My new baker didn't show up for work today... again. Nadine spent the few hours we worked together today making a mockery of Tim Horton's training videos and making me laugh so ridiculously hard that it made up for my disappointment in our lack of reliable staff. Her dirty humour never fails to brighten my day.
The girls hate the training videos that I make them watch but I enjoy looking for the familiar faces that show up in them from time to time.
Other Tim's updates include the drunk that was escorted out by the RCMP today. I felt bad, all he wanted was for me to make him four Boston creams but he was making my store front girls so uncomfortable that they abandoned their posts to come into the bakery and send me out to protect them. I think that the amount of bruised faces we see everyday is justification enough for their fear.
I also got an interesting text from Emily the other day, informing me of the man who stole stacks of roll up the rim contest cups and hid in the washroom while he rolled them. It was my day off, so instead of stressing, I got to laugh about it.
We had our first non food prize winner the other day. A woman bought her coffee at Inuksigate plaza and won a bike. I was much more excited than she was but lets be serious, she won the first ever cool prize in Iqaluit, that's big news.
Perhaps the best Tim's news... We hit half a million late last week! It hasn't even been four months. We are proud girls.
In one week I will officially have my own bed again! I am sad to see Matt leave but sleeping sprawled out is one thing I am super excited about. We maxed out my credit card a couple days ago to pay for his flights. One way came to $998. (For those of you thinking of visiting, I'm sure that hurt. However I am joining the airlines mailing lists so I'll be able to keep a better look out for seat sales)
Matt's flight leaves on April first. I feel extreme jealousy. I just want to see the faces that I miss and I want to eat some real food. Although I do have some wonderful food news, my friend Tanya just announced to me that her fathers new shwarma restaurant is opening in Iqaluit soon, which makes me feel like life is almost perfect here.
I have been counting down to vacation from day 139. Today, there are only 86 days left to wait. The time is flying by and I can honestly say I don't think I have ever been more excited for anything in my life...
I feel like I have a lot to be excited about right now. Matt and I are moving on with life, talking to other people, trying to settle into what our lives will be like after next week. I am much less sad about him leaving than I was when it was decided. I have seen how excited and free he has felt knowing that he would be home soon and that makes me excited for him. He has family, friends and a new girl waiting in Ontario and I know he will find much more happiness than he has had here, which gives me comfort. I think the bitterness he feels towards life will vanish when he lands in Toronto. I want to see him happy and I wish him the best.
This will be the first time in my life, ever, that I will have my own place... all to myself. No room mates, no boys, no family, just Jack and Sadie (my Tabby's) and myself. I am going to throw dinner parties, ban junk food (again) and sleep peacefully. I am going to get a house phone and have as many private conversations as I want. I didn't want to pay the extra bill but what is thirty dollars a month compared to hearing the voices I want to hear? I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. My Internet usage will last twice as long and I will have half the laundry to do. Toilet paper will last much longer and there will be no one here to blame me for the Brita filter always being empty. I will just have to start making sure to turn the burners and the oven off, which I am not very good at, heh.
It's like a fresh start. Spring cleaning for my life. Everything is falling into place... and everything happens for a reason, I'm seeing that now.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Twenty two years
The birthday weekend begins. I have Saturdays off and I managed to take Sunday off as well this week. I am thrilled to have an actual weekend off, two consecutive days. Down south I would have put on some heels, gone heavy on the makeup and hopped between loud, local bars. This year I will celebrate Iqaluit style. I will trade in my stilettos for winter boots and loud local bars for one with a last call at midnight. The plan is to grab a few drinks at the Store House, located inside the Frobisher hotel, with a few friends. Tomorrow, since my birthday landed on a Sunday I wanted to experience the Frobs famous brunch, so we have reservations at eleven for ten people.
March 13th is a special day that I share with my Grandma, Jean. I was her first grandchild and I was born early, on her birthday. I miss her just thinking about it. I may just make my very first phone call out of Iqaluit to wish Grams a happy birthday. (In case you're reading this Grams, I love you and I hope your birthday is fantastic, enjoy the mandarin {eat extra chicken balls on my behalf} and know that I am thinking about you. All my love)
It will be a fairly quiet weekend. I am excited for the big twenty two, I feel like the years have flown by much too fast and it has given me some perspective on enjoying what I have, while I have it. With Matt leaving for the South at the end of the month, almost all of my twenty-second year will be spent on my own in Nunavut. The terror of it is fading slowly and I have developed a feeling of wonder, I wonder if this is an opportunity for me. I'm not sure what it will bring or how I will deal with the highs and lows but I am taking it on as a welcome challenge.
My friends in Iqaluit have proven to be an incredible support system. Even the store management team have provided shoulders to cry on and ears to listen. My friends and family in Ontario have also been there for me the best that they could be via Internet and text message. Through all of the advice and well wishes, I have found a much clearer mind. This is what is best.
Iqaluit is preparing to welcome spring. Which is something I am really excited about. The sun is staying out later and later everyday. Soon darkness will not exist here and it will look like a completely different city. I wont have to be afraid to walk to work in the dark every morning.
I saw the Northern Lights last night when Robert dropped me off from work. I stood over the railing in front of our building and watched them in admiration, knowing that I wont be able to see them much longer.
To welcome spring properly, Iqaluit throws a celebration called Toonik Tyme, which I believe is set to begin on April 14th. It has been a community tradition since 1965. Travellers come here solely to experience this festival and all of the cultural exploration it allows. For a week there is a set schedule for activities like igloo building, seal skinning, dog sled and snow mobile races, scavenger hunts and craft fairs.
The last couple of days have been fairly warm and snow has been falling sporadically. Yesterday we sat at negative fifteen, I thought it would be a warming trend until I looked at this mornings temperature of negative thirty. To be honest, I'm not sure I want the cold to go anywhere. I like it.
To conclude this blog post, I would like to point out that there are only 99 days until my feet touch the earth in Toronto. My heart skips a beat just thinking about it. 99 days to warm sunshine, to shwarma, to a pedicure and a hair cut. 99 days until I am in the arms of my family and friends, until I get to see faces and hear voices of people I am longing to be close to. 99 days. I got 99 problems but vacation ain't one.
March 13th is a special day that I share with my Grandma, Jean. I was her first grandchild and I was born early, on her birthday. I miss her just thinking about it. I may just make my very first phone call out of Iqaluit to wish Grams a happy birthday. (In case you're reading this Grams, I love you and I hope your birthday is fantastic, enjoy the mandarin {eat extra chicken balls on my behalf} and know that I am thinking about you. All my love)
It will be a fairly quiet weekend. I am excited for the big twenty two, I feel like the years have flown by much too fast and it has given me some perspective on enjoying what I have, while I have it. With Matt leaving for the South at the end of the month, almost all of my twenty-second year will be spent on my own in Nunavut. The terror of it is fading slowly and I have developed a feeling of wonder, I wonder if this is an opportunity for me. I'm not sure what it will bring or how I will deal with the highs and lows but I am taking it on as a welcome challenge.
My friends in Iqaluit have proven to be an incredible support system. Even the store management team have provided shoulders to cry on and ears to listen. My friends and family in Ontario have also been there for me the best that they could be via Internet and text message. Through all of the advice and well wishes, I have found a much clearer mind. This is what is best.
Iqaluit is preparing to welcome spring. Which is something I am really excited about. The sun is staying out later and later everyday. Soon darkness will not exist here and it will look like a completely different city. I wont have to be afraid to walk to work in the dark every morning.
I saw the Northern Lights last night when Robert dropped me off from work. I stood over the railing in front of our building and watched them in admiration, knowing that I wont be able to see them much longer.
To welcome spring properly, Iqaluit throws a celebration called Toonik Tyme, which I believe is set to begin on April 14th. It has been a community tradition since 1965. Travellers come here solely to experience this festival and all of the cultural exploration it allows. For a week there is a set schedule for activities like igloo building, seal skinning, dog sled and snow mobile races, scavenger hunts and craft fairs.
The last couple of days have been fairly warm and snow has been falling sporadically. Yesterday we sat at negative fifteen, I thought it would be a warming trend until I looked at this mornings temperature of negative thirty. To be honest, I'm not sure I want the cold to go anywhere. I like it.
To conclude this blog post, I would like to point out that there are only 99 days until my feet touch the earth in Toronto. My heart skips a beat just thinking about it. 99 days to warm sunshine, to shwarma, to a pedicure and a hair cut. 99 days until I am in the arms of my family and friends, until I get to see faces and hear voices of people I am longing to be close to. 99 days. I got 99 problems but vacation ain't one.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Updates
I apologize for the lack of posts from me lately. I have been going through an incredibly difficult time. As mentioned in my 'breaking up' post, Matt and I decided to part ways. We tried to live amicably and continue on our adventure together.
Before moving to Iqaluit, I was much more sure about the journey than Matthew was. Upon arriving I was much more taken by the land, the culture and even the work than he was. Iqaluit is not every ones cup of tea. It is isolating to live here, we lack a lot of the modern conveniences and amenities that are common down South. If you are a lover of shopping, you would not survive here.
Sadly, Matthew has decided that his adventure will end this month. He misses his friends very much and he wants to find a job that he is happy with. He is staying until March 31st and heading home after the months last pay check.
Dealing with him moving on has been hard for me. I do feel us parting is best for both of us but that doesn't mean it isn't painful. When he decided he was going home, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and winded. I felt instantly lost.
Between breaking up and finding out that I would soon be alone in the arctic, I felt depressed and lost and confused. I felt like the empty shell of the woman I once was and all I knew was tears and pain. I was so down that I began to feel bad for the people around me.
Today, the sun was shining and for some freeing reason, which I haven't discovered, I felt happiness. I have a new outlook on this situation.
The idea of Matt getting on an airplane and having to watch his plane fly away breaks my heart and makes me feel sick to my stomach. However, I want him to be happy and seeing his excitement about his return trip makes my pain feel a little less heavy.
For the first time in a month, I feel like I have something to look forward to, something to smile about and something to keep me going.
A few updates on my life...
-I am writing this blog from my brand new Dell Inspiron laptop (my first laptop)
-I have paid off every penny of debt that I had. My savings account is a hoarder
-The sun stays out until after dinner now and I cant see stars when I walk to work at 4:45am
-The temperature is climbing, today it is a warm -25 Celsius
-Roll up the rim is on at Tim's, and the excitement from the locals had me in stitches on day one. No big prizes yet, just donuts and coffee.
-I am turning 22 in six days, the birthday countdown is on. Since it will be a Sunday birthday, I plan on drinking it in on Saturday night and celebrating with the Frobisher's forty dollar brunch on Sunday morning. (Oh how I miss Denny's and cheap food)
-I will be on a flight home for vacation in 104 days
-My baby sister had her tonsils out last week. She still misses solid food.
Things are looking up in Iqaluit, probably because the sun is staying up later and I love it.
Before moving to Iqaluit, I was much more sure about the journey than Matthew was. Upon arriving I was much more taken by the land, the culture and even the work than he was. Iqaluit is not every ones cup of tea. It is isolating to live here, we lack a lot of the modern conveniences and amenities that are common down South. If you are a lover of shopping, you would not survive here.
Sadly, Matthew has decided that his adventure will end this month. He misses his friends very much and he wants to find a job that he is happy with. He is staying until March 31st and heading home after the months last pay check.
Dealing with him moving on has been hard for me. I do feel us parting is best for both of us but that doesn't mean it isn't painful. When he decided he was going home, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach and winded. I felt instantly lost.
Between breaking up and finding out that I would soon be alone in the arctic, I felt depressed and lost and confused. I felt like the empty shell of the woman I once was and all I knew was tears and pain. I was so down that I began to feel bad for the people around me.
Today, the sun was shining and for some freeing reason, which I haven't discovered, I felt happiness. I have a new outlook on this situation.
The idea of Matt getting on an airplane and having to watch his plane fly away breaks my heart and makes me feel sick to my stomach. However, I want him to be happy and seeing his excitement about his return trip makes my pain feel a little less heavy.
For the first time in a month, I feel like I have something to look forward to, something to smile about and something to keep me going.
A few updates on my life...
-I am writing this blog from my brand new Dell Inspiron laptop (my first laptop)
-I have paid off every penny of debt that I had. My savings account is a hoarder
-The sun stays out until after dinner now and I cant see stars when I walk to work at 4:45am
-The temperature is climbing, today it is a warm -25 Celsius
-Roll up the rim is on at Tim's, and the excitement from the locals had me in stitches on day one. No big prizes yet, just donuts and coffee.
-I am turning 22 in six days, the birthday countdown is on. Since it will be a Sunday birthday, I plan on drinking it in on Saturday night and celebrating with the Frobisher's forty dollar brunch on Sunday morning. (Oh how I miss Denny's and cheap food)
-I will be on a flight home for vacation in 104 days
-My baby sister had her tonsils out last week. She still misses solid food.
Things are looking up in Iqaluit, probably because the sun is staying up later and I love it.
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