Biggest Loser....part 1

Another year, another pledge to drop some weight and get in shape. The difference this year is the addition of some competition. We are having a "Biggest Loser" contest at work. 24 of us have signed up for the contest which begins with the initial weigh-in Monday, January 5th.

This has gotten me thinking about my "weight history". I used to be skinny. Really skinny. I recall older men inappropriately commenting on how my legs were 'skinny but shapely'. The boys in grade 8 joked about making a bra for me in shop class out of wood. It's true, I had no boobs, no butt. I was 5' 7" and change and weighed a whopping 112 lbs. I didn't mind the bra comments because I was athletic - who needed big breasts to get in the way? But somewhere along the way, 112 turned into 122, 132, 142, 152, 162, 172. Yes, 172 lbs. is the heaviest I've ever been. Do I know how it happened? You bet. We all know how it happens. In my case, I was married at a young age to a husband who I never knew if he would come home for dinner or spend several hours at a strip club. I sat home eating my dinner, his dinner and anything else I wanted to comfort myself.

Eventually, I said 'screw this'. I joined a weight-loss program and proceeded to lose 36 pounds in 9 weeks. In hindsight, that is NOT the way to lose weight and keep it off. I also lost another 175 lbs. by dumping his sorry a*@.

Over the past 20 years since that happened, I have yo-yo'd in a 25 lb. dimension I like to call - size 10 - 12 - 14 land.

I'll be honest, I have no idea what I weigh today. I have a scale I call 'Cybil'. I stepped up on it 4 times this morning and it said I weigh 158 lbs., 150 lbs., 174 lbs. and 185 lbs. I guess I'll have to wait until the official Biggest Loser weigh-in on Monday morning to find out which figure sticks.

I plan to post a new blog every Monday after our weekly weigh-in to let you know how I'm doing, feeling, cursing.

Any words of advice, encouragement, humour, will be greatly appreciated along the way. I don't know if I can win this contest, but at the end of it, I plan to be lighter, fitter and happier.

Wish me luck!

OHHHHHH....Canada!

My oh my. When did polite, follow-in-line, don't kick up a fuss Canada become a kick up the dust, take no prisoners, political smartypants?

I must admit, I am enjoying the political jockeying that is going on right now in the Great White North. How much does everyone else despise Stephen Harper's Conservatives that the NDP would agree to get into bed with the Liberals and.....gasp.....have the Bloc as the supporting cast!!!

Many would ask, and perhaps rightly so, how can the NDP and Liberals sleep at night when they're in bed with the Bloc?

And at what price? What kind of deals have been worked out to form this alliance? Will we find out the BQ will benefit to the tune of an extra billion dollars in equalization payments? Will we find Senate appointments that will leave us with our mouths hanging open?

The bottom line is - a majority of Canadians voted against Steven Harper and his Conservatives and in our Parliamentary system, (s)he who is elected must have the confidence of the house, or else the opposition has the right to try to form a coalition government and take over.

Perhaps at this time in our history, we should be considering a more "democratic" system such as Mixed Member Proportional representation.

Just saying.

More on election '08

One of the favourite rants of the right during the recent U.S. election was they weren't getting fair treatment from the "liberal media". Shame on the "liberal media" and its bias for pointing out what an unknowledgable person Sarah Palin is. Shame on the "liberal media" for making John McCain appear to be out of touch.

Oops! Wait a minute.....according to Media Matters for America, a 2007 Center for American progress and Free Press analysis of all the news/talk stations in the top 10 markets, "76% of the programming in these markets is conservative and 24% is progressive (read liberal) although programming is more balanced in markets such as New York and Chicago"

So, even with more than 3/4 of the news/talk stations being on their side, the right wing still could not get elected.

Next time the right cries "WOLF" about the left-leaning media, don't run for the fire exit.

Yes, We Can.

Yes, We Can. Three words that moved a nation to make monumental changes. Three words that accomplished a feat many thought they would never witness in their lifetime. Three words that lifted the spirits of a nation fraught with bad news. Recession. War. Bankruptcy. Loss.

In spite of his name being Barack Hussein Obama. In spite of his being a bi-racial man in a country where racism is still rampant. In spite of being a relative newbie to politics. In spite of a nasty campaign run by opponents who tried to scare the American public with lies and innuendo. He became President-elect of the United States of America.

He is not an Arab....but so what if he were. He is not a Muslim....but so what if he were. The day needs to come when all people realize being of a particular heritage does not automatically make you a bad person. Having a particular religious affiliation does not automatically make you a bad person. You must judge a person by their actions.

I hope Americans will give Obama a little bit of time to try to improve their situation. After all, it took 8 years to get the country to where it stands today.

OMG!!!! Clay Aiken is Gay!!!!

American Idol runner-up (shoulda been winner) Clay Aiken has come out of the closet to People magazine. Some are saying - it's about time. Others say it's no big deal. Idol judge Simon Cowell says "if he said it, it's the right thing for him. Good for him. I don't think anyone cares. Let's face it. It's 2008." Sadly, Simon is wrong.

There are still many, many people on this planet who hate gays, lesbians, bisexual, transgendered, etc...individuals. To put it in a nutshell, they hate anyone who's not like them. Some of these people hide their prejudice. Some only speak of it when they're with like-minded people. Others hide behind religion to spew their homophobic rhetoric. Others attack and kill people they believe to be "different".

I can only imagine what a huge decision this must have been for Aiken, who is a new dad. He said "It was the first decision I made as a father. I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

Bravo, Clay. Bravo.

On pigs and lipstick

Barack Obama did not call Sarah Palin a pig. The phony outrage on the part of the right wing needs to stop. But it won't. This is what many conservatives like to do. Throw false information or half-truths out there and hope it sticks. We're seeing it here in our election.

Now, let's take a look at Sarah Palin. This is a person who says it's "God's will" the U.S. invaded Iraq. Interesting - I believe that's what the 9-11 terrorists said. It was "God's (Allah's) will" that we blow up the twin towers.

Palin does not believe in abortion unless the mother is going to die. No abortion for an 11 year old girl who is raped by her father.

No sex education, teach abstinance only. Yeah, how's that working for you?

Under investigation for pressuring the head of security in Alaska to resign because he wouldn't fire her brother-in-law who is a state trooper and was going through a fierce divorce and custody battle with her sister.

Collected a per diem 312 times in less than 2 years when she was actually at home - not on the road on business.

I think it's great that Sarah Palin is a woman in an interesting, powerful position.
I think Sarah Palin is a person with views that scare the heck out of me.

Mr. Jones and me.....disagree.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour has issued 6 safety orders to the Windsor Fire Department because of some problems at fire station number 7 on Lauzon Road. The issues include the doors that separate the living quarters from the truck bay don't meet building code requirements, a leaky roof above electrical fixtures, ceiling tiles in the boiler room requiring repair, no effective exhaust system to capture diesel fumes from trucks leaving the fire hall and there isn't a washroom for females.

Now, I'm no building/air quality/contracting specialist, but these sound pretty serious to me. (I can certainly relate to the lack of washroom facilites).

City Councillor Ron Jones (a retired District Fire Chief) is up in arms that someone within the ranks made a complaint to the Labour Ministry. He says they used bad judgement and did a disservice to fire administration (yet he acknowledged the problems). Jones claims because they're in the process of going to the table to have the fire station replaced, the person should have kept their mouth shut. WHAT?!!

Talk about closing in the ranks. No wonder there's so much secrecy at city hall. 'Let them ask, but don't tell' seems to be the motto. I say Bravo! to the person who had the guts to make the complaint. I'm sure they knew of the possible consequences should they be identified. I find it hard to believe nobody in administration within the fire department knew of these problems and if they did, why weren't they dealt with?

Shame on you, Ron Jones, for putting a "possible" new fire station ahead of the current safety, welfare and well-being of our firefighters.

A bad argument

This is a bit of a follow-up to my last blog. A colleague has a commentary running about Dr. Henry Morgantaler and how he doesn't blame anyone who would return their Order of Canada honour in protest of the abortionist receiving one. My colleague's argument against abortion is that we wouldn't have Wayne Gretzky if his mother had an abortion or Shania Twain if her mother had had one. Bad argument. All those who would have been in favour of Adolph Hitler's mother having an abortion, raise your hands. Paul Bernardo's mother? Robert Pickton's mother? Saddam Hussein's mother? Osama Bin Laden's mother? Ted Bundy's mother? Jeffrey Dahmer's mother? Need I go on? Bad argument.

In this country you have the right to be anti-abortion or pro-choice - but let's make arguments that are thoughtful and make sense. Let's stop the propaganda. Let's be honest about whether we're arguing fact or faith. And let's respect each other's right to an opinion even, no, especially, if we don't agree.

Choose your groups carefully.

A debate is raging as to whether or not abortionist Dr. Henry Morgantaler should have received the Order of Canada. Some people are calling for the Governor General's resignation over it, yet a recent poll shows 65% of Canadians support Dr. Morgentaler being honoured for his years of work in obtaining good health care for women. What crossed my mind is how someone could say they are giving back their Order of Canada honour because they don't want to belong to a group or organization that honours an abortionist....but they're all right with being a member of a group or organization that knowingly for decades, if not centuries, allowed many of its leaders to rape children. An organization that knew what was going on but shuffled the rapists off to other locations when the heat got turned up. I can only speak for myself, but I would never choose to belong to a group that did that.

Make my Caesar spicy!

I had the good fortune to be invited to the Grand (re)opening of Caesars Windsor. (I'm sure some out-of-towners couldn't make it and I was a last minute fill-in) What a beautiful place! I've always liked the Casino in Windsor (especially since smoking was banned), but this new addition is spectacular. The Augustus Ballroom is absolutely beautifully and sophitiscatedly (is that a word?) decorated. The Colliseum is a great place to see a concert. Billy Joel was fantastic as the opening night act. I was in the first tier of seating to the left and can't wait to see Patti Labelle when I'll be in the 8th row. To the Government of Ontario and the folks at Caesars - I say - well done!

Thank God we live in Canada!

Today I read a couple of news items that just made me sadly shake my head.

The first was about the authorities in Saudi Arabia detaining a woman because she was driving a car. In that Muslim country, there are rules banning women from driving. The woman had driven 10 kilometres to get her husband. The woman's "legal guardian" - her husband - had to sign a declaration that he wouldn't allow her to drive again.

In another story, Iranian police are apparently cracking down on those who are dressing too "western" - and I don't mean cowboy gear. 32 clothing shops and hairdressers have reportedly been shut down and police are stopping cars and pedestrians in the streets of Tehran to make sure women are adhering to the strict Islamic dress code.

I can't even imagine what I might do if someone tried to tell me how to dress or tried to ban me from doing something every man has the right to do.

It's truly a shame when weak men hide behind what they claim are religious requirements in an attempt to keep women down. The fact there are still such misogynistic societies on this planet truly speaks to our lack of evolution as human beings.

Some people are never happy.

I just returned from a glorious week long vacation in Mexico. The resort was between Cancun and Playa Del Carmen. It was a gourmet all-inclusive and I don't have one bad word to say about the whole trip. Everything from the plane trip (and believe me, I was worried about changing planes and whether or not my luggage would join me at our destination). But I needn't have worried as everything went as smooth as silk.

Our room was gorgeous, the view was breathtaking, the food was delectable and the staff was outstanding.

Why is it that even when you are in paradise, there is at least one loud-mouthed fool who has to put a damper on things. Our particular loud-mouthed fool was a woman whose child had just gotten married at a resort down the road. According to Mommie Dearest, the other resort was far superior to ours as when she demanded food, they brought it immediately.

Please understand, we were coming up to dinner time and at the resort, you had to dress for dinner. No tank tops, no flip-flops and certainly no swimsuits which were still in the pool.

This woman, in a very loud and obnoxious voice, yelled at one of the staff for a good ten minutes about how the other resort would bring them a pile of food to the pool for them to chow on before they went to dinner. Those of us who were in the vicinity cringed and were hoping someone would toss her a nacho to shut her up.

This rude woman did not ruin my vacation. She didn't even ruin the afternoon. But she did serve as a reminder that you should treat people how you'd like to be treated.

Gracias, Miguel.

On Vacation

Need I say more? A beach. A pool. The Caribbean. A husband I still like. It's all good.

Our taxpayer dollars hard at work?

What a drama unfolds over a police radio. A man and a woman. Let's see what do we know about them?

She's of German decent and grew up going to the Teutonia club. Her sister had an abortion in her 20's. She has a sister in London who lives in a house her parents bought for her where she supposedly has sex parties. She has a brother who is with a woman she really does not like and uses quite an uninspired negative term to describe her.

He is obviously a police officer who uses foul and derogatory language. He thinks nothing of having indecent personal conversations while on the taxpayers' dime.

She wants to have his baby and proclaims what a good role model he is unlike some of the cowboy cops out there.

Other names included in the conversation - "Jimmy", "Christa".

There are people who know who these two are and should not hesitate to let the Police Chief know. If this is a real conversation and not something staged for the fun of posting it on YouTube, then these two need to be identified and dealt with swiftly.

The worst part is - the innocent people whose personal business is now out there for all to hear. I think she'll be lucky if her family ever talks to her again. I believe these two will suffer humiliation when we find out who they are. Or will we? Will the police department and the police board hide behind - "it's a personnel matter and therefore must be dealt with behind closed doors".

My retired police officer grandfather must be rolling over in his grave.

A very traumatic day.

I love my puppy, Willamina. I love my other dog, Max, too. But he's always really been my husband's dog. Willie has been a mama's girl from the start. (could be the similarity in our hair).

Saturday, I had an experience I hope I never have to go through again. I had come home from a hair appointment and decided to take Max and Willie out for a walk. Everything went well - Willie did #1 & #2 (picking up puppy poop is my life - ain't it glamourous)! When we got back home, I noticed some vomit by the back door. It had obviously happened before our walk.

Next thing I know, Willie is trying to sit - but she's listing to one side...almost as if she were drunk. Then her eyes start to shut....almost as if she were drunk. She became very non-responsive and I became very scared. My husband had the car and was 25 minutes away on the other side of the city. I called him and told him to come home right away. Then I called my very good friend, Joe McParland because I started to panic and wanted to get her to the animal hospital. Joe came over immediately and when he came in the house, Willie jumped up and started barking at him and I thought, okay, maybe she isn't as bad as I thought. But about a minute or two later, she started listing to one side again. She wouldn't or couldn't open her mouth and she looked like she was going to pass out.

Anyway, my husband - the other Joe - got home in record time and we rushed to the animal hospital where a wonderful vet (who looks like a surfer) named Dr. Kaye took care of Willie. Blood tests, thorough examination. He said she probably ingested a pill of some kind or even a cigarette (apparently nicotine can have a very strong reaction in a little puppy). About two hours after the initial incident, Willie seemed to be coming out of it, so we took her home with some activated charcoal to shoot down her throat. The vet had given her gravol before we left to try to settle her stomach.

Today, Willie is back to her old self.

But I beg all of you - before you throw that cigarette butt, or roach, or pill or gum on the sidewalk/lawn/street, please think of the puppies whose owners take them for walks and what might happen if they ingest it. Please.

AT LEAST THEY GOT MY NAME RIGHT.....

I thought it was really cool to be asked to be in a BIZ X magazine article about people in their forties who have interesting jobs. I sent in the information they asked for and what was printed had some errors.

Of course I don't mind that they got my age wrong (they made me younger), however, some of the other mistakes should be clarified.

The article states my first job was at CHUM-FM in Toronto. My first job was in London. Actually, my first TWO jobs were in London. It was at one of those that I was the first female full-time dj they had ever hired. CHUM-FM was very progressive and had some wonderful women on the air way before I came along.

The article refers to my husband as "Big Joe" Deveau. When I sent in my rather humourous bio, I referred to my husband as - Big Joe Deveau (not his real name, but he loves being called that). I always include that disclaimer. I make a point of never saying his real name so as to help him avoid the embarrassment of being married to me.

What the article definitely got right is that I'm an animal lover. See picture at left. = )

In this day of the internet, it's no longer a case of - oh, only a few local people will see it. People from all over the world can go on line and read articles. I don't want my CHUMs in Toronto to think I've lost my mind.

Why didn't we get more than we asked for?

It took me this long to write this blog because I was on the floor all this time laughing at a city council which sounds like an insolent child. We should have gotten 35 million dollars in infrastructure funding from the province......but we only asked for 11 million dollars....how dare they not give us our fair share. The Tecumseh-envy that infiltrates Windsor City Council periodically really needs to end. On a per-capita basis, yes, Tecumseh's is bigger than yours - get over it.

Impatient 20 somethings are wearing on my patience.

I am tired of this 20-something generation which thinks it's entitled to everything.....right now.

Their lack of patience is getting on my nerves. These are the young people who don't move out of the house unless you throw them out. They will mooch off you until they get married and become someone else's problem. In the meantime, most of them are living rent-free, responsibility-free, carefree.

And you parents are not doing them nor us any favors. What kind of a partner are they going to be to someone? You pay the bills. You do the laundry. You buy the groceries. What are you teaching them?

Then, they come into the workforce. They don't believe in working their way up from the bottom. It would never even occur to them. They expect to be the person in charge immediately. They lack a decent work ethic and show no respect to those who paved the way.

To you parents who just want to give your kids everything you can - you're depriving them of one very important thing....a sense of responsibility.

He definitely played football....

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick definitely played football because he is clearly a believer in 'the best defence is a good offence'. If you caught the tail end of his State of the City address Tuesday night, you witnessed one of the best end runs I've seen in a long time. The man not only did not acknowledge all the trouble he's in THAT HE CAUSED HIMSELF, but he blamed everyone else for his troubles.

What irked me the most was his playing of the race card yet again. Kwame, wake up, whites, blacks, hispanics, asians, most everyone believes you to be at the very least a liar and a cheat.

To use words like "lynch mob mentality" when describing the media just goes too far. (As a matter of fact, I had a listener send in a letter accusing me of "bigotry" because I let a union leader on to talk about jobs and negotiations in our community. I also had on an auto analyst with an entirely different view, but that wasn't good enough for this listener).

Kwame also showed his lack of class by centering out Detroit city council president, Ken Cockrell Jr. A clear case of trying to divert attention.

Give it up, Kwame. It's time to do the right thing and resign.

Life is not fair

A lot of people will say good-bye to Windsor Spitfires Captain, Mickey Renaud this week. His life ended far too soon when he collapsed and died on Monday. By all accounts, he was a terrific guy. I had the pleasure of interviewing him on a few occasions and found him to be well spoken, polite and a lot of fun.

It seems so unfair that someone so loved, with such a bright future, would be taken so early on. It's especially hard to understand when you see some of the monsters who live to a ripe old age.

But anyone who was fortunate enough to have Mickey in their life, whether it was for 19 years, five minutes or three periods, remember him fondly.

Rest in Peace, Mickey.

love at first sight

55% of Canadians surveyed say they believe in love at first sight.

The other 45% of us live in the real world.

There is no love at first sight. There is lust at first sight. There is interest at first sight. There is possibility at first sight. But there is NO love at first sight.

Doesn't this just speak to the fantasy world in which so many people live?

There are so many people who want to get married....not because they want to BE married, but because they want a wedding. That fantasy day where the bride dresses in a beautiful white gown (snicker here) and everything is just perfect. Well, that's the last time everything is just perfect.

Love is great, marriage takes work and believing anything else is foolish.

So, if you think you can fall in love with someone as soon as you lay eyes on them, wait until you lay eyes on their underwear they left on the floor and their nose hairs in the sink.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! xoxo

No money for us!

I've been pondering why the federal government would not contribute 30 million dollars towards the reopening of the Essex Engine plant. After all, it's just a drop from the bucket of surplus they guard. They have helped out other industries in need (and some that weren't). They recently announced a big new funding pot for one-industry towns that might find themselves in dire need. Why doesn't Windsor make the grade?

Then....it hit me. There could be a federal election at any time. Is Prime Minister Harper trying to send a message to us. And by 'us' I mean those who keep electing those pesky NDP candidates.

Think about it. Is this a not-so-subtle message that Harper has the money to help us out in a big way, but if we ever want to see it, we better elect some Conservatives in this city and get rid of those NDPers who are constantly pointing out the flaws in the current government?

I actually feel sorry for Essex MP Jeff Watson. He no sooner says that good news is just around the corner and Harper does an end run around him. If Jeff Watson, a former auto guy, can't get Harper to understand the importance of the auto industry in this country, and get us the money, then who can?

To run or not to run

I read with great amusement a local columnist's ramblings about our mayor. It would seem the mayor is quite upset that some city councillors might be considering running for his job. What did you expect? You swore up and down that you would be a two-term mayor - maximum - period.

It seems to really offend the mayor that some councillors seem to be starting their campaigns already when an election is almost three years away. What was the purpose of this article if not to serve notice the mayor might run again. So let me get this straight......it's not okay for councillors to start a campaign, but it's perfectly all right for the mayor to start a campaign. It's not okay for councillors to disagree with the mayor, but it's okay for the mayor to take swipes at unnamed councillors. How fortunate for the mayor that he has a local columnist who is willing to put his musings to print.

By the way, my husband must be psychic. After the mayor said - yet again - three weeks ago, he would only serve two terms, my husband said "don't count on it". He said just wait, Eddie's going to say - there has been great public pressure on me to run again. It's what the people want. I must follow through with the border file. I have asked my husband to buy a lottery ticket.

As for the councillors who say noone can fill Eddie's shoes - speak for yourselves. You may not be leadership material, but that does not mean there aren't others in our community who could skillfully run this city. I'm inclined to agree with those who are mentioning the name Larry Horwitz.

As for comments that there is not a united front on council....thank goodness! There should be debate. There should be differences of opinion. These are difficult issues our council has to deal with and I would expect there are no easy answers. I'm glad Alan Halberstadt is my representative because he speaks up. I might not always agree with him, but at least he's not afraid to stir the pot. I tend to think the real dissention happens behind closed doors. If this mayor and council would bring more of the issues into the public arena, I think you might find there's a lot more disagreement on council than we're currently led to believe.

In the end, all we have is our word. It's our own choice whether our word is any good.

Asking permission

I read an article recently that went on about an old tradition that seems to be resurfacing in some places. It has to do with a man asking a father's permission for his daughter's hand in marriage. Even if we say a man asks both parents' permission, I find this a bit disturbing.

It has not even been a century yet since women were considered "persons'. Prior to that, women were considered less than that and in many cases were considered property - first their father's and then their husband's. That's also why in some cultures women were expected to take their husband's last name because she became his property upon marriage. (remember the vows - to love, honour and 'obey').

By holding up this old tradition of asking for the woman's hand in marriage, are we not just perpetuating that old notion that the woman belongs to her father (who gives her away at the alter) and then belongs to her husband. (By the way, you know slaves were forced to take their masters last name, don't you?)

While I understand for many, there is no sinister motive in this ritual, I would ask young women to think about it's implications. Think about why you want to give up your family name. Don't just do things because that's how they were done in the past. Think about it and make the decision for yourself.

Not all traditions make sense.