04 | April | 2011 |

As soon as I knew I had a place to stay in Lethbridge through to the fall (and that I loved the location!), I was quite motivated to focus my job search here rather than expanding my radius to the entirety of southern Alberta. I’m still leaving all doors open, but I am very encouraged by the number of job ads daily that I can apply for here. In the last few weeks, I’ve been able to apply for more jobs that I’m perfectly suited for in terms of both qualifications and the length of of the contract than I saw in my four months in the Vancouver area!

Just a few months ago, I thought I would never again want a ‘real’ job, but that was before I went to the States. Now, I just want a real job that pays more than just a living wage so I can sock away as much as I can for next winter!

I have an interview lined up with a placement agency on the 15th, but I’ve never had any luck with those sorts of places, so I keep on sending out resumes. I’m averaging three a day, so something good is bound to pan out. In fact, the ads I’m seeing are making me so confident I’ll find something I love that I’m being picky. I might change my tune by the end of the month, but I have the luxury of a couple of weeks to be choosy so I’m not going to grab the first thing I’m offered if it’s not appealing.

This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be in Medicine Hat. And don’t you ever think of changing the name of your town. It’s all your own and the only hat of its kind on earth.

This afternoon my host, Jody, and I went on a little road trip around south-east Alberta, stopping in the town of Medicine Hat, which is ‘The Gas City’, the sunniest city in Canada, the home of the biggest teepee in Canada if not the world, and immortalized by Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book) to boot. Not bad for a town of about 60,000!

It is so good to be back in the flats of the prairies; I have missed them so, so much. There was much snow on the ground and with a few hills in the background it looked very much like the Montérégie landscape of my youth.

I love having a local guide and, especially, a driver. Being a passenger is pure luxury!