Saskatoon Suspect

Hello everyone. Currently I'm in the process of packing to leave Saskatoon and doing paperwork to graduate from my course so this will likely be a short posting.

Today I spent my day at Global in court as I shadowed the Media coverage of a major local trial. Yesterday I did a live hit and several stories concerning yesterday's Native celebrations, the first time I've ever celebrated the day to any extent. I've enjoyed the past few days and I only wish I'd gotten into the area I'm shadowing now earlier last week.

For those who need to know here are the stats for my trip back to Brandon tomorrow:

Departure Target Between: 3:30 & 4:00pm CST
Arrival Target Between: 10:30 & 11:00pm CDT

I'm hoping to leave and arrive before then, although I'm not confident I'll be able to yet so we'll have to wait and see. Jessica isn't leaving tomorrow, she's staying likely till Saturday so I'll be making the trip on my own. Hopefully I can fit all this crap in my car...

Type Ya'll Tuesday!

Practicum Phase

First I'd like to note that one year ago tonight I had just returned to Brandon from the big trip to Chicago Shawn and I took last June. While it doesn't look like we'll be making a major trip this summer we're hoping to have the chance next summer. We've been eyeing the West coast of the United States for quite sometime and Shawn keeps telling me that next year is the year. We'll see Shawn, we'll see.

Jump back into the present for a second and we find ourselves in a land where I'm involved in one of my final days here in Saskatoon. Packing starts Thursday and I'll leave for my solo journey back to Brandon either Friday night or Saturday morning. While my practicum has definitely turned out to be a bit of a dud, I have enjoyed living out on my own for a little while (I'm totally domesticated. Did laundry tonight, went grocery shopping the other day and, have I mentioned my Swiffer?) While the city of Saskatoon didn't live up to my high expectations in the end that probably was to be expected. Before I left I remember everyone telling me what a nice town it was so I think I may have built a pedestal too high for the city of bridges to stand on. Still, despite It's quirks and problems (every city has them, they add character) I will miss this place to an extent and will leave with mostly fond memories of toon town.

My final shifts at Global wrap up this week with my final day being near the end of this week. I've been working a 9-6 shift since Monday, shadowing mostly shooters as they head out on their daily assignments. Unfortunately, it does look as though I will leave the station without ever having done any work in my specialization, making for a difficult fit for Global into my resume. Still, it would be unfair to say I haven't learned anything and I did have the chance to meet and chat to a few interesting people so for that at least I am thankful.

Not much else to say. Tomorrow is the deadline for me to quit Wal-Mart without having to return so if anyone has any quick ideas for summer employment in Brandon lemme know! Otherwise it looks like I'll be in for a month or so of the same old before trading that job in for something a little more refreshing.

Type Ya'll Thursday!

Global Gripes

Hi there everybody! Just a quick note that as my time here in Saskatoon starts to wind down I've decided to switch from my current Monday, Wednesday, Friday post model to a new Tuesday, Thursday post model. I figure as I get ready to move back to Brandon my available posting time will decrease, as will the topics I have to post about.

Speaking of topics, let's take a moment to pick on Global Saskatoon for a second. Now, those who know me best know that the past couple months have been a bit trying for me. First, it took forever to settle on a practicum location. Then, when we finally decided on Global my supervisor here changed the opening to something that has had very little, some weeks nothing to do with what I spent the last year doing in college. Combined with that my supervisor at Global has barely spoken to me since my arrival and is currently behind on his paperwork concerning me. Not that I can blame him for that last part since until last week I was as well, but still. It's not encouraging.

For the past 5 weeks I've been working off a schedule I created myself, desperately trying to use connections I've made with employees at the station to move myself from one area to the next. This week however has been a bit of an issue with my attempts to get into the next area failing the first few tries, delaying my move there till the end of this week. It's been a frustrating week/practicum and as much as I said when I left Brandon originally that I hoped to get a job out here upon my completion of college I'm looking forward to leaving the station that has caused me so many problems...

As for what I'll be up to upon my return to the wheat city that has yet to be decided for sure, though I am discussing the options with my parents. More school looks to be in the cards though nothing has been decided for sure yet. Wal-Mart also looks to be in the cards for the month of July, though as many of you will recall my time there on front end at least is limited due to my current relationship with Alix.

All that said I will have several days upon my return to get reacquainted with not only the city but many of the friends I had to leave behind during my excursion to the bridge city. If anybody's up for anything the last week of June or the first week of July lemme know, cause while I will have some things to do my schedule will be very open.

Well, that's all for now. Except that one year ago today I was just starting my trip to Chicago with Shawn. Hard to believe It's already been a year!

Type ya'll Tuesday!

Hockey Holiday

Hello there everybody! First I'd like to say yes, I'm aware how behind I am on my blog posts. I plan to be caught up by Wednesday night so let's all cross our fingers (except for me, I gotta type) and hope I can get back on track.

While this blog has a stamp of Friday night it is well into the weekend that I'm finally getting around to typing this puppy up. This past week I was able to keep myself pretty busy with my cousin and uncle being in toon town for a hockey tournament. I watched at least a piece of every game starting with the first on Thursday night and ending with the finale Sunday afternoon where the team of 11 and 12 year olds from Calgary were able to hang on to a 5 of 6 spot, having won only their first and last games. The last game was a doozy however and a thrill to watch with the team coming back from behind to win the game up two points. Between this tournament and the Oilers game on Saturday I don't think I've ever been so close to being a hockey fan, especially know that I actually know what some of the rules are/mean.

The other big sport this past weekend has of course been the FIFA World Cup which is almost as big a story in the Canadian media scene as it is in the sporting world. CTV has the rights this year and their planning to air the finale on the main network. Will they be able to garner enough attention to make the move worthwhile? It's up for argument as the Canadian interest for Soccer (football) continues to be gauged.

Less then two weeks left for me here in Saskatoon with my last day currently penciled in for the 23rd of the month. Top of my mind right now is Canada Day weekend where there's hopefully the chance for some pleasant weather and good old camping/beach fun. April and Brent's social should also be fun at the end of next week despite the small detail that I've yet to purchase my ticket.

Well, that's all for now. Sticking with current tradition...

Type ya'll Monday!

Numerous Nicknames

A few weeks ago, before Alix left for Quebec and I left for Saskatchewan, we had a chat about nicknames that got me thinking. It got me thinking about how many people actually refer to me by one nickname or another, almost exclusively.

When I was younger the most popular nickname people referred to me using was "JC," the two primary letters of my initials. Why did they call me that? Well around the same time the TV show "Power Rangers" was quite popular and while I was never much of a fan myself, many of the other kids in my class were. So much so that they felt they had to change my name so I wouldn't be confused with the "Jason" character off the show (if you forget, he was the one in Red.) The nickname continued to be used in Middle School until finally fizzling out. Currently next to no one uses it as a nickname for me which I don't miss because while I don't mind it, I'm not terribly fond of it either.

Perhaps the nickname that's stuck with me the longest is "Jas." While the name is rarely used amongst any of my friends it is VERY commonly used amongst both my immediate and extended family. In fact if you ever came to one of my family's events you could be forgiven for mistakenly thinking that my actual name was "Jas." Obviously It's just the first half of my name but it now carries a fair bit of emotional meaning, thanks to It's intense family use. I like this one.

However, the most common nickname today, a name SO common that it rivals my real name in use amongst friends is "Jay." Taken from the first letter in my name (and to an extend my Internet user name for the past several years) it is currently used by well over half my friends and is used by most if not on occasion ALL of my teachers at school. I like this one except it almost feels "too cool" for me because of It's common use in several TV shows and Movies.

Than there's my actual name, Jason. The funny thing is that while friends have long used nicknames to refer to me, the friends I end up spending the most time with tend to almost exclusively refer to me simply by Jason. It seems curious to me why that is since I don't spend more or less time with people depending on whether or not they use a nickname to refer to me, I actually like several of the alternate names as I mentioned.

Well, now that I've bored you all with this chat about my nicknames I'd now love to hear all about yours! Use the comments link below to tell me and the rest of my readers all about how people tend to refer to you!

Type Ya'll Friday!

Power Problems

Hello Readers,

This is just an advisory that due to a forgotten power adapter over the weekend there will be no blog post to BBBB for Monday, June 5th, 2006.

Please watch for a new blog post Wednesday.

Thanks,

Jason

Back in Brandon

Well, here I am. Back in good ol' Brandon. Jessica and I arrived earlier tonight after a 6 hour (7 if you count the time change, which I do!) drive. Tomorrow is grad and honestly, I'm not a huge fan of graduations. A little too much ceremony for me. It'll be nice to see all my classmates one last time however. Except for Jessica of course, we have another three weeks in Saskatoon...

Tonight I went out with the Wal-Mart clan; Devin, Amy, April & Brent. We talked briefly about Devin & Amy's recent engagement, April & Brent's upcoming social and wedding, and our plans to go camping for the July long weekend.

Someone remind me before too long that I need an oil change for my car in the not too distant future. My oil is apparently dirty. I was gonna pay Amy to do it last night but somehow I doubt I'll be in town long enough this time for that to get done...

Anyways just a shorty tonight.

Type ya'll Monday!