"If there is no wind...row"

...or, as that great American comic Milton Berle once said, "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door"...!
So that's where I'm at, after last month.
Am back in the land of job / career exploration, and still enjoying the ride.
Amazing my own self, at how much I am managing the unpredictability of every morning.
Much more fun than being a caregiver, I might add. (Mum's doing great these days...whew..!)
Absolutely LOVED teaching both English AND French, second language courses, to a cross-section of folks from both linguistic profiles. What a great way to be reminded of my teaching skills...!
Met some super new francophone friends this month.
Watched La Grande Séduction, completely in French, without even once switching to sub-titles..yay...!
Feeling the pull of la langue.C'est si bon.
Stay tuned for the next adventure...I know I look forward..!

Whew

It's been an unpredictable summer horriblis...
Mum has just been discharged from hospital.
This, after 7 frightening weeks instead of the one we anticipated.
I am glad I was here for her. I sure do appreciate the meaning of family now, more than ever..!
Have no clue what I'll be doing in the fall. Maybe working for the Feds, maybe teaching French full time. Fingers crossed for either / both.
Otherwise, it's a lovely Canadian summer. I am well. Catching my breath.
And still emerging.

The Best Things...

Today's the kind of day the phrase "The best things in life are free" comes to mind.

My sister flew in from Nassau for a whole week, and bought me a new summer / fall wardrobe while we wined and dined and reconnected in the way that sisters do. She is a queen.

This morning I will zip over to hospital, to tell its favorite patient aka my mother how grateful I am that she brought me into the world. Mum's had some real life-and-death events these past few weeks. I do not take for granted the time we have together.

I have received a ton of email greetings from pals from Winnipeg to Freeport - all of whom I cherish dearly and to whom I will send updates later today.

I am being treated to birthday brunch by the first friend I met when I resettled in Fredericton. Quality time.

My health is still great. I love my gym time. I am still looking for a full time gig... and still have no debts.

Such abundance, on my birthday..!

Doctor, Doctor..!

Quick update...me Mum is having surgery in a few days, and coincidentally, I am having day surgery same time, same place.
Shazam...(!)
My French tutoring gig is on hiatus until August, so the timing is actually good.
The queen mother will need a few months for recovery time, so caregiving will be my prioriy for the next little bit.

Will be.

I am not a has-been. I am a will be. ~Lauren Bacall
(Wish I'd said that...!)

Well, I have been so ...um..."delinquent" in getting back to this blog, that I actually got tagged this week by a pal whose blog I read regularly...So...about face..!
In a nutshell, the months since my last post have been filled with all sorts of job search adventures. I have traveled, written more qualifying tests than I ever did at university, got interviewed for a handful, with results pending, of course...and experienced two more seasons of the calendar year.
If there is indeed a God, She has a wicked sense of humor: The language school I surrendered to last fall, to improve my French, actually hired me...to give private French lessons! I am part-time, as I tutor elected government officials, on both sides of the Legislative Assemby. This media gal is having a ball as I actually meet one-on-one with six of them, an hour or two a week. Good brain food.
My E.I. ended recently, so I now fly by the seat of my pants.
Big plus: Still have no debts.
...and another miracle...through thrice-weekly trips to the gym (great for clearing away fog) have shed 10+ pounds since January. Intend to drop a few more, too.
So now I really really love shopping. Good thing I am on a budget..
Can still not explain this perpetual optimism, but am glad of it. I am the only unemployed (almost a year?!) person in my circles, and I still believe nirvana is coming.
Am convinced superb friends and family explains it. Que sera, sera..!


It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to. ~W.C. Fields

Enough, Already...!

Job update.
Flew into Ottawa for job screening with the Feds - should hear yeah or nay within a month.
If successful, I may relocate to either Ottawa or Montreal..at my own expense..ouch. But the money's good and nice benefits involved. The job fits me like a glove. Let's see if the HR people agree...
Am still in the running for a Freddy job - some $15 thou less a year, but also Federal, and therefore benefits, so am musing over all three potential scenarios.

Am ready to get an offer. It's been a good few months of getting things together in all ways..
So any time soon....
NOW is good...

Each Day New

That's my mantra these days.
I will be taking my French tutor out for breakfast in a few days, for our final ...um...class. She's been wonderful and I know the bilingualism exams I have done so far have her to thank for whatever good I do in them.
So yes, I am still looking towards the Feds for my next gig. I've written maybe seven or eight assessment tests for them, with not one exam resembling an other. Fascinating, actually. I'd love to see how they anayze the stuff..
But I digress.
Health good. Maybe even bordering on excellent. Wonderful feeling. I've sweated off 5 pounds and hope to continue till 10 are gone.
Finally we got the cold blast and snowfall one traditionally experiences in Januarys in Canada, albeit briefly.
Spring is coming on. I'm still debt free.
And each day still new.
Life short. Call now.

Moving Right Along....

I read my pal Karen's blog (http://sassymonkey.wordpress.com) pretty much every day. So I got to thinking I better get back to this one before you all forget about me...tee,hee...
I'm now four months along, in my ...um.."between jobs" phase.
Surprise, surprise: I am actually enjoying using the time to pause and reflect.
I am eligible to still receive 55% of my last salary, from the unemployment insurance people. Who knew taxes actually help the tax-payer?! (wink, wnk)
So this time around I am aiming for work that might actually involve writing, since I am a writer (aimed to do so as a tech writer, but never actually wrote...du-uh!)
I know my resumé is solid, and there aren't many in these parts who can say they have been both a foreign correspondent and an award-winning writer, so...
These days, I am sniffing around government offices and doing the dreaded cold calls, which for some peculiar reason, I actually enjoy.
My social circle has broadened as a result. With actually very interesting people I would never have otherwise met.
That's at the very least. At best, of course, I will be working for/with them, in a few months.
Joined a book club. Also another first.
And I am taking not one, but two French courses - one at the local university, the other at a private school - which I thoroughly enjoy. I minored in French at university and lived in Montreal, Quebec City , and Ottawa. But I still feel rusty. The classes are a real confidence and competence builder.
( Gawd bless our unemployment system, which foots half the tuition as long as I am eligible. That means until spring, bless 'em!)
So there you have it. Any survival tips will be gratefully ackowledged.
Cheers..!

I.T. Makes Me Itchy

So much for what has turned out to be my most recent job. Just days after my stellar annual review, the company downsized.
I was one of the 52 let go.
That was just about a month ago.
In the days and weeks since then, there's been a flurry of activity:
Sisters flying in from Nassau and Montreal respectively, for our first family reunion in four years. Mum was over the moon, to have her girls all in the same town.(And we didn't kill each other.)
Milestone: My birthday.
And I have - with the help of of a guardian angel of sorts - made a handful of new acquaintances, all met during my job hunt..I like meeting people!
So stay tuned...something will turn up.
Maybe even from the field of internet technology...giggle...

Time Flies

I've been kinda busy living my life, which can't be all bad..
I just had a good annual evaluation of my job as technical writer. Go figger. I love that job!
Closed the door to my Bahamas life with a two week visit. Island hopped, saw every friend and colleague I had hoped to. Even had two delicious sister-to-sister chats with my sis Diane. Priceless.
Back just last week from Nassau. I have re-joined the Mature Professionals Network - nice hidge podge of local folks my age who get together for social drinks every Friday..yay!
Even toying with joining a church. I hear there are nice people there.
So it's three months later, and I feel actually younger AND wiser...
double yay!

A Good Fit

Out with the old, in with the new.
Bought a new pair of jeans yesterday. They are the same size as my old pair, but I the new just fit better. Thank you, gym (see previous blog entry).
So the old faithfuls are in the trash. Time for spring and new beginnings.
Last Sunday at this time, I spent the day reconnecting with a pal I haven't seen in over 20 years. After all this time, with her in Toronto, and me a continent away, both of us have evolved into technical writers. Amazing coincidence. We partied Friday at a St. Paddy's bash at an Irish pub, enjoying the jigs and the live band. Our get-togethers proved our "stalled" conversations have just picked up where we left off. Like well-worn shoes or an old pair of jeans. My pal from the O'Leary clan is a keeper.
So I am glad I spent this day at home, clearing away old magazines and clothes and such. It's been an eventful week.

Gym:Good Scales:BAD

Went for a routine blood test this morning and was happy to learn my blood pressure - normal to start - is now excellent.
I am sure it is because of my thrice-weekly gym visits...happy new year!
The scales do not appreciate that my fat has turned to muscle. Screw em. My clothes fit better and I love the stamina I've gained.
Helps also with the desk job. As in, keeps me from falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon. (Staring at a computer all day is not really lively stuff.)
Wore my shoes instead of winter boots today. Soon I will start walking through the woods beside my apartment building.
It's nice sometimes to just be reminded life is what you make it.

Diary of a Mad Woman

Don't mess with my money.
Today I got home from a challenging day of work, to find a bill double its usual size in my mail box. I shifted from tired to flat out mad in no time flat.
Bank error. Again.
Back to the car I went, in the pouring rain, to get to the bank before 5. It's the third bill in just over a month that they screwed up, even though at each prompt bill payment, they deducted money from my account and gave me a receipt for the payment. Grrrrrr.
I spoke directly to the manager and mused out loud about all the senior citizens or those visually or otherwise handicapped persons who might not have picked up on what I have, much less have followed through. Not inspiring.
That bank has now had the gauntlet thrown down. People get away with as much as you let them. So the tellers - who all know me by name, I might add - will be spanked and possibly made to sit in on some retraining. If this bank wasn't so close to my apartment, with its convenient ATM...They have one more chance...
And I say again...grrrr...!

Fresh

"We shall not cease from exploration..."
I love that poem.
I am looking at the sole art mural that graces my apartment, this chilly February day, and marvelling at how time changes all things.
The mural is a view of a bright blue sea, through sheer white curtains being gently caressed by the breeze wafting through a very large window.
I bought that mural a little over a year ago, when I'd been back in Canada just over a year, could least afford it, and was pining for the familiar calm of a drive along Nassau's western seaside.
I'd been unemployed seven and a half months - first time since I started working at 16. I had made few friends, and had slim prospect of re-integrating into my small home town after almost three decades abroad.
Fast forward to this past week.
I took an afternoon off, mid-week to see a movie, sampled my first Pakastani restaurant buffet with two great dinner companions, and plan to go to an art gallery this afternoon.
It's very still outside, with frigid temperatures on this Sunday morning. The bright sun outside my bay window seems oblivious to the chill factor.
New discoveries all around.
What a lovely day for new beginnings..!

Jolanta

I love Jolanta.
Well, her hands, anyways.
Jolanta is my massage therapist.
Today was my first visit to her since last summer. Thanks to the company medical plan, I get to be pulled and pummelled 9 more times before the end of May..yippee!
Tonight my skin is soft and every part of me is relaxed.
I love my job.
I love Jolanta.

Matching Up

It's a conundrum. I can see when my cyberpals are online..
They are supposed to be getting to know me.
I get the impression that ain' happenin'.
But then I am online, too....
Silly.

Capote Got To Me

I admit it. This afternoon, for the first time in a very long time, I walked out of my local movie theatre, rattled.
Shameless movie hound that I am, I decided an early viewing of "Capote" would be the perfect Saturday afternoon treat. Besides, I still have several movie pass Christmas prezzies that I really should be using.
So I went to one of the few films getting Academy Award accolades that I haven't already been to before the Oscars are handed out.
Not a mistake, really. Just disturbing. Far more disturbing than the love story in Brokeback Mountain, which only upsets anyone having any kind of identity crisis.
Capote was different. It peeled off the layers to show the dangerous side in all of us.
In the words of INXS' J.D. Fortune: "It ain't pretty after the show."
Glad I went. Sad I went.

Find Me a Fit Farm

It is either the February blahs, or just the reminder of an unfulfilled wish..
I want a fantastic fantasy week, far away in a pamper palace.
It's got to simultaneously spoil my senses and take off a few pounds.
The best ones are in British Columbia or Vermont, and easily cost around $3 thou. A bit rich for my blood, at least until I wn my million from the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes.
Till then, I can dream on. I'm worth it.

Go Figger

I was just about to remove this blog when a great pal I worked with in Nassau (now a published author hanging her hat in Washington) found it..who knew ?!
So now I'm feeling happily obligated to make more noise about me and mine.
Tonight? Nah...but soon..!

This is Me