Moves and Jobs, Oh my!

So it's been a hectic few weeks. I started my new job on May 13, and it's a steep learning curve. There's a lot of policies and procedures that I don't know about, since I don't have an HR or law background. However I've been asking questions and unless people tell me to sit and study up on stuff, I'm asking people if they have anything they want me to do. I figure even if I can't figure out the policy, I can still figure out the scanner/copier. So apparently I've been doing really well by being proactive on stuff. Still tons to learn, although it seems that the general Excel level around the office isn't too high, so I've been able to impress people with that. Of course now that the move is semi-complete, I guess I might have some time to brush up on Excel, learn how to do drop-downs, pull data from other worksheets, etc.

Yes, the move. It was horrid. It's not to say that I left all the packing to the last minute. I'd been packing manga/dvds/comics since before my last post, so for at least 2 weeks, I'd already been putting stuff away. However, I still was up to about 1:00 - 2:00 am every night for the last week (and this is when I have to be up at 7:30 for work), and then on Thursday, I think I was up until about 3:00. I go to work, and then I'm up to about 5:00 am still packing. In my severe tiredness, I made a scrambled egg concoction of carrots and honey mustard on honey-slathered toast. Needless to say, I woke up around 6:30 am with a stomach ache and couldn't really move until 7:00 am. Commence packing again. Haven't even gotten around to dismantling furniture when the movers arrive at 9:30am. Even with the movers and my bro and his fiance helping, we weren't out of there until about 11:30. The movers did not like the comic book boxes b/c they were so heavy. Anyways, after all things are unloaded, it was about 12:45-1:00. Instead of collapsing and napping (what any sane person would do), my dad harps at me to move some of the furniture back. So I end up vacuuming the living room and basement carpet, and moving yet more furniture around. Get down to the room, and start trying out to figure out where to put my furniture. Take a 30 minute doze and commence measuring again. Don't get to bed until about midnight and it was mostly b/c my legs were starting to fail.

I don't want it to be the same layout as my brother's (I'm moving into his old bedroom b/c it's in the basement so it's quieter and cooler). After much hemming-hawing, measuring, using place markers, I end up with something similar anyways b/c that's kinda the only way to have it quiet and fit everything. So freaking annoyed that a lot of my furniture was too big. No, actually that the room was several inches too small. Nothing really set up still, desk is on the floor and I'm typing there using my old computer. Bed is set up, and so are my IVARs. TV's plugged in. Still get some cable channels, but none of the free ones. Go figure. Haven't hooked up my PS2 or DVD player.

But that doesn't mean I was finished moving on Saturday! Heck no, for the last 3 days, I'd been at the apt picking stuff up like food, smaller furniture, dishes and cleaning supplies. Cleaned the bathroom already. D is moving out today, and then I think tomorrow we're supposed to clean more, then carpet cleaner's coming on Friday, and then it's move-out inspection on Saturday.

So yeah, the apt building wasn't so bad at first. I had a bathroom connected to the bedroom which allowed me lots of times of wandering around half-naked. Big bathroom with lots of counter space and floor space. Undersink cabinet was a bit small but that was b/c it had drawers. Shower/bath was big and had lots of shelving for bottles. I could have 2 body washes, 1 facial wash, 1 conditioner, 1 shampoo and razor in there w/o having to put them on the outside where I could hit them when I get out. Basement bathroom is small, 0 counder space, and just have enough room for 1 body wash and 1 shampoo. Everything else is on the outside. Now I remember why I had a 3 compartment dispenser; so I could put my shampoo/conditioner/body wash in there.

Back to apt, it was only in the last 2-3 months that I started using the workout room there. and all my furniture fitted comfortably. However after the pipe burst in February, they still haven't fixed the parkade elevator. And they also haven't fixed the A/C so it's always between 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) in the apt. Yeah, we have to go outdoors to cool down. And then they were jacking up our rent again. If we went month-to-month it would've been over $1400/month. And they got new building managers, and they're yelling at us for having boxes around when we're moving and showing the apt w/ their shoes on. A lot of people are moving out of there now.

Still Waiting

Well, a lot of changes in the past week. Went in for job interview on Thursday, got offered the position later that day. Handed in my resignation on Monday, and went home early on Tuesday b/c I really didn't want to take any more calls. Then find out on Thursday that my former workplace will be closing its doors at the end of June. The hilarious part is that 2 days earlier, my former Team Leader was telling me that the site was doing fine and they were overstaffed. Kinda annoyed that I'll be missing out on the severance pkg, which works out to about $2500. Still waiting for the feds to say my security clearance is fine and then I can start working.

New job is a temporary contract, but it pays much better and will be dealing with internal Canadian people, instead of annoying American customers. Quite annoyed that almost everyone is telling me that I'd better start buying new clothes, as if I didn't have business-appropriate clothes. Just b/c I don't wear them b/c I don't need to, doesn't mean I don't own them. Yes, I'm a t-shirt and jeans girl (well I'd prefer a tanktop, but then there's the issue w/ my skin condition that's not so pretty), but I can dress up. Even getting used to putting on daily makeup again. There was a time in high school when I was totally into makeup. Then I realized that I was getting into the experimental makeup and I was collecting shades that I couldn't wear in public and wasting a lot of money. So I quit cold turkey.


Also will be moving out of the apt soon. Back to the house with my Dad. Argh! Anyways, have been packing stuff up. Yesterday, it took me 8 hrs to sort and pack my comics. Taking a break from doing that, b/c I'm completely exhausted. Not just from standing and lifting, but also b/c my new job is days instead of nights, I'm trying to get up earlier. Unfortunately I still go to bed around the same time.

Anyways, figured out the Vista compatibility. So I can once again use Sonique. It's stable and keeps track of where I left off on my playlist. Not like stupid Windows Media Player. Anyways, awesome song from Jam Project(which includes Rika Matsumoto and Masumi Okui) "Forever and Ever"

Review: Iron Man Movie

Awesome. Wait, is that a little too short? Okay, well it was very funny, dealt a bit with the issue of the industrial-military complex, developed Tony's character very well, had lot of believable and not-obvious CGI special effects and didn't have any slow spots to make you fall asleep. Pepper Potts was undeveloped, doesn't seem like she'd be capable of reconnecting the device to his chest or figure out which switches to hit to blow up the reactor. Seems like they could've stuck anyone in other than Gwyneth Paltrow. Did not recognize Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. It was a bit of weird timing for Stane to tip his hand so completely at the benefit. You'd think he'd want to keep his dealings hidden for longer. I liked Yinsen's character. Shaun Toub played him extremely well. Jim Rhodes character was sorta important to be there, pretty forgettable. Not sure how they'd have met. Quite annoyed at the end of the movie that Tony was missing his hankercheif from his suit jacket when Pepper had been fussing with it for quite a bit.

But it was quite the geek movie, and with Stan Lee there of course. I liked the suit testing scenes. Yes, it was cheap comedy, but it also shows that genius isn't just instantaneous. There were a lot of product placement shots, not just for Stark Industries. Heh. I spotted Verizon, Burger King, various car brands especially Audi, and Dell. I wonder if that Malibu house if for real. I'd love to live at something like that. I'd say the storyline was quite believable, that someone like Tony would be completely distanced from the day-to-day business and focussed on the fast living (obvious adrenaline-junkie with the total disregard of safety on his first flight) and tech-building. Finding out that his weapons are sold to anyone, being injunctioned by the Board of Directors, being exposed to war as more than just numbers. It was all done very well. Robert Downey Jr did a great job.