On to Bigger and Better Things:
Well time really flies by. I cannot believe it has been almost 15 months since I left BC. Since my last post, I have some exciting things to report and some fun times to share.
Bentley has matured quite a bit in the past few months. He still has his quirky Border Collie moments, however. When the ground thawed, he spent about 2 weeks digging up peanuts that were buried by squirrels and then reburied them in different locations. Later he would dig them back up and eat them. He has also become a very proficient duck herder. Almost every morning we walk down to the waterfront where he swims out to scare off a huge flock of seagulls that congregate on a rock island. After claiming it as “Bentley Island” he inspects every inch for left over fish bits. If he finds any, he likes to roll in it and eat some too. When he is done he swims back to shore for his next order of business….herding ducks. He will patrol the shore line looking for any ducks that are not tightly grouped with other ducks and swims out to herd them together. It is really funny. The ducks of course are not very pleased with this intrusion and usually quack up a storm. Often one of them will try to fly or swim away from the rest to lure him away from the baby ducks, but Bentley usually successfully chases it back to it’s group. Funny puppy. We are really going to miss Lake Nippissing. A couple of months ago I submitted his picture and bio to Modern Dog Magazine. He appeared in the summer edition. As published:
On the May long weekend, Bentley and I drove down to meet my sister and her family in Algonquin Park for a couple of days. There were many moose to see along the highway. The bugs were not too bad, but it was still pretty cool in the evening and early in the morning. We visited the logging museum and went for a canoe ride. We tried to get Bentley to come in the canoe, but being the water hound he is these days, he kept jumping out!!! We had a nice relaxing campfire and dinner while Bentley kept himself busy burying his bone several times before deciding to chew on it for a while.
Several weekends have been spent on layovers in Toronto on a scheduled charter that we do. This has been a great social opportunity for me because we stay at the same hotel as do all Air Canada trainees. Several of my former coworkers are doing their training at Air Canada right now so I have had the opportunity to catch up with several old friends. It has been really fun. One day I ventured away from the hotel, which is actually in Etobicoke, and took the subway to spend some time with my cousin Giselle and get a dose of civilization in downtown Toronto. When I reached street level at King and Yonge, I was thrilled to find Starbucks!!!! I sat outside with my Americano and people watched for a while as I waited for Giselle to arrive, enjoying the hustle bustle of the city. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. We walked to St. Lawrence market to get a few things for a BBQ on her rooftop. Around the St. Lawrence market there were several people with their dogs and several outdoor vendors selling pet products. Apparently an event called “Woofstock” was in town. We returned to Giselle’s condo and sat up on the rooftop patio and had a BBQ. The view of the city was spectacular especially because it was such a clear day. Later that evening, we met up with some of Giselle’s girlfriends and visited a club downtown. It was a fun time. While on another layover in Toronto, my sister and her family came out to meet me on the weekend of my Birthday and treated me to a nice dinner at The Keg. It truly has been great having the opportunity to catch up with so many people.
Well time really flies by. I cannot believe it has been almost 15 months since I left BC. Since my last post, I have some exciting things to report and some fun times to share.
Bentley has matured quite a bit in the past few months. He still has his quirky Border Collie moments, however. When the ground thawed, he spent about 2 weeks digging up peanuts that were buried by squirrels and then reburied them in different locations. Later he would dig them back up and eat them. He has also become a very proficient duck herder. Almost every morning we walk down to the waterfront where he swims out to scare off a huge flock of seagulls that congregate on a rock island. After claiming it as “Bentley Island” he inspects every inch for left over fish bits. If he finds any, he likes to roll in it and eat some too. When he is done he swims back to shore for his next order of business….herding ducks. He will patrol the shore line looking for any ducks that are not tightly grouped with other ducks and swims out to herd them together. It is really funny. The ducks of course are not very pleased with this intrusion and usually quack up a storm. Often one of them will try to fly or swim away from the rest to lure him away from the baby ducks, but Bentley usually successfully chases it back to it’s group. Funny puppy. We are really going to miss Lake Nippissing. A couple of months ago I submitted his picture and bio to Modern Dog Magazine. He appeared in the summer edition. As published:
"Bentley
Age: 2
Breed: Border Collie
Hometown: North Delta, BC.
Nicknames: B
Likes: Other dogs and people; cats; chew toys
Dislikes: Santa, jack-o-lanterns, and possibly other holiday characters; having his coat brushed
Favourite pastimes: Wrestling with Callie and playing chase with Buster; swimming and saving sticks; herding birds; chewing a good bone; sleeping on mom's bed
Favourite foods: Raw bones, peanut butter and Greenies "
On the May long weekend, Bentley and I drove down to meet my sister and her family in Algonquin Park for a couple of days. There were many moose to see along the highway. The bugs were not too bad, but it was still pretty cool in the evening and early in the morning. We visited the logging museum and went for a canoe ride. We tried to get Bentley to come in the canoe, but being the water hound he is these days, he kept jumping out!!! We had a nice relaxing campfire and dinner while Bentley kept himself busy burying his bone several times before deciding to chew on it for a while.
Several weekends have been spent on layovers in Toronto on a scheduled charter that we do. This has been a great social opportunity for me because we stay at the same hotel as do all Air Canada trainees. Several of my former coworkers are doing their training at Air Canada right now so I have had the opportunity to catch up with several old friends. It has been really fun. One day I ventured away from the hotel, which is actually in Etobicoke, and took the subway to spend some time with my cousin Giselle and get a dose of civilization in downtown Toronto. When I reached street level at King and Yonge, I was thrilled to find Starbucks!!!! I sat outside with my Americano and people watched for a while as I waited for Giselle to arrive, enjoying the hustle bustle of the city. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. We walked to St. Lawrence market to get a few things for a BBQ on her rooftop. Around the St. Lawrence market there were several people with their dogs and several outdoor vendors selling pet products. Apparently an event called “Woofstock” was in town. We returned to Giselle’s condo and sat up on the rooftop patio and had a BBQ. The view of the city was spectacular especially because it was such a clear day. Later that evening, we met up with some of Giselle’s girlfriends and visited a club downtown. It was a fun time. While on another layover in Toronto, my sister and her family came out to meet me on the weekend of my Birthday and treated me to a nice dinner at The Keg. It truly has been great having the opportunity to catch up with so many people.
Career wise, things are working out pretty much as hoped. Shortly after returning from Hawaii, I was upgraded to Captain. I am enjoying the added challenges and responsibilities that go along with being Captain, and the raise is nice too!! I
Over the last couple of months, I have also been going through the hiring process with Air Canada Jazz. It is super exciting but it has been a longer process than I would have hoped for. In April I did the interview. It went well and they invited me back to do a simulator evaluation and a medical exam at the end of May. Most of the interview questions were behavioural based type questions and I was fully prepared for them. The simulator evaluation was fun. I expected to be really nervous, but after talking to so many of my peers who have been through the process, I knew what to expect. I chose to approach the simulator evaluation as an opportunity to practice my skills as oppose to getting all nervous about being “evaluated”. They gave me 45 minutes to review the approach plates, standard briefings, procedures, speeds and power settings that would be required. Luckily their procedures were very similar to what I was already used to. One of the simulator instructors posed as my copilot and the other sat behind us and posed as air traffic control. One of the chief pilots sat in to observe. I was thrilled how adjustable the seat and rudder pedals were so that I did not require a cushion! I had never flown a Dash 8 or a Dash 8 simulator before, but, I pretty much just flew it the way I would a King Air. It was very sensitive so my altitude control was not the greatest, but I had heard from others that this was to be expected. I am pretty certain that I improved by the end and finished with a beautiful landing. Unfortunately at the end they give you no feedback on your performance. But I felt fairly confident that it went well. The next day I went for the medical. As a result of an unexplained elevated liver enzyme, my medical clearance was delayed by about a month. I had to endure several additional tests to rule out a whack of health issues. Fortunately I have no serious health issues. Although the elevated liver enzyme has not yet been explained, I have been deemed medically fit!! With the medical clearance I received the good news yesterday and I will start my training with Air Canada Jazz at the end of August!!! So, I will be leaving Voyageur and North Bay at the end of July. Bentley and I will be returning home to BC at the beginning of August to spend some much needed time with Rob. I am so excited to get to see all of our friends and family and to meet our new little nephew Declan.
On to bigger and better things and closer to finding my way home to BC!
On to bigger and better things and closer to finding my way home to BC!
posted by Leanna @ 5:17 PM
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