sweat, blood, and staples

Yesterday was disgusting. It was so hot and humid and I was working in an attic with no airflow. There was a steady drip of sweat from the tip of my nose. Working on these old houses is really not fun. I really hope that we get some new construction jobs. Today was a lot nicer outside. My boss is giving me a lot more stuff to do and leaving me to do it. I like it. Didn't think I would be left on my own to do so much wiring in my first week but he apparently likes my work. I had a few close calls today with injuries. I almost took a hammer to the face. It was my hammer, in my hand. I was pulling old nails out of the joists in the basement of the one house because it's a really low ceiling and I can't stand upright and I could easily smoke my head on one of the nails and do some serious damage. But in an effort to make it safer I almost struck myself with the hammer trying to get a nail out that didn't want to budge. The nail ended up breaking in half which is why I almost got hit because I wasn't expecting it. Then later I was wrapping up the one fish wire and it came undone and snapped back and almost hit me in the face. Then at the end of the day I accidentally nicked the hot leads on a receptacle while it was live. Not the first time I've felt 120V going into my arm, but it's never pleasant. Hooray for insulated steel toe boots. I was supposed to get a 4 day weekend but my boss got a call today and the only time he could do the job was tomorrow. So I gotta work tomorrow. Y'arr.

so many cuts

My hands are never gonna be the same ever again. I have so many cuts all over them from the wires, and boxes, and other sharp things. They're also becoming increasingly calloused. At least I won't get made fun of for having girly hands anymore. It was so hot today. Sweat was pouring out of me while I was just sitting around doing absolutely nothing inside the house. Doesn't help that I wear jeans while I'm at work. I have to get kneepads. I should get on that. I don't want to have my knees destroyed. I'm really tired. This one house today we were doing a service call at had the crappiest wiring job I've ever seen. The hot water heater, the furnace, and the freezer were on the same circuit. No wonder they were having problems. I think I saw about 5 staples for all the basement wiring, there were almost no holes drilled for the wires they were just going under and around joists. Wires not secured in the boxes, empty junction boxes, random wire that was not connected to anything and hiding in the ceiling with mar connectors on the ends of the wires. It was insane. Made me mad.

been a while

Things have been kinda crazy lately and haven't written in a while. To sum everything up, I got a job with an electrician. It's not a guarantee of an apprenticeship, but it's at least a start. If I don't suck then he will more than likely take me on as one, but he wants to make sure I'm not some crappy worker or punk kid or something. I start on Monday so hopefully this all pays off in the end. I was worried that moving out to Edmonton wouldn't pay off, but it seems that it has. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have this job.

westside story

Yesterday (Monday) = boring so I'm not gonna write about it. Today (Tuesday) = not as boring. I don't really remember much about this morning except my back feeling better. Mitch asked me and Ryan if we wanted to go to the West Edmonton Mall. I had to get some stuff so I said sure. So the three of us went and picked up one of Mitch's friends and off we went. We wandered around for a bit and checked out the West49 there. Holy cow that is the craziest store I have ever seen. Not only is it two floors (Main and Basement) but the main floor is bigger than a normal West, and the downstairs is bigger than a normal one. Also down there they have an indoor skate park! Crazy. That mall is awesome. Haven't been there in 8 years or something. I definitely think that Corey had something when he was out here and mentioned shooting some of Revolutions in there. I went into the one music store and played a Fender Resonator Acoustic (similar to the one Jon Foreman plays in 'Dirty second Hands') and I played 'DSH' on it and it sounded sooo good. $350 is a lot for one song to sound good. Maybe one day I'll get one. Still need a bass. Hmm. Oh and they had this store called Supply Sergeant which is like Army Surplus but better. Aside from all the cool military stuff they have swords and a lot of knives. It was also way nicer than any Army Surplus I've been in. When we went out to the car we grabbed our boards and started skateboarding around the parking lot. A couple minutes later a mall security car pulled up and said that they didn't care if we did but they get complaints from other people and they don't want to have to deal with that. So we complied.

back again

What a pleasant surprise to wake up to. My back messed up, again. Yesterday I thought, Oh good my back doesn't hurt after that day of hell. I was sorely mistaken. I took it easy today trying not to use my back too much. Not a great start. I really don't have much to talk about since I really didn't do much today. I called home to wish my dad a happy fathers day since I couldn't be there and to talk to Jenn. Mike was swimming when I called and mom is in Houston. I watched the MMVAs just to see Billy Talent and then Flying Circus was on. So good. Then we decided we wanted ice cream so we went to Dairy Queen. Tasty. I really wish I had my guitar here. Although my hands still hurt so playing would be painful. Just typing this hurts. And a huge bruise that covers my entire knee has revealed itself. At least know I know why it hurts to bend it sometimes. It didn't help when I sat at the table and smashed it against the leg of the table. YAY! That's not what I said. It hurt. A lot. Haha I just remember something. When we were making dinner Ryan sneezed and Mitch said, "bless you" to which Ryan (who don't forget is Korean and is still learning english) replied with "f*** you". I lost it. Best reply I've ever heard to "bless you". Pretty sure he thought Mitch said something else. Krazy Korean.

so bad

I got in late from the movie last night and had to get up early so I didn't get a chance to write one last night. Friday: Forgot to set my alarm clock and slept in. Didn't totally matter I didn't need to be anywhere. Mitch came home, said he forgot something at school asked if I wanted to come along and check out where he goes. So I went along. Just as we got to the end of the street we saw Ryan and asked if he wanted to come. He said that he would wait at home but forgot his keys because he couldn't find them. (Mitch attached them to Ryan's ceiling fan the night before) Mitch gave his keys to Ryan and we went to NAIT. He showed me around the workshop and stuff and then went to grab his bag from his locker. He then realized he had given his locker key to Ryan. So back we went. Not much happened for a while, then we got hungry and ordered Pizza Hut. Ryan didn't want any so he made noodles or something. I got a call around 9 or so and it was one of the places I called about a job. It was a general labour/framer helper and asked if I would work the next morning. I agreed obviously. We decided to go see a movie so we went and saw Knocked Up. Funny, yet not family friendly. Don't take the kids to see that one... or your parents. So I went sleepy cause I had to wake up early.
Saturday (today): Today was one of those days when you just want to lie down and die. I got up, got ready, walked to Kingsway Mall, met Jeff (contractor guy) and his son Jad. He had said he'd drive me. So away we went heading south. And we kept going south. And then we kept going. The avenue numbers were getting smaller and smaller. I live up at 122Ave. We ended up at 23Ave. Look at Google maps to get an idea. So I was like, whatever we're almost at the southern most part of the city no big deal. So Jeff was explaining to me what we were going to be doing. Finishing up a house with a concrete patio. Here's a picture of my Hand and Wrist after work. Let's just say concrete, is no longer my friend. First he got me to fasten the last of the reinforcement rod things which ended up giving me the chuck out my finger. Then the concrete came and it was my job to wheel the filled wheelbarrow from the truck to the patio and then dump it. Sounds easy enough. It's not. You have to get it to the back right against the house except you have to go over the reinforcement things which is over top of dirt which was damp and you're doing it with a lot of freakin concrete which weighs a lot and you have to almost run with it to keep from getting stuck. Recipe for disaster. So many times I dropped in and the wheel just sunk in the ground and got caught on the rods and stopped dead which made me run right into it and smash my shins. Twice it tipped when I was supposed to go to the back. I don't know how many I did. If I had to guess I'd say... about 20? maybe more. After a while it got harder and harder to lift the thing off the ground and then I started getting dizzier and my heart was pounding and I was having trouble breathing. Jad (9 yr old son) went and got me some water. Really nice kid by the way. I had to stop. I could barely stand. I went and sat in the shade around the side of the house and was there for an hour trying to stay conscious. I took off my gloves and noticed the big chunk out of my palm and the blisters on both hands and the incredible stinging sensation. Then I started getting bit by mosquitoes which some of you know I react horribly to. After I was able to stand I went back and helped with doing something with smoothing the edges. I don't know. They showed me how to do it so I did. When that was done he started hosing down the patio and using a broom. He told me to grab the hose and follow by him, but my steel toe boots' tread was too tough so I had to vacate the patio cause I was leaving holes and he got his one buddy to do it. Whatever. So I stood around watching. Then he said that I was done for the day so I went and sat down. Few minutes later he came over and said, so you know how to get back from here? I just said, Uh. No. So he told me that he'd drop e off at a bus stop and then I can just ask the bus driver how to get back to Kingsway. Yippee! So he dropped me off and said he'd call me Thursday because they're starting a new house next weekend. How about no? So I was standing there after he drove off back to the house and realized that I was at a "Future Bus Stop". No that doesn't mean it goes to the future, it means that no buses actually go by there but they will in the near future. Thanks. So I started walking trying to find where I was. I ended up calling Mitch and asking for a ride back. He said sure. While I was waiting, it started to hail. And then it poured rain. What a wonderful day. I was able to seek shelter in a Tim's and got myself a bagel. An hour and half later he showed up with Ryan. Not only is it at the other end of the city, there was an accident. Happy. Things started to get a little better because we went to a pet store and got to play with kittens. Mitch was looking into getting a dog. You know what kind? A PUG! (For those who don't know it's my favourite kind) He wanted either that or a boxer or a chihuahua. But ya, kittens = cute. Then we went to another pet place and found pugs and chihuahuas. Apparently those dogs are really expensive. $2000 expensive. Ya. So no puppy. Then we went to M&M's and Mitch got some stuff, then to Saveon where he got some stuff, and then back to the house. I changed and laid down while Mitch cooked up a bunch of the sausage he had that he brought from home. He's leaving in a week and wanted to try and get rid of as much food as he could before leaving. I'm going to go have some yogurt, be right back. Yum. Anyway, my hands hurt, my feet hurt, my knee still hurts, and so does my hip which I discovered was another injury from my wipe-out the other day. garbage. ya this one is long. I don't care.

could be a problem

Went to the Bredin Institute and was told that without a car, my chances of getting hired are slim. Not a good start to the day. I was able to get a booster juice because I was downtown so that wasn't bad. According to a map in the store there's 40 some-odd booster juices in Alberta. The most of any province. There's 18 in Edmonton according to the website. Downtown sure is a lot nicer than where I am now. Mitch informed me that this is the worst neighbourhood in the city. Apparently all the shootings happen a few avenues south of us. Not that my family needs any more reasons to worry about me. The people strung out on drugs wandering around isn't helping either. Anyone still wanna come visit me? Hopefully I can get a job and move somewhere else. I need a car. Real bad. Even the general labour jobs require cars. I mean come on. I called the only ones that didn't require cars but none answered. As if this wasn't hard enough.

that's gonna bruise

I'm writing this one a lot earlier than normal because I need to go to bed to get up early and head over to the Bredin Institute. Tomorrow is the Job Search workshop. " Learn how to carry out your job search productively by applying other methods of job search other than using the newspaper or internet. Gain knowledge about how to access the "hidden job market," effectively use your network, cold calling, information interviewing and other networking techniques to find and secure the job of your dreams. " That's from their site. Unfortunately I didn't find out till after it was over that today was the Workplace Health and Safety workshop. That's the one I really need. Employers like seeing that certification. I have to wait till next week to get it now. This place also has printers and fax machines and other stuff. And the best part is that it's all free. It's perfect cause I need to fax some resumés out and they'll let me do it at no charge, and while I'm there they'll help me get a job. Hopefully. That reminds me I need to make some cover letters. I'll do that once I'm done here. Mitch asked me today if I wanted to come skateboarding with him and Ryan. I don't have a board and so he asked if I wanted to go get one. Before I came out here I had planned on getting one. So I did! After I got it we went to the one skate park and within the first minute of me being on the board I wiped out. I rode it fine from the car across the parking lot. But when I tried to enter it I didn't lean forward enough and fell back. I rock! I got up, went and retrieved my board and kept going. My knee felt funny and almost felt wet. I rolled up my pant leg and discovered my first injury. Knee Picture After a bit I noticed my right hand hurt. I may have bruised a bone or two at the base of my palm near my thumb when I landed. It was still fun none the less. And a good work out too. So there Jenn I'm doing cardio. ish. I need to go clean my wounds.

i thought of a good title earlier... but i forgot it

Oh! I just remembered what it was. "How many guys does it take to cook pierogies?" It's funny to me. You'll find out why in a bit. So I finished revising my resume today and wrote up a cover letter and sent one off to a company that I would love to work for. Will they hire me? No. But I can't say I didn't try. I found a few other companies I'm gonna call. I'm also gonna be calling this place that helps people in my position. Free courses to help me get certification for things I need like safety training and stuff that looks good to employers. I'll find out more about it tomorrow. I could really go for a booster juice right now. Ugh. Why did I leave the university? Anyway the title thing. We were all making dinner and my contribution was yummy breaded haddock and carrots. Mitch decided to make pierogies, and nothing seemed to be going right. We were all standing around trying to figure out how to make them properly. We didn't know if they were cooked enough and then when he tried to fry them they were ripping apart when they were flipped. We ended up using a different frying pan and then it worked. The problem wasn't us it was a really old frying pan. Maybe you had to be there. Ya probably. I keep forgetting I have yogurt. It's too late now to have some. I'll have it tomorrow if I remember, which I probably won't.

slacking

I missed another day. weak. This will combine Sunday and today (Monday). We went grocery shopping and then went to Dollarama, which by the way is the greatest store ever! We headed over to Wal-mart and then back here. It sure is handy to have Mitch and his car. I hate taking the bus. I really want to get my own car. I don't really remember much else happening yesterday. Today was my day to start looking for a job. I soon realized that I had not copied over my resumé to the laptop. I then remembered I did that on purpose because the one I had was crap. It was in need of a makeover so I started from scratch. Hopefully this one will work better than my old one. Tomorrow I'm gonna go to the local IBEW and see if they can hook me up with a job. Apparently that worked for one of Mitch's friends. Worth a shot. Oh I just remembered that Mitch watched RWR today. I had given it to him the other day and then today I was sitting here at my laptop and could hear him watching it in the other room. I think we might have another fan. win. That was short but I don't need to go into all the details of what I bought or what I ate or the near mental breakdown I had. On a side note I like the weather here so far. It's always at least 10 degrees cooler here. As much as I like the cold I don't think I'll be ready for winter here. Hopefully I'll survive. Well if I last that long out here. Who knows.

rain

Today started out pretty good. I got up and was planning my trip to go check out an apartment. The other guys finally woke up and we had lunch together. I don't have any food yet so Mitch said I could have the last of his waffles. Have I mentioned that pretty much everyone I meet here are... is... (awkward sentence) the nicest people? He's actually from Saskatchewan but close enough. Anyway I told him that I was going to go check out a bachelor apartment and he said that he'd drive me. What I'd tell you? He ended up passing out on his bed and I didn't want to wake him and I felt bad eating his food and having him drive me around. So I told Ryan I was heading out for a bit and I'd be back later. I worked my way over to the apartment (which is quite a ways away from where I am now) and ended up being told by the guy that Monday he was allowing people to come see it. I was not happy. So I went to 7-11 and grabbed a pop and then started working my way back. As I was waiting for the bus it started raining. Thankfully I was at a stop with an enclosure. The bus finally came and I got on. After that long bus ride I got off and walked to the next bus stop I needed. This one didn't have an enclosure. Then the rain got worse, and ended up standing there for half an hour waiting in the rain for the bus. I got on and sat down dripping. At the next stop which was a little more than a block away I noticed that it had an enclosure. I wanted to die. I got back to the house ad dried my hair and changed and then had dinner with the guys. I soon forgot about how horribly crappy things had gone. We hung out for a while longer and did the dishes. I really thought that this day was gonna be the worst yet, but it didn't turn out too bad.

my bad

I forgot to write one last night. This is about yesterday, so I'm gonna speak as if it is yesterday.
I got up at about 8 because I had to run to the bank to withdraw money for rent and had to check-out of the residence by 11. My back was a little sore but I could walk fine so I figured it'd be ok. The bank isn't that far. Unfortunately I made it about a block when I felt my back completely seize up. Not a pleasant experience. So I walked the rest of the way in excruciating pain, and then walked back. I gathered all my stuff up and checked out. It was then I realized that there was a Booster Juice right there in the building! I had some time to kill so I grabbed one. When I was done I called a cab and headed to the house. I moved my stuff in, talked to the other two guys for a bit, and just took it easy. Mitch and Ryan skateboard so they're excited that they'll have someone else to skate with. From what I gather Mitch is pretty good and as Ryan put it, "I'm suck." He's still working on the English.

House. not the doctor

I can finally breathe a little easier. I found a place to rent. Hooray! Although I'm kind of enjoying living in this residence. It's like a hotel, but better. Well not the bed... or the shower. It's a little small for me but there's only so much room or else I'd lose floor space. I think they could have put a better one in there's ample room in here. Anyway, I have to be out of here by 11am tomorrow and I have some things to do before I leave, like go to the bank and take out more money for the rent. It's a pretty nice place and the owner is really nice and the other two guys living there seem really cool. The one dude is from Korea. So the next time you see me I may know a little Korean. Probably not but you never know. The other guy is leaving at the end of the month which is too bad cause he seems really funny. Once I move all my crap in then I have to start looking for a job which according to the owner will literally take me two days. That's what every other person says as well. I sure hope it's true. Cause I need a job. It is not cheap living here. It's not cheap living anywhere that isn't home lol. This is definitely a huge departure from my normal life. Gotta grow up sooner or later.
On a side note, I saw the biggest freaking rabbits I have ever seen in my life! The one was a fair bit bigger than Murdoch. On my way back tonight is the first time I've seen them here. But they were just roamin around on campus. It's like Waterloo's Geese. Except not nearly as many and a lot fuzzier and friendlier. Oh and also there's so many good filming locations here. I'm definitely gonna make some short films while I'm out here. Don't hold your breath though in case I'm too busy with work and stuff. I'll do what I can. Perhaps a certain sequel will have some stuff shot out here? OOOOO the possibilities! Stupid booster juice was closed when I came back. And the elevators weren't working when I got back. My body didn't need that after all the problems it's been giving me. I sure hope I don't wake up not being able to walk like this morning. That wasn't pleasant. Can't wait till I can get a bike. Until then I think I'm gonna get a skateboard. Ya that's right. I'm that awesome. You're jealous. You know it. Stop lying to yourself. Hey someone just went by on one. Coincidence? Yes. Yes it is.

didn't see that coming

Today was such a long day. I'm not used to actually being awake for most of the day. I better get used to it though. I'm gonna need to get a bike at some point. From walking around last night and for a lot during the day today, I have done a number on my lower back. My body is rebelling for me making it do so much that isn't walking from the couch to the fridge. I didn't have the best day today. I didn't find a place to live or even one that still had a room available. I'm starting to get worried which is not what I need right now. I may need to pay a lot more than I had planned for rent which could be a really big problem. I have to go to the bank tomorrow to find out about how I can get cheques or if I even can. This could end being one short trip. I think I can see the West Edmonton Mall from my window. Hmm. My back really hurts. I think I'm gonna go drug myself and go to bed even though its only 11:30 here. Goodnight Booster Juice.

i've made a huge mistake

I actually made it. I am in Edmonton at one of the University of Alberta's very nice residences. I'm only here for 3 days and in those 3 days I need to find a place to rent so I can continue to live not on the street. Planes are cool. Felt a little woozy at times with the turbulence bouncing and the banking. Not gonna lie, seeing the wing bending and bouncing around like that was a little unnerving. Thanks to Jenn the whole time I was thinking about LOST and just waiting for the back of the plane to break off. Actually I would have probably ended up being one of the taileys. Anyway, I just realized I need to go get some stuff that I forgot. In summary, clouds look cool when you're above them, flying from Hamilton to Edmonton seems like a long time when you're sitting by yourself, you can't take Axe body spray in your carry-on, Sky Shuttle is awesome. Let's hope tomorrow goes as smooth if not smoother.

it's on

My flight is booked. There's no turning back now... unless I cancel it, which I won't do.