Not So Long Distance

Martin and I have always been in a long distance relationship. When we first met, he was living in Chicago. Even while I was in Germany, we were 80km apart or an hour’s drive away.

How do we do it? It’s hard. But here are some things we do to bridge the gap:

• Email – We email each other everyday. A day is missed here and there but generally it is everyday. This is not a set rule or obligation, it just works out that we like to drop each other notes!
• Phone/Skype – Martin gives me access to his Skype account so that I can call his phone (it’s easier than him calling me). When I was still job searching, we talked on the phone almost everyday. Now we can only talk on the weekends. I call him first thing when I wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings, which is the afternoon for him.
• Calendar Sharing – We use the same google calendar and update it with our plans and notices. Things like holiday days, Martin’s travel schedule, my German classes, Valentine’s Day reminders ^_^, people’s birthdays, etc… Our entries are different colours so it’s easy to notice each others’ going ons.
• Budget Sharing – We use Google Docs to share a spreadsheet containing our personal budgets. It lists our income (gross and net) and our monthly expenses. It’s neat to compare the different standards of living for 2 new grads in a big city in Canada vs. small city in Germany. For example, my entertainment budget is double his. It’s just cheaper and easier to go out in Europe, which is what I miss. *sighz*
• Travel – Over the last 2.5 years, Martin has visited Toronto 4 times and I’ve flown to Germany 3 times. We generally take turns, except one time he couldn’t make it so he paid for me to fly out there instead (thanks Dear!). That was the trip where I landed my German job, which brought me back and kept me there for a while. So, it was worth it! When I was in Düsseldorf, we would travel to see each other every weekend from Friday night to Monday morning.
• Jisk.ca! – Yes he reads me everyday and says it’s his favourite site. When I feel like taking it down, he encourages me to keep it up because he likes it. But he never pressures me to update either. keke.

None of this seems like work, because it’s just 2 people who like each other enough to stay in touch. Of course I much prefer seeing him in person, but somehow he doesn’t seem too far away either.

There’s just something about him!

Science Geek

Sometimes I thought taking nutrition in university was the wrong decision. Many people suggested I study something business related or computer related, because those 2 areas seem to be more ‘me’. (I talk more about business or techy stuff than I do nutrition.)

But I was so adamant about keeping with the sciences. Either that or going into fine arts (music).

It wasn’t until the final years of my degree that I knew I had made the right decision. But when I graduated, all the jobs that interested me required a business degree!

I would’ve hated studying business though. No offense to business majors, but for me, it is useless to study business in university. Same with computers. It’s just not my interest to study certain subjects academically, even if they interest me non-academically.

I’m so stubborn, I think!

So now that I have a job (and possibly a career) where I need to *read* and determine health science related things, I realized that I definitely chose the right degree. While business and computer-stuff are more practical/intuitive to me, science is not. And I wanted to go further.

I don’t know all the science in the world, but after studying it for years, I am very comfortable with science-y stuff (even though I call it ’science-y stuff’!). If I read a case with lots of scientific jargon and discussion, I can follow it. And if not, I know how and where to look for the answer.

My science knowledge is the core of my job, but it’s surrounded by using technology and having business skills too. This is why I like my job so much. I get to use my skills in just the right way.

I’m still nervous that I’ll stop liking my job soon, but so far so good!

Youth

Martin is in Münich on a business trip right now, and I’m jealous that I can’t go.

Lately I’ve been missing Europe more and more. I think it’s because I have a job now which means I can’t just take off whenever I want. This makes Europe seem farther and farther away.

Oh to my dwindling, carefree youth!!

I’ve had a lot of fun in my life though, and I’m still having fun. Things are still exciting here, but in a different way.

The working non-stiff

I can’t believe time is passing by so quickly.

Tomorrow is the start of my 4th week at my new job, holy cow!

I’m very glad I have a job that I like and can see myself growing into. But, I’m also starting to feel that M-F 9-5 grind.

This is big a change from my 12-18 hour work week in Germany, and before that, fitting work in between my school schedule.

Do I miss being a student? No way.

Do I miss living in Europe? YES. It was really my dream come true, and I can still barely believe I did it. <3

But I also love being back in Toronto. For some reason, this clunky concrete jungle is where my heart lies.

I was originally planning to stay in Germany for another year. Martin and I were looking at flats we could move into, but then I got sick and my med bills were too high to justify staying.

I guess when I really thought about it, I was living in another country not making much but with high expenses. I wasn’t building a career either, and didn’t see much chance to.

So, I came home to look for a ‘real job’ and to start being serious (whatever that means!). I was nervous to do this because it comes with more pressure, and I knew the recession was seriously affecting Toronto’s job market.

As luck would have it, I ended up landing this job by fluke. I applied at the right time (for another job) and met the right people who referred me to this job.

The industry I’m in is a mixture of health science and business, which are 2 areas I’m most naturally curious about, and let’s say good at too.

I’ve worked lots of different jobs in different industries, and so far I can say I like this one the most in terms of what I can learn and build a career on. It’s an entry level position, but I’m already learning so much and am pretty excited about that.

I’m so very grateful and all that stuff – but like, why can’t the weekend last longer?!!!!!

It was the best of times and the best of times

Martin was here for 3 weeks but left on Saturday. We had a lot of fun and he took lots of pictures but I forgot to steal them off of his computer!

Introducing him to my family went really well.

Poor thing though, we made him eat Chinese food which he isn’t used to. Did I ever mention that he’s a picky eater? Most people think I’m picky because I’m vegetarian, but my vegetarianism is due to personal convictions – NOT because I am picky. If the food is vegetarian (and clean!), I will eat it. I am not fussy.

But Martin is fussy AND picky. He grew up on a farm, and so always had good food and didn’t really eat much variety (relatively speaking). Because of this, he will only eat certain cuts of meat, certain vegetables, and needs his bread to be denser than any bread that you can buy in Canada! And that’s just the tip of the ice berg.

Oh the joys of having a picky-eater boyfriend. I keep telling him that it’s a good thing he’s hot. Haha.

Despite his pickiness and reservations with different kinds of foods, we still did try lots of different cuisines: Chinese, Indian, French, Korean, Greek… and I’m sure there’s more that I just can’t remember, because it’s all normal fare to me.

Anyway, I’m just letting this blog know that it was a good time and we miss each other a lot. The time difference sucks because by the time I get home from work, he is already in bed. So we can’t really talk until the weekend, which means after seeing each other every day for 3 weeks, we haven’t spoken to each other in almost a week! Aiyiyi.

But, I’m keeping busy at my new job which I *really really* like. More on that at a later time. Like, who wants to talk about work after work – ya know?

Job hunt is officially over

Today I hand delivered my job offer signed and sealed.

Phew!

I had meant to send it off ASAP in the return courier pack, but there were some points I needed clarification on and only had time to ask today. It was weighing on me because I said I would send it off, and I knew they were counting on it to set everything up before my start date next week.

I feel very very very very relieved. And happy, and grateful, nervous, and excited!

Fingers crossed the job will be as neat as I think it will be.

The Verdict

The big news is that I’m officially HIRED!

I finally got the job offer courier’d to me today, and I’ve been filling out HR and payroll forms.

This means an end to my impromptu lunch dates, late weeknight drink dates, and random phone chats with Martin!

But I feel very very lucky.

I didn’t get the job I originally applied to, because when the interviewers saw my science major, they asked me if I wanted to be considered for a job in another department where I could use my science knowledge. I said Yes, and 2 days later I had a big recommendation and was called in for an interview for that other department.

This is a good example of how applying to jobs you aren’t totally qualified for may lead to other neat opportunities.

My second interview lasted over 2 hours, and by the end of it, I was spent. I felt good but didn’t feel like I had it in the bag, and started worrying about how I didn’t get the job.

When I applied to Job #1, it was kind of inconsequential. I would have gladly accepted it, but it didn’t truly excite me. So when I interviewed for Job #2, there was more at stake when I realized that this job sounded AWESOME and was a better fit for me interest-wise and experience-wise.

Job #2 actually sounded like my ‘dream job’ post-grad. But, as with many good things in life, I had to wait for it.

Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long. The job was offered to me verbally 2 days later. The next day my job offer was sent out via same-day courier, with a pre-paid return envelope for a quick response.

So, that’s how it went down. To summarize:

• submit coverletter & resume
• take 1 hr timed online test
• fill out lengthy online survey (~45 min)
• take 65 minute mini GRE test (on my birthday!)
• Interview #1 (1 hour)
• Follow up to interview via email
• Interview #2 (2+ hours)
• Follow up to interview via phone and emails
• Accept the job graciously

This all took 7 weeks from start to finish. The job market in Toronto is pretty dried up right now, but I think the trick is to apply to as many jobs as you find interesting, and to keep positive during your interviews.

Next week I start my new job. I’m excited and a little nervous all at the same time!

Schreiben, Sprechen, gut!

J: Ich mag mein Baby sehr

M: ich auch!

J: Did I write that richtig?

J: schriebe richtig?

M: schreiben

M: The sentence before was right

J: Geil!

J: I am a German master!!!

———————————

J: How did you know that?

M: I have canadian holidays loaded in my gmail calender

J: Geil!!!

M: also the german one

J: Also Deutsch rememberance day?

M: nein, der deutsche Kalender mit all den Holiday days which wir haben

M:

M: Wir haben eine geile Sprache!!!

J: Ach, klar!

J: Wir sprechen und scrieben sehr gut Deutsch!

M: schreiben

M: feb. 15th you guys have some alberta holiday

M: you find it when you open your calender and click on some button in the upper right hand corner. Mine says NEW: SPORT CALENDERS

J: Ach quatsch! Us Ontarians don’t care about Alberta holidays

J: SPORT? Wieso?

J: Okay, let me go see this scheiss

M: You are funny.

J: Geil!

M: I know. Google is a bit scary but who cares

J: Ja, das ist sehr geil

J: und frei!

M: you can add so much scheiß until you don’t see anything on your calender anymore

M: kostenlos

J: ich bin nicht verängstigt.

J: ich bin brav.

M: du bist sehr brav!

J: Aber ich mag kostenlos

M: Aber nicht bei Nacht

M: das ist gut so!

J: Ich bin brav bei Nacht!!!!

M: okay!!

 

Excitingggg

Things have been busy here!

I’ve been catching up with friends, going to job interviews, and getting ready for Martin’s visit!

I don’t know how much I should write about this whole job hunting process, because my Mom started making me paranoid about how the company will google me and find this site somehow. But, I will say that things are going well on this front, and that I’m very very excited.

And yes, Martin is coming to Toronto to visit for a few weeks!! He will be meeting my parents for the first time, which is both thrilling and nerve wracking. I have never introduced a boyfriend to my parents before, so it’s a pretty big deal for me. Luckily Martin is a good one, so the parent-meeting thing should go off smoothly.

Originally Martin was going to stay at my parents’ place with me. My ex-boss offered him and I a room in her house if we needed a break from my parents, or we could just stay with her and her family if we wanted. My girlfriend also offered to house us in the new big house she just bought, which was also a consideration for us.

I’m really thankful to have all this support, but what Martin and I are really doing is renting a place for ourselves at my other gf’s condo that’s right on the subway line and a 5 minute walk to my soon-to-be new work. This gf has fallen in love and moved in with her bf, so is never around her own place. She was half-looking for someone to rent to, and when I approached her about it, we both got so excited and she gave me a great price. Gf’s are so helpful!

So that’s pretty much what’s been going on here. I’m so excited to see Martin again. We talk on the phone almost everyday, which works because I don’t have a job so we can skirt around the time difference. But once I do start working, we’ll have to rely on emails and can only talk on weekends. Boo.

It will be nice to see each other face to face and go OUT on DATES. Woo!!

Deutsche Sprache lernen

It’s SO weird but I’m forgetting a lot of my German and instead, French is flying back into my head.

When I was in Germany, I knew the German verb Sein (to be), off the top of my head. While the same verb in French, Être, I could not remember for the life of me.

Now I’ve forgotten how to conjugate Sein, because every time I try, it is being replaced by Être conjugations. Suddenly I remember Être again, but at the expense of Sein!

Of course my brain has to be this frustrating!! >:|

I passed by the French school yesterday and read their announcement sign. I knew every single word and exactly what it meant. French is MUCH easier for me to understand than German is, but it still surprises me how much I remember from my French days, and how French is just a part of my life living in a bilingual country (even if I only get doses of French in passive ways).

I think learning German helped me get back some of my French!

I was terrible at French, and just went through the motions of learning without really knowing WTH was going on.

Now I’m putting in much more effort to learn German, because it means something to me. I also have positive reinforcements from a cute German smiling at me every time I speak it.

Martin tells me it will all come back to me. Which is sweet, but I know I have to actively keep it up in order to retain anything.

Ich möchte deutsch sprechen, aber deutsch ist sehr schwer.