Farewell 2006, WELCOME 2007!!!
Yuppi!!! Today is the last day of 2006! I'm putting a lot of hope into 2007. For me, it will be a fresh beginning. I am greatly looking forward to putting a lot of negativity behind me. A new year brings new opportunities, new experiences, new outlooks and perhaps new LUCK?? :D Anyway, what I'm really saying, is that by this time next year, I hope to be employed and have a better idea of where my future is going (i.e., where I'll be settling down?). Out of inspiration from a friend who wrote a summary of her year, here goes mine:
Memorable Moments:
-Chinese New Year in Ottawa. Spending the day in Barhaven (fondly known as Farhaven) cooking, hanging around and enjoying. My friends and I all dressed in red...
-Running my first marathon (perhaps my last?). Without any training, I ran an 8km marathon in the middle of the winter. Many firsts for me there: Running outside in the winter, running 8km, and running a marathon!! I was so proud of myself :)
-Beginning and completing my second practicum. My second practicum experience was so much more exciting and reassuring that my decision to become a teacher was the right one :)
-In May, my family suffered the loss of my grandmother on my dad's side. She was 92 years old and the last time I saw her, I was 18. I am spending the last few moments of 2006 remembering her.
-Graduating for the 2nd time. This time a fancier affair - at the NAC. Yuppi! It was more memorable because my family had to make a 11 hour drive to attend, my uncle had to drive in from Toronto, and I got roses from CE & Turtle ;)
-Moving out of my apartment and into a friend's house. OMG. A day I will never forget. It was hot, humid and exhausting. (We got up at 6am to send a friend off to the airport, came back, had breakfast, moved one friend out of the house I was moving into and into his new house, and moved me out of my apartment and into my new location...)
-Canada day in the capital. Finally! After spending so many national holidays in a tiny city, it was time for the big guns.. I wasn't disappointed.
-Taking a "day trip" to Calgary. HA! A very long day, but a day that uplifted my spirits when I found out that I had been accepted into the hiring pool at the Calgary board of education. :) Not that anything came out of it (yet??)... but all the same, it was an experience I will never forget. After all, it was my first teacher interview and it was rigorous!
-Deciding to move back to Fredericton. A horribly difficult decision for me, but a decision I will not regret (mostly because I spent hours agonizing over what to do).
-Spending 1 day at Wandlyn Inn and deciding that I didn't want to work there. The guy who was training me was absolutely cocky and referred to me as "this one" .. ah.. don't get me started.
-Working at a daycare. Enjoying the children but not really liking the whole working situation (again, let's not get started).
There are plenty of more memories, but this post would become very long winded and boring. I'm sure this new year holds many new adventures, hurdles and lessons for me. I believe I will have to take on some things that I've been avoiding for a while, but perhaps it will finally let me be at peace with some things that have occured in the last few years that I still haven't come to terms with.
Anyhow, I hope everyone has a great evening tonight. Don't drink and drive!
ps./ One of my resolutions this year is to conserve more energy. My contribution to helping reduce green house gas. I hope you consider the environment when you make your resolutions this year :)
Frustration, and Illness
Cheerful title eh? I'm trying, I'm trying!
Last week, I got hit with the flu that I had been fighting for 2 weeks. Fever, aches, and a cough. I took two days off. To make matters worse, the day before I got sick, I asked for the day off so that I could attempt to finish up my course work, so I totalled 3 days off last week. I went back to work on Friday of last week and I guess I wasn't really up to it so I'm sort of sick again. Not really sick, sick, but I've been coughing a lot and it has made me ribs hurt so that it hurts to move in certain ways (sometimes it hurts to breathe). This is sort of a carry over from my bug from last month actually. I had been coughing a lot and my ribs were also pretty sore, was just getting better and then this new bug came. SO, the result? It feels like an open wound and whenever I cough, sneeze or whatever, it's as if someone is punching me in my wound (that's the reaction my body has too, I fold over whenever I cough). Anyways, I hope this makes sense because I feel like I've typed a lot of gibberish?
Anyhow, my point with all of this is that my employer isn't very pleased that I've missed so much work. Each time I phone in to tell them I'm sick, I get this major feeling of guilt (brought on by myself and a lot by them). I also have a feeling that some co-workers are displeased with me as I'm getting this somewhat grumpy look from at least one of them when I'm at work. But come'on, I'm not skipping work (why would I do that? I don't get paid!!!!).. I'm SICK. It's so obvious I'm not faking too.. listen to my voice!! They actually had the guts to tell me that they were considering "letting me go" because of this. WTF. I'm so mad. I'm already pretty fed up working there and have been seriously considering leaving in January. This is pretty much the last straw unless I calm down over the holidays. I can't believe that a person cannot be sick at this job. Does it do any good for them for parents to see that one of their worker's is sick and still taking care of their children?! Is it my fault that you have no back up plan?! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alright. Enough complaining. Christmas is in 3 days.. it's hard to believe. Partially because I've been sick, I think I haven't had the energy to think much about the holidays. In fact, I still have about 3 Christmas cards sitting here on my desk waiting to be sent.. ekk.. I've never procrastinated this long! I also haven't written my grandparents yet.. :(
Ha.. that was cheerful. I keep trying to remind myself that it's going to be a new year, and hopefully, with a new year there will be new beginnings. Stupid as it may be, I'm going to wish myself a fresh start, bringing with it, new optimism, lots of good luck, lots of energy, a JOB (PLEASE!!!!!), and a strong immune system (mine seems to have gone missing in the last few years..). I wish all of you the same!
Happy Holidays everyone. May you take this time to have warm, loving, and happy moments with you friends and family!
JY
Travelling back in Time
I just came back from a walk around Head Hall here at UNB. Walking around the building not only brought back lots of memories, but also made me feel old :P
Quite a few changes around the building. For one, they are adding in a new elevator in old head hall and the stairs have been changed to new ones over there (looks kind of odd since you come down and see all these ancient looking lockers). They've also changed the chairs in some of the Gillin Wing classrooms *gasp*. I spent many hours feeling lost in those classes... hahahah! The library has also changed quite a bit. They've added two sound proof rooms in the "talking section" of the library. There are also more tables in there and the whole setup has been switched around a bit. It still smells the same though.
Head hall holds many, many memories for me. Not all great, not all bad. Much happened in this old building.. can't say I'm fond of it as most of the time I spent here is associated with worry, frustration, boredom, exhaustion, headache, etc.. (you get the idea), but it's nice to be back and not be a student!!! HAHAHA.. the other downside to this new 'status' of mine is that as I look at the old composites, I notice how people have aged and I also notice how much younger some of the undergrad students look.........
