eventful days

my mock accreditation visit was nice. it started off feeling a little awkward and strange and it ended off with that familiar  feeling of clubhouse family. the big surprise of the day was that the ed of that clubhouse is andrea's long time close friend who i've met on a few occasions. she told everyone that we've known each other over 30 years. while that's true of her and andrea, i'm sure, so maybe it feels like that to her. anyway i observed a lot and talked a lot and asked lots of questions and took notes and left in a flurry of good byes.

my taxi driver had been doing his job for 28 years. he was very into telling me about highway changes and how it changed traffic flow.

i was early to the airport, went through security and found my gate and sat down, opened my laptop and started working on my report. it was due the next morning by 9am.

i got to vancouver nine thirty ish, took a taxi home, greeted lil' sis gave her pets and foods and got back to my report. had a short call with my hunny too and we agreed that i would go to bed 'early' and get up early and finish the report. but i didn't. i always felt like i wanted to finish a little more before going to sleep. and then it just got too late. so i stayed up until 2, saved it, and fell asleep for a few hours.

5am i had to drive biff to the airport. she slept through her 4 alarms. it was only chris calling her 3x that woke her up. then we got mom's spare keys which set off her car alarm. ...which was very alarming. so then i got the real ones. and then the car needed to be de-iced but finally we were on our way and biff was successfully dropped off and i successfully installed myself back into the bed and slept 3 more hours.

the next day there was no training and there was no anything. it was a day of slug.

thursday was the final day of training. we went over a few people's reports to go over common problems, we went over travel and receipts. yadda yadda. and then it was over. they said they would be contacting us each individually in the next week or so to give us individual feedback and let us know our results.

mike called me that afternoon. with a little feedback. it all made sense, and to invite me to be on the faculty. so i'm in! i didn't ask sam yet.

that same afternooon i got invited to a wedding which was happening in 2 days. ie. yesterday. and asked to be the photog. i said yes to the dress.

i had one day back to work and it was nice to be back. lots to do of course. i didn't go home after work but straight to whiterock where the wedding would be, to scout for locations for a shoot. it was raining hard. i drove all around and i found a few places but the whole time i kind of knew in my heart that with the timing she told me, and what i knew about weddings, i wouldn't have any time for a second location.

after doing my scouting, i got some mcdonalds and sat in the church parking lot listening to the cbc's coverage of the vigil in tumbler ridge and crying. it was of course very sad but also beautiful and powerful and the respect and love and unity from our leaders was such a juxtaposition to the leadership in the south. i felt so thankful they did it the way they did. i felt proud to be canadian and grateful we have leadership that can put differences aside and show humanity and civility and honour in times of crisis. there was comfort in that for me, in the middle of the grief and horror of the tragic events.

then i attended the rehearsal got my chance to give photographic instructions for the day and for different moments, and helped do some decorating.

saturday was a big day. it was sunny and it's been feeling like spring. i went for a walk with my hunny and when i got home i had a visit with evan and esther and family who slept over on their way home from mexico. i threw carmen's socks on the floor and hid them with evan's assistance. mom told her but that made us stuff them farther out of view. at one point when i was pulling carmen's pillow out from under her head for the 3rd or 4th time carmen said i was so annoying and evan said "i already told you all the annoying things i do i learned from her." i felt proud. when i left they were all sitting down to a roast dinner at 11am. (mom had made them a roast dinner the night before but their plane was delayed)

i was going early to take pics of the bride preparing. she said she would be there at 11. but. she arrived 1:30. the groom was there shortly after me, with his two sons. we spent some quality time together just getting different things ready. and i took pics of the boys and the rings etc. 

the wedding was supposed to start at 2 but it didn't start until after 3. the bride and her daughter were getting ready in the mothers room which is a tight fit. she was worried about anyone seeing her accidentally. i was the photographer and all around wedding assistant that day. i got the bouquet ready, helped with earrings and necklaces and steaming and running lap tops and messages and all while trying to snap shots. it was a bit crazy. i was exhausted by the time the wedding began. haha

the wedding itself was short and sweet with just a small intimate number of people. afterwards we, as i had guessed, only had time to do some photos on the lawn of the church. which we did. i did the best i could.

after that we joined them for dinner at a restaurant. only mom and i and a couple joined the family at the restaurant. there was a small jamaican style wedding cake. and we had sushi. and i was so extremely thirsty and the server was very stressed by our group. i thought she was going to lose it a couple of times but she held it together.

back at home i started feeling jittery and shaky. a side effect of my new meds which has a stimulant aspect. i hope that wears off soon.

and today i did my lesson in sunday school and had the kids build the tower of babel and a temple out of tupperware. and someone gave me a dress their daughter gave them and she said she was giving it to me because it's too big. and i thought to myself "does she think i'm bigger than her?" because i didn't think so. but i took it with an open mind. when i got home and took it out i discovered that it is quite large. the bozam alone was very spacious lets say. mom said maybe i can make it into a skirt. it is really pretty white dress with embroidered flowers.

after dinner i read some letters from gramma b that mom had that were typed out. one was about her early history and the other was about mom's. it was really interesting. and that's the catch up.