Choose Your Own Career

I have been told it has been too long for a new post and for that I apologize! This is a wee bit more of a serious post.

So, careers have been on my mind for a while now. People keep asking me, "so what exactly are you doing in Edmonton?"

Me: "I work in a corner office with marble floors and a gold desk."

That is what I want to say but alas, my response is a woeful tale of being unemployed for a long time and then having the opportunity to work as a general labourer for a family friend. To which, people say, "oh well, I'm sure you will find your career soon. Just be patient."

But do I dare ask the question - WHEN? It has almost been two years since I've graduated and I don't have much to show. My dream is to work in a communications department in a non-profit organization. This is my dream.

My reality is slightly different.

My favourite blogger Jon Acuff (www.stuffchristianslike.net) is writing a new book about people who are currently working at something but have a dream to do something else. Like being an accountant but wanting to be a painter.

What is your dream? And are you pursuing it right now?

Danger Ranger

So, today was my day off. I decided to go get a trim of a haircut. There was this place that had a coupon in the mail for a 6.99 haircut. And thought, what harm could a person do with a trim and clean-up? I was tempted to go a little more complicated but decided that may not be in my best interest with a place like that.

Anyway, on my way to this hair place, I was crossing the street to get to the other side and there was this older gentlemen (probs in his 70s) there. He looked like he was going to cross to my side of the street but stopped when I got to his side. And thus he began talking to me. I decided to stop cause he looked like he just wanted someone to talk to. So, we talked about the weather for a bit. I mean what else to two strangers talk about really? And then he asked me if I was going home. I said I was going to the plaza. I then asked him if he was going home. He replied yes. So, I decided that was a good time to be on my way and say farewell. So, I said have a good evening at home and keep warm! And as I was about to go on my way, he said he was going to make coffee and that I could come over and have some.

OK, so please don't judge me but my first thought was "DANGER!" I would now like to blame Melody and Sarah for this reaction. An entire episode of Criminal Minds went through my head in 2 seconds! I thought boy, he is the bait for me to go somewhere with him while some other men are waiting for me to come.

And thus, I find it a little sad because maybe he really was just a lonely old man who wanted company while he drank coffee. But then, maybe he wasn't. I hope he found company and didn't have to drink his coffee alone. And if he was a bad man, then ha! I outsmarted you!

Well, I guess I better get back to my Criminal Minds.

Do you watch Criminal Minds or a crime show like it? If so, do you think it affects how you size up certain situations?

Shoot! The Tale of a Price Gun Handler

First off, thank you to all who have read and left comments! I appreciate your support and willingness to participate in this blog adventure with me.

OK, here we go.

The day started out early. I grabbed my coffee and awaited my big day at work. The previous day I learned how to cut flowers and sort them. So, I had few expectations of a super exciting day. But boy was I wrong. I was doing a different job today with another lady and this involved slightly ugly flower "jewelry". (By the way, did you know that those wrist flower things no longer just come with a white elastic band but rather some flashy bling. Crazy, eh?) But all that sold me today was the word price gun. And while I was pricing flashy bling, I was like man, why did I avoid working retail? Pricing things is crazy fun. Should have contacted Canadian Tire a long time ago.

And today I also got to see downtown Edmonton which was great. I finally have embraced that I am a city girl. I felt so relieved when I entered into the main downtown core and saw skyscrapers. It was like a little taste of home. My goal is to eventually live just slightly north of downtown Toronto. Someday...someday.

Today was a good day. And I hope yours was too!

So, has anyone ever used a price gun?

Thinking bout nothing

Hello from the wintry city of Edmonton! I have arrived and am in awe of how much snow is around.

I arrived on Wednesday evening at 6pm (local time) and went to work the next morning at 7:30am. I am working at a floral warehouse or rather a wholesale supplier. And when I told my dear friend Laura where I was working, she laughed for a hearty 3 minutes (approximately). So, I'm not a total flower person so yes, its a little funny.

But let me tell you - the past two days I felt like shooting myself. Today, I created the same display over and over again for 8 hours. I spent a lot of time in my head! And my thoughts were not that exciting. More or a less attempting to remain sane telling myself "I have a B.A, this is only temporary, I have a B.A, this is only temporary." :) But I am so very thankful for this job regardless of the repetitious work. In fact, this may not even be temporary so I should probably stop talking in case my boss is reading this... (Actually, I just saw that he is a follower of this blog, so all you need to read is, I LOVE THIS JOB.)

I'm sure I will have more stories to tell of my adventures in the flower world. So look forward to that.

So, what's the most repetitive job you've had?

All the best from the Forgotten Nomad.

New Beginnings & Squirrels

Yes, it is overly cliche to start new in January. To make new resolutions, try new things, do new things. New, new, new. But yet, here I am embarking on a new adventure by moving to Edmonton, AB and beginning a new blog!

The name of this blog has come from a year of feeling completely lost and disillusioned. I was attempting to carve out a career for myself, find a church and make a whole new circle of friends. But instead of starting a new life after university, I instead felt like a forgotten nomad. I entered into people's lives, only to leave once again because of fear or discontentment. I travelled from church to church and applied for job after job, coming up empty on both accounts. It was a year of being the random girl who you met once or twice but then never heard from again. I was disillusioned with the church and feeling insecure because I couldn't land a job. Thus, this past year has been a year of growth, of laziness, and fear. That's the idea behind the name. I will probably talk more about it in the future in other ways.

I'm not really sure what this blog will look like. But to get an idea of what will most likely occur, I will start off with a story. Now this is an extreme story of fear and self-defense so buckle up.

I went to get the mail at my parent's apartment but when I went down, the mail man was just putting the mail in the slot so I decided to walk around the building outside to waste some time. I started my jaunt looking around at my surroundings. It was a lovely day with the sun shining and I felt good. I turned a corner and continued walking down the sidewalk and my eyes soon fell to the ground where I was about to walk. I immediately saw the most frightful sight a city dweller can see. Looking at me with its beady eyes, was a squirrel. It was on its hind legs staring at me. I muttered under my breath, "holy crap", and made a wide circle around it, saying in my head, "please don't attack me, please don't attack me...". City squirrels are the most frightful creatures because I just don't know what they are thinking! They stare at you for so long and they hardly ever run when you approach them. Like Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", I'm pretty sure, it will be "The Squirrels" attacking us. I wonder if you could outrun a horde of squirrels? Food for thought.

P.S Welcome to the Forgotten Nomad!