Above: Soaking in that pacific spirit...
At long last, an update!
Very sorry for the absence, readers. I have been busy as usual, except more so, what with my FaerieWorlds trip, trying to prepare for school, working my arse off at work, keeping the house together and getting food in the fridge, getting in some art here and there, working on the Fox's disability paperwork, etc...
And today I have been forced to take a day off everything, by request of my Fox. I'm lucky he knows me so well. He's forbidden me from doing any dishes, or I'd be doing that right now...
So yesterday was my very last day at the grocery store. It was bittersweet, as I've been looking forward to it for a long time and yet there are so many great people there I'll miss seeing every day. My co-workers presented me with a beautiful bouquet of autumn-coloured flowers and a couple of cards. Almost everyone wrote a little message in there for me, which was very touching. I've only been there for two and a half years or so but I guess I made an impression.
The last couple of months at work were very challenging, as I was training my replacement for most of that time. Or attempting to train. I have some doubts about her ability to succeed in the position, but she seems to want to do well, so I really hope she can improve in certain areas. Working with her for that long was exhausting, as she is... I don't know how to day it, really... she is just quite inward-focused and immature, and I think this is her first job. It seems like she has never had to make any decisions for herself or take her own initiative to do anything. Which, to be fair, was me at one point, too. I got over that mindset at about her age (twenty), so maybe she'll get over it soon, too.
She also has trouble with social interactions, to the point where it's affecting her ability to provide the level of customer service that's required of the staff there. And, of course, it was extremely hard to train her when I would spend ten minutes trying to explain something and only get a single nod in response... no interaction or engagement, and I couldn't tell if my teaching was actually doing anything because she didn't say a word about it and I couldn't get her to. The only things she would talk to me about were our mutual interest in certain video games -- and then it was like she was a different person! She wouldn't stop talking about Pokemon Go or Minecraft, but when I tried to bring up anything work-related... stoic silence. It was challenging and frustrating.
She is not a bad person, and I do think she wants to do a good job, but there are some barriers there. My boss was almost ready to tear her hair out (she's not quite as patient as me... or maybe I'm just too nice to say anything). I hope, for all of their sakes, that she manages to get over whatever is making her so shy -- though shy is not the right word, but again, don't know how else to say it.
By the end of it, I had stopped even trying to train, which is a little shameful on my part, but I was just so done with it. It seemed like nothing was sinking in when I had to tell her the same things every day.
Anyway! That's been work for the past while. I'm glad to be finished with that!
And now I am in the short limbo period between working full-time and studenting full-time. I only gave myself a weekend off between the two, ha. Kind of wish I had longer to rest, but couldn't really afford it. We'll be living off the grace of our parents for the next six months (pending the approval of the Fox's disability benefits, which will hopefully happen), and I don't want to beg more money than is necessary...
Speaking of the Fox, he's found a new idea for work that he'd like to look into more. A friend of mine from the pagan group, I'll call him C, is quadriplegic and can only move his head, and his friend N also from pagan group (who came with us to FaerieWorlds, actually) thought that he and the Fox should meet, as they both have similar interests and are sort of isolated by disability. So they did, and became friends. And as it turns out, the Fox knew of some computer programs that would help C use his computer again, which he hasn't been able to do without significant assistance in years. The Fox has previously volunteered with an organization that helps disabled people use computers, so he knew about the programs and everything. So he did that for C, who was absolutely elated. I would be too, if I could suddenly use a computer again after not being able to do so for many years.
It's pretty cool technology -- uses a webcam to track face and head movements, which then connect to computer functions. I tried it out as he was testing it on his own laptop. You kind of move your head around to move the cursor on the screen, and let it hover over something to "click" on it. It's a bit more complex than that but that's the part I tried out, anyway.
So the Fox really enjoyed setting that up for him (he's actually over visiting C again as I type this to give him some eBooks and other media that he can now use), so much so that he had the idea to try and work for (or at least volunteer for) an organization that develops and/or sets up this sort of technology for those who have disabilities preventing them from typical use of a computer.
Wish him good luck on that front! It would be fantastic if he could do that sort of work and get paid for it to boot. He finds it very fulfilling. Which is good, because he is getting disillusioned with the video game industry for many different reasons. Kind of like how I got disillusioned with the graphic design/commercial art industry...
In other news, FaerieWorlds!
It's come and gone for another year. This time, my aforementioned friend, N, joined our party... so it was me, her, my old friend J who came last year, and the Fox. We stayed in a different AirBnB in the same town as last time, and it was nice. The festival itself was great, of course. A bit of a more challenging trip, as N has to sometimes use a wheelchair (when sitting, anyway, to elevate her injured foot), so we had to bring it with us to the festival. But that was fine; we didn't mind helping with that. N is a bit of a hard person to travel with though (not because of the wheelchair), at least for me, because I am a hardcore introvert and a very practical person, and N doesn't really have an "off switch" or the same mindset about certain things like timeliness. I think that if she also comes next year we'll have to communicate more clearly about what we want to do and when, because as it turned out, we were heading to the festival so late in the day for most of the trip that by the time we got there a lot of the stuff would be either over or already started and we didn't have really enough time at the festival itself.
However, we talked about it afterwards and N says that it was lack of communication on all our parts. So next time we need to agree on a timeline or schedule and stick to it so that we all get what we want out of the trip.
J and I have travelled extensively together in the past, so I guess we're already so used to one another's travelling styles that we are a pretty seamless team. Perhaps it was the addition of someone who we don't know as well that kind of threw a kink into things. Now that we all know each other a little more I suspect it'll be easier if we travel together again. Overall it was a wonderful trip. We dressed up a bit this time, in pretty simple costumes... next year I want to make a more elaborate costume. That's what I said this year, but it didn't happen... heh. Next year though!! Hopefully, N will be healed by next time... she is supposed to get surgery for her injury, but of course there's long waiting lists for that sort of thing here.
The Fox had a good time, though he didn't attend the actual festival (same as last year). We did do a couple more things around Portland this time that he accompanied us to, such as visiting the famous Powell's Books, which is an incredible bookstore that takes up a whole city block. And I got to visit a Yankee Candle shop -- I love those candles! They're the same brand I used to sell when I worked at that Candle Shop in Ireland back in 2007 on our working holiday, so it's partly nostalgic and partly the fact that they smell amazing. I spent too much money there, but I had budgeted for it, so oh well! They don't sell them here in Canada, so it was kind of a special treat for myself.
Now that I'm not working anymore (!), I need to be more strict with budgeting. Like I said, we're very fortunate to have our parents helping us out, and I don't want to ask too much of them, so I've made up a budget that we can hopefully stick to.
So anyway... that's pretty much what's new around here.
I start school on Monday. The day after tomorrow!! I'm a bit nervous. Haven't been to school since 2012, and I have never been to college/university for anything but art or art-related subjects in the past, so I am sure it'll be very different to be taking a medical-related course.
I have to wonder if there are going to be people like me there -- and by that I mean former art students, or even people otherwise coming from a totally different field. Or will students be coming into it straight out of high school? I'm thinking the former, as kids in high school are so strongly encouraged to go right into university when they graduate (as opposed to a community college, which I get the feeling is seen as less impressive somehow).
I myself feel proud to go to a community college at the age of 29. It makes much more sense to me to train in a field where there is necessary work to be done, not to just go into something because it's interesting or cool (says the one who went to art school TWICE). Ha! How people change, eh? When I was in high school I wanted nothing else but to be a professional artist... now that I know what that entails (creating for other people), I no longer want that. Now I just want to make a decent living while doing something important that does some sort of good in the world. I'll do my art in my own time for now, and if one day I can sell my own stuff to the point of being financially successful, well, we will see. But I'm fully aware that day might never come, and that's ok. The most important thing is to create art because it's my passion, not because it'll make me rich or well-known.
I could rant more about society and whatever, but I'm pretty sure I've already ranted about that stuff on this blog before, so I'll just stop there. ;)
I think I'm making the right choice. I think. I mean, I do still have doubts. What if I really hate putting needles into people? What if the work turns out to be something I hate?? What if, what if, what if!
I guess you don't know til you try... and nothing is set in stone, so if I actually hate it (I don't think I will, but my brain likes to assume the worst sometimes, just to bug me), there's nothing saying I have to do it forever. But I think it's going to work out. Judging from some of the lab assistants I've been helped by, I'm going to do a darn good job of being personable, at least! (Most of them have been really great, but a couple just seem to have no idea how to make a person feel comfortable!)
Now, off to do some more nothing... I think I will read, or play video games, and maybe make a cup of tea. Sounds like a good way to spend an evening. I will try and relax and get my mind ready to start a whole new chapter of life on Monday morning.
The next time I post, I'll be a full-time student and in the thick of my program!
Cheerio for now, lovely readers!
