Barry's New Job

Yes, it's official. Barry has a new job lined up...

When we came back from Jamaica in January, we found out that NCR had announced they were closing. We were clueless, having been sitting on a sunny beach sipping cocktails.... boy, that sounds good right about now!

Anyway, Barry went to a job fair at NCR, put his resume online, and eventually had some interviews with Research in Motion (RIM), the creator of the Blackberry. The best part is, Barry's last day at NCR is November 16, and his first day at RIM is November 19. No break means no interruption in our budget, and with Barry staying at NCR until the end, his severance and bonus will remain in tact, meaning we can pay for our wedding.



We will also be buying some hardwood floors for our house, and hope to have them all installed before Christmas. We're not sure if it will work out, since there is only 56 days until Christmas, but we are going to try our best. The thing is, if we wait until the spring, we will probably be too busy with the wedding to do it.

On that note, check out our wedding blog for some updates!

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving this year was very different for me. Barry was in South Carolina, so he didn’t come to any Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily, Mylène came with me to Papa’s house for dinner. It was her first Thanksgiving dinner! It was so cool to see her excited about the different foods and traditions. Also, she got to meet my family, and I think my uncle Vince was especially happy to have someone to speak French to in London!

On our way to London we got caught in some nasty weather. It was raining so hard out that people were pulling over on the 401. For us brave souls who didn’t pull over, we had to slow down to a crawl, going a maximum of 60 km/h on the highway! Crazy…

We got to Papa’s around 3:00 (and of course everyone else was late!) but it was nice to sit in the Kitchen and talk to everyone for a little while. We had a DELICIOUS dinner, and then we had too much dessert! We celebrated Taylor, Kyle and Papa’s birthdays, and then Mylène and I went over to my parents’ house.

It was super hot out. 30 degrees plus humidity I think (looking back today it is crazy to think that!) so we had a fire in the backyard. Mylène went to bed around 11:00, but my parents and I sat out by the fire until 3:00am! I was wearing shorts and a tank top to boot! We have never had a fire on Thanksgiving before (but then again, we had a fire for Christmas Eve last year and that was another first.

On Sunday, Mylène, Amy, Taylor and I went to Appleland to pick apples

and get pumpkins for Halloween. It was the earliest I have ever gotten my pumkin, and it was the hottest day ever for picking apples. We were all so hot and frustrated that we gave up after the first stop, not wanting to go on to other parts of the orchard. Taylor had a blast after we picked apples, playing on the hill and petting the animals.

The drive home was uneventful (no crazy rain storm!)

Early Monday morning (don’t ask me why EARLY…) Mylène and I decided to go to the Oktoberfest Thanksgiving parade. I have never been before, and it was very cool. It was much more substantial than I thought it would be; it lasted two hours, and there must have been at least 20 marching bands. It was quite a treat!

After the parade, I took Mylène to Tim Horton’s for her first Timmy’s coffee (as per Uncle Pete’s strict instructions). It was still really nice out, so we had a great day.

Now, it’s almost a week later (sorry for the blog delay) and it’s 9 degrees. I guess it is officially fall!

Teaching!

I was just reading over my post from last night, and I realized I was sounding pretty negative about the whole teacher's college thing...

So I decided to post again today. It's not all that bad...I am volunteering at a public school in Cambridge right now on Wednesdays, and there is no doubt in my mind that this is definitely what I want to do with my life!

In the mornings I am working with my friend Nancy (who is a teacher at the school) and in the afternoons I am working with another teacher, who has let me totally take the reins in a novel study (Farley Mowat's "Owls In the Family") with part of her class. I helped to choose the novel, and I am responsible for the unit! It's so exciting, I'm actually getting some practice being a teacher in both rooms!

Every Wednesday when I come home, I'm in a fantastic mood, and I can't wait to get back the next week. I wish I could go every day!!!

Teacher's College

...so many of you know that I am applying to teacher's college after I get my degree. The thing is, that's sort of right now. For fall 2008 admissions, applications are due on November 30 of this year, and since it is so competitive, it is never too early to start working on your application.

I attended some information sessions this past week on some of the schools in Ontario, and I also got some application tips from Career Services at UW. Needless to say, after talking to the different representatives and the ladies at Career Services, I'm terrified. The age group that I want to teach (Primary/Junior - or JK-6) is the most competitive field to get into.

The school I really want to get into is Laurier, since it is here in town. Barry and I will be newlyweds when it's time for me to go to teacher's college, and I thought it might be nice if we lived in the same city (ha ha). But it's looking more like I might have to go away somewhere instead.

This weekend I'm going to start working on my application and budgeting out the application. I have to decide how many schools I can afford to apply to. The application itself costs $110 for 3 schools, plus $25 for each additional school. Then each school has supplementary fees they charge in order to look at your application ($30-$70) and each school requires a transcript from my Undergrad degree ($8). YIKES! One of the representatives at the talks the other day told us that when he was applying to teachers college, he was so nervous that he applied to every school and spent over $1000 just on applications.

This whole process is a really good way to discourage those who are not actually serious about teaching. Some people apparently just want to be a teacher because of the holidays and the hours. They don't realize how much is involved, and it makes me angry that people like me (who have wanted to be a teacher forever) has to go through all this just so some people can get cushy jobs and be second rate teachers.

But I digress....