Dec
2021

Three’s a charm!

I am excited! Only a week left to Chrtistmas!

He said

As the title of this week’s blog acknowledges, this week – today, actually – I was able to get my third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The booster couldn’t have come soon enough what with the Omicron variant spreading quickly and restrictions ramping back up and with holiday visiting around the corner, I wanted to be sure I did the right thing to keep myself and those around me safe. The process was easy and well organized—just like the first two doses. And even better was I only had to wait for five minutes after the dose. And as I sat down in the chair in the waiting area, I already had my email confirmation of dosage. And now all three doses are updated in my Apple Wallet.

The other me-specific news this week was that on Tuesday and Thursday this week, the weather was so unseasonably warm that I was able to get in another couple of outdoor rides on the bike. They are my two latest rides ever of the season. Last year’s record was November 20th, before I gave up outside rides for indoors. This year I blew the pants off that by getting into December, and well into December (the 16th) at that. So, with that new record, it got me into data mode and I started tallying up all of my outdoor rides and quite frankly I was pleasantly shocked by my results. I managed to ride a grand total of 5,192kms total this year—4,441 of those kms were on my new Vanterra bike that got in May. And what’s more, I did 990 kms on the G2G Rail Trail this year too! I have spent 224 hrs in the saddle this year, and I am damned proud of that!

On the wrestling front, Emelia had another Meet on Wednesday this week. This one was at Central and ended a little disappointingly for Emelia. When she got there initially there wasn’t a Match for her in her age, and weight class. But, then she ended getting an opponent when one of the girls on her team wasn’t able to go due to an injury. The downside was that Emelia was up against a girl from Grade 11 and in a heavier weight class who was quite aggressive whereas Emelia is still sorting that part up. The coach for that team was also over-the-top shouting which was a lot also for Emelia to absorb. Emelia ended up hurting her ribs. While she did finish the match and lost on points, she was quite upset with the experience and needed some extra TLC after the match when Danielle picked her up.

Emelia’s bestie Olivia was there and managed to catch video of the Match which Stephanie shared with us. I have decided maybe it’s a good thing that spectators aren’t allowed because the video was hard to watch because it’s my daughter and I know her well enough to see where she was getting overwhelmed by it, and also where she hurt her ribs. I am proud of her for sticking it out, and she still wants to do wrestling so that’s great. But, I, still haven’t watched the video a second time.

There is other very big news this week, but I am going to leave that for Danielle to tell as it’s hers to share. But, both Emelia & I are very proud of her! This week will be a lot as we sort out whether the new restrictions in Ontario will help slow the spread of the Omicron variant and whether people will take the warnings seriously as we head into Christmas next weekend. We’ve pretty much assumed that Cheer may slow the pace, if not pause their practice schedule and her Wrestling season may be in peril. We’ll see… it’s all we can do. Now, we just focus on getting third doses in Danielle and Emelia!

She said

My big news this week has been weeks in the making—well actually years in the making. When COVID hit and took out my livelihood as a daycare provider we had to adjust and figure out what the next steps were. I was leaving my business as there was not a lot of jobs and lots of people looking for work. It was a long and emotionally draining process. I made it far in a lot of interview processes including a part time position at Western University. It would have allowed me to have a position at the University which has been a goal for many, many years. It would have also allowed me to work with a good friend of mine which was a huge bonus! The downside? It was contract and part time. As I was progressing through the interview process in 2020 I was offered a full time position at Bristol Sinks. I happily took that job and passed on working at Western.

Fast forward more than a year later, I was approached again by my friend and she said that the same job in a different department had come open this time full time and permanent. Was I interested? I jumped at the chance and assumed it might not go very far. Well after weeks of assessments, interviews, reference checks, more interviews, more assessments and more background checks I got a tentative offer. So about 2 weeks ago I gave notice at my current employer to move to the next step on the hiring process. It was terrifying – giving notice without a formal 100% job in place.

It was a leap of faith!

I can finally say after a week of a lot of stress I finally have a full offer, full contract in place and I can say officially that I start working at Western University right after new years! The last 15 months working at Bristol has taught me so much, they gave me a new stepping stone in my career that I will forever be grateful for. I will miss my current co-workers and will sadly say good-bye on December 23rd!

It has been a crazy ride, stressful but worth taking the leap of faith to a whole new future for my, our family and a huge step in my career!

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