I haven’t had to use an alarm clock since early July nor have I worked a full nine hour day with no breaks in recent memory. When I got home tonight, I thought ‘Today was brutal’ and then I remember my first day at the nursery, which put things into perspective. 🙂
Issues cropped up within two minutes of arrival that got my red flag going, but I’m not sure yet if they are employee or management related. So, I’m grateful to have a job, but day one made me eager to keep exploring my options.
In the middle of writing up my last post, I looked out the window and noticed a crowd gathering in front of the rock. There was also a lot of police activity. Holy moly, I thought, the Olympic torch is about to go by! I grabbed a coat and ran down to capture this historic event.
Twenty-one years ago, I saw the torch being passed on in my home town ahead of the 1988 winter games in Calgary.  It boggles my mind that I can recall so clearly an event that happened more than twenty years ago. I’m getting a little long in the tooth. 🙂
first glimpse of the torch!
passing the torch
the new runner takes off… walking
I woke to rain this morning but, as mostly usual, it cleared up by mid-day. Needing to get up at, gasp, 5AM tomorrow I decided that a long walk in the bracing ocean air might be what I need to tucker myself out enough to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Norma left me a little project that requires a trip to the hardware store, so I decided to walk to the Rona, about three kilometres away. The store wound up not having what I needed, but I did get a few things for myself. It was an amazing walk and there were moments that made me feel that I was in either or both an alien world and a Harry Potter novel!
there are wizards in Campbell River!
I thought this was William Tell at first, but turns out it’s Eve!
The first of several fantastic wooden statues all set up in a park. They are available for ‘rent’ by local businesses and I had fun spotting them throughout the village.
Oscar!
Willowpoint Village has a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurants, pharmacy, pizza place, and just about any other service you could need
this whimsical seaside cottage is almost a cliché
Driving down the highway, I saw Cookie Monster from the rear and knew I had to walk down and take a look at all the statues!
first time I’ve seen a wooden inuksuk!
a jetty
????
this burn pattern caught my eye
I wear a size nine shoe, if that’ll help with scale
it also looks like that writhing mass of snakes at the bottom of the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark
this is pretty much what I imagined Devil’s Snare (from the Harry Potter series) looks like
yellow dogwood next to seaweed
that is some serious seaweed!
Well, I start a full-time job as a cashier at a gas station on Tuesday. It’s five minutes from home on foot.
Sounds great, right?
Let’s just say that minimum wage in BC, an absurd eight dollars an hour, only pays the bills. And I have to start at 5:30AM for at least one training session. I tend to go to bed at 3AM when I’m following my circadian clock, so I expect to be rather groggy on Tuesday. There’s no way I’ll be able to get myself on an 9PM bedtime routine by tomorrow night!
I’m thrilled that I’ll have money coming in this month, but I’m still looking for something that will pay a living wage. I cannot believe that there are people in BC who make only eight dollars an hour. I can’t remember the last time I only made eight dollars an hour. But beggars can’t be choosers and considering the employment situation in Campbell River, I know I’m very lucky. At least, my fixed expenses are covered. Now, to find the extra income stream to cover renos and all that gas I’ll need to make it back to Dawson in the spring.
I stayed in yesterday as it just poured and poured and poured, but this afternoon the rain finally stopped and blue sky started to peak from the clouds. I bundled up against a blustery wind and went for a short walk of a couple blocks along the Sea Walk that passes in front of the house. Â It’s going to be a great place to go biking and running; my only quibble is that crossing the highway can take forever!
lighthouse in the distance
this boulder is the bane of my existence as it blocks my view
blackberries
at first, I thought the sea gull was a weather vane!
I really like this statue
