Day Five Hundred and Ninety Nine of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Early Morning Trip to the Airport

I woke up early this morning to take my Dad to the airport. Last night, I was up late wrapping the Christmas gifts for my cousins that he would be taking for me. I was also writing the last of my Christmas cards for him to take as well. After that, I packed his suitcases for him. I went to the fridge to get all of the stuff that he would be taking home. That’s the last of the packing that I needed to do.

It didn’t take too long to get to the airport. I was surprised to see that it was a little crowded though. My Dad went into the wrong line, instead of the drop off luggage line so we had to wait longer. By the time he was finished, they had to take him immediately to the gate. We said our goodbyes hastily. We’ll see each soon in April.

Decompress Today

I was so tired today. I’ve had house guests for over a month now (my brother and my Dad). I’m not used to having people stay with me, much less for that long! I was looking forward to having some alone time finally. I didn’t want to talk to anybody!

Cleaning Up and Organizing

I spent some of the day cleaning up and organizing. I went to my second bedroom where my Dad had been for over a month and changed the bedding and threw out garbage. I then cleaned up the second bathroom. They are now ready for the next house guests that I will have.

Picked Up Movie Pass

I won a movie pass so I ran to the store to go pick it up. This week will be a two movie week. A friend gave me a pass for tomorrow and then I won two passes of the same movie for one on Thursday.

Second Marathon Clinic Class

I ran to my second marathon clinic class in the evening. The leader had emailed us a schedule for the week earlier so I knew what to expect this time. Last week, I didn’t realize that we’d be running and I had already run 12 miles for the day. This time, I made sure and didn’t run so I’d be fresh for the class run.

The class was a discussion on shoes. I knew the gist of the conversation. I’ve been subscribing to Runner’s World magazine for years so have read tons of articles on the subject. I also participated in a minimalist running shoe study a while ago so I was familiar with those, too.

I was a little embarrassed with my shoes because they are old. I can’t afford to buy a new pair of shoes in my financial state right now. I was hiding my shoes under the bench so nobody could see them though I’m sure nobody cared except me! I have several pairs of running shoes and I rotate them. This is especially useful running in Vancouver, when we have to run in the rain all the time.

After that, we headed for a park close to home so that we could do a 5 KM run to determine our pace. I was dreading this a bit because I knew that I’d be slow. The other runners who had proclaimed themselves to be slow had not shown up tonight so I didn’t have anybody else to pace myself with.

I really don’t like to run in the dark since I had my running accident months ago when I tripped on a sidewalk crack and went flying, landing hard on my shoulder, dislocating it, fracturing it and my arm. That was in the daylight and I still managed to do that when running. So now, I’m especially paranoid running in the dark because I’m scared that I will fall again even with wearing lights.

Of the 18 or so people in the group, I was dead last. The leader had over lapped me easily, then the others did as well. I didn’t feel badly about this at all because I know that I am probably one of the oldest runners in this group. Not that I should be making excuses but I am being realistic.

On my last lap, one of the guys asked if he could run along with me. I know he did this for support but it was a little embarrassing for me. He enjoyed chatting away about running so that was nice. It got my mind off of things.

I guess this group will encourage me to pick up my pace, which is one of my reluctant goals I gave on the first day. I can happily run myself at a slow run for hours but now I am raising the bar a bit. We had been running in the park close to my home, so it didn’t take me long at all to go home. I was relieved to get home and take a long hot shower.

Day Five Hundred and Ninety of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Early Morning Run to Yoga

It was another rainy, overcast morning when I got up today. Although I let rain prevent me from doing a run yesterday, today, I would not let myself get away with it. I wore my waterproof pants and took a second pair of socks.

I was feeling pretty good this morning as I ran up the hill. I did feel some pressure in my Achilles tendon but I was trying to ignore it since it wasn’t actually real pain. My knees seemed to be fine.

Despite all of the rain yesterday and this morning, I didn’t have to dodge many puddles on the way to class. I did have the problem of my glasses fogging up but that wasn’t overly annoying. When I got to the mall, I saw that I had made pretty good time. That made me feel quite satisfied.

Free Yoga Class at Oakridge Lululemon

One of my favorite yoga instructors returned today and we were all so happy to see her! We hadn’t been expecting her today so it was an unexpected treat! She was going around and hugging Happy New Year with some of us, since technically, it had been last year since we had taken her class!

Difficult to Do Yoga Class Today

I don’t know why, but I was having a lot of difficulties today in class. Even during the most simplest of poses, like child’s pose, I started to get bizarre cramping in my feet. I’d have to do modifications of some poses whereas usually, I have no problems.

Later in the class, I found that I had trouble with balance today and I’m not sure why. It was quite frustrating. When I did tree pose, I really did feel like a flimsy excuse of a tree that kept swaying and I kept falling out of the pose. I’ve done that pose hundreds of times over the year and this was the first time that I ever felt so unstable.

After I completed the class, I knew that I would have to attend the Monday evening class to prove that today’s class was a fluke. The paranoid me wonders if this is the beginning of the end, that I will from now on, have some kind of degenerative balance or nerve problem. I hope that this was just a one-off situation and I will be fine tomorrow.

Ran Home in the Rain Again

It was still raining and overcast when it was time to go home. My clothing had not dried out after class, by the time I had to run home. It’s a little difficult to run in damp clothing but I only brought an extra pair of socks to chance into. I had to put back on my wet running shoes and jackets.

I ran home quickly today. I gave myself an hour to do my post class social activities before heading home since I had a volunteer gig afterwards. Although it was still raining, it was fairly mild, so it was an easy straight forward run that I was able to do in good time.

Volunteer Music Video Participation

My extras agent had sent out an email to his roster a few days ago. It asked if any of us were interested in volunteering to be extras in a music video. I often will volunteer for projects like student films by aspiring directors.

A local music group is creating a video that will feature extras holding signs protesting the Russian stance on gay and transgendered rights. I presume that they will release this during the Olympics next month but I’m not sure.

They had asked for older extras. I guess they had been able to find younger people easily but wanted to show a wide representation of people (like older people) who supported this view in the video. They asked me to wear business attire.

The shoot would be headquartered just a couple of blocks from me which was convenient. I walked over and was delighted to see a few of my friends who are in my agency and had also volunteered. We got to catch up a bit before the shoot started.

The shoot didn’t take too long. It was shooting in exterior locations but it wasn’t raining anymore so it was fine. I was finished quickly but I stayed to watch my friend’s shoots as well. I was glad to do this project because it sounds like a good cause! I’m going to look out for it next month.

Day Five Hundred and Nineteen of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Last Minute Violin Cram Session

Since I had to miss last week’s violin lesson because I was working all weekend, I was trying to get in as much practice as possible before today’s class. I did some practicing last night, but since it was late, I didn’t want to play much in case somebody could hear me.

Pain in Shoulder and Arm

Last night, when I was practicing, I experienced a lot of pain in my shoulder and arm. It’s been over a year since I had my running accident when I tripped on the sidewalk crack and went flying, landing squarely on my shoulder and elbow, dislocating my shoulder and fracturing my shoulder and arm. It’s felt great lately so I figured that I was almost all recovered.

I’ve been tapering off with my home physiotherapy exercises but now I wonder if I was too premature. Obviously, if I’m experiencing pain when I use my shoulder and arm too much, it does need to be strengthened. I guess I’ll have to keep at it.

But coincidentally, I’ve found that whenever I play my violin for very long, I get a lot of pain in my shoulder and arm area. That can’t be a coincidence. Even this morning, I had wanted to get as much practice in before my class, but I had to stop all the time when it would ache too much.

Violin Lesson

The weather was miserable this afternoon. It’s about a fifteen minute walk to my lesson and I almost considered taking the car. This weather made me feel even more depressed. I wondered how long this heavy rain would last.

I was really anxious about how I would do in class. I purposely moved away from everyone as far as possible because I didn’t want my playing to distract the other students. I had popped some ibuprofen earlier, hoping that it wouldn’t hurt as much during class.

While I was playing, my violin suddenly became out of tune. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but I had the teacher check it and she confirmed that it all went out of tune. She guessed that there was a problem with one of the parts.

That’s the last thing I wanted to hear. I’ve had enough problems with this cheap violin. If I had known all the problems I’d have, there’s no way I would have bought such a cheap one. But that was over ten years ago when I bought this package on eBay. I only have three lessons left so I’m hoping that I can just hold out until then. Here’s another example of something I can’t afford because of my financial situation and it’s depressing me.

Skipped Usual Saturday Run

The weather was worse today, colder, more rainy and more wind. I usually drop off my violin and go for a run after my lesson but I really didn’t feel motivated to do that today. The weather was so bad, I didn’t even feel like walking home!

I hopped on a bus that was packed with people. I guess I wasn’t the only person who opted to ride on the bus instead of walking or running. I was feeling guilty not running and not even walking home. I felt like such a sloth because I was actually using up a precious bus ticket today.

Met up with Friends

I took the bus to the thrift store that my friends work at. I hadn’t been there for a while. I miss the times when I used to hang out there and we would tell each other our problems and joke around. One of those friends has returned home east but the new person is very nice and she fits right in with our banter.

It’s embarrassing to admit to them that I’m still not working full-time. Although they are very understanding, I’m sure that they are thinking that maybe I am being too picky about jobs. They think in terms of jobs rather than careers.

Although it was good to let off some steam about my frustrations, when I got home, I started to feel gloomy again. Unfortunately, I coped by eating junk food and then watching mindless TV and falling asleep early. I hope tomorrow will be better.

Day Four Hundred and Seventy Two of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Woke up Early to Run to UBC

I changed my UBC volunteer gig to today because I am supposed to work tomorrow. It was a little chilly and overcast. I was just glad that it wasn’t raining. I know that once our rainy season starts, I will be running in the rain almost daily. It was a good run and I didn’t experience much pain.

Ran Past Running Accident Scene

When I ran past the scene of my running accident a year ago, it was packed with parents dropping off kids for school. Last year when I had my accident, it was later in the morning, so there wasn’t anybody around to witness my trip and fall.

Although I do feel discouraged over my progress in the year since the fall, in some ways I should be happy. For example, in addition to my dislocated shoulder which resulted in a fractured arm and shoulder, I had rotator cuff tendon tears. I think that those tears have healed well, I barely remembered that I had torn them. Even a whole year later, I still can notice little improvements in my range of movement. As long as I can still see those improvements, I’ll continue to do my home physiotherapy exercises.

Scheduled Voice Over Demo Session

I finally scheduled a time to work on my voice over demo session at my UBC friend’s home next week. I had postponed the session because my Dad had been visiting from out-of-town. But now that he has returned home, I really need to get going with creating my demo!

I do find that one of my biggest problems is that I get easily distracted from my career goals. Although the ultimate goal is to return to a full-time career job, I have been so concerned with getting any kind of money from survival part-time jobs, that I lose sight of that goal. I’d like to be able to give my job search my complete focus, but with my financial stress, I just can’t do that.

Email from Extras Casting Director

I was happy to receive an email from my extras casting director who confirmed that I would be booked for a third day on their movie. Originally, I had been booked for a single day but got a second day because of the rain. I thought that we had finished all of our scenes on that second day but here we are, being brought back for a third day! I’m glad to get the extra money.

Friend’s Home for Cooking Lesson and Dinner

My friends invited me over for a cooking lesson and dinner. I had complimented her on a cheese and onion bread she had made once. She gave me the recipe but when I tried it, it didn’t turn out well at all. So this time, she showed me how to make it in person.

My friends live in a really large house of around 5000 square feet. Their kitchen alone is quite large. Their kitchen island is approximately the size of the floor of my kitchen! Their house is like a model home, beautifully decorated.

We chatted about my new resolve to get rid of things. The husband is a real minimalist and can’t understand how people accumulate things. The wife thinks she has a bit of a problem and when she showed me her office with her ‘excess’ I had to laugh, I would be so lucky to get such a room!

As I explained my problems, they said that they would be happy to help me out. I have large items (two microwaves that broke down) and two really large heavy TVs that need to go to the recycle depot and she volunteered her SUV and her time to help me get rid of things. I was so happy to hear that! It’s good to know that I have this support from my friends.

So now I have another resolve, to be able to gather and sort through my stuff so that I can either throw away, donate or keep. I have given myself another deadline, since that seems to motivate me. I hope this will help.

Email from Extras Agent

I have been booked for a TV show tomorrow. I was waiting for word from my agent about what time my calltime would be. That’s the biggest pain for me with extra work, you never know what time you will be required to sign in the next day until the night before. I finally received the email after 9 PM.

My calltime was 2 PM. Crew call is 7 AM and my friend’s calltime is 8 AM. So my scene won’t be shot until after most of the day has passed. I will arrive after lunch (six hours after start time for the crew). Now that I know that I have the morning free, I can attend the UBC volunteer social before I leave for work, so I’m happy.

Day Four Hundred and Sixty Nine of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Sleep Problems

I had difficulty sleeping last night. I was so exhausted from my day of working and then running in the heat that I fell asleep while watching TV. I woke up at midnight and then couldn’t get to sleep for a while. It’s been a while since I’ve had sleep problems.

When I woke up to the alarm this morning. I was feeling groggy. I hate that feeling when I don’t feel like I got a decent night’s sleep. Usually I have stayed awake because of my anxiety but these past couple of nights, it’s been because I fall asleep early from the physical work I’ve been doing and then the hot weather running.

Third Day of Work

Today I ran to my friend’s building to help her again. I wore my new running shoes today and I had a little pressure in my Achilles tendon area but no pain. I hope that the running shoes help. It wasn’t quite as warm as yesterday so the run was pleasant.

Today, she asked me to line drawers and shelves in her kitchen with contact paper. She has a really large kitchen that has several drawers and shelves. I first had to clean the drawers and shelves before I could lay on the contact paper.

Then I had to measure and cut the paper. Well, it’s not paper. First there was thick plastic that had some kind of oil on it. It had been curled in the roll for so long, it wouldn’t lay flat on the bottom. Then, the other rolls were a kind of thin paper or vinyl with an adhesive on the back.

I measured twice and then cut once as the old adage says. The hardest part of this job was laying it down flush to the sides and making sure no bubbles or creases remained. I’m not one for this kind of work. But since I was getting paid, I took my time and made sure that each one was perfect. Even after six hours, I had not finished the job, that’s how big her kitchen is and how many drawers and shelves it has. I’ll have to finish next week.

Booked for TV Show Gig Next Week

I checked my messages and found out that my extras agent called. She asked me if I was interested in working next Tuesday on a TV show that I have worked on several times before. I called her back immediately and told her that I’d be happy to work next week!

Not only am I booked on that show, but so is my car! That is an extra $35. That’s not a lot of money, but it does pay for gas since I would be driving to the gig anyway. It’s just another little perk when your car gets booked with you.

One Year Anniversary of my Running Accident

Yesterday I finally reached the one year anniversary of my running accident when I tripped on a sidewalk crack and went flying. When I landed, I ended up landing on my elbow, dislocating my shoulder, fracturing my arm, shoulder and ending up with assorted road rash on my palms and knees.

I’ve stepped up my home physiotherapy exercises lately. I still feel some pain when I do the exercises. I am still at around 90%. I have plateaued at that level now for weeks and wonder if this is it. My orthopedic surgeon and physiotherapist kept warning me that I would reach the highest level I would ever reach at the one year mark. Well, here it is, the one year mark.

I guess I should feel grateful that I have been able to reach 90%. I don’t experience any pain unless I do the exercises and if I don’t do difficult yoga poses, I wouldn’t even remember that I had that accident. It does make me more cautious when I run, which can be a blessing, too. I have my big scar on my arm to remind me to be a little more aware of cracks in the sidewalk!

After I had my ski accident at Whistler that resulted in knee surgery and then my squash accident that resulted in ankle surgery, I never was able to play either sports to anywhere near the same level. At least this time, I am pretty damn close and it doesn’t affect my running at all.

I always thought on this one year anniversary I would return to the scene of the accident but I was too tired to run that far. So instead all I did was have a bit of a silent run where I contemplated and remembered. That’s good enough for me.

Day Four Hundred and Forty Nine of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Watched Squash Tournament

I got up early this morning so that I could go to Jericho Tennis Club to watch my Seattle friend play at the Sun and Surf Squash tournament. I knew that I wouldn’t have much time to stay before I’d have to leave. I managed to watch his whole match even though it was long and went to five games.

It’s been a long time since I had to quit squash due to ankle and knee injuries. I had to have surgery for both. I always intended to return but for some reason, it’s never come to pass. Squash is a more expensive sport than running (which is free) is. I no longer belong to a club so I’d have to find people to play with and pay guest fees. I can’t afford tournament entry fees right now either. This is one of those things that I have put on my to-do list once I get a full-time job and can afford things. Until then, all I can do is watch.

Helped at Friend’s Garage Sale

After I picked up my Dad, I went to my friend’s garage sale. She paid me to help her all day. I was really grateful to her for this. In the past I have helped her for free but since losing my job, she’s been quick to create ‘jobs’ for me for some money.

It turned out to be a nice day weather-wise and we got a fairly steady stream of people. I had brought a few things of mine to sell as well. I had brought mostly bigger things since those are the things that take up the most space. I have to admit that I was thrilled when I sold that first thing! I was willing to sell a fancy mirror hanging for $2 but my friend stepped in and said that it was $8, which the customer gladly paid.

I sold a handful of other things as well. It helped that I put them at dirt cheap prices. Now that I’ve been encouraged with a little success, I’m going to try to sell a few more things before I just donate them to charity. Even if I can get a little amount of money, it would be good.

I was surprised again to see how many seniors there were who were scooping up a lot of things. At every garage sale I’ve helped my friend at there have always been so many seniors who come and buy things. There are even some who spend hours looking at each and every thing. There was an older man who held on to a tea-cup and saucer for a long time while he looked. He didn’t even buy it, he got another one instead. He came back the very next day and looked for another hour. I guess he has nothing better to do.

I figured that seniors, especially older ones my Dad’s age would be avoiding opportunities to pick up things. By that time, they’ve often downsized their homes and their possessions and don’t even have the room to store any of these treasures. And yet here they are, at thrift stores and garage sales adding to their stuff.

Home Physiotherapy Exercises

My injured shoulder has been pretty good lately so I have to admit that I haven’t been doing my home physiotherapy exercises as often as I have in the past. It’s coming up to my first year’s anniversary since I had my running accident. In some ways I can’t even remember what had happened and sometimes, when I try to do something and experience pain, it all comes back to me.

I guess I have been preoccupied with my other injuries, like my Achilles tendon. Is this what being fifty-something is going to be like, having to cope with one pain or another? It’s a little frustrating to think of the future.

Day Four Hundred and Forty Six of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Ran to UBC Volunteer Gig

It was a beautiful sunny morning when I ran to UBC early this morning. I could tell that the summer weather is turning since it was a little crisp. It was not as hot this early in the morning as it had been even a week ago.

I was feeling a little guilty over skipping my long run on Sunday so I wanted to try to run as long and fast as I could today. I was only running a little over five miles to UBC but I tried to pick up my pace.

I could feel a twinge to my Achilles tendon and I wondered if I should stop. I had dug up an article on how to treat this type of injury in an old issue of Runner’s World. And they recommended stopping immediately, lest there be more permanent, long recovery type of injury.

I decided to ignore that sage advice and soldier on. As I ran past the scene of my running injury, where, eleven months ago I tripped on a sidewalk crack and landed hard on my elbow, dislocating my shoulder, fracturing my arm, shoulder, rotator cuff tears and having assorted road rash all over. I’m still not fully recovered from that injury, so you’d think I’d want to err on the side of caution this time, but apparently not.

Instead, I did exercises every time there was a light where I’d have to stop. I’m not sure if that helped or not. When I got to UBC, the marathon runners there advised me to do pool running, so I’m going to look into that. She said that as an alumni, I could even get a really good discount, too.

Discussed Voice Over Demo

I was assigned to read more of the Canadian Criminal Code today. This is the first time that I am in the recording booth since taking my commercial voice over workshop last week. I was more aware of how my voice actually sounded like, when I did playbacks.

I was chatting with my friend and asked him if he could help me with my demo. He said that he’d be delighted to help me. I knew that he was familiar with that type of work. I had also forgotten, he had worked in radio for years, so he was really, really familiar with what I needed. I was so relieved to hear that. I can’t afford the $300 it would cost if I had to do it with a studio like the one our class had used. I feel really optimistic about this now!

Ran to Free Downtown Nooner Yoga Class

I had already run over five miles this morning to UBC. I gave myself less than 90 minutes to run from UBC to downtown, nine miles. That in itself is not that big of a deal, but I had already run earlier today. Despite the sun and heat, I managed to do it. I didn’t have much pain either. My total mileage today was over 14 miles.

I missed last week’s yoga class but I did make this one. There is only one more class after today’s class, so I really don’t want to miss them. It was another sunny and hot day with clear blue skies. I loved the view of the mountains and the water.

I thought I’d be late for this class, but I made it. I was pretty tired but I was determined to do the class. Because I was so tired, I know that I didn’t do as well as I should or could have. This class had quite a few really good yogis who could do the more advanced poses, too!

There was an outdoor patio of a restaurant that was adjacent to the class area for the first time. I wondered why they hadn’t been set up when the yoga classes started in July? Anyway, it was quite noisy and distracting hearing these diners and I’m sure that some of them might have thought the same thing with us and our class!

Sunrise Market Visit

After class, I walked over to the Sunrise market to get fruit and vegetables. I’m getting a lot more than usual while my Dad is visiting. I had so many heavy bags, I had to take a bus home. If I weren’t so tired I would have run or at least walked home with them in a backpack. Once I got home, I was really tired. But I feel as if I had a really full day, too.

Day Four Hundred and Three of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Double Sleep

I had a bit of trouble falling asleep last night. I had fallen asleep while I was watching TV but then woke up and couldn’t fall asleep until after 2 AM. I don’t know why I had trouble and I did feel a little groggy when I woke up this morning.

These days I’m not sure if my sleeping problems are due to my anxiety and stress or if it’s because of the hot weather. It could be a combination of both, too. In any case this run to UBC will wake me up soon enough.

Ran to UBC and Back

It was a sunny and warm day when I ran to UBC to volunteer this morning. There are few people on the street, partly because of summer holidays I’m sure. At the gates of UBC, I saw a large sign for a bicycle rally event but when I looked for it on campus, I couldn’t find any sign of it. That’s too bad because I had attended it in previous years and had really enjoyed it.

Today, I was assigned an interesting textbook to read, on sexuality. So there I was, reading medical sexuality terminology. I had to look up quite a few words since although you might see the word in print, it might not occur to you how to actually pronounce the word. Sure, we might know the vernacular, but probably don’t know how to pronounce the medical term.

I use a good website, forvo, which has recordings of people saying a word. For example, there might be an English word, and you can choose to hear it spoken by an American or somebody from England. Or there may be a word from another language that you might need help with and there’s usually somebody from that country who will say it.

Waiting to Hear from Craigslist Job Listing

The whole time I was volunteering, I kept checking my email to see if the coordinator from the medical study had emailed me back. I had said that I could work this afternoon so I was hoping to be able to go there after I finished volunteering.

Unfortunately, that email never arrived. I was pretty disappointed. I wondered if all of the spots were taken, and if so, why can’t he just respond to my email to let me know? I had re-sent my reply a second time just in case he hadn’t received it but I still didn’t get a response.

Ran Downtown to Spa for Free Massage

My agent had emailed to say that free massages at the spa school would be available later today. I was thrilled to hear that since I have been experiencing some soreness in my shoulder and Achilles tendon area. I booked an appointment for early evening.

Although I had run eleven miles to and from UBC this morning, I decided to run the three miles downtown to the spa school as well, so my daily mileage was fourteen miles. It had already cooled down a bit by the time I ran down so that’s good.

Therapeutic Massage

Although I had had two really wonderful students before, when I tried to book them again, neither were available. Apparently, they get extra credit if a patient requests them. I would love to have either student again but they were not scheduled this evening so I had a new student tonight.

I had explained to the massage student all of my recent pain with my shoulder, arm and even my Achilles tendon. She did a thorough examination and then consulted with her instructor. Like the other two students, she was quite knowledgeable about the muscles and tendons.

I considered opting for just a relaxing massage where they would cover the whole body. Those are the kinds that I have had at my usual spa that I go to. But since I’ve been experiencing pain, I asked her to concentrate on those areas.

The massage was thorough and therapeutic. At one point, the instructor came in to show her the best way to massage my calves. I won’t lie and say that it felt good but I knew that it was helping them.

After the massage was complete, the student gave me a few specific exercises for my shoulder and my Achilles tendon. I had been doing stretches for my Achilles tendon, but they weren’t quite correct. So I was glad to get the improved version of them. I was so glad that I was lucky enough to get the free massage tonight!

Visited Costco to Price Laptop

The spa school is close to the downtown Costco so I decided to go there to check out the laptops. My laptop is on its last legs and I’m worried that it will conk out shortly. It’s seven years old and has served me well but is now falling apart. I’ve been checking the laptops at Costco for the last few months.

I asked one of the computer people if they brought in specials for back to school and she said that they do at the end of July. I was happy to hear that! All I need is a basic cheap laptop. The prices are comparable to other electronics stores but Costco offers a two-year warranty.

I know that the prices of laptops go down before school and also before Christmas. Ideally, I wish I could wait until later in the year but don’t know if my laptop will make it. I can’t really afford it given my joblessness circumstance, but I think I can safely categorize this as a need and not a want. Crossing fingers.

Day Three Hundred and Eighty Two of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Good Night’s Sleep Again

I somehow managed to fall asleep early last night, shortly after I returned home from the movie. I guess I was pretty exhausted because I slept right through the night and got up at a reasonable time this morning. It was good to have gotten a reasonable amount of sleep.

Worried About the Exam Again

I was still disappointed about the exam that I had written for my Elder Planning Counselor course yesterday but tried to forget about it. I still haven’t cleaned my study area with all of the texts and notes scattered about. I contemplated going through all of the material and seeing if I could figure out if I got more questions correct or at least enough to have passed the 70% mark. In the end I decided that I didn’t want to torture myself.

I had hoped that I’d be able to update my resume with the addition of this new designation but now, if I don’t pass, I won’t be able to do so until I re-write the exam. I had high expectations of getting on with my job search with a renewed confidence and sense of accomplishment after completing the course, but now I’m not sure. People had joked about taking this course for the sake of adding three more letters to the back of their name. For me, it was not like that. I was in it for the addition of skills or subject content to my resume.

Ran Downtown to Massage Appointment

Yesterday, I had been lucky and got one of the free massage appointments to the spa that is across the street from my extras agent’s office. They are a massage school and they offer reduced prices for services from students who are supervised by their teachers. My agency is given a limited amount of free appointments when they need patients on a last minute basis. I rationalized the expense because all I have to do is pay a tip.

Therapeutic Massage

I had been to this school once before. It’s usually very difficult to get one of the free spots otherwise I’d have come sooner. I had explained my whole situation with my running injury quite thoroughly in the first appointment. I had tried to get the same student that I had had the first time, but she was not there. Apparently, if the students are requested, they get some extra credit or something.

The student I had this time was also thorough and painstakingly careful about getting information from me via a physical examination and interview about my injured area. It turned out that we were around the same age and even lived in the same neighborhood. I was curious that she had decided to pursue a totally different career at our age, especially one that is so physical.

I was impressed with her abilities right away. She could tell from just a glance which was my injured arm and shoulder. She said that I was uneven and that I should make an effort to constantly correct my posture like while during brushing my teeth in the morning when I could see the difference in the mirror. I was totally not aware of that. She also suggested putting heat to the shoulder in the evening so that I could get blood flowing to the scar tissue area.

It had been an invaluable appointment. She had reminded me of all the points that my physiotherapist have given in the past. After that, she gave me a really good regular massage. One good thing which was an improvement from that last time was that my neck was not as tight. I have been making an effort to improve my posture, especially while on the computer and that has helped.

I thanked her and left as good a tip that I would have given to my regular masseuse at the spa I usually go to. I hope that I’ll be lucky enough to get another free appointment at least once a month. I have to compete for those against the others from my extras agency though. I think that it would really help in my shoulder recovery.

Picked Up Cheques from Agent

I had emailed my agent to ask how much the commission would be for the two cheques that I expected. To my delight, she said that I had three cheques waiting for me! I somehow forgot that I had one more cheque to come from a movie I had worked on weeks ago.

When I got to my Extras Agency office, the four staff members in the office were not too busy. They had sent an email to us conceding that it wasn’t very busy right now but to warn us that the BC film industry would be picking up very quickly next month. I had really hoped that that would become reality. They said that twenty-five productions were set to begin next month.

Ran Back Home

I ran back home in a happy mood. I had my three cheques to deposit. And my body felt great from my massage. And I had been able to get log in at least eight miles today for my running tally this week so far. Aside from the anxiety and stress I felt from thinking about my exam, today was a pretty good day!

Day Three Hundred and Seventy Six of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Ran to UBC

I had to set two alarms to make sure that I could get up early enough to run to my volunteer gig at UBC this morning. I barely managed to wake up because I had yet another late night last night where I couldn’t fall asleep so easily. I had to rush to make it there.

Nine Month Anniversary of my Running Accident

Coincidentally, today was the nine month anniversary of the day of my running accident where I was running this very route. On that morning, I was running uphill and had tripped on a sidewalk crack and went flying, landing on my elbow, palms and knees. I ended up dislocating my shoulder, breaking my arm and shoulder, tearing my rotator cuff tendons and ending up with a lot of bloody road rash and bruising to my palms, knees and arm.

I remember when I was researching forums to see how others with the same injuries were progressing and was shocked when they were still recovering months later. Now that I am in that position, I can understand. Although it has been months of visits to the orthopedic surgeon and physiotherapist, I am not completely recovered. I know that I have been warned of this long recovery process and yet it still frustrates me at times.

I think what bothers me the most about this recovery process is that I’ve been told that a big factor is my age. I wonder how much shorter the recovery period would be had I been a lot younger? I have had sports related injuries in the past and it did seem like I did recover a whole lot faster. In the meantime, I will continue on with my home physiotherapy exercises so I can hopefully recover as much as I can, as soon as possible!

Volunteer Reading

Today, there wasn’t much choice in the readings. There was a lot of fantasy fiction but I’d rather do most anything but that. When I expressed my dismay with the choices, they found a book that had just been brought in, a book on Hurricane Katrina. I was eager to read that because I had been quite moved by that event, so much so that I went to New Orleans for two weeks to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

This book was so interesting, even if just for the first two hours of reading that I did. I hope that I’ll be able to read it next week, too. I may like it so much that I’ll try to find a copy to read myself.

Problems with Drivers

When I was running home, I encountered at least a couple of incidents with drivers who almost hit me! I run on the sidewalk and only cross with lights. I had the green light and I was running but the driver was distracted and almost drove into me as she was turning right. I gave her a dirty look.

The second incident was when a driver was turning left and almost into me even though I was already running across and in the cross walk area. Again, I gave her a look. This time, the driver was indignant and even stopped and yelled at me through her open window. I didn’t realize this until a little late but I did try to run after her. I couldn’t believe that she had the gall to yell at me when she was totally in the wrong!

I know that I probably shouldn’t react to bad driving when I am running but I just can’t help myself. I always run defensively and am always really alert because of these idiots. I do listen to music but I only have one ear bud in so I can hear everything around me. I always make sure that the driver sees me before I even proceed, too. And yet, despite all of this, I still ‘run’ across idiot drivers. It’s so frustrating!

Elder Planning Counselor Course Reading Continued

I read a horoscope in one of the local newspapers today that said:

Make this a relaxed and easygoing day. Certainly don’t use up all your energy on career and financial issues.

I have to admit that I laughed when I read this. I am not a horoscope person at all. But for whatever reason, I did end up not working very hard at all today. I couldn’t seem to get into the groove of reading. I kept getting distracted and losing my concentration.

I did get some reading done but nowhere near enough to keep to the schedule that I had planned for myself. I guess this means that I will now have to double up tomorrow. I will have more pressure on myself because I will only have one day left in which to do it, too.

I have no idea why I couldn’t get motivated today to do this studying. I tried to switch topics thinking that maybe I was just ‘stuck’ on one, but that didn’t seem to help much either. I guess I’ll just have to be cramming tomorrow so I can get it all completed by Friday.