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jamesqIt promised to be a busy weekend, so I took Friday as a flex day. All things considered, I'm glad I did.
First was a much needed therapy session. I'm currently formulating a theory that all therapists do is wait for an appropriate time to smack you upside the head. I have this theory mostly because the most useful things my therapist suggests are often blindingly obvious in hindsight. For example:
After the session, I went downtown to check out apartments (since I'm getting kicked out at the end of the month). The first place I checked was Westview Heights (aka the crinkle building). $650/mo. will get me a shitty little one bedroom apartment in a building that's seen better days. Right afterwards I checked out the Sundance. $665/mo. will get me a much nicer, larger one bedroom apartment in a building that actually looks like the staff cares enough to keep it in good repair. If it comes down to it, I'll gladly spend the extra $15/mo.
Either the SAIT or U of C residence is starting to look like a decent option (they rent to non-students during the summer - apparently a lot of universities do this, it's a great option if you're traveling and want something better than a hostel but not as expensive as a hotel).
Had a Bento Box for lunch at 8th Street Sushi (a little hole in the wall mall sushi place). I had never checked this place out before because they opened up around the same time I moved out of downtown. It was ok - I certainly I didn't feel my $8.95 was wasted. But it was mall sushi.
Turns out that was the only leisure time I would have on my extra day off.
Next I went up to check a half-duplex in Dalhousie that was for sale. Now the ad described a place that was exactly what I've been looking for (and has simply not been for sale anywhere I wanted to live for the last six months, ugh). My realtor and I went and looked at it and discovered that all the previous owners were the weird sort of alien freaks that actually like to get up early on weekends to fix things and do general maintenance. Plus they had decent taste (no shag carpet, no orange walls, no big round mirrors on the ceilings - all actual examples from friends houses). This means the 1/2D was in fantastic condition, and already had all the modifications I would have hired someone to make.
Unfortunately he was also one of those guys who likes to real in a dozen offers and cherry pick the best one, rather than just set a firm price. Thus, the advertised price was artificially low and he had multiple competing offers.
After seeing the place (and being impressed to the point of near-ejaculation), my realtor and I retreated to discuss strategy.
This was over my self-imposed limit of price though, so I had to go tell the bank. This led to me running around downtown for the rest of the afternoon. Or it would have if i didn't get the phone call.
I was leaving Coast Mountain Sports (looking for new shoes - MEC never has any because of my freakishly wide feet. 12.5EE) when I got a call from the home where my Dad was staying temporarily.
Seems my Dad had (sometime in the last week) coughed up some food and inhaled it, now he likely had a pneumonia. Given my father's other medical problems, a pneumonia could prove deadly. They noticed his lips were turning blue from lack of oxygen, so they called an ambulance to take him to Foothill's Hospital. I rushed up to be with him.
I could have walked. I got to the hospital at 3:30 and my dad was admitted to the emergency room at 8:30. That means me and two different sets of paramedics (there was a shift change) got to daddysit while waiting. Made a few observations:
1) Female paramedics are hot!
2) This city needs at least two more hospitals the size of Foothills (one in the core and one in Midnapore).
What's up with that anyway? When I mentioned this to one of the paramedics he said that if two more hospitals the size of Foothills opened their doors tomorrow and we're running at 100 percent, they would be full by noon. He figured Calgary needed eight hospitals. I can't disagree.
Between watching The Corporation and having to see what health care in Alberta is like, I'm seriously thinking of voting New Democrat next election. Raj Against the Machine!
When we actually got into the emergency room there was more waiting plus the occasional test performed. My dad was poked and prodded by numerous nurses, doctors and interns. He got chest X-rays. End result - he had a pneumonia.
Now I don't have any complaints with the personnel (both Foothills staff and Calgary EMS) - they're doing the best they can with limited resources. It's just there aren't enough beds.
Anyhow, the doctors finally made their diagnosis around 11:30. Unfortunately, there were no beds at Foothills, so they weren't sure which hospital he was going to be admitted to. They gave me a number to call the next day when they would allegedly have it all sorted out. I cabbed home, called the siblings to let them know what was going on and then passed out around midnight.
First was a much needed therapy session. I'm currently formulating a theory that all therapists do is wait for an appropriate time to smack you upside the head. I have this theory mostly because the most useful things my therapist suggests are often blindingly obvious in hindsight. For example:
Me: I keep getting pissed off every time I read this guy's blog.Yeah, it's like that bad joke:
Her: Have you considered simply not reading it.
Patient (waving arm): Doc, it hurts when I do this.Mostly we discussed my family and how the current financial situation was making everyone an ass.
Doctor: Don't do that.
Me: If I could just explain it to them better, then they would understand.Which is not to say that I should assume that people are all morons, but rather that I should know when to cut my losses. The process continues.
Her: There's your problem - your making they're not understanding into your fault.
Me: But isn't it better to assume that people will respond to reason?
Her: You know better.
After the session, I went downtown to check out apartments (since I'm getting kicked out at the end of the month). The first place I checked was Westview Heights (aka the crinkle building). $650/mo. will get me a shitty little one bedroom apartment in a building that's seen better days. Right afterwards I checked out the Sundance. $665/mo. will get me a much nicer, larger one bedroom apartment in a building that actually looks like the staff cares enough to keep it in good repair. If it comes down to it, I'll gladly spend the extra $15/mo.
Either the SAIT or U of C residence is starting to look like a decent option (they rent to non-students during the summer - apparently a lot of universities do this, it's a great option if you're traveling and want something better than a hostel but not as expensive as a hotel).
Had a Bento Box for lunch at 8th Street Sushi (a little hole in the wall mall sushi place). I had never checked this place out before because they opened up around the same time I moved out of downtown. It was ok - I certainly I didn't feel my $8.95 was wasted. But it was mall sushi.
Turns out that was the only leisure time I would have on my extra day off.
Next I went up to check a half-duplex in Dalhousie that was for sale. Now the ad described a place that was exactly what I've been looking for (and has simply not been for sale anywhere I wanted to live for the last six months, ugh). My realtor and I went and looked at it and discovered that all the previous owners were the weird sort of alien freaks that actually like to get up early on weekends to fix things and do general maintenance. Plus they had decent taste (no shag carpet, no orange walls, no big round mirrors on the ceilings - all actual examples from friends houses). This means the 1/2D was in fantastic condition, and already had all the modifications I would have hired someone to make.
Unfortunately he was also one of those guys who likes to real in a dozen offers and cherry pick the best one, rather than just set a firm price. Thus, the advertised price was artificially low and he had multiple competing offers.
After seeing the place (and being impressed to the point of near-ejaculation), my realtor and I retreated to discuss strategy.
Realtor: He's undervaluing the property by 30K.
Me: Well let's offer X more than he's asking.
Realtor: Ok, I'll write it up and you can sign it tomorrow morning.
This was over my self-imposed limit of price though, so I had to go tell the bank. This led to me running around downtown for the rest of the afternoon. Or it would have if i didn't get the phone call.
I was leaving Coast Mountain Sports (looking for new shoes - MEC never has any because of my freakishly wide feet. 12.5EE) when I got a call from the home where my Dad was staying temporarily.
Seems my Dad had (sometime in the last week) coughed up some food and inhaled it, now he likely had a pneumonia. Given my father's other medical problems, a pneumonia could prove deadly. They noticed his lips were turning blue from lack of oxygen, so they called an ambulance to take him to Foothill's Hospital. I rushed up to be with him.
I could have walked. I got to the hospital at 3:30 and my dad was admitted to the emergency room at 8:30. That means me and two different sets of paramedics (there was a shift change) got to daddysit while waiting. Made a few observations:
1) Female paramedics are hot!
2) This city needs at least two more hospitals the size of Foothills (one in the core and one in Midnapore).
What's up with that anyway? When I mentioned this to one of the paramedics he said that if two more hospitals the size of Foothills opened their doors tomorrow and we're running at 100 percent, they would be full by noon. He figured Calgary needed eight hospitals. I can't disagree.
Between watching The Corporation and having to see what health care in Alberta is like, I'm seriously thinking of voting New Democrat next election. Raj Against the Machine!
When we actually got into the emergency room there was more waiting plus the occasional test performed. My dad was poked and prodded by numerous nurses, doctors and interns. He got chest X-rays. End result - he had a pneumonia.
Now I don't have any complaints with the personnel (both Foothills staff and Calgary EMS) - they're doing the best they can with limited resources. It's just there aren't enough beds.
Anyhow, the doctors finally made their diagnosis around 11:30. Unfortunately, there were no beds at Foothills, so they weren't sure which hospital he was going to be admitted to. They gave me a number to call the next day when they would allegedly have it all sorted out. I cabbed home, called the siblings to let them know what was going on and then passed out around midnight.
