Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Last week & this past weekend
Last Tuesday Cathy had the day off as it was July 4th and so we we went for a looooooong bike ride together - just over 50 km! My longest ride this season, for sure. We started from their house in Brossard & followed the bike path to Chambly then headed towards Saint-Basile-le-Grand to make our way to St-Bruno. I finally got to see "The Loft", Cathy's parents' sail shop, Larsen Sails. I also got to see her aunt & uncle's place and witnessed the weekly feeding of the fish in their backyard pond. We picked up some artery-clogging but seriously delectable lunch at Cantine Deso and brought it back to the Loft to eat. Then it was time to put our sore butts back on our bikes to make our way home to Brossard. Luckily we made it there before the rain started up so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing & chatting under the protection of their gazebo.
Tim had taken the bus to the Shore after work (since I had the car) so he could go to the bike shop at the end of Cathy & Eric's street. We joined him there and wandered around while he looked at bikes.
For supper, Tim & I discovered a neat little café on Victoria in St-Lambert, Café Passion. I was in the mood for a yummy sandwich like something from Santropol but since Italy had just defeated Germany in World Cup Soccer there was no way we were heading for that neighbourhood. Café Passion did the trick!
Wednesday's Dragon Boat practice was, to say the least, interesting! We had to practice in Lachine because the Canal was closed due to the heavy rainfall. It was windy so we had choppy waters and we managed to bash the boat into some rocks but at least we got to experience something other than the calm waters of the Canal.
Thursday saw me doing some bike shopping - more about that later!
Friday we played softball, badly. Lots of errors, a couple of outs (by two people who shall remain nameless but their initials are T.C.C. and E.C.C.) for leaving the bag before the batter made contact with the ball, and not much action for me in the field.
In all my sports endeavours, it seems like I've never been part of any very succesful teams. We'll have to see if this theory holds true for Dragon Boating!
Saturday we headed up to Tim's curling buddy Eric Lessard's family place near Tremblant at Lac Bibitte. We had a beautiful day of sitting by the lake, swimming, eating, canoeing and just plain relaxing, aaaaaaahhhh.
After supper we took off and went up to La Minerve to join Katja, Jouni, Élise and the mosquitoes for a night of camping.
Not quite a full moon...
And Sunday we loafed around for a bit and took off after an early lunch.
Tim had taken the bus to the Shore after work (since I had the car) so he could go to the bike shop at the end of Cathy & Eric's street. We joined him there and wandered around while he looked at bikes.
For supper, Tim & I discovered a neat little café on Victoria in St-Lambert, Café Passion. I was in the mood for a yummy sandwich like something from Santropol but since Italy had just defeated Germany in World Cup Soccer there was no way we were heading for that neighbourhood. Café Passion did the trick!
Wednesday's Dragon Boat practice was, to say the least, interesting! We had to practice in Lachine because the Canal was closed due to the heavy rainfall. It was windy so we had choppy waters and we managed to bash the boat into some rocks but at least we got to experience something other than the calm waters of the Canal.
Thursday saw me doing some bike shopping - more about that later!
Friday we played softball, badly. Lots of errors, a couple of outs (by two people who shall remain nameless but their initials are T.C.C. and E.C.C.) for leaving the bag before the batter made contact with the ball, and not much action for me in the field.
In all my sports endeavours, it seems like I've never been part of any very succesful teams. We'll have to see if this theory holds true for Dragon Boating!
Saturday we headed up to Tim's curling buddy Eric Lessard's family place near Tremblant at Lac Bibitte. We had a beautiful day of sitting by the lake, swimming, eating, canoeing and just plain relaxing, aaaaaaahhhh.
After supper we took off and went up to La Minerve to join Katja, Jouni, Élise and the mosquitoes for a night of camping.
Not quite a full moon...
And Sunday we loafed around for a bit and took off after an early lunch.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Camping weekend
We went camping last weekend in Gatineau Park and had an excellent time. Saturday as Maya relaxed & spent the day at the beach recuperating from her cold, the rest of us (Murielle, Cathy, Christina, Paul, Eric, Tim & I) went for a walk around Pink Lake. Pink Lake is actually green! That's because it's a meromictic lake. The layers of water in the lake don't mix and so the deepest layer of water doesn't have any dissolved oxygen and there aren't any living organisms at the bottom.
Eric's friends Glen, Heather & their daughter Melissa joined us that evening & arrived just in time for the rainstorm. Melissa quite enjoyed the rain much to her parents' dismay. 4 year olds don't take well to being told to put their raincoats on! We also had some thunder & lightning in the night but woke up to clear skies.
Maya, Tim & I packed a lunch and hiked to Lusk Caverns which was about 5 km from the campground. It was really neat. The caves were formed in marble pockets found in limestone. A rare phenomenon apparently for caverns to be carved out in marble.
As usual, a greater panoply of photos can be found on Tim's site...
the last one at the bottom - Gatineau Park 2006, enjoy!
Eric's friends Glen, Heather & their daughter Melissa joined us that evening & arrived just in time for the rainstorm. Melissa quite enjoyed the rain much to her parents' dismay. 4 year olds don't take well to being told to put their raincoats on! We also had some thunder & lightning in the night but woke up to clear skies.
Maya, Tim & I packed a lunch and hiked to Lusk Caverns which was about 5 km from the campground. It was really neat. The caves were formed in marble pockets found in limestone. A rare phenomenon apparently for caverns to be carved out in marble.
As usual, a greater panoply of photos can be found on Tim's site...
the last one at the bottom - Gatineau Park 2006, enjoy!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
What's been happening
I guess I've "officially" been let go from Lallemand as I seem to have received my vacation pay but I can't make rhyme or reason out of their pay stub!
Dragon Boating is going well. Last Wednesday I even took in a second practice with JAG, Ysabel's other team which is desperate for paddlers. So if you know any women who would like to try it out, we need them!
The kitchen advancements include having our eating counter in place and also the pieces for the doors were all cut last weekend.
We've been out to the movies to see The Breakup, Over the Hedge and last night we saw The Da Vinci Code. All are recommendable.
Weather permitting, I've been going out on my bike. I joined Cathy & Eric for a couple of rides while they were on vacation.
We celebrated Tim's birthday with a bbq at our place and my first attempt at cake decorating was quite successful if I do say so myself!
We've been enjoying going out and coming home smelling smoke-free! Most recently was Saturday night at Miami bar to see Jouni & my brother play with their respective bands - The Moonshine Orchestra and Chariot of Shame.
That show took me back a good 10 years at least!
Dragon Boating is going well. Last Wednesday I even took in a second practice with JAG, Ysabel's other team which is desperate for paddlers. So if you know any women who would like to try it out, we need them!
The kitchen advancements include having our eating counter in place and also the pieces for the doors were all cut last weekend.
We've been out to the movies to see The Breakup, Over the Hedge and last night we saw The Da Vinci Code. All are recommendable.
Weather permitting, I've been going out on my bike. I joined Cathy & Eric for a couple of rides while they were on vacation.
We celebrated Tim's birthday with a bbq at our place and my first attempt at cake decorating was quite successful if I do say so myself!
We've been enjoying going out and coming home smelling smoke-free! Most recently was Saturday night at Miami bar to see Jouni & my brother play with their respective bands - The Moonshine Orchestra and Chariot of Shame.
That show took me back a good 10 years at least!
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The Art of Blogging
Sometimes as things happen during the day, I start composing in my mind how I can relay them in my blog but most of the time, it doesn't happen...we can attest to this fact quite obviously as my last entry was 3 weeks ago!
It's not always easy to choose what to write about as I am usually rather reserved about personal things. That's why I usually only talk about more significant events that happen. (Photos work well too!) I think I also tend to be selective about what I write about knowing who makes up my my audience and not always being comfortable having all of you read about my daily life.
I've thought about starting another blog for more personal thoughts but I can do that just as easily in a journal. I don't really need total strangers stumbling across my site and delving into my psyche.
I guess this blog gives some people a chance to get to know me & some people who aren't always in touch a chance to keep track of what's going on in my life.
And I guess that's okay.
It better be or then there's no real reason for me to keep blogging, now is there?!
It's not always easy to choose what to write about as I am usually rather reserved about personal things. That's why I usually only talk about more significant events that happen. (Photos work well too!) I think I also tend to be selective about what I write about knowing who makes up my my audience and not always being comfortable having all of you read about my daily life.
I've thought about starting another blog for more personal thoughts but I can do that just as easily in a journal. I don't really need total strangers stumbling across my site and delving into my psyche.
I guess this blog gives some people a chance to get to know me & some people who aren't always in touch a chance to keep track of what's going on in my life.
And I guess that's okay.
It better be or then there's no real reason for me to keep blogging, now is there?!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Long weekend
As it was once again raining, raining, raining all day Friday, our first softball game of the season was cancelled. Great top off to spending most of the day at the stupid car dealership to fix a faulty emissions light connection. Anyhow, after supper we headed down to Mountain View to avoid crossing at Lacolle on Saturday morning since we wanted to go shopping in Plattsburgh.
THe shopping trip was definitely fruitful...I got a PFD for dragon boating and...a KITCHENAID MIXER!!! for about half the price it goes for here. My parents were even able to bring it back for us tax free as they had been down for 7 days. I picked it up from them this evening and promptly came home and made oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. Oh so yummy!
We won't mention that we had snow yesterday morning but I will leave you with one of my favorite sounds of spring in Mountain View.
THe shopping trip was definitely fruitful...I got a PFD for dragon boating and...a KITCHENAID MIXER!!! for about half the price it goes for here. My parents were even able to bring it back for us tax free as they had been down for 7 days. I picked it up from them this evening and promptly came home and made oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies. Oh so yummy!
We won't mention that we had snow yesterday morning but I will leave you with one of my favorite sounds of spring in Mountain View.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Dragon Boating
Ysabel convinced me to join her Dragon Boat team, the Sonic Dragons and we had our first practice last night. We did a minimal amount of paddling as some of us were out for the first time and needed to be taught the technique. I guess that's why I'm not very sore today. I don't have the hang of it yet, I know, that will come with time. But I found that for us newbies, we were paddling a bit too fast. It's hard to concentrate on getting the proper technique when you have to make sure to keep pace with the person in front of you. And at first we started off without being told anything so I got tired out by doing it wrong. Can't wait til we start practicing twice a week!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Conjugating "to care"
Wow, I hadn't realized it's been 3 weeks since my last post...well, here's a little something to keep you entertained for now...I started reading this book Dad's Life at the gym this morning and got a chuckle out of this passage - the main character is wondering why his partner left him -
"What went wrong, exactly?
I didn't drink too much, sulk too much or break wind in bed too much. I didn't own a Playstation. I didn't get a hard-on at the sight of a Ferrari. I knew where everything was: the clitoris, the toolbox, the Toilet Duck. And I could conjugate the sacred verb 'to care':
I care.
You care.
He cares.
She cares.
We care.
Who cares?
See if I care.
What the hell do you care anyway?"
"What went wrong, exactly?
I didn't drink too much, sulk too much or break wind in bed too much. I didn't own a Playstation. I didn't get a hard-on at the sight of a Ferrari. I knew where everything was: the clitoris, the toolbox, the Toilet Duck. And I could conjugate the sacred verb 'to care':
I care.
You care.
He cares.
She cares.
We care.
Who cares?
See if I care.
What the hell do you care anyway?"
Other things that have kept me occupied...
Jackhammering Steph & Olaf's garage floor
Carwash at Paul & Murielle's & trying out Cathy's recumbent bicycle
Carwash at Paul & Murielle's & trying out Cathy's recumbent bicycle
Where da kitchen at?
The floor has been varnished and the counter tops installed!
You can also see more images on Tim's website
I think the new images are from #374 on.
You can also see more images on Tim's website
I think the new images are from #374 on.
Update-and-a-half
Well I've spent the last 3 weeks keeping myself occupied, but how? I didn't work at Lallemand at all until last Wednesday the 10th. I thought I wasn't called in because my boss was away in Estonia but it also turns out Luiza, the stagière who I replaced (and who also trained me) had gone in to help out. I found this out when I saw her initials in the log book for the pH meter. I wasn't too pleased but when I questioned my boss about it I didn't get any explanation as to why Luiza was back working there. Anyhow, seems like she was there to clean out the storage area of old boxes of samples from 2003 so she's more than welcome to that job!
I am now hooked on Prison Break. Tim started watching it from the beginning but I never paid attention to it until a few weeks ago when they had a recap episode. They escaped last week! Now I suppose the next season will be all about them on the run.
That's what Monday nights are all about, that and 24, of course. Jack Bauer is absolutely invincible! I love making fun of the writing on that show. But it's hokeyness hasn't stopped me from watching week after week!
I've been trying to go jogging at the track behind Westmount High every few days, when the weather permits. I manage to go non-stop for 15 minutes & do 5 laps. I know, I'm not breaking any records (far from it!!!) but it's better than nothing.
I am now hooked on Prison Break. Tim started watching it from the beginning but I never paid attention to it until a few weeks ago when they had a recap episode. They escaped last week! Now I suppose the next season will be all about them on the run.
That's what Monday nights are all about, that and 24, of course. Jack Bauer is absolutely invincible! I love making fun of the writing on that show. But it's hokeyness hasn't stopped me from watching week after week!
I've been trying to go jogging at the track behind Westmount High every few days, when the weather permits. I manage to go non-stop for 15 minutes & do 5 laps. I know, I'm not breaking any records (far from it!!!) but it's better than nothing.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Ho hum
I just looked out and noticed that it is pouring rain and also realised that I barely stuck my nose outside the house today, just long enough to take the garbage out and empty the compost, how exciting.
At least I took advantage of yesterday's nice weather. I biked out to the East end and met Cathy so she could try out a recumbent bicycle from this guy Vélo Queztal.
Quite a different experience. I only tried one out in the laneway next to the guy's house but Cathy rented one for an hour and we rode around Bellerive park by the water. I thought it wisest that only one of us at a time should be attempting to ride a recumbent for the first time. Other than encountering a group of mommies doing their stroller-exercising, things went pretty smoothly.
At least I took advantage of yesterday's nice weather. I biked out to the East end and met Cathy so she could try out a recumbent bicycle from this guy Vélo Queztal.
Quite a different experience. I only tried one out in the laneway next to the guy's house but Cathy rented one for an hour and we rode around Bellerive park by the water. I thought it wisest that only one of us at a time should be attempting to ride a recumbent for the first time. Other than encountering a group of mommies doing their stroller-exercising, things went pretty smoothly.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
What's doin'
Last night we had a late night at the curling club. Tim, Eric, Dave & France formed a team again to take part in the Intermediate Bonspiel at Glenmore (Tim's club.) So Cathy and I spectated but didn't witness any spills this time. Maybe tomorrow!
This evening Tim & I went to see "Lucky Number Slevin". Pretty good, I recommend it. I'm sure we'll be adding it to our DVD collection once it comes out, in what, 2 months time. It's crazy how fast they are releasing movies to DVD nowadays. Some are still playing at the theater (ok, maybe the Dollar theater, but still...) and you can get them at the store.
I even managed to stay awake through the whole thing!
This evening Tim & I went to see "Lucky Number Slevin". Pretty good, I recommend it. I'm sure we'll be adding it to our DVD collection once it comes out, in what, 2 months time. It's crazy how fast they are releasing movies to DVD nowadays. Some are still playing at the theater (ok, maybe the Dollar theater, but still...) and you can get them at the store.
I even managed to stay awake through the whole thing!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Inspiration please
I was encouraged last week to get back into writing some short stories but I have yet to come up with any ideas. It has been over 2 years since I last took a writing class and I don't think I've written any stories since then. I always have trouble getting inspired on my own. That's why classes are a good motivator. The teacher gives you a topic or gives you some kind of direction to come up with a story.
So I figured I would reach out to my audience (I'm not even sure who reads this blog...) and inquire:
"What would you like to read about?"
Awaiting your comments so I can get writing!
So I figured I would reach out to my audience (I'm not even sure who reads this blog...) and inquire:
"What would you like to read about?"
Awaiting your comments so I can get writing!
Friday, March 17, 2006
Luck o' the Irish
If you're going to the parade on Sunday (or not), you're welcome to drop on by our place afterwards for some stew and you can check out the kitchen too!
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Kitchen update
And the work continues! And as of today we're 20% over budget!
Tim had taken the week of the 20th off so we got a lot done with some help from Olaf and Eric.
This is what things looked like 2 weeks ago...
Monday the floor got sanded and the hole to the dining room was made. The house got covered in dust even with all the precautionary plastic and drop cloths. I've just given up on doing much cleaning until this is all over.
Tuesday we picked up our (huge!) sink. You know you've got quality when your sink comes in a cloth drawstring bag. It should make a good stuff sack for camping gear too!
Wednesday we had more than just plywood...we had half the carcasses for the bottom cabinets, yay! It was starting to look like a kitchen! We were able to take the dishwasher and stove out of the boxes so they'd be ready for hookup the next day.
Thursday I left Tim & Olaf to fend for themselves and I went to work. The plumber came and when I got home we had a new sink and stove in place.
Friday was a slow day with the guys trying to figure out cutting the melamine for the upper cabinets. By Saturday morning Tim had figured out he needed to build a sled for the table saw. It made for much easier and faster cutting.
Saturday was open house day! Quite a few people dropped by to check out our progress.
Sunday Tim deservedly took things easy. He did a little bit of electrical work and then we went to pick up his mom and headed down to Cowansville for a visit at cousin Mike's.
And Tim's vacation was over!
This past week was a lot of priming & painting cabinets and putting up the upper cabinets.
When we finally unboxed the microwave/hood we discovered that the back corner had been dented so we went and exchanged it for a new one on Thursday. Sears had offered to give us a $100 rebate if we kept the damaged one but we nixed that idea. No damaged goods for us! We're damaged enough ourselves as it is!!!
The last few days' progress include staining and putting together drawers and tiling the backsplash...
Tim had taken the week of the 20th off so we got a lot done with some help from Olaf and Eric.
This is what things looked like 2 weeks ago...
Monday the floor got sanded and the hole to the dining room was made. The house got covered in dust even with all the precautionary plastic and drop cloths. I've just given up on doing much cleaning until this is all over.
Tuesday we picked up our (huge!) sink. You know you've got quality when your sink comes in a cloth drawstring bag. It should make a good stuff sack for camping gear too!
Wednesday we had more than just plywood...we had half the carcasses for the bottom cabinets, yay! It was starting to look like a kitchen! We were able to take the dishwasher and stove out of the boxes so they'd be ready for hookup the next day.
Thursday I left Tim & Olaf to fend for themselves and I went to work. The plumber came and when I got home we had a new sink and stove in place.
Friday was a slow day with the guys trying to figure out cutting the melamine for the upper cabinets. By Saturday morning Tim had figured out he needed to build a sled for the table saw. It made for much easier and faster cutting.
Saturday was open house day! Quite a few people dropped by to check out our progress.
Sunday Tim deservedly took things easy. He did a little bit of electrical work and then we went to pick up his mom and headed down to Cowansville for a visit at cousin Mike's.
And Tim's vacation was over!
This past week was a lot of priming & painting cabinets and putting up the upper cabinets.
When we finally unboxed the microwave/hood we discovered that the back corner had been dented so we went and exchanged it for a new one on Thursday. Sears had offered to give us a $100 rebate if we kept the damaged one but we nixed that idea. No damaged goods for us! We're damaged enough ourselves as it is!!!
The last few days' progress include staining and putting together drawers and tiling the backsplash...
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Open sesame!
Click on the picture and experience the excitement of Olaf cutting the wall open between the kitchen and the dining room (and please excuse the plumber-butt!)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Cooking up a storm
Working part-time certainly has its advantages...Monday morning I emptied out the freezer and went over to my parents' place and did some cooking. Five hours later, I was ready to come home with waffles, mashed potatoes, sausages, macaroni, quiche, date squares and chicken curry. Not necessarily meant to be eaten in that order!
Wired!
Most of the weekend was spent planning out the electricity and then actually running the wiring. Here a weary-looking Tim can be seen comtemplating the possibility of an LCD TV.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
When will the spending end?
Our credit cards are certainly sizzling after this week's purchases but hopefully most of the big expenditures have been take care of. Monday saw us ordering all our hardware from Lee Valley and we picked it up at the post office yesterday. Tuesday was Ikea for lighting. Wednesday was Coupal and Bois Franc Rive-Sud for wood. Part of it was so kindly picked up yesterday morning by Eric and then the rest got delivered this morning. Again, Eric was stellar and showed up around 7:30 this morning to help unload it.
Thursday we didn't spend any money as such but the plumber came to estimate the work to be done to move the gas pipe for the stove, move the plumbing, disconnect the kitchen radiator and we figured we'd go all out and might as well replace the remainder of the galvanized pipes in the basement. Youch! Quite a bit more than we expected but they've included coming back to connect the stove & sink and we hadn't planned on changing the galvanized. Westmount also requires that the drain pipes be copper so that added to the total too.
Thursday we didn't spend any money as such but the plumber came to estimate the work to be done to move the gas pipe for the stove, move the plumbing, disconnect the kitchen radiator and we figured we'd go all out and might as well replace the remainder of the galvanized pipes in the basement. Youch! Quite a bit more than we expected but they've included coming back to connect the stove & sink and we hadn't planned on changing the galvanized. Westmount also requires that the drain pipes be copper so that added to the total too.
Weekend trip to the States
Tim took Friday off and we packed up the car in the pouring rain to go spend last weekend at my parents' cottage near Malone, NY. It is a somewhat yearly tradition to go down there to celebrate Stéphanie's birthday. We didn't get any skiing in this year though. Conditions were not favourable with the rain we had on Friday. We did go for a few long walks. And some of us tried a little snowshoeing on the way to High Falls (which you can view on Robbie's site - High Falls
We even gave everyone team sweaters for the event...we went down via Plattsburgh to go to Lowe's to buy our kitchen faucet then we went to browse at Old Navy. Tim was looking through a bargain rack and found a sporty top in men's size medium that he thought I might like. I did. I also like the price. $ 1.97! We then spotted another rack with many more of the same sweater, in various sizes. So we had the bright idea of buying one for all our friends who would be there for the weekend. They were a hit! We also found a zip up sweatshirt for the birthday girl at the ridiculous price of $ 0.97! And the salesguys at the cash didn't even bat an eye when we piled 13 sweaters on the counter!
We even gave everyone team sweaters for the event...we went down via Plattsburgh to go to Lowe's to buy our kitchen faucet then we went to browse at Old Navy. Tim was looking through a bargain rack and found a sporty top in men's size medium that he thought I might like. I did. I also like the price. $ 1.97! We then spotted another rack with many more of the same sweater, in various sizes. So we had the bright idea of buying one for all our friends who would be there for the weekend. They were a hit! We also found a zip up sweatshirt for the birthday girl at the ridiculous price of $ 0.97! And the salesguys at the cash didn't even bat an eye when we piled 13 sweaters on the counter!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Reno progress
Last week was quiet on the kitchen front. We did a little mudding but that was about it. More time was spent making a sign for my dad and Tim also designed an e-ticket for Cirque du Soleil.
We got final approval for our building permit with the conditions of installing an integrated AC/DC smoke detection system and obtaining a plumbing permit. We think the existing smoke detector installed upstairs with the alarm system should do though. But I still haven't put the permit in the window for all the nosy neighbours to see!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Sweep!
France, Dave, Eric & Tim played in a skins format bonspiel on the weekend at Mount Bruno where Eric is a member.
They didn't win but they sure were entertaining. Cathy & I are convinced they were trying to provide us with comic relief with all the tripping & slipping that was going on!
Mingo, the pink flamingo mascot, unfortunately, did not bring them luck this time...but we all had fun. (I think?!)
Friday, January 27, 2006
Sanitation engineering
We have come to the conclusion that we musn't have the same garbagemen on Mondays & Thursdays. We much prefer the Thursday crew...they actually pick up the bins with the long pieces of wood with protuding nails and the rather weighty boxes filled with chunks of plaster disguised as computer servers.
Today we should actually obtain our building permit. I love how they make you go through this whole process of applying for it and submtting plans and descriptions of the work and you don't even know if everything is accepted but they'll certainly cash your cheque to pay for the darn thing. Now all our nosy neighbours can officially know we are doing work on the house.
The floor scraping should be done today.
Today we should actually obtain our building permit. I love how they make you go through this whole process of applying for it and submtting plans and descriptions of the work and you don't even know if everything is accepted but they'll certainly cash your cheque to pay for the darn thing. Now all our nosy neighbours can officially know we are doing work on the house.
The floor scraping should be done today.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Dreams
Do you ever wake up in the morning and remember a dream and have it set your mood for the day or change the way you think of somebody?
I'm not good at retelling dreams as vividly as someone like Stéphanie so I won't try and describe what I dreamt about last night that brought this thought on but I do recount dreams rather well in my head sometimes.
And then I can't stop thinking about it. That is until the ADD kicks in and I move on to something else and then to something else and then to...!!!
I'm not good at retelling dreams as vividly as someone like Stéphanie so I won't try and describe what I dreamt about last night that brought this thought on but I do recount dreams rather well in my head sometimes.
And then I can't stop thinking about it. That is until the ADD kicks in and I move on to something else and then to something else and then to...!!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
Hardwood it shall be
After looking at our options for what to do for the kitchen floor, we had pretty much decided we would do laminate floating floor in a maple finish but upon ripping up the ugliness that was the linoleum and Armstrong tile underneath, 
we discovered hardwood in pretty good condition. It would be a shame to rip it up so Paul and I had the pleasure of scraping it down yesterday to uncover the beauty! Very labour intensive but definitely worth it. I get excited about how beautiful it will be everytime I step in the kitchen!
Jouni and Tim had the easier job of putting up plywood and drywall
we discovered hardwood in pretty good condition. It would be a shame to rip it up so Paul and I had the pleasure of scraping it down yesterday to uncover the beauty! Very labour intensive but definitely worth it. I get excited about how beautiful it will be everytime I step in the kitchen! 
Jouni and Tim had the easier job of putting up plywood and drywall
Safety first
I decided with all the nails strewn about and the possibility of dropping heavy pieces of wood on my toes not being a pleasant experience, it would be best if I invested in a pair of safety shoes. So I headed off to L'Equipeur and found a pair of shoes in my size worth $109 discounted down to $30, score! And Caroline's family discount card was still accepted so that was another 20% off, bonus! Now if only my safety glasses would stop fogging up.
New basement door
Our access to the basement has now been moved with help from Eric and Jouni. We blocked off the doorway in the kitchen and made a hole from the hallway instead. It took some getting used to but is much more convenient!
More power to ya!
We acquired yet another power tool (will it ever end?!) We are now the proud owners of a high performance 18 gauge finish nailer. Unfortunately, it is not yellow. Yellow tools are apparently way cooler...
New appliances
We braved the pouring rain on Saturday the 14th and headed over to Sears Décor on the Shore to purchase our kitchen appliances. After doing some comparison shopping we found them to have the best prices (that is after getting an extra $10 off on the range as Corbeil had it cheaper and they do a price match thing.)
So we now have a new range, a FULL size dishwasher and a microwave/range hood.
The venue has moved back to Bishop St.
Pub night happened as regularly scheduled, the second Friday of the month, but we've decided to meet downtown again instead. Better service, better music and we can even walk home. But Ms. Organizer was absent this month...Better not make a habit of it!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Blood donation failure
I went and gave blood for the 44th time on Tuesday but I couldn't fill the bag. It stopped flowing before they had enough of my life juices to be able to use it. :(
But I do have quite an impressive bruise on my arm from the nurse playing around with the needle. I guess next time I will stick to the right arm as it seems to flow a bit better from that side.
But I do have quite an impressive bruise on my arm from the nurse playing around with the needle. I guess next time I will stick to the right arm as it seems to flow a bit better from that side.
Did the Earth move for you too?
Apparently we had 2 earthquakes this week. Well I didn't consciously feel either one. Monday morning's was at 10:30am so I probably though it was just a train going by. I guess I must have felt the one on Tuesday cos I did wake up around 4:30 and asked myself why the heck I was waking up at such an ungodly hour.
Christmas is over
Man, I think it takes just as long or maybe even longer to un-decorate the house from Christmas. We took our tree down on Sunday and of course that entailed lots of pine needle vacuuming. But we all know we'll be finding needles in the strangest of places all the way to July!
And so the bare tree still lies in front of the house as the city hasn't picked it up yet. At least ours didn't blow away in the wind like the neighbour's from across the street.
And so the bare tree still lies in front of the house as the city hasn't picked it up yet. At least ours didn't blow away in the wind like the neighbour's from across the street.
Planning and shopping for the kitchen
The weekend saw us starting to shop around for various elements we shall be requiring for our new kitchen. Sink, faucet, stove, dishwasher, vent hood. Thank goodness we can look up a lot of this stuff online...we found the same sink that we saw here at Lowes in the States and can get it there fo $200 cheaper even after the exchange. Yay for a strong Canadian dollar!
We also pillaged the Colby household and got a tall cabinet that fits perfectly in the dining room to use as a temporary pantry and also various tools that will be required once demolition/construction begins.
We also pillaged the Colby household and got a tall cabinet that fits perfectly in the dining room to use as a temporary pantry and also various tools that will be required once demolition/construction begins.
Return to the scene of the crime
Last Friday I spent the day at Lallemand as my presence was urgently requested to go in to do some analyses! I also went in this past Tuesday. It'll make me a few bucks and not make me feel so guilty about procrastinating about finding a job!
Yes, although I had told myself I would definitely start hard core job searching this week, it hasn't really happened other than me sending out a few CVs...so (dare I say this) you all have permission to make me feel guilty and nag me about it! (but be gentle!)
Yes, although I had told myself I would definitely start hard core job searching this week, it hasn't really happened other than me sending out a few CVs...so (dare I say this) you all have permission to make me feel guilty and nag me about it! (but be gentle!)
MEC
Last Thursday Gillian came into town and we took a trip to MEC and France tagged along too. It was nice to see Gill and spend some time together as the last time we saw each other was last May! And after all these years I finally got my own MEC membership! I never saw the need before as I have always gone with someone who has one and it would mean receiving 2 catalogues at home. But they've now wised up and only send 1 catalogue per household. For a while there we were even getting catalogues addressed to Colby, Tim and Rozon, Chris which I thought was pretty funny although I don't think Tim did! Anyhow, I got 3 cheap tops for cycling and/or hiking and then we went for lunch at Futenbulle on Bernard. Quite good although they did not have my first choice of beer La Chouffe
so I missed out on a free glass as they had been giving them away as a promotion when you got a bottle of the golden ale. We then walked along Mount-Royal so Gill could get some used cds at L'Echange. I hadn't been around there in ages!
I spent that evening making a variation of this soup recipe that Jacquie sent me...very tasty...Sweet potato and clementine bisque
so I missed out on a free glass as they had been giving them away as a promotion when you got a bottle of the golden ale. We then walked along Mount-Royal so Gill could get some used cds at L'Echange. I hadn't been around there in ages!
I spent that evening making a variation of this soup recipe that Jacquie sent me...very tasty...Sweet potato and clementine bisque
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Nappy Yew Hear
Well even Moose has finally updated his blog to wish everyone a Happy New Year so I guess I should do the same...
May you all have a great 2006 and may all your wishes come true!
That said, what have I been up to in the last week? This, that and the other, I guess...
Tim worked last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday much like the rest of you employed people so I took the time to do some errands while the stores were somewhat empty before the pre-New Year's rush. The exciting purchase was a new Welcome mat for the front door! I got it when I finally checked out Warshaw's Home down by the Atwater Market. Lots of good bargains on household items are to be had there.
Saturday was spent preparing for the evening celebrations as New Year's festivities were to be held at Columbia Avenue after a 2 year hiatus. We were 16 in all, including Elise and a very quiet Arianne and a good time was had by all (or so I believe!)
No photos of the event appear to have been taken with my camera so I have none to share, sorry!
But here's one of Olaf & Tim playing in the park the following day...
Steph & Olaf slept over so they could both enjoy the fine wine we served and wouldn't have to drive all the way back to Rigaud after the party, smart move! ANd they also got treated to french toast the following morning.
Sunday evening was turkey dinner with my family and after a late start, we enjoyed a fine meal that was definitely worth the wait. We even got some leftover turkey to bring home for yummy sandwiches.
And what would New Year's be without the traditional vegging out in front of the television for a marathon viewing of 24. Monday we got in 11 episodes of season 4 and yesterday after a trip to Ikea (CRAZY!) to buy a reading lamp for the corner by the couch we squeezed in another 9 episodes.
We seem to have inadvertently passed on the tradition to Steph & Olaf as they borrowed season 1 and proceeded to watch 10 hours on Monday.
So such is life...
May you all have a great 2006 and may all your wishes come true!
That said, what have I been up to in the last week? This, that and the other, I guess...
Tim worked last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday much like the rest of you employed people so I took the time to do some errands while the stores were somewhat empty before the pre-New Year's rush. The exciting purchase was a new Welcome mat for the front door! I got it when I finally checked out Warshaw's Home down by the Atwater Market. Lots of good bargains on household items are to be had there.
Saturday was spent preparing for the evening celebrations as New Year's festivities were to be held at Columbia Avenue after a 2 year hiatus. We were 16 in all, including Elise and a very quiet Arianne and a good time was had by all (or so I believe!)
No photos of the event appear to have been taken with my camera so I have none to share, sorry!
But here's one of Olaf & Tim playing in the park the following day...
Steph & Olaf slept over so they could both enjoy the fine wine we served and wouldn't have to drive all the way back to Rigaud after the party, smart move! ANd they also got treated to french toast the following morning.
Sunday evening was turkey dinner with my family and after a late start, we enjoyed a fine meal that was definitely worth the wait. We even got some leftover turkey to bring home for yummy sandwiches.
And what would New Year's be without the traditional vegging out in front of the television for a marathon viewing of 24. Monday we got in 11 episodes of season 4 and yesterday after a trip to Ikea (CRAZY!) to buy a reading lamp for the corner by the couch we squeezed in another 9 episodes.
We seem to have inadvertently passed on the tradition to Steph & Olaf as they borrowed season 1 and proceeded to watch 10 hours on Monday.
So such is life...
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Omi
We took a drive out to Rigaud yesterday and surprised Steph & Olaf. This is their allergy-causing furball, all curled up in the sun under the Christmas tree. AAHCHOO!
Christmas
Thank goodness I wasn't doing Christmas this year cos I was busy enough as it was last week. Lots of baking and some shopping. Tim and I did have my folks & brother over on Christmas morning for brunch but that's nothing compared to 12 for turkey dinner, way to go Cathy!
After the snowfall
Sunday after the big snowstorm we took advantage of the beautiful day and went toboganning in Lasalle. Unfortunately they had yet to mark out the usual lanes down the hil so things were a bit bumpy and Tim was our first casualty after only the first run down! He apparently drove himself home without incident to ice his leg and was walking normally again by Wednesday, I believe it was. Tuesday night's curling game took some improvising in the hack though!
Last day at Dawson
On Friday the 16th I had to brave the 2 blocks up to Westmount Square in the snowstorm to make my way to school for my stage presentation. All went well even if I was cut a bit short and couldn't show the pictures I had prepared which you can check out at Lallemand(if you are a registered user, that is!)
We got a nice little reception with a bunch of people (deans of various dpts) we didn't know and our program coordinator took off before everyone had given their presentation and Sam who was our teacher for most of the classes was AWOL.
Stage
I guess I haven't blogged in a while as the month was busy but rather uneventful nonetheless. Here you can catch a glimpse of what I did during my stage at the yeast company. The bags are yeast samples that came in probably from the production plant in Estonia and I had to weigh out smaller quantities and send them to an outside lab for analysis (microbiological testing for things like Salmonella, mold, coliforms, you know, all that good stuff you don't want to be ingesting in food products!) The stage was good but not relevant enough to my field so I will have to start job searching in the new year. I will try and see if maybe the bacteria division of the company will have something for me though. I figure I will take a long deserved break during the holidays as no one is interested in job interviews at this time of year...
Indian cooking class
3 Saturdays ago (already, how time flies!), we attended an Indian cooking class and learnt how to make all kinds of yummy dishes. Chole masala (chick pea curry), zucchini and green pepper curry, pakodas (vegetable fritters) and especially cool was cooking the puri (fried bread) and seeing it puff up in the oil. Unfortunately I had to settle for Kit Kats for sweets as dessert was topra pak, basically dried coconut (icky, icky, yuck!) covered in chocolate. We all went home stuffed and smelling of frying. Tim and I have yet to try recreating the dishes as we will have to take a trip to an Indian grocery before doing so. Bhanu, our teacher was great and has a very interesting background, she's a third generation Ugandan of Indian origin and she speaks something like 7 languages.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Where did those feet go?
A couple of weeks ago or so (and not on the day that it hit 17 degrees) as I was walking through the tunnel from Westmount Square to the metro, I glanced down to see a trail of wet footprints from someone walking barefoot. The trail kept up til almost the end where I was sure to see some homeless guy to explain it all. Yet the guy passed out in the corner was wearing shoes. It was not raining or snowing either. Where did the feet vanish to? We shall never know...
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Three weeks later
Well my stage is coming along nicely. Lise, my supervisor, gives me the necessary instructions and then pretty much leaves me on my own to do what I have to do. Today I got to do the glutathione assay with the other stagiere and tomorrow I'll get to do it on my own so we'll see how that goes. It's not complicated but just involves a lot of mixing and timing things properly and the protocol is not written out too clearly.
A couple of Fridays ago, the bakers treated us to pizza and cinnamon buns for lunch and I brought home some olive & onion foccacia too, that was yummy. For some reason even if I really don't like olives, I like olive bread. Go figure!
I think I mentioned that my food processor died. Well, we shopped around to see the cost of a replacement but it turns out that no one makes an equivalent machine to the one we have. Ours is a mixer/blender/food processor all in one but they don't seem to exist anymore. I guess companies got wise to the fact that they can make more money if you have to buy 3 separate appliances. So the $125 to get the motor replaced in the old one seems like a bargain. The loser at Centre du Rasoir says it might take til January to fix it though. Good thing I don't plan on doing any major cooking for Christmas this year.
I finished re-reading the 4th Harry Potter & we went to see the movie for Ysabel's birthday and I even managed to stay awake the whole time! Now if France can only finish the 5th book, I need some reading material for the metro...I've been reading Popular Science magazine instead to pass the time. Zubbles are cool!
Go to ZUBBLES
A couple of Fridays ago, the bakers treated us to pizza and cinnamon buns for lunch and I brought home some olive & onion foccacia too, that was yummy. For some reason even if I really don't like olives, I like olive bread. Go figure!
I think I mentioned that my food processor died. Well, we shopped around to see the cost of a replacement but it turns out that no one makes an equivalent machine to the one we have. Ours is a mixer/blender/food processor all in one but they don't seem to exist anymore. I guess companies got wise to the fact that they can make more money if you have to buy 3 separate appliances. So the $125 to get the motor replaced in the old one seems like a bargain. The loser at Centre du Rasoir says it might take til January to fix it though. Good thing I don't plan on doing any major cooking for Christmas this year.
I finished re-reading the 4th Harry Potter & we went to see the movie for Ysabel's birthday and I even managed to stay awake the whole time! Now if France can only finish the 5th book, I need some reading material for the metro...I've been reading Popular Science magazine instead to pass the time. Zubbles are cool!
Go to ZUBBLES
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
New post as per Eric's request :)
Well it's been a while and we could all use a little something to ease our minds from the recent events so here goes...
How did I spend the few days I had off before starting my stage? Think back, think waaaaaay back...
I made my 43rd blood donation, did some cleaning up of the front & back garden (I am always thankful at this time of year that we live in a row house with a small backyard, only 10 bags of leaves and garden clippings so far!), bought my first bus pass in over 11 years, celebrated Paul's birthday with a bbq and chocolate cake (and the famous macaroni salad of which Eric was very reasonable with his portion size), pureed 2 pumpkins which ended up killing our food processor and experimented with making onion rings, among other things.
Then Monday, it began, THE REAL WORLD!
It's not bad, it takes me about 45 minutes total to get to work. A longish metro ride to L'Assomption which allows me to do some reading (re-reading The Goblet of Fire before the movie comes out this week) and then a 5-10 minute bus ride to the corner of Notre-Dame and Dickson. Lise, my supervisor is quite nice. Luiza is the part-timer who was a stagière this summer and is the person who is showing me the ropes. She is quite excellent as a teacher. She explains really well and makes sure I understand even the basics without doing it in a condescending way. She really knows the theory behind the tests we do too and so I'm not just going through the motions without knowing why I am doing the steps that are required. I just wish there was more work to do. I think I had already pretty much covered all the methods used there by Wednesday. But the added bonus is the other part of the lab is the baking division and they test the yeast by baking bread so we always have a fresh loaf available in the lunch room. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and Lise gives me things to do without constantly checking up on me and lets me be so it's all good. And there's no way I clocked 35 hours last week but that doesn't seem to be an issue. The only half-unpleasant thing is having to taste the yeast. Yup, that's part of quality control, making sure the yeast has a fermented taste or a nutty roasted flavour or is slightly bitter. Yeah, I like taste-testing the bread much better.
On Saturday we got tired of the tv acting up so we took it into the shop for repairs. Turns out the water that leaked from the toilet and dripped down on it wasn't too good for it. No, really?! So it's all fixed and we even have basic cable now so no more having to deal with the intermitent snow on channels like Global and CBS. That evening I got to stuff my face on homemade sushi at France & Dave's while Tim went to his MAW softball banquet and then curled in Valleyfield at 11 pm. Crazy curlers, I say!
Sunday saw me helping Ysabel trim her tree. On one hand it got me out on my bike on a beautiful day. On the other hand it saw me climbimg up a ladder at a somewhat precarious angle. But it's been done before, only on my roof which is just as unenjoyable!
We decided we hadn't seen Eric enough in the last few days (sorry, I have to pick on someone and this time it seems to be you!) so we invited him & Cathy & Christina, Cathy's sister, over for supper to celebrate Cathy's birthday (which reminds me, there's still pumpkin cake left to be eaten, better go take care of that right now!)
Yummy! But the keyboard is a little sticky now, oops.
And all was well until early Monday morning...
How did I spend the few days I had off before starting my stage? Think back, think waaaaaay back...
I made my 43rd blood donation, did some cleaning up of the front & back garden (I am always thankful at this time of year that we live in a row house with a small backyard, only 10 bags of leaves and garden clippings so far!), bought my first bus pass in over 11 years, celebrated Paul's birthday with a bbq and chocolate cake (and the famous macaroni salad of which Eric was very reasonable with his portion size), pureed 2 pumpkins which ended up killing our food processor and experimented with making onion rings, among other things.
Then Monday, it began, THE REAL WORLD!
It's not bad, it takes me about 45 minutes total to get to work. A longish metro ride to L'Assomption which allows me to do some reading (re-reading The Goblet of Fire before the movie comes out this week) and then a 5-10 minute bus ride to the corner of Notre-Dame and Dickson. Lise, my supervisor is quite nice. Luiza is the part-timer who was a stagière this summer and is the person who is showing me the ropes. She is quite excellent as a teacher. She explains really well and makes sure I understand even the basics without doing it in a condescending way. She really knows the theory behind the tests we do too and so I'm not just going through the motions without knowing why I am doing the steps that are required. I just wish there was more work to do. I think I had already pretty much covered all the methods used there by Wednesday. But the added bonus is the other part of the lab is the baking division and they test the yeast by baking bread so we always have a fresh loaf available in the lunch room. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and Lise gives me things to do without constantly checking up on me and lets me be so it's all good. And there's no way I clocked 35 hours last week but that doesn't seem to be an issue. The only half-unpleasant thing is having to taste the yeast. Yup, that's part of quality control, making sure the yeast has a fermented taste or a nutty roasted flavour or is slightly bitter. Yeah, I like taste-testing the bread much better.
On Saturday we got tired of the tv acting up so we took it into the shop for repairs. Turns out the water that leaked from the toilet and dripped down on it wasn't too good for it. No, really?! So it's all fixed and we even have basic cable now so no more having to deal with the intermitent snow on channels like Global and CBS. That evening I got to stuff my face on homemade sushi at France & Dave's while Tim went to his MAW softball banquet and then curled in Valleyfield at 11 pm. Crazy curlers, I say!
Sunday saw me helping Ysabel trim her tree. On one hand it got me out on my bike on a beautiful day. On the other hand it saw me climbimg up a ladder at a somewhat precarious angle. But it's been done before, only on my roof which is just as unenjoyable!
We decided we hadn't seen Eric enough in the last few days (sorry, I have to pick on someone and this time it seems to be you!) so we invited him & Cathy & Christina, Cathy's sister, over for supper to celebrate Cathy's birthday (which reminds me, there's still pumpkin cake left to be eaten, better go take care of that right now!)
Yummy! But the keyboard is a little sticky now, oops.
And all was well until early Monday morning...
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Merely hours left
I've been trying not to goof off too much in the last few days, making one last effort at studying before my classes are FINALLY over! I did manage to see Jacquie & Matt (& also Penny) a couple of times while they were in town.
They found a condo on St-Urbain and hopefully everything will be in order with the inspection and they will be back to sign off on November 24th!
Lena moved out on Monday, it's as if she was never here, her room is back to how it was before she moved in and our fridge is bare! Here she is (in the middle) with Anka and Lilly, two of the other assistants before the Halloween party at their friend Sebastian's.
And I had two tests yesterday and one more to go this afternoon. I did play hookie from my lab this morning. I figured I should take advantage of this beautiful weather while I still can before heading back to the old grind next week. I took a long walk around Upper Westmount.
Here's a squirrel with a mohawk!
They found a condo on St-Urbain and hopefully everything will be in order with the inspection and they will be back to sign off on November 24th!
Lena moved out on Monday, it's as if she was never here, her room is back to how it was before she moved in and our fridge is bare! Here she is (in the middle) with Anka and Lilly, two of the other assistants before the Halloween party at their friend Sebastian's.
And I had two tests yesterday and one more to go this afternoon. I did play hookie from my lab this morning. I figured I should take advantage of this beautiful weather while I still can before heading back to the old grind next week. I took a long walk around Upper Westmount.
Here's a squirrel with a mohawk!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
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!
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!
Monday, October 24, 2005
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?!
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?!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
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!
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!
Monday, October 03, 2005
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.)
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.)
Sunday, October 02, 2005
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...
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...
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