So. I am living in Calgary... sounds like a bad joke huh? He he...
Seriously though. I am in Calgary. My new home for at least the next couple weeks. I say at least because my DGM(District General Manager) has already mentioned the possibility of having me stay for a week or two beyond the original plan. But nothing there is finalized yet so we will see how it goes.
Thus far things have been nothing what I expected but everythin I have expected. I am the youngest of the trainers and this is made blatently obvious when they all begin to talk about their children, many of whom are older than me(the children) and grandchildren. It is times like those that I get quiet and sit back, because really what can I add to a conversation about my kids. Well, they are trouble makers and they are noisy, but they understand when its quiet time... doesn't work when I havn't got any! Quite frustrating at times. I've really got nothing in common with many of them. But we are getting along just fine.
As for at work. I am not postive as to why I am here yet. I am the gopher. If something small and random needs to be done, I do it. Mostly because I walk around asking for small random things to do. I am here technically as a buffet runner traininer, but since the restaurant hasn't even opened yet, we only need one trainer and the other lady is good. She knows all this stuff and I can't even pretend to know it, and both of us can only take so much of me shadowing her(within 3 feet so I can watch and learn).I can't jump in with the servers because they are so on SPEC (the corporate, 'proper' way of doing things) that I am embarrased. I don't know my spec so well, compared to the server trainers I don't know it at all. And do my jobs have been laminatior, name tag maker, finder of the label maker, price putter upper... you get the point.
Tomorrow I get to work with a waitress. She is brand new, missed alot of the training and is struggling with the training style of the other ladies so they asked me to try tomorrow, see if my style and personality make a difference in helping. I am just excited that I get to do something that I mostly know how to do! Sweet!
Tomorrow night is my uncles memorial. I spent Sunday night at the house and it was strange to not have him there. I have only been there once before(new place for them) but still it was odd to have their family without him. But it is for the better, now he can rest in peace, and the family can begin to move on and heal from his battle.
So I suppose I finish with what little hope I have left to not be bored out of my mind tomorrow at work
and
I leave with the memories that I have with the husband on my mothers best friend, my 'uncle' paul. I Would not be where I am right now without him and his understanding and listening, and helping me to realize that the year off right after Grad was right for me. I'll remember the time he actually stood there and counted out 300 chocolate chips for my cookies because I jokingly told him the number made a difference. I'll look back and laugh at the image of him and my aunt, along with my parents, drinking their wine, killing themselves laughing, and setting the fire alarm off time after time as they tried to cook lobster. I'll sit and treasure my last visit with him, not only the oppertunity to say goodbye in person, but the night where I stood in front of him singing as he used the strength he had to help my pick an audition song. Thank you Uncle Paul, for everything. I love you, and I will see you again someday. Rest in Peace.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Friday, March 09, 2007
Life as we know it
warning: long post
Apparently my curiousity over whether I posted out of habit or as a procrastination methos has been proven. I don't post near as often and have therefore decided that last semester, my obsession with blogging was simply a means of putting of homework. Just thought I would share that...
I mentioned that I had become a certified trainer at work. I mentioned that means that I will be going to Calgary this month to help open. Did I mention that I am going on Sunday. In 2 days! Less! I still can't believe it! And apparently I am not training servers like I orignially thought, but buffet runners(those people who keep the food filled on the buffet). This is cool no problem except I had never even been trained on it, so I have spent the better part of this week being trained in basic buffet cooking and running. No problem, its actually kind of neat, after a year and eight months to learn some of the behind the scences stuff, except for that means I have spent a large portion of the week standing at a stainless steel counter, cutting stuff, putting it in pans, covering it with syran wrap, and putting on the rack. Then I would break something up, put it into pans, cover it with syran wrap, and put it on the rack. Then I would rinse something, put it into pans, cover it with syran wrap, and put it on the rack. Then I would... I think you get the point. The kitchen staff is nice enough, but they are also significantly older than me in most cases, and there is no music in the back. So I stand there, prepping, panning, covering, and placing, alone, in near quiet, with no people... For a day or two, no problem! For three? BORDEM! I am serving tomorrow and can't wait to see people. "Lonely" will no longer be my theme song.
Anyways, so Calgary will be pretty intense. 10 hour shifts, 14 days straight. I am nervous because I am going to be at least half the age of all of the other trainers, and that means I will walk in facing challenges that some of them wont face, but for the most part I am simply excited. I think this will help me to find out if I want to stick with this job for a while yet or not.
In other news, I am starting to figure things out with my life. Surprised? Cause you should be. I am shocked thats for sure. On the 1st I actually went online to apply for UBC Okanogan, but unfortunately I discovered their application dead line was Feb 28. Go figure right? But, there is always next year. What I have applied for is to volunteer. I sent in my application on Saturday(the 3rd) and got my response on Tuesday(the 6th). I have been approved to spend 6 weeks volunteering at an Orphanage in Hati. No joke. I will be assigned 8 babies, and my job is to spend an hour a day/5days a week, with each one of them. That is my job! I am super stoked and really can't wait! I can't even explain how excited I am, so to try and compare it, think about something that you have always really, really, really, wanted to do, but never believed it would actually happen. Find a company that offers it completely unexpectedly, apply within less than a week of finding this company, and get accepted within 10 days of discovering it exists. And so now, maybe you understand my excitement.
Unfortunately I now have some sad news. I have posted before about my Uncle who has been fighting brain cancer for the last two years. To recap, he was diagnosed a couple of years ago, went through treatments and came out of it fairly well. He went to check ups each month and was cleared for a while until finally they told him he was good to go for six months. Well in November, he started acting funny(this is around the time of Nov 20 post, When it rains, it Pours) and went in for a scan. They found 6 actively growing tumors and could do nothing to help him. It was a long 4 months of slowly failing health, until a couple weeks ago he had a really serious stroke and the doctors said he wouldn't make it through the weekend. Well he did, and a couple weeks longer, but he passed away yesterday evening. He went really peacefully and didn't have alot of pain considering, and the family is focusing on celebrating his life, rather than mourning this unavoidable event. They had two years to fill with memories and get in their goodbyes and he is in a better place now. That sounds so trivial.
I guess I post this just to remind everyone to enjoy the time they have and to really apperciate the ones they love. Make time for those that matter because someday, a day will come when you might regret not doing so. So cliche I know but I mean it.
Just to end on a happy note, I met 4 different friends, whom I havn't seen in a while, for coffee this week and truly enjoyed each visit. I love meeting up with old friends and catching up. Really need to do it more often. So thanks, Jessica, Lori, Lindsey, and Amy, for making the time to meet up with me. It was fun.
Off to Calgary I go!
Apparently my curiousity over whether I posted out of habit or as a procrastination methos has been proven. I don't post near as often and have therefore decided that last semester, my obsession with blogging was simply a means of putting of homework. Just thought I would share that...
I mentioned that I had become a certified trainer at work. I mentioned that means that I will be going to Calgary this month to help open. Did I mention that I am going on Sunday. In 2 days! Less! I still can't believe it! And apparently I am not training servers like I orignially thought, but buffet runners(those people who keep the food filled on the buffet). This is cool no problem except I had never even been trained on it, so I have spent the better part of this week being trained in basic buffet cooking and running. No problem, its actually kind of neat, after a year and eight months to learn some of the behind the scences stuff, except for that means I have spent a large portion of the week standing at a stainless steel counter, cutting stuff, putting it in pans, covering it with syran wrap, and putting on the rack. Then I would break something up, put it into pans, cover it with syran wrap, and put it on the rack. Then I would rinse something, put it into pans, cover it with syran wrap, and put it on the rack. Then I would... I think you get the point. The kitchen staff is nice enough, but they are also significantly older than me in most cases, and there is no music in the back. So I stand there, prepping, panning, covering, and placing, alone, in near quiet, with no people... For a day or two, no problem! For three? BORDEM! I am serving tomorrow and can't wait to see people. "Lonely" will no longer be my theme song.
Anyways, so Calgary will be pretty intense. 10 hour shifts, 14 days straight. I am nervous because I am going to be at least half the age of all of the other trainers, and that means I will walk in facing challenges that some of them wont face, but for the most part I am simply excited. I think this will help me to find out if I want to stick with this job for a while yet or not.
In other news, I am starting to figure things out with my life. Surprised? Cause you should be. I am shocked thats for sure. On the 1st I actually went online to apply for UBC Okanogan, but unfortunately I discovered their application dead line was Feb 28. Go figure right? But, there is always next year. What I have applied for is to volunteer. I sent in my application on Saturday(the 3rd) and got my response on Tuesday(the 6th). I have been approved to spend 6 weeks volunteering at an Orphanage in Hati. No joke. I will be assigned 8 babies, and my job is to spend an hour a day/5days a week, with each one of them. That is my job! I am super stoked and really can't wait! I can't even explain how excited I am, so to try and compare it, think about something that you have always really, really, really, wanted to do, but never believed it would actually happen. Find a company that offers it completely unexpectedly, apply within less than a week of finding this company, and get accepted within 10 days of discovering it exists. And so now, maybe you understand my excitement.
Unfortunately I now have some sad news. I have posted before about my Uncle who has been fighting brain cancer for the last two years. To recap, he was diagnosed a couple of years ago, went through treatments and came out of it fairly well. He went to check ups each month and was cleared for a while until finally they told him he was good to go for six months. Well in November, he started acting funny(this is around the time of Nov 20 post, When it rains, it Pours) and went in for a scan. They found 6 actively growing tumors and could do nothing to help him. It was a long 4 months of slowly failing health, until a couple weeks ago he had a really serious stroke and the doctors said he wouldn't make it through the weekend. Well he did, and a couple weeks longer, but he passed away yesterday evening. He went really peacefully and didn't have alot of pain considering, and the family is focusing on celebrating his life, rather than mourning this unavoidable event. They had two years to fill with memories and get in their goodbyes and he is in a better place now. That sounds so trivial.
I guess I post this just to remind everyone to enjoy the time they have and to really apperciate the ones they love. Make time for those that matter because someday, a day will come when you might regret not doing so. So cliche I know but I mean it.
Just to end on a happy note, I met 4 different friends, whom I havn't seen in a while, for coffee this week and truly enjoyed each visit. I love meeting up with old friends and catching up. Really need to do it more often. So thanks, Jessica, Lori, Lindsey, and Amy, for making the time to meet up with me. It was fun.
Off to Calgary I go!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Been an interesting couple of weeks.
The weekend of Feb 9-11, Cheryl and I set off on an unexpected road trip to Calgary. The original purpose was for me to audition for Canadian Idol, but by the end of the weekend, the audition had become a very minor part of everything. We stayed at my Aunt and Uncle's place, remember my uncle that is dying of Brain cancer? That is where we stayed. Friday night consisted of hanging out and preparing for the audition Sat, my uncle helped me to pick a song and as I stood there singing for him I couldn't help but be glad that he could help me. Saturday started early, we were at the mall by like 7 30 and so began our day. Well waiting for the audition we met some people, a guy from Kings who was there alone(Hey Ken), some photo journalist students from SAIT and a couple of bartenders from Invermere. To say the least the wait was an entertaining one! The audition itself was uneventful, no I will not become famous on tv for singing, but if you watch the show you might see a clip of me dancing... the Birdie dance!(aka the chicken dance) Please don't ask, just enjoy the clip if you see it, and let me know if it does make it onto the show. That night we went to a pub with Ryan, Andrew and Christof, then back to the house where Cheryl Ryan and I just hung out all night. It was really fun. We had a blast of a weekend and were really glad we could go!
Beyond that I spent 4 days in a row sick in bed. Well crawling between the couch and my bed, at both the apartment and at my parents place. Then I spent a day barely moving off the couch because I was so drained of energy. Worst cold I have ever had thats for sure!
And now my big news, work. I have just received the closest thing to a promotion a server can get! I am about to get 'certified' as a trainer. What that means is that according to the Flying J I am a server who has been with them for a while, who does things properly, and who can handle the responsiblility of training new servers. While it does not come with a raise, it does come with responsibilities and a bit more recognition and a little more power(although a little more than nothing really still isn't much). The thing that I am really excited about is that included with my new responsibilities is the ability to help open new stores. and so, in March, when the Flying J opens its new location in Calgary, I will be there. I will be helping to train both servers and buffet runners. They put me up in a hotel, I will work a couple of 70 hour weeks and pretty much do anything they ask, but because of the 70 hours a week(that is 30 hours of overtime a week for those uninclined in math), it is monetary worth it. I am super excited and terrified at the same time, but look forward to it none the less.
And that is my life right now... pretty calm for a reading week that I had wanted to be in Mexico for...
Why is the ocean water salty?
Because if it were pepper water, the fish would sneeze!
hehehe.......
The weekend of Feb 9-11, Cheryl and I set off on an unexpected road trip to Calgary. The original purpose was for me to audition for Canadian Idol, but by the end of the weekend, the audition had become a very minor part of everything. We stayed at my Aunt and Uncle's place, remember my uncle that is dying of Brain cancer? That is where we stayed. Friday night consisted of hanging out and preparing for the audition Sat, my uncle helped me to pick a song and as I stood there singing for him I couldn't help but be glad that he could help me. Saturday started early, we were at the mall by like 7 30 and so began our day. Well waiting for the audition we met some people, a guy from Kings who was there alone(Hey Ken), some photo journalist students from SAIT and a couple of bartenders from Invermere. To say the least the wait was an entertaining one! The audition itself was uneventful, no I will not become famous on tv for singing, but if you watch the show you might see a clip of me dancing... the Birdie dance!(aka the chicken dance) Please don't ask, just enjoy the clip if you see it, and let me know if it does make it onto the show. That night we went to a pub with Ryan, Andrew and Christof, then back to the house where Cheryl Ryan and I just hung out all night. It was really fun. We had a blast of a weekend and were really glad we could go!
Beyond that I spent 4 days in a row sick in bed. Well crawling between the couch and my bed, at both the apartment and at my parents place. Then I spent a day barely moving off the couch because I was so drained of energy. Worst cold I have ever had thats for sure!
And now my big news, work. I have just received the closest thing to a promotion a server can get! I am about to get 'certified' as a trainer. What that means is that according to the Flying J I am a server who has been with them for a while, who does things properly, and who can handle the responsiblility of training new servers. While it does not come with a raise, it does come with responsibilities and a bit more recognition and a little more power(although a little more than nothing really still isn't much). The thing that I am really excited about is that included with my new responsibilities is the ability to help open new stores. and so, in March, when the Flying J opens its new location in Calgary, I will be there. I will be helping to train both servers and buffet runners. They put me up in a hotel, I will work a couple of 70 hour weeks and pretty much do anything they ask, but because of the 70 hours a week(that is 30 hours of overtime a week for those uninclined in math), it is monetary worth it. I am super excited and terrified at the same time, but look forward to it none the less.
And that is my life right now... pretty calm for a reading week that I had wanted to be in Mexico for...
Why is the ocean water salty?
Because if it were pepper water, the fish would sneeze!
hehehe.......
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Just for Jess :)
You demanded a new post so I now respond. First, in my defense, the internet here is acting up all over campus. More than 75% of the time we can't actually get online from our private residences, so I am not getting online nearly as often as I used to.
Ok, now that that is out of the way.
No, I didn't talk to everyone about going and maybe that is something to think about. It is strange that I can be living in the city, 20 minutes from where I grew up, and still forget that I know people out side of this little circle of University life, work, and church. Perhaps it is time to broaded my range of people I ami n contact with, but that is so much easier said than done. I might as well be 'away' at college, because that is honestly how it feels most of the time. But that is my one thoughtful tangent for the night.
Dance class is going really well, it is a beginners class and there is probably like 100 people or something in it, ages rainging from 18- like 65 or maybe even older. It is really neat because someitmes they make us switch partners and you can be dancing with people from all generations. Super fun! So far we have done the Waltz, Jive, Cha Cha, Quickstep, and Samba, and after a 2 week break we return with the Foxtrot and the Rumba. So fun! My partner really likes it too. We are both, I think, enjoying it even more than we had expected to.
Work. Still not certified, but today I was informed (after I asked about it flat out) that next week my boss's boss will be in town and I have to talk to him to finalize everything. Or something. Hopefully that is all true and I can be certified real soon because if not then I am not sure I can handle working there much longer. I am a full time employee working the hours of a busy part timer. Four shifts this week and often I go home early. Not an ideal, money making situation, but we'll see how it goes. Give this deal time to happen.
Family. Dale and Mar are finally married! The wedding was sweet, she looked amazing, and soon I will go on a better computer, one that is better than my 1.96GB hard drive computer and then I will proceed to post up some pictures. But it was an awesome day! Congrats to them!
Beyond that, nothing much new to comment on. I am trying to figure out what is out there that has meaning. That is a loaded statement and can be taken numerous ways I think, so I believe I shall leave it at that. What is out there that has meaning? Till next time...
Ok, now that that is out of the way.
No, I didn't talk to everyone about going and maybe that is something to think about. It is strange that I can be living in the city, 20 minutes from where I grew up, and still forget that I know people out side of this little circle of University life, work, and church. Perhaps it is time to broaded my range of people I ami n contact with, but that is so much easier said than done. I might as well be 'away' at college, because that is honestly how it feels most of the time. But that is my one thoughtful tangent for the night.
Dance class is going really well, it is a beginners class and there is probably like 100 people or something in it, ages rainging from 18- like 65 or maybe even older. It is really neat because someitmes they make us switch partners and you can be dancing with people from all generations. Super fun! So far we have done the Waltz, Jive, Cha Cha, Quickstep, and Samba, and after a 2 week break we return with the Foxtrot and the Rumba. So fun! My partner really likes it too. We are both, I think, enjoying it even more than we had expected to.
Work. Still not certified, but today I was informed (after I asked about it flat out) that next week my boss's boss will be in town and I have to talk to him to finalize everything. Or something. Hopefully that is all true and I can be certified real soon because if not then I am not sure I can handle working there much longer. I am a full time employee working the hours of a busy part timer. Four shifts this week and often I go home early. Not an ideal, money making situation, but we'll see how it goes. Give this deal time to happen.
Family. Dale and Mar are finally married! The wedding was sweet, she looked amazing, and soon I will go on a better computer, one that is better than my 1.96GB hard drive computer and then I will proceed to post up some pictures. But it was an awesome day! Congrats to them!
Beyond that, nothing much new to comment on. I am trying to figure out what is out there that has meaning. That is a loaded statement and can be taken numerous ways I think, so I believe I shall leave it at that. What is out there that has meaning? Till next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)