Yes, I know, it never rains but it pours.
A month between updates, now here I am back on two concecutive days!
This time, a brief word about the impending excitement in our household. There's quite a lot really; a few big things in the works, any one of which would normally dominate.
Tonight, we are expecting Unicyclists. There is a big world-wide event passing through Hubbards today. 34 teams of Unicyclists, from 13 countries are taking part in the "Ride the Lobster 800k International Unicycle Race" and the time trial phase brings them right through our little town. It's the first event of it's kind anywhere anywhen and they are spending the night RIGHT HERE! Two of them are even going to sleep in OUR HOUSE! How exciting is THAT? Pretty cool huh? Major excitement what? Yep.
Then there's Friday night/Saturday morning. We are booked to play at the "Relay For Life" event in nearby Chester - at three in the morning. That's exciting too - only our second real gig here and part of a seriously cool event that should be a lot of fun. (Shame I have to work all day Saturday but hey, see previous post for why I hope that'll be OK, the guys'll keep me awake). Enough excitement for one week right? Wrong!
It is all overshadowed by what's supposed to be happening on Thursday afternoon. Regular readers will know that we lost our beloved L'Uther to bone cancer back in February. That left us with one dog (B'U the Standard Poodle, L'Uther's uncle and nephew (don't try, trust me, it works)) and two cats, Ricardo (aka Tardo) and Yoda The Ragdoll (aka Yoyo). We always knew this mix was uneven. Bu misses Lu, tries to get the cats to play all his giraffe-dog games which they really don't get and generally has a lonely time of it.
We also always knew there would be another dog in the house at some point but were not ready. THEN, last week, the breeder and friend from whom both dogs came, told us she had three 8 month old apricot bitches who had not been sold when they should have been because of other stuff that was going on at the time and, if we wanted one, she was ours.
We deliberated for about 1.07 nanoseconds and said yes. So, WestJet permitting, she arrives on Thursday afternoon. There was much hilarity for a couple of days - including all through wife's birthday/Fathers' Day dinner with daughters - trying to name said pup.
At one point, we had a less-than-original comedy sketch worked out around the line "Hi, this is my dog Bu and this is my OTHER dog Bu". We even wrote a song called "Me And You And Two Dogs Named Bu" but apparently something very similar has already been done!
Finally, we did what all serious minded people do when they have a serious problem of this sort. We reverted to childhood and mined the caverns of kids' TV. I never saw "Fraggle Rock" - wrong age, wrong continent - but it seems there was a hippy-like, female Fraggle (not even really sure what a Fraggle is/was, truth be told) called "Mokey". Suddenly, there was unanimity, consensus, agreement and a modicum of regret that the naming hilarity was over.
So, "Mokey" it is. She'll be a handful, no doubt, but cute as a button and a playmate for Bu and she might just even up the feline/canine balance a bit. Today was "Buying Of Stuff", a huge tug rope that Bu has already claimed and a couple of harnessy things that make it easy (sayth the label) to walk two dogs that a) can't agree on which way to drag you or b) CAN agree on which way to drag you or c) don't want to go ANYWHERE, even though you need to AND d) weigh more than you do. Not bad for $8.99 each if they work.
Don't forget to tune in for next week's exciting episode.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Good Thing I Said Nice Things About Them!
No famous people this time, just what this blog is SUPPOSED to be all about, a sorta kinda dyary thing.
Lots has happened since my last update so I hope there'll be a few in quick succession now.
Back when this whole blog idea was new and shiny, I did a brief series on "Shopping In Hubbards", one of the main parts of which was about my experiences in and impressions of the local liquor store, the NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation) (see the entry on on December 13th 2007).
It's there for rereading by anyone who feels so inclined but, in a nutshell, I expressed the opinion that it was probably the nicest retail outlet in this small town and waxed lyrical about how impressed I was by the service, the selection and, incidentally, Nova Scotian wine.
I have also mentioned at least once that I have been job-hunting, albeit half-heartedly most of the time because of all the distractions and upheavals we've had since arriving here.
Well, here's the thing see. About a month ago, I went in the NSLC and noticed a sign on the door advertizing for a "Casual Clerk". I asked what that meant and came away with an application form. A very nice (unstressful) interview a week later and, Abracadabra, I now work there!
I've done a few short training stints, some on-line courses and, last Saturday, did my first full day. One of the training modules quite naturally and understandably goes into the need for confidentiality and so on and, since I only read it a few days ago and have no grounds whatsoever for claiming to have forgotten, I can't say too much about the details. I don't think anyone's going to mind, though, if I say a few nice things about the place an the people in general terms.
Before I do, I'd like to point out that I would not be doing this if it were not genuinely felt; I'd just shut up! This is not a place where I want to slag people. Neither is it a place for "brown-nosing". I work by the principle of "If ye cannot say owt good, say nowt".
So, although it's busy (very busy sometimes), sometimes strenuous (when the new stock comes in) and, frankly, highly repetitive, it has not ceased to be fun and neither do I expect it to. I've worked in enough different environments to be able to tell the difference between the novelty factor and a genuinely good place to be, and this is the latter.
As with every job I've ever had, from the most modest egg-delivery round to the biggest management responsibilities, the thing that makes the difference between enthusiasm and drudgery has ALWAYS been the people. If the job is "retail" in nature and involves the public, then they will naturally figure large in that equation. I've said before that this is a very frendly town with some of the nicest, straightest and most genuine folks it's ever been my pleasure to meet so there's no problem there. In any job where you have co-workers (A horrible word, try it without the hyphen for full effect. Brits should read "colleagues" or "work-mates" instead, much nicer), they, of course, make up the rest of it.
I've already commented on the staff's service skills and general professionalism but I now have a much deeper respect for them. The way they have accepted me, my idiosyncracies (I can see many readers nodding sagely about now!) and my too frequent confusions has been beyond any expectation I might have had. I feel at home there already and look forward to going in to work (I go in about 30 minutes for a four hour evening stint today).
They work hard, they work together, they help each other (especially me!) and they have fun. They crack jokes with the customers and each other, they do it right, but not "stiffly right", they know their stuff and are not backwards in sharing their experience. There are the usual grumbles about the sillyness (usually, as elsewhere, directed at the systems which, I have to say, are pretty good but have the usual nonsensical bits) but none of the cynicism I've grown used to in recent years. It really is a breath of fresh air.
OK, I have 30 minutes to proof-read this (you reading this, folks who write the training modules?), post it, get changed into my brand-new, freshly laundered NSLC uniform and
drive the six minutes to work.
So, to close, I say thank you, NSLC Hubbards people, all of you, good bunch one-and-all, for taking this Old World dinosaur into your midst and for all your help in getting me started. I'm Lovin' It, and it ain't even McDonald's.
Lots has happened since my last update so I hope there'll be a few in quick succession now.
Back when this whole blog idea was new and shiny, I did a brief series on "Shopping In Hubbards", one of the main parts of which was about my experiences in and impressions of the local liquor store, the NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation) (see the entry on on December 13th 2007).
It's there for rereading by anyone who feels so inclined but, in a nutshell, I expressed the opinion that it was probably the nicest retail outlet in this small town and waxed lyrical about how impressed I was by the service, the selection and, incidentally, Nova Scotian wine.
I have also mentioned at least once that I have been job-hunting, albeit half-heartedly most of the time because of all the distractions and upheavals we've had since arriving here.
Well, here's the thing see. About a month ago, I went in the NSLC and noticed a sign on the door advertizing for a "Casual Clerk". I asked what that meant and came away with an application form. A very nice (unstressful) interview a week later and, Abracadabra, I now work there!
I've done a few short training stints, some on-line courses and, last Saturday, did my first full day. One of the training modules quite naturally and understandably goes into the need for confidentiality and so on and, since I only read it a few days ago and have no grounds whatsoever for claiming to have forgotten, I can't say too much about the details. I don't think anyone's going to mind, though, if I say a few nice things about the place an the people in general terms.
Before I do, I'd like to point out that I would not be doing this if it were not genuinely felt; I'd just shut up! This is not a place where I want to slag people. Neither is it a place for "brown-nosing". I work by the principle of "If ye cannot say owt good, say nowt".
So, although it's busy (very busy sometimes), sometimes strenuous (when the new stock comes in) and, frankly, highly repetitive, it has not ceased to be fun and neither do I expect it to. I've worked in enough different environments to be able to tell the difference between the novelty factor and a genuinely good place to be, and this is the latter.
As with every job I've ever had, from the most modest egg-delivery round to the biggest management responsibilities, the thing that makes the difference between enthusiasm and drudgery has ALWAYS been the people. If the job is "retail" in nature and involves the public, then they will naturally figure large in that equation. I've said before that this is a very frendly town with some of the nicest, straightest and most genuine folks it's ever been my pleasure to meet so there's no problem there. In any job where you have co-workers (A horrible word, try it without the hyphen for full effect. Brits should read "colleagues" or "work-mates" instead, much nicer), they, of course, make up the rest of it.
I've already commented on the staff's service skills and general professionalism but I now have a much deeper respect for them. The way they have accepted me, my idiosyncracies (I can see many readers nodding sagely about now!) and my too frequent confusions has been beyond any expectation I might have had. I feel at home there already and look forward to going in to work (I go in about 30 minutes for a four hour evening stint today).
They work hard, they work together, they help each other (especially me!) and they have fun. They crack jokes with the customers and each other, they do it right, but not "stiffly right", they know their stuff and are not backwards in sharing their experience. There are the usual grumbles about the sillyness (usually, as elsewhere, directed at the systems which, I have to say, are pretty good but have the usual nonsensical bits) but none of the cynicism I've grown used to in recent years. It really is a breath of fresh air.
OK, I have 30 minutes to proof-read this (you reading this, folks who write the training modules?), post it, get changed into my brand-new, freshly laundered NSLC uniform and
drive the six minutes to work.
So, to close, I say thank you, NSLC Hubbards people, all of you, good bunch one-and-all, for taking this Old World dinosaur into your midst and for all your help in getting me started. I'm Lovin' It, and it ain't even McDonald's.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
