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
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