Teleconferencing

I signed up to watch a supplier put on a "Lunch and Learn", they are totally common and I've been to lots of them. The only catch is that the presentation was being made in the office in Vancouver, so I would be teleconferenced in. No worries, I can deal.

So the first bit of oddness was that I was the only one in the Victoria office attending. Great, so little me in the big boardroom all by myself. No worries, I can deal.

The next bit of oddness, I couldn't handle.

I walk into the boardroom with my lunch and see that the big screen is all set up. I sit down and get my lunch ready and the presentation begins. I look up at the screen and I see.......myself.*

Oh God.

Everyone else can likely see me too! Everyone else who works there who I haven't met or talked to yet.

And I'm eating chicken.

I already have issues eating while these guys do their presentations and I usually grab my free lunch and eat later. But eating while all these people could also be watching me on a big screen and I can see myself on a big screen......it wasn't happening.

Then halfway through the presentation the entire thing froze and disconnected. I just left.



* The screen was split three ways, one for each of the offices teleconferencing in. So I could see the presentation in Vancouver, the boardroom in the Kelowna office and the boardroom in Victoria with me in it. Eating chicken.

Stuff on my Ipod

The other day a new workmate was kind enough to share his music with me. I felt bad only taking a couple of Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd albums........everything else was just....well.....just not up my alley.

Here are a few things I'm listening to these days:
(Just remember I. Am. Not. A. Music. Critic.)

1. The xx
Yet another great recommendation from Rawbean. They have an interesting sound, kind of like The Submarines but a little darker.

2. Midnight Juggernauts
I'm so pleased and proud to say that I stumbled across these guys all by myself. (ie: with no recommendations from Rawbean!) They remind me of an electronic, slightly happier version of She Wants Revenge with Empire of the Sun mixed in. I don't know where I get that, I'm sure you will listen and think 'What is she TALKING about?"



3. Holy Fuck
I've been wanting to check these guys out forever. I haven't really had a chance to sit down and listen yet, but there seem to be a few really good songs on here. One of them for sure reminded me of Shout Out Out Out Out.


4. Faunts
A recommendation from IG, these guys deliver the best in the first song Feel. Love. Thinking. Of. After that, the best song is Alarmed/Lights, the only fault is that the song is too long!
Yup, that's all I've got.

Oh - one more story:
I'm again freaked out by the size of this city. While making plans with Dana she mentioned that they are good friends with one of my new work mates. Not just any work mate either, they are friends with the guy I'm working with the most.

What the hell?!

A Day in Photos (July 2, 2008)

Rawbean and I came up with this idea forever ago. We would choose a day - an average day and document it with photos. I chose a day over a year ago when I was still living in Vancouver and made a little book and sent it to her because I didn't have a blog then.

So I'm going to post that day and compare it with an average day here in Victoria which I'll post later when I get into a routine.

A Day in Photos July 2, 2008

Of course I have to have my Ipod for the walk to work in the morning.

The view on my way to work, over the Cambie Bridge.

One of the construction sites I pass on my way. This is the Skytrain station on the south side of the Cambie Bridge.

I've always wondered what this thing is...you can see it from the bridge.

My desk at work.

Some work I did today.

I like to hook up with friends after work for coffee. Today I met my buddy R for an iced coffee at Mink.

Today I took the bus home. Here is the inside.

And here is the outside, after I got off.

Here is my street on the way home.

After work I headed over to Rawbean's place for a quick visit.

On the way I mail a letter.

When I get home, I cook dinner.

I read for a while when I get into bed.

This was a fun, mental project. So for kicks I'm going to "challenge" a few people to do it too, NO PRESSURE.

Claire, Dana, Ben, and IG.

No seriously - there is no pressure to do this.

As If By Magic

There is a song on the La Roux album called As If by Magic. I listen to it all the time, in fact the entire album is amazing and if it's possible to put a permanent groove in an Ipod by over-listening to something, I've done it with this album.* The lyrics go like this:

And although you're the only home I know
As if by magic, thoughts of you are gone
And now I'm keeping my head in the clouds
And it's not so tragic, if I don't look down

I relate this song to the way I feel about leaving Vancouver, obviously. It really is the only home I know because I haven't been working in Victoria until now. When I got this job I honestly felt like Victoria reached out even more to me, and I'm starting to arrive in my new home.

Sometimes it is like magic and I don't think about Vancouver at all, and sometimes I still miss it like crazy.


*The best part of the entire album is 31 seconds into Fascination. I'm pretty sure Rawbean will be the only one who will bother to check this out and possibly even agree with me? heh heh....

Productive Days

So, today was my second day at the new job. Other than having to wait forever for a Revit re-install, it was really great: I high-fived a workmate when I helped him solve a problem, I talked about The IT Crowd with the IT guy, I bonded with a fellow soy milk drinker and I put Big Toe in his new home on my desk. (Nobody has noticed him yet.)

One of my work mates was commenting on how she doesn't have a window seat. Neither do I, but I certainly wasn't expecting one. I had a window seat for a few months though in Vancouver, here is the view. Yes, I took a picture.

VIFF

VIFF - awesome as usual.

We saw five films: The White Ribbon, Mid-August Lunch, Kimjonilia, Everyone Else and For a Son. My favourite by far was was Mid-August Lunch, we didn't get all the hype around White Ribbon and Everyone Else was okay, but seemed kind of pointless, although it had one of those endings that I love.....

Anyway by last night, I was exhausted. With all the running around seeing films and meeting friends, I was done. Our last movie (White Ribbon) was at 9:00 pm last night. We headed for a snack and looked up how long the movie was - 144 minutes. Really? That meant that when all was said and done, we were climbing into bed around 1:00 am.... targeting the 9:00 am ferry this morning. We made it but I crashed for over two hours when we finally got home this afternoon.

I also must comment on this: what have they done to Granville Street?! On Saturday we round the corner at Robson and Granville for our first movie and stopped dead in our tracks. We thought we had gone the wrong way. We stood there stunned for a minute, and realized what was wrong. They ripped out all the trees!! You can see all the way to the bridge and it's bizarre. I'm hoping that the orange barrel things mean they will be replacing them, but it was super sad to see.

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day. I felt so elated on the ferry, I actually annoyed Brad with my smiles and outpouring of happiness at returning to Victoria. My first battle will be sharing a bathroom with him, we haven't shared a bathroom since March 2008 and he has to shave in the morning.

One and a Half Days Left

This morning I got up and got right into studying Building Code. I was going through my binder, old assignments from the course I took and getting all flustered as is usual when consulting 'The Code'.

It was then that I realized, "What am I doing?! It's not as though they are going to TEST me on this stuff!" I likely won't even have to calculate unprotected openings, determine the construction type used on a project or calculate grade.

So I jumped out of bed and ate lunch while watching the last episode of The IT Crowd. Now I realize I only have less than a day and a half left of my "freedom" before I go back to work.

What to do?! Start my next knitting project? Jump back into bed with a big mug of coffee and my book? Sew something? I already spent too much time this morning on Google Street View in Vancouver. So, I glanced around the room and remembered my roots: Jane Austen. Man there is nothing better than curling up with some tea and a long Jane Austen story, whether it's a well-done movie or a book.

I have Sense and Sensibility that I have only watched part of. So I'm going to make a gigantic bowl of popcorn and drink tons of tea and watch the rest. Only 11 or so more hours left.....what would you fill your last hours with?

Some Randomness

I knit this toque for Brad. He picked out the yarn! The last toque I knit him was great and lasted a couple of seasons but the yarn he picked pilled quickly so he was wanting a new one.

Our Bad Room Mate has taken to this cardboard box we brought home from our Kamloops trip. No matter where the box is - he's in it. If we move from one room to another, we just pick up the box with him in it and transfer it to the other room.

I'm spending time this week refreshing my brain with the Building Code and Revit. I'm super comfy again with Revit but the code is never a comfortable thing. I'm going to test myself and make sure I know where everything is. I have an old code though and the new one is laid out differently. Ah, well.

On our way into Kamloops last weekend we were planning to stay the night at Brad's parents house (it's empty, they are traveling) and heat up some dinner that we had brought from home. Not very exciting.

When the ferry had almost reached the dock, I had a bright idea. I jumped up from my seat and said to Brad, "Ohmigod! We have the CAR. Let's drive into Vancouver and get some cheap sushi!!"

Now there is a luxury: driving on the ferry.

Shopping Spree

So since I've landed a new job (woo! hoo!) the next logical step was to update my wardrobe. Seriously people I haven't bought anything new for myself in one whole year. (The only exception was a summer dress and sweater with a gift card from IG.) I've also lost a lot of weight in the last year so I'm swimming in all my clothes.

So Brad and I headed to downtown Victoria to hunt down some good work clothes. I bought some seriously kick ass stuff including two new pairs of shoes. I can't wait to wear everything to my new job!

We also hit The Bay because they were having a sale. The Bay is the best, BEST place for lingerie shopping. I needed new bras so we headed upstairs. Now understand, I've never taken Brad lingerie shopping with me....not because we're prudes, it just hasn't happened.

First I informed him of how difficult it is to find my size.
(34D, and no I don't have fake boobs. God!)

Then unbeknownst to me, we split up. The next thing I hear is "Hey Jabba! I found your size - 34D!!" from about 20 feet away. Yeah.......thanks honey.....

After we found some possibilities, I head to the change room. Well, guess who follows me in there? As if he's giving up a chance to see me try on new bras!! The ladies were doing double takes when they saw him back there. It didn't phase him one bit....he had a one track mind.

Jabba's Going Back to Work

WOO! HOO!!

After 9 months I'm finally heading back to work. This morning I got a sweet job offer from a company I'm convinced is the perfect match for me. They are paying me well, and are really excited for me to start, which is another great sign. I even know what my first project is.

Because I'm uncomfortable doing a post without a photo, here is my old desk in Vancouver.

So, I start the day after we return from VIFF. I can't wait to get back into Revit, drawings, finishes and meet my new work mates!