Deeper Thoughts From Behind the Bar . . . . .

Something in my personal life made me look up my Province's minimum wage laws again the other day.  The General Minimum wage in Ontario jumped 75 cents in June pushing it up to $11 per hour.

"How awesome is that?" I was heard saying numerous times to numerous people.  For me, it was a "power to the people" moment in my own lifetime.  I expect to see many of these to be honest.  The shift is in progress. Dominoes are already falling.  I think of a great great writer and his words and I hereby challenge them.  I say that 2014-15 is the year that will truly be described as follows:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." ~Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities".

Ponder those words for a bit.  Do you keep up with world news the way I do?  There are some very interesting correlations there don't you think?  Without a doubt, possibly the best of times, and unfortunately also quite possibly the worst of times.  But I will live to see it and if you're reading this you likely will too. Smile.  This is a good thing.  

So back to the bar and the minimum wage thing and the power and the people.  I serve alcohol.  That is my job, I am a tender of the bar.  I paid to take a course to be given the right to be this thing, this friend, this light at the end of a long-ass work day.  I always wanted to tend bar in Scotland.  Man ... those Scots know about havin' a bevvy after work.  For many it's a daily ritual.  I experienced this in 2005 when I visited Scotland.  For months after coming home I tried to find a way to go back there to work for a year.  Of course I may have had a very stark surprise if my dream had come true back then.

You see in Europe, Bar Tenders get paid more than they do here in North America.  Now I'm not sure if that's because they're serving an addictive, mind-altering substance or because the habit of Tipping isn't so common there.  I've always wondered if that has an effect on the economy.  I mean, if we here in Canada didn't Tip as much or as often as we do, would our Economy be better because we'd have more money for material things?  Who knows.  That's a great social study that needs to be done in my opinion.

Even knowing this, I wanted to go there to tend bar.  I was convinced that my personality and genuine kind nature would intrigue my custies to fill that Tip cup~ that is if I were allowed to put one out.  In 2005, Bar tenders in Scotland were making the equivalent of $12 per hour here.  That was 9 years ago.  Almost a decade.

So what is the Tipping wage here?  Well as I learned last summer upon calling our awesome employment standards hotline, they don't wanna talk tips.  They don't care about tips and they DO NOT consider tips to be a part of your wage.  So I remember this convo, and it was like Groundhog Day the movie in a telephone call.  It was a vicious circle of really good training and word-control.  It went something like this:

Me:  Just so I understand, the reason the Liquor Serving wage is less is because I make tips?

ES:  No ma'am, Tips are not part of your wage.

Me:  So, why is it that I make less?

ES:  Because you serve alcohol.

Me:  And ...if tips aren't wages then why do I make less?  (I was sooooo sure I could get her to say ‘because you get TIPS’)

ES:  That's what Liquor serving wage is ma'am.

Me:  But WHY do I make less to serve alcohol?

ES:  Because that's the new Liquor serving wage.

I think she may have been a Surrogate ... y'know ... a ro-bot. :-)

So here I am again ... asking the same question.  Why do I get paid less money to serve an addictive, mind-altering substance than I would if I served Hamburgers? Or Tobacco? Or Gasoline?  I don't need a Smart Serve Certificate to sell French fries though I'd make $1.45 more per hour.  And too many French Fries don't make you belligerent. That's right peeps ... the new Liquor Serving wage in Ontario is still under $10 though if I give you one too many drinks, you can sue me for everything I'm worth.  And then you can sue the bar I work at who will then fire me, and likely try to sue me too.

Tell me Canada, do we have a DUI problem?  According to statistics, humans in general have an issue with Alcohol.  Do you think societal respect and remuneration of those who serve alcohol has anything to do with this problem?  Honestly, when the gauntlet that measures your blood-alcohol level comes down, everything changes.  The Bar Tender who was your buddy, is now a dink and a buzz-kill, and thinks you're drunk.  Would people stop thinking we're jerks simply because we ask who is the Designated Driver if society in general knew we had a license to do what we do?  I almost attained a license to cut hair too.  Sheesh ... I'd make a lot more per hour if I had completed that apprenticeship!!  Damn you hindsight and your stupid 20/20 !!

I know that in the scope of things, minimum wage laws aren't big news right now.  And if I sat down with my Provincial MP Sophie Kiwala to talk about this, she'd think I was out-to-lunch.  But it will eventually come down to this, this tiny micro view of one group~and others like it~of integral spokes in the workforce wheel. Eventually we will see that if we want all the everybodies to take part in growing the economy, we may have to start paying them more than this meager minimum wage.  Studies have been done, and minimum wages are Engineering poverty.  Also, little loopholes where businesses are allowed to pay new hires less than minimum wage this year, for positions that paid minimum wage last year, should be ceased.  Gas is more expensive this year than last, as is food, clothing, meds, my rent alone is going up $60 this year.  Progress means that each year a certain job should make a wee bit more.  I mean, if you profit, then you should in my opinion be mandated to give raises.

Funny .... my oldest sis gets confused by me.  She has said to me, "I don't understand you Di, you seem so anti-Government, and yet you say things like this, which calls for more Government oversight."

I say, "Exactly!  I'm not anti-Government, I'm anti CORRUPT Government!  I'm anti Government who is anti the people!  There's a difference!!  Instead of oversight to ensure we've paid all our dues, attained all of our licenses, and paid all of our taxes, we need Government who wants to help the general public.  Take taxes from the corporations and Banks who are posting killer profits every single quarter!"

It's simply a very slippery slope. I fear the day when Donut and Coffee shops can start serving alcohol. I bet they're trying every thing they can right now to get Liquor Licensed. They'd save themselves $1.45 an hour per employee. Chaaaa-ching!!!

In my opinion we all need more Government oversight to ensure that we're being treated fairly at work, in life, health, in going out to dinner or a drink or a movie!  For instance, if there is no more "Tipping Wage" in Canada, and a person is a waiter in an UNLICENSED establishment, how much are they getting paid per hour??

This Enquiring mind wants to know.  But ... I don't wanna have to call the bot again :-)  So if you find out, let me know k?

De-Regulation = The Wild Wild West

A few years ago, I heard a terrifying story about a young girl who was in the local emergency room because someone sold her Marijuana that had been sprayed with WD40.  Y'know ... the stuff that stops the squeak? What do you surmise would that do to a developing brain?  She survived I'm happy to say, but the story lives on as an example of how dangerous a plant like Cannabis can be when it is left unregulated.

Let's talk for a minute about regulation.  I love it.  I believe it is good for society.  I believe that oversight by a diplomatic entity is the only way to maintain fairness and equality in this world.  But that's just me and how I was raised.  We take regulation for granted really.  Let's take Tobacco for instance, what would happen if we deregulated cigarettes in Canada.  Here are a few bonuses for you and I ... the adults:

I would no longer have to walk to the store.
I would no longer have to pay tax on them.
I would no longer have a million and one confusing choices.
I would no longer have to prove my age ... ahem ... not that that's been required in a few years.

How convenient is that?  In fact, I'd likely only have to walk to the corner to get my buddy to meet me with a bag o' darts!  But I'm an adult.  What about the kids in school?  Will buddy meet them too on their lunch break or recess?  Why sure he will!  Profit is the name of the game, he'll come running to your kid gladly!

Let's look at Alcohol.  What would happen if Canada stopped regulating Alcohol?  Petitions abound in local Merry Marts and Corner stores to get it sold in there.  Convenience is the name of that game.  Because we all need an easier way to get more Alcohol into our pie-holes ..... NOT!

Not sure about you, but I regularly walk by kids loitering outside of these stores trying to find someone to buy smokes for them.  Now they'll have something else to ask for.  How great!  Free enterprise never imagined it so free! Canada is full of incredibly clever people who can easily turn a buck.  Remember buddy sittin' around the corner from your kids' school waiting for recess?  Well he has more to offer now. One-stop-shopping, ciggies AND a shot o' courage for your kid.  Oh Teacher ... they surely don't pay you enough to deal with that!!

I am one of many who want this plant legalized and regulated.  Just look at Tobacco and Alcohol ... without regulating them, Canada would be the wild wild west!  That is not the world I want my eleven year old niece to be raised in. I am on a new mission to legalize Cannabis.

I preach, and I praise, and I go on ad nauseum about the ways it can heal our bodies.  But it goes further than this.  With regulation, the adults of Canada can be given the respect to choose.  And with regulation, the children, youth, and early teens can wait to ingest it when they turn age of majority ... the same way they would with Tobacco and Alcohol.

So Canada, when the Conservative Government talks about the Liberal party's plans to legalize, they say it will make Marijuana more accessible to your kids.  Huh ... did they forget to 'carry-the-one'?  Or how exactly does that compute?

Regulation is good for society.

Aggression: No Reason to Shoot

Sometimes I like to read the comments and online convos of people about current events.  The current event at the moment is far too similar to what it was last summer.  Another black kid got shot by a white cop.  Kid is dead.  Cop is still free.  Same story ... different time.

When the Ferguson PD made the highly unethical decision to release that video of a black kid robbing a convenience store for cigars, it changed many people's outlook.  One guy said that upon re-watching the video, if it were him and that 6 foot+ kid came on to him with that aggression he wouldn't hesitate to pull out his concealed weapon and shoot him.  For aggression.  We've officially stepped backward humanity.

In my uneducated, ill-experienced opinion, aggression is so far from being a reason to shoot someone that I felt choked.  I mean, I felt aggression last season from a customer over undercooked Spring rolls.  I remember in high school this guy was being a dink and I chose this one day to confront him.  It happened to be the day he quit smoking cigarettes.  He slammed the locker so hard the wind messed my hair.  I'll admit I have felt aggression too.  Not so much recently, but I've definitely been known to do some regretful things.

Now let's look at that can we?  Where does aggression come from?

**Tobacco cessation~ See some scary signs of Tobacco withdrawal HERE
**Coffee cessation~ See the Top Ten signs of coffee withdrawal HERE
**Medication side effects~ "Tell your Doctor if you experience changes in mood or behavior."
**Financial woes~ "The Unemployment rate declined last month."
**Relationship woes
**Low Blood Sugar~at least according to this guy HERE

...... and many many more as we're all individual.

Aggression is life sometimes.  Heck ... I've heard some foreign languages that sound aggressive.

Not really sure how to end this one ... other than ... can we try to give one another a break?

Big Pharma Infiltrates True Blood !!

The series is ending and Bill wants the true death.  He's tired.  He wants to want something other than the coppery tang of blood.  Can't say that I blame him.

The writing in this series is almost as good as the writing in the books.  I've read them all and now it's all jumbled in my brain ... no matter though.  True Blood is the closest to porn that this apartment will ever watch ... except maybe for the Game of Thrones.

At least we like it.  Not everyone does and I didn't either at first.  Eric looked stinky and anemic in the first season and Bill just wasn't my cup of canna-tea at all.  But the writing shows you the back-story.  The writing very quickly has you empathizing for these 'un-dead' beings ... that is until the fangs come out.

So ... to catch y'all up ... some group of conservative fang-haters has created a virus called Hep V that will eventually kill all of the Vamps.  Like today's Big Pharma, they also made an antidote or a cure.

As I watched this one scene Sunday night, I could not believe that I hadn't suspected it.  You see, the antidote got stolen and then found.  It seemed that Bon Temps may live on still in this melting pot of cultures. Except the white-coats needed to do a little something extra to the cure.  They needed to ensure that their pockets got lined in the meantime.

Wow.  The reason I watch that show is because it takes me out of reality.  And now it's just the same.


Think about it for a minute . . . . .

Big Pharma and their white-coats are creating pill after pill after serum after serum that will help you live a pain free life.  But they won't cure you.  This is job security for them.

Cures do not let them line their pockets ... only the pills that you need to take FOREVER will fill their accounts.

I mean, when was the last time a new Anti-biotic was created?

Ethnocentrism: A Modern-Day Illustration

Some days my mind wanders and makes the oddest of correlations.

For instance, today I'm once again choked and verklempt at the utter massacre going on in the Middle East. Truly, I take no sides.  I believe we can all get along.  Live and let live.  Agree to disagree.  Believe in what resonates with you, and give your neighbor the same respect.

Then my mind goes to the kids.  It's the kids that suffer needlessly.  They may know faith and the daily rituals that it demands, but they don't know the hate.  They don't understand the hate.

 Then my mind goes to the kid in my life ... my niece Maddy.  Here's the funny correlation.

Last school year I was helping Madserelli study her spelling and comprehension.  One of the words that she was supposed to know and spell at the age of 10 ... in grade 5 ... was ETHNOCENTRIC.

The definition was:  believing that one group of people is superior to another.

Who knew that the following summer, my niece would see this in action?  No one knew, some suspected, but as I sat there quizzing her that day on the couch, I wasn't sure if I needed to explain that word in modern-day relativity.  I hoped in that moment, that that word was one she'd never have to spell again unless in History class.

And yet ... here we are.

The truth of the matter is this:  we not only see this in action, but we also see the world allowing it to happen. Justifying the murder of innocent people because they are surrounded by extremists who know nothing but hate.  The world and the Governments therein are allowing more blanket coverage by calling all of Palestine Hamas.  Hamas is not Palestine.  Palestine is not Hamas.

In the end, I know I'm not alone when I pray that my niece and her peers aren't watching the news that I see. At 40 I can barely handle it~ the images replaying in my mind as I wait for sleep.  My thoughts going to those others' feelings as I subliminally slip my feet into their war-beaten shoes.  And then I awaken, catching myself looking out my balcony door at the pristine, the peaceful, the world that I live in, wondering what it must feel like to see it all crumble.

Crumbling lives illustrated in blood red.

All I really want to know is this:   what message are we sending to our children worldwide?

Some may say, this shows the youth that we all deserve the right to defend ourselves.  Okay perhaps. Though in 2014 modern day, we teach our kids to communicate with their words not their fists.

Here's another gut-wrenchingly humorous correlation:  even in the fantastical world of Sports where athletes defend themselves for riches and medals and bragging rights, we also see a comparable par system, where fighters fight others of similar caliber.  Competitions are organized based on size, weight, sex, strength.  We would never put a heavy-weight fighter up against a light-weight fighter.  Oh-no that would not be fair!!

Fairness now exists in organized sports, but not in the world of peace-keeping or defending borders.

I don't know about you, but I'm a little ashamed to call myself Human right now.

Peace be with you all.

Recreation with a Healthy Trade-Off

Looking at pics of oil that a buddy made, puts me back a few years.  Today is a very 'mental' day for me.  I feel off.  FU dreams!  I can't really tell you what made my dreams stink.  But I feel it.  I woke up feeling it. Your own dreams should never leave you feeling guilt, shame, or sadness.  Must get myself an Amber bead necklace!!

On 'heavy feeling' days like this, I find it so easy to step back in time in my mind.  So here we go back to about 2003.  I owned my own house, had a car, a career, four furry best friends, a laptop, a brain, and a hunger for knowledge.  And from time to time, if the circumstances were right I had some Cannabis to enjoy. Btw my kitty used to come running when I lit up.  Cats have Cannabinoid receptors too!

Oh the Alternative Therapies that I learned of on that couch with that laptop. India my kitty sitting to my left purring on the arm of the couch.  Sasha my Rotti lying to my right ... never far from me ... staring at the kitty as usual.  Laya my Cocker usually took the dog pillow to gnaw on a bone.  And Lucian my stray male cat was always staring at India wanting to rile her up.  These are good memories for me.  I look back now and I see myself in Utopia.  If I could have had my horses in that house with me I would have found a way.  But I didn't feel content or in heaven.  I felt like a criminal.

Every single night that I smoked Cannabis, I'd go to bed vowing to quit.  I'd time it right, so that my stash was empty.  You see I bought into all of the illegality of it ... even bought into the mental damage part too.  I had depression and was taking meds for that.  I remember thinking, if it's so bad for my depression then why do I feel so much better after I partake?  So confusing.  Is being hypnotized with the Prohibitionist's propoganda enough to make us ignore our own bodies and how we feel?  I mean, everything and everywhere I was told that pot was bad for my depression!!  Why did I feel so much better?  Well, I guess maybe I even bought into the ... it's the drug, it's addictive, it's making you think you feel better theory.  I think my sister may have told me that once while she was taking an 'Abnormal Psych' course.  But that was before she changed her view.  Just like Sanjay Gupta, my sis has changed her entire opinion on Cannabis and  now supports Cannabinoid therapy and legalization.

Education.  Who knew it could do so much.  My sis and I learned together.  Her never taking a puff.

So that was my life for a long time.  I partook when I could find it.  But I did it because it knocked me out and my mind didn't produce bad thoughts before sleep gripped me each night.  I didn't know or feel that it was medicine.  I used it because I liked how it made me feel.  If I was hungover, a few puffs relieved it.  If I had trouble sleeping, it knocked me out.  But the whole time I guess I had an understanding that there was a trade off to this.  That with each joint, I spent a bit of my health.

Now I know better.  The death count alone seals the deal for me.  I mean, what's the biggest side effect of any medication?  DEATH

Yet Pharma has us all so distracted with the drumming, that we don't even acknowledge anymore what a big fucking deal it is that NO ONE HAS EVER DIED FROM CANNABIS USE!!!

Ya ... I yelled that.  I keep yellin' it.  Will you join me?  Yell it !!

I yell it because ... I'm a little pissed off to be honest with you.  Nobody likes being lied to.

I see now that there's nothing any of us can do to change everyone's mind.  But there are enough of us out there who just simply love life and don't know the zero death stat.

Tell me . . . . . how much MORE will they love life after you tell them they can partake to their health without a freaking hangover !?

So much more that they'll be yellin' it too!

Peace~ Pot~ Prosperity to you!

A Home For Every Fuzz-Ball ~ Kudos to the Spay Neuter Kingston Initiative !

I've been feeling it for a while now, this urge to connect.  I speak and post about OneLove as though it needs no explanation, needs no translation.  But posting is simply not enough anymore.  I must do.

Enter THIS, the extension of a program put out by the City of Kingston and The Spay Neuter Kingston Initiative.  This is exactly what I need, to involve myself and feed this desire to be the change I need to see in the world.

Let's face it, kittens are adorable.  In the year 2014, one of the most commonly watched videos on Youtube are amateur videos of adorable kittens doing every day stuff.  I swear those little fuzz-balls are funny no matter what they do!  Problem is, these videos don't illustrate the whole story.  I mean, I'm happy for any kitty who finds a forever home.  Even more so, if they're adored to the point of video taping!  But the whole story is only partly cute.  The other part sees too many kitties without loving caregivers.  That's a shame.  We all deserve love.

If only every resident of this planet wanted or had space for a wee fuzz-ball or a dozen!  The fact is, there are too many pets and not enough homes for them.  Depending on her age, a female cat can have anywhere from two to six kittens each litter.  And as many of my well-intentioned friends can attest, the rebound hormones are sending even the youngest mother cat to the door within weeks of welping.  It's nature.  It's strong.  And it can happen in mere minutes!  I once had a Rottweiller get preggers by the neighbor's Newfoundlander within minutes and through a chain link fence.  Procreation is a determined force to be reckoned with.  Before you know it, your little kitten has 007 caliber stealth when it comes to escaping out the door.  One cat quickly turns into several that cause all kinds of adorable havoc in your life, not to mention drain your wallet.  This is why many shelters and humane societies prefer early sterilization of all pets.  It's not so much that they don't trust you to spay or neuter in the future, it's that they know the drive to proliferate is strong and the signs are not always easy to recognize.

The feral cat population is different though.  They may look cute from afar, but these are not domesticated house cats and no amount of coaxing can make them so.  Because of this, these packs are somewhat dangerous as kids have been known to try to befriend street cats before, and disease spreads quickly in these colonies. These are not and will never be adopted or adoptable.  Culling is a dirty word and it only takes a few litters to increase the members of a pack.  It's a vicious circle. The Spay Neuter Kingston Initiative has the answer for this population crisis of feral cats.

So how am I going to help?  First, I'm going to sign up HERE as a volunteer.  I think you should check it out too.  There must be almost a dozen various ways that we can help:  from donations to fostering feral kittens, from setting up traps and feeding stations, to driving to get supplies.  I'm going to spread the word about this program, and keep my eyes peeled for any feral cats in my area.  If I see one, or hear of any I'll email the location to spayneuterkingstoninitiative@gmail.com.  I'm also going to print a sign with the above info so others in my area can make a difference too.

Now back to my animal-loving friends looking for an affordable way to spay or neuter their forever friends. I know one softy who may soon need a bulk discount.  There is the Kingston Napanee Spay Neuter Clinic. You can check them out HERE and fill out a contact form for pricing and appointments.  A friend is full of praise for the Veterinarians who are the healing hands behind this clinic.  I never tire of hearing kudos about good Doctors of all kinds!

We humans are like cats in that we are pack animals.  We need to feel needed at times, and connection with others is therapy in itself.  If you're like me, and you feel this too, then I'll see you there ...

Being the change we wanna see.