Moving! AGAIN!

It's been quite the week... actually quite the month. I have had 2 interviews in the past week. The first one I had was a phone interview and the first question they asked was what experience have I had. Then the H.R. said, "oh we have a problem here... you need at least 3 years experience." She said we can go through the interview just for my benefit but I won't get the job. I said no thank you, I have had lots of experience. I was quite mad about how the situation was handled. I know my answers would be cynical if I went through with the interview. I rescheduled my whole work day for that. I also know the 3 year experience thing is not true because of what that job was classified as. I am considering writing a letter to that H.R. department because I think they dealt with the situation unprofessionally and I would like an explanation on the years of experience. Anyways my second interview went better. It's an internal permanent position in Camrose. As I was walking to the office where the interview was being held I fell down the stairs!! Way to start off an interview. The people interviewing herd the whole thing. But I left an impression & got the job. My new position starts December 15 but I will work from here until I move to Camrose. A girl working in Camrose is moving out the same time I'm moving in, so I'm taking her apartment. I haven't seen it but she's sent me pictures. It looks like I'll have more space for company. Camrose seems to be a nice city and I'm excited about being able to go to stores & different restaurants. I'm not excited about leaving the people I met here. I really like the office here. I know a few of the Camrose people already because my position currently is regional and I'm still only an hour away from Edmonton. Tonight is my work Christmas party. We are going to the RCMP Regimental Ball. I don't think I've ever been to a ball before... should be fun!

Rural Alberta

Did you know there are towns called: Two Hills, Three Hills, Hairy Hills, and Round Hill? I haven't been to them but I have driven by Round Hill a few times on my way to Camrose. I'm learning about small towns and rural Alberta. In Vegreville you can't even give birth in the hospital. You have to drive to Edmonton or Daysland once you go into labour. Someone I work with just had a grand baby. They were driving to Daysland in the middle of the night and ran out of gas! They stopped at a farmers house & he lent them his truck because he didn't have any gas either. Living here I get excited when I go to a city so I can go to Tim Horton's. I would have never thought how exciting that would be until there isn't one to go to. Going to the movies was defiantly an experience. It looked like it was a school gym or a make shift theater. It used to be just one theater and then they made it into two. But they didn't put a real wall and you have to walk through the first theater to get to the second. The seats were so uncomfortable and big people probably wouldn't fit. At least you don't pay city prices. The Ukrainian supper in the basement of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was also an experience. My friend said "you need to be under 10 or over 60 to be here." Anywho it's been interesting.

So I don't really blog anymore...

I put my pictures on facebook and now I don't really blog anymore. Or maybe I don't have much to say. Work is going good. I know more and more of what my role is. It's weird I have to keep working after the summer is over. At least I don't have to Study! Well, other then what I do at work and I get paid for it. I'm trying to learn as much about contracts and get more training for future job possibilities. Vegreville is alright. It's so small for me. I always think people look at me & know I'm new to town. I'm also not used to saying hi to random people when I walk to work. I get excited when I see Tim Horton's, Winners, any nice restaurant, and malls when I'm in a city. I also don't have TV. I was looking forward to it once I graduated because I haven't really watched much in the past couple years. But in this place I can't get cable & I don't want to buy a receiver for satellite. So, I've been watching seasons of things. I'm watching season 2 of 24. I can never just watch one episode at a time. I also just finished a good book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It's about a boy that grew up in Afghanistan.

My Brother & Sister are coming to see me tomorrow. It should be fun & I'm glad I don't have to do all the driving this weekend. Next weekend I'm going to Lethbridge for a friends wedding. Oh, and my parents are moving!! My mom has accepted a supervisory position in Edmonton for Children Services as a mediator. My dad had an interview on Wednesday in Edmonton but it's different then what he does now. So, he may retire instead..... not sure yet. They were looking at houses this week.

Canada Day Long Weekend

Emily & Jacob MacLeod


Kelly & Archie

On the way back through Calgary I finally got to meet Bronwyn.

A bike ride

Supper at the Condo in Canmore

Canada Day Parade

The Cousins, 9/13

Bree & Ashley

My Place

I cleaned my house today so I took some pictures to share. It kind of has 2 bedrooms but one is the living room because the main area is small. Everything is small in here I guess. But it's just me so it's working. I also got a beta fish to keep me company or at least look pretty.
Work is going good. I am learning a lot. I was in training in Red Deer for 2 days last week on how to write request for proposals. In July I guess I'll be writing some with my supervisor. While I was in Red Deer I got to see Ashley, a friend from elementary school that I haven't seen in a couple years. That was fun to catch up. Also this past Sunday I stayed at my cousin Trisha's house because I had training in Edmonton on Monday. I think for the next couple weeks I won't be traveling for work.

30 years

Today is my parent's 30th anniversary. We put this picture of them in the paper Saturday. They also put my graduation picture in the same day. We both looked at the adds to see the one we put in and then noticed the one about our selves. We had a couple suppers to celebrate this occasion. My mom wanted to have a party & my dad didn't.... I guess my dad won.

graduated

Well, I decided to get this picture done since I don't plan on going to my grad. I don't feel like driving for 6 hours to sit in a boring service. My supervisor keeps asking me when it is, hinting that I should go and taking time off isn't a problem. I'd rather take time off to do other things. I'm taking a "moving day" for Friday. So, I'm going to have a long long weekend. I also did a bit of over time that I'm going to use to get off early tomorrow. Then I'll have a bit more time in Medicine Hat before I have to move my stuff here on Sunday. Today I was in a meeting that went ALL day. I was trying not to yawn bought I was caught. I wasn't bored it is just hard to focus for that long. Tomorrow I'll be in Killam for half the day for another meeting. I have been eating out lunch too much & I will be tomorrow also... I think you kind of have to with this kind of job. I also have 2 different golf days booked!! AH! I have no idea how to play. I've only tried it once when I was a kid. I'm thinking I should try it out this weekend if I can find some time somewhere. Anyways good night for now.

It's official

I passed all of my classes so I have the job for real now. Clayton & I went to Vegreville last week to find me a place. It was way harder then I thought it would be. I'm renting a newly renovated apartment. It's more expensive then I wanted but I guess it's better then nothing. I also saw my office while I was there. It's in a new building and I have a nice big window with a view of gofers. I'm going to Calgary tomorrow then on Sunday to Veg. The power company can't guarantee that it will be hooked up until Monday.... I'm hoping at least by Sunday for when I get there. The phone company still hasn't told me my number yet. So, I might be there without power, phone, Internet, & furniture. My parents are helping me move more of my stuff on may long (which is their 30th anniversary!!). Anyways it's getting late... I'll post more later.

It's officially unofficial

It's been a stressful last few weeks. I was called back by the Brooks people and they had a different job for me (which payed more). They did a phone interview on me right then and then said they would get back to me this week. In the mean time the northern job offered me the position as long as I get conformation of my degree and a police check. Then yesterday the Brooks one was also offered. So, today I turned down the Brooks one and I'm going to be moving just outside of Edmonton. I still need to choose where to live/work, the options are: Lloydminster, Killam,Tofield and Vegreville. I'm leaning towards Vegreville because it is close to Edmonton and has more of a population then Tofield.... anyone have any suggestions? Now I'm hoping Clayton can find a job at one of the Edmonton airports.

We have found people to take over our lease here, i thought that was never going to happen & I'm so happy about that. I have to be out of here on the 29th and go to Medicine Hat for a couple weeks while I find a place to live where I'm going to work. I have only 2 finals left and I will have a degree!! And passing them is crucial too. So, really I shouldn't be stressed anymore because while I'm thinking about what I'm writing it sounds like everything is organized. No more interviews, only 2 finals, and I don't have to worry about rent in Lethbridge. I'm still anxious though... it's hard to study when I keep thinking about moving and what it will be like.

Oh, and I'll be living by myself, no roommates, yay! So, I'm hoping people will come visit me. Vegreville is home of the worlds largest Ukrainian Pysanka and there is a Ukrainian Pysanka festival in July... any takers??

Interview & Ticket

Well, another interview is over with. I think I did a lot better this time. I studied a lot for it which was good because there were some pretty specific questions about the position. I talked to someone who does this job in a different region & looked over the policy manual. I also looked up possible questions from monster.ca and memorized answers. I was disappointed when they didn't ask me some of the ones I had good answers for. The interview was only 35 min & when they were wrapping up I was like "oh no I didn't say enough" but one of the interviews said that I was just concise. Also there were only 3 present instead of 4 but I still think it should have went longer. The video conferencing technology worked well. There was a bit of delay though so we ended up talking over each other a bit. The tech here said it was a problem on their end & it doesn't usually do that. The tech sat through the whole interview in case there were any problems. I find out in a week if I get it or not. This time I'm trying not to make plans in my head about getting it. Last time I was making plans on moving etc. and this time I'm trying not to think about it too much. I could have many more interviews and it will get exhausting planning my life with each one. They said they might not have room in the Camrose office but I can pretty much choose which place I want to live in the east central region where they have offices (if i get it). I think Camrose would be the best one but it might not be possible.

Some of you might know that I got a $300 speeding ticket on my way to my grandmas funeral in December. Anyways my mom hired someone to take it to court. Now I pay $177 and I have 2 demerits. I'm not sure how many demerits I would have gotten before. Does anyone know how many demerits you get if you are hypothetically going 43 kilometers over the speed limit? Well, here is my official story I sent in:

On December 4, 2007 I was on my way (from Lethbridge) to my grandmas funeral (the third funeral of a close family member I had been to in five months). It was in Edmonton, which was that evening. I would have liked to arrive in Edmonton a few days before but this was not possible due to the fact that it was the end of the semester, I had projects to finish, and exams to do. I left in the morning thinking I would have lots of time to get there and still see my relatives. I started out going on the wrong highway because I wanted to go around Calgary. I have never gone that way before. I did not want to have the stress of Calgary traffic on top of everything else. I did not realize the speed limit was 100 km/h and I also did not realize how fast I was going (I do not have cruise control). I was thinking about all the things I had to get done and I was also worried about lost time. There was no traffic so I did not have other vehicles around me to think about or to make me realize how fast I was going.

I was pulled over by a Sheriff and he did not ask me any questions. He did not tell me the speed limit and he did not tell me how much it was going to cost. He just went to his car for about 20 minutes, said how fast I was going, handed me the ticket, and said there were instructions on the ticket how to pay.

When I got the ticket I almost went back to Lethbridge instead of continuing on to Edmonton. For financial, emotional, and time constraints I was not sure if it was worth it to make it to the funeral. I thought my mom would need me there though, so I made it there just in time to get to the church. I apologize for breaking the law but request some consideration as a poor student in these extenuating circumstances. I can obtain a copy of the obituary if needed.