The Reason for the Season

Today was not the greatest. It's hard to remain positive about much when the idea that my Christmas off could be completely abolished due to this stupid Glencore deal. I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it. It's not just that I might not get to spend time with my loved ones; I haven't had any more than a few days off at a time since February, and I'm completely exhausted and fed up over it.

You could say I made the choice to not take any time off in the summer. My answer to that is, I did NOT choose that, I didn't have the option. My co-worker's brother passed away right after the August long weekend. I had not planned time off because she already had for the end of August. Due to the events that occurred, I had no choice but to work. And work I did. That was the only month I've ever had more than a few hours of overtime compared to the entire two years prior.

I specifically planned to take the week of Christmas off. That was always my plan. With the 24th and 26th landing on a Tuesday/Wednesday, I could take off three days and still end up with a full week and two weekends at home. A great idea in principle, but not so great when MOFCOM takes their sweet time deciding the outcome of this whole schmozzle.

At this point, I'm praying it doesn't go through or is pushed back again. Sure, it's entirely selfish, but not only do I want to be able to see my family at Christmas, I absolutely need the time off.

If you are one of the family members I'm planning on seeing the weekend before Christmas, please pray that everything works out in my favour, and that you can come to terms with the Nairns not being there, if that's the end result. I need to get to a place where I'm okay with it also, so I understand the frustration and sadness over it. Just remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and no matter where we are, we'll be celebrating it the same way.

Amen.

Need. Sleep. Now.

Today I totally felt like the walking dead. I am soooo tired! The alarm went off at 6 am, and I never really woke up all day. There were moments where I thought I was okay, then my eyes got heavy and I found myself completely out of it again.

Because of that, I'm keeping this ultra-short. I had a nice quiet day yesterday, but I guess one very late night on the weekend caught up to me today. Caffeine didn't even help! So, enough said, I'm going to bed.

Oh by the way, did you realize it's only 21 days until Christmas?! Yikes!

Odd -- and Frustrating -- Winter Weather

This stupid weather is really getting on my nerves. One day it's -25, then a few days later it's raining. Literally! Right now it's +2 and raining. I checked the forecast for the week and seriously wonder what God is thinking... Tuesday high of -13, Wednesday high of 0, Thursday high of -13. If that actually happens.... I don't know. I'm just shaking my head.

The worst part, obviously, is the rain. I can get over tons of snow falling, but if it just rains on top of the snow then freezes, it sure makes things much more treacherous for getting around the city. And slow. The city's lights aren't timed properly as it is, so add in icy streets and you have a very long drive home.

At least the city has been pretty good about plowing the streets. They do need to get more sand out on the ice, but they're doing alright overall. If the weather would just stay cold so rain didn't happen, it would all be so much better. And less dangerous.

J's 30th Birthday Fun

It's hard to believe I'm almost 30 years old. At least I'm not the first of my friends to celebrate that milestone. Friend and co-worker J's 30th birthday is on the 9th, so we planned ahead to have a fun night out with the girls.

Supper was tasty, the hot tub was warm and relaxing, and the party was hopping. We definitely had a great night and were happy to get out and shake "what our mothers gave us". I don't know about the others, but I sure ended the night off feeling much younger than I am! Not like some old lady, which is how I feel more often than not after a hard week of work!

I'll need to plan something similar for my upcoming birthday, since we all had so much fun. Only four months to go! Eeps! Forget that, I'll be 29 forever :p

Trying Flyball

Casey and I will be trying out something new for fun. Since she loves running and playing with balls, flyball seemed like a likely option. We were against it for a long time due to the potential risk of injury to her legs from jumping hard on the flyball box, and the long term damage it could cause. I've changed my mind, however, after finding out more information about it.

If you haven't heard of flyball before it's a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from a start/finish line, over a line of hurdles, to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring-loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball. Flyball is run in teams of four dogs, as a relay. The course consists of four hurdles placed 10 feet apart from each other, with the starting line six feet from the first hurdle, and the flyball box 15 feet after the last one, making for a 51-foot length. The hurdle height is determined by the shoulder height of the smallest dog in the team. Each dog must return its ball all the way across the start line before the next dog crosses. Ideal running is nose-to-nose at the start line. The first team to have all four dogs cross the finish line error free wins the heat. Penalties are applied to teams if the ball is dropped or if the next relay dog is released early. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyball) 

Check out this video to understand what all that looks like:

There are many basic things Casey needs to learn before she can just start running a race, but I'm patient and willing to work with her to try something I think she'll not only enjoy but be good at. We have a smart little cookie here, so why not keep on training her and immersing her in dog sports? 

Deal Update

The head honchos were in the office today for a "meet and greet". It was more like an update of what's going on with the merger/acquisition. Nothing new was really shared, and I wasn't entirely surprised.

There are people out there that think the deal won't go through at all. Then there's the option that the timeline to decide gets extended. The final option, which still many want to happen, is that the deal simply gets accepted. To explain to anyone out of the loop, MOFCOM (Google it) has to agree to the acquisition of Viterra by Glencore as we have a share of the market in China. That's the very short story. I'm sure there's lots more info on the world wide web if you wish to find out.

Regardless of what happens, I very much want some resolution to occur. Today makes one full year that I've been in a temporary role, and I just want it to be permanently recognized. I still have some faith, but my patience wanes as time wears on.

I'm going to keep working hard and, if they say "yes", I'm on-board to get everything done that's necessary. I'm a team player and willing to make things happen when it's time for it. I just hope it's soon.

My Doctor Dumped Me

My fourth South African doctor in a row is leaving me. Okay, third doctor. The first one left me for a job that worked better for her family. I left the second one because we moved to Regina. The third one mysteriously disappeared. (I'm not too unhappy about that one, in particular, but she did leave so she makes the list). The fourth one just let me know that she was offered a pretty spectacular amount of money for a job in La Ronge. If you haven't heard of it, Google it. It's up north. The only way doctors accept positions there is for the money and work-life balance. Guess what? She's getting a sweet 2.5 million big ones (or that's what I thought she said, anyway) and two weeks off for every two she works. Huh. How about that. Nice for her, not so nice for me.

Seriously though, this means I have to try and get another lady doctor to accept me at the same clinic. I have my issues, so I just hope she does. She's the only other one at the office I go to. Otherwise, I'll need to start looking elsewhere. It totally bites. At least Doctor Big-Money gave me six months of prescriptions to keep me going while I find some other soul to take me on. Thanks.

A Missing Mystery

Look at this picture. Notice anything?

If you said, "it's missing a stone!", you'd be correct. This has never happened to me before. I just picked it up from the goldsmith after work, and didn't notice anything odd at the time. I'm pretty sure it didn't happen there, but between there and home and cooking dinner, etc.

I'll need to take it back now, for the third time, to see about getting a new stone. Even a cubic zirconia is fine with me, I just don't want to see it with an empty hole. I can't imagine what it will cost, but I hope it's cheap.

Somehow I'm not surprised that it happened at all. It's just odd that it happened now, rather than any other time.

Positive Performance

After a year without one, I finally received a performance review. Finally is an understatement, actually! At my last job, I had one twice a year... for three years! In the 2 + years I've been in my current employment, I've had... um... three? Yeah, that sounds about right. Not cool.

I get it, we're busy and doing them takes a lot of time for my manager. Not only that but she's in the position somewhat unwillingly due to the need for her to be there. I love working with her though, so am very patient when it comes to my review.

After all was said and done, I did pretty good! I scored myself too high for the most part (I was having one of those days, okay?!) but she also agreed with my score a few times. Apparently a 3 out of 5 is considered quite excellent anyway, so there's no need for me to be disappointed. If I had anything less though, that would be a problem!

I'm still hoping that things work out positively for me in the near future, but we're still playing the waiting game. Until China decides where our fate lies, I'm at the mercy of the people. Darn those people. All they care about is getting paid! Oh wait, I guess I'm one of them. HA!

3.14 = Pie

A friend of a friend shared this picture on my Facebook wall a few weeks ago and I forgot that I was going to share it with you. I literally had the same look on my face after reading it.

This entire year, I'd never seen it like that and now my mind is also blown. How about them apples? Apple pie, of course.

Queuing Up for Christmas

As we stood in line at Mark's Work Wearhouse during a five-hour sale, I was reminded why I completely dislike shopping in stores this time of year. My best best why the internet was created: to be able to purchase everything you could possibly imagine online, at home in your pajamas, without standing in line at the mall.

We specifically waited for this sale because we got the flyer in the mail and Paul immediately mentioned he needed a pair of steel-toed winter boots. I didn't say no, because he's working hard and really does have a need for them. I also didn't really prepare myself for the shopping experience. The line literally ran from the front till, down one aisle, down the back aisle, then back up the other aisle, ending at the till on the opposite side. A perfect square of holiday shoppers, waiting anxiously to cash in on their big 20% discount.

Paul was good about holding a place for us in the queue while I walked around looking at things. For my "cut", I ended up with an ivory turtleneck that was already on sale, a new pair of leather slippers (I picked dark red, with rubber soles. They are really nice!), and a pair of "tall size" long underwear for the old man. Then we stood in line, chatting with the other shoppers about football and hockey and Scotland. The store even provided cookies and passed around a tray a few times.

In the end, the cashiers were working very quickly to get everyone through, and it didn't really last that long, but I still prefer, hands-down, shopping online. In fact, each of Paul's gifts were purchased on the web, except for one that I need to get at Home Depot to save on shipping. It's nice to just get a package in the mail and have that feeling of, "wow, that was easy". Stress at this time of year is not at all what I look forward to, that's for sure!

Happy shopping to all the rest of you who will brave the retail outlets in the next month!

Coffee Time

For someone that absolutely does not consider herself a coffee liker let alone drinker, the tasting I attended at work today was quite alright! I was there by default (the other organizers weren't interested so someone had to be there), but I'm actually glad I was in the end.

For those that are coffee fans, and drink large cups of the beverage whitened with cream and sweetened by sugar every day, you are quite mistaken in how to drink the world's second most traded commodity. I urge you to visit a "real" coffee shop, like Forbidden Flavours in Brandon or Atlantis Coffee in Regina, and ask the barista for their best cup of joe. And don't add any cream or sugar!

Not only did I not dislike the coffee I sampled today, but I learned a lot about it. For fun, Google "facts about coffee" to learn some interesting things yourself. Did you know that it takes about 45 minutes for caffeine to hit your bloodstream and for you to feel the affects of the coffee?

I'm not necessarily going to become a coffee drinker (I prefer tea by far), but I definitely have a greater appreciation for it now. I'm happy I "had to" attend the tasting today and learn something new about a drink I was previously very ignorant of.

Freaky Furnace

Our furnace is acting funny all of a sudden. I don't like it one bit. Can someone please come over and fix it and make me feel better?

Seriously though, I have it set to be 21.5C at 4:45 pm until 10:00 pm. It said it was only 21C but wasn't turning on. So I pressed the button up for manual override to 22C just for a little while. Well, it was at 23.5C and wasn't turning off! I had to turn the actual system to "OFF" and wait for it to shut down. Then I put it back on the auto. It turned back on again when the heat was at 21C, to warm it up to 21.5. It turned off shortly after it had warmed up, but now it's turned back on again even though the thermostat says it's 21.5C in here. I don't like it :(

Last year we had an issue with the furnace too. It wouldn't even turn on though. Something was wrong with the sensor or the switch or who-knows-what on the actual furnace itself. I just don't have the time or patience to deal with this right now.

If it continues acting up, I'll need to call the heating guy tomorrow to see if they can come out. Then I'll need to miss work and drive home on the nasty streets to take care of it. At least it's Friday and hopefully will be quiet in the office. OR, hopefully it's just me and not the furnace and I don't have to be stressed out over anything at all. I hope. Amen.

P.S. It just turned off again. Fingers and toes crossed that I'm just cuckoo and it keeps working fine.

A Night Off

Sometimes you  just need to take the night off. Tonight was that kind of night. It helped that the weather was yucky and I really didn't want to go out in it. I could have, but I didn't feel like it. And it wasn't even because I figured I'd gained a little weight during the last week (I was skipping weigh in and the meeting).

It's always fun to just catch up on recorded TV shows, eat some comfort food, and relax. I haven't had a Wednesday night off since March, because in April I took the Weight Recorder position. The only times I had to get a backup to cover my job was for dinner out with my MIL, or buying our new vehicles. I don't consider either of those nights as being "off". Not like last night!

Speaking of the yucky weather. I really hate when it downpours for hours on end then snows like crazy on top of it. Imagine a thick layer of ice covered in fluff. At least it was pretty slushy... for now... until it drops to well below zero then freezes solid. Soooo looking forward to tomorrow :)... :(

So it might be icky outside but it's plenty warm and cozy inside and I quite enjoyed myself!

The CPA Made My Day

The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) made my day today. Twice. Let me share the awesomeness with you.

Time #1:

Four to six weeks ago a new document came out from the CPA detailing the guidelines for salary overpayments. Upon taking a read, I came to realize how poor of a job the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) that were involved with putting them together did in editing their grammar and spelling. If you follow my blog closely, you would have read the one I did on editing documents. It's fair enough to say that doing so is one of my passions. That said, when I discovered that a professional organization let such a document get out to the public, I was quite disgusted. So, since receiving it, in my spare time I've been going through with my red pen and making my own "reviewer notes". It's approximately 40 pages long. I finishes yesterday and scanned the document back to the developer at the CPA in Toronto. This is the basic sum of our back-and-forth email conversation in the last 24 hours:

CPA: Thanks for your comments! Do you want to review more of the guidelines on the website?
Me: You're welcome, and sure!
CPA: Great, we'll email you the Word documents so you can track your changes right on the file.
Me: That would be great, thanks!
CPA: I reviewed all your comments and, other than a few items, am sending it to the communications department to make the suggested changes.
Me: Oh wow!
CPA: Do you want to take part in a review of all the guidelines next year? It will be for 1-2 days in Toronto and your airfare and accommodations will be paid for.
Me: Ummmmmm....YES! Oh wait, except I have a few holidays booked. I hope it's not during that time.
CPA: When do you have leave booked?
Me: July 18-20 and August 10-24.
CPA: No problem, I'll book around that.

What the....?!?!?! AWESOME! Just you wait, CPA, you're gonna pay me money to do this for you yet! (Did I mention all my time is volunteered?)

Time #2:

I joined the Volunteer Committee of the CPA's Regina branch a short time ago and tonight was the appreciation/Christmas dinner. The restaurant was considerably high-end, and I even ordered a non-free beverage with my meal. The CPA paid the bill for me and the nine other attendees. Sweet!

Not a bad day overall, eh?

Piano Finger Ring Sizing

I may have been "re-ringed" last Tuesday, but today my engagement ring was sliding all around my little finger so bad that I took it back to get downsized even more. Believe it or not, it will be a size 4 once my little Asian jeweler friend is done with it. I might as well have baby fingers.

I like to say that I have "piano fingers". I did play piano for a number of years, as well as other musical instruments, so their slenderness could possibly be from that. UrbanDictionary.com says:

Piano Fingers are fingers that are long and thin. Piano fingers are great because you're able to reach piano keys much more easily. It's also a compliment.

Alright then. All I know is that when someone with average-sized fingers attempts to put my wedding band on their finger, it usually only makes it on their pinky. Well, except for those freakish, skinny girls. And my sister. Maybe it's just hereditary. Don't google "skinny fingers hereditary" though. We do not have Marfan Syndrome!

Having skinny fingers can be quite a positive trait. They're great for getting paper unstuck from the photocopier or printer. They're also good for typing quickly and playing musical instruments (see above). I bet they're also good for hailing taxicabs.

So I do have to fork over another $20 to get my ring re-sized, but at least this time I'm 99% confident it will fit properly. And if it's too small in the summer when my fingers swell due to the heat, I'll just take it off. So there.

Santa Parade

The 27th Annual Santa Clause Parade was held in Regina today. The weather was pretty mild; quite the departure from the bitter cold we experienced the last few years! Here is a picture of the TOPS members that participated in our "float" today.

For many of them, it was the first them they'd walked in a parade. I feel like such a veteran! From Canada Post to VMHS to now, I've been in quite a few. It doesn't bother me at all, waving at people I don't know. I'm there to share my message and I hope they get something out of it.

We had a good time, albeit I was even more sore afterwards (the bumps did not help my situation today!). Paul even drove the truck, like a good little elf :)

Two Bumps and Some Bruises

OUCH! I wiped out :( As per my normal routine, I walked outside to go start my car as it was all frosted over and I wanted it warm. Unlike normal, however, I was carrying a huge stack of poster boards to put in the trunk. Clearly walking too fast and dragging my feet, I slipped right off the top step of the deck (there are four). The frost had created a thin layer there as well, so my gripless slippers had no chance. The fall went by pretty quickly so all I really remember is a "bump bump" (two steps?) and leaning back so I didn't fall forward, and all my posters flying into the snow. Not cool.

Needless to say, I felt sore pretty quickly after that. A few ibuprofen were no match for the bumps and bruises I received. As long as I don't lift my right leg up... or lift anything with my left arm... or sit down for too long... sounds like this is going to be fun.

I do know that I'm glad I'm only 29 when it happened because a 79 year old would be in much worse shape than I. My bones are strong and I'm pretty resilient. After a few days I'm hoping my pain will subside and I'll be fine. I'll definitely be WAY more careful from now on though!

Socializing Time

It sure is nice to take a few hours after work to get to know your co-workers/friends a little better over some food and drink. I often don't make the time for socializing after work, but considering it's a Friday and my week has been less-than-stellar, it was much needed.

There is still plenty to do during the weekend ahead, so if I can take a few hours and just do nothing, it's probably a good idea. I need to make more time for socializing in the future also. Maybe that will be my 2013 goal since it won't be blogging!

Parade Prep

To add to my already-stressful life, I found out that the Santa Clause Parade is NOT scheduled for Sunday, November 25th. Rather, it's the 18th. Newsflash: that's in three days. When I was informed that I had the date wrong, I could just feel my blood pressure rise. *Deep breath in... and out... and again...*

Good thing I'm organized so I set up a plan to get together with a few people on Saturday to do some arts and crafts. I need to make up some sandwich boards in the theme of the parade, that advertise TOPS and share our stories. I stopped at a few stores after work today and got the supplies, so now we just need to get the stuff done. Then Sunday morning all Paul and I will need to do is decorate the truck.

Thankfully, the weather is expected to be quite mild. Not so good for keeping a white truck clean for the parade, but fantastic for both parade go-ers and participants. I'm still looking forward to it, albeit will be somewhat stressed over preparations until they're done. Parades are fun and happy, so I'll try and remember that when I'm freaking out!