So there is this woman at my work.
She is your classic North Boston townie; she’s got the accent and the
outfits to prove it. Any way I’ve said all of one word to her,
albeit everyday and that word is “hello”, while passing in the
hall. However, I know a lot about her life because she is a loud
mouth and is constantly gabbing to her friends in the office or on the
phone. The woman has the funniest luck, for instance: 1) A
few weeks ago she had a squirrel in her living room that refused to
leave and 2) yesterday she was hanging out at a friend’s pool relaxing
(and boy does she need it with all the drama in her life I also hear
about all the time) and she hears a big crash. Turns out some
legal immigrant, albeit with no license, is driving down the road,
hears that Brazil (she was Brazilian) won their World Cup match, takes
both hands off the wheel and broadsides my co-worker’s car which was
parked on the street. So the cops and tow truck come, the cops
arrest the Brazilian for not having a license and the tow truck driver
tows my co-worker’s car away, which is likely totaled because the axel
go pinched between the Brazilian woman’s car and the curb causing some
deformation. So as if it could get worse for this poor women, she
spends all of today on the phone with her insurance, the cops, the
rental car place, etc. and it turns out the owner of the other car (not
the driver) has 15 days to file a insurance claim and until then my
coworker can’t get money to rent a car. She is a single mom of a
21 year old and a 9 year old diabetic so she doesn’t exactly have the
money to fund the rental car on her own. Wow this story was
funnier in my head, its sort of depressing now. I think tomorrow
I will expand my relationship with this woman beyond “hello” and see if
she needs any help!
This is not what they “volunteered” for….
Volunteer: (v)
- To perform or offer to perform a service of one’s own free will.
- To do charitable or helpful work without pay: Many retirees volunteer in community service and day care centers. (excerpt from: Answers.com)
So according to our federal administration we currently have an all
volunteer military fighting the war. To our government I say
thank you for not instilling a draft; Canada is nice and all but I’m
beginning a career here and I’m glad it doesn’t have to be interupted by
fleeing the country. To the government I also say
your military is not “volunteer”. For the following reasons 1)
when you sign up to do one thing (as a volunteer) and you are forced to
do something else against your free will you are no longer volunteering
(i.e. National Guardsmen [notice the National part indicating guarding
our Nation the US on US soil] now fighting, on multiple tours, in the
middle east; 2) when your volunteer contract is up [think ROTC] and the
institution refuses to let you leave your position you are no longer
volunteering, you are now a endentured servant! I read an article today in the
“Federal Times” newspaper listing the new rules for getting out,
apparently the end date on your original contract is no longer valid,
for some reservists your resignation is only accepted if: 1) your
position is at least 80% staffed, 2) you have already served in Iraq, 3)
your doctor or pastor writes a note for you. If you don’t fit
into one of these categories you don’t get out. For full military
personnel (not reservist) there is this other rule that makes it even
harder to get out; I don’t remember what it is termed and I have to go
to hockey so I will have to leave it at that. If you think what
the government is doing is wrong, you should support Brad Schwan
and his lawsuit against the government accusing that he was twice
illegally denied the right to resign from the reserves at the end of
his 8 year obligatory term.
Category: Rants Tuesday, June 20, 2006 at 1:01 pm