This has been a sad week. Dec 21/07 was a horrible day. I woke up, got showered and dressed and was just about to go catch my bus when I remembered to feed Snowball. I looked over and she was stiff as a board and layin on her side...dead. I don't know what happened! I thought I was doing pretty good taking care of her, feeding her every morning and giving her lots of water. Dwarf bunnies are supposed to live a long time !(15+ yrs) I broke down crying like crazy! I was so upset and I had to go to work soon. Sam (thankfully) took the initiative to wrap her up in a pillow case and get a shoe box. I don't know what she died of, she had been sitting in the corner of her cage the night before, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary. I left and had to go catch the bus.. I cried the whole way there. I got to work and went to see my team manager and told her that I had just found my pet rabbit dead and was really upset. She got me a seat and gave me some work for a couple of hours off of the phones. I would have started crying the second someone even raised their voice at me. By 2:30pm I had to take calls. I was really lucky that no one yelled at me. Other than the horrible start the day would have been a good day (the calls were really good). Now I have all this bunny stuff and an empty cage. I felt so guilty about not letting her out for as many hops recently (being so busy at work). Saturday I went into work and it was slow thankfully and no one yelled at me. Richard came up to Fredericton to pick us up Sunday morning. We went to the hilltop for steak and eggs. While waiting for our food to arrive we received a call from my mom. She told me that my grandfather had passed away while at the hospital. When we arrived in Saint John a couple of hours later we went straight to my grandmothers house. There were alot of people there and more arrived later as well. We decided that someone should stay with my grandmother for the night. I ended up staying and later found out it meant alot to my grandmother. I'm just glad that I could be there for her when she needed someone. Christmas eve I went over to Sams parents house. It was packed! There were 26 people there. Sams mom always does a great buffet for Christmas and she made tons of food. We went over to moms apartment for Christmas eve night and mom, rich,lisa, sam and I all opened our presents on Christmas day. It was nice to see Lisa, not the best circumstances, but it was nice. I received alot of nice presents (thanks everyone!). Richard got me some gift certificates, so I'll be able to get some stuff at the regent or mcallister mall. We went over to nanny's house for alittle while later in the evening to see her. Boxing day the whole family was at nanny's for a potluck. There was lots of food. Nanny's fridge is packed. I called into work and told them I couldn't work today and Saturday, my team manager will try to get monday off for me as well, and will call me later today. Today we are going to the funeral home. We all made a collage of pictures of grampy, his kids, the boat. It turned out really well. Tomorrow the family is going to bury the ashes. This is all very sad. I've gotten to see all my family though, which was very nice. Anyway Richard and I should head over to moms.

I had a particularly good day Tuesday. Monday I called in sick to work because my stomach has been really upset for about two weeks and I hadn't slept particularly well. My team manager called me in the afternoon to see if I was feeling any better and could come to work. I wasn't so she said that she would like to have a doctor's note. So, I had to go up to the medical clinic to get it checked out (which turned out to be a good thing). Channel 5 was stuck saying 5:32 all day, I forgot about this and headed up to the after hours clinic (I'm assuming) something just after 4pm. I got there and I was shocked to see that I was the first one there, usually it's packed by 5:30pm! I waited and waited, another girl arrived and checked the time after we had been sitting there for awhile- it was 4:45pm! I didn't have my watch on and was none the wiser! I got in and the doctor gave me an anti nauseant. It's been working great and actually gave me my appetite back. Tuesday I was checking my email thinking about how much I needed to find a new job and discovered that I had been emailed to go for an interview on Jan 9/07 for the customer service position with service new Brunswick!! That sweetened up my day a lot and I was very cheerful to everyone that I spoke with. It would be downtown, I'm assuming, but I would definitely be able to afford cabs. The job starts you at 16$ an hour! I wouldn't mind a job like that at all. Wednesday went well enough because I was looking forward to having today off. Today I woke up for some reason at 8am! I don't wake up that early even when I do have to go to work, so I was not getting up! I laid there (awake) until 11:30am. I am supposed to sleep in on my days off. I went to buy Richard his hockey bag today and it was marked down 30$! I was very excited, except they ended up being sold out! I am getting that hockey bag for him no matter what, he has never asked me for anything, the first year he does I'm making sure I fulfill his request. I got my shift bid back for January. I still work stupid overtime, but now I start at 1:15pm and get off at 10:30pm with Saturday and Sunday off. The only bus that I can take gets there at 11:30am, so I'd be there way to early and probably would end up doing overtime to pass the day faster. The last bus leaves at 10:20pm, so I miss that and have to cab home every night. I'm going to put a note up on the bullitin board seeing if anyone is driving around here when I get off, I'd offer them 15$ a week or something. I bought a ownderful caramel log cake today, it looks very good. The doctor says I should avoid really fatty or really sweet foods, but it was far to tempting...I had to buy it! And now...since I bought it...I'll have to eat it (I wouldn't want to be wasteful!) ;) Only two more days until my Christmas vacation, I am totally in need of a holiday and some sleeping in. Anyway I have to go eat that ridiculously delicious log cake....

I had a very nice day at work today. I had some lady listen to my calls with me and give me tips. I then got to log off while we discussed the calls for a little while. This was later in the afternoon after having a slow morning (which was nice). I then logged out and went to a security "huddle" and watched some slides before taking my first break. My lunch break rolled around quickly enough and I had a nice Irish stew that I had bought yesterday. The rest of the day was steady, but not hectic. I also received an email from my team manager that I had gotten a "world class call". That means that in a call they listened to I did everything correctly. I found out that I am number 14 out of 32 on the shift bid list this month. Last month I was 31 because I had called in sick and lost all 15 attendance points. Well this shift bid I had no attendance points again, but had gotten 28 points for a call they listened to. I'm really lucky with the calls that they have been choosing to listen to. I work tomorrow, but Saturday's tend to go by fairly quickly, it's only an 8hr shift. These 10 hour days are really wearing me out! I did get paid today though and I'm banking my overtime and still got a pretty good pay. Gizmo is doing great! She is bouncing around bringing me toys and eating twice a day. Snowball is doing great as well, as far as bunnies go, she's doing great (I think). Alicia was nice enough to bring me some milk chocolate lindor chocolates today. Victoria had given me a couple of the white chocolate mini ones and I really liked those, Alicia said the milk chocolate ones were really nice too. I ate one and they are delicious!!:) I asked Sam to get me some for Christmas. I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday. Only 11 days unitl Christmas! Holy Cow! Anyway I'm going to bed! Merry Christmas!

My upcoming attempt to be rebellious has been thwarted by the not so useless staffing department! I received an email Saturday morning that said that it was fine to start at 12pm instead of 11:30 am and work 1/2 hour of my lunch. I was going to show them that I don't follow the rules!....I'm a rebel at heart!....or something to that effect...but now that plan has been smashed to pieces!! That's right...Pieces!! It does work out well enough though, I suppose following the assigned schedule at my place of employment may have it's up sides. Sam and I were supposed to meet at Ringo's at 7pm, but when I got there it was packed and he wasn't there. I called his cell and he was over at Mikes having a drink with some friends. So I went over and met him, we decided to go to the Hilltop for dinner. The food was good and the service was as well. He then told me that his buddies at work had invited him out and he was going to go party with them. I am upset because I thought we could spend some time together, but he didn't see it that way. So we parted ways and he went to his buddy Charles' apartment and then out to see his friends band play. I told him not to bother coming home and to crash at his friends house. I did not want him to come stumbling in at 2 or 3am acting like a jackass. He came home this morning before work to shower and get ready. He apologized for his behaviour and agreed that we'll talk about it later when he gets off work at 9pm. Why do men have to be such assholes sometimes?! I thought we could spend some time together since we both work 40+ hours a week and don't get to really spend to much time together. Oh well..we'll talk about it later...Oh and I found some decongesting flu pills in my storage container so I'm not taking the awful buckley's anymore. I'm not telling Sam that I found it though (he has the same thing). He can go buy his own decongestant!! ;)

I am what is referred to as a "full time flex" customer service representative. I learned exactly what that entails this morning. My shift has now changed to be 11:30am to 10pm. I still have that stupid useless hour lunch, but now I would need to take an earlier bus (at 9:30am) and be there an hour and a half early! I emailed staffing and requested that I be able to start at 12pm and take a 1/2 luch (b/c my bus arrives at 11:30am). I still have gotten no response!! I don't care I will arrive at 11:30 am and quickly log in and check all the stupid emails by 11:45am and then take a 45 min lunch whether they approve me or not!! Until someone says something about it, I don't care!! That way I can bank an hour of overtime and save an hour of work for 2 banked hours. I'll be able to make enough hours to cover dec 28th in a week!I ran into a girl that I worked with at Connect North America today as well and she works until 10pm and lives close to me so I asked if I could catch a ride with her on Monday. I realized later that I will be working until 10pm every night, I wonder if she would mind be getting lift on other nights? hmm.... I'll have to ask her on Monday. That is going to be a long week...I already feel like it's to long and I'm working 8hr days. Ugh! Oh well more money....and I like money...it's helpful...and it will be nice to get extra right before x-mas. My tree looks great!! I couldn't find my Christmas CD while I was setting it up though, but it still turned out nice (toot toot!). I feel so rebellious!! Not following the rules at work or their stupid schedule. But I'm not being to unreasonable. I will work the time and do the extra, but I don't want to have to be there at 9:45am and not get paid until 11:30am. I'll check tomorrow to see if I got approved, I wrote in my email that the reason is because I do take the bus, hopefully they'll be understanding. ( I doubt it though!...stupid staffing department!.....never helping anyone but themselves!...Grrr!!) Anyway enough ranting...although I do a good job at ranting...toot toot....I just got another call from Irene, I had completely forgot (when she called last week) to mention that I had moved. Apparently she sent my card and it got returned. Speaking of gift cards, my friend joanne won a $500 gift card for the Regent mall. For every hour of overtime you work you get a ballot for these gift cards. That would be really nice. I don't know if that is actual hours or overtime, I already have two hours banked for working the extra 1/2 hour on tues and wed, but I wonder...is that one ballot or two? hmm? I work tomorrow at 1pm, but checked and I still only work until 9pm on Sat and the floater time will cover it. Sam decided to go to Ringo's for his Birthday dinner. I agree with him on that choice, good food-good portions-good service-and good prices at Ringo's. I'll check the movie schedule to see if we have time to catch a movie as well. My throat is really sore! I think I'll probably loose my voice next week some time- it always happens once a year where I loose my voice for 3-4 days. Maybe I can head it off by taking some Buckleys first...Ugg!! That stuff is so grose that I make a face before I even put it in my mouth- the anticipation of the stuff is enough to make someone cringe..yuck!! I'll go take some now...(while crinkling my nose at the thought)....yuck....

I had a pretty good week. It was really busy on Monday and Tuesday, so the days passed quickly. It wasn't as busy today, but it was steady. I had a good day...all day the customers were pretty nice and thanked me for helping them. I get off at 9:30pm now and at 9:14pm I got a call from a guy who wanted to activate his acct. I have questions that I ask in order to understand what the customer is looking to do. I seen that he had had a previous account for the same address and that there was an active account there now. So I asked him why he was opening an account when there was already one active (sometimes in between tenants landlords take over responsability for the gas). He pretty well told me it was none of my business. (he was foreign and would not shut up, he was rambling on about nothing and wouldn't even let me ask questions). I told him that I could set up the account but there would be a 25$ application charge (that EVERYONE pays). He immediately started arguing with me, I mentioned that I could waive the security deposit all together because he has good credit with us. He didn't even hear this and began arguing again. I told him I would ask my supervisor if there was any way to waive this. I called and asked and I couldn't (he wanted to take over responsability because his girlfriends account said that she had been requesting and complaining about her security deposit refund). I kept trying to explain to him that it was a standard fee (probably to deter people from doing exactly what he was trying to do) and that it is in the tariff agreement we signed with the British Columbia utilities commission. He Still would not give up and kept yelling at me and ignoring everything I was saying. It was like trying to explain something really simple to a wall. By this point it was 9:27pm and I was not going to resolve this any time soon, so I told him "sir please stop yelling at me or I will disconnect this call". He kept on yelling and I clicked the hangup button. I was not going to be there any longer because of some jackass trying to waste the companies time by opening and closing accounts for no good reason...AND...because I was off in three minutes and had been there 9 hours. I mean it's worth it to do the half an hour of overtime since I've got to be there anyway (have 1hr lunch-work 1/2 and take 1/2 lunch) but it is really tiring. I'm there pretty much all day. But...the half hour of over time pays for my cab, coffee and still leaves me with alittle change. Have I mentioned how cheap the people are that I have to provide service for? I am talking ridiculously cheap. They call in about 1 or 2$ late payment charges that were correctly charged because they didn't pay their bills on time!! They don't understand that the due date is the date they have to pay their bill by. And...I don't know about the rest of you, but when I was setting up service for my phone, cable, and electric bills I never questioned that I would be charged a security deposit. Some of the people argue about security deposits non stop. They fight it tooth and nail-even if they've failed the credit check. They always say "well I don't think I should have to pay that". That makes no difference to me or the company if your credit sucks!Hmph!! Thankyou for listening to my rant...now to better topics...like....I have tomorrow OFF!! Woohoo!! I have doctors appointment, so I can't sleep in, but I figure I can go to that in the morning and come home (take a nap if need be), pick Gizmo up and go do some x-mas shopping. Christmas is right around the corner! This year has passed so quickly. Sam's birthday is Saturday. I'm going to take him out to a late dinner- I'm using 2 hours floater time so I can get off at 7 instead of 9:30pm...which now that I think about it won't cover it all...hmmm...I'll have to check into that on Friday. Anyway I'm going to go decorate my Christmas tree!

Gizmo is doing great! Jackie was nice enough to drive me down at 6pm to go get her and she came bouncing over in the best of moods. I have to switch her to the vetrinarian food Medi Cal. It is only 6 or 7 $ more than pedigree, but I can only buy it at the vets, which is not to close. The surgery cost me 560$! The food was another 20$. I have a follow up appointment in two weeks, they are good enough to give me that for free. I am so lucky this month turned out to be a 3 pay mth. My entire cheque went to Gizmo. Thankfully I get one tomorrow that will cover rent. I'm going to look at the pet store close to home to see if they carry it as well, and price it there. Jackie and I seen the kidney stone, it was the size of a gumball! I took yesterday off because a)I didn't want to go to work and b) mom and richard came up to Fredericton to get mom's passport. It was nice to see both of them. Gizmo didn't seem to fancy that dog food that I gave her...hmm... I wonder if that is because she is still feeling abit off from the anethesia OR if it's because she is super fussy? And if it is the latter, what am 'I supposed to do?Continue feeding her a dog food she doesn't like? I did compare the ingredients on the medi cal to the beneful ingredients...and they do sound alot better. I'm probably as much to blame for her fussiness as anyone, but she is so cute! She's worth it.she is great company, never talks back to me. ;) Holy cow!! Tomorrow is November 30th! That means that christmas is only 26 days away, and barely that! Today's almost over!! (BTW does everyone appreciate the ridiculous amounts of exclamation marks that I've used in the last two posts?!) I suppose while reading this it would sound as though I'm really excited or yelling...oh well!!!!hehehe Aww...man I am way to tired...Sam went home on Monday and I have not slept. Anyway I am going to go make some tea and unwind a bit, chow

I am Fabulous!!...You may be thinking "why Krista are you fabulous today?". I am more fabulous today (than any of my other fabulous days) because I have found a way (dispite my useless team manager) to get Christmas eve OFF!! When I emailed my team manager and staffing about my request being deleted, they were of no help. But I was not discouraged, oh no! I emailed the head of human resources about my request being deleted and that I had been number 2 on the waiting list. (I never would have gotten approved-there were no more hours available). The head of human resources however could tell how upsetting this was to me, and pulled some strings and will have it approved! So, I now will have Dec 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27th off (I might get approved for the 28th-I'm 1 on that waiting list). I now have more faith in the company! I don't like the job itself, but instead of looking for a new job after x-mas I think I'll look for a position within the company doing something else. They are always sending out emails about job opportunities, I just have to start reading them. I am not going to mention this to any of my other team mebers-because I know a number of them are still scheduled for Christmas eve. She told me not worry if it doesn't show up in my schedule editor immediately, I will have it off. I was grinning from ear to ear for about two hours after I got her email. Woohoo for me!! Sam went Saint John tonight I guess, I knew he was going tomorrow for his mom's birthday, but he got off early and left this evening. I have the whole apartment to myself. I can watch whatever I want....or actually use the computer...I won't have him to sleep with though, but I've got Gizmo! I think I'm allergic to the soap at work, my hands are all red and itchy for the past couple of weeks. Stupid crappy soap! Oh well, I guess I'll just have to bring a little bottle of my own, I've got everything else in my purse. Well it's almost 11pm, I'm gonna go see what's on T.V. :0)

Gizmo is sick! I took her down to the vet today because she has been having a hard time going pee and I figured it was another bladder infection. It turns out that she has a bladder infection again because she has a kidney stone! The vet took an x-ray and I seen it..it's pretty big. She goes for surgery next week to have it removed. It is going to cost between 400$ and 500$ just for the surgery. This is after spending $188 on today's visit. I am not going to be able to buy much for x-mas presents. Thankfully I received a backdated GST cheque yesterday (because I didn't fill out my taxes until Sept), but that doesn't even come close to covering it. I am going to have to max out my visa or something. Poor Gizmo, I didn't get the x-ray done last summer b/c her bladder infection was cleared up, but she has been yelping since then when we pick her up. I thought that she was just being wimpy, turned out it was from the pressure this stone has on her bladder...poor Gizmo! Oh and by the way I was at work and checking the request viewer for my schedule to see if I had been approved for x-mas eve off. It's missing! It got deleted or something. I don't care I am not going in on Christmas Eve. No way. Seriously...how many people are concerned about their gas bill enough to call on Christmas eve? I wouldn't think to many. I'm not even trained in the emergency or collections department either, so the ones that are likely to be calling on Christmas eve, I would transfer to a different department. Whatever....I hate working there. I am really sick of the whole call centre thing. I am going to find something different after Christmas anyway. Gotta go, write later...

I got my shift bid back the other day and it's not to bad. I still have Thurdays and Sunday's off, but now I work a 1/2 hr later. Instead of getting of at 9pm I will be getting off at 9:30pm with an hour for lunch instead of 1/2 an hour. I figure I can work 1/2 an hour of over time a few couple of days a week and bank it. That way when I call in sick on Christmas eve I can get paid for it. I figure I can go to SJ on Dec 23(sunday), call in sick on the 24, have the 25 & 26 off and go to work the 27. I have requested the 23 and 27 off, so I might get approved and get to stay down an extra day. It's not to bad, except I will be getting off a 1/2 hour later than Jenn and won't be able to get a drive home anymore. But cabs are only 6$ and I get a 5$ credit after 10 rides. Still cheaper than owning a car. I can always put a note on the bullitin board in the lunch room. Maybe. This Friday is Jackie's birthday party and I'm pretty excited. We don't have much for a plan yet, but we've got all week. I can't blog or go to facebook while at work, but I can check my emails during breaks, so we'll be able to plan something. I did so much today! I went and got groceries, cleaned the fridge, rearranged the kitchen area, did three loads of laundry, and cleaned the bunnies cage. Oh and I even made the bed! I slept in though, this all happened after about 1:30pm when I got out of bed. I did receive an email from Service N.B about conducting interviews in the near future. They want to have a number of people available for upcoming positions in the next two years. It said something about being for term positions, but I figure if I can get my foot in the door, I could be transferred or something. More on that when I hear anything back. I'm going to go make a hot chocolate, write later. :)

I've just had two glorious days off in a row, I always have Sundays off but this week I also got Monday off for Rememberance Day. I had really underestimated how great two days off in a row can be! I think I'm going to put in some bids to have Saturday and Sunday's off, I know I probably won' t get it, but I can still try. Jackie, Sam and Alicia (from work) all joined me at the 20/20 club on Friday. It was a nice evening out, but it's way to much of a cougar bar (the cab driver even called it in as 4 people to Cougars) that we should go to a younger bar next time. The DJ was not the greatest either, it took a long time for any of our requests to get played. I invited Lisa to come with us on Nov 23/07 for Jackie's birthday festivities, I hope she can join us. I can't believe that Jackie will be moving back to NS in less than a month!! It makes me sad, but I know it's for the best. I'm gonna miss you Jackie! :0) Oh well I have a completely unlimited calling plan to anywhere in the maritimes, so we'll call each other lots! Oh yeah...back to the shift bid...if I get Saturday's and Sundays off + Christmas and boxing day, I only really have to worry about getting Christmas eve off (which is a Monday). That would work out even better and give me an actual vacation for Christmas. Maybe working a later shift for this bid would allow me to have a vacation. Sam has a whole week off for Christmas to go see his family, so it would be awful lonely if I couldn't get any time off other than christmas day and boxing day. I'll look into that more when I get to work tomorrow. Anyway...I'm going to go see what's on t.v :)

I still haven't been approved to leave early on Friday Nov 23/07, when I applied to use floater time for Dec 6 I was approved in one day. Oh well, I only work until 9pm anyway ( I think), I'm not to sure when our new shift bid will start and end. I called in sick with a stomach ache one day, so I lost ALL of my attendance points...yup All of them! for being sick ONE day, I lost all 15 points! They don't even take into consideration that I'm there 1/2 an hour or more before every shift to check all the stupid emails and logg into everything! Nope! They don't even care. One girl from my training class has been late quite a few times, takes random breaks, and leaves her phone unattended...but she is higher on the shift bid than me! Whatever...I think I was number 23 out of 25 last shift bid and I still got a decent schedule. I don't care about having Saturday and Sunday off because Sam works all weekend. Alot of people on the team take later shifts to have those two days off. I am going to put Thursday and Sunday off and 12:30-9pm as my first choice, maybe I'll get it that way....cause I was actually perrusing the calendar the other day and realized that Dec 27/07 ( a day I requested off-but have not been appoved for) falls on a Thursday...I think I'm going to keep that to myself and try to keep Thursday's as my day off. I get November 11 and 12 off, which will be kind of nice to have two days off. Well enough about work!
Today was a hair do day for Gizmo and I, I dropped her off at 1:45pm to get groomed and walked over to The Heade Shoppe to get my hair cut as well. Jackie had recommended them. My hair is just at my shoulders and kinda whispy in spots, I got bangs again too. I was looking at a picture the other day from first year university and I realized that I like how bangs look. When the girl styled my hair she used a straigtener though, so it's flatter than it will be when I style it. I like the haircut though, she thinned it out really well, so I don't think I'll have to spend to much time blow drying it. Gizmo's hair turned out well, her hair cut ended up costing more than mine! She got her nails trimmed as well I suppose. The groomer even tied a little pink ribbon around her collar! Anyway I'm going to go stretch out on the couch and watch some t.v....write later

Work went by pretty quickly this week. I had Sunday off, worked mon, tues and wednesday and then had thursday off. I worked today, which dragged horribly. Partly because daily processing wasn't complete until 3:30pm, so from 1-3:30pm we had to do most of the work on paper and then record and set up accts later in between calls. Thankfully the only app for supply that I had were with existing customers or new customers who passed the credit check. Jenn left early because she wasn't feeling well, but Alicia was getting a drive and was able to drop me off at the corner of Regent and Montgomery. So I didn't have to pay for a cab at all *sweet*. I had cabbed there this morning, I really didn't feel like walking (it was really windy and cold). I've tried to use some of my "floater" time to get off early on Nov 23/07 for Jackie's birthday festivities. She has informed me that I will either need Saturday off (b/c of my hangover) or need a late shift. I don't work until 1pm, so I think I'll be alright. Man...I really hope that I don't have to work in a call centre for to much longer...it eats away a little bit of my soul every day...sigh. (I really did sigh to, it wasn't just a typed one ) :) I've been approved to use some floater time so that I can go to a doctors appointment on Dec 6/07, 11-1pm will be floater time, so if my shift falls within that I can be late and still get paid. I totally lied to my supervisor though...hehe..my appointment is for 9:45am before my shift would even start-but I told her it was for bloodwork and I wasn't sure how long it would take. HA!! :) It is stupidly difficult to get any time off at this place, so when I have a legitimate reason (I'm using the word 'legitimate' loosely) I'm cashing in!! I'm going to go watch some t.v...:)

Hey, sorry about the delay in posts, but I can't log into my blog while at work and by the time I get home I really don't feel like looking at a computer anymore. Sam has been wanting to go out all the time recently. Friday after work we headed over to Tina and Lukes place for drinks and to hang out with some people there. We got home shortly after 12am and Sam got a message from Charles to hang out or something, so he headed downtown and just crashed there for the night. Saturday I had to work 1-9pm, our schedule at work is weird, it runs from Saturday to Sunday, so even though I worked 50 hours this week, only 42.5 of them will be on my coming pay, Saturday's shift goes on the next pay period. I have Today and Thursday off this week and then for the most of November. I was filling out my timesheet and noticed that we get paid 200% for any hours worked over 40, which is a nice incentive to say the least. I am a full time "flex" employee though, so my schedule can be anything fro m 35-44 hrs a week, but they were asking people to work overtime, so I don't think I will have any trouble getting my hours. Sam has Thurday off as well, I think I'll get Gizmo a hair cut, get myself a hair cut and Sam and I will probably go to a movie. Anyway...after work yesterday Sam and went out with Melissa and her husband for the Halloween festivities downtown. Sam went and bought a whole costume, he was a Sultan. On the way home from work, jenn had a CD playing in thec ar from the Disney movie the Lion King, so when I saw him in his Sultan costume, I immediately thought of Aladdin. I hadn't had a chance to buy a costume, but he picked me up a some devil stuff before he went to work. I had the horns, a tail, a feathery necklace, and a little pitchfork. I must say... (not to toot my own horn or anything)... that I was pretty damn cute! (toot-toot!) I'll upload the picture I took before we left. We headed down to Charles' apartment shortly after 10pm. Ronn and his girlfriend were there as well, she was a nymph of some sort and he was a pirate, Charles was a devil as well. (Melissa was a 1940's pin up girl-fancy dress and Justin-her husband- was a hockey player, there was nothing scarry about their costumes though, they could have added some fake blood to the outfits and been dead...oh well...at least they had costumes). I had alot of fun, but slept in ridiculously late today;) I think the clock said 12:50pm when I rolled out of bed. I had been trying to get up relatively early everyday so that I don't feel as though my day is wasted (working 12-9pm). Sam had bought my costume and my liquer for the whole weekend and paid for the cabs on Friday night.
I haven't heard back about that government job, I don't know when they are supposed to do call backs, the guy never mentioned. oh well. I appreciate all the crossing of various body parts for luck on my behalf BTW!! Let shope it works! Anyway I'm going to go eat a donut I bought earlier!! :)

I fogot to write in my last post that Sam and I had gone out Friday night. We went downtown to his friend Charles' apartment and then walked over to Nickyzees at about 12:30am. Sam treated me to beer while at Charles' and bought me my drinks while out. We had alot of fun, it was pretty slow at Nickyzees and it was nice to go out somewhere and actually dance. I met Sams co-worker and his girlfriend Christina. She was really sweet and kept telling me she thought I was beautiful. She was a real confidence booster and put me in a good mood. We stayed a Nicky's until close at 2am. Sam had to work a twelve hour shift the next day, but wanted to stay out anyway. He is alot of fun when we go out, I'm glad that he got over what ever it was that he had a problem with and wants to go out with me again, for awhile he would never come out with me and friends to clubs. Work has been alright, I'm doing better now that I've been on the phones for awhile. I wouldn't mind getting out of the call centre business though. I went for the general knowledge testing for the customer service representative position with service Canada this morning. I think I did well enough. It was a two part test, the first was 50 multiple choice questions that we had 12mins to answer, he told us that we wouldn't be able to finish it, but do as many as you can. I think I did alright on that, some of the questions were alittle confusing, but I tried. Then there was the second part that we had an hour to do. I took 45mins to complete this part and I know I did much better. It was still multi choice, but also some fill in the blank. It was spelling, grammar and some math. Basic math that I knew how to do, just percentages and multiplication and division. I did forget to put my preferences for shifts on the test though, I'll call and leave a messge tonight. I don't want to do any term work, permanent full or part time depending on the hours and wage. There was probably about 20-25 people at the testing. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

I have been so friggin tired all week long, I work the 1pm-9pm shift and walk 45mind to work everyday, so by the time I get home I just bundle up on the couch and watch t.v. I had a good week though. The phone calls are getting easier and I know what to do with the different types that come in. I also have been going to work alittle happier since about Wednesday. Tuesday evening I came home and received a message from service N.B to come in for an interview/knowledge testing group thing at the Fredericton Inn on Thursday Oct 18th/07. If I do well at this first stage I think I'll get a real interview and then possibly a job with the government. I would be a customer service representative. So I would be doing exactly what I do now, but better pay and better hours. Wish me Luck!! :) I don't even remember applying for this job, it must have been through the Federal student work thing I applied for ages ago. So I have been alittle happier all week long, knowing that if I get shitty hours for the shift bid with accenture, I might not even be there to worry about it. For the shift bid we rate the different shifts from 1-16 based on which ones we would prefer to work. Some of the shifts aren't really that bad, still working 1pm-9pm but your days off aren't consecutive (ex:Sun and wed) which I really don't want. The one to nine shift really doesn't work for me anyway because of the shitty bus schedule. I am number 22 out of 25 people on the shift bids, at least I'm not the last one. Accenture does offer a pretty decent medical plan as well. I signed up for mine real quick on Thursday. I get 80% coverage for prescriptions, dental and vision (I think) and then an ESP plan of some sort I didn't really read it well and then they give me money at tthe end of the year for the money left over. I've gotta go feed Gizmo, write later...

We weren't supposed to go on the phones until today, but they surprised us Friday afternoon and told us that they were really busy and needed everyone on the phones, so we started Friday. I decided that I wanted to work by myself and took calls alone (instead of listening to a person in my training class and switching to take calls after an hour). We all took calls for about 2+hrs. It really wasn't to bad going it alone. But today we had to be on all day and I decided to pair with Alicia. We made a really good team. I was super nervous when I was taking the calls (she jokingly let me know that I was going first), but she helped me out alot while I was talking with the customer and I did the same for her when she was on the phone. It was alot easier to think and know what to do when you didn't have to talk to the customer. We put the customers on hold an awful lot, but they had music. It was really nice not being yelled at, people were very thankful for any help that we gave them...it was nice. For some of the calls we just transfered them to another department. The time went by REALLY fast. There isn't much wait time between calls at all. (not even a minute). I get to do so many different things as a customer service representative, no scripting at all! I can put everything into my own words (using jobaid-terasen aid for help). We do softskills training all day tomorrow, so that should be an easy day, maybe boring, but easy. I mean....really now...do many people have to be "trained" on how to be respectful and nice to people when they call for customer service? We do some more doubles calls Wednesday and then we all have to go on alone. It is really helpful having another person in training right there and listening to the same call. When the trainer is busy, it was nice to have someone there that might remember something you didn't and vica versa. The only problem with working this 1pm-9pm shift is that there are no buses at all!! I would have to catch an 11am bus to get there in time and there isn't another bus unitl 10:20pm for me when i'm done work. I walked there this morning(left at 12pm) and got there at 12:45pm and thankfully Jenn got picked up by her boyfriend and offered to drive me home. I found out that the people who got trained from 4pm-12am got the 11am-7pm shift for their practicum while the staff that trained in the morning (7:30am-3:30pm) got stuck working the 1pm-9pm shift!! Weird. We are servicing different companies, but I didn't think that mattered as much. Oh well at least for this month I get paid an extra dollar an hour for 7pm-8pm-9pm. It's a nice way to entice people to work past 7pm I guess. I also found out that I have the entire Turkey weekend off! I work until 9pm on Friday and have Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. Sam is going to go to SJ for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (he didn't want to give up his Sunday shift). I might be able to get a drive with his parents from SJ to Freddie on Monday..hmm.....I'll have to ask about that. That way I would only have to worry about getting to SJ. Longer post later :)

I've had a nice week. Monday went by fast enough, we finally learned some information about the different applications for supply that we will be handling. Tuesday dragged, our trainer just kept jumping from one thing to the next and wasn't explaining things well. I walked home and it was smoldering hot. Tuesday I walked home and stopped at Subway cause I didn't really feel like cooking and only had a cup of soup for lunch. i got home and Sam was here (unexpectedly, b/c I thought he worked). So I ate my sub at about 4:30pm. At 5:30pm Sam offered to take me out to dinner at Mikes. I told him that I wasn't hungry right then, but maybe a late dinner. At about 6pm he suggested that we go to the Hilltop's Twisted Tuesday. I thought he meant that instead, but he wanted to treat me to both! He gave me 20$ for drinks at the Hilltop and bought me 4 coors light at Mikes! He is so generous sometimes!
I think it was 27', but felt like 34' (according to the weather network). I had the great idea to stop at Sobey's and pick up some stuff for my lunches, well I got in there and figured that I should get dog food while I was there and some canned meals for me. So I ended up sweating like crazy while lugging all these cans home. By the time I got home I was just a sweaty mop of something that once resembled Krista. I had called Lisa to come to the Hilltop with us, but she wasn't home and I just left numbers with her husband, she returned my call on last night and said that she had just rented the movie We Are Marshall and Ryan(hubby) was about to go to hockey and could drop her off. She arrived and she wanted to go up to the store to buy junk food. She bought some little debbie chocolate eclairs and cream soda. (I had chips already). It was a really nice movie and we all had alot of fun!(Thanks again Lisa!). Today I don't know what happened, either I turned the alarm off this morning when it went off or I didn't turn it on this morning, but I rolled over and it was 7am (by my clock which is 10mins fast). I jumped outta bed in a panic and raced around the apartment getting dressed and packing a lunch. Thank goodness Georges taxi is fast and I don't work to far from here! I got there and I was still early! Jenn gave me a ride home today, we usually walk together, but her boyfriend let her have the car today. Tomorrow is the last day of training and our trainer suggested that we have a potluck. I offered to bring cake. I called Jackie to see if she wanted to go to the mall with me, but she was in class (I later learned) and didn't answer. She called me back shortly after, she was busy and couldn't but was leaving school and didn't mind drving me up to Sobeys (Thanks Jackie!) which saved me a walk and time. I found some good sized McCain deep and delicious cakes for $2.50. I got a chocolate and marble one. I work tomorrow 7:30am-3:30pm and then I have the weekend off. Next week is our practicum and we'll be taking calls. There is SO much information to remember and multiple and different steps for everything! I could get completely different calls all the time. It would keep it interesting, but intense. They really don't want their customer service reps to have a high talk time either, so they expect you to be multi task experts! Not only are you supposed to do 2 things at once, they want 6+! I am not looking forward to the practicum week, it'll get easier as I do it more...but...I'm not looking forward to trying to remember all this stuff. Oh well, from listening in on calls people in BC (for the most part) seem pretty laid back. We'll see. Next week we work 1pm-9pm, which is better, but the bus doesn't run at 9pm at all. The next one isn't until 10:20pm. Except on Tuesday, that is 7:30am-3:30pm again for some reason. I think that our trainer said we will be learning "Softskills"(so we know how to be nice to people!). I am so tired!! I got so used to sleeping in and not having to learn anything new, that this is just exhausting! (I know...I'm a drama queen) Oh well :) I know I should take a nap, but it just feels like such a waste of time, working all day and then napping in the evening, then BAMM!!! It's time for bed! And you have no time to do anything! I don't think I'll be able to get any time off at Christmas (other than Christmas day and boxing day) (also New Years day). I put a vacation request in for December 24th and 27th as well, but I don't think it will get approved. There are no hours available. The week before there are, but not Christmas week. It says that I'm on a wait list. Oh well, I'll make due. BTW did you realize that Christmas is less than 3 months away?! Holy Cow! Where does the time go?! Anyway I'm going to go do some laundry...

So... biking wasn't as easy as I remember to say the least. I walk alot, but I felt muscles in my legs that I haven't felt in a long time, so I guess they aren't the same ones used in walking. I was biking up Regent street (trying to figure out what the best gear would be, cause there are 18 on my bike) and the chain came off, I got off and put it back on. It came off again pretty soon and I decided it would be Way to much work to get to work if I had to keep fixing the chain (& getting greasy hands), so I stopped and came home. It was just after 7am, so I called a cab and it got here pretty quickly. I walked home after work and stopped to get Gizmo some more dog food, well I picked up five big cans of dog food, two chunky soups and some stuff for nacho's. That doesn't weigh very much while it's in the cart, but my shoulders and arms were aching by the time I got home to say the least.
We listened in on some calls again today for an hour and a half and the guy was telling me some things while finishing up the calls (some things that I had learned and some I would ask questions about). He asked me when I had started and I told him on Monday and he was pretty surprised and said that I was a fast learner and doing great. He said that the other girls that listened to calls with him on Wednesday didn't even talk to him. He shook my hand when we were done and said that it was a pleasure meeting me. :) Also, when I arrived at work this morning there were some halloween chips and a mini chocolate bar waiting for me, apparently they were prizes for things we had done yesterday. I think Jackie and I are going to go to the 20/20 club tonight with her roommate Angie. I don't have to work tomorrow so it is a good night to go party! Woohoo! I'm feeling pretty happy about things right now. Life is good! Gizmo is adjusting to the new apartment wonderfully. She goes pee and poop outside when we are home and in the same spot (on newspaper) when we're not. The bunny is doing well (I think-she still hops around and sits under the end table when I let her out). I unpacked the pictures yesterday, the apartment feels alot more like "home". I decided to put the darker frames in the computer room, the lighter wood frames in the livingroom and any extra's in the spare room. I put everything away and it looks very organized. There is a box in the kitchen that has some nic knacks and miselaneous items that could be useful that I think we need another plastic unit with drawers for. Anywhoo.....I'm going to watch some t.v and relax.... :)

It is very sunny and wam in Fredericton today, so when 3:30pm came and I was done work I decided to walk home. Jenn, in the same class as me, just lives on Greensfield and Smythe and walks home everyday, so I decided to for a change. It only took me 45 minutes!! That's closer than walking from Connect! That used to take me 50-55mins uphill. I got 2 free bus tickets when I went to the information session downtown last week and I didn't need to use it, so I saved them and only needed to use 1 today. I might just bike to the bus stop, and get on with my ticket and bike home. Then I'll know how long it will take when I'm biking and not have to worry about being late for anything. Also, it's pretty cold and still dark at 6:45am when I catch my bus, so it'll work out better I think. We listened in on some calls for an hour and a half yesterday. They came in quickly, but the lady I was with was able to resolve the problems for everyone very quickly. She said she has been there 5 years and just loves it. They went over our points system alittle bit today and told us all about the benefits package they offer. It sounds really good. Some of the costs are covered by your "flex points" (which I don't know how you earn) and then you can choose the amount of coverage you want, 50%, 80%, or 90%, and pay the difference owing after the "flex points" are taken into account. We also learned how to fill in our own time sheets, it's kind of weird, the time sheets are due on Tuesday or Wednesday and they already include pay for the Thursday and Friday you haven't worked. If something comes up and you can't work one of those days you send them a revised time sheet and can either use vacation time, banked time (extra hours you've worked), floater time, or lieu time. I'm not to sure what the last two are, but I'll figure it out. We learned how to sign people up for payment plans that we offer, which doesn't seem to hard. I'll probably be eating my words when I have to do it, but.... I have this weekend OFF!! I'm pretty sure I will have next weekend off as well , I think we'll still be in the same training schedule. I was worried about having to work on Christmas (because the website application implied that it may be needed b/c they are open all year long). Not us though, we get Christmas day, boxing day and New Years day off. If we want to book any days off, we just go online and check to see if there are hours available for that day within the campaign and put a request in via email (I think). Then the staffing department gets back to you and lets you know if you've been approved. I'm not eligible for any hours until December 17th (3 months probation), but I can still go online and request days off after December 17th as soon as I get my user i.d and password. On December 17th I will get 23 hours for vacation time, so I could take three days off if I wanted. I don't think I'll mind working there at all. I gotta go make something to eat. Write later

I started work yesterday and seems like a really good place to work, much cleaner that Connect. It's very large. I got up yesterday at 6am and got all ready and caught the bus (with my student i.d) and arrived at work to get introduced to my class. Turns out that myself and 5 other people are from Connect North America. I didn't know any of them, they were day shift or worked on different teams than I. Accenture surprised us all and brought in water bottles, juices and pastries for our first break and also bought us lunch from the Happy Baker. We had sandwiches, drinks, salad and some more pastries. I felt very welcome! :) I got off and was done at 3:30pm, caught the bus at 3:50pm and arrived home shortly after. I had all evening to do whatever, so I decided to make supper, do the dishes, and unpack the spare room. This place is feeling like home alittle more every day. I hung my diploma up in the computer the other day (snazzy frame and all). It looks GREAT!! Getting those Tragically Hip tickets was a really nice treat before starting a new job, it worked out nicely. Oh, great news about the Campaign I'm on too. I'm getting customer service/billing inquires from peopl in BC, so the earliest I will work is 11am and the latest is 12am (which is only an hour later than Connect). And we don't take calls on Sunday's, so that is one of our days off definately. The schedule for the first month will just be randomly drawn for the new employee's, but it really doesn't matter to me what I get with hours like that available. We also get Thanksgiving off and don't work Sunday's, so we'll have a good couple of days off. The schedules run from Saturday to Sunday at Accenture, so I'll be just gtting done nesting on friday and go on the phones Saturday, before a 2 day break, oh well!! :) Sam was supposed to have today off, so I thought we could go get a movie or something, I called his cell and he was at work! He said he went in to help them out. Oh well, at least he enjoys his job. He is going to be closing the restaurant 2 or 3 nights a week and got a raise. So, he's doing well. I'm so happy for him!! He is a great guy! Anyway... I am starving!! So I have got to go get something to eat...

I start work tomorrow morning. I am not looking forward to getting up so early (work from 7:30am-3pm). I'm going to have to catch the 6:45am bus to get there in time. The next bus doesn't get there until 7:32am, so maybe I'll ask if that is o.k or if I know anyone in the class (maybe I could get a drive with someone). My friend Sari(pronounced Sarah) got called in to start on Friday night, so I won't be able to get drives with her right now. Oh well, I'm sure I'll know someone or be able to figure something out. I'm pretty excited to start a new job, it will be interesting to get calls that differ from one to the next instead of just saying the same script over and over... I think I'll look over the information that they gave me some more. I know that I'll be doing customer service for power companies, but I wonder which one I'll get and what the hours will be (hmm...). The training is 3 weeks worth according to the information sheet that Shannon gave me. 2 weeks in class and 1 week for practical experience. That is not bad at all. Connect was 2 weeks training and connect was 1 week. Jackie and I went to the Aliant store in the Regent mall today because they had sent me a new modem and new internet stuff that I did not need, so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't charged for it and she wanted to return her new LG chocolate phone. She had alot of trouble with it and aliant, bell, LG phones, she got alot of different and useless information about transferring photo's and the sound quality was not good. So, finally, some guy (Mike) helped her by letting her return the chocolate phone and buy a samsung one (which sounds better). We then headed to Oromocto to get lunch at a nice Chinese restaurant we had gone to before, it was closed, but we found another one close by and ate there (the food was good and reasonably priced). After lunch we went to the Giant Tiger. I got a wack of little frozen pasta dishes for my lunches and a wack of maple leaf frozen chicken, turkey and beef pies, they were 2 for a 1$. I also found some chocolate bars for 44cents. Woohoo! I think I will go make a coffee...

I am SO employed!! Woohoo for me!! My friend Sarah from Connect told me that she had gotten a job at Accenture when I seen her Monday. She said she had her interview and they said they would call her in a week or so, well the called her a couple of days later to tell her that she had gotten the job. I went to the interview and they told me right away that I had gotten the job!! Tara (the woman interviewing me) told me that she would like to offer me the position, I could think about it and just give her a call (pretty soon cause the training class starts Monday). AND cabs are cheap from there, it was only $5.50 for a cab from Accenture to the bank, just up the street. So, even if I did have to work late, the cabs are cheap. They also have a benefits package there that all employees are eligible for from day 1 of training. Sarah also told me that she lives close by (on Kings college) and she'll be getting a car soon and wouldn't mind giving me a drive. I'll be scheduled for 35-44 hours a week, 35 definately, but if something comes up and they need more hours they will let us know. Any hours worked over 40, we get paid double time for. It's actually not as far as I thought. It's just past lakeview inns and suites that I applied at last summer (I biked there in about 30mins). They are open 24 hours a day, so I had been alittle concerned about having to work until 4am or something stupid. She said that they offer people incentives to work nights and that they don't have any trouble filling those shifts. The latest day shift would be 12am or 1am, which I'm fine with. I called back a couple of minutes ago to tell them that I would like the position, but I got the answering machine. I left a message saying I had accepted the position. She just called me back and told me some info about Monday. Enough excitement about my new job, now for some info about the hip concert:

It was AWESOME! We all had so much fun! The sound check was great, we got to see them all performing without distracting lights and noise from other fans (cause we were the only ones there, other then the set up crew). We met with the band after the soundcheck, we all lined up along the arena wall and they walked down the row of us shaking hands and signing some pictures and the backs of our VIP passes. I thought that we could only have one thing signed, but turned out that they signed more than one item for a couple of us. I got a picture signed (Luke had thought to print some out thankfully) and Sam got the back of his pass signed by everyone and Gordon Downie signed his ticket as well. Rob was the friendliest one of them all. He put his arm around Jackie for the picture and talked to us all for awhile. They are going to send me the pictures, it was a group one, but whatever. I'm getting a giant frame and putting the picture of us with the band, the autographed picture, our VIP passes and tickets in. It's going to be awesome!! We took so many pictures, thankfully I have a good memory card. (pictures coming to Facebook later today). We then went to Amici's for dinner, all ten of us each got an appetizer, main course and dessert. Lisa, Jackie, steve, and myself all got the tenderloin steak and rosemary and herb potatoes which was a $27 meal. The others ranged from 22-30$. I think each of us ended up eating a $70-$80 meal. We asked to make sure that the tip was included and it was as well. We left there alittle late (because we all ordered so much). I had four jumbo shrimp in some kind of sauce for my appetizer and taramisu and coffee for dessert. Lisa got some crazy caramel thing and jackie got chocolate cheesecake ravioli and we all tried alittle bit of all three. Mine was the best. The cheesecake ravioli was not sweet and didn't really taste that great, but it was FREE, so it doesn't matter!! After dinner we got back into the pimpin limo and headed back to the Aiken centre, were we snobbily got through the crowd towards our floor seats by flashing our VIP passes at everyone (HA!). We had great seats, centre in the 5th row!! We could see everyone perfectly. The pictures are awesome! There are alot of Gordon Downie. I seen my landlord this morning and he asked me what I had won because he had seen the limo (pimpin Limo BTW) and had talked to the drivers. I told him all about it. He is a very nice guy. I knew the words to more songs than I had thought I would. Lisa sang along to almost all of them, she is a big hip fan and just kept thanking me. After the concert was over (about 11:20pm after the encore) we ran to the pimpin limo (which at some point someone called th K unit, which I like) because it was raining and got dropped off at my place, where everyone thanked Sam and I and ventured home. I had so much fun! I think I'm going to go out tonight with Jackie and celebrate my new employment and tomorrow Sam and I are going to head over to Tina's for her birthday celebrations. I stopped in to grab a coffee at the Great Canadian Bagel and seen her. She said that she's already begun decorating. I'm going to get my pictures transferred and get something to eat! Write later.

A woman from the human resources department for the Accenture call centre emailed me and told me that she wanted to set up an interview, but when she called it rang once and disconnected her. So I called her back and got the answering machine and explained that the phone number was right but we have been having troubles with it since we moved. I asked her to try back later and that I looked forward to her call. Then I called Sams cell and got him to call the home phone and it would only ring once and disconnected him. I then called aliant and explained this to the woman on the phone and she said that they would try to reset it from the office, otherwise they would send someone tomorrow morning to fix it. Thankfully it worked and the phone is working o.k. Meredith, from the promotions office is going to call me tonight with details about the hip tickets and get the names of my guests. BTW did I mention in my last post that not only do I get a ticket and go to meet the band, but I get to bring 9 guests with me~~ Yeah, 9!! That is just ridiculous beyond words. She sent me alittle bit of info this morning as well. At 3:15pm, we all get to go to the sound check and meet the band, then the limo takes us downtown to a new Italian restaurant called amici's. At 7pm we get taken to the concert (she didn't mention where we are sitting, but I'm sure they are awesome seats) and then the limo takes us back here. Woohoo!! I'll have a job in no time!! hehe ;)

I've applied for a couple of jobs, I'm being alittle more choosey than I was when I decided to work for Connect North America. I found out that we can go down to the centre on Friday to pick up our last pay cheques and record of employment. I had been slack this pay period and didn't work any extra hours, I figured I would the next pay period to make some extra cash (unaware that there would not be another pay period).I also found out that there will be an information session/job fair on September 10th at the Crown Plaza. So that might be something I'll attend. I've applied for some customer service representative job for service New Brunswick that I would love to get and am completely qualified for (other than the bilingual for some of the jobs) and has wicked hours and awesome pay ($16-20hr). I also applied at the call centre Accenture. The application process was really weird, first there was a long online application, then I called a toll free number and did an automated interview and then it said that I will be contacted in the next week... Whatever. I noticed that they are looking for 26 part time people who will eventually become full time, that would work for me right now anyway. I found out all of this information about Connect North America through Facebook!! Yeah, not by the company contacting me or anything, but Facebook!! I should go get something to eat. Sam and I have been getting up ridiculously late recently. There is no window in our bedroom and with the door shut it's pitch black which makes it difficult to wake up in the morning, even when the alarm goes off. That snooze button is just to tempting, I have no will power from that little button!! Well, wish me luck all!! Write later!

My last post didn't work, it never posted and I just didn't get around to writing again. Well I found out last week that I am unemployed. Yup, apparently people went into work on Monday and found out that Connect Norht America was closed. There was just a note on the door, no explaination or anything. So, I as well as about 300 other people in Fredericton are now looking for employment. We moved on Wednesday the 30th and our phone and stuff wasn't supposed to be transferred until the 31st. Well Aliant didn't transfer my service, they disconnected it and sent me a new modem and stuff for the internet which is a pain in the ass. Because now I will be charged probably or something. So I called on Friday and told them that I had no dial tone, so they set up an appointment for someone to come fix it on Tuesday (today). After the weekend of no service it was great when the girl showed up today to fix it. I was cursing aliant something terrible last night. (which I feel bad about now). Turns out the people before us had Rogers, so the telephone line wasn't connected. The service was there, but not connected. So I was sitting here on the internet when the phone rang, and the caller i.d said it was aliant. I thought oh my what do they want now? Well the girl told me that I had won tickets to the Tragically hip concert next week. Because I was entered into a draw for getting new service for the school year (new service because of their fuck up). They are going to pick me up (in a limo) in the afternoon to go meet the band at their sound check and then take us down to d'amicos for dinner, then back (in the limo) to the concert!! I never have luck like this!! This is Sam's luck rubbing off on me or something! Woohoo!! I just hope that a new job doesn't want me to start on Tuesday or something stupid. WOOHOO!! I also applied for some government job today, it took forever, their application process is ridiculously long!

I've had a fun week. Tuesday night after work I arrived home and there was a message from Jackie inviting me to join her and her roommate at the Hilltop for her rommmates (Angie) birthday celebrations. But there was no way to get ahold of her, she didn't have her cell phone. Being the brave individuaL that I am however I risked going all by myself and hoping they were there (Sam also offered to pay for my cab there, so if they weren't there I would only have to pay for a cab home). I arrived and thankfully they were all there. We danced and drank beers and had alot of fun. Also Angie's husband didn't drink at all and was able to drive me home. So I didn't have to pay for a cab at all. Wednesday afternoon, at about 2:45pm Jackie showed up at my apartment and convinced me not to go into work for extra hours (which wasn't hard). However if I was going to skip work, we had to actually go do something. So we decided to go over to the mall and get a fancy Starbucks drink of some sort. We both tried the rasberry mocha frappacino, which was very disappointing and didn't have very much rasberry flavor. We walked out and seen the theatre, which prompted us to decide to go see a movie. That was still in the afternoon, so we went to her apartment and had supper (Salmon and rice, thanks for supper Jack!). At about 6pm we left and went to see the Bourne Ultimatum and really enjoyed it. There are alot of movies recently that are part of a trilogy. She also invited me to a tentative staff party the next day. I called her from work on Thursday to see if the plan had come together (I would have just met them at the tannery after work) and everyone had bailed out. Which was good for me anyway, cause I really couldn't afford it. We are moving in six days!! Wow! It makes me alittle sad because this place has been our home for three years, but I'm glad that the packing and moving will be over soon. I also finally got some definate information from Luke about our moving plans. We are moving both apartments on August 30th, and cleaning on the 31st. We went to Hannahs tonight for supper and both got there daylight hours special. It came with an appetizer, entree, two sides, and desert for $9.95. I had a salad, turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and carrotts, I brought my cake home. Sam got soup, 2 fish pieces with a potato and a poutine and cake as well. It came to $29 and change plus $5 for a tip. Not bad at all. Sam and I rented the movie 23 with Jim Carrie to watch tonight. Its a psychological thriller. The main character becomes obsessed with a novel he believes was written about him. As more similarities seem to arise he becomes obsessed with the number 23. It looks like a good movie and it will be interesting to see Jim Carrie do a movie like this, instead of his usual funny characters. More on that later. Well I'm going to go play wratchet and clank on the PS2, mom lent it to me and I'm doing pretty well. :)

That movie was exactly what is said on the back...and nothing more. They got stuck in a motel and the owner/caretaker was trying to kill them for his video collection. That's it! There were no twists or surprises. I work today, tomorrow and Thursday, maybe I'll go in on Friday as well, but it all depends. Mom might come up to visit us this weekend to get out of her house and away from some of the stress there. Nothing's for sure though, so my work schedule kind of depends on if and when she wants to come up. I'm supposed to work this Saturday b/c I can't work my scheduled Saturday because we're moving, but I'm pretty sure it will be o.k as long as I make the hours up somewhere. My supervisor is pretty understanding as well, so I don't think it would be a problem. The windows are being replaced on our side of the building this summer and there are some men directly outside my window, they can peek right in if they want to. They are replacing the windows in the apartment above me today, so I might be tomorrow. I haven't gotten a little piece of paper on my door though telling me that...hmmm........Sam bought chicken dinners Sunday and bought us pizza last night!! Princess treatment!!! :)

I have been treated like a princess the last couple of weeks!! Last week Sam came home and showed me that he had bought a tim hortons travel mugg for himself, on Friday he brought me home one! Today he surprised me with a bouquet of flowers!! No reason either! I wasn't pissed off at him or anything. Just flowers for me today, cause he loves me! ;) They really put me in a better mood, work was ...LONG...today. The time just dragged on and on and..well you get the point. We were calling people and they would just answer...say not interested and hang up. That was it, or not even say anything and hang up. I made one sale all day. We are going to watch the movie vacancy tonight. It's a scary movie about a guy and a woman getting stuck sleeping in a shotty motel after their car breaks down off the highway. The only thing on T.V is gruesome horror flicks that they later realize were filmed in the same room that they are staying in..dum..dum.dumm!! It should be interesting to say the least. More on that later...gotta go...write later...:)

I FOUND THEM!! woohoo!! I called the transit services , just to double check that I hadn't left them on the bus. Turns out I did and the I called the office and asked if they had found any keys. They did and now the guy is trying to figure out a way to send them over with a bus driver to Kings place around for the time that I get downtown on my bus, then I can just walk over and get them!! He is being very helpful

I misplaced my keys, I think I left them at work. I got on the bus last night and usually I get my keys out right away and sit them on my lap. When I got off the bus I realized that I didn't have my keys, so I looked in my purse and realized that they weren't there and I hadn't taken them out. I do remember looking at them while at work and having them in my hands while I was sitting at my desk. I called Connect this morning and the secretary checked with the supervisors to see if anything had been turned in. Nothing had. I'm hoping that my supervisor found them after I left last night and is holding on to them for me. I'm going to go into work tonight for extra hours and to put up a sign saying that I misplaced my keys. The keys can be replaced, except maybe my mail box key, but I had alot of keychains from some interesting places. I had one from Great Britian that Karen brought back for my, one from Ireland that Pat brought back for me, one from PEI and New York, and a nice engraved keychain with my name on it that mom got me for my graduation this year. I forgot about that one, so...if my supervisor did pick it up, she would see that it had my name on it. Mom is going to come up and visit me this weekend. She still isn't feeling that great because her muscles are really sore, so Richard is going to drive her up.Sue and Cole might come as well. I think that would be really nice, it's supposed to be very warm and sunny in Fredericton all weekend. Hopefully they don't have any incidents with crazy deers this time. :) Apparently that deer did $4000 worth of damage on the silver car!! Good thing mom and rich have coverage in their insurance for crazy deers and such. I did pretty well at work last night, I made 6 sales, that's the best all week. I met someone new last night as well. Jasmine, she just started and we talked in between calls all night, which made the time go by much faster. She just got married last month and showed me the pictures. They had gotten married at Riverview beach I guess. The pictures were beautiful. They met at the beach, he proposed at the beach and so the also got married at the beach. It was free to use the beach, they rented some tents and bought a keg of beer and used the picnic tables and BBQ for the reception. That is the way to do a wedding, mostly free stuff. I'm gonna get something to eat, write later...:)

Jackie and I decided to go out last night, for some crazy reason. She had called me in the afternoon and invited me to Killarney lake to go for a swim. It was really hot yesterday so we went. We got there, took our pants and tops off and were heading to the water when the life guard stood up and ordered everyone one out of the water because of a storm warning. We were still uncomfortably hot and in our bathing suits, so we decided to go to the waiding pool downtown just to get wet. We arrived and began walking towards the pool and some guy said that the pool was closed to. So that idea was wrecked as well. We then just decided to go to the liquer store and figure out something from there. We arrived and noticed that if you bought a 12 pack of Corona you get a free straw hat. That was a sure sign letting us know we needed to go out. (we had talked about needing cowboy hats or something last weekend). After supper Jackie got a ride to my place and we drank here for alittle while before catching the bus downtown at 10:30pm (we are so cheap!) :) So we got there and went to Nickey zees first since we thought that they would have cheap drinks since they did last week. Well they didn't, but we both had a keiths draft and a vodka lime. We then went over to sweetwaters and the rodeo again. We had alot of fun dancing. I got up this morning to a stomach ache, but got ready for work anyway. I got downtown and went into work and began calling. I wasn't feeling all that great, but my supervisor informed me that I was in session right away and that I had to be in a bad campaign. Which ended up being alright because I don't think I can really be "monitored" when people just pick up, say I'm not interested, and hang up. Whatever. Then I went on my first break and had a green tea, which made my stomach feel alittle better. I made one sale right before 1pm and my supervisor said that everyone with two sales or less had to go home. Woohoo!! I lost out on some hours, but I worked and extra shift last week so I don't think it will matter. I caught the bus home and just lounged around all afternoon, it's been awesome! :) I also get Monday off for New Brunswick day and get paid for it, so I still get a weekend type break. Sam's friend Charles is over and he is going to install a really good video card in the computer for Sam. I don't know when though...hmm....they're out back drinking right now. I think someone has to drop the card off before they can fo anything. Oh well....gotta go....write later...

Jackie and I decided to go downtown for this highland games thing that was supposed to be going on downtown yesterday. The webpage said that the activities and stuff ended at 5pm with some type of awards ceremony. The webpage also said that there was a beet tent. It said that it was open until at least 8pm. So we drank two very strong vodka and orange juice drinks here, caught the bus downtown at 7pm and discovered that not alot was going on. So we bought two lemonades and a little mickey of vodka and had some more strong drinks while trying to figure out what to do. We decided to grab something to eat at McGinnis Landing and had some slings. By this time it was still pretty early, I think around 8-8:30pm, so we headed over to Nicky Zees. It was completly dead there, but the drinks were cheap. We had some Keith drafts there and then headed over to Sweetwaters. We danced and drank there for the rest of the night. We met some guy, P.J I think his name was, and danced with him for most of the night. We were getting ready to leave and he asked me something about where I lived, I said Oh I live uptown with my boyfriend, at that point Jackie asked me something so I turned to answer her, when I turned around P.J was gone. We got a cab up to my place at about 1:30am and came home and just crashed. At about 3:30am Jackie said that she was to hot and was going to catch a cab home. It really was hot. She waited outside were it was cooler and I just went back to bed. I rolled over at about 10:30am this morning and thought, I'll sleep until 11am and then get up. Well I overslept and didn't end up getting up until 12:45pm.Oh well I don't work today.Sam and I have to go get groceries when he gets home,even though I hate going on Sundays. Write later:)

This week has gone well, last night work dragged quite a bit, but it eventually came to an end. I'm going in today for some extra hours and to talk to my supervisor. I told her last night that I will be needing August 30th, 31st, and September 1st off because I am moving and will be helping others move as well. She was going to talk with Kevin and see if I could book that off as vacation time so that I can still get paid for the following Monday. She told me she would let me know today, so I kinda have to go in now. Oh well, extra money. I got paid today, but most of this pay is going towards rent and cable, so I'm not to far ahead, although all my bills will be paid. I just mean I don't have alot of extra spending money. I'm taking the later bus today, where it is just for extra hours, I can be alittle 5-10mins late. I think you have to let the people scheduled get computers before anyone who just wants extra can start anyway. I slept in today!! I usually set the alarm for 9am after Sam gets up at 6 or 7am, but I didn't today and just figured I'd wake up aboput that time anyway. I rolled over and it was 11:30am!! I showered and took Gizmo for a walk, wow is it ever hot in Fredericton today! 31 degrees today and tomorrow! Poor Gizmo, I couldn't get her into the groomers unitl Monday, so she has to suffer through this heat for the whole weekend, poor dog :( I don't work tomorrow and Jackie called me while I was in the shower and told me about a Scottish Festival that is going on this weekend, so I think we are going to go to that tomorrow. Sam and I rented Mortal Combat for the PS2 last week and we had alot of fun playing it all last week. It was really nice, we just took turns on the Conquests and when one of us died the other got a turn. I'm pretty good!! I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. I thought that it was just fighting, but there is some actual boards/levels that you complete in between the fights. We also rented Shrek grand slam. That really was just a fighting game, nothing else. I got kinda bored with that after a day or two. I think I'll start renting some games more often, we have a bunch of coupons that we got with our blockbuster gift packs that we've never really used. Gotta get ready for work, write later :)

I called Philip (future landlord) and asked him if he remembered mentioning that he thought about putting a door betweent the kitchen and room next door with the fridge and if that would be a possibility. He told me that it was something that he had thought about doing, but the elctrical box and wires were in that wall making it a big renovation project. I told him that was o.k and I was just wondering about it and thanked him. Last night at work his wifes sister introduced herself to me. Sharon (his wife) had mentioned that her sister worked at a call centre downtown when we met on Monday. She mentioned that I also worked at a call centre downtown to her sister. They both know my supervisor (Charlene) and she asked to meet me. She seemed like a very nice person as well. Charlene said that Philip and Sharon are nice people too. I called and got my phone and cable switched over for the end of August. Aliant waived the switching fee b/c I'm a value package customer and Rogers doesn't have a switching fee. But I have to be at the new apartment on August 31st between 2-5pm. I mean really, do they need a 3 hour window? Is it that crazy to actually give people appointments? hmph! I might see if my landlord can just let them in for me if we're not home. For my room/dressing room mom is going to let me use their day bed so that we can have room for guests and something in the room other than my dresser. It has been SO ridiculously hot in Fredericton the last 2 or 3 days! Yesterday and Tuesday it got up to over 30 degrees and today the high will be 33. Have I ever mentioned that Connect North America has no central air conditioning? No?hmm....well the don't! We just have a couple wall air conditioners placed reandomly around the room and some floor fans, and then a wack of computers that let off alot of heat. It is brutally hot in there all summer and cold in the winter b/c they don't want to over heat the computers so they don't turn on the heat. grr....Oh, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I found out from a coworker that part time staff can get benefits. Full dental, vision and a blue cross plan for $22 a pay. I thought full time staff were the only ones that it was available to. I might sign up for that when my blue cross runs out at the end of the summer. The job market in this city sucks! There are no job opportunities for recent graduates. Well, that's not true, if you have one or more degrees and your masters in one of them you might have a chance, but a plain old undergraduate degree? nothing. I do not want to be stuck in a call centre for the rest of my life. I could have got a job there with my high school diploma and saved myself about 20+ thousand dollars in tuition costs. Oh well, maybe something will turn up. Anyway I'm going to make a coffee....

I started packing away some of the things that we don't use everyday. I packed away my bookshelf with my school books and binders (I went through my binders to throw away the unimportant stuff) and Sam packed a couple of boxes last night. I don't think it will be to much of a problem as long as we keep packing little by little. We also found out that Luke and Tina are moving the end of August as well and Luke offered to help us move and use his truck. We'll help them move and they will help us. Which worked out really nice for us, considering neither one of us have our drivers license. We would have had to get a friend to rent a truck for us or pay movers, either way it would have cost us a lot more. We're still going to offer Luke money for gas and buy him a case of beer or something, but it worked out nicely. Sam and Luke booked August 30th,31st, and September 1st off, so I'm going to book that the 30th and the 1st off too. I don't work Friday's. Work went by pretty quickly this week, we got off an hour early on Tuesday, Wednesday was alright and Thursday went by pretty fast as well. I work tomorrow, but I'm off at 6pm, so I can still go out and do whatever in the evening. I'm going to go bake something, maybe some cookies.....hmmm....:)

We went to see the apartment this morning. It turned out to be a nice place and the owner seemed to like Gizmo(I brought her with me). We can move in before September or whatever time we need to move in. He said he would give us the keys whenever we paid for Septembers rent. I just have to call and get our t.v, phone and internet switched over for the end of August beginning of September. It turned out to be a 2 bedroom and another room that is going to be our computer room. There is a big backyard that the owner said we could use and have BBQ's at. There is still a convenience store pretty close, and we aren't that far from where we currently live. It's at 816 Regent (between kings college and Montgomery.Did I mention that Gizmo is allowed? yup, no problem. :)
The lease is from September to May. He said that he doesn't like people moving in and out in the winter. He said that he was going to paint and finish some trim work before we move in. The bathroom is a split bathroom, meaning that one room/hall is for the shower and there is another room for the vanity and toilet. The kitchen is laid out alittle weird. The sink and stove are in one room and right next door is the fridge and room for a table with a little window. He said he was thinking of putting a door in, I think I'll mention that I think it is a good idea when I drop of the rent cheques, etc. My stupidly expensive cheques arrived today, I need them for my rent now, b/c most landlords like cheques. The only reason I bought them is to write rent payments. The cheques say my current address, so then I'll have to scratch out the address and put my new one. That will look really nice. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now, cause I'm not ordering more cheques. Our lease, which is more of an agreement, is from September-May and then will figure out what we want to do.He just said that he doesn't like people moving in and out in the winter. Which is fine anyway, I think I would avoid moving in the winter. I'm very excited, it will be nice to have a new place that Gizmo is allowed at and only have two neighbors. Sam and I are going to rent a movie or game, write later...

I may have found an apartment that will allow Gizmo. Well...I don't know if they really accept pets, but when I told the man that the apartment was for myself, boyfriend and little dog, he made no immediate objections (so I took that as an o.k to the littel dog). He told me he was going away for the weekend and to call him on Monday to set something up (that was Thursday). It's on Regent street, which isn't ideal, but I can't be to picky with Gizmo. The apartment is a 2 bedroom + extra room for storage or study area and heat + lights are included for 650$ mth. It's available for SEptember 1st as well. He also mentioned that he is flexible with the leases. I found it completely randomly. It was posted online at some strange site. He said it was a home, where he and his wife lived as well and there was another apartment with an older lady. I really hope that this is an actual apartment with actual rooms and doors. That one that we went to see in May was such a huge disappointment. (with the curtained off kitchen as a bedroom). It says in the ad that it has a split bathroom, what does that mean? I am so frustrated trying to find a place. stupid people and their hate for dogs or even pets at all. Keep your fingers crossed for me...I'll need it! :)

The lady called this morning to let us know that we had been approved for the apartment. I was pretty excited, but then I asked about the leasing arrangements. The ad lied and it isn't month to month, but actually a year. AND you have to give them the damage deposit before you even get your keys. I was going to transfer mine over, but Pat isn't going to give us our damage deposit before we move out. So, just to make sure that I wouldn't get evicted and loose my damage deposit I mentioned that I had a little dog and asked the policy. The lady said that she also has a little dog so she had already enquired and this new company said that they have a zero tolerance policy, so I would get evicted and be stuck without an apartment at an even worse time then right now. I figure I've still got over a month and a half to find something, I'm sure I can. I've gotten a couple of emails from people about my ad on the adsforum. The apartments are to far away from anything though. Maybe I'll luck out and someone will email me with a better location. Wish me luck! :)

We seen the apartment this afternoon and it was nice. We filled out an application and are just waiting to hear back from them. It's only a block from here, so we're still pretty close to everything. It didn't have a balcony, but that's o.k. Sam and I seen a fenced in yard when we were leaving, so there is still a spot where we could have BBQ's and stuff. It's on the top floor, but pretty close to the door anyway. It has very separate areas for everything. Our current apartment is kind of everything together, dining, living and kitchen. This place is alittle different. you walk into the living room and then to the left you walk into the kitchen, where there is room for a table and dishwasher, washer. To the right of the kitchen is the bedroom, which is alittle smaller than our current bedroom, but still large enough for our stuff. Around the corner is a linen closet and then the bathroom. The apartment is painted a light beige instead of just plain white, which I like. I went and ordered some cheques alittle while ago. I told the lady why I was ordering them and she said to change the address on them after I move. I asked her if they would still be valid and she said they would, so I'm hoping that works out o.k. The smallest book of cheques that I could order was 50!! I don't need 50 cheques! That will last me 4+ years! I wouldn't use them for anything other than rent. I've never had them before, but this way we don't have to deal with care takers, (who lives downtown BTW). Did I mention that it's month to month!! Well it is, and I'm pretty happy about that. The lady said that Colpitts developments just took over and they may actually replace some things before we move in, she wasn't to sure how they operate b/c the switch just happened last week. The carpet wasn't that nice, but I have my blue one and she said that it would be cleaned before we move in, so...as long as it's not dirty the color of it doesn't matter. It is really security locked, much better than this place, there is an intercom, not just a buzz. O.k....I'm pretty excited about this place...but I swear that I'm not imagining this...while we were waiting for Janet to arrive...I heard a dog bark!! So someone else in the building is also hiding a dog! Woohoo!! Janet said that she was heading over to drop the application off, so we might hear back relatively soon. My cheques will take 5 business days to arrive though, oh well I'll figure something out. Wish me luck in getting the apartment. Write later. :)

I may have found a place! It isn't far from here, about a block away, behind the city motel. It is a one bedroom, heat and hot water included for 625$ mth!! It is also month to month lease, so I'm not stuck, and the apartment is available September 1st. I didn't mention that I have a little dog, fuck it. I did however inquire about onsite landlords or what not. The care giver is off site, so i don't have to worry about them seeing Gizmo. I also made sure that it's not a basement apartment, I'm not very fond of them. All is not lost!! I will still have my school bus pass until after September and then I'll just find out what colors the stickers are to validate my id myself! ;) I hope it has a balcony, it's on the top floor, but she didn't mention a balcony...whatever. They do allow cats for an extra $20, so if they find out somehow I'll offer them the extra $20. I'll just get mom to take her for a week or two when we first move in. Woohoo!! I think Sam will like the sounds of this as well, he'll be getting home pretty soon. Today has been a good day all around, I took two scratch tickets in (that I thought I had lost on) and won 4$ on one and 2$ on the other! It's also a pretty good day out as well. It looked kind of like it would rain this morning but recently the sun has come out and it's gotten quite warm. Jackie if you read this before I talk to you next are we still going out on Saturday? Let me know, I think it would be nice. Anyway I gotta go get ready for work...write later

I took the bus downtown to go to work this afternoon, walked in, looked around and the place was completely EMPTY. I turned around and seen a woman sitting in one of the offices and asked her where everyone was. Turns out that the dialer had crashed and Connect North America had lost their internet access. They had sent everyone home at 1pm, and she was calling night staff to tell them that they didn't need to come to work at 5pm (I had gotten there shortly after 4pm). I left and walked over to Kings place and got back on the bus! I'll just go in tomorrow and Saturday and then I get Sunday off again.Woohoo!! :) I mean, I could have used the extra hours, but I can't do anything about them not being open, so I can feel guilt free! If Sam gets home in time, we can go see a movie tonight. I've heard good things about Transformers and Fantastic Four. He said he was leaving Saint John at 4ish, so he should be home soon. :)

Today has gone well...I competed and mailed my taxes....I know...I may be a little late, but they're done now. I went online and looked for some more apartments, I had called a couple of places yesterday, but nothing really appealed to me. There was one place down on Regent that had potential, but it was pretty far downtown and not near much, and pets weren't allowed (I was going to sneak Gizmo in), but I think I'll try to find a place that will allow her. I emailed someone about an apartment building that allows dogs today, so I'll see what comes of that. I also have the names and numbers of a couple of landlords who allow pets as well, so all is not lost...yet. I enjoyed having these last couple of days off immensely!! It's been great! Sleeping in, staying in my P.J's until after 11am, well today I woke up at 8:30am and couldn't get back to sleep, but other than that it's been nice. I may be sleeping in alittle late because Sam is in Saint John visiting his family as well, so I'm not sleeping that great. It's hard trying to find a place for September though, because if the ads are posted now, landlords are looking for tenants for August or ASAP. It's hard to find apartments that are available for September, let alone ones that allow dogs. Well I'm going to go make something for supper....