Insomnia Strikes - Time to Fight for My Rights

Aaargh. I managed about five and a half hours' sleep, after two days where I only got two hours each day. Ack! The fits and starts of insomnia are upon me. The fits being the jumps of my central nervous system as it tries to work without appropriate rest. The starts, of course, being the massive twitchiness that requires peeling me off the ceiling every time my daughter enters the room a startles the hell out of me.

My brain is like a jellyfish today. Squishy logic, rather than fuzzy, the tentacles of my nervous system zinging me every now and again with absurd thoughts. This is your brain. This is your brain without sleep.

Still, this kind of insomnia is nothing to me, and is temporary these days. I'll be fine after a few days of it, and then probably go through a period of really good sleep or REALLY good sleep. It doesn't matter. There are very few things I have to worry about being on a schedule for.

Sure, there's a deadline for the show I've just started producing (The Kovacs Perspective, should you wish to check it out), but I can have everything done long before that, and will. Of course, I'll be watching the show, but as tired as I might be I won't have a problem staying awake for that. It's on bi-monthly, by the way, on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. The next show, and the first of my production efforts to be seen, is on February 13th, at 9 PM EST, so be sure to check it out. More information coming soon about upcoming guests.

The only other thing on my schedule these days is the visit to the vet in three days for the removal of poor Pepper's source of inspiration. The inspiration to rub himself on things, that is. No, he doesn't hump anything, technically, even if it might look that way. Male ferrets apparently have marking glands on either side of their penises (no, they don't have two penises - I refer to the plural only in relation to multiple ferrets - I'd be doomed if Pepper had more than one), and they rub their intimate regions on things to mark them. Someone I knew called it 'dicking', which is a pretty funny term for it, but not altogether appropriate for children when you try to explain the behaviour to them.

Oddly, as though sensing the end of his 'dicking days', Pepper has actually gotten really good with his potty training. He's been horrible for that, probably because of the need to mark his territory. Stimpy's awesome. He picks his places (in corners) and sticks to them, so at least I can lay down the appropriate floor coverings (puppy pads or even newspapers will work). I'm hoping to see further improvement from Pepper after the surgery so that I no longer have to pick up the accidental little bombs. It's a good thing ferret poop is small and easy to pick up (as long as it's the solid kind - if it's not, it's more like concrete filler as another friend observed). The pee just wipes up with a mild cleaning required after (with non-toxic cleansers, of course), since our apartment has no carpet. Probably for the best with us right now.

You would think my sleep would have improved lately, because I've dealt with a lot of stress-inducing issues and they're off my mind now. Stimpy's health seems to have improved drastically. He's not getting the crazy nausea he was getting before, where he was pawing at his mouth, drooling and making weird noises. Now we can just leave it to human males to do that. He's still got enlarged kidneys, but I think it was the ulcer that was making him feel so sick. Cancer is still a likelihood, but he might have a hell of a lot more time to live now that an underlying issue has been resolved.

I've dealt with the landlord issue appropriately, I think. When I got the notice I felt like going off half-cocked and slapping them with a lawsuit for unsafe living conditions. If they do follow through on an eviction, after me spending $400 to get Pepper fixed, as well as offering to scrub down and repaint the apartment once his hormones have finished leeching out, I will slap them with a suit. First I'll fight the eviction and win, and then I'll make them pay for making living in this building such a terrible experience.

The unsafe living conditions I refer to have to do with people smoking in the halls, smoke spewing into my bathroom from the apartment either next door or underneath mine (coming through the walls), and the marijuana I keep smelling. I don't give a damn if people want to smoke pot. I think it should be legal. I just don't think I should be forced to inhale something I do not want in my system. Pot has never killed anyone from smoking it, unlike cigarettes, but it's still not healthy, and it sure as hell isn't safe for small animals. Back in the days when I smoked cigarettes I smoked outside even when I lived alone. Pets get cancer from second-hand smoke, too.

In my response to the notice I also requested that they post the non-smoking signs (my second request, this time written), and gave them a web address from the Ontario government where they could find information out about the duties of a landlord regarding the Smoke-Free Act of Ontario. Yes, there's a subtle threat there. If they decide to be dicks, the threat will be a lot more than subtle. I won't be kicked around by a landlord. Greedy, illiterate twits that think they can walk all over the people who rent from them, usually. Especially in the 'economy-price' apartments. Still, $700 a month should be enough incentive for them to do what's right. Never mind the $5000 fine they face if I call to complain about them.

Maybe that's where my stress is coming from. You think? Durrr. I'm looking forward to a day when I can let this go. Either they'll acquiesce to my demands, which means I can let go of the anger, or they won't and I can slap them upside the head with their ignorance. You know, I don't think I'm afraid of anything anymore. Not stuff like this I mean. I can get so angry that I start shaking, but I'm very good at control. I can channel it into justice just fine. Most people do not stand up for their rights, and so their rights get trampled. I remember reading a quote once, but I don't know where it comes from. "We only have the rights that we are willing to fight for," or something to that effect, and it's absolutely true. It is listed in a firearms refresher course, but I doubt very much that that's the original source.

Well crap!!! I've just received another reason to stress out. My power bill has very nearly quintupled. It went from $77 for two month, to over $340. I expected a bit of a jump, but nothing like this. WTH? We bought two small space heaters, because the apartment was too cold, not wanting to complain about it to the landlord, but I'll be damned if I pay that kind of money to be nice. Not when they've done nothing for me.

Personally I think I received the eviction notice because I mentioned that they're required to have no-smoking signs posted in all hallways, stairwells, entries, etc. I guess they think I'm some sort of troublemaker. I was being nice to them, giving them a chance to do something about it. All it would have taken was a couple of signs to make me happy. Then the onus would have been on the individuals who were breaking the law. Well, they were right. I am a troublemaker. If they're stepping all over me, they're going to be crushed by me. The gloves are officially off, and soon it will be time to throw down the gauntlet. FYATHYRIO - or, f-you and the horse you rode in on.

Reading through the by-law from the City of Hamilton, they're going to be so screwed. They have to maintain a 20 degree Celsius temperature in all habitable areas. They will be required to fix the issue or it will be fixed for them by the city, and they will be billed accordingly. We all know how expensive government-run projects turn out to be. Tee hee. They want to play with me, I'm going to annihilate them. These particular landlords are not smart enough to even know their own legal requirements as landlords, so they're sure as hell not smart enough to know how to fight a tenant who has the full weight of legislation on her side. Man I hate slumlords.

Timing is everything, however. I'm waiting until the eviction thing smooths over (if it does), and then I'm pouncing. If I do it now, they'll be pissed enough to do everything in their power to get me out. Believe me, I do not want to be living in this building any more than they seem to want me here, but I'm not uprooting my life yet again. I hate moving. I haven't even unpacked most of my crap yet, and there's quite a bit of it that's not even here yet because I haven't been able to go get it. That and I'm not the least bit domestic so I hate that kind of thing. I can cook, if that counts.

If the eviction thing doesn't go away like I think it will, I'm launching everything I've got, which should probably put them under. Then someone else can buy the building under foreclosure. Maybe the tenants here will have a decent landlord then. I'll have them inspected for everything under the sun, and they'll fail miserably. The roof leaks, too, by the way. They're planning to fix it and have had people in, but it ain't fixed yet. Just another nail in the proverbial coffin. Then there are the plumbing issues. I think I'm going to have some fun with this actually. Been a long time since I had a good, impersonal fight, where I could so thoroughly kick someone's ass.

The thing about sitting idly by and letting someone trample on my personal rights, is that it does a disservice to the next person who comes along. That person may not have the benefits of my knowledge, or my research capabilities. I've actually experienced this in a very personal way. I allowed an old employer to screw me over. Later a friend of mine went to work for the same company, and they ended up doing the same to her, only much, much worse. They basically branded her a criminal, yet it was them breaking the law. I felt really guilty for that. I could have shut them down myself, and I didn't. So, instead, I helped her write her complaint to Employment Insurance. Not only did she get her EI, but it was also cause to launch a successful human rights violation case. It also got the insurance company off her back that was trying to force her to pay for something she hadn't done. The last time I looked they were closing all their stores. It doesn't pay to mess with a friend of mine.

Still, however irritating these 'little' battles are, they pale in comparison to the fact that my little man (Stimpy) is doing so much better. Every day that goes by he seems healthier and more alert. His fur is thicker and silkier already, and it's only been a matter of days. He's gained a bit of weight, which I'm keeping an eye on. I have to make sure it's real weight and not internal bleeding. It's actually making it harder to feel the enlargement of his kidneys, so it's a nice bit of weight. It's not firm like abdominal distension, though, so I think it's okay. I know how to triage an animal, which is a good thing.

I'm starting to wonder if it's possible he's had this ulcer the whole time, and it's what put the strain on his kidneys, causing them to enlarge. Time to do more research before I call the vet in the morning. She may have a different opinion about his situation once we talk.

My daughter has another job prospect on the horizon, too, so it looks like things are pulling together for her there. It's a retail clothing store, and they're looking for a keyholder, which she has experience with and she's been wanting to work in a clothing store. It's not as cool as she thinks it is. One of my first jobs was with Pantorama as a keyholder. Yeehaw. Then there's the other potential at the grocery store still.

Somehow we have also managed to train our oldest cat to throw up only on the newspaper in front of the litter box. This baffles me. It happened just like litter training, too. Why is it that this never occurred to anyone to do? It didn't occur to us, either. I'm not pointing fingers. My daughter would just move him over to newspaper when he would start heaving. Now he does it on his own. We call him dumb kitty all the time, because he looks like he's really stupid, but he's actually really smart. Rabbit is the one won't lie down if I say 'lay down' but he will if I used proper grammar and say 'lie down'. Very strange animal, that one.

Yet again, no matter how crappy a day might seem, there really is always a light at the end of the tunnel.