We wish you a merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  We wish we could be there to celebrate the holidays with you. We hope you all are doing well.  What a year 2012 has been and we hope it was a good one for you.

Our year has been exciting, with lots of changes! In January Remy was invited to an employment conference in Vancouver. He spoke to three banks, all of which liked him and said they’d be in touch. A few months passed.  We began preparing to move to Ontario with boxes just about ready to go when we got a call from The Royal Bank of Canada. Remy was offered a job! We were so excited! RBC has been a wonderful company to work for and he works with some great people. One of his duties has included being the RBC mascot Lion. He has done a few events and is so good at it. 

A few months ago Remy was asked to represent RBC at the very same conference that got him this job. We got a chance to make the same journey

but for very different reasons. 

Our summer was great! We tried to get out and enjoy some of the beautiful trails we have here

 

We even had a small patio garden where we grew lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers and carrots. We planted the carrots in two different planters but didn’t even notice the birdseed container our neighbor placed above them.  Little did we know some corn kernels fell into our carrot containers. By the time we could tell the difference, the corn completely took over. 

Every time I was able to go out and pick something for our dinner I thought of my grandma and papa. 

Our summer ended with a bang…we got a car! It’s an adorable 2006 Hyundai Accent and we love it. We were so lucky to have a good mechanic friend help us through the process. It has made our life so much easier and more convenient.  I even learned how to change my own oil and Remy has been a very safe driver. 

This year has been full of fun and exciting things and we are looking forward to seeing what next year brings!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I love to read. I love to read everything. I love to read articles, blogs, books, *nerd alert* lesson manuals, just about everything. As I have mentioned before it's something that Remy and I both love too. We love to discuss the books we have read, we suggest books for each other to read, and read together. 

Yesterday I walked into the used bookstore by my house with specif books in mind because I know if I don't do that not only could I spend hours in there but lots of money. When she didn't have the books I was looking for (she had an author signed copy she sold THE DAY BEFORE!) she asked me what kind of books I liked. I was completely stumped, I've tried and liked just about everything.

There have been some books that I've read over the years that have actually changed my life or at least my line of thinking that has changed an aspect of my life. There have been three non-fiction in particular that I wish every person would read.  I wish I could pass them out and get everyone as excited about them as I am. Even if no one changed their minds about anything I just want the information out there.

Here we go the three books that have changed my LIFE:

"After many years of counseling, Dr. Chapman noticed a pattern: everyone he had ever counseled had a “love language,” a primary way of expressing and interpreting love. He also discovered that, for whatever reason, people are usually drawn to those who speak a different love language than their own.

Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch."

This book is amazing. I skimmed it as a teenager but have recently read it as an adult. Honestly this book blew me away. The information just makes sense and it has taught me to look at relationships in a whole different way, not just mine and Remy's but even with my friends.

I want to know everyone's love language now because I want to figure out how to show that person I care in a way that they will respond to. One thing that is interesting was that Dr. Chapman mentioned in each love language there are different dialects.  Remy and I found this out first hand. My love language is quality time. Once we found this out and started reading the book as a couple I could see Remy making sure to do the suggestions in the book. I really appreciated the time and effort he was putting it in but I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Remy and I would sit on the couch after dinner and talk for a good hour. After an unfortunate night I realized my love language is quality time but my dialect was needing to do activities together. I love to go on walks, play games, look up at the stars, go swimming, etc. After we figured that out it all clicked into place. Remy's love language is physical touch and something I've always known about him. He really appreciates holding hands, hugs, kisses, back rubs, etc.

Our marriage wasn't rocky or needing help when we read this but I am so thankful we did because it has made things even better. It also talks about love languages with children and how you can show your love for your children using their love language. Whether you are married, single, kids, no kids, plan on being married, have friends I recommend this book.

The next book I feel like every woman should read, really I just wish they would teach this in school but since they won't this book is fantastic.

 Taking Charge of Your Fertility by by Toni Weschler, MPH. I stumbled on this book when I was trying to figure out what my body was doing. This book teaches woman what our bodies are up to all month long. It takes about  hormones, changes that happen during the month, how to help achieve pregnancy, and prevent pregnancy without using artificial hormones or chemicals.  It teaches you how to use your temperature every morning to tell you when (if) you ovulate and guess what you can know exactly when your period is going to start based on that.

As I read this read I kept saying, "why wasn't I taught this!" I feel that as women we need to take more ownership in knowing what our bodies are doing and how they work. I won't go into too much detail because it's only interesting if you are interested, but if you are it's a great book. Also if you are interested I would love to talk more about it (I'm super passionate about this topic) or I do own this book and will loan it out. Again I highly recommend it if you are a woman, have daughters, or even have daughter-in-laws. 

The third book that changed my life is Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. My good friend Tanya loaned this to me and I loved it. Even if you disagree or choose something else for your birth the information is invaluable. I read this while I was pregnant and I felt so empowered reading it. I felt like my body was amazing, beautiful, and could do anything. The information that was given was well presented, researched, with many references. The book starts with birth stories from lots of different women. They were beautiful and enjoyable to read, although one of the stories was a bit much even for the hippiest hippie in me. The rest of the book is information about everything you'd want or need to know about birth. 

When my midwife found out that I read this book and agree with almost all of it she was thrilled! I felt more confident in the decisions that Remy and I were making for our birth and had research to back me up to help convince my family I hadn't jumped off the deep end. I will definitely read this book again and I am so thankful Tanya loaned it to me. I would recommend this book to any pregnant woman but definitely to anyone who has interest in a natural birth or even thinking about it. 

There you go the three non-fiction books that changed my life. I would love to hear about some books that have changed your life! Bonus if I can find it on audio. Also tell me your love language!     

The Suitnoob Banker - Part III

Today marks one week since I began my slow rise towards actually doing my job. Had I the opportunity to work as long on the front lines serving clients as my fellow trainees, perhaps I would feel more confident in my abilities to perform the expansive myriad of daily tasks required to make me successful. The others have had a few weeks to learn the basics, but Due to technical hiccups however, tomorrow will mark only the first official week of part-time client serving. And what a week it has been.

My first week of on-the-job training has been severely bitter-sweet. It has thrust me into the public eye in a way I have never before experienced. Everything from angelic pre-teens to little old men with expectations of routine and sullen dispositions have marched through our doors. And how many have I had the opportunity to serve? All told, about eighteen. It’s been wonderful to learn, to have conversations with such a wide range of people, and to perform the duties I’m being paid to perform. But the unfortunate reality is, while my mentors are very good about guiding me while they are sitting with me, their first priority is to the clients. This is a great thing! But it lessons the amount of hands-on time I get learning the ins and outs of my job. And how I feel I need to learn. Clients are very patient nine times out of ten. But every once in a while a client comes along who wants his business conducted yesterday. That’s what my insecure sub-personality keeps telling me will happen anyway. While it’s true I haven’t run into that particular lady or gentleman yet, I know it’s only a matter of time.

By this point in my training, I am more or less comfortable doing basic deposits, withdrawals, dispensing and receiving of cash and bill payments. I feel like posting a sign at my wicket that says “training in progress, this way for basic transactions” or something to that affect. At least then I can get practice doing the basics while my mentor is otherwise engaged. Unfortunately I’m not yet permitted to handle even the most rudimentary transactions without supervision. And while intellectually and technically I understand the vast majority of what I’m doing, I realize that from a  visual standpoint I’m not yet ready to be on my own.

For one thing, people’s handwriting remains a serious obstacle. While I am slowly getting better about deciphering the layouts of cheques and bills, translating the squat and sprawling squiggles into a language my hampered eyes can actually interpret is very difficult. Their written numbers aren’t so bad so far. But their printed name, and the written-out numbers all cheques require are another matter entirely. I’ve found that by first reading the numbered digits and comparing them to their hand-written counterparts I can usually see that I’m looking at the same number. The numbers have to match too, otherwise there are steps that need to be taken to ensure the cheque is legit. By comparing the name on the account with that of the “payee to the order of” section, I can usually ensure the names are also the same. Reading signatures on the other hand is like trying to decipher words written by a child who’s never learned their alphabet.

Reading cash on the other hand usually ends up being pretty simple. I’m not very fast at it, but I’m usually accurate. That goes for Canadian money at any rate. Don’t even get me started on the nightmare that is American money. Sorry my dear American readers, but whoever designs your bills needs a serious lesson in the necessity of CONTRAST!

All in all, it hasn’t been a bad week. I believe I have a reasonable ability to interact with the clients. Most have been very understanding. One of them even shook my hand and called me by name, which was a nice gesture. I’m trying to train myself to focus on the client experience, rather than worrying about the speed with which I complete their transaction requests. Engage a client enough and they might not even realize you’re a snail. That’s what I keep telling myself at any rate. Everyone seems to say I’m doing a pretty good job. Barb, my trainer in New West has told two separate people that I am the best trainee she’s ever had. I think she’s just being nice. Maybe it’s because I talk more than most of them. Or perhaps she’s trying to give me a greater sense of personal security. Either way, it was nice to hear.

I have been able to install all the software I could possibly want in order to make my work station’s computer accessible however. There are many programs already available on RBC’s server which help me greatly. Unfortunately there’s an inordinate amount of beaurocracy to circumvent in order to get certain things installed. The decisions whether certain RBC programs are accessible by programs such as JAWS (A program which translates on-screen text into speech) and Zoomtext (which magnifies the computer screen to the point that even a blind man can see it) are made very high up. Certain programs are considered incompatible, even if I as a noob do not feel they are, or find ways to make them compatible. I’m sure that the people who make these decisions do the research and know what they’re talking about. But it’s hard to have others who have never experienced my eye condition for themselves make that decision for me. That said, I have a lot of access technology in place. My only hope is that I’ll be able to find a better way to read printed material. At this point that wonderful piece of hardware the Smart View works, but the closer I get to the screen the fuzzier the image seems to become. Perhaps it is due to the shadow I cast on the paper, but I really don’t know.

RBC continues to be a very nice place to work. If I can manage to find my way around (or dislodge) the personal and accessibility barriers that are impeding my progress, I think I will do alright here. After all, I’m not the only blind person doing this job. There are others, and one of them, a man named Michael has advanced to the point that he’s got a very corporate sounding name.