Well this will be a long blog so I hope you have patience to read it all through.
My vacation started early Saturday as we left home at 3am. We did not sleep. We packed our luggages and prepared everything for the trip. We took a cab from home to the airport. I often had to calm my mum down. At 3am, she kept talking and the best thing is to meditate and avoid useless conversations. Silence is great to relax.
We arrived at the airport ahead of time, we stood in line and checked our luggages as scheduled. I have not flown since 2000. At the airport, I had to go through security. I have great respect for airport security. I went through metal detector. I was then chosen for a random search. The officer explained to me the process and he asked me if I have sensitive area. I then replied the only sensitive areas are the family jewels.LOL. He then search me well rubbed me through my whole body. My mum looked at me with a smile. I said to the officer he is doing a great job in giving me a great massage. It was a fun experience and I love making those who work hard an easier life.
We then proceed to the gate and into the aircraft. It is a 100 passenger plane. Flights Montreal Toronto are every 30min like a bus. Because it was the first flight of the day for the aircraft in the snow drizzle day, we had to go through de-icing which was nothing new to me. We then proceed to the runway. I filmed the takeoff so it will be posted soon on youtube. The takeoff was rough and the ascension was quitre nerve racking. We immediatly turned as we got up. I felt a lot of the plane movement. There were a lot of turbulance. I hate going to amusement park and riding on roller coasters. I was scared holding my seat while the flight attendants walk between the isles as if it is nothing, lol. We had a rough landing, but we arrived safely.
After arriving in Toronto, the first thing we set out to do is to go to church in Mississauga. It is also at church where we will meet the family that will welcome us in their house. We are renting the basement for our trip. I won’t go into the details.
On Saturday, we went to Square One Mall, one of the biggest malls in Toronto. It is very beautiful and quite chic. I took many pictures and you will see some delightful artistry. My main focus was to get a haircut. We wanted to get a suit but we walked into a well known store. The salesperson was very pushy. My mum also joined her case and telling me what to buy. I do not like peer pressure. I walked out from the store right before she processed at the counter. I was not comfortable with the massive talk from the women who will not wear the suits. I have nothing against women but please let the person in question make his or her opinion. I find it so funny that the salesperson told me once to be quiet. I knew something was wrong so I walked out and did not spent 330$ on a suit. The next day, I walked on my own in the same store without my mum and her over-zealous. I found a suit for under 150$ and suits me well. I bought it for the interview process only in Toronto. I am not planning to bring it back to Montreal. We will leave it with friebds in Toronto.
I did some sightseeing in Toronto. I love taking the public transit and making me feel I am resident. I find Mississauga is a lot more beautiful city than Toronto. It is well spaced out, lots of green acres. I went to the library, few shopping malls. Unfortunately on Sunday evening, I got stranded in an area where there are no buses after 7pm. I had no idea buses stop to run after 7pm on Sunday. It was quite interesting.
Of course on Sunday, we celebrated the Holy Liturgy. We love going to the small cozy church. I find it hard to pray in a huge church. This was how our weekend went.
Before I start, I want to thank you all and I mean all of you for your love and care and of course your prayers. In my quest of the getting the right job, I feel I am surrounded by great people whom I have great admiration and would love to meet one day. I want to say that receiving well wishes on tkdspace has helped me a lot in staying positive in my life. It is a great feeling knowing that I have a family of friends that care for me. However, I get so excited when I hear about my friends progress. It warms up my heart and excites me.
Before I left Montreal, I contacted three different job agencies and my current employer UPS in Mississauga. I have sent my resumes, called the agents and did keep a follow-up. I feel I did my best in keeping informed and in contact with the agencies. Plus I also informed few people here in Mississauga about my job hunt so they were another network for jobs.
The first agency was for the provincial government position which is equal to state jobs in US and in Australia. It was my first interview in Toronto. I submitted my resume last week and the agent called me back within 15 minutes. She was impressed with my resume and thought I was the perfect candidate. She asked me regular questions and then she explained the process. I had to go through a skillful test which is about MS office. She told me that the candidates must be available right away. I told her that I need two weeks notice for my current employer. I feel it is important to be loyal to your current employer. She sympathized with me and agreed with me on my principals. The agent was very sweet and smily. I asked her at the end of the interview what stood out and she told me that I am very social, bilingual and I have a strong passion. She likes my candidacy. Starting salary is 15$ and for full time employee can go to 22$ an hour. I will keep in touch with her and see if in the future I get in. Government job is the number one on my listy so I will keep bugging her to see what is going on. The pros of this job is of course, salary and stability however, I will have to commute to downtown Toronto which is costly by train and time consuming if by bus and subway.
The second agency was as helpful as before. I emailed my resume and they told me about the job position of level 1 Information Technician which deals with answer problem calls. The starting salary is about 36K and the location is right in the heart of Mississauga, where I plan to live. I did the interview and he liked my resume. I asked him for his opinions on my resume and he told me that I am the perfect candidate again. He was a lot more eager to help me. He called me a couple of times to follow up. He scheduled me this morning to go through a 2 hour test which the company only does on Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays. I did it today and there were a lot of questions based on general knowledge and observation. I knew that US went into WWII in 1941 and John Milton was well known for litterature. He infact wrote Paradise Lost which is his interpretation of Genesis chapters 1 to 3. This job looks promising because it is very close to church and major bus routes. I will negotiate the salary because the fact I am bilingual is a big plus and I am interested to know how well I did in the exam.
The third agency is specialised in bilingual jobs. I have posted my resume and applied for jobs on the net. I met the person and we talked for 40minutes. The interview was informal. I noticed the person did not bring my resume out. He asked me to fill out the forms. I also noticed he did not look for a job like the others two have. Basically, he will start looking for a job for me once I have met him but I very doubtful. He seem to talk a lot with no action. I am not frustrated but I had no expectation coming in to this third agency.
Lastly, UPS Toronto, after emails and phone calls, no one returned my call or invioting me to visit their office so UPS is out of the question for now. I don’t think they showed class at all. They could have invited me to visit the office.
Again thank you so much for your love. I will look for gyms and tkd schools in Mississauga. I am eager to read your comments and don’t be shy to share your news.
Love you all
Maurice
Tags: Toronto Jobs Tkd
