I've made a few requests lately, so I thought I'd update two of them. The friend who was having a rough period has had a few bits of good news, and things seem to be going better for the moment. Thank you all who prayed for him.
As for myself and the union: the strike seems to have been averted. Last week the union scheduled a strike meeting for today, but under the pressure of a deadline and (finally) marathon negotiations, an agreement was reached, and today we had a ratification meeting, rather than a strike vote. I think the new deal should pass. Most of the union members to whom I spoke were for it, so that crisis seems to have passed. Thank you again to all who prayed for this one. A strike would have been a disaster for myself and my family.
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
4 September 2008
30 August 2008
update on impending strike
It's hard to know just what is going on over here. The Union/Management negotiations are supposed to be behind closed doors and secret, which is the perfect atmosphere for starting rumours, and each rumour is worse than the last. Some say we may be on strike Tuesday, others say a strike must be voted on first. The other unions where I work say they are with us. It's hard to say.
Secrecy does us no good. We listen to any rumour for months, and are only told the 'truth' ten minutes before we are to vote on our course of action. This is hardly an ideal democracy.
For what it's worth, many of the rumours are variations on a theme. The negotiations- to put it bluntly- are not going well, and perhaps are not going on at all. The most succinct statement of that came from a friend whose information is usually accurate. He seems to have good sources. His story goes like this: The first lawyer representing management walked out of a meeting a quit, for reasons not quite clear. (This is common knowledge- the union officially informed us of as much. Personally, I don't blame the lawyer- talking to the union can be an incredibly frustrating experience.) Management got a second lawyer, this one an American with little or no knowledge of Canadian Labour Law. This too is common knowledge. What my friend adds is what happened at the next negotiation meeting.
The new lawyer walked into the room, and said little. He picked up the piece of paper holding the unions demands and threw it in the garbage. He then picked up the paper which listed our benefits and crossed out half of them. "Here's your new deal," he said, tossing the paper back to the union reps. Then he walked out.
I wish I could say I understand what is happening. I wish I knew what management was up to. It's possible this was just posturing. The union's problem is that their strategy is too simple: we have only one real weapon to use, the strike. We know that. We will also be striking right at the beginning of the school year, thus adding a tsunami of chaos to the usual pandemonium of September. Management knows that and therefore, if they are smart in any way, they will be prepared for that possibility. In short, Management knows what the union will most likely do. I don't know anyone who knows what management will do. This is a lousy position from which to start a fight. Sun tzu's famous dictum is in play: "Know thy enemy and know thyself, and thou shalt not know peril in a thousand battles." We better fit his second, lesser known line: "If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will sometimes win and sometimes lose." I just hope we don't fall into the third line of Sun tzu: "If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you shall always be defeated."
For myself, I have nothing but a bunch of no-option options. I don't want this strike, but I can't scab either. I live too close, and there are just enough yahoos in the union to make this dangerous for my family.
Right now, my hope is on one last rumour: that arbitration has already been called.
How did I let things get this bad?
Secrecy does us no good. We listen to any rumour for months, and are only told the 'truth' ten minutes before we are to vote on our course of action. This is hardly an ideal democracy.
For what it's worth, many of the rumours are variations on a theme. The negotiations- to put it bluntly- are not going well, and perhaps are not going on at all. The most succinct statement of that came from a friend whose information is usually accurate. He seems to have good sources. His story goes like this: The first lawyer representing management walked out of a meeting a quit, for reasons not quite clear. (This is common knowledge- the union officially informed us of as much. Personally, I don't blame the lawyer- talking to the union can be an incredibly frustrating experience.) Management got a second lawyer, this one an American with little or no knowledge of Canadian Labour Law. This too is common knowledge. What my friend adds is what happened at the next negotiation meeting.
The new lawyer walked into the room, and said little. He picked up the piece of paper holding the unions demands and threw it in the garbage. He then picked up the paper which listed our benefits and crossed out half of them. "Here's your new deal," he said, tossing the paper back to the union reps. Then he walked out.
I wish I could say I understand what is happening. I wish I knew what management was up to. It's possible this was just posturing. The union's problem is that their strategy is too simple: we have only one real weapon to use, the strike. We know that. We will also be striking right at the beginning of the school year, thus adding a tsunami of chaos to the usual pandemonium of September. Management knows that and therefore, if they are smart in any way, they will be prepared for that possibility. In short, Management knows what the union will most likely do. I don't know anyone who knows what management will do. This is a lousy position from which to start a fight. Sun tzu's famous dictum is in play: "Know thy enemy and know thyself, and thou shalt not know peril in a thousand battles." We better fit his second, lesser known line: "If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will sometimes win and sometimes lose." I just hope we don't fall into the third line of Sun tzu: "If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you shall always be defeated."
For myself, I have nothing but a bunch of no-option options. I don't want this strike, but I can't scab either. I live too close, and there are just enough yahoos in the union to make this dangerous for my family.
Right now, my hope is on one last rumour: that arbitration has already been called.
How did I let things get this bad?
9 August 2008
Elder's Surgery
Well, Elder had her surgery.
It was scheduled for 11:45 am at Mount Sinai Hospital. We got to the hospital at 9:15 as requested. She went through the pre-op questioning. At one point she asked if she could wear my brown scapular. I gave it to her, but told her she would probably have to remove it for surgery. She met her nurse and the anaesthetists and was walked into the OR by a nurse at 11:45. I was told the surgery would take about 1/2 hour. I got myself a small decaff double double. (In support of Elder not being allowed to eat anything after mid night- I fasted that morning too. - But she was getting glucose now, so I thought it only fair I get sucrose-and a bit of milk and, what else does decaff have in it? It was now that I remembered Elder was still wearing the scapular - oops- but it isn't metal sooo....)
Anyway at about 11:25 the volunteer in the OR Waiting Room got a call to say that Elder was out of surgery at 11: 17 and was now in recovery. It would be another hour. Ten minutes later, another call Elder wants to see me. I go into recovery.
The attending nurse said, " Well we now know what sign to look for if your daughter does drugs." Confused I ask, "What?"
"She's a chatterbox on drugs."
Apparently she didn't stop talking and only fell asleep for the 3 minutes of the actual surgery. Yup 3 minutes. that's all three minutes.
She was still loupy and a bit loud. I told her a few times to hush. She mentioned that she still had the scapular. The nurse pointed it out. I mentioned we forgot she was wearing it- Well we let her keep it, but usually we don't allow stuff around the neck- it could get dirty or could get tangled in the leads. But it didn't cause any problems. ( Elder told me later, that they asked what it was, it if it as a "Good-Luck piece" She didn't answer them. -She really didn't think that before surgery was the time to explain Our Lady, Saint Simon Stock and the promises of the Brown Scapular-)
About an hour after the surgery she tells me she wants her daddy, so I call home and leave a message asking him to come. (Should point out that I had left 2 progress reports already- Basically I told him Elder's progress and in what room I was told to wait. That way if he did come down he would have a better chance of finding us. (He was on errands with Younger- another story)
I was given the post -operative instructions, and her prescription for an ointment (Anti-bacterial and corticosteroid) They monitored her vitals for a bit. She was helped to a sitting position told to cough, which she did- this must have been important because the nurse said, "Good." She ate 4 cookies, 2 glasses of apple juice, was told to dress, and was wheelchaired out to a taxi. The nurse even gave us a plastic lined paper bag in case she got nausea in the cab. We got home about 2: 15 p.m. She ate Nutella Sandwiches and drank milk, watched 1/2 hour of TV, and went upstairs to sleep woke up about 4:00 and lay down on the chesterfield with me as a pillow, at which point Bear and Younger came home. They missed us by an hour and a half.
This morning the bandages came off, and all that is visible is a small 1/3 cm red dot which will most likely fade away completely. The post-op is okay, except that the eye itches like mad. We have worked out a compromise: Elder doesn't scratch or rub her eye, and we will put up with her complaining that it itches. There is no pain just the maddening itch. The ointment should help.
It was scheduled for 11:45 am at Mount Sinai Hospital. We got to the hospital at 9:15 as requested. She went through the pre-op questioning. At one point she asked if she could wear my brown scapular. I gave it to her, but told her she would probably have to remove it for surgery. She met her nurse and the anaesthetists and was walked into the OR by a nurse at 11:45. I was told the surgery would take about 1/2 hour. I got myself a small decaff double double. (In support of Elder not being allowed to eat anything after mid night- I fasted that morning too. - But she was getting glucose now, so I thought it only fair I get sucrose-and a bit of milk and, what else does decaff have in it? It was now that I remembered Elder was still wearing the scapular - oops- but it isn't metal sooo....)
Anyway at about 11:25 the volunteer in the OR Waiting Room got a call to say that Elder was out of surgery at 11: 17 and was now in recovery. It would be another hour. Ten minutes later, another call Elder wants to see me. I go into recovery.
The attending nurse said, " Well we now know what sign to look for if your daughter does drugs." Confused I ask, "What?"
"She's a chatterbox on drugs."
Apparently she didn't stop talking and only fell asleep for the 3 minutes of the actual surgery. Yup 3 minutes. that's all three minutes.
She was still loupy and a bit loud. I told her a few times to hush. She mentioned that she still had the scapular. The nurse pointed it out. I mentioned we forgot she was wearing it- Well we let her keep it, but usually we don't allow stuff around the neck- it could get dirty or could get tangled in the leads. But it didn't cause any problems. ( Elder told me later, that they asked what it was, it if it as a "Good-Luck piece" She didn't answer them. -She really didn't think that before surgery was the time to explain Our Lady, Saint Simon Stock and the promises of the Brown Scapular-)
About an hour after the surgery she tells me she wants her daddy, so I call home and leave a message asking him to come. (Should point out that I had left 2 progress reports already- Basically I told him Elder's progress and in what room I was told to wait. That way if he did come down he would have a better chance of finding us. (He was on errands with Younger- another story)
I was given the post -operative instructions, and her prescription for an ointment (Anti-bacterial and corticosteroid) They monitored her vitals for a bit. She was helped to a sitting position told to cough, which she did- this must have been important because the nurse said, "Good." She ate 4 cookies, 2 glasses of apple juice, was told to dress, and was wheelchaired out to a taxi. The nurse even gave us a plastic lined paper bag in case she got nausea in the cab. We got home about 2: 15 p.m. She ate Nutella Sandwiches and drank milk, watched 1/2 hour of TV, and went upstairs to sleep woke up about 4:00 and lay down on the chesterfield with me as a pillow, at which point Bear and Younger came home. They missed us by an hour and a half.
This morning the bandages came off, and all that is visible is a small 1/3 cm red dot which will most likely fade away completely. The post-op is okay, except that the eye itches like mad. We have worked out a compromise: Elder doesn't scratch or rub her eye, and we will put up with her complaining that it itches. There is no pain just the maddening itch. The ointment should help.
12 July 2008
I'm back
So, did I miss anything?
Didn't get the work done I intended to, so I'll have to find another way to deal with that.
I can't think of much to say, beyond that I will now resume sporadic blogging complete with rants; the fun of being Catholic; the joy of the Catholic father; why, oh why, are there so many dumb people?; things that amuse me or because I feel like it; and the occasional war story. As for the joy of being Catholic, I'd like to give a shout out to Louise at Purcell who is currently enjoying WYD. Louise, if you read this- I must now confess the sin of envy.
Under the because I feel like it heading I have this: My singing teacher made some remark to me that lead me to troll the net in a search for every version of Nessun Dorma I could find- and there are plenty, as it seems every tenor out there takes a shot at this one sooner or later. Here are a few of my favourites:
(By the way, my teacher's remark about this piece was not due to me singing this piece. Heck, he won't even let me sing scales yet.)
Though different, each one of these performances shows exquisite artistry and the God given talents of each man. Each also has a legion of critics commenting on their performances. The Best comment I saw was one person who observed: 'In all the world there are only a few people who can sing like this, but millions who can tell them how they are doing it wrong.' If you feel so inclined, say which one is your favourite in comments. As for my favourite... well, while not the technically most proficient, this performance always warms my heart.
Didn't get the work done I intended to, so I'll have to find another way to deal with that.
I can't think of much to say, beyond that I will now resume sporadic blogging complete with rants; the fun of being Catholic; the joy of the Catholic father; why, oh why, are there so many dumb people?; things that amuse me or because I feel like it; and the occasional war story. As for the joy of being Catholic, I'd like to give a shout out to Louise at Purcell who is currently enjoying WYD. Louise, if you read this- I must now confess the sin of envy.
Under the because I feel like it heading I have this: My singing teacher made some remark to me that lead me to troll the net in a search for every version of Nessun Dorma I could find- and there are plenty, as it seems every tenor out there takes a shot at this one sooner or later. Here are a few of my favourites:
(By the way, my teacher's remark about this piece was not due to me singing this piece. Heck, he won't even let me sing scales yet.)
Though different, each one of these performances shows exquisite artistry and the God given talents of each man. Each also has a legion of critics commenting on their performances. The Best comment I saw was one person who observed: 'In all the world there are only a few people who can sing like this, but millions who can tell them how they are doing it wrong.' If you feel so inclined, say which one is your favourite in comments. As for my favourite... well, while not the technically most proficient, this performance always warms my heart.
30 May 2008
Update on Illness
Right on schedule, Puff is now hurling. That's two Olympic level projectile vomiters in the house, with two to go. Wonderful. Just wonderful.
Puff asks for prayers that this disease miss her 82 year old diabetic mother. The last time she had a stomach flu she nearly died.
Puff asks for prayers that this disease miss her 82 year old diabetic mother. The last time she had a stomach flu she nearly died.
4 May 2008
Reluctant Policing
UPDATE II: Puff has removed her final correspondence. The fact that several people suggest that it is right to attack priests and bishops, offends her. She suffered and prayed about if and how to charitably bring this to the archbishop's attention. It pained her to disobey Bishop Boissoneau, as he had said that we had fulfilled our duty in this matter, and yet, over a year later, she wrote to the Archbishop. She did not take this matter lightly, self-righteously, or angrily; but seriously, respectfully and charitably. Therefore to use her letter as a justification to attack the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Ordinary Form, or to suggest that the priest himself is not a good priest because he was mistaken, ( Rememeber: he thought the RS had not been promulgated- whether it needed to be promulgated is another argument) is offensive to her. When corrected by the Auxilliary Bishop, under the authority of the Archbishop, the Pastor submitted and obeyed.
UPDATE: Puff was kind enough to post her final letter and her reply from the Archdiocese here
My wife and I never wanted to be members of the liturgical police. We started down that road some years ago, when we- well, mostly she- began helping the choir director for one of the choirs I sang with pick his music for Sundays. As we looked into the appropriate music we encountered the GIRM and other documents, and we discovered something: we really knew nothing about our faith and about the Mass, even though we both cradle Catholics, went to Catholic schools, and attended Mass all our lives. And what is more, a good percentage of what we had been told as truth at school and even at Church were flat out lies. And so, we started looking into the matter some more.
Somewhere in there we read Redemptionis Sacramentum, and there we read an instruction regarding the Blood of Christ: It was to be kept in a metal vessel, and was never to be poured. This struck us, because the practice at our church was to consecrate it in a crystal flask, and then pour it into separate chalices. On the one hand, it seemed minor. On the other hand, this is the Blood of Christ, the heart of our faith, and there is nothing minor about it. Redemptionis told us what to do: if we see any abuse of the Body and Blood, we are first to approach our priest in a gentle brotherly manner, as befits brethren in faith. If that failed, we were to go to the bishop or appropriate authority. If everything else failed, we were directed- not allowed, but directed- to inform Rome.
We have written about this many times in the blog. Our meeting with the priest was cordial and polite. He was overjoyed, he told us, to see that there are others out there who take the Blessed Sacrament as seriously as he. (In truth, he is very devoted to the sacrament. I will delete any comment from the combox that suggests otherwise.) But he had his reasons for doing what he did. Redemptionis, he told us, had not been promulgated in the diocese yet, so he was still permitted.
Next, after giving the matter some thought and prayer, we wrote to the appropriate bishop. His response to us was that he would look into the matter. His words were correct and cordial, but the tone of the letter carried with it a suggestion of "Now please go away." We waited to see what would happen. Nothing.
So we waited some more, and prayed some more, and debated some more. We could change churches. However, that was not an option from Redemptionis. This was still our church. The orders from Redemptionis were still binding. We were to do something. At that time some things changed at the Chancellery. We tried writing another letter. We got another response. Today we saw the real response: He no longer pours.
I am glad of this for many reasons, not the least of which is that our actions have not resulted in any hostility between us and the priest or any members of the parish that I am aware of. This could have become bitter so quickly. That it didn't shows that throughout all this, we were dealing with good people. Deo Gratias.
--Puff writing in the Third person.
UPDATE: Puff was kind enough to post her final letter and her reply from the Archdiocese here
My wife and I never wanted to be members of the liturgical police. We started down that road some years ago, when we- well, mostly she- began helping the choir director for one of the choirs I sang with pick his music for Sundays. As we looked into the appropriate music we encountered the GIRM and other documents, and we discovered something: we really knew nothing about our faith and about the Mass, even though we both cradle Catholics, went to Catholic schools, and attended Mass all our lives. And what is more, a good percentage of what we had been told as truth at school and even at Church were flat out lies. And so, we started looking into the matter some more.
Somewhere in there we read Redemptionis Sacramentum, and there we read an instruction regarding the Blood of Christ: It was to be kept in a metal vessel, and was never to be poured. This struck us, because the practice at our church was to consecrate it in a crystal flask, and then pour it into separate chalices. On the one hand, it seemed minor. On the other hand, this is the Blood of Christ, the heart of our faith, and there is nothing minor about it. Redemptionis told us what to do: if we see any abuse of the Body and Blood, we are first to approach our priest in a gentle brotherly manner, as befits brethren in faith. If that failed, we were to go to the bishop or appropriate authority. If everything else failed, we were directed- not allowed, but directed- to inform Rome.
We have written about this many times in the blog. Our meeting with the priest was cordial and polite. He was overjoyed, he told us, to see that there are others out there who take the Blessed Sacrament as seriously as he. (In truth, he is very devoted to the sacrament. I will delete any comment from the combox that suggests otherwise.) But he had his reasons for doing what he did. Redemptionis, he told us, had not been promulgated in the diocese yet, so he was still permitted.
Next, after giving the matter some thought and prayer, we wrote to the appropriate bishop. His response to us was that he would look into the matter. His words were correct and cordial, but the tone of the letter carried with it a suggestion of "Now please go away." We waited to see what would happen. Nothing.
So we waited some more, and prayed some more, and debated some more. We could change churches. However, that was not an option from Redemptionis. This was still our church. The orders from Redemptionis were still binding. We were to do something. At that time some things changed at the Chancellery. We tried writing another letter. We got another response. Today we saw the real response: He no longer pours.
I am glad of this for many reasons, not the least of which is that our actions have not resulted in any hostility between us and the priest or any members of the parish that I am aware of. This could have become bitter so quickly. That it didn't shows that throughout all this, we were dealing with good people. Deo Gratias.
17 January 2008
Update on prayer requests
A while back we asked for some prayers for elder who had suddenly developed a case of asthma that got worse and worse by the day, to the point she could barely breathe and could not do anything without getting winded. As it turns out, the doctor misdiagnosed her, she does not have asthma, and the symptoms were caused by the medications he prescribed. We are changing doctors. Thank you all for your prayers.
I also asked for prayers regarding a co worker who seemed to be making his way back to the Faith. Continue your prayers that God open wider this man's heart and mind to the Faith, that we may welcome our wandering brother home. Also, pray for me that I don't blunder in answering his questions and scare him away.
My brother is still drinking, and won't go to the doctor, so more prayers that way would be appreciated.
I also asked for prayers regarding a co worker who seemed to be making his way back to the Faith. Continue your prayers that God open wider this man's heart and mind to the Faith, that we may welcome our wandering brother home. Also, pray for me that I don't blunder in answering his questions and scare him away.
My brother is still drinking, and won't go to the doctor, so more prayers that way would be appreciated.
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