And Now....off the market

I emailed a few of my consulting contacts. Right away the response was, we have opportunities for you. Many of them looked good. But I ended up closing it all down this afternoon by accepting a Contract at EDC with LeverageTek. I've worked at EDC for 3.5 years, I left EDC just over 3 years ago. I left them with a positive enough memory that they hired me almost as soon as they saw my resume. No interview, no meeting, just on my reputation. A good reputation is always a good thing to have, and making sure that you don't burn your bridges is another important thing.

LeverageTek is a company that I wanted to work with. When I met with them a few months ago I was impressed all around. The guys there are moving in the same direction that I have been moving in myself for the last few years. They are trying to get themselves established as a "Green" company. So we hit is off really well when that came out.

So after spending more time on my cell phone in the last 2 days then I have in the previous I don't know how many months... I have a great contract...downtown.

The sad thing too is that the Alcatel gig was pretty much finalized today as well. Now that both places are offering me the same rate, Alcatel, I probably would have started on Monday the 28th of July. With EDC we are looking at a start of August 5th. August 5th is perfect, it gives me a week off when the kids are away at my parents. Michelle is very happy about that. Also, EDC is giving me 12 months. Alcatel works on 3 months at a time. I'm pretty sure that I probably could have been there for a full year as well, but I wasn't sure how quickly the renewals would go through.

Ok, back on the Market

I decided to email a bunch of my contracting contacts today. I am officially tired of waiting for this Alcatel contract to come through. Now, it's first come first served.

The response that I got today was an indication that the market is still in good shape. So now, I know that if the Alcatel doesn't resolve itself in the next couple of weeks, then I will be going somewhere else.

To think that I turned down other offers at the beginning of the month since I was "already spoken for". If I would have known, I certainly would have done things differently.

Now, the waiting continues, with different hopes this time.

2 Weeks and Counting

It's been over 15 days since I worked my last day at Environment Canada. I was under the impression that would just walk onto my next contract. But I have been experiencing some delays. I have enjoyed spending a few weeks off in the summer. There was (and still is) plenty of yard work to do. Swimming with the kids and taking them to their swimming lessons everyday has also been a blast.

It's been 10 years since I have been able to take 2 solid weeks off of work during the summer. Last year I changed my schedule to 6AM to noon which was a great as well, but in the long run it left me tired, I am very grateful that Rick at Innovapost permitted me to do that, but I'm not sure if I would do it again. Next year, if all goes well, I'd like to take 2 months off. We'll have to see.

But right now, I am anxious to get back to work. I can't wait to get into some problem solving again. It is just around the corner now. I can feel it, but I just can't quite get a hold of it yet.

Ottawa Senators Land Jason Smith

The Ottawa Senators have finally made an excellent signing with Jason Smith. With all the top UFA defenseman already finding a home. The hopes of getting a respectable blueliner was getting pretty grim. I am excied to have a player like Jason Smith join the team in Ottawa. I gives me a bit of hope for this team.

Now, we need another good D. and a number #1 center to feed Heatly. There is still a few months left before the season starts so there is still hope that this will happen.

Go SENS Go.

A Silly Bear

A Silly Bear --- Story by Samantha Lussier


It was a flowery blooming spring day. Clifford and I were inside brushing our hair. We decided that it was a perfect day to pick flowers! So we grabbed our baskets and zoomed out the door.



As we crept along we saw cute baby chickadees and black rabbits. Soon we arrived at the forest. We started to pick the wild flowers that grew there.
All of a sudden, we saw a huge brown grizzly. The huge brown grizzly was standing up and growling!



Clifford was about to get scratched. What could I do? I could try calling but that wouldn't work. Then I realized who the bear was. It was my friend Charly in his growling bear costume. "Charly" I called, "Stop". Then Charly stopped.
What a tricky friend!