Thunder and Lightning
Tunultuous: a splendid word at the best of times, but a perfect one for this week in particular. In the last seven days an incident at home resulted in my getting called back to the house after midnight on my night off, the participants dove into the steep learning curve accompanying each of their new work placements, and my group and I braved a nearby thunderstorm by hiking to the top of Cow Mountain, visible from our backyard.
Despite the stormy weather, however, we made it through the week...that is, if you don't count the one participant who decided to leave the program voluntarily on Friday. Given the wide variety of backgrounds people bring with them into the program, most groups lose at least a couple participants as they progress through each of their three rotations. This one's already lost three, (though some were replaced), and now they're down to one male amongst six rather feminine women. An usual scenario, but nothing we can't handle; in fact, the most serious implication in the short run will likely be their ballroom dancing lessons at the Cariboo Joy RV park. As I said, they'll be fine.
I seem to forget sometimes how I'm actually at work 24 hours a day for stretches ranging from six to nine days. When it's eventually time for some time off - something that has to be enforced by my project coordinator - there aren't too many places I can go aside from a few couches or basement suites offered up by community members. Once I get my class IV licence (still waiting until July 11 due to the massive backup at each of the DMVs in the Cariboo) my options will open up a little, but until then I'll be sticking around town. So far this has meant spending lazy mornings reading on the couch of a local friend of mine, enjoying bottomless cups of coffee at the Northwoods Restaurant (popular with truckers from up and down the Gold Rush trail), and riding my bike back and forth from Barkerville, eight kilometers away.
In the meantime, my plans for the next few months and my first few months in Ottawa continue to slowly materialize. I'll be going back to Vancouver mid-July for a well-needed six day break (bussing down overnight and flying back a week later), only to hop back on a plane two weeks later for Couchiching 2005 outside Orillia, Ontario. By the end of that weekend the participants will have only three weeks left in the program, meaning much hair might be lost attempting to make their transitions from Katimaworld to the real one as smooth as possible. Once they've been shipped off to their respective home towns in late August I'll have just over a week to close down the house, finish my contract, return to Vancouver to pack my things and fly to Ottawa by September 6th. Couldn't be simpler...
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to work on my scuba diver drawing for our learning plan wall.
Despite the stormy weather, however, we made it through the week...that is, if you don't count the one participant who decided to leave the program voluntarily on Friday. Given the wide variety of backgrounds people bring with them into the program, most groups lose at least a couple participants as they progress through each of their three rotations. This one's already lost three, (though some were replaced), and now they're down to one male amongst six rather feminine women. An usual scenario, but nothing we can't handle; in fact, the most serious implication in the short run will likely be their ballroom dancing lessons at the Cariboo Joy RV park. As I said, they'll be fine.
I seem to forget sometimes how I'm actually at work 24 hours a day for stretches ranging from six to nine days. When it's eventually time for some time off - something that has to be enforced by my project coordinator - there aren't too many places I can go aside from a few couches or basement suites offered up by community members. Once I get my class IV licence (still waiting until July 11 due to the massive backup at each of the DMVs in the Cariboo) my options will open up a little, but until then I'll be sticking around town. So far this has meant spending lazy mornings reading on the couch of a local friend of mine, enjoying bottomless cups of coffee at the Northwoods Restaurant (popular with truckers from up and down the Gold Rush trail), and riding my bike back and forth from Barkerville, eight kilometers away.
In the meantime, my plans for the next few months and my first few months in Ottawa continue to slowly materialize. I'll be going back to Vancouver mid-July for a well-needed six day break (bussing down overnight and flying back a week later), only to hop back on a plane two weeks later for Couchiching 2005 outside Orillia, Ontario. By the end of that weekend the participants will have only three weeks left in the program, meaning much hair might be lost attempting to make their transitions from Katimaworld to the real one as smooth as possible. Once they've been shipped off to their respective home towns in late August I'll have just over a week to close down the house, finish my contract, return to Vancouver to pack my things and fly to Ottawa by September 6th. Couldn't be simpler...
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to work on my scuba diver drawing for our learning plan wall.
posted by Per at 11:17 p.m.
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