December 2010

I've finished my first semester of ABE courses at Vancouver Island University. I had absolutely dreaded Math, I have always struggled with his course. After the initial assessment I was placed in Math 10 and it's really helped give me a refresher on the basics, I won't be surprised to receive an A or B as I've managed to keep my marks around 90-95% The Math 11 is done in 2 semesters, I have a seat in Math 045 and English 12. I'm still tentative on whether I should take Math 046 in the intermission, or wait until Sept 2011. I am pleased with my current Math teacher, her methods obviously work for me and I think it would be wise for me to stick with her classes. However, if I don't take an intermission course, I will be out of school for 3-4 months and it seems like such a waste when I could be getting myself ahead. Alternatively, if I could get the funding I could take part-time studies towards Criminology, they have Crim 101 & Engl 115 available during the intermission (7 weeks)... decisions, decisions.

Heath has been working in Iqaluit, Nunavut for the past 2 weeks. The job posting stated the accommodation, food and travel was provided. When they arrived it was announced that they would be supplying their own food, using their Northern Allowance of $35/day. Initially the crew took it well and they pooled their monies together to save money. It was 2 days before a landline was installed, the crew had means to contact their families for 3 days before the phone stopped working for long distance, outgoing and incoming. Internet was installed, Heath brought the kids little laptop but somehow it was damaged during travel to Iqaluit. It's been 2 weeks and the crew still does not have answers on whether they are getting paid overtime, or when their paydays will be. This outfit is extremely unorganized. Apparently there was supposed to be 18 crew members sent to Iqaluit for this construction project, but the subcontractor only brought in 6... Heath is the only one who has the experience and knowledge, he's been training the remainder of the crew. Thankfully the crew is being sent home for Christmas, it was first said they would come back December 17th, now they're talking about December 14th and expect crews to return December 27th. Regretfully, Heath will not be returning to Iqaluit, we do not have the time nor the desire to deal with such chaos, these things should have been organized and planned before crews where sent in to work. The employers should have been more forthcoming to the employees about what they were walking into. You can't alienate these people from their families and leave them hanging about their pay and expect them to remain loyal.

End of 2010

It's been a long time since I've written in the blog. Alot has changed, some of it I can't even tell you about, for now.

We had a busy summer. I established a lawn mowing biz for the kids over the summer break which helped immensely. The kids all worked very hard and their efforts were rewarded. We were able to enjoy expensive activities that we'd ordinarily been unable to afford, like Wildplay and Parksville Pirate Fun Park Miniature Golf.

I shutdown our construction company, regretfully it was being driven downhill and I no longer wanted to be a part of it. So rather than watch it crash and burn, I packed it up. Now I've started to work on my own forward momentum and it's been going very well, so far.

I'm excited about the new direction in my life, I've decided to pursue Criminology @ VIU. I'm doing pre-requisites for this year; Math, English and threw in Bio12. If I can get a 2 year certificate than it would open up alot of career opportunities for me in the legal system; legal assistant, paralegal, parole officer, native court worker, etc... which is what I've always wanted to do. If I decide to go further and pursue my BA Criminology, then I'll take it all the way, attending UVic 2-3 years for my Law Degree.

Koda started Kingergarten this year, he's loving it! Dennis & Kiesha have maintained a A/B average in High School for the past two years. Regretfully, Devon has never excelled academically but I've always been very proud of his personal ethics, he will grow up to make his Mother proud.

This year will have been the beginning of big changes in my life. I'm looking forward to making it on my own and strive towards my personal goals of gaining an enjoyable career and someday soon purchasing my own house.

Next Idea

New plan for education is that I take the Chemistry and Biology @VIU Sept 2010 and register for the RN course 2011. I have assessments for English and Math tomorrow and I'm afraid that I'll fail the Math and have to suffer through 3 maybe 4 courses, argh! I've been reluctant to take the RN course since I have no related experience to the health industry and have no idea if it's something I would enjoy as a life long career, we'll have to wait and see what happens, there is no point in wasting a year of funding on an LPN course if it's not necessary. My long term goal is to take the Nurse Practitioners course at UVIC... but I'm sure that will change too, after FOUR years of college I might be sick of school and just wanna work fulltime as a Registered Nurse.

Survived the supervised visitation with Wanda and Family. The aftermath has been interesting as everything has been coming out of the woodwork. It seems as though Wanda has taken two steps back from any progress she'd made after attending the Haisla Alcohol & Drug Treatment Centre a number of years ago. She's returned the the substance abuse and her 7 year relationship is undeniably toxic on many levels. Yet they continue to deny everything and lie to our faces like we're complete fools! In any other context I wouldn't care, to each their own, right? But there is too much inconsideration being given to the children involved and as adults we do have an obligation as parents to protect their best interests and well being.

Business has been booming, it's that time of year. Heath has work overlapping and their are at least two more projects that could have been added to an already full schedule. I'm tentative about adding additional carpenters to work independently because it's difficult to find people who have the workmanship that we can trust, it's caused us problems in the past. On the flip side, I'm working a lawn mowing business with the three older children and its' also going great, they have a handful of regular clients that we cater to on the weekends and we'll build on that after school is finished for the summer.

Ride is Over

Feel normal again, but got hit with a pretty bad head cold, woken up @ 6:30am with congestion and runny nose, looks like I've hit the peak of this illness. Good news is that I was up early to enjoy the FREE coffee from Starbucks! By 9am Heath and the kids had acquired 3 cups for me before they left for work/school! LOL

Good thing I was showered, dressed and ready to go early this morning, Pam called sick with a major migraine, I dashed over to take Masey so she could rest. We hunted for crabs & seaweed on the beach to feed my chickens, Masey was so excited! Koda loves hanging out with his lil buddy they get along great.

We've been suffering with a head cold for the past few days, I've been trying to find time to lay in bed and rest for the last 3 days, unsuccessfully. Between the kids, Heath & work, I have no time to sit still. I did get my wine bottled and have managed to process three work quotes. The kids have continued to mow lawns after school & on weekends. I made it to 2 workouts on Monday, one was a booked appointment with a trainer and I went again 7pm with Svea for Latin Dance classes, alot of fun, however I made the mistake of eating rich Coldstone Creamery Ice cream before the dance class which sat heavy and made me feel sick after all the bouncing.

Yesterday we had a lawn mowing of 1 acre property that is for sale, 2 houses (3 living suites) & 3 garages, would LOVE to own it, currently selling for 545k but it's R-zoning, I'd prefer A-2. I recieved a call from the homeowner this afternoon, the tenants are dissatisfied with the mowing, they figure for the money they pay in rent, the lawn should be done better... what a bitch! We were on the site for 3 fricken hours. I ended up having to leave 1/2 hour early from this job because Devon was in tears over an ear ache, I brought him to the Clinic and they put him on amoxicillin for an ear infection. Heath supervised the kids and made sure to go the extra mile, from what the Landlord expected of us and I'm shocked the tenants are being difficult.

I've been communicating with Wanda for the past week re: visitation, her brother recieved a large sum of money and they want to travel here to see Dennis & Kiesha. Wanda called yesterday to say they're coming this weekend. I've agreed to supervise the visitation this time and advised Wanda to arrange a professional supervisor for subsequent visits. Should be interesting, I really don't know what to expect, but I'm sure it will be okay, anything questionable happens and I'll end the entire visit immediately.

I'm still really sitting on the fence about the LPN, I could struggle through the Bio12 course and hope to be ready for the exam in June, then try get the Math/English assessment done ASAP to get on the waiting list for a seat Sept or Nov 2010. I hate being rushed, I am also annoyed by the disorganization of the current program that I'm taking and think it would be easier if I attend a classroom structure for Bio12, I'd have been done long time ago if I'd done this in the first place. I still feel somewhat tied down because Koda isn't in kindergarten yet, having him in school fulltime will help immensely for being in school or starting a job.

Another Day, No Dollar...

I'm stuck in some strange premenstral funk this week. The only end in sight was the start of my cycle yesterday... thank god! Uncontrollable bombardment of negative emotions is annoying!! Maybe I should get some hormone balancing regiment, like Don Quai... we'll see.

My ex-Chris sent a whole $75 for child support this month... gee, thanks! Still planning on changing our sons middle & last name, when I find a name that Devon loves, hasn't happened yet but our selection is pretty thin. Everytime I watch a movie I keep a close eye on the credits, waiting to be inspired by something original, still haven't come across that WOW factor. The favorites at this time remains to be "Diixaagang" second choice "Skilwxanjas"

Although life seems to be at a pitiful standstill of nothingness, same shit, different day. For some unknown reason the universe threw me ex-girlfriends, not MINE, of course. Surprisingly the experience was painless and almost enjoyable... seriously, get your mind out of the gutter! In my opinion each was 'the calm before the storm' which is inevitable when dealing with addicts, the never ending task of trying to seperate the truth from the lies. My husbands ex wants something from me, so I'd assume she'll be like honey until she's satisfied that she's gotten what she wants and then she'll become a spiteful bitch again.

I've been thinking alot about my ole friend Alison lately, I haven't seen her for over 2 years now, not even sure if she still lives in the same town anymore. I've been watching the new Kirstie Alley show reminds me alot of Alison, same chuckle and body structure. It's difficult to maintain relationships with people who you no longer have anything in common with, we used to work in the same place, hang out with some of the same people and we were single. Now I'm surrounded by kids and have been in a relationship for over 5 years and Alison drifted away to hang out with other people she still has things in common with. I miss Alison.

Easter Weekend

February 2010 City of Nanaimo ammended Bylaw 4923 Section 8(c);
"Notwithstanding Section 8(a) a maximum of four (4) chickens or ducks may be kept on a lot less than 0.4 hectares (1 acre) in size, but where the lot is less than 450 sqm (4843.75 sq ft) no more than two (2) chickens or ducks may be kept, providing that;
1) No roosters, cocks or cokerels, or peacocks and the like are kept on the property.
2) A min. enclosure of 0.37sqm (4 sq ft) must be provided per chicken or duck.
3) Any structure containing chickens or ducks whether portable or stationary, is subject to setback requirements or the zone.
4) structures housing chickens or ducks must be kept clean, dry and free of odours.
5) Areas within and around structures are kept free of vermin.
6) Any diseased chicken or duck is killed and the carcass destroyed.
7) No slaughtering of chickens or ducks occurs on the property.
8) Chicken and duck manure and waste products are composted or disposed of to prevent odours; and
9) Chickens or ducks are not permitted within a dwelling unit."

I looked at the City of Nanaimo map which shows this property is 6900 sq ft (115x60) although technically it's only half that size because there is a second house on this lot. We're getting four chickens based on the "lot size" which should only become an issue if the neighbors get chickens. BC Assessment also does not acknowledge the residence next door as a legitimate address, one can only assume that this home was built without a city permit, many years ago.

Work Out

Finally made it for a workout last night, it felt great. My cousin signed up for some Bike for Cancer, 2 days from Vancouver to Seattle. Now she wants to train, sweet! Everytime I tell Heath about things like this he gets outta control trying to tell me what to do... nobody asked you! Moron TOLD me I should go for a walk today, I was going to, but now that he's trying to run my life I might just sit at home to be spiteful. Mofo should be worrying about himself, get you're sorry ass to work and worry about getting your own workouts done, get rid of the beer belly and stop getting in MY business chump!

Soap Opera at his work continues, now they've hired back Dezmond cause he's a fabulous worker, but neither the boss nor the site foreman are really speaking to him, Messed up and childish! Heath was relying on Dezzie to come up with work somewhere else, but it didn't happen. He's dropped off business cards with a few local construction sites, but I'm not holding my breath. Realistically he does make a decent living, but for the amount of stress involved, it would make my life alot easier if he'd find a job working for someone else. Let someone else worry about the business end of things and just make money. I don't know how he plans on running this company when I'm not around to babysit fulltime.

I've been feeling really aggitated recently and easily annoyed by everything. I hope it's a passing phase. It's my worse fear at this point to become unexpectedly pregnant, it would ruin my current plans to attend school and get back into the workforce. I've been a stay at home Mother for the past 5 years and I'm ready to get on with my life.

School

I did Unit #3 today and recieved an average 70% barely passing this Biology course. It's been frustrating since day one, I've been out of school for over 10 years and I'm trying to teach myself science, kinda oxymoron! I had finished Unit 1-4 out of 15, before the instructor changed the whole curriculum, almost all the units were merged and technically I had only completed Units 1-2 out of what is now 8 available units. Confusing, I know!! The instructor is famous for making the tests very broad, which means even if I study the worksheets, practise guides and do the practice quiz... there will still be additional questions on the test that you'd have missed covering. AND I've been informed that I should never rely on the practise quiz because I'm repeatedly finding errors, questions from other subjects, duplicates and missed diagrams. The test I completed today had 20 questions, NONE of them were covered in the study guide, THREE of them were from the practise quiz (one question was missing an important diagram). The icing on the cake was when I was told that I already have marks for Unit #4... but I haven't even touched this unit yet, how is that possible? Instructor had added grades on my report card that were not even mine! I'll be luck to pass this course, but none the wiser after all the mass confusion and disorganization!!

We had dinner with an old friend that used to work with Heath. He's now working at a local Hotel and I was shocked to find out how the Nanaimo sex industry has gone underground. They are utilizing the local Hotels to "host" their activities and advertising online, like Craigslist. We were also advised that the local Hotels have known ongoing issues with bedbugs, which we were relieved to hear because we were seriously considering getting a local Hotel for Granny and Grandpa when they come to visit this summer... now, there is NO WAY!!

Teenagers

I officially have a disgruntled, rebelious teenager... took long enough! I actually expected this would happen alot sooner than it has. Dennis has taken to being uncooperative and hanging his lips around the house. Heath and I have discussed the matter with him repeatedly over the past few months, with lack of results. This AM I'd sat him down and forced him to sit and think about what has been causing the negativity, obviously something is on his mind. He was uncooperative at first, I imagine he thought I'd relent and allow him to continue on his day... not! Two hours later he finally relented and confessed that he's felt resentful that we won't allow them to hang out at the Mall with their friends. Hm, that 's it?!
He was reminded of that fact that his current behavior was unacceptable and if he'd like to be treated like a mature young man, than he'd have to start acting like one. Pouting around for WEEKS was certainly not the way to go about getting your way, in fact it does the opposite!

I was suprised and choke yesterday after Heath had taken time to diagnose his truck, he'd discovered that the fuse for the fuel relay switch was missing. Of course I should be happy, but this truck has been sitting in the yard for TWO MONTHS. We bought a new started $100, we bought all new glow plugs $90; still nothing. I hired a mobile mechanic to look at the truck, he came for 15 minutes and when it started to rain he said the diagnosis would have to be done at their shop, which meant I'd be charged $45 for the tow and $100 for further diagnosis... on top of the $100 that it cost me for 15 minutes of this guys time, after he'd done NOTHING! A local garage offers FREE TOWS to customers, great idea! They said 80% sure it's the diaphram in the fuel pump, we agreed they could replace it. The truck started, but would die as we're driving down the road!! Garage charged me for the fuel pump AND the tow, which was not free cause he told me afterwards that the bill has to be over $500... are you kidding me? Talk about a 'bait and switch'!! In review, we waited two months and dumped $590 in this truck and it's still not running properly. Then we find out that the problem was a 25amp fuse, this damn part cost less than $5 and two mechanics didn't even THINK to check it?! The truck has 2 gas tanks and wouldn't start because it was stuck on the rear tank, which is empty. One mechanic got the truck running cause he put $10 diesel in BOTH gas tanks, once the gas ran out in the rear tank the truck stopped working. No wonder people don't trust auto mechanics!!

It took me 3 days to finish Bio12 Unit 3; study for the test over the weekend, take the test early next week and move on to Unit 4. I seen an advertisement for psychiatric nursing, 3-4 year course available in Vancouver. Currently a position that is filled by RNs because the education for specialists wasn't readily available. There are College/Universities now offering it as Distance Learning. An interesting option, not sure if I'd want to take all those years to specialize.

Spring Break

I survived Spring Break and have yet to figure out why it's always SO damn difficult. Yearly I plan events for the week, I try to keep the costs down to make the activities available for everyone. I always enjoy hanging out with the children and seeing the smiles on their faces, the fact is that it's the parents who make it difficult. I plan ahead and draft a full schedule before Spring Break starts and the parents recieve a copy.
I had one parent who asked if he could send anything with his two kids, I said; a bag of apples, a case of bottled water and a large box of granola bars. This may have cost $25 and would assist with the cost of snacks for the kids for the entire week, however, he only sent one bag of apples and that's it. Sounds petty, but it bothers me!
Another parent called every evening and again 8am the following morning to confirm and reconfirm the daily arrangements, again very irritating cause it's Spring Break, I have 4 kids who would all enjoy sleeping in and we're getting phone call every morning even though none of the scheduled events start until 11am!!

I've been looking for a new middle name for my first born son, Devon. I think it would be fabulous to find him a suitable Haida name to connect him with his heritage. The options that I have found sofar;
Kaigani ~ The name of an Alaskan Haida Village
Haada/Xaada ~ "Haida"
Skil'wxan Jas ~ Fairies coming to you as in a big wave
Daxiigang ~ Noise in the Housepit (great, great, great grandfathers Haida name)
Yahgulaanas ~ "Raven" in Haida language

April 28, 2009 We recieved a copy of our last Family Court Order which stipulated Wanda was only permitted supervised access & visitation with the children. A year later, Wanda has finally contacted me to let me know she's called a professional supervisor to make such arrangements to begin gaining contact. To my understanding, Wanda has an interview with the Professional Supervisor, provides them with a copy of the Order, Signs a Contract and prepays for the requested services. The Supervisor then contacts us for an interview and access arrangements can begin by consent of all parties.

I intented to work on my Biology 12 over the Spring Break, but it didn't happen. Now that Spareblox has started again, I will have 2 hours in the evenings to continue with my studies and get another Unit done. I'm working on Unit #3 out of 8... I still have ALOT of work to need to have it done before Provincial Exams become available in June. It's taken me 9 months to complete 2 Units, pathetic really!! I also need to take the Math/English Assessment test before I'm given a seat in the LPN Course for Sept or November 2010.

Heath has had steady work with a local investor who builds subdivisions, it's been nice to have consistent work but this investor has tight purse strings and pays 1/2 of the going rates. Heath met Dezmond who is a wise and connected older gentleman, he was working on this site until recently and has taken a real shine to Heath. Dezmond offered him the opportunity to work elsewhere for the proper rates and they start next week.