It has been interesting in the last few days to be exchanging words of advice and encouragement with my friend Nikki, who has recently moved to Australia to work for a year. Funny enough, I have met three people here within the last week who recently took a year to just go and work in Australia for the hell of it. I mentioned to them all that I currently have a friend there doing the same! It seems as though it is quite easy for Canadians to get a simple work permit that just allows them a certain amount of time to go do money work - ie, pub, restaurant, etc. It is too bad Decidedly Jazz Danceworks isn't in Australia - It sounds like it would certainly make it easier for me to get a friggin job!!! It is interesting how connecting to someone else in a similar situation can help you figure things out - after reading Nikki’s blog about realizing how places attain the character you see in them by the people that occupy them, I ended up being more social on the weekend than I planned. An opportunity on Monday came up to go out to lunch with one of my roommates and a friend of hers from work. I was going to say no because I had already eaten, but remembered your words about people and palce, and decided 'what the hell. I will just go have a cup of coffee.' It was a really fun, nice and casual time, and it was nice to spend some time with others on a 'holiday' (Canadian Thanksgiving was yesterday). They even bought my share! And then, in the evening, I ended up accepting an offer from a girl I am in the dance program with here to go to the house of friends of one of her friends from high school. She only knew one other person there besides me and I only knew her, but we ended up having a mighty good time, and I was so glad I said yes. I feel I should thank her for the wise words on people - I have a feeling establishing a sense of home will come even easier the more I allow myself to expand my people horizons.
The grad school process has been frustrating as of late. I feel like, with Mills, that I am trying to get a hold of an irresponsible teenager. They have been sooo terrible with calling me back and emailing me back. I emailed them what was now a week and a half ago about the possiblity of changing one of my references, and I have STILL not heard back. It is an extreme turn-off to me to feel like I am chasing the school down. I also have not yet heard back from the reference who I accidentally assumed would be able to write a letter. I think I emailed her back about three weeks ago and have not heard anything, so I have made NO progress in that arena. It is just frustrating when you are waiting upon the efforts of others, and not out of your own procrastination. Now, I am starting to feel somewhat paranoid about the idea of an incomplete application. I realize that it is not due till Feb 1st, but I just want it done, and to know it is done. On top of that, to Mills I have to submit a technical modern sample, I which I feel I cannot obtain a good one until I go home in November to take class with a specific teacher there. So I am waiting on some letters from other people, and on myself to get this technical sample done. Oi.
I am VERY excited for Kris to visit. It will be nice to have a piece of home come here. I am am already crazy with the list of things I want to do while he is here, and I am sure we will not be able to accomplish it all. We are both trying to figure out what the hell we are going to dress up as for Halloween. He thinks he wants to be a Texas Oil Man. I find it hard to figure out how he will distinguish a Texas Oil Man from a Calgary Oil Man, as they sure have plenty of those here.
Bad news about my job - it turns out that we are not even at the 'government phase' yet - my papers have not even left the desk of my boss' boss. Frustrating. He told me this on Friday, and I ask him if he thought it reasonable for me to ask to be taken off the schedule until the papers have at least been sent in to the government. From there, then I know that I am only waiting on the government, but to be waiting on my own company seems ridiculous. I do not feel up to this point as though I am being used, but I do not want to even let it get intp that territory. As it stands, I have been working there about 15 hours a weekend for a few weekends now, enough to have made several hundred dollars. So I told my boss that if he gets in a major scheduling pinch, I will of course come in and help, and that I feel a committment to the place and fully intend to volunteer even if the papers do not go through, but that until I know which way it will go, I cannot be coming in at a level that can be deemed part-time. When I am simply voluteering, I do not intend to give 15 hours a week. He saw this as totally reasonable, and hopes that this will possibly light a fire under his boss' ass. His boss is the managing director of the theater, someone who I guess consistently overlooks the importance of the Front of House, so he is not surprized by this, but definitely frustrated like me. The first show of the season just closed this weekend, so next weekend they are dark anyway, so hopefully something can be done about this in time for the next show to open, so I know my status. I did, however, clean for the artistic director fo the dance company Friday afternoon, and additionally, I am babysitting my teacher Joanne's kids on Saturday night. Hopefully the word will spread that I am the 'odd job' girl, and I can make my money that way.
As for my classes; I would have to say that my favorits have come to be Joanne's Monday and Thursday night jazz classes, and my African class on Tuesday nights. Joanne is just the wonderful mix of modern and classic jazz that I love, and the set of live drummers in the African class are just incredible. I had taken African before for a semester at school and a few classes here and there (including at DJD when I went a few summers ago), but never got real deep into it. This time, I feel like after a few consistent weeks, I am latching on, letting go of some of my upright Western dance habits, and really just connecting with the music and the ground and my classmates. It is a definite treat. And it is nice that the class is the 6-7:30 slot - I have class from 6-7:30 and 7:30 to 9 on Wednesday, and leaving that late can be hard on the body and mind, especially considerin that I do not then get home until 10, as my commute is nearly an hour. I have actually also really enjoyed taking two tap classes a week as well - I kind of forgot how much I like it! It is like riding a bike in a way - you do not forget how to do it (it comes back), but it is easy to forget how enjoyable it is until you try it again.
My weekend definitely had its moments. I was supposed to be going to Edmonton with my roommate Rebecca who is from there, but I could sense that she wanted some family time, and I can totally understand that. So I picked some shifts back up at work that I had given away and worked Friday and Saturday night. I had Saturday day, and Sunday and Monday all day to myself - quite the chunk of free time I mist say. Saturday, I went back to the farmer's market and had a fantastic coffee, took the bus back to my area library and picked up some new materials, and then had to set out to find a particular postal outlet to pick up a package my parents had sent me with my witner coats and things (which I am so glad to have gotten, because it is getting chilly up here!). I ended up stopping in a wine shop to ask for directions, and it just so happened that they had a big ole' tasting going on, complete with some delectable appetizers. Needless to say, I left 45 minutes later quite a bit tipsy. Now that I actually have some free time in my life, I figured it makes sense to embrace such random experiences, yes?
Saturday night after work, I ended up going out with my roommate Steph and one of our friends from DJD whose sister was in town for Thanksgiving. We took a cab out to a 'pretty people' club (at least that is what I call it) downtown called The Roadhouse. It was definitely a good time and we danced up a storm, but by the time Steph go off work and we took a cab there, and then waited in line outside in the shivering cold for 20 minutes, it was 12:30. The club only stayed open until two. So, after adding up cab fare, a couple drinks and coat check, I spent $35 bucks that night. I am not used to having a night out be so costly (and I did not even buy my own cover) so that kind of outing is going to have to be a once a month kind of thing for me. It is just that there is so much money floating around these parts from oil that it seems people have no big problem dropping a couple hundred bucks on going to the bar a few nights a week. Crazy people. Anyway, we ended up sharing a cab home with three lacrosse players who were in town for a game that weekend, because their hotel was literally two blocks from our house. They were a bit crazy, one of them got in a fight over our cab and ended up dripping blood a few places around our house. Charming, really. This was the same one who, after I went to bed because I was sick of dealing with him, asked Steph if I had a boyfriend, and then if I was a virgin. Our house has quite thin walls, so I could hear every damn thing he was saying, and being the person I am, could not just let if fly. I busted out of my room and called him out on it, after which he informed me that 'dancers are the best lays,' and said 'come, on, if your boyfriend isn't serious, why can't we have some fun?' I proceeded to slap the bitch, tell him to fuck off, and went back to bed. Steph and I, a few minutes later, gladly rounded them up and walked them back to their hotel. Ahh, peace at last.
On Sunday, I went to breakfast with Kaja and Meredith for Kaja's birthday, and spent the great majority of the day then reading, catching up on some email, watching movies, that kind of thing. I also spent some time dealing with a dramatic roommate – the shit hath hiteth the fan. I sent an email to my landlord and an email to her, now it is just a waiting game. The long into short of it is that she told Rebecca Thursday that if things do not change in two weeks, she has already found a place and is moving out. After chatting the best we could (being that Talia and Rebecca were home this weekend for Thanksgiving), we have all basically decided that we will never be able to appease her, and think it best if she just packs up and leaves. We already have a lead on a roommate - a guy they work with who we all like quite a bit and hang out with quite a bit already.
Oh, amazing how life can create so much to think about when it should be realitively simple – eat, commute, dance, eat, dance, eat, sleep.....repeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment