A day off yeah! Now I wish I had a job.

I hope many families are enjoying this day off. Sometimes I think that every day off is like a vacation from insanity. Not that there's anything wrong with working hard, but in modern society it seems we idolize the motivated worker who spends 60 or more hours a week away from their family. I just wonder how we can expect to have well adjusted kids growing up, if they hardly ever see their parents. Of course it is admirable for people to work hard and pay for a home and put money away for their children's college tuition. I'm just wondering, what effect their absence has on their children's emotional and mental health. It isn't getting any easier for children growing up in a society that puts more interest on developing new technology than it does on solving social issues.

As Bobby might say;
The times they are a changin.

Does money motivate you to write?

I can only imagine that being able to do something that you enjoy in life and getting paid for doing it must be the ultimate joy. Perhaps many authors would agree. I wonder if most successful writers enjoy writing so much, that when starting out, money was secondary in their mind. The love or passion for writing is the motivation and the rewards are recognition and financial gain. Although I haven't reached that point of success, I can tell you that being able to have time to write is one of the most satisfying experiences. There is a feeling, perhaps pride, that you experience after successfully writing a good article. I don't know how one defines it, but I see a successful article as one that fits together smoothly from sentence to sentence. It is easy to read, and keeps your interest until the end. I don't know if there is a formula to use (I doubt it) but I believe it does requrie hard work and concentration, because you realize that every word is important. Using the appropriate words and in a specific order, enables the reader to create an image, a story. If it is true what they say about; "a picture being worth a thousand words," then perhaps we could say, "a thousand words is like a painting."

It's Tuesday, what happened to Monday

Yesterday flew by and I can hardly believe it's Tuesday already. I spent most of Monday listening to a couple of seminars offered free by the provincial government. The first information and question session was three hours long and focused on Ontario employee's rights in the workplace. I found it interesting and learned some surprising facts. Before beginning the talk, the facilitator handed out a quiz with nine true and false questions, that we answered before getting started . I will share it with you, so you can do it for fun. The answers are at the bottom of this page. (BTW I only got 6 out of the 9 questions right).


1. The standard work week is 48 hours.....................T or F

2. Employees receive a minimum of 5 days
sick time per year...................................................T or F

3. You can be fired without notice for
misconduct on the job..............................................T or F

4. Men and women must be paid the same wage
for the same work in the same workplace..................T or F

5. Joining a union in your workplace is
always optional........................................................T or F

6. An employee is entitled to a safe
work environment................................................... T or F

7. After 12 months of employment, employees
are entitled to two weeks paid vacation......................T or F

8. Employees in stores have the right to
refuse to work on Sunday.........................................T or F

9. Employees are entitled to 1/2 hour break
every 5 hours..........................................................T or F

Answers:
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. T
7. T
8. T
9. T

Of course there are always exceptions to these rules, but there are minimum standards that employers must adhere to. It is worth the effort to learn about your rights. Who knows when an employer is unknowingly or deliberately exploiting them. What is most important is ensuring you are working in a safe and healthy workplace environment, and are confident enough to speak up if you are in doubt.

Yes, it's Friday!

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be excited about it being the end of the work week, primarily because I'm not working. Nevertheless there are many who are. I'm feeling happy for them. It's starting to snow heavily here; probably 20 or more centimeters or about 8 inches, of cold, white powdery flakes, by tomorrow. Winter; it's just too long.

China has had it's worst winter in fifty years. Millions are affected, and hundreds of thousands wishing to travel for the Chinese New Year, are stranded at railways with no trains running. Listen China; if your leader plans on making a New Year's resolution, he can start by paying a little more money out for snow removal then pay some more to the common worker. Anyway, best wishes and have a Happy New Year. Happy birthday to all you rats by the way, since I heard it's your year. How can being a rat be a good thing? I suppose it's a step up from being a snake.