Overtime!

I am fairly excited right now. Not the same kind of excitement that I'll feel when the Canucks hoist the Stanley Cup later this spring, but a more muted kind. I'm happy because I'm on pace to collect some major overtime hours.

I'm back working at the hotel, and am enjoying it. My regular shift was an evening shift, 3pm to 11pm. While working, the night guy called in sick and nobody else was interested in taking it. I said I'd be happy to, even though it would mean working 16 hours in a row. Unlike the driving job, I'll get paid proper overtime for working more than 8 hours.

(edit: The person scheduled to come in at 7am just called in sick, meaning I must stay around until they sort that out. I must make sure I'm not being taken advantage of. I think 16 hours in a row is enough. I think I'll just head home. Maybe I won't though, maybe I'll open up the other property and then leave. Who knows. I've done my bit I'd say.)

I'm very happy with the change of scenery that the hotel work is bringing, and the scheduled and predictable hours. My roommate is still driving, and says hours have all but dried up. To get some work, he's driving down to the city and staying over.
There is not much work coming from Whistler, so he must work in the city. So, even though the driving dispatchers were a bit annoyed that I was cutting the engine on the driving job, it turns out it was a great decision made at the right time.

I am enjoying having a big selection of people to chat with from behind my front desk. I talk to guests, fellow employees, and other random people that come by the desk.
It's quite a nice change from driving, where I was often driving alone or with very quiet guests. While I enjoyed driving, it's nice to mix it up.

The computer here at the desk is being silly, so I am writing this post with my thumbs on my BB. Formatting may be a bit off because of that, but I'll fix it when I'm back on my own machine.

OK, I'm on my own machine now, quite a few hours after I wrote this post originally. I'm definitely less excited about the hours now that I've been here for quite awhile.

Yawn.

Some photos from my Blackberry

I often forget to bring my camera around with me, so I'm happy that my Blackberry has a decent one onboard. Here are some pictures I've taken with it in the past few months.







These three are from a sunny day a few months ago, at a Provincial Park beside the highway called Porteau Cove. I decided to turn off the highway and take the shots because there was a really unique mist hanging in the air, just above the water.



I was in Stanley Park today, and the cherry blossoms are out. In the background you can see a Japanese woman taking close-ups. She spent quite a lot of time enjoying their blooms.

It's obvious that the Crowns in North Vancouver are not doing their jobs. There seems to be public outcry!



These are co-drivers at the airport, from a number of different companies. I took this picture because they're all old and grumpy. Not surprisingly, the conversation among the drivers primarily involves grousing about driving politics.

I am the youngest I've seen working, and I feel a bit out of place when there's a gaggle of us all waiting with our signs. I found I was standing away from them, in an attempt to disassociate myself. I am a bad person.

I find myself struggling with my work, and not being satisfied with what I'm doing. It causes me a lot unnecessary stress. I am working on being content, and enjoying my life as it is now. It's easy for me to be unhappy with my work, as I feel capable of more. But I must remember that there are lots of people out of work, and at least I'm not in Afghanistan getting shot.

I must be content with my work, and my life. I must be happy in the moment, and not yearn necessarily for big change. I must not become more bitter than I am!

If I write it, it will help me believe it. But it's a daily struggle at this point, and I must do what I can to stay positive.

I'm looking forward to biking this season though, and that's positive!

International Intrique

I've decided I'd like to get embroiled in an international plot of some sort. I'd like to run around, deliver documents, hide, and have a number of different aliases and passports.

Of course, to make this happen I'll need a skill-set that is useful. Unfortunately, I don't know dozens of languages, I can't operate a gun without remorse, and I am unable to decode complex mathematical ciphers.

I'll have to somehow learn a skill that can lead to a career in covert operating. I'll have to figure out what that will be. Hmmmm.

Something a little different.

While I usually post my own material, I thought this picture was too good not to share. I think Carol should get one for young Maddie. I should have gotten a whole class set for my youngest group of Chinese students last year.

There is no longer a need to mop and buff your hardwood floors.

Coffee cups

For the past few years, I've noticed a trend in coffee cup disposal practices.

One night I was hankering to write something, so I put together a Letter to the Editor of Whistler's weekly paper, the Pique.

Lately, the Letters section has been full of municipal government controversy, property tax complaints, and Olympic musings. I thought it'd be good to mix it up and submit some content totally unrelated to what is usually presented.

I submitted a letter about coffee cups, and waited with bated breath for Thursday, when the new edition is published and circulated.

Unfortunately, my letter was not accepted, and the Pique published this week without it. I figure the tone wasn't right for the paper. I'll post it here instead.

Coffee Cups

I’ve got a gripe about coffee cups.

It’s been happening for years, and nobody’s noticed. You probably even do it yourself.

What happens when you buy a coffee that’s too big, and it goes cold on you? Obviously, being an environmentally conscientious Whistlerite, you want to throw it away. But you’re in the middle of the Marketplace or Day Lots, and you don’t really want to trek all the way over to the garbage can.

Instead of tossing it out the window and peeling onto the road like some fraternity bro, you gingerly set your half-full cup of cold brew on the pavement, standing up. Make sure it doesn’t spill! Next, you slowly pull out and merge into traffic, making sure to use your signal.

If you leave your cup standing up, it’s not really littering, right? If you leave it near where your door was, people will think you’ve simply been forgetful, no? After all, you’re a responsible citizen.

You’re not fooling anyone! It’s littering all the same! It’s actually worse than littering, because instead of just being ugly, it’s ugly and irritating.

So, do me a favour. If you’re going to leave your cups in the lots, just squish them up and let the coffee run where it will. Since someone has to clean up after you anyway, you might as well save that person the trouble of dumping it out.