Early Morning Run
I was glad to be doing my usual Sunday morning run this morning. The weather report showed both sun and rain so I reluctantly took my rain jacket as well. I can’t believe that it is the last summer long weekend.
I was surprised to encounter several runners along the route. When I run to the other location, I’d pass by many running groups on Sundays but not usually on the way to downtown. Everybody looks happy running this morning.
Free Yoga Class at Lululemon
This morning was the first yoga class at the new flagship store and I was looking forward to it. This is a much larger store and I was curious to see where our class would be held. The class was held right close to the entrance. There is more foot traffic in this area so we’ll have a lot more people watching us.
It was nice to see some of the old ‘gang’ from the last store. We were worried that Lululemon might not continue the free yoga classes but for now, it looks like we are good. We had a really good class today. The yoga instructor is a Lululemon ambassador and I’ve taken classes from her before-she is quite well known all over, featured in the media a lot. It was quite a treat to have her teach this inaugural class at the new store!
Another Fifty-Something Looking for a Job
After class, some of us decided to go to Starbucks. At the end, there were three of us, a couple and myself. They are in a long distance relationship. The guy is living in Calgary and takes a bus once a month. He’s trying to find a job here in Vancouver but he’s frustrated.
I could tell that he was around the same age as me, early 50s. He said that he was facing definite ageism as he tried to find a job in IT security. I wished that I could give him some encouragement but I could only agree with him. It was a little depressing at the thought for both of us.
Mystery Shop
I had another mystery shop today. I had reserved this shop a few days ago and was looking forward to meeting up with my old co-worker. I wasn’t sure if she would be in town during the long weekend or if she’d be willing to travel to this location which is in the suburbs. For a free lunch at this restaurant though, she was!
Luckily, today’s visit was quite good. The food was great as always and the service was excellent. It was so good that I was concerned that maybe I had been ‘made’ and that they knew that I was a mystery shopper. But they didn’t say anything. If they had thought that I was a mystery shopper, why wouldn’t they just do everything that they could to be the best so that they’d get the best report?
My old co-worker used to go to this restaurant downtown together and we’d always enjoyed it. That’s another reason why I like doing this mystery shop–I can ‘afford’ to go to this restaurant, something that I ordinarily wouldn’t be able to do in my financial situation.
I got home and spent more than two and a half hours on the report. Each report gets easier and easier as I get used to the questions. I’m also getting better at not having to rely so much on my written notes. By the time I was finished, I was tired but satisfied.
fiftyandunemployed 