Odd.

I'm not quite sure why, but right now, I feel very much at peace with myself. I might even go so far as to say I'm happy. I'm not sure why, exactly. It could be that I just had spaghetti for dinner (which we don't have nearly often enough, in my opinion). It could be that I just cut my hair (again. It needs to be cut every two or three weeks to keep it from developing a mind of its own. It could be that I didn't start the day at the Trainyards construction site (which I've been at for the past THREE weeks) and I won't start the day there again tomorrow. I just don't know. Maybe it's a combination of these things. All I know is that I was out on the back step just now, and this feeling of complete calm came over me, and I didn't recognize it at first. It's been a while.

As I said: Odd.

Hopefully whoever reads this will also feel like this in the near future. It's nice.

Cheers.

Wow.

Phantom Rocked. With a capital R. For Rock.

Seriously... I'm kind of speechless right now. My vocabulary has gone to pot.

I...

Okay, enough of that before I overdo it. (It was awesome!)

(Oh! Oh! Row L seats 7 and 9. Practically dead centre (5 and 7 are, in fact.))

First Try ever!

I don't remember much of the mad scramble, but I think it came off a scrum on the opposite side of the field. All I remember is the ball coming across, skipping one or two guys (I think) and then Kiwi was making a break towards the end, and trying to fend off two of the Kingston backs. Their winger was... slow. I came flying around the outside of the winger and shouted "On your right!" as the backs were about to grab hold of him. About 10 yards out, he fired the ball right to me, and I made the last few steps with the ball in my hands. The winger finally managed to catch up and hauled me down on the good side of the try line, and conveniently, the ball touched the ground :P I think splitting open the scab on my hip was definitely worth it.

Due to a keys-in-my-pocket mishap calling me back home just before kickoff, I don't know if I saw the first try or not, but I was there for four of them, and I think they only scored one, immediately after our first (that I saw) on the kickoff. One of our guys hesitated ("I hesitated," he said after that same play injured his neck.) and a Kingston player swooped in and grabbed the ball, carried it to within 5 yards, and somehow managed to maul or ruck the ball forwards enough that the ref thought that the ball was in. Apparently the injury came from our guy being pushed off the ball when he was bridging over it, and then the ball being moved over the try line.
We pretty much dominated them. One of our centres said that their scrum was so weak he could just lean into it and they would move back, and their wings and backs were all absolutely tiny. I'm not exactly a big guy, and I picked up one of them and swung him around, completely off the ground.

I think I made up for my wussy play last week. No hesitation when the play came my direction, some good solid hits, and a try.

Go me :P

Busy busy...

I promised pictures, so they're at the bottom of the post...

Since my last real update, the welding job folded because my boss picked up a shit job. The Coles Notes version is as follows, (for those new to this or too lazy to scroll down): Boss picked up job that involved erecting several floors on top of an existing steel framed building. The building engineer (possibly the inspector) came in and looked at the building before work commenced. This person said that the existing structure wasn't even up to code. People work daily in this building. To bring the building to code, work had to be done after hours, and involved cutting away the walls at each joint, tightening or inserting the steel bolts, and grinding and re-welding each joint that required it, as the welds looked like a child had done them. My boss was losing money on the job every day that it continued, and was financially committed to it thoroughly enough that he was unable to pick up smaller jobs to keep the idle employees working. Therefore the welding job essentially went poof in a very gradual way.

Not too long after, I bought the Sunfire (now called the unfire, thanks to creative sticker removal). Shortly after that, I got a job as a labourer with D&G Landscaping, a reasonably large company that focuses primarily on corporate and municipal landscaping projects. This was approximately three months ago, and I am now at the point where my probationary period will end within the next few days, if it hasn't ended already. I work my butt off every day, and made a good enough impression on two other crew foremen that they were asking the VP of the company if they could have me on their crews instead of the crew I'm on. The VP and my foreman didn't want to move me to a different crew, so they decided to give me a raise instead. Woo! The raise is effective on my next paycheque (this coming Friday), so hopefully it'll start to make things easier financially.

Somewhere in the middle of that (actually, closer to the beginning) I officially moved in with Amanda, on the First of May. For the most part, things are good. Every now and then, I do something stupid and there's friction, but it gets resolved one way or another. I'm not doing it justice at all here, but my personal life is just that...

I play Rugby now (I actually can't believe I haven't mentioned that before...) and as my Nana said.. "It's a rough old game." Her brothers used to play back in Scotland, so she knows :P Anyhow, in the game against Napanee (in Kingston...) on Saturday, I was gaining yardage down the sideline (I'm a winger. We're skinny and fast.) when one of the Napanee forwards (who was lagging behind his team, conveniently placing him close to my path) gave me a good shove out of bounds. Normally that's not a problem, except the field was built inside a smallish high school track, covered in stone dust (you know, the really tiny sharp gravel). I kinda went down, and have a nicely sliced up hand, and some nasty road rash on my arm and hip. I'm trying to keep at least my hand covered whenever I'm working, because I really don't want dirt in the cut. That's just not good.

The only downside to landscaping is that it's very weather dependent. If it rains too heavily for an extended period, work is stopped for the day, and we're all sent home. It's sometimes nice to get the extra time off, but as with any other time off, we don't get paid for it. My coworkers keep looking at me oddly when I say I don't want it to rain until after 5:30 which is the latest we usually stop work - there have been rare instances of finishing at 6 or later, and they usually fall on really inconvenient days.

I give credit to my eye for detail (or pickiness... you choose.) for my raking abilities... I can grade an area to almost perfectly level, or follow the contours of the area in such a way as to encourage drainage in a direction better than anybody else on my crew, including the guy who taught me a low effort method of raking topsoil. I also move and spread piles of soil faster than all but my foreman and occasionally the same guy who taught me the raking technique (both of them have years of experience to my three months...).

The only other downside to work is this one guy who is so unbelievably slow. He makes my brain hurt with his slowness, despite my attempts to encourage him to improve, including suggestions for making the work easier. We (the rest of the crew) use his age as an excuse for his lack of motivation, because he's 18 and the rest of us are... older.

Beyond that, not a whole lot to report. The exhaust on the car broke last week and cost too much to repair, but was repaired anyways, since it was REALLY FUCKING LOUD. This has thrown finances into the blender, and if you've ever put money in a blender (I strongly do NOT recommend doing that, by the way), you know it's not pretty. Lots of fiber, but not pretty. Sort of a greyish sludge, if you add some water... I'd imagine.

Anyways... pictures!

Front (duh...)
You can see the bug and mud splatter from driving to the job interview.

Front left
The GT sticker on the front was the first to go, and the others are slowly disappearing.

Rear left
That GT sticker is half gone now. I hate obnoxious stickers like that.

Rear
There is now a Support Our Troops magnet directly under the third brake light.

Above right
If you look closely, you can see the shitty respray job on the hood, and the rust spots that were apparently supposed to be repaired by whoever did the work.

And that's the car, and a brief summation of the major points of my life.

Vroom again

I've got a car. It's a Sunfire GT. Manual transmission. Snow tires (and no all-seasons... once I can afford them, rims and tires are in order). Pictures to come at some point.

Back to drinking!

Unfortunate Events

It sucks when circumstances out of your control force you to give up something you've convinced yourself that you need. I took the truck back today, because the financing company won't finance me. They require me to have been at my current job for at least a year, and my boss thinks I started at the beginning of February (I started the beginning of January).

I'm so sad right now. It's practically perfect. The only change I'd make would be to have a v-8 instead of a v-6 engine, but given the price of gas today ($1.00.8 pretty much everywhere in the city) I'm not so concerned. I'll probably end up getting a POS Sunfire or something like that. If I'm lucky, I'll find a GT, but no matter what, I need a vehicle. Soon enough I'll be able to afford something, once work picks up and such, I can either trade in whatever POS I get, or just get a second vehicle for summer or something. Since A has a vehicle already though, I might just do the trade-in thing after all. Regardless, I need a vehicle by the end of the week.

It's quite unfortunate, but nobody can co-sign with me, so as soon as I get the money back, I need to have already found suitable vehicles within my price range.

....

..In other news, my future landlady kicks ass. She just brought us the makings for dinner! Pasta with bacon (and possibly some sort of cream sauce), salad with what looked like feta, some lots-of-grains bread and some sort of dipping sauge or something for it, plus dressing for the salad. Woo!

I miss it already. It was fun being able to drive over things that stop less... capable.. vehicles. Like curbs. When people stop in the middle of the road right in front of me. Jerks.

Vroom!

I have a truck now. Look! Look!




It's a 1999 Dodge Dakota Club Cab 4x4 with the Sport appearance package, which means it's got aggressive tires and a slightly higher suspension than some of the other 4x4 Dakotas I've seen (It's used, don't pester me about it being a specific option you can choose and blah blah blah.).

Because of the light dusting of snow we got last night, the driveway here was just a little bit slippery, so I had to switch it from 2wd to 4wd (seriously. no weight in the back plus a slippy inclined drive equals no chance in hell of getting up it). The only tricky part about backing it up in the driveway is the neightbours who park their SUV with the passenger side wheels on our side of the drive. It's been a minor point of contention ever since my gf got her car, but normally the drive is long enough to handle that, since they park further up. One of these days, they're going to park too far over, and I'm going to scrape them, and it'll be their fault for not giving me enough room.

See what I mean? (Okay, you can't see it very well, and now it's too dark to take a good pic of it, but there's about 14 inches between my truck and their SUV)


Aside from all that, the lack of normal work hasn't kept me from making money. No, I'm not doing anything illegal, I'm just helping do some work at a few BouClair stores in the area. The Merivale location is renovating their Blinds department, which I knew about before I left. I don't know what it was that made me think of it, but when I found out I wouldn't have work for a month, and happened to be in the store shortly afterwards, I stopped in and spoke with my former boss about it. She told me the dates that they would be doing the work, and when I mentioned I would be available prior to that, she told me that she migh need me for a few weeks before that, too. Last week I relocated a series of shelf bases (they call them "gondolas" which I think is the french term for them, BouClair being a Montreal-based company) and moved a lot of blinds and such. Due to difficulties with the truck (a clamp for one of the rad hoses broke and emptied the radiator onto the road as I was driving it home on Saturday after taking delivery of it) I was unable to work Monday and today, but I'm out in Barbequehaven tomorrow and Thursday, and back to Merivale after that.

I have a truck! Glee!

Goings on and such.

Well, work is temporarily on hold indefinitely. Turns out the site we're supposed to be at is so screwed up that the engineers came in, and went over the entire first story of the building and halted any further work until the building is completely re-done. Apparently it'll cost about $100,000 to fix everything that's wrong with it, and we can't do any further work until that's taken care of. My boss said that they might just build another one next to it instead of re-doing it, because it would be cheaper. It's a government building, so it's not like they have a shortage of money :P Until Doug (boss) can find another job for us, there's not much that we can do. Which reminds me, I have to get in touch with him to get my last paycheck.

My grandparents loaned me some money, and I think Mom is cashing out my RESP (with help from my brother - thanks, bud!) and I'm in the market for a truck or a Jeep (something with 4x4 to get around, and out of, jobsites - the snow is often deep, and they get muddy in spring and sometimes in summer). We shall see what I come up with, but once I have a vehicle, my pay goes up a dollar an hour, and in three months, goes up another dollar. Woo!

Ear mold appointment today, since my hearing aids are whistling a lot due to feedback caused by mold shrinkage. Eye checkup on Monday, as well as new contacts, and a hearing test to see about getting my aids' amplification updated if it's necessary. I haven't had one since 1998, when I went to CHEO and got paid some money to participate in a study for a new method of hearing testing. It was cool, since I got time off school, and got to sit and read for 45 minutes straight, in a quiet room.

I think that's about it for now. Further updates as events warrant!

Jorb

Two weeks in, the new job kicks ass. It's cold some days, warm others, and good honest hard work all the time. The first week was spent building a steel structure for a roof to connect some portables to a school out in Kanata, and that only took a few days. As soon as we got that done, we started work on the steel framing for a garage out by Moodie and Fallowfield. It's quite exhilarating to be up on the decking two stories up (3 if you're talking residential stories, which we're not). Most of the decking is done and welded to the joists, and the building looks like something resembling a building rather than a bunch of giant steel sticks all stuck together. The most aggravating part of the job is something really minor and something we can't do much about: The placement of the column mounting points in the foundation aren't always exactly where theyr'e supposed to be, which means that when the girts and beams are made to spec, they don't always fit in practice. Luckily most of the variances in length are minor enough that the columns can be pulled into alignment with spud wrenches (a wrench with a pointed handle designed specifically for the purpose of joining girts/beams/columns together) and a lot of brute force.

I'm sore in places I haven't been sore in a long time, and because I'm up at 5:15 to bus to my boss's place so I can catch a ride to the site(s), I'm exhausted by 10 PM. Quite the change from my old habits of staying up until 2 AM and not working until noon or later. I think I like this better, though. When summer comes around, there will be lots of overtime, and likely 60 hour weeks. The main thing to keep in mind then will be hydration. 35 degree (Celsius) days up on steel decking, with the sun beating down (and reflecting up) on you... Water is very important then. It's not such a concern right now, though I still manage to work up a sweat with a lot of the stuff I do. Besides, running around in snow is much like running around in sand, and just moving quickly can be tiring enough if you're not in shape (which I thankfully still am, for the most part).

I need a car as soon as possible, partly because it means my wages will go up a dollar immediately, and partly because it really sucks having to get up at 5:15 and not arrive at the jobsite until 7:15-7:30... The plan (that I thought about, but am going through with now that my mom has suggested it to me independently) is to talk to my grandparents about it and see if they're willing to help me out. If they are, I might be able to get my hands on a reasonable car that's pretty reliable in the near future. Not sure what I'll get yet, though I'm looking at Honda/Acura and Mazda. Or a truck of some sort. Preferably a Dakota with an extended cab and 4x4 (because no 4x4 means it'll be easy for me to get stuck in some of the jobsites - not all of them have paved parking lots...).

Merry blah blah blah... gimme stuff.

Popped home for the holidays, and did brunch at mom's on the 24th, dinner at dad's, then got up and everybody rushed about madly in preparation for heading out the door to go to southern Ontario to visit the extended family. Cpeed drove me back into the city (stopped by mom's on the way out of town and she STILL wasn't packed up and ready to go.. surprise surprise. She's always been one to harrass people to hurry up and get ready and get out the door, meanwhile we're sitting in the car for anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes (once) waiting for her, and she's rushing around the house, CLEANING. I know it's nice to come home to a clean house and stuff, but you do that in the days leading up to the trip, not when the rest of the family is sitting in the car, waiting to go...) where I dumped my stuff at Amanda's and waited for a little while before heading over to Rob and Liz's place for chillin and dinner, which was then followed by ninjanog (mmm, ninjanog). Went back and promptly crashed in bed. Yesterday was low key, and involved watching random things on tv, followed by some FF12 (mmm, FF12) until bedtime. KFC for dinner and a little drinkin' afterwards (mm Strongbow), and bed again. This morning was a normalish morning, though I had to cart my Pampered Chef bag of gifts* home with me on the bus as well as laundry (payment for hooking up Amanda's new washer involved using it to clean my clothes :D ). Home, low key day involving cleaning of various things, browsing of various sites, unexpected girl bums (though really, given the forum, I should have expected it), and... blogging. That pretty much sums up the past few days.

Done old job, starting new one on the First (as long as the guy gets in touch with me, or I get in touch with him, before the First). Old job was killing me in every way possible. My back got to the point where I called in sick about a week ago because I could barely move when I woke up. Given that I know exactly what triggered my back, that job was just bad for it. Hopefully the welding won't be so bad. (Can't WAIT to weld again!)

*Haul includes: Sunset painting by mah mommy (finally.. I've wanted this one for YEARS, and my brother wanted the same one.. so she did one for each of us, and I believe she still has the original), magazine subscriptions (as long as I keep on top of her about them) and some random chocolate, $30 from CD Warehouse (music or movies, not sure yet) from grandparents, CD (Songs of Eden by raintree, from Almonte), The Car Design Yearbook volume 5, pencil set, coloured pencil set (water soluble, meaning watercolourish!), sketchpad, bottle opener, 4 Scottish Ales gift box (1 of each) from Dad and Donna, some more chocolate, a gift card for Chapters from Rob'nLiz, a couple Hot Wheels cars (only 2 this year! *sadface*) and a little Bionicle figure-set from Amanda. I don't think I missed much. Oh, Dad also has some stuff in the mail or something for me.

Aside from that... yeah. Was good to see family for the holidays, but it's not home any more. Home is gone, now being loved by, and sheltering, a new family. Makes me sad... It's easier to type it than to say it to someone over the phone, though.

If I don't say it later, Happy New Year to the few who read this.

Dammit, I'm hungry. And I just ate.

I always start out saying "nothing new to report" and then it seems like I go on and on and on. I suppose you could say I'm a Ramblin' Man or something *grin* I got a call back from a dealership about a sales position, but I'm not sure how keen I am on it. Most people I talk to don't think it's right for me, which is kind of discouraging. So while it's there, I don't know about it. I've got an application for Police Foundations all filled out and ready to go, bit I'm waiting for some available cash so that I can send it in. $85 for the college application process. But I'm going to do THAT myself. Paying for it is something else entirely.

Work still sucks. Pay was less than $400 for the last two weeks, which really really bites. I'm going to essentially barely eat for the next two weeks (as is normal, really) so that I can be absolutely sure that I can pay rent with my next pay.

On the upside, I might not have to worry about money so much. I might have a line on a welding job. Turns out Other Rob has a client who is looking to put together a second crew for his welding business, because he's got so much work that his single crew can't handle it all. Bonus, I say. He said pay would be 16-18/hr (double bonus!) so I asked Amanda to forward my resume to Rob so he could pass it along. I just hope the guy didn't try to call Monday or Tuesday morning. I wasn't able to get time onto my phone until shortly before noon.

(Note to all concerned: Don't go with Pay as you Go. Yeah, there's "no commitments" and all that crap, but it's REALLY annoying when you keep running out of time because of a few phone calls and a bunch of text messages. Moreso when you can't AFFORD to put more time on your phone because all your cash is tied up. Rar.)

Met Amanda's mom on the weekend, and the three of us took the girls on a tour of Parliament, through the House of Commons, and the Senate Chamber, and then up the Peace Tower (the giant clocktower on Parliament Hill, for those who are clueless). I forgot just how BIG it is. I was walking up the path, and it just kept getting taller and taller and taller... Unbelievable.

*sigh* And now I go to work. I hate this fucking job. Ugh.

In a fit of boredom a few days ago, and frustrated with the length of my hair, AND too lazy to go to a barber to get it cut, I walked into the bathroom, picked up my clippers, and buzzed my hair all off. I've never had hair this short in my LIFE. I'm still getting used to it. The first two nights, it felt wierd to sleep on, being all sticky in the pillow, as buzzed hair often is. There will be pictures at some point, there just have not been any taken as of yet. And yes, I'll even show a "before" picture. I've been told a recent one exists, though I make no guarantees that my facial expression isn't entirely stupid.

In other news, I called the father of the classmate who died, after hearing through the grapevine that HE, in fact, might be willing to take me on as an apprentice. Unfortunately, he said he had JUST decided to keep his co-op student on, making 5 guys in a two-bay garage, but he took down my number and said that he'd call some buddies of his to see if he could find me something. Here's hoping.

In still other news, I fired off a resume to Ottawa Dodge in response to an advertised sales position. The in the experience listing, they covered pretty much everything sold, ever. That almost looked like desperation. $30k plus comission and benefits doesn't sound bad to me at all. And somehow I think I might enjoy THAT more than working on cars, because I really do enjoy sales. AND, I figure, I can work on cars in my own time, that way I'll still enjoy it, and get stuff DONE, instead of being all worked-out and putting it off forever.

Going to see Pirates 2 (Dead Man's Chest) tonight, and might stick around for Ricky Bobby afterwards, but you never know. Might just go home and crash instead of watching crashes *shifty eyes*

Bleh

Mildly sick, with a stuffy nose and sore throat and the occasional cough. Not quite to the point of popping Halls like they're candy, but that may come in a little while. Yesterday presented some chills and a mild headache, as well as hypersensitivity, but nothing close to an upset stomach, so it's not near what I had two years ago.

If I don't end up with an apprenticeship (because there's always the chance I'll be told "You're too old" again, which is really a complete crock, but whatever) I think I'm going to look seriously at car sales. I'm good at selling, I'm good at making people think they're getting a deal (or just plain giving people a good deal without compromising the bottom line) and I tend to put people at ease in a sales environment.

That's part of what's killing me with the grocery job. There is no sales, and no real interaction with customers aside from "do you have such and such fruit/vegetable?" It's driving me nuts. Sure I like hard work, but it's tedious, and in some locations in the prep room ("kitchen") it's supremely uncomfortable due to counter height and the repetetive reaching to the back of a 3 foot surface. (Awkward sentence, but I don't care.)

In other news...

My cell phone dropped off the kitchen table, hit the floor, and promtpy shut itself off for good despite being fully charged. I even plugged it back in to the charger and everything, but no such luck. So I have a new phone that is trying to be delivered (first attempt was yesterday around 6, and nobody was here). It's a Motorola V180, which isn't too bad. I doubt it'll be as good as the one it's replacing, because I don't think any phones these days have analog reception, just digital (which the old one had, making it handy for long distance drives through the U.S.). It may or may not have MP3 capability, but that's not really a concern for me, given that my iriver T30 is working fantastically (even after it fell out of my pocket and the lanyard got caught in my blades, dragging it for about thirty feet). It's got picture and I think video capability as well, which is kinda cool, but also not a huge deal to me, though I might end up taking a bunch of pictures with it, just because I don't have a working camera of any sort right now (which is driving me NUTS). Actually, it doesn't have a camera. I should have looked it up again before going on and on about it :P

Thanksgiving was low-key but enjoyable, some good eats and then lounging around.

B is all moved in, and despite some serious fuckups on the part of UHaul, it went as smoothly as possible, and we were done everything by about 10:00 or so on the Sunday. There are still some boxes around, waiting to be unpacked or (in the case of my TV box) waiting to find a home that is out of the way. To compensate for the lack of bass from the tiny tv speakers, I've got it hooked up to the amplifier that has been sitting on my desk since I moved in, and I've got the big wood speakers (that my dad may or may not have built) hooked up to that, so the sound quality is pretty good now, given that they're a pair of single 25 watt cones. The size of the box and the fiberglass insulation in the back works pretty well to give a decent rumble, and the amp has reasonable bass and treble adjustment. (For all the hearing impairment, I'm surprisingly sound sensitive :P)

I think I'm going to go close the balcony door. It's raining, a little windy, and 9 Celsius out, which is a little chilly when one is not wearing socks and not moving around.

One of these days, I'll realize that SOME people DO actually change.

While I was home for the weekend, the news came in that a classmate from highschool died on Friday. Apparently it was an OD. He was in and out of rehab, trying to get himself out of the cycle, but relapsed. The wake was today, and dad and his girlfriend were there, because in a small town, everybody knows everybody, particularly when the guy's father is the proprietor of one of the garages.

On my way to the (kickass) Shout Out Out Out Out show tonight, dad called me to tell me that the father told him that shortly before he passed, the classmate was asking about me.

I'm feeling very numb about this, because I don't look back fondly on most of my highschool experience. I was picked on pretty much right up to the end, which soured me on the instigators as well as the people who encouraged them by laughing. The classmate was a cool enough guy in smaller groups, but we really didn't hang out in the same circles. I remember that he always had a smile when we passed in the hall or on the street, and after highschool, we'd chat a little whenever I would bring one of my cars in (I owned three from age 17 to 22 (not all at once)) to his dad's garage, but one of his friends who also worked there (and was rumoured to have various drug problems) was always a jerk, and I think made him feel pressured to not be too nice to me, or something.

But this phone call I got. I almost didn't answer it, because of the stupid pay as you go shit. It cut me deep. To hear that someone who I considered a passing acquaintance was asking about me shortly before he died...

I really don't know how to feel.

But I think I'll use this as my inspiration to push myself into an apprenticeship. In case you didn't notice, I like cars. A lot. I also like working with my hands. I've always wanted to work on cars. I tried it once and was at a point in my life where I was too easily discouraged.

I'm going to figure out some way to do this.

This is for you, Sean.

Maxis has invaded my workplace.

Brief note before I go to sleep to get up in less than 4 hours, because I'm a moron.

They fixed the sound system at work.

It plays what is truly muzak.

Half the things it plays make me feel like a Sim while I'm rotating stock or prepping produce. I think it's the repetetive activities combined with the almost mindless light jazz.

*fwump*

Insert snarktastically clever title here.

Nothing quite makes your day like having work call up and tell you that since it's so dead and that practically no trucks came in, they don't need you. Then they asked me to come in first thing tomorrow morning and work all day. I can do a 15 hour day. No problem. But they sure as hell better give me two full half hour breaks.

Aside from a couple of rough and very grumpy days on my part last week, work is going pretty well. I'm starting to get the hang of things, even if I don't know what everything is yet.

I got my money from BouClair. Woohoo 868.48. Most of that goes to rent, then I sit on the rest until I get paid next Tuesday, at which point, I start paying people back the smaller amounts I owe. It's possible to dig yourself out of a hole, you just have to know how to go about it. (hint: DON'T DIG DOWN.)

The Town Pants are playing in Quyon, Quebec for the Halfway to St. Patrick's Day party at Gavan's, and I really really really want to go, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to GET there.

Life is threatening to overwhelm me, and I feel great. It's very wierd. It means that I'm not around online very much lately (as evidenced by the lack of posting) but it's all good.

Hopefully I can get out to the Noreen Young Bursary dinner on Saturday to see my brother recieve an award or something... whatever it is he's getting, it comes with $1000 for school. Go him! He always does stuff better than me, the little shit :P



...and four hours later, I actually POST this.

Oomph.

Yesterday was the first day of the new job. It went pretty well, actually. I think I made a good impression, since I spent any time that could have been idle time, asking what else there was for me to do. And there was always something. Always. I like that. I still don't know what half the vegetables are, but I'm learning how pretty much everything else works. Closed last night, and went through most of the closing procedure (taking perishables into the walk-in cooler for overnight) and then I was there again for opening this morning (less than 12 hours later! Whee!)

Interesting note about THAT, by the way... I got there, and Tim, the main Reciever guy, was outside, peering into the window. They had given Mahvash, the store manager the rest of the week off, starting today, and hadn't told Kevin (manager of the Market location) that he was supposed to be there. And they ALSO had neglected to realize that Kevin doesn't have keys for the Bank St. store. Oof. So after one of the truck drivers (with a delivery for us) called Jeremy (the HR guy(?)) and quite literally said "What the fuck is going on, man?" he showed up at about 7:30, unlocked the store, and we went about madly rushing to and fro, setting up the store to open at 8:00.

Kevin is awesome, and seems to be about my age or slightly older. I almost wish they had sent me to the Market location for training, but he said it's pretty slow-paced there right now, so I'm glad that I'm where I am, since it seems to be busy all the time.

Mahvash is fantastic, and so very funny. Never in my life have I heard someone shout the phrase "I KEEL You!" so often! (Actually, I've never heard someone actually USE it and be unaware of how amusing it sounds. She just has the right accent for it to be almost perfect.)

Most of the rest of the people who I've met so far seem to be pretty cool (though there's one older gentleman who seems grouchy most of the time, but I don't blame him. I just wish he'd realize that IT'S MY FIRST DAY so please... be PATIENT. I'm learning how to do this shit.)

I work again on Thursday at noon, Friday at 7 (whee!) and Saturday at... whenever. Kevin isn't the manager of this store, and won't be around on Saturday, so he doesn't really know (or care :P).

As an aside, walking around all day, like I did at BouClair, is easy. Standing in one place for most of the day, sorting and packaging produce, is REALLY FUCKING HARD on the back. (Seriously, it hasn't spasm-and-cramped this hard in a hell of a long time.) I need to start doing core exercises again. My back doesn't like holding the rest of me up and still. And yes, I've been standing with one foot up on something and all that. It just makes the other foot sore from holding most of my weight on a concrete floor. I plan to spend as much of the rest of the night, and at least half of tomorrow, as still as possible.

Nervous

Tuesday after work, I called my new boss to find out which store I was going to on Monday. He still doesn't know. I'm to call him again tomorrow to find out. It looks like I'll be starting training at either the Bank St. location or the Market location, but he confirmed that the actual position will be over at Lincoln Fields, once training is complete.

Finances are still tight, in the meantime, as is food. Pants are the opposite, which is a little unsettling. I've been trying to gain weight up to about 190 pounds, and now I'm back down to around 165 (I was at 180 for a while). So frustrating. On the other hand, it means I'm faster, since my muscles are the same size, and i've got less weight to carry around.

Quick tip: If you want to lose weight fast, eat two hot dogs a day and exercise a lot. Essentially, extremely reduced carbohydrate intake, focusing mostly on protein and some healty fats. (Not that hot dogs are HEALTHY, per se, but you know what I'm getting at.)

One of these days, once I have a little more financial leeway, I'm going to sit down and try to come up with a proper meal plan for myself. Something with variety and ease of preparation, because getting home at 9:30-10:00 makes you not want to cook anything.

I'm going to miss working at BouClair. The people are awesome, and I like what I do. I just wish it paid far far far better, especially since I'm more or less a department manager in all but title, which means I don't get the pay that comes with it. Ah well, Assistant Manager sounds better anyways.

Forth into the abyss!

*Awkward*

So... How exactly does one write a letter of resignation?

I took the job at the Grocery place today. He's starting me at $9.75/hr, and said during the interview last week that it would go up pretty quickly, depending on how fast I pick up product knowledge and such. I know plants to a certain point, and I'm pretty good at picking up details, so it's more or less a matter of picking up how to deal with produce and stock and such.

I need to discuss with my boss whether or not I'm still elegible for my vacation pay, because if I can get that on top of my first paycheck from this new place, that would take a huge load off my back. I THINK I can request it now, and take "vacation" after my two weeks is up. We'll see. I need to talk to my boss about it tomorrow. *sigh* I LIKE working here, I just wish it paid better. And had more openings for management or whatnot. It's frustrating.

Oh well, benefits and higher pay win out over a (mostly) fantastic working environment.

*GLEE* SUCH a huge weight off my shoulders. Particularly if I get hold of that vacation pay. That will make me (and others!) very very very happy squid. (Yes, squid. everybody says "happy bunny".. squid are more fun.)

Job? Job?? Job!!

Yesterday was the first interview at a Sporting Goods place... Merely the fact that they were unaware (or just forgot) that there was an interview booked for 11 AM. Not the best of starts, in my opinion...

Starting at 8/hr, up tp 8.75-ish after 3 months. It's mine if I want it, I just have to call on Monday. But do I want it?

...

Today was the second interview, at a Grocery place. I was slightly early, and as I was filling out the application, the Owner asked "Do I have an interview now?" and the secretary type lady responded "Yes, I have him filling out an application form now." Hee.

So, I walked in, and... when I e-mailed off my resume, I thought I recognized the last name (not a tangent, I swear!) ... I recognized him instantly, though he took a few seconds to place me. Off to a good start, since I'm an awesome CSM (Customer Service Monkey). Quite possibly the longest interview I've ever had. Started at 11:30, and I was walking down the stairs from his office at 1:00...

We're looking at starting 9.25/hr, more hours than I currently get, wage increase in a month or a bit more, depending on how fast I pick things up. Benefits after 3 months (*DANCEYGLEE*) and up to 10/hr easily by the end of the year. If I pick up some other responsibilities, pay goes up accordingly (which is REALLY nice to hear).

Yeah, I don't think I'm going to take that other one... Even though it's something I know very well. I think I'd enjoy the challenge of learning how to deal with produce and stuff.

Oh, and before anybody asks, no, there's no staff discount. As a matter of fact, I think he's got the best loss prevention scheme ever. No staff purchasing whatsoever. That way, if a staff member is leaving with product, it's very clear that it was not paid for. We can certainly bring another person, shop, push the cart, etc, etc, but we can't go through the cash. It's incredibly simple, and not exactly inconvenient, considering there are grocery stores all over.

Potentially the Lincoln Fields location.

Whee not being broke-ass broke!