Monday 8 December 2008

A Series of Delays and Abortive Missions

I have had a very long day. So has my nearest neighbour who drove us everywhere since I couldn't see properly to drive.

We set out at 9:30 a.m. and got back here at 4:15 p.m.

First we drove to the Wakefield ER.

At 2:30 I was seen by a physician from Cameroun and told I had an infection in the eye for which he prescribed an antibiotic.

By 3:30 I had filled the prescription and we went and had lunch at Chez Eric.

Then we headed off to vote.

Neither of us was permitted to vote ... and we had plenty of company. Our road was not on their maps. Another woman was not on their list. I didn't hear the other complaints, but the second in command who spoke to us said that they had discovered 70,000 names had simply disappeared from this region's electoral lists last summer and had to be reinstated, Despite Tanya's valiant efforts we were not allowed to vote. I say valiant because she dealt with all this during the last provincial election and so prior to this election she spent at least 5 hours on the phone with petty bureaucrats who all give her a different story. And today she stood her ground without screeching about the amount of taxes she poured into the Quebec coffers ... as one woman who completely lost it did.

This sort of thing could certainly be construed as political finagling of the English vote, but honestly, I think it was simply incompetence, laziness, carelessness and a refusal to think beyond the rules. Everyone there agreed that there was screw up, and we had the right to vote, but no one would break the rules to allow us to exercise that right.

We headed home with one quick stop at the Wakefield General Store so I could pick up a copy of the Low Down to Hull. I paid my 75 cents and Linda, the clerk, said, "Your letter's in it."

You have to love living in these hills.

4 comments:

Tamarak said...

Oh...we were supposed to vote today...

We have to get sorted out too...seeing as we don't even exist anymore since the city changed our house number...we even get our hydro turned off when we have paid the bill...beacuse we don't exist, you know...even though someone IS paying the bill and somehow - even though we don't exist, and no one lives at this non-existant house number, somehow hydro IS getting used...and I could have kicked the nasty, rude hydro guy wo turned the power off...and then it took 2 days to get it turned back on again!!!...I have too many other things to deal with and no patience left for stupid systems like this!

So...I didn't vote...part of me feels bad...part of me can't deal with the s*#@!

And why I am going on about it...you shouldn't have had to wait so long for health care! But I am glad you are on the way to getting your eye mended!

Tamarak said...

Grrr...I hate typos!
I see 2 in my comment...I got all riled up and didn't check properly...one is a wo instead of a who and the other is a why instead of a while...as in while I am going on about it...

Oma said...

Mine has typos too but I am blaming it on my eyesight.

Both the doctor and pharmacist said that if I don't get relief in 48 hours (the pharmacist) or 3 days (the doctor) I will have to go back ... and be re-diagnosed.

So far things are worse not better ... I think I am allergic to my wool. I am going to call the wool shop tomorrow to find out what she used in the dyes.

And I am going back to my soaks and allergy med in addition to the antibiotocs!

I would hate to think I spent 6 hours for a wrong diagnosis.

My dog gets better medical care than I do! And don't tell me I pay for hers. I pay for mine too!

Oma said...

Oh ... by the way ... the letter in the local paper was about health care at the two big hospitals in Gatineau-Hull.