I got up bright and early to meet Daniel and Jimmy again, but after waiting ten minutes, I got too cold and went off on my own guessing they were stuck in morning traffic, but I hadn't bought my phone out with me. I was very conscious that I was heading out on the trails by myself with no phone so I took it fairly easy, especially on the downhills. This time I decided to head north, cross the bridge and continue north as I haven't been that way yet. After a section of raised boardwalk, the path split and I decided to head inland instead of following the river. I kept checking my watch as I had decided to turn round after half an hour but my legs were so tired I thought it must be nearly time to turn. I saw the end of the trail ahead so thought i'd take a look to get an idea of where I was, then I turned back and realised my legs had been hurting because I had been going uphill, now it was downhill and lovely! I like when that happens. sneaky hills. nothing dangerous happened, the only wildlife I saw was a few squirrels. there was another runner, a walker, and a few dog owners but I was mostly on my own. I did get mauled to death by the dogs of course, but this is a common occurrence on runs so hardly worth mentioning.
I had waited to feed Oscar when I got back from running as his dinner will be late too, and he was waiting for me and whining as I arrived. there was also, as predicted, a text from Daniel to say he was stuck in traffic. I ate, fed Oscar, showered, faffed on the internet and did some housework, then had a quick snacky lunch and headed to the Running Room for my last Friday night shift for a while at least.
It was a pretty good shift. I was kept busy with customers for the first half, mostly looking for shoes. It was nice to chat to Brent about the book I lent him. he likes it, I was right. I also heard about an epic LA-San Francisco run that Robyn, our new assistant manager, is organising and she again offered to help crew for the CDR, which is lovely.
It was really quiet in the evening, so we learnt how to use a new gadget with lasers for measuring feet for insoles, and found lots of expired nutrition (which we are then allowed to eat for free!) We also did some more thorough cleaning around the store, so I was cleaning the surfaces in our back room and having a lovely chat to Goldine. There were five of us working, and two customers the whole evening so we just had a bit of a giggle really, it was fun and we got to finish a little bit early. Also, as William was working I had company for most of my walk home.
I noticed that there was a lot of washing up left and food that will go off and Salim has left on his trip as well now. I live with silly boys it seems. hopefully i'll have time to deal with all this at some point as I don't wanna leave it. Just me and Oscar now! I even remembered to feed and water him and check the litter tray. he was pretty needy and attention seeking, I think he misses his Dad. he's so much fun to play with but that really slows down the Getting Stuff Done.
Friday, 31 January 2014
Day 151: exercise slowly increasing
it was a bit chillier again today at -20something but it never seems too cold running in the river valley as its sheltered from the wind. I met Daniel and Jimmy again for a run at 9am, I really need to make the most of any opportunity for company. We ran south first this time, then over the bridge and back up to the bridge to the north. I've been calling it a 10k route, but i'm not convinced. These pics are from the end of the run. no way am I taking pics when it's this cold, however pretty it is, as my hands would freeze.
Northbrook people have been reaching 100miles in January and I don't think I will get there. in a few months I have to run 100miles in a day! I'd be much happier starting training for these ultras from the UK, where my base level of exercise is much higher. I don't want to increase too quickly, but i'm behind where I'd like to be in training. I've lost so much speed and strength in my first four months here not doing much exercise, I've got a long way to go!
Equally, I did 100k last year with only marathon training in me, and that was OK, but it was a lot slower than the cut-off time I have to make at Blackfoot.
I had some porridge when I got home, showered, then went out to my bootcamp class. There was a lot of leg work this week, which I could definitely feel the effects of (oww) but it is a really fun class.
Then I had to quickly wash my hair and go out for Starbucks.
The first half of the shift was really busy again, and for a while there was only three of us. I had a bit of a confrontation with one of the girls as she seems to keep telling me i'm too slow but not actually helping or working with me at all. My mood was brightened at around 5pm though, as Cecily came to visit! I just heard her voice saying "make mine extra delicious please". she had borrowed my mittens when we went to the ice festival and stopped by to return them and try and have a chat. I even got a hug!
once it got quiet I got really bored, as the other girls all just spoke in Mandarin and didn't even attempt to include me. they played cards mostly, while I stood there like a lemon. then there was a brief rush at 9pm as I think the library closed and finally I got given a few jobs to do to get through til closing. it kinda sucked, but I got one free white choc macadamia cookie during my shift and a choc chip cookie to take away for tomorrow as they were broken and we can't sell them when they are broken. I also took home some of the mocha goo for making hot chocolate, as they just dump it all at the end of the night. I got to chat to a few of the customers while it was slow and they were appearing one at a time, so at least I got to have a few conversations.
Northbrook people have been reaching 100miles in January and I don't think I will get there. in a few months I have to run 100miles in a day! I'd be much happier starting training for these ultras from the UK, where my base level of exercise is much higher. I don't want to increase too quickly, but i'm behind where I'd like to be in training. I've lost so much speed and strength in my first four months here not doing much exercise, I've got a long way to go!
Equally, I did 100k last year with only marathon training in me, and that was OK, but it was a lot slower than the cut-off time I have to make at Blackfoot.
I had some porridge when I got home, showered, then went out to my bootcamp class. There was a lot of leg work this week, which I could definitely feel the effects of (oww) but it is a really fun class.
Then I had to quickly wash my hair and go out for Starbucks.
The first half of the shift was really busy again, and for a while there was only three of us. I had a bit of a confrontation with one of the girls as she seems to keep telling me i'm too slow but not actually helping or working with me at all. My mood was brightened at around 5pm though, as Cecily came to visit! I just heard her voice saying "make mine extra delicious please". she had borrowed my mittens when we went to the ice festival and stopped by to return them and try and have a chat. I even got a hug!
once it got quiet I got really bored, as the other girls all just spoke in Mandarin and didn't even attempt to include me. they played cards mostly, while I stood there like a lemon. then there was a brief rush at 9pm as I think the library closed and finally I got given a few jobs to do to get through til closing. it kinda sucked, but I got one free white choc macadamia cookie during my shift and a choc chip cookie to take away for tomorrow as they were broken and we can't sell them when they are broken. I also took home some of the mocha goo for making hot chocolate, as they just dump it all at the end of the night. I got to chat to a few of the customers while it was slow and they were appearing one at a time, so at least I got to have a few conversations.
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Day 150: wow! one hundred and fifty!!
I managed to get up with enough time to feed Oscar, get my running kit together, and leave with plenty of time to cope with the ice and snow, but then only got as far as the LRT station before realising I hadn't packed my run jacket. its turned cold again today so no way I could run without it so I had to turn back. as I left the house again I called to let them know I would be late to work. oh well.
It occurred to me that my walk to work is kinda similar to back home. I cross under the railway line instead of over, then through safeway car park instead of Tesco, and these stages are ten minutes apart instead of fifteen. dull thoughts, but there you go.
It was fairly slow at the shop, so after an hour or so with not much to do I decided to go and tidy the shoe sale room. This task ended up taking my whole morning and I just about finished by 1pm. it was nice having cookies to go with my sandwich and they were still fairly soft. In the afternoon I managed to mostly keep myself occupied with customers so the time went a bit faster. I even got distracted by helping a customer when I was on my way to get changed which probably made up some of the time I was late this morning.
It takes such a long time to change into winter run gear! pulling windproof tights over another layer of tights is quite a mission, then there are three layers on top and a pile of gloves, buff, earwarmers and shoe spikes to pick up. I did discover that my second pair of gloves have a pocket inside them. that's pretty exciting! although I think everything has a pocket these days when you buy any run gear. not many are big enough for a smartphone.
I checked the board and had to decide between a 10k tempo run or 4x800m reps. even though it's a shorter distance, I do need to do more speed work and was intrigued by how this would work out in the snow and ice so I went with the 800m reps group. I'll have to try and do a 10k run later this week instead. We ran out over the high level bridge, which was particularly windy and cold, but once we were across and more sheltered it was fine. Its been a long time since I did reps like this so wasn't sure how i'd cope and was mildly disappointed that it took me nearly 4 minutes to do each one, but maybe I can take off 30 seconds for sliding around on the snow. I've clearly lost a fair amount of speed and stamina and really should pick up my training. It was a good set though and there was time for chatting too. hopefully it will be similar next week but increase gradually.
Once I got home, I cooked some of the dumplings that have been in the freezer since Christmas but decided to leave laundry until tomorrow. I even remembered to feed and water Oscar - although I don't think he would have let me forget!
It occurred to me that my walk to work is kinda similar to back home. I cross under the railway line instead of over, then through safeway car park instead of Tesco, and these stages are ten minutes apart instead of fifteen. dull thoughts, but there you go.
It was fairly slow at the shop, so after an hour or so with not much to do I decided to go and tidy the shoe sale room. This task ended up taking my whole morning and I just about finished by 1pm. it was nice having cookies to go with my sandwich and they were still fairly soft. In the afternoon I managed to mostly keep myself occupied with customers so the time went a bit faster. I even got distracted by helping a customer when I was on my way to get changed which probably made up some of the time I was late this morning.
It takes such a long time to change into winter run gear! pulling windproof tights over another layer of tights is quite a mission, then there are three layers on top and a pile of gloves, buff, earwarmers and shoe spikes to pick up. I did discover that my second pair of gloves have a pocket inside them. that's pretty exciting! although I think everything has a pocket these days when you buy any run gear. not many are big enough for a smartphone.
I checked the board and had to decide between a 10k tempo run or 4x800m reps. even though it's a shorter distance, I do need to do more speed work and was intrigued by how this would work out in the snow and ice so I went with the 800m reps group. I'll have to try and do a 10k run later this week instead. We ran out over the high level bridge, which was particularly windy and cold, but once we were across and more sheltered it was fine. Its been a long time since I did reps like this so wasn't sure how i'd cope and was mildly disappointed that it took me nearly 4 minutes to do each one, but maybe I can take off 30 seconds for sliding around on the snow. I've clearly lost a fair amount of speed and stamina and really should pick up my training. It was a good set though and there was time for chatting too. hopefully it will be similar next week but increase gradually.
Once I got home, I cooked some of the dumplings that have been in the freezer since Christmas but decided to leave laundry until tomorrow. I even remembered to feed and water Oscar - although I don't think he would have let me forget!
Day 149: Tuesday blues
I got up fairly early but spent so much time faffing about with housework or on the internet (mostly jobs I didn't do yesterday) that I left much later than I wanted to and only got to campus with about 20-30 minutes before my exercise class. this meant I couldn't repeat the same set that I did last week on the track and only managed about 1.5miles in total with 4x400m repeats instead of 6. better than nothing but it will be a struggle to get a decent amount of miles in this week now.
I tried using a slightly bigger weight in the exercise class and survived!
Breakfast was ages ago, so I was pretty hungry and needed to get groceries which is never a good position to be in. I decided to buy and eat a sandwich in the shop to try and stop me overspending. it was a really nice chicken sandwich with chilli jam on nice granary bread which they heated up so the cheese went melty. it mostly stopped me buying too much, but I did buy a lemon cake. I ate it as soon as I got home and it was delicious!
All this left me not much time to get ready for work at Starbucks. As Tim is away on holiday and Salim is leaving soon too, I'm supposed to be catsitting but Salim was off work sick so I asked him to feed Oscar this evening as I wouldn't be home til late. Next week he will just have to deal with a really late dinner!
It was a fairly miserable shift. again, everyone else mostly spoke in Mandarin to each other, they even played cards together and didn't even think of trying to include me. also, whenever it was busy they'd tell me I was too slow and swap me onto the till instead. of course I'm slow, I'm still new and I won't get faster if I don't get to practice. bah! I think Reno felt a bit bad and made me a drink to try and make up for it. which was nice, but I didn't really want it. I drunk it anyway and he also gave me two cookies that I did want so that will supplement my lunch tomorrow! every cloud...
as I got home, I was quite tired but aware that I had a few things to sort out before I got to bed, then once I got inside, I couldn't get into the flat! the door was locked and I only had my outside key with me as I never need this one. knocking didn't work, and Salim's phone went to voicemail (not surprising given the time). I wasn't sure what options I had at this time, but luckily, when I tried calling again, Salim answered! I apologised for calling so late and explained and he came to let me in. his theory is that Oscar was trying to jump up and grab the door handle so he could explore the laundry room (which he loves doing) but accidentally knocked the door lock, twisting it round to lock me out. As i'm in charge of feeding him from now on this is not a good start, but he is still adorable. I'm just really grateful Salim answered his phone and will take both keys with me from now on!
I still needed to stay up to make my sandwiches for the week and work out how to clear Oscar's litter tray, despite being quite tired, but this could have been a total disaster this evening.
I tried using a slightly bigger weight in the exercise class and survived!
Breakfast was ages ago, so I was pretty hungry and needed to get groceries which is never a good position to be in. I decided to buy and eat a sandwich in the shop to try and stop me overspending. it was a really nice chicken sandwich with chilli jam on nice granary bread which they heated up so the cheese went melty. it mostly stopped me buying too much, but I did buy a lemon cake. I ate it as soon as I got home and it was delicious!
All this left me not much time to get ready for work at Starbucks. As Tim is away on holiday and Salim is leaving soon too, I'm supposed to be catsitting but Salim was off work sick so I asked him to feed Oscar this evening as I wouldn't be home til late. Next week he will just have to deal with a really late dinner!
It was a fairly miserable shift. again, everyone else mostly spoke in Mandarin to each other, they even played cards together and didn't even think of trying to include me. also, whenever it was busy they'd tell me I was too slow and swap me onto the till instead. of course I'm slow, I'm still new and I won't get faster if I don't get to practice. bah! I think Reno felt a bit bad and made me a drink to try and make up for it. which was nice, but I didn't really want it. I drunk it anyway and he also gave me two cookies that I did want so that will supplement my lunch tomorrow! every cloud...
as I got home, I was quite tired but aware that I had a few things to sort out before I got to bed, then once I got inside, I couldn't get into the flat! the door was locked and I only had my outside key with me as I never need this one. knocking didn't work, and Salim's phone went to voicemail (not surprising given the time). I wasn't sure what options I had at this time, but luckily, when I tried calling again, Salim answered! I apologised for calling so late and explained and he came to let me in. his theory is that Oscar was trying to jump up and grab the door handle so he could explore the laundry room (which he loves doing) but accidentally knocked the door lock, twisting it round to lock me out. As i'm in charge of feeding him from now on this is not a good start, but he is still adorable. I'm just really grateful Salim answered his phone and will take both keys with me from now on!
I still needed to stay up to make my sandwiches for the week and work out how to clear Oscar's litter tray, despite being quite tired, but this could have been a total disaster this evening.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Day 148: "to do" list scrapped
As this is one of my only days off, I had a plan for today: get up early and go grocery shopping; throw things into slow cooker to prepare dinner; go for a run; go to the ice festival; feed Cecily dinner and have a catch up. this is not what actually happened.
I first woke up at about 6am, realised that I was in my bed, but completely backwards, nowhere near the pillows, and still in my clothes. I corrected some of these things then went back to sleep until about 10:30. I was pretty confused as I felt quite bad when I finally got up, but i'd only had three beers. One of them was called "la vache folle" and was 9%, but that still seemed like not enough to wreck me. I was really tired yesterday so maybe I just really needed some sleep.
From texting one of my friends, I found out that I had bought one more beer. It had somehow managed to wipe itself from my memory completely, which is an interesting property for a beer to have, but then it was 16% apparently! I'll have to ask the barman next time I'm there and try it again.
I did get some of the things on my "to do" list done. a load of laundry and some job investigating online, but I texted Cecily to arrange going out for dinner instead and postponed the ice festival until after dinner.
I met Cecily at 6:30 in Julio's Mexican restaurant, we swapped holiday stories while stuffing our faces, then walked a couple of blocks to the ice festival. it was really cold out and both of us were regretting our choices of clothes so we didn't go on the skating rink and just went to look at the ice sculptures. I'm glad we came later instead as they look amazing lit up at night. I took photos as quickly as I could to try and keep my hands from freezing:
Only one couchsurfer made it in the end so Daniel (and jimmy the dog) joined us, then Sascha arrived too after her Roller Derby practice. There was a massive ice slide with several different levels. I had a go on one of the shorter slides, but got stuck halfway and had to climb off instead. We found a tent with some live music to warm up in and there was also free hot chocolate. once we'd been inside long enough to warm up, we headed back to Cecily's car and home.
There were two snow rabbits sat under the tree outside my house and they looked so cute, but as soon as I got out of the car to try and take a picture, they sprinted away.
I first woke up at about 6am, realised that I was in my bed, but completely backwards, nowhere near the pillows, and still in my clothes. I corrected some of these things then went back to sleep until about 10:30. I was pretty confused as I felt quite bad when I finally got up, but i'd only had three beers. One of them was called "la vache folle" and was 9%, but that still seemed like not enough to wreck me. I was really tired yesterday so maybe I just really needed some sleep.
From texting one of my friends, I found out that I had bought one more beer. It had somehow managed to wipe itself from my memory completely, which is an interesting property for a beer to have, but then it was 16% apparently! I'll have to ask the barman next time I'm there and try it again.
I did get some of the things on my "to do" list done. a load of laundry and some job investigating online, but I texted Cecily to arrange going out for dinner instead and postponed the ice festival until after dinner.
I met Cecily at 6:30 in Julio's Mexican restaurant, we swapped holiday stories while stuffing our faces, then walked a couple of blocks to the ice festival. it was really cold out and both of us were regretting our choices of clothes so we didn't go on the skating rink and just went to look at the ice sculptures. I'm glad we came later instead as they look amazing lit up at night. I took photos as quickly as I could to try and keep my hands from freezing:
Only one couchsurfer made it in the end so Daniel (and jimmy the dog) joined us, then Sascha arrived too after her Roller Derby practice. There was a massive ice slide with several different levels. I had a go on one of the shorter slides, but got stuck halfway and had to climb off instead. We found a tent with some live music to warm up in and there was also free hot chocolate. once we'd been inside long enough to warm up, we headed back to Cecily's car and home.
There were two snow rabbits sat under the tree outside my house and they looked so cute, but as soon as I got out of the car to try and take a picture, they sprinted away.
Day 147: Australia Day
Waking up for run club was a bit of a struggle but I made it. The weather has now returned to normal January temperatures instead of the warmth of the last few days so I was wrapped up in my many layers. Annoyingly I had to go out with the slightly shorter run group to make sure I would get back in time to go to work. They were doing 16k and I would need to take a shortcut back to reduce it to 14k. I spent a lot of the run with Murray, who is the instructor for the marathon group and also setting up teams for a race that sounds awesome that I asked to be part of. I had emailed him to express my keenness to be on the team so it was good to hear more details about it.
Its the Banff-Jasper relay and teams are 15 people. This year so many people want to do it he has three teams to organise! Apparently it used to be a 24 hour relay with hundreds of teams, but Parks Canada got really annoyed with it and it was cancelled and didn't happen for years, then one of the regulars got a brain tumour and his dying wish to two of his team mates was that they get the race going again. Wow! The friends then spoke to the park officials to try and create an event that they would be happy with. They capped the numbers at 60 teams and split the relay in half so both halves run at the same time and the whole race can be done in daylight. I think this is the third year since then. It sounds like a pretty epic weekend in the mountains.
He also told me that one of the guys in the group has entered Death Race as a solo and that he might go along to help crew for both of us. another familiar face will certainly help. i'm starting to feel much more positive about CDR now.
I got home with an hour spare before I had to leave for work. It's not such a bad shift, it's just that it means no day off and cutting long runs short.
I went home to eat dinner and change, then headed up to Cha Island. this confused my sleepy mind a bit as I go there on a Thursday, but this was a special occasion as a few of the Aussie couchsurfers wanted to celebrate Australia day there. The manager even ordered in some Australian beers especially. They had been there all day, but it was actually quite nice and chilled out. There was an open mic night as well with some amazing singers. The bar man also stepped up and did a song. we were especially impressed as he impersonated a trumpet as part of his song, which was about a really fat dog. it was brilliant!
I tried one of the Australian beers and picked another couple of dark beers with interesting names to try. once the music finished, we played a card game for a bit and went home around midnight I think... it turns out one of the beers I tried was surprisingly strong so my memories go a bit hazy.
Its the Banff-Jasper relay and teams are 15 people. This year so many people want to do it he has three teams to organise! Apparently it used to be a 24 hour relay with hundreds of teams, but Parks Canada got really annoyed with it and it was cancelled and didn't happen for years, then one of the regulars got a brain tumour and his dying wish to two of his team mates was that they get the race going again. Wow! The friends then spoke to the park officials to try and create an event that they would be happy with. They capped the numbers at 60 teams and split the relay in half so both halves run at the same time and the whole race can be done in daylight. I think this is the third year since then. It sounds like a pretty epic weekend in the mountains.
He also told me that one of the guys in the group has entered Death Race as a solo and that he might go along to help crew for both of us. another familiar face will certainly help. i'm starting to feel much more positive about CDR now.
I got home with an hour spare before I had to leave for work. It's not such a bad shift, it's just that it means no day off and cutting long runs short.
I went home to eat dinner and change, then headed up to Cha Island. this confused my sleepy mind a bit as I go there on a Thursday, but this was a special occasion as a few of the Aussie couchsurfers wanted to celebrate Australia day there. The manager even ordered in some Australian beers especially. They had been there all day, but it was actually quite nice and chilled out. There was an open mic night as well with some amazing singers. The bar man also stepped up and did a song. we were especially impressed as he impersonated a trumpet as part of his song, which was about a really fat dog. it was brilliant!
I tried one of the Australian beers and picked another couple of dark beers with interesting names to try. once the music finished, we played a card game for a bit and went home around midnight I think... it turns out one of the beers I tried was surprisingly strong so my memories go a bit hazy.
Day 146: Burn's night
As its now two days later, I'm not sure if anything particularly remarkable happened during the day. I know I worked at the store all day, and went for lunch in the café across the road, other than that it was probably just a typical Saturday.
Aimee had mentioned a cultural museumy thing happening at the university this evening, so I bought a change of clothes with me to work in case I ended up going straight there, but she was too tired and decided to skip it, so I went home to change instead. Natalia met me there and we went for dinner on Whyte ave. I was hoping that a sleazy Scottish themed bar would be serving haggis, but the waitress didn't even know what I was talking about so we went to a different bar instead. It was really nice and you could construct your own meal with either a burger or poutine and your choice of toppings/sides/etc. I was pretty full up after that though but glad to catch up with Natalia and have a natter.
Amro was back visiting for the weekend, so we went to the liquor store then to Steve's house for a pre-going out gathering. I kept saying i'd just stay for a bit then go home so I could get some sleep before run club, but I kept staying as I was having so much fun. I was going to go home when people headed out to Whyte ave, but as there was no charge to get in the chosen bar I thought I may as well stay a bit longer... then there was dancing so I stayed, then the bar was closing and I got a lift home at about 2:30am! I end up missing out on so many fun things because i'm working so it was a really good night and great to see everyone.
Aimee had mentioned a cultural museumy thing happening at the university this evening, so I bought a change of clothes with me to work in case I ended up going straight there, but she was too tired and decided to skip it, so I went home to change instead. Natalia met me there and we went for dinner on Whyte ave. I was hoping that a sleazy Scottish themed bar would be serving haggis, but the waitress didn't even know what I was talking about so we went to a different bar instead. It was really nice and you could construct your own meal with either a burger or poutine and your choice of toppings/sides/etc. I was pretty full up after that though but glad to catch up with Natalia and have a natter.
Amro was back visiting for the weekend, so we went to the liquor store then to Steve's house for a pre-going out gathering. I kept saying i'd just stay for a bit then go home so I could get some sleep before run club, but I kept staying as I was having so much fun. I was going to go home when people headed out to Whyte ave, but as there was no charge to get in the chosen bar I thought I may as well stay a bit longer... then there was dancing so I stayed, then the bar was closing and I got a lift home at about 2:30am! I end up missing out on so many fun things because i'm working so it was a really good night and great to see everyone.
Friday, 24 January 2014
Day 145: run therapy
I got up fairly early in the morning, made myself boiled eggs for breakfast and tried to get a few things done. one of the things was checking my February schedule at the running room, which did not improve my mood at all. not only had I not been given the Saturday off for the zombie race I wanted to do, but I had been scheduled in for every sunday except the one of my half marathon. this means only one day off in the whole of February. I would have this Monday coming up free, then nothing until race day on 23rd. working sundays from 12pm also makes it very difficult to do sunday long runs with the Running Room groups.
I was meeting Daniel at 10:30 for a run, which should help improve my mood. Its much warmer today, something like 5C, so I was hot in England winter gear. the trails around here are particularly hilly so it should be really good ultra-training but many places were quite icy today. some of the less used trails had quit deep sinky snow too, which was hilarious. most trails are fairly compacted uneven snow so it was a novelty to be sinking. as we headed back, we decided to follow Jimmy the dog on a route he found. If was a narrow track heading upwards through scrub and trees and was a nice bit of adventure. we came out at the top on Saskatchewan drive and managed to figure out which direction was home. I was a good little run, but I rushed around to get to the Running Room on time so didn't stretch properly and ended up a bit achey.
I had a bit of a whinge about the hours I had been given, which made me feel a bit better. Robyn, the assistant manager, is lovely and was quite supportive of my plight. Hopefully the schedule is still being tinkered with and will improve. I feel like by saying, "I am free sundays but would appreciate a day off, the odd sunday would be ok if needed" was maybe too generous of me and has been taken advantage of. I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic during the shift, which was fine as it was pretty quiet, and I got to natter a bit. I also got to help a few lovely customers and we got everything done quickly at the end of the shift.
I had been considering an invite out from Ashley who I worked with at Lazia, but she was out downtown, which means an LRT ride, at least a 30min journey (so getting there after 10pm) and spending money, then working again tomorrow, so I ended up deciding not to go.
I tried a maple flavoured stout at home instead. Things could be worse!
I was meeting Daniel at 10:30 for a run, which should help improve my mood. Its much warmer today, something like 5C, so I was hot in England winter gear. the trails around here are particularly hilly so it should be really good ultra-training but many places were quite icy today. some of the less used trails had quit deep sinky snow too, which was hilarious. most trails are fairly compacted uneven snow so it was a novelty to be sinking. as we headed back, we decided to follow Jimmy the dog on a route he found. If was a narrow track heading upwards through scrub and trees and was a nice bit of adventure. we came out at the top on Saskatchewan drive and managed to figure out which direction was home. I was a good little run, but I rushed around to get to the Running Room on time so didn't stretch properly and ended up a bit achey.
I had a bit of a whinge about the hours I had been given, which made me feel a bit better. Robyn, the assistant manager, is lovely and was quite supportive of my plight. Hopefully the schedule is still being tinkered with and will improve. I feel like by saying, "I am free sundays but would appreciate a day off, the odd sunday would be ok if needed" was maybe too generous of me and has been taken advantage of. I wasn't feeling too enthusiastic during the shift, which was fine as it was pretty quiet, and I got to natter a bit. I also got to help a few lovely customers and we got everything done quickly at the end of the shift.
I had been considering an invite out from Ashley who I worked with at Lazia, but she was out downtown, which means an LRT ride, at least a 30min journey (so getting there after 10pm) and spending money, then working again tomorrow, so I ended up deciding not to go.
I tried a maple flavoured stout at home instead. Things could be worse!
Day 144: Death Race guilt
I woke up with the feeling that entering the Death Race solo was not very sensible, but equally that I would regret it if I didn't. I won't get another chance. I felt uneasy about it as I headed out to the bank but I was a bit late, so decided that if it sold out REALLY quickly, that would be the Gods of Running deciding for me. Most of the advice I was hearing was pointing out the negative things, which I guess I already knew, and obviously there is the risk that I don't even start the race if the rest of my running madness this year breaks me first, but I still ended up entering the race. then sitting on the floor for a while in shock instantly thinking "what have I done?!". not really regretting it as such, just concerned about what I'd let myself in for and how much money I'd just risked. I remember entering the Iron Horse as a last minute crazy decision, with not enough training and potential injury, and that went really well in the end.
Next task for the day was week two of bootcamp. I had recovered much better from Tuesday's class this week, so wasn't starting out in agony, and the class felt good. really difficult at times, but it seems some of my fitness is coming back quickly, which is a good sign and reassuring. I still had a lot on my mind and will confess to a fair amount of buyer's remorse. it doesn't help that there are SO MANY things I want to do while I'm in Canada and it is going to be really tough affording them all. So far my investigations into various money saving strategies are not going well.
All in all I was feeling surprisingly down in the dumps when I went to Starbucks. I think I made way fewer mistakes and asked way less questions (more clarification than questions as I don't want to assume i'm right, then get something wrong) but I still need to speed up before i'm as fast as the others. I did still feel quite left out though as they will all chat to each other in Mandarin. Plus I was missing out on the usual Thursday night catch-up.
when I got back home, I ate all the remaining leftover biscuits from Christmas.
Next task for the day was week two of bootcamp. I had recovered much better from Tuesday's class this week, so wasn't starting out in agony, and the class felt good. really difficult at times, but it seems some of my fitness is coming back quickly, which is a good sign and reassuring. I still had a lot on my mind and will confess to a fair amount of buyer's remorse. it doesn't help that there are SO MANY things I want to do while I'm in Canada and it is going to be really tough affording them all. So far my investigations into various money saving strategies are not going well.
All in all I was feeling surprisingly down in the dumps when I went to Starbucks. I think I made way fewer mistakes and asked way less questions (more clarification than questions as I don't want to assume i'm right, then get something wrong) but I still need to speed up before i'm as fast as the others. I did still feel quite left out though as they will all chat to each other in Mandarin. Plus I was missing out on the usual Thursday night catch-up.
when I got back home, I ate all the remaining leftover biscuits from Christmas.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Day 143: NINE hills
I actually managed to leave home on time to get to work today (hooray), with no forgetting anything and having to go back, no having to struggle with Oscar, and no forgetting to allow extra time for ice.
It was a pretty slow day. I helped a few customers with shoes, but spent most of the time looking for jobs or just killing time. I rearranged all the marathon pace temporary tattoos in speed order for example. Rachel was trying to decide which jacket to get and telling me about her application for MRes courses and I was asking whether or not I should enter the Canadian Death Race (which opens for entries tomorrow and sells out very quickly, but is expensive and has a "no refunds" policy... but its the Death Race!) if anyone has any opinions on this subject, I would welcome them, but only within the next ten hours or so. Other factors to consider are: its only four weeks after my 100 mile race; if I finish I'll get my name on the Alberta Ultra Series Triple list; it may be awesome; it may break me.
After work, I changed and headed out with the half marathon training group to run up and down Emily Murphy Hill nine times. The hardest mid-week session I have done with the Running Room. made harder by the slippy patches of ice near the top of the hill, and the uneven compressed snow in a lot of places, plus a lot of my kit is waiting to be washed so I only had one pair of gloves (and my long jacket sleeves) so my hands got a bit cold. I loved it though, and it worked out as about 11k in total.
I was starving by the time I got home so very glad to have leftover fried rice I could just microwave. I checked the logistics of entering CDR, and asked a few more opinions, but decided to sleep on it still and see how I feel in the morning. eeep!
It was a pretty slow day. I helped a few customers with shoes, but spent most of the time looking for jobs or just killing time. I rearranged all the marathon pace temporary tattoos in speed order for example. Rachel was trying to decide which jacket to get and telling me about her application for MRes courses and I was asking whether or not I should enter the Canadian Death Race (which opens for entries tomorrow and sells out very quickly, but is expensive and has a "no refunds" policy... but its the Death Race!) if anyone has any opinions on this subject, I would welcome them, but only within the next ten hours or so. Other factors to consider are: its only four weeks after my 100 mile race; if I finish I'll get my name on the Alberta Ultra Series Triple list; it may be awesome; it may break me.
After work, I changed and headed out with the half marathon training group to run up and down Emily Murphy Hill nine times. The hardest mid-week session I have done with the Running Room. made harder by the slippy patches of ice near the top of the hill, and the uneven compressed snow in a lot of places, plus a lot of my kit is waiting to be washed so I only had one pair of gloves (and my long jacket sleeves) so my hands got a bit cold. I loved it though, and it worked out as about 11k in total.
I was starving by the time I got home so very glad to have leftover fried rice I could just microwave. I checked the logistics of entering CDR, and asked a few more opinions, but decided to sleep on it still and see how I feel in the morning. eeep!
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Day 142: running indoors
in the morning I managed to get some cooking and cleaning done, then left home very early for my exercise class, the idea being to utilise the indoor track for some speed work.
I think this must be the first time I've tried to do any run training indoors and possibly the first time I've run round a track on my own (not on my own, there were other people there, I just didn't know any of them). it is also the first time I have run on my own in Canada. hooray for me!
it's about a 200m track, so it got boring fairly quickly, but I did a brief warm up, 6x400m reps with a 200m recovery between each one, then realised that if I did a few more laps I would get up to roughly 3 miles. its been quite a while since I did any interval work, so I will try and do the same thing again next week before maybe changing around. it was hot and I felt fairly sweaty and red faced, but a bit pleased with myself for actually managing to do some running. I may avoid the "Arnold Rimmer" training plan after all.
the exercise class kept to the same format, and I imagine I will ache, but maybe not as much as last week. the instructor has a surprisingly soothing tone of voice while asking us to do painful things.
As I had already prepared everything, I could throw a foil parcel in the oven while I showered, then quickly fry everything else and have a lovely egg fried rice with trout for lunch before heading back to campus again for my Starbucks shift. I spoke to Paula who sets the schedule and agreed to trade my Monday shift for Friday starting from February, assuming it is OK with Running Room. It's a slightly shorter day on Friday, but only slightly, and it finishes at 5:30, which sounds much better than 10:30!
I spent most of my shift in front of the till. I struggled to keep up when it was busy, and got confused on occasion. I regularly couldn't find the right button and probably charged quite a few people the wrong amount. I also confused the other baristas by not getting the codes right. I hate being new, but nobody died - everybody seemed happy in fact - and I'm sure it will get easier. it was nice having more leftover Christmas soup for dinner too as there is a microwave we can use. I also got to try a chocolate caramel muffin that was going to expire. it was delicious!
I still feel a bit left out when the other girls all talk to each other in Mandarin all the time. I really appreciate how the Brazilians all made the effort to speak English on my first trip to Banff now. to fill in some of the time, I made myself a green tea latte to try. it's made with the matcha powder and is very bright green. it has an odd taste, not really like tea, but not bad. There were a group of people who wanted extremely complicated drinks that they had found recipes for on the internet. some of them sounded quite nice and I wouldn't mind trying them, but i'd hate to order them so might just experiment during quiet times at work. Also, Ajay from my Christmas dinner popped by to say hello, which was nice!
I was home by 10:45 but early start tomorrow for the Running Room so I really should try to get some sleep now.
I think this must be the first time I've tried to do any run training indoors and possibly the first time I've run round a track on my own (not on my own, there were other people there, I just didn't know any of them). it is also the first time I have run on my own in Canada. hooray for me!
it's about a 200m track, so it got boring fairly quickly, but I did a brief warm up, 6x400m reps with a 200m recovery between each one, then realised that if I did a few more laps I would get up to roughly 3 miles. its been quite a while since I did any interval work, so I will try and do the same thing again next week before maybe changing around. it was hot and I felt fairly sweaty and red faced, but a bit pleased with myself for actually managing to do some running. I may avoid the "Arnold Rimmer" training plan after all.
the exercise class kept to the same format, and I imagine I will ache, but maybe not as much as last week. the instructor has a surprisingly soothing tone of voice while asking us to do painful things.
As I had already prepared everything, I could throw a foil parcel in the oven while I showered, then quickly fry everything else and have a lovely egg fried rice with trout for lunch before heading back to campus again for my Starbucks shift. I spoke to Paula who sets the schedule and agreed to trade my Monday shift for Friday starting from February, assuming it is OK with Running Room. It's a slightly shorter day on Friday, but only slightly, and it finishes at 5:30, which sounds much better than 10:30!
I spent most of my shift in front of the till. I struggled to keep up when it was busy, and got confused on occasion. I regularly couldn't find the right button and probably charged quite a few people the wrong amount. I also confused the other baristas by not getting the codes right. I hate being new, but nobody died - everybody seemed happy in fact - and I'm sure it will get easier. it was nice having more leftover Christmas soup for dinner too as there is a microwave we can use. I also got to try a chocolate caramel muffin that was going to expire. it was delicious!
I still feel a bit left out when the other girls all talk to each other in Mandarin all the time. I really appreciate how the Brazilians all made the effort to speak English on my first trip to Banff now. to fill in some of the time, I made myself a green tea latte to try. it's made with the matcha powder and is very bright green. it has an odd taste, not really like tea, but not bad. There were a group of people who wanted extremely complicated drinks that they had found recipes for on the internet. some of them sounded quite nice and I wouldn't mind trying them, but i'd hate to order them so might just experiment during quiet times at work. Also, Ajay from my Christmas dinner popped by to say hello, which was nice!
I was home by 10:45 but early start tomorrow for the Running Room so I really should try to get some sleep now.
Day 141: Stupid Starbucks
I had arranged to meet up with Daniel from Couchsurfing for a run at midday, but the more of the morning I didn't hear from him, the more I thought I was off the hook and would be able to stay in my PJs all day. I mostly did laundry in the morning and caught up on other housework, then Daniel called (he had slept in) so I got my running kit on and met him at the start of the trails.
Since the last time I ran with him he has more-or-less quit smoking and started doing much more exercise so I just couldn't keep up with him at all. However, I got to run along some of the trails that there is no way I would go along on my own this time of year as the footing was difficult, with ice and uneven compressed snow and narrow tracks with sheer drops into the valley. it was worth it though, the river valley looked amazing and we were right alongside the frozen river for a while. Jimmy the dog enjoyed chasing squirrels in the woods too! With no wind getting through the trees it was much warmer than I expected so I undid the "ventilation zips" under my arms, which turned my jacket into more of a sail but stopped me overheating. It was a somewhat undulating run, including a flight of stairs near the end that nearly broke both of us, but hopefully it is the start of another regular run in my schedule.
When I arrived at Starbucks, I had a look at the rota for the week and noticed that I was only down to work Tuesday and Thursday. they really don't seem to be sticking to their promises of regular shift patterns, I was a bit annoyed but as I have plenty of other things I need to do I thought I could at least make good use of the extra time, so I put my coat back on and left, but Kate chased after me and caught me before I'd even left the building, she apologised said I could work four hours and that would help them today. Again, she asked me if I could do Wednesday nights instead, but she also offered Fridays, which is a more viable option for me. I wouldn't be able to make any changes til February as I'd have to OK it with Running Room, but I will try and speak to Paula (who sets the schedule) tomorrow.
I did my four hours and I think I only made a couple of minor mistakes in the drinks I made. There are still so many different drinks so I constantly forget things and have to check but its slowly sinking in. I also found out I get paid more than the other guys there, which is ridiculously unfair. when the company increases its wage, it only changes it for new people being hired, so one girl who's been there four years earns 30 cents an hour less than me as her wage has never gone up.
I went home via Sobeys to get some groceries. I kinda think Sobeys is the equivalent of buying food in M&S or Waitrose as it seems a bit posher than other grocery stores, but its less of a detour from campus than Safeway would be. I used the extra time I had gained to look up training schedules and information about races. I also started looking up travel costs for the summer to get an idea of how much money I will need and I had a quick look at dates of festivals in Edmonton over the summer.
Since the last time I ran with him he has more-or-less quit smoking and started doing much more exercise so I just couldn't keep up with him at all. However, I got to run along some of the trails that there is no way I would go along on my own this time of year as the footing was difficult, with ice and uneven compressed snow and narrow tracks with sheer drops into the valley. it was worth it though, the river valley looked amazing and we were right alongside the frozen river for a while. Jimmy the dog enjoyed chasing squirrels in the woods too! With no wind getting through the trees it was much warmer than I expected so I undid the "ventilation zips" under my arms, which turned my jacket into more of a sail but stopped me overheating. It was a somewhat undulating run, including a flight of stairs near the end that nearly broke both of us, but hopefully it is the start of another regular run in my schedule.
When I arrived at Starbucks, I had a look at the rota for the week and noticed that I was only down to work Tuesday and Thursday. they really don't seem to be sticking to their promises of regular shift patterns, I was a bit annoyed but as I have plenty of other things I need to do I thought I could at least make good use of the extra time, so I put my coat back on and left, but Kate chased after me and caught me before I'd even left the building, she apologised said I could work four hours and that would help them today. Again, she asked me if I could do Wednesday nights instead, but she also offered Fridays, which is a more viable option for me. I wouldn't be able to make any changes til February as I'd have to OK it with Running Room, but I will try and speak to Paula (who sets the schedule) tomorrow.
I did my four hours and I think I only made a couple of minor mistakes in the drinks I made. There are still so many different drinks so I constantly forget things and have to check but its slowly sinking in. I also found out I get paid more than the other guys there, which is ridiculously unfair. when the company increases its wage, it only changes it for new people being hired, so one girl who's been there four years earns 30 cents an hour less than me as her wage has never gone up.
I went home via Sobeys to get some groceries. I kinda think Sobeys is the equivalent of buying food in M&S or Waitrose as it seems a bit posher than other grocery stores, but its less of a detour from campus than Safeway would be. I used the extra time I had gained to look up training schedules and information about races. I also started looking up travel costs for the summer to get an idea of how much money I will need and I had a quick look at dates of festivals in Edmonton over the summer.
Monday, 20 January 2014
Day 140: Sunday Randomness
I didn't sleep very well for some reason, but still got up on time for Sunday Long Run. As its still mild here and it was the Northbrook awards night last night, I wore my Northbrook t-shirt.
I was a beautiful morning, the route we were running was on the trails again, not the roads like we have been doing. We ran along the river on the south side and the skyscrapers across the valley were lit up and golden in the early morning light, it looked spectacular.
There were some sections that were just solid ice, so those of us without spikes over our shoes were basically skating. even with spikes we sometimes had to go very cautiously but it was a lovely run with picture postcard views. I started running out of energy a bit towards the end, so asked for a lift back home as the last 2k by myself might have just been torture. 18k is still plenty.
I was pretty hungry when I got home, so set my lunch off to cook while I showered so I could eat as soon as I was ready. I had to rush a little bit as I was meeting some CS folk for "swing and skate" downtown. Free skating outdoors in Churchill square and a swing band indoors. Unfortunately, due to the lovely weather the skating was cancelled. I toasted a free marshmallow, then we watched people dancing to the swing band for a while before heading over to Kelly's Pub instead.
I had agreed to meet Ian in there today, but I thought he meant that evening. He was in with a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to watch the Superbowl, but he had to be in the pub all day to find out. There were quite a lot of people in the draw who all had wristbands with numbers on. When their number was pulled out of the bingo machine, they had to go up and get their wristband cut off, whoever was left at the end would win the trip. There were a few of us there without wristbands and we all really bought in to the tension. we watched everybody doing the "walk of shame" to get their wristbands removed and felt their disappointment as well as the relief from everyone else that was still in the game. it was fun! eventually, after he'd been there nearly five hours, Ian's number got called and his last wristband was cut off. We paid our bill, but the waitress was trying to charge us all for an extra drink that none of us had. she was really rude about it, especially to Ian, so I don't think any of us will go back there again (but definitely not Ian!).
I got the LRT home and decided too cook myself a massive pizza, telling myself I could just eat half of it and put the rest in the fridge. I also arranged to meet up with another CS friend to watch a film, although in the end we arranged that he would come round to my flat. After eating the entire pizza (of course, because i'm an idiot) Lee turned up with some homemade blueberry pie his mum had made! The DVD he bought didn't work for some reason, so we watch a film he had on his laptop instead. the pie was delicious but I felt like I might explode. And my day had started so healthily... never mind, it was a fun day!
I was a beautiful morning, the route we were running was on the trails again, not the roads like we have been doing. We ran along the river on the south side and the skyscrapers across the valley were lit up and golden in the early morning light, it looked spectacular.
There were some sections that were just solid ice, so those of us without spikes over our shoes were basically skating. even with spikes we sometimes had to go very cautiously but it was a lovely run with picture postcard views. I started running out of energy a bit towards the end, so asked for a lift back home as the last 2k by myself might have just been torture. 18k is still plenty.
I was pretty hungry when I got home, so set my lunch off to cook while I showered so I could eat as soon as I was ready. I had to rush a little bit as I was meeting some CS folk for "swing and skate" downtown. Free skating outdoors in Churchill square and a swing band indoors. Unfortunately, due to the lovely weather the skating was cancelled. I toasted a free marshmallow, then we watched people dancing to the swing band for a while before heading over to Kelly's Pub instead.
I had agreed to meet Ian in there today, but I thought he meant that evening. He was in with a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to watch the Superbowl, but he had to be in the pub all day to find out. There were quite a lot of people in the draw who all had wristbands with numbers on. When their number was pulled out of the bingo machine, they had to go up and get their wristband cut off, whoever was left at the end would win the trip. There were a few of us there without wristbands and we all really bought in to the tension. we watched everybody doing the "walk of shame" to get their wristbands removed and felt their disappointment as well as the relief from everyone else that was still in the game. it was fun! eventually, after he'd been there nearly five hours, Ian's number got called and his last wristband was cut off. We paid our bill, but the waitress was trying to charge us all for an extra drink that none of us had. she was really rude about it, especially to Ian, so I don't think any of us will go back there again (but definitely not Ian!).
I got the LRT home and decided too cook myself a massive pizza, telling myself I could just eat half of it and put the rest in the fridge. I also arranged to meet up with another CS friend to watch a film, although in the end we arranged that he would come round to my flat. After eating the entire pizza (of course, because i'm an idiot) Lee turned up with some homemade blueberry pie his mum had made! The DVD he bought didn't work for some reason, so we watch a film he had on his laptop instead. the pie was delicious but I felt like I might explode. And my day had started so healthily... never mind, it was a fun day!
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Day 139: shoes!
I got up early enough to rescue my laundry, now all covered in cat hair as it's Oscars favouritest thing to do in the world right now. he loves sitting on my nice clean clothes! but still ended up a little bit late for work as the paths were treacherous. some slush was still boggy and puddles but a lot was frozen solid in uneven lumps and mountains, plus wherever the ground had been cleared it was insanely slippy ice. it's also pretty warm right now, so in my Canadian winter coat I'm overheating. some people are just in hoodies.
There is another inventory check coming up at work. I will not have to be there for this one but we are all having to check that everything in the store has labels. I spent the morning checking the shoe sales room to look for boxes that had fallen down and got hidden... in the process I found another pair of trail shoes in my size, the same as I had already bought when I started working here. I thought i'd bought the last pair so I couldn't possibly not buy this pair too. its such a good price and I will definitely need them with all the races I want to do. so that was half my salary for the day out of the window, but absolutely essential...
Saturdays are a crazy contrast to Fridays, there are so many of us working and its so much busier. I had one customer who was a size 13, 2E width and resigned to his fate. I found one pair of shoes in his size, so he bought them, because he had no choice. I had a few "girl" shoppers, who had to try on every pair of shoes three times and spend ages deciding (nb. not all of the "girl" shoppers were girls) and a couple of "guy" shoppers (again, not necessarily all male), who tried on one pair of shoes, or maybe two, thought for about 30secs and then bought them. luckily, it stopped being busy about 40mins before closing, which meant we could get everything done and leave early. this was really good as I was starving and meeting a friend for pizza.
Pizza good. Chatting good. And still home relatively early to get plenty of sleep before run club (hopefully). this sounds like a fairly lame Saturday night, and feels a bit dull and depressing, but once I get more into my training such thoughts will not bother me.
There is another inventory check coming up at work. I will not have to be there for this one but we are all having to check that everything in the store has labels. I spent the morning checking the shoe sales room to look for boxes that had fallen down and got hidden... in the process I found another pair of trail shoes in my size, the same as I had already bought when I started working here. I thought i'd bought the last pair so I couldn't possibly not buy this pair too. its such a good price and I will definitely need them with all the races I want to do. so that was half my salary for the day out of the window, but absolutely essential...
Saturdays are a crazy contrast to Fridays, there are so many of us working and its so much busier. I had one customer who was a size 13, 2E width and resigned to his fate. I found one pair of shoes in his size, so he bought them, because he had no choice. I had a few "girl" shoppers, who had to try on every pair of shoes three times and spend ages deciding (nb. not all of the "girl" shoppers were girls) and a couple of "guy" shoppers (again, not necessarily all male), who tried on one pair of shoes, or maybe two, thought for about 30secs and then bought them. luckily, it stopped being busy about 40mins before closing, which meant we could get everything done and leave early. this was really good as I was starving and meeting a friend for pizza.
Pizza good. Chatting good. And still home relatively early to get plenty of sleep before run club (hopefully). this sounds like a fairly lame Saturday night, and feels a bit dull and depressing, but once I get more into my training such thoughts will not bother me.
Day 138: recovery
I stayed in bed for as long as I could in the morning. I woke up a couple of times, and again when my housemates were getting ready for work, but refused to move until about 9:30. I felt much less crippled and exhausted as a consequence.
work was slow, but it was still a fairly entertaining shift. I bought a couple of sale items, which obviously eats into my earnings but i'm sure they will be necessary for all the exercise I will be doing, and can double as work clothes. I spoke to a guy who has got roped into doing the death race, which is something I have been looking at and considering. it has put the thoughts back in my mind again.
as I left work at 9:30 I pulled my phone out, checked my messages, then did a complete 180 turn as some guys I know were in Remedy cafe just up the road. I was quite tired still, so only stayed an hour for a chat and didn't buy anything, but it is really nice to have a break when i'm finishing work late and starting again the next day.
it meant I got home quite late, cutting into my sleep, but I think the socialising was more benefit to me than sleep would have been.
work was slow, but it was still a fairly entertaining shift. I bought a couple of sale items, which obviously eats into my earnings but i'm sure they will be necessary for all the exercise I will be doing, and can double as work clothes. I spoke to a guy who has got roped into doing the death race, which is something I have been looking at and considering. it has put the thoughts back in my mind again.
as I left work at 9:30 I pulled my phone out, checked my messages, then did a complete 180 turn as some guys I know were in Remedy cafe just up the road. I was quite tired still, so only stayed an hour for a chat and didn't buy anything, but it is really nice to have a break when i'm finishing work late and starting again the next day.
it meant I got home quite late, cutting into my sleep, but I think the socialising was more benefit to me than sleep would have been.
Friday, 17 January 2014
Day 137: so much pain
I could barely move when I woke up. clearly Tuesday's exercise class has broken me. I am much more out of shape than I thought.
today I had a whole day off with no work so I could catch up on housework and stuff, although I didn't get anywhere near as much done as I wanted as I was so broken. I spent a fair amount of time just sitting around reading.
When I left the house, it took me a few seconds to realise what was different outside: the massive snow banks along the edge of the road have gone. when people clear the snow from their sidewalk it all ends up in a heap on the edge of the road, and usually you have to clamber over it or look for a gap somewhere, but I guess some trucks must've scooped it all away. either that or snow fairies came in the night to collect it.
I went to the other exercise class I have signed up for. A bootcamp. we did a lot of burpees and squats, which on my already achy muscles was really tough, but the instructor was lovely and it seemed like a good class. I was certainly exhausted by the end. hopefully my fitness will come back quickly because its really hard doing anything now.
As I wasn't working, I could go to the couchsurfing meetup again! I've been saying every week that its the last time I can go, but this time it really is the last time I can go. its also the start of a new arrangement, where the meeting will alternate between Whyte ave and Downtown. I haven't been downtown since quitting Lazia, so I arranged to meet a couchsurfer at Lazia so I could see whether there is any tip money or anything for me, but when I got there, they were really busy so I didn't get to find out. I was a bit nervous about going back but it was kinda cool. a few people asked me whether I still worked there or not as they hadn't seen me in a while. We had one drink, then walked up Jasper ave to "on the rocks". it was quite noisy there as it was the salsa night, so talking could be a bit difficult. a lot of people joined in with the dancing but I didn't think I could cope with it as I was aching so much so I stayed put and chatted to whoever was around. There were a few new faces, this time mostly new Canadians, either just moved here or new to couchsurfing, and there were some people who always go to the salsa on a Thursday, which is why they never make the meetings. I felt a bit bad for being lame and just sitting there all night but I was suffering, and the $4 cuba libres only helped so much. In the end, one of the newbies gave me a lift home and I decided to set my alarm really late and try to just stay in bed as long as possible to recover.
today I had a whole day off with no work so I could catch up on housework and stuff, although I didn't get anywhere near as much done as I wanted as I was so broken. I spent a fair amount of time just sitting around reading.
When I left the house, it took me a few seconds to realise what was different outside: the massive snow banks along the edge of the road have gone. when people clear the snow from their sidewalk it all ends up in a heap on the edge of the road, and usually you have to clamber over it or look for a gap somewhere, but I guess some trucks must've scooped it all away. either that or snow fairies came in the night to collect it.
I went to the other exercise class I have signed up for. A bootcamp. we did a lot of burpees and squats, which on my already achy muscles was really tough, but the instructor was lovely and it seemed like a good class. I was certainly exhausted by the end. hopefully my fitness will come back quickly because its really hard doing anything now.
As I wasn't working, I could go to the couchsurfing meetup again! I've been saying every week that its the last time I can go, but this time it really is the last time I can go. its also the start of a new arrangement, where the meeting will alternate between Whyte ave and Downtown. I haven't been downtown since quitting Lazia, so I arranged to meet a couchsurfer at Lazia so I could see whether there is any tip money or anything for me, but when I got there, they were really busy so I didn't get to find out. I was a bit nervous about going back but it was kinda cool. a few people asked me whether I still worked there or not as they hadn't seen me in a while. We had one drink, then walked up Jasper ave to "on the rocks". it was quite noisy there as it was the salsa night, so talking could be a bit difficult. a lot of people joined in with the dancing but I didn't think I could cope with it as I was aching so much so I stayed put and chatted to whoever was around. There were a few new faces, this time mostly new Canadians, either just moved here or new to couchsurfing, and there were some people who always go to the salsa on a Thursday, which is why they never make the meetings. I felt a bit bad for being lame and just sitting there all night but I was suffering, and the $4 cuba libres only helped so much. In the end, one of the newbies gave me a lift home and I decided to set my alarm really late and try to just stay in bed as long as possible to recover.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
Day 136: Wednesday
it was a bit of a struggle getting up in the morning, then getting Oscar out of the storage room that he had somehow broken into, despite the supposedly cat-proof duck tape seal, then trudging to work through melted slush, and re-frozen icy/slippy sludge and high winds, but I made it.
however, it was a pretty slow day and I spent a lot of time checking every single item in the store had a tag as there is an inventory check coming up. this sort of job is good for just zoning out and listening to the radio, but not very good for keeping me awake. At 5:30 I tried on a few things I may buy, then got ready for run club. This week, eight hills!
I really like the hills, but it is a very long tough session and i'm still aching quite a bit from yesterday's exercise class. it works out as around 9 or 10k and next week we will go up to 9 hills.
by the time I got home, I was sleepy and hungry so I put some pasta on to boil while I jumped in the shower. Tim offered me a cupcake (mint choc!!) which I had for dessert after my pasta and pointed out that a parcel had arrived for me... I wasn't expecting anything and was confused as it seems to have come from someone I don't know in America, but when I opened it, I found a copy of Apathy sent via Amazon from Matt, which made my day!
This is the book we found while travelling in New Zealand that I keep buying a new copy of, then giving away to somebody who I think will like it, then having to buy a new copy again. I was actually thinking of buying a new copy recently as I was talking about the book to someone. I ended up reading nearly half of it in bed before switching my light off.
however, it was a pretty slow day and I spent a lot of time checking every single item in the store had a tag as there is an inventory check coming up. this sort of job is good for just zoning out and listening to the radio, but not very good for keeping me awake. At 5:30 I tried on a few things I may buy, then got ready for run club. This week, eight hills!
I really like the hills, but it is a very long tough session and i'm still aching quite a bit from yesterday's exercise class. it works out as around 9 or 10k and next week we will go up to 9 hills.
by the time I got home, I was sleepy and hungry so I put some pasta on to boil while I jumped in the shower. Tim offered me a cupcake (mint choc!!) which I had for dessert after my pasta and pointed out that a parcel had arrived for me... I wasn't expecting anything and was confused as it seems to have come from someone I don't know in America, but when I opened it, I found a copy of Apathy sent via Amazon from Matt, which made my day!
This is the book we found while travelling in New Zealand that I keep buying a new copy of, then giving away to somebody who I think will like it, then having to buy a new copy again. I was actually thinking of buying a new copy recently as I was talking about the book to someone. I ended up reading nearly half of it in bed before switching my light off.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Day 135: some firsts
I was intending to get up by around 8:30, but I woke up much earlier than this and lay in bed listening to my housemates banging around getting ready for work... then the fire alarm started going off! Tim was apologising, but the sound wasn't stopping, so I got up just to check that it would stop and I didn't need to flee the inferno, then collapsed back on bed for a bit until eventually it did stop.
I decided to just admit defeat and start checking my emails etc (while staying in bed) until my alarm went off, then I made myself a nice omelette for breakfast. after this, I got back into bed again with the free cakes I'd got from work yesterday to start researching a few things online. eventually I started sorting out all the things I would need for the day.
I was expecting a phone call at around 10am regarding possibly volunteering to be a subject in some research at the university. It is a study of ageing and I spoke to one of the research assistants who went through a very long series of questions to determine if I was eligible. the next step is to go and meet them and have some cognitive tests, but he was having difficulties with the diaries so he will call me back to arrange this stage.
I also spoke to the Canadian Blood Service on the phone, and it turns out that I cannot donate in Canada at all... ever... due to the risk of CJD, or "human mad cow disease" as she called it on the phone. I had been worried about my time in Cambodia but the UK is actually a much bigger risk for Canadians. booo.
My first exercise class in Canada was booked for about midday, but I got there really early so I could try and figure out where I had to go and how everything worked. they made me a swipe card with my photo on it which I need to get into the changing rooms - the enormous changing rooms!
The class was in the main hall, where the indoor track is and a whole set of badminton courts. there were also people running up and down the stairs in the seating gallery above. for next week, I may plan to arrive very early and do some intervals round the track.
The instructor seemed really nice and the class had similarities with Body Pump that I used to do, although I think I have lost a lot of strength in the last four months. maybe I will try using more weight next week, but i'll see how much I ache tomorrow first! I got a little bit lost finding my way back out of the building again and used the opportunity to buy my first Booster Juice drink. however, I followed this up with a particularly unhealthy lunch involving ice cream once I got back home.
I ended up leaving home a little bit late and getting the train up to the university for my Starbucks shift. My first full seven hour shift!
I'd forgotten how crappy it can be being new at something. I felt unsure about every drink I was given to make and kept having to check. I was much slower than the other girls too, which mattered more today as it was pretty busy for the first half of the shift. I got a couple of drinks wrong, one wasn't my fault, it had been written down wrong, and one was a really bizarre drink so I'm not surprised I got it wrong: I thought I was meant to be making a peppermint latte, then the girl came back and asked me why she couldn't see the teabag... she had wanted a peppermint TEA latte. Who has peppermint tea with milk?? that just seems wrong to me.
I quite like making the frappuccinos, as the method is all written out, and it was nice that I got to try all of the different jobs during my shift, but when it slowed down, it was pretty dull. the other girls mostly spoke to each other in Mandarin so I couldn't really join in or interrupt. I did find out that overseas students in Canada get three years after they graduate to find a job. this makes the UK's measly one year look pretty stingy.
I'm not doing a shift on Thursday this week, so won't be back in until next Monday and I'm a bit concerned about how much I will forget. I think my mind will just go completely blank.
I decided to just admit defeat and start checking my emails etc (while staying in bed) until my alarm went off, then I made myself a nice omelette for breakfast. after this, I got back into bed again with the free cakes I'd got from work yesterday to start researching a few things online. eventually I started sorting out all the things I would need for the day.
I was expecting a phone call at around 10am regarding possibly volunteering to be a subject in some research at the university. It is a study of ageing and I spoke to one of the research assistants who went through a very long series of questions to determine if I was eligible. the next step is to go and meet them and have some cognitive tests, but he was having difficulties with the diaries so he will call me back to arrange this stage.
I also spoke to the Canadian Blood Service on the phone, and it turns out that I cannot donate in Canada at all... ever... due to the risk of CJD, or "human mad cow disease" as she called it on the phone. I had been worried about my time in Cambodia but the UK is actually a much bigger risk for Canadians. booo.
My first exercise class in Canada was booked for about midday, but I got there really early so I could try and figure out where I had to go and how everything worked. they made me a swipe card with my photo on it which I need to get into the changing rooms - the enormous changing rooms!
The class was in the main hall, where the indoor track is and a whole set of badminton courts. there were also people running up and down the stairs in the seating gallery above. for next week, I may plan to arrive very early and do some intervals round the track.
The instructor seemed really nice and the class had similarities with Body Pump that I used to do, although I think I have lost a lot of strength in the last four months. maybe I will try using more weight next week, but i'll see how much I ache tomorrow first! I got a little bit lost finding my way back out of the building again and used the opportunity to buy my first Booster Juice drink. however, I followed this up with a particularly unhealthy lunch involving ice cream once I got back home.
I ended up leaving home a little bit late and getting the train up to the university for my Starbucks shift. My first full seven hour shift!
I'd forgotten how crappy it can be being new at something. I felt unsure about every drink I was given to make and kept having to check. I was much slower than the other girls too, which mattered more today as it was pretty busy for the first half of the shift. I got a couple of drinks wrong, one wasn't my fault, it had been written down wrong, and one was a really bizarre drink so I'm not surprised I got it wrong: I thought I was meant to be making a peppermint latte, then the girl came back and asked me why she couldn't see the teabag... she had wanted a peppermint TEA latte. Who has peppermint tea with milk?? that just seems wrong to me.
I quite like making the frappuccinos, as the method is all written out, and it was nice that I got to try all of the different jobs during my shift, but when it slowed down, it was pretty dull. the other girls mostly spoke to each other in Mandarin so I couldn't really join in or interrupt. I did find out that overseas students in Canada get three years after they graduate to find a job. this makes the UK's measly one year look pretty stingy.
I'm not doing a shift on Thursday this week, so won't be back in until next Monday and I'm a bit concerned about how much I will forget. I think my mind will just go completely blank.
Day 134: Monday brunch club
So I accidentally overslept. I woke up but thought it was just because I hadn't slept well and decided to stay in bed with my eyes closed until my alarm went off. After a fair while, I thought i'd check my watch, out of curiosity, only to discover my alarm should have gone off half an hour ago. when I checked, the battery had died! oops.
but at least I don't have to be anywhere in a hurry today. turns out Matt overslept a bit too as he kept hitting snooze, and there was no sign of Goncha at all. I was pointed in the direction of the bus stop and made it home by about 11am, which was a bit later than I had intended but never mind.
at about 12, after spending a fair amount of time dealing with a hyperactive kitty, I headed out again to catch a bus up Whyte ave and meet Vishya for brunch. the bus driver lady was very chatty, but mostly slagging off the Edmonton weather. She really picked the wrong person for that conversation, as I think the weather here is fabulous. This is a conversation I've had a few times recently with "locals", where they talk about how dark it is all the time, or its "too overcast today". but its been pretty much blindingly sunny most of the time, and even if it is cloudy, its not usually dark grey storm clouds, and the snow reflects any light that's around making it still quite bright. I guess it helps that I no longer work a 9-5 so I see a lot of the daylight, rather than being stuck indoors through the few daylight hours available this time of year. Alberta has a reputation for sunlight, so the whingers really should try going anywhere else, then they might appreciate the lovely weather that they have. I tried explaining English weather to the bus driver, and why I was so cheerful here, but then she also mentioned that things have been quite different to usual this year too. colder than normal, which tends to make people want to stay indoors and not face the torment and potential frostbite of trudging around in minus-whatever ice storms. stupid climate change. still, if I've been coping this well in an unusually crazy weather year, I think i'm doing alright! today it is fairly warm though, so last night's snow is melting and turning into slushy puddles which soak up into my jeans. this reminds me of home!
Vishya is one of the first couchsurfers I met here, but she's been to-ing and fro-ing a lot so I haven't seen her much. we compared notes on our experiences of Edmonton and it's people and how it all compares to the rest of Canada. I never know what is just an Edmonton thing or whether the whole of Canada is the same, so it was good to speak to a well-travelled Canadian. She is also a great example of how little stuff you actually need with you, and how you can rely on strangers for help while travelling (especially around Canada). the food was delicious too!
I walked back as my bus ticket from this morning has now expired (they last about two hours for transferring) and went via the cash machine and drug store - Oscar had decided my shower products were toys so I needed to buy new stuff. I accidentally bought two tubs of ice cream though!
my training shift at Starbucks today was 5:30-10:30 so that they could teach me the closing procedures. I was amazed how much stuff I had forgotten over the weekend. Kate suggested (wisely) that I practice the till and all it's one million buttons. luckily, one of the guys who works there was hanging around killing time and he helped me a bit. its not just me being stupid though: some of the buttons have out-of-date prices but are still there so you have to know which ones are OK or not. I don't know why they can't just update it, I could end up undercharging a lot of people.
it was fairly slow most of the evening so the majority of the jobs were done early. I felt a bit left out as everybody else knew what they were doing and spoke to each other in Mandarin but i'm sure it will all get easier. there were quite a few things expiring so I got to have some juice and cake and also take some away for tomorrow. this job could really be very bad for me!
I might try going for not buying any more cakes/chocolate/etc from now on. this might be much easier to do if I know there will be the occasional freebie, and it will save me some well-needed cash.
I was pretty tired by the time I got home, but hopefully I will adjust to these shifts quickly.
but at least I don't have to be anywhere in a hurry today. turns out Matt overslept a bit too as he kept hitting snooze, and there was no sign of Goncha at all. I was pointed in the direction of the bus stop and made it home by about 11am, which was a bit later than I had intended but never mind.
at about 12, after spending a fair amount of time dealing with a hyperactive kitty, I headed out again to catch a bus up Whyte ave and meet Vishya for brunch. the bus driver lady was very chatty, but mostly slagging off the Edmonton weather. She really picked the wrong person for that conversation, as I think the weather here is fabulous. This is a conversation I've had a few times recently with "locals", where they talk about how dark it is all the time, or its "too overcast today". but its been pretty much blindingly sunny most of the time, and even if it is cloudy, its not usually dark grey storm clouds, and the snow reflects any light that's around making it still quite bright. I guess it helps that I no longer work a 9-5 so I see a lot of the daylight, rather than being stuck indoors through the few daylight hours available this time of year. Alberta has a reputation for sunlight, so the whingers really should try going anywhere else, then they might appreciate the lovely weather that they have. I tried explaining English weather to the bus driver, and why I was so cheerful here, but then she also mentioned that things have been quite different to usual this year too. colder than normal, which tends to make people want to stay indoors and not face the torment and potential frostbite of trudging around in minus-whatever ice storms. stupid climate change. still, if I've been coping this well in an unusually crazy weather year, I think i'm doing alright! today it is fairly warm though, so last night's snow is melting and turning into slushy puddles which soak up into my jeans. this reminds me of home!
Vishya is one of the first couchsurfers I met here, but she's been to-ing and fro-ing a lot so I haven't seen her much. we compared notes on our experiences of Edmonton and it's people and how it all compares to the rest of Canada. I never know what is just an Edmonton thing or whether the whole of Canada is the same, so it was good to speak to a well-travelled Canadian. She is also a great example of how little stuff you actually need with you, and how you can rely on strangers for help while travelling (especially around Canada). the food was delicious too!
I walked back as my bus ticket from this morning has now expired (they last about two hours for transferring) and went via the cash machine and drug store - Oscar had decided my shower products were toys so I needed to buy new stuff. I accidentally bought two tubs of ice cream though!
my training shift at Starbucks today was 5:30-10:30 so that they could teach me the closing procedures. I was amazed how much stuff I had forgotten over the weekend. Kate suggested (wisely) that I practice the till and all it's one million buttons. luckily, one of the guys who works there was hanging around killing time and he helped me a bit. its not just me being stupid though: some of the buttons have out-of-date prices but are still there so you have to know which ones are OK or not. I don't know why they can't just update it, I could end up undercharging a lot of people.
it was fairly slow most of the evening so the majority of the jobs were done early. I felt a bit left out as everybody else knew what they were doing and spoke to each other in Mandarin but i'm sure it will all get easier. there were quite a few things expiring so I got to have some juice and cake and also take some away for tomorrow. this job could really be very bad for me!
I might try going for not buying any more cakes/chocolate/etc from now on. this might be much easier to do if I know there will be the occasional freebie, and it will save me some well-needed cash.
I was pretty tired by the time I got home, but hopefully I will adjust to these shifts quickly.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Day 133: Winter wonderland
This morning's run was spectacular. It was clear and sunny and everything was snowy and gorgeous. After last Sunday, it also seemed fairly warm. I was even on time running up to the shop and turned down a lift so I could run home as well, clocking up an extra couple of km.
After run, I had a bit of catch-up time before getting picked up to go to the Byzantine Winter Festival on the north of town. it was in the same place as the Kaleidoscope festival back in September and had the same sort of friendly community vibe. There were Viking themed ice and snow sculptures:
A slide, noughts and crosses, and other games in ice form, a bunch of people dress in medieval costumes chatting around a wigwam or staging fights:
More ice sculptures, Ukrainian food that we took advantage of, traditional Ukrainian music and dancing:
There was face painting, but the line was long so I didn't wait, and there was a room where someone was reading poetry about Edmonton in wintertime. There were kids playing street hockey tournaments, various performers wandering around and generally a lovely vibe.
I think a lot of other people I know went to the same event at some point over the weekend, but we all went in small groups. Even though it was fairly mild, after wandering around for a while the cold started creeping in, so me and Lee drove to a tea shop near 124th street that he knew. It was a lovely little café. As soon as you walked in, you could smell all the fresh tea and spices. You choose which type of tea you want from their shop area, then they would brew it up in a cafetiere for you. after you've paid, you choose your tea cup from a shelf. they are all different, so its fun deciding. I went for one with a pattern of blue and yellow flowers. You can get more hot water to refill and just sit there, relaxing and drinking tea as long as you want.
I had arranged to catch up on Sherlock with Matt, so he came to meet us at the tea place, then he drove me back to his place. we re-watched the last episode to start with, but it turned out he had missed that one, so it was a good thing we decided to "re-watch" it or nothing would have made any sense.
After that, Goncha arrived as she will be couchsurfing at Matt's place for a few nights. I chatted to her about working in the camps to the north, and suddenly it seemed much more of a viable option. it had always seemed unsuitable for me before. we shared some tea and some wine, but she doesn't watch Sherlock so she unpacked and caught up online while we watched the first episode. Then we shared a late night snack of some pasta and a roux sauce that I managed to make without lumps!
We then blitzed through episode two, by which time it was quite late, but we decided to keep going and watch the next one as well. Matt fell asleep for the last half hour so he'll have to watch it again, but it feels really good to actually be up to date on a tv show. There were some bits of the episodes that I didn't like, but overall I thought they were good. especially when a certain famous magician turned up!
Matt sometimes found it difficult following what they said due to the accents and I'd have to repeat something, which I thought was interesting as I'd been assuming I was just not speaking very clearly when people didn't understand me, but maybe its my accent. He half-joked that he'd have to use subtitles if I wasn't there!
Matt's place is pretty big so we all had our own rooms to sleep in, although it was about 2:30am by the time we'd watched four episodes. With an early start that morning I was pretty tired, but it's been a great day and a really good use of my one day of not working.
After run, I had a bit of catch-up time before getting picked up to go to the Byzantine Winter Festival on the north of town. it was in the same place as the Kaleidoscope festival back in September and had the same sort of friendly community vibe. There were Viking themed ice and snow sculptures:
A slide, noughts and crosses, and other games in ice form, a bunch of people dress in medieval costumes chatting around a wigwam or staging fights:
More ice sculptures, Ukrainian food that we took advantage of, traditional Ukrainian music and dancing:
I think a lot of other people I know went to the same event at some point over the weekend, but we all went in small groups. Even though it was fairly mild, after wandering around for a while the cold started creeping in, so me and Lee drove to a tea shop near 124th street that he knew. It was a lovely little café. As soon as you walked in, you could smell all the fresh tea and spices. You choose which type of tea you want from their shop area, then they would brew it up in a cafetiere for you. after you've paid, you choose your tea cup from a shelf. they are all different, so its fun deciding. I went for one with a pattern of blue and yellow flowers. You can get more hot water to refill and just sit there, relaxing and drinking tea as long as you want.
I had arranged to catch up on Sherlock with Matt, so he came to meet us at the tea place, then he drove me back to his place. we re-watched the last episode to start with, but it turned out he had missed that one, so it was a good thing we decided to "re-watch" it or nothing would have made any sense.
After that, Goncha arrived as she will be couchsurfing at Matt's place for a few nights. I chatted to her about working in the camps to the north, and suddenly it seemed much more of a viable option. it had always seemed unsuitable for me before. we shared some tea and some wine, but she doesn't watch Sherlock so she unpacked and caught up online while we watched the first episode. Then we shared a late night snack of some pasta and a roux sauce that I managed to make without lumps!
We then blitzed through episode two, by which time it was quite late, but we decided to keep going and watch the next one as well. Matt fell asleep for the last half hour so he'll have to watch it again, but it feels really good to actually be up to date on a tv show. There were some bits of the episodes that I didn't like, but overall I thought they were good. especially when a certain famous magician turned up!
Matt sometimes found it difficult following what they said due to the accents and I'd have to repeat something, which I thought was interesting as I'd been assuming I was just not speaking very clearly when people didn't understand me, but maybe its my accent. He half-joked that he'd have to use subtitles if I wasn't there!
Matt's place is pretty big so we all had our own rooms to sleep in, although it was about 2:30am by the time we'd watched four episodes. With an early start that morning I was pretty tired, but it's been a great day and a really good use of my one day of not working.
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Day 132: shoes shoes shoes
after two nights of staying up fairly late and getting up early for work, I was a wee bit sleepy today.
I spent a lot of time trying to find shoes for people. some were a tad on the complicated side, which is always interesting. I found one lady some shoes she really liked and bought two pairs of. I kinda liked them too but they didn't have my size, which is probably for the best as I would have been far too tempted to buy them. at least during the busy bits of the day it helped keep me awake.
by the time I left work, it felt much later than it was, I popped into the shop on my way home to pick up a few things, made some scrambled eggs on toast for dinner, caught up on stuff and was generally glad to be having a quiet evening in. I also had some free Smarties I'd won to eat!
after snooping on facebook I definitely feel like I'm missing out on stuff though. I must arrange some winter sports to do, but its tricky while working six days a week, doing sunday long runs, and working late shifts.
the weather has been much milder again, so at least I won't have to faff quite as much to get out the door for tomorrow's run!
I spent a lot of time trying to find shoes for people. some were a tad on the complicated side, which is always interesting. I found one lady some shoes she really liked and bought two pairs of. I kinda liked them too but they didn't have my size, which is probably for the best as I would have been far too tempted to buy them. at least during the busy bits of the day it helped keep me awake.
by the time I left work, it felt much later than it was, I popped into the shop on my way home to pick up a few things, made some scrambled eggs on toast for dinner, caught up on stuff and was generally glad to be having a quiet evening in. I also had some free Smarties I'd won to eat!
after snooping on facebook I definitely feel like I'm missing out on stuff though. I must arrange some winter sports to do, but its tricky while working six days a week, doing sunday long runs, and working late shifts.
the weather has been much milder again, so at least I won't have to faff quite as much to get out the door for tomorrow's run!
Day 131: Cecily!
I was working 9:30-5pm at the Running Room and for some reason I was in a ridiculously good mood all day. Some bits of the day were really slow, but nothing could bring me down.
my plans for after work kept changing and were very up in the air, as I was going to go and catch up on Sherlock, but my friend wasn't free any more, I had also been invited to go and play board games somewhere downtown but wasn't sure about that one either. Then I got a text from Cecily saying that they were back from Australia and going for after work drinks in a bar not too far from me. hooray!
I went home, changed, and headed back out to meet them. we haven't actually seen each other since November so there was lots of catching up to be done, but we got distracted by one of her friends asking for holiday ideas among other things.
I texted Ian to say I could head downtown for boardgames, but he said it had been cancelled and I could join him to go to a neighbour's house instead. Cecily dropped me off and I joined Ian and another of his friends at the flat opposite his. I felt a bit bad as I had turned up without any food or drinks as it was all unplanned, but they were a friendly bunch and there was plenty of food, including some homemade pastries, and I shared some wine with Ian's friend Darcy.
I was pretty sleepy but still stayed til about midnight before heading home on the train. Early start again tomorrow! A big topic of conversation was the winter sports available to try and I realised there are still so many things I haven't got round to yet! I also really like that the jack rabbits are still around, although they look less like mini kangaroos now that they are white.
my plans for after work kept changing and were very up in the air, as I was going to go and catch up on Sherlock, but my friend wasn't free any more, I had also been invited to go and play board games somewhere downtown but wasn't sure about that one either. Then I got a text from Cecily saying that they were back from Australia and going for after work drinks in a bar not too far from me. hooray!
I went home, changed, and headed back out to meet them. we haven't actually seen each other since November so there was lots of catching up to be done, but we got distracted by one of her friends asking for holiday ideas among other things.
I texted Ian to say I could head downtown for boardgames, but he said it had been cancelled and I could join him to go to a neighbour's house instead. Cecily dropped me off and I joined Ian and another of his friends at the flat opposite his. I felt a bit bad as I had turned up without any food or drinks as it was all unplanned, but they were a friendly bunch and there was plenty of food, including some homemade pastries, and I shared some wine with Ian's friend Darcy.
I was pretty sleepy but still stayed til about midnight before heading home on the train. Early start again tomorrow! A big topic of conversation was the winter sports available to try and I realised there are still so many things I haven't got round to yet! I also really like that the jack rabbits are still around, although they look less like mini kangaroos now that they are white.
Day 130:more blagging of freebies!
Today was the earliest I have had to get up for a long time, the first time its actually been dark when I leave the house. I had to get all the way to Terwillegar via train and bus for a training session starting at 9am. it was definitely worth it though, as it included free breakfast and a free item of Brookes merchandise of our choice. So for one hour of learning about Brookes shoes and a 45 minute journey, I will get a free pair of Cascadia trail shoes! my job is awesome!
Next, after faffing about at home for an hour and a half, I headed out to the museum (via another train and bus) to meet Aimee for lunch. I have a pass so I don't have to pay, which means I could pootle round a little bit looking at diaramas until I got peckish and ordered a gigantic burger. Aimee also showed me "behind the scenes" at the museum, which was pretty cool. they have a lot of stuff in storage and some people will come to the museum regularly to perform ceremonies with all the relics they have. women are not allowed in the room for any reason if they are on their "moon time". She also gave me some huge blocks of chocolate that a colleague had bought in, even though I was really full up from the huge burger.
from the museum, I got the bus/train back to the university to start my shift at Starbucks. I was tested on my ability to make a variety of drinks and shown how to make multiple drinks as efficiently as possible. it will take me a while to get up to speed on that! of course, in the process of all this I made a lot of drinks, many of which I wanted to try, which all added to my already full stomach.
I caught another bus after work to go straight to Cha Island for the couchsurf meet up.
I'm really glad I went as there was a good crowd, some people I haven't seen in ages and some people i'd been meaning to catch up with. This week's theme nationality was French Canadian as there were some new people from Quebec.
Next, after faffing about at home for an hour and a half, I headed out to the museum (via another train and bus) to meet Aimee for lunch. I have a pass so I don't have to pay, which means I could pootle round a little bit looking at diaramas until I got peckish and ordered a gigantic burger. Aimee also showed me "behind the scenes" at the museum, which was pretty cool. they have a lot of stuff in storage and some people will come to the museum regularly to perform ceremonies with all the relics they have. women are not allowed in the room for any reason if they are on their "moon time". She also gave me some huge blocks of chocolate that a colleague had bought in, even though I was really full up from the huge burger.
from the museum, I got the bus/train back to the university to start my shift at Starbucks. I was tested on my ability to make a variety of drinks and shown how to make multiple drinks as efficiently as possible. it will take me a while to get up to speed on that! of course, in the process of all this I made a lot of drinks, many of which I wanted to try, which all added to my already full stomach.
I caught another bus after work to go straight to Cha Island for the couchsurf meet up.
I'm really glad I went as there was a good crowd, some people I haven't seen in ages and some people i'd been meaning to catch up with. This week's theme nationality was French Canadian as there were some new people from Quebec.
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Day 129: Lovely lovely hills
back at the running room today after two days off. imagine. a whole two days not going into the store or seeing anyone from the store. ahh.
it was fairly quiet to start with, so I heard lots of tales of woe from the life of Brent, but it picked up by mid-morning, especially with shoes. Doug has agreed to be one of the clinic instructors but had a whole massive document he needed typing up in a hurry as it wasn't possible to just cut and paste it for some reason. I agreed to help in the half hour between finishing work and going to run club and he was willing to pay $20! I feel a bit bad for taking so much money from him. I didn't even finish the typing, but I did do most of it, and it made me late for run club.
luckily they are back to doing hills every week now, so I knew where I was going and was only one hill behind. I went extra fast as I thought I had to make up time or something I guess, who knows what was going through my head. it was quite difficult to go fast at the bottom of the hill though, as the snow was all slippy and uneven, so I made up for it by sprinting a lot all the way to the top and then wheezing for a few seconds! I was overdressed too, as I think I was a bit nervous after Sunday's cold spell and hadn't been outside much all day. I could have done with one less layer but none were easy to remove so I made do with taking off my ear warmers, buff and one layer of gloves, then undoing zips. Someone wearing a watch told me that we did 9k in total, which is reasonable, and good to know for when I start actually logging my training... which I will get round to doing... at some point.
I think I will probably enter the St Albert marathon as it's reasonably local and the same date as the Vancouver marathon that the run club group will be training for. Hopefully i can get a similar time to my marathon last year. I have also heard back from the Calgary marathon that they would like me to be a pace bunny for 4hours finishing time. This involves wearing bunny ears and carrying a sign and gets me free race registration and a good, steady pace to be following.
it was fairly quiet to start with, so I heard lots of tales of woe from the life of Brent, but it picked up by mid-morning, especially with shoes. Doug has agreed to be one of the clinic instructors but had a whole massive document he needed typing up in a hurry as it wasn't possible to just cut and paste it for some reason. I agreed to help in the half hour between finishing work and going to run club and he was willing to pay $20! I feel a bit bad for taking so much money from him. I didn't even finish the typing, but I did do most of it, and it made me late for run club.
luckily they are back to doing hills every week now, so I knew where I was going and was only one hill behind. I went extra fast as I thought I had to make up time or something I guess, who knows what was going through my head. it was quite difficult to go fast at the bottom of the hill though, as the snow was all slippy and uneven, so I made up for it by sprinting a lot all the way to the top and then wheezing for a few seconds! I was overdressed too, as I think I was a bit nervous after Sunday's cold spell and hadn't been outside much all day. I could have done with one less layer but none were easy to remove so I made do with taking off my ear warmers, buff and one layer of gloves, then undoing zips. Someone wearing a watch told me that we did 9k in total, which is reasonable, and good to know for when I start actually logging my training... which I will get round to doing... at some point.
I think I will probably enter the St Albert marathon as it's reasonably local and the same date as the Vancouver marathon that the run club group will be training for. Hopefully i can get a similar time to my marathon last year. I have also heard back from the Calgary marathon that they would like me to be a pace bunny for 4hours finishing time. This involves wearing bunny ears and carrying a sign and gets me free race registration and a good, steady pace to be following.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Day 128: finally some time off to waste...
I had plans to get up and go for a run this morning, but instead I lay in bed for ages and eventually emerged and made myself some porridge. I played with Oscar a bit and retrieved him from the laundry room a couple of times, where he likes to sit on my nice clean clothes and cover them in cat fur. I also went back through my blog adding in a few photos (from Vancouver onwards for anyone who wants to check) but mostly I snacked and lazed around. I feel this is OK as I haven't had a chance to for a while, even though I really should start running more and being healthier.
I headed out to work at 3ish and when I arrived, it was a bit busier than yesterday with a short line of people. We started training again, but occasionally had to be interrupted by a sudden rush of people wanting drinks, some of which I got to make!
Today I was learning how to make the cold drinks and how to use the computer. I was regretting wearing short sleeves as all the drinks I made and tried made me really cold. The cold drinks seem more complicated, but maybe its just because they are totally new to me unlike the coffees, or maybe its just an accumulation of too much information. The till also seemed fairly complex as there are about a million buttons, mostly in code, a third of which don't actually get used. There are also three or four different card readers. Kate, who is training me, keeps telling me I'm picking it all up really quickly, but I feel really slow. It probably didn't help that one or two of the drinks I guzzled had some caffeine in, so I was a wee bit wired. Quite a few of the customers who came along are clearly Starbucks regulars and they have their own specific orders that they like so some drinks involved what seemed like fairly complicated modifications. It feels like mental arithmetic. I'm sure it will all get easier, and it'll be fun!
I went home via the liquor store as I needed to buy a gift for Andie to thank her for covering my shift when I went to the hockey, but I also bought a few interesting looking beers for myself and got given a free one at the till as well, which is always a bonus! everyone loves free beer!
To counteract the caffeine, I made myself a hot chocolate with baileys in. Tomorrow I will actually have to get up early as I'm back to the Running Room again.
I headed out to work at 3ish and when I arrived, it was a bit busier than yesterday with a short line of people. We started training again, but occasionally had to be interrupted by a sudden rush of people wanting drinks, some of which I got to make!
Today I was learning how to make the cold drinks and how to use the computer. I was regretting wearing short sleeves as all the drinks I made and tried made me really cold. The cold drinks seem more complicated, but maybe its just because they are totally new to me unlike the coffees, or maybe its just an accumulation of too much information. The till also seemed fairly complex as there are about a million buttons, mostly in code, a third of which don't actually get used. There are also three or four different card readers. Kate, who is training me, keeps telling me I'm picking it all up really quickly, but I feel really slow. It probably didn't help that one or two of the drinks I guzzled had some caffeine in, so I was a wee bit wired. Quite a few of the customers who came along are clearly Starbucks regulars and they have their own specific orders that they like so some drinks involved what seemed like fairly complicated modifications. It feels like mental arithmetic. I'm sure it will all get easier, and it'll be fun!
I went home via the liquor store as I needed to buy a gift for Andie to thank her for covering my shift when I went to the hockey, but I also bought a few interesting looking beers for myself and got given a free one at the till as well, which is always a bonus! everyone loves free beer!
To counteract the caffeine, I made myself a hot chocolate with baileys in. Tomorrow I will actually have to get up early as I'm back to the Running Room again.
Day 127: waffles and starbucks
my new schedule of late shifts starts today. I spent the morning looking up races, making sandwiches for the week and reading bits of my Rough Guide, then went to meet Steve for waffles as they are only $5 on Monday at our usual couchsurf meet-up spot.
Steve likes helping other people sort their lives out, so he had some suggestions for me but it was great to hear about his own plans as well. we had herbal teas with our epic waffles and swapped one quarter so we could try each other's. mine was so delicious I felt slightly sick afterwards but Steve's would have been far too chocolatey for me. it looks like we might make this a regular thing and open it up to the group. i'll have to try and work out who else has free time in the daytime to hang out with as well.
Steve gave me a lift back up to the university for my first day of training at Starbucks. my shifts are going to be 3-10:30, but it turns out that for my first week I will only work 3:30-7:30 while I'm training. it will be nice to ease into these late shifts gradually. As I was learning how to make the drinks, I got to have two or three free and was really full up by the end. the machines they use are much more automated than the one at Lazia and take a lot less time to make anything. I have to learn lots of recipes but thanks to my experience at Lazia it seemed relatively straightforward, we will see how much I remember overnight. It was pretty quiet as its only the first day of term, but apparently that will change! The other staff there were mostly students and they all seemed lovely. One guy said "you'll be the only Canadian working here"... bless.
As I was finishing earlier, I decided to use the extra time I had gained to plan the rest of my week, faff about on the internet a bit more and do a few things I kept not getting round to. it will be nice having a relatively easy week, with things getting more manic next week. it feels quite strange to be going two full days without going to the running room!
Steve likes helping other people sort their lives out, so he had some suggestions for me but it was great to hear about his own plans as well. we had herbal teas with our epic waffles and swapped one quarter so we could try each other's. mine was so delicious I felt slightly sick afterwards but Steve's would have been far too chocolatey for me. it looks like we might make this a regular thing and open it up to the group. i'll have to try and work out who else has free time in the daytime to hang out with as well.
Steve gave me a lift back up to the university for my first day of training at Starbucks. my shifts are going to be 3-10:30, but it turns out that for my first week I will only work 3:30-7:30 while I'm training. it will be nice to ease into these late shifts gradually. As I was learning how to make the drinks, I got to have two or three free and was really full up by the end. the machines they use are much more automated than the one at Lazia and take a lot less time to make anything. I have to learn lots of recipes but thanks to my experience at Lazia it seemed relatively straightforward, we will see how much I remember overnight. It was pretty quiet as its only the first day of term, but apparently that will change! The other staff there were mostly students and they all seemed lovely. One guy said "you'll be the only Canadian working here"... bless.
As I was finishing earlier, I decided to use the extra time I had gained to plan the rest of my week, faff about on the internet a bit more and do a few things I kept not getting round to. it will be nice having a relatively easy week, with things getting more manic next week. it feels quite strange to be going two full days without going to the running room!
Monday, 6 January 2014
Day 126: winter running madness
Still struggling with mornings but I made it out of bed, however it soon became apparent that I hadn't factored in quite enough time to get ready due to the number of layers I had to get on. I was planning on leaving at 8am but it ended up being more like 8:20. it took me an especially long time to try and figure out how to get my mittens on and get out of the house. I was going to wear two pairs of mittens, but it took so long I gave up and went out with two pairs on one hand and just one on the other. By the time I got to the Running Room, the group was long gone. Luckily, due to the ridiculous temperatures, they had changed their route and were doing three 5k loops instead, so I hung around in the shop for a bit, then headed backwards along the route until I bumped into them and could join in.
for the first full loop, my hands were still really warm but my bum started getting cold, despite my new windproof tights. breathing through the scarf bit of my sweater would get annoying, so i'd pull it down for a bit until my face got cold and i'd pull it up again. the loops meant we could pop into the shop to warm up a bit and grab some water. this gave our frozen eyelashes a chance to melt all over our faces too.
during the last loop my bum was getting really really cold. my hands started getting a little bit cold, especially my thumbs, so I pulled them back into the main bit of the mittens and balled my hands up, following advice from another runner, and this helped a lot. the scarf kept falling down and freezing up so it wasn't doing a whole lot to keep me warm towards the end, but I would have frozen without it, I just need more practice or something. my toes were only noticeably cold when we stopped running, but all these things were just part of the fun. this was a new and exciting experience and i'm really glad I went.
I had bought a change of clothes with me so that I could join the group for brunch afterwards, but when I went to change, I couldn't find the tights I was going to wear under my jeans - its going to get cold going outside again. it was nice to actually hang out with them, although at first I barely recognised them without running gear! I ate apple pie French toast, which was delicious but I was regretting not getting something savoury and more substantial. the rest of the menu, and everybody's food, looked delicious so I will have to go back. it occurred to me that this may be an advantage of late shifts as I could go out for brunch before work!
I obviously couldn't bring a huge winter coat with me in my tiny running backpack, so I had to shiver my way to Connie's car with just my run jacket over a sweater and only my thin jeans, but I am hardened to the Canadian weather now and the smug points for going running helped to keep me warm. I was very grateful for a lift back to my door though!
After a couple of hours of faffing, laundry, and other stuff, including more scoffing as I was still hungry, I headed out again with more appropriate clothing. This time I was going to a pub connected to a local brewery to try some craft beers. all the ones I tried were pretty good and there were plenty more I wanted to try so I may have to go there again. it was supposed to be just a couple of hours but we ended up staying most of the rest of the day. first we had a few small sample size beers, then I had a blueberry ale, which they added blueberries to, then my last one was a really nice stout. I was quite sleepy by the time I got home, so just had a snack, checked my emails and headed to bed. I have started reading bits of my Rough Guide again as people start thinking about coming over to visit. Its all very exciting!
for the first full loop, my hands were still really warm but my bum started getting cold, despite my new windproof tights. breathing through the scarf bit of my sweater would get annoying, so i'd pull it down for a bit until my face got cold and i'd pull it up again. the loops meant we could pop into the shop to warm up a bit and grab some water. this gave our frozen eyelashes a chance to melt all over our faces too.
during the last loop my bum was getting really really cold. my hands started getting a little bit cold, especially my thumbs, so I pulled them back into the main bit of the mittens and balled my hands up, following advice from another runner, and this helped a lot. the scarf kept falling down and freezing up so it wasn't doing a whole lot to keep me warm towards the end, but I would have frozen without it, I just need more practice or something. my toes were only noticeably cold when we stopped running, but all these things were just part of the fun. this was a new and exciting experience and i'm really glad I went.
I obviously couldn't bring a huge winter coat with me in my tiny running backpack, so I had to shiver my way to Connie's car with just my run jacket over a sweater and only my thin jeans, but I am hardened to the Canadian weather now and the smug points for going running helped to keep me warm. I was very grateful for a lift back to my door though!
After a couple of hours of faffing, laundry, and other stuff, including more scoffing as I was still hungry, I headed out again with more appropriate clothing. This time I was going to a pub connected to a local brewery to try some craft beers. all the ones I tried were pretty good and there were plenty more I wanted to try so I may have to go there again. it was supposed to be just a couple of hours but we ended up staying most of the rest of the day. first we had a few small sample size beers, then I had a blueberry ale, which they added blueberries to, then my last one was a really nice stout. I was quite sleepy by the time I got home, so just had a snack, checked my emails and headed to bed. I have started reading bits of my Rough Guide again as people start thinking about coming over to visit. Its all very exciting!
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Day 125: turning colder
Back to my usual all day Saturday shift at the running room. at first it seemed like it would be a quiet day with just a few web orders to find, the cold weather putting people off going outside, but then it got busier. I spent quite a lot of the day helping people with shoes or winter running gear. There were more staff back to uni after Christmas so it was nice hearing what people had been up to over Christmas and New Years.
I was slightly concerned about walking home given how wrapped up people were who walked into the shop, but it wasn't too bad. my face got quite cold as my scarf isn't the thickest ever, and my feet were frozen by the time I got home. I certainly didn't feel like going out again but one friend offered to come and pick me up then just watch some telly, a plan involving very little going outside, so I agreed.
We watched a few episodes of a travel programme made by two Canadian guys going round the world together for the first time. I could really relate to a lot of the things they were going through and it was amazing seeing places through their eyes. if only I had endless pots of cash so I could travel more.
I went to bed feeling a bit nervous about run club tomorrow as the temperatures are predicted to be in the low -20s, or -39C with wind chill! I plan on wearing lots of layers, but also bringing a change of clothes to I can go for brunch with the group afterwards.
I was slightly concerned about walking home given how wrapped up people were who walked into the shop, but it wasn't too bad. my face got quite cold as my scarf isn't the thickest ever, and my feet were frozen by the time I got home. I certainly didn't feel like going out again but one friend offered to come and pick me up then just watch some telly, a plan involving very little going outside, so I agreed.
We watched a few episodes of a travel programme made by two Canadian guys going round the world together for the first time. I could really relate to a lot of the things they were going through and it was amazing seeing places through their eyes. if only I had endless pots of cash so I could travel more.
I went to bed feeling a bit nervous about run club tomorrow as the temperatures are predicted to be in the low -20s, or -39C with wind chill! I plan on wearing lots of layers, but also bringing a change of clothes to I can go for brunch with the group afterwards.
Friday, 3 January 2014
Day 124: New job!
I had arranged to meet Susana at 9am to go through all the paperwork needed before I start at Starbucks. this is the earliest I have had to get up for a while so I ended up running a little bit late and deciding to get the LRT. this should have been quicker but I did not anticipate how much of a maze the University station would be, and once I finally emerged from underground I had no idea where I was and the first person I asked also had no idea. by a stroke of luck the direction I picked to walk in turned out to be the right one, I saw an information desk just inside an administrative building and got some sensible directions so I was only a couple of minutes late in the end.
there were a lot of bits of paper to read and sign, which made me a bit sleepy, and there is one extra thing I need to photocopy that I thought I had with me but didn't (I did some sneaky photocopying at work yesterday so I'll do the same again).
once that was all done I wondered across to the sports centre to register for my chosen exercise classes. it took me a good amount to time to find my way to the desk and a fair while to then escape from the building again so it will be interesting trying to work out where the classes are actually happening!
my next stop was grocery shopping, but as I was feeling a bit sleepy I picked up a small coffee en route. this may have been a bad idea. combined with a slight hunger I ended up spending more than I intended to in the shop. once I got back home again I had a huge lunch before heading out to my shift at the running room.
it was a long shift, 1-9:30pm, but for the first half it was pretty busy in the store and I helped with quite a lot of shoes so the time flew by. then for the second half there were hardly any customers but there were a lot of online orders to find and process. I did as many of them as I could but still a bit nervous about doing it wrong and upsetting Heidi again. I'm not sure if she has entirely forgiven me yet.
It was a reasonably entertaining shift though with a good bunch of people, but it did go a little bit wrong at the end as I accidentally tipped over the entire bucket of stinky mop water. a lot went on my shoes and jeans too. good thing it was at the end of the day as I'd been trying on shoes earlier!
I had a few texts from people inviting me out that evening, but by the time I got home, changed, and out again it would be late. either they would be going home by the time I got there or it would make it very difficult to get up for work tomorrow. I think this will be just like back home, where I can only have fun if it is highly organised in advance. I'd need to bring a change of clothes with me to work for example. it will save me heaps of money but might be much less sociable.
there were a lot of bits of paper to read and sign, which made me a bit sleepy, and there is one extra thing I need to photocopy that I thought I had with me but didn't (I did some sneaky photocopying at work yesterday so I'll do the same again).
once that was all done I wondered across to the sports centre to register for my chosen exercise classes. it took me a good amount to time to find my way to the desk and a fair while to then escape from the building again so it will be interesting trying to work out where the classes are actually happening!
my next stop was grocery shopping, but as I was feeling a bit sleepy I picked up a small coffee en route. this may have been a bad idea. combined with a slight hunger I ended up spending more than I intended to in the shop. once I got back home again I had a huge lunch before heading out to my shift at the running room.
it was a long shift, 1-9:30pm, but for the first half it was pretty busy in the store and I helped with quite a lot of shoes so the time flew by. then for the second half there were hardly any customers but there were a lot of online orders to find and process. I did as many of them as I could but still a bit nervous about doing it wrong and upsetting Heidi again. I'm not sure if she has entirely forgiven me yet.
It was a reasonably entertaining shift though with a good bunch of people, but it did go a little bit wrong at the end as I accidentally tipped over the entire bucket of stinky mop water. a lot went on my shoes and jeans too. good thing it was at the end of the day as I'd been trying on shoes earlier!
I had a few texts from people inviting me out that evening, but by the time I got home, changed, and out again it would be late. either they would be going home by the time I got there or it would make it very difficult to get up for work tomorrow. I think this will be just like back home, where I can only have fun if it is highly organised in advance. I'd need to bring a change of clothes with me to work for example. it will save me heaps of money but might be much less sociable.
Day 123: how I've missed Emily Murphy Hill
Another day at the running room. As I spent the morning of new year's day with running room people, i'm not sure it really counted as a break. At the end of my shift I had a quick shop and tried on a few things from the sale section, plus a few of the cheaper pairs of winter tights I could find. I have chosen a second pair of windproof tights that I will buy at some point.
At six, the half marathon training group were meeting to do some hill reps and I had bought my running kit into work especially. it was considerably warmer today, I didn't entirely trust the forecast though having been indoors all day. I left behind my buff and extra layer of gloves, but kept my lightweight jacket and ear warmers on. I was overheating very quickly and after the first hill I took the jacket off, meaning I was running in UK winter attire. I think at most it was -2C and it was strange how this made me a bit homesick.
The sidewalk hadn't been cleared but I found it easier to run of the compacted, icier bits of pavement as I had spikes on my shoes. the snowier or slushier bits just made your foot slide backwards so you made less progress, and some bits were uneven so your ankles could go a bit wobbly unexpectedly, just like uneven grassy cross country routes (more reminders of running at home).
I got offered a lift back home, which was great, but even with the extra time this gained me, I ended up changing my mind about going to the usual Thursday meet-up. by the time I had showered, changed, and walked up there it would be pretty late and I had an early start tomorrow. instead I faffed about trying to decide on races to enter and plan my year ahead a bit and ate a lot of chocolate.
I have now been in Canada approximately a third of my time, which is a strange thought. I have stopped translating the currency but still regularly forget to use North American words instead of English. I'm not sure what I was expecting to achieve in this time as I didn't really have much of a plan, so its hard to gauge whether things are going well, but I am enjoying myself, which I guess is the main thing, although I did completely run out of money in the process. maybe I am still thinking like I'm on holiday rather than living here. I really miss having paid holiday, that's for sure! maybe I'm struggling to adapt to having a lower income more than I'm struggling to adapt to a new country. It's not like I moved to Cambodia, Canada is relatively easy I guess. I still enjoy finding out how any other foreigners I meet ended up here and responding with my own vague excuses. I still don't mind being accused of being Australian either, I kinda like being a strange foreigner!
At six, the half marathon training group were meeting to do some hill reps and I had bought my running kit into work especially. it was considerably warmer today, I didn't entirely trust the forecast though having been indoors all day. I left behind my buff and extra layer of gloves, but kept my lightweight jacket and ear warmers on. I was overheating very quickly and after the first hill I took the jacket off, meaning I was running in UK winter attire. I think at most it was -2C and it was strange how this made me a bit homesick.
The sidewalk hadn't been cleared but I found it easier to run of the compacted, icier bits of pavement as I had spikes on my shoes. the snowier or slushier bits just made your foot slide backwards so you made less progress, and some bits were uneven so your ankles could go a bit wobbly unexpectedly, just like uneven grassy cross country routes (more reminders of running at home).
I got offered a lift back home, which was great, but even with the extra time this gained me, I ended up changing my mind about going to the usual Thursday meet-up. by the time I had showered, changed, and walked up there it would be pretty late and I had an early start tomorrow. instead I faffed about trying to decide on races to enter and plan my year ahead a bit and ate a lot of chocolate.
I have now been in Canada approximately a third of my time, which is a strange thought. I have stopped translating the currency but still regularly forget to use North American words instead of English. I'm not sure what I was expecting to achieve in this time as I didn't really have much of a plan, so its hard to gauge whether things are going well, but I am enjoying myself, which I guess is the main thing, although I did completely run out of money in the process. maybe I am still thinking like I'm on holiday rather than living here. I really miss having paid holiday, that's for sure! maybe I'm struggling to adapt to having a lower income more than I'm struggling to adapt to a new country. It's not like I moved to Cambodia, Canada is relatively easy I guess. I still enjoy finding out how any other foreigners I meet ended up here and responding with my own vague excuses. I still don't mind being accused of being Australian either, I kinda like being a strange foreigner!
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Day 122: resolution run
my old phone that I use as an alarm ran out of battery. however, I woke up anyway quite early in the morning which was lucky. I spent a good amount of time psyching myself up to actually get out of bed but I had plenty of time to get myself out of the house, on the train and south to where the resolution run 5k was taking place. everything was blanketed with snow and blindingly bright in the sunlight and I did feel worse for wear when I arrived, but they had already started cooking so I had a second breakfast of pancakes with syrup and sausages with a cup of coffee.
I was issued with an apron and some gloves and helped fill up the trays of food as it was cooked. The race started at 11, so we didn't have much to do until 11:30 when people started arriving back, then it was all hands on deck distributing two pancakes and two sausages to each runner. I was planning on sneaking out early to meet some people for a run at 1pm, but lost track of time a bit and I felt like it was busy and I should stay so missed out on the run, but it was fun dishing out the food and nice to see lots of people I recognise from run club or just from buying things in the store. everyone was really friendly and there were so many sausages left over at the end that we all took a box of them home with us.
its nice having a day where I don't have to work so I mostly spent the rest of the day trying to sort a few things out, like which exercise classes would fit into my work schedule, but got distracted a lot by text messages as I can finally catch up with a few people. My brain took the decision to be a bit grumpy today so I ate chocolate and wallowed a bit, which I enjoy doing every now and then. its nice to have a bit of a sulk occasionally.
I wanted to make toad-in-the-hole with the sausages, but don't have any ingredients. I tried the small shop nearby but it was closed so I made do with a sausage sandwich instead. I'd also really like an early night as I'm way behind on sleep now with all the late shifts and late nights. after this I'll have to power through til Sunday and then have a bit more time off again.
I think I will make tomorrow the start of 2014 for me.
I was issued with an apron and some gloves and helped fill up the trays of food as it was cooked. The race started at 11, so we didn't have much to do until 11:30 when people started arriving back, then it was all hands on deck distributing two pancakes and two sausages to each runner. I was planning on sneaking out early to meet some people for a run at 1pm, but lost track of time a bit and I felt like it was busy and I should stay so missed out on the run, but it was fun dishing out the food and nice to see lots of people I recognise from run club or just from buying things in the store. everyone was really friendly and there were so many sausages left over at the end that we all took a box of them home with us.
its nice having a day where I don't have to work so I mostly spent the rest of the day trying to sort a few things out, like which exercise classes would fit into my work schedule, but got distracted a lot by text messages as I can finally catch up with a few people. My brain took the decision to be a bit grumpy today so I ate chocolate and wallowed a bit, which I enjoy doing every now and then. its nice to have a bit of a sulk occasionally.
I wanted to make toad-in-the-hole with the sausages, but don't have any ingredients. I tried the small shop nearby but it was closed so I made do with a sausage sandwich instead. I'd also really like an early night as I'm way behind on sleep now with all the late shifts and late nights. after this I'll have to power through til Sunday and then have a bit more time off again.
I think I will make tomorrow the start of 2014 for me.
Day 121: NYE
Again, I had the morning off so tried to catch up on more housework and things before heading into work for 1pm. It was pretty busy in the store and I was only working four hours so time flew. While I was helping one guy with shoes, Robyn came over and asked me to speak to her when I was finished as she had exciting news about the last customers. I could barely handle the suspense and the guy was being indecisive so I had to wait ages to find out...
There was a whole family shopping together in the store, I think everybody helped them out at some point, but I helped three of them with shoes and when asked who helped them, they specifically remembered me. They paid for everything together so the total (including with the boxing week discount) came to over $500. This means I get to claim a free jacket for getting such a big sale!! yippee!
my shift finished at 5pm, which is midnight in the UK so I imagined everybody I know celebrating the start of 2014 back home.
my plans changed a bit as Aimee had invited me round to see the place she is currently house sitting, so I very quickly ate some dinner, got changed and headed out to the LRT and a bus. It was a really nice area with huge houses and pretty Christmas lights. Aimee was looking after two dogs while the owners are away over Christmas and New Years. The house was amazing and it was good to catch up a little before we headed in different directions to new years parties.
I arrived at Steve's house for the masquerade party at around 9:30. I was really lucky to have already bought a mask for the tuxedos race I did as I wouldn't have had time to go and buy one this week. I was intending not to drink too much as I wanted to go and help out at the Resolution Run the next morning, but then Alana was making Caesars and everybody looked awesome with their fancy masks and I was having so much fun... then I realised I was a bit too drunk and should probably go home if I wanted any chance of getting up in the morning. Luckily there was someone sober who offered me a lift home as I couldn't get through to a taxi. I got home at around half past two, before some people had even arrived at the party. a nice leftovers sandwich helped counteract the wine ready for the early start tomorrow.
There was a whole family shopping together in the store, I think everybody helped them out at some point, but I helped three of them with shoes and when asked who helped them, they specifically remembered me. They paid for everything together so the total (including with the boxing week discount) came to over $500. This means I get to claim a free jacket for getting such a big sale!! yippee!
my shift finished at 5pm, which is midnight in the UK so I imagined everybody I know celebrating the start of 2014 back home.
my plans changed a bit as Aimee had invited me round to see the place she is currently house sitting, so I very quickly ate some dinner, got changed and headed out to the LRT and a bus. It was a really nice area with huge houses and pretty Christmas lights. Aimee was looking after two dogs while the owners are away over Christmas and New Years. The house was amazing and it was good to catch up a little before we headed in different directions to new years parties.
I arrived at Steve's house for the masquerade party at around 9:30. I was really lucky to have already bought a mask for the tuxedos race I did as I wouldn't have had time to go and buy one this week. I was intending not to drink too much as I wanted to go and help out at the Resolution Run the next morning, but then Alana was making Caesars and everybody looked awesome with their fancy masks and I was having so much fun... then I realised I was a bit too drunk and should probably go home if I wanted any chance of getting up in the morning. Luckily there was someone sober who offered me a lift home as I couldn't get through to a taxi. I got home at around half past two, before some people had even arrived at the party. a nice leftovers sandwich helped counteract the wine ready for the early start tomorrow.
Day 120: leftovers
As I had the morning off, I could finally catch up on some housework and deal with some of the Christmas leftovers. I used the stock I'd made with some barley and lots of leftover vegetables but had to leave it in the pan to deal with later as I ran out of time and had to go in to work.
it was a bit sucky at work as I found out I did a whole bunch of things wrong, creating loads of extra work for Heidi, who is lovely but gets stressed out really easily so she was pretty mad at me. I felt all day like I kept finding things I'd done wrong or doing more things wrong and was guilt-tripping myself quite a bit. it was fairly busy in waves and quiet at other times and there were new things I hadn't done before at closing that meant I didn't finish until at least 9:45. I had been struggling not to yawn for the whole shift so really wanted to get away.
I was asked today whether this time a year ago I thought i'd end up where I am now and I really can't remember where I was for new year's last year. I've been trying to remember, maybe i'm just tired but I really can't.
Usually, I don' think I ever have any idea where my life is going, and I rarely have long term plans, but in this case I probably was expecting to be in a similar situation. I had been planning this trip to Canada, but waiting for the visa applications to open so I imagine I would have been thinking about being here and hoping I would have a few friends and a party to go to.
it was a bit sucky at work as I found out I did a whole bunch of things wrong, creating loads of extra work for Heidi, who is lovely but gets stressed out really easily so she was pretty mad at me. I felt all day like I kept finding things I'd done wrong or doing more things wrong and was guilt-tripping myself quite a bit. it was fairly busy in waves and quiet at other times and there were new things I hadn't done before at closing that meant I didn't finish until at least 9:45. I had been struggling not to yawn for the whole shift so really wanted to get away.
I was asked today whether this time a year ago I thought i'd end up where I am now and I really can't remember where I was for new year's last year. I've been trying to remember, maybe i'm just tired but I really can't.
Usually, I don' think I ever have any idea where my life is going, and I rarely have long term plans, but in this case I probably was expecting to be in a similar situation. I had been planning this trip to Canada, but waiting for the visa applications to open so I imagine I would have been thinking about being here and hoping I would have a few friends and a party to go to.
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