An expensive week

Sofie and I have been going to Mommy and Baby classes. There is a company here in Vancouver that hosts postpartum classes where moms are able to attend to babies and work on getting their 'shape' back. I have joined and it has been great to know that you can take your baby and if they need attention during the class, then you are able to tend to their needs. Way easier than finding a babysitter.

So we were on our way to class this week only to find out that it had been cancelled. Unfortunately the instructor's son was ill and there wasn't a spare available. This was OK, as Tuesdays are Akis' day off so I figured I would go in the evening to the pool for an Auqa class. The other attempt I am making at being active. The class was awesome and I really felt great after the class. I was on my way home when it happened. That sound of crunching. You hear it and think ~ 'oh, that doesn't sound good'. And for a split second you feel badly for the person who has been hit. It is only when the car spins out and you are then disoriented as to where you are that you realize that the person that was hit was you!

There had been many storms coming through Vancouver and for another evening the power was out in places. The intersection was in full 4 way stop procedures. It was unfortunate that the person on my right was not aware of this and managed to run into my @ss end on the passenger side. Once things came to a rest, I was amazed that the first thing out of the other driver's mouth was that she had the green light. Some how this doesn't seem to work at an intersection with the power out. She then indicated that the person ahead of her went ~ which they would do in a 4 way stop procedure ~ but again didn't seem to realize that she was suppose to have stopped. Shaken up, I was just grateful that Sofie was at home with Dad as the majority of the impact was on her door and while the door was not pushed into the car ~ mostly a dent which then revealed that the car had been in an accident before ~ as a parent you worry about what could have been and then count your lucky stars.

At home, Akis was just happy that I was OK. I am still stiff from the accident and have been working on stretching out my back and neck. After getting the OK from the doctor, I am doing some light exercise but do appreciate that I don't quite feel back to 100%.

The second biggie this week was the laptop. It has been a good companion for Akis over the years and after moving to Canada, I sort of inherited it as Akis works primarily on his desktop. Despite being technical folks in technical jobs, we don't keep current on the 'geekware'. As such the laptop was over 5 years old and really at this point didn't owe us much of anything. What was disturbing however was the archive of photos which we had on the laptop. After unsuccessful attempts to boot the laptop, my fear was that the photos we had of the past 3 years were now no longer accessible and I wondered if the problem was with the hard drive or the inner workings of the machine. Inner workings could mean that we could access the drive somehow. After a day of meticulously booting, repairing, copying and burning, I have recovered all of the photos and learned yet again, when the time comes to archive photos to a secondary location, you need to go with your gut and do this.

As such, Christmas came early for me. The new laptop was purchased and I must say that anything would have been faster than what I was using.

The final straw was our oven. After previously cooking a meal for Akis and using the oven, we attempted to bake some fish and chips. As it turns out, the buttons for the oven would only register '4', '6' and '9'. This led to some odd ball temperatures that could be achieved with the oven, none of which were going to be good in the long run. Calling to get the service man out ~ and with a $90 call out rate, I should be an appliance tech! Between that and the $160 hourly rate, the replacement of the control panel was not a cheap repair.

Hoping that things come in threes, this should be the end of it. That is until I start my Christmas shopping.

Grandpa Jim comes to visit

Grandpa Jim wanted to come out and meet Sofia. He decided he wanted to wait a bit so that she would be more interactive when he came to visit. This was a good call as he was able to sit with Sofia and have a few conversations. I should have gotten the conversation on video as they were pretty cute. I did however do a better job of taking photos for grandpa than I did for Auntie Krista.

Grandpa Jim arrived on Wednesday and Sofia and I went out to pick him up from the airport. He stayed until Monday and for the most part we just hung out. We didn't get up to a lot as Grandpa's foot has been bothering him, but we did get out to the craft fair and for a walk along Commercial Drive for a few errands and of course for coffee!

Some photos of Grandpa Jim hanging with Sofia:







Sofia with Daddy:


Sofia:

The Offer

Since Akis' graduation he has been on the job hunt. This has been a completely different experience for Akis and at time it has been quite difficult for him. After a number of months of applying, waiting for feedback, attending interviews, Akis had an interview with Rainmaker. Not wanting to jinx things, Akis refused to tell anyone about the interview.

The whole process was a roller coaster. After giving the interview on Friday, he was told that they were going to make their decision in the next week. We waited patiently over the weekend and were very excited when he received an email Monday to provide references. The week continued and by the end of day Friday, the mood had deflated somewhat given that we had not heard back. He contacted one of his references and they had not yet been called. It was a bit of a bummer weekend.

Monday, Akis was working in the afternoon so we went for a walk with the 'kids' around Trout Lake. Discussing what to do next, Akis agreed that he needed to email the HR contact and ask for an update. While we were out, one of Akis' contacts called to let him know that he had been contacted. The mood was again very positive. Akis was trying not to get his hopes up, but I was telling him that for them to contact references, that they had likely made their decision and were now doing the required 'paperwork'. The email to HR was put on hold.

Tuesday there still wasn't anything from HR. Akis emailed them and they indicated that he should have an email by the end of the day. He then received an phone call saying that he would receive a call on Wednesday. Contained excitement was the mood for the day.

Wednesday ~ no call. Disappointment reigned.

Thursday Akis debated about emailing HR. I told him that despite him being very anxious about hearing, that they have many jobs and sometimes people get busy and not to take this as a sign that things were not going well. In the end, he did email and the response was favourable. They did not have the contract ready for him, but they were going to be offering him a position.

Akis still waited on pins and needles until he received the contract which didn't actually happen until the next week. It has been a lot of effort on his part to find a job in his field and he was very excited to receive this offer. It is a contract position for 4 months. Contracts are very common in this industry so we will have to see how things go and figure out what happens next when March arrives.

Until then, Akis has started the Render Wrangler position at Rainmaker Entertainment. It is very exciting as it is in the film industry which is where he has been looking to break into.

Congratulations to Akis ~ I'm very proud of you.