30 Jun 2010

I Need to STFU

I realize that the recent events of the G20 have left certain questions unanswered about the way the situation was handled. I get that some people were wrongfully detained and treated less than stellar by the police. I also understand that many people who protested sincerely believed in what they were protesting for and for that, I applaud them. What I do not applaud and will not stand for is the fact that I have been told countless time to shut the fuck up and not to have an opinion because I. . . wasn't there.

That's right. Because I stayed the hell out of the downtown core due to the high probability of dischord, I have been told on more than one occasion that I cannot possibly have an opinion because I was not physically there and did not witness the 'horror' that our beloved police forces inflicted upon the 'innocent' protestors. I am not in any way condoning those who were wrongly accused/charged/detained at all; what I am upset about is the fact that the decision to hold the G20 in Toronto was made by politicians and not the police. Why are we blaming the cops for doing their jobs and following orders? Why aren't we questioning Stephen Harper and his government?

When I raised those questions to those who believe that the police acted wrongly (even though they were clearly under orders), I was met with stony glares: Don't confuse us with facts. I have no trouble with discussing this with rational people who will listen to me and then discuss why they feel differently. I had an hour-long conversation last night with my brother and while we did not see things the same way, we had a great discussion. We took turns talking and listening and pointing out contradictions in each other's arguments. It was, dare I say, an adult way of dealing with such a volatile situation.

I changed my facebook status to say that I was protesting the protestors protesting the police. That netted me angry comments, insults, and an order for me to shut my mouth because I was clearly under the influence of the media. Think about this: if I were listening to the media as suggested, would I not be on their side? The media is out for cop-blood, any way it can get it. My position of 'blame the ones who made the decision, not the ones who followed orders' is both logical and acceptable. Telling me to shut the fuck up because I do not agree with you is neither logical nor acceptable.

One person in particular is trying my patience with her repeated attempts to draw me into an all-out war on facebook. She has sent me multiple emails with various videos attached and has demanded that I watch all of it. To be honest, I don't care about protestors or what they were protesting. My beef is the assigning of blame to an undeserving group. Whether or not the whole thing was planned is not my concern: people being intolerant of others' opinions is my concern.

For me, the G20 has once again proven that people are sheep and will believe the hype no matter what it is or how ridiculous it sounds. The fact that no one is allowing for alternate opinions proves to me that people are not trying to understand the bigger picture here; they just want to be right. And they will beat the shit out of anyone who tells them differently.

11 Jun 2010

Regina Bound!

Is it wrong that I cannot say that word without giggling to myself? Probably. I am leaving tonight to go to Regina (teehee) for a work conference and I am not looking forward to it. Not only does it take me away from my boy, I have to share a room with a co-worker. I am not sure exactly how this will go down: she and I have different duties during the conference and I fear we may tread on each other in the morning. She thinks that it will be fine and that we can accomodate each other's schedules but I know better. I have seen what happens when she does not get her way at work and I am dreading the first instance where she may be forced to compromise with me.

On a lighter note, there is a fantastic comic bookstore just around the corner from the hotel where I am staying. I have already made arrangements to leave the conference tomorrow afternoon to check it out. At the very least, I will be able to pick up my comics for this week. I missed getting them earlier and I don't think I can wait until next week to buy them.

I really have the best boyfriend of all time. He did the laundry last night so I didn't have to stress out at all over what to pack and it all fit nicely into the suitcase he gave me. He even packed my toiletries for me. I haven't even left yet and I already miss him. Boo. Monday night can't come soon enough.

1 Jun 2010

When Fate Intervenes, You Just Do It

I have msn on my computer at work and we use it in lieu of the phone. It's annoying to have to stop what you are doing just to answer the phone and much easier to respond to msn. As you know, I have been quite unhappy with my current job due to the actual amount of work it truly is. I do not have enough time to eat my lunch let alone get my projects completed on time. It's both frustrating and demeaning and I am quite tired of waking up in the middle of the night panicking because I have, surprise surprise, forgotten to do something. Enter Fate; a wonderful, pushy, will-not-be-denied-her-right-to-speak woman. She is in my life in a huge way right now and she will not go away.

Among a plethora of things to happen that alerted me to the presence of Fate, was an awesome lead on a new freelance opportunity thanks to my big brother. I filed it away as something to get to asap and have been plugging along at it in between regular work and sleep. Here's my personal absolute proof that Fate is here: while at work and on msn, I keep getting these little messages across the bottom of the chat window asking me if I need a new job. There are variations on that theme: Am I looking for a challenge? Do I feel unappreciated in my current position? and so on. No one else in the office has seen these messages on their personal chat windows and they had to come to my desk to see my chat windows in order to believe me.

So, I have decided to let Fate work her magic and see where that takes me. I cannot fight it anymore; this is not where I am supposed to be and I have to take steps to rectify the situation that I find myself in. No more being stubborn, no more screwing around. Fate has intervened and I have to listen.

And just like that, I have a new job.