The Vent - Part 2

[JillA 2]

Excuse moi but Family Day is important. I'd put it right up there with President's Day

Not even close

President's Day is in celebration of the births of two of the most influential figures in this nations formation and history, although, I'd argue that Jefferson was the most important Family Day is like Kwanzaa..... arbitrarily made up

So what, it's a day off work so why would we complain about it!!

[The_Dude 1,142]

Excuse moi but Family Day is important. I'd put it right up there with President's Day

Not even close

President's Day is in celebration of the births of two of the most influential figures in this nations formation and history, although, I'd argue that Jefferson was the most important Family Day is like Kwanzaa..... arbitrarily made up

So what, it's a day off work so why would we complain about it!!

Then why not call it "Random Municipal Day Off"?

[DeadPoolX 9]

Excuse moi but Family Day is important. I'd put it right up there with President's Day

Not even close

President's Day is in celebration of the births of two of the most influential figures in this nations formation and history, although, I'd argue that Jefferson was the most important Family Day is like Kwanzaa..... arbitrarily made up

So what, it's a day off work so why would we complain about it!!

Good point.

Although I think Family Day only occurs in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. That leaves a few provinces out of the loop.

[trailmix 77]

Ok, so I mentioned the whole house for sale fiasco last week. After I told my Realtor what I had found out from the listing realtor, she emailed me, this is part of the email:

Those people are idiots. He did not call me but I am going to call him 100 times tomorrow till he talks to me. How was his wife so uninformed? Telling me to wait as they were lowering the price? I am so sorry that is the news you heard today. I will do a search tonight and send you anything and everythiing and lets see if there is anything that sparks your interest. About now renting is probably the only thing sparking your interest.

All good. I replied to that email - nicely - I don't blame her, just gave her all the details etc.

I have not heard from her since

Edited May 11, 2009 by trailmix

[DeadPoolX 9]

Sometimes I feel I made a mistake by coming to Canada.

Don't get me wrong -- I like the country and I want to be with my wife. In coming here, however, I gave up any hope of having a somewhat decent career, let alone one I actually enjoyed. I was in school to become a psychologist. I was nearly done with my undergraduate work when our immigration went through. My wife and I were told that I had a limited window in which to "land" in Canada or we'd need to restart the entire process over.

So I came here. Unfortunately, that means most -- if not all -- of my work went into the trash. I didn't end up getting the degree since I couldn't finish and even if I had the money to return to school, I'd be lucky if any university accepts half of my earned credits. Most likely it'd be less, forcing me to redo two years or so. Becoming a psychologist also necessitates going to graduate school. In the U.S., a psychologist can't practice without a PhD or a PsyD. I'm not sure of the qualifications here, but I know I'd still need graduate school. That'd tack on another several years, not to mention internship at a hospital.

I can't afford to go back to school, either. I simply don't have the money. I can't even get a loan because I lack "sufficient credit." Yes, my wife is working, but her earnings go to rent, TV, Internet and cell phones. By the time she's done, there's very little left over. Plus she's trying to pay off a university loan she took out a while back, so she can't really help me get a loan right now.

To make matters worse, I've nearly drained my savings. I came to Canada with over $32,000 last August and less than a year later, I have barely $3,000 total. I haven't been spending the money blindly either. Everything is expensive in Vancouver and I don't even know if I can afford to keep my car insurance going another year. The only option left to me is to start selling stocks and even drain my retirement funds. I'd rather not do this, especially since taking money out of a Roth-IRA means a huge tax hit.

Getting a job has proven less than easy. I lack Canadian references and most jobs won't look at American references. Volunteering means having Canadian references already, so I can't even give my time away for free! My only degree is in Graphic Design, which is now a terrible market, since everyone seems to believe they're a graphic designer (even when their own work is horrendous). Far too many employers think their 13 year-old nephew can do the same work a trained professional graphic designer can and no amount of convincing does otherwise. The economy doesn't help either.

Without a degree or experience in anything relevant beyond the Graphic Design field and no Canadian references, I'm a bit screwed. Right now, I'm about as employable as a high school graduate. Perhaps even less, since Canadians who've graduated high school probably have a reference or two from their own country.

As those of you who've read this far can see, I'm a little depressed.

[Sprailenes 47]

Wow DPX, you have every reason to feel down and out on yourself and I am so sorry things are the way they are, it truly does suck. The upside is that Canadian universities aren't nearly as expensive as American universities so when you're ready and able to go back, it won't be such a break on the bank account.

Understand that graphic design is a shitty industry right now, but have you thought of perhaps freelancing a bit to make ends meet? Thats what my husband did when he came to Canada. It's not a whole lot but it's enough to get by just a little.

I guess also you just need to ask yourself if it is all really worth it to you.

Only you can really answer that.

[Marilyn. 340]

my SIL keeps asking me about holidays.... she asks me all the time if Canadians celebrate Christmas, Mother's Day etc on the same day ...lol I told her most of the holidays are the same except Thanksgiving but she still asks me every year

Well, maybe if you didn't have cooky holidays like "Family Day" you wouldn't get so many questions

never even heard of Family day

[JillA 2]

my SIL keeps asking me about holidays.... she asks me all the time if Canadians celebrate Christmas, Mother's Day etc on the same day ...lol I told her most of the holidays are the same except Thanksgiving but she still asks me every year

Well, maybe if you didn't have cooky holidays like "Family Day" you wouldn't get so many questions

never even heard of Family day

Probably because you've been gone a few years, they only made it a legal holiday in Ontario last year!!

EDIT: But you're not from Ontario are you, I think you're from BC right? It's only a holiday in a few other provinces, Alberta, Ontario, not BC though that I know of.

Edited May 12, 2009 by JillA

[Marilyn. 340]

no, was born in Manitoba and moved to BC when I was 16....

yeah, I have been in the US for about 4 years now so

Edited May 12, 2009 by *Marilyn*

[SapphireDreams 71]

DPX - I think you would be surprised at what credits a University or even College would transfer for you. I think you should really consider looking into getting your credits reviewed and see if you could get into a school as a 'mature student'. It's a different process than the kids right out of highschool and I'm not kidding, a lot of schools say that they won't transfer credits, but they usually will if you can show them a course syllabus or even make one up. I switched Universities and they told me they wouldn't take any grades lower than a C - Well, I got a D- in French and they still transfered it. I didn't even ask them to, or fight them for it. I thought I would be out of luck, but I totally wasn't! Also, American schools are highly regarded in Canada. Also, many psychologists in Canada practice with just a community college certificate or a BA - just depends on what kind of psychology you want to do etc. Obviously a Master's is going to the better, but it's not necessarily the only way to go. As for Canadian references, sounds like your experiences so far haven't been great, but don't let it get you down. I think there are many others who would 100% take a US reference, you just have to stay positive and don't give up yet. I think what you're going through is completely normal and it soon will pass.

[trailmix 77]

Ok, so I mentioned the whole house for sale fiasco last week. After I told my Realtor what I had found out from the listing realtor, she emailed me, this is part of the email:

Those people are idiots. He did not call me but I am going to call him 100 times tomorrow till he talks to me. How was his wife so uninformed? Telling me to wait as they were lowering the price? I am so sorry that is the news you heard today. I will do a search tonight and send you anything and everythiing and lets see if there is anything that sparks your interest. About now renting is probably the only thing sparking your interest.

All good. I replied to that email - nicely - I don't blame her, just gave her all the details etc.

I have not heard from her since

Well strangely a couple of hours after I wrote this....she emailed me.

She didn't tell me anything I didn't know - but what I have confirmed is that she is not really .... umm.... a very good realtor. She only today spoke with the other realtor - took her 5 days to speak with him?

Whatever.

[July09Bride 1]

Two words to describe how I feel... two words to describe my vent... FAMILY SUCKS. Especially if it's my family. Stop the world... I wanna get off. NOW.

[The_Dude 1,142]

OK, I have been testing the waters regarding casual dress at work. I had worn a polo and khaki pants a couple of times, albeit on fridays and it was ok. Well, today, I wore that, and decided to wear casual shoes. They aren't sneakers, but kinda look like em. I don't know how to accurately describe them. Anyways, It appears that the shoes are the breaching point. As I walked in, I got the comment "soooooooo you're pushing how far you can go with the casual look" several times. Now i'm paranoid and avoiding anyone with any real authority. I work for a police department, which by it's nature is a para-military organization. Some take the military aspect of it a lot more literally than others. I really don't want to get sent home for inappropriate attire. So it's a big game of hide and seek here today

[JillA 2]

OK, I have been testing the waters regarding casual dress at work. I had worn a polo and khaki pants a couple of times, albeit on fridays and it was ok. Well, today, I wore that, and decided to wear casual shoes. They aren't sneakers, but kinda look like em. I don't know how to accurately describe them. Anyways, It appears that the shoes are the breaching point. As I walked in, I got the comment "soooooooo you're pushing how far you can go with the casual look" several times. Now i'm paranoid and avoiding anyone with any real authority. I work for a police department, which by it's nature is a para-military organization. Some take the military aspect of it a lot more literally than others. I really don't want to get sent home for inappropriate attire. So it's a big game of hide and seek here today

One guy at my old office did that, but he chose to wear a turtleneck with khakis instead of a shirt and tie, on a regular weekday (not Friday) he got sent home to change.

[trailmix 77]

OK, I have been testing the waters regarding casual dress at work. I had worn a polo and khaki pants a couple of times, albeit on fridays and it was ok. Well, today, I wore that, and decided to wear casual shoes. They aren't sneakers, but kinda look like em. I don't know how to accurately describe them. Anyways, It appears that the shoes are the breaching point. As I walked in, I got the comment "soooooooo you're pushing how far you can go with the casual look" several times. Now i'm paranoid and avoiding anyone with any real authority. I work for a police department, which by it's nature is a para-military organization. Some take the military aspect of it a lot more literally than others. I really don't want to get sent home for inappropriate attire. So it's a big game of hide and seek here today

One guy at my old office did that, but he chose to wear a turtleneck with khakis instead of a shirt and tie, on a regular weekday (not Friday) he got sent home to change.

The nerve of some people!!

Did he not know that humans cannot actually function well at work unless they are dressed in some sort of quasi-uniform that conforms to some standard that some idiot made up at some point and that everyone goes along with!!

Good luck with the hiding day Rob.

Edited May 12, 2009 by trailmix