Caffeinate Meeee . . .

Pleeeaaassee! It's day one of Professional Cooking and I've been awake since 5am. \\blech\\ I don't do mornings but today I woke up because I was cold and couldn't get back to sleep. Poor me, I'm so used to sleeping in that getting up to leave at 7am just about killed me.

Luckily nothing to strenuous happened today. We had an intro to the course and watched a video on the care and feeding of knives (there were a few chefs from the CIA talking about the importance of knives and how to best "bond with your knives"). Then the last thing we did was start to clean the kitchen. After 2 months sitting unused and construction in the building it is very dusty.

Tomorrow we clean some more and learn how to prep a salmon. Oh yeah - next week we start 30 min earlier. Ack!

George's New Clothes

Thanks to Niko, I was directed to site that sells accessories for 1/6 scale figures and it was full of cool clothes. Since she was ordering some tiny Samurai swords anyway, I got her to add some clothes for George to her order. So now I have a tiny pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt with a Fett on the front (not sure if it's Boba or Jango). Originally for a snowboarding figure I think, it's perfect for mini-George. I still need sunglasses, shoes, a plaid shirt, some movie making equipment, and of course, a body.

The Continuing Saga . . .

of my quest for funding is almost over!

I dropped off my 15 pages of justification at Agency 3 on Tuesday. My worker was sick on Wednesday, so she called Thursday at the end of the day to ask a bunch of questions that are answered somewhere in those 15 pages. Easier to ask me than actually read the forms, I guess. She can't understand my tuition amounts, so I email her those.

Friday she phones and says I haven't shown an exhaustive work search. Um, what's two years of pulling my hair out, sending out a bazillion resumes and running up my VISA balance, if not exhaustive?? So I email her my work search records.

Then she gives me the worst news. Technically, they aren't supposed to fund anyone who already has a student loan, which I do. The loan isn't enough to cover living expenses, I need a little bit extra and permission for my EI to continue while I'm studying. She says she'll have to review everything and talk to her boss. So I spend the weekend coming up with alternatives that will allow me to take the course and still eat.

I don't hear from her again until Monday afternoon, luckily I have been approved \\phew\\ and I have to go in Tuesday (today) and fill out yet another form. But, and it's a big one, I have to go back to Agency Two and have my worker there modify my Return to Work Action Plan again. Of course, she has left for the day when I call, so I email her, and end up running in there before going to Agency Three. My worker there will be couriering the paperwork wherever it has to go to be approved. Looks like I'm now done except for going back to Agency Three on Friday or maybe Monday to sign the contract (whenever it comes back from HRDC).

It's a good thing this is almost done, since classes start Monday! Now if only my loan documents would arrive so I can cash that and pay my tuition . . .

Why is it

that you never run out of two essential ingredients at the same time? Or always have to go to the store because you have one thing and not the other? I've noticed this happens frequently with shrimp and cocktail sauce, bagels and cream cheese, or tortilla chips and salsa. I'm thinking it's some sort of cosmic joke - "so you want a bagel with cream cheese, eh? Well, you don't have any cream cheese. Bwahahhahaha!!"

More Books

I checked out the first of Joanne Dobson's books Quieter Than Sleep to compare it with the later one I read recently. I liked the first (this one is an Emily Dickinson murder) better than the third and have decided that her books are worth reading.

I've also zipped through two of MC Beaton's "Hamish McBeth" books and am working on Anna Apostolou's (aka PC Doherty) A Murder in Macedon.

Almost There

The Continuing Saga of the Red Tape is almost over. I hope . . .

Yesterday I went to meeting Number 2 at Agency Two and after some discussion got a referral to Agency Three. I went to Agency Three to fill out a pre-application of all things. Then a worker gave me a pre-interview. She read my forms wrong and started out by telling the course I wanted wasn't funded any more. What?! Since last week? We got that sorted out but she still seemed to think I worked in a different industry than I did. I gave up trying to correct her since it just made it worse. I'm a little worried since she is the one who will be assessing my application.

Oh, yes, it also turns out that the worker from Agency Two didn't fill out the referral form correctly so I have to go back to day to sign and new one and deliver it to Agency Three. Pu-leeze! These agencies are in the same building, how hard would it be to run up or down the stairs and fix the form without me having to go back? \\sigh\\

So, theoretically all I have left is to fill out about 15 pages of application, take it back in and wait 3 to 6 business days for an answer. I'll believe that when it happens.

Judging a Book by It's Cover

Or in this case by it's title. I've decided to expand my reading a bit in an effort to discover new authors, so every time I go to the library I now choose a book solely on the basis of it's title. So far I've tried these:

• One about crusaders in Jerusalem that I've forgotten the title. Most annoying because I wanted to read more of his work.


• The Reeve's Tale by Margaret Frazer - a nice medieval mystery with a nun solving the crime, worth reading more of her work


• Anonymous Rex by Eric Garcia - I couldn't even finish it. The premise is that dinosaurs did not become extinct and are running around in human costumes a la the aliens in Men in Black. That wasn't the bad part, it was the attempt at a hard boiled PI style that didn't work or maybe I just don't like hard boiled PI anymore. \\shrug\\


• The Raven and the Nightengale by Joanne Dobson - the third in her "literary" series, not bad, well plotted, lots of interesting info, lacks edge of seatness. I've checked out the first book in the series to try it out.


• Shadows at the Fair by Lea Wait - this one is an "antique print" mystery altough the plot really had nothing to do with prints. This one was one I had to force myself to put down at night, definitely will read more of her work.

I've also read One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. My mum was reading them during her post op recovery and I thought I'd give them a try. Similar in feel to Sue Grafton's alphabet series, although Stephanie Plum is way more girly than Kinsey Millhone. I'll probably read more since it's nice to see the girls kick some ass.

Strange Dreams

\\insert 80's soundtrack here\\ invade my sleep at night.

Great, now that song will be stuck in my head all day. Anyway, I think I've been watching the Food Network too much since I decided to go to cooking school. Last night, or more acurately very early this morning, I had a really bizarre cooking dream. I was with Jamie Oliver (aka the Naked Chef - but fully clothed) and Irish chef Richard Corrigan on the banks of the Thames. At least I'm assuming it was the Thames, there were a lot of really old buildings in the background, including one that looked like Big Ben. We were fishing for lunch but with hand grenades. Yes, there we were lobbing grenades amongst the boats of tourists and fishing the catch out with a net that looked like a giant Chinese cooking strainer. Bizarre. . .

Obviously, I need to cut down on the Food Network and stop reading into the wee hours.

The cash flow is outward . . .

I finally got my car into the shop. Kind of funny really because I was planning to take it in on Friday and on Wednesday one of those pesky lights on the dash lit up. Apparently it is related to the battery charger. Hmm.. Which means eventually the car will stop starting, as I discovered on Thursday evening in the McDonald's parking lot. \\sigh\\ We did jump it and I started to drive home but all the lights were flickering , so I gave up and left it in a parking lot in town. Much to my surprise it was still there in one piece the next day and I had it towed to my mechanic. The alternator died.
So that's going to cost me almost $300 and they haven't even started on the radiator. Against my better judgement, I drove up to Nanaimo and back twice in the same weekend and it overheated majorly, especially the second day. I didn't think we were going to get home, and we had a dog with us, so I basically shit bricks the whole way. Anyway , we did make and I decided I'd better get the silly thing fixed asap. Of course, asap depends entirely on cash coming in. Which it did, now it's going right back out again. \\sigh\\. Well, at least the car should work properly for a while.

Dogs, dogs, and more dogs

We seem to be having a dog invasion around here lately. First we had a greyhound foster at the end of July. She was only here a week before she went to her new home. She is an absolute sweety and so small compared to our great goofy boys! Here she is with Cuinn:


Then earlier this week I hear Selena yelling at me from outside that a dog followed her home. Yeah, right! At first I thought it was one of our neighbours horrible beasts but Selena assured me it was small and wasn't going to hurt her. So out I go to find a tiny, chubby, wiggling mass of fur. It took a second to recognize her as a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I am SO not a fan of dogs smaller than or equal to my cats in size. Anything small and fuzzy sends me running for the hills (if you can't tell from the picture above Cuinn is 91 pounds and 31 inches tall).

I sent the kids off to the neighbour we think may own the dog. We always hear lots of barking of the small yappy type coming from there. Yes, it was the right place but no one was home. And another dog followed them back here! So now we have two spaniel guests. We were going to pen them in the outdoor poop zone run but it started to rain, so in they came. They were so good and Cuinn didn't mind them. It took us until the next day to get in touch with the owner. It turns out her sister was dog sitting and had been looking everywhere for the dogs. They are called Cheri and Visa, aren't they cute?



Later that day, Mum calls to tell us she has seen another one. She's been hearing it in the bush and catching glimpses for several days and it finally came out of the brush. We tried to catch her but she got away in the dark. Very early the next morning Selena comes in to my room and presents me with a beautiful little Blenheim (rust and white) Cavalier girl she has caught. We wait until a decent hour and take her home, her name is Jezebel. So we finally met those neighbours, Selena found out that puppies cost $1800 (Aack!), and got an invitation to go swim in their in-ground pool.

The last dog related incident is poor Cuinn's ear. His ear infection came back and every time he moved his head he let out a yelp. Of course, the worst of it is over the holiday weekend. Poor boy! So we took him in, he got his ear flushed and a shot. Now he has drops twice a day again for a week. I soften the blow a little by giving him one of his fave treats - Cheez Whiz. He played with his teddy yesterday, so I think he is feeling better (I wish I could say the same for my wallet).

Cold Turkey Fun

Much to my surprise, I actually did stop making coffee when my International Delight ran out. So far, so good. I have been scarfing the odd chocolate covered espresso bean and the odd cup of chai tea though. The first few days I did get headaches. I'm not sure if that was from withdrawal or because it was so damn hot here.

I've added a tiny bit of exercise to my routine by walking to the mailbox. Really, it is more of a stroll, so maybe I will try to pick up the pace a bit, especially on the way up the hill at the end.

Red Tape Untangles

Very slowly . . .
I decided to get off my butt and tackle the red tape monster between me and course funding. Yikes!

Day One: A Wednesday. I go to Agency One to get prescreened for an appointment. Luckily they still have my file from last year. I get an appointment for the next day.
Day Two: Thursday. Back to Agency One to see counsellor. She is very helpful, we complete the Return to Work Action Plan and she gives me a list of steps to follow. However, she needs a copy of my course deposit receipt. Do I remember where it is? No.
Go to the college for a copy of the receipt. Also need to see Student Services because course payment is due the next day and my student loan is not approved. The outcome of that visit is one receipt and a phone call to make to Student Loans.
Agency One again, hand in receipt, sign paper work. It is now hotter than hell outside and my car starts complaining on the way home.

Day Three: Friday. Called Student Loans and got them to fix the problem, head back to the college. We sit and wait for 20 minutes to see the correct person. Meanwhile the person next to me chatters the whole time about her cooking skills, argghh, she's going to be in my class! I now have a tuition waiver and am saved from paying fees until my loan comes in.

Day Four: The following Wednesday. Go to an information session at Agency Three. Nothing I didn't already know, except I'd better get my ass in gear. I go up to Agency Two and get an appointment for Friday.

Day Five: Friday. Have appointment with another counsellor. She asks questions and gives me advice on filling out the application. I have to go back to see her again next Thursday, she will review my research and hopefully refer me to Agency Three.

So I guess I am about half way there. I'm still working on my labour market information and will go see a restaurant manager on Monday.