As per Priscilla's request, I will update my blog (to give her something to read while she's in this totally boring, not awesome at all, country called Korea). This blog will give its readers insight into how very unexciting my life truly is.
I had a pretty good weekend.
Friday. During work, James sends me a text telling me he is in Ottawa. I had plans with Anne, so I couldn't hang out with him for too long. Coincidentally, we ran into Yusef and his friend at the Byward Market eating Beavertails (as all tourists do!).
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| (L to R: Yusef, James, me, Nova) - Laurier reunion! |
Afterwards, Anne and I went to the gym and then we picked up Ha to have apps at our favourite steak place in the market, Luxe. Former favourite steak place, I should say, because the quality of food had declined significantly versus our experience last year. At least I got to use my ID for a 20% discount.
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| (L to R: me, Anne, Ha) - taking Anne out for her birthday I missed on Labour Day Weekend |
It's chaos trying to get parking in the market on a weeknight. I was lucky and someone was pulling out, so I signalled. Then this other douche steals my spot. Ha was in the passenger seat saying, "Let's go key his car!!!" I thought, OK Marilyn, this is your time to be polite and civil, and goodness will reign. I told him that was our spot, and the guy was like, "Oh, really? We didn't know," like a total asshat. I told him we were waiting for it. The other guys were like shrugging, "Sorry, there's nothing we can do." I was absolutely freaking livid on the inside but on the outside, I looked like I was going to cry. On the other side, a car was pulling out and the guys said, "Hey! We'll save this spot for you." So I had to drive all the way around and the guys were fighting off this other car who was trying to get the spot. The car gave up and I got the spot but I didn't thank those jerks because they were jerks to begin with. The rest of the night I was ranting on about these guys and how I was absolutely done with people like that. Fortunately, good company salvaged the night.
Saturday. Me and Bernadette went to our weekly BodyJam class in the morning. We went to St. Laurent for lunch. We usually go to the Zumba class after lunch, but I wanted to rest because I would be running the next day.
Sunday. Army Run day with over 22,000 participants and 5K starting at 8AM. I was really upset because the partner I was supposed to walk with told me last minute that she sold her ticket to someone else. I lucked out because another friend couldn't go and wasn't using his ticket, so I begged Ryan to do it with me because I needed support. I've never run outside and I didn't train for the run but I figured I could try running it as long as someone was with me. It was a little cold in the morning because it rained all night, but it dried up fast and it was perfect running weather. The path was past the Parliament Building and around the canal. The entire time I was telling myself, "Don't stop! You can do it!" and just praying and thanking God for even allowing me to experience this. It was very cool and I definitely want to do a run like that again with people cheering you on along the sidelines.
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| Dog tag - in the military, they would use these to identify the dead |
Moral of the story? Fat girl ran and she did not stop! It might not seem like a big goal for others, but it definitely was for me and I feel a lot more confident in my own abilities.
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| (L to R): Ryan, me after the 5K run |
Work week. My week so far has been busy, but good. A lot of my co-workers were asking me how it was because they knew how nervous I was on Friday. On Monday, half of the FORDs went to The Exchange to celebrate Nancy's birthday. After work, I volunteered at the women's transition house and I was helping out this young girl with interview preparation. I was a little discouraged because she didn't want to practice and seemed very uninterested with the program booklet, but she was polite and I hope that she got something out of the session. Coincidetally that night, I did a mock interview prep session with Vanessa over Skype.
Today was good but busy and a little frustrating because people kept making changes to these financials I've prepared and I had to stay behind for an hour getting everything ready for the meeting with the Comptroller. The morning, the previous Major came to talk to me and asked if I liked it there and if I might be interested in taking the FI-02 position when my co-worker leaves. I must admit this is not the first time I thought about that possibility. It would be a huge promotion and I would learn so much from the job. Honestly, I really hope that this would be a possibility because I love the team, I love the work, but hopefully work loves me. I've struggled a lot at my current position in the beginning because my section is so complex and the work I am doing is so different from my prior rotation, so I'm terrified that they don't see me as a competent worker who is up for the task. Hopefully, that would change with time and with experience once I finally get over this steep learning curve. Hearing that possibility from the previous Major made me feel good, but because the decision is not up to him, I am not going to hold my breath just yet.
So, life is good. I miss home and I always will, but it would be really difficult for me to give up this dream job. I don't know where I see myself in the future but I know that as long as I have God with me at all times, I know that I'm going to be alright.
