Day Seven Hundred and Thirty Three of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Scheduling Conflict

I got a call from my extras agent inquiring about next week. I had been booked weeks ago about a show that would also book me with my car, which means $35 in addition to my rate. They changed the date last week to next week. Now, my agent was calling about yet another date change.

I had blacked out that particular day because I had committed to volunteering that day. Ordinarily, I can easily cancel a volunteer gig but this one is different. It takes a lot of effort to replace me, especially with little time given. But, I don’t have the luxury of passing up any work opportunity in my financial situation.

I asked my agent if there was a chance that the date could change yet again but I already knew the answer. Of course there is that chance that it will be changed again. And I would only get cancellation pay if I am cancelled the day before. Otherwise, if they cancel more than 24 hours before, I would get nothing. It’s a sore point with a lot of people. You take yourself off the online calendar when there’s a possibility that you could have gotten booked some place else and then you lose that opportunity and end up with nothing.

Met with Friend

I met up with a friend I haven’t seen for quite a few weeks. She’s also in my agency so it’s good to chat with somebody who faces the same problems that I do. I told her of my dilemma of being told that a day of work is being tentatively changed to the same day as a volunteer commitment. She agreed that I did need to accept the date change of the paying gig but understood that it’s difficult to let the volunteer organization down at the last-minute.

We also have in common the problems we face dealing with aging parents. Her parents are moving to a new care home. And my Dad is moving in with my brother. They are both incapable of participating in the move and both are needing of a lot of help. It was nice to talk with somebody going through the same things.

Running Group Meeting

Today was national runner’s day. It seems like there are special days for everything. Donut day is coming up, too. I decided to go to the Running Room group meeting tonight since there would be a talk about the Rock n Roll Half marathon coming up.

I hadn’t been to this Running Room since my last full marathon training meeting. I saw a handful of familiar faces but I didn’t talk with anybody. It turned out that the talk was really brief. Still, I was glad that I did make an effort to get out there and do a short run at least.

Candle Light Vigil

Besides national runner’s day, it’s also the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing. The past few years, I’ve been going to the candle light vigil in front of the Chinese embassy here with my Chinese friends. I can’t believe that it’s been so long now. I went to visit Tiananmen Square just six months after it had happened. I could still see the blood stains at that time.

I thought that it would be a lot bigger since it’s been 25 years but it was about the same size as last year. There were several passionate speeches but I couldn’t understand a word since it was all in Chinese. But I could guess what it meant: democracy and human rights for China.

When I see how important an issue this is, it makes my life’s problems seem minor. I’m glad that I did go to this vigil, to show support for the continuing cause and also to gain perspective on what really is important.

Details for Work

As soon as I got home, I got an email from my agent about the details about tomorrow. I was happy to hear that I wouldn’t start until 11 AM. I was also happy to see that I would be shooting a ten minute drive away from me.

I got a call from my agent later, warning me that the call time had been pulled to 10:30 AM. So I would be having to start a half an hour earlier. That’s fine, it’s still not too early. I am excited to be working again!

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

Another Difficult Night Sleeping

I had hoped to sleep well last night because I didn’t have to wake up early this morning. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sleep until late and I woke up early this morning. I’m really anxious about getting as much sleep as possible before the race on Sunday. I won’t be able to sleep in on Saturday because I’m working so I hope I can sleep in tomorrow.

Ran Downtown

I decided to do a short run downtown even though according to my marathon training clinic program, I really shouldn’t be running at all. However, since I had skipped my run yesterday because of my all day tax prep marathon, I decided it would be okay to do this short run.

It was the warmest day of the year. It was sunny and warm and I’m glad that I had shorts on. I wanted to test drive my shorts. I want to wear these shorts for the marathon and I wanted to make sure that I can still fit them well and that they were comfortable.

I also wanted to test drive a sports bra as well. Last marathon, I had big welts from my bra that were painful and took weeks to heal completely. To remedy that, I bought a big stick of body glide. But I still want to make sure that I’ll be supported and comfortable.

My run went well and I saw a few runners along the way. I wondered if they were going to be running in this weekend’s marathon. My pace was good but I didn’t want to over do it. This week is all about taking it easy until Sunday’s race.

Lunch with Ex-Co-Worker

I met up with my ex co-worker. She’s been so busy with tax season and since it ended yesterday, we were finally able to fit in lunch. Since I was away for two weeks in Winnipeg and hadn’t seen her since I got back, we caught up with that as well.

I can’t believe that it’s almost two years since I experienced the frenzy of tax season. I remember going to the office at 5 AM to try to get a start on the rush. I also remember being so exhausted and under pressure for weeks. I don’t miss that. I do miss the after tax party that the firm would pay for where we would all eat and drink to oblivion though.

De-Clutter Group Meeting

I went for my second time to the new de-clutter group that I joined. I was going to make comment about how frustrated I was yesterday because of my inability to find my tax information easily but somebody else brought that up first. When I listen to somebody else talk of their frustration, the logical me comes out and I wonder how anybody could not keep something as important as tax information organized. It’s ironic how organized and logical I can be when it’s somebody else’s clutter.

A couple of things have struck me about this group as opposed to my last group. This one is all women, around eight of them. The moderator said that in his experience, although both men and women have hoarding problems, women tend to be open to seeking help. I also noticed that only two of the women in the group were Mothers. I wondered if those of us who do not have children tend to accumulate because we aren’t distracted with parenthood.

Marathon Package Pick Up

I went to the convention center to go pick up my racer’s package with my race bib. I was surprised to see the long lines of people waiting to get their package. Because my bank is sponsoring the race, they had a special priority line for us.

Another perk from my bank was a free 15 minute massage. I’ve been having pain in my left shoulder and I asked her to work on that. I’m really glad that I got to see this massage therapist even if it was just for a short time. She gave me some good tips on working out my other areas before the race.

I started to get more enthusiastic about the race as I went through the runner’s expo. There is something really exhilarating about seeing all the running clothing, accessories and information all in one place. I can’t believe the race is in two more days.

Day Six Hundred and Ninety Seven of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Last Marathon Training Clinic

Tonight was the last marathon training clinic at the Running Room. I can’t believe that the four-month program is over. One of the experienced veteran marathon runners and the store manager were giving us tips tonight. At this point, there is only five days before the marathon.

Although I’ve done marathons before, it’s always good to be reminded of tips or to hear new ones. Some people chimed in with their own tips as well. One that I had to remember was to start hydrating well several days before the race.

I checked out the weather forecast today and now it shows that it will rain on Sunday! So we discussed about keeping warm before the race starts. I will be in the last group of runners so I will likely be quite cold for a while. I do have a throw away warm up jacket from one of the half-marathons that I can take. It even has a hood. The others talked of the old garbage bag method or thrift store jacket that can be abandoned once we are warm enough.

Another tip mentioned was to let family and friends know what our pace would be and where a good place would be to see them. One friend has said he might come at the first part of the race and others said that they might be at the most challenging part, where I would welcome encouragement the most, at the twenty-mile mark. I hope that they’ll be there cheering me on.

Running Gait Analysis

I have been meaning to get a running gait analysis for a long time. Although I’m pretty sure that I know what it is from other studies I thought I’d check since I was here. There was another clinic program having a talk so we had to do it quietly and in another part of the store.

I knew that I wouldn’t be buying shoes today since I had bought a new pair a month ago. The last thing that I would want to do is to run a marathon with new shoes! I did get advice on what to look for the next time though. Since I’ll be running a trail run race next, I asked for suggestions for train running shoes.

Last Minute Running Room Discount Purchases

I went around the store to see what I could buy to use my clinic discount on. I don’t need any big-ticket items so I stocked up on body glide, gels and gel heel insoles. All of those, I can use for the marathon this weekend. Today was the last day I could use my coupon.

Running Room is a sponsor and will be at the expo. I asked and they told me that there would be coupons there as well. So if I did decide to buy a pair of trail shoes, I could use a coupon from the expo. Although I am in no position to splurge on running gear, it’s nice to dream. It’s so easy to get caught up with all the cool running accessories and gear when you’re in the store every week for the clinic, too.

Cell Phone Store Visit

On my way home, I dropped in to the cell phone store close to me. The balance that I have on my cell phone is expiring on Saturday. I have to decide whether or not to upgrade from my years old flip phone to a smart phone.

In my present plan, I have a pay as you go plan. I seldom use my phone, I hate texting and I try to use it sparingly, like if I’m driving and might be in an accident or need a tow. I have however, lost some extra work job opportunities because I was not timely in my replies.

Am I ready to join the majority of my peers and get a smart phone or can I stay blissfully unaware for a little longer? With my present plan, it works out to approximately $8 a month. The cheapest plans that I’ve seen are $25 or $30 a month and that doesn’t include a phone. I know that it isn’t much compared to other people’s plans but for me, it’s quite a bit more a month.

I went to the one store, of my present carrier first and then to the cheaper one right next door. I had them explain the differences and then took home the brochures. I don’t have to think about this until Saturday. I’ve got too much to think about until then.

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

Slept In

I didn’t get in until late last night and then stayed up to unpack. I was probably still on Vancouver time, which is two hours behind. It was nice sunny day. It’s always sunnier than it is in Vancouver so I was happy about that.

First Run in Winnipeg

I was looking forward to my first run in Winnipeg. I was going to run 4 miles or so to The Running Room. I had gone to that one when I was here a few years ago and they were helpful in providing local running paths. I hadn’t run in three days so I was chomping at the bit to run, too.

Adjusting to the Snow and Puddles

Even though it is April, there is still a lot of snow here. I didn’t believe my Dad when he told me that there was still a lot of snow, but here it was, piled up all over. The sidewalks were clear and so were the streets but the snow was melting, so there were a lot of puddles all over.

It was too dangerous to run on the road here. I got my nice new running shoes muddy and wet. Even my running pants got all wet and muddy. I wasn’t thrilled. I am used to rain in Vancouver, but not in deep and muddy puddles like this!

Running Room Information

A nice runner was working at the local Running Room. I told her my situation, about how I was visiting for two weeks and I would be running a marathon in around three weeks. I wondered how runners coped with running in the snow and ice all winter. I’m not sure if I could do it. I always whine when it snows and there is ice in Vancouver and I know that it is only temporary.

I wondered also how runners in Winnipeg can do hill runs. There are not many places that have hills. There are lots of places to practice hill runs in Vancouver so it didn’t occur to me that it might be difficult to find any in the flat prairies. She did suggest a bridge near by so I may do that.

Hoarding Problem is Inherited

One reason why I was coming home was to help my Dad downsize. He is selling his house and moving in with my brother. I didn’t think that there was a lot of stuff but when I actually looked around, I did see that he had a lot of stuff to get rid of.

I have the same hoarding problems but of different things. My Dad likes to collect tools and wood carving supplies. Unfortunately, I can’t help him much except to clean. He has to sort through things and decide what to put in the trash, what to donate and what to take with him.

Cleaning Up

I spent a few hours cleaning. Now that he is older, he has difficulty cleaning. Whereas I would spill something in the kitchen and then not hesitate to bend over and clean it up, it’s more difficult when you are older like my Dad is. With his arthritic knees, he can’t get on his hands and knees to scrub around the toilet either.

I rounded up all the cleaning supplies, vacuum and am trying to figure out the best way to approach this. He has 2000 square feet that I need to clean while I am here. I need to do as much as I can.

Dinner with Dad, Brother, Uncle

We went out with my brother and Uncle at a local buffet. After all my weeks of clean eating during my marathon training, it looks like it will be hard to maintain that as I eat all of my childhood favorites. As much as I love going out to eat with them, I have to rein myself in if I want to be able to finish that marathon next month!

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

Sunny Day

I woke up a little late this morning. I had stayed up late last night feeling a little depressed until it was midnight, officially my birthday. I didn’t feel any better and watched mindless TV and didn’t get to sleep until after 3 AM.

Birthday Today

I usually look forward to my birthday but despite the sunny weather, I just couldn’t seem to get in the celebratory mood. I got lots of emails from my friends and even a few calls. I kept thinking how it will more difficult to get a good full-time position as I get older.

I didn’t want this to be a brooding birthday but I have been feeling depressed lately anyway. I figured that at this point of my life, I’d be thinking of retirement plans, not worrying about whether or not I could survive in daily life, like I am now. The only saving grace of my birthday is that I usually get some birthday money so that’s helpful.

I think of all those years that I worked in financial services where we urged the ‘formula’ to our clients about how they should save. At such and such an age, they should put such a percentage toward this and that. What they don’t consider is all the bumps in life, like unemployment, divorce, etc. They say if you save this at this rate of return, you will have a million dollars by the time you retire! Not going to happen to me…

Free Birthday Meal

I took my Aunt to Pajo’s to get my free birthday fish and chips. That did cheer me up. It’s the best fish and chips so it’s even better when it’s free. We spent the time on the shore, watching the birds.

We usually go to other birthday freebie meals but it seems like they have been scrapped. I used to get a free birthday burger but I didn’t get the email notification. Oh well. I also usually get a free birthday sundae but I didn’t feel like it since it was a little chilly today.

Birthday Twin Talk

When I got home, I had a long chat with my birthday twin in Boston. We have known each other almost 30 years. We met in a hostel in New Zealand and have been close friends since. It was good to catch up.

I would have liked to talk about the upcoming Boston Marathon but my friend is not into running at all. When he used to work at Boston University, he used to follow it more at that time but not since. I always imagined that I would one day qualify for Boston and then I’d have his family cheering me on…but that never happened.

Marathon Training Clinic

I was able to try out my new running shoes before my marathon training clinic. They felt okay. I’m not sure if they were worth the money really. I guess I need to work them in more. I have this really old pair of running shoes that I refuse to throw out because when I put them on, it feels like I am running on big marshmallows. I wish I could buy another pair like that.

Tonight’s guest speaker talked about cross training. I didn’t know too much about the subject so it was interesting. The other sports that they talked of cross training with were not things like yoga, which is the only other thing I do. I guess they don’t really consider it a sport or much of a work out even though it is!

I will have to miss the next two weeks of this clinic because I’ll be away. I wished my marathon leader good luck at the Boston Marathon. He is the only person I know who is going this year.

Birthday Dinner

My friends treated me to a nice birthday dinner. We went to a good restaurant within walking distance of me. I had been there only once before. I was really glad that I got to go out for such a nice dinner on my actual birthday. I also got to unwrap a few presents so that’s always nice, too.

Once I got home, I had to do some more packing. I will be busy tomorrow before my evening flight. Although I’ve had lots of time to plan, I always tend to procrastinate when packing, whether it be a local weekend trip or weeks long international one. Even if it is not too far, I am now starting to feel excited.

 

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

 

Sunny Day

Today was another sunny day and I was happy for it. But was it enough to make me feel okay today? Or would I go back into the sad state I’ve been in for the past several days? Would I actually accomplish anything today or would I just waste away yet another day?

April Fool’s Day

When I used to work, I always loved to make any excuse for holidays. I used to take time to think of good April Fool’s day pranks. This year, I did nothing. It made me think of the fun times when I was working and it made me sad. Here I am, missing out on the ‘working joe’ life.

Ran Part of Marathon Route

I felt guilty about not running yesterday as I had planned. But I just couldn’t shake my feelings. I vowed that today I would go for the run I intended. Since it was another sunny day, I couldn’t make any excuses.

I had checked the marathon map so that I would know the exact route for next month’s race. Although I regularly run in this area, I knew that there are so many different routes since it covers such a vast area.

Pacific Spirit Park

I was enjoying the first part of the marathon route and in the past have run the same path. However, part of the route goes right in the Pacific Spirit Park. I felt uncomfortable while in there because it’s fairly isolated. Almost five years ago, a woman runner had been stabbed to death while running during the day. They never did find the killer either.

Since then, I have never run in the park. Today, following the map, I had no choice but to go through there or I would get lost and not sure how to resume on the right path. Soon after I had entered, a fellow runner waved ‘hi’ and ran ahead. A few minutes later, there was a dog walker with his two dogs. After that, two young male students ran by. There was more traffic than I thought there would be. It made me wonder how a murder could have happened here.

Call from Extras Agent

I had finally emerged from the shaded park area. I checked for my messages and there was one from my extras agent who was inquiring about two days next week. I called back and found out that they would need me, but after I would have left the city.

I was disappointed to hear that. When I had worked on this pilot a year ago, they had said that we would likely get a lot of work because we would be ‘regulars’ but in the end, it only turned into five days of work. That’s not much for a season of filming.

I asked if there would be any work on the show when I got back and he said no, that they were already wrapping up season one. So too bad. I would miss out on two days of work because of my trip home. My only hope for more work on that show is if it does well and is renewed and it comes back here for filming.

Marathon Training Clinic

I was past the 15 mile point of the marathon when I realized that I needed to pick up my pace if I wanted to be able to arrive at my marathon training clinic in time. I was pretty tired though I had enjoyed the run.

I was really dragging by the time I was a mile away. I didn’t want to be late, but it was difficult to pick up my pace. I arrived at the class just a couple of minutes late. Tonight, we were watching videos on minimalist running. I’m not sure why they would show that subject in a marathon training class though.

I participated in a minimalist running study at UBC and took a couple of one day workshops on it. I have a pair of minimalist running shoes but I don’t see myself abandoning my regular shoes for minimalist running.

I asked our clinic leader if there would be a speaker next week and he said probably not. I was disappointed to hear that because after next week, I’ll be away for the next two weeks. What can I do? Oh well.

 

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

Early Morning

I managed to wake up early in time for my movie shoot. I thought that I might have trouble getting up since I’ve been staying up later the last few days but I was okay. Unlike most shoots, I did not have to bring any wardrobe for this one, since they were going to provide me with a costume. I only had to bring my costume number from my fitting weeks ago.

Easy Drive to Shoot

I had been concerned about the highway this morning. Last night, the news had warned of possible delays in traffic because of the weather, so I made sure and left in plenty of time. As I reached the highway, I was relieved to see that the roads were fine, no snow or any other problems.

I was able to reach the parking lot well ahead of my call time. I was concerned about how cold it was though. I did bring an extra long coat with me to put on top of my jacket. A shuttle drove us to the shooting area.

Chilly Wait in Extras Holding

When we got there, we were told to get breakfast. I was glad to hear this because I didn’t have time to eat anything before I left. I made sure and ate a good breakfast because who knew when we might be able to eat again before lunch six hours later.

We had to go through a long process of getting dressed and checked in our costumes. Then, we had to go through hair and makeup. Most of us had more elaborate hairstyles and makeup than the typical shoot so that took longer than usual.

Earlier Wrap than Expected

After hours of waiting in the extras holding, we were finally called to set five hours after starting. It had been a fairly pleasant wait. Although it was cold, outside of the extras holding tent, it was sunny and all the snow that had accumulated in previous days was rapidly melting. We had spent the time socializing. I had also brought my tablet and watched some videos.

We had been warned that the building where the shoot would take place was colder than outside, but I didn’t think so. It wasn’t hot, like a lot of shoots are because of the lights but it wasn’t too unbearably cold like they had warned us.

We were only in the one scene and it was done fairly quickly. I was surprised that it didn’t take very long. Usually, they have to do take after take after take in other productions. I don’t know why they thought that they might not finish and would have to bring us in the next day.

Fast Drive to Marathon Training Clinic

I hadn’t expected to be wrapped so soon. I thought that we might have a twelve hour or more day. We had been warned that we might need to continue shooting the next day, but that was not to be. So I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be getting a bigger pay cheque from this shoot today.

It took a while to take off the costume and then take off the makeup. After that, I went to the catering truck and took my lunch to go. It was nice that even though we were wrapped, they were still going to feed us. Others were opting to eat now and then change later.

I was thrilled because that meant that I might be able to make my marathon training clinic at 6:30 PM. I was driving against traffic so I was hopeful. The traffic was steady but fine so I made it to my class. I didn’t have time to go home and change but I did have time to park on the street and run to the store.

Sports Nutrition Talk

I was so happy that I had made it to this class. There was a special speaker from Power Bar Canada. Last week, there had been a speaker about eating for runners. This week, the speaker would talk about sports bars and drinks.

Although I am familiar with seeing ads for these sports bars and drinks, I have never really gotten into them. When I race, I can get desperate and eat or drink them but for the most part, they don’t appeal to me. I don’t know why, but I’m really fussy with what I drink and don’t even like to try different pops, smoothies, coffee, much less sports drinks. I guess years ago, I had a bad experience trying one.

When I lived overseas, I was exposed to a lot of very weird drinks which I didn’t like, (there’s a drink called Pocari Sweat in Japan for example) so since then, I’ve just stuck to water. Even the appearance of a drink can turn me off. I know that my fussiness has probably saved me from a lot of odd drinks but also prevented me from discovering good ones, too.

The presentation was really useful to me because I didn’t really understand how these products worked. I’ve seen the ads in running magazines and websites for years but have always ignored them. Now that I know how they can help me, I’m sure that I’ll be reaching for them to help my running performance. Maybe that’s what’s been holding me back all these years!

Day Six Hundred and Twenty Seven of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Free Massage Therapy Appointment

I was happy to get an email saying that free massage therapy appointments were available at the school this afternoon. The student’s clinic is on Tuesdays so I keep an eye on my email to see if the appointments are available. In the past, I have been too late and not been able to get an appointment. They go really quickly.

So this time, I really wanted to get one because of my injury, so I was checking my email every few minutes. I emailed back my request and was given an afternoon appointment. I was really happy since I can really use this appointment.

Ran to School

I decided to run downtown to my appointment this afternoon. The weather was okay, so I knew that I wouldn’t be having to push myself across the bridge like I did the last week. It did look like it might start to rain so I did have rain gear on.

After I began my run, I was relieved that it didn’t hurt. There was pressure but not the pain that I’ve been experiencing lately. I wouldn’t say that I was back to normal but I could see that I was improved.

Problem Identified

I was lucky to get the same student that I had the last week so I didn’t need to explain myself again. I told him that unfortunately, my hip was still sore and I was still experiencing pain. He did some diagnostic tests on the area to see if he could figure out what was wrong with me.

One particular concern that I had was whether or not it was the joint. He said that he didn’t think that it was the joint, he definitely thought that it was the muscle. He went to discuss my case with his instructor. They both determined that it was my TFL muscle that was giving me so much grief.

I didn’t even know what that meant so I had to have him explain what it stood for. And even after that, I wasn’t really familiar with it. In any case, it is a relief to know what the problem is so I can google it when I get home.

He worked on that area and gave me some stretches to do after. He really recommended me to stretch before and after running. I have not been one to do much stretching. There is one camp of runners who are pro-stretch and others who say that it is unnecessary. I’ll try stretching to see if it helps my TFL area.

Ran to Marathon Training Clinic

I was feeling pretty good after my massage appointment. I did do a bit of stretching before I made my way back home to the marathon training clinic at the running room. I was able to run at a good pace and I didn’t feel much pain at all. I was proud that I had done around six miles today and it was relatively pain-free.

Tonight, we had a guest speaker, a nutritionist on the topic of Eat 2 Run. She is a marathon runner who practices what she preaches. Now I’ve read so many articles over the years about eating for running but I have to admit that I never really paid much attention to it or paid heed to what they were saying aside from the basics.

The first thing we talked about was carbo loading before a marathon. Who hasn’t heard of that? But the way she explained it, it made a lot of sense as to how and why. Since I started running in the 1970s, I still thought of the old school way to eat before a race. Now, I see that it is old-fashioned and not effective.

She talked about a lot of excellent foods that we should be eating and the biggie that we should avoid, processed sugar. None of it was a total surprise to me but it’s more of how to get motivated to stick to it.

After the talk, I was really happy that I had heard her speak. I really do want to make an effort to improve my diet not only to improve my running but to also prevent inflammation and injury. Can I stick to this? I’m really going to try!

I was going to do the run after the talk but I told the leader that I had already done six miles. He said that I didn’t need to do it and that I should nurse my injury. After running a few blocks, I did start to feel some pain so I just ran home.

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

Extras Agent Calls

I got a call from my extras agent today. She asked me if I was available for Monday for a TV show working downtown. I was really excited to hear that after not doing any work for almost two months. She said that she’d call back later to confirm.

A few hours later, I got a message from her. Sorry, but they changed their requirements so I would not be booked on Monday after all. I was quite disappointed. I had gotten so excited for a single day booking and now I wouldn’t even get that. What a let down.

She tried to be encouraging though and said that I was still up for a TV commercial this week and that the movie that I had had a costume fitting for months ago, would be shooting soon. I’m not convinced though, they’ve been telling me that for weeks now.

Seniors Seminar at Community Center

I attended a seniors seminar at the local community center today. Although I’m not technically a senior, I figured that it’s not like they’d be checking ID or anything. This was a seminar on powers of attorney and joint bank accounts. It was being presented by a seniors advocacy group in town.

After I had completed my Elder Planning Counselling Course and gotten my designation last year, I had hoped that I would be able to use it, career-wise. I had hoped that it would be a good addition to my resume for the last job that I applied for, but apparently not. I didn’t even get an interview.

There was around fifteen seniors at this seminar. All were women except for one man. I was probably the youngest person there. I would guess most were in their 60s and 70s. Even the two volunteers were around that age.

They did a power point presentation and answered questions along the way. With all the information I knew from my financial services background and my recent Elder Planning Counselling course, this was a good review for me. What was particularly useful was the list of all the local resources available. Although most of it is probably available online, it was nice to have it all on one page.

During this seminar, I had a bit of an epiphany. I finally thought of a blog that I could start that was related to this and my background! I felt quite excited after and spoke with one of the volunteers about how I might be able to sign up. I left feeling a bit positive for the first time in a long time!

Ran to First Half Marathon Volunteer Gig

After the seminar, I ran to the Forerunners Store, which is where I would be volunteering for the First Half Marathon race. I hadn’t even thought of volunteering for this race until I found out that some of my friends were running in it. I would be doing package pick up for four hours tonight.

I decided to run the short distance to the store. It was a slight decline so I figured that I could handle that. I did manage to run it at a slow pace without too much pain in my hip or my Achilles tendon areas. I was hoping that I’d be able to talk with some fellow runners about this pain and see if they knew what it was and how I might be able to get rid of it.

Handing Out Race Bibs

My job would be to look up runners’ information and give them the correct race bib. I’ve done that many times before, for other races. I was paired up with a fellow marathon runner, so we got to swap stories about running and marathons when we weren’t ‘run’ off our feet working.

My friend came to pick up her race bib so I was happy to see her all excited about her first race! I promised her that I would cheer her on at the race on Sunday. I found out that there are at least 4 other people who I know who are running so it should be fun cheering them on, too!

After my shift, I ran home. I was a little tired, being on my feet the whole time and then running home. My hip and Achilles tendon were aching but I was happy that I was even able to run that much today! I collapsed in bed.

Day Six Hundred and Thirteen of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Another Good Sleep

Although I had fallen asleep late last night, I managed to have a good sleep despite my hip pain. It was another beautiful sunny day but it was quite cold. We have had a fairly mild winter so it’s been a bit of a shock for us to experience colder weather lately.

Reunion with Old Friend

I went downtown to meet up with an old friend who was in town. We went through kindergarten to university together but lost touch in our mid 20s. She called me out of the blue last week to meet up because she was coming to Vancouver with her husband on a business trip.

She hadn’t changed that much since I saw her except that her hair was almost all white. She still has the same slim figure that she had when she was in high school. After a short time, it felt like it hadn’t been long at all since we had talked.

We went to Stepho’s, a Vancouver institution, a very popular Greek restaurant. I suggested that we go for a late lunch because it gets very busy. This is so popular that there are regularly long line ups.

We had a nice lunch and caught up. I had brought three high school year books and we looked at the photos and wondered what had become of a lot of people. I didn’t really want to talk about what I was doing now, career-wise. I just talked about what I had been doing in the years since we saw each other and how now, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next.

Since losing my job, that’s always been a sore point for me, having to tell people what I do for a living. For the most part, I can dance around it a bit and be vague but every time somebody asks me, it really makes me sad. If there’s ever a time that I feel like a loser, it’s then.

My friend is not working and has not been for years, partly because of a chronic fatigue disease she had contracted so we didn’t talk too much about careers. She told me about a mutual friend of ours who is already retiring! At our age! It turns out that her husband is doing really well so they can afford to retire early. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t totally envious of their position.

Massage Therapy Appointment

I was lucky to get a free massage therapy appointment today at the school. If I ever needed a massage, it was today! Although I had been hoping that I’d be able to get a general relaxing massage, I knew that because of my injury, I’d have to have them work on my hip.

Today was a new student. I had forgotten to ask for my previous therapists when I made an appointment. He was quite diligent so I was happy. He also showed me some exercises that I could do to try to help. I was really glad that I could get this free appointment today.

Walked Home

I felt a little better after my appointment. I didn’t feel well enough to run home but I did feel well enough to walk home. I sort of felt lame though, walking instead of running. I tried to walk at a brisker pace at least. When I’m not running, it takes so much longer to get anywhere.

Marathon Training Clinic Class

I got to my marathon training clinic class and chatted with my fellow marathoners before it started. I had told them of my recent injury and most of them nodded in sympathy and offered suggestions to deal with it. Another girl was also not running because she has a bad cold.

Tonight, we had a lecture about what to wear when training and running the marathon. Although most of them were things that I already knew about, I wasn’t really aware of one product. When I did my last marathon, I was shocked by two things, first of all, I had kept my long braid under my jacket so when I got home, it was all a big matted mess that took me a long time to untangle. Second, I had sores under my bra band from the chafing, that took days to heal.

There’s nothing I can do about the hair so much but at least I learned about a glide product I could use to help with the chafing areas. That’s odd that I had blocked out that painful memory until tonight.

I walked home after the class. I was still favoring my left side. I was feeling a little worried about just how long it might take me to recover from this hip injury. I’ve had set backs before, but now that I’m doing this formal marathon training program, I really don’t want anything to keep me from it.