Sturm - und drang.
We're down here... the second-last to feel Noel's wrath. Newfoundland will be the last, but current reports are that the storm has tracked slightly westward, taking the eye directly over southern New Brunswick and hopefully - speaking from past experience - taking some of the punch out, by taking it over land a little longer, before it hits Newfoundland tomorrow.In other news, Sherwood was right when he emailed to comment that the cat had let the monkey out of the bag last week. I submitted my notice to my employer yesterday. Then I went out and got drunk (or as near as is respectable for a lady of my years) with Husband and C. to celebrate.
I did not do so recklessly - out of the clear blue sky an offer I couldn't refuse dropped into my lap last week. The upside is that I will continue to work with the same multicultural associations and community associations that I work with now, only on a government payroll with much better pay and benefits. The downside is that I'll have either a 4-hour daily commute or will live away from Husband and the kitties for several days each week.
The adventure is that the lingua franca of the workplace is French. So it's going to be trial by passé composé, I suppose. However, living for part of the week in Moncton will give me plenty of opportunity to shop, eat, read, listen, and live in French, in the office and beyond; so it's time to put my parlez-vouses where my mouth is, I guess.
Wish me luck. I'm incredibly excited and absolutely terrified.
ronnie
Labels: work
posted by ronnie at
8:05 p.m.
10 Comments:
Congratulations!! You'll do great - they knew you would, when they made the offer!
Funny you're getting the tropical storm. We barely got a whisper out of it!
Congratulations and good luck - er - bonne chance! Been reading you for a while via r.a.c.s and enjoying it. And I bookmarked your cat's journal, too. *shakes head*
Good luck.
I had a four-hour commute for over two years. It's draining, but it's possible to get used to it. This actually involved two jobs. The first was basically nine hours a day, including lunch, and it wasn't that bad.
The second was 12-hour days plus the four hour commute, and that was too much.
I handled it largely by listening to lots of podcasts in the car. I don't know how that would work with the implant. Are you going to drive it or take the train?
Congratulations on the job.
What a scary thing to do. I am impressed by your courage! Not surprised, though.
Carl wonders about listening to podcasts in the car and how that would work with the implant. I wonder about how, if at all, the implant will affect working in a second-language environment. I'm sure it will be better than it would be without one (duh!), but will it present any special challenges or benefits?
You go, girl! And give some extra scritches to Mojo just from me.
wowowow!! bonne chance, indeed!!! you are une femme brave, I'll say that. what an incredible step to take. enjoy it, sister!
what startling news, too, that y'alls are catching the last of that nasty hurricane. one tends to think of canada as the great frozen north, not aswirl with tropical rain and wind. or do you get snow?? hurricanes in canada...who knew? fits very well with your new job. the rain kachina has come to bless the day!!
oh...p.s.
take the train! you can read, nap, listen and look at whatever you want. hell with a 4-hr commute!
vas-tu, jeunne fille!
Wow, gutsy! You'll figure a way to work it out. Best of luck.
Bonne chance Ronnie! I'm sure you'll handle the new job and its commute just fine.
Wow, what nice supportive comments! Thank you, to all of you!
Amusingly, even before I could respond to Xtreme English's comment, she had done some independent research to discover that passenger train service (outside of the densely-populated regions ranging from Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal to Quebec City and their suburbs) is slim on a good day to nil on a bad one, so j'irais en voiture, je suis désolé de vous dire.
As far as listening in the car, it'll be French talk radio to help with the immersion. Won't make for the funnest ride but an educational one. When one of the deadly earnest local francophone stations is simply too much to bear, there's CBC, and podcasts are an excellent idea to make sure I've always got something interesting on hand.
Sherwood, the implant interferes with functioning in my second language inasmuch as you are trying that much harder to catch every syllable and phrase, and I am handicapped in doing that. On the one hand, the unit gives me another reason to ask people to slow down and speak clearly, so in a way it's a plus for me. On the other, it is indisputably more difficult to catch everyday conversation in any language using the CI vs. natural hearing, given how people mumble, mutter, speak too fast, wander in and out of rooms while talking, cover their mouths, speak with their backs to you, and generally just do their best to make themselves hard to understand!
But I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least try.
Thanks again everyone for your support. You rock!
ronnie
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home