Once Upon a Life - Best of luck Bev!

Bev

January 22nd, 2007, 04:33 PM

:wavey: Hello all! Popping on quickly as we had a tour of the facility and it ended right near the computers. There is a fridge in my room (yay!) but it is so stinking loud, it kept waking me up all night! There are 18 people in my class and 2 other classes, 1 english and 1 french also started today.

They are sure packing in the learning and we also have to do mandatory things on the odd evening too. I still have to buy some running shoes! I think I'll be taking a bus to Montreal on Saturday to get some.

I called home this morning and talked to Mason and he said "Guess what I am Mommy?" So I thought he was going to say Rock Man, Superman,the Hulk or something. "I'm sad because I miss you." :blue: Then that made me sad too. Patrick said last night shortly after they got home he laid his head down and said he was sad that I was gone. I hope Graham's first day at all day daycare from between 06:30-07:00 to 3:30 went all right. Mason went at 06:30 too.

I'll pop on when I can. Thanks again everyone! :)

Nichole

January 22nd, 2007, 04:44 PM

Aw, that's no fun to hear. :( :hug99: I hope they do ok while you're gone.

Best of luck to you, Bev! We'll miss you, for sure! :nod: I hope it flies by quickly and I hope you get used to the fridge noise. :lol:

Jayne

January 22nd, 2007, 04:51 PM

Poor little guy. :hug99: I am sure that is hard on both of you :hug99:

Can you unplug the fridge at night so you can sleep? Not sure what your keeping in there. It would probably stay pretty cold if it were shut tight through the night :dunno:

I hope the time flies by for youQ!

Bev

January 23rd, 2007, 07:36 PM

Can you unplug the fridge at night so you can sleep? Not sure what your keeping in there. It would probably stay pretty cold if it were shut tight through the night :dunno:
That's exactly what I did Jayne! :lol: Mason said he is going to be sad for 20 days, then he'll be happy. That's when I come home for a visit. He doesn't sound too sad though! :lol:

Our first exam is on Friday! EEEK!

Mary DK

January 23rd, 2007, 07:44 PM

Good to see you here & good luck on your first exam! :crossfing

Alyssa

January 23rd, 2007, 08:09 PM

Sorry Mason is adding extra guilt. :hug99: Hope Graham did ok all day in daycare.

Dennis

January 23rd, 2007, 09:11 PM

Hang in there!

Mrs. Shae

January 23rd, 2007, 10:29 PM

:woo: Bev has internet ... sorry to hear about the fridge ... but it sounds like you have a solution ... ans AWWWWWWWWWWWW about Mason ... that is so cute but so sad ... hang in there at your classes ... you can always let us know how the meals are there ... oh ... and how things are going back at home :biggrin:

~Deborah~

January 23rd, 2007, 11:06 PM

I know you are going to ace that exam! You are one tough cookie :)
TOO cute about Mason:love3:

Brandi

January 23rd, 2007, 11:57 PM

Good luck Bev! I hope the time flies for you!

Trish

January 24th, 2007, 08:42 AM

Good luck w/training Bev and keep checking in, when you can ;)

Hope the boys did well at daycare :crossfing

Lyoshka

January 24th, 2007, 02:09 PM

Oh no, I didn't even know you were leaving for a while, Bev. Some friend I am, huh? Good luck and come back soon! I miss you!!!!! :hug99:

Bev

January 24th, 2007, 07:28 PM

I got a new fridge! :woo:

Patrick says things are going well so far. His mom is having them over for dinner on Friday. I still have to call them today. It's easier when Graham is sleeping because then he's not hollering and trying to steal the phone.

The food here, not so great. Very institutional. The good thing is they have lots of fresh fruit and salads and there is a sandwich bar where you can get a fresh sandwich made up.

I don't like to be on here for more than 10 minutes or so because there is usually a lineup of people waiting for the computers.

Thanks for visiting me here! I check this thread all the time and glance quickly at the new ones. :)

gulp!

January 24th, 2007, 08:26 PM

Yay for the new fridge, Bev!! I'm glad that things are going well at home and nobody has been maimed or burned down the house yet. :giggle:

We miss you!

Alyssa

January 24th, 2007, 08:27 PM

Glad things are going well with school and the family. And happy to hear you get a little computer time after all! :)

Michele

January 24th, 2007, 08:49 PM

Good to see you! How cute and sad is Mason. I'm glad he'll be feeling better in 20 days! :giggle:

Hope your classes go well and time flies by!

Mrs. Shae

January 24th, 2007, 10:01 PM

:wavey: Bev ... good deal on the new fridge ... i can imagine that sandwiches and fruit will get old quick ... is there nothing nearby for other food? ... hang in there ... and :woo: for any 10 min time you get on computers ...

Bev

January 26th, 2007, 12:10 PM

I had my test. :gah: It was hard! Some parts I know I scored almost 100% but others were hard. I'm pretty sure I passed, but there were some tricky questions, scenarios about who we can or can't let in and why.

Gotta grab lunch and head back to class.

Lynn, it is a very small town and there are a few places, such as Tim Hortons, Subway and Dairy Queen but that's all I can see from here. The rest I would have to walk to find. I really should have driven (14 hours not 9 as I thought) and then I could drive the 20 minutes to Montreal. Oh well, I may rent a car or find someone else who has one or something, and try to get out of the campus for a day on the weekend. One of the kids in my class said you could be here for 13 weeks and never go outside. It's true but you'd probably need therapy afterwards! :lol:

LISA

January 26th, 2007, 01:54 PM

Would they cover the cost of you renting a car? I can't see being stuck in a tiny town like that for 3 wks :tearhair:

pam

January 26th, 2007, 02:05 PM

Glad to see you here, Bev. Are you in school for your job :scratch: What sort of things are you learning now? Anything interesting?

Hannabanana

January 26th, 2007, 02:24 PM

Glad to hear you aced your exam ;)

Btw, I keep meaning to ask you since you did the written exam on firearms if you get to play with the firearms ... ok, so not play :lol:

I'm sure it's colder where you are right now!!

Bev

January 26th, 2007, 08:22 PM

It was -20C with the wind chill today. I went with two others to walk around the "town" but it was too cold, so we walked to the grocery store at the bottom of the "campus" and then came back.

Lisa, they won't pay for me to rent a car because I chose to fly here. Patrick was right (don't tell hiim I said so! :lol: ) I should have driven here and flown home for my weekend trips.

Aimee, we got to play with the firearms at the gun supply store where I did my exam. Playing with them is the practical is part of the test. I'm 99.9% sure there are no firearms here yet because I'm pretty sure they are still selecting which people they want to train the rest of the people. It's going to take forever before everyone is trained. Or at least until whoever wins the next election scraps the idea. :lol: I have played with a 38 revolver, AR-15 semi-automatic and pump action shotgun for my other job though.

Pam, I am training to be a Border Services Officer (read: Customs officer/person at the border who makes you pay tax on the stuff you're trying to smuggle in! :lol: ) For the last three days we learned about Immigration stuff and who we can let in and who we have to refer for further examination, types of ID Canadians and Americans need to get in the country and of course what ID other people need to enter, work or study in Canada. Today was our exam. Next week we start Use Of Force, which we do mixed in with class work. So maybe one day we might be doing UOF bookwork and then the next day other stuff and then the third day go to the gym to do UOF practical work, such as handcuffing, extractions from vehicles, ground defensive tactics, etc. ad nauseum. :)

Lynn

January 26th, 2007, 08:27 PM

You have Tim Hortons and Dairy Queen? Why, that's all you need! :lol:

Glad to hear things are going well. I can't believe how cold it is. :snowman: Stay warm!

~Deborah~

January 26th, 2007, 10:45 PM

DQ and Timmy's...HEAVEN!!!!!!! I guess you don't need me sending you some timmy's hot chocolate mix then:lol:...of course I could send a care package of gift certificates and stuff :idea:

Glad you did so well on your test!

MrsPeacefrog

January 27th, 2007, 08:12 AM

I got so sad reading what Mason said :blue: poor little guy.

I hope that the time goes fast so you can get home to your boys :hug99:

stass

January 27th, 2007, 10:01 AM

Pam, I am training to be a Border Services Officer (read: Customs officer/person at the border who makes you pay tax on the stuff you're trying to smuggle in! :lol: )

So you'll let me in right???:bitenails

Bev

January 27th, 2007, 10:16 AM

Oh for sure, Stacey! I won't even subject you to the white glove treatment! :lol:

I have already done my laundry and had breakfast. The workers let me in to make toast since I was 20 minutes early before the cafeteria opened. I've only seen 4 other people this morning!

I watched National Treasure with a bunch of people last night in the tv room. They have a big screen tv and lots of reclining chairs with cupholders. I sort of felt I was at Deb's Gold Class movies in Australia! :lol: But no one brought me any food. :blue: There was a whole bunch of other people in the lounge/game area getting plastered. I suspect that's why I haven't seen anyone yet so far. :lol:

I think it's safe to say that when the next 108 people arrive in the next 5 weeks, I will most certainly have internet access on Saturday and Sunday mornings while everyone is sleeping. I may not get on in the evenings, but I'm sure weekend mornings won't be a problem! :)

Some people are trying to plan a trip to Quebec City for next weekend. Carnaval de Quebec (www.carnaval.qc.ca/en/index.asp) is going on and there is an ice hotel up there too. I think we can get a school bus arranged to take us rather than take individual cars if we get enough people. That way no one has to worry about driving and/or getting lost! It might be good to spend the night there but I don't know if the bus would come get us. Or I guess we could try to arrange a Greyhound type of bus. Hmm. Need to think about that.

I should buy a disposable camera when we go, since I don't have a camera here.

Mrs. Shae

January 27th, 2007, 06:20 PM

Bev ... still trying to picture you with a gun in your hand :dunno: ... a spatula or a frying pan i can see ... but the gun thing :lol:

i would be fighting you for the computers in the AM too ... sounds like things will work out ... hope that you get to go into Quebec ... and get a camera too ... i would love to see pics of the ice house ...

so ... how are things going back on the homefront? ... i am really curious to hear about the meals back at your house ...

LISA

January 27th, 2007, 06:59 PM

Is the Carnival next weekend??? we were supposed to head up there for that :mope:

Mary DK

January 27th, 2007, 07:19 PM

It seems like you're getting settled over there, even figured out when you will be able to get 'puter time :banana: :giggle:
Oh man, that Carnaval looks like so much fun... winter fun!! :ok: Definitely share pics if you take some & are able to download them :nod:

MrsPeacefrog

January 27th, 2007, 08:59 PM

:lol: Glad you got your own mini gold class there.

Hope you can organise for the trip to Quebec city.

Bev

January 27th, 2007, 10:23 PM

Lisa it is on until the 9th of Feb so you have time. Otherwise there is Winterlude in Ottawa.

Lynn, I'll have to dig out an old photo I have of me in 1994 with an AR-15 (semi-automatic assault rifle, the kind the federales in Mexico used to carry before they became armed with slingshots :lol: ). When I get back, I'll scan it in for you. It'll be good for a laugh.

Patrick said things are going all right so far. I know he's been giving them good snacks, like fresh fruit. He's been serving frozen food a lot, I think. He said that every night the boys say good night to my picture. :love3: Then he added, if they aren't fighting and yelling. So things are normal. :lol:

LISA

January 28th, 2007, 04:36 PM

Lisa it is on until the 9th of Feb so you have time. Otherwise there is Winterlude in Ottawa.

Yeah but it's too short of notice to give my work and dh's :mope: why do I procratinate!? I could have sworn it was the end of Feb? :mope:

Patrick said things are going all right so far. He said that every night the boys say good night to my picture. :love3:

Awwww that brought tears to my eyes :) how sweet!

Hannabanana

January 29th, 2007, 09:37 AM

Hey Bev -- hope all is going well in the cold north east :lol:

schwanda

January 29th, 2007, 09:50 AM

It sounds like you're surviving and so are the boys!

Amanda

Bev

January 29th, 2007, 12:38 PM

Last night they went to SILs for steak and crab legs! :mad: Sure, wait until I leave town for the good food! :lol: She said he mentioned that he would be glad when I was back and she gently reminded him there are 12 more weeks. :lol:

I'm thinking about bringing the car back with me on Feb 11th but then I'd have to leave way earlier than planned. He's all, Well, if you want to leave that early..... :gah:

pam

January 29th, 2007, 07:51 PM

Pam, I am training to be a Border Services Officer (read: Customs officer/person at the border who makes you pay tax on the stuff you're trying to smuggle in! :lol: ) For the last three days we learned about Immigration stuff and who we can let in and who we have to refer for further examination, types of ID Canadians and Americans need to get in the country and of course what ID other people need to enter, work or study in Canada. Today was our exam. Next week we start Use Of Force, which we do mixed in with class work. So maybe one day we might be doing UOF bookwork and then the next day other stuff and then the third day go to the gym to do UOF practical work, such as handcuffing, extractions from vehicles, ground defensive tactics, etc. ad nauseum. :)

Sounds intense & quite different from what you were doing before! I hope that it's going well for you :)

Lyoshka

January 29th, 2007, 10:06 PM

Awwww...i can see the boys saying good night to your picture...:love: How are you handling being away from them?

MrsPeacefrog

January 30th, 2007, 08:04 PM

If Patricks intentions are towards the kids (as in if you leave early it's less time for them to spend with you) then I understand where he is coming from. If it's selfish just so you are there to do all the work then he is just being difficult.

Can you set up a webcam so the kids can atleast see you and kiss you good night on a more personal level than a photo?

Clare

January 30th, 2007, 08:07 PM

I agree with Deb :nod: I think Patrick just wants you to spend as much quality time with the boys as possible. Do you really need the car?

Nadine

January 31st, 2007, 02:22 AM

Glad things are going well. Are you enjoying what you are doing and the nights without interrupted sleep?

Bev

January 31st, 2007, 07:17 PM

:wavey: Hi All!

Yes, Deb and Clare, he is thinking of the boys, though no doubt, he needs a bit of a break from them. :lol: I can't set up a webcam here for them to see me; I would be able to see them, but they don't like to sit still for that. Though if it was me they were seeing, maybe they would. :dunno: Some people bring their laptops to the public computers then hook up a cable and use their own computer for the access. It's likely significantly faster than using the antiques I'm currently using. :lol:

Clare, I really do want the car. More want than need, I suppose. Everything is 40km away, except the grocery store and Tim Hortons (Dairy Queen is closed). I thought there was a bus service but there isn't, it's like a greyhound (long distance) bus not a city bus. It's so cold too, I don't mind walking to the grocery store, but it's like a feeling of being trapped knowing you can't leave and go anywhere. It'd be nice just to take off by myself or even just go walk around the mall or something. Just to change the scenery, you know.

I had a :blue: day today. We are doing some tough stuff right now and then a girl who had previously said I could come with them to Quebec City said the car is full. I'm going to rent a car and go myself for the day anyway. I can't stay overnight because I didn't put in the paperwork, but I can drive there and back in a day, it'll just be a very long day. I do know one other girl who wants to go, so I might ask her if she wants to come. I want to go just to see it and say I've been and also to get something for the boys.

We sure had a super busy day today, learning about Regulations and stuff and how to find them and all the different rules etc. Very complicated. I never had to know the legislation before because the cons would tell me! :lol: It will
likely become less complicated as time goes on and we learn more. Even the
experienced people were having trouble because they knew the stuff was there but not necessarily how to find it.

OH! I passed my Immigration exam! :woo: I had my fitness assessment and apparently I'm fine. :lol: He did say that I need to increase my aerobic capacity and now that I have no one to be responsible for or take care of other than myself, he wants me to do that. I got an excellent on my vertical jump. I'm sure you were all dying to know that! :lol: I got very good on everything else except grip strength and aerobic capacity were good. No fair or needs improvement! Yay me! :lol:

I'm glad to be able to pop on and 'see' everyone and say hi. It makes me feel better. :)

Hannabanana

January 31st, 2007, 08:01 PM

Hey Bev, since you're in the "know" or could be in the "know" any day now about this, I have a question :lol:

A co-workers husband has just received landed immigrant status and they are planning to go to Buffalo this weekend because of the having to leave the country deal. If this information actually is correct (this girl often gets quite confused), 1) how long do they have to leave the country for and 2) if they leave for an hour or even 24hrs, can he bring cigarettes back with him?

Melissa

January 31st, 2007, 09:03 PM

:wavey: Hello Bev, I'm so glad you are able to check in, I don't know what we'd do without you for 13 weeks. It was bad enough when Deb left for 9!

Bev

February 1st, 2007, 07:46 AM

First, he's not a landed immigrant, there is no such thing! Wild eh? He is a Temporary Resident. Where is he from? Actually, I guess it doesn't matter because he can go to the US as many times as he wants. He never has to leave the country I don't think, unless he is on a study or work visa. Once immigration stamps him into the country he can stay for 6 months, unless he's on a Visitor Record that says he can only stay less time, like 4 months, for example.

We just learned yesterday how to find the cigarette thing, so I'll check today in class. :)

~Deborah~

February 1st, 2007, 09:07 AM

It is 48 hrs out of the country for cigarettes and booze and $200 allowance of purchases..
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/e311/e311-06e.pdf

marcy

February 1st, 2007, 09:19 AM

Glad that you're checking in, Bev. Sounds like your days are varied, which I hope helps them go by quicker.

How far are you from home, in hours? I think you mentioned it but...

Hannabanana

February 1st, 2007, 10:13 AM

Hannabanana

February 1st, 2007, 10:14 AM

It is 48 hrs out of the country for cigarettes and booze and $200 allowance of purchases..
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/e311/e311-06e.pdf

Thanks Deb!

schwanda

February 1st, 2007, 06:59 PM

You're definitely missed here!

Amanda

Bev

February 1st, 2007, 07:41 PM

:gah: I just had this huge long and complicated post about how absolutely sucky my day was and it's lost! :gah:

Thanks Melissa and Amanda and Marcy! Marcy it's about 11 hours away.

Aimee, he should give his Visa and passport to the person at the booth and they should be able to stamp his Visa. He can go back and forth to the US as often as he wants. He can bring in 200 cigarettes (one carton) duty free after 48 hours, he has to pay duty on the excess if he brings in more.

schwanda

February 1st, 2007, 08:50 PM

I'm sorry you had a sucky day and I'm especially sorry that you lost your post so we didn't even get to share your pain.

Amanda

Hannabanana

February 1st, 2007, 10:10 PM

sorry you had a bad day :hug99:

apparently they have to cross the boarder, get out of the car and he has to walk around a flag pole three times ???

Mrs. Shae

February 1st, 2007, 10:47 PM

Bev ... sorry about the sucky day ... and the lost post to boot ... would love to see that pic of you with the gun ... glad that you have some computer time ... can't imagine "no Bev" for three months :biggrin:

Dennis

February 1st, 2007, 11:21 PM

Bev, I'm sorry you had such a bad day.

Sandy

February 2nd, 2007, 10:06 AM

Hey there! I am so slow to find this thread. :loser: Glad to read all the updates, even though all this weapon talk this early in the morning is scaring me. :lol: I am just thinking of this little time like the first tri in a pregnancy and thinking about how fast that always seems to fly!!!

Bev

February 2nd, 2007, 05:07 PM

sorry you had a bad day :hug99:

apparently they have to cross the boarder, get out of the car and he has to walk around a flag pole three times ???
:lol: Well, yes, it is called "flagpoling."

But all that means is he needs to go to the US, get his passport stamped and then come back into Canada so they can re-stamp his passport and he's good for another 6 months. He can tell the US people he's 'flagpoling' and they'll get everything in order for him. I don't personally understand it myself but I've heard the term.

Thanks everyone for the commiseration! It's all very high school here. I need to remember that. An example in class today was that some people (who have previously worked for CBSA) have little tricks to remember sections for exemptions, but they only share them with their little friends, not everyone. I'm so not into that shit, but what can you do.

Part of it was that someone said I could go with them to Quebec City, then later told me the car was full. By the time I finally got ahold of the rental company there were no cars for Saturday. One person here is having her husband come in for the weekend and she said they'd take me to the airport to pick up a rental car, so that was very nice. I'm just feeling very trapped. They didn't tell us we were going to be 40km from ANYTHING. They said there was bus service, but it's not transit, it's like a greyhound bus and it only goes late in the afternoon, so unless you have a car, you can't go anywhere other than the grocery store (or Tim's) at the bottom of the hill.

I'm bringing the car back with me on the 11th for sure!

Bev

February 2nd, 2007, 05:07 PM

I am just thinking of this little time like the first tri in a pregnancy and thinking about how fast that always seems to fly!!!
I'm hoping it goes by that fast! Only 10 weeks to go.

MamaGoofy

February 2nd, 2007, 07:45 PM

I think having the car would make you feel better and not so trapped. :hug99:

Bev

February 3rd, 2007, 08:44 PM

You are absolutely right Melissa! :) How are the storms where you are?

I rented a car and drove to Quebec City today. I was driving longer than I was there, but I had fun anyway. :) It was cold! :cold:

I waited in line for almost an hour to go on a zipline, you know where you get hooked up to a cable and then step off the ledge and go zipping down the cable to the next ledge. Well worth the wait, it was a gas! Patrick was all, you mean up high? Yeah. What for? Because it's FUN! What a rush! This guy on the ground gave me a thumbs up when I was zipping by so I gave him one back. I'm sure I had such a big grin on. :lol: I also had maple syrup on snow and then you roll it up on a stick, so it's like a gooey maple syrup popsicle. :lick:

It was quite busy and I didn't go to a whole lot of things because of the long lines. It was so funny to see the really small babies and kids wrapped up so puffy in blankets and snowsuits and hats so all you could see was their eyes. Most of them were being pulled in little plastic toboggans.

I bought Mason a book about Bonhomme (the character of Carnaval, the big snowman) and I bought Graham a cup/bowl/plate set. The "effigy" to get in is a plastic figure of Bonhomme that I think we will put on the Christmas tree. I bought Patrick a coffee cup, but mostly it's for me because he doesn't drink many hot drinks at home.

Today was a good day. Tomorrow I think I'd better do some homework. I don't have to do my laundry because I'm doing it here on my big Saturday night! :lol:

gulp!

February 3rd, 2007, 09:34 PM

I'm glad you got to go to Quebec, Bev! :thumbsup:

Melissa

February 3rd, 2007, 09:44 PM

Your trip to Quebec City sounds like a lot of fun! I was able to go there twice when I was in middle school and I really enjoyed old Quebec. We even stayed at the Chateau Frontenac! What an experience!

I'm glad you are bringing a car back, it sounds like you need the extra freedom!

Bev

February 5th, 2007, 07:25 PM

Well, we lost another one! On the second day a girl dropped out saying "It wasn't for me."

Today we found out that the girl who had been sick since the first day, the one who thought she had the flu and was just feeling poorly had a ruptured appendix. FOR TWO WEEKS!! :owow:

She finally went to the hospital on Friday night and then got transferred to a bigger hospital and had surgery either late Friday or on Saturday. She has to be in hospital for a week and then off for 6 weeks so she won't be able to join our class again. The only good news is that the course will only be 9 weeks long then, as they are switching it to 5 weeks at your 'home port' and then coming here.

I can't believe she did all the fitness assessments like running and jumping and situps with a ruptured appendix!

Class today was easy peasy compared to last week. It was nice. :)

Bev

February 5th, 2007, 07:29 PM

Oh yeah, today Patrick told me that on the way to school Mason said he forgot my face. :( Sad, but kind of a cute way to say it. I'm going home this weekend! :woo:

Hannabanana

February 5th, 2007, 07:31 PM

I can't believe that she was sick for so long with that!! Amazing.

I keep meaning to ask you Bev, when you get back from training, is there a job already there for you? How will your hours work?

Bev

February 5th, 2007, 07:35 PM

Yes there is, Aimee. I don't know the shifts though. It's rotating shifts, I'm sure, but I don't know how many on/off.

Melissa

February 5th, 2007, 08:07 PM

:jawdrop: I thought a burst appendix could kill quickly! Holy cow!

I'm glad you had an easier day today! :woo: Keep up the great work. OH That's wonderful that you get to go home!

Nichole

February 5th, 2007, 08:10 PM

Wow, she must be one tough chick! :eek:

Yay for going home this weekend! :bliss: I'm glad today was an easier day. :hug99:

LISA

February 5th, 2007, 08:11 PM

That's one tough broad :lol: they ought to just give her the job,screw the training :lol:
YAY for being able to go home this weekend! :yippee: Drive Safe!

LISA

February 5th, 2007, 08:11 PM

LOL Nicole..great minds.. :lol:

Nadine

February 6th, 2007, 04:33 AM

Bev - what is this course all about and why do you have to take it?

I am glad you got to go to Quebec anyway and had such a great time. YAY for going home for the weekend!
Sorry about the HS behavior.

MrsPeacefrog

February 8th, 2007, 02:52 AM

I am so happy for the boys to be seeing their mamma! They will be over the moon, for sure!

Cami

February 8th, 2007, 05:09 AM

Hi Bev! I hope you have a great weekend with your family!!!

Nadine

February 8th, 2007, 07:15 AM

Yeah, enjoy the weekend!!

Bev

February 8th, 2007, 08:24 PM

Thanks all! :woo: The countdown is on! :lol:

I'm going to be pushy at the airport and see if I can get an earlier flight than my booked one since I don't have any checked baggage. I'm :crossfing I'll get home before 9pm instead of midnight like I'm scheduled.

Dennis

February 8th, 2007, 11:58 PM

Have a good trip home!

Mary DK

February 9th, 2007, 07:25 AM

Have a safe trip! Your family is gonna be thrilled to see you! Have an awesome time!! :banana:

~Deborah~

February 9th, 2007, 08:37 AM

Have a wonderful time at home. You are going to get smothered in kisses!!!!

LISA

February 9th, 2007, 09:00 AM

I hope you can get the earlier flight :crossfing: have a wonderful time this weekend :)

Bev

February 10th, 2007, 02:45 PM

No go on the earlier flight, but how weird is this?

I was at the airport in Montreal and this woman comes up to me and says What are you doing here?! I look like a deer caught in the headlights and say, uh....

She says, I know you don't I? I'm going, Um, err, maybe... Because I don't want to offend her if I do know her and can't place her out of context. I say who do you think I am?

Linda.

Oh, I say, ever so casually, that's my sister.

From H*** school?

Yep. I say.

Walker's Mom! she asks.

Yeah. I say.

Then we all had a big laugh because how crazy is that to see someone my sister knows in the airport in Montreal!?! Then she said to the boy (she had a boy and girl with her) You know Walker's Mom? That's her sister.

Pretty weird, eh?

~Deborah~

February 10th, 2007, 03:09 PM

:eek: How crazy is that?

Bev

February 10th, 2007, 04:29 PM

there are no enough swear words in the world to express how :furious: i am. the car battery is dead. totally. no stores open tomorrow early enough to fix it. I am so fucking mad it's not funny. i'm going to go mental.

stass

February 10th, 2007, 04:38 PM

Can't you pick one up at Canadian Tire and Patrick can hook it up. I think it is not too hard. :nod:

Hope you are having a nice visit!

Mrs. Shae

February 10th, 2007, 04:49 PM

oh Bev ... i hope that you get something worked out with the car battery ... you need to be able to take that car back with you ... for your sanity ...

hope you are enjoying your time with your boys ... i am assuming that your house is still standing :lol: ...

so ... did you have to make dinner? ... or did you get to go out?

Nadine

February 11th, 2007, 02:53 AM

Oh no! I hope you can get the battery fixed/exchanged!

Bev

February 11th, 2007, 09:49 AM

Okay, lucky the local Canadian tire had one and it is being installed. Patrick is being an ass as usual. The boys are good. :)

~Deborah~

February 11th, 2007, 11:09 AM

:woo:

marcy

February 11th, 2007, 11:48 AM

Glad you're enjoying your weekend home, and I hope the new battery solves the problem. You need a car there.

Nichole

February 11th, 2007, 12:01 PM

I hope you're having a nice weekend at home (despite Patrick being an ass)! I'm glad you're getting a new battery so you can have wheels while you're gone. :aok:

stass

February 11th, 2007, 01:05 PM

:aok:

Melissa

February 11th, 2007, 02:17 PM

That's great that someone had a battery!!! If I was at some random airport and someone said, "what are you doing here?" I'm not sure how I'd react! :lol: But that is odd!!

MamaGoofy

February 11th, 2007, 04:03 PM

That totally sucks rotten eggs!!!! I hope you had a good visit with your boys. Sounds like you had a great time in Quebec city.

Hannabanana

February 12th, 2007, 04:34 PM

Hope the drive back was uneventful.
Sorry to hear about the battery -- that would piss me off!
How did the boys react with you back around??

Bev

February 12th, 2007, 05:38 PM

Quick note, I had to spend the night in Kingston as it was too dark to travel on unfamiliar roads (for me). I ended up getting stuck in traffic where Gerri (JustGerri) lives and it took a super long time to get to Kingston. I should have been long past there by then but the traffic was 40km/hr from her place to just east of Millhaven, so I wasn't about to keep driving after all that. I got a hotel room and woke up at 5:00am so I could get here and got here at 8:00am ran in to change and get to class. I took a shortcut on the highway, that lucky for me was the right exit! :lol:

Graham was so cute! He got the biggest grin ever and said "Mumm-uh!" but he wouldn't come near me for a bit. Then once he did, he wouldn't get off of me. :lol: Mason was excited and he wanted to sleep with me so I let him and then I had him crammed up on one side of me and Graham on the other. There wasn't a 1/4 inch of space between the 3 of us. Pretty funny. Graham was sleeping when I left though, so I feel sad for him to wake up and I wouldn't be there. :( Mason was sad when I was leaving.

Dennis

February 12th, 2007, 05:43 PM

I'm glad you made it back safely.

Melissa

February 12th, 2007, 07:14 PM

I'm sorry you had to leave while they were sleeping. :hug99:

I'm glad you got the car back at school! Hopefully this will give you a lot of freedom and sanity! :lol:

~Deborah~

February 12th, 2007, 07:22 PM

Glad you made it back to Quebec safely!

Bev

February 14th, 2007, 05:46 PM

Hi All! Happy :heart: Day!

Today we had our first practice in the primary inspection line (ie, who you first talk to when you enter Canada). :gah: It was so nervewracking! I'm so totally glad I went at 9:00am. I was in the second group up. Thank goodness because I think the stress of thinking about it and waiting all day would have killed me! :lol: As it was we had mandatory fitness in the afternoon and that nearly killed me! :lol:

I think the worst thing was that a girl from the first intake (2 weeks ahead of us in our schedule) went home today because she failed the first big exam. It includes a 3.5 hour open book (read: computer assisted) written exam, a 3.5 hour closed book exam and 3 practicals where you deal with people, kind of like what I did today. That made all of us quite nervous.

Our big exam is next Friday for the practical and the following Monday for the writtens. We have 2 or 3 more practices to go through before the exam. It went all right but of course I was stammering and getting confused especially because one lady was yelling at me and then I lost track of what I was saying to her and what I had already asked. I forgot some mandatory questions. Overall I think I did all right, but I do need to think faster on my feet and try not to stammer so much. Uh, um, uh. And I was looking at papers but I have no idea what they said. :lol:

Patrick spent all morning going to the store to buy Valentines for Mason and Graham and filling them out and putting little candies with them. I had bought Mason some but he didn't bother looking for them until yesterday after school and then couldn't find them. He didn't want Mason to be the only one with no Valentines for the kids so off he went this morning. He got some for Graham too in case the kids in his class were handing them out. They are only small, so I doubt it but he didn't want him to be the only one who wasn't. Kudos for that, because I don't think many Dads would spend a whole morning writing out valentines for their kids.

Well it is a big snowstorm here, so no one is going anywhere. Yesterday I drove a few of us out to Wal-Mart (nearest store of any sort other than a grocery store) and then we went to Kelsey's for dinner. I had steak fajitas. Very nice change from the sandwiches I've been eating. :lol:

Dennis

February 14th, 2007, 06:18 PM

Good luck on your tests!

Melissa

February 14th, 2007, 07:28 PM

Bev, I'm sure you'll do great but good luck anyway!!! :lol:

Mrs. Shae

February 14th, 2007, 11:10 PM

sounds tough and nervewracking ... but i agree with the others ... you will do well ...

glad that you have some transportation this time ... and :woo: for a "sandwichless" meal :lol:

LISA

February 14th, 2007, 11:32 PM

That was so sweet of Patrick! :aok:
Your doing great!! :nod: :woo:
Hey I watched The Mercer Report and he was at The Carnival in Quebec and did the zip line..I thought of you! :)

Bev

February 15th, 2007, 12:31 PM

Shoot Lisa! I totally wish I would have seen him! I love him. :)

Thanks all for the support on the tests. We are having a personal evaluation after lunch. I'd better go finish mine up! :)

Alyssa

February 15th, 2007, 11:50 PM

Just catching up on you. :)

stass

February 16th, 2007, 07:24 AM

Good luck on your test!:crossfing

MrsPeacefrog

February 16th, 2007, 04:06 PM

:aok: Way to go Patrick. Sorry Graham didn't get to see his Mama leave :blue:

Mary DK

February 16th, 2007, 04:32 PM

How did the evaluation go?

Bev

February 16th, 2007, 04:49 PM

The evaluation went well. Part of it was me saying what I wanted to improve. For example not stammering so much (um, uh, um) and learning to think faster on my feet. They said I did well. The one I did today was an "inside" scenario and I forgot to fill out part of the form and filled out another part incorrectly. I also said to the "traveller" that I didn't know I would have to check, and obviously I shouldn't have done that, I should have just said I need to confirm the information first.

Thank goodness it's the weekend. I'm going to go to see the girl who burst her appendix tomorrow. She's on day passes from the hospital so she must be getting a bit better. It'll be nice to get away for a few hours but then I need to hunker down and study because my big practical exam is next Friday and the big writtens the Monday after that.

Mrs. Shae

February 16th, 2007, 09:00 PM

congrats on the evaluation ... i can't imagine going through that ... i know that i too would be all "um, uh, um" ...

good to hear that you are more mobile ... hopefully some "getting away/around" will help the studying ...

MrsPeacefrog

February 19th, 2007, 04:32 AM

Glad the evaluation went well.

Nadine

February 19th, 2007, 04:54 AM

Those tests sound very hard!
Glad to hear it went well!

Cami

February 19th, 2007, 05:57 AM

Wow, Bev, it all sounds so intimidating! I'd be a nervous wreck. You know when you're actually out there doing the job, it's the citizens crossing the border who are the nervous ones... even when we have nothing to hide. :giggle: Those guards always intimidate me!

LISA

February 19th, 2007, 06:30 AM

You know when you're actually out there doing the job, it's the citizens crossing the border who are the nervous ones... even when we have nothing to hide. :giggle: Those guards always intimidate me!

You got that right..I had a really really bad experience with the border patrol person and I get panic attacks when ever we have to cross the border( which isn't often TG!)

Glad the evaluation went well Bev! :)..how much longer?

Bev

February 19th, 2007, 12:28 PM

Thanks all! We have 2 more practices this week and our practical exams are this Friday. We have two scenarios in the 'booth' and one at the 'counter' inside filling out forms. The written exams are next Monday.

The weekend was pretty good. I drove to see the girl with the appendix so she was glad to have a visitor. Then some of us went to dinner and a movie. Ghostrider. It was okay, nothing spectacular; wait until video. :lol: Sunday I made some study notes and filled in my travel claim.

I still haven't been paid yet and I'm getting more than a little annoyed. I had to borrow money from the LOC to pay the mortgage. Normally I wouldn't have to, but now I'm paying daycare when I wasn't before. I'd better get paid this week or you might be reading about me in the paper or seeing me on the 6 o'clock news! :lol:

A cool thing is because I drove here after my last weekend home, I won't be using the final flight home. I called Air Canada and asked if I could switch it to a different day. So for $40 she switched it to March 16th and now I only have to buy a return ticket and I get an extra weekend at home for the cost of one ticket. :aok: That would have been a long time between visits, because my next trip home is March 2nd and then not until Easter weekend. That's too long.

I also found out I don't get to take the 2 day trip to Ottawa because I have already paid union dues to the federal gov't so I get to sit here with my thumb up my nose all day while everyone else is in Ottawa. What fun. Another girl in my class can't go either, so I'm assuming some people in the other classes can't go. I have no idea what they'll do with us, but we'll have to be in uniform in class.

Dennis

February 19th, 2007, 01:16 PM

That's good about the plane ticket. And I hope you get paid soon!

Hannabanana

February 19th, 2007, 02:43 PM

I have no idea what they'll do with us, but we'll have to be in uniform in class.

I don't understand about the dues and not being able to go to Ottawa ... and why would you have to sit all day in uniform if no one is going to be there? :yawn:

~Deborah~

February 19th, 2007, 05:55 PM

I also found out I don't get to take the 2 day trip to Ottawa because I have already paid union dues to the federal gov't so I get to sit here with my thumb up my nose all day while everyone else is in Ottawa. What fun. Another girl in my class can't go either, so I'm assuming some people in the other classes can't go. I have no idea what they'll do with us, but we'll have to be in uniform in class.

Explain please :blush:

Lyoshka

February 20th, 2007, 10:49 AM

yeah i'm all puzzled by the Ottawa and dues thing, too :lol:

magoo

February 20th, 2007, 10:59 AM

Shoot Lisa! I totally wish I would have seen him! I love him. :)

Yeah, and he was with Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire, which would have made it that much weirder. I kept thinking how fun it would have been to see them all there.

Yay for the plane ticket!

Bev

February 20th, 2007, 07:45 PM

Hi all. :wavey:

Re: the Ottawa trip, as I understand it because I was already a federal gov't employee and was paying union dues (though in another dept.), I am not allowed to go to Ottawa to have some mucky-muck say welcome to your employment with the federal gov't (which apparently takes 2 days due to a tour of parliament or some such thing).

:woo: I did quite well on my practicals today! Only the second time in the booth and the counter, but I feel I did quite well. They videotaped us and I don't think I did too badly. Only thing was, I kept saying okay. We have another practice tomorrow and then use of force on Thursday and the practical exam on Friday. My teacher said I was one of the most professional counter people he'd seen all day. :ura1: He did half the class and the female teacher did the other half. Tomorrow I'll have her assessing me. I was also one of the few people to use a specific term (which we were supposed to use) when deciding to refer people to the immigration department.

I know I'll still be nervous tomorrow, but now that I've done the "harder" ones, like where they are rambling on or yelling, I'll be slightly more relaxed I think.

Hope everyone else is doing well. :)

Melissa

February 20th, 2007, 08:28 PM

That's wonderful Bev!!!!

My teacher said I was one of the most professional counter people he'd seen all day.
What a compliment!!! :banana:

Nichole

February 20th, 2007, 08:30 PM

Great job! :clap: I had no idea there was so much tough stuff to go through to do that job. :woa:

LISA

February 20th, 2007, 08:57 PM

Yeah, and he was with Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire, which would have made it that much weirder. I kept thinking how fun it would have been to see them all there.

A little OT but I can't stand Justin and his wife! :tearhair:

Bev your doing so freaking good!! had no doubt :aok: how funny would it be to run into you at the border! I'd get pulled over and searched for sure 'cause I would be so goofy if I saw ya :lol:

Bev

February 23rd, 2007, 02:34 PM

:woo: :woo: :woo:

I nailed my practical exams! I KNOW it! I totally freaking rocked the house! If I made any mistakes I know they were minor and I'm not even worried about failing them.

Now, I need to study for the written exams on Monday. I'm taking the day off from schoolwork tomorrow. Mostly. I think I'm going to go visit the Ikea store. I don't get to go to Ikea often so what the hell. I'd love to go to a Bath and Body Works store to get some of the soaps (and I hear they have nice lip balm/gloss) but I'm not sure how far one would be. I know they have one in Vermont, but I'm not sure how long it would take to get there. I'll have to google it. :lol: Well, mapquest, I guess.

Anyway, I hope everyone who visits here is doing well! :)

Dennis

February 23rd, 2007, 02:41 PM

That's great Bev!

magoo

February 23rd, 2007, 02:53 PM

That's awesome, Bev!

A little OT but I can't stand Justin and his wife! :tearhair:

Why am I not suprised? :lol: I was just reading about how he'll probably be like his dad with the whole "love him or hate him" thing.

Nichole

February 23rd, 2007, 03:05 PM

:woot: That's great, Bev!

Have fun at Ikea! :lol:

MamaGoofy

February 23rd, 2007, 03:29 PM

That is awesome! Go Bev!!! :woo: Rock the hizouse! ;)

Melissa

February 23rd, 2007, 03:34 PM

:woo: :cheer: Congratulations!!!!! That's wonderful news! Enjoy IKEA :drool: I know the drool one isn't great, but I'm jealous.

LISA

February 23rd, 2007, 03:46 PM

Why am I not suprised? :lol: I was just reading about how he'll probably be like his dad with the whole "love him or hate him" thing.

:blush: Am I that obvious? :lol:

WTG BEV!! I knew you had it :aok: Happy shopping :)

MrsPeacefrog

February 23rd, 2007, 03:48 PM

Great job with your practical, I hope you kick ass with your written now too! :nod:

magoo

February 24th, 2007, 07:01 PM

So Bev, did you get anything at IKEA?

:blush: Am I that obvious? :lol:

Oh no... not at all. :whistle: :lol:

Bev

February 24th, 2007, 07:37 PM

Hi all. I just bought some small little coloured snack dishes for $2. Pretty lame, eh? There was a lot I would like to have bought, but with the money thing and then the whole, I can't really buy furniture without some input from Patrick thing, I didn't. :lol:

Back to the books tomorrow, and by Wednesday we'll have the results.

Mary DK

February 24th, 2007, 07:39 PM

Way to go Bev for nailing the practical exams!! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

stass

February 24th, 2007, 07:56 PM

:woot2:

Bev

February 26th, 2007, 10:08 AM

I finished my closed book exam a short time ago. I think it went well. Some people only took a half hour. I took a little over an hour and made sure to put in extra stuff in case I was wrong on some of my answers. Then they could keep reading and maybe find something right! :lol:

The open book is this afternoon and is not something you can study for, so I think I might go relax and read my book for a while.

marcy

February 26th, 2007, 10:10 AM

You're doing GREAT. Congrats on finishing both tests.

Bev

February 28th, 2007, 04:20 PM

:woo: I passed all my tests, both written and practical and got "good" across the board.

I have little to improve on but they made some suggestions. I'm going to make an appt. to see the tester so I know exactly what he's talking about and also to see if I need to know that stuff for the next test, because if not, I won't waste my time learning it! :lol:

So :phew: all of us in my intake (52 of us) passed this point and are remaining in the program.

And, even better, I'm on a travel weekend this weekend! :woo: again!

Dennis

February 28th, 2007, 04:48 PM

Awesome!

Nadine

March 1st, 2007, 02:46 AM

:woo: Great job!!! What wonderful news!

stass

March 1st, 2007, 07:45 AM

:nana: :woot2: YOu rock!

Nichole

March 1st, 2007, 10:28 AM

:woot: Awesome! Way to go! :pulp:

Bev

March 2nd, 2007, 09:51 PM

:gah:

STUPID weather!!!! :furious: I HATE Toronto!! A little bit of snow and they shut the airport down! No flights in or out of Toronto, which of course is my connection city! :mad:

I got a credit for a flight, so now I'll try to switch it to next week. Then I'll see if I can change the trip I already changed (and paid $40 for) to the 23rd (I'm going to beg them to give me that for free not another $40), then I'll be home every second weekend until Easter and then I'm done on the 20th.

The weather isn't even that bad here, though I guess it was rough this morning. Three of us had to come back and then a guy who was meeting his wife in Montreal, he ended up with her on the tarmac in Ottawa, not knowing if he should drive there or if she was ever going to get in the air to get to Montreal.

One girl in my class was able to change her flight to a direct flight (last seat on the plane!) and so hopefully she'll get home all right and not be delayed too much since she's avoiding Toronto now.

Dennis

March 2nd, 2007, 10:01 PM

I'm sorry you got stuck. Hopefully you can change to the flights you want.

MrsPeacefrog

March 3rd, 2007, 02:32 AM

Great about your test but sorry about the stuff around with the airport, that sucks!

Bev

March 3rd, 2007, 04:44 PM

Well I re-booked my trip home. There were slim pickings because apparently it is college/university spring break so I got a flight on Friday the 9th and will be home at midnight. Unfortunately the only flight back available is 9:00am on Sunday. Everything else is totally booked. I should be able to call them maybe Saturday night to see if anything else opened up for the Sunday.

Then I'm back again on Friday the 23rd at midnight and leaving Sunday the 25th at 17:40hr.

Then again on Thursday before Easter, April 5th at midnight and leaving April 9th at I think 16:15, and then back for good on Friday the 21st of April. So every second weekend until I'm done. :woo:

Today because I had nothing else to do, I did some retail therapy. :) I finally used the a gift certificate from my birthday last year. I bought a hip length dark grey wool/cashmere double breasted coat. Total cost $40 marked down from $150, cost to me: $20.57. It is really nice and should be fairly warm. It's not heavy and it will go with dressy things as well as jeans with nice boots or shoes (not runners). A lady at the checkout said her daughter bought one last week and loves it and it's warm and looks good on her.
I also bought a nice red leather purse at the outlet mall. It was regular $78 on for $38.50. It has two stiff handles and it can be carried in your hand or over your shoulder. It's pretty nice. I liked the red but it is a different red than my regular winter coat. I thought it would be better year round though than black or dark brown. It's pretty nice. It's not huge but big enough for a book, wallet, cell phone, and maybe a bottle of water.

Mrs. Shae

March 3rd, 2007, 11:39 PM

sorry you got stuck ... but :woo: yay for retail therapy ... you sooooooooo deserve it ...

i am soooooo curious as to the meals at your house without you ... i wonder what the boys [including Patrick] are having these days ...

LISA

March 4th, 2007, 08:21 AM

Oh that's too bad about the flight..you won't have very much time at home with that early morning flight back and late flight in :( I hope you can get another later Sunday flight :crossfing:
Oh Bev you have to check out Mercers latest video on his website about snow in TO :lol: no one is ever going to let them live down calling in the army!

Way to go on the shopping, that coat sounds perfect! :aok:
(http://javascript<b></b>:popWindow('snow');)

Bev

March 4th, 2007, 08:46 AM

Hi Lynn and Lisa! :wavey:

Lisa, I'll have to check out that video. Too bad I can't get sound here. :lol: I was thinking I might have been better off staying at the airport all night and trying to get to Toronto and then home, but I really didn't want to stay 16 hours or whatever in the airport. I'm really hoping someone cancels their flight on Sunday. But it won't help me if they just don't show up, because I'll already be gone. KWIM? I got the coat at Reitmans. ;)

Lynn, he admits they are not eating well. They are eating lots of fresh fruit and good snacks but the dinners are less than stellar. The best thing he's made is the rotisserie chickens and the maple salmon. But he is finding it difficult to try to do that and entertain them at the same time. He eats at his Mom's once a week at least, usually on Fridays. Last night he had MIL and SIL and her kids over (BIL was working) for pizza and playing.

Bev

March 8th, 2007, 06:02 PM

Graham is quite sick. :blue: He has a bad ear infection and high fever. Patrick had to pick him up at school and take him to the doctor. He was sad and crying most of the night. All he wants is to be on Patrick. Mason was upset and sad for Graham too. He's staying at MIL's tonight so if Graham does fall asleep then Patrick can relax a bit and not have to entertain Mason too. She'll walk him to school in the afternoon and he just won't go to Montessori in the morning, he'll hang out with her.

I talked to my neice and nephew. B wanted to know if I was learning to shoot a gun so I said not yet, but I learned how to throw a guy on the ground, so I could show him and we could wrestle his dad to the ground and he thought that was cool. He wanted to know if I met Bonhomme at Carnaval because when I was there they had Carnaval week at school.

M wanted to know when I was coming home. She liked the postcard I sent her so I told her I'd send another one.

I get to go home tomorrow. :woo: Use of force, baton and OC spray tomorrow. Ouch! I'll be sore on the plane. :lol:

gulp!

March 8th, 2007, 06:16 PM

Damn, remind me never to piss you off, Bev! :lol:

Sorry Graham is so sick. I'll bet you're anxious to get home tomorrow and give the poor boy some love. :hug99:

MrsPeacefrog

March 9th, 2007, 03:29 AM

:blue: Poor Graham, I hope a big cuddle from Mummy will make it all better.

stass

March 9th, 2007, 07:44 AM

Have a great trip home! It's supposed to be in the 40's here. :)

Hannabanana

March 9th, 2007, 09:47 AM

Have a safe flight!
(hey, you could be considered secret security for the airline considering you know how to bring a man down now -- cool!) :lol:

Bev

March 11th, 2007, 05:22 PM

Okay, Graham was mostly okay when I was home but did have a fever. It should have been gone, but I think maybe it's not related to the ear infection, just in addition to it. He has so much runny snot, he swipes it before we can get it and it is a dried up crust all over his cheeks! It's so GROSS! I tried to get it off with a warm washcloth, but he wasn't having any part of that! :lol:

I took Graham in the stroller and the dog for a walk and Mason rode his bike! The weather was so warm. :sunny: 12C/53.6F, very spring-like and a nice change from the -20C/-4F weather we've had in Quebec. :cold:

I had to leave super early, so I got a much needed hair cut at the mall 40 minutes from here. It's a lot shorter, but looks all right, so I'm not complaining. She didn't put any product in at all, just blew it about 1 minute with the blow dryer because it was almost all dry. I imagine it'll still look good if I actually spend some time on it! :lol:

Well, that's it from here.

Stef, we were using inert OC spray, and my partner totally soaked me! It's like he was using a water gun or something! He had better aim than I did too. He got a good deal on that one! :lol: Then we used the real baton and whacked that around a bit, and then just used a hard foam one for the rest of the scenarios. It was fun! :)

Clare

March 11th, 2007, 06:42 PM

You think 12C is warm? :faint: Our winter days don't even get that cold!! :lol:

MrsPeacefrog

March 11th, 2007, 07:05 PM

:lol: I am with Clare, I am reluctant to leave the house at 12C! :lol:

I am glad Graham is getting better even if he is snot city.

Bev

March 11th, 2007, 07:12 PM

:lol: You guys did read the part about it being -20C (on a nice day) in Quebec, right. So yes, 12C was practically short sleeve weather after that! :lol:

MrsPeacefrog

March 14th, 2007, 06:52 AM

:lol: Yeah, I guess anything after that is nice weather!

Melissa

March 14th, 2007, 09:02 AM

Bev, I just caught up. I hope Graham is all better now! Awesome for knowing how to throw someone to the ground! That could be useful when you finally get to stay home :brow:

Bev

March 14th, 2007, 12:29 PM

Melissa! :lol:

Everyone at home is feeling much better now. Finally. I hope they are having a good March break. It sucks they had to miss the trip to Frankenmuth though. :(

Classes are going all right. I think I'm finally getting a handle on the Secondary Immigration stuff, thank goodness because the exam is on Monday.

I'm sore all over and my right forearm is covered in bruises because we did ground defence, edged weapons defence and carotid control yesterday. I'm un-carotidable thanks to my skinny neck. Yay me! :lol: I can apply it though, which might also come in handy when I get back home. :lol:

It's finally warming up here. It's raining today and it's supposed to be a high of 13C.

gulp!

March 14th, 2007, 02:15 PM

I'm starting to think you should change your user name to "Badass" :lol:

Bev

March 20th, 2007, 11:02 AM

Stef! :lol: I'll just use that for special occasions.

My first immigration test is over and the next one starts at 12:45. The first was a closed book exam and I think I did very well on it. :ura1:

Lynn I love your new profile pic! :aok: Saw it in another thread.

I'm home this weekend so that's great. The next weekend, March 30th(?) I think I might drive to Burlington Vermont for the weekend. Anyone here live near there or have any recommendations? It's about a 2.5 hour drive so I'd stay overnight.

I still haven't been to downtown Montreal but it's been so cold I didn't really feel like wandering around downtown in the freezing cold. I've heard the shopping mall is Burlington is really nice. Plus they have a Bath and Bodyworks and I could buy some cool soaps. And go to Target. :)

Bev

March 21st, 2007, 05:56 PM

:woo: I passed my tests! We found out today. We weren't expecting to find out until tomorrow.

So, today we were calculating duties and taxes (by hand!) and as if that wasn't hard enough with all the complicated math involved another guy and I think the answer sheet is wrong!! :duh: Hello! If we're trying to figure this out how can we know we're doing it correctly if the answer sheet is wrong! We gave up after staying an hour after class. I might try again, later tonight, but day after tomorrow when the teacher is back, we'll be asking him.

Melissa

March 21st, 2007, 06:21 PM

:woo: :cheer: That's wonderful news!!!!

Stacey

March 21st, 2007, 06:33 PM

Congratulations, Bev! :woo:

Trish

March 21st, 2007, 06:41 PM

Congrats, Bev! :woo:

LISA

March 21st, 2007, 06:59 PM

Congratulations Bev! :jump: :yippee:
Yeah, I would question the teacher about the answer sheet..a similar thing happened to a friend of ours in University..he had to correct the professor :lol:

Eva

March 21st, 2007, 07:00 PM

I still haven't been to downtown Montreal but it's been so cold I didn't really feel like wandering around downtown in the freezing cold.

You know that once you are there your don't have to go outside. The joys of the underground city. You can walk blocks and blocks without even gong outside. :)

How close to downtown are you?

Sorry that I can't help you on Burlington, I haven't been there since I was a kid. We use to go to Plattsburg NY more for shopping.

Hope the weather gets beter soon. :)

:woo: on your tests.

Bev

March 30th, 2007, 08:44 PM

You know that once you are there your don't have to go outside. The joys of the underground city. You can walk blocks and blocks without even gong outside. :)

I know. :blush1: That's what's so sad about it! :lol: We are in Rigaud, so about 45-50 minutes with no traffic.

I really cracked my nose badly last Friday in fitness class. We had those half ball thingys and the ball side was down and we had the flat side up and were doing push-ups and I wobbled and did a face plant right onto the hard plastic part. I yelled and uttered a curse word. :lol: I got a bit of a bruise and some swelling but it didn't bleed. :phew: It still hurts if I have to blow my nose. The worst was when Graham kept grabbing my nose all weekend saying Beep, beep! Ouch!

Only 6 more days of class before our final exams! :woo: The end is in sight! Our finals are on the Thursday and Friday after Easter Monday. Then it's a bunch of crap until Graduation on Thursday April 19th.

The group ahead of us finds out on Monday if they all passed their exams. I sure hope they did! :crossfing

Tomorrow 8 of us are going to Ottawa for the day, so that should be good. We aren't staying overnight though. We aren't leaving until 11am so I'll have time to work on my homework book before we go.

Dennis

March 30th, 2007, 08:50 PM

That's great that the end is in sight!

MrsPeacefrog

March 31st, 2007, 01:32 AM

Wow, did I blink and the time fly by? How crazy! I am glad you passed and I hope you pass your final exams so it will all be worth it! :hug99:

Lyoshka

March 31st, 2007, 12:40 PM

I've been MIA, so sorry! Such a friend I am, eh? I'm so glad you are almost done!!! YEAH! Good luck with the finals!!

LISA

March 31st, 2007, 01:04 PM

Yay for the end being so near :woo: Your doing a great job! :aok:
sorry about your nose though *ouch!*:bighug:

Mrs. Shae

March 31st, 2007, 05:51 PM

i too have been slacking here ... thanks to a nasty bug ...

i cannot believe that the end is in sight for you ... it seems like time has flown by ... well ... prob moreso for us than you :lol:

good luck on the last days ...

pam

March 31st, 2007, 10:29 PM

Sorry about your nose, Bev! That sounds so painful. I hope that it's on the mend :hug99:

I hope that you had a nice time in Ottawa & that your remaining time away from family & home seems quick!

marcy

March 31st, 2007, 10:42 PM

Oww, the nose sounds painful.

Good luck with the remaining days before your finals. How exciting that you're almost done! How are the boys and Patrick hanging in there?

Bev

April 2nd, 2007, 04:52 PM

Well, the intake ahead of us got their results back today. Two people failed! Kicked right out! :( I hear they both passed the book work with good marks but failed the use of force. It was excessive use of force for both of them. Yikes! I mean seriously, if your stinking partner sprays you with OC then go down for the love of Mike!!! :mad:

This was very scary news for my intake as we had the exam assessors in today to tell us about our exams. Our exams are next Thursday and Friday. Yikes!

Mary DK

April 2nd, 2007, 04:58 PM

Best of luck, girlie!!!
Saying a prayer :pray: & sending positive thoughts your way :crossfing

Bev

April 10th, 2007, 07:34 PM

10 more days and I'm home! :woo:

I had my Use of Force demo last week. Excessive force. :gah: Now I have some tricks up my sleeve thanks to a colleague who is qualified. Hopefully it goes all right. That and my simulations (baggage examination and computer to calculate duties and taxes) are on Friday (4 days!!!) and my written exams are on Thursday (day after tomorrow! :eek: ) I should go study some more. :lol:

I had a good Easter weekend at home. Four days was nice, but it was hard to leave. Mason and I went to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the theatre. :) When I was getting ready to go Graham was crying "Me too, me too!" and wanting to come. :blue: 10 more days.....

The sucky thing is we have to wait until next Monday to see if we passed everything on Thursday and Friday. That will be a long weekend. :lol: I might drive to either Burlington, VT or Plattsburgh, NY on Saturday.

Mary DK

April 10th, 2007, 07:44 PM

Oh Bev, the line about Graham crying & wanting to go with Mommy too got me all teary eyed :( Poor baby & poor Mommy :hug99:

Hey, there is a light at the end of the tunnel & you're almost there!!! Best of luck on your finals!!! :pray::crossfing

MrsPeacefrog

April 10th, 2007, 08:06 PM

I am glad it's almost over and your boys will have their mummy again! :rahrah:

gulp!

April 10th, 2007, 08:42 PM

Good luck, Bev! Kick some butt!

stass

April 10th, 2007, 10:29 PM

Go get 'em!

Mrs. Shae

April 10th, 2007, 11:58 PM

sooooooooooooooo close Bev ... get through the end of it ... and treat yourself over the weekend while you have to wait ... think of it as your "last weekend away from home" ...

btw ... after all this time away ... even with the trips back home ... do you "miss" cooking? ... if so, what meal do you wanna cook first?

Bev

April 11th, 2007, 10:09 AM

Thanks everyone! Lynn, I want to make a rotisserie chicken so bad! With nice vegetables, like asparagus. I wanted one on the weekend but the stores were closed on Friday and then we went to MILs on Sunday. We had spaghetti on Saturday because Patrick hadn't had that in a long time. Or a really good steak. :)

We have some practices today and then the writtens are tomorrow. I'll update my feelings on them tomorrow afternoon. :)

Dennis

April 11th, 2007, 10:29 AM

Good luck!

Brandi

April 11th, 2007, 11:29 AM

WOOOOO! Almost done! This is wonderful!

Nichole

April 11th, 2007, 11:32 AM

Good luck, Bev! You can do it! :cheer:

Bev

April 11th, 2007, 05:27 PM

Oh No! I just found out I'm partnered up with the guy who I was doing my demos who I had excessive force on! Darned alphabet! :lol: I hope I'm not jinxed, especially because it'll be Friday the 13th! :lol: And, I have to play the suspect twice! I am the Officer first with my partner, then we switch up and I'm the suspect, then I remain there for another girl to come in and be the Officer. I hope they don't beat me up too badly! :lol:

9 days! Not that I'm counting or anything. :lol:

Melissa

April 11th, 2007, 07:57 PM

That is wonderful news that you are so close to the end!!!!

Nadine

April 12th, 2007, 07:04 AM

:cheer: Wishing you the best of luck! You'll pass with flying colors, I know it!

Bev

April 13th, 2007, 05:20 PM

:woo: I totally (almost) rocked my sims today! I feel very confident I passed everything. I made a few small mistakes on my scenarios, but I did manage to find the drugs and a gold pendant that many other people didn't find. I rocked my Use of Force simulation as well. :nana:

One week until I'm home! :ura1:

Tonight 3 other people from my class and I are going to go out to dinner and a movie to get our minds off of things. One of them Lance, is quite worried about his scenarios but he found a receipt to a watch that some of us didn't find, so that's good. One guy Chris who's going with us tonight hasn't even finished yet I don't think. It'll be good to get the heck out of here for the night.

We find out on Monday how we did and then on Thursday it is the graduation. :)

gulp!

April 13th, 2007, 05:57 PM

Congrats, Bev! I'm sure you rocked it. Have fun tonight! I can't believe that it's almost time for you to head home. :)

Mrs. Shae

April 13th, 2007, 06:20 PM

Congrats Bev!

you are sooooooooo close right now ... i am sure the dinner/movie night out ... is just what you all need ...

good luck the rest of the week!

Mary DK

April 13th, 2007, 06:29 PM

Way to go, Bev!!
Sending :vibes: of great news on Monday!!!

stass

April 13th, 2007, 07:04 PM

:missy: :yippee:

Melissa

April 13th, 2007, 07:10 PM

I'm sure you did extremely well!!! That is fantastic that you are so close to the end!

Bev

April 16th, 2007, 07:28 PM

:bliss: :ura1: :git: :woo: :nana:

I passed!!!
But 3 people in my class and 1 in the other English class didn't make it. :cry: They left directly after their feedback. L did call me and two others to his room to say good-bye and he said it was his scenarios. :blue:

I am very pleased with my marks overall. I did "very good" on the open and closed book for Immigration and "good" on the closed book for Customs and "fair" on the open book for Customs. Yikes! My scenario feedback said I had a "strong" performance.

I have two days focussing on land border stuff and then Graduation on Thursday and home on Friday! :)

MrsPeacefrog

April 16th, 2007, 07:35 PM

That's awesome, Bev. I am so glad the end is in sight!!

Melissa

April 16th, 2007, 07:37 PM

Congratulations!
:bliss: :bliss: :cheer: :cheer:

What wonderful news!!!!

stass

April 16th, 2007, 08:24 PM

:hi5: Watch out here comes officer Bev! :lol:

gulp!

April 16th, 2007, 08:40 PM

Congrats, Bev!! :jesus: That's great news!

Mrs. Shae

April 16th, 2007, 08:56 PM

:clap: CONGRATS BEV ! ! ! :clap:

Michele

April 16th, 2007, 09:17 PM

:woo: Bev!

Silke

April 16th, 2007, 09:36 PM

:woo: Bev

Nadine

April 17th, 2007, 05:28 AM

:ura1::ura1::ura1::ura1: Congratulations!!! :ura1::ura1::ura1::ura1:
I am so happy for you!

So what happens next? Does passing the course mean they offer you a job?

marcy

April 17th, 2007, 06:40 AM

:woo: Congrats, Bev!

Dennis

April 17th, 2007, 09:12 AM

Congrats!

Nichole

April 17th, 2007, 10:17 AM

Awesome! :woo: Congratulations, Bev!! You're almost home! :bliss:

Hannabanana

April 17th, 2007, 11:31 AM

Congratulations Bev!!!!

Alysia

April 17th, 2007, 12:08 PM

Yay BEV!! :bliss:

Bev

April 17th, 2007, 12:36 PM

Thanks everyone! :)

Stef, LOVE the new profile pic! :aok:

Nadine, yes I have a job offer. The offer was on contingent on passing the course. Thankfully my hard work paid off. I report to work on Monday morning for an additional training session and then I think I might have a week or two of on the job training.

3 more sleeps until I'm home! :ura1:

Most of us don't have anyone coming for the ceremony but some people do and I'll get them to email me some pics and I'll post them.

stass

April 20th, 2007, 08:18 AM

Welcome home Bev!!!! It is going to be a really nice weekend. I hope you get to spend it with your family playing and snuggling. :)

Melissa

April 20th, 2007, 08:37 AM

Congratulations on being done and being home!!! :woo: :balloons:

gulp!

April 20th, 2007, 10:16 AM

Welcome home!! :jump:

marcy

April 20th, 2007, 10:32 AM

Yay for reaching today, and doing GREAT with the class.

Welcome home!

Michele

April 20th, 2007, 02:38 PM

Welcome home Bev!!!

I remember feeling like April was so far away when you first left...crazy that it is here now!

Mary DK

April 20th, 2007, 02:40 PM

You did it!! :cheer::cheer:

Trish

April 20th, 2007, 02:43 PM

Congrats and Welcome Home, Bev! :)

Eleanor

April 20th, 2007, 02:48 PM

Yay, Bev!!!

MrsPeacefrog

April 21st, 2007, 06:04 AM

Can't believe it's here.

Congrats on graduating and it's awesome that you get to be home with it all behind you now!!! :hug99:

Nichole

April 21st, 2007, 10:24 AM

You must be home by now. I hope it was a great homecoming! :bliss:

LISA

April 21st, 2007, 11:19 AM

:woo: I so knew you could do it! I hope your having a great time with your family this weekend :)

Bev

April 22nd, 2007, 09:40 PM

Thanks everyone!! :) It's so nice to be home!

I got home about 3:15 on Friday and drove directly to Mason's school to pick him up. He was so surprised! Then I went to get Graham. He was in shock; he almost didn't know what to do. :lol:

The weekend has been really busy. We bought a new barbecue and new patio seat cushions.

I have to go to work tomorrow!! Yikes. I should go get my stuff ready. I'll post some pictures as soon as someone sends me some. :)

Dennis

April 22nd, 2007, 09:48 PM

That's great you all made it through!

Mrs. Shae

April 22nd, 2007, 10:07 PM

OMG ... i can only imagine Mason's and Graham's reaction ... what a great surprise for them!

Welcome Back and Congrats again!

MrsPeacefrog

April 22nd, 2007, 11:34 PM

I am glad the boys are thrilled to have you home!

Good luck on your first day!

Melissa

April 23rd, 2007, 07:58 AM

I hope work goes well today! It must feel great to be back to normal again.

Hannabanana

April 27th, 2007, 01:49 PM

How was your first week at work?

Trish

April 27th, 2007, 02:03 PM

Aww, I would have loved to have seen the boys faces when they saw you home :heart:

Hope your week went well.

~Jenn

April 27th, 2007, 02:49 PM

Bev, I've seen bits and pieces of this thread for the past few months, but never actually read all of it. :shuffle: Yes, I suck.

That being said, how cool that you're done! :woo: And, I have to ask...a girlfriend of mine did exactly what you were doing (she works at the Ganonoque crossing)...I don't think she's done her Use of Force training yet. Wonder if she was in your class? You'd remember her! :lol: Her name is Marlene. Although, the more I think about it, maybe she's done everything, if she's working already? I can't remember, but I do remember all of joking about Marlene, and the Use of Force training, and her having a gun! When we saw her, she had the 'nightstick' (she was in uniform).

And, you should've come and visited while you were in Ottawa! :awink:

Congrats! :woo:

stass

April 27th, 2007, 06:35 PM

Can't wait to see you at the border!:lol:

Bev

April 27th, 2007, 08:02 PM

Thanks everyone! My first week was hectic and looooong! Especially after not working for 18 months after Graham was born. I am currently on 9.1 hour shifts Monday to Thursday from 06:54hr to 16:30 (4:30pm). Another girl who started the same day as me and we are very lucky because one of the supervisors just started a pilot project for new people so we get 33 shifts of on the job training and shadowing another officer who will train us in the way things are actually done.

Jenn, I don't know her. If she had a baton already she has use of force training. You can't pass the course if you don't have UoF training. You're right, I should have come visit, but I had 7 other people with me, and that would have been too much. :lol:

Stacey, are you sure? :lol:

stass

April 30th, 2007, 07:54 AM

Me::hithere
You::cop:
Me::hugsmile2
You::snp:
Me::booty:
You::booted:

Me: :hide:

Should I be scared? Have you caught any bad guys yet???

Nichole

April 30th, 2007, 11:19 AM

:lol:

Bev

April 30th, 2007, 09:04 PM

:lol2: Look at you Glamour Girl! Love the new photo!

No, I haven't caught any bad guys yet, but I kicked some people out who were trying to import a car without the proper paperwork. Gotta have that paperwork! :lol:

I'm astounded at the number of people who import cars/motorcycles and boats. They say it's still cheaper even with the Canadian GST and exise tax on A/C and the exchange rate. Who knew? :dunno:

Brandi

April 30th, 2007, 09:06 PM

Bev - glad to see you are back!

~Jenn

May 1st, 2007, 12:43 PM

Okay, I wasn't sure, but the more I talked (typed), I realized that she likely had done her Use of Force already.

And, hey, if you're ever up here again... :awink:

stass

May 24th, 2007, 06:56 PM

Hey Bev! Are you working this weekend? I may be coming through Saturday. (Not if it is raining) Maybe I'll see you! :wavey:

Bev

May 25th, 2007, 08:10 AM

Nope! I'm off Fri, Sat and Sun. Yay me! Have a nice long weekend! :)

Lyoshka

May 25th, 2007, 11:16 AM

What a crazy new world you are in now.... how are you liking it, other than busy super long and busy?

....and Stacey..... :lol2: You are such a crackup!

Bev

May 25th, 2007, 09:27 PM

I like it a lot so far Lena! Of course I haven't really worked any rotating shifts yet, which is a bit silly, but so far so good.

Unfortunately my VERY first shift on my own without shadowing someone is the first day Patrick is away in New Brunswick on a course and it's frigging afternoons! 2:30 to Midnight. And if that's not enough I'm off three days and back on Saturday/Sunday from 7am to 4:30pm. :gah: Like, as if I need to figure out what to do with the boys on my first shifts. I wouldn't feel bad about booking it off or switching shifts if I'd been there longer. I've got almost 15 years with the gov't but I've been there only a month and I don't want to appear like I'm a total deadbeat you know!

I don't think SIL will be any help and Patrick doesn't want to get one of the Montessori teachers to come over to watch them. Well, then what? Now I'll have to book off or switch, and feel like a total loser.

MrsPeacefrog

May 31st, 2007, 09:00 PM

EEK! that sucks, Bev. (sorry just read this) has it been sorted out?

Bev

May 31st, 2007, 09:20 PM

Not yet Deb, but I'm working on it. Worse comes to worst, I'll book off. SIL did offer on the Sunday 23rd, so that's good. Of course she told me she would right before she asked me to babysit her kids on the 16th, Patrick's last night before he goes to NB. :lol:

Bev

July 11th, 2008, 12:10 AM

Dusting the cobwebs off this baby. I've been away for a bit and this is why:

I'm in Chilliwack BC right now having the time of my life shooting guns and stuff. It's such a gas. I'm super tired we've had some very long days but I'm very impressed with how well I'm doing. It was our third day shooting today.

My Line Officer hardly talked to me today. I'm doing awesome (I think!). I think they think I'm doing all right too. I had a new LO today and my old one asked me how I was doing and said he hadn't been paying attention to me so after the round (25 metres), We went up to check the targets and I had everything in the 5 ring (best) and I think even one or two in the very centre, so I showed him and he said, what are you doing wrong? you need to practice more and laughed. A guy from farther down came and saw I had three rounds in the centre ring and he got the "sharpshooter" from the end to come look as he only had one in the middle. It's lots of fun. Today we were at 5 metres and did two body shots and one to the head. The guy next to me said, hey you put a smiley face on him, which I did, quite by accident. It was pretty funny.

I need to speed up my one handed shooting but I'm pretty happy considering we've only been at it for 3 days. I hope to continue doing this well and pass my first qualification next Friday. That'll take the pressure off for sure.

I think we might be going to Vancouver on Saturday and next weekend we'll go to Whistler and maybe go white water rafting.

Hope everyone is doing well and maybe stops in for a quick hello. I'm using someone elses old account, me and another girl are sharing his password, since he doesn't need it anymore. I'll try to check in every other day or so. :)