Is the week over yet?!

So I have accepted the stage at Lallemand, the yeast company. The work at the Neuro sounded very interesting, involving PET scans and brain tumours but it wouldn't give me enough experience in my field.

Yesterday was a looooooong day. We started off in the lab at 8 and went pretty much all day until about 7. We did have an hour presentation from CTBR (Steph's company where I went last week) and a few breaks there in between but we were all pretty tired and hungry by the end of the day. Now I'm debating whether to skip that stupid Excel class tomorrow. I think I'll go in for 9:30 and then leave during our break!
I do have to fit in some time somewhere to decorate the house for Halloween!
And hopefully I will hear from Jacquie & Matt as they are in town again to try and find a condo so Julie can get her ass back here from Toronto. You see the plan is that J&M are going to buy a place and have Julie & David & Arianne live there. So then J&M have a place to crash at with Penny, their dog, when they come to town and Julie will have a home in Montreal with cheap rent!

Okay, neighbour's child is having a hissy fit in the backyard. I can hear her, this with the windows closed!

1000 km!

I decided to brave the cold today and headed out for what will probably end up being my final jaunt out on my bike for this year. So I've cycled over 1000 km since the spring, not bad.

Last Wednesday was my interview at CTBR. It went well and I really liked the lab manager and the work in the pharmacy lab would really suit me but unfortunately getting out to Senneville is not easily feasible. And even if they are looking to hire people too, they don't pay very well (to put it kindly!) So I'm still looking...but things look good. Today I had an interview at the company where Olaf's mom used to work and they offered me a PAID stage! And tomorrow I'm meeting with a doctor at one of the labs at the Neuro Institute. So basically now I just have to decide which would be the best opportunity for me. Yay! An added bonus to having my interview this afternoon was missing my 4 1/4 hour Excel class. Maybe I can line up another interview for Friday morning when the next class is scheduled!

So now I just have to keep myself motivated to get through these last 2 weeks of classes and assignments and exams.

I've really come to realize the power of networking while trying to find this stage...luckily I've had a few contacts that have helped me. Most people in my class aren't so lucky. I'm just thanking the stars above for the opportunities that have come my way. Let's hope the job search goes as well. That is starting to worry me. The program finishes on December 16th, not the best time to be looking for a job. And not the best time of year to not have any income coming in! But I won't worry about all that just yet. I'm going to focus on the task at hand and hope I gain some good experience from the stage and then the sky's the limit, right?!

Roadkill is dead

I've been told that people are tired of seeing "Potential Roadkill" so I am taking time out from studying (yes, such a very big sacrifice!) to post an entry even if I don't really have anything to write about!

Life is busy as usual, where has the weekend gone? Only 3 more weeks of classes left and no, I don't have my stage lined up yet...but nobody else in the class does either. There is a job fair at McGIll on Tuesday but from the companies listed on the website, it doesn't look like there are really any opportunities. But it can't hurt to try.
I also have an interview at CTBR on Wednesday (the company where Steph works) and I know that I could most probably get it but I can't say I am really interested in working there. Too many factors that add up to it not being a good fit for me.

I should be getting a letter of introduction from the college tomorrow and then I will start sending out CVs like mad!
Keep your fingers croseed for me!

Potential roadkill

The widlife I avoided on the bike path yesterday:
2 big brown fuzzy caterpillars
1 teeny snake, grayish colour

Saw lots of Canada geese too, honk, honk! (They were of the usual Canada goose plumage colour.)

Time flies!

Another week has gone by and what have I done?!
I have to learn better time management cos having labs on Wednesday and Thursday evenings is a total right off.
But I just have to keep thinking "only 5 more weeks, 5 more weeks..."
(then what???)

The couple of contacts that I tried hitting up this week for stagière positions didn't pan out but I'll keep trying.
(ANYONE OUT THERE NEED A LAB TECHNICIAN TRAINED IN BIOTECHNOLOGY?!!?)
I also sent my CV to my teacher for her to review it but she has't given me any feedback yet. (Is it that bad?!)

On Thursday, the one day that I start late and can sleep in, I still ended up getting out of bed at 6:15, mind racing a mile a minute. And do you think I accomplished anything from that time til the time I had to leave for school? Of course not! Oh, sure, I did a million things but accomplish anything, I don't think so!
Supper that evening consisted of tuna fish salad and popcorn.

Friday had me crossing off almost everything on my "to do" list, everything, that is, but schoolwork. Didn't do any of it yesterday either! So guess what I'm doing today...schoolwork!
But I will go tire myself out with a bike ride first. Maybe it will help me clear my mind. I think it helped yesterday. Certainly can't hurt to go enjoy this beautiful weather before plunking myself in front of my books...