Time

It was my birthday this past Friday and I’ve been thinking a lot about time and its passage. I haven’t written on this blog for weeks because I’ve been busy and suddenly a whole lot of time has gone by without writing. I’ve been working a lot of hours lately and the summer has passed by in a heartbeat. Kids I’ve known and loved since their first days in this world are now young adults. My parents have reached the age of retirement. A majority of the friends in my life have now been with me longer than they haven’t. I’m old enough to be the mother of some of the boys at work. I was feeling quite overwhelmed with the sense that time is gushing past me and I can’t stem the tide.

Although I’m often reflective around my birthday, turning 39 seems to be a milestone of sorts. I began to slow down and think about time and its effect on me. The biggest thing seems to be the realization that I likely won’t have kids. The window is rapidly shrinking and even though some women do have them in their 40s, the likelihood that I am going to be one of those women is pretty low. And the funny thing is, I’ve made peace with that and have begun to think about what shape my life is going to take as a single, capable woman with a lot of options. In only a year and a half I will have my ticket and be able to work anywhere in the world. I can travel. I can move anywhere I want to move. I can shape my life into anything I want it to be with nothing restricting me.

The fact that I now have options is something kind of new to me. For the first time in my life I will have a decent salary that affords a lifestyle with more than just the basics. Choosing to become a tradesperson at almost exactly the same time as Alberta’s economic boom began was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. In addition to the personal satisfaction I get out of doing my job, it sure doesn’t hurt that we are in great demand right now. Although I’ve always been a person who thought that it was more important to love what you are doing than to make gobs of money, as I get older I realize that having a comfortable living is almost as important as loving what you do. When you have both together, it’s a real blessing.

So, getting older doesn’t seem like it’s a horrible thing. I don’t really mourn the passage of my youth. I look at the average lifespan of people now and realize that I’ve still got 40 plus years of living to experience...if I’m lucky, of course. I feel strong, confident and healthy. I have wonderful friends and family. With age comes the ability to recognize that the times of contentment are precious and important. In all, life is good and I’m happy.

Time, I embrace you. My birthday wish this year is that I try to slow down, make the most of every second available, and appreciate each one that I have.

And maybe, just maybe, to write more.

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Today’s Treasure: I had tea with my elderly neighbour. Although she’s 84, she has a young spirit and a big, generous heart. She has the most amazing, intelligent, sparkling blue eyes and a great sense of humour. I love her!

Eligible?

When women find out I’m an electrician, more often than not the first question they ask is either: “Did you do it to meet men?” or “Do you meet a lot of eligible men?” The answer to both questions is, “No.” I did it because I needed a change from sitting behind a desk all day, because I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands and because I get a kick out of doing unusual things.

I like men. In my life I have just as many close male friends as female ones. I’m very comfortable talking to and working with men. I also like men in “that” way, but to make a career choice based on the potential to meet men? Puh-leez. I suppose there are women out there who might make that choice, but I don’t think they’d last very long. Let me tell you, it ain’t a fashion show.

Most days are spent underneath the ugliest of hard hats and behind the nerdiest of safety glasses. Any make-up such a princess might choose to wear would be quickly sweated off or buried under layers of dust and dirt. Since most functional work pants are made for guys, they aren’t the most flattering to the female form. Footwear consists of clonky work boots day in and day out…enough to send any shoe diva screaming. Jewelry is a hazard when working with electricity. Hairstyles, if long, are boring ponytails or braids. Any shirt soon has holes from snagging on the sharp edges that abound on construction sites. Also, these sharp edges cause many gashes and scratches on exposed arms, leaving scars that make a girl look like she’s gone ten rounds with the pet cat from hell.

Of course, this assumes that the woman is actually trying to do the work and will get dirty, sweaty and bloody. I recently witnessed a chicklet on the jobsite who was happy to be there hanging out with the boys but who barely did any work. She was (supposedly) a framer, but spent more time giggling and standing around than she did working. She was quite attractive and the guys on my crew definitely noticed THAT right off the bat, but within a week or two they were referring to her as “The Beauty Queen” and commenting almost exclusively on how little she actually did during a day. Pretty soon, the boys were all atwitter with the gossip that she got fired. No one was really surprised.

Even if a gal is doing the job with legitimate motivations, there’s still the question about eligible men. Despite being single and surrounded by men on a daily basis, I’ve been too focused on doing a good job and learning the trade to pay more than cursory attention. It’s not that I haven’t noticed physically attractive men – c’mon, I’m a red-blooded female surrounded by hot, fit construction guys – it’s just that the opportunities to find out if there’s anything of substance beneath the muscles are few and far between. Any preliminary chat-while-you-work conversations usually lead to the discovery that the guy a) is married or in a relationship, b) is way too young or, c) has no substance. I guess if I was just interested in sex any available b) or c) would do, but those days are over and now I kind of prefer someone who can stimulate me mentally as well as physically. It’s not too much to ask that the guy has actually read a book in the past year, is it?

And then there’s me. I don’t think I’m exactly the type that appeals to construction workers, either. From sitting in on lunch conversations about their spouses and girlfriends, it seems that the overwhelming majority of these guys are quite traditional and take a bizarre kind of pride in having a woman who relies on them to do “manly” things. Oh, sure, they “complain” that their women don’t know how to check the air pressure in tires, don’t earn very much, if any, money yet spend lots on shoes, handbags and clothes to add to their already overflowing closets, and can’t undo a pickle jar without help (okay, that’s a wee exaggeration) but they all seem pretty happy with these women so there must be some kind of appeal. When I think about what I’m like in relation to those kinds of women, I often have a song from Annie, Get Your Gun running through my head:

I’m quick on the trigger
With targets not much bigger
Than a pinpoint, I’m number one
But my score with a feller
Is lower than a cellar
Oh, you can’t get a man with a gun

…or in my case, a Hilti gun.

Since my life is very much taken up by working long hours and being too tired to do much after work, the opportunities to meet men in other settings are pretty limited. So, for now I guess I can enjoy the eye candy that flits in and out of my field of vision during the day and hope than someday a single, interesting, educated and somewhat sophisticated guy who appreciates a self-sufficient woman will walk into my life. It could happen, right? Or, it might be easier to win the 6-49.

I think I’d better buy a ticket.

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Today’s Treasure: Frozen hamburger patties. Seriously. I came home tired and hungry and didn’t feel like cooking. Tossed ‘em on the BBQ right out of the freezer and, voila, instant supper. It’s the small things that make me happy sometimes.

Luddites Need Love, Too

Sometimes I bewilder myself.

I’m a self-confessed Luddite. I have a circa 1997 computer, dial-up Internet and an intense dislike of cell phones. I don’t check my email every day…sometimes not even every week. I don’t know how to download photos from a digital camera to my computer. I still buy CDs and play them on my Sony Discman. My TV is a whopping 15” and I won it at a 1987 Christmas party. I have rabbit ears, not cable. In my world, text messaging means writing a note on a piece of scrap paper, blackberries are tasty and make good jam, and ipods are what science fiction aliens use to launch themselves from the mothership.

Why in the world would I want to have a blog?

Point the finger at Cookie. Because she’s writing regularly. Because she’s a good writer. Because she entertains me. Because she made me realize how much I miss writing. Because I want to prime the pump again and have a reason to do it. Because I have lots of thoughts and want to explore them. Just because.

Despite the fact that I’m something of an old-fashioned girl who can knit, crochet, make jelly, bake bread from scratch, identify most edible berries in the woods and who doesn’t give a fig about technology, I’m ultra-modern in one pretty significant way. I’m a female electrician. Yep, only 3-5% of electricians in this province need to sit down to pee (more on that in future posts).

Electrician: I’m handy with power tools. I’d rather shop at Home Depot than The Gap. I get to build stuff. I get to destroy stuff. I get to be dirty most of the time. I go clomping around wearing boots like Gaston (50 points if you can name that song). I play with boys everyday. I lift and carry heavy stuff. I know how to wire things and not get electrocuted.

Female: I like pretty, shiny things. I wear dresses when I’m not at work. I enjoy looking at men. I eat with clean hands. I am the lone female privy to the day-to-day thoughts and conversations of a bunch of guys.

I figure the juxtaposition of the two gives me a few things to talk about on this here ole Internet blog thingy.

So, welcome. Hope you find something here to interest and amuse you.

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Today’s Treasure: I happened to be in Starbucks and had a gift certificate. I don’t normally like that store, but I felt like a frozen drink and, hey, it was free. I tried an Orange Mocha Frappacino. Mmmm! Yummy! Definitely worth repeating. Thank goodness for gift certificates!