Â§hria's Spot

I'm in. I made it back alive. It only took about three hours of digging to get to my blog but I found it.

No promises about posting regularly, though. I just thought I'd give it a little twitch to see if I still could.

As one story comes to an end another begins

Or at least another chapter in a story that affected my deeply. Cowboy boots represent victim at double-murder preliminary hearing

The pre-trial of Albert Ouimet has concluded and the courts have found there is enough evidence to try him on two counts of murder. He is accused of murdering Melody Burtis and her 8-year-old son Harley Baxter-Burtis. There is a publication ban on evidence in the trial but the Sault Star's Linda Richardson has done a beautiful job of setting the scene and capturing the mood of the courtroom.

Meanwhile, the workers at St. Marys Paper Ltd. have voted to reject the company's offer and the mill will close by my dad's birthday at the beginning of June.

Let me just reach over to my crystal ball here to see what is in store for the dummies who voted overwhelmingly to put themselves out of a job...

Okay, it's becoming clear. I see 38 weeks of daytime TV at 45% of what they will make up until they are out of work followed by a rewarding career in call-centre-hell. Oh yes, voting yourself out of a job is very smart fellas.

I look at it like a fishing trip. Here I am in my canoe with the nice fish I caught and I have about an hour left on the lake. This little fishy has signed up to support my lazy ass for seven years but this guy comes up in the HMS National Union. What I keep forgetting is that he has a whole freezer full of fish at home but none of them are live enough to bite my hook. He tells me that I have an okay fish but could do better with his help. So what do I do? Come back to fish again tomorrow - ha, no way! Not me. Being the bright little candle that I am, I throw the half-dead fishy back in the lake and drop my hook in the water. The HMS National Union motors away while the guy at the wheel laughs and tells me I'm on my own. Yup, score one for those shining examples of wisdom at St. Marys Paper.

Tony Martin and David Orazietti tell me not to give up hope. They say we should hold on a little longer because something will happen. Meanwhile, the bank is inventorying the machines and supplies at the mill and will start to sell off what ever they can as soon as they can. Customers have already found other suppliers and suppliers have found other buyers. Can we turn back? Not likely.

What I really wonder is how the CEP figures it will sell a paper mill that doesn't belong to it? Are they going to wait till the Bank of America rips out its paper machines then sell an empty 100 year old building with no customers and no suppliers? That's going to yield a thriving business with plenty of jobs to go around all right.

Let's all cheer for the workers of St. Marys Paper. They stood up for themselves and didn't take any crap from that guy who was ready to run a mill at a loss for up to seven years so they could keep working and making paper. Those guys have guts. Not a lot of brains, but they have real spirit. I wonder how many pairs of shoes they can buy for their kids with that spirit.

Right then, off to play more RYL. Nothing quite as satisfying as a good stiff drink and several rounds of mindless virtual violence!

This is it

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives. By us, I mean mine, Shaun's, Dana's, Nova's and our dependents. I also mean the 400 or so employees of St. Marys Paper Ltd. and the 300 or so people who aren't working there but whose jobs depend on the mill.

In a nutshell: St. Marys Paper has been loosing money for about two and a half years and last year its employees accepted wage and benefit concessions to save their jobs and keep the mill operating. The Province kicked in several million, created long-term programs aimed at supporting the forest industry in Northern Ontario and the owner took huge losses. Everyone has been loosing. Can we remember that? Almost everyone has been loosing.

On Tuesday the courts granted the Bank of America the right to order the mill liquidated and its debts be paid. The Bank of America will also loose a portion of its investment in the mill because of its decision.

There is one slim hope... If the employees vote today to continue its concessions until 2014 or until the company becomes profitable again then the bank, the province and the company can return to court and stop the liquidation, save the mill and continue its operation.

Enter the National Union. Its organizers say the company is posturing and isn't really $18 million or more in debt. It says that Ron Stern just wants to get his grubby little hands on the workers pensions and he has neither respect for nor appreciation of his employees' contributions to the company. They say that the workers should not have to make any more sacrifices to keep their jobs.

The one who stands to loose the least in closing St. Marys Paper in Sault Ste. Marie is the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) union, the primary national union representing St. Marys Paper workers. Unfortunately, that is the group with the most influence over the mill's future right now.

From outside looking in, it doesn't appear that CEP cares much for its members in Sault Ste. Marie. Its executive has a rare chance to save jobs and they are refusing to allow concessions because they fear it would weaken CEP's position in negotiations with other employers. They say they will be here to support their members at St. Marys Paper but they haven't proven able to do that in other places where mills where closed.

What will happen in Sault Ste. Marie when this mill closes?

Instead of deferring 20 percent of their wages for one to seven years, employees of St. Marys Paper will loose 45 percent of what they were getting when the mill closed and can plan on that level of income for a maximum of 38 weeks. After that its call centre hell or social services. The average wage in the mill right now is about $45,000 per year. They could work for a maximum of seven years at that rate and have an opportunity to recoup (its a wage deferral not a cut) the $9,000 or so a year they are investing in their jobs at the end of that time or they could close the mill and sit at home watching daytimetv for the next 38 weeks while collecting about $25,000. By the time their 38 weeks are up they should be humilliated and degraded enough to be thankful for a job in call centre hell.

And what about the rest of us?

Let's look at my family for an example. Shaun still hasn't managed to secure employment in the Sault, despite extreme and creative job-search techniques and a solid resume that includes 20-years of accident-free, skilled work in industry. His chance of getting a job here anywhere but call centre hell will be about a pubic hair from zero when another 400-600 workers are plunged into the job-search market over the next three months or so. Even the call centres will enjoy a glut of employees to choose from and work there will be harder to come by.

In case you are wondering about the 400-600 count of unemployed resulting from closing St. Marys Paper, that number reflects mill employees and a portion of the contractors, suppliers, and service providers who depend on the mill for the majority of their business.

Soon St. Marys Paper workers will have to contend with what Shaun and I have been living with for the past seven months. He is used to being the bread-winner, and a very capable one at that. Now the whole family is dependent on my $24,000 a year and Shaun must find a way to deal with not making a financial contribution to the household. Not an easy pill to swallow for any man and no less easy for a proud man who invests much of his self-esteme in his ability to provide for his family.

We are doing okay in everything other than finances but it is hard. Very hard. I don't want to see anyone else, let alone so many others face this, especially since it seems so easily avoided. If they just vote to accept the agreement before them today, St. Marys Paper workers will keep their jobs for another one to seven years and have an opportunity to improve their situation during that time. If they follow their national union's recommendation to reject the offer, then the end begins for many of us.

I will not hold my family in a place without hope. Even if it means giving up my job (I am proud to say I write for a living, even if it isn't much of a living), we will leave to find a future elsewhere. I bet we won't be the only ones, either.

We are about to witness the next wave of out-migration from Sault Ste. Marie and it won't be pretty.

I grieve.

The merits of writing for aliens from space

I was recently searching for Pagan articles and found one of my own, linked to from a variety of surprising Pagan places. The role of Timbits in Pagan ceremonies and spirituality is a story I wrote for SooToday.com about a year and a half ago and in it I was very careful to fully explain paganism as well as I could. I tried to leave nothing to assumption.

What I missed was the ultra-obvious.

The question we got most in feedback from the article was, 'What is a Timbit?'

Living in Canada and writing for Canadians, I thought we all knew what Timbits were. Wow, was I wrong. Something I assumed was as obvious and clear as water to a fish was a foreign concept to many American and European readers I never expected to read the article. It turned out that explaining water to birds was easier than expected and it's that much more funny that I didn't do it in the first place.

This lesson seems to be more universal than it appears, too.

It sort of boils down to a Benny Hill saying... never assume. It makes and Ass of you and me.

Reminder to me: don't assume people know what I am talking about and don't assume they are thinking like me. Not even the people closest to me.

Besides, asking how my loved ones feel or what they are thinking these days is a pretty sure bet for snuggles, kisses and hugs!

I'm back

Well for now and sort of. It was a difficult transition from there to here (blogger to Google). It's amazing how much trouble auto-complete can cause! But, it's all good now, though anyone who find his or her way back here will see a different username up there at the top of the page.

Things are wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

My sweetness is still my well-tooled, pool-boyish quintessential dream come true. Better yet, Shaun has grown to become a second dad to my girls in just seven months of blissful co-habitation. I never thought it was possible to spend as much time with a person as I do with my beloved and not hate him or her. Not only do I NOT hate him, I love him more each day.

Feeling loved has also given me new confidence to try things I wouldn't have tried before. It has made me feel sexy and secure, beautiful and alive.

There is a slight tinge of guilt. How many times have I said to my daughters that they are responsible for their own happiness and need not rely on a man to make them happy? A freakin' way lot of times. That's how many times. I have even told them not to place love of a man before their careers, independence and ability to provide for themselves and their dependents.

But it all comes down to this... I am WAY INFINITELY SUPER UBER TO THE MAX AND Extremely more happy with him than I was without him. And that goes for all the time. Sleeping, awake, showering, alone, with him, with others... always. It's like his love for me came and put my life up a notch or two.

And the kids came up there with me. So did the pets.

Not only did Shaun make me so much happier, he made Dana, Nova, Milkshakes, Cooper, the fish and even the plants happier. Probably the only unhappy beings in my house are the mysterious fruit flies he keeps smacking.

Oh, and he says he made himself a lot happier being here with us as well.

How?

Just by being us and being together.

We are planning our wedding for that some day after he has found a job and we have bought a house.

But all of that seems so insignificant when seen beside him here with me right now doing what ever we want.

Happy birthday my beloved!

Who are you and what have you done with my mom?

I rested a lot yesterday to recover from the hectic job of covering a municipal election, which was a lot of fun though I am very disappointed to see Debbie Amaroso gone from the Council Chambers for a while at least. I hope she finds her way back as soon as possible in what ever capacity she can.
This morning I awoke full of energy and grilled a cheese sandwich for Dana's lunch. The first one turned out perfectly and I didn't even have to feed it to the dog and make another as is often the case. I decided to attempt pancakes for breakfast, too. Again, all perfect. Not a batch burnt.

You have to understand, I am actually a very good cook but it is just my thing to burn one in three grilled cheese sandwiches and pan full of every batch of pancakes (from scratch too - no mixes needed here).

So, I didn't even have to call the kids to the table twice this morning. They sat down all brushed and dressed and ready to go about ten minutes earlier than usual. Pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches smell good in the morning.

As I flipped her second pancake onto her plate while humming a little tune from Sesame Street, Dana looked up at me suspiciously and said, "Who are you and what have you done with my mom?"

I surely cracked up and she ducked before I klooned her with the frying pan when I recovered from the laughter.

"Okay, it's you," she said as she smoothed back her hair from ducking under the table. "I feel better."

The girls got off to school in plenty of time and I had the dishes washed and fresh coffee on for Shaun when he came out of the bedroom a short time later. The man has learned it is best if he just stays out of our way on school mornings and usually pops his head out when the battles have subsided.

We had a great breakfast and nice long shower as well. It's nice to conserve water!

VBEG

Monitor exchange

Some people exchange rings to declare their never-ending love and fidelity.

How dull and impractical! Although we haven't set a date for the big data share, we have exchanged monitors so I guess that makes it official.

Shaun and I are engaged. Or something like that.

Future Shop is where it happened. How perfect is that!?

I wonder how much they'll charge us for the security cam tape?

All Saints Day

So off I went to the house of the 'Man Shack' to do a little filming. Fun it was. Much fun for all. We danced, we sang and we made stuff... and you should watch for Saultites in reality shows on Discovery Canada this spring.

Then, on the way home to my beloved, my eyes fogged over and I clipped a sign. I went to bed and bumped my head and couldn't get up for much more than a pee for about 36 hours. Nasty business this cold season!

Shaun made up for lost time by keeping me blissfully busy for a very good chunk of the weekend, including a night out to see an opera about a brain surgeon going nuts in a seedy motel after running over a raccoon. After the show we stopped in at Loplop Lounge and Gallery to take in the artwork, music and a new drink Steve invented. I suggested he call it a 'Sacrificial virgin'. What ever he calls it, the drink is VERY good! All raspberry and cherry and sparkles with a kick in the pants to boot.

Then Shaun went to sleep for about 36 hours.

Today I worked with Les and had a lot of fun but now I need to find out who Mötley Crüe is.

*Sigh*

I'd really rather go to bed for a few days with Shaun.

Or maybe see Dana's play. She's the star you know.

More to come.

Really, I promise.