Miss me?

HAHA so I haven't written on this thing in like a gagillion years, anyone miss me yet? just kidding.

So what has been going on here....hmmm.....where to start..
I'll start at my weekend home. no actually I start when I first saw my friends.
It was October 25th I think, and there was a huge retreat in Hamilton, called ATF and my youth group was there. It was my first year not going, and it was like one of the only chances I would get to see most of my friends, who don't live in Ingersoll...So I went on my day off to visit them in Hamilton. I have to say if was one of the best days of my life, even though it was only for like an hour, it was still really fun.

Now lets fast forward up to November 7th, that was the friday night starting my 48 hours off. I told one of my really good friends that I wasn't aloud to come home, and had her convinced. Well when I got home I visited with my family for a bit, and then I made my venture(driving for the first time since I've left) up to her house to surprise her.
I believe it went like this.
(knocking on the door)"hey joel is jessica home?
Joel: Yes
Me: Can you get her to come down here but don't tell her I'm here.
Joel: Okay
Jessica: YOU LIED TO ME!!!
(running down the stairs and plowing Stephanie over)
haah I believe thats how the night started. We talked for like an hour, and I have to say it was a GREAT start to my 48 hours off.
So on Saturday I went to visit my friend and her baby, and I have to say it was a really good time, pretty much re-kindling old friendships. I spent pretty much the whole mid afternoon and afternoon with her. After spending an amazing time with her, I then went to another friends house to hang out with some of my other friends. We watched movies and ate pizza!! first fast food in 2 months, crazy eh?
That night my friend slept over, and I have to say it was one of the nicest sleeps I have ever had, mainly becuase I wasn't on a bed for kids who wet the bed. it was a real bed!!!!
Then Sunday we went to church, and I saw so many people that I have been missing. it was really needed
Sunday afternoon I kinda re packed my stuff up, and made supper for everyone, and the came back to hamilton.
My week after that at work was crazy busy. I have been super busy at work everyday, but I love it. I love my job, and I love the feeling of being overwhelmed with work. I feel like I am actually an employee at my job.
Now to yesterday(friday the 14th)
I'll start off at work. I worked upstairs in the morning like I usually do, but this day was different. I was running a Christmas decoration store, so different centres could come and shop(for free) for any Christmas decorations that they want. I was having so much fun helping people that I decided to put on Christmas music to get everyone in the spirit, and apparently I please many people. my boss recieved an email later that day from one lady who came into shop, saying how much she enjoy my christmas music, and my help. it was nice.
then that night we had our billeting open house. It was a night for our billets to come and meet the group, see our house, and really see what Katimavik is like. It was a fun night.

So hopfully this blog makes up for everyone that I Haven't written in like this past million years.

Peace out!!
Stephanie

House Manager WHAT!?!?!

Yep thats right! This past week I was house manager, and the best house manager there is!!!

uhh not quite......



So I have to say this week has been one of the most slack weeks that I have had, I pretty much did nothing!!! It was soo great, yet soo boring . I spent the week as House manager with Kiersten and we pretty much did all of the work that we needed to do at the beginning of the week, and had the rest of the week off. I enjoyed being house manager to really only get the experience of what it is like to cook and clean up after 12 people, but I have to say that I really got bored after a while. I just couldn't find enough stuff to do with my week, that I was sick of myself....

Let me give you a little run down of what the house manager week was like...

Monday: We cleaned pretty much everything, and did some grocery shopping. We also made chocolate covered Strawberries for when everyone got home from work.. Cooking was good, we made Taco Salad(YUMMMMMMM) and honestly I don't think I have ever made soo much taco salad in my life as I did that day, there was soooooooo much, but everyone loved it, and Kiersten and I also made 6 loaves of bread, CRAZZZYYY!!! haha Thank you Ericka and Kierstens Gramma!

Tuesday: Yet again we cleaned, but not as much as we did Monday, it was a little bit less busy, and then we made over 100 cookies, hahaha it was fun, and then for supper we made Macaronni Casserole, and oh my gosh there was so much that the pan was seriously heavy and I had a hard carrying it to the table ahha but then again I don't have the biggest muscles either:) Thank You Kierstens Mom:)

Wednesday: Again we cleaned and it was the beginning of the slackness. We cleaned the bathrooms, and then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day, ahah and thats when I started to not enjoy house manager because I was sooo stinkin' bored!!! and then we cooked Potato bowls for supper, I have to say it was pretty good....Thanks Mom!!!! haha

Thursday: So this day was ridicoulusly boring, I hated this day the most out of the whole day!!!!!! Chelsea our PL was gone away for the day and night, and all we did was quickly clean what we had to and then made rice crispie squares, and then watch a movie. Not really the ideal day that I wanted to have.......But supper was pretty good, We made this stuff called Fiesta Chicken Pasta, and it was pretty good... Thank You Kraft Canada:)

Friday: Friday was a better day, we cleaned and did some more shopping and went to LimeRidge Mall!!! and then got ready to go out for the SISO grand opening! it was a good time, and we didn't have to cook:):) It was great

Saturday: This day we had to do a hot breakfast so we made Egg McMuffins and man where they good!!!! And again Chelsea was gone so we really didn't do anything, I went to visit my good old friends while they were here in Hamilton at ATF, I really enjoyed seeing them and it was great. Then I came home and made supper, and we had Stir Fry!!! It was good, but again we made lots haha, but theres nothing wrong with that at all!! Thank you Ericka!! haha

Sunday: Thats today, again we had to have a hot breakfast so we made muffins last night, and then some fruit and left it for the house while Kiersten and I went to church. We really didn't do much today because we have soo many meetings, so we just basically have been home here doing nothing, and tonight we're cooking, well not really cooking, we're just setting out Tacos haha!! So it should be good....

So thats a little run down of my week as House Manager and let me tell you, I am soooooooo glad to be going back to work tomorrow, and I can't wait!!! I love my work and I really don't like being away from it because my office work gets to big and then it's stressful and overwhelming!!

Anyways I'm out to make some supper. I'll write back next Sunday!!

See you all in 8 months....or earlier;) haha

Love ya'll
Stephanie:)

Sunday

My Past Week...

So this past week has been my favourite week.
Work has been amazing, and I love it all and way more then I did before..
So lets do a little recap.
Monday was like a re stock day, and we just re stocked everything, and then worked in the food bank. Tuesday again I worked in the food bank, and as reception for the afternoon. It was okay, but I was just getting used to it becuase I had only worked as reception like 2 times before. Wednesday again I was in the food bank, but then there was too many people in the food bank in the morning so I was upstairs in the clothing area sorting shoes, which was actually really fun. Then in the afternoon I was reception, and I was more used to it, and finally got to the point that every reception has been to, and that is being yelled at for the first time. Because we were only taking a certain amount of people, and there is some rules in the foodbank, I had to re inforce them and people weren't too happy. But who cares what happens happens, and I guess I have to follow management rule. So Thursday I was working reception in the morning, and that was the worst reception time. I was called soo many names that I can't even post them here on this blog, and I had door slammed into my stomach like a billion times, but hey I guess that how it goes at a food bank, and I just have to get used to it becuase it's going to happen way more often. Then in the afternoon I was getting my Hifis training on the computer, and it was really fun......I apparently understood the program way better then anyone else that my trainer has ever trained, which I guess is good. So today was my ABSOLUTE favourite day of all. I worked as reception in the morning but at around 11:30 I was called over the PA system(yeah thats right) to go up to the third floor and pretty much manage the floor while Christina was downstairs helping with grocery interviews..so that was pretty cool. And then in the afternoon I was working in the office(I sound so professional and feel professional when I say that haha) and I sorted 9 files with Christmas Hamper vouchers, and made up the sheet of how many hampers each person gets and all that stuff, and then for the second time that day I was called over the PA system again to go downstairs and help in the food bank. Ha ha I feel so important when I get called every where, and it really gives me a reality of what the real work force being a Social Worker is going to be like. I LOVED IT!!!!!

That was pretty much my week. It was exciting and I loved it!!
Saturday is going to be fun, we're just going to do random activities like go to the falls around here in Hamilton, and then Sunday my parents are coming up to visit and take me out for lunch, so that should be fun. I'm really excited for this weekend, and my week of work next week, only because Christina is gone, and she left me a list of all the things I need to get done, and I get to work in the office, and it's soo exciting, and I can't wait to do more of the office work, and pretty much be called around every where, and get into the real world of working!!!!

Anyways I'm out for the night!!!
I'm soo excited for work, I couldn't have gotten a better placement. ahah

Peace out!
Stephanie:)

How have things been going?

Well that would be a question most people are asking me.

So here is my blog to tell you about whats been going on.....

I have been here for about 2 weeks, and I am loving every single minute of it!!!!!!

I wouldn't change one bit. I started work on Monday and it has been the best job so far..

So let me recap my weeks....

Well we arrived here in Hamilton Sunday the 21st and then for the first week we really just got to know Hamilton and each other...I touched on that in my previous blogs...We also had our tours of each placement where we could have possibly worked, and also had our interviews....Interviews you may ask.... and I say yes interviews.... we had to choose our top three places that we would like to work at and then Chelsea our Project leader picked one place that she things would be good for us, and then we do those four interviews..... after we do the interviews my project leader Chelsea then chooses what our placement is on what the work manager said and what she thinks is best for us..
Then the following Saturday(haha the next day) we were told our Placements, and mine is at the Good Shepherd.

So what I do there is this....I'm going to give you an outline of my whole week...seeing as I just finshed my first week of work. Monday, we had the day off so we didn't start work, and basically all we did was go shopping and hang out here at home. Tuesday, it was my first day of work and I was sooo stinkin nervous. I was soo nervous that my day started off with me getting off at the wrong stop which happened to b elik 6 blocks away from my work...bummer and my bus was late so I pretty much just ran the whole way there and happened to make it there at like 9:05 but my boss didn't even care because my bus was late... Then that day I just was walked through what to do on the third floor which is the clothing floor, and I sorted clothes, and pots and pans. Then I was shown how to do some paper work, and then for the afternoon I was down at the food bank bagging fruits and veggitables with this really cute old lady:) Wednesday was a little bit better, but I still had bad luck with the buses. I had to start work at 8:00 which I do now always, and I ended up taking a B-Line bus which only stops at important intersections, but I didn't know that, and pulled the bell a street before the street I needed to be on and the bus driver didn't stop, so I asked when the next stop was and he said a street that was like 4 blocks away. so I went up to another main street took a bus back to my stop and then again ran to work, and got there at precisely 8:01 haha, and then I sorted clothes for the whole morning, and then in the afternoon I worked in the food bank and learned how to manage the orders. Thursday was a much better day and I had such great luck with the buses, I got on the right bus and the bus driver even stopped at my street that I needed to get off on even though there wasn't even a bus stop there, I was very happy. I then worked in the food bank the whole day, and in the morning learned more of what to do with orders, and then in the afternoon I was taught how to do reception. It was such a sad and depressing job, because of how many young pregnant teens come into the food bank...it's sad, overall that day was sad... and then today(friday) again my bus luck was good. I had the same bus driver and again he let me off right at my street without there even being a bus stop there, and then again I worked in the food bank all day. I pretty much taught two new people how to manage orders and pack them and so on, and then in the afternoon I worked reception by myself, and again it was kinda a sad day but I felt soo good because I was making someones day that much better, by helping them out with groceries...so that was my week at work. Overall it was amazing, and SOOO much better than what I expected. I'm really excited for next week to see whats gonna happen. I'll write more next friday to tell you all about my week.

Peace out ya'll
Stephanie!!

I'm Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I am finally here settled into my house.
First off lets start with Mass-O camp.
I left for London at 1:00 and caught my bus at 2:30, and then travelled to Toronto to pick up my team, after my team was picked up from the bus termonal we went to the airport to pick up the rest of the people. Then we took another bus to Dunnville to start our camp.
Masso camp was with the Welland house and the Port Colbourne house a long with my house.
We were there from Wednesday night to Sunday afternoon. It was a very fun week, getting to know my group, new people and just what this experience is going to be like. after our Mass-O camp we dropped of the Welland and Port Colbourne group and travelled 2 more hours on a bus to our house here in Hamilton.

We have been here in Hamilton since Sunday night, and I have been having a blast!!!!!
I'll post more after becuase I'm tired haha
Love you all!!!

1 day and almost a half!!!!

I leave in like a day and almost a half(not quite a half) and the nerves are starting to get to me.
I have talked to like so many people, and say how much I'm going to miss this town(Ingersoll) and especially the people in it, and they always say yeah but don't worry cause your going to meet new people and you'll be fine, but how come whenever someone says that to you it seems to get harder to leave?

I am faced with a huge difficulty and roadblock for when I leave on Wednesday, I so want to have fun and let my fears go unnoticed, and step out of my comfort zone to meet new people, but I so desire to stay in my natural comfortable habitat. But I guess thats why I'm with other people, who will hopefully soon grow to accept me and like me just as much as everyone here does. I know forsure that I will never be alone. I will not be alone in the category of people feeling the exact same way as I do. I had talked to my PL the other day whom seemed to be a very nice girl, and I just hope everyone is as nice.

I leave very soon, and now that I have my packing done reality is sinking in. I'm going to be gone from home with no parents to help me through it, for 9 months!!! I'm going to have to suck it up and not be a mommy's girl or a daddy's girl for the whole 9 months and be my own girl:) haha, hopefully it'll work.

I'll write more, and my first official post about Katimavik will probably be sunday or monday night:)

Stay tunned my lovely readers:)

Stephanie

7 more sleeps!!!! HOLLA!!!!

Thats right,
theres only 7 sleeps until I leave, and I am sooo stoked (for all of you older ones readying this stoked means excited)
I still have to pack, and buy some stuff, but it's all good
I think I can handle the stress,
So I bought my bus ticket, and thats really exciting!!! only becuase the man gave me the bus ticket with a student dicount, and I didn't even have my student card, and I'm not even techincally a student becuase I'm not in school....cool huh?

So I had this dream last night that I was on my way , and I forgot all my luggage, and my dad got on the bus that left half hour after my bus did, and met me in toronto trying to find me to give me my luggage, and he couldn't find me, and then my group said that only my family wasn't aloud to visit, so I was stuck wearing the exact same thing for 9 months!!
Gross eh?
so i'm really hoping I remember my luggage, ahah
but how could I forget it becuase it's soo big....

but thats all I got for today, just wanted to let you know how many days, and about my dream ahah

Love you all!!!
Peace out!
Stephanie

10 days what!?!?!

Thats right, I leave in 10 days!!!!!!!
I'm sooo excited to leave,(haha as I've posted in my other ridculous blogs) I have so much to do and it's like now crunch time and I feel like I wont be able to get it done!!! I have so many people to see, and I've being trying soo sooo hard to see everyone, but only half hour at lunch time is sooo hard, but I'm determined to see everyone!!!!So if you read this and I haven't seen you yet, don't worry I'll see you:)

So I recieved my package in the mail which tells me all about my bus routes and man I'm soo excited, but I'm sooo stinkin scared ahha, I've never taken a bus before, let alone by myself, but I think it'll be fun. Just sit behind the driver and beside a little cute old lady and everythings good:)

So I take a bus to TO where I'll meet up with my team and two other groups and I'm off for Oreintation camp:) which should be interesting. After my 3 days of orientation camp, i'm off to Hamilton to start my adventures. There I'll do numerous activities and volunteer works, and then on January 7th I'm off to the cold province of Newfoundland, and then on March 25th I'll pack my bags again and travel out west to Manitoba, where I will stay three months and on June 17th I'll end my journey and come back to boring(it will be to me after this is done) old Ingersoll

Well thats all I got for today, keep in touch because I'll make on more post before I leave about randomness and wanting to leave, and then it'll all be post about the fun I'm having and possibly the fun your not having hah:)

Love you all!!
Peace out!
Stephanie

19 DAYSSS!!!!!!!!!!

oh man you don't know how excited I am to be leaving in only 19 days!!!!
but then again with all that excited comes stress.....the dredded stress:(
I honestly can't wait to start to adventure on September 17th but then again I'm scard. I've never been away from home for more than like a week, let alone without friends, and people I don't know. So thats kind of scary.
But I just can't wait to leave and meet my group members, and hopefully make lifetime friends. I'm so excited to start my work, although I don't know what it is yet, I'm sure it will be utterly amazing!!!!!!

I don't really have much to post on this time, and really until I leave, so my next couple posts will be just really how many days left until I leave:):)

Stephanie

Only 36 more days!!

Time is going by so so fast!
Only 36 more days and then I'm off! 36 days, that's almost a month and makes me that much more excited, I just can't wait to leave. My nerves are starting to go away and my excitement is starting to kick in:):)

There is still so much to do, and with most of my financial situations gone(paying for laptop and medical stuff) I feel so much better. It feels like my list of things to do has totally gone down immensely in length!

There is really not much to post about except, I want you guys to go and watch this video, it's amazing and I love it! It's really sad but I think that with awareness we can stop abuse.
Going into Katimavik, there is a chance I may be working with teens or women or even men who have been abused and have been taken out of their home, or even homeless people who have become homeless from abuse and trying to get away, and I think that we should do all that we can to stop abuse and to help people who are in this situation to get out of it, although I have never experienced it, I know that so many people who are in this situation are trying to get out but just can't.

The link I'm posting is for a music video called Alyssa Lies, and it's about this little girl who met a new friend who was abused and in the end she dies. This particular video is about a class who used this song for English and people were actually removed from their homes because they spoke up about being abused to their teacher after watching this video in class.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpE73PvU9bk

anyways I'm off.
hope you somewhat enjoy video, and I hope it speaks to you

comment to tell me what you think.

Peace out!
Stephanie:)

40 more days!!!

Wow where to start!
Time is going by soo soo fast. I have only 40 days left until I leave, and you don't know how stressed I am.

There is just so much to do, and I feel as though I wont be able to get any of it done. There is also so much to figure out. Like firstly what clothes to bring, what shoes to wear, and of course how much underwear to bring:P! haha just kidding about the underwear situation.
What if I forget something important, like for example underwear!! my total worst fear when I'm gone, that I'll forget underwear. Like how embarrassing can that be :S haha. So lets just hope that I don't forget them. What else is there. Buses!!!!! anyone hear about that man in Manitoba who was on a bus sleeping and had his head cut off!! That could be me. What if that happens to me when I'm on the bus to Toronto? huh? For the record I would like to keep my head, and I think I'm just being waaaayyy too paranoid huh?

So in 40 days I'm off to Toronto to pick up my fellow Katimavikers, and then off back here to Hamilton for my first three months. When January 7th roles along, I'll be taking the flight(I think and hope) out east to Newfoundland, where I will spend the freezing cold winter there..eek! I hate winter... and then on March 25th my voyage will turn around to come back to Manitoba, to speak french...mind you I suck at french, for my last 3 month rotation.....on June 17th, watch out Ontario(Ingersoll mainly) becuase Stephanie Tree will be back to rock your socks off like usual:)

It shall be a swell time.
I'll make sure I post when the time gets closer, and when I'm gone. Keep watching for more posts from the Travelling Tree:) on her Katimavik voyage.

Peace out!
Stephanie.

ps: leave some comments when I'm gone so I atleast know some people are reading this. I don't want to be writing, and think that no one reads this. How depressing!!!

pss: You can also email me whenever you feel like it at stephanie.katimavik@gmail.com, and again please email me just so I know people are actually still remembering me, and that people care about me:) Love you all!