And the Pinche Nena is officially toast.



If only I had been told that before spending 1500 to try to import and winterize her.

But such is life. And when life gives you lemons, you ride the bus.

Tidbits.

I lent the Sandlot to my cousin so his son Z could watch it. After begging all afternoon to watch it, when Z was finally given the opportunity, I heard him say, "No, I want to watch Arrested Development."  I've never met a five year old with finer taste.

The last couple weeks I've been car-less, which has made me entirely grateful I am keeping my little Nena, especially with the cold and snow coming on.  I just don't feel like leaving my apartment to study in the library or to buy groceries when I have to stand outside to wait for a bus...  Anyway, Nena had to visit Uncle Al, who fixed, among many other things, her lazy eye.  For the first time in at least a year, if not our entire history together, I can see more than 8 feet in front of me when driving at night because her headlights actually point straight ahead now. :)  I don't know how I stayed alive this long driving around with such limited visibility, except that I must have a guardian angel!
I'm serious.

I've recently discovered a whole desk in the back of my classroom.  It's my new favorite spot, seeing as I've been crowded out of my first favorite spot in the very front row.  But back here, I have my own electrical outlet and I have an entire desk to spread my stuff out on, rather than just a small little square of a tablet not even big enough to fit a clip board on... I can do homework during class and no one knows.  I can go in and out of class unnoticed. :)  This time, however, I shall tell no classmates of my new find, lest I get crowded out of here as well.

Happy Halloween.

I've been getting increasingly peeved at those border crossing guys for making me import my pinche Nena.  Not that it won't be nice to have a car, but those border guys should give you all the information you need to import your car so there are no surprises and so you can make an informed decision BEFORE you start paying fees and stuff.  If I had known what all would be involved I would have just sold her for scrap and been done with it all. But they made it sound like it would be relatively easy and not tooooo expensive... They should have given me some kind of check-off sheet, a to-do list if you will, of what one needs to do and approximate costs.  But they don't.  So for anyone else reading this who might be importing a vehicle from the US into Alberta, here's your check list.

PRE-BORDER CROSSING

• 72hrs before arriving at the border, export your vehicle from the US.

BORDER CROSSING

• Pay steep tax on vehicle. If you don't have your bill of sale, they will look up the value of your car in their reference book and it will likely be more than the actual worth. 

POST-BORDER CROSSING

• Go online to RIV website to get a printable RIV form. ($200)
• Bring the RIV form and car to Canadian Tire for a ten minute RIV inspection ($0.00)
• Bring all the forms to a registry office and receive another form for an out of province inspection. ($10.00)
• Take THAT form (and maybe all the others) to an inspection approved/licensed mechanic for a thorough inspection. ($75-200, depending where you go)
• Purchase Albertan auto insurance (about twice as expensive as in US) 
• Take ALL the above forms and proof of insurance back to the registry office to register your vehicle (around $80.00) 

Now you are done, as far as I know... But then there may be plenty more surprised looming around the corner.  

We have to do a community project for one of my classes. My group decided to do ours on stress management for the high school we are doing our practicum in.  Ironically every time we go there my stress level shoots right up.
The program here is not what I expected at all.  I am sure the quality is excellent, but I am find it less than enjoyable this semester and I fear next semester will be similar.  I feel like an intern biding my time until I can do what I am actually interested in...

But this area is lovely!  The sun is out most days, which is fantastic. There are a few nice rivers in town.  I got to see the sunrise every morning for a couple weeks. Now the sun shows up while I'm in class... Autumn is one of my favorite seasons and it still looks like autumn here, though it begins to feel like winter.

My computer is dying, so this ends here.  Hope all's well. Take care, friends.

Lately my desk has been a mosaic of sticky notes of lists, reminders, phone numbers, and random information in my wild attempt to get everything done in preparation for school.  Getting into and prepared for Dordt was not nearly this complex, but then my area of study there did not involve clinicals... Anyhow, after today I feel a bit more prepared and hopefully after this week I will actually feel I have a handle on everything within my small realm of control.  

I am excited to be going back to school, excited to live in Calgary, excited to meet new people, and yet beginning to feel also the loss of what and who I'm leaving behind.  Before I came here, I had no great feelings for this province.  But after being here a year, I think maybe this place is growing on me, just a bit. Or at least St. Catharines is.  To begin with, the name looks pretty on paper (better than Sioux Center...), but I've grown comfortable with places to hang out and people I've met (though I seem to have an increased knack for creating awkward situations).  What I mean to say is, I am going to miss it here.  

I will miss the musicless pub that still owes me a mug. I'll miss fires, wine, portable speakers and nude dips in the lake. I'll miss swimming in the irrigation pond at break.  I'll miss filling the men's work boots with empty tape rolls.  I'll miss walks on the pier in port.  But mostly I am going to miss Dee TREMENDOUSLY, Mandie a LOT, and a few others quite a bit as well!  And that's always the part of leaving that I don't like, though I don't always convey it well. 

I know, sappy, but sometimes you gotta be. 

I moved.  I now have 3 times the space for the same amount of money. For three months. :)  I also live with my landlords, who are two girls a bit younger than I, which is a bit of an odd dynamic. But a better dynamic than living with girls who smoke up the apartment with greasy cooking or pot smoking, who have fleas, who eat all my food, or who bring a different guy to the apartment every week... 

I am still waiting to hear from two universities. Hopefully I will hear good things from them, or even at least from one of them... 

Time to start officially changing my address.  Hope everyone is doing well. 

The unusually eventful day in St. Catharines.

Only two dry days in the last fourteen = soggy ground.
Soggy loose ground + 65 kph sustained winds + up to 96 kph gusts = lots of felled trees and electrical poles, which = power outage throughout pretty much the entire city.
Also this = no work for most of Bakkers' employees...

My bike ride to work was a little bit difficult this morning, but not more than usual with just 22kph wind. But by 8.30am my crew was sent home.  I tried to bike out of the parking lot, but just couldn't manage to keep my bike upright long enough to get going, so I walked Patrick to Dee's house and even that was a difficult task. There were moments when I had to stop moving just to keep on my feet.  Had I tried to bike home chances are I would have either gotten blown over into traffic and hit by a car, or gotten squashed by a fallen tree, or even gotten electrocuted by a fallen power line.
What did I do instead?  Went to Perkins with Dee and a couple others from work where we could only get old coffee and baked goods because their power was out so their kitchen was closed.  Then we played some games in the loft and then drove around town to check out the damage and take pictures (though after the first picture the camera battery died, oops).  I ate my packed lunch at Dee's and then stayed there for supper too because I only have an electrical stove here and the only food I have that does not require cooking is cereal, whereas they have a generator... (What would I do without them?)
I spent a good share of the day fretting over the groceries I just purchased on Tuesday (most of my concern was for the ice cream, of course, of which I only had a couple spoonfuls).  I finally went home around 9, only to find that my fretting was for naught.  Not only was the house still fully intact, but also it was one of the few in the city that had power.  There is evidence to suggest that perhaps about six and a half hours ago the power did go out, but fortunately not long enough to melt my ice cream and just long enough to defrost my mini-fridge, which was on my to-do list. Nice.

Remember when flip phones where cool?

Pat and Reggie

I need to laugh and when the sun is out, I've got something I can laugh about

Reginald. That's my moped's name, thanks to Jeff. I rode him all of two weeks, if that even, before my lack of plates got me pulled over. "This is going to be an expensive day for you," was what I was told by the cop after he found out I also was without insurance and a moped license. Surprisingly enough I managed to just sit on the curb and enjoy the sunshine without shedding any tears. Equally surprising to me was that the day turned out not to be so expensive at all, for instead of a fine, the policeman just gave me a severe warning. He made certain I knew the warning was in the computer and if I got pulled over again, there would be no mercy. I walked my moped nearly 3km home that day, and thus began of my intense daily exercise of biking to and from work every day. Most of the time I don't mind it too much, but on days like today when the 30 km/h wind is against me both ways, my optimism gives way to weariness.
Yet even on this windy day, God sent a little ray of sunshine in the form of a little old man with an electric scooter. Quietly and ever so slowly, the old man overcame me on the sharpest incline of the way home, and as he approached, he looked over, smiled and then raced me up the rest of the way. My weary legs were no match for his 250W or so, but my weary soul, which wanted to indulge in self-pity, was no match for his brilliant smile and playful spirit. I hope to see him again.

The nursery is potting stuff these days. Roses, shrubs, trees... Prior to potting, the crew I am on processes these plants, which requires much handling. For some reason, the fact that I'm carrying around trees, flipping them from side to side or upside down or whatever and moving them around just seems weird to me. Trees have always been something stationary, something rooted, something immovable, except when they die and fall over or are chopped down. But at the nursery, I can just pick up a tree and toss it around. So strange to me, but of course it all makes great sense and these trees are small, but it just feels odd.

It's good to be back. :)

Good girl

I am now once again carless. Well, not entirely because I still own it, but my little Nena is now sitting on a driveway in West Olive. Moped, here I come. (I gotta name that thing.)

I just got back from a lovely trip to Grand Rapids. I have two siblings there now, so I got to see both of them and spend some quality time. But they also both have jobs and worked most mornings, so I had a good share of time to myself to read, walk, explore and hang out in East Town. I think I needed that. The week was quite relaxing and rejuvenating.

Dee was trying to convince me to skip my last day of work on Saturday so I could be at her brother's stag and doe. I didn't because I just don't have it in me to not show up at work, even on my last day at a job I don't like, so I went to work like a good girl, but made sure everyone I worked with knew how excited I was that that was my last day.. Next day as I approached the border I got a phone call from the old job saying they were a man down and when they checked the schedule, it was me who was missing. I said they must be wrong or the boss must have changed the schedule after I wrote my hours down in my planner because when I checked, Saturday was my last day, I was sure. The supervisor said, "Well, you're on tonight so..." to which I had to say, "I'm sorry, but I can't come. I'm at the Michigan border-" (from where it would take me at least an hour just to cross to turn around and another 3 hours to drive back and by that time my shift would be nearly over anyway). And here this supervisor hung up on me. HA!
So I did skip my last day of work after all, Dee. :)

Now I am back and turns out the roommie at all the food in the house, which is fine, but hasn't boughten any to replenish what she eats, which is not fine, so before I can even eat supper, I gotta go buy it. On my bicycle. I just told said roommie I don't want to share food anymore. This is going to be a great summer. :D

to coffee time and the brick house and good friends too

Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun

Oh, I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, someday it's going to come

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh, peace train take this country, come take me home again...



Cat Stevens

On a good day you can see the end from here

I found out a couple days ago that I can work at the nursery again in a couple weeks. Hooray! First chance I get I am giving my notice at Tim's. :D

I also found out today that I've been excepted to Trent University. It's my last choice of all the schools I applied to, but at least I can rest assured that I WILL go to some school this fall. :)
I also applied to two schools in Calgary today. One was a last minute decision and after I applied, I found that the deadline for the application is tomorrow. So far I have spent about $600 just applying to schools. Sick, eh?

I have a new flatmate. She is 19, unemployed, seems pretty nice, apparently is pretty clean (or so she says) and is moving in tomorrow or so. I hope she turns out okay.

My moped is going to the shop tomorrow. I hope they fix it promptly! I can't wait to ride it.
Dee comes home tomorrow, I can't wait to see her.
I have to work tomorrow, I can't wait to quit!

It's going to be a good spring.

I've made a huge mistake.

Today at work I made the exact same mistake twice to the same man and had to refund him twice for these mistakes. Someone else came to the rescue and was going to fix it all, but rather than allow the situation to be corrected and get his food and drink for free, this man opted to storm out with angry words, leaving his free food behind because "it would be cold by now". I can understand being frustrated and know I was entirely at fault, but I am definitely reminded of why God calls his people to show patience, forgiveness and mercy to others, even in small situations. This man stands out to me as someone who lacks all those things. I will always remember my humiliation when I see him, whereas had he shown these other characteristics, I would have remembered his kindness instead.

So keep that in mind, friends.

uh oh?

I was looking at pictures online of Hueco Tanks and suddenly the page I was on turned into this alert page telling me my computer is full of viruses and trojans of sorts. Should I be worried? It tried to download something, which I didn't allow, and tried to get me to click on stuff, which I did not. I just quit the page, but now I'm running a scan with a red umbrella and it's finding nothing.
So to all you computer experts out there, help? :)

Today I had an interview at a hospice center. Once my vaccinations, TB test, background check and classes are taken care of, I can begin. I am a bit excited, but then I feel guilty because this seems far too serious a subject and a place to be excited about. I am curious. I am also bored and want to try volunteering and this place is close to my house. But mostly I am hoping to get a peak at what nursing is like in this place. Seems interesting.

I just applied to McGill University. Afterwards I checked their deadlines and today was the deadline for the application. Talk about last minute. I'm not sure it's worth the $85 application fee since it's not my top choice. It would be my second choice, if it were a 2 year program, but then, 3 years isn't so bad and it's in MONTREAL! So maybe it is still my second choice.

I am stressed out by all these school applications. It's so much work. But I have already had several people say, "You wanna be a nurse? Can I get your number? I'll call you in two years..." That's how much they need nurses, at least in Ontario. This is okay. I can make it through the applications and when I'm done, someone's gotta take me. I hope...

history sticks to your feet

This is the sixth year of this blog. I started looking back at some of my old posts. I'm a little embarrassed. But mostly it's fun to read about times I had forgotten. Or read a story I wrote, only to see I tell it a bit different now (mostly just shorter now, and many would say thats a good thing).
Anyway, I found this, Amanda. From June 2, 2006. Though we may laugh at all the wrong moments, we do so to ourselves too.

"It was kind of rainy that day though and I was wearing my flip flops. At some point we were crossing a street and there were cars all lined up.. and I slipped on a man-whole cover in front of all of them scraping my knees and tearing holes in both knees of my good jeans. At least now they're "stylish"... Ah well, it was worth the laughs. If something stupid like that is going to happen, there at least better be people to see it to make it worth while. :)"

I'm baking a chicken leg for the first time in my life. Can you believe I've never done that before? I was beginning to feel like a decent enough chef living at the brick house, but I guess Dee really did most of it, and even together we rarely cooked meat... There's a first time for everything.

Speaking of firsts, I had my first day at my new job yesterday. I'm surprised and how complicated some things at Tim's can be, even with all their machinery to make everything so simple. I don't think their machines make things simple, actually. They just make everything 99% uniform. I don't like it. It takes no talent or skill to work there, except to listen well, read a screen well, work quickly and be accurate. I'm also disappointed with their idea of "fresh". But I won't talk too much about it, because I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me... In their defense, most things frozen are still fresh in their own way, right?

I am applying to volunteer at a hospice center. Seems like it could be fun and difficult at times, but mostly I am hoping it will be a good experience.

Once upon a time...

Four weeks of unemployment.
First two weeks spent travelling with my big sister.
Last two weeks spent in very rigid search (job search) mostly.
Last two weeks spent filling out applications. Job applications, unemployment application, school applications...
Last two weeks spent "developing myself" with literature, Dutch, French, the Bible, Netflix and paint-by-numbers.
Last two weeks spent IN THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR!

Tuesday:
1 awkward interview.
14 days of free pass to a fitness center.
1 funny story.

Funny story side note: So I finally had an interview. A receptionist job at a fitness center. After realizing I have almost no experience, however, P (who I'll call the interviewer) offered to give me a tour of the facilities, which I guess in P language means, "I'll show you out."
We stepped out of the office, which was located in a big exercise room and he said, "Well, this is one room. I won't show you the rest, it's too big. Do you like to work out?" To which I responded, "Sometimes," so he said, "Okay, go ahead. I'll get you a free pass" and he walked away leaving me amidst stair-steppers, ellipticals, treadmills and stationary bicycles... IN MY FORMAL ATTIRE!
I did stay and climbed 21 flights of stairs in under ten minutes and he came back with a 14-day VIP pass, which gives me access to everything, including the pool!

Wednesday:
10 laps at the pool.
1 inch of snow.
1 Netflix movie.

Thursday:
1 job application.
1 company.
4 locations.
3hrs of paint-by-numbers.

Friday:
5 new resumes printed and
5 cover letters.
2 interviews and
2 job offers in
2 hours.
1 job
3 left-over resumes
1 happy camper.

(And 1 poorly told, Carmela fashion, funny story.)