I should have posted about this yesterday, but I was just too tired and sore. I did, however, use the time I would have spent blogging to hang out with my neighbours, drink beer, and share ‘construction’ stories.

They’re just thrilled I’ve found a new respect for framers, construction workers, and trades people. Sure, I always had a healthy respect for them because my dad and father-in-law had trades, but after spending a day at that back-breaking work, I can state unequivocally that there is a lot of skill and hard work that goes into everything they do.

As for my day on the construction site, I lucked out and didn’t have to crawl around on the second floor (with no framing). There were three tri-plexes on site and two were completely framed. The third was the one I was too much of a chicken to work on.

Granted, being afraid of heights didn’t get me out of any hard work. There was still a lot to do inside the two framed houses. Instead of walking around on an open second story, I was half hanging off of a set of stairs nailing blocking between the frame struts. Of course, I’m not half as handy as my co-worker David, so it took me a while to master ‘toe-nailing’.

Who am I kidding? I mastered nothing – but I can figure out the business end of a hammer and nail. I’m looking forward to volunteering for a few more days on the site when I’ve earned some vacation time. I’m most interested in getting a few days in when they’re finishing the house. The purpose of the Women Build sites is to teach us useful skills around out own home – so I want to be there when the tiling, laying of flooring, etc. all takes place.

Technorati Tags: Habitat for Humanity, Women Build

Have I told you lately how much I love my job?

For the next few days, I’ll be attending the 5th annual Canadian E-Learning Conference. Sure, I have to take copious notes and share what I’m learning with co-workers, but I also get to learn more about what others are doing in the realm of e-Learning.

The timing couldn’t be better. We’ll be working Elluminate into our courses soon and wouldn’t you know it, it’s one of the conference topics this year.

I haven’t been to an industry conference in years – not since the days of the Novell and Microsoft traveling road shows – and am really looking forward to the next few days.

Technorati Tags: eLearning, WebCT, Elluminate

Welcome to the 28th edition of the screaming pages Thursday Thirteen.

Working for a place that treats you with respect and dignity is a new adventure for me. Yipee!

Thirteen things I did at work this week. Got an ID, office keys, email address, all that fun stuff. Met a bunch of my co-workers in the department. Attended one of 4 WebCT classes (next 3 are scheduled for a few weeks from now). Attended a MERLIN class. Wrote questions for a summative evaluation. Brainstormed ideas for icons for eLearning platform. Got a parking pass! Surfed the Internet. It was work related – honest. “Shopped” for office supplies in the Admin’s closet. Created outlines for course modules. Reformatted module introductions for online courses. Converted a tonne of docs to .pdf Signed up for classes. 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, work

I know. I’ve been reading the comments. Everyone and their dog wants to know how I’m feeling about the new job now that I’ve got day 1 under my belt. Let me tell ya, ’twas a long day. Mostly due to the “up all night, sleep 1/2 the day” rut I’d gotten myself into while on my self-imposed vacation.

As for my new co-workers and the job itself – so far so good. The job description received from the HR rep. doesn’t really seem to match what my new boss has planned for me (thank goodness) and I got to dig into mid-term course evaluations after attending meetings in the morning. Got an OJT course in during the afternoon and am slated for some additional OJT’s over the next few weeks.

The coolest thing about the new job? For the first time in a while, I’m not embarrassed to tell people where I work. There’s a lot to be said about working for an employer that has a good reputation in the area you’re living. I didn’t realize how important that was to me prior to today.

Once I get over the shock of a nearly 25% pay cut and come to terms with the fact that those cute little Prada shoes I want will likely never make it into my closet or on my feet, I think I may just have found a place where I can be happy.

Technorati Tags: work, employment

Since I start work tomorrow, tonight I get to do all the fun things I haven’t done in ages – like prepare my lunch the night before, iron a blouse, and try to get a full night’s sleep.

It’s going to be odd working in an academic environment after so many years of working for a massive international corporation. If nothing else, I’m looking forward to the experience of knowing what my co-workers look like along with knowing their names and phone numbers.

A side bonus of the new job is I’ll have a new location to randomly release books for Bookcrossing. Perhaps if I release them at a college, I may find more of them being picked up and read in the near future.

I’m not exactly sure how the dogs will react to being alone all day once again. They’ve taken to acting out a bit when I go out for a few hours, so I’m sure it’ll be a challenge for us to get them back into a routine. Thankfully the hubby will be home on Sunday and will be able to help.

Technorati Tags: books, work, bookcrossing