I hate Calgary Transit

When I woke up this morning I was in a great mood, had a nice shower and was thinking just how great it is to have a day off to sit and do nothing if I pleased, only to turn on the news to find out that Calgary Transit is now on work to rule. Now I know it only means that they will not be working any overtime, and I also means that if you see the bus and start running for it that you are SOL because they are not going to wait/stop for you since you are not in the bus zone, but that is not what concerns me. The memory that keeps haunting me was what happened last time Calgary Transit went into work to rule mode.
Its funny how some people forget but the last time this happened in 2001 the union was not able to come to an agreement and then BAM Calgary Transit was one strike. Now I do not remember exactly how long the strike lasted for ( I think it was something like 10 days), but I do remember it being pure hell. At the time I was very lucky that I had everything that I needed within walking distance and that for the most part I was able to get rides if I needed them, which was nice since at the time I was a starving student that was not able to pay for taxi rides every time I needed to go some place. So if I found that pure hell then what can I call it if they go on strike again since I depend more on transit now then I did then?
Its very true that I maybe worrying about something that may never happen however, with that being said I cannot get the thought of how screwed I would be if they did strike out of my head. You see it takes me 2 hours to get to work and 2 hours to get home everyday on transit and if they go on strike then I will have to resort to taking a taxi. Now aside from the fact that I would get to work sooner taking a taxi there isn't anything else that I like about the idea, for if I have to take a taxi it is going to cost me approx $100/day just to get to work and back! I am no longer a starving student but that doesn't mean I can afford it. So as you can see I am a little freaked and praying that they come to a suitable agreement very soon.
The whole work to rule thing just makes not like Calgary Transit even more then I already do. It really bothered me when I found out the a "friend" of my mothers who works as a driver for Calgary Transit gets paid $45/hr to drive a bus around for 10 hrs a day. It bothered me even more when I was told that they can sit in the garage for up to 10 hours waiting for sick calls and still get paid $45/hr for just sitting there. Now I appreciate that the men and women are there to provide a service (like I said I would be screwed without them) but I think that they get paid way to much for how little they really do. So in an attempt to try and understand what they real issues were I thought I would here what the "friend" had to say about all this.
According to this "friend" the issues are as follows: money, they all want raises (well who doesn't) hours, they feel they work to much overtime and are short staffed (again who isn't short staffed in Calgary right now) and safety, they get assaulted once in a blue moon. Hearing these issues made me a little angry only because as a nurse I have to deal with the same crap he does and get paid less to do it, when that was mentioned the response that I got was that I don't understand. I think I understand more then most people would and it still pisses me off. Now I am not looking for sympathy here but I work my ass off every single day helping sick people and according to Jeff (my fiance) saving a life every once in awhile for a little more then half of what this "friend" makes driving bus. Where I work we are constantly short staffed which means we have to work our butts off even more (makes the day go faster though). As for assault I get yelled at every day and have been assaulted more then once whether it be kicked, punched, spit at, bitten etc and this "friend" has not even been assaulted once in his 20 some years working for transit, but I don't understand pft!.
Now getting back to the work to rule thing......as a transit customer I would not have a problem paying more if I felt that the money that I was paying was going to provide better service, but far it has not or doesn't seem to be. I am sure I am not the only one that hates hearing that there is a mechanical failure so there is going to be a 10 min delay, or hates waiting for a bus that never shows up, or hates sitting on dirty/filthy trains and buses.
They way I see it is yes it is an important service but if they want more money and public support they better be willing to start giving better customer service. If you don't like your job go out and get a new one, no one is holding a gun to your head and making you stay but of you do stay please, please, please don't take your unhappiness with your job out on the public we are the ones that help pay your wages just so you know.

Why can't Bush admit to defeat?

As the U.S. Government marks the four year anniversary since the start of the Iraq war it really makes you wonder how many more people have to die before Bush will get it through his thick skull that the war is a failure. Since March 19, 2003 approx 3021 U.S. military men and women and ten of thousands of Iraq civilians have died, yet Bush continues to ask the American people for more time.
According to the L.A. times more then 59% of the American people want the U.S. out of Iraq and they want it now. Yet Bush continues to make statements such as "It can be tempting to look at the challenges in Iraq and conclude our best option is to pack up and go home, that may be satisfying in the short run, but I believe the consequences for America's security would be devastating." He then goes on to try and use the fear tactic stating that if American troops where to pull out now and leave Iraq in the state that it is in now, that it would create a new breeding ground for terrorists that once felt that they had a save haven in Afghanistan to move into Iraq. He then goes on to say "the same terrorists that were responsible for the attacks of 9/11". Well when I read this a few things just happened to come to mind.
For one thing if the Bush administration would have focused their time and energy going after those responsible for 9/11 following the attacks, then maybe just maybe the government wouldn't have to spend billions of dollars in trying to prevent the "terrorists" from moving into Iraq. Second why the hell did the U.S. invade Iraq in the first place? The Bush administration still has not given anyone a straight answer when it comes to that question. Thirdly I honestly do not think that the U.S. leaving Iraq now or another 4 years from now is going to make any difference in the way the "terrorists" feel about the American government. If anything them invading Iraq just made things worse for them in my eyes, they have just given the "terrorists" more of a reason to hate them.
The sad thing about all of this is that Bush used and continues to use the deaths of thousands of innocent people on 9/11 as an excuse, as a reason to go ahead of continue to murder thousands of other innocent people in Iraq. In the end no one is going to come out of this as victorious, no matter what the Bush administration says or how hard they try. The simple fact is they went into this war based on lies, lies that the American people felt they had to buy. Lies that the American people were told in a time when they were most vulnerable, in a time when all they could think about was making someone pay for what was done to them, and can you blame them? No, not really.
What it comes down to is that the U.S. needs to pull out, they need to stop shoving democracy down every ones throats.......democracy does not work for everyone. So Bush needs to suck it up and realize he has LOST! He has lost the war in Iraq and for the most part he has lost the trust of the American people. So go ahead and tell yourself that you are doing the right thing Bush, it seems to help you sleep at night, but keep in mind no one is buying your shit anymore.

Health care

There has been a lot being said in the news about the sate of Calgary's health care system, such as the long wait times in the ER's, the red and yellow alerts for EMS, staff shortages etc. All of which the health care workers and our government are some how to blame. Everyone is looking for someone to point their fingers at just so they can say " ha, you are the reason why I am not receiving the health care I deserve". When in reality people should be pointing their fingers at themselves and saying "maybe I am the reason someone else is not receiving the health care they deserve".

As a nurse I am sick and tired of hearing people complain about the system and about the wait times, when the public is as much to blame for the state of the system as anyone else. I am truly disgusted with what comes into the ER's. People coming into ER's and urgent care centers for things such as the common cold, the stomach flu, coughs that they have had for 12 hours, for hang nails, for mole removals, and my most personal favorite.....bringing their child in for having string wrapped around their toe! As a system we are not allowed to turn these people away so they clog up the waiting rooms, increase the waiting times, and take up ER beds for no good reason at all. All of the above "issues" can be either dealt with at home or at your local walk in clinics, as there is nothing about them that qualifies them as emergencies.

Yes I do agree that the staff shortages are a problem. Alberta needs 2,000 more nurse right now, however only 600 will graduate this year and we all know that not all 600 are going to stay in Alberta or in Canada. Another problem is that Calgarys population has exploded in the last couple of years in a way no one ever thought and we are not able to keep up.

With all that being said the biggest problem of them all is the public. People need to educate themselves as to what is or is not an emergency. Chest pains, broken bones, a burst appendix, lacerations, miscarraiges, those are emergencies! People can whine and complain all they want, but the fact is if people are not willing to take reponsiblity for their own abuse of the health care system.....I have news for you ladies and gents........its only going to get worse.

So the next time you are sitting in an ER with a runny nose and a cough, and find yourself sick of the 8-10 hour wait, find yourself wanting to go and complain to the triage nurse about the fact that you have been sitting there for 5 hours, you should stop and ask yourself......should I really be here?