Two Pots of Gold

I had a dentist appointment tonight and, when I walked to the office, it was bright, sunny and hot outside. I was in the dentist office for maybe 30 minutes. When I left, the receptionist said "I hope you brought your umbrella because it's pouring outside!"

She was right! It was still bright and hot outside but it was absolutely pouring. The nice thing is that those combinations are the perfect recipe for a rainbow. And, we were actually treated to two of them!

I stopped and took a picture of them from under my umbrella. Other people around me were stopping in the parking lot - even without umbrellas - and commenting about how beautiful they were. It's funny (and nice) how some refracted light can make us all so happy.

LJ

Doors Open Day Two

It was another early morning and we had another big list of locations we wanted to tackle! In the end, we only made it out to two places and most of our time was spent at just one of those locations. But, it was a great day!

Yesterday, we had driven out to the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology on St Laurent Blvd in the east end. They were giving tours of their storage facilities. This is pretty interesting considering that only 1.8% of their collection is actually displayed in the museum. I've always loved that museum and have many wonderful memories of eating lunch outside next to the big train with my best friend and her Mom or walking through Gargamel's crazy/crooked kitchen. We weren't able to get in on a tour Saturday afternoon, so my Mom and I decided to head out there first thing the next morning to sign up for both tours.

We got there early and were able to get into the Transportation building almost right away. It was really fascinating to see so many trains, cars and bicycles. I took a few pictures with my blackberry since I hadn't brought my camera with me.

After the first tour was finished, we had a short wait until we were going to a tour in another building. As opposed to the Transportation Building this was the "Miscellaneous" Building. hehe

We went on a tour with one of the curators which was very interesting. We saw many old household appliances, musical instruments, industrial equipment and many signs including an old VIA Rail schedule from 1982.

After this tour was over, my Mom and I started talking to a guy who works there. After chatting for about 20 minutes, he offered to take us on another tour...but just with him. He was so nice! He spent about 2 hours with us showing us everything we wanted to see and giving us lots of interesting information. He took us under the ropes which kept tour groups out and was lifting plastic and blankets to give us a closer look at whatever we wanted to see. It turns out he is responsible for taking care of the entire collection in that building. We ended up spending about 5 hours altogether in the storage areas and the time just flew by!

We decided to cut a few things out of our day but we didn't mind. We were sure we could either see them another time or next year.

In the afternoon, we went to the Ottawa Citizen building where they gave us a tour of the newsroom and the printing press rooms. The guy who gave us the tour was great as was the reporter who talked to us about the exciting job he has. I snapped a picture of the printing presses with my blackberry. It's hard to tell but they are actually three stories high and there are several machines. The room was very inky and smelled like newsprint. It was pretty neat to see the process. Of course, the machines weren't running. They run at 11pm every night and apparently the building has measures to keep the noise and vibration to a minimum and withing the room.

By the time we left the Citizen building we were both pretty tired from the day and the weekend in general so we decided to call it quits around 3:30 (Doors Open ran from 10 - 4 each day).

And now, I will start to get ready for the week and get to bed early! I'm looking forward to getting some rest!

LJ

Doors Open Day One

Well, that was a full day! Here's what we did:

First, we went out for a quick breakfast where we laid out our plan for the day. Our first few locations were all downtown so we headed east.

7 Rideau Gate - the residence where guests of the Governor General stay while visiting Ottawa

Embassy of France - pictured below is a view of the grand entrance (looking back towards the front door, and looking forward towards the grand marble staircase). This room was quite large and looked like it could hold many people for an event.

The National Capital Commission buildings downtown were interested. I enjoyed hearing more about the ideas for "branding" Ottawa. They're plan is to combine a catchy slogan with inspirational commercials and advertising similar to the I Love NY or Virginia is for Lovers campaigns. I think that we can take inspiration for the great campaign that BC launched during the Vancouver 2010 games:

In the afternoon we went to the Transportation Safety Board engineering lab which is located near the airport. They gave a tour and demonstration of the technology which is used to investigate and simulate accidents with vehicles, trains, buses, airplanes, etc. It was very interesting!

And now, I'm at home. I'm about to have some supper and enjoy a relaxing evening since tomorrow will be another busy day!

LJ

Doors Open Ottawa

Every year, the city hold an event called Doors Open Ottawa. I know this also takes place in Toronto and Hamilton and possibly other cities as well. It's a weekend when many buildings and sites across the city open their doors to the public. Most of these places are not normally open to the public. I've always read about it in the paper and looked at various descriptions but I didn't start participating in the even until 2009. My Mom and I have started to make this an annual tradition.

It's very rare for me to be up so early on a Saturday morning but we have many activities planned so we want to get an early start! I'll post an update about where we end up today in a later blog.

Last year, in addition to a really interesting insect lab at the experimental farm, we visited several embassies and churches. The most notable were:

• The British High Commissioner's Residence, Earnscliffe, which he presented himself. This house (pictured below) overlooks the Ottawa River. It has a beautiful property and is very well decorated inside.

• St John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The picture below shows the gorgeous painted dome inside the church. This dome has each of the 12 Apostles pictured in each of the stained glass windows. The interior of the church is completely painted and has many amazing windows. The outside of the church is also a sight to see with golden domes on top.

Enjoy your Saturday!

LJ

Under Construction

...or not.

I've been up-rooted from my desk today because our office is under construction. It had been noisey and busy and annoying all morning. But, as it turns out, the posts ordered weren't the proper type. So, this was all for nothing and we'll have to leave our desks once again some other time.

Oh well, I'm happy to be going back to my own desk now!

LJ

Something New

I've been a member of Goodlife for quite a while now. I have been meaning to check out the Body Flow class and finally got around to it tonight. This Les Mills class combines Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates. For some reason I thought this would be very relaxing but it was quite the workout! It's all about control and movement. I really pushed myself with all of the poses and movements. I felt very stretched and sweaty.
I felt pretty good during the entire class but I could tell that I was going to be quite sore the next day.

At the end of the class, there is an 8 minute relaxation period. They turn the lights down and you just lay on your mat. I bring my own yoga mat but I still find that lying on such a hard surface really kills my back when it comes time to get up. That makes me feel old saying that! haha :)

Anyway, I'm going to have some more water and head to bed. I plan to make this a weekly class!

Night night and sweet dreams,

LJ

Smoke Monster Hits Ottawa

About 50 fires are currently burning in Central Quebec. Most of these are now under control but the high winds are making things difficult for firefighters. The wind has also pushed the smoke from these fires over 1000 Km away. This morning when I stepped outside I could smell smoke. It was a nice smell - kind of like a campfire. But, when I could see smoke all over my neighbourhood and then all over the city as I made my way to work, I knew that it had come over from the Québec fires. Normally I love the smell of a campfire but, every time I went outside today I felt sad knowing that so much damaged has already occured.

As you can see in the picture, other that it's outline, the Ottawa skyline wasn't visible through the thick smoke this morning.

LJ

Timing is Everything

I had my Tuesday plans tonight...sort of. I think that, even if you're really compatible with someone, the timing has to be right. In this case, the timing - or something - is really off. I think I will be distancing myself from this situation...at least for a little while.

LJ

SATC2

Tonight I went to a premiere of SATC2 courtesy of my friend Adrienne. We were told to dress up for the movie so I brough a LBD (little black dress) and some hot red heels with me to work so that I could change before heading over. Well, it wasn't as fancy as I expected it to be. Hors d'euvres were candy and chocolate bars, drinks were bottles of water with a custom SATC2 label, and fancy meant jeans to some. But, the movie, while long, was great. I thought it was cute and more about friendship than the first movie. If you don't like the show, don't see the movie. But, if you've always been a fan of the show, ignore the critics, grab your girl friends and head out to the theater for a fun night. I'd recommend passing on the late show ;)

LJ

Fulfilling My Civic Duties

Another long weekend has passed. This time it was Victoria Day. A fun fact is that the holiday nicknamed "May Two-Four" actually fell on the 24th of May. Neat :)

It happens to be disgustingly hot outside this week (43 degrees celcius). I had the day off from work today because I was summoned for Jury Selection. Although, as it turns out, the selection was cancelled. It was almost as if this was the first ever panel of jurors because no one had any idea what to do with us until someone found out the day had been cancelled.

On my way back to the west end, a car ran a red light in front of the bus we were on and boy did we ever hit her. Luckily no one was injured other than a few bruises here and there. A sheet of plexiglass ahead of the seats in front of me stopped me from going any further. Luckily the bus wasn't very full at that time.

I also managed to get some groceries and be home in time for my plans that evening. Although those ended up being moved to Thursday. But it's just as well, I'm happy to relax tonight!

LJ

Dinner and a Show

Alright, brace yourself for the following sentence...it's a bit confusing. I've been dating a guy who is friends with my friend's husband for a little while. My friend has really wanted for the four of us to go out on a double date together for quite a while. So, we went out for dinner and comedy this week.

It turns out that Absolute Comedy (on Preston) has a Pro-Am night on Wednesdays. It's really cheap and it's a pretty good show! It was very packed in there this week but I don't know if that's normal. There was a huge group in there this week because their company was having a conference in Ottawa.

Anyway, dinner on the patio at Heart & Crown and comedy across the street makes for a great double date evening :)

...and I'm done

Alright, I think I'm finished with all of these different healing methods for now. After many, many sessions of physio and a couple of accupuncture sessions, I'm still getting pain when I run. So, I'm taking a break from all of those since they're getting to be pretty expensive and I know how to do the physio massages and rehab exercises on my own now.

This was really all triggered by something that happened yesterday. I had my third appointment for accupuncture at 5:30 pm. So, instead of rushing home and then rushing to my appointment, I decided to stay at work a little later. I normally take an express bus home but it they don't stop at the street I needed to take to my appointment. So, I took the dreaded riff-raff express (aka the 95). Oddly, it wasn't very busy at all. I was able to get a seat and, by the time we got to Baseline Station there were hardly any people standing. There was a group of about five teens standing near the back door. I figured they were getting off at the next stop (which was also my stop) seeing that there were still seats left near them and they were right at the door. Well, they weren't getting off. And, because they weren't paying attention or letting me through, I couldn't get to the door within 3 seconds. I called out to one of the teens to open the door but she had no clue what was going on. So, after about 3 seconds the bus driver figured no one was getting off and he took off. Grr! The next stop was quite a distance down the street. By the time we got there I realized that I had to hurry so that I wouldn't be late for my appointment. I RAN down the street and to the house where my accupuncturist lives. I was in so much pain (let's remember the reason why I'm going there in the first place is to help my shins heal) but I managed to get there at 5:29 pm. At this point I'm also sweating considering that it was hot outside and I wasn't dressed for a jog.

I rang the doorbell...and waited...waited some more...rang again...waited again. No one was home! Are you kidding me? I was pretty annoyed on my walk back to the bus stop (at least I was able to go to the closer stop). I took the bus home and decided I didn't want to go back anymore. I might as well save my money. We'll see how that goes. In the mean time, I'm going to stick with biking and the elliptical for cardio.

Productive Saturday!

First of all, my shins were feeling much better when I woke up on Thursday morning. I didn't feel anymore pain and had a smooth walk between home and the bus as well as between the bus and my office.

The lady told me I was to come back for another appointment Saturday morning (today). So, I got up very early today to head over to her house. I actually had no idea what I was going in for. More herbs? To check progress? More accupuncture? What? She checked my tongue again but didn't do the 5 minute pulse-taking this time around. She asked if I wanted to buy some more herbs and I said no. To be honest, I didnt take the ones I bought in the first place because they freaked me out! haha! They were little black balls that smelled like hay. I had to take three spoonfulls three times daily...for three days. It worked out to $1 per spoonful. Pass!

Anyway, she did accupuncture again. I could tell that she wasn't going to the same spots because on Wednesday she put the needles in my shins and on the inside of my foot (ick). This time the needles were placed in my shines and on the outside of my foot. I found it particularily painful when the needles were being placed around the ankle bone on the outside of my foot/ankle. There was a bit of bleeding along with that. But the pain didn't last for very long.

Afterwards, I walked to the bus and made a few phone calls while I was waiting. I didn't go home right away. I decided that I'd do some errands around the Barrhaven mall area before heading home. I picked up some groceries, cat supplies, etc. I'm not at home enjoying a cold drink (it's pretty warm outside!) before I do some cleaning up around the house.

It's not even 1:00 yet and I feel like I've accomplished a lot. This means I'll have plenty of time to relax or do whatever I want with the rest of the weekend :)

Punctured

I went to the accupuncturist this evening. The "clinic" is at the lady's house and it's not too difficult for me to walk-bus-walk to get there. When I arrived she was still with another client so I waited on a chair outside of the open room. They were speaking in Chinese so I had no idea what they were saying.

When it was my turn, she took my pulse for what felt like 2 minutes per wrist. Then she asked me to stick out my tongue. She gave be a diagnosis based on these things and gave me some herbs to take at home.

Next, it was time for accupuncture. I was brought behind a curtain to a nice little room with a medical bed. She put about 10 needles in each leg. It wasn't painful other than a couple of times while the needle was being placed in my leg and, once in a while, there was a sensation that would shoot down my leg and make my toes twitch. I was left to lay there for 30 mins to relax before she came back to take the needles out. I didn't expect to be there for that long but the time went by quickly and some nice music was playing in the background. The same shooting sensation occured when she was taking out some of the needles.

Once we had our post-appointment chat and the bill was paid, I left and started walking towards the bus stop. I felt a lot of pain in my legs...oh no. Not the same kind of muscle pain that I've been feeling though - this was more of a nerve pain. I was able to make it home. Now that I'm here, I've been massaging my shins but the nerve pain feels worse when I do that.

I've been told by some friends that you're supposed to drink a lot of water and get lots of sleep after an accupuncture appointment so I'm currently drinking some water and will be heading to bed shortly. Hopefully everything will feel better in the morning.

Something New...Take Two

I've been having problems with my shins for a while now. They've been getting really tight and painful ever since I broke my leg climbing the mountain. I was having a lot of trouble at the gym and decided to FINALLY start going to Physio. I've been going for over a month now. I was assessed and diagnosed with strained and tight Tibialis Anteriors (that's the muscle on the outside of the shin). This was mostly likely caused by the strain put on them while on the mountain.

Normally I love to run and, when I'm going from point A to point B I like to walk quickly...very quickly. But, I haven't been able to do either of these things for more than a few minutes before the pain sets in. I thought I was progressing with physio but, this week I've had extreme pain walking quickly between the bus and my office!

So, I'm fed up and I'm looking in to alternative forms or medicine. I have an appointment with an acupuncturist tonight who was recommended to me by my Aunt. So, fingers crossed that I'll be feeling a lot better this evening after my appointment!

Wish me luck,

LJ

Sometimes it's Best to Keep Your Mouth Shut

I had a Bridal Shower to go to this afternoon. I didn't know many people there, it was way out in the Gatineau boonies and I'm not a huge fan of showers of any kind. But, I was going and I planned to have a good time.

When we arrived, everyone was sitting in a circle of chairs in the maid of honour's living room. We started with the presents right away. The theme was "entertainment for the bride and groom (keep it clean)". So, we arrived with a huge Night In basket full of

popcorn,

snacks,

red wine,

white wine,

Blockbuster gift certificates,

wine glasses,

napkins,

old fashioned popcorn boxes (but made of plastic)

and a fake bottle of Champagne that blew out confetti and streamers

The MOH's dog kept trying to eat the basket...and she wasn't trying very hard to get him to stop. That was a tad annoying.

After the unwrapping of the gifts, we had cake. While eating, everyone was discussing various wedding-related activities. The subject of registries came up and everyone there was very strongly against them. I almost talked about how great I think they were but everyone else was of the opinion that "having a registry suggests that gifts are more important to you than your guests". I really couldn't disagree more but, I wasn't about to start a debate at a wedding shower. More similar topics came up...more time passed...and we left shortly after.

Sometimes, it's just best to keep your mouth shut ;)

LJ

Random Thoughts

Today's entry will be a random one...

Random thought One

When I got home yesterday, there was a voicemail message from my old department referring to a competition I had been a part of a year ago. They asked if I am still interested. This is for a position that is one level higher and I'm annoyed that I got this call a week after leaving the department!

I thought about it last night...and came up with these thoughts:

- I feel like I was already working at this level at my old job and I feel like I could easily manage that level if I moved up.

- The position that I'm in right now is a great opportunity. I like my manager and director...and I like the other people in the branch. The work is very interesting, high profile and very important to Canada.

- Moving to the higher level now would give me more money immediately...but I feel like this job will give me a pass to the top of a lot of lists in the future which means I could potentially earn even more later in my career.

- I feel like there is opportunity for advancement here...and because I'm here in the very early stages I might even be able to create a new role for myself down the road.
- Also, my manager and director worked SO hard and pulled a lot of strings to get me here. They're still so excited that I'm here and seem to really appreciate the work I'm doing already. I'd feel like I was betraying them if I were to pursue another job so early on.
- I don't know what I would be doing in the new job...I might not even like it...and I'd go back to the same floor as my old branch which might be awkward so soon.

So, I'm going to let them know that I'm no longer available. I figure that I'm chosing a long-term investment over immediate gratification.

Random Thought Two:

My new strategy for getting out of bed on time failed me this morning. My will power lost out to the temptation of getting back into bed. I think what I need to do is have my hair done and clothes picked out before I go to bed. That would save me SO much time in the morning! I really want to start getting into the office earlier so that I can leave earlier now that the days are longer and summer is approaching.

Random Thought Three:

I'm going to Bayshore with Jenn tonight - woohoo! I plan on getting a pair of jeans, a couple of other things and some Kernels Popcorn. Mmm

Random Thought Four:

 
I thought I had more to say but I'm out of random thoughts for now. I'm going to pack up in a few minutes and head home. Jenn is picking me up at 6:30 tonight so hopefully I will have some time to change and hang out with the cats for a few minutes before it's time to go :)
 
LJ

Update on Goals: New Strategy

I'm about to wrap up for the day but I thought I'd update you on a new strategy I'm trying out this week. One of my goals for this year was to start getting more sleep and start getting into a better night time routine. Well, this week I am finally starting on this goal!

There are two obstacles in my way:

• Once I'm in bed, I tend to think of random things. This isn't much of a problem but I feel the need to google these things immediately. So, I reach for my blackberry and fire it up!
• When my alarm goes off in the morning, I am very good at giving myself excuses to press snooze and I'm even better at convincing myself that I won't need that much time to get ready.

I think that both of these things can be resolved with one simple solution which I have tried for the last couple of days. I am leaving my blackberry in the hall outside of my bedroom on silent mode. So:

• I can't Google in bed.
• The alarm coming from my blackberry is a really loud and annoying ring tone in the morning. This forces me to get out of bed and to leave the room to turn it off.

So far this strategy is going really well! I manage to get out of bed when my alarm goes off. The hard part is resisting the temptation to get back into bed and to start getting ready right away. This morning I got distracted by some pictures on facebook. I'm going to start turning off my computer at night!

But, one small step for man...

LJ 

Summertime in the City

This week seems like it will be a lot less busy than last week. We had our first team meeting today so that was exciting. It was mostly a kick-off meeting to talk about how things would work and what would be discussed in the future. It was very informative which was nice. Everyone who participated seemed very lovely.

I went for a quick walk at lunch time and ran into my ex-boyfriend - this is the second time in less than a week. I didn't have much time to chat though since I only had about 30 mins until my meeting was set to begin. He works at Place Bell which is just a block or so away from my office. It's nice to know someone close by.

In other news, it looks like the forecast for the long weekend is shaping up to be a hot one! There might be some rain but less than 2mm over two days doesn't bother me at all. Check out Ottawa's weather:

Legend: The top temperature is the high for the day, the second temperature is the humidex and the third number is the low for the day.

I guess there will be some nice weather to greet my parents when they come home from South Carolina for Easter!

Talk to you soon,

LJ

CCGS Henry Larsen

I enjoyed a nice day of relaxing in front of the big TV today - it was quite enjoyable. I was taking advantage of the big HD screen when I flipped over to DiscoveryHD. There was a documentary show on called "Might Ships" and the featured ship was the CCGS Henry Larsen. This is a medium icebreaker used for Search and Rescue amongst other things and is part of the CCG Fleet! It's very exciting to be part of a team that is building these vessels who go on to do such important work.

Check out this very interesting documentary: http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/mighty-ships-/mighty-ships-season-1/mighty-ships-henry-larsen/#clip132660

Here is a picture of the Henry Larsen:

For more pictures and specifications, visit the CCGS Henry Larsen page on our website: http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/Fleet/Vessels?id=1128

LJ

WOW

The TV has arrived and it is more glorious than the day I first brought it home! At the time, I was going from a 32" non-HD TV but now I'm going from the tiny non-HD TV to a 42" screen. The picture is amazing and the TV is ginormous. My plan is to stay home, catch up on the HD shows on my PVR and watch the Sens game tonight. I'm very happy to have the TV back!

TV Day!

I got a call from the TV repair place yesterday saying that they will be delivering my TV between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM today. I'm very excited to get it back! I've been using this tiny TV for about 6 weeks now. It'll be really nice to have the TV back - even though I'm very disappointed that I'm not able to go meet Michelle at Bayshore. We've decided that we'll reschedule when her husband leaves town again. Looking forward to our lunch and shopping date :)

I ended up getting to sleep pretty late last night (around 3:00 AM) but I managed to wake up early to do some tidying up and to get the TV Stand ready for the delivery. It's now 11:00 and they're still not here but I'm just laying around on the couch relaxing until they arrive. Let's hope that's soon!

Pinot, Pasta and Curls

I know that I keep saying that I'm not focussing on dating right now and that I'm simply working on my own goals...but, when an interesting guy comes along and asks me out, I'm inclined to give it a shot. So, tonight I went out for dinner with someone new. We went to Trattoria Café Italia on Preston. In an attempt to find food as delicious as the meal I had in New York City in October, I ordered the fettuccine alfredo and we shared a bottle of Pinot Grigio (my fave) from Italy. I felt a bit awkward around him which is strange for me because I'm used to meeting new people and deliving presentations so I'm usually at least able to fake that I'm comfortable. He's a very nice guy and is also very intelligent. But I couldn't help feeling like he was giving me a sales pitch and treating our dinner like he would one of the meetings he has for his business. Anyway, we had a nice time and he brought me home after dinner. I don't think there'll be a future there but I'm always up for new friendships!

As much as I love being a tomboy, I'll never give up my girly side. To get ready for my date, I had booked a hair appointment for after work on Friday. I had never been to see this stylist before but I go to this salon to buy shampoo once in a while. Actually, when KISS was in town for a concert this summer (for Bluesfest), Gene Simmons and Shannon went in to buy some hair spray. I didn't see them but at the time, my office was just upstairs so I heard all about it from some colleagues.

Anyway, when I got to my appointment on Friday my stylist, Pascal, was extremely laid back and aloof. He looked like he had just arrive from Paris with his scarf and beret. He washed my hair and then sat me in his chair. He asked what kind of style I was looking for and I told him that I wanted it blowdried straight with volume at the top and the ends slightly curled under. So, he began. He started using a small round brush which seemed odd since a large brush would make more sense. But, every stylist has their own method, right? Well, he was starting to curl my hair with the dryer and brush. I told him that I wasn't going for curls and wanted my hair to be straight. But, he just didn't listen - the bottom half of my hair was curly and there was no volume at the top. Sigh. It seemed like it could be somewhat cute but I started to doubt those ideas when the wind was blowing my hair all over the place during my walk to the bus. By the time I got home and looked in the mirror I was so disappointed that I wanted to straighten my hair! But, since I had paid $40 to get my hair styled I decided to make due. I put half of my hair up and put some pins in and was able to walk out of the house looking pretty cute. It definitely would have looked hotter if I had the style I was looking for. I've learned my lesson - go to reputable stylists in the future and don't stop talking until the stylist really listens to what you want. I took a few pictures when I got home. When I upload the pictures from my camera I'll post one to show you all.

Well, I'm going to check some e-mails and head to bed shortly.

Night night,

LJ

A Night Off

I'll be taking a night off from the gym today. My shins have really been bothering me and today I was in a lot of pain just walking between the bus and the office (It's about a 10 minute walk). I'm hoping that some rest will do be good.

I'm starting to get excited about the weekend! I have a dinner on Preston St on Friday and on Saturday I'm meeting Michelle at Bayshore at 10:00 am. We'll do some shopping and then have lunch at Moxie's. I'm SO excited about having a white peach bellini. I couldn't find a picture of the ones that Moxie's makes but here is a picture I found of one from Milestone's. They're both excellent! Mmm

A Touch of LJ

I walked over to my old office building at lunchtime today to grab some of the stuff I had left behind (I didn't want to carry a big box to Barrhaven...during rush hour...on the bus). I made sure to grab the things I wanted to put up on my walls. So, now I have some Westjet Nfld ads that I love, an NCC Bikepath Map, some cards, my calendar and 4 pictures from my big trek in Nfld. One of these days I'll get around to typing up my journal entries and posting a photo blog. In the meantime, here are a couple of sample pictures of the trek.

The waterfall we had to climb at the top of the gorge (left) and a look back at Western Brook Pond from the top of the fjord (right).

(Note: I didn't take these pictures, I just wanted to show you an example)

Anyway, I'm just waiting for my boss to finish up a meeting. Once she's done, I'm handing over the file I just worked on and I'll be heading home :)

TTYL!

LJ

Settling In...

I feel a bit more at home today. It helps when you can let yourself into the building and head straight to your own office. My computer is all set up but my voicemail password still hasn't been reset. It'll be nice to get my box of stuff from CIC so that I can personalize my office :)
I met some more people today. I was walked around the floor this morning and introduced to select people and, in the afternoon I was pulled into the engineers' meeting for introductions. There were a lot of people in the room so, unfortunately it was really hard to remember everyone's names as they shouted them out in a round table. Hopefully I'll learn everyone's names as I go!

Over the last couple of days I've learned quite a bit about the ships and helicopters used here at CCG. The group that I work with is responsible for actually procuring, designing and building the ships. The project to renew the fleet began with building an Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) which is otherwise known as a hovercraft. The picture below is of the Mamilossa which is the ACV that our team built! How exciting! Here is a page where you can read more about her and her specifications: http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/e0009754

That's all for now!

LJ

New Girl

I've really gotten used to having the new people coming around and being introduced to me. But, now I'm "the new girl". It's so strange not knowing everyone in the office, not having my Timmy's buddy, not having people to run over to with excited or sad news, not having my lunch buddies.

On a more positive note, everyone seems very nice here. My team of 3 is quite small at the moment but they seem great!

Today has been a pretty good day. I was given a brief overview of the department and introduced to a a few people around the office. My manager is doing a great job of not overwhelming me on my first day! This afternoon I went over to the main building to get my Security ID picture taken (and by the way, I look like  a a 45 year old in it) and head over to a meeting. After the meeting I went for a coffee meeting with my boss and ever since I got back to the office, I've been working to set up my computer and voicemail.

So far I'm off to a great start!

LJ

MIA and a Fresh Start

Apparently I needed a break from blogging after Christmas...but I'm back! I have a bunch of new updates! My parents left just after Christmas and just before New Year's Eve. We had a really nice Christmas together.

Jennifer and I are still going to the gym regularly. We've been getting out 3-5 times each week. I started doing some weight training again followed up by cardio. I was doing legs on Mondays and upper body on Wednesdays. On Fridays Jenn and I go to BodyPump which is good for overall muscle endurance. After a couple of personal issues for both her and I, we ended up taking a week off from the gym. It seems like once week off really set me back - it felt like I had been away for a month! But that was a couple of weeks ago and we're now back on track.

I'm still not able to run because of my knees/shins but I've been doing a lot of cardio on the stationary bike. It's amazing how doing something regularly can give such great results. In the last couple of weeks of riding the bike, I managed to lose about 8 lbs. My goal is to lose another 15-25 before my 28th birthday. I think it's pretty reasonable considering that my birthday is in July :)

In other news, I am leaving CIC to start a new job on Monday. My last day was Wednesday since I took Thursday and Friday off as a transition/rest period for myself. I feel like I left that job in a good position. I left with positive relationships and I left the project with just about everything completed (from a business perspective). There will be a couple of people writing text to finish up and the rest of the work is mostly with stakeholders and partners.

I said towards the end of 2009 that 2010 was going to by my year for a lot of things - a fresh start! I feel like starting this new job is definitely a part of that. A new department means new opportunities to learn including a fresh e-mail inbox and computer drive (haha).

I'm spending the day relaxing today...getting ready for my new job on Monday. I'm thinking of walking over to Indigo to get a new planner to go along with my fresh start.

I'm also thinking less about dating and more about myself. I have certain goals I want to accomplish on my own: being successful with my new job and in my career, getting into the best shape for my body, getting more sleep, eating healthier foods and organizing as well as decorating my home. I'm well on my way these goals which is very encouraging to me. If I meet a great guy who compliments my life then I would be more than happy to get to know him. Otherwise, I will continue to build the life I want for myself and my own happiness.

When I do meet someone, I've figured out that the most important quality I'd like him to have is dependability. I'd like someone who has my back no matter what, someone who supports me and does what he says he's going to do. Obviously there is more to a relationship but I've learned through my experiences that this is what matters most to me.

Anyway, I'm happy to be back at blogging. I'll be keeping in touch more often :)

See you soon,

LJ