Elgan speaks
...and her words thunder across the land

In good faith

Friday, Jul. 20, 2007
11:20 p.m.
I hate shopping. Well, you know that already. Heaven knows I’ve said it often enough. You know what I hate more than shopping, though? Shopping with my Hubby. Yep. I absolutey really do not enjoy shopping with my husband.

We head off tomorrow afternoon for points west to attend the annual family reunion/birthday party. This year’s is special because my father-in-law, Hubby’s dad, turned 80. We have a very special present for him: a laminated printout of his family tree which Little Princess did up so nicely on Powerpoint, complete with clan tartans and crests. I know that as soon as the rest of the family sees it, they’re all going to want one too.

However, this still left the matter of gifts for Hubby’s brother and brother-in-law, whose birthdays are next week. So this morning I accompanied him to the mall (have I mentioned how much I hate going to the mall?) where we shopped. For his brother-in-law we bought a DVD of a rock group he likes very much. For his brother we bought a very nice silk shirt with a vegetation print thereupon.

It sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? It took forever. Well, it seemed to take forever. In the process, Hubby got himself a shirt and a pair of shorts, as well as a couple of CD’s at the record store. He also looked for a pair of dressy walking shoes that will double as either, but was unsuccessful.

Oh, I forgot to mention that all this happened after a trip to the dentist for another dry socket treatment. He seems to be getting better; thanks for asking.

This was followed by a stop at CAA to get international driving permits for our European adventure coming up. My photo is rather weird looking, as I am short and was looking up at the camera. You see a lot of neck. Hubby’s turned out rather nicely, though.

Then later this afternoon we attended an information meeting for union members. Yesterday the corporation put its “best and final offer” on the table and gave the negotiators an ultimatum: accept it by midnight tonight, or be locked out Monday morning. The executive made it quite clear that they will not be bullied, that we will not respond to “gun to the head” tactics. Very few staff or faculty were opposed to this. Of course there are always a few fear mongers in the bunch, but it was a very good meeting. Several professors said that they would be willing to take a cut in pay if that money would be used to supplement staff salaries. One staff person, the B&G guy who operates the leaf blower every fall, said that was quite noble, but what he would really like to see was the members of the administration taking cuts as well.

There was one rather sour note. The students, whom I have been trying to rally on Faceb00k to get involved, staged a demonstration today. The idea was to remain neutral, but to let both sides know that they wanted a fair and quick settlement so campus life could get back to normal. Apparently the first part went well. The students made a human chain connecting members of the administration to strikers on the picket line. There was a speech from the Vice Principal Academic (who used to be head of the union once and whose wife was also head of the union), and then the students trooped over to the parking lot of the church where we were meeting in the basement.

The student council president proceeded to give a speech that did not reflect anyone’s opinion but her own. She basically blamed the union for all the problems because they would not accept management’s offers, and she accused the staff and faculty of bargaining in bad faith. It was a WTF moment, for sure. Many of the students there were stunned, as this didn’t represent their thoughts at all. One girl was sobbing as they left. My daughter was so incensed she wrote a letter to the union apologizing for the president’s actions, explaining that the other students were in no way a party to her opinions.

It’s pretty sad when the person you vote to be your representative does a lousy job representing you.

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