Sharkboy

That is to say, when the customer is the issue…

I have to admit that I was expecting a lot worse after returning to work. I was dreading everyone’s negativity in attitudes and comments, but I was very wrong. It seems most people understand that the labour disruption was sort of out of our hands and they didn’t come in with the need to push anyone’s buttons.

Of course, it wasn’t true for everyone.

This lady came in and announced that she wanted to get court dates for a couple of tickets belonging to her boyfriend. One quick look at them informed me she was too late:

Me: I’m sorry Ma’am but it’s too late to file for these. The time allowed has already passed and…
Ma’am: Whaaaaat?
Me: … and you’ll need to wait until you receive a letter from Court Services in the next few days. Once you have this letter, you can return and apply for a reopening with a Justice of the Peace.
Ma’am: But you were on strike, I couldn’t come.
Me: I’m sorry but the courts were open for business and…
Ma’am: You were on strike!!!
Me: Yes, but these offices were open and people could still come and request court dates or make payments.
Ma’am: So you can’t have your garbage picked up, but you can get a court date?
Me: That’s correct.
Ma’am: So you can’t go to the public pool, but you can go to court.
Me: (Silently shutting down) Yep.
Ma’am: So you cannot have a heart attack, but you can pay your speeding tickets.
Me: (Silently bleeding internally) Yep.
Ma’am:So you can’t renovate your home, but you they’ll take your money for your tickets though.
Me: You know, you can come up with a dozen more examples but it won’t change the fact that the courts were open to the public during the labour disruption. It was on the City’s website and I know for a fact that there were absolutely no picketers at this location, making it ideal for anyone that wanted to take action on their tickets.
Ma’am: Certainly I’m not the only person to have this problem today?
Me: Actually? You are the first one I’ve encountered this whole week.
Ma’am: That’s not the end of this, I’m gonna call him right now and see what he says about that.
Me: Next!

Later on, after taking over a co-worker’s counter space, this guy comes and hand me one the pens we lend out, every time asking that they return them when done filling up their forms.

Dude: Here’s your pen man.
Me: (reaching for it through the opening) Thanks.
Dude: (not letting go of the pen) Are you sure you’ll give it back to her? I don’t want to get in trouble and have her thinking I didn’t return it.
Me: (not sure if he’s joking or not) I’ll make sure she knows.
Dude: (still not letting go of the pen) Are you sure?
Me: Dude, it’s a $0.02 pen. If it’s that important to you, why don’t you keep it and wait another half hour for her to return.
Dude: You’re an asshole (then lets got of the pen)
Me: Next!

For the last two days, I’ve resumed my favourite summer lunches by taking my book and reading by the reflecting pool at City Hall.

Yesterday, I was greeted to this:

No water in the pool, just some big machine washing the whole thing down… Still, the sun was out, my Earl Grey tea was delish and my book was entertaining. Good lunch.

Today it was back to normal:

Aaaahh. Serenity now.

Until I saw this:

It didn’t take me long to see what was responsible for it:

A little foot bath? Sure, but take your mighty dirty socks off…

That dude was weird, he sat there for a bit, picking up a little bit of water in the cup of his hands, then walking all the way to the grass section, digging a little hole in the dirt, putting the water in and lying down to watch it…

After a few trips of the sorts, a security guard came by to tell him that he couldn’t put his feet in the water. And as the guy was about to ask a question, the guard continued: “And no, you can’t carry water out of the pool”. The poor guy seemed all defeated.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!
(breathe in)
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!

That screeched you heard was me at HMV yesterday afternoon.

That thump-thump-thump running sound was also me in the middle of the busy store, running to DR with the dvd box set of Charlie’s Angels’ Season Four in my hand like a newly found treasure. DR had no choice but to buy it for me… no choice. (thanks)

When most people think of Charlie’s Angels, they think of Farrah. But not me, I think of Shelley Hack. She was the my ultimate favourite, even if she only lasted one season… 26 episodes… Don’t get me wrong, Farrah will always be the reason why Charlie’s Angels was made famous, but Shelley was my girl.

Shelley played Tiffany Welles, and replaced Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson) after she made her exit at the end of season 3. Tiffany was most glamorous and elegant and charming and… TALL! She was like a foot above the other and whenever she was on screen amongst the Angels, she always looked the best, with a couple of exceptions when Farrah did one of her many guest appearances that year.

When the ratings kept going down that season, a lot of people blamed it on Shelley Hack instead of the show’s unbelievably incredulous stories, or maybe it was just that the show had run it’s course. That was made obvious when they replaced Shelley in the 5th and last season and the show tanked even more with the heavily made-up Tanya Roberts as Julie Rogers. She was just a tart with a manly voice and nowhere close to what Shelley could deliver.

One of my ultimate favourite episode of all Charlie’s Angels is the one where Kelly and Tiffany are hired as high priced hooker and infiltrate a pimp’s den to find evidence that he’s the reason a nice young girl was beaten to a inch her life… If you need more evidence that they were high priced prostitutes, take a look at the picture above once more, these were the clothes they wore in that episode… Oh yeah, satin pants and bustiers and matching high heels and painted faces. You don’t get more high priced whore than that!

The episodes featuring Tiffany were the best… She was truly the kookiest. She was a truck driver one episode, she played the cello in another, she was a nun, she was the president of her sorority, she was a ghost hunter, she was a dancer in a couple of episodes too. All very unforgettable characters, but none as precious as when she played herself on Angel Hunt in which the Angels are tricked into coming to “save” Charlie on an island, only to find out it was a ruse by a sadistic man wanting revenge on Charlie by making hunting trophies out of his angels. In one scene, Tiffany is face to face with a man-eating tiger and she manages to charm it to docility. In that same episode, Kris fights 2 alligators, so obviously it’s a must see for all Charlie’s Angels fans of the world. These Angels kick ass.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I must go and spend some time with my Angels… Can you believe the first episode of that season was a crossover show with The Love Boat? That’s a 2 for 1 deal for all 70′s TV lovers if I’ve ever seen one:

Once upon a time, there were three little girls on the Love Boat, soon we’ll be making another run to the police academy and they were each assigned hazardous duties on the Love Boat, promises something for everyone. Set a course for adventure and take them away from all that and now they work for me… My name is Love Boat Charlie.

If you like the Angels, go visit this amazing website full of great pictures and trivia. It’s one of my favourite.

I just found this strip of pictures we took a couple of months back when at Epcot. Of course my favourite is the 4th one.

Good lord I still laugh whenever I see these eyes just popping out.

It’s obvious by the smell in this city that garbage is being moved. Moved out of bins, moved out of temporary dump sites, moved out of any space Torontonians could find to stash some bags. It’s all being moved because finally last night, a final vote, this time by the City Council, was taken to put a definite stop to the Inside and Outside City workers’ strike.

I’m tired of apologizing to everyone about the strike, I’m glad we’re done with this mess. (For the next 3 years anyway.)

Although I’ve said before that no one is a winner during and after a strike, I think I’ve definitely won. I won unforgettable experience on how to deal with life during a strike, as well as how to conduct myself accordingly. I won a shit load of readership on this blog (which I hope some will stick around for some time to come, I still have lots to bitch about). I won the friendship of quite a few people that work in the many different departments of the City of Toronto. I won the newly found confidence that a LOT of people care about me.

During the strike, I’ve witness some doozies which I didn’t necessarily shared at the time, but I kept a little list of the Best Moments and here they are:

BEST ONE LINER
After seeing this young man with2 black eyes leaving a court room at Old City Hall, a guy walking the circle of strike with me said: “Well, this guy was told twice!”

BEST CORNER IN NEED OF CLEANUP – Spadina and Baldwin

BEST MORALE BOOSTER
Every members of our immediate family offering help and money if we were in need. Most of them offering 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 times. Thank you very much Mom and Mom and Dad and Sis and Bros.

BEST MORALE BOOSTER BY NON-FAMILY MEMBERS
Sean and Josh, after reading about my down-in-the-dumps day, invited us to see the funniest horror-wannabe movie: Jaws 3D at the Fox and insisting on buying our tickets. It brought my spirits up and I laughed like an idiot during the movie. Good times.

BEST LESSON
Do not EVER block someone’s entrance or exit to any offices during a strike. You never know who’s wearing a gun.

BEST TIME WASTER
Afternoon naps. After biking to locations, then walking in circle for 4 hours and then biking home again, I really craved afternoon naps.

BEST ADVICE
Don not go on a Walt Disney World vacation 3 weeks prior to the possible start of a strike. You’ll be fucking broke.

BEST FASHION TREND TO SEND ME IN A TIZZY

I seriously cringe every time women are showing bra straps. Cringe I tell you.

BEST RECIPE TRIED FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THE STRIKE
Delicious and easy to make Chicken Enchiladas… Yuuuuuummé!

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup salsa
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast meat
1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained
6 (6 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese and salsa. Cook, stirring until melted and well blended. Stir in chicken and pinto beans. Fill tortillas with the mixture, roll and place into the prepared baking dish. Spread cheese over the top. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with your favorite toppings such as lettuce and tomatoes, or sour cream.

Thanks to www.allrecipes.com

BEST SCAB
That union-member lady working at the Toronto Health building who bought us coffees one morning because we had never given her any trouble. Sucker!

BEST READ TO TAKE YOUR MIND OF STRIKES
THE FAMILY MAN by Elinor Lipman
Yeah, it’s pretty much chick-lit, but the gay father / lost daughter / nosy ex-wife / Hollywood world – storyline is written with tons of good humour.

BEST BICYCLE SHOP
The Cycle Solution on Parliament St. For $5, I was able to get a new tube and replace it at the shop on a bicycle rack while the attendant showed me how to dismantle the disc breaks on my back wheel, which would have easily meant a bicycle thrown out the window if I would’ve done this at home by myself.

BEST HUSBAND
DR. For never making me feel like a failure during the 39 long days this mess lasted.