Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Helloooooo, I'm back!

June 22, 2005

It seems like forever since I’ve updated. Oh wait a minute, that’s because it has been.

I’m sure that the few people that used to check in on a regular basis have given up me and I don’t blame you.

I have been very busy lately and unfortunately have not had the time or the energy to devote to my blog.

But I’m taking a minute for a sketch of what has been happening.

I’m sure you all remember the Supervisor competition that I applied on a long time ago. I finally received the outcome around the end of May. Out of the 500 initial applicants there were two of us that qualified and ended up on the list for the three locations I had applied for. I’m number two.

I was very surprised and happy with the results. Considering that there are many positions available, there is a good possibility that I will end up with a permanent job at this level from this competition. I almost hate to say that because I’m afraid of jinxing it. The eligibility list is good for one year and can be extended for another if they want. In this case, it won’t be because there are two few on the list, so there would not be any point.

The appeal period was up on June 14th and of course, the competition has been appealed. This means that they cannot offer a permanent position until after the appeal process is complete. There was no indication of how long this will take.

That sums up work except that since I’ve been working as a Supervisor, I have been busier than ever before and I’m finding it very difficult to go home on time. I think that will ease as I become more comfortable with the new position.

I decided to sign up for a course to assist myself with my new job, and I took a 4 week (Saturday only) course on Human Relations. It was through Sheridan College and was part of the Ontario Management Development Program. You can obtain a certificate with either 8 or 12 credits, depending on the program you decide to take.

I ended up with 100% on my first one. Very happy with those results too. It was a very informative course and I came away with confidence that I already do some things well and there are other areas that I can become more proficient. I met some new people and that was fun as well.

Another exciting thing that happened was that I had an international visitor. That was a real surprise. I received an email from Em2 telling me that he was coming to Canada and would be in Toronto. He wondered if I was interested in meeting him and of course I was.

He had made plans for his first weekend in Canada so I decided to take a vacation day on Monday June 6th and use that time to show Em2 a little bit of my world. I took him to see my old stomping grounds, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach. We had a great time. It was so nice to meet him face to face and share a part of Ontario that is very close to my heart.

Here are some pictures that I took during that day. Click on the thumbnail to see full size picture. View from the top of Blue Mountain, near Scenic Caves. This used to be a "free" lookout point, but Blue Mountain has put barriers and a parking lot with signs advising that the tickets are needed to use the trails. All in the name of progress. We decided to risk prosecution and brazenly walked along their trail to the best spot for picture taking. Luckily nobody was arrested. :o)













Wasaga Beach. The worlds longest freshwater beach!











Dinner at The Astoria, Danforth Ave, Toronto Ontario.

To be continued soon....