Well we hit the road at 3am in the morning. My kids packed up the important stuff into the van (the dog, 2 cats, the ferret, the cooler the lap top, a bag of cloths each) and pulled me out of the house. They were tired of seeing me clean and struggle. I never had to leave a place in such a mess before but the kids convinced me that I am cleaning for the bad team.After all, what kind of people talk about God on one hand and on the other hand evict a woman with 3 kids out onto the street? Knowing we have no place to go or money to go with?
(Okay the house is not so bad but I am a bit of a Monk when it comes to cleaning and anything out of sort bothers me. The house is always kept clean but all the moving and sorting and packing disturbed a lot and it bothers me)My kids are right the 'bad team'. I always seem to be working for the wrong side. It is time I looked out just for us. So into the van we went.
But to where? well, I got an e-mail from my sister that she said tells me my husband wants a divorce and is willing to pay for the kids. So I thought that we would head down to the inlaws house (since I do not know where to find my husband) and ask them for help.
It was not a smooth ride. But we were all sure we would find help. The van broke down only once. The engine thermostat died and we kept over heating. Lucky for us we found a garage with a heart of gold and they charged us for the part and not the labor. Bless them!
It was a long drive but we arrived in White Rock at 3am. The kids let me take a nap as they played cards in a 24hour McDonalds sipping tea. Then they woke me up at 6am so we could go down to the beach and watch the sunrise. Oh God it felt so good to be home :)
We raced down the White Rock pier, it felt like old times (for me anyway as I grew up there in my teen years)
Now to face the inlaws and find help.
Wish us luck.
Randie
"Hello World"
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
4th Blog
Okay, it is Monday today and we woke up to a crimson son. It looks wild. Maybe it is air pollution?
Prince George has a very extreme pollution problem, it stinks here. literally
Well I dragged myself down to the Welfare office to ask for help and guess what. They can not help me at the moment because they have to assess my situation and urgency. Apparently this will take 3-4 days.
I guess having no phone to be reached at and no residence to reside in is nothing of urgency? I told them I am broke and we are evicted but still there is no help and no offer of which direction to go. Why is that?
Please take a moment to understand. yes I am Canadian but for the past decade i have had the chance to live in the country of Switzerland. A land where they take care of their people, there are no food banks, there are no homeless shelters. Just people ready to help people. What is our problem Canada?? We have 1 million homeless on our very own door step! Where is the help? Where is the love?
So, we will finish packing up and go. Where? I am going down to my home town of White Rock and wait Social Service help out there while on the beach (in fresh air). I have to sell all my jewelery to do get gas money.
Well it is not my jewelery, I have never really owned any. Really!I only have the little bit I made at the garage sales. It should get us some gas and food, if nothing goes wrong we should make it. God Speed.
If there is absolutely no help in Social Service in my White Rock then ...
I have no choice now but to land on the doorstep of my in-laws. This should be interesting. We do not have a good, or any, relationship at all. But what choice do I have. It is not about me, it has never been about me. It is about the kids. I need help to keep them safe.
Although I do not consider my inlaws a safe place or exposure to my husband safe. I would have no choice.
I have raised my kids wonderfully and I have confidence they can hold their own.
Yup, they can really hold their own.
Me on the other hand, I do not know how to NOT break my husbands nose when I see him again. If I see him.
My kids tell me (Oh God they are smart)
You can not get mad at stupid people. They are stupid and do not know what they are doing. You can not laugh in their face either. The only choice we have is to smile and remember they are stupid and nothing they say matters.
We actually sit around and have these conversations. It is wild. I never did that when I was their age. Speak wise.
We all agree with George Carlin, people are okay... one minute at a time. After that the stupidity level is no longer tolerable.
Or like Jeff Foxworthy puts it. "Life would be a lot easier if stupid people had to wear a sign". "Here is your sign" Then we would know who to speak to or not.
Makes complete sense to us.
There are some days when we would like to have a pile of "I am Stupid" signs and just pass them out as we go.
How bad is that to say.
I put my resume out there asking to work with intelligent people. I have had no responses.
Well, I have got to go. Busy busy busy. Packing, cleaning, cleaning and packing.
Have a lovely week. I am not sure when I will be back on line because I also have to return all our internet equipment to the Shaw office today. But I will keep this lap top with me as I am sure we will be able to fine a free connection somewhere along the way.
Thank you for listening ( yes I know you are reading, it is just an expression)
Randie
Prince George has a very extreme pollution problem, it stinks here. literally
Well I dragged myself down to the Welfare office to ask for help and guess what. They can not help me at the moment because they have to assess my situation and urgency. Apparently this will take 3-4 days.
I guess having no phone to be reached at and no residence to reside in is nothing of urgency? I told them I am broke and we are evicted but still there is no help and no offer of which direction to go. Why is that?
Please take a moment to understand. yes I am Canadian but for the past decade i have had the chance to live in the country of Switzerland. A land where they take care of their people, there are no food banks, there are no homeless shelters. Just people ready to help people. What is our problem Canada?? We have 1 million homeless on our very own door step! Where is the help? Where is the love?
So, we will finish packing up and go. Where? I am going down to my home town of White Rock and wait Social Service help out there while on the beach (in fresh air). I have to sell all my jewelery to do get gas money.
Well it is not my jewelery, I have never really owned any. Really!I only have the little bit I made at the garage sales. It should get us some gas and food, if nothing goes wrong we should make it. God Speed.
If there is absolutely no help in Social Service in my White Rock then ...
I have no choice now but to land on the doorstep of my in-laws. This should be interesting. We do not have a good, or any, relationship at all. But what choice do I have. It is not about me, it has never been about me. It is about the kids. I need help to keep them safe.
Although I do not consider my inlaws a safe place or exposure to my husband safe. I would have no choice.
I have raised my kids wonderfully and I have confidence they can hold their own.
Yup, they can really hold their own.
Me on the other hand, I do not know how to NOT break my husbands nose when I see him again. If I see him.
My kids tell me (Oh God they are smart)
You can not get mad at stupid people. They are stupid and do not know what they are doing. You can not laugh in their face either. The only choice we have is to smile and remember they are stupid and nothing they say matters.
We actually sit around and have these conversations. It is wild. I never did that when I was their age. Speak wise.
We all agree with George Carlin, people are okay... one minute at a time. After that the stupidity level is no longer tolerable.
Or like Jeff Foxworthy puts it. "Life would be a lot easier if stupid people had to wear a sign". "Here is your sign" Then we would know who to speak to or not.
Makes complete sense to us.
There are some days when we would like to have a pile of "I am Stupid" signs and just pass them out as we go.
How bad is that to say.
I put my resume out there asking to work with intelligent people. I have had no responses.
Well, I have got to go. Busy busy busy. Packing, cleaning, cleaning and packing.
Have a lovely week. I am not sure when I will be back on line because I also have to return all our internet equipment to the Shaw office today. But I will keep this lap top with me as I am sure we will be able to fine a free connection somewhere along the way.
Thank you for listening ( yes I know you are reading, it is just an expression)
Randie
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Blog #3
Hot dang, it is hot out today.
I got up this morning and made another van load to the dump and another full load to the cardboard recycle.
Then we made another load to the lock up, but before we could unload we had to spend almost an hour moving the stuff around like a Tetris game. The cheapest lock up does not have very much space, so in order to make the last of our things fit... we played box Tetris.
Does anyone have any idea how hard all this moving is? I would like to hear.
I am sure Annette Ringier has no idea the stress she has put me and my children under.
When I was not able to pay my rent and found out I could not qualify for any social assistance.
Yes that is right! As soon as I discovered Annette ended her financial help to me, I dashed down town to find help. First I went to the 'Elisabeth Fry Society' because they are said to help woman. They listened to my story, with much compassion I must add, and then they dashed me over to 'Immigration' as I was told it was an immigration problem because I have been out of the country for so long.
It was the immigration officer that told me I have no help coming to me and that my e-mails between Annette, her helpers and I have no legal standing.
Plus I do not qualify for any social assistance because I have had no Canadian taxable income for 18 years now. ( I was a stay at home Mom before we went to Europe)
I was told to liquidate all my assets and only after I did that I should then be allowed to move into a woman's shelter.
A woman's shelter!!??
So I asked if I could get a Government grant to reopen my Childrens center because I have everything needed except for a room to set up in. I was told there is no grant for me because of cut backs.
This makes me mad because I recently read in the paper our leader of BC, Mr Gordon Campbell (Who, by the way I used to work with when I was 'Vancouver's Mascot Tillicum' ) just gave himself a raise. Where are his cut backs???
So that is basically what I have done. Liquidated. There was so much stuff to go through. Not only did I have the 300 boxes I mentioned already But, there was also our full household belongings. I can not afford to store all of the things or transport them.
I know this because without the 300 boxes sent from Europe, it already cost me $4400 to move our household items from the house in Salmon Arm up here to Prince George. That is too expensive to do again. What if I have to transport further? Ouch.
So we did as I said ...garage sale, garage sale garage sale.
At least before this, Annette paid. Now I have to pay.
I am still of the opinion that if she had set us up right in the first place we would not only already be settled but we would have saved so much money!!!
Again, I e-mailed Annette and her helpers as to what was happening but it is clear that they just do not care.
It would be different if she was doing this to a single person. but I am alone with 3 kids, just what do they expect of me.
To be honest the few people I have shared my full story details with in person , have told me straight out they would have given up by now. Curled up in a little ball and died.
So either I am really strong or really stupid?!
Being strong is okay to a point. In Switzerland everyone called me "Power Frau". but to be honest, I really wish I did not have to be so strong. I dream of a Hero to sweep me up in his arms and take care of me for a change. I dream of having an equal relationship where someone has my back.
A girl can dream can't she?
And what is with this finance company evicting me without very much notice. 3 weeks is not enough time to reorganize ones life. I kept saying I am alone and how do I do everything in time? They tell me "Oh, so sorry but we are running a business and not a charity. We are already being kind to you".
The stress alone of trying to meet their deadline was off the hook. I know if I have enough time from the start I would have been able to go through and organize our things better and have a more successful garage sale.
I ran around sleepless and stressed like a chicken with its head cut off to make the deadline, only to have them kindly extend it for me by 2 weeks. Ughh Thank you but Aghhhhhh!!
What did they expect of me?
What did Annette expect of me?
I am only human people. Where is the love?
Like my neighbors? Where is 'love thy neighbor? They all talk about their faith in God but do they step outside the box to help? No,
When my van got broken into twice. And the house was vandalized, I ran around and took the time to organize a neighborhood watch. It was the right thing to do ( so I thought)
Everyone knows I am alone with kids and no man but do they stop to offer to help or take a load in their truck to the dump? No, They mostly drive by and do not look at me. Where is the love.
This frustrates my kids because they said, "Mom, if any of our neighbors were in the position we are in,we know you would be the first to step up and help out".
They are right , I would.
See, it is because I am too nice.
I need a nap.
This Blog venting is a good thing. I get everything off my chest and out of my mind so I can keep my chin up and concentrate on my positive affirmations.
Like; something great is about to happen! This is just a cleansing period in our lives. Everything is going to be okay. Right?
I am told, God only gives you what you can handle, I just wish he would not trust me with so much.
and how about the saying "If it does not kill you it will make you stronger" How strong am I meant to be???
Thanks for the vent
Have a lovely Sunday
I am going to watch 'My Name is Earl' and then take a nap. I have much to clean around here.
Randie
I got up this morning and made another van load to the dump and another full load to the cardboard recycle.
Then we made another load to the lock up, but before we could unload we had to spend almost an hour moving the stuff around like a Tetris game. The cheapest lock up does not have very much space, so in order to make the last of our things fit... we played box Tetris.
Does anyone have any idea how hard all this moving is? I would like to hear.
I am sure Annette Ringier has no idea the stress she has put me and my children under.
When I was not able to pay my rent and found out I could not qualify for any social assistance.
Yes that is right! As soon as I discovered Annette ended her financial help to me, I dashed down town to find help. First I went to the 'Elisabeth Fry Society' because they are said to help woman. They listened to my story, with much compassion I must add, and then they dashed me over to 'Immigration' as I was told it was an immigration problem because I have been out of the country for so long.
It was the immigration officer that told me I have no help coming to me and that my e-mails between Annette, her helpers and I have no legal standing.
Plus I do not qualify for any social assistance because I have had no Canadian taxable income for 18 years now. ( I was a stay at home Mom before we went to Europe)
I was told to liquidate all my assets and only after I did that I should then be allowed to move into a woman's shelter.
A woman's shelter!!??
So I asked if I could get a Government grant to reopen my Childrens center because I have everything needed except for a room to set up in. I was told there is no grant for me because of cut backs.
This makes me mad because I recently read in the paper our leader of BC, Mr Gordon Campbell (Who, by the way I used to work with when I was 'Vancouver's Mascot Tillicum' ) just gave himself a raise. Where are his cut backs???
So that is basically what I have done. Liquidated. There was so much stuff to go through. Not only did I have the 300 boxes I mentioned already But, there was also our full household belongings. I can not afford to store all of the things or transport them.
I know this because without the 300 boxes sent from Europe, it already cost me $4400 to move our household items from the house in Salmon Arm up here to Prince George. That is too expensive to do again. What if I have to transport further? Ouch.
So we did as I said ...garage sale, garage sale garage sale.
At least before this, Annette paid. Now I have to pay.
I am still of the opinion that if she had set us up right in the first place we would not only already be settled but we would have saved so much money!!!
Again, I e-mailed Annette and her helpers as to what was happening but it is clear that they just do not care.
It would be different if she was doing this to a single person. but I am alone with 3 kids, just what do they expect of me.
To be honest the few people I have shared my full story details with in person , have told me straight out they would have given up by now. Curled up in a little ball and died.
So either I am really strong or really stupid?!
Being strong is okay to a point. In Switzerland everyone called me "Power Frau". but to be honest, I really wish I did not have to be so strong. I dream of a Hero to sweep me up in his arms and take care of me for a change. I dream of having an equal relationship where someone has my back.
A girl can dream can't she?
And what is with this finance company evicting me without very much notice. 3 weeks is not enough time to reorganize ones life. I kept saying I am alone and how do I do everything in time? They tell me "Oh, so sorry but we are running a business and not a charity. We are already being kind to you".
The stress alone of trying to meet their deadline was off the hook. I know if I have enough time from the start I would have been able to go through and organize our things better and have a more successful garage sale.
I ran around sleepless and stressed like a chicken with its head cut off to make the deadline, only to have them kindly extend it for me by 2 weeks. Ughh Thank you but Aghhhhhh!!
What did they expect of me?
What did Annette expect of me?
I am only human people. Where is the love?
Like my neighbors? Where is 'love thy neighbor? They all talk about their faith in God but do they step outside the box to help? No,
When my van got broken into twice. And the house was vandalized, I ran around and took the time to organize a neighborhood watch. It was the right thing to do ( so I thought)
Everyone knows I am alone with kids and no man but do they stop to offer to help or take a load in their truck to the dump? No, They mostly drive by and do not look at me. Where is the love.
This frustrates my kids because they said, "Mom, if any of our neighbors were in the position we are in,we know you would be the first to step up and help out".
They are right , I would.
See, it is because I am too nice.
I need a nap.
This Blog venting is a good thing. I get everything off my chest and out of my mind so I can keep my chin up and concentrate on my positive affirmations.
Like; something great is about to happen! This is just a cleansing period in our lives. Everything is going to be okay. Right?
I am told, God only gives you what you can handle, I just wish he would not trust me with so much.
and how about the saying "If it does not kill you it will make you stronger" How strong am I meant to be???
Thanks for the vent
Have a lovely Sunday
I am going to watch 'My Name is Earl' and then take a nap. I have much to clean around here.
Randie
second Blog part 2
Oh hey, I just realized it is Saturday! well Sunday! I do not have to go and grovel at the welfare office until Monday. Ahhh
One more day to hold onto my self respect.
Thanks for listening
and have a lovely Sunday
Randie
PS
Isn't Ty Pennington wonderful. I love his energy. I was just thinking about him because I love the show extreme makeover. We need an extreme makeover. If we had a home to make over. I wish this also happened in Canada.
Bless the makers of the show and everyone that has ever worked on it or been apart of it. And certainly bless all the needy people whos lives needed the help.
One more day to hold onto my self respect.
Thanks for listening
and have a lovely Sunday
Randie
PS
Isn't Ty Pennington wonderful. I love his energy. I was just thinking about him because I love the show extreme makeover. We need an extreme makeover. If we had a home to make over. I wish this also happened in Canada.
Bless the makers of the show and everyone that has ever worked on it or been apart of it. And certainly bless all the needy people whos lives needed the help.
My second Blog
What a funny word 'Blog'.
It is 1:45 am and I am calling it a day. I have been packing and moving and cooking and trying to clean.
Like I said we are evicted. What happened. Well...
The only help Annette kept to was she sent me money each month. Nothing had been prearranged, as I had
been told that when we land in Canada we should take a moment to relax and distress then buy a van and go house hunting for a home big enough for my new business. Swiss-Canadian Connection. Ugh that did not happen.
Who knew I would have troubles???
First off we were all in shock and stress was saying it lightly. we were (and still are) devastated!!!
I was sick the whole trip. I may as well have got my ticket for the toilet and not bother retuning to a
seat.
When we arrived we were in culture shock. (and still are)
The hotel was already booked out but they managed to give us a couple of days stay, then we had to go to a
different hotel and then another and another and another.
If you want a good business to be in run a hotel, they are in big demand. It may sound fun the hotel life but
trust me when you do not know your budget and you have no credit card. It is not fun at all. So many of he hotels would not take cash and without a credit card 80% turned me away. The other 20% made be leave a $200-300 deposit. That is if they even took cash!
It turns out Canada is debit card crazy and I did not have one. And without an address the bank would not even give me an account to get one.
I tell you it was crazy and stressful beyond beleif.
Anyhow...
The reason we are being evicted is this:
At the end of June when I was expecting money from Annette, she stopped without warning. Fully knowing that I had not been able to find work or reestablish myself or qualify for any kind of social assistance, she cut me off.
Yes, I wrote to her and to her 2 assistance that were assigned to me. They all knew what would happen and the problems I was and am having. yet still they just stopped!!! No warning the money just stopped and boy was I unprepared.
So, when I could not pay my rent I was given the notice of eviction on the 11th of July telling me we had to be out on July 31st. I was in shock again!
Now not only did my funding stop but we are also evicted. Now what???
I went to look for help and I was told there is no use trying to get anything from Annette because she lives to far away in a different country to fight legally plus she is rich and can fight me under the table.
This made me as sad as I am mad. It is just not fair! If I was given the help promised in the first place we would be settled and earning our own funds. My kids would be relaxed and making friends.
Being evicted on such short notice is difficult when you are also broke and have to do everything on your own.
I am alone. My back needs a rub!
There is just so much to do! Last fall it was organized (separate from Annette) to have all our thing sent out to us. 300 boxes!!! This was my 'Pit Stop' and 'Cafe Canada' and personal belongings of mine and my 3 kids.
I was already trying hard to find work so I did not have time to go through all the boxes yet. Now I was not only forced to go through them but in an effort to raise some funds for food and bills, I was now forced to sell everything off.!!!
I can not afford to keep anything. I can not afford to reestablish my businesses, one or the other. I had to garage sale like crazy.
Did I make money, hardly.
Yard sales are a sad business. They go some what like this...
"How much is that?"
"Oh, I will take $20 for it, I paid $100"
"I will give you $5"!
It went on and on like that only it was mostly a dollar here and there. I could not afford to put an ad in the news paper so my market was the posters I made and stuck up on light poles around town.
It is really hard not to be mad and disappointed at Annette Ringier right now. This all hurts very bad.
Her last e-mail to me said:
"You will never run a business"!
"My money gave you fantasy"!
"Take your kids to your husbands parents already and go on social sevice"!
quote, unquote.
I am off to bed. Oh that is right, I have no bed. I am off to the floor.
"Goodnight" or rather "Good Morning"
I have a full day tomorrow.
I had asked my husbands lawyer for help and told her it was ASAP but we had no reply.
She knows to tell him we need this help now but the e-mail reply was for me to go and get a lawyer and pay for it myself.
Like that is going to happen. How do I pay?
Tomorrow, well today, I have to go down to welfare and beg for some money.
Wish me luck
Randie
It is 1:45 am and I am calling it a day. I have been packing and moving and cooking and trying to clean.
Like I said we are evicted. What happened. Well...
The only help Annette kept to was she sent me money each month. Nothing had been prearranged, as I had
been told that when we land in Canada we should take a moment to relax and distress then buy a van and go house hunting for a home big enough for my new business. Swiss-Canadian Connection. Ugh that did not happen.
Who knew I would have troubles???
First off we were all in shock and stress was saying it lightly. we were (and still are) devastated!!!
I was sick the whole trip. I may as well have got my ticket for the toilet and not bother retuning to a
seat.
When we arrived we were in culture shock. (and still are)
The hotel was already booked out but they managed to give us a couple of days stay, then we had to go to a
different hotel and then another and another and another.
If you want a good business to be in run a hotel, they are in big demand. It may sound fun the hotel life but
trust me when you do not know your budget and you have no credit card. It is not fun at all. So many of he hotels would not take cash and without a credit card 80% turned me away. The other 20% made be leave a $200-300 deposit. That is if they even took cash!
It turns out Canada is debit card crazy and I did not have one. And without an address the bank would not even give me an account to get one.
I tell you it was crazy and stressful beyond beleif.
Anyhow...
The reason we are being evicted is this:
At the end of June when I was expecting money from Annette, she stopped without warning. Fully knowing that I had not been able to find work or reestablish myself or qualify for any kind of social assistance, she cut me off.
Yes, I wrote to her and to her 2 assistance that were assigned to me. They all knew what would happen and the problems I was and am having. yet still they just stopped!!! No warning the money just stopped and boy was I unprepared.
So, when I could not pay my rent I was given the notice of eviction on the 11th of July telling me we had to be out on July 31st. I was in shock again!
Now not only did my funding stop but we are also evicted. Now what???
I went to look for help and I was told there is no use trying to get anything from Annette because she lives to far away in a different country to fight legally plus she is rich and can fight me under the table.
This made me as sad as I am mad. It is just not fair! If I was given the help promised in the first place we would be settled and earning our own funds. My kids would be relaxed and making friends.
Being evicted on such short notice is difficult when you are also broke and have to do everything on your own.
I am alone. My back needs a rub!
There is just so much to do! Last fall it was organized (separate from Annette) to have all our thing sent out to us. 300 boxes!!! This was my 'Pit Stop' and 'Cafe Canada' and personal belongings of mine and my 3 kids.
I was already trying hard to find work so I did not have time to go through all the boxes yet. Now I was not only forced to go through them but in an effort to raise some funds for food and bills, I was now forced to sell everything off.!!!
I can not afford to keep anything. I can not afford to reestablish my businesses, one or the other. I had to garage sale like crazy.
Did I make money, hardly.
Yard sales are a sad business. They go some what like this...
"How much is that?"
"Oh, I will take $20 for it, I paid $100"
"I will give you $5"!
It went on and on like that only it was mostly a dollar here and there. I could not afford to put an ad in the news paper so my market was the posters I made and stuck up on light poles around town.
It is really hard not to be mad and disappointed at Annette Ringier right now. This all hurts very bad.
Her last e-mail to me said:
"You will never run a business"!
"My money gave you fantasy"!
"Take your kids to your husbands parents already and go on social sevice"!
quote, unquote.
I am off to bed. Oh that is right, I have no bed. I am off to the floor.
"Goodnight" or rather "Good Morning"
I have a full day tomorrow.
I had asked my husbands lawyer for help and told her it was ASAP but we had no reply.
She knows to tell him we need this help now but the e-mail reply was for me to go and get a lawyer and pay for it myself.
Like that is going to happen. How do I pay?
Tomorrow, well today, I have to go down to welfare and beg for some money.
Wish me luck
Randie
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Today is the first day of my Blog
Hello, is anybody out there?
Okay, I just aged myself. I am still shaking my head at the fact that I made a blog.
I got myself into a situation and it has left me high and dry and very much on my own.
You know what 'they say'. "You find out who your friends are when..." Well it turns out that I do not have any friends. None that are in a position to help any way. Does that matter, well it turns out that it does.
Since this is my first Blog I will introduce myself by showing you the video I put onto Youtube. It explains a bit of what I have been going through but that is just a start. There is so much more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7qtlqy27gU
Did you look? Okay, so I was living in Switzerland for 10 years. I went there originally with my husband and three kids.
Oh, just a second the dang tap is drip drip dripping. Okay, that's better.
Yes, okay, I have a problem with speaking my mind. I think therefore I am??? Actually as a single Mom in the never ending world of kids yelling "Mommmmm" I do not have any kind of social life at all. My daily conversations are usually "What?" and "Okay sweetie, is there anything else Mommy can do for you?".
Oh, and that has not changed even now that they are all teenagers :)
I would take the time to find some adult friends... if I only had the time. But I am really not complaining, even if it sounds that way. I am of the mind set that kids are only kids once and to embrace every moment because before long it is gone. I was a kid once and I have no fond memories of my mother ever being there for me. So I want to be there for my kids. I want them to have good memories and no matter what has happened or is happening in my world. My kids are first and I try my hardest to keep them stress free.
I try to keep my chin up at all times even but I have to admit there are some moments that my chin weighs a ton.
I know the problems in my world always start because I am too nice. Really, I have the hardest time being a bitch. I joke about it but at the end of the day I find I have put everyone else first. Oh it is not so bad, it actually feels really good but then I find myself in these predicaments.
I will write more later but right now I have to finish packing up.
You see I have to leave our house tomorrow. Yup, we are moving. Where? I do not know.
Where is Keanu Reeves hanging out these days? I want to live with him.
Oh am I typing out loud?
If you seen my YouTube video you would know I am in a crazy predicament at the moment.
As I started off saying, I was in Switzerland for 10 years (I will explain more later) to make a long story short I went from being abandoned by my husband without any support payments, to having my own Children's Center I called the 'Pit Stop' and 'Cafe Canada'. Unfortunately the building I was in got sold and was to be torn down. I put the word out in the newspapers that I was looking for a new location and due to the high costs of life in Switzerland I needed help doing so.
Well my business proposal got taken to Annette Ringier, one of the richest woman in Switzerland and one of her staff called me and said my project was going to be picked up by the Ringier AG company as a pilot project.
Dang, I thought that I won the lottery. We were so excited.
But I should have known from the start things were fishy because I was told that I had to keep private as to whom was helping me. I was told it was because I was in the paper all the time (as seen on my Youtube video) and they did not want the hype and attention. I think hype and attention would have been great for business but I did as I was told because I was so excited to have help. Real help.
I do not read or write German and I speak only enough to get by, so I did as I was told and that was that.
So I thought.
Just as all this was happening I was having another problem. Since my 'Pit Stop' was all packed up my kids started coming home from school bored. When I asked the problem they explained to me that they were doing more at my center after school then they were ever doing in school.
This was a problem.
So, I went to the school and asked if my kids could have more work. Maybe we should test them to make sure they are at the right level. This is where my big problem started.
It turns out that there are a lot of bored kids in the public school system in Switzerland and if they move one child then they would have to move more and this is a problem. You see, it upsets their system and it turns out that there are people that do not like to think outside the box like I do. So, I got into trouble.
My oldest son started to simply stop going to school. "They make me feel like an idiot Mom" "I know I am smart and the teachers do not like this, I hate them and I am not going". What do you do when your kid says this? Well I told my appointed Ringier helper this , she had Annette Ringier pay for tests on my kids. It turns out my son is smart, very very smart. A little Genius to say the least, no wonder he was bored. Poor guy. But the school did not want to accept this, they put him into a hospital saying he must be really sick not to want to go to school. Really, true story. They would not accept he needed more input.
But it was not enough to pick on just one of my kids they had to pick them all apart. To make a long story short. (And now remember, I can not speak or read German)
Even though the teachers and city council members spoke English to me on the street, inside the classroom and during meeting they refused to speak to me in English and made me try and figure everything out in German, even paying a translator to come. (but as it turned out I understood more then I realized after living there 10 years, and the translator was not telling me everything, just what they thought was important.)
Well excuse me but when it comes to my kids, everything is important.
Yes, I will write a book one day! Actually I already started and have a couple of publishing companies interested.
Again, to make a long and complicated story short, I was called into a meeting, with the city council and a lawyer paid for by Annette Ringier and I was basically told that I was not a good Mom. That my 'Pit Stop' was bad not only for my children but of the children in my village. I was told that they would remove my children from me because: I would not accept them putting my oldest son into a youth home, as I was told my home was over stimulating for him. My daughter was too 'fat' (which is a complete load of bull, anyone who heard this said it was crazy, big boobs as they run in my family yes, fat no. but if the teacher says it they say it must be so) and my youngest son would not take a shower. All crazy trumped up charges against me because I challenged them and because they were all upset with me for not telling them where I was getting extra money from.
Remember I was told to tell no one that Annette Ringier was helping me? This silence got me into trouble.
So much trouble that: I was sent a letter (in German) telling me that I had to have my 3 kids packed and ready as they were going to remove them from my home. Yes!
(before I go on, I should point out that after we arrived in Canada I was e-mailed a letter stating that all charges were dropped and they were sorry. I am a good mom and my kids could stay with me, but it was too late by then...we were gone and afraid to return.
When I asked the two different lawyers (paid for by Ringier) what to do? I was told to pack a bag each and get out of the country ASAP! I was told that I could not say "Good-bye" or "Thank you" because if anyone knows I am going the authorities will find out and arest me at the airport for 'Kidnapping' (when you sign your kids up in the public school system they belong to Switzerland) and then my kids would be taken and never returned to me. I was terrified, in shock and even writing this still gives me goosebumps!!!
So, again I did as we were told. Crying the whole time in private and chin up as high as I could when my kids were around.
After all it can not be so bad right? Annette Ringier told me that she would pay for our flights, help reestablish us and then continue to care for us financially for 3 years to make sure we were all okay. Not so bad right?
She also knew that I was scared to return to Canada because my marriage ended on a very violent note and I was scared to expose myself or my children to this man. The number one reason I was allowed to stay in Switzerland after he left was because the police told me my husband was not allowed back into the country after what happened and I was to be safe there. I really felt safe. Now this safety net was being ripped from under me at no choice. I was and still am really scared.
But Annette assured me she had my back and everything would be okay. She even told me the new idea I had for "The Swiss-Canadian Connection" was a good idea and worth doing. This means I would get a house big enough so that Swiss kids could come and stay with us in Canada to learn English and see the country.
We would have a home and a job. This would be good right. I was not ready to leave the wonderful Swiss kids behind. I love them very much as they grew up before my eyes. No I was not ready to have to go. Not ready at all. But I love my kids more and when you are a Mom you do whatever it takes. Right??!!!
I tell you fleeing the country was very scary and terrifying to say the least. Okay so Annette gave me money in my pocket. Annette had my back right? Everything was going to be okay? That is what all the e-mails were telling me.
Stupid me, I had nothing in writing and signed. Only e-mails, that I am only now being told, mean nothing. NOTHING!!!
Yup, you guessed it (okay you did see my Youtube video) once we hit Canadian soil the promises were broken. After being sent a bit more money I was then told to go on the social service system.
I WAS IN SHOCK!!! This is not being reestablished. Where was the help? Where was our protection?
If I had known for one second it would happen like this then I would not have taken Annette's help. There were other people interested in helping me. Sure they did not offer a pilot project and lavish me with money but it was good honest help.
I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, trying to explain that after being out of the country for so long I do not qualify for any kind of assistance. I have no credit rating in Canada and I can not rent a home without a job and i can not get a job without a home. I did not come back to be on Social Assistance! And where was the safety net about protecting me and my kids from my husband?
Ohhh it is 9:50, I got to go. After all we are evicted from this house and we have to go tomorrow. Where who knows? But I am sure everything happens for a reason and everything will be okay. Right?
Right!?
Thanks for listening to my vent. I will continue later.
Have a wonderful Saturday
Randie
Okay, I just aged myself. I am still shaking my head at the fact that I made a blog.
I got myself into a situation and it has left me high and dry and very much on my own.
You know what 'they say'. "You find out who your friends are when..." Well it turns out that I do not have any friends. None that are in a position to help any way. Does that matter, well it turns out that it does.
Since this is my first Blog I will introduce myself by showing you the video I put onto Youtube. It explains a bit of what I have been going through but that is just a start. There is so much more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7qtlqy27gU
Did you look? Okay, so I was living in Switzerland for 10 years. I went there originally with my husband and three kids.
Oh, just a second the dang tap is drip drip dripping. Okay, that's better.
Yes, okay, I have a problem with speaking my mind. I think therefore I am??? Actually as a single Mom in the never ending world of kids yelling "Mommmmm" I do not have any kind of social life at all. My daily conversations are usually "What?" and "Okay sweetie, is there anything else Mommy can do for you?".
Oh, and that has not changed even now that they are all teenagers :)
I would take the time to find some adult friends... if I only had the time. But I am really not complaining, even if it sounds that way. I am of the mind set that kids are only kids once and to embrace every moment because before long it is gone. I was a kid once and I have no fond memories of my mother ever being there for me. So I want to be there for my kids. I want them to have good memories and no matter what has happened or is happening in my world. My kids are first and I try my hardest to keep them stress free.
I try to keep my chin up at all times even but I have to admit there are some moments that my chin weighs a ton.
I know the problems in my world always start because I am too nice. Really, I have the hardest time being a bitch. I joke about it but at the end of the day I find I have put everyone else first. Oh it is not so bad, it actually feels really good but then I find myself in these predicaments.
I will write more later but right now I have to finish packing up.
You see I have to leave our house tomorrow. Yup, we are moving. Where? I do not know.
Where is Keanu Reeves hanging out these days? I want to live with him.
Oh am I typing out loud?
If you seen my YouTube video you would know I am in a crazy predicament at the moment.
As I started off saying, I was in Switzerland for 10 years (I will explain more later) to make a long story short I went from being abandoned by my husband without any support payments, to having my own Children's Center I called the 'Pit Stop' and 'Cafe Canada'. Unfortunately the building I was in got sold and was to be torn down. I put the word out in the newspapers that I was looking for a new location and due to the high costs of life in Switzerland I needed help doing so.
Well my business proposal got taken to Annette Ringier, one of the richest woman in Switzerland and one of her staff called me and said my project was going to be picked up by the Ringier AG company as a pilot project.
Dang, I thought that I won the lottery. We were so excited.
But I should have known from the start things were fishy because I was told that I had to keep private as to whom was helping me. I was told it was because I was in the paper all the time (as seen on my Youtube video) and they did not want the hype and attention. I think hype and attention would have been great for business but I did as I was told because I was so excited to have help. Real help.
I do not read or write German and I speak only enough to get by, so I did as I was told and that was that.
So I thought.
Just as all this was happening I was having another problem. Since my 'Pit Stop' was all packed up my kids started coming home from school bored. When I asked the problem they explained to me that they were doing more at my center after school then they were ever doing in school.
This was a problem.
So, I went to the school and asked if my kids could have more work. Maybe we should test them to make sure they are at the right level. This is where my big problem started.
It turns out that there are a lot of bored kids in the public school system in Switzerland and if they move one child then they would have to move more and this is a problem. You see, it upsets their system and it turns out that there are people that do not like to think outside the box like I do. So, I got into trouble.
My oldest son started to simply stop going to school. "They make me feel like an idiot Mom" "I know I am smart and the teachers do not like this, I hate them and I am not going". What do you do when your kid says this? Well I told my appointed Ringier helper this , she had Annette Ringier pay for tests on my kids. It turns out my son is smart, very very smart. A little Genius to say the least, no wonder he was bored. Poor guy. But the school did not want to accept this, they put him into a hospital saying he must be really sick not to want to go to school. Really, true story. They would not accept he needed more input.
But it was not enough to pick on just one of my kids they had to pick them all apart. To make a long story short. (And now remember, I can not speak or read German)
Even though the teachers and city council members spoke English to me on the street, inside the classroom and during meeting they refused to speak to me in English and made me try and figure everything out in German, even paying a translator to come. (but as it turned out I understood more then I realized after living there 10 years, and the translator was not telling me everything, just what they thought was important.)
Well excuse me but when it comes to my kids, everything is important.
Yes, I will write a book one day! Actually I already started and have a couple of publishing companies interested.
Again, to make a long and complicated story short, I was called into a meeting, with the city council and a lawyer paid for by Annette Ringier and I was basically told that I was not a good Mom. That my 'Pit Stop' was bad not only for my children but of the children in my village. I was told that they would remove my children from me because: I would not accept them putting my oldest son into a youth home, as I was told my home was over stimulating for him. My daughter was too 'fat' (which is a complete load of bull, anyone who heard this said it was crazy, big boobs as they run in my family yes, fat no. but if the teacher says it they say it must be so) and my youngest son would not take a shower. All crazy trumped up charges against me because I challenged them and because they were all upset with me for not telling them where I was getting extra money from.
Remember I was told to tell no one that Annette Ringier was helping me? This silence got me into trouble.
So much trouble that: I was sent a letter (in German) telling me that I had to have my 3 kids packed and ready as they were going to remove them from my home. Yes!
(before I go on, I should point out that after we arrived in Canada I was e-mailed a letter stating that all charges were dropped and they were sorry. I am a good mom and my kids could stay with me, but it was too late by then...we were gone and afraid to return.
When I asked the two different lawyers (paid for by Ringier) what to do? I was told to pack a bag each and get out of the country ASAP! I was told that I could not say "Good-bye" or "Thank you" because if anyone knows I am going the authorities will find out and arest me at the airport for 'Kidnapping' (when you sign your kids up in the public school system they belong to Switzerland) and then my kids would be taken and never returned to me. I was terrified, in shock and even writing this still gives me goosebumps!!!
So, again I did as we were told. Crying the whole time in private and chin up as high as I could when my kids were around.
After all it can not be so bad right? Annette Ringier told me that she would pay for our flights, help reestablish us and then continue to care for us financially for 3 years to make sure we were all okay. Not so bad right?
She also knew that I was scared to return to Canada because my marriage ended on a very violent note and I was scared to expose myself or my children to this man. The number one reason I was allowed to stay in Switzerland after he left was because the police told me my husband was not allowed back into the country after what happened and I was to be safe there. I really felt safe. Now this safety net was being ripped from under me at no choice. I was and still am really scared.
But Annette assured me she had my back and everything would be okay. She even told me the new idea I had for "The Swiss-Canadian Connection" was a good idea and worth doing. This means I would get a house big enough so that Swiss kids could come and stay with us in Canada to learn English and see the country.
We would have a home and a job. This would be good right. I was not ready to leave the wonderful Swiss kids behind. I love them very much as they grew up before my eyes. No I was not ready to have to go. Not ready at all. But I love my kids more and when you are a Mom you do whatever it takes. Right??!!!
I tell you fleeing the country was very scary and terrifying to say the least. Okay so Annette gave me money in my pocket. Annette had my back right? Everything was going to be okay? That is what all the e-mails were telling me.
Stupid me, I had nothing in writing and signed. Only e-mails, that I am only now being told, mean nothing. NOTHING!!!
Yup, you guessed it (okay you did see my Youtube video) once we hit Canadian soil the promises were broken. After being sent a bit more money I was then told to go on the social service system.
I WAS IN SHOCK!!! This is not being reestablished. Where was the help? Where was our protection?
If I had known for one second it would happen like this then I would not have taken Annette's help. There were other people interested in helping me. Sure they did not offer a pilot project and lavish me with money but it was good honest help.
I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, trying to explain that after being out of the country for so long I do not qualify for any kind of assistance. I have no credit rating in Canada and I can not rent a home without a job and i can not get a job without a home. I did not come back to be on Social Assistance! And where was the safety net about protecting me and my kids from my husband?
Ohhh it is 9:50, I got to go. After all we are evicted from this house and we have to go tomorrow. Where who knows? But I am sure everything happens for a reason and everything will be okay. Right?
Right!?
Thanks for listening to my vent. I will continue later.
Have a wonderful Saturday
Randie
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