Personal Crap

My photo
Meaford, ON, Canada
A big lover of all types of media, from Movies to Video Games, Books to Music, Television to Stage.

Disclaimer

BIG ASS HUGE WARNING DISCLAIMER - IGNORE AT YOUR OWN PERIL

Okay, here's the deal: Blogger has been having problems with their counters as of late, specifically with those blogs marked as having adult content. Now, this particular blog was marked as adult content since it is written as a train of thought, including all the rotten language that flows through my head constantly :) As a result, I marked it adult for that, not for having pornographic photos all over the place. So, simply put, be aware that there is language on this blogsite, and if you are offended don't bother complaining because I wrote this so that you'd know it before reading, and it is your fault if you don't believe me and decide to possibly get offended anyway. If language of a vulgar nature might make you upset, go read something by Disney.

12/25/10

10th BGJ Blog Entry

The TTC And You: Surviving Threats Of Strikes - April 11th, 2005 - 06:23 AM.
 
People have been complaining that I haven't posted a blog in a while, so I thought about what current Toronto topic I could bitch and moan about this morning, and found that the easiest fodder available to tear apart would be the TTC and their lovely habit of grabbing the city by the short and curlys and yanking until the commuters yell "UNCLE, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!"
 
By now, everyone has an opinion on whether the transit service in this city should be considered an essential service. (Funny thing, Rob Ford's counsel is currently discussing this exact topic, five years after I originally wrote this)  I remember when the TTC went on strike in 1991 (a lifetime ago) when I was attending Scarborough Campus U Of T (University of Toronto, for those outside Canada.  See, I really am kinda edumicated), and the result was about a week of free transit. See, at that point the notion of really fucking over the company for a deal was a great one: cost the company money while not pissing off the customers of the service. It worked wonderfully, if I remember correctly, and not one angry commuter was in the bunch.
 
Flash forward to now. I read, in the Toronto Star, that the idea of doing the exact same thing was considered this year. Once. I read it once. Heard it on TV? No. Read it once. In all the articles, discussions, factoids, sound bites, and interviews regarding the possibility of common folk having to offer blowjobs to get to work this morning I heard that idea floated about in exactly one instance. And I know why the idea didn't get any street cred this time around. It's the city.
 
See, Toronto was a big city in 1991, but in comparison to the growth since then and the growth occuring right now, it was a baby back in the 90s. Add to that the knowledge that commuters on the whole are more apt than ever to bend at the waist and patiently wait to be fucked up the ass with fare increases without so much as a whimper, and you can see where the notion of free rides is passe. The cost of servicing the city (heh, heh) without a fare for even a couple of days could literally run the TTC out of business, and since the consumers are ready to bend over as usual, let's just inconvenience them like we always do. That'll work - no harm, no foul.
 
But wait - did you hear that? They're, why, they're complaining! The commuters are complaining! What ever for? Don't we provide dirty stations available to get mugged in for most hours of the day? Haven't we always strove for the best in broken down information banners? Do we not leave garbage on the floors of the platforms for people to enjoy and comment on?  What, we ensure that our vehicles are never on time, so what are they complaining about?  We even go out of our way to hire rude bus drivers and station attendants, so that people have stories to tell when at work or at home! Don't we do enough for this city? Don't they appreciate us at all?
 
No. And we won't until squabbles like this are privatized. Until then, you better make sure I'm not on the bus the next time you decide to stop for a coffee break for 15 minutes, or I'll finish the damn route myself.
 
(As I stated above, the Toronto city counsel is having this discussion in chambers during the current session.  Don't know what the result will be, but I do know what I'd like to see happen, even if I am moving out of country within a few years.  Oh, and for the record, as far as I am concerned Rob Ford is the best mayor the city has seen in my lifetime, bar none.)

X-Mas Morning

Guess this post renders the last post moot, but no surprise there.

Yes, once again I'm awake before the big ball of gases rises over the horizon, and for no apparently good reason.  Sure, I'm not feeling well for the umpteenth time this year, and of course I have no idea why...but if I wasn't feeling like crap and upset at what my life has become, I just wouldn't be me, now would I?

In four months and three days, I turn 40.  Kill me now, and to all a good night!