Goodbye September... Hello October...

I know, I've definitely been out of it for a long time. I guess you could say a lot has been going on. But before I get into that, I have to mention the highlight of September, which was my mom's 60th birthday.

My brother came up with the idea of taking my mom to Canmore for the weekend of her birthday - leaving on the Saturday morning and coming back Sunday afternoon/evening. I thought it was a good idea and figured it would be good to get out of the city, even for a couple days. The key was to keep this a surprise until the morning that we were supposed to leave. Looking back, I know I didn't plan my part too well, as far as getting things packed. For those who know me, I should've had everything packed and ready to go a week beforehand, but it didn't happen that way. Instead, I packed the night before and later realized I forgot a few things.

Anyway, on the morning that we were leaving, I had to figure out an excuse to tell my mom on why I was up at 530 am, taking a shower and "getting ready" for the day. So I told her that I had to do some stuff on the computer. Yeah OK, so that was weak. But she didn't say anything. While I was having breakfast, I was trying to figure out a way to get a hold of my brother without my mom asking who I was talking to that early in the morning. My brother ended up calling the house at around 700 am, and that's when I knew that they were outside the front door. So my brother and sister-in-law came in and we went into the kitchen and said "surprise, we're coming with you!" She was a bit confused at first, but then it all made sense. So I quickly packed up some last minute things for Teagan and we were on our way.

Before heading out of the city, we stopped at Tim Horton's for some coffee/tea/donuts. And that's when I realized what I forgot. I forgot:

• my purse (wallet, cell phone - everything) (I felt so bare);
• Teagan's stroller;
• pyjamas for myself;
• some toiletries

Thank goodness I didn't forget my camera! My brother said I could use his credit card and pay him back later, if I needed to buy anything. As for not having my cell phone, I was actually glad I didn't have it with me (I should do that more often!). And as for the other stuff, we just had to make-do with what we had or didn't have.

Anyway, our first stop was Chinook Centre in Calgary, where we shopped for a bit and had lunch at Joey Tomato's. We beat the lunch rush since we got there at 1145 am, but talk about a bad experience. Food took too long (we waited for about an hour); food came out cold; my dad's plate had a hair in it; my plate didn't even come out at all; but at least my mom's plate was OK. The restaurant took care of the whole bill (plus dessert), and gave us a gift certificate to use in the future.

After lunch, we headed to Mystic Springs in Canmore. All I can say is that place is so peaceful and so quiet - definitely a great place to get away. Once we were settled in our room, we walked around Canmore for a bit, then picked up some dinner. We played a few rounds of Scattegories and called it a night.

The next morning, it was off to Banff Springs Hotel for Sunday brunch. Wow, now that's what I call brunch! So much food, and everything was good (at least, everything I had). After brunch, we walked around Banff. I ended up buying a pair of jeans (with my brother's help, of course), which were way more than what I normally spend on a pair of jeans. Let's just say, I probably could've bought 3 pairs of jeans to that one.

We headed home at around 330 pm on Sunday. My mom had a good time and I'm glad that all of us could be together on her 60th birthday.

Now back to the other stuff...

I've applied to 10-12 jobs and had one interview. The interview didn't go as good as I would've liked, but I guess it's a learning experience for me, since I've never really had a formal interview before. With all the jobs I've had, I got them because I already knew someone who was working at the company I was going into, and the "interview" was just a formality. Now I actually have to do research on the company before going into the interview. Whatever happened to the "what skills do you have?"-type questions? I'm wondering if I should have a real sit-down talk with my supervisor and lay everything out. Or am I just beating my head against the wall? We'll see...