Name That Cheese!

Hey Everyone,

So, I have a new update on the work front. In 2 years my "Supervisor" (she does the budgeting for both courts and is a member of the management team) will be retiring. Well, in October I will be going for a class on "Introduction to Government Accounting". The only people who typically go to this course are those who are currently in the Business Support Analyst positions or Supervisors. My Supervisor mentioned to Regional Office that she has taken to mentoring me when it comes to her position and they turned around and asked if I would like to attend the training. This is a huge step because it helps give me some more leverage into attaining my 5 year plan.

Other than that, September 30th is our year end at the store and we will be staying after it closes to do a complete inventory. My friend has offered to help me with the Corporate Tax information and preparation of all Financial statements, so that will save us between $2,500 and $5,000.

Michael's sister has put her house in Mississauga up for sale and will hopefully be living down here come Christmas time...that's very exciting news for us because it means that we won't have to hold meetings over the phone any longer.

That's about it for now...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

Seacrest Out! *snap*

Hello Everyone,

I can't believe it's been over 10 months since I've last posted...I've been pretty busy, to say the least. Let's see...where to start...

First off, the store has been doing amazing...we're pretty much seeing a 25% increase in sales over last years numbers...that's a plus...July has been a little rough, but we beat last years numbers, we just didn't make the project target. Oh well, one out of 12 months isn't bad...

Secondly, work has been going really wel...I've been busting my ass like you wouldn't believe...since my last post I went from being the Finance Clerk to being the actual Financial & Administrative Assistant for the Ontario Courts of Justice. My counterpart, who was in the position, applied for and got another position as a temporary. I applied for and got her position as a temporary. Now, the person she was covering for has finally resigned and this paves the way for both of us to become permanent in our new respective positions. Once this is done they will most likely post the Finance Clerk position to get me some help. I've been working extra hours of my own time since start in this position, including working for a couple of hours on Saturdays...I hardly have time to breath between my actual job and doing all of the financials, tax remittances and tracking for the store. I'm discovering very quickly that when you own your own business you become a tax collector for the government...you wouldn't believe all of the "behind the scenes" shit that you have to do. I'll be shocked if we come out ahead at year end.

What else, what else...Michael and I decided to stay where we are for now and not house hunt. I wanted to originally live in South Windsor or near the downtown, but I've started to fall in love with the houses back in Forest Glade...they're very large, very cute, very quiet, and actually pretty affordable. I think we just need to take some time and save some more money...owning our own business, me making in-roads with my job at work would just be too much to couple with purchasing a new house...I think my nerves can only take so much. I can't even tell you how many nervous breakdowns I had when first taking over the store and I'm starting to feel it all over again the closer I get to year-end. I know that I'm going to have a lot of shit to do for it...oh well...we'll see...

I think that's about it for now...I'm going to try and check in more often...

Thanks and stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese"...hopefully it won't be another 10 months before I post.

Seacrest Out! lol

Hello Everyone,

I'm really sorry to have to make this announcement in a quick post rather than taking the time to explain everything.

As of Friday, October 5th Michael, his sister and myself are the owners of "Fruits & Passion" located in Devonshire Mall. It's unbelieveable that everything is finally done and in place.

Secondly, I want to apologize to the various people out there that I've had to either cancel plans with or make myself seem pretty much non-existent. There was just so much to do and in order for us to take over the store before Christmas, these things needed to get done.

I will update more at a later point.

Thanks.

I just want to say that the final Harry Potter novel has to be my favourite...

All I have to say is "Scorpius"...loving it...

:)

Long time no post...I was looking back at my previous post and thought that I needed to do an update.

I've been sitting pretty in my Finance position for almost 1 1/2 months now...it's going great and I'm getting trained in areas that I could have only dreamed of working in. I'm very happy and my days are flying by. The interesting thing is that the person who I replaced is going over to train in Superior Court when she returns from vacation, however I was told that if I had time they would love to have me over there and train me. I could just picture how that would go over lol

I've had my birthday and I'm officially 23 to the exponent of 6 (you add, not multiply!!!).

The new Harry Potter novel comes out on Friday and I've been purposely avoiding certain areas where I know they will have real spoilers. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I will be really disappointed if it's ruined for me...I don't understand why people think it's a good idea to ruin this experience for others. There have been 7 books and I would like to read the last one and find things out as they happen...I have the entire weekend put aside to read the novel...I'm really excited!

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention, I hit a whole new low today. I managed to upset the guy at work who has downs syndrome...he brings our mail around for us...apparently, he doesn't like it when I go over and get my own mail because I want to get ahead...who knew!?! Suffice it to say, he took it back from me and was upset...just when you think there's very few people left in this world to piss off, I've found a whole new market :)

That's all for now...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, I have no idea where to begin...let me talk about what's been going on at the courts recently.

First, I was bitter and disillusioned because I didn't get the Assistant Trial Co-ordinator position and I wanted to leave so badly.

Second, I had an interview 2 Friday's ago for Finance Administrative Clerk and I wanted this contract more than anything else because it would guarantee I would be virtually full-time all summer. There are 2 positions open and the hard part is that there's someone already in the position and has been training in it since January or so...I thought it was only for the past couple of months, but it has been since January.

Now, let me start with my day today. I was only scheduled on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week...I was upset because it was only 15 hours this week but then I got called in to work my favourite court, Small Claims Court, today. We open court at 10 a.m. and we're done by 10:05 so I get my 2 hour minimum...I'm not bitter because it's 2 hours more than what I would have gotten anyway. On top of that I get a call and I have to go back and work 45 minutes this afternoon, but I get paid for another 2 hour minimum...extremely happy, suffice it to say.

After court closed I get a call from my Supervisor...she wants to see me in the Court Manager's office right away. I go in and we sit down...she then congratulates me because I came in first in the competition and was offered the lead contract...I was offered first contract...that's amazing because I beat the person who is in the position right now. That means that she is being bumped out of lead spot and over to Superior Court and I'm taking her position and her desk in the Ontario Court...she went on to say that my references were "phenomenal" which caught me off guard...she said a lot more, but there's too much to talk about here so that's for me to discuss with people in person...

I'm totally caught off guard and I'm shocked...I start on Monday morning and I work 8:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. full-time until further notice and the other person who I bumped has been working full-time since January. She told me that there are hours there and that I would be in on quite a few key projects...there's just so much more that caught me off guard but I don't want to discuss it on here because we went in to a private discussion...like I said, that's for discussing in person.

That's all for now...I have to head out for lunch and then head back to the courts...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

Lead contract...wow...

So, I'm very heartbroken...Jerry Falwell is dead. The man who preached about homosexuality being a sin. The man who picketed and protested outside of a gay person's funeral if he died because of AIDS. The man who tried to come to Canada to protest against gay rights and then had to leave the Country because the Ottawa police force told him that they weren't providing him with any protection. A man who, himself, preached about sin and yet committed various sins in his everyday life. I am so heartbroken that this waste of flesh is dead.

All I can say is that I hope he is reborn as a mushroom just so that he grows out of a pile of shit. Although, my Dad said that it's too late for that one :)

Oh well...having a great day here now that I've received this wonderful news :) I hope you are all having a good one as well :)

Hello All,

So, I looked at my last posting and thought it was about time for an update, and here it goes:

Firstly, even though I blew away the interview for that Assistant Trial Co-ordinator position they decided to hire 2 people externally. One of those new hires happens to be friends with the Managers sister...that should tell you what the hiring was based on...not impressed and I refuse to grieve the decision (even though I have been told by union reps that I have a case and would win my grievance hands down) because it would be committing "career-a-cide". I still depend on these Managers to provide me with hours and if I piss them off they will stop scheduling me full-time hours.

Secondly, I have an interview on Tuesday with the Ministry of Community and Social Services for a position there as a Client Services Representative. When I got the call for the interview, there were only 2 positions that were open...one is full-time permanent and the other is an 8 month temporary position. Well, I come to find out today that one of the people in that office got a position in Toronto and will be going on a 4 year leave of absence. Now, there are 3 positions we're going for. The first is the permanent, the second is a 4 year temporary and the third is the 8 month temporary. The funny thing is, I met the person whose position they are hiring for today and she knows that I have applied for it. I hope that by her suggesting me for the position and dropping my name to the Managers, that it does something to bolster my chances. I mean, the person whose position needs filling is only the head of the union for Windsor...hehe :)

Thirdly, it turns out that the girl who I replaced at Finance and then came back and bumped me back to the Courts has now openly said that she no longer wants to work there anymore and is looking for jobs in the States. I found out today that she is no longer hiding this from the staff. So, even if I get the 8 month temporary position it's really a 1 year position because they have to give me 4 months notice before letting me go or sending me back to the courts. I expect to be back at Finance within the year...here's hoping that I'm right and it all works out in my favour...

Anyways, that's all I have to say for now...I thought I would give an update on my oh so exciting life :) I hope all is well and stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, I mentioned last posting how I have an interview for Assistant Trial Co-ordinator/Client Services Representative, well that happened today.

The interview went great...they are hiring for 3 positions, but there is one main position which will be starting training a couple of weeks from now and it will most likely work out to be permanent. They asked me the first question and they had to write so much down that they ran out of room on the front of the page and ended up writing 3/4's of the way down the back of the page. I think I hit all of the other questions right on the mark and one of the 2 Managers (one if my Court Reporter Manager and the other is my Judge's Secretary Manager) stopped and said that I have a great outlook and that I have an excellent work ethic. This was just right out of the blue in the middle of the interview...it was a real booster and I think that carried me right through the last questions. I feel pretty confident that I got the main position. I have to bring my references in to the Admin. Clerk tomorrow, first thing in the morning, and I should hopefully know within a few weeks. I really hope that I get this position...it would really boost my experience. At the end of the interview, they were going over my resume and started talking about how great my experience is and how much I've gained/grown over the years. It made me feel very good, especially when we just sat around and talked for about 10 minutes after the interview.

That's all for now...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, I got up early today and dropped Michael off at work and then headed into the courts for a little bit. I wanted to see if there were any internal postings (there were NONE) and I found a transcript of mine there ready for editing. I worked on it for a bit and then I headed over to Starbucks to meet up with Lissa for our usual Saturday morning Starbucks rendez-vous. We got caught up a bit and then just chit-chatted.

After that, I headed back to the courts and finished making the changes to my transcript. I printed it out and put the copy in my mentor's mailbox and headed home to work on the transcript that I'm typing out right now. I happened to look over at my phone and I see that there's a message on there and I also recognize the phone number to be from work. I listen to it and it turns out to be my Supervisor. Now, as I mentioned in a previous posting I just recently started a contact as a Judge's Secretary and I am loving it. Well, before I got this position I had applied for a posting as "Assistant Trial Co-ordinator and Client Services Representative" combined. Well, my Supervisor was calling to tell me that I will be interviewing for this position on Tuesday afternoon. I am really excited because this will mean that I will be carrying 3 contracts. I will have my Court Reporter contract (my homebase one), Judge's Secretary (locked into until September but I have been told that I am most likely going to be carried on after that), and now Assistant Trial Co-ordinator/Client Services Representative (if I make it through the interview). I think the other Trial Co-ordinators and one of the Judges may have had something to do with this because I know they once they found out I applied they started to ask why there hasn't been any interviews for this and one of the Judges sent a note to my Supervisor saying that he is very pleased with her choice of hiring me and that I am doing an excellent job. I owe him a lot for that...he's great.

Anyways, I am walking on cloud 9 right now and very excited about my interview :D

Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen...

So, I went to Pinnacle Chrysler today and I will be the proud owner of a 2007 Jeep Compass North as of Tuesday/Wednesday evening. The features are as follows: Automatic Transmission, Keyless Remote Entry, Power Windows, Air Conditioning, Power Sunroof, Full-Size Spare Tire, 4 X 4 Drive, Radio with AM/FM/CD and MP3 Jack, and Cruise Control. They called around and found the car I wanted in the colour I wanted so it will be down in Windsor by Tuesday or Wednesday. On top of this, the car they found had one extra feature that they threw in for free. The extra feature is a 9-speaker Premium Sound Group with six Boston Accoustics speakers, s subwoofer with a 458-watt amplifier and 2 swingdown lifegate speakers. Suffice it to say, I am very happy.

Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, I had today off but now I have to go in. On Tuesday, I applied for a position as a Judicial Secretary (Judge's Secretary) and I found out just last night that I got it and they needed me to start today. So, I have to go in for 8:15 a.m. and I actually really don't mind doing it at all...it's a different job where you don't have to bring work home with you, I get paid hourly and the pay increase is $2.51 to $5.32...sign me up!!! Besides that, I'll be working on the top floor of the Ontario Court of Justice building. I will still be doing my job as a Court Reporter, but I will now also be scheduled to be a Judge's Secretary.

On a similar note, I had to call the Ministry of Community and Social Services and inform them that I was turning down an interview for Assistant Manager of the Windsor Jail because it wouldn't be fair that I took this new position and then I run off to interview somewhere else in hopes of jumping ship. Besides, if anything comes up at the Ministry of Finance again I will be jumping ship to go back over there anyways :D

Well, that's been my interesting week...I was SO frazzled and confused last night because all of this information was just thrown at me in the last hour of my shift, that I couldn't think straight.

That's all for now...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, I booked today off so that I could work on my transcript. I've been typing out a one day preliminary hearing for the past week now. I have finally finished it. All I need to do now is just listen to it again and make sure that I didn't miss anything. It looks like I might actually be able to to relax and play a video game next week, rather than just coming home and working again.

In about 15 minutes, Michael and I will be leaving for Toronto. We're heading up to visit with his sister. On Saturday, we're going into Toronto and then going out for dinner. On Sunday, I'm going to see if Michael wants to go back into Toronto for lunch and then we can hit IKEA before we head home. I don't know...we'll see how we feel.

That's about it...I'm just happy that I'm done my transcript...I hate having a job where you can't enjoy the rest of your night or your weekend because you always have this "urgent" work that needs to get done. I wish the Province worked like the City. Those Court Reporters are in court for one week and then they are assigned office hours for the following week in order for them to type out any transcript orders they've received. That seems like a good and fair balance to me...oh well, maybe something will change down the road. I've applied for two new positions at the courts. The first one is a position for an Assistant Trial Co-ordinator and it's only part-time, but it sounds really interesting. This person schedules the trials and all other proceedings. The other position is for a full-time permanent Client Services Representative for Superior Court. I don't know what my chances are with this position, but you never know unless you apply.

Well, that's all for now...time to get ready to head out. Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

So, as some of you know Michael and I attended the "Chocolate Lover's Dream Dinner" last night. It was a fundraiser for the VON and let me tell you...it was amazing...I've never attended something so classy...here's how the night played out...

It was held at the Art Gallery of Windsor and went from 7 p.m. until after Midnight. We arrived around 6:45 p.m. and took a look around...the main floor was set up with beautifully decked out tables that would be seating approximately 150-200 people. We found our table and then proceeded to look around the Silent Auction items, where we bid on a few things, but to no avail. Alas, the night began and the dinner was served up by Bamboo Restaurant. The following was our menu:

Salad Gourmand - Mixed greens, fried Vidalia onions, baby onions, star fruit, white & dark chocolate Truffle balsamic vinaigrette.
Steamed Lobster - White cocoa butter sauce & assorted greens
Honey Truffle Breast of Chicken - Dark chocolate, red wine sauce, Orange black bean sauce with wild rice
Cocoa Rubbed Beef Tenderloin - Madeira wine demi-glace, Scallop potato, Roasted root vegetable
White, Milk & Dark Chocolate, Baby Cream Puffs in Chocolate Heart Cup - with Mango, Raspberry, and Hazzlenut Sauce

This meal was followed by the "Chocolate Lover's Decadent Dessert Buffet". The buffet included:

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse cake wrapped in chocolate, German Chocolate Cake, Orange/Mocha Meringue Ruffle Cake, Croquenbouche filled with Strawberry, Mousse, Mixed Berry Napolean, Tuxedo Dipped Strawberries, Assorted Petit Fours, Individual Cheesecakes - White/Dark Chocolate, Truffles and Pralines, Chocolate Bark, Malibu Rum Creme Brulee, Chocolate Dipped Bananas & Chocolate Baklava.

Suffice it to say, the meal and desserts were absolutely amazing and the atmosphere was just outstanding. I've never had the opportunity to experience something like this and both Michael and I are looking forward to attending again next year.

Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

Wow...has it really been over 4 months since my last update!?! Time has flown by so quickly and so much has happened since my last posting.

To start, I'm no longer with the Ministry of Finance...The She-Devil who I replaced came back to the office and my contract ended on January 15th. It was a really great job and an even greater experience. I'm back at the Courts working as a Court Reporter and I'm really not minding it so much. I hate the transcript typing, but I love the in court time. I had testing and an interview with the Canada Border Services Agency and then I found out that I got accepted into their Administrative Support pool. Just this past Friday, I had an interview and more testing for another position with the Ministry of Finance. It was for a Senior Tax Compliance Officer posting and the test was NOT easy. It turned out that half of the test was Accounting. I nailed the Retail Sales Tax Legislation (I better have since I did Administration for the section for 10 months) and I managed to hold my own when it came to the Accounting sections. I felt like crap leaving the test, but then as I talked to the others it seems that we all did the same thing when it came to working out the answers. All I care about is beating the external candidate...that's my goal...not too lofty of an expectation...lol. Right now, while I'm at the Courts, I'm working from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. (atleast) and then I'm coming home and working from home until around 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. and then I got out to take a break for a couple of hours, after that I head over and work out at the gym for 2 hours, then I head home, crash and then start my day over again. The gym has been helping me relieve a lot of work stress and such...not to mention the 13 lbs I've dropped since starting there...

There's so much more to say, but I would really prefer to spread it out...

Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese".

:)

Hey Everyone,

I just thought I would do a quick post to update on my weekend ahead. To start, Michael left on Wednesday afternoon for Toronto because he had to go for some training. He'll be up there until Sunday afternoon.

On Friday night, I'm going to be getting together with Rick and Brad for our usual Friday night Mario Party.

On Saturday, I'm heading out for Toronto around 8 a.m. Michael and I are going to meet up at the Marche for Noon, have lunch and then go and do some shopping on Queen Street. Hitting Caban is a must, because there are some sheets there that we've been dying to pick up. After that, I'm heading over to IKEA and then heading home and should be back in Windsor around 8 p.m.

On Sunday, I have absolutely nothing planned. I will likely just relax around the house and watch some episodes of Roseanne. That's about it!!!

So, here's to a good weekend and stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese."

Current Mood: happy

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick update here to tell you about the great weekend that I spent with my Baby. On Friday night Rick, Brad, Rob, Joe, Michael and I headed over to Papa Cheney's to have some great appetizers and some cheap drinks. After that, we headed back to the house and passed out.

On Saturday we got up early and headed to Toronto for the day because Michael's birthday was this past Tuesday. As I was driving down the Gardiner Expressway my cellphone rang and it was Laurie's husband. It turns out that she went into labour around 7 a.m. and had the baby by 9:45 a.m., so that was some exciting news!!! After that, we parked downtown and went shopping at the Eaton Centre before we had a great lunch at the Marche. Following the Marche, we headed to IKEA and did some shopping before heading home. Once we got back in Windsor we headed over to Rick and Brad's to play some cards before heading back to Michael's and crashing for the night.

On Sunday, Rick and Brad picked us up around 10:30 a.m. and then we headed out to Klassan's to do some Blueberry picking. It was great...the blueberries were really yummy and I kept eating them in between picking good ones for my bucket and throwing rotten ones at Brad.

It was a really great weekend and I think we all had a really good time.

On Monday night I met up with Rob for some cards before going over to Michael's to watch Hell's Kitchen. On Tuesday night I left work early and went over to Laurie's to see the new baby. Erica was there and we got her hooked on the Big Brother Livefeeds!!! After that, I met up with Christian and then Joe for some cards. On Wednesday night I met up with Christian, Rob, and Joe for some cards. As for tonight, I'm meeting up with Lissa for some Scrabble and catch up time.

That is about it for now...I hope everyone is having a great week and I'll update again in the near future. Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese."

Jamie

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Natasha Beddingfield - These Words

So, FIFA is over and Italy won the World Cup. I was going for England, but they got knocked out in the quarter-finals. After that, I thought I'd just support Germany for the remainder since it was inevitable that they would win with Brazil out...then they got knocked out...what the shit!?! Then I thought I'd support France for the Final and now they're out...lol. Do you see a trend here!?! Apparently, I am no Soccer teams best friend lol

Anyways, now that FIFA is over, I'm on to some very important stuff, like watching the Big Brother Live Feeds. I think it's going to be a really good and drama filled season this year...I'm very excited!!! Laurie is able to watch them at the same time and we may see if we can push it and get Erica to watch it too...hehe.

Tonight, I'll be heading over to Michael's so that we can watch Hell's Kitchen...it better be on this week since they didn't air it last week...I'll be very bitter...I need my Chef Ramsay fix!!!

That's about it for now...I'm just getting ready to head to work and that should keep me busy most of the day since I'm working on a new template for one of the forms that the Auditors use all the time and I'm working on an Audit Project for one of my Managers.

Stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese."

Well, it's been pretty exciting lately. In the past couple of weeks I've had my b-day, we've had fireworks night, and I was in the paper on Monday. It's been quite fun lately actually. It's month-end at work and things have really been getting busy there as I've been working on a few special projects. Before all of this excitement at work, I had one of my friend's former employers reviewed for audit. That passed a little bit of time and cleared quite a bit of my boredom at work. Big Brother 7 starts this week and I have to tape it because two of my friends are out of town and need to get their fix like me. I need to get the 24/7 livecam again, so that my friend Laurie and I can sit there like extra parts on the computer and just stare at the monitor for hours at a time. I regret to inform everyone, but FIFA is coming to an end on the weekend. The final game will be on Sunday and, in my mind, it will be a game where Germany is taking on Portugal. We'll have to wait and see just how correct I am. I'm disappointed because England got knocked out by Portugal this past Saturday and there I am still walking around in my England shirts. Oh well...I'm in mourning for them...lol.

Tonight, I'm heading down to Milk for around 6:30 p.m. because I'm supposed to meet up with Christian and Lissa for some Scrabble and some catch up.

That's all for now...stay tuned for more "Name That Cheese."

Current Music: Nelly Furtado - Maneater