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So, this summer, I was positive all I wanted was a typical 9-5 job, decent pay, benefits, weekends off.   Now that I have that job I have discovered, that no, in fact, 9-5 is the opposite of the life I want.  I am not having fun.  I am bored with pushing paper around, and what I thought was a decent pay is in reality crap once payday arrives.  Deductions, deductions, deductions.  Of course, everyone else has lived in this reality forever, but for years I have had a string of seasonal or tip jobs – making more money than I should have for what I was doing.  Now I have a REAL job and it sucks.

I am bored.  I push paper around, I find ways to make it more interesting, but it sucks. Sorry, it is true, I hate admin.  Yeah, I thought it was what I wanted.  I am driving myself mental! I feel like all I do is work, yet I am broke = SUCKS.

timeline

Nov 5 – order official transcripts from UNBC

Nov 11 – complete JET essay

Nov 25 – receive reference letters from Makiko & Mr. T (fingers crossed!)

Nov 27 – due date for JET application

January 2010 – Notification of interview dates for those passing the paper selection stage

February – interview

April – notification for successful applicants (fingers crossed again!)

If all goes well, and I get accepted (again) then I would depart on July 31st.  John would stay in Victoria until the end of November, then head to Ontario for December, where I would meet him for Christmas and he would come back to Japan with me… then he could stay a couple of months and maybe in the spring we could take a trip to S.E. Asia for a few weeks and find him a place to do his IDC, or work as a divemaster.  Fingers crossed!

Coming or Going?

When I graduated from university, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do with myself.  I was going to apply for JET, and teach English in Japan for 3 years.  The application process was a bit tedious, but it worked out, and I spent 2002-2005 working as an ALT (assistant language teacher) in a small city in the center of Japan, called Annaka.

Those 3 years were awesome – and sometimes crap – but I really loved my time there.  I made some great friends, grew up (professionally and personally) and got to make money/see Japan.  Coolio!  I loved Gunma – lots of countryside, mountains, onsens… nice enough weather without being too ridiculously hot in the summer like the south, or cold in the winter like the north.  An hour by fast train to Tokyo or Nagano.  Perfect. 

Ever since I returned from Japan, I have thought fondly of it, and often considered going back. 

080105 Car which thankfully fits in the entrance I even miss my old car :)

080105 Entrance to my lot my old street….

080105 Apartment Building my apartment…

Anyway, so this spring, my old boss asked me if I would like to come back, and I would. And then, JET changed the requirements, so I can reapply even though it hasn’t been 10 years.  So, I thought, what the hell. Why not apply at least?  I mean, I like my job – but I make 1/2 of what I would make on JET. That in itself is tempting! So, wish me luck, and I will keep you posted.  Not that I will know anything until early 2010 as to whether I even get an interview!

Laundry List

This last weekend was fantastic.  The weather was great, clocks went back so I got an extra hour of sleep – totally can’t complain!  On Friday night I worked until 7pm, and then John and I went out to watch the Olympic Torch ceremonies at the legislative buildings.  Was interesting – as not only did we see the ceremony, but we saw the protest around it as well.  It made me really think about how I feel about the Olympics. 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/olympics/article/719138–wall-of-protesters-blocks-olympic-torch-in-victoria

 As an event, I love it.  I cry when we win, I cry when we lose… but I also hate the amount of money diverted by the government to fund these massive games.  Hasn’t it gotten a bit out of control?  Why are the opening ceremonies tickets $1100?  Of course, you can get nosebleeds – for just $200!!! What?! And the government used tax funds to purchase a block of tickets for MLAs? What? http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/10/22/bc-olympic-tickets-mcneil.html

Yeah, I can imagine the HARD work being done by the officials.  What a load of crap.

And at one point, the olympics were about SPORT. Now they are about ENDORSEMENT.  I was confused on Friday – was it the Olympics, or the Coca-Cola/RBC-pics?

Grr.

Anyway, after we checked it all out, and saw the nasty state of the leg. lawns (yuck!) we went to our favourite thai restaurant for dinner.

Saturday we went to the last Moss Street Market of the year.  Stocked up on our last market wares.  Boohoo! Then we settled in for an evening of scary movies. Sunday, we got up and hiked Mt. Finlayson – the highest peak in victoria with wonderful views on downtown, the ocean and unfortunately – Bear Mountain. Yuck again.

Anyway, Sunday was rounded out by an afternoon of baking and an evening with Jerry and Mackenzie over for food and drinks.   Was a fabulous weekend!

And on the health of it

Tracey made a good point about what costitutes a healthy diet changes with your age, activity, etc.  Here is another stolen article that I particularly enjoy:

Eating for Life

Leading health experts agree that going vegetarian is the single-best thing we can do for ourselves and our families. Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including our country’s three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.1 Well-planned vegetarian diets provide us with all the nutrients that we need, minus all the saturated fat, cholesterol, and contaminants found in animal flesh, eggs, and dairy products.

Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.3,4 Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are.5

The consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products has also been strongly linked to osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, asthma, and male impotence. Scientists have also found that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than their meat-eating friends; this means that they are less susceptible to everyday illnesses like the flu.7 Vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters.8

A plant-based diet is the best diet for kids, too: Studies have shown that vegetarian kids grow taller and have higher IQs than their classmates, and they are at a reduced risk for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases in the long run.10,11 Studies have shown that even older people who switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet can prevent and even reverse many chronic ailments.

Read our top nutrition tips for maximizing the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf—you can take control of your health today by going vegetarian. Request a free vegetarian starter kit today!

Along the lines of what I was talking about last week, I wanted to post a bit about my shampoo.

I love my shampoo.  It is made on galiano island, and although it is rather expensive, it is no more so than anything you would buy from a salon.  It has ingredients I can pronounce, and understand and even recognize.  I buy it from Nezza, which is my favourite store on Fan  Tan Alley in Victoria.  You can also buy their products online at

http://nezzanaturals.com/

They make fantastic skin care products, soaps, laundry soap and dishwashing soap too.

Hmm… I guess I don’t have much to say today, do I?

Food, food, glorious food

 John and I are vegetarians.  This change came about over a year ago, and was probably pretty shocking to people who know me well, as I think my favourite meal has always been a bloody steak, a baked potato with sour cream and a ceasar!   In college, Tracey called me “Bacon girl” because of the fatty, greasy bacon sandwiches I was known to make on the weekends.   He and I had started looking at our personal impact on the environment, and started looking into our “carbon footprint”.  Mine is approximately (from http://www.calculator.carbonfootprint.com/)

    • Your footprint is 5.43 tonnes per year
    • The average footprint for people in Canada is 20.00 tonnes
    • The average for the industrial nations is about 11 tonnes
    • The average worldwide carbon footprint is about 4 tonnes
    • The worldwide target to combat climate change is 2 tonnes
  • Although I would like to write more on this topic, I am running out of time today.  Below is an article I think is particularly interesting on this topic.  Lately I have been slacking on my good eating habits, and “cheating ” a bit more than usual… today I am renewing my pledge to take more care in what I eat, and urge you to as well.

    Meat and the Environment // Pollution

    Fight Climate Change with Diet Change: Go Vegetarian!

    Global warming has been called humankind’s “greatest challenge” and the world’s most grave environmental threat, and science shows that one of the most effective ways to fight global warming is to go vegetarian.1

    Sir Paul McCartneyStars such as Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde are lending their voices to share what science has already proven—that the meat industry is one of the leading sources of the greenhouse gases that lead to global warming.

    When asked what personal change people could make to help the environment, McCartney replied, “I think the biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyle would be to become vegetarian.” To read the complete interview with Sir Paul McCartney, visit PETA’s blog The PETA Files.

    A 2006 United Nations report found that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined.2 Greenhouse gases cause global warming, which studies show will increasingly lead to catastrophic disasters—like droughts, floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels, and disease outbreaks—unless we drastically reduce the amounts emitted into the atmosphere.

    Many conscientious people are trying to help reduce global warming by driving more fuel-efficient cars and using energy-saving light bulbs, but they could do more simply by going vegetarian.

    • The official handbook for the Live Earth concerts says that “refusing meat” is the “single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.”3
    • According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.
    • The University of Chicago reports that going vegan is 50% more effective than switching to a hybrid car in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

    Eating 1 lb. of meat emits the same amount of greenhouse gasses as driving an SUV 40 miles.

    More than Just CO2

    Raising animals for their flesh, eggs, and milk is one of the world’s leading emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2). But global warming is caused by more than just CO2. Animal agriculture is the leading source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which—combined with carbon dioxide—causes the vast majority of global warming.

    • Methane: The billions of farmed animals crammed into factory farms produce enormous amounts of methane, both during digestion and from the acres of cesspools filled with feces that they excrete. Methane is more than 20 times as powerful as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.5 Statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency show that animal agriculture is the number one source of methane emissions in the U.S.6
    • Nitrous Oxide: Nitrous oxide is about 300 times more potent as a global warming gas than carbon dioxide. According to the U.N., the meat, egg, and dairy industries account for a staggering 65 percent of worldwide nitrous oxide emissions.7

    You Can Help Stop Global Warming Today

    The most effective way to fight the global warming crisis is to stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy products. Start today by taking the Pledge To Be Veg for 30 Days.

    Time for a change

    I have a lot of great thoughts and hopes and fears.  I live my life based on my care of the environment and try to be as socially and environmentally conscious in my life as I can. However, I blog like a bored 12 year old lamenting on my money, friend and boredom woes.  What a loser!  I need to make some changes.  Today I was reading Tracey’s environmental blog, and realized I should be using this space more wisely – and put in some of the REAL things I do every day, the many decisions I make – many of the not exactly sacrifices but choices in which I limit myself because I feel like using a product or buying something is not the best way to conserve or use the resources around me.  We buy local – both to limit the amount of fossil fuels used to transport the goods we need, and to support our local economy.

    Most couples probably don’t spend as much time or money on food and household items as we do.  We are very strict with ourselves, and look at every purchase as if it is a major one.  Not only where it is from, but who made it, what their practices are and where we buy it from.  These are all important points.  We would rather pay more for something made locally that has a limited impact on the environment, than ship something cheaper from around the world.  Our economy is in trouble, yes, but I would rather do without than buy cheaply made, environmentally degrading products.

    Luckily, John and I are a team.  Over 2 years ago we started thinking about our direct effects on the world around us and started our pledge to ourselves to buy local.  This was pre-”100 Mile Diet” fad days, and we also started researching living a  life not dependant on animals and animal products.  People look at the word “vegan” negatively but in reality living a life free of meat and meat products is not that difficult, has a huge impact on the environment and makes you feel healthy and happy.  What can be wrong with that?  yes, we are used to saturday morning bacon and eggs – but you don’t really need it.  Fair Trade, direct trade, organic – these are viable options for people who don’t want to give up everything from afar.  well… be careful if it says organic yet travels 6000km and still looks lovely…

    Anyway, instead of a laundry list of my life (as exciting as it is) I am going to try to blog more on what is ACTUALLY happening in my life, and the choices we make day to day.

    spread a bit thin

    Ok, so I still love my job, but I am feeling a bit spread thin.  I work in WAY too many departments.  I long for Thursday and Friday when I can sit in one spot and CAN’T move, as these last few weeks I have not only worked in my usual reception, data centre and education extension roles – but also boarding, admissions and now the middle school.

    I feel like a mad woman.  And I also find I forget to eat lunch, or take a break, which is quite silly.  I am also working every night this week at Highgate.

    Now, I am NOT complaining. Honest.  Just feel a bit spread thin.  I am trying to counteract that by getting up in the morning and getting some exercise before work (John drops me off at 7 and I can get a workout in). Anyway, I don’t have much to say…a ctually I just updated my appearance of my blog and wanted people to see it :)

    Edit: it isn’t working! Stupid theme

    Oldies!

    Yesterday, I went over to Highgate Lodge, a retirement home near SMUS for an interview, and ended up working immediately.  I am serving there for just a couple of hours a night, just enough to put an extra $400-500 in my pocket every month, and take the edge off my financial woes.  At least until something better comes along.  It does mean I work until 7pm Monday – Friday for awhile, but that is ok.  I am sick of being stressed about money!  I hope I can find a better serving job, one with tips, but the situation in Victoria restaurants is not exactly great right now.  Plus, I haven’t had a lot of time to look.  Will do my best in the coming weeks to find something so i could maybe work 5-10 2 or 3 nights a week instead.  But, this will do for now.  It is definitely easy!

    I have to figure out how I am going to fit exercise into my schedule though…

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