The Election is over .. !

I have to admit .. I have long been a fan of Barack Obama. I first heard his name a few years back, on a news program I no longer remember. He had defended an issue very passionately, and had won over his opponents. I remembered his name because the reporter that was talking about this was also impressed and mentioned (in passing) that if George W. could channel that energy and fire, the White House would run more smoothly. The conversation then went into a general debate about the nominations coming in roughly a years time, and wouldn't it be something if the Junior Senator from Illinois, won his nomination and made it to the White House.

That day is here.

I watched history being made today. I don't think the Democrats would have won tonight if Hillary was on the ticket. I say that because I see the fire that reporter was talking about. Obama is very Charismatic, and has the gift of being a visionary and being able to share that vision very vividly. He was able to excite a whole new generation, and in doing so is recording one of the highest voter turnouts ever to cast ballots. I was watching the results as they came in, and even though John McCain didn't win, he was very eloquent in his concession speech, and talked about how he was going to work with Obama and not against him, because of the Country they both love so much. Obama mentioned in his speech as well, how he was going to lean on McCain to realize his vision. I see hope on the faces of all the people in those crowds that cheered them on tonight, I hope they get to realize their dreams too.

I'm echoing Keltie's sentiments in saying that I'm disappointed Canadians are so blah about electing change. I don't see in our leaders the same passion and fire I see in others. So we vote the same as we always vote, never really changing anything. I hope when the next election comes for us, there is a leader out there that will inspire the same excitement in our young people. To inspire change on a world scale is a great gift, and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

I'll be able to say many years from now that I saw it happen. I know i'll always remember.

Cool Costumes

I have to say there are some pretty creative kids out there. We saw a lot of cool costumes tonight - it occurs to me now I should have taken some pics to post. D'oh !

I saw the requisite number of Scream monsters, ghoulish masks and princesses, but I also some some really creative things: there was the kid that came to the door dressed in black with purple balloons from neck to knees (a bunch of grapes), there was a very cool Sponge Bob, (that looked almost like the real thing !), and a very realistic looking Hulk (complete with a mask that shed green light around the eyes).

Lots of big kids in the neighborhood too. One kid was dressed as an extremely realistic pimp, complete with purple satin suit and leopard fedora. There was a very cute Buzz Lightyear, a Stormtrooper and of course Darth Vader too. The kids went out early with their friends and finally came home around 9.

Andy had his fog machine going, we tarped off the living room and hallway upstairs so the fog would stay contained in one spot, and had a black light in the hallway with a strobe light in behind - when the kids knocked on the door he would hit the button for the fog. Dressed in black with a white face, and coming through the fog to open the door and hand out candy really freaked everyone out. It was pretty cool, and loads of fun ! Our little graveyard in the garden was a hit too ... I can't wait to do this again next year ! I will edit this post and add pics when I can find the cord to upload my camera .. :-)

Halloween is coming ..

I will post some pics on Friday night, but i'll tell you what the kids will be ahead of time: Ani is going to be a ninja, and Lisa is going to be Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family. I laugh when I say this because it was my idea.

We were out a couple of weekends ago, and she had her hair in braids just like Christina Ricci does in the movie. I forget exactly what we were talking about, but she answered me in the same deadpan voice with the same droll expression and voila! - inspiration took over. We found a cool black skirt, and vintage black top that she can wear, and I bought her an absolutely hideous pair of orange and black striped tights (that she wears EVERYWHERE .. but I digress ... ) to go with them, so she'll look pretty cool. Minimum effort .. maximum effect. Gotta love it.

I think she's too old, but what do I know? I'm sure she'll outgrow it soon enough. We dug up some of our perrenials in the front garden (since they are done for the season anyway) and got a couple of little tombstones and a bag of bones we scattered around to make it look like a disturbed grave. Then we put some stakes around them and taped them off with caution tape. It looks pretty cool. I told Andy we should tarp over the big shrub we have, cover it with dirt and make it look like a real grave - this will be next years project.

Maybe something fun with body outlines .. ala Naked Gun. LOL. Now i'm just getting carried away. This will be our first Halloween over here, we're not quite sure how much traffic we'll see. I know most of the kids in the neighborhood, since they have all been in my house over the summer, so I think we'll have a good turnout.

We have a fog machine and a strobe light for the hallway too, we just need to get some pumpins and get them carved for the steps. I'm going to get Andy out this weekend to hang up the Christmas lights too. He was going to do it last weekend, but that ferocious wind we had would have knocked him over.

Ah well .. if Halloween is this much fun, I wonder what Christmas will be like ?

I live to post again ... !

I was just reading my last post ... So much has happened since then !

My week off was just that ... One week. I interviewed for a new job on the Tuesday after I left, had a callback saying I got the job on Thursday, signed my papers on the Friday and started the Tuesday after the long weekend .. August 5th.

I can hear you already ... where do you work now ?

My new job was Office Administrator for Tiger Courier Inc. We pick up and deliver freight all across Canada, and my job was to make sure call-ins were taken, freight was traced when it went missing, the drivers delivery manifests were uploaded and printed every morning, etc.

I say was because my boss left the company on the 29th of September, and I took over the branch. It's now MY Office. I still do all of those things I was doing before (because I haven't found my replacement yet), I also look after the hiring (Office, loading dock and drivers), A/R and A/P, and i'm on call evenings and weekends.

The best part is the hours. Monday to Friday, 8-5. I come home for lunch everyday, and i'm home in the evenings and on the weekends with the family. It took some getting used to, but I think it's a good thing now. I've popped into HD since I left and have seen some of the faces I miss so much .. but it's weird going in there now. It's amazing how many new people have been hired. New procedures are in place, things have been changed around .. it's just not the same.

Ah well .. life goes on !

Going, Going ... Gone!

It was quick, relatively painless and over in no time. Kind of like having a tooth pulled. I finally quit my job at Home Depot.

After being raked over the coals, AGAIN, on Thursday, I went home and had a serious sit-down with Andy. We're in a good spot financially, we actually have savings that we can dip into if we need to, and I still have a paycheque coming, plus my holiday pay that they are paying out to me. So I sat at the computer on Thursday night, wrote out my resignation letter, and then tossed and turned all night until it was time to go to work on Friday.

Since Friday was the day before my holidays, that was the ideal time. I finally caught our HR manager around 10am, and gave him my letter. I didn't tell Bob directly, even though I owed him that, because he was the major part of the problem. People want to be respected at work, and have respect for their superiors, and Bob just doesn't care about anyone or anything. Our HR asked me what I saw during my exit interviews as things to improve -- Communication has to be the big one. Involve the team in helping to come to those big decisions, let them have some buy in - then the changes you want to make will happen smoother. There has to be respect, and professionalism. When you openly favor one associate or one DS or one ASM over others, you're not doing those people or your team any favors.

Our HR was actually quite sympathetic when I said I was leaving, he told me he wouldn't want to have walked in my shoes for the last 2 years. I was proud of myself for staying non-emotional and professional, and had every intention of taking my week off and coming back for a week to finish out, but after our HR talked to the District Manager, he came back to me and said they would pay me out. And the best part ?? HE told Bob, not me. That was one conversation I didn't want to have. I didn't speak to Bob all day Friday, it was the best day I've had in a long time.

I was ok with that, but there's a lot of stuff I didn't get to finish, and a LOT of people I didn't get to say goodbye to. I've had some phone calls already, I made some great friends in my 9+ years at the Depot, friends I know I will keep for years to come.

So goodbye Home Depot. I'm not going to miss you, but I will miss the people still within your walls. Take care of them !! I already have some interviews lined up, with regular working hours and weekends off. I'll let you know what happens, when it does. :-)

Yes, I fell off the wagon ...

So i'm keeping up with my now quarterly posts .. but I did sort of fall off the wagon. I just read Keltie's post, posting everyones first posts - what a great idea !! We've come a long way since then. It's funny how much life changes in such a short time. Like Keltie said, some of us have become new parents, some of us are moving across the country ! Some of us have older kids, some of us are just getting started. It really is a circle of life !

We've moved again since the last post. We're back into the old neighborhood by Westmount. I love that our townhouse looks out onto the park, watching the jackrabbits frolic in the low-lying fog yesterday was kind of cool. The only thing I don't like about it, is the baseball diamond that is literally right outside the front door. It was ok for the first couple of weeks, but now it's Softball season -- if you're not home from work by 6:30 or so, you have absolutely zero chance of finding a parking spot remotely close to the front door. The other downside is that someone always brings a cooler of beer .. and they have to stay out late until its all gone. Finally I can see the other side of the "we're not making any noise" statement. LOL.

Out back we have a little park for the kids in the neighborhood. I think that's where Anthony has spent the most time since we moved. There's a little less sand out there, because i've swept it up everytime he tracks it in the house. :-) We have a little patio that just fits our barbeque and bikes, I'd like to put up a fence though just to get us some privacy. Maybe next summer.

Lisa just finished her first year of high school. My baby is almost 16, and I don't know how we got here so fast. It's funny when you get talking about the kids and tell someone how old they are, then you have to stop and think about what you just said. She's 15 already ?? Yes, she is. She could be legally driving next year. She might even get herself a job. Boyfriends ?? We won't go there just yet. :-)

Update

I think I'm going to start updating my block in quarters ... we're 3 months into the year and I have been sadly not updating. Even the gentle pokes and notes written in the dust haven't helped. So here it is - an update!

I have some pics to post from Trellia's baby shower .. it was a fun afternoon. Lisa was kind of bored I think, but I got Jack to sleep on my shoulder. I miss having a baby to cuddle !!


Here's the proud Mom !! Jack looks like Robbie - it's amazing !!


Auntie Carrie got to cuddle Jack too !!















On the work side, life goes on. I was going out for my break a couple of weeks ago, and slipped on the ice under the breezeway. I landed on both knees. My right one is ok, but the left one wouldn't bend. I filled out my paperwork and got John to call it in for me, and off I went to the Clinic to have it X-rayed. The Doctor there filled out my WCB paperwork and told me i'd need an MRI done. Nothing was broken, but the MRI revealed 2 tears in ligaments. I get to go see the WCB doctor tomorrow. Hopefully it'll just need rehab, and not surgery.

We're moving at the end of this month. Our lease is up, and they want to raise the rent another $200 above what we're paying now. So we're moving back to the old neighborhood. We found a townhouse by Westmount, that's only $20 more that what we pay now, plus it includes heat and water, so we'll save more money there. Only a few more months to go and the car loans will be paid off, and we can seriously start looking for a house. That will be our last move -- I swear !

That's about it for this update ... I promise to keep this up more !! :-)