It’s hard for me to type; in fact, I had to shut the doors and windows, because the constant drone of the sirens is becoming too much even for my hardened nerves.
But I’ve come up with a plan.
You see, every Welfare Wednesday (aka Mardi Gras) the sirens go; actually, they start the night before, as that’s when some people receive their cash. And they go all day and all night. And then, they do it again the Friday after that, when the ones who have jobs decide to party. And if the latest shipment of heroin that’s come in is particularly bad, the sirens don’t let anyone have any breathing space; they overlap one another for a solid 24-36 hours.
So the plan is this: The next time it’s Mardi Gras or Friday After, I’m going to get on Twitter and tweet when the sirens stop. And when they start. And when they stop. And how many of them I can hear at one time when they ARE going.
It’ll be dry as hell, but historic.
Sirens started again…
raincoaster 
Welfare Wednesday might have made sense at one time, but in this age of electronic fund transfers, why don’t they simply set it up so that 1/30th of a recipient’s monthly allotment be transferred into his account every day?
Because rent is not 1/30th due each day, and because government bureaucracy is organized so as to conserve the opportunities for roadblocks, and people would starve. When I was on assistance, typically 50% of my cheques would be held back because of some problem, which I would not find out about because there would also have been some problem notifying me, etc, etc. You can’t spend half your life in the office trying to straighten out someone else’s paperwork. That’s called having a job, and good luck finding one if you’re always stuck in the Welfare office trying to straighten things out.
I remember Welfare Wednesday and Party Friday!
The bar that sold the ‘cheap’ beer was just below my apartment balcony (in Ottawa) and I could be guaranteed no sleep those nights.
I don’t remember sirens though! Ottawa must be THAT boring, even on party nights.
You forgot Shopping Saturday, when Walmart is full of cranky women trying to stretch what’s left after Friday nights drinkin’!
Nope…I don’t miss being on welfare AT ALL!
And I thought Canada would be so spacious and peaceful. Looks like all cities are the same the world over :-/
Have you seen my latst post, Rain? I wish you’d take a look – it’s a sneak preview to living in England. ah the green fields and tree-lined avenues. All the policemen are fully trained and know the law and are there to help the public and keep order. I can tell you are jealous already..
I live two blocks from the busiest fire station in Seattle. I empathize with the sirens. Weekends around here are the worst, because the area is full of trendy clubs. And drugs. And this weekend is Bumbershoot. Billions of people all crowded into Seattle Center listening to hard rock, rap, and god knows what else. Saints preserve me. My empathy.
And then when the clubs let out, we get the drunks and druggies yelling outside our windows. Summer in the city.
Philipa, I thought you were still on blogging vacation.
Where I live is probably the most concentrated for sirens, because not only is this where the down-and-outers end up, it’s also got a high ecodensity, is at the convergence of travel routes, and on the way to two of the major hospitals.
But I haven’t heard it as bad as yesterday in easily five years.
Sorry you’re having a noisy annoying time – there’s nothing worse than no sleep for an annoying reason. Hope it gets better.
BTW: that blog post I mentioned over on mine is not the top post now – I got furious about government proposals to make sex ed compulsory for 4 yr olds. yep, FOUR! ‘And then Thomas put his penis in Tracy’s tunnel and wiggled it up and down and then out popped a baby. But you don’t want to do that. And there’s a chocolate cake on the table – don’t try a bit while I’m out of the classroom.’ The crass stupidity of MP’s amazes me. Especially Harman, who was at Uni with.. hmm, whatever did they teach them?
Never mind that: who did she go to NURSERY SCHOOL WITH?
Yeah AND WHAT DID THEY DO??!
EXACTLY! Get Guido on the case!