Softball Season

So the Softball season is over, we ended up performing kind of pitifully but can at least say we won our last game. Most importantly we had a great time every week and Brad and I will definitely organize again next year.

Some photos of the team


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Kimberley 2008

Okay, I know it's been quiet here for a while but I've been preoccupied.

I'm sure you've been dying for more details about Kimberley; here are a few photos to start. pictures.



We sure had an awesome weekend. Spent our time eating and sleeping, playing Wii, Carcassonne and sitting in the hot tub. We purchased lots of clodhoppers from the bulk section (they're so good on ice cream) swam in the pool and played a little catch.

We also went to the local movie theatre / bowling alley and watched Get Smart. Us and the other 10 people there had a great time. We especially enjoyed the full service reclining chairs, though Byron and Rosie thought they were falling when they first sat.

It was a great weekend that hopefully we can repeat again next year.
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Blech

I had my first drink of coffee today... I know, I'm so rebellious.

Seriously though, Starbucks made a mistake, it only took one drink to realize and then they corrected it. I was back to my non-coffee steamed milk.

Here's to living on the wild side
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Welcome

I'm not sure I've ever felt as welcome at a different ward.

Today in Cranbrook there were multiple people that told us they appreciated our voices, and were we please moving into the ward.

The Bishop stopped us and we had a very nice conversation with the Executive Secretary.
There was an older woman and a younger woman that both said hello and welcome... makes me want to come to Cranbrook more often.

Hope you're having a weekend that's as great as mine.
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Fight! Fight! Fight!

I don't have the heart to add details but the fight with the landlord continues. I think we're dangerously close to having our rent raised which will result in a move.

I felt slightly satisfied when I mentioned her name to a friend in the mailroom at work and he knew who I was talking about and has heard stories about this woman.

Wishing she was more reasonable and less fly off the handle crazy.
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Food Network Here I Come

As previously mentioned Brad and I live in a tiny apartment, we sacrifice because one day we want to own a house. Trying to reach our house dream quicker we try to save and budget. One easy way we've found to do that is to get good use out of the bunny ears and skip cable TV. We've always been fine with that decision.

We took a trip to Utah for Christmas and we stayed in hotels while we were there. Excited for the rare cable TV moment we turned it on and it didn't take long for me to find and be obsessed with the Food Network. In May we went up to Edmonton for the weekend and stayed in a hotel, again Brad was forced to watch non-stop food network. It's pretty much my dream channel.

The other day we got a flier for Telus TV and with our phone, internet and TV it's only going to cost us $15 more than what we've been paying; we think it's worth it so here come days and days of nothing but Food Network. It will be a sad day when we've had it long enough for the re-runs to start actually being re-runs to me.
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Moving?

This is a bit of a long story… hope you have some time.

The other day I was heading downstairs to do some laundry and the people across the hall happened to be leaving at the same time. They're a nice couple that we've spoken to on a few occasions so we said hi. The conversation then went something like this,
Her - "So you two are moving?"
Me - "Moving? No… we plan on staying here for a while."
"Oh, about a week ago I saw them showing your apartment"

That means that they illegally, without our knowledge came into our apartment and showed it to someone else… for whatever reason. They're required to give us 48 hours notice before they can enter our apartment.

Needless to say we're not very happy about this.
We found out that info on Saturday and didn’t have a chance to do anything about it that day or on Sunday so yesterday was the day. Brad picked up the phone to make the call to our landlady…

I haven't mentioned this yet but we have an AWFUL landlady! She's loses her temper extremely easily and is very difficult to deal with. We've had a few run-ins with her and prefer to keep our contact as minimal as possible, we've heard from quite a few others that they feel the same. This situation was something we weren't willing to drop though.

So Brad very calmly explains to Susan* how we heard that they'd showed our apartment. She immediately and very sweetly apologizes saying they were supposed to show one on the third floor but accidentally showed ours on the fourth. She states that mistakes happen and she's sorry. Brad agreed that mistakes happen and said he appreciated her apology. He stated that we were most unhappy that we weren't told about the situation from her and that we had to find out from a neighbor. I guess that was her breaking point because she's suddenly screaming at Brad (I was sitting beside him and could hear her shrill voice). She screams that she apologized, what does Brad want.. Blood? She's sorry she's not perfect like we are… this whole time Brad is trying (still very calmly) to explain that all we want is a written apology with confirmation that it won't happen again. He doesn't get that far though as she hang up on him.

So we start to draft a letter thinking it's a better approach than the phone call. I've enclosed it below.

Dear Susan,

After our phone call on Monday night I was unhappy with the way the situation was left and the direction the conversation went.

I understand that a mistake was made and that mistakes happen. The problem I have is that I wasn’t informed. A simple phone call would have appeased me but hearing about it from our neighbour was surprising.

I’m disappointed that you were unwilling to speak with me long enough for me to calmly explain what I’d like from you. I was surprised at how easily you were upset; that was not my intention. I tried to apologize multiple times.

What I would like is a letter of apology stating that a mistake was made and confirmation that it will not happen again. This would completely resolve the situation in my eyes. I have no intention of pursuing this further assuming you grant my request.

I hope this misunderstanding doesn’t negatively affect our business relationship.

Sincerely,
Bradley Wiebe

Just as we finished the phone rings and Brad doesn't recognize the number. It's Bill*, Susan's husband; the one who was actually in the apartment. He again apologizes saying that Susan told him the wrong apartment number, again Brad says he appreciates it and we understand. He tells him we would appreciate a written apology and Bill says that's not a problem, they'll write one up and slip it under our door.

There… was that so difficult? We like Bill and would prefer to deal with him in the future. We've also decided phone calls may not be our best course of action when we need to talk to Susan. We think we'll send letters from now on.

L
*Names have been changes to protect the identity of our really crappy landlady.

Powering Through

This weekend was not long enough, I'm not ready for Monday. I'm yawning and my eyes are droopy.

It was a great weekend though. Friday included Wii baseball and Carcassonne and Saturday was dinner and a Movie with the Anviks. We went and saw Prince Caspian, part of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe series and all of us loved it. It's a great movie that I recommend if you're into that series. There was one moment that made me think of Kirsten, there's a song at the end that's sung by Regina Spektor, who I only know anything about because of her.

How was your Father's Day? Our's was dinner at the in-laws and we all had a great time.

Here's to Kimberly on the weekend and powering through this week until I have 4 full days of sleeping in, mounds of ice cream and hot tubbing.
L

Pizza is my new Obsession

I've recently been on a pizza making craze…

Deluxe - Sausage, Green Pepper, Onions, Pepperoni, Tomatoes and Cheese
Pesto, Tomatoes and Feta
Herbed Thin crust Pepperoni

I think a buffalo chicken should be next

They turn out so beautiful that I should be posting pictures but I can't wait long enough before I devour them. I'm craving more right now, maybe there will be pizza for dinner tonight.

All you need is a bread machine and a pizza stone and you can have perfect pizza too.
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2004 - A Story from the Past

Yesterday I had this really random memory of the time I got layed off from my job. I realized I'd never shared it here and it was a pretty big event so I figured it was worth recording here. I had planned to find the entry in my journal (if I'd recorded it) and just type that up. Well I found the entry but the writing is terrible so I'll retell and hope age has made me a better writer.

I'd worked at Superpages for a number of years and I was really happy there. I was in a great department with a great boss and over the years had moved myself into a position that I loved. I worked with a woman named Dee who was incredible and my all-time favorite co-worker. She'd been with the company for roughly 40 years so she knew everyone and people talked to her, she was great source of info through the whole experience and most of what we knew was from her contacts. In the recent past our company had been bought, and then sold and bought again. Changes had been made but none of us really felt they were good changes.

On Tuesday my department started to hear rumors that the Ontario office was closed, everyone had been let go and told to go home (and if I'm not mistaken they were told not to talk to anybody about it until the following day). We had an old co-worker in the Ontario office so we tried to call him at work, at home and on the cell to no answer. Not a good sign. We'd also been told that there was a big, company wide meeting the next day. There had been an email saying the call centre would be on automatic answer so all the call centre agents could be there. They NEVER do that. They also hadn't told us the location of the meeting which was odd. We were concerned.

Wednesday morning I got to work at my usual time, 7:00am and there were already managers in, they weren't ever in that early. Dee talked to one who'd been layed off and found out another had quit. We all had emails waiting for us telling us where to go for our meeting at 10:00am, different departments were in different rooms. We found out that my department was in the same room as Ontario listings which is bad. By now we've confirmed that the office in Ontario had been closed. If there's no office there then there's no need for the listings group.

I take the opportunity to go through my computer and email anything personal to myself so I have a copy. I'm feeling prepared for what's to come.

10:00 comes and it's meeting time. As we walk to our room we notice there are people we don't know standing around, they wear badges that say Counselor & Security, they had brought in Grief Counselors. We later learned that at 10:05 every computer, company wide was locked down.

There were about 15 people in my room and we were all quickly layed off. Company wide they layed off about 500 people that day. 72 of those were from Alberta, 60 from BC. So we left the meeting, packed up our desks and started to say goodbye to everyone. Again, we found out later that in the rooms were they weren't layed off they tried to stall, hoping that we'd all be gone before they were adjourned to avoid awkwardness.

I'd prepared myself to be out of a job but not to have to say goodbye to so many people. It was really emotional for a lot of people, including myself. I knew I'd be okay and could find another job but there were a bunch who were seriously concerned about what they would do now, I'm not sure I've ever felt worse at work than I did that day.

On a brighter note, because I was part of a Union they had to give us 90 days notice or pay us for the 90 days. They also gave me an additional 6 weeks severance pay. So at least I didn't have to worry for a while.

As the final kick, I think it's time to mention that this happened 10 days before Christmas.


I found an on-line article about the event

Phone directory firm announces the job cuts just 10 days from Christmas

Some 500 SuperPages Canada employees lost their jobs Wednesday just 10 days before Christmas and barely a month since Boston-based Bain Capital closed a deal to buy the company.

Seventy-three employees at the Burnaby head office and approximately 428 more across the country were laid off as a result of a decision to cease publications of print directories in all markets accept British Columbia, Alberta and northeastern Quebec.

The company will continue to operate its online national directory SuperPages.ca and it will publish directories for 93 markets in B.C., Alberta and Quebec. It is ceasing publication of 32 directories, according to SuperPages Canada president Todd Millar.

While Millar said it is "an unfortunate time for employees," with the layoffs coming so close to Christmas, he termed it a "good news story," for B.C.

"From a B.C. perspective this is really a good news story for us as we come back to our roots and focus on what we do best inside British Columbia," Millar said in a telephone interview.

It is doubtless not a view shared by most employees, who were notified that they would be called to meetings Wednesday morning to hear the company's 2005 operational plan, only to learn the plan involved axing almost one-third of their number.

The company's phones were put on automatic answering so all employees could attend the 9 a.m. meeting.

Tears greeted the news and many employees left the building within an hour. The company's offices were closed for the day while its management remained behind, although refusing to talk to a waiting Vancouver Sun reporter.

Several former SuperPages employees gathered outside the Burnaby building hugged each other before getting into cars, telling The Sun that the layoffs came as a shock.

The job eliminations trim employee ranks across Canada to 850 from 1350.

Wednesday's news for employees was the latest in a saga that started when Telus sold its directory business and residential listing service to the U.S.-based Verizon Communications in 2001. Last September, Verizon announced it was selling its Canadian directory operations, SuperPages Canada, to Bain Capital for close to $2 billion.

At the time, Ian Loring, a managing director at Bain, termed SuperPages Canada, "a high-regarded, stable franchise with an outstanding history of service to its customers.

"Our firm has a track record of success in purchasing well-positioned, 'non-core' units of major corporations, and partnering with an experienced management team to grow the business and its competitive position in the marketplace," Loring said in a release then.

A spokesman for Bain said the company had no comment Wednesday.

Millar said laid employees will receive a fair compensation package as well as counselling. SuperPages Canada is the publisher of Telus white pages and classified directories in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec.

So there you have it, my Superpages experience.
In the end it turned out for the better, I make considerable more money where I am now, I miss my old department though, we had fun together and had fewer crazy people.
L

Eagerly Anticipated

The package is on the move.

It started in Orem and then spent a day in Salt Lake City. Another day or so in Portland, Oregon and then yesterday it made a quick stop in Richmond, BC. It left there at 10:25 pm, wonder what city it will stop in next. I'm excited that it's made it to Canada already! It'll be here before I know it.

L

(it's a board game)

Lauryn Love

I think most of you probably know that at church I teach the Sunbeams, they're 3-4 and they're so adorable. I only have three kids and one of them is this really special girl, Lauryn. She's one of those girls that's smart and well spoken and well behaved and an all around angel. She responds when questions are asked and is so cute.

This Sunday as we were leaving the chapel and heading for Sunbeams I saw Lauryn in the hall so we stopped to say hi. I noticed a sweater on the couch and wanted to make sure it didn't get left. She has a younger brother and the sweater looked small so I assumed it was his, I picked it up and asked if it was her brother's. Her response really made my day. "No Silly Billy, it's my sweater."

She's 4 and she called my a Silly Billy! How cute is that?
It's moments like this that make me think I need to have babies now :)
L

Groggy

For reasons unknown, I've been having a hard time sleeping at night. It's frustrating for me to lie in bed wide awake while at the same time feeling so tired. On Wednesday night I'd had enough so I got out of bed at 11:30 ish and took a sleeping pill. Thinking I had plenty of time for it to wear off I took the full pill, rather than half.

Thursday morning dawned bright and sunny and I swear I could barely open my eyes. I moved at half the speed I normally do and it took until roughly 10:30 am for that pill to wear off. Lesson learned and last night I tried the iPod approach instead with better results.
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Tracking

You know what I love? What makes me so excited that I obsessively check the website looking for change... When you can track your FedEx packages. What a brilliant idea.

You order something online and you're excited for it to come and then you get to watch as it travels across the country. And better yet one day you click and it tells you it's arrived in Calgary! That will be a few days off I'm sure but I'm excited for my estimated delivery date of June 11.

My package has left Orem and is in Salt Lake right now.
I look forward to updates.
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Finally

I talk to my Mom fairly often and since I've started the softball games she often asks how we did. She almost always follows that with a second question, "did you go for ice cream after?"

The answer has always been no but last night after we lost we decided to drown our sorrows in some yummy ice cream. I'm not sure why we haven't done this earlier.
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p.s. we finally took our camera last night so I'll have more softball pictures to post soon

To all who Wondered

Having a husband who enjoys hockey I often end up at hockey parties, last night included. We were watching Detroit try to win the Stanley Cup against Pittsburgh. They did not win that game but they do have one more chance on Wednesday. That's all just background though.

When Detroit scored we noticed an octopus sitting on the ice and there was another one at the next goal. Most were aware of the tradition but no one knew where it came from. Thanks Google for answering all my questions.

The following comes from this website

I grew up in the Detroit area, now I live in Utah. I know that at Detroit Red Wings games we had a tradition in the playoffs of throwing octopus on the ice. But I can't for the life of me remember why! - Tawnia

Answer: The Motor City's proud tradition of saluting the Detroit Red Wings with slimy creatures of the deep dates back over half a century.

The first octopus landed on the ice during the Red Wings' 1952 Stanley Cup run, courtesy of brothers Pete and Jerry Cusimano, who owned a fish market. If you know your cephalopods, you will know that an octopus has eight tentacles. In those days it took eight playoff wins to claim the Cup, hence the supposed symbolism of the gesture.

The Red Wings were perfect in the '52 playoffs, sweeping the semifinal and the final in straight games. The octopus has been a good luck charm ever since.

By 1995, the team had adopted the tradition by introducing a mascot, Al the Octopus. Al is raised to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena before every home playoff game, and used in team merchandising and promotion.

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