Responding to Ignorance

There are many times when I bite my tongue when someone vents ignorantly, but today was not one of those days. I have been volunteering for the adult soccer league in Yellowknife as the scheduler. I felt this was a good way to stay with soccer, monitor the poor refereeing, and get on the board. Until today it was good. Of course the scheduling job can be a pain with multiple requests and such, but I can handle that most of the time. Normally I accommodate whomever I can if their requests are reasonable.

To the point: another exec and I made a decision with one day's notice to change a game from 8pm to 9pm so that we would not waste a field that could be used for drop-in. We both thought it was a pretty good idea, but I made it known that one particular team might have an issue. It turns out I was right. After several emails back and forth he said he understood the change, but did not like it. Fair enough. Well, the other team, after being questioned, said they had issue with it as well. The other exec and I asked what they wanted to do since both teams had already been notified of the change. They would not make a decision so we did. We canceled the game. Reasonable if you ask me since this game was going to be the 3rd for each of these teams this week. Normally teams play two.

Well, that caused the first complainer to send out a very rude and hostile email to his team and he felt the need to copy me on it. He basically said I gave him absolutely no notice and the other team should forfeit the game (his team has not won a single game all year). He was incredibly condescending and disrespectful.

A little background on this person: he has requested multiple changes to the schedule including asking to only play early games and to have no back-to-back games. This is impossible with the days we have to play, however I've done my best to accommodate him. I even changed their game that was going to conflict with the Santa Clause Parade so the parents on his team could go. Only one other team has ever made a request and it was one I could not accommodate due to the short notice.

OK, back to today. I woke up to his rude email and was pissed. I think the other exec, who was also copied, knew that would be the case and called me to let me know that this particular guy has been a pain all year and that he complains more than any other captain. It calmed me for a bit, but I felt the email was totally unacceptable given I don't play in the league, I'm volunteering, and I've helped him out more than once in the past. I admit, I made a mistake by trying to change the game at the last minute, but the only fair thing to do was cancel it when everyone complained. I received a very long apology after I sent him this email:

Thanks Jason,

I have gone out of my way to accommodate your requests (you're the only one who has asked for multiple changes) and I now see how little understanding you have for my position within the league. This was an error on my part and I will admit that but, for the record, I did not inform you at 4:45pm. That is when you checked your email.

It's nice to know people understand how difficult it is to schedule and accommodate everyone especially when this is a voluntary position. Perhaps you'd like to volunteer for the position in the future.

Kind Regards,
Kim

Let's just say I feel much better not allowing this jerk to walk all over me. BTW, he doesn't want to be the scheduler next year.

Hi!

Just wrote my first two midterms in this quest for a higher education. I think I did very well on one, but am not positive on the other. Either way I know I passed.

We've had some weird weather here of late. We actually had a funnel cloud (a tornado/waterspout that doesn't touch the ground)! Of course it had to happen on my shift so that was a bit chaotic. Although it did go away rather quickly.

On the soccer front, it seems that we have managed to join a league where refereeing is sub-par at best and where our competitors seem to have missed the title of the league "Recreational"! It's really rather ridiculous. Since I've played soccer I haven't seen this many cheap shots and illegal or unsportsmanlike plays ever. I had a ball kicked in my face from a high kick last Thursday and am still feeling the effects of it. Oh, and the guy didn't even get a yellow card. Our captain, who was playing in goal last game, had a guy jump at him and jab his forearm into our captain's throat and he didn't get ejected from the game! Needless to say we're filing a grievance. My team has never won a game and other teams are still attacking us?!! We just want to have a good time and still be able to work the next day. (no more bitching here)

On my final note, my mom is back in the hospital. Apparently she wasn't doing well and Ken forced her to go. The doctors were glad she went so she can be properly cared for. It seems she's just there so they can monitor and make sure she's getting what she needs for now. The doctors don't know if she'll be in there for a few more days or if it'll be weeks.

That's the latest for me...hope you are all well!!

Whuzup?!

Just a few things going on in my world so I thought I should update:

I got a new bed! Wait. Did I already tell you about that?! Well, the bed hasn't actually arrived and we just found out that the delay was due to an item that they said was in stock, but won't arrive until the middle of June!! Kind of ridiculous, but the good news is the bed should arrive this week!! Good-bye inflatable bed!!

I started my studies and they are going well. I'm loving what I'm learning. My first 2 courses are an Admin course which discussed management and decision making and an Accounting course. So far so good, but I haven't done any assignments yet.

I made a fabulous new purchase!! A scanner for photo negatives to convert them to digital. It's so great! I have this option on my fancy photo printer, but it's a difficult task that seems to take ages. Now I just put the negative in a holder and push the holder through the little scanner. It goes onto a memory card (not included) and then I can just load it onto my computer! Super easy and I got it on sale!! I did 10 packs of negatives yesterday...only about 100 to go :)

I've started back on my exercise kick. Last year I did well taking the weight off and I was doing well to keep it off until recently. Now I have a goal weight and a few new games and dvds to help with the monotony of one routine. I'm also going to buy a bike and start hiking. It's also soccer and softball season which will help as yoga will be ending for the summer at the end of the month.

My only other news is that I have holidays in June! I'm really excited about that! Once again, though, I do not have plans yet. My friend in the Netherlands wants me to visit her, but I'm hesitant due to the ash cloud. I actually want to go to Disney!! Dave was just there and his stories were enough to make me consider paying to take one of my brothers with me! We'll see...of course Vancouver is always my back up plan so never count that out.

That's about it for now...procrastination time ended. Have a great one folks!!

Back to School!

I did it! I signed up for school!! I'm going for my Bachelor of Commerce with Accounting as my major. It's through the University of Athabasca which is mostly a correspondence/on-line school based out of Alberta. I'm really excited and should be receiving my books for the first 2 courses I'm taking in a couple of weeks for a start date of May 1st. Good bye lazy days at work.

Read It!! I think you might enjoy!

I just read a great book. Well, in my opinion, it's a great book. If you've read and enjoyed any of Malcolm Gladwell's books you'll likely enjoy Outliers. I've read The Tipping Point and Blink and am just starting What the Dog Saw. What I like about his books is that they make you think and bring up excellent points for discussion or further reading/research. So, I recommend reading Outliers especially if you're raising kids or plan to in the future. He gives a little insight into things you wouldn't necessarily have thought about.

Crazy Trip

Wow, what a trip!! I returned home last night and was back at work this morning! Let's just say I'm exhausted! Now, where to start?

The trip started with me still unsure of the initial part. I flew to Edmonton on Thursday morning and went directly to West Edmonton Mall. I booked the cheapest room at the Fantasyland Hotel the previous night so I dropped off my luggage and headed out. I had my hair cut, ate a cinnamon bun (MMMMMMM), got my nails done, watched a movie, and then went to check in.

When I went to the check-in desk I said I didn't need two beds so they upgraded me to the honeymoon suite! They game me my pick of 3, but I decided to take that one! It was cool! I was a little exhausted at that point to I took a bit of a nap and watched some Olympics. It was the night of the women's gold medal game. I watched the first 2 periods in my room and then, starving, went to Boston Pizza to enjoy the rest of the game with other Canadians! It was awesome!

After the win and a really tasty dinner I did a little shopping (bought 1 pair of jeans) and went to buy my toiletries and a snack. On my way back tot the room I discovered some poutine which made my night!

The next morning I met the "ottoman" at the airport and we headed out in our Yukon to Montana! We stopped at a small diner somewhere in southern Alberta for lunch and were at the US Border Crossing after some weird GPS navigation about 2 hours later. The border guard told us the road we were headed down was going to turn to gravel and to just keep following it. We knew we were definitely in a hick town! The ride once near Whitefish was amazing! We drove through the mountains for a couple hours! It was great!

We arrived at the hotel we had researched sometime after 6pm and got a great deal at what turned out to be the best hotel in town! It's called the Lodge at Whitefish and it was awesome!! We ate at the bar that night and were amazed that the cost was marginal compared to what we'd have paid in Yellowknife, or many other places in Canada. The next day was a day to drive around and eat. Totally relaxing. We were back at the hotel in time to watch the excitement of the Canadian Men's curling final!! What a moment when the crowd sang O'Canada! I wish I could have been there in person!

On Sunday we planned a snowmobile trip which meant we missed the big game, but it was definitely worth it! Such an awesome adventure! We ate at a restaurant called Famous Dave's which is what we assume the Canadian restaurant Montana's was named after! The food was great and so cheap!!! We went back to the hotel and watched some of the closing ceremonies and fell asleep from exhaustion.

Monday was back to Canada! It was a beautiful drive! Here are aome pics of the Montana Trip:

Whitefish, Montana 2010

Tuesday was off to Ottawa to see some Disney folk!

Wednesday I spent relaxing with my friend and then we walked around downtown Ottawa and had a beaver tail as a snack! We went to a pub that night and met a couple of other people from Disney. The next day we did errands and made spaghetti for dinner. It was a fun day! Then, Friday, we drove to Mississauga! We were there by 4:30pm and had plans to go to a dueling piano bar that night.

If any of you know anything about my time at Disney, you know a lot of it was spent at a dueling piano bar so we had high hopes! Boy were we disappointed! The piano players didn't know very many songs and actually had to look things up in a book! I'm sorry, but if you're going to start a piano bar like that then you need to hire talent. We decided to make the most of the evening so it became a drinking night. We went to the club upstairs and spent 3 or 4 hours drinking and dancing! It was a ton of fun and we all left happy and not sick! It was an achievement! hahaha

The next day we drove to Niagra Falls to visit another Disney alum. We went for lunch and walked around a bit. We drove back to Mississauga and relaxed before we headed into Toronto to meet up with another Disney friend. She took us to this great little restaurant for dinner and we spent the evening eating and reminiscing! It was awesome!

The following morning we drove back to Ottawa and then my friend drove me to see some friends from Yellowknife (they now live in Ottawa). I stayed there that night and Ghislain took me for a ride on his motorcycle to see the neighbourhood they were in. They had other friends from Yellowknife show up that night and we all hung out and played video games. Oh, they took me out for really good pizza and got me a piece of cake for my birthday! It was awesome! The next morning I woke up to bacon and eggs for breakfast and more video games! Then it was off to the airport!

That seems to be all of it! A whirlwind of a trip to say the least, but so fun to get to see so many people!

Vacation One 2010

My vacation started with a "Kim Day" in Edmonton where I got my hair cut, my nails done, and my eyebrows waxed. I went a movie, ate poutine and a cinnamon bun and watched the Canadian women win a gold medal at hockey! It was awesome! Oh, did I mention I got a free upgrade to the honeymoon suite.

The next day I met the "Ottoman" at the airport and we rentaed a Yukon and headed down to Whitefish, Montana!!! It was awesome!! Pics to come! We stayed at a really awesome resort which was cheaper than my suite in Edmonton! It had a mountain view, a fireplace, half a kitchen and a wicked bathroom!!!

While there we ate well and enjoyed the scenery! I also tried snowmobiling for the first time!! So fun, give it a try if you haven't!!!

The trip was so amazing!! I recommend the place if you ever get the chance....I think it's only 6 hours from Vancouver!

Now I'm in Ottawa and enjoying my time with friends I haven't seen in years! Funny how things just fit right back into place with some people!

Have a good week/emd everyone!!