Another Quick Week

Last weekend, the Labour Day long weekend, I had Saturday booked off work (a rarity for me) and spent three absolutely glorious days at the cabin.  Jasmine and I arrived around 7:30 on Friday night and we were across, unloaded and into the cabin just a smidge after dark.

As you know from my last post, by the time I headed for the cabin, I still didn’t have my results from my IFC exam back (I have now, more on that later) and so planned to spend my whole weekend drinking copious amounts of cider and reading as many trashy books as I could in the course of three full days off. Planning a technology-free weekend, I left all forms of communication with the outside world at home.  The netbook on purpose, the cell phone accidentally.  I needed the cell phone.  Oh well!

Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny and (with breakfast in my belly) I got the chairs out and sat on the deck for some sunshine and reading of the aforementioned trashy books.  Saturday afternoon was the last salmon smoke of the summer and family had been arriving since Thursday night.  Mum and Dad arrived around 12:30, Rob, Carrie and Finn a little after that.  It was their (Rob, Carrie and Finn, I mean) first major outing EVER and what an outing it was!  When all was said and done, there were more than 30 family members there!

Finn was a total trooper (as were Rob and Carrie!!) and he handled the noise and many new people like a dream.

I, as per my usual modus operandi, ended up with sunburn.

UNLIKE my usual modus operandi, this one was on my legs AND has morphed into a half decent tan!

Sunday dawned clear and sunny as well, and Sunday morning Jasmine met me on the deck for reading:

Monday, also sunny and clear (what an AWESOME weekend!) I packed up and came home with the high tide (around 2:00 PM) and, once home, gave Jasmine a bath, had a shower myself and then started laundry.  I logged into the computer and……. No results yet.

Hm.

Tuesday morning I got into the office and, having checked at home, still had no results. At around 9:15 I had an instant message from the other staff member who wrote telling me that her results had just been posted and she passed… I logged in and checked and, YES, I passed!

Woo hoo!

Being a short week, things have been busy in the branch and the time has been passing relatively quickly.

On Tuesday my (former) crush was in the branch while I was on lunch.  One of my co-workers came back to tell me. I didn’t bother getting up to go look.  I’m actually quite proud of myself for that one!

On Wednesday the townhouse was shown to 4 different sets of prospective renters and, application approved, they have a new tenant set up for October 1^st so there are now no more showings need to be planned for or worried about!

Thursday, yesterday, was Nephew day.  I headed down to Nanaimo early on in the day and spent until about 2:00 PM with Finn and Carrie.  It was a good visit for me and Carrie, but Finn was a little fussy – we think it is the heat…. It has heated up here – over 30*C yesterday and today (with the humidity) and though yesterday I had to actually drag out the AC unit, today it has been breezy and I don’t think I will have to have it on tonight in order to sleep.

Today I spent my day puttering.  I have made some headway with contacting utilities to have things switched over and have arranged for my local construction guys to come out next Friday to provide an estimate on replacement of the toilet and hot water tank. I won’t actually be able to have the work done until after I take possession of the house (liability issues) but the estimate on that is most important at this stage as I am trying to plan out the money I have to finish this stuff off.  I have opened an account at the local Slegg Lumber office and so will be able to purchase the hot water tank and toilet (and new door) on account and pay it all off later on.

Since it has been WAY too hot to run Jasmine today, we went for a short walk up at the park this afternoon… I’m hopeful I can get out for a bike ride first thing tomorrow morning with her, but that will really and truly depend on what the winds do tonight.  If they stay coming out of the north overnight, things may cool down enough to keep the bike ride safe temperature-wise.  If they die off, we will be doing another short walk.  Poor mutt – not getting enough exercise!

Well, I should close this update off – I have promised myself that I will update my "to do" list, pack at least 2 boxes, and go through my closets and clear out the “not keeping” stuff to ready it for donation…

And I might just do a drive-by at Dairy Queen – it *is* very warm tonight…

With love across the waters,

July 2011 – gone in a flash!

The month of July has (Holy Smokes!) disappeared in a flash and we're now into August.  Gosh, there's so much that has been going on lately that it's going to be hard to sort all of my thoughts out to share them in a somewhat coherent manor.

I think I mentioned that on July 9^th I interviewed for the posting in the branch – what I forgot to mention was that July 9^th started out a little oddly for me.  When I was out riding my bike (at 6 in the morning) with Jasmine before work started that day, I was shat upon by an owl!

I had heard years ago that to be crapped on by a bird was considered to be good luck (something I honestly look upon with suspicion) but I have to tell you all that being crapped on by an owl is an experience that could really and truly be done without. 

First of all, it’s shocking.  There’s a lot of it and it’s big and you don’t actually expect it.  Especially at 6 in the morning! 

Second – it’s disgusting. I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say that having seen it up close and personal (and getting off my bike and dancing around it trying to get it OFF) it’s not an experience I need to have a second time.

On July 14^th I was told that I had been awarded the posting – contingent on my getting my mutual finds (IFIC) license. I started studies immediately – thanks, very much, to a colleague who had just finished the course herself and very kindly loaned me her books.  I’m about half way through the materials (and have hit the mind-numbing part that requires much focus, dedication and determination to get through) and am on track to write my exam at the end of this month.

July 18^th saw us welcome my gorgeous nephew into the world.  Finn Francis William English is THE most gorgeous little baby I have ever laid eyes on!

I had the pleasure of meeting him in person and the honour of being the first family member (outside of his Mummy and Daddy, of course) to hold him.  I went down to Nanaimo on the 24^th to ready the cabin for my Uncle and Cousin’s annual trek over and got to spend a little cuddle time with Finn in both directions.

Finn was born with an enlarged frenulum of the tongue - that’s little fold of tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. It is actually a pretty common, from what I have now learned, and is very easily treated.  With Finn, it caused some initial nursing issues – he couldn’t “latch on” and therefore Rob & Carrie had to feed him for a few days using other methods.  When I arrived at Rob & Carrie’s place, Rob was feeding him with the aid of an apparatus that looked like a big upside down syringe and a small flexible tube.  After seeing the doctor & having it fixed, he’s nursing up a storm & both he AND his parents are starting to settle into a more comfortable pattern of life.

Once Rob finished with the feeding, he changed him and then, seated in the mama-san chair they have in the kitchen, I was handed my nephew.  My emotional reaction surprised me.  I got all verklempt and teary-eyed at the sight, feel and smell of this new little person in my arms. It’s hard to describe exactly what I feel when I hold him, but it’s a feeling that’s both amazing and inspiring to me.

Down to the cabin, I got things ready, and then back up for another very quick hello (and more cuddles) and then back home to finish my Sunday.

On Thursday the 28^th, one of my best friends was here in town to hear a band – Miss Quincy.  If you ever have the chance to see them play, take advantage of it.  They’re a combination of (to my very uneducated ear) folksy-rockabilly-blues and a delight to see play.  Mitch and I had a good catch up – which for us usually involves a deep and sometimes difficult conversation, some laughter and general happiness to see each other and hang out.

Last weekend, the August long weekend (BC Day here,) I was able to spend a couple of nights at the cabin and had some good daylight hours spent in study.  I have told work that, since I really need the time to study, I am not going to be able to pick up any extra hours for the rest of the summer.  This will give me three non-working days a week to buckle down and really attack the material in front of me. I found the cabin to be a great place to be for study purposes as, since there is no electricity (other than what we can power with solar) there is no TV, computer or other easily accessed distractions available.  I think that I will take advantage of the “off days” to take my books down to the cabin & study there when possible.

Off today, I took the opportunity to head down to Nanaimo for the morning.  Being here in Comox, I’m not close enough to Rob & Carrie to really be of a lot of assistance, but I can commit to being down there for them at least once a week to give a hand, sit with Finn, bring in supplies and groceries as needed, or just to give Mummy and Daddy a small bit of a break.  Today I was able to allow Rob to putter outside for a little while when Carrie was napping, and then once Carrie was awake, she was able to get out of the house for a quick swim and some personal down time.

Finn and I were able to bond a little.  He was a sweet and wonderful little boy and a joy for me to hang out with.  We had some cuddle time, a little bouncy ball time - which involves the adult holding him sitting on a giant exercise ball and bouncing up and down.  He finds the motion soothing. He started to fuss a little and Rob came in and, once handed over, he quieted right up.  Rob headed back outside to putter and Finn had a little tummy time and a little back time looking at shapes and colours… and a little sleep time.  We had more cuddles and a couple of totally impressive burps that I don’t think I could top… there were also some hiccups in there (SO cute!)

As I skim this I can see I’m rambling and maybe not making a terrible lot of sense – but it was a really special day for me and one I hope to be able to repeat again soon. 

As most things go, though, I had to call a halt & come home.  The drive up was Ok – lots of sunshine and clear roads.  Once home, I got in the door and was sniffed and examined minutely.  No kidding – she started at one wrist and sniffed all the way up one arm, across and around my chest and then down the other arm.  Then Jasmine licked me once, very gently, as if to tell me that she approved of this little person smell that I had brought home on me.  Following some Jasmine cuddle time, I spent the rest of my day accomplishing a few little tasks here and there.

All right, time has crept away from me again, and I should put myself to bed and sleep – I have a full day of work ahead of me tomorrow and it promises to be a busy one.  I promise, more updates, more often…

With love across the waters,

July Feng Shui Update – Progress to Report!

Finally – I have some concrete progress to report!!  As you know, the primary and most pressing of my goals, was to have a permanent full-time job which is followed closely in importance by a relationship and then owning a home of my own.  For a few months now I have been actively applying for jobs, both internally and externally. Most recently, I expanded my search to other industries and possibilities and I’m pleased to be able to share that this past week (Thursday, to be exact) I was finally offered (and accepted) a full-time position!

Woo hoo!

I’m staying with the company I’m currently employed by – so I won’t have to learn a new corporate culture – and it is even in the same city AND branch I’m already in – so I don’t have to try and consider moving just now either!

The job is a hybrid to my industry – it’s a split role between a client service representative (bank teller) and an account manager, and is exciting to me for a few reasons.  I will get to take clients from the point where I spot a need to actually being able to complete the process for them and fulfill those needs! Yes, I will have sales targets - which, I admit, does make me nervous.

My start date will be September 27^th but before that rolls around I need to take (and pass) the Investment Funds in Canada (also known as IFIC or IFC) course and obtain my Canadian Mutual Funds License. 

But no pressure.

I have already ordered the course materials & registered for an August 30^th sitting of the exam, and if that doesn’t pan out well, there is a second sitting on September 27^th that I can attend. One of the ladies I work with has loaned me her books to tide me through until my materials arrive, hopefully early this coming week.  Yesterday I completed chapter 1 and today I will complete chapter 2.  My plan is to complete at least a full section each week (usually 3 chapters) and spend the final two weeks before the exam sitting really pushing the materials into my head so that I can make that 70% passing mark.

Funnily enough, all of this came to a head shortly after I really started to figure out exactly what my real intentions are.  I started this process by making notes on my iPod notepad so that, once I had a more complete list of my requirements I could write them all out by hand.  When I go back over the “Job” list I made, I can see I have a few points I should have fine-tuned a little bit more - but I can always write it all out and fine-tune it anyhow… just to ensure that things continue as they started for me.

I also ran into Terri from Fine Art of Intention Feng Shui the day after I was offered the job and told her my news.  Evidently she has had some great news herself recently and will be re-vamping her whole home consultation process and has asked if I would be willing to be a case study for her (of COURSE I said yes right away!) and am looking forward to seeing how this new process works and what sorts of changes around the house I may still need to make… but for now, I should fold some laundry and finish working on chapter 2.

With love across the waters,