Time: 10:50pm
Mood: Exhausted
Song of the moment: Coldplay - Viva La Vida
This weekend has been absolutely exhausting, but fun! Jimmy's cousins came down from NYC this weekend to surprise my sister-in-law and to see her new baby :D Also, my uncle and cousin from Van-city came for the week. So Jimmy and I ended up hosting 2 family BBQs - on one Saturday afternoon, one this evening. I'm exhausted!
Recently the company I used to work for filed for bankruptcy and completely closed down (it was all over the news...). I still keep in touch with a lot of people I used to work for so I was getting a play-by-play on what happened. I got an email from an ex-coworker when they filed for bankruptcy, and I got a phone call the day everyone got the call that the company was shutting it's doors and they were all out of a job. Even though I hated the job and the senior management staff that ran the place, I really really cared for the people that worked there. It was incredibly sad to hear that everyone had lost there jobs. And the worst part is, no one was offered any severence, even the people that had worked there for over 15-20 years. They were pretty much thrown out on the street like garbage.
I can't say this was completely unexpected because of the way the economy was going and the state of the industry they catered to. But I heard senior management lead people on, telling everyone there was nothing to worry about. People were so angry with how abruptly the plants closed, and how management pretty much left them in the dark that they began to picket outside the main plant. They met with senior management, who all got major pay-outs, in attempts to get some level of severence, but got nowhere. I was told after a meeting they had with the management team that those assholes were seen laughing about the whole matter. Of course they find it funny.. they have their money.
Even though I disliked a lot of the management team, there were some people I had highly respected. Now, I'm absolutely appalled by their behaviour. As far as I'm concerned, they're all selfish and evil, and I hope Karma comes and kicks them all right in the balls.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, June 07, 2008
New Beginnings
Time: 11:07pm
Mood: Happy
Song of the moment: New Kids On The Block - Summertime
It's been almost two months since my last entry, and so much has happend in that time. Two weeks after I got back from Costa Rica, I got a phone call on a Saturday - it was someone from a company that found my resume online, and was wondering if I wanted to come in for an interview. The way the guy described the job... it really sounded like my dream job. I thought, ok, I really have nothing to loose by going to the interview. So we agreed to meet on Friday over lunch.
The Monday before the interview, my boss decided to make me an example out of me by sending out an email to my department, pointing out that I made a mistake. It made me look like a complete dumbass - which made me furious. I was in Detroit, so I couldn't go in and say anything to him, but it ate at me all week. I was really looking forward to the interview b/c I was so pissed I wanted out. So the day of the interview, I walked into my boss' office in the morning and told him that he had crossed the line with me and that I expected more from him as a manager. After that, we had a really good conversation, and I left his office feeling a lot better about everything. So I went to my interview that afternoon with a "I have nothing to loose" mentality. The interview went really really well - I got the sense that they were impressed with me and I left the interview with a good feeling.
Needless to say, I got the job. They called me an hour after I left the interview and offered me the job! It was extremely hard to leave my job though because I've grown so attached to the people. I still keep in touch with my ex-coworkers - I actually saw some of them last week :) My new company's test facility is just around the corner from my old office, so it makes it convienient to see them :) I miss them though.
Also on a the new beginning list - Jimmy and I became a first time uncle and aunt :D Katie and Ray had a healthy baby boy :D He's so cute. But it made me realize I'm not ready for kids yet (I don't like holding babies... hahaha). Eh... kids are more fun when they're more responsive :)
Mood: Happy
Song of the moment: New Kids On The Block - Summertime
It's been almost two months since my last entry, and so much has happend in that time. Two weeks after I got back from Costa Rica, I got a phone call on a Saturday - it was someone from a company that found my resume online, and was wondering if I wanted to come in for an interview. The way the guy described the job... it really sounded like my dream job. I thought, ok, I really have nothing to loose by going to the interview. So we agreed to meet on Friday over lunch.
The Monday before the interview, my boss decided to make me an example out of me by sending out an email to my department, pointing out that I made a mistake. It made me look like a complete dumbass - which made me furious. I was in Detroit, so I couldn't go in and say anything to him, but it ate at me all week. I was really looking forward to the interview b/c I was so pissed I wanted out. So the day of the interview, I walked into my boss' office in the morning and told him that he had crossed the line with me and that I expected more from him as a manager. After that, we had a really good conversation, and I left his office feeling a lot better about everything. So I went to my interview that afternoon with a "I have nothing to loose" mentality. The interview went really really well - I got the sense that they were impressed with me and I left the interview with a good feeling.
Needless to say, I got the job. They called me an hour after I left the interview and offered me the job! It was extremely hard to leave my job though because I've grown so attached to the people. I still keep in touch with my ex-coworkers - I actually saw some of them last week :) My new company's test facility is just around the corner from my old office, so it makes it convienient to see them :) I miss them though.
Also on a the new beginning list - Jimmy and I became a first time uncle and aunt :D Katie and Ray had a healthy baby boy :D He's so cute. But it made me realize I'm not ready for kids yet (I don't like holding babies... hahaha). Eh... kids are more fun when they're more responsive :)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Well Needed Vacay
Time: 8:48am
Mood: Tired
Song of the moment: Kyle Minogue - All I See
Every so often, usually once a year, I get bitten by the travelling bug. I get this uncontrollable urge to get on plane and leave the country. Last time I did this was in August for my honeymoon, so I figured I wouldn't get the itch until July.. but I was wrong! Around Feb. I knew I had to go on vacation soon. So I went out and booked a trip to Costa Rica. Jimmy and I just got back last week :)
We had a fabulous time! It was a 8 day Eco-tour, where the first half was spent exploring the northern province of Gunacaste, and the second half at an all-inclusive resort. I booked this tour because I wanted a mix of both adventure and beach time - I was in dire need of a tan. We started a the tour in Liberia, but we were quickly wisked into a bus for a 3 hr bumpy car ride to Monteverde - home of the cloud rain forest. There was only 4 of us on the tour, so it was nice. I was expecting 30 ppl. Less ppl meant we wouldn't be herded like cattle :) During our time in Monteverde Jimmy and I did a lot of hiking on nature trails, and we went on a zip-lining tour. We got to zip-line through the rainforest - it was awesome! From Monteverde we headed to the Arenal Volcano - which is the second most active volcano in the world. We got to hike around the base of the volcano, where we got to observe different species of birds, trees and monkeys. Oh yes the monkeys... one decided to have some fun and began to throw poo at us! It didn't hit me... but it hit my tour buddies... how awful! But it makes for a good story :) The last 3 nights were spent at an all-inclusive resort - this was where Jimmy and I concluded we are not resort people! haha! The resort was pretty bland - there really wasn't anything to do there. It consisted of a pool, a restaurant and a bar (notice all those things are singular). The beach wasn't that great either. On the plus side, we had an room with a great view! We stayed in a suite that had a kitchen (that we didn't use), and a deck with a small dipping pool that overlooked the bay. It was gorgeous! So Jimmy and I spent a lot of time hanging out on our deck and just baked in the sun :) I got the tan I was looking for!
After coming back from the vacay I realized it was much needed. I really needed a mental break from work! I'm enjoying a job a little more now - I feel more on top of things and I've been so productive the past couple of day\s. But ask me in a week's time - this will most likely change! LoL :)
Zip-lining through the cloud rainforest:
The town of La Fortuna - Arenal Volcano
The view from our room
Mood: Tired
Song of the moment: Kyle Minogue - All I See
Every so often, usually once a year, I get bitten by the travelling bug. I get this uncontrollable urge to get on plane and leave the country. Last time I did this was in August for my honeymoon, so I figured I wouldn't get the itch until July.. but I was wrong! Around Feb. I knew I had to go on vacation soon. So I went out and booked a trip to Costa Rica. Jimmy and I just got back last week :)
We had a fabulous time! It was a 8 day Eco-tour, where the first half was spent exploring the northern province of Gunacaste, and the second half at an all-inclusive resort. I booked this tour because I wanted a mix of both adventure and beach time - I was in dire need of a tan. We started a the tour in Liberia, but we were quickly wisked into a bus for a 3 hr bumpy car ride to Monteverde - home of the cloud rain forest. There was only 4 of us on the tour, so it was nice. I was expecting 30 ppl. Less ppl meant we wouldn't be herded like cattle :) During our time in Monteverde Jimmy and I did a lot of hiking on nature trails, and we went on a zip-lining tour. We got to zip-line through the rainforest - it was awesome! From Monteverde we headed to the Arenal Volcano - which is the second most active volcano in the world. We got to hike around the base of the volcano, where we got to observe different species of birds, trees and monkeys. Oh yes the monkeys... one decided to have some fun and began to throw poo at us! It didn't hit me... but it hit my tour buddies... how awful! But it makes for a good story :) The last 3 nights were spent at an all-inclusive resort - this was where Jimmy and I concluded we are not resort people! haha! The resort was pretty bland - there really wasn't anything to do there. It consisted of a pool, a restaurant and a bar (notice all those things are singular). The beach wasn't that great either. On the plus side, we had an room with a great view! We stayed in a suite that had a kitchen (that we didn't use), and a deck with a small dipping pool that overlooked the bay. It was gorgeous! So Jimmy and I spent a lot of time hanging out on our deck and just baked in the sun :) I got the tan I was looking for!
After coming back from the vacay I realized it was much needed. I really needed a mental break from work! I'm enjoying a job a little more now - I feel more on top of things and I've been so productive the past couple of day\s. But ask me in a week's time - this will most likely change! LoL :)
Zip-lining through the cloud rainforest:
The town of La Fortuna - Arenal Volcano
The view from our room
Monday, March 10, 2008
Too Much Snow!
Time: 8:12pm
Mood: Sleepy
Song of the moment: OneRepublic - Stop & Stare
Here's a photo during the snow storm (this was after shoveling trip #3):
And the day after (after shoveling trip #6):
My poor tree it's completely covered!
Mood: Sleepy
Song of the moment: OneRepublic - Stop & Stare
Toronto got blasted with another winter snow storm this weekend and let me tell you - it was brutal! We have so much snow piled up in front of our house, it's taller than me! Not only did we have to put up with the storm, it was daylights savings - so all our clocks moved forward an hour. This is why i'm so tired!!
Here's a photo during the snow storm (this was after shoveling trip #3):
My poor tree it's completely covered!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Cancelled Long Weekend
Time: 11:50pm
Mood: Pissed (but in love! It's V-day after all!)
Song of the moment: Fergie - Clumsy
A couple of months ago, the Canadian gov't decided to add another statituory holiday to their list - Family Day. This was to promote time spent with family.
When my coworkers and I turned on our computers and checked our emails this morning, we were greeted with this note from our executives:
"It has recently come to our attention that the majority of *company name* customers will be working on Family Day (February 18, 2008). Knowing that we need to fulfill our customer requirements and meet customer demand, we have made a decision to remain open on Family Day (February 18th) and substitute this public holiday for another day.
All employees are asked to report to work as usual on Monday Feb. 18th, and instead observe Monday March 24th as a paid holiday when *company name* will be closed. We realize that this is a late decision on the company’s part, and therefore this is not “mandatory”. All employees have the following options:
1) Observe the holiday substitution on March 24th as outlined above, OR
2) Take Feb. 18th as a paid holiday; however March 24th will be an unpaid day off as *company name* will be closed on this day"
Now this pisses me off for several reasons. First of all - isn't it a little late to tell us to come into work on Monday, after everyone has made long weekend plans? Secondly, they're making us choose between coming in on Monday, or to dock a day's pay if we do take it off. And lastly, they're missing the whole point of this holiday. It's called Family Day because we're supposed to spend it with family (even though most of us wouldn't, that's still not the point). Ok fine we are still getting a day off later in the year, but my other family members don't get the same day off as me - how am I going to spend time with them?!
This shows me exactly what my company thinks about where family should fit into life. I hope I never absorb that mentality - please shoot me if I do.
Mood: Pissed (but in love! It's V-day after all!)
Song of the moment: Fergie - Clumsy
A couple of months ago, the Canadian gov't decided to add another statituory holiday to their list - Family Day. This was to promote time spent with family.
When my coworkers and I turned on our computers and checked our emails this morning, we were greeted with this note from our executives:
"It has recently come to our attention that the majority of *company name* customers will be working on Family Day (February 18, 2008). Knowing that we need to fulfill our customer requirements and meet customer demand, we have made a decision to remain open on Family Day (February 18th) and substitute this public holiday for another day.
All employees are asked to report to work as usual on Monday Feb. 18th, and instead observe Monday March 24th as a paid holiday when *company name* will be closed. We realize that this is a late decision on the company’s part, and therefore this is not “mandatory”. All employees have the following options:
1) Observe the holiday substitution on March 24th as outlined above, OR
2) Take Feb. 18th as a paid holiday; however March 24th will be an unpaid day off as *company name* will be closed on this day"
Now this pisses me off for several reasons. First of all - isn't it a little late to tell us to come into work on Monday, after everyone has made long weekend plans? Secondly, they're making us choose between coming in on Monday, or to dock a day's pay if we do take it off. And lastly, they're missing the whole point of this holiday. It's called Family Day because we're supposed to spend it with family (even though most of us wouldn't, that's still not the point). Ok fine we are still getting a day off later in the year, but my other family members don't get the same day off as me - how am I going to spend time with them?!
This shows me exactly what my company thinks about where family should fit into life. I hope I never absorb that mentality - please shoot me if I do.
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