For the past week I've been doing volunteer work for ChamberFest. I did not get all the shifts I wanted because they had lost my original sign up sheet with my schedule and availablility. They also seem to have forgotten or lost my experience and job preferences because most of my shifts are as an usher. I expressed a preference to be working at ticket sales, merchandise sales, head usher or house manager. One evening, Friday, when I had 2 back-to-back shifts I was taken off head usher duties to make it possible for me to do house manager at the later concert. I had to leave right after intermission to make it to the other venue for 9:30. Through a series of several mix-ups (some just plain screw-ups) I did not have access to my HM's kit, the previous concert was running late and my team and I only had 45 minutes to set up and prepare for the concert where we would normally have 1 to 1 1/2 hours. We started the concert on time despite that but there were other problems... the kit had next to nothing in it so we had to borrow from the previous concert's kit and 2 ushers just disappeared during the concert leaving the rear exit (and thus the 'green room') unattended. We caught an earful about that. My original roster was short a person but I had, luckily, recruited another volunteer at a concert a couple of nights previous to fill the empty slot.
So far I've work the following d times and enjoyed the concerts:
26 July 11:00pm Chamber Music from Persia
27 July 8:00pm The Evergreen Club
29 July 8:00pm Julie Nesrallah
29 July 11:00pm Late Night Brazil
30 July 2:00pm Borodin Quartet (Complete Shostakovich Quartets III)
30 July 8:00pm Mark Fewer & Peter Longworth
I've been to another free concert at Rideau Hall today which I thoroughly enjoyed... Quartetto Gelato Travels the Orient Express. They did the entire 1 1/2 hour concert without an intermission inspite of one being scheduled. I think they were concerned about the weather... heavy dark clouds loomed on the horizon then overhead for most of the concert.
I'm scheduled to work another three concerts and I want to see those concerts but I am unhappy with the OCMS staff right now. They forgot, or omitted, my name on the "Thank you Volunteers!" section of the program. That after I had done two shifts (one long, hard, hot and sticky one that caused me to miss my much needed dance practice time) of volunteer work during the months leading up to the festival. And I did not get to hear the concerts at those times. Plus the mess up of my schedule so that I missed out on both the Opening Gala and the Closing Extravaganza along with a few other concerts I wanted to attend.
On top of all that there was a recent incident, which I won't detail here, that has me extremely upset, and angry, for which I may never forgive them. I intend to demand an apology. But still, I don't much feel like doing these last three shifts except it is the only way to see these concerts I want to attend. And the people who will suffer most from me not being there will be other volunteers. I won't work certain jobs anymore though, that's for certain. They will not be getting my help next year either because I'm good at learning from my mistakes. Also, now several other volunteers fear the same sort of thing could happen to them too. The whole thing has me so upset that I had trouble sleeping last night. And... I used the F word while explaining to my house manager last night why I would not do the job I had promised I'd do for her. I just took the original slot of usher. But I did help out the other ladies when they asked for it. I am such a sucker.
This past Tuesday night was the BluesFest Volunteer Appreciation party too. I went to it, had my 2 free beers, sat around chatting for an hour or so , then left for my Chamberfest shift which began at 10:00pm. It was a better party than the 2 previous, boring, ones that I attended were. The best part was being able to spend a little time with Elizabeth and Peter who I never get to see as often as I'd like.
Last night I was at the concert venue quite late (at least an hour) helping withtthe final reconciliation of the ticket sales so I'm very tired today. I was almost late meeting Tom for brunch today because I overslept this morning after tossing about half the night. Came home after and got some chores done before going to the GG's for the ocncert. I've had a nice supper and am yawning heavily. Maybe I'll take a short walk to the store for desert ;-)
Tomorrow I plan to go snorkling with a friend from the SCUBA group. She hurt her back in June and has been shore-bound, like me, ever since. So we're going to go get wet! Maybe we'll have lunch in Wakefield and do a little shopping while there.
More updates later. Good night all!
Hi All... as I write I'm listening to my latest toy... hifi.dance-ottawa.com. Lots of cheezie dance music that goes all the way back to the early daze of disco... circa 1974 and beyond. I'm going to attach my sound system to the PC's audio-out and get this pumping through my big old sony speakers.
I had a marvellous weekend full of fun and relaxing activities. Well, after I got the chores done on Friday night. Saturday was spent in a BeautiControl SPA training course. I took this course about 2 months ago but never used what I learned so I felt a need to audit this course to refresh my memory and get new tips from the trainer. Now I'm feeling pumped. Yes, I did re-establish my status as a BeautiControl Consultant. The focus is on the home SPA experience and, the flagship of the company, skin care. They still have a full line of cosmetics that are constantly being updated as well. The men's line of products has expanded too. So if you are interested in having a home SPA at you Ottawa-Gatineau area home let me know. All my contact info is on my home page at http://www.gailene.com
After the course on Saturday I went out to my dear freind Wendy's house in Tanaga (Chelsea) for a girls' night in. We fixed a lovely meal of salmon burgers and salad which we washed down with red wine. I practiced my SPA skills on her and she was very happy. She needed the pampering and I was happy to accommodate. Her sleep-cabin (a 2 floor loft-style cottage) was not occupied so I slept in there. It was so very comfy. Even the party at the neighbour's house couldn't keep me awake I was so exhausted. The sun woke me up at 5:30am but it wasn't long before I was back to sleep. At about 9:00am Wendy came over to get me for an early morning swim. It is a short traverse to the beach through her neighbour's property. She has excellent neighbours who she really likes. We had a big breakfast after our return from our swim after which I helped her prepare the sleep-cabin for a 'viewing'. She has it up for rent and a fellow called to go for a look-see. I left about 2:00.
There was a free ChamberFest concert at the Governor General's residence - Rideau Hall - that I wanted to attend at 4:00. Some friends met me there and we sat on the sunny grounds enjoying the music and the wonderful day.
I still don't have TV on my computer. Something has happened to the video card and I lost the TV features. It's an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 7500 so if anyone can think of a reason or has a solution... lets talk. In order to work on the computer, Poul had to pull the video card because I had forgotten to take the video cable adapter to his place. So he needed to use the on-board video adapter. After he re-installed Windows 2000 I brought the PC home to complete the re-install of the video card but the MMC and LaunchPad did not install or if they did they are not accessible. The ATI website was useless after 2-3 hours of hunting and reading through all the FAQs I could find. Now I'm looking at putting in a warranty claim which so far is not working. If you can offer helpful suggestions I'll take them all.
Well I'm off again. Tonight is the BluesFest Volunteer Appreciation party and I have a Chamberfest shift starting at 10:00pm. So I'm off to shower and get ready for a run around town. At least both events are in CentreTown.
So long for now.
Just got home about an hour ago. My computer had to go to Poul for 'repair'. There is a very good reason that I use a Linux system... besides the sheer beauty of it. That is the unlikelihood of attack from nefarious sources out there in cyberspace.
My Windows2000 is only used for two things: watch TV or work at home using NetSupport to make contact with the office systems at the Aserty offices or the servers downtown. Neither of these functions works on Linux or at least I have yet to find a Linux driver and software for the TV feature of my ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 7500. And NetSupport does not have a Linux version, let alone one that can interface with a Windows version at the other end. So I am forced to boot Windows for these functions. From now on I'll do so with the modem disconnected from the internet.
It seems I picked up a worm/trojan/spyware which started using Port25 to send spam 'from' my PC. This 'spyware' also corrupted parts of my Windows and made it appear that parts of the hard drive were corrupted. I ran AVG and cleared up most of the offending files but some pretty bizzare behaviour followed by some scary behaviour caused me to seek Poul's help. He ran extensive tests on the hard drive and found it to be perfectly sound. So, as I have no data stored under Windoze I decided the quick and easy solution was to wipe the windoze partition clean and re-install the OS. I will not be leaving that internet cable plugged in when booting to that environment again.
The last 10 days have been hectic and I've been pretty much booked solid. This Saturday I spent the day catching up on chores and errands that had gone unattended to. It took 4 sinkfuls to do the dishes. Don't cringe, I rinse thoroughly before stacking. And the floors... well there was a great opportunity to use my new MrClean 'mop'. I love it too, so easy. For those of you who, like myself, consider these conveniences to be environmentally unfreindly (due to the use-it-once-and-throw-it-away pads) you can put down your placards and stop planning the picketting outside my home. I have already determined that it is quite easy to re-use the pre-moistened pads by simply re-soaking them in the bio-degradeable, phosphate-free, environmentally-freindly cleanser of your choice. It still works like a charm. It is the mechanics of the tool that I like so much and it makes quick, easy work of chores that used to be so time-consuming and cumbersome.
Anyway, what has kept me so busy was mainly Bluesfest volunteering and enjoying. I was at the festival site all but 2 days. This last Sunday I worked a double shift but it was pretty quiet so the word 'work' seems a bit excessive. The Festival was a great success and I really enjoyed working on the Corporate Lounges Area crew. But some of my favourite acts performed not at the main stage but at the Grassroots stage. Now, having said that, I was extremely happy to see War and ZZTop performing again. I was totally enraptured by David Lindley's skill with any stringed instrument put in his hands. The Campbell Brothers and Scott Holt were 2 excellent acts. Allison Krauss, Jason Collett, what I could hear of Dr. John, the tail end of Buckwheat Zydeco, a few minutes each of Colin Linden and John Hammond, and a few others that I was able to catch snippets of were all excellent as well. I was quite surprised that K-Os put on such a great showcase of his varying talents (and had such a great time doing it) and I enjoyed Michael Franti & Spearhead. India.Arie was fabulous as per usual... what a fabulous voice she has and a wonderful stage presence. As for Kid Rock (a perfect example of a megalomaniac), I would have enjoyed the show more if I was not assaulted by a giant American flag throughout and if it weren't for the drunken, violent behaviour of the yahoos that are his main fan base. What a bunch of a**holes they were. Anyway that is my personal review of the 2005 BluesFest.
I met lots of wonderful people and enjoyed connecting with freinds from previous years. Most notably Elizabeth and Peter. I met Elizabeth working the Bluesfest 3 years ago and we became instant freinds. About 4-5 hours after she and I met (we worked a 4 hour shift on Security together) while walking home she met Peter (another volunteer on his way home) whom she married last summer. A true romance... a split second decision on both their parts made the difference between a passing glance and the happily-ever-after that they are living in now. Another woman working the crew as the team leader's right-hand was Anne who I met working on ChamberFest last year. We are both booked to work lots of shifts at ChamberFest this year too. So I'm not the only festival volunteer junky around.
Now I have to find out when the Byward Market's ByTowne Days celebration is taking place. I volunteered for it twice about 4 or 5 years ago. I wanted to work it last year but Girl-Camping weekend took precedence. As it will again this year if there is a conflict of dates.
Must get going. I still have to boot Windoze and re-install the software for my TV card. It is getting late however and I am thinking it will wait until tomorrow evening. Yeah, sleep would be a grand thing right now.
Cheers!
Well hello everyone. It has been over a year since I've been keeping this blog updated so I'll bring you all up on the latest.
Last year, in early June, I started working for TGS Solutions Innovators, owners of the Aserty.com realm. It is a small ISP (Internet Service Provider) owned by Poul Topp. My brother Ron is his partner in the company. One of my job hunting strategies last year was to email everyone I knew to tell them I was job hunting and to ask them to keep eyes and ears open for possible opportunities. Poul asked Ron if I'd be interested in doing some part-time work for them for the summer. Ron asked, I accepted. It only took 3 or 4 weeks for me to be working well over the 20 hours a week originally agreed upon.
Basically my job consists of several jobs. I am the Monday-Friday Technical Support/Help Line. I am the Accounts Receivable Bookkeeper which includes collections duties. I am the Services Tech... I set up new accounts and connections, move them when they need to be moved, cancel those that need cancelling. I am the liason with Bell Canda and other service suppliers and their technical groups. I Manage the office. I'm the Shipping and Receiving department. I liase with the banks and banking institutions (such as Moneris). I run the monthly reports, send out invoices, receive payments. When customers have questions I answer them, if I can't answer a question I either find an answer or find the guy (Poul or Ron) who can answer the question. I assign jobs to Poul and Ron that fall within their duties. I come up with ideas for marketing and advertising. I make strong suggestions for changes to the website (sometimes they listen, sometimes they don't). I field calls from sales reps and filter calls from companies and people that need to be filtered out (telephone spam). I answer 98% of the email. In short... I have become the voice of Aserty.com. We are still trying to think of an all-encompassing job title.
Recently I've been writing up procedures for the work I do. HUGE job. I've spent about 30 hours working on these procedures and only completed 'setting up new accounts' and 'cancelling an account'. It's going to take forever because there is so much work to keep me busy and not enough time to work on procedures.
Oh yes... the cat, Hunter (or Pooosie Cat as I call her), a.k.a. her royal highness, thinks that my main duties include feeding her, opening doors for her, giving her treats and cuddling her. She is a very demanding cat. If she weren't such an old cutie I'd better be able to refuse her. Hunter is something like 15 years old, almost totally deaf and her eyes aren't what they once were. She is my office cat and she believes me to be her daytime slave. Poul and Rosalyn (his wife) have told me that on weekends she will go into the office looking for me and will sit sqwaking (her meow is loud and gruff) at the back of my chair until someone tells her I'm not there. Quite funny when you think about it... and quite cute too.
Since January of this year I have officially been an employee with full-time duties. Although I've been working 32-38 hours a week since last August. This means that I get to take a paid vacation this year.
In the meantime I have also managed to keep up the volunteering for festivals around Ottawa. Last summer it was BluesFest and ChamberFest. This year, Tulip Festival, Bluesfest (currently) and ChamberFest (late July to early August). I've already done two ChamberFest promotional events. That vacation will have to wait until August after ChamberFest ends.
I've also gotten back into the Belly Dancing. Last summer I went to a few practice nights and in September re-joined Tracey's classes. I was due to do a performance at the December class party but slipped on the icey sidewalks on the way there, pulled several muscles in my back and was barely able to move by the time the show started. So I was a last minute cancellation and covered the door and ticketing instead. At the June class party I did perform. I made a fabulous new costume which I love and which got many lovely compliments. Thank you for those. I performed with weighted veils for the first time. It was a good performance but too long. The weighted veils are extremely exhausting to work with and my music was 4:16 long. That was about a whole minute too long. I ran out of steam at about 3:30 and struggled to keep it going. I took my bows and once off stage all but collapsed. I couldn't catch my breath and was bone dry. I guzzled down a whole bottle of water in less than 10 seconds. Then I panted for a full 5 minutes. Ah, well, live and learn.
I want to work more actual dance into a weighted veil routine next time. Make it more balanced and not just about the veils. By the way... it was Elaine who taught me to use the veils. This summer I am trying to attend all the Thursday night practices.
My grandniece Cassandra turned 2 years old on July 2 this year. She is quite a big girl. Many people mistake her for a 3 year old when they see her. But she is all two year old. She is developing quite a strong personality and personal presence. She insists on being the centre of attention and usually is. Quite the little princess. Ron, her grandfather, refers to her as "Herself". It is very suitable.
The bicycle has been my main transportation over the last 3 or 4 weeks. Ever since I got it tuned up. I had to repack the bearing in the front wheel before it could be used. The rear wheel bearings need repacking too but that is a huge all-day job that will have to wait. It's a lot of work to take that wheel apart so I'll do the derailleur at the same time. It's been about 12 years since I did this job myself so I'll have to get the book out and do some reading up on it to refresh my memory first.
This Canada Day I did something I had not done in about 15 years... I went to Parliament Hill. The day started early with breakfast at Zak's with Michele. We left there about 9:00 to go to the Hill for the parade from the drill hall. We saw the parade, changing of the guard, flag raising ceremony, RCMP musical ride, Governor General inspecting the GG's footguard, singing of Oh Canada, twice (at least), SkyHawks sky divers (twice), the Snowbirds (twice) and the 21 gun salute. We left the Hill about 12:30... exhausted, hot and feeling like crud. We walked back through Major's Hill Park where I left Michele while I went home, showered and rested. Then back out to walk over to Canada & the World Pavillion at Rideau Falls for the Al Arz Lebanese Dance Troupe show. The Svitanok Ukrainian Dancers were still performing when I got there. I got lots of photos and movies of everything all day.
I do hope to find time to post photos to the blog but first I have to remember how to do it. I haven't posted photos in over a year. Yes, the New Zealand movies are still not there, I know.
After the walk back home, another shower, another nap and a long wait for the rain to stop preceded another walk. This time over to Tracey and Tom's for a BBQ where I stayed until it was time to walk, yet again, to the fireworks. We just walked to our favourite spot (I'll never post that on the internet!!!) and stood waiting. They started about 10:20 and went on for at least 20 minutes. A fantabulous display! I loved it!! So did everyone else!!! Then walked Michele home, past Kaitlin's place then walked Sara back to T&T's (where she was staying) then walked me home. Then I had my fourth shower of the day and fell into bed. Exhausted just does not describe the feeling. Pain was definately involved.
After Canada Day most people rest but instead I had a busy weekend. Socially busy. Saturday started with a bus ride and walk to Poul's place to pick up the car so I could get from one end of the city to the other quickly. Cassandra's birthday party Saturday afternoon was followed immediately by an Algonquin class of '82 reunion. Half the group did not show but we had a great time anyway. We hope to do another soon. It was fun to see people I had lost touch with and we want to get the others to the next one. Then on Sunday... well the usual brunch thing in the morning followed by errands and shopping. But Sunday evening a group of us got together to go over to the RCMP stables in Rockliffe for the Sunset Ceremonies. At least 2 hours of performing horses (with and without riders), dogs, the RCMP band, a marching pipe and drum band and highland dancers. Not to mention clowns, jugglers and unicycles. We finished off the night with a trip to the DQ at St-Laurent and Hemlock. Banana Split... don't fight it. As often as I try to I can never seem to get myself to order something else.
Monday night I had a team meeting for BeautiControl (more on that later), last night was spent getting laundry and other chores done and tonight was a Bluesfest volunteer orientation meeting followed by Michele's birthday party at Patty Boland's Pub. Tomorrow night is my first Bluesfest shift. And thus the craziness begins. I'll have little or no downtime until the second week of August. So don't expect to see much more here for awhile.
The vacation plan is to take the train to Halifax and back with a few days visiting in between. I haven't been East of Montreal since I bought the house on Bolton Street. So as long as I can put enough money together for it, I'll be gone. I'd love to stop over in Quebec City for an overnight too.
That's plenty for now. Good night all.