One of these days I am not handling things well as I would like to and I feel quite run down - loosing energy to fight. As you know, it's all about the psychological process and making the right decisions in the most crucial time you have at any given moment.In my case it's saying NO to friends in order to be able to survive financially these last months before I go home to get a sense of,for me,normal life....I am still fighting to complete my studies and final projects and as a matter of fact, my computer gives up on me!!!!As if it wasn't enough that I have to carry!!!
Now, I lost many days just having my PC "fixed"(I need to buy a new one, in spite of the fact that I can't afford it)and I can feel all that pressure building up.. I have even tried the local library and because their system couldn't save any info on the USB drive I went home thinking what other options I have in order to complete the school projects without me going long distances and spending too much money outside......Later on, I found out that the library had all devices blocked in their system and let them know as they themselves couldn't figure it out why it wasn't working....and I thought they are smart people working there(hahaha sarcastically)!

Back to the beginning, it can get very frustrating in moments, but I am trying to stay focused(haha,sometimes I loose it,too like recently and then I don't talk)and remind myself that my problem is NO PROBLEM....it's just how I perceive it to be and that can be very dangerous because this weekend I had almost major nervous breakdown. This is also because I am trying to handle things by myself and I know without any help it's H A R D.

My reminder for today is: ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT ,BUT ALSO KNOW HOW YOU ASK!

Kat

What I have just written in the title is true about myself. I remember my first few weeks in Vancouver, Canada. To be more precise,7 years ago I had a culture shock about people how rushed lives they live here...I mean rushed lives for money therefore egoistic approach towards others because we live in a high competitive society. I am talking from my own experience when I started here as a childcare worker working for the Canadian families...such an eye-opening experience!

About myself....I come from the middle class family. I remember that my parents didn't want me to have this kind of job. As if they knew why. It's a very personal job and so many times you are not treated the way as you see it when you work outside of the house. But,I had the privilege to observe the behavior of families towards others for over 5 years and I also heard stories from my friends working the same job I did. I felt that I must do something about it....and I did. To my own risk, many times I expressed my opinions that were not favoring employers I worked for loosing job and also place to live. Sometimes I was wandering why I had such problems just expressing my point of view but I learned that is something to do with your job position as they call it here "nanny"(such a stupid name). Many such workers who come here from overseas have actually a high-degree education from their countries, as I do, and still, they are treated like a shit!(sorry for the expression)My question is: "Where is this world going to?!"

However, I am the only the small fish to make some behavioral changes in people of this society, but my advice here is: "Be careful what you project towards others because you also project how this country and people are perceived by others which can lead to misconceptions about each individual living in the country of Canada - the country of free expressions.

Kat

Today was an excellent day for doing my research to look for the future job and higher education...

When you want to do the most of the day, start early in the morning.That is exactly how the plan went. Capilano College was very disappointing experience in terms of the customer service. I made appointment 3 days beforehand with someone from the advisory office. What happened was that when I got there with Loraine, nobody new we were coming! It took us roughly 2 hours to get to the campus. To my surprise, I was calmer than the staff in the Tourism office.How the staff handled the situation is not worth telling...with arrogant tone of voice. Nevertheless, I thought that there was no point to return the "favor" back.It's all about how you represent yourself in front of the public. In this case we also represented our CTC college...so we let them be as they were.
There ARE differences in private & public settings of school system. No doubt about it. After this experience I phoned our CTC secretary, Courtney, to help me get some info from the bulletin board about some job postings....not only she smiled on the phone but also she was all happy to help me; quickly she recommended Harbour Air where they are hiring at the moment. So, in no time we happened to speak with one of the agents. I had to say to her how much of a difference she was to Capilano college regarding the customer service. She was all the help and we got also free art of cappuccino. As a matter of fact, there were 2 positions available! So tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to apply this time with resumes to Harbour Air seaplanes. Hope we get the job!

Later on, we went to BCIT school to check with the tourism programs. This time we made an appointment in person just in case. Again, the guy at the reception desk was like he ate some sort of poison drink...hahaha, and was quite funny when he passed me over his pencil on top of which was a black skeleton . Well, I had to tell him that was cool pencil,hehe. He game me all that grin back....finally!Maybe that revealed his "dark" personality...lol.

Anyway, my point here today is:

Most of the time we choose to be happy. It is our choice no matter what have happened to you or how much you have got hurt in life...You better deal with it... Majority of people forget to do so on frequent basis because it requires much of the discipline...

Yesterday (Feb.7) was really fun! The whole college, we went by skytrain to The Fairmont Hotel downtown Vancouver to participate at the Hospitality and Tourism Show. The whole event was mainly set up for the undergraduate students from colleges around Vancouver Mainland. What I particularly liked was the informational interview at the round tables. This was the second year event at which we met face to face with the major hotel representatives of specific departments...Well, we (Loriane, Moni, Rashvinder and I)split in half in order to get more tables....We got to talk with GM's, directors, HR's...of Pan Pacific Hotel, Westin, Sutton,Pacific Palisade....just to name few and asked them questions. Some of my questions were: What was your most rewarding experience versus the most difficult one... What does it take to get where you are right now and how many years...What are your criteria when you look for a perspective employee....and so on....

Well enough, I was satisfied with the answers I got....but don't wanna kid myself that I have it all for the start in this business industry based on my experience in The Century Plaza Hotel and knowlege,bla,bla, bla.... What is really going to set you apart from the competition is your positive attitude and uniqueness, a big deal! I was shocked how many students are trying these days to make it big for them....so much of the competition! On the other hand, it's all about perseverance and sticking to your goal. However, my goal is focused on Travel Industry which wasn't the case at the event.

In one week, there will be The Outdoor Adventure Show at GM Place, that means I am going to throw myself there and swim to find hopefully the future practicum place. Keep every finger crossed!

New Year is already over and I wish every of my dream will come true! Also I would like to say many thanks to all those who sent me warm wishes for Christmas and New Year and still keep in touch :)love you, don't forget that !!! Without you I wouldn't be here ....
This year I didn't celebrate N.Y. as I usually do....due to my sickness. Too sad, that I didn't have anyone to drink with, so I took some alco from my little bar and got hammered myself,lol...Next morning as I woke up my landlord wishes the dishes were cleaned and everything was sparkling back in order from last night (I certainly had different wishes,lol, and note; only two dishes I left on the counter and my study room)...cleaning freak!I guess, that's her way how to wish you Happy New Year...oh boy!...some people are in spite of their age not forgiving or got some issues who they are afraid to talk about face to face more likely....so I got all her wishes nicely written on a piece of paper in plural...well, I'll just leave it for a while when our heads cool off ... I am quite annoyed about this