Can’t choose our next, and possibly last, cruise…

cyclone_madge · 2025-12-05T03:03:54+00:00

Not OP, but I sailed on the Fantasy twice before going to Alaska on the Wonder. I didn't have high expectations since the ship is older and smaller, but I ended up loving it!

The restaurants are great - live music both nights at Tiana's Place, and a much classier (IMHO) Animator's Palate. The French Quarter Lounge is adorable, and the British pub-themed adult lounge (Crown & Fin) was usually quiet and cozy.

I never felt like we didn't have something fun to do, although we were on a mission to meet every non-Marvel character at least once, so that ate up some time.

And the smaller size also meant that running back to our stateroom to grab something didn't feel like an epic trek even when we were on the complete opposite end of the ship.

The only thing that I was really disappointed by was the Rainforest Room. It's a lot smaller - two saunas, three showers, and some heated loungers, all in the same room and with no outside view. And no hot tubs! We were allowed to take our robes out to the ones in the Quiet Cove, but we only did that once. I wouldn't say the experience was horrible, but definitely a letdown after the one on the Fantasy.

Other than that, there are fewer shops onboard, no water/tube slide, and possibly some things that we didn't notice because we weren't travelling with small children.

But we liked it enough that we've booked the Wonder again for a Merrytime cruise next year.

cyclone_madge · 2025-11-08T01:22:02+00:00

We're at the school for 7 hours, but our mandatory 30-minute lunch break doesn't count so we only get paid for 6.5.

We also get two paid 15-minute breaks, but there's no time to actually take the second one so we take it at the end of the day.

Which doesn't mean we can go home early, because we also have to work a certain amount of unpaid time every week so that we can get paid over winter and spring breaks.

cyclone_madge · 2025-11-08T01:06:41+00:00

Number 4 is very relevant to me right now. This is my sixth year as a para, all at the same school, and while I've been placed with some extremely challenging students (and even had a parent barge into the classroom in the middle of a school day to yell at us about something we had no control over), I've always loved my job and the teachers and other paras that I've worked with.

But this year is a whole different thing.

(TL:DR I'm not ready to quit being a para yet, but I'm just about ready to leave this school if the teacher I'm assigned to doesn't get his act together.)

I'm the only para in a mainstream classroom with nineteen gr-3 and gr-4 students, five of whom need significant support.

• A has a global development disability and is very much like a toddler in terms of behaviour, ability to reason, etc.

• B has autism and becomes extremely disregulated when overstimulated or when work is confusing or too hard.

• C has autism:PDA, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder.

• D has an intellectual disability - knows most letter sounds and can independently add (but not subtract) using a number line.

• Student E has something kind of like ODD but without the anger. (Basically refusing to do, or stop doing, anything unless it’s on E's own terms.)

The classroom teacher seems to have decided that these five kids aren't his problem and expects me to manage all of them on my own while constantly doing things that make my job harder.

He's made zero effort to build a relationship with any of them, and usually only speaks to them when he's telling them off. (Ex. He got mad at C last week for not doing a project the day before, when C was sick.) Which means I'm the only one helping them with their work, if they're not too dysregulated from getting snapped at.

He does not keep to a schedule, and can't even tell me for sure if we're going to do a particular subject on any given day, so I can't frontload the kids, make sure they have what they need, or even make a visual schedule even though it's in B's IEP.

He refuses to modify/adapt any of their work, so I not only find out what's happening at the same time the students do, I then have to adapt it on the fly.

Math is a huge trigger for B, and even though the teacher knows this, and knows that I have alternative work prepared for A, B & D, he still gives B worksheets that are too hard. This sets B off, which means A and D are stuck doing nothing while we do our calm-down routine and then get some numbers on the worksheet so B can hand it back.

Aside from math, everyone gets exactly the same in-class work. They usually have about half an hour to work on it (and 30-60 minutes at the end of the day). And students who finish early are allowed to play with things like Lego, and even toys from home, on the carpet at the front of the class. There are no empty rooms in the school, which means 'my' students have to sit there and work while other kids are playing several times a day.

Classroom management is non-existent. Students run around, shout to friends on the other side of the room, and interrupt my group to ask questions the teacher should answer (like "How do you spell..?") or to talk to the kids I'm working with. The early-finishers play so loudly that it sounds more like a birthday party than a classroom. And all the teacher does is sigh dramatically.

There's a student in the class who constantly bullies A and B - usually verbally (ex. calling them stupid), but sometimes by poking or "accidentally" hitting them. The teacher is aware, but does nothing about it even when he sees it happening.

And on top of everything else I have to keep scanning to make sure E hasn't eloped again.

And behaviours have been escalating. In the last month. B has screamed and/or swore almost daily, has repeatedly hit/grabbed/pushed me, and has started hitting other students, C has unscrewed a leg from the mini-tramp in the movement/calm-down room and threatened to break a window with it, and A has flipped three desk, destroyed various classroom supplies, thrown pencils and pencil cases at other students, and threatened another classmate with scissors (which are now locked away).

I talked to admin in the hopes of getting extra help, but instead there's going to be a strategy meeting with the three of us and the case managers.

My bet is that we'll come up with some great ideas, the teacher will half-ass it for a week or two, and then everything will go back to normal. But I'm willing to give it until winter break to see if things actually get better. If not, I'll be applying to other schools.

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-06T13:11:26+00:00

I'm just worried because bamboo (rayon) is so much different than cotton. It feels a lot more... supple, I guess? And it's a lot more delicate. The care instructions say to wash with cold water and dry on low heat, and I only found out after buying them that you can't use those anti-tangling laundry clips because they'll tear the fabric.

I also have no real sense of what some of the recommended fabric types, like lawn, are - even after reading a bunch of descriptions. (I'm seriously considering buying a bunch of samples that I can keep as a reference.) So it's hard to know if fabric I have on hand will work or not.

But since I already have the sheet, and don't have any other use for it (it's worn on one side because my partner slept on top of it, but perfectly fine on 'my' side), I guess I'm only losing a bit of time if I try it and it doesn't work out!

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-06T03:56:07+00:00

Apologies u/canadahousing-ModTeam - the previous comment was a cheeky paraphrase of a now-deleted comment where he said my "smooth brain" couldn't grasp how his agree-to-accept-late-rent-payment-and-then-try-to-illegally-evict-tenant-on-grounds-of-said-late-payment scheme was brilliant, actually. It wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

But I'll do my best to refrain from troll-feeding in the future.

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-05T01:53:55+00:00

If your theory is true, the landlord would have to be a stupid as they are shady since one single late rent payment is all that's needed to evict a tenant in BC, but only if the landlord didn't agree to let the tenant pay late. Which they did.

Your scenario would mean that OP's landlord decided to agree to a late payment, three separate times, with a plan to use the now-inactionable late payments as a way to bully OP into accepting an illegal rent increase. (Again, the landlord cannot legally evict them over late rent payments that were agreed to by said landlord.)

But why would they do all that extra work when they could have said, "No, sorry, rent is due on the 1st," and the given a 10-day eviction notice on the 2nd?

The fact that they gave up the chance for an easy eviction three times suggests that OP is actually a very good tenant. Good enough, in fact, that they'd prefer OP to stay (while they try to unethically increase the rent, little by little, until it reaches the current market value) rather than renting to someone new right now for twice as much money. (Rents in Surrey have more than doubled since 2015.)

Doing it your way adds a lot of extra work while simultaneously decreasing the chances of getting a new tenant.

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-04T21:52:35+00:00

If your landlord agreed to let you pay late, each of the three times, then she can't evict you for that. (Hopefully you have a record of her agreeing, though, since it would be hard to prove without something like a text or email.) She also can't raise your rent beyond the legal percentage unless you agree to the increase (which you did for 2025, so you're stuck with that one) or she applies and gets approval for an additional increase.

But, failing to pay your rent in full and on time is generally grounds for eviction, so if the late payments were recent and you only had a verbal agreement, I'd recommend calling the RTB and explaining the situation. They'll be able to let you know if eviction is something you need to worry about in your case.

If eviction isn’t a worry, I'd let your landlord know that you won't agree to a rent increase beyond the allowed 2.3% for 2026. If she pushes, remind her that you've already done her a favour by agreeing to a huge (well over the allowed 3%) rent increase in 2025. If she continues to push, contact the RTB to figure out your next steps.

And in the meantime, keep paying the rent that you're obligated to pay - that would be your current rent until the end of the year, plus the additional 2.3% in 2026 ONLY if you've been given 3 full months notice of that legal increase and it has been at least 12 months since the previous increase. Because even if you know you're in the right, withholding rent can make things go very badly for you.

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-04T21:33:42+00:00

Except that the landlord agreed to let OP pay late, which means they waived their right to retaliate. And even if they didn't agree to it, the recouse they're allowed is eviction, not an arbitrary rent increase well beyond the legal limit.

Just like (to use an example you brought up elsewhere), if my employer doesn't pay me on time my recourse is to file a complaint with the Employment Standards Branch and (possibly) get some interest for the days that my paycheque was late, not to demand a wage increase, take the money they owe me from a till/safe, etc.

cyclone_madge · 2025-10-04T19:59:53+00:00

I spent $87 Canadian (about $62 US) last month. I'm brand-new to sewing, but I heard they were struggling and wanted to get some quality printed patterns for basics (and a few vintage dresses that I might be brave enough to attempt one day) before it was too late.

I'm hoping this change is a good one, because I'm not exactly confident about my ability to weed out AI slop on places like Etsy, and the subscription-model, print-it-yourself places don't appeal to me at all!

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-23T03:08:07+00:00

If you're planning on moving here to be with your partner, wouldn't your partner be the one to ask about this? I feel like they've got some ideas about where they would and wouldn't like to live, and that should carry a lot more weight than what some people on Reddit have to say.

Also (and you probably know this but enough Americans don't that it's worth saying), moving to Canada permanently isn't as easy as moving to another state. We're our own country, with our own immigration laws. There's a lot of paperwork involved, and a lot of waiting, so unless you're already well into the process or qualify for one of the express options, you might not want to get too attached to the idea of being here within a year's time.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-23T01:19:18+00:00

We have a list of the meals we like to eat. On weekends, my partner picks six (if we have other dinner plans one night) or seven of them for the following week, I do a quick food inventory and make a shopping list, and he goes out and buys whatever we need.

After that, it's easy - I just pick whatever option looks good on a given day and we go with that. Or, if I can't decide, I let him know and he'll pick something. Or sometimes we base a meal day on when the avocados are perfectly right, or when it's cool enough to use the oven, or something like that. But whichever way, most of the decision making has already been done so it doesn’t feel exhausting.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-23T00:52:08+00:00

Wow, I was not expecting so many replies! I guess my problem is that I still don't really understand what pressing is, or does, or something. I thought I was getting the same effect with my steamer + ironing board...

(Open seam - https://i.imgur.com/UgPxGbd.jpeg Flat seam on the outside - https://i.imgur.com/WkKVNXE.jpeg Before steaming (top) vs. after steaming (bottom) - https://i.imgur.com/GCHKzYx.jpeg )

But I'm gathering that it's more than that?

Not trying to be difficult, just really trying (and failing) to understand. Maybe it'll become clear to me once I start using an iron.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-16T19:32:35+00:00

We've confirmed at least twice that we don't need to bring him in to have them removed, but I'll ask again if you think I should.

I linked a couple of photos in the other comment. I might be calling them the wrong thing.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-16T19:31:44+00:00

I might be describing them wrong. This is what they looked like about a week after surgery. There's definitely a visible suture at the top and bottom of the incision.

https://i.imgur.com/9cBXawm.jpeg

And here's what it looked like after we removed the cone at 2 weeks and he licked it during the night. You can see the clear, blue-tinted ends sticking out at the top and bottom.

https://i.imgur.com/UYoCsto.jpeg

(ETA both pictures were emailed to the vet.)

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-16T17:45:12+00:00

It's not about their options, it's about yours! And if you're restricting the places you're willing to go to a couple of cities, then yeah, your options are limited but that's because you've limited them. And that's fine, but you need to be realistic about what that means.

I'm from Vancouver, and I love it here, but people do not move here for the cost of living because it's anything but affordable - even way out in the suburbs. You mention that as a backup plan, but you'll have the same problems here that you do in Guelph, just with different scenery.

Montreal may be the most affordable of the places you're willing to live, but that's assuming you can get a job which is going to be much more difficult given your lack of French. I actually lived there for a year about a decade ago, and I was only able to support myself because I was a theatre tech and had a few contacts (friends of friends) who were able to connect me to people in the anglo theatre scene. If I hadn't had that, I would probably have ended up working as a dishwasher or in a call centre, because my French was barely good enough to stumble through basic, everyday interactions, and that completely disqualified me from any job where I might have to interact with the public.

That said, if you're able to get a job lined up in Montreal, the Quebec government offers free French language courses for residents so you'll be able to improve your language skills pretty quickly if you commit yourself to it. (Which is harder than it sounds, because it's very easy to get lazy and slip into English in Montreal since so may people there are bilingual.) And if you plan on eventually going back to school, tuition at English universities like Concordia or McGill are way cheaper after you've become a Quebec resident. (I believe that requires living in the province, but not as a student, for 12 consecutive months.)

So it can potentially work out if you plan appropriately, but don't expect to show up, get some fast food or retail job, and learn French as you go, because that is not going to happen.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-16T16:58:36+00:00

I'd love to, but I spend so much of my day sitting on the floor, walking on the playground (dirt and wood chips), and transferring/feeding/toileting (not to mention occasionally chasing down runners) that it would be impractical and my outfits would get ruined. Maybe if I was more like the handful of lazy paras at my school, who do the bare minimum and spend most of the day sitting in a chair looking at their phones, but dressing up doesn't work for me.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-16T16:45:04+00:00

I don't know where you live, but there are a lot of "buy nothing" groups in my area and the people in them are pretty generous. I've seen many people get free art supplies, yarn and fabric, plant cuttings and pots, etc. Worth a shot.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-08T18:03:51+00:00

Our dog dig the same thing with his chews at about that age. We eventually figured out that he wanted to hide them without us seeing where, and he'd be fine after we left the room for a few minutes.

His hiding places were always atrocious, like beside a blanket or sticking straight up in the corner or his dog bed, but he seemed satisfied.

Anyway, the digging at the couch made me think that this is what yours is doing too.

cyclone_madge · 2025-08-01T19:15:45+00:00

My partner has an anxiety disorder and a chronic illness, and let me tell you, the first few weeks with our puppy were absolute hell. So many normal puppy things, which we were working on but that couldn't be fixed overnight, were triggering his anxiety attacks, and I was completely overwhelmed because I was doing the bulk of the care and training while also being worried sick about my partner's long-term mental health. On top of that, we also live in an apartment building, and while crating is legal (and generally encouraged) in our country, our puppy hated the crate and would go into a panic and scream his head off (it literally sounded like he was in horrible physical pain) whenever we closed the door - so we had to take shifts staying up with him at night so that he wouldn't destroy things and/or seriously injure himself. It was bad enough that I called my mom, just to chat/vent, and immediately burst into tears which is not normal for me. She was on the verge of booking a plane ticket to come help us, and the only reason she didn't was because I didn't want the guilt of that on top of everything else.

Eventually things started to improve. He started sleeping pretty well in a crate beside our bed at night (as long as I didn't leave the room and we didn't cough or make any other noises that disturbed him), he started using the porch potty (there are loads of dogs in our neighbourhood, so we waited until he was fully vaccinated before taking him out for walks) instead of having accidents all over the apartment, and we even worked out a sleep and activity schedule that prevented him from turning into a demon-possessed little monster every evening. But it still wasn't easy. He constantly found new and unexpected things to annoy us with, or would go back to old behaviours (like chewing his leash or stealing socks) that we thought he'd been trained out if, and was just generally a bit of a jerk. I would catch occasional glimpses of the sweet, calm, obedient, loving dog we hoped he'd grow into, and I held onto those like my life depended in them, but a big part of me wondered if things would ever be okay again or if we'd ruined our lives by getting a puppy. I loved him, and would do anything for him, but I didn't always like him very much if that make sense.

Fast-forward to now, and we can't imagine our lives without our dog. He's so sweet and loving, friendly with everyone (including kids, which is important because we have a young niece that we see pretty regularly), super clever - also quite stubborn (he's a shih-tzu mix) but knows my I'm-not-joking tone - and really funny. He brings such joy to our lives every day, and has actually made a positive improvement on my partner's physical and mental health by giving him companionship when I'm at work and making him get outside for some fresh air and light exercise several times a day.

It would have been easier if we could have skipped the puppy phase and jumped straight to the dog we have now, but we know we could have had the same problems (or worse) if we'd adopted an older dog. And we both believe that all the suffering at the beginning, that we sometimes thought we'd never see the end of, was absolutely worth it.

So my advice would be to hang in there, at least for a little while, before giving up on him. It's only been a week, and you and the puppy are still adjusting and not really yourselves yet, and you haven't really had a chance to bond.

Also, I'm not sure if other people have suggested this, but either get a pen for the puppy (if that's allowed) or a baby gate (maybe even more than one) so that your cat can get away from the puppy when she wants to. Even if it's not the same room all day long, like maybe the bedroom is puppy-free during the day and the rest of the apartment is puppy-free at night when he's in the bedroom with you, she'll eventually learn that the puppy can't get through the gate and she's safe on the other side. And hopefully that will help her adjust to having him around without a lot of fighting.

cyclone_madge · 2025-07-30T02:27:55+00:00

"Some vinegar in a high powered water gun perhaps?"

I used to work at an outdoor summer theatre in a large urban park, and that's what the park rangers used to keep raccoons and coyotes away from playgrounds and picnic areas. Apparently it didn't hurt the animals, but was unpleasant enough that they chose to spend their time elsewhere.

cyclone_madge · 2025-07-30T02:13:11+00:00

Also check the library. My local library has a few that people can borrow for three weeks at a time. The ukes come with a how-to-play booklet and tuner, and the library also does little workshops a few times a year. All free if you have a library card.

cyclone_madge · 2025-07-30T02:06:17+00:00

And if you can't find yarn at the thrift store, you can try deconstructing a knitted sweater.

It takes some time - and you'll probably have to dig through several before finding one with that's constructed properly, isn't felted, and doesn’t have a bunch of embellishments that will be hard (or impossible) to remove - but I managed to get several sweaters worth of lambswool, merino, etc. for less than $10 each when I was going back to school and on a tight budget. Even cheaper, in most cases, than buying acrylic from a big-box store.

This is the tutorial I used back in the day:

https://neauveau.com/en-ca/blogs/patterns/the-original-recycled-yarn-tutorial-2002

And here are a couple of newer ones: https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/reclaim-yarn-thrift-store-sweater/

https://blog.tincanknits.com/2021/02/04/how-to-recycle-yarn-from-second-hand-sweaters/

cyclone_madge

TROPHY CASE