moments of brilliance

I think I need to credit Heidi Fleiss with this particular moment of brilliance. No I'm not planning on being a cracked out hollywood madam. Heidi now owns a high end laundromat.

Although my building has laundry, there are a lot of restrictions. One of the most inconveinient is that I cannot wash blankets or other bulky items. The landlady suggests we use the local laundromat. I did a walk-by and was horrified. Not only did I find the place dirty and gross looking, but the clientelle made me think that I would probably end up coming home with bed bugs. I wouldn't want to wait around in such a place, but I also wouldn't want to leave my belongings there. So my alternative has been to bring dirty laundry with me when I visit people. I'm sure people really like to see me coming. 3 blankets, 2 bathmats and 2 cat beds in tow.

Last night I watched a bit of Celebrity Rehab which showed Heidi Fleiss's laundromat. It was really nice looking with new flashy washers and dryers. This got me thinking. I think that I should open a high-end laundromat with free wi-fi, a barista offering lattes. Or what if while your clothes spun in the dryer, you could get a pedicure? Not only would the grubbies not be interested in these services, but it would make doing laundry more enjoyable. Put in a high-end neighbourhood, I could charge higher prices, in no time I'd be a milionare!

~ betcha this post is going to bring some interesting traffic to my site. Sorry, this blog has nothing to do with madams, brothels, celebrities or rehab. Please move along. okay time for another graveyard shift.....

thanks!

on the go blogging as I test out my sister's new mac laptop. Nice, but I'm not sure if I want to invest in a fancy new laptop yet.

I also wanted to acknowledge all the interest in the last little bit (since I remembered that I had a blog.) The hit meter has gone through the roof lately from zero to four hits! So I thought I would commit to posting more frequently, okay well...maybe. stand by

Not up

Well, I'm sure glad to see that my core readership stayed with me. For a long while I was working 6-7 days a week at two jobs. It didn't leave for much of a life that was worth blogging about. I have changed my schedule around so I fit 6 working days into 5 days. How? Well, I got a promotion!

Of course just as I made the major decision to look for work up north, that's when I got a job that will keep me here for a while. So, no more graveyard shifts for me. Just as well, since it's easy to sleep in the winter when it's so dark and dreary. I think it would have been a whole other challenge to sleep during the mid-day heat of the summer. I know you all got excited about me living a Northern Exposure-esque life. But I haven't given up on that idea. At this point, my plan is to give this job another 6 months or so. It doesn't pay well enough for me to commit to them long term. In that space of time, a new union contract will come in. My hope is the federal government will stop paying Newfie wages and start paying Vancity wages. Unlikely, since it is the stupid Harper government.

Now that I have accepted the job, I'm sure the dream northern job will inevitably be posted.

Up

Sometimes a blogging gal just wants to test the dedication of her reading audience. I mean, can you really call yourself a true fan of my blog if more than a week goes by before you notice this amazing update??? Go ahead and look down at the bottom to see when I posted this. I'll wait.

What have I been doing in the mean time? Good question. Changing jobs, breaking rules, failed real estate endeavours of dilapidated properties, cheering everything Canadian, getting in trouble for breaking rules. Currently I'm waiting patiently for an announcement from my boss as to whether or not I will be working the day shift rather than graveyards. In the meantime, I began to reevaluate if financially, it would be better to move out of the Vancity area. You see, the government has proposed changes for first-time home owners. Gone are the 5% down days, thank you sub-prime lenders. The proposed changes would require first-timers to put down a ridiculous 20%. Given that the average price of a modest house is $500 000, that's a $100 000 down payment. I can't foresee saving that kind of cash.

So I started looking for jobs farther away again. My lease is coming up, so why not? I found a great job that pays a ton in the Northwest Territories. In a very small town of 1200 people. I have spent hours reading blogs to learn more about this town. I wondered if a single, vegetarian, gluten-free girl could make it in such isolation. I thought I might be okay as I am adept at the art of internet shopping. I was all set to apply but then I realized that in a small town, I would be faced everyday with people whose lives I may have changed in dramatic ways. Example, what if I did a house visit and wrote a report stating that a kid should be removed from the house. I would see those parents around town, with only 1 grocery store in town, it would be impossible to avoid. I think in time, I would feel very alone.

So I decided to not apply for this position, but apply for a similar position in a larger town. It would be an amazing experience and good for my career. I have a little dream that I will start a new blog, about my northern adventures. In my mind the experience will be like Northern Exposure. I'm working on the blog title. There are some amazing NWT blogs out there. Right now I'm reading Townie Bastard's blog. A newfie political journalist (who used to write the Clarenville Packet!!!) who moved to Nunavut. (Theresa, insert Micah joke here.) www.towniebastard.blogspot.com It's a little heavy on the Newfie politics, but still really good.

And my other favorite is a written by a musician/bartender and his partner who moved to Nunavut from Ontario. http://jordanandsteph.blogspot.com/ They are still in their early days, and have just discovered that curling is cool. Their biggest tip? Be social, don't hunker down just because it's -45 degrees.

And possibly the best blog I have ever seen http://newnavut.blogspot.com/. She chronicled her journey from the start. Sort of a "how-to" for moving to the arctic. The thing she wishes she packed more of? kitty litter! Who would have thunk? What coat to buy? She's got the answer.

Okay, so maybe you aren't so obsessed with the idea as I am. I have been thinking about doing this for the last 3 years. Believe me, these graveyard shifts give me the opportunity to do a lot of internet reading. But you never know, maybe you'll be hoping on a "First Air" flight to visit me one day. So read up.