New Year’s Resolutions

If you make New Year’s Resolutions – now is the time to decide what you are going to change or improve in 2012.

Getting fit and losing weight  are the 2 most common ones that I see at work.  Stopping smoking is another common one.  Learning to control your temper is a good one for many people also.

Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions for this year?

I never have a New Year’s Resolution.  If I am going to change something, I would rather change it when it is a problem and if that is July, that is when I’ll change (or attempt to change) it.

Working at the Y, of course I see all the attempts at getting fit and losing weight resolutions.  Many of the current members either cancel their membership or just stay away for January.  The facility is extremely busy on most days anyway and the added new members in January just makes it too crowded for many. Most of the ones who join at this time of year will be cancelling their memberships in March.  They won’t use it much and finally decide to cancel then.  Some will come every day for a week or two, some will come a few times, others will just never make it in and some will actually stay and get fit and/or lose weight.

You have to be disciplined in order to make any resolution work.  Getting fit is not going to happen in a week or two.  Don’t start off with something that you will not be able to continue, such as every day – start with maybe 3 times a week and don’t overdo it your first times in.  If you’re not in shape, you can stop after 1/2 an hour and in that 1/2 hour, you can try a few pieces of equipment.  You shouldn’t be stiff and sore and will be ok to try it again.  After the first week of 1/2 hour workouts, add another 15 minutes the next week.  Maybe bring your bathing suit and go for a soak in the hot tub after your workout.

Change your routine often so you don’t get bored – try an aquafit  or step class (the Y offers many different classes).  Some people find they enjoy classes more than doing their own thing on the equipment and some people would rather work out on their own.  Try some of each to see what you prefer.

The important thing is to get moving.  If you don’t want to join a fitness club, start taking your dog for more and/or longer walks.  If you don’t have a dog you can volunteer at your local humane society or rescue shelter to walk dogs for them.

So far on Africam today, we have seen Elephant, Waterbuck, Woolly-necked Stork, Egyptian Goose, Blacksmith Lapwing, Impala, Vervet Monkey, Wildebeest, Nyala, Duiker, foam nest frogs at their nests, Giraffe and Terrapin.  Click here to see all of today’s pictures.

Chester and I will be leaving on our walk soon.  The temperature is currently -7C  and is supposed to drop to -12C as the sun comes up (right about the time we head out the door).

November 11, 2011 (11/11/11)

Today is Remembrance Day.

We enjoy an amazing life today because of  the sacrifices of so many people over the years who fought for us and our country.  On this day we take time out of our lives to remember and to thank them and to thank all those who currently are still fighting to keep us free.

This mass remembrance is typically done at the 11th hour of the 11thday day of the 11th month and with this year being 2011, we have another 11th.  Lest we forget.

When I was young (yes, a long time ago), this day was not a holiday. In school, we would all meet in the gym for a short service - stopping at 11am for a moment of silence. If the day fell on a weekend, we would also stop for a moment of silence wherever we were - whether it was in a store shopping or in a swimming pool swimming. The stores would announce the time over the speaker system and everyone would stop where they were for a minute. I remember being in the pool at the old YWCA in downtown Winnipeg one Remembrance Day and hearing the whistle blow at 1 minute to 11, which gave us time to get out of the water and sit on the edge for our minute of silence. Now the day is a holiday here, with no businesses opening until 1:00 pm.

Pictures courtesy of Web Creations with Jumpy.

Owls and Geese

I mentioned yesterday that I volunteered with the Adult Day Program from the Y and went to Fort Whyte Center.  It turned out to be a beautiful, but windy day and was quite enjoyable.  The seniors and staff all had a good time.

I knew there was a buggy ride along a path that had been booked, but what I didn’t know was that I would be driving one of them. 

Its a golf cart type vehicle that can seat 5 plus the driver, with the back seat looking backwards.  The path takes us past the buffalo enclosure – but the buffalo did not co-operate and were quite a distance away.  I would have had to leave the vehicle and walk in towards the fence and may have then been able to zoom in on them for a picture – but none of the seniors wanted to get out and I wasn’t going to leave them on the cart to go myself.  Since I was the lead buggy, the others also would have had to sit and wait for me.  So, I didn’t get a picture of the buffalo.

I got pictures of the seniors and the staff that I will share with them – but I also got pictures of some Canada Geese and Burrowing Owls, that I will share with everyone. 

Oct 7 Canada Geese at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Canada Geese at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Canada Geese at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Canada Geese at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Burrowing Owl at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Burrowing Owl at Fort Whyte Centre

Oct 7 Burrowing Owl at Fort Whyte Centre

I also took a little video of the owls when our guide Minna threw in a cricket.

On Africam today we have seen Giraffe, Elephants, Pied Crow, Vervet Monkey, Woolly-Necked Storks, Impalas, Bushbucks, Zebras, Warthogs, Hadeda Ibis, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Baboons, Egyptian Geese, Spur-Winged Geese, Blacksmith Lapwing, Nyalas, Cape Buffalo, Spotted Hyaena, Side Striped Jackal and Common Duiker.  There are still a few hours left in the day for more sightings, but you can see what is posted so far here.

I Figured It Out

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I was going to return the Sony camera and either see if they could fix it or return it and start over again.  Last night though, I decided to take a look in the settings myself and see if I could figure out what the problem was.

Most of the stuff meant nothing to me, but one setting seemed it might be what I was looking for – but it was showing in green, which I figured must mean that it was set.  But, I clicked it anyway and it looked like it might have made a change.  Of course, it was night and there was no way of checking to see how it would work in the sun.

So, this morning I took it along when Chester and I walked – but it was very cloudy with dark clouds.  The pictures were fine, but that didn’t prove anything, since it always took good pictures in the shade.

I was going out to Fort Whyte this morning with the Adult Day Program at the Y as a volunteer and I wanted to take a camera, but decided on the Olympus just in case the sun came out and I wouldn’t be able to take pictures with the Sony.  It did turn out to be a nice sunny morning and I took some pictures with it.  I was thinking that I’d be able to test the Sony when I got back home again.

By the time afternoon rolled around, it was getting darker again.  But just as I pulled into my parking spot at home the sun came out again.  I quickly went inside to get the camera and took some pictures of Chester in the back yard.  The leaves are mostly off the trees now and it was bright and sunny back there and the pictures came out wonderful!

I decided to give it the river test, so Chester and I walked down to the river and again it worked wonderfully!  I’m really excited and am now anxious to pick up the next lens, to see how well it works with a bigger zoom.

Here are a couple of river pictures and a Chester picture that I just took.

Red River Oct 7 Sony NEX-5

Red River Oct 7 Sony NEX-5

Chester Oct 7 Sony NEX-5

None of these pictures were adjusted in any way other than re-sizing.  Chester is in motion as you can see, but no blurring and the colours along the riverbank are great.

Africa – here I come!!!

On Africam today, we have seen Common Duikers, Dikkop (Water Thick Knee), Egyptian Geese, Blacksmith Lapwings, Helmeted Guinea Fowls, Bats, Spotted Eagle Owl (and chicks), Grey Go-Away Bird, Vervet Monkeys, Elephants, Zebras, Warthogs, Waterbuck, Kudus, Impalas, Nyalas, Bushbuck, and a Side Striped Jackal.  The day is almost over there, but we could still see more.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

Catching Up

I missed the last couple of days here because of my early work shifts those days.  If I don’t sit down and write as soon as we get back from our walk, I just don’t have the time after work to do so.

Chester is still doing fine.  It has been almost a week since his last seizure ( Wednesday morning last week) and almost a week since he got on the meds.

Jewel is still Jewel.    She talks non stop and plays with her toys when I’m home and busy with things, but I have no idea how much she talks and plays with her toys when I’m not there – I suspect that she sleeps.  Right now she is eating her breakfast, since both Chester and Jewel get fed before I feed myself.  I have to head over to Africam to check out Howwa’s Virtual Boma Cafe for my breakfast.

Anyway, we’ve had some nice weather and so far haven’t got the rain that has been promised the last few days.  My neighbours have put grass seed down on their yard and are having to water it constantly.  Right now it is 18C and going up to 28C by this afternoon, with a 40% chance of  thunder showers this evening.

Tomorrow is the day I’m supposed to find out if I am moving downtown with the Y and I’ll let you know how that goes.

I saw the Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk) on our walk this morning – but nowhere near enough time to even think about getting a picture of him.  He flew right in front of us and very close – but then made a quick turn and disappeared over some trees and houses.  No sign of my beaver friends and no sign of any ducks at all, although Chester did find one bunny to stalk.

For my picture today, I am going back a year (and a couple of days) to show you BeBe and if you are interested in the story about how I met her, you can find it here.

BeBe

On Africam today, we have seen the Black Eagle chick (almost ready to fledge), the Spotted Eagle Owl (just laid her first egg), Elephants, Rhinos, Waterbuck, Nyala, and more.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

This and That

It was 21C already this morning at 7 am when Chester and I walked along the Red River.  The chance of rain is now at 80% (although last night they were saying 100% probability for today).  The question is – will the daycamp go out to Woodlands for the day to Camp Y or will they stay in Winnipeg at the branch for the day.  I guess I’ll find out when I get to work later this morning.

I have been working at the Y for 11 years as of next month and always in the same position – although the days and hours have changed several times, and just over 5 years ago I moved to full time from part time.  With my summer of long weekends coming to an end soon, I really began to realize that I don’t want to go back to working there 5 days a week.  It is time for a change.  One of the positions posted a couple of weeks ago was a 1 year term for membership director at another branch.  This is my boss’s position, but in another location.

My boss asked me if I was going to apply and told me that she thought I should.  Now, over the years, I’ve had other boss’s  tell me the same thing when positions came up and my answer has always been “no, I’m not interested and I’m very comfortable where I am.  I don’t like middle management”.  I then did not apply, but this time, I actually started to think about it – after giving my usual answer, of course.  I’m going to have to do something different because I can’t afford to retire yet.

I started working on my resume and over the next few days, I was sure I would send it in one day – and the next day, there was no way I was going to apply.  Then I talked to a few co-workers and they all urged me to apply, as well as saying they would come downtown with me if I got it. I believe there is already staff there, so I obviously can’t take everyone, but it would be nice to pick and choose the ones that have already shown they know the job.

So – I sent my resume in a few days ago by email.  When I got an email back a few minutes later, I was sure that it would be to tell me that they had decided to close applications and just hire me on the spot – but instead it was an auto message saying that he was away and would not be back until Monday (yesterday).  I guess I’m going to have to go through the usual interview (and I really dislike interviews).

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted!

On our walk today, I saw several ducks, but they stayed right along the shore behind bushes and tall grasses and I couldn’t get a good picture of them.  I did get a good picture of the tall grasses, with some out of focus ducks behind them though.  The one thing about an auto-focus camera is that it doesn’t always focus on what I might want it to focus on.  Chester spied and stalked a bunny again, so today I decided to get a picture of the little guy.  He let us get very close to him because I’m sure he felt that we didn’t see him if he didn’t move.

Nice Tall Grass - too bad the ducks got in the way.

bunny Aug 16

Early this morning on Africam, we got to see a lone lion.  It looks like a young male, so many of us are hoping it is the young Styx male who has been out on his own for some time now.  With a couple of large coalitions of males in the area, he is doing well to stay looking so good on his own.  Click here to see today’s pictures.

Ziplining

It was 15C when Chester and I took our walk along the Red River this morning.  It was cloudy and windy – so not bad for walking, but not good for tanning 

The beaver lodge looks the same and I didn’t see the beaver – but I did see a Wood Duck and some new babies.  She was keeping hidden in the growth along the river, so I couldn’t get much of a picture, but I did manage one that showed some of the babies.  I didn’t get a chance to count the little ones though.

Wood Ducks

I took this picture of Chester yesterday as he stood by the lilac bush in my back yard.  He was watching for bugs coming to the flowers, so he could chase them. 

Chester

Some of you know that I’ve been planning on going ziplining for a few years now.  Twice, it was supposed to happen at a training session out at Camp Y  – but the first time it was pouring rain all day and the 2nd time rain was forecast, so we changed locations (and it didn’t rain).  I also planned on going last summer while we were in the Banff/Jasper area and it just didn’t happen.

So – I’ve found a place that is a couple of hours out of the city here and I’m going to go.   It is called Hy-Wire Zipline Advantures and you can find their website here.  If I am going by myself, I have to make sure they have bookings for that time and I can join with another group, since they do not do single trips.  If someone comes along with me, we can just book and go.    I’ll make sure you get the full report after the trip. 

We’ve viewed a nice variety of critters at Africam today so far.  A hippo and a side-striped jackal are two that we don’t see every day, but as usual, there were more.  Check out the pictures for today here.

Could Summer Really be Here?

What a nice day!  Chester and I didn’t walk along the Red River until after my exercise class at the Y followed by breakfast and I didn’t check the temperature at that time.  I think it was about 9C when I left for class though.  Now around noon, it is 22C under a sunny sky with very little wind.    They are predicting 26C on Tuesday – but I’ll believe that when I see it.

I started the walk off by taking pictures of my iris as now the tall ones are almost all blooming at once.

Iris June 11

Iris June 11

Iris June 11

They are so pretty – but they last such a short time.

Then while walking along the river, we found a Mallard and her 9 babies.

Mallards June 11

Duckling Stragglers

ducklings (still not all together)

Mallards June 11 (almost got them all in this one - but just the beak of #9)

Finally - got them all!

They have now put scaffolding back up at the block across the street, which I assume means that they really are going to be working on it again.  I don’t know if its been sold and it is another company doing the work or if the ones who were working on it before finally got their act together and got moving again, but it has been well over a year since all work stopped.  The best thing right now is that they cut the grass/weeds which were over a foot tall. 

On Africam today we have seen Elephants, Giraffes, Kudu, Zebras and more.  Click here to see today’s pictures with all the sightings for the day so far.

Registration Day

Today was the first day for registration for next fall’s classes at the Y in Winnipeg – - -  and I survived!!!!!  Everyone who came in at 6 am to register got the spots they were looking for.  By early afternoon, some time slots were filled and people had to take 2nd choice.  By tonight it will be getting difficult to get what you want and in a few more days, there will just be waiting list spots to claim.

We had 3 staff to take the morning rush and people were gathering outside the door before any of us arrived.  Phone calls started before we opened the doors also – but even if we had answered the phone, we could not have done registration, since the course codes did not become active until 6am.

The sound of the phones is still ringing in my ears though.  There are several lines and they were all ringing at once and we also had the line up that circled the entire front lobby and came back to the doors.  We each looked after one person at a time whether it was on the phone or in person.  By the time I left, there was no one in line, although the phone was still ringing.

Tomorrow, I start work at my usual time instead of 5:45 am (that’s not morning – its still night).

I haven’t seen anything on the walks along the Red River with Chester the last couple of days, other than the 2 male Mallards I’ve seen together a few times.  I didn’t get any good pictures of them – so I took a new picture of the Iris growing in my yard 

Iris June 6

Nkorho on Africam had a lot of excitement and sadness last night and this morning.  Two male lions (unknown at this time who they are), were following a large buffalo herd when an unfortunate hyaena got in their way and was killed.  Karin at Nkorho got some amazing shots that you can see on Nkorho’s facebook page.  Then this morning an unknown lioness was found in very bad shape.  I was watching her struggle before leaving for work and by the time I got home from work she had passed away.   You can find pictures from the last 2 days at Africam here.

Job Interview

Once in awhile I decide to use a topic sent out daily by Word Press  in case we run out of things to talk about.  I didn’t really run out of things to talk about, but I liked this one.

Today’s one is “Describe your first job interview.“

Now – there is no way I can remember my first job interview or even most of the ones after that – but I remember my last one so that’s the one I will use.

This was about 10 1/2 years ago, when I was working part time with the Provincial Government, but needed full time to survive.  I saw a small ad in the paper for the Y and dropped off my resume.

A couple of weeks later, I received a phone call from the Y on a Sunday.  I talked to Lynn for several minutes and pretty much had the interview over the phone, but set a date for an in person interview about a week and a half later  ( Lynn would not be at work the next 2 days and I would be at my other job for the week after that).

On the day of my appointment, I showed up about 10 minutes early as I usually do, only to find out that Lynn had gone home for the day.  I’m sure my jaw dropped 6 inches, because I really thought the job was already mine after our phone conversation and the interview was just a formality.  The girl at the desk assured me that she would leave a message for Lynn for when she came in the next morning and that she would give me a call.

I didn’t wait for her to call me the next morning – I called her myself and spoke to Lynn.  She was very apologetic and asked me to come down right then if I could.  I did go down to see her a few minutes later and again, she apologized for not being there.   She had been doodling while we were talking on the phone and covered up the day and time so that she couldn’t read it, but thought we had agreed on another day.

Lynn and I talked a bit, she gave me a tour of the Y and then asked me what I thought.  My reply was that I thought she should feel so guilty about missing the interview that she should just hire me on the spot.  Lynn said “OK” and I was officially hired.  She worked the schedule around the days I worked at my other job and when I retired from the other job a few years I became full time at the Y.

Since I can’t post without a picture, I decided to pull one up from last year’s vacation to Banff/Jasper.

Athabasca Falls

The temperature is 11C and Chester and I are now leaving for our walk.