Thank goodness it's the 31st (well, almost)

To be honest, January 2011 has pretty much sucked ass. My personal life continued to contain awkward and sad moments (which I even had to initiate), I worked like a mad person at work and it was cold. Oh so cold.

The Sens are losing too.

So it is without any regret that I bid adieu to this month. February is already looking up, with some work travel to the actual north and both coasts. I also get to see some my now far flung nearest and dearest.

Am also all packed for these travels, rocking many zip loc bags as suggested by the lovely Z (see sidebar) who is now returned to North America! CANNOT wait to see her and some of my other friends... Anyways, gotta keep moving but will talk soon!

It's so romantic

I had an excellent night last night, had an old school sleepover (including Shirley Temples with vodka) with some of my dear undergrad roomies. We watched 'My Best Friend's Wedding', Lonely Island clips (tip - setting a drinking game that requires you to drink every time they say 'boat' during 'I'm on a boat' is not for the foolhardy) and got some good gossiping in. These are the people in my life that I need to make time for, because they make me laugh, they know me well enough to not take my b.s. and be sure of why I made decisions, and help me grow as a person. They're my girls and I'll love them always.

I think I have mentioned before that my former housemates all looooooove Harlequin Romances. We have over the years (going on 8 now that we have known each other) quite a collection (below are just a few that were bestowed on the first of us to get married, along with the cut out of C who couldn't make the bachelorette, so we carried around her picture all night until it got left in the bar - only somewhat typical).

When I was still in Mtl, my both (then) present and past roomie Liz and I had a plan to write a Harlequin with a protaganist in grad school. She would be brilliant, her true beauty obscured by the schlumpy clothes and lab coat. It would only when a dashing post doc from somewhere abroad (either Spain, Italy or the Middle East) arrived that she would bloom into a (true) woman. They would go off and have lots of very smart babies.

I was thinking today though - could you write a romance novel about public servants? I mean, grad school was a bit of a stretch but even that had the possibilities of late nights alone in the lab, in an exotic jungle for your field work and a fairly common culture of multiple nationalities being represented in a small area. I am the first to admit that public service is not exactly the most exciting of domains and I myself have a rule to not date my coworkers but I've come up with a few plot points that could work:

- a handsome deputy directer, named Henri, on secondment from Hull

- seduces the somewhat mousy but truly beautiful once she lets down her hair analyst (they usually have ridiculous names but at the moment we're going with Veronica) in her cubicle one night after they complete an MC (the cubicle being so small ideal for leverage)

- since they are both on compressed, they take a glamorous long weekend to Kingston, where she is shocked to mistake his Blackberry for hers and find out that he has instructed his former DM to shoot down their MC saving the rare endangered spotted beaver for reasons of economics: his departments wants to build a pipeline there instead

- she flees back to Ottawa but there is only one more train (thanks Via!) that day so they are both on it. They have an angry but steamy encounter in one of those teeny bathrooms.

- she finds out when they get back that actually the pipeline will be built to serve as an ideal habitat for the beavers and they both get promoted.

- they go on to have several adorable children, who play in the daycare in their office building, and who will one day become public servants themselves.

What do you think? Is this a best seller to read on the bus on your way to work or what?

Le tired

It's been a couple of busy weeks here. I am very, very occupied at work, getting ready to do some travelling to run regional meetings off the national one I recently organized here in our fair capital, which went pretty well, but needs to be improved upon and refined.

I have also had some wonderful guests, a former (and maybe future?) roomie T, while she was doing an internship in town and a whack of other old friends from Mtl for some good times. But I must admit, that I did have a bit of a skip in my step as I waved them off this morning and closed and LOCKED my door.

I have obviously become more accustomed to my alone time than I thought.

I had a lovely phone chat this evening with former roomie Liz, where she picked up the usual thread of my best friend Z (who is almost back from S. America!!) of telling me I am way too busy and overscheduled in my life as a whole. I am beginning to hear that message loud and clear, I have felt my stress levels rising and despite having a house guest last week, was rather boring and in bed by 10 most of the week. I think I need to push hard to make that a habit, because I am sure criss crossing the country will do a wonder on my sense of time and rest.

L and I had a bit of a disagreement over whether I am an introvert or extrovert. I say I am an extroverted introvert which she scoffed at. I love to be around people and be part of the party but at times I do feel the need to pull back and be on my own, closer to the edge. But no matter what part of the party I'm at, I do need to get better at saying no to the parties I really don't feel like attending, or that aren't important and focus on the things and people in my life who ARE important. Namely me. Here's to trying.

In the minority

The vast majority of times, I am not in the minority. I am a white woman of Irish heritage, of Christian (complicated Christian but Christian nonetheless), with brown hairs, blue eyes, an average build and height. But for two years of middle school in among the toughest schools in town, I have always been clearly among my peers. Through undergraduate, where I slowly picked up the traits and styles of those around me (Queen's - where you to go act like a sheep at times. Baa). In my Masters, I worked with two girls who looked and acted so much like me we were commonly mistaken as sisters.

I have worked in several environments, with people of all types and backgrounds and never have I felt so out of place as in the past few months.... working with 50 year old men.

I have nothing against fifty year old men. I have several uncles of that era whom I adore. My dad is no longer quite in his fifties but he is still pretty awesome. I have had bosses before of that vintage who were great guys, and we got along great.

Why the issue now?

I am now in a sector which has been traditionally, a sector dominated by men. The guys I work with have on average (I think) put in at least 15-20 years into this topic. They are incredibly knowledgeable and engaged, motivated and have been incredibly welcoming to me. They're not really used to women being around, and that I am soon to be the equal (rank wise) to them, but they are trying and I give them props.

Yet, they are at times so out of touch I want to scream. They ask me to do tasks better fitting to an administrative assistant - which I am sorry, but I am not. Check my title, and the letters behind my name.

They are incapable of the simplest technological tasks, including dialing into a conference call, copying a piece of paper or not having to print out an Excel spreadsheet to look at it. I spent my morning on a conference call listen to several men berate (in the nicest of ways) a poor (female!) technological specialist that when they printed out the spreadsheets she prepared, they looked different. I am sure they have no clue how to set up the printing areas. I have never met this girl but was sending her a psychic hug. Thank goodness no one can see the faces I make while on teleconferences! (Though I have to be very careful on the days we do videoconference...)

They give me very well meaning advice but they do it, stopping by my cubicle for a friendly chat, when I am actually doing work. I really don't care about your collection that much (and I can fake it pretty well after years of assuring my father the blues is indeed, SO interesting).

I know I will adapt. And we do get along. Our corny senses of humour line up very well, my boss's jokes do make me laugh. Just stop getting 'Twitter' wrong OK?

(Eesh - my poor 60 year old father, this loss tonight is going to hit him hard. Next year boys. I, however, am quite pleased I declined to go out tonight and spend money, rather stayed in, made awesome soup [post to follow] and am going to bed on time.)

The Year to Come

Well another year has passed and I ushered in the new one in one of my favourite cities, dancing with some of my favourite people, a cocktail in hand. Let's hope that sets the tone for the rest of the year, I did the same last year and 2010 was pretty cool so I'm feeling fairly confident.

I would say that hopefully I'll be back there for New Years Eve 2011 but I actually don't, I have hatched a plan to be somewhere warm and ideally all inclusive for next year, and will start squirreling away the money for that as soon as my raise comes through.

Current possible locales:

(Vegas baby!)

(The Caribbean - all inclusive or cruising style)

(You want to come along? The more the merrier!)

I would say that not much changed in 2010 but as I was working on this post (slightly hungover, on the train on my way back from Montreal) I realized that a lot has happened this year. I moved out (again) into my very own condo, I got a new, great job, with an even greater raise, I met and developed friendships with great people, and am trying really hard to overcome my neuroses. I already have some great events on the book for 2011, including the weddings of some of my nearest and dearest, getting to see more of this great country of mine and as previously mentioned, hopefully a trip to somewhere warm and fabulous to finish off the year.

Here's to it!