I will be playing with the blog for a few days to try making a few changes. Some customizing. So if you visit when it is screwed up (as it will be while I work at it) please be patient. It is a new play thing for me and I have to learn how to modify it first.
Wish me luck.
It has been an eventful month plus in Ottawa. I am renting a room in a friend of a friend's house. Phil has made me feel very welcome. He was not actually looking for a roomer but he has rented before so I called and asked if he would be willing to put up with a roomer for a few weeks. Today he has agreed to tolerate me into the first or second week of January.
The job search in Ottawa has not gone well. It has been difficult to find a job to apply for. There are many jobs out there that I could easily do but many require bilingualism or a certificate of education in a particular field. I may not have the certificates but I could teach many of the jobs. It's been a bit frustrating. Then there is the problem of me being beyond jobs like waiting tables which requires a much better memory and a younger body.
All that to say that I am back to searching for a job or jobs on yachts in the Caribbean. My 2 weeks as a stewardess on a motor yacht last spring taught me the ropes and I am perfectly capable of doing the job. Now I must find a good place for finding several yacht charters to work. I would prefer to work charters because the tips make it easier to rack up the money quickly.
With Christmas fast approaching I am making my plans and my list. Over the christmas week I will be a very busy girl: house and cat-sitting for friends out in the surrounding countryside; house watching for my brother and Phil; daily cat sitting for another friend. Then there is the annual Christmas Eve soiree at my brother Ron's abode and I'll be spending Christmas day with my mother (after checking in on all the houses and cats) where we will make Christmas dinner together. AND Christmas afternoon at my niece Jennifer's house for tea/coffee and gift exchanging with the little tike, Cassandra.
Cassandra is really growing up now and developing her own "look" and personality. I like to call her Princess Cassandra. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. And this is just the beginning...
Then there are all the visits with friends to exchange gifts and good cheer before and during the holidays. Many of my friends have family out of town so go visiting over Christmas. For me this means arranging a schedule of visits. This is one of my favourite parts of the holiday period. It is my opportunity to show the people I love how grateful I am to know them and be counted among their friends. You know who you are and you will be hearing from me soon to plan around our mutually busy schedules.
For New Years' Eve I will be attending the dinner/show/party at the National Arts Centre with a group of friends. Nathalie McMaster is the featured performer so it should be a lively, fun evening. I am really looking forward to it and have bought a new sparkly, klingy party dress for the event. If I remember, I'll take my camera to get photos and post the non-embarassing ones on the website in the new year.
I will also post a selection of Christmas photos in January.
As usual... if you have comments or questions please e-mail me at gailene@gailene.com.
Hello again... I was told today by a regular reader that she checked in to see what I was up to but discovered that I don't seem interested in doing entries while in Ottawa. This is true to a point. As the blog is called a "Travel Blog" it seemed that writing about my time at home was inappropriate. So I will do entries but under the heading of a different journal so as not to confuse things.
This will make Annie and maybe a few others happy.