unexpected blessing

Last week, the HR lady at work approached me to get information for my end-of-term paperwork. The position I was hired in was a 6 month term, and it was scheduled to be over on July 15. I was scheduled to work until June 29, then take the 2 weeks' worth of holidays I have earned in the past 6 months in order to finish off the contract.

My supervisor came by, and the HR lady mentioned one form that both of us would have to fill out together for my "termination" and my boss was like "woah, wait a second, we're not terminating her as far as I know, I'm under the impression that we're extending her contract!"

This came as quite a surprise to me. I knew that the contract was subject to extension, but I figured that since we had accomplished the objectives of my six months, and because of baby coming that the position would be done & over with. I guess not. They are now sending me on maternity leave for a year, which means I have a job to come back to next year if I want it.

The next step in getting my contract extended was a performance review meeting with my boss and the director. I have never had a formal performance review before, so I was a bit nervous. They gave me a self-evaluation form, and asked me to fill it out and return it to them a couple days before the meeting. This would be the basis for the discussion in the meeting and they would offer their perspective on the areas in which I had rated myself. The meeting went very well, and they were very affirming and encouraging.

A large chunk of the meeting involved discussing the position for next year should I return...I told them I would most likely only want a part time (maybe up to half time) position, and that i was interested in exploring additional aspects of the work here at CCHSA, and they were very agreeable to that. I'd likely be working on a different project, and they want to send me for some additional training, such as auditing some statistics classes so I can get further into the analyses part instead of just data management on these projects. So that's very cool. And there are tons of opportunities here to further my education as well, there are many individuals who work here who came on board with their BA for a given project, and have stayed and done a Master's and even PhD degree while working here. So that's a positive thing too.

I don't know what next year will look like in terms of work, i'd like to stay home with this kid as much as possible, but i also know that economically it's difficult to make it on one income in this day and age. So to have the possibility to return to a job I enjoy in a wonderful environment like this with many further options for education & even career type stuff (after 2 years, i'd even get a pension!) is a wonderful thing. Especially since they're very family friendly and would have a lot of flexible options for a "part time" position. Just knowing that i don't have to job hunt if i do need/want to work next year is such a blessing!

I'd say he looks pretty good for 60.

Yesterday was dad's 60th birthday, today is his big party, should be a great time. For those of you who know my dad, here's a few pics...

circa 1965-ish... (from a cd i made him for his 58th birthday)

Nov 2006 (at mom's 60th, she's looking great too!)

He was 58 in this picture, but he can still do this!

yay Tony!

Congrats to Anthony on successfully completing his first round of classes for his apprenticeship. He doesn't have his "official" marks yet, but all his grades were above what he needed to pass this year, so he's good to go!

Having not been in school for almost 10 years, i know it was a challenge for him to go back, and he did very well. Having to spend your evenings studying (while also renovating the house and preparing for your first child) wasn't always fun, but he stuck with it and i am very proud of him. What an accomplishment!

Done!

So i have completed the major goal of my job, in ample time. It was a race between me & baby to see if i could do all my data entry before s/he made an arrival, and i have succeeded!

1,360 questionnaires entered.

I have a bit more double checking & file cleaning to do, and there's always other work to keep me busy around here until i'm off on mat leave at the end of next week, but it sure feels good to be done the stuff that was "my" responsibility.

The bosses had joked that if i didn't get it done before baby arrived, that i could just come back to work for a bit to finish up, after all, i was the one who had modified the program for easier data entry using just one hand on the keyboard instead of having to use both keyboard and mouse! So they figured that's why i had done that, to be able to hold baby with one arm and enter data with the other.

Feels good to have accomplished this by setting my own daily goals and pushing myself to do more and more each day.

the fragility of life

today i have been struck by a keen awareness of how fragile life is.

I read a news story this morning about a woman who was camping with her family in Alberta, a storm came up and they were under the trees deciding what to do, when a bolt of lightening struck, killing her husband and her unborn child.

Another news story mentioned the five people dead and 15 injured in car accidents in Saskatchewan over the weekend.

Then i had to type an injury report of a couple driving home on the highway and being t-boned by another vehicle - they both survived but life will never be the same.

All of these people were just carrying out their usual activities, trying to just live life. And it changed forever. Unless one is a very paranoid person, we don't usually think of the possibility that things like this will happen when we head up to the lake, when we go on a quick trip to visit someone, or go out for the evening. It's sobering. And there's nothing we can do about it, except to realize that life is fragile, and we need to cherish the moments we do have.

the lost is found.

so last night, we found the long-lost toilet tank lid. It was in the office, under the dresser, tucked away where it wouldn't get broken. But then we had piled some other stuff in front of the dresser, so we could not see the lid.

It will now be finding a new home at the Re-store, and hopefully some day, it will find a new home where it can be used and appreciated, and save someone the hassle of having to put in a whole new toilet just because they cracked the lid...

(but man, does it ever feel good to have that office cleaned up, it is no longer the "project headquarters" for the bathroom renos going on in the room next door... and the office stuff is now ready to be transported downstairs to its new home, so we can start putting the baby room together!)

Beginner's luck? Nah, just pure skill.

So Saturday night, a few of us were gathered in celebration of a couple friends' birthdays, and out came the poker set. I've only played once before, and don't really know all the specifics involved, but Anthony was a bit late, and i knew he'd want in, so i offered to play his spot until he arrived.

I know the general gist of the betting, i know the procedure (texas hold 'em) for how the cards are dealt, how you use 5 of the 7 cards to compose your hand. I don't really know what the different "good" hands are composed of, but i'm learning.

Anyways, Mike, one of the birthday boys and self-proclaimed maverick of the poker table (complete with semi-aviatior sunglasses), by the end of the evening said (with NO bitterness at ALL in his voice), "i suppose you're going to blog all about this when you get a chance" - frankly, it wasn't something i would have even thought of being blog-worthy, but apparently it is. So here it is.

My first hand, i was dealt 2 aces. Won the hand with the highest pair. Then on my last hand before turning it over to Anthony, i got 2 aces again....won the hand with the highest full house (3 - 2's were showing)...

Pure skill, my readers, pure skill. I should quit my day job...

i'm an auntie again!

As of 7:26am, Saturday June 9 2007, i now have a nephew.

Liam Russell Ens was born to Anthony's sister Ang & her husband Russ... 7lb 3 oz, 20" long. Very cute, with Russell's good looks and Ang's nose (as Ang described him).

We got to meet him on saturday afternoon, and then visit again for a bit sunday evening.

yay! a cousin for this little one to come!

blast from the past

So lately at my regular aquacise class, the instructor has been playing dance music (as is typical for an exercise class), but the songs have been from the late '90s, my high school/early college days. Talk about a trip down memory lane!!

Fortunately a friend from the same era attends the classes as well, so we are able to "jam" and sing together as we work out, so i don't look quite so silly for knowing the words.

Hearing these songs tweaked a nostalgic streak in me, and i went home the other day and got out the ol' dance mix '97 and '99 cds, and put them in the car...i can't believe that stuff is from 10 years ago, it can't be that long ago!!! Anyways, anyone else out there remember Notorious B.I.G. and such? Gotta love it! I was playing one of the cd's when i picked up Leon the other night (it was very quiet in the background, as i didn't wanna get mocked, lol), and he was like "what's with the Chris Sheppard techno music?" (remember Chris Sheppard?)

the dance mix cd's, especially '95, were a standard in Anthony's hot little red 2-seater CRX that he had when we first started dating....he had a huge stereo and huge sub in that car, and we'd cruise around blasting those songs. Unfortunately, the dance mix '95 cd got destroyed by Tony when he found out that a subsequent owner of his beloved CRX had totalled it off by wrapping it around a pole. THAT was the quintessential cd for that car, and when i went to find it last week, only the case remained. I guess he was pretty attached to that car....

So anyways, then i pulled out a few more discs from the past (and seeing as they were on cd, they're not THAT old in the grand scheme of things...). It's been an interesting trip. One band, "Silage" is pretty much awful/horrid music now that i can't believe i ever listened to (lyrics: without the mustard there is no flavor, is that the kind of sandwich you'd give to a neighbour), other stuff is like "hey, this was quality stuff, even tho it's a bit dated" - such as dc Talk's "Jesus Freak" (how many of you had that rap memorized in the mid-90's: Saw a man with a tat on his big fat belly....yadda yadda)...

So yeah, it's been fun. It's funny how music can take you right back and bring back a whole ton of memories...

ego boost?

Friday night, i went for supper with three friends that i went to University with. We all graduated within a couple years of each other, and all worked in the Psych department after graduating (3 of us in the same office). Two are now living away from S'toon, but were in town for the weekend, so we got together.

We went to Moxie's, I was the first one there, and there was about a 20-30 min wait for a table in the dining room, but no wait for a table in the lounge (same menu, etc). So i chose to sit us in the lounge. The first funny thing was when the waitress started reading me all the drink specials, i patted my rotund tummy and said "i won't be needing those tonight, thanks!".

Then when my friends arrived, they all got ID'd. Now we are all over 25, all of us have graduated from University, one has her master's, one is working on a PhD, one has a 1-year old and is starting her master's in fall, and i'm mommy-to-be in the next month.

It got me thinking, at what point does being id'd become an ego boost as opposed to an "insult"? I thought it was pretty funny, i can see how we could all look very youthful, and the waitress has a responsibility to be sure that we are of age, no problem there...i just wonder how old you have to look to not get id'd.

I think it was a dare from his buddies...

On the loose!

(either that or he's an american spy deer).