I hate the dentist.
And no, the term is not too strong.
Despise. Deplore. Detest. Abhor. Loathe
Sorry, I don't hate thedentist.
I hate going to the dentist.
I love my dentist. We've been friends for 9 years now.
He was in dental school when I worked at the Y and we started hanging out.
He would bring me amazing tabouli that his mom would make ... I've been trying to find its equal ever since.
So when he graduated, I followed him. Which wasn't far. It is Halifax.
After a couple of thousands of dollars in bondings, extractions, subsequent dry socket (clove flavoured stuffings), hours in freezing, itchy freezing-coming-out, Bells Palsy like smiles, its safe to say ......
I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST.
And my appt this morning was at 8! I was literally half asleep there.
But the procedure was quick, had a great catch up chat with Dr. Lawen (I have to stop and think to call him that instead of Danny) and his wonderful assistant Mel. Blue Cross covered most of it, He wrote the rest off. He is so very very good to me.
THENNNNN I went up one floor to see Heidi.
She was in the washroom (her coworker told me) so I snuck in and scared her.
And we proceeded to laugh our heads off at my crazy smile.
Thats all.
Now I am in full find-a-job mode.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Have a good one y'all.
L.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Back in the 'Fax
A little bit of bad news here -
Along with thousands of other people, I've been laid off.
I''m okay with it now. Took a couple of days to get my head around looking for work again - along with thousands of other people!
But I'm back now, in good spirits and just going to tackle each day as it comes. I have a busy one today with phone calls and resume updating, those kinds of things.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not dancing around with joy that I've lost my job, but I'm remaining positive (for the most part) and just getting started at looking for, even, a crap retail job. Just for now.
Last night though, brushing my teeth, the bonding came off my eye took again.
Because of trauma issues with the dentist after a number of painful surgeries, slow and complicated recoveries, I'm not too excited about the prospect of going all day with an exposed root and an early morning appt. tomorrow with 'that smell', those needles, freezing, swelling, not being able to eat for a while. UGH! At least he work is guaranteed and this won't cost me.
Heres some pics of the plane I flew home in. Direct to Halifax. 4.5 hours. It was pure luxury!
And my slick (he prefers the term 'effective') seatmate (who arrived at check-in long after me, jumped the line (well, you did Jody!! lol) and was sitting on the bus 20 minutes before me ..... while I was standing there, layered for outside weather, sweating, with people pushing me from behind and basically gridlocking with their luggage) was perfectly place in line and the airport and we got the last row of first class seats.
Challenger 890 - Ridin' in Style!
The food was questionable at best - but when you've not eaten all day you'll eat anything. With a gluten allergy, I had to use the bottom half of the sandwich as a plate and cut up the ham and cheese with my plastic knife and fork.
You could see inside the cockpit. Just like the old days. The pilot and crew were incredible. Its a Suncor jet. And the pilot, as we were preparing to land, THANKED us !!! for flying with them and said "hopefully we'll get everything straighted away here and we'll be back to pick you up in Halifax in no time." It was actually quite touching - but come to think of it, he's probably just as worried for his job security as we are !!
Bye Firebag! I'll miss you. Well , I'll miss your paycheques.
We got to witness the sun setting. What a sight! Photo courtesy of my seatmate, Jody.
We had lots of laughs - def made the trip fly by.
(aware of the cheesy pun - but can't think of another term)
THANKS FOR THE SEND OFF SUNCOR!!!!
Cheers Y'all !
L.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Certainty of Uncertainty
I'm sure you've all heard that Firebag Expansion Stage 3 is being 'iced' by Suncor.
Which is where my company primarily works.
We were only told yesterday morning and thats all we know so far.
Talk in the lunchroom is ranging from "pack up your room when you leave on Sunday" to "Oh, we have at least two months work left" to "We have work until the end of March, and by then everything should be straightened out".
But other companies were leaving in droves yesterday. Packing up their tools and gone !
So I REALLY don't know what is going on.
Its fairly unexpected.
And I dont' exactly know what the term "iced" means. Because theres still a little bit of work happening here for us. Sooooo, I don't know if that means we keep on going with our current projects and just not starting up anything new or what.
But as a rarity, I am not stressed.
Of course, I want to stay, theres no question.
But I can't control the global markets or oil price increases/decreases, so I'm just gonna fly under the radar here and hope they don't call my name !
My foreman yesterday seemed to think we'd be here for a little while longer ....
But I'm not entirely sure.
You're prolly wondering why I'm up so early?
I've worked my sched. into a bit of a science here which allows me to get up at 6:00 am if I am COMPLETELY organized the night before (clothes laid out in order of wear, hair washed or semi-clean etc). And EVERY morning its the same lament in the kitchen: "There is NOTHING to eat". Which sounds like a whiney teenager looking at a packed fridge, but in reality, there is in fact, nothing decent to eat. So I am forced to eat Eagle Brand squares, and some crazy rendition of rice krispies. And by the time supper comes along, I am famished and eat like a man.
Someone gave me the secret last night : Get there at 4:30am and you'll get all the good food.
Well, I got there at 5:20 today and nabbed celery, carrot and cucumber sticks, fresh pineapple, grapes and (gotta have some sugar!) a macaroon.
So after all that effort, I hope I am actually working !
Yesterday was the first day since last Wed. that I had any hours on my time card.
Its going to be a skinny month, but 'tis the season around these parts, I guess.
Thats all.
Will keep you all posted as news trickles in.
Which is where my company primarily works.
We were only told yesterday morning and thats all we know so far.
Talk in the lunchroom is ranging from "pack up your room when you leave on Sunday" to "Oh, we have at least two months work left" to "We have work until the end of March, and by then everything should be straightened out".
But other companies were leaving in droves yesterday. Packing up their tools and gone !
So I REALLY don't know what is going on.
Its fairly unexpected.
And I dont' exactly know what the term "iced" means. Because theres still a little bit of work happening here for us. Sooooo, I don't know if that means we keep on going with our current projects and just not starting up anything new or what.
But as a rarity, I am not stressed.
Of course, I want to stay, theres no question.
But I can't control the global markets or oil price increases/decreases, so I'm just gonna fly under the radar here and hope they don't call my name !
My foreman yesterday seemed to think we'd be here for a little while longer ....
But I'm not entirely sure.
You're prolly wondering why I'm up so early?
I've worked my sched. into a bit of a science here which allows me to get up at 6:00 am if I am COMPLETELY organized the night before (clothes laid out in order of wear, hair washed or semi-clean etc). And EVERY morning its the same lament in the kitchen: "There is NOTHING to eat". Which sounds like a whiney teenager looking at a packed fridge, but in reality, there is in fact, nothing decent to eat. So I am forced to eat Eagle Brand squares, and some crazy rendition of rice krispies. And by the time supper comes along, I am famished and eat like a man.
Someone gave me the secret last night : Get there at 4:30am and you'll get all the good food.
Well, I got there at 5:20 today and nabbed celery, carrot and cucumber sticks, fresh pineapple, grapes and (gotta have some sugar!) a macaroon.
So after all that effort, I hope I am actually working !
Yesterday was the first day since last Wed. that I had any hours on my time card.
Its going to be a skinny month, but 'tis the season around these parts, I guess.
Thats all.
Will keep you all posted as news trickles in.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
My Day as a Rocker
The restrictions my current locale puts on my social/gym/shopping/etc life is usually made up for when I settle myself into my 30 tonne Volvo A30D. I Hear that diesel engine fire up and feel the sheer power and grit as I make my way in rocky, muddy, slippery, steep - you name it - terrain and it just makes me smile.
When I have to back up into a tight spot, or manoeuver myself under the bucket of a percariously placed hoe - and I nail it - its actually rewarding. So the cold days, the "i'm-sure-violating-some-health-code" outdoor bathrooms, the crap gym with the cables about to snap on the Universal, and the 12x8 room with the 12 inch tv that has no batteries for the remote, are made a little better when I toss my bag up then climb the stairs to my (heated!) seat a few feet above the rest of the world and start my day.
Waiting to be loaded. The line of trucks stretches all the way around that curve and into the pit.
Where we get loaded. See that safety berm to the right? Its very narrow and yields to a straight drop of about 30 feet. Very high probablility of an incident - and not just a 'slip, trip or fall', but a serious, possible injury incident. We have to use extreme caution using this roadway.
If you see that first hoe, (now this arrangement can change within a trip around the pit - which takes 5 minutes btw) we'll get loaded there, and keep straight. Thats easy. But when the hoe moves to the left, and we have drive or back in, making that left hand turn back onto the road is, sometimes, downright scary! This was SUCH a cold morning!!
My shadow. Aren't I cute?
Mmmmm... A balmy day
The John Deeres that nobody wants to drive .... We like our Volvos.
Getting our boxes 'scratched'. The load freezes and sticks to our boxes and every once in a while, we have to go to a hoe to get them scratched. So instead of using our radios to tell someone they need to get their box scratches, there are some pretty interesting hand gestures in attempts to enlighten the other drivers.
When I have to back up into a tight spot, or manoeuver myself under the bucket of a percariously placed hoe - and I nail it - its actually rewarding. So the cold days, the "i'm-sure-violating-some-health-code" outdoor bathrooms, the crap gym with the cables about to snap on the Universal, and the 12x8 room with the 12 inch tv that has no batteries for the remote, are made a little better when I toss my bag up then climb the stairs to my (heated!) seat a few feet above the rest of the world and start my day.
Waiting to be loaded. The line of trucks stretches all the way around that curve and into the pit.
Where we get loaded. See that safety berm to the right? Its very narrow and yields to a straight drop of about 30 feet. Very high probablility of an incident - and not just a 'slip, trip or fall', but a serious, possible injury incident. We have to use extreme caution using this roadway.
If you see that first hoe, (now this arrangement can change within a trip around the pit - which takes 5 minutes btw) we'll get loaded there, and keep straight. Thats easy. But when the hoe moves to the left, and we have drive or back in, making that left hand turn back onto the road is, sometimes, downright scary! This was SUCH a cold morning!!
My shadow. Aren't I cute?
Mmmmm... A balmy day
The John Deeres that nobody wants to drive .... We like our Volvos.
Getting our boxes 'scratched'. The load freezes and sticks to our boxes and every once in a while, we have to go to a hoe to get them scratched. So instead of using our radios to tell someone they need to get their box scratches, there are some pretty interesting hand gestures in attempts to enlighten the other drivers.
Livin' the Alberta Dream
So folks, here it is .... the bathrooms I have to use when working in Pit 3.
Its such a fun game to try and guess which door opens to the least gross facility.
Which door today will have the least amount of frozen pee on the seats.
I wonder which bathroom door will shut today?
Which stall will have toilet paper that hasn't gotten wet and is now frozen?
Hmmmm....
Einney Meanny Minney Mo .....
Ahhhh. Door # 3. Door doesn't shut, But its the cleanest.
(and I've devised a clever little toilet seat cover .... desperate times ... )
Yuppers! Thats my bathroom !
I've mentioned the state of our only choice of 'ladies rooms' ( I use the term lightly)
to the appropriate authority, and they've been cleaned since this photo.
Now, they are passable with caution.
I'm just living the Alberta dream folks, livin' the dream!
Cheers.
L.
Its such a fun game to try and guess which door opens to the least gross facility.
Which door today will have the least amount of frozen pee on the seats.
I wonder which bathroom door will shut today?
Which stall will have toilet paper that hasn't gotten wet and is now frozen?
Hmmmm....
Einney Meanny Minney Mo .....
Ahhhh. Door # 3. Door doesn't shut, But its the cleanest.
(and I've devised a clever little toilet seat cover .... desperate times ... )
Yuppers! Thats my bathroom !
I've mentioned the state of our only choice of 'ladies rooms' ( I use the term lightly)
to the appropriate authority, and they've been cleaned since this photo.
Now, they are passable with caution.
I'm just living the Alberta dream folks, livin' the dream!
Cheers.
L.
A Wee Visit to see the Wee Macdonalds
Too pretty ....
Trying to punch the camera
Looks like the love of oranges run in his blood ...
Such a good reader. Got "Reader of the Month" for Dec.
Boooo. All his curls are gone. Oh well. You can still look at his dimples.
XO
A Random or Two
A few donuts before breakfast at The Armview ....
What kind of tea would you like?
Strawberry and Vanilla, Foo'
(choices on Noliner Air flight from Hal to Firebag)
What kind of tea would you like?
Strawberry and Vanilla, Foo'
(choices on Noliner Air flight from Hal to Firebag)
Ted
You've heard me talk about my dear old landlord, Ted.
I went to see him when I was home last and realized I don't have a single picture of him.
So here he is.
Isn't he the cutest ever??
I Wish ....
.... Everyone could see the skies of Alberta.
When the sun finally comes up around 8:30, the sky explodes in bold, breathtaking colours.
Firey orange & yellows, laced with deep green give way to peaceful blues and "theres-no-crayon-this-colour" purples. Its almost like you don't know where to start looking, it is all so amazing.
I sit in awe as the sun rises higher and the sky turns its bright, beautiful periwinkle blue.
Then I start to delve into my mind, give my head a little shake, and realize the day alone in the truck is waaaaaaaaay too long to be thinking deeply. So I turn my radio up and sing along to whatever station is coming in and out as bump along my little trail dumping and loading, dumping and loading, imagining being debt free and living on a Belize beach for a year ..... (not really, but wouldn't that be groovy??)
I'd post a picture, but my camera does not do it justice. Instead of ruining the scene, I'll let you imagine it yourself.
Cheers!
When the sun finally comes up around 8:30, the sky explodes in bold, breathtaking colours.
Firey orange & yellows, laced with deep green give way to peaceful blues and "theres-no-crayon-this-colour" purples. Its almost like you don't know where to start looking, it is all so amazing.
I sit in awe as the sun rises higher and the sky turns its bright, beautiful periwinkle blue.
Then I start to delve into my mind, give my head a little shake, and realize the day alone in the truck is waaaaaaaaay too long to be thinking deeply. So I turn my radio up and sing along to whatever station is coming in and out as bump along my little trail dumping and loading, dumping and loading, imagining being debt free and living on a Belize beach for a year ..... (not really, but wouldn't that be groovy??)
I'd post a picture, but my camera does not do it justice. Instead of ruining the scene, I'll let you imagine it yourself.
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Good News, Bad News, Heresay and Cool News
What do you want first?
Lets just get straight to the point here with the bad news.
The bad news is: That contract for the 15 km road which would've given us months of work, (they were estimating 20 trucks day shift AND night shift)has been cancelled.
Big Boo,right?
Heresay is: I likely won't be laid off, IF theres no work here for me I'll go to another camp (still with my current employers) where the pay is more, but they don't fly you home, but will work around seat sales. AND they're going to start flights in April. At this site, alot of the employees live at Wapasu camp, which is like a luxury hotel where I kind of desperately want to live. Its got leather couches, two gyms, two cafeterias, two lounges with gas fire places (Tyler Mullendore lives there)and they jam every Tuesday night.
So the Good News is I'm here. Alot of people aren't coming back.
The Cool News - GET THIS! Since I love a good story, I'm not going to tell you right away - you have to listen first.
So, I'm on the plane in YHZ, randomly choose a seat where noone is sitting beside me. The guy starts chatting to me, which is really good because I was crytexting Adam. (crying while texting)And I oblige, he seems nice enough. But get real, do I really have the guts to be rude to someone ???? ANYWAY - we're chatting about nothing in particular and he mentions when he 'lived in Goose Bay'. And earlier we had discovered we were the same age (you know, we're both 27). So naturally I asked him if he knew Andrew, Gwen and the other Andrew.
HE LIVED NEXT DOOR TO THE SWANS !!!!!!! And knew Andy and his family.
Maybe thats not as amazing to you as it is to me.
Seriously, what are the chances ??
So we concluded that we must have rode bikes and played in the woods behind J street. Because I remember being there and collecting the neighbour kids to go bike riding.
He said "I've been to the Gospel Hall Church before".
Isn't that so cool ?
(chatty gus got on in Hamilton - so Goose Bay guy and I had a couple of hours of uninterupted conversation)
(the pictures? just because. I wish I bought that hat. And I didn't want to have a 'naked post'.)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Treadmobil ... Wrong on so many levels !
but Mo, I'm not going to say a woooooord ! There will be no comments from me regarding treadmills and you falling off them. No sir-e-bob. Not sayin' a thing!
Back at 'er
I'm back at Firebag after a long and tiring journey to get here.
We left Halifax at 4:30, stopped in Hamilton to refuel and pick up more passengers, then off to Winnipeg to get more campers.
It was in Hamilton where my lovely, spacious, easy-conversation, relaxed trip was brutally shattered by a 6'3 ... TALKER.
Within 5 minutes I knew he age, where he lived, his wifes name and age, her height and weight, daughters name, boyfriends name, where his boat is kept, how often he works out, how many years he's been working out, that he plays the drums and that he's a quote really good guy unquote.
My orignal seat mate and this new guy know each other.
So I squished in the middle and for the next 5 hours, had to listen to his crazy stories. Mind you, some of them were good. Really good in fact. He's led quite the colourful life.
But buddy, COME ON ...... I dont' need to know you and your best friend are born 10 days apart, like - how does that even apply to the situation ??
He is a really nice guy, I don't know if he was nervous and felt any silence had to be filled up, but by the end of it, I felt like punching him in the mouth.
We all slept from Winnipeg until we were descending into Firebag - but the instant we were all awake, seat belts firmly fastened, chairs in the upright position, bags and jackets stowed safely under the seats - he was at it again.
I was in absolute shock that someone could talk that much.
THEN we were stuck on the plane because the stairs were frozen - and HE KEPT TALKING.
I was almost frantic. By now it was 10:50 pm.
We got on our respective buses, got our luggage at the main building, got to camp, had to get our keys for our rooms ...
it was a laaaaaate night.
11:30 pm Alberta time. 2:30 am my time.
And after the amount of sleep I'd been getting being a bum for 27 days,
I was t-i-r-e-d !
5:00 came early
Went to the toolbox
and I don't have to work today.
Official reason: slow start. The first day back, they have to prep the trucks and pad sites.
That's okay. Gives me time to get my room straightend up and
wrap my mind around doing this for 19 days.
I am really struggling today. Apparently its the first-day-back blues.
I am feeling really overwhelmed. Its super lonely here.
But am not going to back down from this challenge ....
I swear I'm not ...
really ...
I'm going to stay ....
honest ...
We left Halifax at 4:30, stopped in Hamilton to refuel and pick up more passengers, then off to Winnipeg to get more campers.
It was in Hamilton where my lovely, spacious, easy-conversation, relaxed trip was brutally shattered by a 6'3 ... TALKER.
Within 5 minutes I knew he age, where he lived, his wifes name and age, her height and weight, daughters name, boyfriends name, where his boat is kept, how often he works out, how many years he's been working out, that he plays the drums and that he's a quote really good guy unquote.
My orignal seat mate and this new guy know each other.
So I squished in the middle and for the next 5 hours, had to listen to his crazy stories. Mind you, some of them were good. Really good in fact. He's led quite the colourful life.
But buddy, COME ON ...... I dont' need to know you and your best friend are born 10 days apart, like - how does that even apply to the situation ??
He is a really nice guy, I don't know if he was nervous and felt any silence had to be filled up, but by the end of it, I felt like punching him in the mouth.
We all slept from Winnipeg until we were descending into Firebag - but the instant we were all awake, seat belts firmly fastened, chairs in the upright position, bags and jackets stowed safely under the seats - he was at it again.
I was in absolute shock that someone could talk that much.
THEN we were stuck on the plane because the stairs were frozen - and HE KEPT TALKING.
I was almost frantic. By now it was 10:50 pm.
We got on our respective buses, got our luggage at the main building, got to camp, had to get our keys for our rooms ...
it was a laaaaaate night.
11:30 pm Alberta time. 2:30 am my time.
And after the amount of sleep I'd been getting being a bum for 27 days,
I was t-i-r-e-d !
5:00 came early
Went to the toolbox
and I don't have to work today.
Official reason: slow start. The first day back, they have to prep the trucks and pad sites.
That's okay. Gives me time to get my room straightend up and
wrap my mind around doing this for 19 days.
I am really struggling today. Apparently its the first-day-back blues.
I am feeling really overwhelmed. Its super lonely here.
But am not going to back down from this challenge ....
I swear I'm not ...
really ...
I'm going to stay ....
honest ...
Monday, January 5, 2009
I Don't Wanna
I'm leaving on a jet plane
in 3 hours
and I don't wanna.
I'm sure I'll be fine when I'm settled there
but for right now
I don't wanna go.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Blitzen Trapper - Furr
Loooooove this song.
It reminds me of a Cape Breton Band.
Knowing me, the song probably has some deeper, darker meaning, but I am so drawn to this music and his voice is incredible.
Enjoy.
Leanne
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Eyes Say it All
In an earlier post, I put up pictures of him in his mis-matched gloves.
This was the same time - He DID NOT want to go. While Mo was inside the store,
I was snapping pictures of him. He didn't mind me taking them, but he wasn't going out
of his way to pose for me.
I think these pics are precious - and those eyes,,, oh those eyes!!
love him
This was the same time - He DID NOT want to go. While Mo was inside the store,
I was snapping pictures of him. He didn't mind me taking them, but he wasn't going out
of his way to pose for me.
I think these pics are precious - and those eyes,,, oh those eyes!!
love him
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A New Year's Day Blizzard
Adam and I decided to go for hot chocolate at Starbucks instead of being cooped up all day in the house.
Bundled up (with wind blowing in our eyes obviously)
Loving it! I felt like a kid. Remember being out there bundled up in our one peice snowsuits with the scarf wrapped around and around your head? Big snow boots on? It was awesome.
Adam's front steps. We had to make our way up those stairs last night in open toe high heels ..... interesting.
The beautiful town clock
The bike lane has had busier days !
Hmmmmmm ..... Salted Caramel hot chocolate. I can't even tell you how amazing and suculent this was. It's like drinking caramel butter. Too good for words, yet so horrifically bad for you !
Home safe and sound after a random snowbank tackle. Not surprising ,,,,
Adams jeans frozen from mid-calf down.Lasagna Night at Maitland Street
Adam strikes again. His signature lasagna, made with sausage, ground beef, spinach, ricotta, cottage cheese, secret spices and love. 
However, this time, the idea came to fruition at 5pm. We had to go to the gym, get groceries, go to Adams and begin the process. We chopped and diced and shredded and sauteed. We boiled and tasted and added and tasted some more. (see the close up: bubbling, browned cheese, just waiting to be devoured)
We snacked on crackers and cheese and wine while we stood around as a quartet, discussing what we liked about it, what it needed, each taking more credit for our not-so-equal parts on the production than we deserved.
The three and a half hours it took to make (yes, we ate it at nearly midnight) was well worth it. 
Even picking out the noodles was worth it
A chef was born when Adam was living on his own and had to cook for himself. He has an amazing knack of finding the right mix of spices with sweet, for making up new recipes. No recipe books are used. Everything is completely orignal and no two dishes are ever the same. Each lasagna has its own taste.
We had lots of laughs, and finished off with sincere 'oooohs and ahhhhhs' and with huge compliments to the chef - who gave us all equal credit (to settle the score) for our participation ....
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