Let's Get It Started

You know how sometimes you get those weird spam emails from someone in Ghana or wherever, telling you that they have a stash of gold, and need you to help them? Sometimes you get them in response to an ad for a job, or an apartment?  Well, today I am filling in as a receptionist, and while searching for an email in the inbox regarding an urgent matter, I inadvertantly stumbled across an email from one of those people.  Unfortunately, it wasn't deleted, as it should have been - and marked as crappy spam - instead it was replied to.  Turns out, the woman I am covering for subscribes to lavalife, and met this guy online.  Now, the emails she has been sending him are all about sending money - and from what I can tell, she has sent him something like $3000 in the last 2 weeks.  Holy crap!!! She has never met him, she has extended her line of credit to do this for him!!! I feel like I should do something (of course, I can't, I am just a temp) but I feel absolutely awful for her.  How do people actually take this shit seriously? I mean, John and I have enough money issues, and we trust each other.  How could someone just send off their life savings like that?  And the emails are WEIRD.  OH and to make it all worse, it looks like she also was just seperated from her husband, and is in the process of receiving some lump sum. Is she going to just hand it over to this guy.
Yikes.

I have been a bit lethargic and bummed lately - mostly due to the return from Honduras, getting out of the routine of diving every day, being broke, and also going through the crap of looking for work. bleh.

BUT, the sun is shining! And on Monday I started working at James Bay Coffee and Books - one of those funky little community coffee shops everyone loves.  I have only worked 2 shifts, but I love it. It is mellow, organic, fair trade... and the people and music rock.  What a great way to spend my time!  Get paid to hang at a coffee shop.  Of course, it isn't a tonne, and the tips suck (people!!! tip at your coffee shop!), but it is great.

As for a "real" job, I am in the running for 3.  I thought I was really only into 2 of them, but after my interview today, I really want this 3rd one too.  All 3, I am in the final interview stage, so one of these is going to be the one. I know it!

Job 1 - Chiropractic office admin, Back in Line Chiro @ UVIC (interview was today)
Job: Admin duties for 5 doctors at the busy clinic at UVIC
Pros::
- an interesting work environment in a natural health clinic (they also do massage, acupunture, naturopathy, holistic healing)
- owner willing to reassess every few months the monetary situation, so possibility of raises
- get me into the medical field, which could be profitable
- Mon to Thurs, so every weekend is a long weekend and I could work at the cafe as well
Cons:
- commute to UVIC probably means bus
- $12 to start - although he was pretty quick to say it could be more
- only monday to thurs, meaning only 32 hours a week... not a lot of $$

Job 2 - Sales and Production Manager, Cook Street Village Wine Works (had mini interview last week, interview tomorrow)
Job: working in the U-Brew wine shop, helping with racking, mixing and bottling, sales
Pros:
- 10 minute walk from my house
- making wine! drinking wine! Wine Wine Wine!!
Cons:
- no idea.... pay?? hours??
- working for owners who are taking over in May

Job 3 - Tour Guide, Pacific Tours(interview Friday, had phone interview Sunday night)
Job: Driving guests from Vic to Port Hardy on a day tour of VI, staying over night, picking up new guests in PH, taking them to Vic.  6 days on, 10 off
Pros:
- 6 days on, 10 days off, paying the same as a 40 hour a week job at $15 an hour.  Not bad.
- get to see and get to know the island
- possibility of tips
- best paying so far, and best hours
Cons:
- have to stay in Port Hardy 3 days out of 6, then 10 days off, from mid May to September. 
- Accom not paid ($25 a night)
- only until end of September

Any input???

come on... it is pretty...

http://www.razzray.wordpress.com

please....

http://razzray.wordpress.com/
I moved.

The Cays have internet! How exciting!!

Yesterday was crazy.  We were in the middle of discussing theory (we being John and myself and Chris and Peter - the other 2 rescue dive students, and Nico, our instructor) when suddenly we heard screaming from the dock.  It took us a minute to realize what the hell was going on - so, in the very heavy rain, the 4 of us students rush out to help Nick (a divemaster in training) who has been "injured" on the dock while Cassandra, his girlfriend and co-DMT is screaming bloody murder.

there was a lot of blood - although it looked suspicously like tomato paste...

So, this is how this course is.  we are all tired and a bit jumpy because you never know what will happen.  Yesterday I was totally exhausted, as I had my most difficult dive experience ever.  I actually felt what a panicked diver felt like.  We had to "buddy breathe" which is when 2 people share one regulator - meaning you have nothing in your mouth underwater for awhile, and I HATED it.  Panicked twice, but managed to calm down and complete the task.  Need to practice that!

Today we had to do a whole bunch of rescues, including giving rescue breathes on the the surface while towing the unresponsive diver and removing their gear - keep in mind the weather has SUCKED the last few days.  We aren't doing this in the sunny Caribbean - we are in yucky stormy weather - rain, waves, the whole 9 yards. Woohoo.

I felt a lot more confident today, although I had a few problems at first.  My mask was busted so I spent most of the time with it full of water - something that usually drives me crazy, but I worked through it today.  After all of our skills, during the debriefing, Nick managed to "drown" in a vat of water.  Always must be ready!  I was first on the scene, and tried to take control - but too many cooks in the kitchen... I am disappointed, I should have taken better control and kicked ass.

Tomorrow we do our last day of skills - off the boat, not the dock.  Should be exhausting and interesting.  Have to study tonight for our exams (we have an Emergency First Response exam and the Rescue Dive Exam tomorrow) plus complete and emergency action plan.

Anke, one of the instructors, her boyfriend has found us an apartment.  If we do well tomorrow, I think we will check it out and become a little more serious deciding if we will stay or not....

More to come... hope for sun!

I am very proud of John and I becoming Vegans (people who do not consume ANY animal products, not people from the planet of Vega), however, Christmas was difficult and travelling is even harder.  Not being in a new place, that is easy - lots of food is vegan, in fact we just had pasta and pizza (no cheese) - but actually travelling is brutal.  Airports are full of crappy food, as are bus stations.  I just had dinner at 8pm, and it was my first real meal in 2 days.

I wonder how the Cays are going to be...

Anyway, we are in Honduras, on Utilla(FINALLY, the 40 minute boat was broken down and it took 3 hours in BAD waves to get here, after 16 hours travelling yesterday, and 3 hours on the bus this morning, with the forementioned NO nourishment).  Everything is booked, so I am a bit worried as we didn't make it to Captain Morgan's before it closed to find out about staying on Jewel Cay, so that will suck if it is full too, but we do have 3 weeks.  It will work out.

Ok, and Happy New Year everyone.  Sorry I am so crap this trip about communicating.

So, John and I have been gone for 10 days, and I have blogged nothing - here or on my travelblog.  Not because we havent done anything, we have just been doing a lot every day... ok, sometimes that means 6 hours at the beach drinking beer, reading and playing cards. But dammit, we needed it!

Wedding was crazy.  Miriam and Abraham, his parents, her mom, John and I went to the Judge on Thursday and signed all the papers.   It was actually really nice.  Then Saturday was the actual ceremony but the judge was no longer coming, so I married them and Marco, Abraham{s brother, translated.  Miriam and I wrote the vows on the beach on Wednesday - she said hers in Spanish, he said them in English (and added on stuff on his own, which made us all cry).  Everyone was late to the wedding (it IS mexico after all) except Miriam and I - we were ready!  The villa was gorgeous. Will add pics once we are back in Ontario on Thursday, and write more.

The reception was a mad blur of the father of the groom getting everyone to drink LOTS of tequila.  John eventually, um, went to sleep - NOT passed out, of course - around 1am next to the pool.  We spent all of Sunday recuperating. Not a pretty scene. 

Monday we took a 2 hour bus to Puerto Escondido, which we LOVE.  Going diving tomorrow!

ok, so what was a bit of a weird wedding already has taken a bizzare turn...

I am officiating a wedding in Mexico.  Yes,, that is right, I wrote the vows,am organizing who stands where and says what and all that... this will be interesting!!!


Am having a great time, despite my sunburn.  Will update how the wedding goes and whether ì pull it off or not soon! obviously the legal wedding has been done by a judge, but people have flown here for a ceremony, and that is what I am here for!!!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Ok, not all of my bags, but we are getting there! I am getting really excited about travelling and moving and all that.  Not sad to leave Kelowna AT ALL.  Best part will be NOT WORKING for 2 months. Woohoo!!  

I had to get a new dress for the wedding.  My dress was a size 12, and was falling off of me, so I took it in and exchanged for a 10, which is still too big - but better.  Can't believe i have gone from a 12 to an 8 in just 2 months.  Not sure if it is the vegan diet or bootcamp, but I am really happy with how I look - and even more with how I feel. We had a "competition" on Thursday and we had to do 3 sets in 15 minutes for 3 different circuits.  I did 5 for the first set of exercises, 6 of the second, 4 of the third.  Oh yeah... I kicked some ass!!

Anyway, a little more packing to do, and away we go!

Goodbye 10 pound of fat.  Goodbye jiggly belly and flabby ass.  Goodbye arms that continue to wave goodbye long after I have stopped.

Ok, so I am not exactly skinny, but those damn 10 pounds that I have been trying to lose for a year are GONE! woot!

I am at the office this morning, and I am basically counting the hours until Val gets here (she has meetings until noon).  I am really pissed off and no longer want to be here AT ALL.  First off, on Saturday when I was doing some paperwork, I found a note in my file, in which I discovered Patricia has been marking down exactly what time I arrive and checking it against my timesheet - thank you for assuming I am lying.  Has she checked the time I finish against my timesheet?  Or thought of all the extra time I have worked unpaid?  All the overnights in which I had to stay somewhere that I was not paid for?

Then, on Saturday afternoon Val called and demanded to know what time I started work at the casino on Sunday.  (Sunday my day off with tour company.)  I told her 5:15.  She told me there was a big tour that came up last minute with the managers of the Delta who are coming in to see the new Delta Grand and want a wine tour.  The tour would end at 6:00.  Well, I can't be an hour late to my  shift, nor can I find a replacement... NOR WAS I AVAILABLE for a tour on my day off. But that never was the question, as she never even asked me if I could work on my day off - she just launched into a tirade regarding how I said the casino was flexible with my hours.

Then she hung up on me.

Very professional.  So I called her back and told her how inappropriate her behaviour was, and that I did not deserve to be treated that way.  To which she said she couldn't deal with it right now, and hung up on me. 

So, now, as you can imagine... I am not interested in marketing the company this morning.  I am not interested in this company at all.  So, I am tempted to leave a letter on the desk explaining that, and leaving... what should I do!?

EDIT: First thing Val did this morning when she walked in was apologize for how she spoke to me. Which helps, but I am still going home at noon to spend the afternoon with John. Will work tomorrow.

People keep nay saying about us moving to Victoria right now.  Economy is bad, rents are high... but I am getting really excited and I think it is all going to be fine.  Sure, John and I won't both be making over $20 an hour for awhile, and we will have to scale back a bit, but we will be fine.  I am not working every weekend, but if one, or both of us, needs to work an extra couple of nights a week at a bar or something, we can do that.  We just need a change.  It sucks because my family is here, and I am going to miss them, but we can't stay in Kelowna anymore.  It makes us miserable.  Sure, it is nice here in the summer, but traffic sucks, people are clicke (cliche?), we don't like to drive and this is so not a biking community... and we just want a change.  We both hate our jobs (although I do like the casino, crazy huh?).  We want to do something that makes us happy, and don't care if that means being poor.

Personally, I have been trying to figure out what I want to do.  Eventually I would like to run my own events management company, and have been thinking of applying with some of the high end hotels as concierge - try to work my way up and get to know the city that way.  Make some contacts in tours, venues, etc.  before branching out.  Maybe I could help with conference services and things.  On the side, I am thinking of being a wine rep.  I am meeting with Rollingdale Winery next week to talk about representing them on the coast. They are going to set me up with samples and stuff - very very exciting!  I know it is on commission per case, so won't be a big money making venture, but if it works I could perhaps represent a few wineries.  Maybe, since we eat local, organic foods - I could represent small organic wineries.  How cool would that be?  Maybe I will approach Karnail at Kalala and see about representing Kalala and Chandra.  That would be sweet. 

As it gets to be the last few weeks in Kelowna, I seesaw between fine with going and freaking out a bit.  Mostly I am worried about money - that we don't have enough for the trip and moving costs, but honestly we should be fine.  Even if we have to live in a hostel in February we will be fine.

• Why Am I Fat? Parasites Living Inside You Don't Believe It? See It For Real www.SexyFirmBody.com

Why is this the ad next to my "Post an Entry" page?   That is annoying.  I think I will jump ship like Mag, as these stupid ads piss me off.

I am getting paid to post to LJ though, so I can't really complain.

Tomorrow I do not have to work until 3pm and I am so excited it is sort of sick.  Yesterday I worked so bloody hard that today I am feeling unmotivated.  It did pay off, as I managed to get a new advertiser and make $80 in tips (not at the same job).  Yesterday I was in the office from 9-330, then bartended from 5-12.  Fun shit.  It was actually a great Monday, compared to last week when I made $8 because I had NO tables.  Last night was the Melbourne Cup, so crazy horse racing fans were taking over the lounge and I had no server so i was crazy busy. Woot.

ok, i have nothing to say, I am just procrastinating working on a tour proposal.

I am extremely pleased with myself.  Yesterday I ran almost 7km.  With John, at his pace.  For me, that is pretty damn impressive, as he is a foot taller than me, and runs all the time.  Boot camp is definitely paying off!  I noticed that I am a lot more toned the other day when I went bathing suit shopping (down to a 10 from a 14! and in a bikini!).  I mean, I am not skinny by any means, but I am not so jiggly.  Woot!  So, yesterday we decided to run together, since I had the whole day off (first one since Oct 12) and my goal was 3 km, which I will have to do in a relay race on the 16th.  I kept telling myself "just a bit farther" until I had done the full circuit.  Sweet! Was really impressed i even managed to sprint the last 2 blocks.

Then, we went home and made vegan burgers from scratch, with yummy baked fries.  Felt healthy and happy and slept like a log!

Today I am a bit crampy and grumpy, but still pleased, as I got up and biked to work for the first time in ages.  Yes, it was because John is putting our tires on (they arrived!!) and I had no choice, but I still feel good.  Have to bike to casino after office day, then he will bring me the truck so I don't have to bike home at midnight.  Probably not so wise to bike home in kelowna at midnight. Stupid lack of bike lanes.

Oh, and yes, our tires arrived.  I got a call from the unclaimed baggage centre - in Cambridge - our tires went straight there. Never even left Ontario! Buggers.  But we have them now, so I don't care.

We also discovered we could get charge $500 and rent until the end of our lease... however might have found someone to take over lease and pay us our damage deposit, so perhaps everything will work out... keeping fingers crossed!

I slept in this morning.  It felt sooooo goood! Not only that, I did not have to work last night, nor tonight.  So, instead of working 16 hour days, I worked 7 hours yesterday, and I will work a bit less than that today.  Sweet! Plus, John took me out to dinner last night to Lake Tai Vegetarian restaurant.  Unfortunately, at that point I was so tired and my eating was all messed up from a week of not eating properly, so I couldn't really enjoy the food as much as usual.  But I did enjoy the conversation and the company :)

My next dilemma... bathing suit! And shoes... what should I wear with a satiny chocolate brown dress? Any ideas?  Kat gave me a pair of brown pumps in August, but unfortunately they were not the right colour and then the heal broke off one. Yikes! So now I am trying to think... silver? nah... bronze? maybe. Argh. Stupid. 

Ok, so I really have nothing to say.

What a day.  It is 9am, I have been up for 15 minutes and I have already been in a fight with someone on the phone.  I consider that a personal best.  I had to call Greyhound to find out where the hell our tires are, since they were sent from Ontario on October the 8th and it is the 22nd and they still have not arrived.  $160 seems great to ship 4 rims/tires but when it take a month that does not help us! The girl on the phone, (we will call her Trish, since that is her name) was totally rude and abrupt and actually made a tutting noise when I asked her to use the tracking number because her "not here" was not good enough for me. So I raised my voice and got very angry. Yes, I was very angry! haha

Anyway, it turns out she then got all excited about our case because GH uses 11 digit tracking numbers and we were given a 5 digit number and it turns out it was not sent GH but some other bus lines and now our tires are lost.

Crap.

They had better turn up in 3 weeks, as our bald tires will not make it to the coast and I do not have $800 for new tires.

In other news, with me working all the time, there have been some amazing changes in the man in my life.  He has become the incredible shrinking man. On September 1st he weighed 255 pounds.  I think at the last check he was 227?  He started out a month ago running, and could barely make it a few blocks.  Now he is running 10 km 4 or 5 days a week (maybe more... I told him he needs some rest time, but I dont think he is really taking it).  And he is melting away.  Bastard! Ok, not really, I am really proud of him and he looks fantastic.  I just feel like a lump next to him because all I do is work. Although I have lost some weight as well - unfortunately it is not coming off my belly like i want, instead it is coming off my boobs. What the hell??! Will need to buy some chicken fillets to fill my dress for Miriam's wedding - actually, I am wishing I bought the size smaller now. Dammit.

And, John is becoming quite the chef, because he has nothing to do while I am at work all night.  I came home the other day to find 2 punpkin pies, 16 pumpkin muffins, 12 pumpkin cookies and a huge pot of pured (pure-aid??? how the hell do you spell that?) curry pumpkin soup.  Oh, and one less pumpkin in our house, of course.  The cookies weren't so great, but everything else was absolutely fantastic.

Ah, my little gourmand. How I love him.

oh! And I found a dress. It is actually brown, but not paper bag like, at ALL.  Very cute and satiny and strapless.  Will be a goddess :)

I just had 3 days of touring with some chefs and sommeliers from the top restaurant in the states.  I am tired and need rest.  So today I might as well go start my first day bartending at the casino.

Gah.  Why do I do these things to myself?  Oh right, so we can go away this winter relatively stress free.  I will just be ripping my hair out for the next 6 weeks I guess.  I am going to give this 2 weeks and if I don't see a significant return (i mean good tips people!) then I am out of there.  Rollingdale called me yesterday, short staffed, to see if I could work in the winery, so there are other options. 

Must have a good attitude. Must.

Ok, going to run the compost to the house and see if anyone is awake.

I am tired and cranky and bleh and it is not even 8am.

I have to leave for work soon. And I am riding my bike for the first time this week and it is thursday.  That is how lazy I have been... I have driven 3 times this week.  Not good.

This morning at boot camp, I discovered I am the 3rd fittest of the 12 people that showed up, and that made me feel great.  However, if I am in such great physical shape, why is that shape so round?

Must find a dress THIS WEEK for miriam's wedding, or I will be wearing a brown paper bag.

Grumpy.  Need a hug.

Ok, so I think I might have lost my mind.  Yesterday I had an interview at the casino, and I am going to be working there a few nights a week, as a server or bartender... It only pays $10 an hour, but there are tips, so I am going to give it a try.  If I can make an extra $1500 - $2000 in 2 months, that would mean our winter away will actually happen - all of it. Honduras for 3 weeks, Mexico, ontario, moving... all good.  No stress over having no jobs to go to, if our nest egg is a bit bigger.  Although, how I am going to work MORE astounds me.  Ah well, I am young! I can do it! :)

I have to drop off my criminal record stuff, and will probably be working as early as next week. Yikes! However, if finding a "real" job after we move is anywhere as easy as that was...!!!