2010 recap

It is nearing the end of 2010 and much has happened in this year. The first two weeks were spent with family and friends before boarding a flight into Europe. I spent three months then in the Czech Republic doing my internship I observed and learned much about the Czech people and built many relationships with some of the Czech ladies. I was able to teach one class of English about Canada. I showed them some of the currency making sure to get it back haha. They seemed very interested and one of the ladies even commented on the fact that they expect us to know everything about them yet they do not know much about America or Canada.

After my time in the Czech Republic I came right to Cambridge after a day or two with no effects of Jet Lag again to search for work. I found one pretty quick, but it proved to be the wrong job for me. While at that job I was a bridesmaid for another one of my very good friends. I spent a couple of days in Collingwood with our mutual best friend at the earlier part of the week prior to her wedding. Then on Wednesday we both travelled to London to spend a couple of days with Jenn before she got married. I think that we spoiled her a fair bit by taking her out and making her wear a bride-to-be sash. I know what she will be thinking at this point...haha just you wait, your turn will come. Within the next few weeks after the wedding I was offered another job. I had to choose between the current job and the pending job because of them being in the same field.

I quit the job I already had because I was not happy there at all and took the chance that the pending job would still take me on. Thankfully they did. For the most part the job is okay, there is a lot of uncomfortable stress that comes with working in retail, like people are always watching you. Not to mention working with only women can be intense. Gossip mills for sure, emotions play a role in how everyone feels and takes on the tasks for the day. There have been schedule conflicts and other items that have me feeling frustrated...people can be soooo messy when they are shopping. I hate to see what their house looks like haha. Anyway do not I want to do this kind of work forever. The answer...NO! The resolution is to be discussed in another blog posting coming soon. Stay posted.

After the summer was over I got right into my school work as well for the final year. I lived off of campus and is really shows in my marks that I am less distracted overall than I was when I lived in dorm. Though it is a challenge at times to balance school, work, church and a social life I think that I did alright in all of it. I spent Christmas at home and went back to Cambridge Christmas night as I had to work the following day. What will 2011 look like? That answer will be coming soon as in the next few days.

A Strawberry Sundae

Today has been a rather wonderful day thus far. This morning I went out for breakfast with two very special people in my life and then I did a couple of errands. I decided to hang out at the mall for something to do rather than sitting at home on my duff doing nothing in particular. So walking around the mall produced some exercise and a gift for another wonderful couple. I decided to have an ice cream and then sit down to enjoy it. Yes I admit that I had a treat. Anyway I was eating my ice cream from Marble Slab, yes it was tasty. I saw a couple from my church walk by, so we exchanged a few words. I was the only person sitting in this section of seats and I was sitting by DQ. Then this father and little girl of about 6 years comes and sits down. Dad with his lemonade and daughter with a Strawberry Sundae. They were chit chatting and then the little girl pipes up. "Do you know our names?" After I clued in that she was talking to me, I replied "No I don't." Then she introduces them and then proceeded to ask me my name. She said my name outloud as if you make sure see remembered it. She continued eating her ice cream as her and her dad chatted. When I finished up my ice cream I bid them farewell by saying "Merry Christmas", and said to the little girl "be sure you go to sleep right away on Christmas Eve." She said yep and then I was up and off. A moment later, "Bye Christina!" I turned and waved. I was so odd to me, but at the same time to sweet to have that little encounter today. If you don't know me already children and elders are my heartbeat. I can't get enough of them and they are the people who get the most abuse because they are often so helpless and vulnerable. I just had to write about this so I would not forget something so wonderful.

It Literally Ended in a Bang

Last night was my work Christmas dinner. Majority voted landed us at Crabbies to enjoy a meal together and to exchange gifts. We were secret santa's to different people at the work place. I noticed that we all put a lot of thought into each of these gifts as though we really know each other well. Me being in my goofy nature noticed a sweater at work that reminded me of a sock monkey because of the colours so I called it sock monkey (apparently everyone likes the sweater because it was gone pretty fast). Our newest addition to the team has been working with us for about two months and I haven't really seen her in the last three weeks because of the hours being cut for everyone. She remembered little things that we talked about. I have mentioned at one point that I love elephants. So my gift from her was a sock monkey (super cute) and a tuskers elephant posed in a gift bag saying a gift for you (my first tuskers). I absolutely loved the gift because of the thought that she put into it. It really seemed as though everyone put this much thought into their gifts. We opened the gifts before our meals came so we were not just waiting for the food. The last person to open her gift was the hardest to deal with and rightfully so. She was giving "sexual innuendos" which I think would have been fine for her, but she got very carried away with it waving her pen around, then passing it around for others to feel, two of us by passed it (I was one of them, my gift giver being the other). I was honestly mortified by her behaviour I apologized to the server, which he was caught off guard with the pen as it came out many times. But then he got goofing around with us. My manager asked him to take a group photo of us and he did, we huddled into a spa booth. Then I believe his shift manager got him to join in on the photo and she took it. He got on the table and laid across it to get in without blocking any of us. Then when he went to get off, he broke the table. There was the bang, then everyone went home because we already paid. I felt horrible that the table was broken on top of everything else that transpired prior to that. This is just a picture of how things can get carried away. There was one thing that did not really play affect on the evening and that was the alcohol that was involved. I think only three or four people had a specialty drink and two of them had a refill. So I know that alcohol was not really a contributing factor in the silliness.