ShortHand Publishing - October 2005 Memo

October 2005 Memo

How am I supposed to get any work done with everything that is going on outside? Not only are the people across street digging up their driveway, and digging a very large hole next to the house, pouring cement walls all around it and then filling it all in with dirt again, but the village men are digging up our street!

I’ve known since earlier this year that a fellow from Edmonton had bought the empty lot next to us. He said they planned to start building this fall or early next spring, so I’m guessing they are bringing the sewer onto his lot in preparation. They sure have dug a lot of dirt out of the middle of the road. The hole must be very deep as they are putting a ladder in it so the man can crawl down there – what a nice job.

Every time something exciting happens Mom haulers from upstairs to inform me. We haven’t had this much excitement since moving here! Later in the day we went for a walk and of course we had to go by the big ditch they were digging across the road. The man in the hole looked up and said hello, so I asked if he was feeling a little down. He laughed.

I then asked if the owner of the lot was going to start building soon. “Yes, he wants the foundation in before the bad whether starts.” Hmm, seems we have our answer.

In the beginning the owner called me all the time, talking nice and being very friendly. Of course that was until he got the variance he wanted, now I don’t hear from him! Hmmm. That is, until this recent work was complete. He called one afternoon to ask if all the work was finished and how it looked. How it looks? It looks like they dug up our street!

My phone has been silent ever since.

This month I took four days off and gave my office a good cleaning. This started when I hit a dead end in the new book I’m writing. That happens now and then, and I suppose can be expected after a week or two of not being able to type fast enough to get the words out. (That’s a great feeling by the way.)

I’d become so used to just piling things here there and everywhere, I started thinking I was going to need a closet in my office. Although, I did know where everything was when I wanted it. I’m not even sure why I started where I started, but I tell you my desk is sooo much tidier now. I’d forgotten just what a nice work space I have. Here’s a picture, nice huh?

I’ve promised myself I’m going to keep my desk looking like this. Everything has its own spot, and there’s a spot for everything. I’ve also promised myself I’m not going to keep everything! After all, you never know when you might need it right? Wrong! While cleaning up, I found documents from 1998 for crying out loud. I can assure you, I didn’t know I had them, so what was the use in keeping them? If I had been asked about them, I wouldn’t have had a clue where to find them, or if I even had them anymore. Yup, they were real important.

You’ll remember last month I talked about Martyn, the wonder dog. J Well I had a treat this month. I was able to have custody of Martyn a couple of times this month. I went to Leone’s and brought him here to run in our green space behind us. Mom would throw the ball for him, and then she even took it out of his mouth. Yuck! That’s not something I can see myself doing anytime soon.

It was so funny; Martyn let us know when he’d had enough. He took the ball and went into the shade of the near-by bush to rest. When I walked up to him, he moved further into the bush, like I couldn’t see him. It was so cute. I told him we could go home and he slowly got up, with the ball in his mouth, and we made our way back. Talk about one smart dog.

During a shopping trip to Kelowna we picked up a “Chuckit!®” This item was more for us than for Martyn. The Chuckit is a ball launcher and now we don’t have to pick up the ball all full of doggie slobber. The Chuckit is a long handled devise that allows one to pitch the ball without ever touching it. It’s quite the invention! Our old neighbors had one for their dogs, so we knew it would work great.

Turns out Leone also picked one up, although she is much better at launching the ball with it than I am. Mom on the other hand is a whiz with it and Martyn now gets a good run out of the deal.

On the reading front this month I’ve read, “The Maverick” by Lori Copeland and you’ll find my review here.

Before I close out this month’s memo, I’d like to insert a copy of a note I put in our local newspaper regarding an incident I experienced early in the month. It was entitled, Never assume anything, ever! So until, enjoy, and until next month, read much and be well. J

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Do not assume the driver of the car you are walking behind, (btw doing this is never a good idea,) is going to check his rearview mirror before backing up.

Do not assume the elderly (male) driver in the car parked ahead of you, is going to look in his mirror before backing up, and hitting you!

This happened to me October 3^rd at 11:10 a.m. in the V & S parking lot. (Our local grocery store) I was parallel parked in front of the store while waiting for my Mom. I noticed an older fellow in the car ahead of me. No big deal right? Well, it wasn’t until after his wife, or whoever she was, came out of the store and got into the car. Since there was a car ahead of him, he started to back up. Also, not a big deal.

He was backing up rather quickly, and I knew he was going to hit me. I honked my horn, better to be premature than to be rammed by a careless driver.

It was too late! He hit me and then immediately pulled forward – at first I thought he was going to leave. He didn’t, instead he got out of his car as I was getting out of mine. It was a good thing there was no one walking between our cars, as a lady did just after the incident.

Thankfully, the only damage done was to my license plate. I asked the elderly man if he had not seen me. He said I must have just pulled in behind him. I assured him I’d been there several minutes. When I mentioned that if he had bothered to look in his rearview mirror, he would’ve known that. He replied that I shouldn’t have been parked behind him!

Really? Would that be because he was just too lazy to check his mirrors? And people wonder why some elderly drivers get such a bad reputation.

I guess his mother never taught him any manners, because after informing me I was being petty, this selfish individual got back in his car and drove off. I’m left wondering, if he had backed into a child, would that be petty as well?

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