Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Pink Hard Hat goes to Work

I am reposting the "Deats" of my blog here to address some issues-highlighted below:
I recently graduated university and I am now looking for work. After spending countless hours at school finishing my degree and the million other things I was involved with, this sudden free time is kind of scary. Hence the blog. Over the next unknown time period I will embark on an adventure of leisure. Follow along to see how a overachiever, super scheduler, perpetual planner (etc.) survives the NOTHING TO DO!

Firstly, I actually didn't officially graduate in January when I started my blog...I finished school then, and my actual graduation is on Wednesday. The truth comes out! 

Secondly, my adventure of of leisure is about to come to an end.  As some of you may know, I officially have a true blue engineering job! I will be starting my position at SNC Lavalin on June 20th, in Mississauga ON.  I will have a desk and maybe even a shelf to books on! And the Pink Hard Hat will actually be used as a hard hat instead of a identification tool. 

I guess I should have talked about the name of my blog before now. I actually do own and wear a pink hard hat..like this: 

The past year I used it during my term as president of the engineering society for big events (like in the event above) so if people and volunteers needed me, I was easy to spot (for orientation events, all the organizing committee wore hard hats and it worked super well.) I digress...

I got my pink hard hat working on my first co-op job. I was working at a mine, and had commented on one of the contract employee's bright pink hard hats, and next thing you know, one of them showed up on my desk (a hat, not a contract employee). For those of you who can't imagine working at a mine/construction site, there aren't too many pink hardhats floating around. Or girls for that matter.  

At first I was hesitant to wear it. I figured I was already in a minority, why bring more attention to it. Then one day I decided to be bold and wear the hat.  I was driving around the mine site doing safety inspections and I noticed people looking at me, I was convinced that I was driving wrong, or breaking some sort of rule...and then suddenly I remembered that I was wearing a bright pink hard hat. 

Over time, I realized that if a sleazy worker dude was going to make a comment, I would rather it be about the colour of my hard hat, than about the fact that "OMG IT IS A GIRL WHO IS AN ENGINEER" And the distraction worked perfectly!  

Not everyone agrees with my hat, but over the past 3 years I have come to love it, and what it stands for to me. It shows that you can be girly, wear bright pink, and still be an engineer! 

As for this bloggity blog, even when I start work I will still be posting! I have a big move ahead (ugh more packing) and huge life dealios to figure out! The theme of the blog may change slightly, and I may have to update the Deats, but overall its going to keep rolling!

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Amazing Road Trip-Part 2

Read Part 1 for this to make any sense :)


Last time on the Amazing Road Trip: Kaylee and Mike faced their way through roadblocks and detours, and found themselves in Toronto. Now they are setting off to New York City.

Leg 4 Toronto-NYC
Detour-Expressway or Cheapway- Teams must decide to navigate the backroads of the State of New York, or spend money on Tolls. Kaylee and Mike decide that using an Interstate system is totally worth the toll booth every couple miles.
Roadblock- Do you know the value of the Dollar? One team member must find a place to change money in the small town of Niagara (US) on a Sunday. Kaylee takes on this challenge and ends up going into the casino (biggest casino ever for a very tiny town) and changing money there. She almost decides to gamble with the money, but time is of the essence as Mike is waiting for her in the car.

Highlights- driving through NY and the Cat Skillz Skills Mountain, meeting a older man from New York at a rest stop who told us stories of fishing in Quebec and asked if we knew certain people in Nova Scotia after finding out that we were from the East Coast of Canada.
Pitstop- Holiday Inn Express in North Bergen, New Jersey

Leg 5- New York City
Detour-Central Park Snooze or Central Park Sneeze. Teams must decide between relaxing in Central park or  leaving central park because of a pollen allergy attack. Kaylee and Mike leave and find a drugstore and then go back to enjoy the pollinating trees.
Roadblock-North East South and West- One team member must be able to determine their location after coming out of subway stations. Kaylee picks this detour as she is good with maps, but quickly discovers that all street corners look the same.
Highlights- Full bus tour of NYC, Boat ride in the rivers, Empire State Building, LION KING, Gotham Comedy club, shopping, Central Park, Museum of Natural History, and NYC in general!
Pitstops- Holiday Inn Express in North Bergen, New Jersey

Leg 6- New York City to Boston
Roadblock- Have your Cake and Eat it too- Before leaving NJ, one team member must complete the task of eating some cake from Carlos Bakery from TLC's Cake Boss. Mike grudgingly volunteers for this task.
Detour- Shop or Stop- Teams have a choice between stopping to sightsee on the drive to Boston or stopping to shop at the outlet malls. Kaylee and Mike choose shopping and do well at this task.
Highlights-Shopping! And delicious cake! (Lowlights include a ridiculous traffic jam in Connecticut, that lasted the entire state!)
Pit Stop- Crown Plaza in Newton Massachusetts

Leg 7- Boston
Detour- Blue or Bruin- Teams can choose to either see a Blue Man group performance or go to the Bruins playoff game. Kaylee and Mike are u-turned and must do both tasks, oh well!
Roadblock- 1 if by land, 2 if by sea- One team member must choose to drive the roads of Boston, some are on original land, and some are on man made land which was once part of the Boston Bay. Mike takes on this challenge, and becomes very frustrated with the one way narrow streets and strange layout of the Boston road system.
Highlights- Bruins game, Blue Man Group, sightseeing around Boston!
Pit Stop- Crown Plaza in Newton Massachusetts

Leg 8- Boston- Halifax
Detour- Rain or Shine- Teams must choose to leave the sun of Boston behind them and head north, or they can spend more time taking the scenic route home. After 2 weeks on the road Kaylee and Mike decide to try to get back to Halifax as soon as possible.
Roadblock- You are Canadian Eh?- One team member must answer the questions at customs. Mike takes on this challenge and when asked tells the customs officer that the trip has been "about a week" in the states. The custom officer asks them to clarify what "about a week" is and then sends them on their way.
Highlights-Ummm....driving 12+ hours in the Rain?
Finish Line- Halifax Nova Scotia

Overall, an excellent trip!!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Amazing Road Trip-Part 1

Hi again world (or at least the 20-30 ppl who read this)!  I have been busy the past little while. As per the last blog, I moved into my boyfriend's parent's house for the time being until life works itself out. I also have been travelling! For a post grad trip my boyfriend and I went on a Roadtrip. It was our AMAZING RACE...

Phil: Lets meet the teams of the Amazing Race!!! Just one team this time: Two engineering graduates, dating for 3 years..Kaylee and Mike. They are about to embark on a journey across provinces and states, all for $1,000,000 (Hey I can dream can't I!)

Leg 1 Halifax-Bathurst-Ottawa
Detour- 5 hour drive/5 hour snooze: the team will have the choice of driving 5 hours to Bathurst after hosting a wine and cheese party, or they can choose to sleep in and not visit the Famjam (aka family). Mike and Kaylee have decided to choose driving, as they feel this is the better choice in life, not only the Amazing Race.
Roadblock-Parlez vous francais? Kaylee has chosen to complete this roadblock which involves navigating through Quebec, and communicating with the locals.
Highlights: Visit to the family in Bathurst, a nice drive along the Fleuve St. Laurent, and St. Hubert in Montreal
Pitstops: The Villa in Bathurst, Chimo Hotel in Ottawa

Leg 2 Ottawa-Toronto
Detour-Hot Engines and Hot Politics: Arriving on the night of the election, teams can choose to go and visit Parliament hill and congratulate the leader of the opposition, or can go on a tour of the national research council and look at jet engine turbines. They pick Hot Engines, because Mike thinks this is cool.
Roadblock-Economic Action Plan: One team member must navigate the construction that has been happening due to the Economic Action Plan at rush hour. Mike cheats by using GPS. The team gets a 30 minute penalty (aka a traffic jam).
Highlights- Drive by of Parliament hill, getting lost(ish) twice, and a tour of the national research council.
Pitstops- Kaylee's Uncle and Aunt's House

Leg 3 Toronto
Detour-Shoes in Glass or Shots on Ice- Teams can either choose between touring the BATA shoe museum, or going to the Air Canada Centre for a tour. This proves to be a difficult choice for the team, but they pick Air Canada Centre.
Roadblock-Mi Casa Loma es su Casa Loma: One team member must find the secret tunnel in Casa Loma where they did secret army stuff in WWII. Mike succeeds, by looking at the map on the brochure, and following the millions of children on a school trip to Casa Loma.
Highlights-Visiting the extended family, visiting friends, and job interviews (more on that later).
Pitstops-Kaylee's Grandparent's House

Stay tuned for clips from the next episode....
"Will Kaylee and Michael make it to New York City? One team member faces challenges changing money in the states, one team member can't handle the streets of Boston...all next time on the AMAZING RACE"