News and such.

So.
I'm still here.
I'm still mostly uninterested in being here and everything. But I guess you could say I'm making the best of it. What other option do I have?
I could just sit around and be miserable.
OK, let's be honest, I do my share of that too.
Since I don't really have any friends up here, I don't really have anything to do on my days off. I've also discovered that I have more days off than anyone else that is here in training. It's always odd, because all the trainees compare schedules and see what days we have classes or shifts with people we know. And everyone else is here for 35 straight days (or about that much.) Generally about 5 straight weeks of class or shifts.
I'll have 2 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, 1 day off, 1 day on...Etc. Not that I'm complaining! But it's unusual, I guess.
There is a really annoying woman in training named Iman.
(I have to be really careful about this. She is actually in the lobby of the hotel right now, so if she comes over to talk to me, I have to minimize quickly.)
She is from Maine and has bigger and better experiences than anyone else in the classes. She always precedes each comment with "I have a something important to add..." and then invariably says something that makes very little sense in the context of the class.
For instance, we had a customer service class today. We were talking about standardization of handicap accessibility and all the legislation involved. And she said "I have an important question... What about breast feeding?"
Blank stares all around.
Slack jaws. Squinty eyes.
Mike, the course facilitator (incidentally, Erin Rodaway's brother), said, "What...about it?" Then, as his face turned a glowing shade of crimson, he explained that there are very few topics that he is uncomfortable discussing, and breast-feeding is one of them, with good reason. He also said that he had trouble making the connection between wheelchair-accessible doorways and breast feeding, and mentioned that in all the times he had taught this class it had never come up in conversation.
She asked what we should do if someone is requesting a public place to breast feed. Mike said he doesn't think that is a "disability" for which we need to make accomodations, and it's up to them where they choose to do that, although, for the record, he hopes he doesn't have to be there.
Someone in the back of the class mentioned (in bad, but funny taste) that it is an opportunity to suggestive sell a carton of milk.
Ew.
There is much debate about Iman's hair. I guess it is always changing lengths. One night we were here and she had it up in a bun. One night it was just down to her ears. Today it was in a ponytail, tied up with an extra strand of hair, and ROCK SOLID. I sat behind her. It didn't move once.
There is also an issue of the size of her derriere. She is always wearing clothes that are completely the wrong size and entirely inappropriate for public exposure. She came downstairs the other night under the pretense that she was going to work out in the gym, but she wore a barely-existent pair of shorts. By the end of her workout, the shorts had all but disappeared into unmentionable places. It was disgusting.
She had to squeeze behind the chairs at her table today, and in front of our table. She chose to wear the manager's skirt in place of the usual brown pants. The slit in the skirt had literally torn at the seams and was getting bigger and higher with every step. It was threatening system failure. Those of us sitting behind her were terrified at the possibilities.
Anyway. That was the interesting part of the day.
I told the story about the dude exposing himself in our drive-thru. There was much shock and horror. I guess Canadians would never even dream of such a thing. I suppose it doesn't happen here. They all looked at me in disbelief and said "What did you do?!?!" And I said "We called the police. What would YOU do?"
They told me I tell a lot of stories about RI. I said they tell a lot of stories about Canada. They asked me why Rhode Island is so much better than Ontario. I said "Because I'm not there, and I wish I was."
I think I'm getting a reputation around this place.
Who am I kidding? I had a reputation here before I even crossed the border! I represent the state of Rhode Island. And we are a state full of WEIRD PEOPLE.
So I'm doing a pretty good job, I guess. You should have seen the looks on everyone's faces when I was explaining Silly Walk Day. And the lunches we had on Sundays. Seriously, you'd think that no one has any fun at work!
Soooo.... Iman just walked by, either to go to dinner, or to apply for a job at Hooters. She was wearing 4-inch stack heels and a mini skirt. Seriously, this woman is pushing 50. And she is about 4'11". There is no need.
Does anyone else understand the pure excitement that possesses me at the prospect of RENT, the movie??!!?? I just watched the trailer and got shivers. REAL SHIVERS!
And it's almost ENTIRELY the original broadway cast! OOOH! I'm SO excited.
Anyway.
I have officially named Holly Pants as my successor in my former position as the quirky, crazy one who ensures that work continues to be a fun environment.
Now everyone needs to make sure that Holly stays happy. There is something wrong with the world if Holly is in a bad mood. We need to remember that, and keep the balloons flying freely around the office several times a day, if that is what it takes. OK people?
Write to me. I miss you all. Talk to you soon.
-K-

Daily Recap

If anyone ever tells you that Timmy Ho Ho's is better in Canada, don't believe them. The service may be more polished (this is where they invented it, and refined it, after all), but the products are inferior.
The Iti Wedding soup is mediocre, the pastries are made with crazy ovens, and the selection of beverages is FAR more limited.
That is my professional opinion.
I know all this because I spent my first day in the store today. It's nice. You know. Clean. Great service, high volume, FAST. But they just serve plain old coffee. No variety, you know? I need my hazelnut iced coffee SOOOOOOOO bad!
I told them I'm going to brew a batch for them to try and they will want it all the time. There is a guy here, Jason Beadman, who was a DM in New England, and we were discussing the iced coffee today. He was trying to convince all the other Canadians who hadn't had it how WONDERFUL it is. They were skeptical.
He stole a jug of hazelnut flavor. I told him he needs to share.
I'll buy my own eye dropper.
OK, what else?
I talked to my mom and Chers for a good amount of time today. I think that is absolutely mandatory for my sense of compatability with this country. People here are just TOO damn nice. They bend over backwards trying to make me comfortable and all I really want is to be treated like a friend that you joke around and be stupid with. The whole juvenile marriage thing shkeeves me out too. I don't want to hear a 20-year-old coworker starting a comment with "My husband always says..."
It sounds like they are playing house.
And....
I saw the new DMB video for Dreamgirl today!!!
YAY! I am a very jealous girl. Why does Julia Roberts get to be so lucky? She kisses the love of my life, Dave. Oh wait... I HAVE kissed Dave... I AM that lucky. :-D
(That was semi- rubbing it in for anyone that it matters to, and semi- making myself feel all warm-and-fuzzy.)
Um.
I got my company credit card today. No news on a paycheck though.
Or, as they say here, paycheque.
I'm working really hard on NOT picking up the accent. I don't really think there is much of a danger, but I'm really concious of it. Just to be on the safe side.
I do think that because of my super-carefulness, I've developed a very middle-of-the-road, accent-free sort of English pronunciation. I would make an excellent news announcer. You couldn't tell where I am from because of it.
If that was an important trait in a person.
Which it isn't. Unless you happen to be an announcer, and I'm not.
Anyway.
I'm DEFINITELY going to try to get the internet working in my room. Someone told me that the room has never worked and that someone had to switch out of it before I was there, and move to a different room because they needed the internet. If this is the case, I'm going to do something about it, because I hate having to share this computer when I have a (probably) perfectly good computer sitting upstairs.
We'll see.
OK. You know. The usual. Still missing everyone. Still homesick. Still want to go home every minute of everyday. But I'm going back up to my room.
More later, probably.

Pardon?

The scary conclusion upon which I have arrived in my short time here is that I am one of the oldest Ops. Reps., and I am the only one not married. How can this be? Please express to me that this is a strictly Canadian phenomenon of marriage in the late teens! I'm feeling older by the minute...
On the plus side, I have finally cracked the code. I have made friends. Or at least, some fellow TDL guests at this here Ramada Inn have taken pity on my sorrowful case, and invited me to their nightly social events. Tonight, we had dinner. Tomorrow night, we are having ice cream. Wednesday night, I believe there is a casino that we are robbing, or something like that.
You'd have to meet these people.
So far, there is Justin, who I originally thought was cute, but have since discovered that his personality is... Less than ideal. He is partial to bad jokes. He is the "event coordinator" and is very take-charge. He's nice, but a bit overbearing.
And then, I found out that, yes, he is married.
Then there is Kevin. So far, he is my favorite. He is an Indian fellow with a very heavy accent and an awesome sense of humor. He is notorious for using bad pick-up lines on all females in the vicinity. He is very cheap, and proud of it. He is hilarious.
There is Jenn, a future DM in British Columbia. She is very opinionated, which (I don't know if anyone noticed) I am too. But we generally have the same opinions, and so there has been no problem yet. But I don't rule them out for the future. So far, she is nice.
There is Deanna who is much older than us, having been married for 20 years. I get the feeling she spends time with this group because the alternative is to sit in her room alone for 5 weeks. So this is the lesser of 2 evils. But she is not trully engaged in any of the conversations, and spends only enough time to eat dinner and then sneak back to her room to call her husband.
Then there are John and Curtis. John is a friend of Justin's who came tonight to visit. Pretty tame personality, though he sneaks in one-liners when you least expect it, and steals the show. He is quite the conversationalist, likes to ask questions. I don't know much about him, but he seems very interested in learning about me. But don't get any ideas. He is 21. And married.
And there is Curtis, a friend of John's, that just joined us because he happens to live in the area. Finally! Someone who is close to my age and ACTUALLY single. But... Entirely not my type. He is a "cinematographer" and is very interested in famous people simply for the sake of their fame, of which he seems to be very envious. I can only take so much of that attitude.
So, the good news is that I managed NOT to be homesick all evening, but spending it with interesting (unusual) people. They aren't my friends back home. They are a reasonable facimile (if you close one eye and dim the lights). They don't hold a candle to the originals, but they'll do, while I'm here.

So Here We Are Tonight...

This is it.
This is life as a grown up.
I have such crazy things because of this new job. Like a company credit card and an expense account and a security access badge. I hadn't even met my new bosses until today and that was a crazy experience because they pulled me out of a class. I was sitting in the back row when I saw 2 little heads peek in and look around. I knew it was for me. I was big news.
I guess I'm big news all around this office. They all know my name. They all have questions. You'd think there had never been Americans here before. But, I guess, there hadn't. At least not in my capacity. I am a complete oddity and no one can seem to figure me out.
I had planned on going to the gym at my hotel tonight. I still may. We'll see how I feel when I get home. ("Home" meaning the small but comfy hotel room, with such luxuries as cable, a shower, and a BALCONY! I love balconies! I keep parking beneath it so I can look down at my jeep. Just because. I may have some new grown up things, but I still act like a child. It is much more fun.)
I out-shined my teacher today in class, which I felt sorry about, but I couldn't help it...
He was teaching a class that I had taken twice before, besides all the education classes I took in college. This was old news for me.
I taught him the difference between positive and negative reinforcement, which he translated to "positive and constructive feedback". Because in his view, the word negative is too harsh. In actuality, the positive and negative parts are referring to the addition and subtraction of incentive, and both can refer to both positive and negative behavior. Par example, you can positively reinforce bad driving by giving the person a licence anyway, and you can negatively reinforce a good work ethic by shortening a person's task list.
Anyway.
That's just one thing we discussed today.
I hope I didn't piss him off. That confusion is just one of my pet peeves.
OK, well, I have been sitting in class and guzzling (hot) coffee (they don't have iced coffee here), and now I might burst if I sit here longer.
I miss everyone.
Pass the word.