Long Overdue!

So it seems like I haven't blogged in two months or so... damn! I guess I've been lazy and it's hard to find time to sit down and blog. I know I don't do much after work but work is pretty tiring and when I get home all I want to do is... well nothing.

Life here is going well. Summer is finally here but had a dump of the white stuff during the May 24 weekend. It felt like winter ALL over again. It was pretty depressing. But all that stuff is gone and the sun is shining bright. The days are getting longer and longer too. The sun sets at around 10:30 these days but even after 10:30 it's still pretty bright outside until 11PM. I'm trying to do more outdoors cause it's just too nice to be indoors but like I said when I get home I don't want to do anything.

I've started to play ultimate frisbee which is pretty good. I didn't find a softball team/league so pick up ultimate will just do. I'm meeting people slowly through ultimate but I'm not complaining. It does get lonely but I just cook when I get lonely and/or bored. I've been cooking this weekend and here they are!

Saturday's dish 

Sunday's meal

So those were my meals this weekend. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and I'll do more of a food blog next time with more pictures and a recipe. I'm gonna finish the rest of Saving Private Ryan and probably head to bed after. Hope I don't take too long to blog again. 

Risotto!

So here is my RISOTTO!

Something's missing...

The green peas!

 

The shrimp pieces turned out pretty good on top

 

 Such a huge portion!

I have leftovers so whoever wants it better come and get it or it'll be my lunch tomorrow!

Feels Likes Summer

So I've been away from blogging for a bit. I've noticed how hard it is to blog every day. It's not like my days are uneventful... well sometimes they are but still have things to blog about. I guess I've been so tired after work I don't think about blogging, although it doesn't take that much of my time. I'll try to blog as frequent as I can.

So the weather has been just awesome last week and this weekend. Friday it was 20, Saturday it was 21 and today is 19. The sun is so bright, I love it! With all this beautiful weather I've been biking more and more after work. (I think I know why I don't blog as much, I get too tired after biking around for an hour.) Grande Prairie is a beautiful place, especially when you get the chance to go through their trails. There's one part where it goes behind or close enough to the lumber yard and the smell of lumber... it's refreshing. To smell nature instead of smog and all that other junk in the air is very worth it. I guess living near a big city like Toronto for most of my life and working in Toronto, I got so used to the polluted air and this is just so refreshing. Never knew I could enjoy clean air this much.

The only downside of it here is there aren't any fresh water lakes here. They have camping grounds but when people talk about camping here it's not the tent camping I'm used to, it's more of the hitching their trailers to their trucks camping. I've never been trailer camping and I'm sure it's fun but I love tent camping! So what if I don't have running water to shower... there's a lake to swim in and I'll be smelling like smoke anyways from being around the fire. I miss tent camping. I don't think I'll be doing much of that this year.

Anyways I'll blog later tonight after dinner. Tonight's menu is going to be chicken and shrimp risotto. So hopefully that will turn out yummy and I'll post some pictures too.

Don't be a stranger and leave a comment!

Why Isn't Monday A Holiday?

So I'm wondering why Easter Monday isn't a holiday everywhere! I mean they named the Monday for crying out loud. I was so not looking forward to waking up this morning and it was a struggle for sure. I didn't even do much at work either. It was such a slow morning with not much to do. Almost everyone took Monday off as vacation. Damn wish I had vacation days.

But on a good note... I got a raise! Good old union... good for something. Otherwise I think unions are stupid, especially those damn union dues... why do I have to pay union dues when I know I'm not going to use their services? And if they do go on strike, I'll be too lazy and probably won't agree with the strike to march on the lines... I rather not pay and keep my money.

Butler vs. Duke game's starting soon. I'd be happy with either team winning... so let the game begin!

Long Weekend! Part One

It's the start of a long weekend! Woohoo! It felt so good to turn over and turn off my alarm and go back to sleep this morning. I love long weekends.

I didn't sleep in too much, got up around 10 and had the whole day to do whatever. I was craving shawarma and found out that there is a shawarma place in Grande Prairie! Who would have thought?! I sure didn't. So I decided to check it out for lunch and head to Safeway to do some grocery shopping afterward. So I walked over to Tito's and ordered myself a chicken shawarma sandwich with a small mango smoothie. The shawarma wasn't what I expected... definitely not what I am used to getting back home in Toronto or even in Ottawa. By the way, Ottawa has THE best shawarmas. Go go Shawarma Palace if you get a chance to go to Ottawa!

So the shawarma sandwich I ordered was kind of a hybrid between a shawarma sandwich and a burrito. They didn't shave off the meat but has in a sauce... like a burrito but had the garlic sauce like a shawarma. All in all, it was very yummy and satisfying. I definitely miss shawarma back home but this will do until I reunite with yummy shawarmas back home. The mango smoothie was pretty good, although they could have blended it a little longer cause I had tiny pieces of ice still and it got stuck in my straw at one point and I lost all suction.

Apparently there is another shawarma place but I'm not sure where it is so I'll have to get some more info on it and try that one out.

After grocery shopping and getting myself through a crowd of people doing Easter dinner shopping, I made dinner. Boy, was it ever good! What did I cook you ask? I will show you!

Beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies (carrots, red onions and broccoli)

Cooking away

Mmmmm yum!

Final cooking in the oven

Clean kitchen + leftovers

What to cook next

So that was my dinner. Hope you enjoyed it cause it tasted like it looked, AWESOME! Haha What should I tackle next? I know I had one suggested to me on this blog so I will see what I can do. Let me know what other things I can cook up for you guys. I love any and all suggestions.

Don't be a stranger and leave a comment!

On The Road

We went on a trip out west to a small town called Hythe. If you thought Grande Prairie is a small town (which it isn't) you haven't seen nothing until you drive to Hythe, or any of the other surrounding towns. It was a 45 minute drive to Hythe and the drive was pretty good. I thought the roads were going to be in terrible condition but turned out to be pretty good road conditions. I guess the snow plows were on their A game and go the highways cleared first. Good on ya! So I drove to one of the continuing care facility in Hythe and the drive reminded me of the drive I did so many times from home to Waterloo and back... but with more flat land, as far as the eye can see.

The show we went to see was this guy named Ed Popovich. He is an entertainer who sings and plays the guitar while adding humour and jokes with the songs (mainly oldies) and gets the crowd involved. It was pretty good, I guess, but I wouldn't see him more than once to be honest. I think the residents that we took enjoyed it and they knew the songs so they were singing along with him. He liked to pick on people in the crowd and as soon as he walked in to setup, he has my number from the get-go. As soon as he asked what my name was, I knew he'd pick on me. It wasn't bad and they residents enjoyed how he picked on me, I think the recreation assistants liked it too.

So my day was pretty was that. The morning was crazy, as I was running from unit to unit, trying to get last minute things done for our trip. Getting medications sorted out, bag lunches sorted out, getting the right people ready to go and just a lot of running around. I guess it was good cause for the first time I felt like I was being productive, running around doing work for the residents and for a program. I'm definitely hot a pencil pusher and can't stand being in the office for a long period of time cause I feel like I'm wasting time and doing nothing. I have to be out and about getting my hands dirty and being involved in the programs... but the recreation assistants do most of that.

It's only Tuesday and I wish the weekend was here already... terrible.

Don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

Winter Wonderland Part 2

- UPDATE -

So here is some pictures I took today.

What I saw this morning from my window.

My dinner... steak and veggies. I was too lazy to make rice.

So I wake up this morning at 5AM with a terrible stomach ache... it didn't end well. Damn that instant noodle! Anyways, I get ready for work and to my surprise everything is covered in white snow. I swear the first day of Spring was Sunday... guess I'll have to wait a little longer for Spring/Summer. It didn't stop there... it kept snowing the whole day. I honestly felt like January again. It looks nice, I do love how the snow covers everything and makes things so clean and pure looking but the week... 2 weeks of sunlight and warm weather we had few weeks ago was just so nice and refreshing.

I guess my bike riding will have to be put on the back burner. I was really looking forward to riding my bikes around the city on all the trails that interconnects throughout the city. I can't wait!

Work is ok... it was pretty fast today. Went out for breakfast with few patients and in the afternoon played bingo for 2 hours. I know 2 hours! Time flies when you have fun. Tomorrow is another long day... going to Hythe, which is 45mins from Grande Prairie but with the weather and the road conditions... it'll probably take an hour. Hope the roads will be cleared and things go smoothly tomorrow.

Well gotta go and do dishes and clean up the kitchen. I like a clean kitchen... can't wait to design my own kitchen when I buy my own place (that was really random). Until tomorrow? Or next time... don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

Weekend, You Came and You Left... Come Back

So the weekend is coming to an end and I have to wait another 5 days for the next. Hope work goes by fast this week but I have a feeling it will be another long and tiring one. I have my CPR on the 25th for the whole morning... I'll take any kind of break from work. But I'm glad I'm working and it's for my own good. I'm learning a lot and gaining a lot of experience I wouldn't have if I didn't make the move out east.

I didn't do much this weekend but went to this beer tasting fundraiser on Saturday. It was pretty fun, even though I sat at my table alone when I was eating but that's ok. I tasted a lot of good beer from around the world... too bad it was 2 ounces at a time. I should have bought more tickets, although everyone started off with a lot of tickets. Ok I lied about being alone at the table... I guess I bought my tickets late so my table was pretty bare, just me and these two girls. I didn't get to talk to them much. They went afterward and I couldn't find them again. We did exchange numbers but they both have boyfriends so... I'll leave it to them to call me... or do I do the calling? Crap, I've never been in this situation before.

So it's snowing here. I thought it was suppose to the start of Spring this weekend... guess I shouldn't be surprised. I am living up north. I'm a little jealous of the 18 degrees weather back home but snow always looks good and I can't get tired of it, even though it makes it tough for me to walk to the grocery store or go anywhere. I just can't wait until the sun starts setting later and later. Can't have to have a full days worth of daylight AFTER I get off work.

So that was my weekend. Had good beer, got numbers (hahaha) and didn't do much other than that. It was pretty much a lazy weekend besides Saturday night.

I've been lazy with my blog updates... I'll try to update more often.

Photo Blog... Kinda

I tried to do a complete blog of photos but I can only do 5 pictures at a time. Kind of weird... I'll have to figure it out but in the meantime, here's the link to my online album.

I got a new bike and a new camera so I was just fooling taking random pictures so there is a lot to look through. Some are boring and I took the same picture more than once. When the weather gets better I'll definitely have to take my bike and camera on the trail here and take some scenic pictures and hopefully of some wildlife... like a bear!

Hope you guys enjoy! Don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

What A Way To Start A Week

Today started off pretty well. Went out for breakfast with some of the pt. to see how they do in the community and how they act around other people. Make sure they can handle different situations that they would encounter if they were by themselves. It was good to see everyone ordering their foods and the whole morning was pretty good.

But later I find out that one of my residents on my other unit passed away over the weekend. I swear I saw her last week with a smile and didn't look sick enough to go to ICU. I guess it hit me that some of the people that I interact with on a daily basis might not be there the next day and that I should give my 110%, even though my heart is in mental health. I think that news woke me up and it made me work a little bit harder today.

I was reading over her charts and bio before putting them through the shredder and just to read what kind of lives they lived amazes me and wish I could listen to all the different life stories of each resident on my unit. I was talking to one the wife of a resident and she loves to talk and talk about the past. How her and her husband used to work together on the farm, building and repairing their home and all the struggles and hard work they faced together. I told her she should write a book about her life (I would read it) and she said she thought about it but she isn't a good writer. It'd be nice if I could live a life half that interesting and wrote about it. It'd be pretty cool to leave something like that to my kids and grandkids.

That's it for today I guess. Don't be a stranger and leave a comment!

Well Hello There Miss Weekend

I can't think of a better way to start the weekend by relaxing at home, enjoying a nice glass of rum and ginger and listening to good lounge music. Can't go wrong.

So I've been thinking about getting a DSLR instead of getting a PS3 and a LCD tv... I figured the huge mother of a tv I brought from home is doing it's job and I can't complain. I don't have a camera here to take pictures of Grande Prairie and I wanted to buy a simple point and shoot one but why not get a DSLR instead. So I've been looking at Canon... more specifically the Canon EOS Rebel SXi or the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. I'm just an amateur photographer so I don't know. I think the Rebel SXi will do but I am a tech/gadget junkie that want the best for the amount of money I want to spend. I'm leaning more towards the SXi but I want the T1i... but I know I should get the SXi. Oh man I'm in a pickle! Will my urge to get a better model win or will my reasonable side win and get the lesser model with more than enough options for my own good? I'm not sure who wins yet... it's a tough decision for sure!

Well I'm gonna enjoy my rum and ginger while getting myself lost in the music.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! I miss you all back home... it's just not the same without you guys.

Don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

Long Time No Blog

It's been awhile since I've updated my blog. I've just been busy with work and trying to be the therapist that I know I can be. I know I have all the tools to be a good therapist but it is just so hard when deep inside you know you don't want to be at work cause you're not having fun. I know I tell everyone that my heart is in mental health and I think it's still true. I fell in love with mental health when I did my first placement at CAMH and it just opened my eyes. I never knew I could fall in love with mental health cause people associate mental health patients with crazy people who do crazy things (i.e. serial killers, psychopaths and just plain old nut cases). But after working with schizophrenic, all those stereotypes were broken and I got to really relate to them. Maybe it was because the patients I was working with were around my age but just to see them on a weekly basis and to know their history, their struggles and victories... blew my mind.

I know I should be grateful for having found a job soon after I graduated but geriatrics never sparked anything inside of me. Maybe it's because I don't and can't relate to them or maybe it's because the nursing staff that I've worked with and working with right now are just plain odd rude. It was never my first choice, in fact it is my last choice. At one hand I am having fun and proud of the work that I am doing because I know I'm playing a part in each resident's lives. And to see a smile or to hear that their day is a little bit better because of being part of a program makes me want to continue to give my all when I go to work. But it's when nurses who work and are suppose to prove them with care do minimal and sometimes seems like they are ignoring the residents because they have had enough without even talking to them to find out what the problem really is. I know being a nurse is a tough job and they go through a lot of crap during their shifts... but c'mon their pay checks reflect their hard work but their efforts sure don't reflect it.

I think that's the main reason why geriatrics is my last choice, not because of the seniors but because of the nurses and other managers and so on who seem like they are just there for the money and can care less about the quality of care they provide. It just frustrates me! Let's see how they feel when they get treated like crap and with minimal care when they end up in LTC facilities.

Well I guess today's update is a little vent from what I've had to deal with this week. And the bottom line is... I don't hate geriatrics, I just hate the nurses and other staff members who don't give 100%. ( I know there will be issues with nurses in mental health facilities but.... they aren't as bad from what I've seen and dealt with. Maybe it's because nurses who work with geriatrics think that seniors are seniors and they don't have a voice or don't have feelings.)

One Word: WOW!

What in the world is going on?! First the Canadian Jr's lose to the Americans and now the Canadian Olympic team can't do any better? C'mon guys!! Marty.... what are you doing playing baseball in a hockey game?? Stay in your crease and play HOCKEY! Better be on your A game for the next game... but I think Luongo will get the next start.

I think Canadian athletes are under too much pressure. I know they want to make Canada proud cause the Olympics is in Canadian soil but how are they suppose to perform at their highest when all they can think about is not letting THE ENTIRE nation down? We only have a week left and our medal count is pretty low compared to other Winter Olympics. Let's pick it up and finish strong. I know we can get to more podiums... doesn't have to be Gold... I'll be happy with Silver or Bronze... just make the podiums, please!

Oh that note... I had an awesome dinner today! I know it's a totally different topic but I'm full and very satisfied. I had the same last night but I over cooked my steaks in the oven so it wasn't as awesome. I marinated my small steaks in my random concoction of extra virgin olive oil, mustard, onions, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper. I know they sound pretty random but that's because they are random. That was my meat and for veggies I leftover roasted potatoes and carrots from last night. Mmm it was good. I just wish I had a piece of cake or something as dessert... that would have been super!

I need to find a gym that is close to my house... but I'm not having any luck. I feel like I'm gaining weight cause I don't do much when I come home from work cause I'm too tired to go back out... but I think once the snow and ice start melting and it's not slippery, I'll go jogging. At least that will keep me in some shape. But in the mean time... I walk a lot during the weekends and on my feet a lot at work but that's still not enough... need to get in shape for myself. I think I know what girls feel when they say they feel fat.... cause I feel fat. If I keep making meals like the one I had tonight... I'm in big trouble but a man's a gotta eat, right? Haha

I have one recipe that's been recommended and it sounds GOOD! I'll try that one soon. If anyone has anymore recipe ideas for me to try, leave me a comment. Don't be a stranger!

Learning How To Two-Step

Work is getting better but at the same time it is picking up it's pace. My transition period is coming to end soon and I'm officially taking over two units beginning of March. So my workload is starting to get bigger and bigger. It's not a walk in the park as I thought it would be. Just wish I was working in mental health so I could have a little bit more passion, not saying I'm not giving it 110%, just would make my days more enjoyable cause I'd be doing something my mind and heart are into.

Saying that, I love my workplace. I love the people I work with, they are all helpful and easy to talk to, joke around just as much I do and they make the work atmosphere so relaxing. Although it is hard to keep up with them cause they have been working here for so long, it's a little intimidating, especially when I'm taking over two units that have been running so well with the two recreation therapists running the units. I have some big shoes to fill!

Cooking for myself is pretty fun. Wish I had more ingredients to cook a meal with though. Gotta hit the grocery store this weekend... in the mean time, I should pick of a menu and look up some recipes. What to make... any suggestions? I'll cook it and post pictures of it... so let me know some dishes I could cook. I look forward to hearing about them.

So don't be a stranger and leave a comment with your dish idea.

Happy Family Day

Today is Family Day and I didn't know Alberta had Family Day too. It's too bad I don't have any family here but it's ok cause I got to sleep in and just rest. I love long weekends!

I didn't do much today. Like I said I slept in, ate breakfast at 12 and just bummed around. Watched Murderball and now I'm making dinner. I had bought some jarred pasta sauce and thought I'd jazz it up with some fresh veggies that I had leftover from before. So if my new Santoku knife, I chopped carrots, broccoli, onions and garlic to my sauce. The sauce looked before but now it looks even better with chucks of fresh vegetables. Can't wait for dinner! Write about it making my mouth water but I had a turkey sandwich (turkey, cheese and mayo) an hour ago.

Gonna go watch some Olympics and stir my sauce. I'll catch ya'll later!

MmMmMmmm

Just thought I'd share my dinner for tonight. Enjoy!

Here we have: Mini steak, mixed veggies (carrots, onions, and broccoli) and rice

So that was before and now...

 

 Here we have: Empty plate!

So that was my dinner... I'm pretty full right now but wish I had dessert. I could go for some ice cream!

I finally changed my number to an Alberta number... after almost a month of holding back I finally did it and it didn't take a long time. I thought it'd be a long process but nope. I called Virgin, gave them my new location, they gave me a number (sucks I couldn't pick my own number but its a good number and easy to memorize), changed some phone settings and I was done. My new number is on my msn name and is on facebook so if you're my friend and have me on msn or facebook or both you'll have access to my new number.

I went grocery shopping today for the first time since I've been here. I went last week to buy chicken for my super bowl chicken wings but that was just for that. Today I went all out... kinda. Bought milk, OJ, bread, sandwich meat, mayo, cheese, fruits, veggies, cereal... it was quite the shopping trip. The only thing was I had to carry everything back home cause I don't have a car here. The walk is a good 20 minute walk and walking to the store is a breeze, it's actually a nice walk except for the fact you're walking next to a pretty busy street. The walk back home with all my groceries is another story. I put the heavy stuff in my backpack and carried the rest in one of those reusable bags you buy for 99 cents. 2/3th home I start sweating bullets... man it's a great exercise but it sure is tiring. Maybe it's cause I don't anything after when I come home from work. I have to find a gym to join and get some exercise in during the week.

So now I'm waiting for my mini steaks to kind of marinate with some Club House steak pepper seasoning I got. That will be my dinner tonight with onions, carrots and broccoli.... and a side of rice I cooked last night. That actually sounds like a pretty damn good dinner! I have two mini steaks... anyone want free dinner? If not I'll just have it for tomorrow's dinner, I don't mind.

I'm gonna make a PB&J sandwich and watch some Olympics. Don't be a stranger and leave a comment!

GO CANADA!

Holy Income Tax

I'm getting paid! I'm rich, bitch! Haha But what is up with this 10% income tax business? I checked my pay stub and looked at what I made and what I'm getting paid. What a difference! I don't like union dues and income tax... so damn high! I can I do... I'm making good money here and living here is umm good. Haven't decided yet cause I haven't been out much cause I have had no money to do so.

Paying bills stinks but it has to be done. Hopefully I'll have some money leftover to have some fun, go out to a pub and enjoy a good pub fare and cold pint of beer. Yum! I can't wait!

I'm lost for words tonight. I can't seem to gather my thoughts so I'll end it short tonight. Sorry folks!

But that doesn't mean you should come by again and again and again. So don't be a stranger, come back and leave a comment.

Can't Sleep

I was lying in bed and now I'm here blogging... Can't seem to fall asleep tonight. Don't know why. I'm not stressing about anything or have much to think about these days. Today was just like any other weekend I've had since I've been here, except I made my own chicken wings for my one person Super Bowl party. They turned out pretty well.

Prepping those damn chicken wings is a pain. Gotta wash them, cut the tips off and cut the wing from the drumstick looking piece (what is that piece called?) and pat them dry. And I was constantly worried about wiping and cleaning surfaces that my hand and/or chicken touched. Don't want to contaminate anything and get sick. After prepping the wings, I coated them in a simple dry mixture of APF (all purpose flour), salt and pepper. After coating them I gave them a bath in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), only oil I have, hot sauce and garlic. To cook them I preheated the oven to 350-400 and popped the chicken wings in for 45 minutes, turning them after 20 minutes. I basically pulled this recipe from thin air and it turned out pretty well. I love "dry" wings cause I can dip them into any sauce I want. I happened to have Jalapeno Ranch dressing and hot sauce to chose from and they both tasted pretty good with my wings. The wings tasted good without anything on them too. I have to learn how to make my own honey garlic and hot and honey sauce. My favourites!

I just wish I had friends to share my food with. A Super Bowl party for one just isn't the same and fun as having a bunch of your friends enjoying great food and great sports.

It's getting late and I should probably turn myself in to bed. I am starting to yawn a bit so that is always a good sign. Hope everyone back home is doing well. Miss you guys a lot!

Good night folks! Don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

Gotta Love Life Sporting Events

After work yesterday I went to see the local college basketball team in action. The girls played first and they guys played second. Well I'd love to say the college teams are good but... that just isn't the case. Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves got crushed by the Concordia College Thunder. I can't remember the score but who would want to when they a beat down. They lost by at least double their score... it was truly ugly. But nonetheless it was good to go see a live game. It made me miss playing Saturday mornings at church. Gotta find a way to get back into sports here.

So that was my Friday evening. It was a pretty fun night, although the home team lost, twice. I wish I was more involved with sports at an earlier age. I started my short soccer career pretty late and don't know how I made the high school team but I did. Basketball I picked up pretty late too. I wonder if my parents pushed me to do more sports than musical instruments, if I would have played on more high school teams and maybe carried that over to college/university. I was wonder about that. I guess being pushed to do a lot of different musical instruments made me more aware of music and its different genres. Maybe that's why I enjoy music so much... although if I enjoyed it and practiced a lot I could have been pretty good at few instruments but I'm not good at any in particular. Ah well, maybe I'll pass by my instruments to my kids... although I wouldn't want to force them to play them... or would I? Haha

Woohoo! Leafs leading 3-0 after the first against Ottawa but I noticed the Leafs can't seem to keep a lead so maybe I shouldn't be so happy just yet. Fingers crossed that they can keep the lead and the shutout!

I promised more pictures but... I forgot so I'll end this post with some more pictures.

My apartment! 

  

Street view of one of the streets near my apartment

Far view of the hospital (my workplace) 

 

Street view of the main "downtown" area 

 

Beautiful, eh? 

Hope you enjoyed! Don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

Grande Prairie Pictures

So I found some pictures I took when I was here a week before I started work to look for an apartment and such. The pictures are much to look at but it'll give you a sense of what Grande Prairie looks like. I promise to update with better pictures when I get a camera. Most are just random pictures I took while I was walking to a from my hotel to the hospital, hospital to bank, bank to apartment, and apartment to hotel. Mind you I was on the run for most of my trip but I manage to stop and take some quick snaps.

Enjoy!

 I swear I clicked on more pictures on Picasa... I don't know what happened. Well you have some here so I'll try to figure out what happened and post more pictures tomorrow.

Blessed

Today and yesterday was tiring. A lot of working around. Yesterday we took residents to the mall to do some shopping and I was very (un)fortunate to be with one resident who had to buy underwear... luckily there was a Recreation Assistant and another Recreation Therapist (who happen to be both female) so I just walked around Zellers while the ladies did their thing. Didn't feel so comfortable helping an older lady find underwear... yeah no thanks.

Today was a pretty fun day. In the morning we got few new Wii games for the residents so I had the pleasure to test them out. So for a good hour or more I sat in front of our nice big screen and tested out the games. If only my job was like this ALL the time... that'd be great! I would be getting paid to play Wii. Awesome! Haha

So this morning I was sitting and one of my coworkers who sits next to me in the office says to me "I have a lasagna in my car for you and a loft of bread." I can't remember but I think she said she made a lot of food for some special occasion that I can't think of right now but it was really nice of her. I'm truly blessed to be in a town and work with people who are helpful.

For dinner tonight I had lasagna and bread... I had seconds cause it was pretty good. Better than the things I've been eating for dinner for the past week, that's for sure! I was thinking about taking a nap at 7:30 cause I was SO tired.... too much food! Haha

I'm just lazing around now... I should start reading my book again. Haven't opened that since I moved here and I don't think I've read much before I moved here. I was on a good roll but I don't know what happened. But I will finish it, that is my goal for the month or two. So ask me in a month... lets make that in two months if I finished my book, please.

Don't be a stranger, leave a comment.

Winter Wonderland

I wake up and there's a fresh layer of snow on the ground. It seems like every time I wake up in the morning and look outside the window there is a layer of fresh snow. Not necessary a lot of snow but still enough to cover the snowfall from the previous day. Good thing I have my dad's massive winter boot here with me! I should have wore it today when I went to Canadian Tire... next time.

My apartment is coming together slowly. I built my side table that was originally planned for my bedside table but it didn't look good so I moved it beside my flower pattern couch. I was starting to put together my coffee table but the garage sale screwdriver I bought years ago was a piece of crap and didn't do anything but hurt my hands and the screw bit deformed under the workload. So today I went out and got myself a screwdriver! It's a 4.8V Mastercraft cordless screwdriver that PIVOTS! How cool is that? What's even cooler is, it was on sale for $11.99... how good is that? It's only 4.8V so it's not that powerful but it sure is more powerful than me doing things manually. So if it I put together my coffee table and my living area is looking pretty decent.

I know a lot of you are asking for pictures but I don't have a camera so pictures will have to wait. So wait for them! I'll do a picture update one of these days.

Well another weekend is coming to an end... darn why do weekends feel so short now? And weekdays feel SO long? Have I become an official working professional, who dreads the weekdays, looks forward to weekends but hates how short weekends are? Crap!

I can't wait until I get my first pay check... two more weeks! I'm gonna feel like I won the lottery when I get paid! It's going to be great!

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Week Number 2

My second week here is coming to an end and I can say that it is feeling more like home. Maybe it's cause I have my furniture and other essentials that came in mid this week and I got my internet and cable today. No more sleeping on an air mattress and no more slow internet connections. Now I won't be bored... well I hope not.

Even though my apartment is feeling more like home... I wish I had all this back in Toronto. I would love to have my friends over, kick back with some cold ones and just having a ball. I miss my friends. I know I'll make new ones here but just miss all the opportunities that I'm going to miss with them. If anyone wants to make the trek over here... c'mon over! My apartment is always open for you guys!

I've realized how much I've missed the food network. I've been watching it in the airplane and now that I can watch it whenever I want... I think/hope that it'll inspire me to do some cooking on my own. If you don't know, I love food and I love to cook. I might not be good but I love to cook anyways. I'll have to blog about my cooking adventures whenever that happens. Hopefully I'll have a camera by then and I can take pictures of my beautiful and yummy creations!

What to do this weekend... maybe I'll hit up the mall again and walk around for a bit and walk on over to the superstore and sears. YES, we have sears! LOL I can use some new work clothes... which reminds me I gotta do a massive load of laundry! Oy I need toonies too, crap! I wonder if I can figure out a way to do laundry for free. Me and my housemates figured out a way to do laundry for free in Waterloo... Hrmmm I'll have to do some research on youtube. Laundry should be free... or at least affordable. C'mon, $2 for a wash and another $2 to dry... that's just ridiculous!

Hope this weekend will be a good one! Wish I was with you guys back home... miss having a pint with you guys!

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So Full

I eat so well at work... well I ate so well at work today at least. Today one of the programs for few of the units was a special dinner (don't know why we call it dinner cause they eat it at lunch) and on the menu was ham, carrots, and potatoes. I was busy doing one on one with another resident on my unit and learning the tricks and the trades so I didn't get to eat with anyone but I was lucky enough to go downstairs to get leftovers and it was good! On top of that, we had a department meeting at lunch and people brought desserts of all kinds... goodness there were 2 cakes, 2 pies, ice cream, and mini cupcakes. All I got to say is I was a very satisfied employee and a very sleepy one for the rest of the day.

Because of the moving people I started work late yesterday so to make it up I worked 8am-6pm today. Damn that's almost 12 hours... I didn't realize that! BUT it was worth it cause it so happened that there was another special dinner program called Travel Group running in the evening. Basically residents pick a country of their choice and the recreation assistants do light research and do a presentation about that country and get the group to talk about that country. So if they've ever visited, if they were born there if so how was it growing up there and moving here, etc, etc. And after the presentation, the recreation assistants or whoever is facilitating (usually two) cooks a meal from that country. So today it was about living in North America back in the day. So they prepared a roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, cabbage/union/bacon dish and for dessert apple pudding crumble with ice cream. I don't think I've eaten so well for a long time.

I guess I was at the right place at the right time. I picked a good day to go home late. So now I don't have to cook dinner... basically all my meals for today were from work. Oh I love my job sometimes.

My apartment is still a mess. I know I did a lot of work last night but it sure doesn't look like it. Just looks like a bomb went off and stuff flew everywhere. I have the weekend to clean up, I guess.

OH! The family I met through Pastor Chang offered me their car for the weekend. The guy is in Mexico for a conference so his wife emailed me today wondering if I wanted to borrow their car to explore the town. I was shocked that she offered the car cause they have 4 kids... maybe she met she'd drive me around... but still the thought was very surprising. I'd feel bad to take their car and I don't have any places in mind I'd want to go to.

Well I know the temperature back home is dropping... bundle up people! But that's still nothing compared to here... I'm still waiting for the -40 temperatures.

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12 More Hours...

My furniture and other things are arriving tomorrow! WOO friggin' HOO! :)

Not much happened today at work but continued on with the new employee orientation. The only fun part of today's orientation was it was the last day! Haha. I got to do my mask fitting again cause I didn't bring my card from Toronto... I hate tasting that bitter solution... so gross. And the stupid things they make you wear.... I look like a goof, a total goof. I wanted to keep the mask I was using but I left it on the table and when I came back from lunch I didn't know if it was my mask or someone's mask.

Yeah not much to blog about tonight... other than the fact that my stuff's arriving tomorrow morning! Finally my apartment will look and feel more like my home and I can finally settle in and feel comfortable. So long air mattress! You've provided me with... urmm comfort but I will definitely not miss you. I think I might fall asleep tomorrow night and not wake up for work cause I'll be too comfortable and sound asleep from the comfort.

Oh and I can't wait to start cooking some real food. Frozen food, instant noodles and pizza... not a very healthy combination of foods, I think. I need some vegetables and fresh stuff in my diet. Too bad I don't get paid for awhile.... my grocery shopping will have to wait and I'll just eat rice and curry-in-box that my mom sent over with my stuff. Thank mom! :)

Man it's only 8:30! I'm still not used to this time difference... I'll chat some more and maybe I'll sleep early tonight... or I'll tidy up my room so I can fit my bed and dresser when it gets here tomorrow. Maybe I should sleep on the floor tonight... so I don't have to wake up early to deflate it... yeah I'll just sleep on the floor tonight. The sacrifices I make for myself. Haha

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Orientation... What A Bore

Today and tomorrow was and will be a boring day for me. It's new employee orientation sessions... whoopie! I'm sitting there and listening and it doesn't matter if you're in a different province, everything is pretty much the same. Staff abuse awareness, child abuse awareness, workers comp... everything's the same. I guess I should have none since those things are pretty standard across the board... or I hope they are.

So I got nothing really to blog about today.... today was uneventful. OH! My furniture and other essentials were suppose to arrive today but the driver calls me yesterday and tells me the hwy in Regina closed down cause of 20-30cm of snow fall! 20-30cm!! How crazy is that?! He tells me he probably won't be on the road again until tomorrow. So he calls me in this morning and leaves a voice message telling me he hasn't left yet cause the hwy is still closed but they are opening it up slowly so he expects to be here by Wednesday earliest. WEDNESDAY?! I want my stuff already... I want to be able to cook a meal, sleep on a real mattress, sit and watch tv and eat a meal on a chair and a table. Guess my mom was right when she told me everyone needs to know how it feels to suffer a little... I don't think I'm suffering that much but not having some of the things I took for granted... it's making me appreciate them even more now.

Hopefully my stuff will be here Wednesday and by that time my tv will be ready for the cable and internet people who'll be coming Friday. Woohoo! Finally my apartment will feel like a real home. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of my bare apartment... it's pretty sad looking. Just picture yourself house hunting and you walk into a house with no furniture, no nothing. Well that picture you have in your head, it's pretty much my living area and kitchen and dinette area. My bedroom looks alright but still sad cause it's my air mattress, suit cases and my laptop with a few random things on the floor.

It's time for bed... I'm sleeping early these days. Guess that's a true sign of a working professional. Sleeping early to get my 6-7 hours of sleep. Good night! Don't be a stranger and leave a comment. And if you're in a good mood, follow my blog, too. :)

First Weekend In Grande Prairie

So my first weekend here was pretty good and productive.

I slept in and woke up 11-12. I didn't want to wake up but thought I should at least wake up early enough so if I wanted to do something I'd have time to do it. I walked around my apartment and I can't wait until my furniture, kitchen stuff, mattress and all the other things I packed arrive Monday. My living area is pretty bare... literally has nothing but curtains. I have a feeling I should have listen to my parents and shipped both the couches... even though they are flower patterned. Gotta save money, ya know? My living area seems to be big enough for both plus tv and coffee table. We'll see when I arrange the furniture around.

Being the first weekend, I wanted to explore this town that I now call home. What better place to go on a weekend but the mall! I wish I could say its a big mall like Yorkdale or even Fairview but... it really isn't. For all you readers who've been to the Conestoga Mall in Waterloo... yeah it's pretty similar but worse. The only men's store I can really shop at is RW&Co but that's only for work attire. I guess I'll have to drive to Edmonton one of these weekends to do ALL my clothe shopping.

Walking back I stopped by Canadian Tire just to kill more time and if I could buy anything for the apartment. After picking up stuff I realized that I should probably wait until my stuff arrive and see if I really do need the things I picked up. And I didn't want to spend money cause I haven't gotten paid yet... cause do I really need a hook near the main door to hold my keys? I didn't think so... although it was a good idea at the time.

Last night I met up with a family that Pastor Chang met at Urbana and I went to their son's indoor soccer game to talk and get out of the apartment. It was nice to meet them finally after countless emails and to talk to someone besides residents and coworkers at the hospital. While at timmies they told me about this production their church (so happens it's one of the churches I had in mind to attend) was holding a comedy production called Studio Y and they invited me to come if I had nothing to do Saturday night. So having nothing to do and wanting to go out and be productive with my time, I walked over to the church and had a good time. It was pretty funny and well organized. They apparently have it once a month so can't wait to go next month. Talking more with Mike, I found a gym I could go to but it'll be a far walk but hopefully I can figure out their transit schedule to save me time.

I'm glad I met the Bennett family, their kids are all nice and their youngest, I think is 9 months is SO cute. She cried the first time she saw me, which was last night, but now she smiles and laughs when I'm around. I guess she opens up to people easily. Or I'm not as scary as I thought. Haha.

I'm getting more comfortable here now, now having met a family who can show me around town and talk to, having worked a full week, and having been here a week. It still gets lonely but that's not going to go away. I wonder what my friends and family are up to this weekend... I miss having a drink with you guys. CHEERS!

What Could Have Been...

Weekend officially started today at 4:15pm but has been ruined by one phone call at 2:15pm.

I definitely did not want to wake up and go to work today. It was such a struggle to roll off my air mattress and walk towards the shower. But because I live so close to work I think I can afford to sleep in a little bit... I mean it takes like... 3 mins to walk to work. Honestly, it's that close. My view from my bedroom AND living room is the hospital.

Work today was pretty slow. None of the recreation therapist work Fridays but me and my supervisor so it was just me and the recreation assistants. I still don't know what I'm suppose to do at work... I don't lead any programs and assessments/reassessments don't happen that much... so what do I do? I try to make myself look busy but reading a binder or trying to help out so I can get to know my residents. The residents are fun and I love hearing their stories.

So after lunch I was prepping something one of the recreation therapist asked me to finish up. As I was working on it, I get a phone call and on my caller id it read Restricted ID so I was curious to see who was calling. I pick up and BAM! "Hi this is so and so from CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH, is this peter?" WHY?!?! Why must they call me NOW for an interview... when I already took a job on the other side of the country, one week into my new job and with my furniture expected for arrival on monday... why?? I told the person I already have a job now and we hung up. After that phone call my mood changed and all I could think of was... "what if i didnt take this job now?" "what am i doing here when i could have the change to work at my dream job?" "i lost my chance at my dream job!" All these thoughts... and I guess I'm doubting myself again for coming here, when there was a potential to stay home in the city I love and want to live in.

So my weekend has now been ruined... hopefully something sparks it up again but losing the chance to work at my dream job is pretty heartbreaking.

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Hump Wednesday

I can't believe it's Wednesday already... although it felt like Friday and I was ready for the weekend. First week of work and first week of being out here is almost half done! Pretty crazy! I wish I could say I've explored this small town but after work I just want to go home and rest, even though I have no furniture and nothing to do.

So I've been living like a true bachelor and been eating frozen food, Hungry Man to be exact. LOL It's pretty good... don't know if it's cause I was really hungry or cause it's actually good but the portion was pretty filling. I had the turkey dinner. Came with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, peas, and cranberry sauce. I'd much rather eat the real thing though... mmm turkey dinner!

Working is going alright. I'm getting to get the hang of things now but it's totally different from what I am used to. I'm used to being involved with the programs and activities that I would plan but here the programs and activities are mostly facilitated by the recreation therapy assistants. I can facilitate here and there when one of the RTA's is sick or if I want to observe a resident. I guess I'm doing more of the background work here and doing the assessments of residents. I have 51 residents in one unit and 10 patients in another unit... a total of 61 people I have to assess and plan for. The unit with 51 residents, I hear it takes 3 hours to write up an assessment for person! YIKES! The recreation therapists have been really helpful so it should be a real smooth transition.

Last night I ended up sleeping at 10pm and I ended up waking up at 6am but went back to sleep until 7am when my alarm woke me up. I slept at 11pm two nights ago and at 10pm last night so I should try to sleep at 10:30pm. Or I guess I can sleep at 10pm and wake up at 6am so I have time to shower, eat and check stuff online before heading to work. I'll try 10:30pm tonight and see how that goes.

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First Day At Work

So today was my first day at work and it was alright. It was just filled with administrative stuff, forms, and my supervisor talking and talking and talking. I got to see some of the clients but will definitely meet them all eventually as I start going to the units and doing more work besides administrative stuff.

I know this is only temporary and geriatrics isn't my field of interest but I want to stay out here longer than my temporary contract. I'm making good money here. I hope I don't just stay here until Oct (which is when my contract ends... I just found that out today) cause all the moving and what not would be a waste of money and time. I should continue to look for jobs in Toronto, maybe in Calgary and definitely in Vancouver too. But my ideal job is in Toronto and I'd love to live in Toronto. So much life, so much excitement and it'll always be my home.

It's a little lonely here... ok not a little but a lot lonely here right now. I have no furniture yet so my living area is bare, kitchen only has bread, peanut butter, kettle and instant cup noodles (how Korean am I? lol). I just stay in my bedroom where the only piece of furniture is my air mattress but at least my bedroom is occupied with clothes and suit cases... even though they are just randomly lying on the floor. It's very messy right now but it's making my room look full and less lonely.

I like my apartment. It's a nice place. I don't have a peep hole in my front door... I'll have to call the caretaker and see if he can do something about that. What if someone knocks at my door, I'd want to know who it was, who wouldn't? He is a really nice guy and his wife is just as nice. I lucked out on finding a good caretaker... superintendent... or whatever else you call them.

I was on hold with the internet and cable company and I noticed I don't need internet right now. I'm "borrowing" someone's wireless right now and I don't need cable right now either cause I don't even have a tv set yet. Good thing I was on hold or else I would have signed up and wasted money... money that I don't have yet. I can't wait until I get paid in two weeks... even if that first cheque is going straight to my bills, it'll still feel good to see that money in my bank account for that short amount of time.

Well I think I wrote enough for today. I'm planning on sleeping early tonight cause this morning was a bit of a struggle. It was still pitch dark outside at 7:30 and now I understand why people can't get up in the winter. I'd always used to wake up fine but not anymore. And the crazy thing was I saw kids walking to school in pitch darkness... that's pretty crazy I think. So I'm gonna try to sleep at 11, an hour earlier than last night and see if that helps.

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So Long Toronto... I Will Miss You

So I'm heading off to Grande Prairie for good in 5 or 6 hours. I had a blast at Wayne and Eli's wedding, hope the best for you two. Thanks for letting me party and hang out with all my friends for the last time in awhile.

As I sit here and think about my future... it's scary. There are a lot of unknowns for me. New town, new work, new everything. I guess I did ask for this... but didn't know it would hit me this hard. Thought I could breeze pass it and be on top of the world but in actuality I really don't know what I'm doing and I'm far from the top of the world.

I will miss my friends and family a lot. They were there for the good times and bad times. Shared a lot of great memories with them and I hope to continue to make great memories with you guys. I know it is going to be tough on me when I'll be sitting alone in my apartment thinking of home and wanting to hang out with my friends. Going to bars and going out for drinks won't be the same without you guys.

I know I have doubts and I know I will continue to have doubts about taking this job but I know for certain that this will help me grow as a person and help me mature as a man. I look forward to the unknown for that's where I will learn all my valuable life lessons from.

I won't have internet for awhile when I'm at Grande Prairie. So hopefully the next time I blog, I'll be settled in to my new apartment and settled into the new environment. Until that time... I'll miss you guys!

A New Day

So after posting my last blog, I talked to my brother some more and we figured things out. It was nice to talk to someone familiar since everyone here is unknown to me and not sure if I can trust anyone. But I know once I get to talk to more people on a regular basis I will hopefully build that trust with them.

Thanks everyone who thought about me and offered up help. I really felt your love and comfort. Don't know what I would do without friends like that, who are selfless and wanting the best for others. Thanks and you know that I'm always here for anyone.

Today I go back home for the weekend to do some packing and attend a wedding. I know I will have a tough time saying goodbye to everyone cause now I know how tough it will be without any of them around. Will I hold it together? I won't know... I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Time to get ready for the day.

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Having Doubts...

I'm having big doubts for accepting my new job...

I've been here for 3 days now and I'm already feeling homesick. Maybe it's because I'm stressing out about financial situations or maybe it's cause I'm not used to living in a small town, knowing no one or maybe it's a combination of both. Whatever the reason is, I'm regretting my decision. I thought this would be a great experience for me but little did I know how much work and stress it was going to put on me. I can say with no shame... I broke down today. I broken down in tears cause I had enough of calling banks asking for credit increases or asking for line of credits and getting rejected but them all cause I haven't officially started my job yet or cause in my letter of employment it says I'm only temporary full time. I knew money was going to be an issue to beginning with but I know I will get reimbursed back. Just that initial stage of paying for everything is the hardest part.

However, I am happy and blessed to have such loving and caring people in my life. Whether it's people from my new work or my family, I am truly blessed to have people I can talk to and who will comfort me. I guess I do think too much sometimes, over analyzing things and making everything seem worse than it really is and puts me in more of a mess. I guess this trip to GP hasn't been the greatest since day 1... with my luggage being misplaced and not loaded on to my flight from my stopover.

I'm feeling a little better now. I talked to my brother and talked through some ways we can overcome this situation. I guess I should stop trying to figure things out myself and let people I trust help me out to lessen my burdens and stress. As I write this blog and as I think about it... maybe my move to GP is good for me. It's developing me as an adult and is teaching me life skills and life experiences that I would not get living in the comfort of my parents in a city where I'm comfortable. This change will be good for me... I just need to have hope and see the light on the other side cause I know this stress and burden will be lifted.

This was more of serious blog but I hope people will keep me in their prayers and will talk to me whenever they see me online cause I will need to talk to familiar faces, even if its over msn or facebook or what not.

I miss everyone back home... even though I'm coming back for the weekend, I think it'll just make my final flight to GP that much tougher to swallow. I now know the true value of my friends and family.

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Wild Wild West?

Hello everyone from Grande Prairie!

So I landed yesterday afternoon but my day started off pretty bad. When I went to the airport I got my ticket and lined up to get checked and what not. The line wasn't THAT long it was still a slow process. So it was my turn and put everything down in the tray but I guess it's because I haven't traveled on a plane in ages, I didn't take off my belt or my watch. So I walked through the machine and it started to beep so I just figured it was my watch and they were just going to check with their metal detection stick thing and they did but that wasn't it. After the girl checked with the detection stick she calls over a call and tells him to pat me down. He patted me down and what not but I guess because I haven't flown in a long time, I didn't expect to be padded down. Now I know to take off my belt and watch and any metal on me.

My flight was pretty good, watched tv on the plane and tried to sleep cause I only had 2 hours of the sleep before I went to the airport at 4am. I stopped at calgary for 30 mins and boarded my last flight to Grande Prairie and that was pretty. I land in Grande Prairie and I wait to pick up my luggage and nothing. Everyone leaves and I'm staying there still waiting. I go to the Westjet people and tell them my luggage didn't come so they filled out an online report and told me hopefully it'll be on the next flight in at 3pm. So I wait 3 hours and still nothing.... I ended up checking in at my hotel and waited cause the next flight was at 11pm.

Long story short... I got my luggage this morning at 9:30. It felt nice to wear some clean clothes.... love that feeling.

I'll blog about my day later on... my stomach not agreeing with the sub i just ate right now.

My First Trip To Grande Prairie in 3 Days!

Wow I haven't blogged since new years day! I've been busy with meeting a lot of people, busy figuring out moving stuff and I forget to blog sometimes cause I'm just too tired when I get home most days. I guess I have a lot to write but I will try to not bore anyone and try to keep this post short and sweet.

So I've been meeting a lot of friends and people and it has some negative side effects. I've been eating SO much lately and I feel so fat. Literally, I've been eating out every single day. For example, couple days ago, I met up with a friend and we both wanted pho but we were close to hwy 7 and leslie so I thought there must be a pho place there. We found one but... it wasn't that great so we decided to go to pho 88 at warden and steeles to fulfill our pho cravings. All in all... I had two large pho back to back that night. I can't believe I finished both bowls too... I surprise myself sometimes with all the food I can eat. OH! earlier in the week I went to my friend's sushi place... and I ate a lot there too. I swear I think I gained at least few pounds but my parents and friends are telling me I'll probably lose all of my weight when I move out west. I don't think my parents understand I can feed myself... feed myself pretty well at that when I'm alone.

I love to cook. I don't know if I'm good for not but I love to cook. I think when I move out, it'll give me an opportunity to fine tune my cooking skills. Too bad I won't have anyone to cook for but myself. If anyone wants to visit me in Grande Prairie... come and I'll feed you well!

So I've figured out all my moving costs and now figuring out how I'm going to pay for it all is a tough one. I will get all my money back through reimbursements but getting that initial money is pretty hard. None of my credit card people want to raise my limit cause A) I just graduated B) I haven't started work yet and C) I haven't used my sears card for two years. I didn't want to ask my brother but I think I will have to. I'll let you guys know how that goes.

I'm finally going to Grande Prairie on Monday. I think it'll finally hit me that I'm moving when I'm at the airport or when I'm seating on the plane or when I land and check myself in at the hotel or it won't hit me at all until I start work in two weeks. Everyone I've talked to at Grande Prairie, whether it's landlords, my manager, other recreation therapist, they all seem so friendly and helpful. I think I got lucky and I'm blessed that I found a friendly and helpful town to work in. I think my transition from the big city to the small town won't be too hard.

I will blog again... hopefully more often now. Until my next blog, don't be a stranger and leave a comment.

The day after new years eve... I didn't even do anything last night and I still managed to sleep most of the day today. I guess doing nothing is pretty tiring too. I was watching the college football bowl games and the winter classic hockey game but watching it lying down in my bed all cuddled up in my blanket didn't help my cause with falling asleep. At one point I remember I woke up for a second to turn off the tv and went back to sleep.

So my move to Grande Prairie is coming closer and closer. I emailed an apartment ad and they actually replied back. This is a 2 room apartment though and it a little bit more expensive than what I want but it's close to the hospital and other places. I have to email another place but both of them don't have any interior pictures so I'll have to make my decisions when I get there in two weeks.

I can't believe it is the weekend already. I honestly didn't have a clue what the days were... everyday felt like a weekend day. I guess I should enjoy this freedom cause I know I won't get this much free time when I start work. Which reminds me... I have to get a work calender to organize my life from now on. I should have bought on during boxing day. I saw a nice one for $13.99. It had time slots, days, full calender... the works! I'll have to get it soon. Maybe I'll get it this weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far... let's make it a good one!