Post 201 ('cause I forgot about 200)

So I passed the 200 mark with my last post, but forgot to record it, so I'm commemorating it here. It's been about a year since I started Ye Olde Blog, and 200 posts in 365 days sounds pretty good to me. Especially since some of them are pretty long. (I'm a former English major; word count counts, people!)

Today also marks my last day of unemployment.

RIP Joblessness, July 26, 2007 - October 12, 2007. Beloved Time Waster and Stress Inducer.

Actually, good riddance. I am delighted to be starting work tomorrow (yes, it's Saturday, but I'll explain), and very much looking forward to settling into my job and getting back into a routine. I'm a creature of habit and a needer of routine, and so these past few months have been difficult for me in a lot of ways. So yea for work, and for monetary compensation, and for not needing to play Scrabble against myself anymore.

As for work, I start tomorrow morning at the Toronto TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) conference. I'll be there for the morning learning about how we market our ESL books at conferences etc., and it should be interesting. I'll be working with the marketing manager and one of the new sales reps, who starts on Monday with me and another new sales rep. This week will largely be training on HR, our products, etc. I'm going to be training with the sales reps, just because there's training already set up for them, although I'll do some one-on-one training with my boss, Julie, as well. I should actually start working on projects on Thursday when Julie heads off to Calgary for a few days. I think my first thing is going to be scouting out possible markets for a new series of books that we're doing, which will mean talking to the federal Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, where I already have some contacts, contacting settlement agencies, and canvassing immigration lawyers. Sounds good to me! I like that in this job, I actually feel like I'm helping people, not just selling a product, which makes me happy.

This weekend is the final push in terms of moving. We've rented a van for Saturday afternoon, and once we've picked up the last things (bookshelves and books, desk, etc.), we'll get organized and then we're done. The hubby and I discussed having a housewarming party in a few weeks, so we'll see what condition the apartment is in after Sunday and then send out some invites. Sadly, our group of friends is much spread out over the country and elsewhere (big groups in Vancouver and Halifax), but it will be great to have all of the Toronto/ GTA people over.

Aside from moving and going to the conference, this weekend is going to consist of seeing Michael Clayton, going to the pub for a pint, buying a few new clothes for work, and organizing the apartment. Busy, but productive, which sounds good to me. I'm much looking forward to the movies as a) Michael Clayton is getting great reviews, and b) George Clooney is gorgeous, although a month and a half older than my dad. Sigh.