First days
This week was my first time in Calgary. It has confirmed that I have the absolute WORST sense of direction. Ever. It’s a miracle I’ve never been reported missing.
Calgary has this skywalk called the +15 that connects the downtown core through a series of overhead walkways so you never actually have to go outside into the cold. It’s almost surreal. All these people rushing in all directions, along the way there are shops, cafes, restaurants and dentists. A high concentration of dentists. Thankfully I had a guide, because I’m fairly certain that without the guide, I would still be aimlessly around wandering the +15.
When people say it’s a dry cold they should really emphasize the dry part. Honestly they should just say it’s dry with a bit of a chill. My skin is dry, my sinuses are dry, my lips are dry and my poor, spoiled west coast throat has just simply said well fuck this and has quit working completely. I started to lose my voice on the 2nd day and woke up this morning with no voice at all. Perfect for the training I had to do this morning via Skype. The guy actually said “good night last night?”.
Let me tell you that when you sound like a squeaking mouse in the middle of pandemic hysteria people sure look at you suspiciously. I was almost positive the Uber driver was going to ask me to get out of his car. I assured him I feel great, just a west coaster out of her element.
Another immediate observation is the shocking difference between government offices and those of the private sector. Wow. Fancy digs. The swag wasn’t a pen or a lanyard, it was a Yeti travel mug. I could get used to this.
Monday morning was all the usual first day stuff, access cards, pick up laptop, get logged in, download software and so on. For me it was easy as pie. Within minutes I’m up and running! Then I look around at the other members of our team... less success. No one is up and running. After 4 hours of calls to the service desk, me going from laptop to laptop helping where I can, a few trips down to the tech support guys and a lot of swearing the majority of the crew is functional and we can finally get down to the project overview. These guys are experts in their fields. Computers are not their field at all but that’s ok, I can worry about the tech shit and they can focus on making sure that our sites stay safe.
This is the boys club. For the last 3 days I have been the only woman in the room. It hasn’t been a negative experience at all, so far it’s actually much better than anticipated. The group is funny, friendly, welcoming and smart, really smart. The project overview was a lot of information for my little brain. The scope of the project is mind boggling. The responsibility of these guys is almost hard to wrap your head around.
I made a lot of notes, I have a lot of questions but I can also already see where I fit, where my skills can be put to use and where there are opportunities for me. The subject matter may be foreign to me but I can learn it as I go. I am finding myself afraid to ask questions in front of the group. I almost asked what a honey wagon was.... thankfully I put that one together all by myself before saying it out loud.
A former coworker and friend of mine recently relocated to Calgary and she was sweet enough to make the time to come meet me for dinner the other night (and some much needed girl talk!). She bravely made the move to a new city and is thriving. It was the exact reassurance I needed.
I miss my ladies already. My queens from work and my besties/soul mates who keep me grounded, sane and who make sure I always feel loved. It’s been 3 days and I’m already feeling that void. I’m going to have to learn to love FaceTime.
My kids seem to have barely noticed I left town. Also a good thing. That’s how it’s supposed to be, right? If you’ve done your job as a parent well then your kids grow up to be strong, independent adults who don’t need to run to their mommy every 4 hours. (Unrelated fact, I asked my mommy and daddy to pick me up from the airport so we can catch up.)
Today the crew had a safety summit to attend and I stayed behind to get some of work done in the office which meant I had to find my way to the office solo and then find my way to the airport solo. 45 years old and I have essentially ZERO experience navigating a new city solo. (Note to self: change this immediately!) I made it to the office, and on the way I found the perfect vanilla latte. I found the private office I was loaned for the day, I took myself out to lunch and spent an hour people watching while I ate delicious Pho. At the end of the day I made my way to airport to meet my boss. When I finally got through security he was waiting for me at Chili’s with a margarita. Yes please!
The next few weeks will be insane as we gear up to our mobilization date (check me out using the lingo) and the time is going to fly by!
I cannot thank you enough for all the love and support as I dive head first into this. It is truly motivating.
Love you all to the moon and back.
xoxo
Seanna
