I swear...

...by the time I leave this place, I'm going to talk like a Newfoundlander. Every second or third person I meet out here is a Newfie, and my speech patterns are already changing.

The neatest part is that they pronouce my name "Hottie".

Picture extravaganza

So, we have finally uploaded all of the pictures from Zenon's camera. Today I will post some pictures from our adventures in Ontario during our week before we left, starting with some from Toronto.

Here we are at the CN Tower. I don't know why we bought this photo, but we did.
Here is a view of Toronto from the CN Tower.
This is Zenon laying down on the glass floor. Look how chubby the gravity makes his cheeks look!

Now here are some from Niagara Falls:

Here is Zenon with the Falls in the background.
This is a nice shot of the Falls.
This is me with the Falls in the background.

Hmmm.... It won't let me post the best picture of all. I think that the file is too big. Anyway, enjoy what I've posted here. I will be adding lots more later.

P.S. To those who haven't seen them yet, these are my new glasses.

Another Announcement

I got the job! Yay! My boss is picking me up tomorrow morning at 7am. Paycheques, here I come!

4am phone conversation

So, this morning the house phone wouldn't stop ringing. I tried to ignore it, since it is in the kitchen and thus muted, but finally got frustrated and answered it.

H: Hello?
Man on other end: Hi, how are you?
H: (thinks it's the landlord) Fine, and you?
Man: Oh, I'm good, I'm good. Is anyone available?
H: Available? (wondering what the landlord needs at this hour.... has he been arrested?)
Man: To drive.
H: Drive what? (realizes at this point that it must not be the landlord)
Man: Isn't this Nexus Services?
H: No, this is... this is... (gropes in sleep-fogged mind for the right word) a residence.
Man: Oh, I'm sorry. *click*

Editor's Note: Zenon thinks that the man is likely to have said "Isn't this an escort service" as opposed to what I wrote above. Upon reflection, this makes a lot more sense, actually, and adds humour to the story, so let's go with that.

A harrowing, eventful day

So, today was my second day at this temp placement. It was more stressful than my first day. The stress began right when I went in. I keyed in the security code that they gave me, sat down at the desk and started getting my stuff organized. The phone rings. It is the alarm company. "Hello. We got a distress call from your office... The police will be over momentarily." And they were. Great. Just after the cop leaves, I get a call from the supervisor. "You know that there was a distress call? They're sending the RCMP over." My first thought was "Hee hee...RCMP..." because we don't really have them in Ontario. My next was, this is so embarassing.

I had to leave for an appointment this morning. 10 minutes before I go, one of the others in the office drops a pile of stuff on my desk and says, "This needs to be in Edmonton ASAP. Make sure it goes out today." Then the phone rings. It is the payroll person. "Hello. I'm sending you some cheques right now that have to go out to site ASAP." I should take this opportunity to clarify that my job description was "All you have to do is answer the phones - don't worry about anything else." Expectedly, my training included answering the phones and nothing else. So, this courier stuff panicked me a little, especially since I had to do it in 10 minutes so as not to be late for my interview.

Went to the interview. I was the slightest bit late. I will talk about the interview in a second. I drove back to the office. I get there and see that the alarm had been set. Crap, I think to myself. But, I figure that I can type the code in properly this time. So, I go in, punch in the code, the alarm stops, I sigh with relief. The phone rings. You can probably see where this is going. "We got a distress call from your office..." Swear words were running around my head. I wanted to cry, especially when I saw what the supervisor had written on my timesheet about me leaving. However, it all started to look up not long after that. The supervisor came in and told me that the code I had was wrong. They had added a new code to the keypad yesterday, which apparently made the old code into the panic code, as opposed to the shut off code. So, it wasn't my fault that the cops had to come to the office. Also I explained to the supervisor about my appointment and it seemed to go OK.

I don't want to jinx it, but the interview seemed to go very well. I will find out tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. This is one of the jobs where they pick you up and drop you off so you don't have to drive to work. Imagine - no winter driving for Heidi! There are lots of other good things about this job too. I am really hoping that it works out.

Zenon's Christmas beard is really filling in now. The stubble was sexy for about 4 days, but we have very much passed that point by now. I am waiting very excitedly for the Christmas shave. Z and I are getting a housemate tomorrow. One of the landlords is taking of the bedrooms across the hall. It will be different to have to share. Z and I are also looking into finding ourselves a private apartment.

Well, I guess it's time for dinner. The weather today was sunny and +1. It sounds like Ontario got hit with quite the snowstorm. I would laugh at them, but I know that we will be getting hit soon, and for 5 months, so I will save my laughter.

P.S. If you are my sister you should not have read this entry as you are getting a letter with this information in it. Act surprised when it arrives.

Follow up announcement

I am employed! I had my interview at the temp agency today (and by "interview" I really mean "system of tests designed to tell them if you lied about your computer proficiency") and I am starting my first assignment tomorrow. Temp work isn't my lifetime goal, but it is good for now. Maybe there will be a Christmas after all. The base rate for temp work is much higher here than it was back in Ontario. Tomorrow I will make $13/hr to answer phones. This wouldn't happen back home.

I still have the other interview on Thursday, which I decided to still go to since it is for a permanent position. Things are looking up, here. Although, my stomach seems to be acting up. I hope that it's just because of my unhealthy habits lately and that it will go away after a healthy dinner tonight.

Not much else to say except that I rocked the tests at the temp place. Well, not the Excel one. I was only average on that one. But the others... boo yeah!

I have to be somewhere at 8am tomorrow. It has been a while since I've seen 8am, let alone was up and dressed for it. I think that it might be a tough go in the morning.

Random Announcements

First of all, I just noticed that my blog is a year old now. Yay! I think that the earlier entries are the best ones, so if you get bored someday, feel free to browse through the archives. I think that I am probably the only one who gets that bored. Which brings me to announcement number two. My days of being a lonely housewife may be coming to an end - I have 2 interviews this week!!! Yay!!! I re-vamped my resume last week, and it seems to have worked. Please keep your fingers crossed, as I really really need a job. The third announcement is that I have officially returned to the world of the internet. We are no longer using stolen wireless signals, but are nicely connected broadband-style. Yay!!!

I will post further updates as events warrant.

P.S. I have had 3 different addresses in the past year - each in a different province. Does that strike anyone else as a tad excessive?

The TransCanadian Journey: Entry the First

Zen and I started our odyssey on October 28. We left almost on time, by which I mean we left less than an hour later than we'd planned. It was a chaotic morning, but I managed to get ready, and Zen managed to cram all of our stuff into the car. The morning was sunny and beautiful as we set out, which I decided to take as a good omen. The mood in the car was jubilant as we began, as we were both excited to finally be on the road after talking about it and planning it for so long.

We saw the road to Damascus on the way to Arthur. I wish we'd taken a picture. Once we got past Linwood, everything was covered in frost. I told Zenon that it looked like the world had been dipped in icing sugar. My favourite place in that early pre-Barrie part of the journey was Grand Valley, a tiny little town. There was a gray house on the edge of town that overlooked the valley and the river, trees an cemetery contained within. With everything frosted, the scene looked like something out of a book. I could imagine myself retiring there to write a novel about elves and romance.

We made it to the 400 highway without a problem, singing and being silly and enjoying ourselves. I rested for a while on the 400 while Zen drove, and when I opened my eyes again we were in the Muskokas, which were as beautiful as ever. We stopped in Parry Sound for lunch and photo ops, as that is where Bobby Orr is from, I learned, and Zenon wanted proof that we'd been there. We didn't see Bobby Orr, but Zenon did get a picture of the water tower. I took over the driving after lunch. Zenon put in a Great Big Sea CD and there was much singing and rejoicing done by all. The drive to Sudbury was peaceful and uneventful.

In Sudbury, we of course had to stop and take pictures by the giant nickel, which, by the way, is not as easy to find as you'd think. After that it was off to Sault Ste. Marie, which we found without a problem. We stayed in the Howard Johnson at the edge of town, which, though cost effective, was not the nicest place that we were to stay in during our travels. I don't recommend it to others.

Once we were settled, I got a hold of Ken for our first rendezvous in almost 4 years. He looked good - content. I also got to meet his partner Liisa for the first time. I liked her. She was giggly. She gave me a picture of the kids, which I've been waiting for. The four of us parted with Ken and I promising to write each other more often and Zen and I returned to our room to prepare for our next big drive the next morning.

Quick update: We are fine

Hello. This will be short because I'm working on someone else's stolen wireless signal, and I don't know how long it will last. Zen and I arrived safely in Fort McMurray on Nov. 2. The trip was fine. More details and pictures to come later when we have our own internet (before the end of the month). We are settled in here now nicely. The house is gorgeous, and so far we have it to ourselves, which is nice. The house is brand new and our landlords are very good. Zen found a job as a carpenter making good money. I am still looking for work.

That is all for now. I will post this before the signal dies.

P.S. There is no snow on the ground here yet, contrary to popular belief. The past two days the temp was up around 10.