I found out what it is like to be treated like a person of height this week. I put it that way because it is discrimination. I'm upset that I was discriminated against. All I was trying to do was look at an apartment within walking distance of work, but what happened was I walked into the apartment about 6 steps, almost hit my head on the very low ceiling and the landlord vehemently opposed me living there, so we turned around and left.
This is the saga of me trying to find an adequate apartment to live in. Houses and condos are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE in the GTA. Like WAAAAAAAAAAY too expensive. Apartments follow suit. I saw one listed as a bachelor, probably about 500 square feet for $1050 + utilities. Not for me.
I haven't actually looked at more than 2 places so far. There may be more coming up in the next week or two as I start putting this search into overdrive. Driving sucks, but my understanding is that starting tomorrow, traffic should be lighter fairly consistently through the end of August. That still doesn't mean I want to be on the road for 2.5-3 hours every day. It's a lot of time wasted.
I should find some more audio books. To the Library!
23.6.12
the four-oh-one diaries: reflections on traffic
I had someone mention to me that while I'm on the road, I'm not in traffic; I am traffic. This goes along with the feeling I have of being a putz for driving all by my lonesome into Toronto every day and then back again every night. I wish transit were feasible for the commute I'm making. I wish more people lived in this general direction from my workplace. However, this is not the case. And so I drive daily... too far for a sane person. I guess I'm insane.
1. Regardless of the lane that I am in, the other lanes will be moving faster and I will be stuck behind wishing I hadn't changed lanes 5 minutes earlier. The opening scene of Office Space rings true on an almost daily basis for me. But then again, if I do by chance get into the lane that is moving faster, I'll still end up behind the truck that I passed again 10 km down the road in the next place of congestion.
2. Trucks hate me. I've almost been merged into by pickup trucks and transport trucks on at least 2 occasions. They don't see little Tim in the lane beside them. Sigh. I really wish I could install spikes on the side of my vehicle so at the very least if they take me down, I'll get them good at the same time.
3. Whoever said that car ownership is fun lied. Big time. Sure, it's nice to have the independence of being able to go wherever you want whenever, but the enjoyability ends there. Gas is expensive, insurance is expensive, repairs are expensive, and it's stressful to have to pay attention to the hundreds of other people around you in the same predicament.
4. I've started listening to audio books. It helps keep my sanity. This week's enjoyment has been To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I read the book a few times in high school, but it's nice to be able to listen anew. I actually understand the social commentary this time. I didn't really get it 15 years ago when I first read it. One disk per direction is quite nice. I'll have it done by Monday evening. Should be lovely.
1. Regardless of the lane that I am in, the other lanes will be moving faster and I will be stuck behind wishing I hadn't changed lanes 5 minutes earlier. The opening scene of Office Space rings true on an almost daily basis for me. But then again, if I do by chance get into the lane that is moving faster, I'll still end up behind the truck that I passed again 10 km down the road in the next place of congestion.
2. Trucks hate me. I've almost been merged into by pickup trucks and transport trucks on at least 2 occasions. They don't see little Tim in the lane beside them. Sigh. I really wish I could install spikes on the side of my vehicle so at the very least if they take me down, I'll get them good at the same time.
3. Whoever said that car ownership is fun lied. Big time. Sure, it's nice to have the independence of being able to go wherever you want whenever, but the enjoyability ends there. Gas is expensive, insurance is expensive, repairs are expensive, and it's stressful to have to pay attention to the hundreds of other people around you in the same predicament.
4. I've started listening to audio books. It helps keep my sanity. This week's enjoyment has been To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I read the book a few times in high school, but it's nice to be able to listen anew. I actually understand the social commentary this time. I didn't really get it 15 years ago when I first read it. One disk per direction is quite nice. I'll have it done by Monday evening. Should be lovely.
1.6.12
the four-oh-one diaries: beginnings
1.5 months ago, I started my new job at Tyndale in Toronto. This has meant a drastic shift in my life. I wake up at 5:20, am on the road around 6, start work at 8, leave at 4, and am home by 5:30-6:00, depending on the day and how the traffic is, and then to bed by 10. This means I have been spending 1/4 of my day in my car traveling the 110ish km each way. I've listened to multiple CD's, hours of CBC radio, strained my ears for the traffic reports to tell me why I've been stuck in Mississauga for what seems like an eternity, gotten the finger at least once after they cut me off, seen one tire explode ahead of me, missed hitting dozens of cars, and probably been missed by dozens of others, and so much more. The things we do for a job.
The job has been a learning and growing experience so far. Although the basic premise of the organization is the same as I'm used to, the modus operandi is different. The department is much larger with 8 people instead of 2. The size of the staff/faculty is much larger with 200+ in comparison to 40. The building size is larger with quite a number of classrooms and multitudes of offices spread between two campuses. Tyndale is acquiring a new campus with occupancy of the main portion of it coming next April where this size will increase dramatically. So lots of differences between the organization itself.
In my job, it's been foreign for me to have one basic area of responsibility: IT. I'm used to being spread between at least 3 different roles at the same time. Although my new position has incorporated bits and pieces of the Student Life (Assessment theory!) and website functionalities, it's been primarily IT as the focus. Computers, photocopiers, A/V, phones, wireless, etc. I've had to decrease in responsibility from my previous role as Network Admin, but in this size of an organization, I'm quite ok with not being responsible for the big stuff. I had no formal training, which meant I was flying by the seat of my pants for almost 6 years and hoping and praying that nothing exploded, and when it did, the prayers continued that Google would be able to provide me with the answer I needed.
As for the huge task of moving on from my previous situation, it's been the hardest part of this whole ordeal, even more than the commute. I'm feeling more comfortable with the work environment, but there's still a lot of nuances that I'll need to pick up. I think the biggest thing is getting comfortable with the team of people I'm with. Some seem more intimidating than they actually are, but it's still hard to learn how to interact with them. That will come with time.
I'm thinking less and less about the situation I've come out of, but there are still times where it becomes very up front and personal. Unfortunately, near the end there was a less than ideal interaction with one or two individuals, which has left a shadow over my desire to leave with no skeletons being dragged behind. This is where forgiveness will come into play. It's hard to forgive. But, as I've been realizing more recently, the Lord will forgive AS WE forgive (see the Lord's prayer). I'm told the grieving process takes time, and it's not a set order of how you go through the stages, which bothers me and my logical sequential brain.
Sigh.
I like my job. I can't say I love it at this point, but I think it's still too early to say that. What does love for a job look like anyway? How does one come to that stage?
For now, I'm taking things one day at a time and am still scared out of my mind. But, from what I understand, that's a common thing. As the great Red Green said, "We're all in this together. Keep your stick on the ice."
The job has been a learning and growing experience so far. Although the basic premise of the organization is the same as I'm used to, the modus operandi is different. The department is much larger with 8 people instead of 2. The size of the staff/faculty is much larger with 200+ in comparison to 40. The building size is larger with quite a number of classrooms and multitudes of offices spread between two campuses. Tyndale is acquiring a new campus with occupancy of the main portion of it coming next April where this size will increase dramatically. So lots of differences between the organization itself.
In my job, it's been foreign for me to have one basic area of responsibility: IT. I'm used to being spread between at least 3 different roles at the same time. Although my new position has incorporated bits and pieces of the Student Life (Assessment theory!) and website functionalities, it's been primarily IT as the focus. Computers, photocopiers, A/V, phones, wireless, etc. I've had to decrease in responsibility from my previous role as Network Admin, but in this size of an organization, I'm quite ok with not being responsible for the big stuff. I had no formal training, which meant I was flying by the seat of my pants for almost 6 years and hoping and praying that nothing exploded, and when it did, the prayers continued that Google would be able to provide me with the answer I needed.
As for the huge task of moving on from my previous situation, it's been the hardest part of this whole ordeal, even more than the commute. I'm feeling more comfortable with the work environment, but there's still a lot of nuances that I'll need to pick up. I think the biggest thing is getting comfortable with the team of people I'm with. Some seem more intimidating than they actually are, but it's still hard to learn how to interact with them. That will come with time.
I'm thinking less and less about the situation I've come out of, but there are still times where it becomes very up front and personal. Unfortunately, near the end there was a less than ideal interaction with one or two individuals, which has left a shadow over my desire to leave with no skeletons being dragged behind. This is where forgiveness will come into play. It's hard to forgive. But, as I've been realizing more recently, the Lord will forgive AS WE forgive (see the Lord's prayer). I'm told the grieving process takes time, and it's not a set order of how you go through the stages, which bothers me and my logical sequential brain.
Sigh.
I like my job. I can't say I love it at this point, but I think it's still too early to say that. What does love for a job look like anyway? How does one come to that stage?
For now, I'm taking things one day at a time and am still scared out of my mind. But, from what I understand, that's a common thing. As the great Red Green said, "We're all in this together. Keep your stick on the ice."
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