~Eilinel

Online petition to make Remembrance Day a national holiday : [link]

Yesterday was Remembrance Day. This usually makes me sad having grown up on a military base with a father in the service. It's only gotten worse since the war in Afghanistan. Did you know my parents both knew one of the men who were killed by friendly fire at the very beginning of the operation over there? They'd been friends with his brother when they were in basic (yes, my mother was in basic, but she ended up being kicked out.. {side thought} I wonder if how desperate the Canadian military is if she'd still have been kicked out.. {end side though}).
We also found about 2 years ago now a picture of one of Tim's friends from basic, over in Kabul, taken for the CBC... and one of the men seriously injured in one of the jeep explosions in the summer he also knew from basic.. one of the ones with the serious head injuries...

[link]
(Wiley. Tim's friend. {can't remember rank, sorry... and generally in combat situations they don't make it easy to see})

Anyhow...

Tim wanted to go to the Ceremonies at Queen's Park yesterday because they were unveiling a new wall (Queen's Park is Ontario's parliament) so since I was staying at Lin's he headed off and got there around 10:30. I, being me, was late. I was still on the subway when it hit 11 am.
The Toronto Transit Commission vehicles stop for two minutes to honor the sacrifices of our soldiers. Two minutes. Nothing big, but a nice gesture. Well the man in front of men was pissed off by this. I'm not sure if it's because he's an Asian immigrant so he believes that these weren't his soldiers so who cares... or if it's just because he's an ass... but he spent the entire two minutes tapping his foot, sighing, and looking at his watch. WTF? You are inconvenienced for two minutes of your life, one day out of the year... you can't show a little respect? What if the person sitting across from him has lost a husband or something to the war? I desperately wanted to yell at him, but that would have ruined the moment of silence..

It seems to me that a lot of people have that mentality here. I live in the area of Toronto with the most immigrants. Largely middle eastern immigrants.... and you know, the only people I ever saw wearing a poppy were white business people. No Indian people, no black people, no Asians.... I understand your family may not have died fighting with us.. it's possible we fought/fight against you... But this isn't just for Canadian Soldiers. It's for all soldiers who have given life and limb in a battle to protect and free. My father lost a friend in Kosovo. Who is going to tell me we shouldn't honor that man's memory? Especially the children of these immigrants who are born here, and live here free... you come to Canada to have a better life, or give your children more chances... but you can't show a little respect for the men and women who make this country a better place?

I'm sorry... but what the fuck is wrong with you?!

On a lighter note...

I got a -very- belated birthday gift that I finally picked up from the post office on Tuesday. Took me 1.5 hours to get from work to home while doing this because it was raining, cold, and the transit system in this city sucks major monkey butt.. I was so cold and cranky when I got home.. but.. then I opened the gift (wrapped in -obviously- Scandinavian paper) and there was Nemi... I still can't read Norwegian, but.. so what? Eei! Thank you Leif!!

On Wednesday I had my first pole dancing class since June... and dear god. I'm so out of shape.. and Jackie (the teacher) is a drill sergeant. I love her... I then went paintballing on Thursday... oh the pain. I got out of it pretty easy, the boys bled.. But come Friday I could barely move I was so sore.. so what did I do? Go to Chapters and buy $300 worth of books (gifts) and had to carry them back to Lin's.. and then go out dancing until 1:30 in the morning... so yesterday.. I wanted to die.. and then carried my books to Queen's Park and stood in the rain.

Oh.. and I had an interview for a full-time job at work.. Yay. Hopefully I get it..