Faithful readers will know that I came to the Mercury this morning to find good looking young men. So I arrive and there were NONE. Not even one But then four or five walked in and I personally greeted them. I do have so much fun. Today is a cold day for Sn Francisco and so I am wearing the fur jacket I bought at the Car Boot Sale in London for ten pounds. I have already gotten four compliments on I, of course I HAVE tell them it only cost ten pounds. I did love that Car Boot Sale, it was across the street from Dolphin Square in Pimlico. There is a man in my water aerobics class who lived in London in Pimlico – what are the odds of that? His name is Pascal so his nickname is PP, he finds it amusing. .
Now this is a confession that I should not be making. I have begun to correspond with a certain man called Fazza through YouTube. I found myself looking forward to getting a message that says he loves what I wrote. He just posted a new video that talks about a person and says that it is impossible for that person to escape. I wrote that I had escaped, that I was in San Francisco. That probably is the equivalent of waving a red flag in front of a bull. This is a funny true story. While in London I took to wearing the engagement ring from the second marriage in an attempt to ward off men. I asked an extremely funny man, Dinham the following question.
Me: What effect does this ring have on you?
He: Its like a red flag to a bull.
That is how funny and fast he was – no warning whatsoever and he came up with that funny line. I was extremely fond of him – when I went to Canada to live he would send me the most romantic words- not poetry but beautiful words. We no longer communicate and I did not see him on my recent trips to London. It was not meant to be – I did ask him to come to Canada with me. He did not respond – a Jamaican man explained that he could not say yes, but did not want to reject me – so he said nothing. He was so funny – we would die laughing. I said that we would be found dead – I would be blue from not getting enough air, but he was black so they could not figure out what happed to him.
Me: It gives black and blue a whole new meaning.
He: You are so funny.
Me: You are too.
I wonder why I am thinking of him? OhI guess it was the red flag and the bull. I guess I miss him – he has been replaced more than once. Hahahaha.
But onto something completely different. It is brought to you by the National Institute on Retirement Security. “New research from the National Institute on Retirement Security(NIRS) finds that Millennials working in state and local government are satisfied with their jobs and intend to stay with their employers so long as their benefits are not cut.In a nationwide poll of state and local employees, 84 percent of Millennials say they are satisfied with their job. This high job satisfaction among state and local Millennial employees comes despite sentiment that they could earn a higher salary in the private sector. Most Millennials in state and local government (80 percent) believe they could earn a higher salary working in the private sector, and only about one on four see their salary as very competitive.
The research also finds that state and local Millennial employees (85 percent) say that they plan to stay in their job until they retire or can no longer work. But, Millennials’ job loyalty would alter if their benefits were changed. Some 78 percent say their healthcare benefits is one reason they chose a position in the public sector, and 77 percent say they would be more likely to leave their job if this benefit were cut “
It is interesting that just a few days ago the Crown Prince of Dubai announced that all government employees in Dubai would get a raise. It does have to be remembered that the Crown Prince is a dictator but he is certainly a Benevolent Dictator. That means he is kindly, kind-hearted, warm-hearted, tender-hearted, big-hearted, good-natured, good, gracious, tolerant, benign, compassionate, caring, sympathetic, considerate, thoughtful, well meaning, obliging, accommodating, helpful, decent, neighbourly, public-spirited, charitable, altruistic, humane, humanitarian, philanthropic; magnanimous, munificent, unselfish, ungrudging, unstinting, open-handed, free-handed, free, liberal, lavish, bountiful, beneficent, indulgent; literary bounteous; ANTONYMS unkind; tight-fisted.
So he is not being tight-fisted with the salaries of government employees. It is rather expensive to live in Dubai but he is helping his employees have a better life style. I was a government employee and now have a very good life style as I have excellent retirement income allowing me to travel, to live in a great neighbourhood and write a blog without concern of being paid for it. It is prolific because writing is a choice, not something that I am forced to do . That is the secret of my success.
It is now early morning and I write from bed. It is a water aerobics morning. I found a bathing suit in my Vancouver treasures. It is bright pink. If I remember correctly it was purchased in Edmonton on a visit about six years ago. I no longer visit Edmonton and shall not as I have lost connections with the family I was once close to.
I gaze about my apartment. There is now art on the walls as Personal Trainer (aka Personal Handyman) assisted in the hanging of the art purchased in Vancouver. I am getting this apartment organized and together. It is such a good feeling I am officially happy, Someone wrote. “I am in love but I am scared. I want you to be happy but I want you to be happy with me.” It is a dilemma I guess as there are many miles separating us. There might be a solution, although at the moment it seems rather elusive. That is: subtle, indistinct, indefinite, ambiguous, indefinable, intangible, impalpable, unanalysable, fugitive, deceptive, baffling. ANTONYMS clear.
The photograph is a photograph on my wall. It is a grain elevator in Saskatchewan, the province of my birth. I am not planning to visit there either, It is time for people to come and visit me in this fair city.
