Month: April 2012

The Daily EO: April 29th, 2012

The morning finally arrived.  Our race.  Our chocolate race.  We were up at 8:00 to dress and have a good solid breakfast to power ourselves through 5K.  Instead of taking the shuttle, we drove to Port Dalhousie ourselves and found parking on a nearby street.  The day was one of those perfect days – sunny but crisp, cool but the potential for a wonderfully warm afternoon.  We were prepared – a new firm sports bra (for me – nice to have the girls strapped in tight) and new long running pants for Emile (for those turkey legs of his).  A good night rest, a solid breakfast, no alcohol, and a month+ of training.

Could we make our goals of a personal best?  Considering the chocolate pits stations on the course?  Hills? People?

Goals:  Emile:  34:00 Minutes     Susan:  38:00 Minutes  These goals are based on our best average times on an indoor track – no hills, no crowds, no chocolate and controlled climate.

The chocolate race course is a an out and back one meaning you run 2.5 kms and then loop back to finish where you started.  I have never run more than 1.5 kms without stopping, Emile has consistently been able to run 5 km only stopping for a water break each km.   We agreed we would not wait for each other (like I’d be doing any of the waiting!), but simply run the best race that we could.  As we were separated, I could not tell you what Emile’s strategy was, but mine was to just keep going.   I had a target to run from the start until about the 1.75 km mark where a very steep hill marked the entrance into Westcliffe park – and I made it.   At the 2.25 km mark, I had some Gatorade and a chocolate dipped marshmallow and strawberry on a stick.  Hello, yum!

At the 3 km mark, my old friend the stitch acted up, and I had to walk and stretch a bit, but I kept going as fast as I could.   At 3.5 km, I thought I was done, but I didn’t like other people passing me, so I found something to keep going,

And finally, seeing that finish line across the parking lot and Emile waiting for me, I managed to dig deep, ignore my shins, ignore my lungs, and ignore my stitch and ran as fast as I could.

I blog to you about many EOs – mundane, silly, ironic, funny, but today’s EO is one of the most emotional ones yet for me.  When I crossed that finish line, tears – and not from the wind – came to my eyes.  I am so proud of myself!  So proud that I ran 90% of the race.  So proud that I could turn such a difficult winter into an accomplishment.  We set our goals modestly, and trained for this race and we set fair goals based on previous results.

2 chocolate croissants, 1 chocolate milk, 4 truffles, 1 brownie and 1 chocolate martini (yeah, a real one) each awaited our celebration at the end of the race.  Why are more races not like this?

April 29th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:

Emile Results:
Time: 29:55 (personal best, and -4:05 from target)
Overall Finish:  58th (!!)
Category Finish: 6th (OMG!!!)

Susan Results:
Time:  34:25 (personal best and -3:35 from target)
Overall Finish:  126th
Category Finish:  32nd (!!)

We Run for Chocolate! (updated with official timing)

The Daily EO: April 27th, 2012

“You seem on edge.  Like you’ve had 3 coffees in 10 minutes.”

Really?  I seem on edge?  Maybe it is because you are kinda of weird and odd, and don’t look anything like your Linked In picture.   (note to real estate agents, Linked In users and others, you are not helping yourself when you use your 20-year-old “best picture taken of me ever” on your business card etc.  It only just weirds the rest of us out when we see you in person and it doesn’t match)  And so began my first meeting in Burlington to talk to two recruiters.  I took his advice and for 10 before my next meeting, I sat in my car listening to Schubert’s German Mass.  It calmed me down, yes, but I think the couple of guys having a conversation near me thought I was a little odd.  I mean, who hangs around in business attire listening to Schubert at high volume in a car?  Well . .  now that I think about it. . . perhaps a lot of sales people waiting for meetings.   Maybe Metallica instead of Schubert.

Anyways, the second meeting went much better, and I was much more comfortable with him and his set-up.  He was an old guy who rambled on about things and kvetched to me about the bad habits of employers a bit, but was certainly a nice fellow who seemed to genuinely want to help me find a fulfilling career.  He’s even going to feature me in his Newsletter.

Friday hadn’t been a day I was looking for to.  We need to renew our passports, and beyond that I had to drive to Burlington to meet with these fellows.  Both could be fraught with inconvenience – waiting, terrible logistics, traffic, getting lost, etc.  I don’t do well with inconvenience.

I set my alarm for 8:15, but awoke feeling refreshed at 8:00.  We rolled out about 8:15 and made it to the Passport office about 8:25.  There was a notice on the door letting us know that the location would be closing TODAY end of day and moving to the big shopping center.  Phew.  A friendly security card directed us to the pre-screening room to have our applications reviewed before the actual Passport Office opened.  Then we waited for about 2 minutes – fourth in line – and the another friendly security guard directed us to the office – now open.  There were six wickets and SIX tellers working (please other agencies take note of this simple math), so being fourth in line meant being first.  It took the woman 10 minutes to process our applications –  and let us know we would receive them by May 11th by registered mail.

April 27th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Excellent process, process control, logistics, execution and customer service.  I could sit here all day.

 

 

The Daily EO: April 26th, 2012

It’s race weekend!  Off we head to St. Catharines to participate in the annual Chocolate Race.  No ordinary race for us.  No sirree!  I mean, if you are going to run, then you should pick the shortest distance available that also serves chocolate at the water stations, don’t you think?  And then serves post race chocolate?    I’m proud of how far Emile has come in just one month.  He will be able to beat his personal best and run the entire race I am sure.  I’m going to be dragging a bit, but nonetheless, I can run about 500% further than I used to – so an accomplishment regardless if I can run the entire 5K.  We both have targets we are hoping to beat, so we’ll see how much chocolate drags our butts back!

About 12 or 15 years ago, my friend Mark and I had the same late 80s navy blue Honda Accord.  (though mine was a standard – even more fun to drive)  We both loved our cars – so well-built, so reliable and so easy to drive.  And with 4 doors, great for moving people and things.  I drove mine across the country and back, he drove his back and forth between British Columbia and Alberta.  Mine helped me move 8 times in 2 1/2 years while I earned my MBA at McMaster.  But Mark drove his further than I ever got.  So much in fact, that one day we were all treated to an amazing email.  And I was sure I kept it, but there is no record in my mail.  Nonetheless, I remember it well.  It was a picture of his odometer and trip meter:

Odometer: 333333.3
Trip Meter:  333.3

The text told us all that this “miraculous event” took place in some mall parking lot in Edmonton (can’t you see him driving around in circles, then yelling “Stop!” at just the right moment?).  And that car kept going beyond that.  Mine eventually died from electrical problems – the battery kept draining for reasons unknown to anyone.  Mark’s. . . I am not sure what happened to Mark’s, but I know it got him far, but only so far.

In my most recent Honda – a 2007 Honda Fit – I’ve only had cause to drive it across Ontario.  St. Catharines, Toronto and I swear that thing could drive from Midland to Huntsville by itself.  When Emile and I are together, we always drive the Fit to save the 1996 Honda Prelude SLR that is on its last wheels.  Today we celebrate a little milestone on our trip to St. Catharines, silly as it might be.  I like silly.

April 26th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  I only wish I could have lined up the Trip Meter:


 

The Daily EO: April 25th, 2012

Today I was up early and off to Toronto for errands and to meet with a recruiter.  Recruiters are your friends, but they are not your friends.  Recruiters get paid when they successfully place someone in a position.  It’s a comparatively large payment, but nonetheless, they are not paid until the company offers their candidate a job and the candidate accepts it.  So, for financial reasons they can be pressured into pushing a square peg into a round hole.  This is similar to anyone who works on commission – real estate agents, travel agents, etc.  But good recruiters recognize they are only costing long-term success to put the wrong person in the wrong place for a short-term pay-out.

So, keep your wits about you when visiting a recruiter.  Be clear in your expectations, say no if it is not right, make the recruiter look good if you can and listen to their advice if they are generous enough to give it (after all, they don’t get paid by you).

About 1/2 hour into the start of my trip, I received an e-mail from one of my former bosses.  I um . . . pulled over, of course . .  to read the email and discovered he was looking for a 1 year contract Production Planning Manager in Orillia.  Am I interested in discussing it?

Let’s recap! I am driving from Huntsville, Ontario to Toronto and back again which requires me to drive directly through Orillia twice.  I have interview clothes with me, a copy of my résumé, business cards, a cell phone with internet access for company research and time within the standard work day.  Could I be any more prepared than that?  I wrote back and suggested that I drop by at 4 pm to discuss in person.  He agreed.

I met with the recruiter (resulting in an excellent contact for my husband), swung by the Low Carb Grocery (hello, low carb and high protein bagels, yum), engaged in a lively text conversation about excellent job interview news from my best friend (You go, Lisa!), got my prescriptions refilled (take that Emile’s company!), had the mop on my head tamed (hello stylish self), and then headed to Orillia to check out this potential job and then finally dropped off forgotten Crocs in Gravenhurst (don’t leave your stuff at my house, kid!).

You can see why The Daily EO suffered last night.  Phew.

April 25th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Not even a poker in the fire at 9 am, a contract job offer at 5 pm.   Huh?

The Daily EO: April 24th, 2012

I’m going on a cruise!  To celebrate my mother-in-law’s 65th and my father-in-law’s 75th birthday, we are taking a vacation together.  Everything is booked – flights were done today.  And in December, me, Emile, my in-laws, my sister-in-law and family we’ll be lolling around the Caribbean.  I think that will be okay, don’t you?

I’ve never been on a cruise, I am looking forward to it.  Better yet, I will be able to see land for most of the journey, which means that I have a flawed perception that I could always swim to shore come any problems with the ship.  We all have our hang ups people!

April 24th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Cruising in an ocean that doesn’t have icebergs.

PS  Sorry about my late post, so tired last night.

The Daily EO: April 23rd, 2012

We’ve all got people.  People who can do things for us, give us advice, and answer questions we have.  Some people have more people than other.  Some have powerful people.  You can live your life without people certainly, but they can smooth the way for us.  It’s a sense of security to say “I know a guy”.  I have people.  I’ve got a guy who paints my car.  I’ve got a different guy who fixes my computer (I had to marry him though).  I’ve got an HR professional on retainer.  Need food?  I got someone for that too.  It’s good.  I’ve need advice and questions and help, and have been able to turn to my people.

I’ve needed to turn to people for many things over the years.  Here are some:

What do I look for in a personal trainer?  How can I be a better manager?  What are the best vegetarian sources of protein?  Can you recommend a type of luggage?  What are the pharmaceutical manufacturing regulations in Canada?   Do you know any fantastic hotels that are “better than home”?  What is a haka?   Could you look over this resume?  What is the most professional way to resign from my position?  Can you link me to some connections to explore employment opportunities in the Lower Mainland?  Can you recommend a hairdresser in Huntsville?  My grandfather is aging and it is difficult for me, can you relate?  How can I make decisions for myself while taking into account what Emile wants?  How do I get the other Granville Skytrain station entrance?

April 23rd, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  I have a person – just one, really – who answered all of those for me.  And I bet she’ll keep answering.  Thanks.

The Daily EO: April 22nd, 2012

5 Days a week I make Emile’s lunches.  It is not a chore for me really, in fact, I find it a bit of a challenge for myself to include variety, low calories, high fibre, protein, interest and bulk.   That is difficult.  I have a friend – who will remain nameless so she can avoid persecution – that refuses to make her husband’s lunches.  She doesn’t want him to become dependant on her for food.  She manages the rest of the house and the family – he can figure out eating breakfast and lunch.  That’s fair I think – and frankly if I had less time on my hands, I too would probably expect that we would take turns.

Isn't it a beauty?

Today’s lunch (to eat on Monday) I am pretty proud of.  It has homemade broccoli & bean soup with added ground flax seeds and nutritional yeast flakes; two romaine lettuce sandwiches featuring homemade pesto (like I couldn’t make that again), sodium nitrate free turkey breast from Well Fed, and light Havarti cheese; low-fat yogurt with 1 tbsp Holy Crap cereal; and a couple of pecan halves.  I’ve learned that Emile likes his lunches when they good for grazing.  He can have the yogurt in the morning, eat the “sandwiches” atlunch, and nibble on the pecans in the afternoon.    He doesn’t really want last night’s leftovers because he just eats them all at once and there is nothing left for the afternoon when he gets hungry.

Nutritionally, it’s a pretty good lunch.  A touch high in fat – but for the most part the “good fats”:

April 22, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Making a lunch to be proud of – like millions of Moms, Dads and spouses across Canada.

Update:  Updated to show correct EO Date of April 22nd, 2012

The Daily EO: April 21st, 2012

I forgot to enter Emile’s A+ Certification exam fees on our taxes this year.  For some reason that thought occurred to me while I was in Kitchener having breakfast at Wimpy’s about 2 weeks ago.  It was excellent breakfast, prepared exactly as I asked them to – no oil, no butter, no potatoes and turkey bacon.   Alas, I have already filed this year’s taxes and it was $70 of refund – I didn’t want to wait a year to pick it up next year.  It’s $70!  Apparently, the government has a form for just such events.

About 10 years ago, my mom ordered a 2-drawer black legal for me from Staples as a birthday gift.   In our family gifts for organization mean the most.  Staples had significant difficulty delivering the filing cabinet.  Although my mom had requested evening delivery (I haven’t always been unemployed, people), the delivery team working for Staples repeatedly tried to deliver it during the day.  In fact, we tried it THREE times and they never did get it right.  One of my neighbours accepted delivery of the filing cabinet one afternoon.  When I opened the filing cabinet, I found a scratch on the left side and a dent on the top.  And we began the cycle again.  Staples tried to replace the filing cabinet THREE times during the day whilst I was at work.  (despite confirming evening delivery each time).  At this point, it was just funny.   Finally, again, a neighbour accepted the replacement cabinet for me, but of course that left me with the old one.  To apologize for the chaos, Staples refunded the cost of the filing cabinet and gave my mom a $200 store credit.  So I got 1 perfect filing cabinet, 1 perfectly functional filing cabinet and 1 beautiful black manager’s chair for nothing but a hassle.

Not too many people need 4 legal sized drawers of documents, so I used much of it for storage.  When Emile and I moved in together, we created “his and hers” cabinets and his old grey 4-drawer letter one was relegated to the basement.  And through our many moves, this is how it has stayed.  Our filing systems are different – I keep everything in cream coloured file folders with careful sharpie labels in alphabetical order.  Emile uses hanging folders only and tends to not label items.

It didn’t matter to me really – do what you want.  After all, as the joint items were generally filed in my cabinet, I could find what I was looking for.  But when I went searching for those A+ exam receipts, could I find them?  Where are the labels?  Is any of this stuff in alphabetical order?  Why is the Fairy Avenue house Union Gas bill in with the old Christmas cards?

Not a wise man gets between me and a tax refund.  So, tonight, Emile and I went through all of his files and organized them.  They are alphabetical order with cream legal sized folders inside hanging folders as a compromise.

April 21st, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:   Finding $70 in the files.  It’s Saturday Night, I’m feeling alright.

 

The Daily EO: April 20th, 2012

Emile and I rarely go out for dinner as of late.  We are on a loose budget and we are working hard to make April as Fit as possible.  In general, those two things do not mesh well with dining out.  After work today, Emile and I met up at the Summit Center for a run.  I had already done two – TWO! – bouts of exercise that day for a total of 1 hour and 40 minutes, plus working around the house (painting and sanding, etc).  So, then on top of that I went running for 3k.

My shins hurt, I was tired and I simply could not face going home to have a vegetable stir fry with riced cauliflower and meatless crispy tenders.   Emile said he would make it, but I wasn’t buying.  I wanted to go out for dinner and I had the calories to spare!

I suggested we head to 3 Guys and a Stove.  Emile agreed as he hadn’t been there in years.  Off we went – but he turned left when he should have turned right.  Turns out what I say out loud and what I am thinking are two different things.  So, we ended up at Tall Trees instead – because that is what I said – even if it wasn’t what I was thinking.

It was no sacrifice – believe me.

April 20th, 2012 Extra-Ordinary:  Some else made me a perfect Filet Mignon with delightfully cooked vegetables.   Presumably they even washed up.