Cold, Homesick and Addicted to Coffee:
OK, I realize that my last post wasn’t’ much of an update. The main purpose was to post some recent pictures of Bentley for Rob, who misses him so much. I am counting down the days till we get to go home to visit in January.
The weather here now is cold (by Vancouver standards, anyways), but all the beautiful snow that we got a few weeks ago has melted because of a warm spell. I am disappointed. I thought that if I have to be here for Christmas, I should at least get a white one!! I hear that since I have left Ontario 15 years ago, I have really only missed about 5 white Christmases in the GTA. When the snow was here in North Bay, it was beautiful and put me in the Christmas spirit while I played with Bentley down at the waterfront and while I was Christmas shopping downtown in old North Bay. I don’t mind the cold too much really. I just have to bundle up.
As for work, I have actually been fairly busy. The days that I am scheduled off are usually filled with activities such as chores, hitting the gym and finding ways to occupy my energetic canine companion. But the days that I am on the schedule are only great if I am actually working. I shouldn’t complain too much…..I really have been flying a lot lately. I was doing a scheduled charter to Toronto on a fairly regular basis, giving me the opportunity to see more of my family on the layover. This past week, I was on air ambulance and flew my butt off, maxing out my duty time at least 3 times. It was great. It is fun flying and usually fast paced. Although, we will occasionally get stuck waiting for the land ambulance, that is delivering or picking up a patient. The hours can be long and may go into the wee hours of the morning, making coffee your best friend. I have never drunk as much coffee as I have since I began working here!! Sometimes it is just for something to do while we wait….other times you really need it.
The more difficult thing is the days that I am on call for air ambulance…..waiting for the phone to ring…..not knowing when….or if I will fly that day. It is difficult because I am on a one hour call out. Although, it’s not like I am stuck at home (I don’t have a land line anyway). I can go out and about….but I have to make sure I don’t go too far away and have all my stuff with me that I need for work, in case I have to go straight to the airport. On these days, I leave Bentley at the sitter because it is too difficult to meet the one hour call out requirement when I have to factor getting him to the sitter. It sucks when I don’t get called in because I usually end up being all by myself all day, missing my dog. However, I do often end up having many MSN conversations with my friends at home!!
In the weeks leading up to the holiday season this year, I have missed out on many social events back home. However, instead of running around attending festive parties, I actually had the time to sit and enjoy some old holiday specials on TV that I haven’t had time to see in years. Sitting in front of the TV with Bentley, wrapping presents, I couldn’t decide if I was feeling sorry for myself for missing out, or happy to have the opportunity to reminisce about my childhood while watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the Grinch or the Sound of Music!! I decided I was feeling a mix of both. I did take Bentley to have his picture taken with Santa. This did not go as well as it did last year. It seems that Bentley has issues with holiday characters!! Not only is he wary of Jack-o-lanterns…but he is terrified of Santa!!! As soon as he saw him he backed up stuck his head in the air with a howling bark. In his defense, unlike last year’s Santa, this Santa did not seem very dog friendly since he just sat there, still, without any effort to make Bentley feel at ease. I am sure, to Bentley, he looked like a huge, scary red monster with a white furry face. Despite having to be forced to sit in front of Santa, with Santa gripping his collar so he wouldn’t run away, and with a very worried look on his face, the picture turned out not bad.
I am making new friends, but, as our visit back home nears, I realize how much I really miss it, and all the people I care about. I also realize how lucky I am that Rob is so understanding and supportive of my quest. Most of the guys I work with get heat from their significant others all the time, and they get to see them at least every couple of weeks. It has been six months since Rob and I have seen each other. Soon we will have to make some tough decisions since we agreed to be apart for a maximum of one year. It is difficult to forecast what options will be available to me in the coming months, but wherever we end up, our goal will always be to return to BC. Although Northern Ontario has certain charms, my heart will always belong to British Columbia. I think if I have to, I could live in North Bay for a little longer, but definitely not long term. North Bay is the kind of place that few people enjoy outdoor winter activities (other than snowmobiling) and therefore, pretty much every house has a satellite dish. Although it has a trendy coffee shop and a couple of cute downtown shops in the middle of town, the busier places tend to be Tim Horton’s and Walmart. Few places here warrant getting dressed up for, if you are going out for dinner. The best places to go out for breakfast are at places called “Dave’s Diner” and “Burger World”. Ya….well. However, it is also the kind of place where the waitress at Burger World remembers you are vegetarian and offers to create something to suit your needs without rolling her eyes. It is also the kind of place where the guy who looks after your dog offers to give you a lift to pick up your car, and invites you for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with his family, so you won’t be alone. It is the kind of place where your neighbours bring your garbage cans off the street for you, and the guy across the street shovels your driveway because you have been away for 3 days while 20cm of snow fell. It is impossible not to be impressed by the sense of community here.
Christmas will definitely be different for me this year, but at least I won’t be alone. Fortunately I do have time off over Christmas, so Bentley and I will be heading down to spend it with my sister and her family and inlaws. I will also get to see some of my other family members at a brunch my sister has organized. It will be awesome to spend Christmas with my sister for the first time in 15 years. I am also hoping to visit some friends in my hometown as well. Anyway, I am so looking forward to my visit home to BC in January to see my sweetie and the rest of our family and all of our friends. I can’t wait to strap on my board and ride the piles of snow I hear that Whistler has and maybe even partake in a hockey game. Also, I look forward to the chance to get dressed up in something other than my dork suit or dog walking clothes and experience some civilized night life with some friends in Vancouver.
I will include some photos from our Christmas celebration in my next post. Bye for now. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
OK, I realize that my last post wasn’t’ much of an update. The main purpose was to post some recent pictures of Bentley for Rob, who misses him so much. I am counting down the days till we get to go home to visit in January.
The weather here now is cold (by Vancouver standards, anyways), but all the beautiful snow that we got a few weeks ago has melted because of a warm spell. I am disappointed. I thought that if I have to be here for Christmas, I should at least get a white one!! I hear that since I have left Ontario 15 years ago, I have really only missed about 5 white Christmases in the GTA. When the snow was here in North Bay, it was beautiful and put me in the Christmas spirit while I played with Bentley down at the waterfront and while I was Christmas shopping downtown in old North Bay. I don’t mind the cold too much really. I just have to bundle up.
As for work, I have actually been fairly busy. The days that I am scheduled off are usually filled with activities such as chores, hitting the gym and finding ways to occupy my energetic canine companion. But the days that I am on the schedule are only great if I am actually working. I shouldn’t complain too much…..I really have been flying a lot lately. I was doing a scheduled charter to Toronto on a fairly regular basis, giving me the opportunity to see more of my family on the layover. This past week, I was on air ambulance and flew my butt off, maxing out my duty time at least 3 times. It was great. It is fun flying and usually fast paced. Although, we will occasionally get stuck waiting for the land ambulance, that is delivering or picking up a patient. The hours can be long and may go into the wee hours of the morning, making coffee your best friend. I have never drunk as much coffee as I have since I began working here!! Sometimes it is just for something to do while we wait….other times you really need it.
The more difficult thing is the days that I am on call for air ambulance…..waiting for the phone to ring…..not knowing when….or if I will fly that day. It is difficult because I am on a one hour call out. Although, it’s not like I am stuck at home (I don’t have a land line anyway). I can go out and about….but I have to make sure I don’t go too far away and have all my stuff with me that I need for work, in case I have to go straight to the airport. On these days, I leave Bentley at the sitter because it is too difficult to meet the one hour call out requirement when I have to factor getting him to the sitter. It sucks when I don’t get called in because I usually end up being all by myself all day, missing my dog. However, I do often end up having many MSN conversations with my friends at home!!
In the weeks leading up to the holiday season this year, I have missed out on many social events back home. However, instead of running around attending festive parties, I actually had the time to sit and enjoy some old holiday specials on TV that I haven’t had time to see in years. Sitting in front of the TV with Bentley, wrapping presents, I couldn’t decide if I was feeling sorry for myself for missing out, or happy to have the opportunity to reminisce about my childhood while watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the Grinch or the Sound of Music!! I decided I was feeling a mix of both. I did take Bentley to have his picture taken with Santa. This did not go as well as it did last year. It seems that Bentley has issues with holiday characters!! Not only is he wary of Jack-o-lanterns…but he is terrified of Santa!!! As soon as he saw him he backed up stuck his head in the air with a howling bark. In his defense, unlike last year’s Santa, this Santa did not seem very dog friendly since he just sat there, still, without any effort to make Bentley feel at ease. I am sure, to Bentley, he looked like a huge, scary red monster with a white furry face. Despite having to be forced to sit in front of Santa, with Santa gripping his collar so he wouldn’t run away, and with a very worried look on his face, the picture turned out not bad.
I am making new friends, but, as our visit back home nears, I realize how much I really miss it, and all the people I care about. I also realize how lucky I am that Rob is so understanding and supportive of my quest. Most of the guys I work with get heat from their significant others all the time, and they get to see them at least every couple of weeks. It has been six months since Rob and I have seen each other. Soon we will have to make some tough decisions since we agreed to be apart for a maximum of one year. It is difficult to forecast what options will be available to me in the coming months, but wherever we end up, our goal will always be to return to BC. Although Northern Ontario has certain charms, my heart will always belong to British Columbia. I think if I have to, I could live in North Bay for a little longer, but definitely not long term. North Bay is the kind of place that few people enjoy outdoor winter activities (other than snowmobiling) and therefore, pretty much every house has a satellite dish. Although it has a trendy coffee shop and a couple of cute downtown shops in the middle of town, the busier places tend to be Tim Horton’s and Walmart. Few places here warrant getting dressed up for, if you are going out for dinner. The best places to go out for breakfast are at places called “Dave’s Diner” and “Burger World”. Ya….well. However, it is also the kind of place where the waitress at Burger World remembers you are vegetarian and offers to create something to suit your needs without rolling her eyes. It is also the kind of place where the guy who looks after your dog offers to give you a lift to pick up your car, and invites you for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with his family, so you won’t be alone. It is the kind of place where your neighbours bring your garbage cans off the street for you, and the guy across the street shovels your driveway because you have been away for 3 days while 20cm of snow fell. It is impossible not to be impressed by the sense of community here.
Christmas will definitely be different for me this year, but at least I won’t be alone. Fortunately I do have time off over Christmas, so Bentley and I will be heading down to spend it with my sister and her family and inlaws. I will also get to see some of my other family members at a brunch my sister has organized. It will be awesome to spend Christmas with my sister for the first time in 15 years. I am also hoping to visit some friends in my hometown as well. Anyway, I am so looking forward to my visit home to BC in January to see my sweetie and the rest of our family and all of our friends. I can’t wait to strap on my board and ride the piles of snow I hear that Whistler has and maybe even partake in a hockey game. Also, I look forward to the chance to get dressed up in something other than my dork suit or dog walking clothes and experience some civilized night life with some friends in Vancouver.
I will include some photos from our Christmas celebration in my next post. Bye for now. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
posted by Leanna @ 3:54 PM
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