DO YOU TRUST GPS?

I DO trust GPS or Google Maps, when I am in big cities, or densely populated areas.  Rural NB?  NO WAY, José.

The little doctor from Québec who got lost in the back woods of northern NB for three days, in winter, driving from Sherbrooke, to Bathurst, is a case in point.  Three snowmobilers found her.  I K*N*E*W  those damn machines were good for something other than noise and air pollution.  What did she use to guide her? Her car's GPS system.   GPS sends you down the nearest road, if you get off track. That road, in NB, more often than NOT, can be a DIRT road. Do you need to be on a dirt road?  I think not.  You can read about that medical student's adventure, below.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/gps-stranded-driver-stuck-3-days-in-snow-1.993878

We have all been lost at some point, but with a GPS, you can sometimes get REALLY lost.  I wanted to go from Riverview, to Hillsborough, about eight years ago. Where did my GPS take me?  Into the woods as well, where I ended up on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, and a total dead end!

I even found a Garmin GPS in the woods, when I was looking for my golf ball. I cleaned it up and it looked brand new, but of course it didn't work.  I guess THAT is why someone chucked it in the woods in TOTAL frustration, in the first place.

I won't even mention about when I left St.Martin's, and ended up in Sussex, when I should have been in Rothesay!

So, recently, when I wanted to leave the bright lights of our major city in NB, Moncton, SANS GPS, I headed out on what I thought was the correct highway, to take the first exit going north.  Well, that WAS NOT it.  I ended up out in the middle of nowhere, where all I could see were rural roads branching off in all directions, along with several long on or off ramps.  Total confusion, and no road signs that made any sense to me.

I knew I was lost.  I also knew I should pay attention to those numbers they assign to roads but I never do.  I consulted Google maps on my phone.  Way too many directions, none of which made sense to me.  Then I saw a vehicle approaching with what looked like a sympathetic woman driver, so I rolled down my window and flagged her down, so to speak.

I must admit, her funky hairdo (think a fluorescent Mohawk!) was a big distraction, but I strove to listen carefully as she very patiently explained that it would be easier for me to follow these back roads out to Route 126, then to send me back to my original departure point.  I followed her instructions precisely, and arrived at route 126, where I turned right. W.e.l.l.... I knew when I saw a familiar landmark, (a school), that I should have turned left, as I was heading right back to Moncton.  I turned Jiminy on a dime, and we were finally on our way home.

My little adventure set me back twenty minutes.  Peanuts, compared to how much more time I could have wasted, had I used the GPS on my phone, possibly ending up on some D=E=A=D=E=N=D,

DIRT ROAD, AGAIN!

PS:  To myself - change the settings on my phone to eliminate dirt roads? 

Happiness is...

getting home from work on a Friday night, and  managing to get into your snowy driveway FIVE minutes ahead of the town plow, which passes and completely blocks your driveway!

having a new 550 piece puzzle, a good book, Thuyla gin, Netflix and your best companion for company, on a snowy, stormy Friday night.

having a very dear, old friend with whom you can share a good laugh.  I had taken her winter coat and mine, intending to hang them up in a public cloakroom, when it dawned on me that my V-E-R-Y expensive coat could easily be removed by anyone going by.  This same, dear friend was the one who had coaxed me into buying THAT coat four years ago.  What did I do? I put my coat on the hanger first, and then hung her coat on TOP of mine.  When I relayed what I had done, albeit a little sheepishly, she laughed and said, "Your coat cost you over $450.00?  Mine was $10.00!  Go for it!"

knowing that another dear, good friend, road warrior companion and partner in adventures and crime, sailed through two surgeries and God only knows how many invasive procedures during a month long PLUS stay in hospital, all the while admitting she is a" tough old bird!", laughing and keeping a totally positive attitude.

celebrating your mother's eighty-fourth birthday with her, and two of your four siblings.  Que je suis donc chanceuse, de pouvoir réjouir d'une maman toujours resplendissante, et en pleine forme!

hugging your sis-in-law at work, slipping her a Lindt chocolate for Valentine's day, and telling her you love her!

knowing a good friend will drop anything and everything, to come to you in your hour of need, NO MATTER how big or small that need actually is.

getting to know other single women like yourself, with whom to socialize and have fun. It isn't always easy being a "single-ette" in a "couples" world.

seeing Canadian athletes do their VERY best to represent our WONDERFUL country, regardless of whether they earn a medal or NOT.

BLISS?

your investment adviser telling you, YES, you CAN afford to retire at the end of the year!

MORE BLISS?

a little forward thinking, some surfing on the net, a sweet seat sale with AC Rouge; all of which lets me spend a month of winter with family and friends,  in my second favourite country in the world.  Costa Rica, here I come!

PURE BLISS?

getting a text on Valentine's Day that shows the ultra sound of your first unborn grandchild, five months in utero, and clearly seeing a familiar upturned nose!

I need to be COMMITTED....

 but not to some kind of asylum.  I am talking about commitment versus resolution.  I decided NOT to make any "RESOLUTIONS" per say, in this New Year.  Rather, I decided to commit to being kinder, to engage, to apply, to improve, and to stand out, in whatever I chose.  We live in a crazy, upside world these days. Everything can appear dark, uncertain and foreboding.  Why not shed a little light here and there, by trying to be kind?  To anybody!

Doing a kind gesture à la #beccatoldmeto, EVERY DAY, is relatively easy, especially on a teaching day. I simply offer to do another teacher's supervision, and voilà, instant, HUGE gratitude on their part, and satisfaction on mine.  Love it! 💓

Non working days are a little harder.  However, one day last week, a storm day turned out to be a panoply of simple random acts of kindness, just like that!

It started when I went out to do a few errands.  While browsing at the Salvation Army store, I ended up chatting with the cashier.  Seeing she had an empty Tim Horton's cup nearby, I inquired as to whether she drank their coffee. When she said yes, I handed her a coupon I had received for a free coffee.  She was very happy!  I don't use drive thru windows often, so paying for the coffee of the person behind me, at the drive thru queue, just wouldn't happen. THIS was my version of that common pay-it-forward gesture.

I had dropped off a book at the library, and was returning to my car, slogging my way across and over banks onto a street, full of slushy, icy snow when I noticed a young CCNB student standing up by his very ICED up vehicle, with a look of frustration on his face. He looked frozen too, as he wasn't dressed for winter.  I scooted back across the street. He couldn't get into his car.  The key turned in the lock but the door was completely iced up. He could not get it to budge an inch.  After asking a few questions I established that A) his key-less remote did not work, (no battery!)  B) he had no scraper or any object with which to help clear the ice, and C) all the other doors were locked and had no keyhole). He had one key.  There was therefore no question of trying to get one of the other doors open, and then having him crawl over, into, or across the front seat.  I thought about his dilemma for a minute.   Had it been Jiminy, I would have given the door frame above the keyhole, a good, HARD hit with the heel of my boot.  Since I didn't think he would appreciate my doing that to HIS car, I did the next best thing. Since I had already tried banging the door frame a few times with my upper arm and shoulder, without success, I turned around and did the NEXT BEST THING. I butted the door AS HARD AS I COULD, with my b-a-c-k-s-i-d-e.  You should have seen the look of incredulity and surprise on his face, when he tried the handle again, and the door OPENED! Too funny! Off I went, happy to have helped.  Don't we CANADIANS know all the tricks, when it comes to snow and ice?

I had just turned the corner from the library, now on my way home, when I noticed an elderly gentleman slugging his way through some slushy, icy and generally horrific walking conditions on Douglas Avenue.  He was carrying two, large shopping bags, and they looked heavy. I turned around, rolled down the window, and offered him a ride home.  He accepted, after making sure he told me that he didn't live close by.  I didn't care how far.  The poor man looked e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d. It turns out, he had already walked FIVE kilometers, some of it up a steep hill, to do some grocery shopping and had walked back THREE of those six when I picked him up. Poor soul! I was more than happy to drive him the rest of the way home.   The last half of a kilometre would have been up another hill. I don't know that he would have made it.

So my little outing resulted in a huge dose of dopamine for me and hopefully a tiny dose for the others. Plus, I was now good for three days! :)  

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW...

HERE ARE UPDATES on some of my postings/MISE À JOUR

My aunt sold her house.  Youpi!  How WONDERFUL for her!!!  As to whether Saint Joseph can take the credit for that?  I will leave that up to you to decide.

Below is the piece of playground equipment on which that poor little kindergartner cut his head open, right between the eyes.  I still shudder thinking of the incident.  That day is one that I will n-e-v-e-r forget.  After I washed the blood off my hands, I proceeded to teach thirty-one five year old children, pretty much by myself.  Three students were absent, in what is a team teaching classroom.  Both teachers were out for training, so who was my team teaching supply colleague?  Bless his heart... a twenty-six year old, pony-tailed, tattooed, and ear pierced recent BA graduate, without a single, solitary day of TEACHER training under his belt.  (Doubt he was wearing one, either!)  Have I already mentioned that there is a supply teacher shortage?  He did his best, but I had to take the lead.  He couldn't take any initiative, because he was clueless, poor man.  Fortunately for me, the children  were ALL adorable, little angels and we had a MARVELOUS day together.  At the end of the day, a little cutie comes up to me, holding a lunchbox, and asks me if she can take it home to Tristan. Tristan is the little one who had had the accident in the school yard.  I asked her, "Why, sweetie?  Do you live near him?"  Her reply?  "Yes, he's my brother."  That is how I found out he was her twin!!! N+O+W who was clueless??

I finished that five hundred piece puzzle, which had been one of my January challenges. Doing the puzzle was a snap!    Figuring out HOW to get the puzzle OUT of the box, (one of those really tight, slide-out jobies), only took me three days to figure out.  T-H-A-T was the REAL challenge.

In closing, this update wouldn't be complete, if it didn't mention "poop" in some way, shape or form.  I inadvertently have been blogging on that subject, W-A-Y TOO much.  I promise this is my last "SHI*?!" story.  Vimy and I went out for a long walk late one night recently.  I usually stick to my immediate neighbourhood, but this time, I went further, closer to downtown.  It was after a storm and there were few people about. Remember my blog about feeling safe? Well, for a few seconds, I was a little apprehensive.  At one point I turned around, and saw that there was a tall, slim, hooded person walking behind me.  I slowed down, and stopped, letting Vimy do usual "pisse-minute" gig, all the while thinking, "What do I have as a weapon, if this person approaches me?"  All I had was Vimy's leash, and ANOTHER BIG BAG of dogie do!!  I figured if worse came to worse, I could swing it at him, trying to knock it about his head or something.  Ridiculous eh?  Thankfully, the dark stranger passed us by. Just like me, he was going home.

Did you know that...

brussel sprouts EXPLODE almost immediately in your microwave, when you try to warm them up?

you should always use a shopping cart in a store?  Don't load up your arms with bottles of Palmolive dish detergent.  Those caps aren't always on tight, and they leak.  All over!  All over your arm, your coat, and your hands when you try to clean up the mess. They don't have anything at the cash to help you to get those green gobs off your coat either.  You can even end up TASTING the soap, if you aren't careful and put your hands to your face.

you have to separate those green, perforated dogie do bags BEFORE you go out for a walk?   On a bitterly cold day, you need BOTH hands to pull on the perforation. Once separated, you need BOTH hands to open one end, IF you can see which end is the one you need to open.  Did I mention you have to take your gloves or mitts off? It is impossible to open otherwise. So by now BOTH your hands are frozen. You put your hand in the bag, to pick up the deposit, and realize the bag is TOO small.  If you succeed in picking up your dog's bomb, there is no room to tie the ends together, so you are walking around with an open poop bag.  Get my drift here?  DON'T buy these bags!

this little fancy, two pronged brush is meant to clean your dental appliance, and is NOT meant to clean the grime around your faucets?

You have a question? They have THE answer!

Even if you don't have a question, wee ones always have something to say.

Here a few memorable exchanges I have had in the last few months.

KINDERGARTEN:  Boys and girls, today you are going to music and phys.ed class.
                                  Aaden - "Are you sure?"

Upon reiterating my name, which they already knew, one little says, "I almost called you Mrs. Zuchini!"  Not to be outdone, another one pipes up, "I almost called you Mrs. Cucumber!

Do you remember me from the last time I was here?
Sadie - The last time you were here, it was awesome!   (Now if THAT doesn't make your day, NOTHING does!)

Audrey- Do you know what I want you to get me for Christmas?
Me - (Trying to keep the laughter out of my voice) No, tell me.
Audrey - An LOL doll.

GRADE ONE:

I wanted them to count some items in French, in a Grade 2 English class.  One little fella says, "This ISN'T a French Immersion class."

Chloe, reading her story on planets, "There was a solar cliff..."

I was relieving the music teacher, who asked the Grade One class coming in:
"And how are you going to treat Madame today?"
They ALL replied in perfect unison, "BETTER than our mothers!"

When I told one sweetie that he rushed to do his work, he replied, "No, I was being quick!"

Issac: There are NO snacks?  GOOD GRIEF!

I was speaking French to another teacher. Piper asks, "Are we in French class?"

"I live in Piksuite Falls."  I racked my brains for a minute, wondering where that place was, when I realized he meant "Nepisiguit Falls".

GRADE 5 - LAST BUT NOT LEAST

I was helping Grade 5 French Immersion students do some research on Canadian provinces.  I typed in "symboles Saskatchewan", and "symboles sataniques" is what came up on the screen. The child, on seeing all the Satanic symbols, innocently says, "Are these BIRDS?"

LITTLE THINGS mean everything!

We often bemoan the fact that "good service is a thing of the past."  Do you agree?  I don't.  Certainly NOT based on what I took note of recently, in my dealings with service I received in my fair city and its surroundings.

I was looking for NB, Canada and pins from my city, last fall, to take with me on my travels.  Canada and my city were fairly easy to obtain, but NB pins were rare indeed. When I visited my MLA's constituency office, I ended up having my MLA himself  rummaging around his office, trying to find me some.  How THAT came about would be a whole other blog in itself.  Suffice to say, he even went out to his car, and dug around in there. I swear!!!  He found me one, which I, of course, kept!  It is not every day that you have your Provincial Minister of Education working EXCLUSIVELY on your behalf!!  I may even frame that pin. :) NOW THAT IS GREAT SERVICE!

I waltzed into my local PHARMA SAVE, and was given my annual flu shot right then and there.  I didn't even want one! NO, JUST KIDDING!! I didn't need an appointment.  I was in and out of there in five minutes flat, pricked and paid for!   Isn't that great service?

I also sailed into my local bank, WITHOUT an APPOINTMENT, again and I was able to have some papers signed, sealed and delivered, so to speak, in a matter of five minutes.  I could barely believe it, because I would not be the first to say that banks give great service. However, I received
GREAT SERVICE that day.

At a reflexology appointment, I was offered a wonderful cup of tea, and allowed to bring Vimy IN with me, where he was more than warmly welcomed.  MORE great service!

At my local Mazda dealership, they took Jiminy Cricket  r-i-g-h-t back in, and fixed something else that I hadn't mentioned was an issue, until AFTER they told me my car's servicing was done.  I know... "Nounoune!"  Plus, the service person is a hiker, like me, and spent a good 15 minutes showing me how to access a certain part of the Mi'gMaq Trail.  Above and beyond great service!

At my physiotherapist's office, they offer free bottled water, coffee and tea!  All part of MORE GREAT SERVICE!

Of course, in light of my recent blogs, this blog would NOT be complete, if it weren't a little shitty. (Sorry!)  I recently had a very old friend be diagnosed with colon cancer.   His cancer was detected with what I call the "poop" test.  His "poop" test came back positive, so he subsequently had a colonoscopy, and from there, with a confirmed diagnosis of cancer, was treated.  He is now well and recovered. Well, I wanted to avoid a colonoscopy at ALL COSTS, so I too opted for the said "poop" test.  Seven months later, my doctor cannot find the test results.  Actually, my doctor is on maternity leave, and HER sub cannot find them.  So, we decide that I will go for a-n-o-t-h-e-r test. While this test is DEFINITELY less invasive and unpleasant than a colonoscopy, it is still a major PITA!  I carry the lab authorization in my purse for a month, as I cannot go during regular office hours.  I finally get to the lab on an off day.  The lab technician there is such a sweetie, always smiling and just so darn PLEASANT.  I decide to mention how I had already taken this test, but the doctor couldn't find the results. W-E-L-L, she found them in the system, after searching for a few minutes.  However, she was NOT authorized to give me the results.  I was willing to go down on bent knee, but she still said "no" so sweetly.  I then suggested she just tell me whether I needed this SECOND test after all.  She still shook her head "no."   WHAT she did next was to give me GREAT SERVICE!  Off she went, into the bowels (Sorry, but I just had to use that word!) of the medical clinic, and emerged ten minutes later with my doctor in tow. She proceeded to show him how to access the results.  HE told me the results were negative.  Since I couldn't jump across the counter to hug her, I grabbed her hands and shook them,by way of thanks, and blew my doctor a kiss. OUT OF THERE!  Was I a happy camper?  No shit!   (Sorry!)   THAT technician could have just ignored me, and given me the paraphernalia for the poop test, but she went ABOVE and beyond, by giving GREAT SERVICE!

Service is everything.  Maybe some cynics would say that these types of businesses are simply pandering to we older folks, but I prefer to think that it is JUST good business practice, period! All customers, patients, clients... should be valued and appreciated.  We may forget what people say to us, but we tend to remember HOW they made us feel.

PS:  There is an important message in this story.  If you are are over fifty years of age, a colonoscopy is recommended.  Go for a "poop" test first.  (Otherwise known as the "FOBT" test - fecal occult blood test.) It may save your life!!