Surprise, surprise... I've relocated yet again! I came to the realization that my minimum wage paying job I had in Fredericton couldn't keep me afloat, not even close. So prior to coming back to Newfoundland, I went home with the parents for about three weeks. And even three weeks was too much. Don't get me wrong, I do love my parents. But I think anyone who has been out on their own for a few years with the occasional visit for a week or two to their parents will agree, the novelty of being home wears off, fast. I was fine for a while, really.. sleeping past 5am, relaxing and such... then began the questions (mostly from my mother), as she is convinced herself ever since I settled on going to school for culinary arts (to be a chef) in the fall that I will be poor and maybe never get a decent job. Absolutely convinced. So along with this belief she has comes an absolutely insane bombardment of questions. Most center around if I think I'll ever make money at my chosen profession. Thankfully my mother has stopped asking about whether or not I have a boyfriend (honestly, no I don't take guys home to meet the parents, but when you live 4 or more hours away, it's a bit more of a bigger deal, and I'm not about to bring home every guy I go out with for a month or so, or less...), she's now moved on to my long term financial demise that I have apparently decided for myself.
So after saving some money, I set off for Newfoundland on a beautiful sunny day. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better two days of driving, especially across Newfoundland. It took about 8.5 hours to drive across and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Considering it was the end of April, this was especially fortunate, as anyone who is from any part of Newfoundland (or even any part of Atlantic Canada) will tell you. 8.5 hours was a bit much in one day with just me, running on about 4 or 5 hours of sleep I got on the ferry ride across.. on a couch in the lounge, no less. Which reminds me, whoever designed the MV Atlantic Vision clearly had no concept who would be crossing on this ferry. No idea at all. Considering this ferry links North Sydney, NS to Newfoundland (either through Port aux Basques or Argentia) you can guess that there will be two types of regular customers: truck drivers and vacationers (either going to Newfoundland most likely from somewhere in Atlantic Canada or Newfoundlanders going on vacation, likely somewhere in Atlantic Canada). That being said anyone who has met either of these two groups would know all they need on a ferry is coffee/tea, some cheap meals, somewhere to relax and maybe even grab a snooze. Remember the scene in Titanic when they first get on the boat and see all of the fancy things it has to offer? Same thing. I mean this ferry had been running for abotu two weeks by the time I travelled on it... the royal blue carpet on the stairs was still plush and spotlessly clean. Everything on the walls consisted of beautiful oak, glass, and chrome finishes. The floor, when it wasn't this beautiful carpet that made you feel like you should take off your shoes, was this marvelous mix of black and white granite (or what appear to even be marble, in places). There were two fancy dining rooms open only at particular hours, which was very inconvenient for those of us crossing at 11:30pm, as only one restaurant opened during our cross and it was at 6:30am, about a half hour before we docked. The one and only lounge had multiple signs indicating there was to be no sleeping (which was promptly ignored by myself and about 25 others) with it's magnificent and carefully planned lighting, round tables surrounded by retro yet in style arm chairs. The rest of the ferry consisted mostly of rooms, from what I heard, were extremely small (which yes I realize all ferries have small cabins, but these were people who had travelled on the other two ferries that make the same crossing). But at the top of the list which confirmed that they had no idea who their patrons would be, was the absolutely overpriced items in the "snack bar". A small bottle of water (not Aquafina or Dasani sized, smaller) was $2.15 (closer to $3 with taxes & deposit), and they had a small selection of sodas, sandwiches, and even some chocolate. A breakfast sandwich (you know, the kind like you get at McDonald's) was $5.75! A hot dog, the same! Needless to say, it's a bit much for a bunch of Newfoundlanders. I don't even want to think how much a beer would cost on that ferry!
Well considering the late hour and the excessive amount of rambling I've managed to do, I will leave this entry at this.
184. (My sister has a scale! Oh, I'll have to make another post on my situation here on the rock!)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
a Silly superstition orrrr.. Not?
So prior to today I never really believed in the superstition that is Friday the 13th. This being the second this year and it being only March, perhaps this has strengthened the occurrences that happen on this day.
It all started this morning, at about 4:57am. For some reason, my alarm clock decided to not go off. Luckily for me I'm rather used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning to go to work, so I shoot up in bed at 4:57 and run around like a mad woman to get to work (I'm supposed to be there at 5am, luckily, I open). So I manage to get out the door at 5:01am, which I think it pretty impressive. I get in my car which is freeeeeeezing because of the frigid temperature and complete lack of pre-heating. So I shiver and chatter my teeth and drive off. I take the exit to get to work my St. Mary's & Two Nations Crossing and go around the bend to not only almost hit one deer, but two. Great! I've never even seen a deer on that road much less come close to hitting two. I swear on this cursed day and keep driving. I get to work and rush around trying to make up for the 10 minutes that I'm late. Fine. All is going well at work, until... I take the french bread out of the oven and proceed to bring it to the cooling rack. Somehow, while pushing the bread off the pan & onto the cooling rack, I burn the inside of my upper arm. I now have a beautiful burn line on one of the most sensitive spots on a person's body. Great. The rest of my work day goes off just dandy, seriously. That is until I leave work. I'm walking out to my car and what do I do? Slip and almost fall on my butt, yet in the process of catching myself I roll my ankle. Ouch.
Thankfully since then the remainder of my day has gone completely normal, the fact that all I've done since is come home, nap, and clean up has probably helped that, haha. I hope that everyone else's Friday the 13th goes better than mine :)
It all started this morning, at about 4:57am. For some reason, my alarm clock decided to not go off. Luckily for me I'm rather used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning to go to work, so I shoot up in bed at 4:57 and run around like a mad woman to get to work (I'm supposed to be there at 5am, luckily, I open). So I manage to get out the door at 5:01am, which I think it pretty impressive. I get in my car which is freeeeeeezing because of the frigid temperature and complete lack of pre-heating. So I shiver and chatter my teeth and drive off. I take the exit to get to work my St. Mary's & Two Nations Crossing and go around the bend to not only almost hit one deer, but two. Great! I've never even seen a deer on that road much less come close to hitting two. I swear on this cursed day and keep driving. I get to work and rush around trying to make up for the 10 minutes that I'm late. Fine. All is going well at work, until... I take the french bread out of the oven and proceed to bring it to the cooling rack. Somehow, while pushing the bread off the pan & onto the cooling rack, I burn the inside of my upper arm. I now have a beautiful burn line on one of the most sensitive spots on a person's body. Great. The rest of my work day goes off just dandy, seriously. That is until I leave work. I'm walking out to my car and what do I do? Slip and almost fall on my butt, yet in the process of catching myself I roll my ankle. Ouch.
Thankfully since then the remainder of my day has gone completely normal, the fact that all I've done since is come home, nap, and clean up has probably helped that, haha. I hope that everyone else's Friday the 13th goes better than mine :)
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
confessions of a Gas Station Worker
Well I've been at my job now for about a month and a half.. and though it hasn't been long, I have learned many things thus far. I'm now the full time baker instead of just doing it once a week or so, because of.. well, we'll say financial problems! Hmm..
Ok so I'll post a list of probably unknown facts to the general public, some may apply to you.. but these must be said. All in good fun, of course!
#1 - Despite the fact that I work at a gas station, this does not make me God's gift to the highways and other such related side roads. In addition, when I say "I'm not sure I'm not from around here, sorry." I'd appreciate you not act totally astonished.. I know amazing they hired me, right? Haha..
#2 - A coffee card will not kill you, contrary to a rising belief. It's simple, you buy a coffee, you get a stamp.. after six stamps, you get a free coffee! Shocking! We're trying to give you free coffee..
#3 - The aisles in the store are labeled, for a reason. So if you're looking for gas line antifreeze (a popular item lately).. chances are, it's in the aisle with the sign "automotive", just a hunch.
#4 - When we tell you about a special it's because it's a deal, so when (for example) we say "you can get the second for (insert price)" or "those are two for (insert dollar amount here)" it's because it's less than the usual price.. the latter is especially annoying when you ask "well, how much is one?" you can guarantee it's lower to buy two at the same time.
#5 - The term "fresh" is probably not the definition you'd think. It more so means that we baked it, probably rather recently (maybe even that day) but it's origin prior to baking may not be what you would call fresh. The likely scenario is that it was taken out of a box in the freezer at some point. It's still delicious, don't confuse the two terms :)
#6 - Much like point #1, I also know nothing about cars, trucks, snowmobiles, or any type of engine for that matter. Therefore, asking me questions like "what oil would you put in a ski-doo?" will get you no where. Again, I know, amazing they hired me!
#7 - Don't complain about the price of our groceries. If you want them cheaper, go to a grocery store. Of course it's going to be more expensive at a gas station, you are not only paying for the item but the convenience of being able to purchase it much later (or earlier) hour than at a grocery store.
#8 - I understand you want to get rid of your change, but be reasonable about it. Counting out two dollars in nickels is ridiculous just to keep from parting with your five dollar bill, take it home & roll it.. and then we'll talk. If it's rolled up all ready, best kind! But standing there counting nickels, dimes, pennies or whatever.. is especially annoying to those behind you, more so when there's a big line and you take up five minutes trying to count out exact change in very small coins.
#9 - There's a sign next to where the bananas are stacked up and in some cases, hung up.. guess what it says? How much they are a pound! :) And really, the price is at least twenty cents cheaper a pound than the grocery store, so although the price of bananas has gone up over the years, you are still getting them cheap in comparison!
#10 - You'd be surprised by the items that we carry.. so just ask, because really, you never know. And chances are we have it. But you won't know unless you ask, mostly because a lot of the items you'd never think to find at a gas station (toothbrushes, razors, various chapsticks, batteries, etc...) are behind the counter.
Ok so that's my list of things you probably didn't know (unless you work at a gas station yourself) until this evening!
This list is simply meant to help us all, haha.. :)
Other than work, I haven't been doing much. Being the full time baker requires me to work at 5am pretty much every day, well.. except on the weekends, so I'm left tired when I'm not working, and usually end up napping when I get home in the afternoon. Exciting life I lead, I know.
Oh, and I still haven't invested in a scale, so I have no idea what my weight is so I can't keep track on this like I thought I would.. well not yet, anyways!
Ok so I'll post a list of probably unknown facts to the general public, some may apply to you.. but these must be said. All in good fun, of course!
#1 - Despite the fact that I work at a gas station, this does not make me God's gift to the highways and other such related side roads. In addition, when I say "I'm not sure I'm not from around here, sorry." I'd appreciate you not act totally astonished.. I know amazing they hired me, right? Haha..
#2 - A coffee card will not kill you, contrary to a rising belief. It's simple, you buy a coffee, you get a stamp.. after six stamps, you get a free coffee! Shocking! We're trying to give you free coffee..
#3 - The aisles in the store are labeled, for a reason. So if you're looking for gas line antifreeze (a popular item lately).. chances are, it's in the aisle with the sign "automotive", just a hunch.
#4 - When we tell you about a special it's because it's a deal, so when (for example) we say "you can get the second for (insert price)" or "those are two for (insert dollar amount here)" it's because it's less than the usual price.. the latter is especially annoying when you ask "well, how much is one?" you can guarantee it's lower to buy two at the same time.
#5 - The term "fresh" is probably not the definition you'd think. It more so means that we baked it, probably rather recently (maybe even that day) but it's origin prior to baking may not be what you would call fresh. The likely scenario is that it was taken out of a box in the freezer at some point. It's still delicious, don't confuse the two terms :)
#6 - Much like point #1, I also know nothing about cars, trucks, snowmobiles, or any type of engine for that matter. Therefore, asking me questions like "what oil would you put in a ski-doo?" will get you no where. Again, I know, amazing they hired me!
#7 - Don't complain about the price of our groceries. If you want them cheaper, go to a grocery store. Of course it's going to be more expensive at a gas station, you are not only paying for the item but the convenience of being able to purchase it much later (or earlier) hour than at a grocery store.
#8 - I understand you want to get rid of your change, but be reasonable about it. Counting out two dollars in nickels is ridiculous just to keep from parting with your five dollar bill, take it home & roll it.. and then we'll talk. If it's rolled up all ready, best kind! But standing there counting nickels, dimes, pennies or whatever.. is especially annoying to those behind you, more so when there's a big line and you take up five minutes trying to count out exact change in very small coins.
#9 - There's a sign next to where the bananas are stacked up and in some cases, hung up.. guess what it says? How much they are a pound! :) And really, the price is at least twenty cents cheaper a pound than the grocery store, so although the price of bananas has gone up over the years, you are still getting them cheap in comparison!
#10 - You'd be surprised by the items that we carry.. so just ask, because really, you never know. And chances are we have it. But you won't know unless you ask, mostly because a lot of the items you'd never think to find at a gas station (toothbrushes, razors, various chapsticks, batteries, etc...) are behind the counter.
Ok so that's my list of things you probably didn't know (unless you work at a gas station yourself) until this evening!
This list is simply meant to help us all, haha.. :)
Other than work, I haven't been doing much. Being the full time baker requires me to work at 5am pretty much every day, well.. except on the weekends, so I'm left tired when I'm not working, and usually end up napping when I get home in the afternoon. Exciting life I lead, I know.
Oh, and I still haven't invested in a scale, so I have no idea what my weight is so I can't keep track on this like I thought I would.. well not yet, anyways!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What to do instead of sleep.. :)
Well I realized, via Colleen.. that I hadn't posted on here in a while, oops! It may be in part due to my move.. and then subsequent new job that although I tend to enjoy it, doesn't pay nearly what I need it to to cover my bills and such living expenses. Ahh well.. I should really be sleeping considering 5am comes early and starting at 6am I have to work a 9-hour shift that involves no sitting whatsoever. Anyways, enough about my job and my lack of money, one can only dwell on that so much in one day, and even though it's just past midnight, I've had my fill!
Aside from financial woes, I can honestly say I greatly enjoy being back in Fredericton with everyone. I actually leave my apartment unlike in St. John's, which is a nice change. At the same time, I wonder.. should I have left St. John's? I had a job that paid me almost double what I get paid now. But alas, I said that was enough of that subject! Money isn't everything, and it certainly doesn't buy happiness! Plus, I'm going to St. John's for a 9-day visit starting February 26th, so that will be nice to see my sister & her boyfriend, and then my friends from work. I'm not sure I can get that much time off work, but if I have to choose..
So I'm partially wondering how much snow we're going to actually get, they always seem to be way off in the predictions for Fredericton, way under, in fact. We'll see how much I have to dig out my car at 5:30am, that's always a fun way to start your day! Haha seriously, mother earth.. Fredericton has enough snow! It has to be some sort of record.. I can only imagine how high the river will get this year! Should be interesting, for sure!
Well because I have nothing really to report nor have the energy to truly rant about anything at the moment, I suppose I will leave it at this. As well, I'll leave a note for myself to actually start keeping up on this blog. I'll likely use it to keep track of my weight loss challenge with a few girl friends, so if you see a random number at the bottom of a post, it's my weight. I always lose that kind of paper work somehow, so perhaps putting it on a blog will keep track of it all better!
Aside from financial woes, I can honestly say I greatly enjoy being back in Fredericton with everyone. I actually leave my apartment unlike in St. John's, which is a nice change. At the same time, I wonder.. should I have left St. John's? I had a job that paid me almost double what I get paid now. But alas, I said that was enough of that subject! Money isn't everything, and it certainly doesn't buy happiness! Plus, I'm going to St. John's for a 9-day visit starting February 26th, so that will be nice to see my sister & her boyfriend, and then my friends from work. I'm not sure I can get that much time off work, but if I have to choose..
So I'm partially wondering how much snow we're going to actually get, they always seem to be way off in the predictions for Fredericton, way under, in fact. We'll see how much I have to dig out my car at 5:30am, that's always a fun way to start your day! Haha seriously, mother earth.. Fredericton has enough snow! It has to be some sort of record.. I can only imagine how high the river will get this year! Should be interesting, for sure!
Well because I have nothing really to report nor have the energy to truly rant about anything at the moment, I suppose I will leave it at this. As well, I'll leave a note for myself to actually start keeping up on this blog. I'll likely use it to keep track of my weight loss challenge with a few girl friends, so if you see a random number at the bottom of a post, it's my weight. I always lose that kind of paper work somehow, so perhaps putting it on a blog will keep track of it all better!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
South Park = Satan
Ok so I realized today that I have made just the one post since creating this blog.. oops! Apparently time passes quickly when you are free of work & enjoying the holidays for what they really are - an excuse to be lazy :)
Anyways, I suppose this post should have some purpose other than my apparent misconception of time these days. I came to the discovery tonight that www.gingerkids.org is no longer a site after a friend jokingly said a ginger was out to get them. This subsequently caused me to remember the yahoo news video about the "national kick a ginger day" that caused such outrage, because apparently, South Park is to blame for such an occurrence. Quite frankly, if it wasn't making fun of ginger kids, it would always be something. South Park isn't to blame, I'm sure the bullies would've still picked on kids that day, but this national day simply gave them an excuse and a scape goat. Seriously, kids will be kids, kids will pick on other kids.. South Park didn't change this or make this happen.
I realize this national day has long since passed, but regardless, that had to be said.
I hope the holidays has treated everyone well, I'm preparing for yet another move & quite frankly, dreading it. Not because I don't want to move, but the act of packing, lifting, moving, and unpacking is the dreadful aspect of it all. I'd appreciate it greatly if some magical moving fairies appeared in the next few days, so if anyone knows of any.. I'd be eternally grateful!
Anyways, I suppose this post should have some purpose other than my apparent misconception of time these days. I came to the discovery tonight that www.gingerkids.org is no longer a site after a friend jokingly said a ginger was out to get them. This subsequently caused me to remember the yahoo news video about the "national kick a ginger day" that caused such outrage, because apparently, South Park is to blame for such an occurrence. Quite frankly, if it wasn't making fun of ginger kids, it would always be something. South Park isn't to blame, I'm sure the bullies would've still picked on kids that day, but this national day simply gave them an excuse and a scape goat. Seriously, kids will be kids, kids will pick on other kids.. South Park didn't change this or make this happen.
I realize this national day has long since passed, but regardless, that had to be said.
I hope the holidays has treated everyone well, I'm preparing for yet another move & quite frankly, dreading it. Not because I don't want to move, but the act of packing, lifting, moving, and unpacking is the dreadful aspect of it all. I'd appreciate it greatly if some magical moving fairies appeared in the next few days, so if anyone knows of any.. I'd be eternally grateful!
Monday, December 1, 2008
'Tis the season
In keeping with the holiday season I figured my first post should be about the dreaded holiday shopping. This is on my mind mostly because tomorrow I plan to attempt to make my way into the stores and finish my shopping. I typically try to finish before the month of December as I'm sure everyone is aware of the craziness we call holiday shopping, considering people die during big holiday sales through various means, a concept I still find hard to understand.
Anyways, I'm hoping to avoid pushy old ladies and screaming children by starting my shopping at 9am, bright and early. I may even get a shopping cart by going at such an early hour, but I don't want to jinx anything.
I think what is most irritating about holiday shopping isn't the lack of parking spaces in cold and miserable weather, or having to carry a ridiculous amount of things in my arms. What bothers me the most (and I'm sure a fair number of people) is realizing how unbelievably inconsiderate people can be considering this time of year is supposd to be full of joy and giving. Just because you're trying to continue spoiling that child (or children) in your life does not mean you can do any of the following:
1. Cut me off using the cart you managed to somehow get when I'm walking as fast as the person in front of me, I'm not Jesus nor a ghost, I can't walk through solid objects.
2. Blatantly obstruct the aisle, do you not see people lined up way back like a 10-car pile up on the highway? Just because you want to read that magazine without paying for it or you see a great sale but are still debating the purchase does not mean you can stop and block the aisle. This is even more aggrivating if you then proceed to become angry because people are saying "excuse me" and are trying to squeeze by.
3. Make a snarky remark about the supposed slow cashier (especially if it's loud enough for the cashier to hear). Have you ever done the job at this time of year? No? Then shut up, I'm sure the cashier is not intentionally scanning items slowly, despite what you may think.
4. Put all of your items on the moving belt and then leave your cart as if you never had anything to do with it. At the very least push it to the end of the lane so an employee can push it the extra ten feet to the designated spot in the store that you were too lazy to do yourself, which is typically on your way out anyways.
That's all I can think of for now, I'm sure others can think of many more things of annoyance. I may have more after tomorrow, haha!
I swear I'm not as bitter as I may seem, but certain things (such as inconsiderate people) make me want to pull out my hair, and I love my hair.
Anyways, I'm hoping to avoid pushy old ladies and screaming children by starting my shopping at 9am, bright and early. I may even get a shopping cart by going at such an early hour, but I don't want to jinx anything.
I think what is most irritating about holiday shopping isn't the lack of parking spaces in cold and miserable weather, or having to carry a ridiculous amount of things in my arms. What bothers me the most (and I'm sure a fair number of people) is realizing how unbelievably inconsiderate people can be considering this time of year is supposd to be full of joy and giving. Just because you're trying to continue spoiling that child (or children) in your life does not mean you can do any of the following:
1. Cut me off using the cart you managed to somehow get when I'm walking as fast as the person in front of me, I'm not Jesus nor a ghost, I can't walk through solid objects.
2. Blatantly obstruct the aisle, do you not see people lined up way back like a 10-car pile up on the highway? Just because you want to read that magazine without paying for it or you see a great sale but are still debating the purchase does not mean you can stop and block the aisle. This is even more aggrivating if you then proceed to become angry because people are saying "excuse me" and are trying to squeeze by.
3. Make a snarky remark about the supposed slow cashier (especially if it's loud enough for the cashier to hear). Have you ever done the job at this time of year? No? Then shut up, I'm sure the cashier is not intentionally scanning items slowly, despite what you may think.
4. Put all of your items on the moving belt and then leave your cart as if you never had anything to do with it. At the very least push it to the end of the lane so an employee can push it the extra ten feet to the designated spot in the store that you were too lazy to do yourself, which is typically on your way out anyways.
That's all I can think of for now, I'm sure others can think of many more things of annoyance. I may have more after tomorrow, haha!
I swear I'm not as bitter as I may seem, but certain things (such as inconsiderate people) make me want to pull out my hair, and I love my hair.
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