I volunteered for this at Laughing Muse‘s place, who in turn, found out about the meme at Ealasaid‘s place.

Meme rules:

• Leave me a comment saying, “Me, Me!!!” while waving your hand in the air.
• I will respond by asking you five questions.
• You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
• You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

1. So tell us, Maritimes-gal: is it properly “Newfoundland” or “Newfoundland and Labrador” (Or “who cares, I’m from New Brunswick”?) I believe the proper term is “The Rock”. Actually, growing up it was “Newfoundland” but rumour (and the CBC) tells me it’s now “Newfoundland and Labrador”. The Newf’s I’ve known have always considered Labrador as part of their province.Technically, “Newfoundland and Labrador” aren’t part of the Maritimes – that’s limited to NB, PEI, and NS for some strange reason – but is included as part of the Atlantic provinces.
2. You’ve been reading a lot lately, as part of 52 books in 52 weeks. What two books from your list would you like to revisit later, and why? I know I’ll read almost all of these books again at some later date. Unless I’ve passed on the book to friends, via Book Crossing, donated it or dropped it off at a used book store – about 25% of my books end up out of my house this way – I re-read my books every few years. Of the list I’ve posted since the beginning of the year, none has stood out as one that I have to go back and re-read immediately. I usually have to wait until after I’ve forgotten most of the good details before I can re-read a mystery or crime novel.I have a few books on my “to read” list that I know I’ll end up re-reading within a few months. Most of those books are the ones related in some way to adult learning and instructional design. I know that those written by Paulo Freire, Malcolm Knowles and Robert Mager will rank high on the re-read list. Since there’s a new Harry Potter due out this summer, I’ll need to re-read the rest of the series before July. And of course, when I need to smile, I’ll be reaching for Terry Pratchett and Christopher Moore’s books.
3. Where would you love to travel, that you haven’t yet been? And why? I’ve always wanted to go to Russia, or more specifically, to take one of the tour trains – I think it’s the Orient Express – and explore the country. I think a lot of the allure is that the hubby and I have never really gone on vacation by ourselves and so this has become our “dream vacation” where we get to travel the world together.
4. How did you get into instructional design? I read the Wikipedia entry on I.D., but it just confused me more (or perhaps that’s the caffeine deficiency) Some days I wish I knew the answer to this. I was not-so-happily trudging along in computer support (software, hardware, networks, internet) and filling occasional training and content development slot as it came up. I had what my boss (at the time) called a “gut instinct” for developing training materials and knowledge sharing. I took a position in our Training department, went back to school, and found that I adored Instructional Design. Granted, there a some parts I love more than others – needs analysis and evaluation are my passions – but I think that’s true of any field of work or study.
5. You just resigned from your job. Even with the worries of job-searching…have you stopped smiling yet? 😀 When I’m not busy rolling through a giant host of emotions – happiness, sheer joy, fear, worry – I’m still busy doing my happy dance and smiling like a fool.

Okay – who’s next!?!?? Leave a comment, and I’ll prep some questions for you.

Technorati Tags: meme, fun

Feast Number One Hundred & Thirty Five

Appetizer: Name two things that made you smile this week.

1. Waking up after sleeping for 6 hours straight. It’s amazing how good that feels..
2. Dancing around my cube singing “I quit, I quit, la-la-la-la-la-la” and meaning it.

Soup: Fill in the blank: Don’t you hate it when ________?

• Someone who has no idea why you quit your job starts giving people “reasons” why you quit – which just aren’t true!

Salad: When you can’t go to sleep, what is your personal remedy to help yourself drift into Lullabyland?

• Considering my insomnia issues, how apropos. If it’s just ideas running around in my head that are keeping me asleep, I try writing them down or (more recently) using my nifty voice recorder to record my thoughts so I can try and relax and get some sleep. If that doesn’t work, I crawl out of bed (so I don’t keep the hubby up) and head to the basement with a book. I read, I surf, I talk to the cats. Eventually, and hour or so before sunrise, I’ll usually pass out.

Main Course: What is something about which you’ve always wondered but have not yet found a good answer?

• What is normal?

Dessert: What is your favorite pasta dish?

• Angel hair – with Arabiatta (sp?) sauce.

Condiments:

1. What’s something that’s generally considered bad manners that you don’t think is a big deal?
   Swearing in public. I usually don’t approve of swearing around kids and tend to tell the hubby to be more careful, but otherwise profanity just doesn’t bother me at all. Granted, I did marry a guy in the military, live on a tonne of bases, and have a bit of a potty mouth myself…
2. What’s something you think should be considered good manners that you don’t think most people pay any attention to?
   I don’t know if this qualifies as manners as much as it does “common sense and hygiene” but: I can’t stand when people don’t wash their hands after going into the bathroom. Drives me nuts. And no, I am NOT touching anything the offending party has touched!
3. In what way are you especially well-mannered?
   Umm, none? Despite my parents best attempts to raise me well, I think my manners are pretty atrocious. I must have been sick the day they were covered at school…
4. In what way are you especially ill-mannered?
   I’m very bad at answering mail and sending thank you cards. Sometimes people will wait months for them…
5. If you owned a beautiful, enormous house high upon a hill, what would you name your manor?
   uisge beatha

h/t to Caylynn’s Contemplations for the FF graphic. I shamelessly swiped it from her site.

Technorati Tags: Friday’s Feast, condiments

It’s that time again.. updates abound. Apparently you can read a lot of books when you’re on vacation 😉

I’m breaking the list down into two parts. The fist list will contain paperback and hardcover books I’ve been able to find and list on Shelfari and the second list contains all the eBooks I’ve been reading that I can’t figure out how to add to Shefari yet. Their ISBN’s don’t bring up any information. If anyone knows how to get an eBook added to Shelfari, please let me in on the secret.

Hardcover/Paperback

1. A Dirty Job – Christopher Moore
2. The Last Juror – John Grisham
3. Goal Analysis – Robert F Mager
4. River’s End – Nora Roberts
5. Rebellion – Nora Roberts
6. Don’t be Afraid – Rebecca Drake
7. Who Moved My Cheese – Spenser Johnson
8. On The Run – Iris Johansen
9. Every Which Way But Dead – Kim Harrison
10. Five Point Someone – What Not to do at IIT – Chetan Bhagat
11. One Night at the Call Center: A Novel – Chetan Bhagat
12. Jack Knife – Virginia Baker
13. The Opium Clerk – Kunal Basu
14. I, Lucifer – Glen Duncan
15. Our Iceberg is Melting – John Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, Spenser Johnson
16. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
17. Dead Until Dark – Charlaine Harris
18. Living Dead in Dallas – Charlaine Harris
19. Club Dead – Charlaine Harris
20. Dead to the World – Charlaine Harris

eBooks

1. Stripped – Rhonda Stapleton
2. Improper Longings – Dawn Ryder
3. High Seas Desire – Mlyn Hurn
4. Call of the Untamed – Michelle M. Pillow
5. After Sundown: Redemption – Eden Robins
6. Crime Tells: Lyric’s Cop – Jory Strong
7. Elisabeth’s Wolf – Lora Leigh

Technorati Tags: 52Books, reading, ebooks, books

So, I quit my job without having another one lined up. March 31st is my last day with my current company. Today was spent searching for a new job.

Welcome to the 18th edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

The job hunt begins…

Thirteen places I applied to work at today. University of Alberta NorQuest College IBM Intuit Province of Alberta City of Edmonton Dell North American Construction Group AADAC ATB Financial RBC Financial Group National Research Council Legislative Assembly of Alberta Tomorrow is a new day with lots of other places to apply. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m open to learning where else might be a good place to try and find a job/career. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Technorati Tags: thursday thirteen, t13, meme

So, what was the big news? Well, after much thought, consideration, worry and long discussions with the hubby, I decided to quit my job. I was going to wait until Friday to put in my resignation – so that I’d give exactly 2 weeks notice – but couldn’t wait and gave notice today.

What’s so odd about that? Well, I’m a wee bit of a worry wart, overly organized and usually have a nice firm head on my shoulders. However, after 9 years with the same company, I’ve quit my job with no parachute (alternate employment) and no real idea what I’ll be doing in a few weeks. Guess I had better start pounding the pavement and find a new job quickly!

I’m sure it was the right thing to do. Despite the worries associated with shortly being unemployed, I’m still sleeping better.

Anyone want to hire an instructional designer?