Weight of the World

There's these events in ones lives that feel like they contain the weight of the world. These can be big or little, seemingly important or irrelevant, but, for the person involved, they carry weight. I just went through one of these events.
If you know me, you know I hated my job, simple as that. I complained about it. A lot. I apologize to anyone who hated my complaining. So, be happy. Today was my last day at that job, YAY. To celebrate we're making a fire and having alcohol. It will be grand. I even bought Off so we don't get eaten alive.
The other weight on my shoulders was that of choosing a new job. I got two offers, both of which seemed quite interesting and it took me a week of deliberation and discussion to figure out which one will be better for me in the long run. Many qualities were similar and yet different, and both could lead to great things, in different ways. I am confident that I chose the right one. Now I get a week off, so, let the events begin. First, fire, then bar, then another bar, then passport office, then... well, I don't know. I guess there's a hostel in Banff that I could visit, or my friend in Saskatchewan who I have not seen in almost a year. Of course, there's also the house to clean and organize now that I've decided to stay here for a while still. And, professional clothes to buy. I'll be working downtown, so I have to look the part.

Dilema

Since I moved to Calgary I have been casually applying to Human Resource Positions. In the past few months I made the decision to not continue with my current job and to seek a new one. Somehow I managed to get three interviews in a week when I had not had a single call (good) about my resume in the previous three months. Calls from Primerica do not count, they call everyone.
I had three interviews, Saturday, Monday and today, Thursday.
Saturday offered me a job on the spot, with job shadowing on Wednesday. On Thursday they called and offered me the position on a trial basis, with a permanent contract soon to follow.
Monday sent a set of tests to complete and reminded me on Thursday that I should do them. To me, this shows a lot of interest.
Thursday told me that they were only going to call the front runner for references, and shortly after 4pm, called me for references.

Which do I want?
Monday is out because it's lower level duties and lower level pay. Done.
Saturday is interesting, and has definite growth potential, should be pretty good pay and deals with helping people and is interesting, but has shitty unstable hours.
Thursday is exactly what I've wanted to do since I took the class that pertains to it and should have pretty good pay, but could be boring and repetitive in the long run.

Body Type

Each type of person in my life tends to have a similar body type. My aunts are all short and a few extra pounds (good to know what I have to look forward to), my cousins are taller than the rest of the ladies in my family and mostly skinny, and my boyfriends tend to be large, solid guys. They're short or tall, but always solid. This makes me feel safe and protected. So, what happens when you meet someone by asking a seemingly harmless question, "What kind of motorbike do you ride?", without screening based on body type and other stated attributes? I had no intentions when I started this conversation, just saw a guy sitting on a bike that I couldn't place and wondered which bike it was.
Turns out that we have a lot in common and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. He took me on my first motorcycle ride out of the city, we went to Bragg Creek and down Highway 66. It's absolutely gorgeous, and full of turns. It just feels weird giving him a hug because it's so out of the norm. Of course, it's not a big deal, it's not really worth mentioning, but, here I am, writing a post about it.
Have you ever put someone in a category, but then have them not fit the mold? Does it not throw you off? It's not going to change anything, but it will take some getting used to. On the plus side, he's much stronger than he looks.

Chivalry is dead?

On my way in and out of the building today I had to travel through a total of eight doors. I managed to open less than half of them, one of them I caught and just held open. Into the building (2), into secure area, out of secure area, into stairs, out of stairs and out of the building (2). On the way in, I was walking with two male officers, so, the first door was opened for me. The second door I had to literally fight with the guy to let me hold it open for him. Security door was all mine. Leaving this afternoon an Inspector was coming the other way. Now, Inspectors are very important people, i don't remember the exact statistics, but I'm pretty sure there aren't more than 200 of them in Canada. This guy, who I had heard rumour that he was smart and nice, opened the door, saw me, stepped back and waited for me to come the three meters to the door. As I was walking towards him he commented on how nice of a day it was outside, that the work day was gratefully almost over and wished me a good evening. I, of course, thanked him for the door and also wished him a good evening. Into the stairs was mine, but as I was about a quarter way down the first flight (two flights per floor) of stairs, I heard the second level door open (I'm on the third) and close. This is normally a large enough distance for the person ahead to quickly leave, assuming they are traveling at an equal or faster rate than the person behind them. I knew this guy, and I was traveling a little faster than him, but he was still a good flight ahead of me when he reached the main level door. This one was opened for me, as was the first one out of the building. the second one out of the building I held open for him, as is my custom. I commented on the door openings of the day and he responded with a quip that gentlemen still exist. We then continued with small talk based on the gorgeous weather (Oh Sun, how I have missed thee), wished each other good evenings and went on our merry ways.

However, his comment about there still being gentlemen got me thinking.
How often do guys hold open doors? It depends on the relationship, obviously, but even then. If he's trying to impress you, of course. Just going back, I think most guys who were nice to me in general have opened the door for me. They have also fought with me when I tried to hold open the second door for them.
How many girls expect their man, or any man to hold open the door, let them into and out of the elevator first? In my building, it happens all the time, I can't remember when a guy has stepped out before me, but, is this necessary? Sure, it's sometimes nice to be treated like a princess, but weren't we fighting for equality? Burning of the bra's and all that?

I guess it comes down to context and relationship, but guys, really. If I hold open a door for you, just say thanks and walk through. Don't fight it. I won't give in.

What to do?

Alright, so, it has been FOREVER since I've written regularly, I know, I know.
Things change, like, the formating of this blog... It changed and I don't know how to get it back. Alright, so that's a minor thing, even though I do miss it.
Change 1 - I moved out. Ok, so I moved to Calgary in January with a friend, things were going ok, but there was something wrong. I just wasn't happy in that place. So, I moved. It has been stressful and all that jazz, but it was for the better.
Change 2 - I gave up on waiting for my job to come through and started applying for new ones. Yes, there is a very good chance that I will get my current job as a permanent person, but then, one has to wonder, do I really want that job? The answer is... well, not really. Those who talk to me know, I complain about it all the time. I'm bored all the time, and it's really not challenging at all. I already streamlined it as much as they would let me.
Change 3 - I'm single. Yeah, I've been on and off again single for a while now, but now I'm putting in the effort, getting out there, meeting guys, going on dates, will be going for rides on the new bike with new people (once I finally get my bike fixed)

Part of Change 3, I'm never buying a used vehicle again. They cause too much trouble. New for me. I know people sell for a reason, usually because they know that the thing is going to explode in 200kms, and now I'm going to take that to heart and stop buying used stuff. Sure, every so often there's a good deal out there, but if it's too good, it's probably bad. I have heard about the purchase of 6 used vehicles in the last 6 months, one of them has not caused problems. Lesson learned, no used vehicles. Don't get me wrong, I love my Ducati, I could just do without the hole in the engine, and the shitty transmission.

Also, I have a new Blog on my Blogroll, Missed Manners, I've been reading it while at work, and it's really quite interesting. He has been writing fairly consistently for 4 years now. Someday I would like my blog to be like his or V's... just gotta work on the consistency and interesting topics bits of writing.

Catalyst

I've posted things and said they were catalytic before, and one of my friends disagreed with me on the definition of a catalyst. Therefore, in this post, a catalyst is an event that triggers other events.
Today's catalyst is being removed, by accident, as a pic mod. I have been doing less and less with the site for a year and a half, since I stopped being employed by the site. Every so often I would moderate some pictures and participate in a discussion. If I'm going to cut more ties, it might as well be now that something happened. I have asked to keep forum rank, because they're fun and I do most of them anyway.
Things change for a reason, whether it be moving out, moving away or finding a new hobby. These three things have impacted me greatly in the past little while, and so far the changes have been good. Hopefully the good changes will continue. If I don't get the job I interviewed for today, more, bigger changes are in store for me. I'll let you know.

Jail time for you

As many of you know, I was dealing with the cops when it came to child exploitation. I have finally heard about one of our biggest pervs. He is charged with three charges, total minimum sentencing will be over 20 years if he is convicted of all three. He's 58, and lives in Texas. He won't last a year.