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