It's been WAY too long since I've posted something useful, but here I am finally getting around to it.
Anyway, I was accepted as a Qualifying Student at Concordia in Montreal for the Fall term. In case you don't know what a "Qualifying Student" is (I didn't), it means that I have everything I need to get accepted to the Master's program EXCEPT a degree in a related field. As such, I need to go and do a bunch of undergraduate courses to get up to speed on the material.
I'm not too surprised that I was accepted (I know that sounds over confident, but really, my grades were good and I'm willing to pay them... what more do they REALLY look for?!), but it's nice to be officially accepted so that I can get started on making plans and arrangements.
The big road block was my job and my boss. I don't want to say my boss was a road block himself, but in this case the job and the boss are inextricably linked. You see, I travel a lot in my job which is a problem if I want to go to a class one night per week. I knew that I might be going back to school and so when I interviewed I told my then-future boss that I could do the traveling job for about a year. Then, four months after I started on the job (11 months before school was to start), I told my boss that I intended to go back to school. He was very positive and helpful and - while he made no promises - implied that things could be worked out. Yay!
So I pursued getting accepted into a program (ultimately it was the Master's in History and Philosophy of Religion at Concordia). This was a LOOOONG process. Mostly because I didn't know all the hoops I had to jump through. But Tina, from the Department of Religion, helped me though she made pretty clear that I was irritating. Anyway, I didn't know how the process worked and I didn't know anyone who did, so that's why I kept bugging her. In February I had my review with my boss and he asked where I saw myself in the next six to nine months. I'm not one to lie (I despise lying and I'm no good at it) so I just told him that I saw myself moving into another role that didn't require so much travel so that I could go back to school. Boy oh boy, he didn't like that one bit! He told me that there was no need for someone in the other role and that I'd have to set my priorities and decide which is more important, my job or going back to school. It was a horrible conversation. It sat with me for the next five months weighing me down and making me doubt my decisions. It didn't help my career, either, because I was totally not invested in my job anymore. I started looking around and applied for a few jobs, but nothing materialized.
Finally, when I was officially accepted, I could go back to my boss and really figure out what I was going to do. I was dreading the conversation completely! I managed to put it off for a week, but I knew that I had to do it. So I called him and started off with trying to butter him up with talk about the previous days' World Cup final. It seemed to work OK, so I quickly slipped into ultra-professional mode and made my case as succinctly as possible.
Then there was a silence. A silence that seemed to me like an eternity though it was probably fewer than two seconds. But in those two seconds after I had made my case and was waiting for a response a whole slew of things went through my head.
So after waiting what felt like forever, my boss responded that our company fully supports people who want to further their education and that I had made it clear that I intend to go back to school and we would have to find a solution. After this initial "Are you willing to talk about this" question, I started in on the details and after some back-and-forth we came to a compromise. It isn't a perfect situation for me (for sure), but it isn't perfect for my boss, either. And this, I suppose, is the heart of compromise. We each gave a little from our ideal situations and met somewhere in the middle. I'm a little bit concerned about how it's going to work out, but we'll see how that goes.
And now I need to figure out how to be a University student again. I went to orientation this week (what a joke) and - much to my surprise - I wasn't the oldest one there. I bought myself a new laptop/book bag that I can use (I needed one, anyway, so it worked out) for work and for school. I'll be going to buy myself a Five-Star One-Subject Notebook sometime in the next month.
And so my first class will be Shiite Islam. There's more on that at my other blog.
Wish me luck!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Where NOT to stay in Quebec City
It's been a while since my last post, but I've been busy. But, despite my extrodinarily busy schedule as of late, I was prompted to write a scathing review of my current hotel within 20 minutes of arriving.
Let me just tell the story and you'll get the list of my complaints while I'm at it. The hotel, by the way, is Le Priori in Quebec City.
First off, there's no parking lot, so you have to pull up on an already narrow street and park illegally while you check in. No big deal. I've done similar things before. So I check in and the guy is friendly and efficient. I ask what to do with my bike and he says to bring it in and he'll store it in the basement. So I bring in my luggage and drop it in my room only to run downstairs to get my bike (I am parked illegally, afterall). I take my bike off the rack and the guy holds the door for me and takes my bike away to some unknown place where I don't even know if it'll be locked up.
He tells me the parking lot is down the street and to go around the block and turn left at the light. He gives me this card with barcodes all over it and I head for the parking lot. When I get there, I see a machine where I presume you're supposed to put the card, but I quickly see no barcode reader (only magnetic strip readers) and, since the gate is already up anyway, I just drive on through.
BIG MISTAKE!
I suddenly realize that I'm probably in the wrong lot. So I pull up to the exit, where the gate is down, and pull out my AMEX Corporate card. My thought process is "I haven't been here that long, it can't be that much". The machine politely tells me that there is no record for my document... and that's all it tells me. No gate lifting, no "Please see attendant"... nothing. I hit the "Help" button (politely indicated with the universal sign for "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL I'M DOING", the question mark). Unfortunately, no one answers. Not in French, not in English... nothing. So I start over to the entrance to leave the way I came in only to discover that the gate has since been closed! Argh! I park my car and start wandering around thinking "Maybe I AM in the right lot". Sure enough, I find that I'm in the right place. However, I now know that, regardless of being in the right place, I still can't get out. But I know that I have this fancy schmancy card the guy gave me. So I walk up to the machine and... nothing. I mean, I can't even put my card in. There's nothing at all.... like someone shut off the power. Damnit! There's a weight sensing switch!
So I get back in my car and drive up to the damn machine and put my card in. It tells me - in French, that I can't leave without having entered. I don't know, but it sounds more Chinese to me. So I drive over to the teller and exclaim "I'm stuck in your lot! I try to leave and it tells me I can't leave because I haven't entered" and give him my card. He looks at me with a surprised expression and says - in perfect English - "I don't understand". So I explain (in REALLY bad French because I'm SO not trying at this point) that I want to get the hell out of there. He fiddles with my card and his computer for a while and then tells me - in French - that it's very important that I insert the ca...... whatever.... I drove off.
Now, it's important to note that I didn't really need to get out of the lot. I WANTED to park so I could go to my room and get some dinner. But I didn't want to leave my car there if I couldn't get out. So immediately upon exiting, I turn the corner and go back to the same gate that I entered the first time. THIS time, however, I have the power of knowing that I have a card that gets me in! So I insert my card and wait. The machine spits out my card and tells me it's in wrong. Remember, the only indicators on this machine say that the magnetic stripe goes down and to the right. But I have no magnetic stripe, I have a barcode! So I reorient the card and insert it again. Nothing. I reorient the card and insert it again. Nothing. I reorient the card and insert it again. Ding! The gate opens, I start swearing and my car gets parked! Yay!
Ahh.... so I walk to my hotel and go into my room, where there is a light on for my convenience. However, it's a bright light on the celing and I want more subtle, localized light. What do YOU do when you want more light? Do you, say, flick the switch? Turn the dimmer? Probably so! That's what I usually do, so that's what I did here. In fact, I have both a dimmer and a switch. The dimmer, as it turns out, is for the ceiling fan (yes, kids... ceiling fan!), and the light switch... well... I'm still not sure what it does other than make a 'click' when I flick it. It sure as hell doesn't turn on the lights right above it, though! So I go to the desk and try to turn on the lamp. No switch. Lovely. Ah! There it is on the cord. "Flick"... and then there was darkness. That's right, the switch does nothing! I have been blessed with not one, but TWO switches that don't turn on lights! So I call my new best friend at the front desk and he explains to me that the lights above the sink are controlled by another switch hidden under the shelf. Well, that explains the lights, but not that switch. Also, he tells me he'll come check the desk lamp. Which he does. Then he goes to get a bulb (couldn't have thought about that before there, couldya, Ace?!). He comes back with the bulb. The bulb is the wrong size. He comes back with another bulb. No light. I point out that the cord is mangled and he says he'll go get another lamp. Which he does. He returns. No light. Finally, I tell him that my laptop (which I had time to set up during this ordeal) was working fine so maybe he should try the other outlet. Ding! And there was light on the desk! Yay!
So I sit down at my desk to log into their complementary wireless internet (which I am using to write this now, by the way). I pull the chair up under me and... what's this? The arm of the chair falls off in my hand! What's next?! So I get logged onto the wireless network with little problem (BTW, the ESSID is "Wireless Priori" and the network key is their phone number "4186923992". Stop by and get some free bandwidth!). Ding! And there was wireless. And it was good.
So by this time (it's late, I won't even tell you about how long I had to wait for the ferry from Levis) I have to use the restroom. I go into this tiny little room with a toilet and a shower (the sink and the old-style bathtub are in the bedroom.... WTF?!). The toilet is not exactly clean and the whole seat assembly is as loose as a toddlers molars. Suddenly I realize that this place is about the quality of the Florenceville Motor Inn (yes, it's as bad as it sounds). The big difference is that the Florenceville Motor Inn doesn't pretend to be all fancy. They KNOW they're the Florenceville Motor Inn! They don't need to pretend anything! Le Priori is a pig with lipstick!
Yet to discover: Comfortable bed? Quality television? Quiet air cond.... damnit! The thing sounds like a jet coming in for a landing!
... And this place DARES to put an envelope in the room so you can tip your cleaning person. Bah!
BAH! I say!
Let me just tell the story and you'll get the list of my complaints while I'm at it. The hotel, by the way, is Le Priori in Quebec City.
First off, there's no parking lot, so you have to pull up on an already narrow street and park illegally while you check in. No big deal. I've done similar things before. So I check in and the guy is friendly and efficient. I ask what to do with my bike and he says to bring it in and he'll store it in the basement. So I bring in my luggage and drop it in my room only to run downstairs to get my bike (I am parked illegally, afterall). I take my bike off the rack and the guy holds the door for me and takes my bike away to some unknown place where I don't even know if it'll be locked up.
He tells me the parking lot is down the street and to go around the block and turn left at the light. He gives me this card with barcodes all over it and I head for the parking lot. When I get there, I see a machine where I presume you're supposed to put the card, but I quickly see no barcode reader (only magnetic strip readers) and, since the gate is already up anyway, I just drive on through.
BIG MISTAKE!
I suddenly realize that I'm probably in the wrong lot. So I pull up to the exit, where the gate is down, and pull out my AMEX Corporate card. My thought process is "I haven't been here that long, it can't be that much". The machine politely tells me that there is no record for my document... and that's all it tells me. No gate lifting, no "Please see attendant"... nothing. I hit the "Help" button (politely indicated with the universal sign for "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL I'M DOING", the question mark). Unfortunately, no one answers. Not in French, not in English... nothing. So I start over to the entrance to leave the way I came in only to discover that the gate has since been closed! Argh! I park my car and start wandering around thinking "Maybe I AM in the right lot". Sure enough, I find that I'm in the right place. However, I now know that, regardless of being in the right place, I still can't get out. But I know that I have this fancy schmancy card the guy gave me. So I walk up to the machine and... nothing. I mean, I can't even put my card in. There's nothing at all.... like someone shut off the power. Damnit! There's a weight sensing switch!
So I get back in my car and drive up to the damn machine and put my card in. It tells me - in French, that I can't leave without having entered. I don't know, but it sounds more Chinese to me. So I drive over to the teller and exclaim "I'm stuck in your lot! I try to leave and it tells me I can't leave because I haven't entered" and give him my card. He looks at me with a surprised expression and says - in perfect English - "I don't understand". So I explain (in REALLY bad French because I'm SO not trying at this point) that I want to get the hell out of there. He fiddles with my card and his computer for a while and then tells me - in French - that it's very important that I insert the ca...... whatever.... I drove off.
Now, it's important to note that I didn't really need to get out of the lot. I WANTED to park so I could go to my room and get some dinner. But I didn't want to leave my car there if I couldn't get out. So immediately upon exiting, I turn the corner and go back to the same gate that I entered the first time. THIS time, however, I have the power of knowing that I have a card that gets me in! So I insert my card and wait. The machine spits out my card and tells me it's in wrong. Remember, the only indicators on this machine say that the magnetic stripe goes down and to the right. But I have no magnetic stripe, I have a barcode! So I reorient the card and insert it again. Nothing. I reorient the card and insert it again. Nothing. I reorient the card and insert it again. Ding! The gate opens, I start swearing and my car gets parked! Yay!
Ahh.... so I walk to my hotel and go into my room, where there is a light on for my convenience. However, it's a bright light on the celing and I want more subtle, localized light. What do YOU do when you want more light? Do you, say, flick the switch? Turn the dimmer? Probably so! That's what I usually do, so that's what I did here. In fact, I have both a dimmer and a switch. The dimmer, as it turns out, is for the ceiling fan (yes, kids... ceiling fan!), and the light switch... well... I'm still not sure what it does other than make a 'click' when I flick it. It sure as hell doesn't turn on the lights right above it, though! So I go to the desk and try to turn on the lamp. No switch. Lovely. Ah! There it is on the cord. "Flick"... and then there was darkness. That's right, the switch does nothing! I have been blessed with not one, but TWO switches that don't turn on lights! So I call my new best friend at the front desk and he explains to me that the lights above the sink are controlled by another switch hidden under the shelf. Well, that explains the lights, but not that switch. Also, he tells me he'll come check the desk lamp. Which he does. Then he goes to get a bulb (couldn't have thought about that before there, couldya, Ace?!). He comes back with the bulb. The bulb is the wrong size. He comes back with another bulb. No light. I point out that the cord is mangled and he says he'll go get another lamp. Which he does. He returns. No light. Finally, I tell him that my laptop (which I had time to set up during this ordeal) was working fine so maybe he should try the other outlet. Ding! And there was light on the desk! Yay!
So I sit down at my desk to log into their complementary wireless internet (which I am using to write this now, by the way). I pull the chair up under me and... what's this? The arm of the chair falls off in my hand! What's next?! So I get logged onto the wireless network with little problem (BTW, the ESSID is "Wireless Priori" and the network key is their phone number "4186923992". Stop by and get some free bandwidth!). Ding! And there was wireless. And it was good.
So by this time (it's late, I won't even tell you about how long I had to wait for the ferry from Levis) I have to use the restroom. I go into this tiny little room with a toilet and a shower (the sink and the old-style bathtub are in the bedroom.... WTF?!). The toilet is not exactly clean and the whole seat assembly is as loose as a toddlers molars. Suddenly I realize that this place is about the quality of the Florenceville Motor Inn (yes, it's as bad as it sounds). The big difference is that the Florenceville Motor Inn doesn't pretend to be all fancy. They KNOW they're the Florenceville Motor Inn! They don't need to pretend anything! Le Priori is a pig with lipstick!
Yet to discover: Comfortable bed? Quality television? Quiet air cond.... damnit! The thing sounds like a jet coming in for a landing!
... And this place DARES to put an envelope in the room so you can tip your cleaning person. Bah!
BAH! I say!
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