i can almost taste happiness
Hey friends. Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I keep feeling like I should write, but then feeling like I have nothing to say. I've come up with a few things though, so you get an entry.
Thus far, the search for summer employment has not turned up much. I'd interviewed for a summer nanny position several weeks ago, but didn't get that, which was probably for the best as I hadn't felt truly into it anyway. I applied to Chapters through their online system, but haven't heard anything back. I also applied to a dog walking company, who for the time being shall remain nameless, and they called me last week for an interview. I got the call on Wednesday, asking if I could come in Thursday for the interview, which was fine. Despite leaving an hour before the interview time, I still got there 5 minutes late because traffic in Toronto is just a nightmare, and with the interview being at 5:50 pm, I guess there really wasn't much hope of not getting screwed by traffic. So showing up late would've been bad enough, except that when I walked in, I discovered that it was a group interview, which hadn't been mentioned on the phone, and the other 3 applicants were already there and sitting around a table waiting to get started. Super awkward.
The group interview format was just strange and felt very non-productive to me. The interviewer went around the table asking each of us different questions, 2 each, but questions that were like standard bullshit interview questions, and not necessarily things that would determine our ability to be good dog walkers. Seriously, one of the questions I got asked was 'what's the worst project you've ever worked on?' Really now? Come on. So anyway, there was that nonsense, and then a group activity where we had to match pictures of dog postures to the correct labels, to show our understanding of dog body language, and that was it. The whole thing took like 15 minutes, if that, which made me so glad I'd spent an hour in my car battling traffic to try to get there. Then I also had to fill out a one sheet dog fact quiz that had several grammatical errors on it. I totally corrected them, because I'm a bitch and was irritated at feeling like I'd wasted my time. :p
We were all asked to sign up for second interviews, in which we'd go for a trial dog walk with the interviewer, so she could see how well we handled the dogs. This actually makes sense. My second interview was yesterday, and when I got to the dog park 6 minutes early this time, there was no one there, and the interviewer actually showed up like 10 minutes late. :p Lovely. Anyway, we did our dog walk and she asked me some more questions, and at the end, she told me that if they liked me, I'd get called back for a freaking THIRD interview with the owner of the company, and then there'd be orientation and training after that. Dear lord people, it's just dog walking! I get that they want their dog walkers to be the most professional and well-trained and they're trying to build their company's reputation and all, but fuck's sake, this is a little ridiculous. So whatever. Playing with puppies all summer would be fun, but I'm really not up to jumping through bullshit hoops to do it. We'll see if they call me for a third interview or not. In the meantime, I have completed an application to volunteer at the animal shelter, and Brad was going to fill one out as well, so that would still give me my puppy fix, while also allowing me to do something good. I think we'll probably drop those applications off later today or tomorrow.
Besides that, I went into HR on Monday to sign all the paperwork for my permanent position at work, which is definitely a good thing. I still won't get paid again until September, but at least I know I'm good after that. Apparently, permanent employees also get life insurance, so that's sweet, plus I can now start putting money towards a pension plan! Wooo grown up shit, lol. I'm really just trying not to worry about the money situation this summer, because for some reason I am stupidly optimistic that things will work out okay and we won't get as badly screwed as we did last year, even though I have nothing to base that feeling on. We'll see, I guess.
In totally AWESOME news, I am going to drive down to Ohio after my birthday to spend a week with Kristian, and I cannot freaking wait. It is going to be so epic. We haven't seen each other since LAST March, which is a totally unacceptable amount of time. Seriously, Kristian is one of the only people I can hang out with doing literally anything and still have a good time. Grocery shopping? Lovely. Laundry at the laundromat? Excellent. Sitting in the same room reading our own books? Fantastic. Also, she is pretty much the one person in the world I never run out of things to say to. We can sit there and chat for hours and hours and still have more to say. Which basically means this trip is going to be amazing, and I am SO looking forward to it.
Because people asked, have some pictures of our new furniture:
This was the best I could do to get all three pieces in one shot. Also, please excuse our messy coffee table.
The pillows came with the couch and loveseat; they wouldn't have been my first choice, but I guess you can't argue with free pillows, especially since our old throw pillows were all lumpy and terrible.
This chair is pretty much the best thing ever. It's sooooo comfortable, and I can curl up in it in pretty much every position I ever want to sit or relax in. I love it and am so glad we got it.
Speaking of new things, I also ordered myself a new pair of glasses from a website that was advertising your first pair free. Of course, that really meant just the frames, and I still ended up paying a bit for the lenses, but the total price was way less than what Lens Crafters wanted when we went there in May, so it was a pretty good deal.
I like them, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep them yet. They were still about $100, and right now, with no income coming in, I feel like we could really use that $100 better for other things, since I don't really NEED the glasses except as a back-up. I am wearing them today to try them out and see how they feel/how my vision is with them and everything, but I may end up sending them back and getting a refund because the money would be more helpful than the glasses at this moment. We'll see.
Finally, I leave you with
I came into the kitchen last week and Aphrodite was just chilling there in this position, which totally cracked us both up. And she stayed like that long enough for me to go get the camera and take a few pictures, too.
I pretty much love the expression on her face, too, that's just like 'what, I'm awesome, I don't know what your problem is.' :p
Thus far, the search for summer employment has not turned up much. I'd interviewed for a summer nanny position several weeks ago, but didn't get that, which was probably for the best as I hadn't felt truly into it anyway. I applied to Chapters through their online system, but haven't heard anything back. I also applied to a dog walking company, who for the time being shall remain nameless, and they called me last week for an interview. I got the call on Wednesday, asking if I could come in Thursday for the interview, which was fine. Despite leaving an hour before the interview time, I still got there 5 minutes late because traffic in Toronto is just a nightmare, and with the interview being at 5:50 pm, I guess there really wasn't much hope of not getting screwed by traffic. So showing up late would've been bad enough, except that when I walked in, I discovered that it was a group interview, which hadn't been mentioned on the phone, and the other 3 applicants were already there and sitting around a table waiting to get started. Super awkward.
The group interview format was just strange and felt very non-productive to me. The interviewer went around the table asking each of us different questions, 2 each, but questions that were like standard bullshit interview questions, and not necessarily things that would determine our ability to be good dog walkers. Seriously, one of the questions I got asked was 'what's the worst project you've ever worked on?' Really now? Come on. So anyway, there was that nonsense, and then a group activity where we had to match pictures of dog postures to the correct labels, to show our understanding of dog body language, and that was it. The whole thing took like 15 minutes, if that, which made me so glad I'd spent an hour in my car battling traffic to try to get there. Then I also had to fill out a one sheet dog fact quiz that had several grammatical errors on it. I totally corrected them, because I'm a bitch and was irritated at feeling like I'd wasted my time. :p
We were all asked to sign up for second interviews, in which we'd go for a trial dog walk with the interviewer, so she could see how well we handled the dogs. This actually makes sense. My second interview was yesterday, and when I got to the dog park 6 minutes early this time, there was no one there, and the interviewer actually showed up like 10 minutes late. :p Lovely. Anyway, we did our dog walk and she asked me some more questions, and at the end, she told me that if they liked me, I'd get called back for a freaking THIRD interview with the owner of the company, and then there'd be orientation and training after that. Dear lord people, it's just dog walking! I get that they want their dog walkers to be the most professional and well-trained and they're trying to build their company's reputation and all, but fuck's sake, this is a little ridiculous. So whatever. Playing with puppies all summer would be fun, but I'm really not up to jumping through bullshit hoops to do it. We'll see if they call me for a third interview or not. In the meantime, I have completed an application to volunteer at the animal shelter, and Brad was going to fill one out as well, so that would still give me my puppy fix, while also allowing me to do something good. I think we'll probably drop those applications off later today or tomorrow.
Besides that, I went into HR on Monday to sign all the paperwork for my permanent position at work, which is definitely a good thing. I still won't get paid again until September, but at least I know I'm good after that. Apparently, permanent employees also get life insurance, so that's sweet, plus I can now start putting money towards a pension plan! Wooo grown up shit, lol. I'm really just trying not to worry about the money situation this summer, because for some reason I am stupidly optimistic that things will work out okay and we won't get as badly screwed as we did last year, even though I have nothing to base that feeling on. We'll see, I guess.
In totally AWESOME news, I am going to drive down to Ohio after my birthday to spend a week with Kristian, and I cannot freaking wait. It is going to be so epic. We haven't seen each other since LAST March, which is a totally unacceptable amount of time. Seriously, Kristian is one of the only people I can hang out with doing literally anything and still have a good time. Grocery shopping? Lovely. Laundry at the laundromat? Excellent. Sitting in the same room reading our own books? Fantastic. Also, she is pretty much the one person in the world I never run out of things to say to. We can sit there and chat for hours and hours and still have more to say. Which basically means this trip is going to be amazing, and I am SO looking forward to it.
Because people asked, have some pictures of our new furniture:
This was the best I could do to get all three pieces in one shot. Also, please excuse our messy coffee table.
The pillows came with the couch and loveseat; they wouldn't have been my first choice, but I guess you can't argue with free pillows, especially since our old throw pillows were all lumpy and terrible.
This chair is pretty much the best thing ever. It's sooooo comfortable, and I can curl up in it in pretty much every position I ever want to sit or relax in. I love it and am so glad we got it.
Speaking of new things, I also ordered myself a new pair of glasses from a website that was advertising your first pair free. Of course, that really meant just the frames, and I still ended up paying a bit for the lenses, but the total price was way less than what Lens Crafters wanted when we went there in May, so it was a pretty good deal.
I like them, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep them yet. They were still about $100, and right now, with no income coming in, I feel like we could really use that $100 better for other things, since I don't really NEED the glasses except as a back-up. I am wearing them today to try them out and see how they feel/how my vision is with them and everything, but I may end up sending them back and getting a refund because the money would be more helpful than the glasses at this moment. We'll see.
Finally, I leave you with
I came into the kitchen last week and Aphrodite was just chilling there in this position, which totally cracked us both up. And she stayed like that long enough for me to go get the camera and take a few pictures, too.
I pretty much love the expression on her face, too, that's just like 'what, I'm awesome, I don't know what your problem is.' :p