October

It's my favourite time of the year!

The air is getting crisp but the sun still warms you. The leaves are changing colour, Thanksgiving smells are in the air (in Canada, at least) and my favourite day, Halloween, is right at the end.

This October is also wonderful for many other reasons.

1) My Rockstar has beem moved in for a week now and I couldn't be happier. Even though it's a small, small place, we aren't on each other's nerves. He goes out for band practice, I go out with friends or have "me time." Or we both have me time where I read or scour the web for clothing deals while he plays Monkey Island or Final Fantasy. Yes, apparently he is a closeted nerd but that only makes me love him more (though Monkey Island is pretty cool). Sure it was a pain getting all his stuff in here but we are making it work and it doesn't feel cramped at all - and I do like having an Xbox and having vintage Transformers all over the place (especially the one that turns into a triceratops - I used to have that one!)

2) Oh and I got a job :P - A good job. A really good job. Like, a career.

Yeah, funny story.

Remember a few posts back I told you about how I lipped off that recruitment agency lady and said she didn't exist and that all recruitment jobs were fake?

And how she called me back and wanted to prove me wrong?

And how I went into the interview with them, was tested on Excel (AGAIN) and was sent to an interview for an engineering company?

Well - turns out the engineering company really liked me and I am their new "Marketing and Communications Assistant"!

I started last Wednesday and so far it's pretty cool. I wanted to get into marketing for quite awhile and though I had a bit of schooling I never had the experience. But these people saw some potential in me and suddenly I am in the Corporate Marketing Department for the Canadian version of this global company (that has 40,000 employees world wide).

I get three weeks vacation. A cushy corner office (well it's in a corner and has a window - I managed to sidestep the cubicles!). Full and immediate benefits (like having 100% of my prescriptions covered). RRSPs that they match (that's 401Ks for you Americans). Stock options (ha, I'll wait on that one for a bit). They have flex time hours (ie, I could work 9 hours on Mon-Thurs and then work 4 hours on Friday). They pay for your gym membership. I get overtime. And the pay is VERY good, initially - although after ALL the taxes are taken off, it's not that good after all. Damn the government!).

Plus, I'm writing. Everyday! Whether it's for the blog or newsletter, I'm doing it!

There's only one drawback and that's the location - it's about a half hour drive away. Now I know I shouldn't complain...BUT I will anyway. Just because I was supposed to sell me car and now that's probably not going to happen for awhile.

You see, it is accesible by public transit...but I don't think I can stand doing it twice a day, everyday.

I know this because I tried it out on my second day of work. Bad idea...

I knew in my mind how to get there, I just wasn't too sure of the times. I severly underestimated public transit.

I caught the bus outside my apartment about 5 minutes later than I thought I would. Then the bus took about 5 minutes later than I thought it would to get to the Skytrain. Then I got on the wrong skytrain. Then I realized I left my void cheque at home and that the Payroll lady would be upset if she didn't get it.

So I had to make a quick decision...do I continue on and be late without the cheque? Or do I go home, get the cheque and still be late (nee later). So I went home. I was still downtown but not in walking distance. So instead of getting back on the Skytrain or getting the bus, I hailed a cab. Which took 10 minutes. Then I took the cab back to my place and was planning to just drive to work. Then I realized that I had no gas. So I took the same cab to work - and arrived a half hour late and forty dollars poorer. Luckily they were understanding (I had called them earlier) and I just stayed later.

Then there was the getting home part. I caught the bus right outside work and took it to the Skytrain station. Luckily that only took 10 minutes even in traffic. But then I didn't get off the Skytrain when I should have and got off at a dead end. But there was a bus waiting that took me to a street in which I could get another bus. Unfortunately the other bus only comes once in a blue moon and when it did finally roll up, it was PACKED to the doors. Only it didn't say it was full so me and three other people got on.

We were kind of waiting for people in the bus to move back when the bus driver mumbled (seethingly, through his teeth), "I'm giving you ten seconds...."

I had no idea who he was talking to but he wasn't closing the doors. Finally he flipped his wheel up and spat out, "Can't you people tell when a bus is full? Do we have to tell you to do everything? For Gods'sake get off the fucking bus!"

I was appalled, as was the other three people. "Sorry, you could have just told us it was full and we wouldn't have gotten on."

He just barked at us some more. Seriously, I have NEVER been treated like that by a bus driver before.

Anyway, so we had to wait another 20 min for another bus (I could have walked home by that time) and by the time I made it my door, I was starting to think that maybe driving would actually be less stressfull than public transit.

The next day, I drove to work and it took an easy 25 minutes. That pretty much sealed the deal.