Happy August!

Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged about something.

Things have been pretty hectic lately, with orientation, training, application and the final project essay to write, along with working pretty much everyday. Health becomes a priority during this stressful time, making sure I get enough rest and eat properly everyday, as well as get some sort of exercise like walking around the neighbourhood.

I'm thankful my body has not broke down by working so much and lacking sleep. For the very first time in my career, I have never worked 16 hours for 5 days straight, with approximately 5 hours or less of sleep each night and commuting between 2 jobs. Now I know what it feels like to be working 2 jobs. I know people who balance 2-3 jobs and I've always wondered how they managed to do it. Let's just say it's very tough, but you have to have a will to do it. A lot of them have children and family to support, as well as paying off life's crazy expensive bills with mortgages, electric utility bills, cable, property tax, you name it. To them, their family and children are what drives them to do what they do. They may be really tired, but they know they have to do it to survive.

Unfortunately with rising housing costs, as well as just costs in general to buy everyday items, having one full time job does not guarantee stability. I didn't understand what they meant, until I went through it. And they are right. By the time you pay off all the bills, you have very little to play around with, or save. This is why many take on a second job to save up or buy things that they've always wanted to get but couldn't.

For me, it isn't about the cost, or money that drove me to do what I do. I took on 2 jobs because I wanted to learn more about each corporation, the various policies and procedures, and see the differences between each site. In a way, I'd like to combine all the things I've learned at one corporation over the years and apply the knowledge to the second corporation and vice versa. Of course each corporation has their own policies to follow so it must be followed and can't be mixed up. That's the hard part. The longer you stay at one corporation, the harder it becomes to climb up and move on because you get so used to everything and everyone.

This is the most challenging that I have found in terms of learning and applying my skills. Because I got so used to the old ways, it's hard to learn different ways sometimes.

People think I'm crazy for taking on these jobs because it only leaves me one day a week to rest. That I need to enjoy life more, that I'm too young to be taking on 2 jobs etc. It's almost like going back to the book of Genesis, where God says we work 6 days and on the 7th day, or Sabbath day, we rest and honour Him. When we think of our great ancestors and how much they worked, we wonder how they managed to do all that work in 6 days! Of course lots of things changed over time and over the years. People have tried taking short cuts to work less but make more money. In reality, if it was really that easy, we would all be doing that, but majority of us still work most days and gain average salaries, or less. So I don't believe it when people tell me there are easy ways to make money and not have to work so hard. There is no such thing.

Yes, totally understand there's a lot of sacrifice that goes into this, in particular my favourite: sleep. But I know this will benefit positively for the future for me. All this hard work will eventually pay off. It's the transition period that's always the most difficult. But by God's grace I'm still surprisingly able to function without a cup of coffee (I never drink that stuff. Doesn't taste good in my opinion). What's better than having your body's epinephrine instead of an external caffeine stimulant?

Secondly, I haven't gone out much because of work. I try to but then I hear news stories about the latest shooting or fighting or something. It's ridiculous how you end up being fearful of stepping outside because you don't know if you'll be coming home alive that same day, due to someone else's stupidity or beef with their enemy. It just so happens you walk into their situation and get caught up. Thankfully it hasn't happened to me or to anyone that I know of. I remember one Saturday I was suppose to be off, but ended up working. I was suppose to go to Eaton Centre that day too. It was that afternoon that there was a shootout inside the mall, during the afternoon. It injured a few, and one died (I believe it was one of the enemies or target). Something as simple as going to the mall becomes a scary moment.

I know, maybe you might think I'm too negative and I should just go with the flow. Or simply paranoid. Maybe I'm all that. But I rather take my own precautions so that I don't have to get caught up in the wrong crowd.

Speaking of shopping, I decided to buy something via the consignment route. It was pretty much a spur of the moment. It's something I've been thinking of getting for a while, after selling my other item but I couldn't justify paying the taxes and the price that the company was asking for, brand new. Lo and behold, I found a listing and decided to get it. I will be sure to share with you all what I ended up getting!

Now I'm on the phone with Air Canada...I should say listening to their stupid long replay of lame music, trying to get a hold of a representative. I figured maybe if I call in the middle of the night I would have better luck getting an agent to help me with a flight. But nope. Wait time for an agent? 30-45 minutes! More like 2 hours. It's been almost 35 minutes that I've been on hold. Thank God for free minutes. I wouldn't pay a single cent to be put on hold with Air Canada. Never had to call AC for help before so this is my first time experiencing this. If I could fix it online I would, but I can't. This sucks. So I sit here typing and waiting...

This is nuts. I can't believe it's August already. I barely had time to enjoy the summer and now it's halfway done?! That's nuts. The weather lately has been a bit crazy, being way too warm. But then again, I'd prefer this over the snow. Actually wait, I like the cold weather. Not freezing weather, but it's got to be just right. Who am I kidding, this is Canada after all. The land of PMS-ing mother nature.

Hmm...I should do a review of Air Canada Reservations help line. So far they're getting a negative 100 for service, and I haven't talked to anyone yet.

Cruises. Right! I totally forgot if I had already wrote about the cruise to Wasaga Beach with the GTA GTR Club. The group hit the beach at the end of July for a nice cruise through the city and upwards to the country side roads. There are some really nice twisty roads up there. Didn't see any cops, and none of us got in trouble with anything. We used the Glympse app to keep everyone together and not have everyone lost. At some point, people did get lost because the group got split up briefly, so some time was lost because of people trying to find their way. Eventually all was good. We got to Wasaga Beach where we all parked together, took some photos, and went to the beach to set up a tent. Some of us strolled on the beach, some of us went to the Wasaga Beach Rib Fest. All I cared about was funnel cake. Except I didn't walk far enough to get one. Sad face.

The RibFest was pretty small to be honest. There were 4 large booths, and a couple of stands for drinks but that was about it. Not like the huge ones they have within the city like Toronto or Mississauga. It was all good, we had some ribs and they were pretty good. Very filling but good. We headed back to the beach and tent where we dipped our feet in the waters. I haven't been to Wasaga in so long so I totally forgot how shallow the waters are. You could walk 500m and the water would still be at your knees. It was a nice, refreshing way to cool off during a warm day. Eventually it was time for us to depart, so the group left together, took some rolling shots, and then parted ways.

Alright, about 50 minutes later, an agent is finally on the line! Got my ticket changes done, and the lady is pretty nice, although I am not happy about the money difference I have to pay. Otherwise it went smooth.

*NOTE* Don't buy airline tickets for friends, especially if they are ones who back out. Long story short, one of the friends was suppose to go on a trip earlier this year with a group of us. My girl friend had gotten my ticket already, and considering I couldn't get points, we both thought buying for our other friend was a good idea. I could collect my points then. This friend had said he would go on the trip with us and was super excited, and I did tell him I'd buy it because of points purposes, and that he would pay me back (which he did). Lo and behold, he backs out at the last minute. I cancel his ticket, but of course I can't get a 100% refund because it was more than 24 hours since the booking.

I could still use this credit towards my next flight, which I did. However, because the booking was under his name, but the payment was under my name, and now I need the tickets under my name, it's an extra $100 to change the name. Ridiculous right? That extra $100 cost me more than the difference I have to pay for the flight. Lesson learned. And oh, I want to strangle that friend.

Alright it's been a long day and long night on the phone. Time to get some much needed rest. Good night all you lovely people!