Instant Rage

I was woken up by Security this morning somewhere around 0430.  Seems the Kitchen computers had gone down and they needed someone to ‘fix’ the problem.  By the time I walked/stomped into the kitchen the problem had miraculously fixed itself and I was no longer needed.  Now the thing with this situation is for some reason, I don’t know why, but when I’m awakened before 0500, for any reason, I wake up in a serious rage.  I can’t think rationally, the only thing going through my mind is how much I F-ing hate whatever reason I’m awake.  I did of course try and go back to sleep when I’d walked back to my room… but, well you know the problems I’ve been having with that.  It could be a very scary day.

Sleepless at the Lodge

This whole not sleeping thing that I’ve got going on is really getting old… as am I because of the lack of sleep.  I think it maybe because I take my vitamins to late and they’re energizing me when I shouldn’t be.  Argh, it’s terribly frustrating either way, during the day I’m exhausted and at night I can’t sleep.

I'm FREE!

Celebrate good times, c’mon!  Last night I made the final payment on my line of credit with the Royal Bank!  I’m completely free of all debt at the moment (aside from my car loan) and now it’s time to start saving!  Whoooo hooooo!

People Behaving Badly!

Last night I ended up going back to the office after a thoroughly exhausting day to write up two incident reports.  I had to deal with two drunks at check in tonight and one of them got very upset and verbally abusive.  The worst part of it was that I had Security there with me and he got scared and left!  I’m so glad we have such a top notch security detail.  The other one was for one of our employees who has been a constant thorn in my side.  I’ve been trying to help get rid of him for a long time but it just doesn’t seem to happen.  So on top of all the insanity that is work right now I had those things to deal with.

What can I say a month of bad days here is still better than six months of good days at HBC!  

Buried Alive!

I looked at my desk today for the first time and it’s completely COVERED with work.  I am so buried it’s not even funny.  Everyone is stressed to the max, as usual they’re all thrilled to see me, even the GM came and was shaking my shoulder she was so happy to see me today!  Yeah, as usual it’s going to be an interesting ride.

Back

I’m back at camp!  I’m really pretty happy to be back at camp.  Always to much drama at home.  A few days with the family’s great but enough is enough.  So I’m back and I’m tired.  I’m going to bed so I’ll be ready to rock and roll tomorrow.

No Beach!

Well I accomplished most of what I wanted to today but I didn’t make it to the beach.  I’m seriously thinking about going out tonight still because it’s so warm.  In fact driving home from Kelowna an hour ago it was still so warm that I left the A/C on in the car.  I love Okanagan Summers!

It's HOT!

Have I mentioned the insane temperatures this past week?  It’s been incredibly hot.  Well over 30 degrees for days now.  When we were at the coast I was having a tough time with it because of the humidity.  Every time I go to the coast my skin goes to hell and I break out for a few days.

I’m spending my last day of freedom doing some running around, saw Grandma and I’m going to Kelowna in an hour or so to hang out with Janet.  I’m also going to stop and have a quick visit with Lisa… we’ll see how that one goes, I’m pretty curious to hear about how much things have “changed” for her.  Considering she doesn’t drink or eat pork anymore I’m wondering how much influence her new Muslim boyfriend is having on her.  

I am also hoping to get to the lake tonight to have at least one swim this year.

Exhausted

The weekend is finally over and I’m absolutely, completely, exhausted.  Was it worth it?  Without a doubt!  I’ll start with the wedding.  Aside from being the most amazingly beautiful wedding I’ve ever seen the wedding was utterly incredible.  Nothing and I mean nothing went wrong or sideways the entire day… Well aside from the wedding party’s limo dying on them!  

True to form Marcie was the most incredibly beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.  Just like a movie as she walked into the church the sun was streaming through the doors behind her obliterating her and her father’s faces.  As they made there way down the aisle they slowly took shape and your breath was taken away.  The ceremony, like all other wedding ceremonies, was pretty dull and the church was insanely hot but absolutely gorgeous.

The reception was completely unbelievable.  Just like a movie wedding everything was thought of.  The drinks were endless, the appetizers more than plentiful and the food was exceptional.  Perhaps it was because of the wine we’d all been drinking but when the salad portion of the buffet was put out none of us realized it was the salad (even though there were menu cards on all of the tables) so we loaded up.  It was after the Head Waiter came over to the table to tell us we could go for the second course did we realize our mistake.  We loaded up again and continued on our merry way!  The dessert buffet and the open bar were definite hits.

The dance was an absolute blast and the picture of the Bride double fisting while holding her arms over her head and grooving on the dance floor is definitely going to be a treasured family picture for many years to come.

Without a doubt the wedding was one of the highlights of the year for me and I’m sure that it’s going to be the bar that all future weddings are going to be measured by.

Last night we went to Cirque Du Solie – Verekai which was possibly the most phenomenal event I have EVER seen!  The experience almost defies words so I’m not even going to try and explain it.  There were two aerial acts that absolutely blew my mind and the precision and skill the performers displayed made the event worth far more than the $95 ticket.

Now that I’m back home I’m going to try and relax a bit and catch my breath before I go back to work in a few days.  Tonight one of my friends is coming over and we’re going to watch a movie.  Tomorrow I’d really love to spend some time at the lake but with the weather in the 30’s I think I’ll probably wait until the evening before I go anywhere.  

As is typical of any major event weekend I’m really struggling right now with keeping my emotions in check.  The let down after this kind of thing is always really hard to take.  Such an amazing weekend is always fantastic but seems to come with a price.

It's Wedding Day!

It’s finally the big wedding day!  Last night Sister and PD crashed my hotel room so we went out for dinner and then got some drinks and brought them back to the room.  It turns out that Sister works with Marcie’s cousin in Vernon and the whole family is staying in our hotel.  Well after a series of text messages back and forth I ended up with 10 people drinking in my hotel room.  So it was a much later night than originally planned.

Well I’m off to pick up MC!  Will update about the actual events soon.

F-Off!

Damn am I CRANKY!  I’m having such a hard time hiding my irritation with people today that when I was helping at the front window today my co-worker told me to “Go sit at your desk, I need to protect these people from you today!”  So I happily (well as happily as I can muster) walked back to my desk in the corner and started working on some things.  Even my hour work out at the gym didn’t help.  Usually by the time I’ve left the gym I’m in a great mood.  Well today I didn’t really want to go there and even now that I’m done I’m tired.  I think I’m overtired, which hopefully means that I’ll be able to fall asleep quickly tonight.  One more sleep and it’ll be all over.

How Drunk Was I?

One of my co-workers and I went out with two friends of ours from another company last night.  We went to Moxie’s in Fort Mack and got absolutely smashed!  The final drink tally for three of us was 17 Martini’s (we were trying to get through the whole list but our DD cut us off) and 7 double rye and cokes.  

The pictures of the ride home are PRICELESS!  We had the absolute Best time.  It’s great when you get to blow off some steam.  I had to be up for a 0500 check in this morning and when my co-worker walked in still drunk I sent her back to her room to sleep for a while.  All in all it was a fantastic experience and we all had lots of fun!

The below pic is JG wearing the painters coveralls (we found 'em in the truck so of course everyone had to have a picture wearing them) hanging out the window of the truck. AWESOME!

Friday Night Freedom

It’s Friday night and I’m exhausted.  Completely exhausted, why am I still up?  Good question.  Only four more days and I’m out of here!

Things are really starting to calm down around here a lot.  The new GM seems to have realized that the people she’s got left are good people and she’s in a much better mood towards us.  I’m keeping busy, but it’s a good busy.  The GM seems to believe in giving people a job and trusting that they are going to do it.  That means she leaves me alone and that makes me happy.  I hate it when people hover over people they’ve delegated jobs to.  Come to think of it I have an astonishing amount of freedom up here.  That’s likely why I actually enjoy work so much.

Life's worth laughing at.

Today was a good day.  Even though it started off fucking terribly I chose to have a good day and that made all the difference.  The girls at the Airline were really funny this morning actually.  My MSN screen name was something like “FUCK OFF YOU GOD DAMNED MORONS” and they were immediately popping up trying to make me laugh and smile.  Of course they succeeded and by the time I got back from the gym I was in a stellar mood.  N is back in the office from her turnaround (the older lady) and I’m SO glad to see her.  She always makes life so much more interesting.  She entertained us with a few stories tonight and then my Buddy from one of the other companies and I went to the bar and had a couple drinks.  Just sat around and laughed at the insanity around us.  By the time one of the female coordinators stumbled over to our table, absolutely smashed, I decided it was time to go.

Life’s a blast at camp!  You just can’t make it though a full day without laughing your ass off at something.

Don't let them know you can handle more!

Words to live by “Never let anyone know that your job is less than you can handle”; if you don’t heed these words then what has happened to me, will likely happen to you.  I was called into the GM’s office today and now I’m going to be learning parts of Accounts Receivable on top of my people moving responsibilities.  I’m still not really sure how I feel about this because Accounting and numbers have never been a strong point of mine.  I am looking forward to the challenge though, after all I am up here foremost to get experience.

Update

Well I didn’t get to the movie because the line was four blocks long.  I did get a large Pizza Hut pizza though!  It was fantastic.

My Dad always claims that I always say there isn’t really much going on up here… and then I talk about all the things that are going on forever.  So with that in mind I have very little to update at the moment.  I’m sitting here watching TV because it just feels like a TV night.

As we’re losing two of our friends from the office on Thursday I decided that we should have a little good bye get together.  I ordered the cake and am getting the driver to pick up some supplies in town.  Come to think of it that’s something new… I’m in charge of ground transportation for the camp now as well as air travel.  I’m actually pretty happy about this as it’ll add to the experience I’m getting here.

Funked...

I’ve been feeling somewhat out of sorts the past while.  Maybe it’s all the change that is going on around me.  I think that it’s good change but it’s still change and it’s somewhat disconcerting.  I really hope that I’ve snapped out of whatever this funk I’m in by the time I go on turnaround.

We have been getting some absolutely insane storms up here the past few days.  Standing on the front porch of the lodge and watching the thunder and lightening crash and boom over site today was quite the impressive display.  Not to mention the insane amount of water that fell from the sky.  That should definitely put an end to the forest fire that’s been filling the lodge and area with smoke the past number of days.

I may get to go to Ft. McMurray tonight to see Pirates of the Caribbean!  I don’t really care about the movie but it would be nice to get out of here.  Hopefully I’ll be able to go.

Talking throught the fat.

Well another day is done and here I sit in my room.  I’m actually contemplating going to the gym because I didn’t make it there today as a result of an appointment with my Counsellor.  It was good talking to him and I feel quite a bit more grounded than I have been in a while.  I always find it amazing how just talking with someone, who is completely unbiased about your situation, can really help to ease my mind.  I’m feeling very much at peace with myself at the moment and could very easily fall into bed right now.  Why I’m not doing that is because I can feel my stomach fat getting dangerously close to my belt and that’s just never a good feeling.  It’s time to go do my half hour of cardio.

Uncertain Times

One of my friends in the office, a lady in her mid-40’s, has been doom saying since everything that has been happening with Management started.  She’s completely convinced that along with most of the Management staff we, the office staff, are going to be let go.  Personally I think that she’s blowing things out of proportion and that we shouldn’t be worried; but she is pretty wise and has been through situations like this before.  The fact that I’ve been in a precarious job position before also gives me a bit of perspective on what’s going on that does make me feel slightly uncomfortable but I’m choosing to ignore it… for now.

It's funny how things tend to all pile up and then slam down on you all at once. Today that happened to me. Not even the fact that all the Managers either left or were fired today really effected me. No my issues were all to do with stupid people.

I've mentioned before that it's very hard to get away from these people. They always want something or want me to check something. Usually I find it funny. There are times when I don't. I truly thought I'd seen it all when people started asking me questions while I was in my pj's brushing my teeth but alas I haven't. In the past few days I've been asked work related questions while I:

a. Walked down the hallway in my housecoat after having had my morning shower.

b. Was on the stairmaster in the gym (that was rather funny actually cause I glared at the person with distain and said "sure let me check that for you" and pounded away on the stairmaster's display screen).

c. Walked all the way down the hall from my office to my dorm (a really long way, I kept walking faster and faster and the short guy trying to keep up was running by the time I finally got to the dorm).

d. In the lunchroom while I got my lunch.

These irritants I can somewhat put up with but today after I'd finished my workout and showered and was lounging in my room my phone rang. Somewhat surprised that anyone would be calling me mid-morning I answered and hear... by this time I'm sure you've got a good idea as to what the caller wanted. When I did finally get back to the office I kicked open the door and yelled "WHO GAVE OUT MY FUCKING PHONE NUMBER?!" Once the culprit had identified herself I let loose with a tongue lashing that I'm sure will ensure I don't get called in my room by any of the staff again. So help me God it had BETTER not happen again. They've invaded every other sanctuary but my room is off limits.

To top that off I had the airline call me today and tell me that anyone who had been on one of the Friday planes had been completely banned from flying on any of the company planes. It seems that some of the more enlightened fellows had smuggled beer and chewing tobacco onto the flight and spilled it all over the seats and carpeting which ment the seats and carpeting had to be completely replaced! As I had 8 staff members on board I had to call all of them today and tell them that they needed to make alternate arrangements to get back to camp. As you can imagine none of them were pleased at all. I for one was not pleased either because all 8 of them were actually decent people. Although I 100% back the airline in their decision it won't make my life easier.

The final thing I'm going to rant about tonight is the fact that certain members of the staff are complete morons and can't seem to fill out a form correctly. Twice today I've had to deal with people who didn't fill out their forms properly and now want to evade the consequences (monetary penalties). How is it that people can be so incredibly stupid and still survive. I swear it's incredible to me that none of them have wandered out into traffic and been killed because they didn't understand a don't walk sign.

The End.

Dolly Parton walks out of Cirque Du Solie!

I’ve always loved Dolly Parton’s music and have had a number of songs on my iPod that get played infrequently in the office.  Well since I’ve been here everyone else in the office has started to download Dolly too!  Seems we have our own little fan club started here so, Dolly if your reading your welcome to come up to site ANYTIME and do a show for us.  In fact we should even have enough musical Newfies to have a fairly good backup band.

In other not so interesting news it seems that our Management is planning a walkout for the 14th.  For some reason none of them are happy here.  We can’t really seem to figure out why because they don’t do anything!  Seriously they’re lucky that ‘the little people’ support them so well.  So we’ll see what’s going to happen here.  It’s been an interesting ride so far.  Our Safety Manager walked off the job yesterday and the Business Manager was terminated as of Monday.

I don’t think I have mentioned it so far but I’m really looking forward to my next turnaround.  I’ll be arriving in Vernon just in time for the annual Mid-Summers Eve Art Auction, Then the next day the fam is heading down to Vancouver for Macie and Franks wedding, which is sure to be talked about for years.  The day after the wedding we got tickets for Cirque Du Solie which is putting on their final show in Vancouver!  After that we’re heading back to the Okanagan where I plan to spend a lot of time drinking wine and being at the beach.  The whole time is going to be more than fantastic.  Yay Summer!