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| The ups and downs of our planned new life to NZ, warts and all! |
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Another weekend is here and again we have sunny days forecasted. The temperature has started to drop in the evenings, but we are still having great sunshine. . Today the forecast is Sunny and 24c . Another busy week at work, and everyone else in the family seems busy. Gemma and Kathryn are happily working with Lexie (the horse) who is mostly out in her field. She is happy and I am waiting for the moaning and groaning when winter comes in and they are working in the morning and at night in minus 20c Jules is keeping herself busy with the great task of looking after us, and in her spare time, gardening and making gowns. I really must get photo's of her collection of dresses. She is preparing for the November show where she will probably display some of her dresses along with the unique purses, scarves and wraps she has made. Let us hope this year is an improvement on last (she really noticed the recession here in Canada). OK must dash I have to mow the lawn, wash down the sidings and think about emptying the pool. Oh yes I must think about a solar heater for the pool to extend ..... PS we have ordered 2 cord of wood for the stove as part of our preparations for winter (it needs to season for a couple of months before you store it) | ||
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, and I am thinking of emptying the pool and packing it away for another winter season. Every year I say to myself "I must get a solar heater rigged up for the pool to extend our swimming season", but unfortunately it is still without any heater and now the nights are cooler the water temperature is only just creeping above 20c..... Heck I remember regularly swimming in the Lido's of the UK where the water temperature must have barely made it to the teens centigrade? I must be getting wimpy in my old age.
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These past two weeks have been hard, I knew it was going to be when I decided enough was enough at the Spa job. It's a tough decision to make, but if you are really unhappy in a job I don't think you should stay there. The ideal situation would have been to have a job before I left that company but things just got way too bad there. Last night I was even starting to wonder if they had me going through the books properly, the reason I'm saying this is when you start a new employment you have to sign two personal tax credit forms when you start work. With the spa job I didn't do that. The reason that I realised this is because yesterday I went into the big City of Edmonton for an interview. I'm going back into Temporary Office work (at last), part of the paperwork was to sign this tax form and I remembered having to do it when I first started my other job as well. Alarm bells are ringing here, is/was there something funny going on! So moving on, the interview lasted about 2 hours, she sat and had a chat with me then I was tested on Word, Excel, and did three typing tests. One numeric, one numeric with text and the final one was text. Well i'll be honest my typing speed isn't the best but I got a 96% accuracy rating. The one down side of the interview was that she has to phone the Spa to confirm my employment, Ahhhhhhh! I could have let the ground open up and drop me down the 12 floors of that building there and then. I got so upset, I told her the whole story, afterall I had nothing to hide and still to this day I can say that I didn't do anything wrong. It was horrible, I didn't want to slag off my old employer even if she was horrible to me that just isn't my style. I explained to the girl that the boss made me very uncomfortable during my time working there and it was made even worse when I handed in my notice. One of the nice questions she asked which said a thousand words was. "Does she have a high staff turnover?" to which I replied "yes" The girl then proceeded to tell me of an employer that made her life miserable when she wanted to quit a job. She made me feel so much better. I don't know why I got so upset, I just hate not knowing what people think about me and when you are trying to make a good impression it really matters. If I get onto this temping agency I can kiss the whole of retail goodbye and at last be back in my admin role again working normal hours and getting a half decent pay! They want to get in touch with all my past employers in Canada, which is fine. I phoned my old boss this morning and he is more than happy to give a reference. I also called my assistant manager to the other store I worked at yesterday and she was happy to do the same. She even gave me her home number to use, as she was due to go on holiday today for the next two weeks, so that was really nice of her. Lets hope that at last, after nearly two years of "interesting" jobs in Alberta I am finally going to be in something I truely enjoy. I'm still owed some money from the Spa job, i'm not sure if she is going to try and keep it but i'm so very willing to fight her for it, afterall I have earned it!. There's about two weeks pay, she paid us monthly which is odd here. The norm is generally every two weeks so I'm waiting till the end of the month then probally give another three days for the post and if I don't see it i'll be sending her a letter. This is one of the problems living in another country, you are vunerable and open for people to mess you about. I've started reading up on employment law now, I think it's a wise and smart thing for everyone to know what their rights are. | ||
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As a family we are settling in really well. Somethings are very similar to what happened in the UK. I used to walk the kids to school while V had the only car we had. That is he same, apart from occasionaly V can car share, allowing me use of the car, which is a godsend at school home time when the sun is very hot. Even though its only a 15 mn walk, it does take it out of you. We struggle getting the kids in for tea as they are so busy playing out and having fun when its cooler in the evening . In the UK i worried about the boys being out when it is getting darker. Now i have no worries, they play in a group of up to 8 in the local park on bikes/scooters /skateboards or even with a football. Some of their freinds are poms, others aussies, nice bunch of kids. I'm also making freinds, the sort i can meet up with for a coffee and have a natter with, something i rarely had in the UK . V is still struggling with the heat and heard that his unit are looking for volenteers to move to Adelaide towards the end of this year. I am hoping in some ways that he is not successful as we have only just started to feel at home in our new home. However i will support him if that is what he wants as i think the wet season will be tough to cope with. Not much else to say really, life i good and i hope it continues to remain the same | ||
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| Its now 9 weeks and my house is starting to feel like a home, the kids are happy to have something resembling their own room again, im happy to have my ornaments and photos on display. I did have a few almost teary moments when i was emptying the boxes containg photos from the past 20 years, seeing some of those photos made me feel all nostalgic, but i soon snapped out of it. Im making a few more freinds was out on Monday for a ladies night out and what a brill time i had, some aussies and some poms, its a monthly monday night event so im looking forward to the next one. I went to my first tupperwear party today, again brill people and yes i did part with my money for some tubs. As living in Darwin as i have found out everything has to kept in tubs, cereal, crackers, infact anything that is kept in the pantry cupboard. I helped out at the school on Tuesday morning and had a really good time, i was helping with the transition year group PE class, i helped with 2 different classes and i was shattered afterwards. Ive continued unpacking boxes this week which has kept me very busy. Once ive got the house put to rights and i feel happy thats it is presentable then i will start on the job hunting. My OH is delighted that we now have austar, and he is now watching the premier league live on fox sports, he is one happy bunny now. The boys have their bikes ready for riding now, had to go and buy 2 new for the middle and youngest as theres were trashed in the UK so never got packed. Managed to get them in sales so got them cheap. Im happy that we now finally have tennets who moved in to our UK house, as that was a big concern leaving an empty house behind. The tennents have expressed a wish to buy but being ex soldiers and having lived in Germany they wernt able to get a credit score for a mortgage, so hopefully in 6 months they will want to buy, then i will be a very happy bunny. Life still has the usual stuff going on, the kids are still the toerags they were in the UK and we still have the same family issues we had then, moving to oz has not made them vanish but thats fine by me. AS a family we are accepting any invites to anything to increase our social circle. Last weekend the 2 older boys had invites out for tea at their freinds, the oldest got a sleep over too, the middle one has a sleep over next weekend. The youngest is making plenty of new freinds and is the happiest ive seen him in a long time. Having ADHD has not affected his social life like it did in the UK. We are finding other parents more understanding when he 'plays up' which is good.The only problem i have encounted has been he has to go for another assessment with more proffessionals so that he can get the support he needs in school. Im enjoying the 7.30 walk to school on the morning and all the colourful birds that we see, i enjoy saying hello to the few aboriginals that i see enroute. Im not so keen on the 2pm walk as its a tad warm walking there and back in the heat, but im sensible, i wear a hat, my sun glasses and plenty of sun screen on, untill i get an job and can afford to get another car, its what i have to do. Plus it means im getting plenty of exercise lol In short im happy with life and feel more relaxed than i ever have done in years. Its taken us so long to get to Australia and i was worried incase we may not settle but i dont think i need of worried. I still speak to my parents and in laws every few weeks jus like i did in the UK so in that respect nothing has changed. | ||
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| Its 8 weeks now(tommorow) since we arrived, and our furniture was delivered on Tuesday. The past few weeks have had its ups and downs and some of it really stretched our comfort zone but we got through it. 2 weeks ago our youngest son (8) developed an infection on his big toes, appeared over night, he went to school on monday and got sent home with in an hour. I took him to a local dr who gave us some anitbiotics and asked me to come back on the wed. By wed, he was in so much pain and the swelling was pus filled and very nasty, we wondered whether he had been bitten by a spider or some other creature. The dr lanced one of his toes and took a swab and my son screamed the place down, he then gave me a needle and told me to do the other one at home when he was a sleep. I was so upset and shaking when i left the surgery i was really cursing being in Darwin at this stage. It took me a couple of hours to calm my son down, eventually after advice from freinds on facebook i took him to the local A&E and what an amazing expereince. We were seen within a few mins of arriving by the triage nurse and were taken into the paeds dept within 15 mins, they used entenox and lanced his other toe and dressed both of his toes. we were on our way home with in the hour. The relief i felt was immediate, my son was groggy from the gas and finally got a good sleep. He was kept off school for the week. On Fri i went back to the surgery to see the same dr, still not happy with him but he was more approachable and apologised for the Wed. He asked us to see the nurse to change his dressing at a local family clinic, which we did. On tues, we got a phone call from the drs surgery asking us to bring my son in asap, so i went in yesterday, we got the results back and the dr was very concerned as it showed up MRSA, not good news. He wanted him to have a blood test done to check for diabetes, as he now has infections breaking out on his thumb and a finger. He got the bloood test done today before school and the staff were fantastic as he was terrified of the needles and is definatly getting white coat syndrome. In between the dramas with our youngest, we did manage to have some fun. We went to the Northern territory wildlife park about 45 mins away from home, we had a fantastic day it cost us $71 for a family of 5 which at the time we thought was expensive but as we are 'local' we now have a free years pass which we are pleased with as we didnt manage to see all what the park offered. I can honestly say hand on heart we have not once been homesick, we have missed the familiarity of a system that we are used to and have at times struggled with the strangeness . On the whole i am coping with living in Darwin, no matter where we lived, i still have to do the school run, shopping and housework the normal mundane things. My kids still argue and fight with each other like they did in the UK. while typing this my youngest shouted me to come outside as there was a cane toad, which are very prevalent in Darwin, i donned my disposable rubber gloves, doubled baggged a carrier bag and caught it, it is now sitting in my chest freezer. This is the first time ive had to do and my heart was thumping getting this creature. My husband the other day expertly caught a redback spider with the use of a plastic cup and card and let it go away from the house in the bushes on the outer edge of our court. These are things we never thought we would ever do. I am surrounded by chaos at the moment, with boxes that need un packing which i will do when the kids go to bed. We got the youngest one's bed sorted out today and have 2 high sleeper beds to build over the weekend. Something we never considered when we bought the beds in the UK, were ceilling fans, so we are going to have to position those very carefully so we dont have decapitated boys on our hands lol. Somethings never change, but it is nice having warmth and sunshine while doing the normal stuff. Well i think ive burbled enough about the past 2 weeks , time to get a brew and chill out after i get the boys sorted for bed. | ||
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 Yes we did it, we decided to go to Fort McMurray. Both Neil and I wanted and needed to see what all the fuss is about! One things for sure it's a long boring drive of over 400 kms. I was quite amazed when we finally got there I thought it was going to be this grey horrible looking place but it was actually very pretty! Yes Fort McMurray and pretty in the same sentence.  We went to their Heritage Park and I'll be honest with you now we have done a fair few of this Heritage parks and have now decided to call it quits with them. Once you have seen one you have basically seen them all!  So after we had spent all of about 15 mins in there we were moving on! I thought is would be a great idea to drive to the Atherbasca Sand Dunes, we set off past the Oil Sands which are situated 35 kms outside the town of Fort McMurray and kept driving North. After 70 kms we were faced with a gate and a warning sign! We needed to be well equipped to drive any further. The road was made out of sand and knowing us if we proceeded down it we were going to get stuck! It will have all just ended in tears. We should have both learnt our lessons by now, this is Canada and some of these roads are bad. We had to turn the car back around and head back to Fort McMurray. It's a very isolated town the nearest place is Edmonton you only drive past a handful of communities on the way. It is the truth that house prices are ridiculously high the same house you could buy for $350,00 in Edmonton is around $700,00 in Fort McMurray! Of course we went to the Oil Fields, we paid $35 each and to be honest it did seem like a waste of money. I was expecting to see the Oil Sands but they didn't show it us which was very disappointing and had I have known this I probally would have not done the trip! We were allowed to take photos but we are not allowed to e-mail the pictures or upload them on blogs or social etworking sites so that annoyed me even more. You have to ask for permission but it's a long process and to be honest the snaps I've got are not even worth it.    The above picture used to be an old oil sands patch and they have reclaimed the land back to how it was, I was quite impressed One thing we did find funny was the fact that they offered the Playboy channel for free in the hotel room, I must admit I have never been in a hotel with free porn before. All in all the place wasn't too bad, there were lots of families there and I didn't feel bothered walking around the streets. It was just like any other town, i'm sure it does have its problems but so does everywhere else, like Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver! The people in general were very friendly, and liked the fact that we came up to see what it was all about. Would I go back there, no I probally wouldn't been there, done that now. I'm glad we did it though, it did dispell some of the rumors for me.  | ||
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It has been over a month since my last entry and a lot has happened in that time. On the 24th July Kathryn turned 23 years old ' Here in New Brunswick (and I expect across Canada) your car requires a Motor Vehicle Inspection certificate, much like the UK's MOT certificate. Kathryns car was due for it's MVI at the end of July, and with some small rust holes in the sill under the drivers door it would probably fail. I knew she couldn't afford to take it to a bodyshop for repair, so in my best grumpy old man voice I mumbled that "I would help repair it "(which I found out later actually means I will do it entirely on my own . Ah the nostalgia of repairing rust holes in cars. It was like going back 30 years to my first couple of cars. Rubbing down to bare metal, cutting off pieces off rusted metal, being surprised to see the couple of pinholes grow to a large hole and then agonising over what technique to use to fill in the gaping chasm I had revealed/made.
Much to my surprise the car passed and everyone was happy (I was relieved). Before any one asks I do not take work on for anyone beyond my two daughters. . During our first visit to Canada (Recce in 2003) we stayed at the Chickadee Lodge B&B on the outskirts of Fredericton and really got on well with the owners (Guy and Christine Donnelly). They became our first friends in Canada and after we landed in November 2005 we often visited each other for meals, parties etc... Their annual Lobsterfest was a favourite event of mine. Well about two years ago they told us they were moving to Calagary Alberta and they sold up and moved, we kept in touch with emails, christmas cards etc... Mid July we found out they were coming back and they have just returned to NB. It is funny to hear almost the same reasons for moving back to NB being played back to us by Christine and Guy as the ones we used on why we moved from the UK. Anyway we held a BBQ yesterday afternoon and invited a bunch of people round(Sean & Wendy, Guy & Christine and John). After a great BBQ (cooked by yours truly) around 9pm I lit a fire in our fire pit (an upturned wheel rim of some big SUV) and as we men watched the embers glowing and I threw on a new log (there is something primeval about sitting around a fire), Sean (a chemistry professor at UNB) commented that in the UK he never imagined that one day at 10pm he would be sitting around a fire pit, with a , truck driver(Guy), IT consultant from Ireland(John) and Project Manager(Moi). A good time was had by all, they all stayed 5 hours so I assume they had a good time and we have lots of dessert to eat . I have to show you a couple of photos by Gemma (my youngest daughter). You may know this already, but she is studying an Bachelor of Applied Arts (UNB) and really into Macro photography here are some from of her latest:
Cornflower
Can you see all three bugs? This blog doesnt really do them justice, but I'm impressed (proud Dad coming out I better watch that, it doesnt fit with my grumpy old man award). . Finally on a slightly different note, today (8th August) Julie and I reach a big anniversary in our relationship. It was 30 years ago today that I took Julie out on our first date. We met up at 8pm, 8th August 1980 in Beeston Square Bus Station (she was on time, which impressed me). I remember showing off that I owned a car A Vauxhall Chevette - hatchback metallic gold in colour too(the first car I owned that didn't require daily running repairs).
I think she was suitably impressed. In my then sophisticated soldier way I drove her to Nottingham and my idea of a good night out was to go on a pub crawl.... | ||
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....WOW 23! as her Father I now feel old and officially I am entitled to the Grumpy Old Man award. Anyway to celebrate we took ourselves off to Saint Andrews and had a great day at the sea side. We paddled and picnic'd off Indian Point, then into Saint Andrews for dinner at the Harbour Lights restuarant (not bad meal).
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One of many insect photos
I think we visited about 8 pubs in 3 hours (I only had one beer in the first pub, and then switched to Tonic Water... again I think that impressed her). Anyway despite my uncouth nature she managed to stick it out and refine me into restaurants, country pubs, and wine bars. The net result we are still together and I very rarely crawl around any pubs
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Thought id best up date the blog, since we have been here just ove 5 weeks. It certainly been an adventure, we left Scotland on the 7th of June the day after my 40th, feeling both nervous , scared, and excited. We flew fom Glasgow to London, first time the kids had flown and they loved it. we arrive in London and stayed in a four star hotel, thanks oz army. However we only ate breakfast there as it felt too posh for us. We exlored London a little between rain storms. Found a nice restaurant nearby which id great food and wasnt expensive. After V signed on the dotted line for the oz army we got ourselves ready for the flight business class on Qantas that night to Singapore.
The flight was fantastic and the kids were spoilt rotten by the crew. They tried to cater for our youngest and his dairy intolerence. The tour company who booked everything had claimed they were ensuring that J was catered for. I was ill unfortunatly on the flight, with vomiting, not sure if there was a problem with my lap band or not, but during our 2 night stopover i was unable to keep anything down that was solid. Singapore was very humid, but so clean and the people were very freindly and full of smiles. We did the night tour of the night zoo with the boys on the last night. I wish i had been feeling well as really did want to make the most of our stop over. But ony being able to take fluids meant i had so little energy. We arrived in Darwin at 4.30 on saturday the 12th of June to temps of 25 c. We were met by V's new boss/collegue, we had a hire car ready for us an we followed his car which had all of our luggage. We were taken to the Marrakai apartmets and were on the 15th floor, its was a 2 bedroomed selfcateing apartment. The view was amazing, the city scape and Darwin harbour just blew me away after such a long trip . J and i saw the sunrise and h thought it looked just like one of my oz/nz magazines w had been reading for the past few years.
After about 2 weeks we moved into our new home, with hire furniture , the dog arrived the day we move in, my family was altogether agan.
We bought a new Kia sportage for less than the cost of some of he 2nd hand cars we saw. We now have broadband, and telephone and are just wating for the satilite system to be installed, this is all through Telstra, not our choice but since the house is new and is plummed for telstra, then we are stuck with them. The kids started school today, (we arrived just before the 4 week hols started), i walked them to school then finally got my NT driving licence sorted, which meant i could then activate the new mobile i bought on the weekend. i had the use of the car today, but i find driving for 5 mins a waste, although it does take 15 mins to walk, im sure if it gets too hot i will get the car out of the garage Our home phone wasnt working o has been sent away for repair so i had to get a phone lol. Any way im off for some lunch, then will get sorted out before i get the boys from school
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. The garden is looking great, with Julie's flower beds coming to bloom this year like never before. Her hard work is finally paying off.
. Jules has started planning our annual Bonfire Night party already and we originally discussed making it a smaller affair this year. But already it has a new group to be invited (Jules and I joined the St Georges Society of Fredericton). ' Nov 5th 2010 will be our fifth Canniversary and it seems we have come along way in our new life. We have learnt many things
Work is going well and the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency opened it's doors for business on June 21st. I am the new Director of Project Management
I am more than happy with the new office and it's layout, it helps breakdown the barriers that office walls often create. . Julie has made another dress and has perfected her dress making skills. I think the last 4 or 5 dresses she has been extremely happy with the end results. . The girls have moved Lexie to stables that are only 5 minutes away from home and they are spending alot more time with her. They are happy with life here in New Brunswick. Kathryn said to me during the week, "in the UK how many 22 year olds have their own place, a car and a horse?" ... good question, and I couldn't answer it. . On the whole, the five years have been beneficial to us and we are happier than anytime since arriving (and before for some of us). | ||
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So plan A might have pulled off. Yesterday I got Neil to send my resume to the lady he deals with in HR then I decided today to follow that up with a quick e-mail from myself. Within say half hour of me sending that message she phones me on my cell phone. Her words were she was very excited that she recieved the resume from Neil yesterday and when it was followed up with an e-mail from me she was even happier. She told me to go on line and do the approprate things on their website and in the mean time she was going to have a word with her boss, which is also Neil's boss. She said she wants someone asap and I would be perfect. I am so giddly right now as hopefully my wage will go up and the hours will be so much better for us as a couple. The position was stated as temporary but she said it would lead to permanant I said I would be as permenant as they were to keep us in Canada. (they issue us the work permits remember) I am happy to get back to my routes in office work as like I have said in previous posts i'm bored at the spa, I need to keep busy or time just seems to drag. So what am I going to say to my current employer? I don't think I'm going to make a big deal out of it probally just say a better offer has come my way and I would be stupid to turn it down. At the end of the day there is no personal ties there, I don't see how I would become a spa manager or have any other more responsible duties there. It has taken her a whole month to give me more hours and have me work on Saturday! Hopefully I'll get some good holiday allowances and benifits that come along with working in a big company. I shouldn't speak too soon as I haven't been offered the job so far or even been asked for an interview but it all sounds very very promissing indeed. I've had some odd experiences with regards to working in Canada so far, working in retail has been in my opinion one of the worst jobs. Customers can be quite nasty but you do have a good laugh with your work mates. At the spa it's more fingers on lips, pushing people to buy stuff and really working hard to get bookings for appointments, deep down is that really me? I'm happy to go back to office work, more than happy believe me and if I get this job i'll try not to complain about any aspect of office work ever again!!!!! | ||
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I was sat at work today for four hours, twiddling my thumbs almost. I will admit it's bloody boring, it's not really very busy and when a customer comes in you virtually have to jump on them to get them to buy some sort of cream or book a treatment. It's hard work at times because people like to know how much things cost and when they hear the price they generally seem to back off and walk out the door. I don't think people can afford to spend money on themselves anymore I remember my old assistant manager at the other place I worked, her comment to me about me working in a spa was "Cassie, I think you will be bored!" Maybe people know me better than me? When I said this to Neil tonight he said he thought the same thing. He also asked if I would like him to give me advice for the next job. My pay check was enough to push me into a sence of dispair, Crap it was $951.04 for the month! I went pale. I used to get around $700 for bi-weekly! I've had to watch what i've been spending this last month and now i'm going to have to do the same thing this month. This is one of the reasons I need another job, I just don't have enough spending money. It's depressing to be honest, $100 or even $200 goes no where. I started with asking the husband if there are any jobs at his company, there are four different offices around here. So my name has been put forward to the HR lady there. Remember it's not what you know it's who you know here. His company do have a couple of admin jobs available I checked there website. Plan B is to fire off my resume left right and centre, i'm also considering going back to temping work. I loved my time as a temp in the uk, I could do that all over again. So wish me luck and hopefully I'll be working 8 - 5 Monday to Friday pretty soon. Oh how's the diet going well it's pretty damn fantastic, i've lost 5lbs so far and i'm on my period at the moment. I've not touched 1 oz of chocolate I'm really pleased with how well i'm managing this. I haven't had a drop of wine near me since at least a month so i'm not an alcoholic, lol. I am still on the liver detox tables after this I'm going to not pop any more herbal tablets for a good month to give my body a break. Overall I feel so much more healthy and the belly is getting flatter, some of my pants are loose which is a great sign i'm doing very well. Self Control and real determination has got me throught this. I still go to BBQ parties we've been invited to, I just don't eat or drink at them, I explain before I go. Just because I can't eat doesn't mean I can't have a good time. I get a little teased but I have to do this for me and my nice new flatter belly that I want before it gets too hot this summer. Anyone thinking of losing some weight, there is never a good time to start JUST DO IT!!!!!!! | ||
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What is it with me? I seem to attract everything bad in life to come and follow, I knew it was too good to be true and by this I mean my new job! Over the last few weeks a fellow employee has been being funny with me, I wanted to address the issue because being a newbie I don't want to gain enermies in the space of a month! My boss has always said she doesn't like gossip and if there is ever an issue she wants me to tell her. Here's whats happened. When I first started said employee was really nice, trying to copy my accent which was kind of annoying to tell you the truth, how would she like it if I tried to immitate her philippines accent I would probally be told off for something!!! Here's that one rule for one thing coming into my work life again! Oh no Cassie, just bite your lip and be nice. The next thing to happen was I forgot my water bottle, I was just walking down the mall and I remembered. I walked back into the shop to hear her talking to another co worker "Cassie, forgot her water bottle!" I just walked in and heard it and said "sorry ***** I forgot my water bottle" and they both started laughing which made me feel very uncomfortable now. I got the impression she was bitching. The next thing to happen was on another of my cross over shifts with her she came in 10 mins late and I was struggling with a customer. **** came in just in time to help me so I handed it over to her explaining before what the customer wants. I ended up leaving the shop half hour late as I needed to tell her a few things before she left. Her face was on fire, I explained what there was to do and the reaction seemed to be "I know what i'm doing Cassie!" So over the next few days she was very cold towards me, wtf have I done? I decided to tell the daughter my feelings and she reasured me but she told me there are some things that I say in the English language that can be taken the wrong way. She brought up this example. There was one day when my boss was serving someone and a man was just stood in the doorway. He didn't say anything when I looked at him so I said "Is everything o.k.?" He replied with "Why, shouldn't there be?" I was kind of shocked with his response. Now the daughter says that if you say this in Canada it implies that something shouldn't be o.k, that there is something wrong! Well in England it means that i'm concerned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for being concerned. Anyway the first night I closed which was this last Tuesday, the heating seemed to stop working in the store I was frozen and there was no hot water. I decided to only mop the back half of the store and leave the front as I was concerned about a possible slip if a customer came in. I wrote this in the communication book and said employee wrote. We always mop the floor with cold water the floor ALWAYS gets mopped. Yes the capital letters were there, and it really pissed me off. Did she think I was being lazy? I'm not lazy I just didn't want a claim going in, at my last work place we were NOT allowed to mop the floor untill the doors were shut!!!!!!!!!!!!! common sence I think. Anyway I was pissed off and upset and decided to talk to my boss. I said I think i'm having problems with ******* and she asked why I showed her the communication book, I then told her that she had already said that the floor had to be mopped why was someone else telling me again. I explained why I had not mopped it. I also said about that time when I was struggling with the customer and her face cream and she said said employee told her I was interferring, wouldn't shut up and I keep repeating myself. This is where I got said employees life story, how she works six days a week, she lives with her daughter on her own. Had a horrible husband she has got rid of and now after eight years has just started dating, please would someone tell me what this has anything to do with the price of fish? I was told how said employee is probaly one of the best part time people she has ever employed better than most of her full time staff members. (insult number one, bing bing) I was also told that I need to learn how to speak Canadian, as Canadians are very prejustice (insult number two bing bing). I was shocked to say the least. I was just addressing a concern and now she has a wall built up, wtf is the deal with that. She also told me that she hates people that lie to her(insult number three ding ding) and over fabricate situations (insult number four ding ding). This then upset me, I don't lie......... I was being honest with her. To be honest I lost it and started to cry, what kind of person was she now seeing me as? I had walked into the lions pit now just let them eat me and have done with it. She said I need to go and have a coffee with said employee and talk it through. Hang on rewind, she said if I have any problems to go to her and anyway I don't care about wanting to get to know said employee. I come to work and work, I don't want to get to know her I get paid and go home! I have my own problems and stress, I don't need any more created by this employee. Why anyway so she can take the piss out of me? I love how said employee can just roll up ten mins late because her other job down the mall finished at 5:30. Well mine finishes at 5:30 and generally I like to go home. Every shift she is late so why not have me untill 5:45 and have her start at 5:45pm god that would be an idea. But oh no because said employee has a "hard" life she is favorite. Saying that she rolled into work with a gucci bag the other day, wish I got paid that much. I know the last place I was working at was bad but I don't think I can take much more of this either, where are the normal jobs? I didn't leave my water bottle on purpose that day, nor did I have any intention of interfeering as the employee calls it. My boss told me in the interview that she would be training me to become her assistant manager and I've already said I have problems with one person, if she likes this woman so much offer her full time status. I think this said employee has a disliking to me, why should I be all sweet and kind and be shit on like that! bitch. In my contract it said if I was to leave before a month I have to pay back any training I receive which is $60 an hour, I don't see how they can jusify that with my position. I get paid $12 and hour and the only training i've received is inbetween appointments from the estition. I also get paid monthly, i'm thinking of getting that check and finding another job asap because to be honest this boss can be bitter and I think she will just steal my wage. To say I'm worried about not getting a reference again and even my remaining wage is an understatement! How the hell do I find these situations or should I say how do they find me? Maybe I should have shut up and left it but now its obvious said employee started bitching about me before I did her. Anyone have any advice, if so leave a comment.  | ||
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I'm a little mifted today, I have been dieting all last week and week before and i've been really good. We went out for a massive long cycle ride yesterday which was an all round trip from our condo buildings along the river and it totaled to 32km's. The trails were hard work at times because we went off the beaten track a little and racer bikes don't cut the mustard on dirt tracks. You really need a mountain bike for that kind of stuff.  Neil It was hot and sweaty, and half way in I was wondering why the hell I had decided for us to cycle so far, I was wanting to make it 40km's in total but I think I might have killed both of us by then!
 Me There were some nice spots to admire the city.  Down town Edmonton And some tricky spots for getting up and down the trail, especially with bikes in your hands!!
 Neil coming back to help me with my bike By the time we got back home we hurt so much and we were so tired. The night before was a friends birthday party, I had been so good and taken my healthy calorie regulated food with me. Much to everyones amuzement, and yes there was a little teasing going on about it. Last night we decided to go for a Chinese, I had a seafood and noodle dish thinking I was playing safe with my diet only to my dismay when I stepped on the wii this morning it says i've gain 2lbs!!!!! I was so mortified. I've been steadly losing 0.7 lbs each day and now it's saying plus. I feel I've just wasted all that hard 32km cycle ride and not gained anything from it. The plan tonight is go out on the bike again, I have to suffer what i've done and get back to square one. It's taught me a lesson and to be honest I wasn't really that confident about going out yesterday at all because of this reason. Anyway, I think I will suffer because my ass hurts from yesterday. So the moral of the story is, if you want to lose the weight, do not under any circumstances eat out. There's just no way of knowing how many calories are in the food or control of potion size. I did bring home a doggy bay for lunch because I didn't manage it all but it's going straight in the garbage, and I've missing out my breakfast. It appears I don't really need the calories, do I. | ||
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So my 7 day whole body cleanse is over and i'm 3lbs lighter. Not much but its a start and it's a kick start to a healthy new me. I really need to loose 17 more lbs. I know it's alot but the target is over 2 months, then my weight range will be normal. I should fly by the medicals for the PR if we are lucky to get that far, we should be it's just me worring too much. So tommorrow is the start of my Critical Liver Support diet, I was surfing the internet last night and finding out the key food groups that are really good for the liver and that will be my focus for the next 30 days. Its's given me a base for my meal plan, which I am now starting to keep a diary of. My favorite search on google starts with the words "How many calories are there in ........"(fill in the blank). I've also found a really good website that allows you to type in your height, how much you weigh now and how much you want to loose and which time frame you want to loose it in. Then, it calculates how many calories you are allowed in that day for week one all the way through to your target date. It takes into consideration if you do very little exercise and if you do alot. It's targeted me for this week as 983 cals a day! so now i'm thinking about getting off my fat arse and buring off some fat to be allowed the extra cals. 30 days of this and I should be even more lighter, the wii says that 2 lbs a week is good so I appear to be above average. So if you want to loose weight, there are no miracle fixes out there, alot comes down to will power, and self discipline and control. I went out with some friends yesterday and because I was still on detox I couldn't eat out, I brought lunch with me and ate it in the car then I sat in Moxies while they both had steaks and white chocolate brownie cake. What did I have just a plain old herbal tea. I was quite please with myself, not only did I save money but I am tougher than I first thought. I also treated myself to some gel nails yesterday, I thought this would be a good idea while I waited for my nails to grow. So I have nice pretty fingers again to go with my nice pretty clear skin. Nothing else left to tell you guys so take care.
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I've just had my nightly shower, loaded on the Johnsons Baby Oil, i'm kind of getting anal with this whole skincare routine now which is a good thing. I'm sat at my diningroom table with my herbal green tea, water and Natural Yogurt, i'm still on detox which is now day five out of seven. The detox has been a great kickstart to my new diet, the meal plan is strict and has hepled me cut out all the crap. The only thing I crave at the moment is fruit. I was in the mall last night and went into the health food store and I ended up walking out with another detox kit. What is she up to now............. well I got myself a Critical Liver Support kit. It helps to improve the overal function of the liver. There's no meal plans and lasts for 30 days. You have to cut out alcohol which I already have so that's no problem. Even after this current cleanse is over i'm still going to follow with some of the foods i've been eating. I have never seen my skin look so good, I couldn't even start to pinpoint what is the major factor? Is it the diet and exercise? Is it the creams? or could it be that i'm not stressed with a horrible job anymore? Or maybe is it a mixture of all the above? Who knows, but there is one thing for sure i'm liking this new Cassie. I've started loosing weight, to be honest I need to loose about 20 pounds. I seem to gather it all at the waist, and people say I can hide it well or are they being nice? The health risks of having lots of weight there is not good either. Apart from keeping myself healthy what else has been going on? We are still waiting to hear back from APEGGA, to see if Neil has past everything that is needed to become a professional Structural Engineer here in Alberta. That should happen some day soon. I need to do some homework on skin types ie: Dry, Sensitive etc etc. I need to learn faster because she won't give me any more hours if she doesn't feel i'm ready for it. So on the internet and google I go after this blog entry. By the way, i'm addicted again to the whole blog world again, i've been typing to you alot more on a regular basis again so i guess i'm back. Another funny thing is now I'm dressed alot prettier, I seem to be getting attention again, cars beeping at me. Its very flattering and it kind of makes my day. Just little things like that, i'm starting to notice. I would be the first one to put my hand up and say I let myself go here in Canada. Wearing the clothes I used to from my old place of work probally made me look horrible. I've started shopping at Zara and H & M and the whole world of fashion is back with me again. I bought a copy of Cosmo and i'm looking forward to going back to the mall to buy the latest color of nail polish which is a teal color for my toes. My fingers nails are still growing, I haven't bitten them once. That job also ins't good for a girls bank balance, I need a whole new skin care line and today I was adding it all up. If you say is quick it doesn't sound so bad so here goes $281.40, I said you had to say it quick, lol. Lets look at it this way, I have never used good products for my face before or have I ever had a facial routine so think of the money i've saved so far. I know that's a girly way of looking at it and justifying everything but................ I need it, sorry want it. Also looking at all the treatments, I want A body wrap and an Orient Massage, I could do with one of them now to be honest my backs hurting me sitting in this chair! Sorry probally another boring thread about nothingness from me, see you soon i'm off to do my homework. | ||
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Cassie has a brain wave
 So as stated in the title Cassie has had a very big brain wave and she is very surprised she hasn't thought of this sooner! O.K some or should I say most of my brilliant ideas fall flat on their faces I will be the first to hold my hand up, but saying that I will always give something at least one try. There is an exception to this rule, i'm scared to death of fairpark rides and won't go on them. Yes I know i'm from Blackpool but no one has ever got me on the big one and never.......... ever............ will! I'm hoping this idea won't end up like my last attempt of writing a script for the BBC, yes I did that. It was a drama I wrote for a pilot episode. They probally only read the first two pages and sent it back, I was hoping it would get to the next stage where they read it in full and typed a letter on why it didn't make it. The good part was I wrote it, sent it off and I now know I've done it. The worst thing in life is to regret things and think what if I did this or that. What the hell, just go ahead and bloody do it, the only thing that's going to get damaged is your pride! You never know, you could be a susscess and as life pans out one opportunity leads to another and so on. So Cassie, stop going all around the houses and tell everyone what your thinking of doing. Well............ drum roll please .............  Ahem..............i'll say this quickly......... writing a regular coloumn for a newspaper. Sorry if you were expecting something else. So why have I thought of this and what's so exciting? I seem to get some sort of pleasure from typing my blog, not sure why I guess it's like having a diary. I think having a newspaper coloumn would be fun too. I know i've neglated you guys not typying my blog on a regular basis and I would have deadlines with a coloumn but I think it would be really interesting. What would I write about, I think I would keep it simple like the way I go with my blog, I always seem to get into tricky situations that seem to be quite entertaining for people to read and hear or should I say I put my own spin on it and that's why it's more entertaining. My mum always told me that I can make a situation sound so funny when i'm explaining it. So not sure where to go from here, I need to think of a few columns I can type as example columns to send off to the newspapers here in Edmonton, I'm also thinking of sending out some examples to local papers back in England. With the high technology of e-mails it dosen't really matter where i'm based does it. So there you go, that's Cassie's big new idea of the month, lets see how this pans out? If you were wondering I'm on Detox Day Two, to be honest i'm not as hungry as I thought I would be. Just had my three scrambled eggs in a bowl, dinner will consist of prawns, raw veg and plain yogurt for pudding and supper will be chicken with steamed Asparagus, Cauliflower, Cabbage and Spinach. The only flavour I can add to that is fresh squeezed lemon, it's not as bad as it sounds, really it isn't (and no I'm not just kidding myself). To drink I can only have herbal green teas or water which is also fine with me but lets be honest here i'm only on Day Two! I could be climbing the walls at the end of Day Five, with that note i'll love you and leave you. Bye folks, see you soon.
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I haven't really been blogging much and I'm going to try and be more regular again. (why does that sound funny) So yesterday I got my first facial in ages, the last time I got a facial done was in 2004 I had about six of them to the run up to our wedding so my skin was glowing. Them facials were quite pleasant the one yesterday was quite interesting to say the least. I went for a Deep Cleansing Facial and a AHA Peel. Why is it I was a little worried about having something called a peel? To be honest it wasn't really that scary, they rub a thin layer of mask on your face and it feels like one of them hot masks you can buy from the supermarket. It went slightly hot and then there was a sensation of pins lightly pricking your face. That stayed on for about 2 mins and gets washed off. The next part of the facial was a little painful, she was literally popping my spots with this strange looking victorian torture device. lol. (o.k. maybe slight exaggeration)!  She was getting all the gunk out of my face or should I say spots! I won't go into the whole gross detail which makes a cange for me. The rest of the facial was alot more pleasant and relaxing. I'm not one for lying down and shutting up but that did the trick I even surprised myself, I could have fallen asleep. The facial was all in the best interest of the job of course, I'm even trying to work my way up for a body wrap which would be cool, it's just stripping down to just bikini bottoms and standing in front of someone you work with who is going to see all your "ugly" bits. The jobs going great, my boss is the kind of boss I've been dying to work for. What do I mean? well she is strict! She has a very high standard of work ethic and expects everyone to follow suit and she is consistent with it. There are no favorites and even her daughter gets told off if she doesn't do something right. One of the problems I had from my last job was the boss wasn't very consistent and even the first boss I had was like that. One rule for one and another rule for another. I don't think that's playing very fair! When I go into work I try 100%, I want to learn and i'm eager to learn, i'm also a very loyal person I would protect you and stand up for you if I feel that you are being badly treated. I felt in my past two jobs here in Canada they just aren't strict enough, people get away with murder. Mostly because there are so many retail jobs and the pay isn't too good in retail here. Basic wages are $8.80 which equals to 5.85 GBP. There is something known here as the Albertain Advantage, if you don't like the job your in you can move onto something else. Not sure how that relates to now with the ressession though. It's funny saying that, when I was looking for another job recently with my nearly 1 and a half years retail experience under me and a very good looking resume which I handed out to nearly ten different retail stores, how many do you think got back to me? The answer is none! One of the key points you also have to remember about Canada is networking is the key to getting yourself a job. I don't care what anyone says! There should have been no reason why I couldn't get an interview at any one of them stores and I only got the job i'm in becuase I was a regular customer at the spa. I always chatted with the girl at reception, always tipped pretty well not sure if that was a key part but just thought I would add it. Not sure if I told you guys how I got the job in the first place so here goes. I was in the spa and I was waiting for my appointment for my leg wax. I was telling her that I wasn't really liking my current job and the way I was getting treated. I also asked her if she had any ideas on how I could get back to my roots and go back to a more clerical type of job. The she said they were looking for someone to train as a spa manager and there have been looking for someone for ages but haven't found the right person. She said I sould hand in my resume and her mum would give me an interview. I couldn't believe my luck! So I went for the interview and we both liked each other and I got the job. But........... would I have got it if it hadn't have been for the networking? So it goes to show, be nice to everyone because round the corner they might be able to help you some day. So there is a moral to this story isn't there! I like working for the smaller company again, one reason for that is that every dollar matters, my hard work getting custmoers to have facials and selling creams will be rewarded and it will be appreciated because it's a company that is run by a person not a corporation. There is too much red tape when working for a big company and it's so much more personal now. Another thing is the lazy ones can't hide anymore, they will stand out like a sore thumb, especially when Cassie the saleswoman comes out, I did a pretty good job at selling in my last job and this one is even more interesting. I can be quite convincing when I get going. The job has changed me so much in three weeks. The way I see it is that i'm working in an industry now that makes people feel good and most importanly look good. Here's me out of shape or should I own up and say since moving to Canada I feel I have really let myself go. Also spots on my face probally due to bad diet, no exercise and drinking one too many glasses of wine at night. I am the first person the customer sees so I feel I need to look good, maybe as good as a model. So this last week i've stopped drinking the wine, started to eat healthy and also the nail biting has stopped, they are slowly starting to grow back everything I am doing right is starting to show. I've also started using better products on my face and even going as far as using body moisturizer on my whole body. I'm starting to feel great, the next step i've made this morning was to do a detox I purchased a kit from the health food store I take eight herbal tablets a day, four in the morning and four at night. This helps to cleanse the whole body of any toxins I have left in there and I'm doing this for the next seven days. The only problem is that it cuts out such alot of foods, I don't mean bad foods because i've already acheived that I mean stuff like fruit juice and even fruit it's self! That was my major snack item and now I can't have it for the next seven days. My breakfast this morning instead of oatmeal (porridge) was scrambled egg. No toast because i'm not allowed yeast just three eggs in a bowl. Then for lunch i'm having plain yogurt and some raw veggys with tzatziki. Then lunch gets a bit more exciting, i'm only allowed organic but to be honest it's quite expensive here so i'm cheating a little and just going with ordinary beef chicken or turkey. I'm also allowed tofu (woo hoo, slight sarcasm there) fish, brown rice and any veggy I desire. So in fact I will probally be the most grumpiest person you will ever meet soon, i'll let you know how I go on. I was eating so much friut last night I felt naughty. So lets kick start a new energized Cassie with great skin and a great body, lol. It's funny when someone comes into the spa and your talking about creams you can't help but notice them looking at your skin so it's going to be a good seller if I keep it up. My own walking talking advertisement................ME! See you soon guys Cassie | ||
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So it's a fresh new start for me my new job, this will be my third week working in a Day Spa and Skin Rejuvenation Centre. How am I liking it? I love it....... I wish I had made the leap and found another job ages ago. Just before I move on the funny thing is that my old boss from that other place I worked at handed in her notice after 20 years. Funny how things pan out, what comes arund goes around springs to mind. Should I have stayed there ......... to be honest no. Why? because there appears to be lots of employees at this organisation that take time off with stress leave which does not advertise the place as being very well run. I'm best off out but I made some nice friends out of it and also gained a wealth of experience that I can use in my new job. Anyway lets not dwell on the past because that's what it is now. I have now entered the world of Day Spa's and face creams it's all alien to me, not cleansing, toning or moisturizing on a regular basis and constatantly getting spots. My boss has been giving me samples to try, Yon-ka, Dermalogica and currently I'm trying Sothys, i've yet to get samples of Guinot. This isn't a sales pitch but wow, it goes to show that putting on professional creams makes a difference because my skin is so soft and my make up goes on like a dream. I am yet to resolve the spots, but possibly because I've started taking off my make up at night my skin is getting such a shock. It's funny because of the whole spa look it's even motivating me to stop biting my damn nails and to stop eating "junk" food and cutting down on my wine intake. O.K so the husbands right, drinking two glasses at night may be a little bad for me. I'm now say at my computer with my third glass of ..............water!!! So the words Microdermabrasion, Facial peels, Photo Rejuventation, compu-lift are all new to me. Also Sebum (which sounds rude) and epidermis also mean nothing, so tonight my task is to google everything and get some homework done. I can only see this job being really great for me, what I learn I can use which is great. I'll keep in touch and let you know how it goes, bye for now. | ||
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June is here already, and it seems to be speeding through the first week before I have even looked at the garden. . We had studied hard and quizzed each other mercilessly on all things Canadian. On Monday 31st May we sat the citizenship exam and we had mixed feelings about the experience. Mainly because Gemma and I had one paper (easier one by far) and Jules and Kathryn had the 'OH MY GOD, WE DIDNT STUDY THAT' paper. You are given 30 minutes to answer 20 multiple choice questions. In order to pass you need 75% correct, and there are 4 that you must answer correctly. Gemma and I finished 12-15 minutes and poor Jules and Kathryn probably came out at 25 minutes.... We didn’t realise they had two different papers. . After the test we had a relatively informal interview (as a group) and the immigration officer reviewed our applications. You have to get your entry and exit dates correct (for any out of country trips). We didn’t have an initial landing form, and she said it was ok but we would need it to claim the Canadian pension. . Next steps is typical, they send it all away to be marked and evaluated. Then we will be notified of the result and if we have passed there will be an oath of allegiance ceremony in Fredericton. The oath is:
This is very similar to the oath of allegiance I swore when I joined the Army back in 1974.
Anyway, that covers the Citizenship exam. The promotion bit next, this week I was appointed as the Director of Project Management for the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency(NBISA). Not a real surprise as I was the Project Director for the programme to establish NBISA. ' Even so it is a promotion . I was thinking about the whole emigration project, its effect on our family; and when the I hear the girls saying they do not want to go back to live in the UK, because they love living here. Also Julie expressing she is happy, slowly building up her own business and developing her skills. Plus she loves gardening (and boy do we have a big garden to let her explore that passion). . Then I think about the journey we have been on, from my perspective considering we arrived November 5th 2005 with no job and no house, started employment 21st November 2005, purchased our house and moved in Dec 17th 2005, promoted several times in my first company (xwave), then applied for the Project Director role Sept 2009, and now a senior manager in a new Government Agency... all in all a successful emigration project. . Here are some photos by Gemma:
Jules and me walking around Mactaquac beaver pond trail
Sundew plant (carnivore) native to NB
Exploration of Black and White Photography a fern from the flowerbed
Humming bird in the back yard
One taken by me on the Beaver Pond trail | ||
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Apparently Victoria Day weekend being the first long weekend since Christmas is the official start of the Beer Season. This long weekend has had some gorgeous weather, all in the low 30's or very high 20's. . We have put up the pool and started filling it, the flowers are all coming through and I'll post a couple of photo's when they are out. ALSO the bluebells we planted 4 years ago are flowering for the first time! . Gemma is now driving herself to work after learning the wonders of gear changing, clutch control and hill starts. Here is a photo of Gemma and the giant Lexie (stolen from her facebook profile photos).
Kathryn is staying with us for the weekend with Mille the poop machine. It is good to have the family all around for the weekend . Work is busy and going well, our new office building should be opening on June 15th. This week the Department of Education asked for my advice on setting up a Project Management Office with the controls necessary for progress monitoring. It is good to know you are being appreciated and nothing to do with the fact that having a British accent makes you sound more intelligent . We are all studying for our Canadian Citizenship exams that are on the 31st May. We now know more about Canada than most of the residents of New Brunswick . Life goes on and I have to go out in the sun I just wanted to wish my youngest sister Nicola a happy birthday . I | ||
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