In Halloween celebration, I made some cards. I do love making cards.
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In this case, I get more of a kick out of the envelopes.
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| I hope I didn't give the postal workers a scare. |
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Happy Halloween!!
Happy Halloween!! We aren't doing anything this year. I didn't even get a pumpkin to carve, for some reason I feel like the condo management would frown the whole 'putting a pumpkin in the hallway outside my door'. If not management, the cleaning person would not be pleased as it slowly rotted. And it seems silly to carve a pumpkin if no one will enjoy it. The condo might be having a thing for kids in the lobby but seeing as there have been no notices about it (there are notices for everything!), I am assuming no. Although if kids were allowed to trick or treat in buildings it would be a pretty sweet haul as there are more people in our group of condo buildings than the entire population of Petitcodiac. (est. 1.5 people per unit,12 units per floor, 36 floors, 4 buildings = 2592 people) Instead we will celebrate by buying cheap Halloween candy tomorrow.
In Halloween celebration, I made some cards. I do love making cards.
In this case, I get more of a kick out of the envelopes.
In Halloween celebration, I made some cards. I do love making cards.
In this case, I get more of a kick out of the envelopes.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
The Christmas crafts have begun!
I knitted a Christmas tree dishcloth! I found a model one online but I felt that theirs looked too overworked so I simplified it a bit. I will be subsequently ruining any Christmas surprise for my family over the next 2 months. The surprise will be whose stocking it ends up in.
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Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Thank you student loan!
My student loan has been forgiven! Hurray for having a severe permanent disability that renders me unable to be employed...! (or maybe not so much)
I have been in repayment assistance since February which has thankfully meant that I haven't had to worry about making payments. However, it is nice to know that I won't have to keep reapplying every 6 months or worry about reaching the max months allowed for repayment assistance.
So thank you student loan! I will miss all the times I hit '1 for English' 7 times before the system kicked in, or all the times you called me just to let me know you would be mailing me something. And then you mailed me the same letter twice. Or when I received two letters from you, one saying I had to pay you my right arm for interest incurred and the other saying that all was fine. We may have had our differences and I may have (yes, I did) sworn under my breath at you for your inexplicably horrible website and high interest rates but now I never have to speak to you again. Woohoo!
I have been in repayment assistance since February which has thankfully meant that I haven't had to worry about making payments. However, it is nice to know that I won't have to keep reapplying every 6 months or worry about reaching the max months allowed for repayment assistance.
So thank you student loan! I will miss all the times I hit '1 for English' 7 times before the system kicked in, or all the times you called me just to let me know you would be mailing me something. And then you mailed me the same letter twice. Or when I received two letters from you, one saying I had to pay you my right arm for interest incurred and the other saying that all was fine. We may have had our differences and I may have (yes, I did) sworn under my breath at you for your inexplicably horrible website and high interest rates but now I never have to speak to you again. Woohoo!
Sunday, 27 October 2013
4 weeks in Toronto.
I have been living in Toronto for a month although it really doesn't seem that long but at the same time it feels like forever ago since I was in NS. Time is a funny thing.
Here are some of my observations about Toronto thus far:
- The traffic is not as terrifying as I was expecting. Sure it takes at least 10 minutes longer than google estimates and the highways can be a little crazy at times but there are 2.6 million people living in the city so it is to be expected. However what is terrifying are the people who blow through the red lights, I don't mean yellow lights, full on 'turned red' lights...which seems to be everyone except me. I was vindication when a Porsche blew by me (I had fully stopped in the left lane) in the right lane through an obviously red light only to be pulled over by the cop sitting in the intersection. Muhahaha
- Few people wear a helmet when cycling. A lot of people cycle as it is the fastest way to get around and so few people wear helmets. I don't understand it at all. There is so much research showing the effectiveness of helmets in preventing brain injuries. Put a helmet on people! No one wants to pay for your preventable health bills.
- Everyone has been really nice. Except for a few people (but there are a few jerk everywhere), people are generally nice.
- There is so much to do! While a lot of the stuff cost money (people seriously need to stop paying 150$ for nosebleed seats at the leafs games), there are usually cheap nights at the museums or ways to find discounts which is pretty great.
- The restaurants have not been as awesome as I had expected. I've only been out to eat a handful of times since moving here but the few times I have haven't been as good as I was expecting. I'm not sure if it is because when I was here in July, every restaurant we ate at was delicious so I had high expectations (I do have high food expectations in general) but I did think that most of the restaurants would be superb because why would anyone go to the mediocre places when there are so many options? Maybe I just haven't had good restaurant luck this past month.
- I can't complain about the transit system. I mean transit sucks everywhere but what is really nice here is the fact that every morning when I walk to the bus stop only to watch the bus pull away, I only have to wait for 5 minutes for the next bus. However, I did think that Torontoians would be better at moving to the back of the bus.What is awesome is that they let you take disposable beverages on the bus!
- The library system is amazing! They have all of the books and so many copies! I am number 1010 for the J.K. Rowling detective book but they have 311 copies so the list moves pretty quick.
Here are some of my observations about Toronto thus far:
- The traffic is not as terrifying as I was expecting. Sure it takes at least 10 minutes longer than google estimates and the highways can be a little crazy at times but there are 2.6 million people living in the city so it is to be expected. However what is terrifying are the people who blow through the red lights, I don't mean yellow lights, full on 'turned red' lights...which seems to be everyone except me. I was vindication when a Porsche blew by me (I had fully stopped in the left lane) in the right lane through an obviously red light only to be pulled over by the cop sitting in the intersection. Muhahaha
- Few people wear a helmet when cycling. A lot of people cycle as it is the fastest way to get around and so few people wear helmets. I don't understand it at all. There is so much research showing the effectiveness of helmets in preventing brain injuries. Put a helmet on people! No one wants to pay for your preventable health bills.
- Everyone has been really nice. Except for a few people (but there are a few jerk everywhere), people are generally nice.
- There is so much to do! While a lot of the stuff cost money (people seriously need to stop paying 150$ for nosebleed seats at the leafs games), there are usually cheap nights at the museums or ways to find discounts which is pretty great.
- The restaurants have not been as awesome as I had expected. I've only been out to eat a handful of times since moving here but the few times I have haven't been as good as I was expecting. I'm not sure if it is because when I was here in July, every restaurant we ate at was delicious so I had high expectations (I do have high food expectations in general) but I did think that most of the restaurants would be superb because why would anyone go to the mediocre places when there are so many options? Maybe I just haven't had good restaurant luck this past month.
- I can't complain about the transit system. I mean transit sucks everywhere but what is really nice here is the fact that every morning when I walk to the bus stop only to watch the bus pull away, I only have to wait for 5 minutes for the next bus. However, I did think that Torontoians would be better at moving to the back of the bus.What is awesome is that they let you take disposable beverages on the bus!
- The library system is amazing! They have all of the books and so many copies! I am number 1010 for the J.K. Rowling detective book but they have 311 copies so the list moves pretty quick.
Friday, 25 October 2013
A rant about our system
My Canadian Disability has finally been processed and I am back on the gravy train! The gravy train of 580$/month (make it rain!!) Seriously government? Now I know it is considered 'tacky' by some to talk about money but I need to rant for a minute.
Let's consider for a minute a rough estimate for my monthly living expenses. Rent: 1700$, groceries: 200$, internet/phone: 80$, parking: 150$, bus pass: 128$. Total: 2200$. Yes I could cut out parking if I got rid of the car and I could not have the Internet or not eat food but even without those, the difference between how much it cost to live versus what the government expects is ridiculously different.
Not even to mention that I went off work in February, got 16 weeks EI, and then had another 5 months before this got processed. Granted two of those months were waiting for my doctor to fill out her part of the form but even without that, the system still expects people to wait at least 3 months before anything is processed. I am fortunate to have a savings account that could carry me over those months but what about everyone who goes off work unexpectedly, how are they suppose to survive without amassing giant credit card debits? No wonder the proportion of people with disabilities who are in poverty or homeless is so high (In the US it is 42% of the homeless population vs 17% of the general population, I would assume Canada would be quite similar. ). What else are they expected to do in our crazy system?
As Canadians, we claim we have a great safety net for people who need help. We pride ourselves on the fact that everyone gets health care and social support if needed. And then we, mostly our politicians, turn around and blame those who need help for taking advantage of the system or not working hard enough to get themselves out of poverty. As if having a disability is a personal desire and we would rather be disabled than be able to work. Trust me, I would do anything to be working again. It has nothing to do with wanting it enough.
So can we stop blaming people for not being able to get themselves out of their situation? Yes there are jobs that some people with disabilities would be able to do that would help prevent them from relying on the government. However, how are people suppose to return to school for an education upgrade to get those jobs when when the support system barely gives people enough to live month to month?
Not to say that I'm not thankful for the support that the government does give me, I'm sure it is better than a lot of countries and at least NS reimburses most of the rent and will pay for my post-transplant drugs (seriously NB, pull yourself together and start providing funding for people). But to say that it is better than some countries therefore we should stop trying to improve on it, isn't good enough.
I guess the point of my rant is to say that I am realizing more and more that we have system that makes it easy for people (especially those with a disability) to fall into poverty and very hard for people to get themselves out. And I don't have any answers on how to make it better, I'm sure I barely know half of the problems. However, before this, I was incredibly unaware how much the social support system sucks. I had always assumed that people at least got enough money to cover most of their basic living expenses. So...hurray for real world education about issues......?!
Let's consider for a minute a rough estimate for my monthly living expenses. Rent: 1700$, groceries: 200$, internet/phone: 80$, parking: 150$, bus pass: 128$. Total: 2200$. Yes I could cut out parking if I got rid of the car and I could not have the Internet or not eat food but even without those, the difference between how much it cost to live versus what the government expects is ridiculously different.
Not even to mention that I went off work in February, got 16 weeks EI, and then had another 5 months before this got processed. Granted two of those months were waiting for my doctor to fill out her part of the form but even without that, the system still expects people to wait at least 3 months before anything is processed. I am fortunate to have a savings account that could carry me over those months but what about everyone who goes off work unexpectedly, how are they suppose to survive without amassing giant credit card debits? No wonder the proportion of people with disabilities who are in poverty or homeless is so high (In the US it is 42% of the homeless population vs 17% of the general population, I would assume Canada would be quite similar. ). What else are they expected to do in our crazy system?
As Canadians, we claim we have a great safety net for people who need help. We pride ourselves on the fact that everyone gets health care and social support if needed. And then we, mostly our politicians, turn around and blame those who need help for taking advantage of the system or not working hard enough to get themselves out of poverty. As if having a disability is a personal desire and we would rather be disabled than be able to work. Trust me, I would do anything to be working again. It has nothing to do with wanting it enough.
So can we stop blaming people for not being able to get themselves out of their situation? Yes there are jobs that some people with disabilities would be able to do that would help prevent them from relying on the government. However, how are people suppose to return to school for an education upgrade to get those jobs when when the support system barely gives people enough to live month to month?
Not to say that I'm not thankful for the support that the government does give me, I'm sure it is better than a lot of countries and at least NS reimburses most of the rent and will pay for my post-transplant drugs (seriously NB, pull yourself together and start providing funding for people). But to say that it is better than some countries therefore we should stop trying to improve on it, isn't good enough.
I guess the point of my rant is to say that I am realizing more and more that we have system that makes it easy for people (especially those with a disability) to fall into poverty and very hard for people to get themselves out. And I don't have any answers on how to make it better, I'm sure I barely know half of the problems. However, before this, I was incredibly unaware how much the social support system sucks. I had always assumed that people at least got enough money to cover most of their basic living expenses. So...hurray for real world education about issues......?!
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