Monthly Archives: July 2007

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♪♪♪ I’ve found a strange place to dwell… …down the end of Loony Street at the Lunatic Hotel ♪♪ …

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The inside of my head can be a pretty strange place to dwell these days. Not to deny that my head space has always occupied a slightly different space-time continuum. Currently compounding my somewhat different view of reality these days is a weird and wonderful, remarkable strangeness.

I had a week or two of mental stress and upset leavened with frustration. Using tools from my mental wellness toolbox I worked my way through this period and into a more positive state of mind. The biggest annoyance was that for the final few days of this grey period for my grey matter, I had the Sleepies. Anytime I stopped moving and tried to read or write I could not stay awake – even after 12 – 16 hours of sleep.

It transpired that this following week I was at a tele-seminar for WRAP (wellness recovery action plan). The seminar reached the part of the Plan on early warning signs and when things start to go bad (downhill). As the seminar was covering these areas I was mentally reviewing those portions of my personal WRAP.

As I was doing this mental review it dawned on me that considering my WRAP’s early warning signs and when things start to go bad – I was depressed the previous week or two. At the end of that very busy day I had to sit down meditate, reflect and examine this enlightenment.

Yes, I was depressed and used the tools I have gained to work through this minor bout of depression – without consciously noticing I was depressed. Knowledge and having taken personal responsibility for my mental health had allowed me to deal with this period of depression without getting despondent, but merely annoyed at the inconvenience it was causing.

How strange is my mental landscape these days that I could pass through a period of depression that would have, just a few years ago, had me panicked and incapacitated with my major reaction having been annoyance over the interference with my writing and plans. Having invested time and effort in my mental health recovery and continuing to invest time and effort in my recovery has given a certain mental serenity – and a certain mental strangeness.

These days I am comfortable having a headspace a little weird and offbeat and gladly embrace that little bit of madness we should all strive to never lose A weird and wonderful playground for my thoughts.

Municipal

Customer service? Get real; we are talking about Abbotsford BC’s City Hall.

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Patrons of ARC (the Abbotsford Recreation Centre) have had to sacrifice and adjust their exercise schedules to accommodate the Abbotsford Whalers; displaced from Centennial Pool its its failure to open at the beginning of May due to the lack common sense at City Hall. Beginning in June patrons have also had to run the gauntlet thrown up by the start of construction for ARC’s new, superfluous basketball courts.

On July first, in a show of total distain and disregard for patrons, the mere hour granted to patrons was reduced by half. With the need to leave the pool before 10PM if you want to shower and the delay in getting the Whalers from the pool and the patrons into the pool you have enough time to warm up and cool down – leaving no time to actually exercise.

To add insult to the injury they have dealt to patrons exercise programs: on July 1, 2007 the cost to use ARC went up – two months ahead of the normal September 1st date. On the day they all but eliminate the opportunity for those who must exercise in the evenings to swim they increased the fees.

My first thought was: “Only in the oxygen starved atmosphere of Abbotsford City Hall, with its total disconnection from what goes on in the real world, would reducing services and raising fees on the same day be considered an acceptable way to conduct the City’s business”.

I should not have been surprised as this year citizens have been handed enormous tax hikes while department budgets and services are cut back. Now they hike fees and cut access for ARC. Are they adopting a new city motto: “Abbotsford BC, where we tax you for deluxe services but deliver mediocre services”?

My second thought was to wonder how many other fees and charges will go up as services decrease, will go up earlier than usual and just how many inventive new fees and charges citizens will be taxed with. After all, they just announced the need for an extra million $$$ for Plan A’s steadily increasing cost.