Now's The Time

To be a man, mature up, and stop being so...dumb.

I thought I was over this mentalicity. Yargh.

Doesn't help that I'm an emotional idiot and tomorrow is my last day in my office. I'm sure I'll be fine. Right.

* * *

Well, we tried to avoid it and think we didn't have to go there because we were not university students anymore, but we ended up buying at a place we said we wouldn't buy at: Ikea.

We couldn't help it! It was a no-tax sale, and the harsh realities of debt is sinking in. Plus, it didn't look half-bad.

I guess we're not so "high-class" after all. Oh well.

Goodbye General, Hello Supports

So my time in General Programs at work (ie. inspecting) is soon coming to a close (by the end of this week). Next week I transition into Supports Programs, where chief amongst my responsibilities will be teaching the food handler courses.

Excited for the new job? Yes.

Sad I'm leaving my friends I've made in my office? Yes (although I'll only be a floor away).

Nervous? Sorta.

Schitzophrenic? Yes. Still.

* * *

The end of this week will also mark the end of my mentoring for the third (and likely last) year. My student this year was...interesting. She's a smart one who I'm sure will do well in Public Health. So far I'm 1-0-1 (my student last year didn't go for the orals this year). I hope this one will make me 2-0-1 as mentor; not that I'm counting or anything.

I'll miss mentoring and getting to know my students, but I definitely won't miss the time investment required for mentoring. I liken it to being a babysitter. For four months. And constantly trying to prove that you're able to babysit, even though you make a lot of mistakes in the process (like dropping the baby on the head). I'm not sure where this metaphor is going, but all I know is that I'll miss it, despite all my gripes.

Honestly, this year's student also made me learn a lot about myself. I'm embarassed thinking about it right now. Yikes.

Have I already been a PHI for four years?!? Damn, time flies.

Kam On Motivation!

You ken do it!

Gotta get my mind right...

I Want The Voices In My Head...

...to stop.

(Man, people must think I'm suffering from schitzophrenia)

Really, though.

So Close...So Close...

These renovations that seem to be taking forever is almost coming to a close. I can sense it.

Can't wait, only thing left to do is sand, paint, work on the curb appeal, start the bathroom renovations, the windows...

Ulp.

When Did I Change?

It's interesting sometimes how you take stock of your life, and then realize that you have changed without actually, well, realizing it.

The recent change I've noticed about myself I'm not sure if I like. Sometimes I think I don't have a conscience (or at least do a really good job of ignoring it), which complicates matters.

I try not to be selfish, but often end up nothing but. I hurt the ones that mean the most to me just to benefit myself. It's frustrating.

Moral delimna? Sometimes. Confused? All the time.

I hate being so bipolar and complainey. Too many voices in my head...argh

Montana's What

It's that time again when all the "young" PHIs have a par-tay git-together at fun central:

Montana's is Hip Hop

Something tells me I'm gonna get paged as soon as I get there.

Already?!?

So I just came back from a one-week vacation thinking I would be all refreshed and ready to go, and...it's like I hit a wall. No motivation, no physical energy, thinking too much, doing too little, not productive, way too emotional and complainey; yeah, all of the above.

I wonder what that is?

And to top it off, I'll be on-call for the next two weeks.

I'm thinking it may be because there is a lot of transition going to happen the next few weeks/months both at work and personally.

Arvin told me that I'm unable to get on with life and I tend to dwell because I have a sharp memory and don't forget much. While I would normally call that a compliment (who wants to be called forgetful?) , maybe he's onto something. I wish I could turn it off.

I also wish I wasn't such an emotional wreck.

I hope Sharon's ready...

Yikes...I'm babbling so much it's like I drank two litres of Babble Tea

Nice To Meet You

In my life, I'm grateful to meet certain people who tell me words of advice that I actually once in a while believe. These tidbits of life are sometimes far and few between, so when they come, it's like a light bulb goes over my head. I look forward to the next one.

ting!

* * *

Tomorrow is day two of the reality show, Jason:PHI. I was chosen by a workmate to make an instructional video; like a "day in the life of a PHI." It's gonna be quite horrible, and I can't wait for the end product

Throwing Money Out The Window

Well, technically at windows. We're getting a bunch of quotes for new windows, and damnnnnnnnnn...is espensive!

You make a door (to brokeness) than a window

But as with all our "improvements", it's better to look at it as an investment. Mos def

Here We Go...

...back to hecticness!

No let up until the honeymoon, I imagine...

Home!

After a fun week in Cuba, it's great to be home as always.

Mind you, the majority of us were wanting to go home by Friday, but that's besides the point.

From the trip, negatories:

-food

-bed

-getting sick

Positories:

-meeting new, fun people

-dancing in clubs

-swimming in the ocean

-SCOOTERS!

All in all, I had a good time and am glad the boys came out. Pictures soon (maybe, depending on the screening of them)

Hangin' With Fidel

Getting all packed up and ready to go for a whole week of nothing! Well, there will also be a week of contemplative thinking, I would definitely imagine. I'll be here, so for a good 7 days I won't be blugging:

Going with the boys for my "bachelor party." Although I'm still wondering what kind of a bachelor party it would be when all the rest of the guys are trashed and I'm the sober one. I got a vacation haircut too (Mohawk what).

The hotel I heard is tres ghetto, so really, it'll be an adventure.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh boi!

(Love you baby, see you when I get back)

Realized Something About Myself Today

Nothing earth-shattering (come to think of it, when have I ever had a realization that shatter a country, let alone a planet?). I realized that I'm much a victim of novelty, especially when it comes to Doritos.

Everytime there is a new flavour of Doritos out, I always have to purchase it at that instant to try it out. Don't get me started when they had Ketchup as a flavour...

Anywho, case in point: today. I did an inspection at a convenience store today, and saw two flavours I haven't tried before: chili cheese lime and spicy habanero. So what did I do? I bought both.

Spicy Habanero: good, what I was expecting. Chili Cheese Lime: the flavours sort of clashed. I think the Tostitos Hint of Lime totally ruined it for me because nothing beats the Tostitos Hint of Lime, and when I saw that flavour, I thought it would be somewhat similar. It wasn't (I ended up giving half the bag to Kathie, which is prolly a good thing because too much junk food just ain't good).

I hope they don't come out with a Spicy Ketchup flavour...I think I'd gain 19 pounds in 3 days.

Some Actual Words Of Advice From Guys I Know

A (divorced): "Jason, I'll teach you what I learned about marriage and how to make it successful"

Me: "Okay?"

A: "Marriage is all about communication, communication, communication. It is not a one-way street. Marriage is a two-way street. Make sure you always have communication"

T (married 3 years, and not missing a beat): "That may be true, but I'm just saying...women don't know how to drive"

* * *

Me: "Don't you feel guilty for having feelings about other women, going on a date with them, and having a fiance?"

(He who will remain nameless): "No! Listen, never feel guilty, otherwise you know you did something bad. If you don't feel guilty, you didn't do anything bad"

* * *

A bunch of various guys who don't know each other: "Remember, what happens in Cuba, stays in Cuba"

I Heart Football

Had a grand ol' time playing soccer with the workmates today for the annual tourney. It's so fun and challenging. Challenging to, you know, breathe properly.

I feel so out-of-shape. I also want to play in a soccer league, although I would be scared I would just embarass myself. Eventually, I suppose. You know what this means though? That's right...soccer shoes!

We went to Turtle Jacks afterwards where I had Buffalo Shrimp (absolutely awesome). I also got the razzin' from the workmates about getting married. Despite what they say, I can't wait...

Monsignor Said "Okay"

So we're allowed to get married. It's soon!

* * *

Got a head cold...hope it goes away before Cuba. Maybe I'm too excited

"BBQ at my place!": A New Era

So I had to work today, which sorta sucked (late vendors, hot sun, aching feet, sweaty, blah). Afterwards, I was supposed to work on the house, but I felt a little fatigued and didn't want to bother my Dad.

Seeing as how the gas line for the BBQ was just installed earlier in the day, it was a perfect opportunity to test it out. And what better way then to invite a few peeps over to inaugurate the grill?

We had a small party around the natural gas grill

The inevitable happened of course, both bad (dropped a pan full of bacon and stained the deck with oil) and good (had the friends over whom I haven't seen in a while and did the "remember whens"). So aside from the getting old feeling, it was good times.

Back to reality for the next few days including: meeting with the Priest tomorrow; work, even this coming up Saturday for more overtime; and, trying to finish off as much as I could around the house before Cuba this Sunday. All while trying not to think about going on vacation. Good luck with that one...

We Have Cool!

So things at the house are motoring along (finally). We got our A/C installed today, along with the furnace. The guys are coming back tomorrow for the natural gas line for the BBQ (which I made today).

On top of that, our flooring guy started and completed the Master Bedroom and closet.

Good times...I mean, there's still a ton of things left to do, but it's always refreshing to see a lot of progress in a little time.

Not so good times? Working on a long weekend Monday. I'll be working a special event where I don't anticipate it going well. But considering all the money we've been spending, I gotta find it somewhere. I'll also be working this coming up Saturday for another crappy event; but that's okay, because only one more week till Cuba!

Maybe This Will Work?

To help myself get out of a funk, I tend to do things that are different from my norm. So what did I do differently today?

I finally changed the layout of my blog.

Okay, so it's not a drastic change, but it's still a change nonetheless.

* * *

I forgot to mention that last week a Public Health Inspector in Toronto was charged by the Police for accepting bribe money from a bar.

I will go on record as saying that I have never and never will accept bribes, nor has it ever crossed my mind. I would like to think of myself as being too honest for that kind of thing.

Going back to the story, though, of what relevance does that have to me (despite it being the first time I've ever heard about a story like this here)? Well, I got into the office and a lot of people started asking me about the situation. I didn't know what they were talking about until they told me the story. Apparently, the PHI that was charged was my mentor.

Do I think he did it? Hard to say. When I was working with him, he was very careful about the things he did and the things he said to me. Obviously, he taught me the correct things to do on the job, and none of the bad things. I also got along with him great, in fact. So it's hard to believe that someone I personally know would do such a thing.

At the same time, though, I know PHIs, like him that play the system (heck, I'm like that sometimes, although I would never do something as serious as that). So in a (sad) way, it sorta didn't surprise me. If anything, I was only surprised that he got caught, especially since other people that knew him told me that he was a very paranoid character that always was worried about getting into trouble. In fact, someone who spoke to him directly told me he said he didn't do it and he believed him.

In the end, I shouldn't speculate. I'll just be patient and wait to see what becomes of it.

Oh yeah, and this situation is also a bit weird for me because I'm a mentor myself (proudly for three years straight). I told everyone that I taught all my students never to do something like that. I taught them the proper way: only accept American Money because it's not worth as much. Oh snap! (That was a joke, by the way, people who may be in authority and may use that last statement against me in a court of law)

* * *
One month before I switch teams at work. Excited, but at the same time getting a little emotional leaving. I really like the people I work with right now, and I'm sorta dreading the new people I'm going to be working with. Luckily, they're only a floor above me away.

Here's Another Surprise:

I'm feeling "bleh."

What the heck is wrong with me, I gotta get out of this funk.

Errrrrr...

Cuban Countdown Time!

10!

* * *

Partook in my first foodhandler training course today. I'm actually looking forward to it! Especially since I went out this morning with Boss, who I still think is stuck in a timewarp and is just, well...embarassing

Clear My Mind

Focus...get crap out of your head.

Argh. Why do I have to think too much?