When I got to the Baker

Centre yesterday first thing I did was to see if Jack's barber shop was opened. It wasn't Jack but a new guy. He said half an hour? Fine.

That info session yesterday answered some basic questions I had. It's called the "Links information and resource centre." They offered coffee in a Tim's kind of take out cup. They were pretty busy. Lots of tiny offices. Links is located in the old Xentel location Baker Centre 2nd floor. There was about 25 others with me in a large room. They retained some of the original fixtures the old Xentel office like the carpeting and lighted panels. I almost felt a bit of a home coming. People were asking questions. I listened waiting for mine to be asked. Links helps those find steady part time work, within 4 months. That's what I'm looking for in tandem with my current job so when one shuts down for the Summer or is in between stuff the other one is still active. Even management has their own part time work outside of the office during slow times. I didn't qualify for Links because I have a job even though I have (at the moment) no work Links still considers it a job. That would have come out anyway because they ask what my current situation is (AISH,ei etc.). I find that these types of job finding schemes are all fine and well but like the Alberta job corps in the late 1990's I ended up finding my own job and most likely even with Links, I'd find my own job regardless. I'm emailing my resume out this afternoon when Anne leaves for work. I know what's going to happen though. Just like when I was at this other company (X) last September my main job called me back but X said I had to work a minimum of 4 days/week to get paid for training. My other job had a big project with the Federal Government that paid a bit more. I should have stuck with X. Its not that they didn't pay well, its just they didn't have the hours. I didn't even stay long enough to get paid for my training as their policy was I had to be there for those 4 days as well and the Government project orientation/training session was to start on the 3rd day of that X training period. I had no choice but to leave X a vm message. I felt bad about that. They were nice people. Out of the Government job though before I knew I wanted to get into producing live techno/house jams on YouTube, I bought a ebook reader that I seldom use and that would have been about the price of a Korg Volca and I bought a 32Gb iPod touch 5th Gen to replace my iPod Touch 3rd Gen because I thought the iPod Touch was being discontinued. Just the 5th Gen for the new 6th Gen 8 months later. Then 2 months later I end up losing my job. It didn't take me long to get this job but now I'm back to where I started. This time though, this company I'm with now doesn't care if I work 2 shifts a week, which will be great if I make it too full pension. However I don't want to go back to X because they shut down before Christmas for 4 months but that's prime time season for my current job. I'll get 3 months with X if they take me back this fall. I might consider going back to X after the new year 2016 but this economy wasn't as good as last years. X might have a full house next Spring. So after the info session I took my coffee and went to get my haircut. I felt good about that. Then I went to get a 6/49 lottery ticket at the pharmacy still in the Baker Centre on my way out and worked my way back to Corona station enjoying the weather. 

I got my train home and I began to realize that 37 years ago this week my little brother met me at the Via rail train where it used to stop at the CN building downtown Edmonton. Mom was kind of hoping I'd move and settle here and I should have done so 5 years earlier. After spending a week here in Edmonton, I decided since I'm a young man I can start over. I began to like Edmonton. It would have been too costly to transfer what I had at my New Westminster residence and I was late on my rent there before the RM would release my stuff anyway. My parents had no place for my things in their 3 bedroom Westmount/Baycrest apartment at the time. I just left everything behind. I had a new colour tv and stereo, a lot of world war 2 books (probably would have been sold to a used book store anyway in the 80's.) a lot of wargames. I learned just a few years ago that my last residence in New Westminster where I had all mys stuff met with the wrecking ball and the building was demolished in 1980 to make way for the Douglas College location. The only memories I have out of that place was the large ei back pay I received during their waiting period. I look back too see myself then as a young man of 25 losing my youth. I had all my teeth, I was thin, and wearing glasses. 37 years does a lot to a person.  

Other wise, not a lot is going on today. As of tomorrow, I'll be 2 years away from pension. last night I won a free 6/49 ticket from the lottery. I'm not doing anything tomorrow for obvious reasons :) I'm waiting until after labour day weekend or that Friday to see if work is starting up again. I've got ei until the end of September. After this weekend I'm following up on the resume I'm sending out today. I've got some other irons in the fire but nothing work related and nothing I can talk about right now. Friday is the Esks/Hamilton cfl game and I'll be looking out for that Anyway, that's all for now.