until September!  All the kids had to move into online learning.

A few years ago we decided to drop our home internet.  We live in the country and in a valley, so our only option for home internet was satellite or dial-up.  We had opted for satellite when we moved there.  It was great for the first several years, but then it got slower and slower.  I call it "traffic volume", but my husband, who spent the majority of his career working in high tech, and in particular with satellites, said it was because business customers are more important to the provider so they, quite literally, dialed the stream back on home customers.  He called numerous times to complain and we would see improvement for a while, but then it would start to get slower again.  

It got to the point where it was so slow, it was only slightly better than dial-up.  This went on for a couple of years where we would have kind of moderate, almost okay, service for about a week each month, and then it would dry up so that we couldn't even get emails.  Some loud phone calls and persistent complaints revealed that for some bizarre reason we had been pretty much permanently dialed-back for the past couple of years.  As a result of the complaints we were refunded one month of service (ring-a-ding-ding) and turned back on full.  I'm not sure why any of the techs had been able to make this apparently simple discovery over the past few years of complaints, but we'd had enough.  We dropped the internet.  

In its place we decided we would go with cell phones for each of us, with data plans.  If necessary we could use the phone as a 'hotspot' and allow the computer to use the phone's data for a short while.  For my teenage son this was a kind of torture because it meant he couldn't play most of his games online.  For his schooling, it meant that we had very inconsistent internet access for his sudden shove into online learning. 

My son was a grade 10 student at the time.  As I said above, we live in the country.  As a result, none of his friends lives anywhere near us.  This means that school is his main source of contact.  Aside from that, he does better in an in-person learning environment.  He needs the teacher for direct contact and motivation, so they are available to encourage him and to also respond to any questions on a one-on-one basis.  This was now gone.  A lot of things added up to big problems:  unreliable internet, no classroom setting, no friend contact, no motivation to do the work independently.  Consequently, he had to repeat grade 10 English, math, and science.  His fourth class had enough marks for him to pass without having to repeat it.  

September rolled around and classes did indeed start.  He was very happy to head back to school, even though it meant he had to wear a mask from the moment he got on the bus until the moment he got off the bus.  Schools moved to a "quadmester" format, which had its own challenges.  He spent all day, every day, for a week on one subject; and all day, every day the following week on a second subject.  The quadmester was basically half of a regular semester, or about 10 weeks long, with only 2 subjects being covered per quadmester.  

He had already started grade 10 English when schools shut down.  So in September the teacher gave him, and others in his position, a big assignment to do on the required reading book.  If they got it done by the time of the end of the first quadmester and did well enough, they would pass grade 10 English without having to repeat it!  He got it done.  He did have to repeat grade 10 math, but it was okay.  He got through the science by also doing an assignment.  He started his grade 11 work.  In the second quadmester, which started in early/mid November, it started to look like there might be another shut-down soon.  

After Christmas holidays, which were four weeks instead of the usual two, he returned to school in time for his exams.  Right afterwards the schools closed again.  By now the schools had figured out a system and they were able to lend out laptops, internet hubs, and other technology items to students.  The hub meant my son would be able to do his work online.  Hooray!  His grade 11 English teacher, obviously thinking and planning ahead, had already handed out the books that would be needed for her course in the fourth quadmester.  Fortunately for my son he had a spare and math scheduled for the third quadmester.  That spare meant he had every other week off and this enabled him to kind of keep on top of the math homework.  Since most of the province was under a lock-down, I was at home to make sure he got up on time and was planted in front of the computer for his school work, while I was planted in front of my own work laptop doing work (using a hub of my own brought from the office).  

School never did go back to in-class.  As my son finished his final exam for his grade 11 studies this past June, I congratulated him on becoming a high school senior.  His comment to me, which says more about the effects of the pandemic than anything else I've read or thought of, was this, "Mom, I feel like I'm still in grade 10. This covid thing has completely messed up my high school."  

It has.  Normal 17-year-old teenage boys are getting their driver's licenses, hanging out with their buddies, taking girls to the movies, and going to school dances.  It's a small consolation to either of us that he will have stories to tell his grandchildren some day.  It sucks.  There weren't even any school photos for grade 10 or 11.  We had to do our own.  Hopefully his senior year will be more normal.  I don't want to end up with a high school grad on my hands that still feels like they're in grade 10.  

Pandemic Reflections

After being pretty much locked down and staying at home for 15 months, it is a relief to finally think about opening up again and moving into the next phase of “normal”.  However, despite being mostly at home for that time, life was remarkably interesting. 

Just as the pandemic was beginning, I lost my job.  No great loss as things had changed dramatically – and not for the better – since the amalgamation 18 months prior.  The good news was that the package I got pretty much set us up with financial continuity for the next 8 to 9 months.  Imagine my relief when I didn’t have to hurry up and apply for the CERB (the emergency relief funds).  I was fortunate enough to pick up a new and exciting, and challenging, position within just over four months.  Not only exciting and challenging, but a new career path in special projects management. 

Fortunately for my husband and his handyman business, he had a client who wanted to do a lot (and I mean A LOT) of work on their second home, which is in our area.  So, he spent his time doing some serious plumbing repair (after the so-called professionals completely ripped them off by installing used parts, among other things); running new wires; fixing up and painting their bunkie; planting trees; and even travelling to their main residence to do a few things there.  The steady work from this couple meant he was not stuck at home, not soliciting new customers, and able to continue getting out for his own mental sanity. 

With the schools being closed for an extended March break that morphed into summer, I spent those four and a bit months at home with my teenage son.  Talk about precious time!   This was truly a gift.  We live in the country so his access to his friends was already limited, but since gatherings with people outside your own household were discouraged and in fact not really allowed, we were stuck with each other.  We had always been close, but as happens in the teenage years, there was some drifting.  Now we had time together to really connect.  Our conversations ranged all over. 

In September the kids were back in school and my project at work was finally moving along due to being able to host small gatherings for community engagement.  However, Thanksgiving came along and people visited families over the holiday, which resulted in a spike in Covid-19 infections.  December came along and even though the government strongly urged people not to gather for the holidays, a greater spike of infections happened along in the new year, which resulted in our province being closed yet again. 

Once again, my teenage son and I found ourselves reviewing his online schoolwork together, and having those interesting conversations.  Probably the most unlikely line of conversation came about as a result of his English class.  There were several readings from a book called simply “Romance” which is a collection of poems and short stories that highlight the romance archetype and the romantic hero.  The big essay assignment had us watching The Matrix with Keanu Reeve and discussing his character Neo as the romantic hero.  We also made a good case for Morpheus as the romantic hero.  Another book they read was “Frankenstein” and at one point we debated Frankenstein’s Monster as a romantic hero.  As I write this they have moved into tragedy and Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is up next.  I can’t wait for those conversations.

Now, with the advent of the vaccines, we are hopeful that reopening can be achieved with minimal disruption. 

Speaking of vaccines, and by association, masks, I have been simply gobsmacked by the number of friends on social media who are adamantly opposed to masks and vaccines.  I had a dishwasher delivered and assured the delivery guy that we were all vaccinated (he was hesitant to bring it into our covered porch).  He told me, “I don’t believe in vaccines.”  I said that was his right, but then asked if he had been vaccinated for chicken pox or measles as a kid.  He said yes, that he’d had all the childhood vaccines.  So I said, “then you do believe in vaccines”.  He was pretty young so I assumed that he hadn’t been vaccinated for small pox or polio and I told him the reason he hadn’t been was because people of my generation had all been vaccinated to the point that those viruses had been eradicated so that he and others his age wouldn’t need to go through them.  Then he expressed concern that the Covid vaccines were “rushed” to the market.  I said that it might seem that way, but most vaccines have to go through years of clinical trials simply because there are so few people in the trials.  I told him the Covid vaccine clinical trials encompassed tens of thousands of people, and that it was the single largest clinical trial ever.  EVER. 

Now I know I’m not going to sway anyone with my arguments.  Most of the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers are so rabid and fixed in their ‘anti’ opinions that nothing I can say will ever change their minds.  He left after telling me again that he doesn’t believe in the vaccine, but hopefully I planted a seed in his mind that will germinate over time.  I have to say though, that what makes me shake my head the most are those individuals who keep saying “Don’t be influenced by mainstream media” whenever I post a pro-vaccine opinion online.  Dudes, I’m not influenced by mainstream media.  If I were, I’d be like you.  I prefer to get my information from the actual scientists and doctors dealing with the virus and with finding a cure. 

Being fully vaccinated gives me assurance as well.  With a sister-in-law and a best friend both going through chemo/radiation for cancer treatment, I can rest easy knowing that I will not be bringing Covid to them.  We still maintain distance and sanitize, etc. but we are somewhat relieved over one less worry.  We regularly bring food to the SIL and my BFF is a widow with no children, so I'm happy to be able to help her.  

So I will keep my mask in place and follow protocols laid out by the province.  I'm not doing it because I'm a sheep.  I'm doing it because I have the faint hope that the sheep may follow my lead.  

"Social" versus "Physical" Distancing

I think the government is part of the problem. Calling it "social" distancing is so wrong and so obviously not working.

So many people see the word social and interpret it as being okay to still be social with other people. I have witnessed people overlapping their bubble with others so much. It's as if they think because that group of people are their friends, part of their "social circle" if you will, that it is okay to be closer than 6 feet apart, and without a mask. Allowing people to dine indoors at restaurants promotes this type of thinking, because you get together with three friends and sit at a small table, order drinks and food, and when the drinks arrive, off come the masks. What's the point of the mask to begin with then?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti mask. I think when people are made to wear a mask they are somewhat more likely to remember to maintain the 6 feet distance apart. Being a toucher and a hugger this distance part has been challenging for me personally, but putting on the mask keeps it forefront in my mind. I would hate to be the person who infected my friends, or families of my friends.

The government and media would have been so much better off calling it "healthy distance" or even better, "viral limit". Don't you think that would have worked much better? I think if it had been correctly named "viral limit" from the beginning, people would have been way more conscientious about keeping apart. Think about it, if you had been told to maintain a viral limit of 6 feet, you would be highly unlikely to overlap your bubble with your friends' bubbles. Big parties would have been highly curtailed. By using the word social, you have people believing it is okay to still get together because they are maintaining a few feet space separation.

The big thing this past summer was hearing about people travelling together in cars who were being pulled over and fined $1,000 each for not living at the same address. To be honest I have no sympathy for them. The same thing with people hosting birthday parties for their kids, or having a huge barbecue to celebrate some holiday. GET WITH THE PROGRAM YOU STUPID PEOPLE! Do not hang out with friends and family. If you do not live together, then you stay at your place and they stay at theirs.

Maintain VIRAL DISTANCE!

I'm sorry you're missing a 50th anniversary party, a wedding, a funeral, even my son's birthday will be just us. Many of us have missed these milestones. It sucks yes, but at least we will be healthy.

I'm very fortunate that I'm one of the ones vaccinated early, as are my husband and son. That won't stop us from wearing the masks and doing our part to help keep ourselves, our family, friends, and acquaintances healthy. Please do the same for us.