Momentous Occasions!

Regarding the title, I may or may not be exaggerating.
But I will say, for those of you who might actually follow my story lines...

• I passed my French proficiency test
• I found an apartment & get the keys on the 15th
• I've gotten more kick-ass at crossfit. (read: I survive)
• I've submitted 1 out of 3 of my Teachers' college applications
• Did I mention the apartment? 10minutes from work? Yeah? Hello soon-to-be social life!

Short and sweet: I'm in a better place this week than I was last =]
Plenty to tackle over the next month, but for the most part I can do that with a smile on my face!

Bring it on, world.

Crippled & Stressed.

The last few days I have been a mess.

Physically mostly, but also mentally.

I had my first ever Crossfit class on Monday.
Push ups, pull-ups, squats and lifts seem to be their main raisons d'êtres, and they're pretty well known for being all-in-all hardcore.
I decided I need to get my ass back in gear, so I signed up.
Pricey little program, this one aha, thank goodness for my fitness benefit at work =P.
Anyways, in saying that, I went on Monday and got my ass handed to me.


(Skip through to 30seconds in)

My quads were crying right up until Thursday and my triceps are still aching but I'm crazy excited to see what I'll be able to do in another month or so.
Torture, yes, but oh so worth it.
Monday is my next class.

Now I said I was a mess, and that was part of my explanation.
I also happen to have a weak neck that makes a scene every time I change up my routine.
Crossfit was a bit of a shock to the system (though also a way to help strengthen the neck issue) and 2 days later, after what I'm assuming was an uncomfortable sleep, I woke up with a crick.
A bad crick.
It's only gotten worse since.
I look like I'm wearing a neckbrace without actually putting one on aha.
Can't turn my head more than an inch or two in any direction.

I feel ya, Sitch

Muscle relaxants are wonderful things.
So are massage therapists.
I'm thinking (and hoping beyond hope) that I'll be good to go for tomorrow, I've been stretching all day.

STRESSED TO THE MAX
Why is tomorrow so important?
I get to face the very real, very official torture I've been dreading all month.
Tomorrow is the University of Toronto's French proficiency test.
I get to spend $90 on this test, that decides whether I even get a shot at acceptance.
They've broken it down into four components:

1. Oral
2. Written
3. Comprehension
4. Listening

If it was an average mark overall I'm sure I'd be fine, but I'm required to get 75% in each category and my writing has me freaking the eff out. 
So tonight I study.
And study.
And cry a little.
And then probably study some more.

Think of me tomorrow?
Off to the books I go!

Motto of the night.

One foot in front of the other...

Diane here.
Forcing myself to realize that my blogging spark has been snuffed out and I'm left to trying to rekindle, pitifully.

But today I bring you larger developments than just 'employed!'.
Who knew I was able to come up with more than a paragraph about more than one subject?!

Work is fine, I don't love it and I don't hate it.
What I do, is make sure to take full advantage of the large-scale company I work for.
I've officially been licensed to sell a specific insurance, meaning I can legally sell.
In saying that, my title will stay customer service, but merely because we're short on sales managers.
My employment objectives have changed however, and I'm taking a day-long course on sales next week, too.
If we exclude the month of training I went through before I was allowed on the floor, I've really only worked for the company for 2 months, so I'm pleased with my progress.
They're working on licensing me in other provinces as well =]

Now I have not read my own blog in a fair while, but I'm sure at some point or another I mentioned I was working downtown (Toronto) and that the commute was long, but bearable.
My opinion has changed.
As much as the train-ride itself is bearable, the schedule is extremely inconvenient.
I leave my house at 7am and don't arrive home until 12 hours later.
My daily productivity is all but cancelled out by public transit systems...
 (I still have time to do my laundry if necessary)

I'm making a stand for the sake of my social life, and sanity.
The plan is to move downtown for January 2012.
I already found a place, and a roommate, and now its all administrative, and money-oriented.
Thank God for paycheques. 

Future homee

Aside from the Big, Bad Job and the Big, Bad Move there is one more Big, Bad Life-Change in sight.
I've decided - as much as it may make Courtney cringe - to apply to teachers colleges.
I'm a little late to the game, so my applications are being tackled hard & fast, but here are the key facts that helped to make up my mind after so many years of deliberating*

• I speak French, so there is a job market for me as a teacher.
• I love kids
• I love teaching kids
• I love French
• I want other people to love French
• I love travel
• I want to travel forever and ever. 
• I know this is impractical, but I've decided a few months vacation should do the trick.

I think these are reasons I can always fall back on and be happy with.

Future Life

Now for the where: I've applied to Ottawa U, U of Toronto & Nipissing.
Ottawa is my top choice. It also happens to be this girl's top choice.
We've got all of our fingers and toes crossed in hopes that Ottawa is smart enough to take both of us together. If you wanna be a good sport you could totally do the same!

One day at a time.
One application question today, one licensing test tomorrow.
One lease to sign, and one french proficiency test to pass.
One foot in front of the other, until it all comes together.
I can totally pretend that I'm not overwhelmed....
At least I don't have to pretend that I'm not excited =P
x

*I've always said teaching was an option. I just didn't want to close any other doors first. I've tried other doors, and they're not for me. Teaching is right.

Fall is here

Or is it summer again? Today is gorgeous.

Nevermind today though, I'm here to talk to you about the changing of the seasons.
I was able to avoid the lure of the 'back-to-school' shopping extravaganza (acknowledging that it may no longer apply to me..)
And though this seems to suggest that I am a logical human being, I've found a slight loophole.
With the fall weather throwing itself in my face, my logic has thrown itself out the window.

Fall means warm clothes and pumpkin spice lattes.
It means my tank tops and Birkenstocks make me stick out like a sore thumb (though I will continue wearing the Birks till I'm frost bitten. At least on the non-rainy days.
The problem with this change is that I have not received a paycheque in 3 weeks.
The new job is lovely, only I have to wait till my banking information is processed in HR... and so I sit with negative dollars in my bankaccount.
This weekend got blustery though, and I cracked.
 I went fall-shopping manic.

What does one need in preparation for fall?
apparently I needed nail polish. Even though my life is overflowing with it

Excluding glitters/topcoats/treatments... 

Totally logical.
I also needed to find a pair of shoes I could wear in the office, other than my birks. I don't really have anything casual to wear, my options are Birks or big shnazzy heels, so I deemed shoe shopping acceptable.
I love shoes, but they don't love me back.
It's a bitter and resentful relationship I have with every perfect pair of shoes I pick up.
I hate shoe shopping.

Confused?

If you know me, you know my feet.
Aha, they look fairly normal, but they're broken for life, and it is very easy to tell once you get me in a shoe store.
I don't wear flats because.. well I flatten them.
Collapsed arches are not pretty in a pair of flats, promise.
But I was actually very pleased with the spoils of yesterday's shoe-shopping torture adventure

Cute right?

Anyways, that was the only big purchase.
Otherwise... I find that when the leaves change colour, it's like every scarf I pass is calling my name.
I knew my credit card was hurtin' though.
Solution? Ardene.
3 for $15 scarves people! and theyre actually cute and practical.
Circle Scarves galore!

At this point you probably hate me, I don't usually appreciate the 'shopping-haul' blogs either.
But I promise you don't hate me as much as my bank account.
First pay day this Friday though!!

To make up for the pointlessness of this post, I will leave you with some music therapy.

Decemberists - Don't Carry it All

Working Girl

Welcome friends, to my place of written word.
We last left off with my sleeping-pill-haze of a post, the night before I started at my new job.
A lot has changed since that night.

I now spend...
my mornings getting ready for my 7am train
my evenings getting ready for my 10pm bedtime
5 days a week in Toronto
15 hours a week commuting
my lunch hour with a quirky bunch of Quebecois/bilingual speakers
my every waking second living and breathing travel insurance

And to be honest, right now, I wouldn't have it any other way, though I never in my life wanted to know as much as I currently do about insurance =/
There are 2 more important issues that have arisen out of this situation however, that I feel I must address....

9-5ers, please tell me when it is that you are able to make your appointments? Or get errands done? Why does the world shut down by the time I get home?
Why do I need to keep wearing saftey pins in the hems of my work pants because I can't take them in to get hemmed?!

WHY?!

The other is concerning my current living situation.
Though my commute is fairly enjoyable and I don't mind waking up early in the morning (so long as I keep getting my paycheques) I feel stupid wasting 3 hours a day across from a wo/man in a business suit with their mouth open, earphones in, sunglasses on, snoring throughout the train ride.
I desperately want to move downtown.
So that is the plan. It will take some time, as I have a fair few bills to save myself from... but come 2012, I will be living downtown.
And I will feel swanky doing it.
Swanky Bubbles.
Just saying.

She gets it.

De retour!

Hello blogosphere!

After many an apology in the spring about how little I blogged, I took a summer-long hiatus with no real mention of leaving or returning or anything.

But I'm here.

With some life changes to share with you!

This post may get a little disorganized towards the end as I have just taken a sleeping pill.

Why a sleeping pill, you may ask?

Because for one, I'm a terrible sleeper.

More importantly however, for two, I have to get up bright and early tomorrow morning to start a new job.

Let's cover that part quickly shall we?

Diane's post-grad plan:
-Move home
-Find full time job over summer
-Save money
-Book plane tickets to europe
-Visit friends, see new places
-Get job in South America


Diane's post-grad reality:
-no job prospects for over a month
-finally land 2 part time jobs, the same week
-bail on one because it was literally physically damaging
-end up with less cash then started with 
-postpone travel aspirations for at least another year, by signing on for a 'big girl job'.

So here I sit, preparing for my new job.
The perks - I like the pay, I like that it's in the city, I like that it involves French.
The pitfalls - I'll be living at home for longer than planned, hour long commute, it's not in a foreign country.
I have come to accept all of the above however, in hopes that the benefits outweigh the travel delay.And again, at least I get to keep on top of my French.
Right, what will I be doing?
I am employed as a bilingual customer service rep at a large scale insurance company in Toronto.
For the next 3 weeks I go through training, learning the ins and outs of their policies, procedures and well.. insurance. Then I get to sit at a desk and answer phone calls.
WOOOT!
Aha but sarcasm aside, with the hour-long commute to and from work, I will definitely have some time to kill. That's where you come in!
I hope you don't resent me too much for leaving you.I knew I'd be back eventually, I just didn't care to fill you in on the fact, is all.
But here I am, bucking up and entering the workforce.
Bucking up and re-entering the blogosphere.
One day I will be on a plane again, but for now - I'm here with you =]
Oh, I've missed you so!

wish me luck on my first day!?
Or scold me for going AWOL. Your choice!
Talk soon fine blog-folk!
x