B I N G O !

I spent the week working at a resident care home for the elderly. It was not too exciting of a week, hence the reason for not posting more often, but it was great to spend some time with the elderly all the same. It seems as though the majority enjoy being there, comparing the experience to somewhat of a family, which was apparent. We had some interesting conversations about religion, love, politics, the weather, careers. I am not sure if they really understood what I am up to with One Week Job, but they were polite and supportive nonetheless.

The highlight of the week was without a doubt when the lady that I was playing bingo with won the big pot! Though I wasn't able to go on a shopping spree at the dollar store just quite yet because she neglected to split her winnings with me, oh well maybe next time.

If you happen to get MTV Canada (I am not too sure what channel it is), I have an interview next week Tuesday at 6:30pm EST if you would like to tune in.

-Sean

Week Eleven Announced - Caregiver

This week I will be working at "La Villa Des Basques," an old age home in Trois Pistoles, Quebec. I will be helping out around the home and spend time talking and playing cards with the residents. (I will be sure to brush up on my crib playing skills this evening or it could get quite embarrassing tomorrow!) Spending time at an old age home has always been something that I wanted to do, but have never done so. I think we can learn so much from the elderly, yet we tend not to take the time to ask the questions. This will be a great opportunity for me to do so and draw from their wealth of life experience while at the same time practicing my french!

It will be really interesting to hear their perspective on One Week Job and just on careers in general.

-Sean

Bienvenue au Quebec

I arrived in Quebec today after a rather long trip from Vancouver beginning at 7pm last night. I had a three hour lay over in Calgary and was able to meet up with a friend for a drink which helped break up the trip. It was difficult getting any sleep on the overnight flight last night and after arriving in Montreal this morning, I had to make my way out to the highway to do some hitch hiking to get to Quebec city. Things worked out well and I got a few quick rides and I am now in a small town 3 hours east of Quebec city called Trois Pistoles. After spending a few weeks back in Vancouver, I had started to become comfortable again in my home environment and it wasn't until I was saying goodbye and 'have a nice summer' to some friends the night before, that I remembered the journey that I have in front of me.

I am really looking forward to what lays ahead and am excited to find out where it will lead!

-Sean

Life As A Trade Show Exhibitor

I just spent the last two days working with SustiaNet Software Solutions at a Trade Show in downtown Vancouver. It was a great experience as I got to interact with many different people, learn a lot about selling (thanks Colin!), eat some great trade show food, and be entertained by all the interesting differing characteristics of Trade Show Exhibitors. They had a really cool sign made for the booth which you can see in the video below. Now if that doesn't entice someone to come and visit our trade show table, then I don't know what would!

Today we will be working on following up on the leads we received yesterday and then I am heading out to an island off the coast of Vancouver, Bowen Island, for my best friends wedding tomorrow.

I want to say a very big thank you to Howard, Colin, and Donna at SustiaNet, for so generously sharing their wealth of knowledge with me and for being so kind with me throughout the entire week! I look forward to purchasing the Consultation Manager software at some point in the future and putting it to good use;)

As for an update on production companies, not too sure what is going to happen as of yet and I am dedicating all of next week to figuring it out before heading out to Quebec next Saturday!

-Sean

Another Day At The Office

I finished my second day yesterday working with SustaiNet Software Solutions and I think I have quickly come to the conclusion that working in an office job is not quite for me. I think I could do it for a couple days a week but definitely not day in day out. I am realizing that I really need to get out there, do different things, and meet different people. I am lucky though in that the people I am working with this week are awesome and so that makes for a positive work environment which I am really enjoying. Yesterday I learnt about an amazing stakeholder data management software that SustaiNet sells throughout North America called Consultation Manager. I think any company could benefit from this software as it allows them to easily organize projects, record data, generate reports and communicate efficiently between team members as well as involved stakeholders. If it sounds like I am trying to sell you on it, it is because I am. It really is that good and definitely worth checking out!

Today I will be out at a Trade Show all day networking with municipal governments and getting some awareness out there about SustaiNet and their services. Should be a great learning experience and I am really looking forward to it. I will be sure to let you know if I make any sales!

-Sean

Week Ten Announced - Sales & Marketing

Fresh off a great bachelor party weekend that finally came to an end close to 1:00am last night, I started Week Ten working downtown Vancouver at 8:00am this morning. Ouch! Somehow I managed to get out of bed this morning and made it to work on time, and will definitely be sleeping well tonight! This week I am working with SustaiNet Software Solutions, "a distributor and implementer of web-based information management systems that are designed to assist organizations to efficiently manage the wide range of information gathered to achieve their environmental and social sustainability goals." Try and say that in one breath!

There is a trade show Wednesday and Thursday which I will be attending as a trade show exhibitor on behalf of SustaiNet. I will be generating leads, meeting with potential conference attendees/customers, attending conference sessions, learning about community consultation and stakeholder engagement, and learning about post trade show follow-up.

Everyone at the office have been really welcoming and are very nice so it should make for a great week!

More later, but time to get back to work.

-Sean

Saying Goodbye To Lake Louise

After spending the month working in Alberta, I am now back in Vancouver for the month of May. My best friend is getting married in a few weeks so I needed to come back into town. I had an amazing week at Lake Louise Resort! I was so warmly welcomed by everyone and I immediately felt part of the team. The resort has such a positive atmosphere and it became obvious after only a few days why employees and skiers come back year after year. I met some great people over the course of the week and then yet again it was time to say goodbye when the work week was done. I am going to have to figure out a way that I can keep all these people I meet throughout this journey in my life somehow.

The season wrap-up event, Spring Episode, was awesome. It was great to be a part of the events team and see how an event such as this all comes together. I like the idea of focusing on one project with all of your energy for a period of time, seeing it through to its' fruition and then moving on to the next project. I think that it is something I will have to incorporate into my career somehow.

Thanks so much to all the management, staff and everyone with Resorts of The Canadian Rockies - Lake Louise for having me for the week. I am so glad I was able to work in such a great work environment with amazing individuals and experience first hand the beauty of the surrounding area.

I will definitely be seeing you again!

-Sean

Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

I had a great day up at Lake Louise Resort today. I was working as a ticket scanner; the person who greets you and scans your lift ticket when getting onto a chair lift. Amazing the amount of satisfication that comes with hearing that little beep, reassuring you every few seconds that you are doing a good job! Could I do it for the rest of my life? Probably not, but I realized again how much I like interacting with and meeting new people. It was a lot of fun being in a position like that in which new people are constantly coming through.

It is definitely a work hard, play hard, party even harder mentality up here. With all that I got going on right now, I am trying my best to keep up. Not too sure how well I am doing, though I got to keep in mind that it's the end of the season and so most here have already had close to seven months practice.

I am working here until late Sunday afternoon, and so need to make my way back to Vancouver on Monday somehow. If you have any ideas or know anyone heading that direction, please give me a call.

Tomorrow I will be running around helping out with Spring Episode, the spring wrap up event for the season. I just might have been convinced to enter into the hot dog eating contest, yet we will see if I can overcome the peer pressure. I have never entered an eating contest of any kind before so I guess this is a good as time as any to give it a shot.

On the other hand, I am not certain if stuffing your face with whole hotdogs, drool pouring out of your mouth, holding back the gag reflex, and secretly vomitting under the table out of the view of the audience sounds all that appealling. No promises, but we will see!

-Sean

PS - Make your promise today, click here.

Late, In The Season

I set my alarm for 8:45am this morning figuring that would give me plenty of time to write an entry about my first day on the job before I had to be at work by 10:45am. As I was about to leave to go to use the internet at 9:20am, I suddenly realized that it was 9:45am I was supposed to start and not 10:45am, oops! The other problem being that there were no more shuttles from staff housing up to the mountain and it takes 45 minutes to walk it. I set out hitch hiking in hopes that somebody would see the sense of urgency in the expression on my face and stop to pick me up a long the way. I guess it was believable enough and somehow managed to get to work on time.

My first day on the job I was working with Trail Crew which was great because I was able to get out and see the mountain. Since it is the end of the season, all the temporary fencing needs to come down and so we spent the day cruising to different parts of the mountain and removing steel poles and plastic fencing. It was a beautiful sunny day and the raccoon style sun tan I received as a result helped me fit right in with the majority here.

Today I was with the Snow School and so accompanied a couple of the instructors as they taught a beginners snow boarding lesson. Although it was freezing, it went well and reminds me how much I enjoy teaching; seeing others overcome challenges, make improvements and be successful.

Tomorrow I will be working at the lifts scanning tickets. I am looking forward to the interaction with customers, not to mention hearing the beep when scanning something is always undoubtedly a good time. That and I met the scanning supervisor today and she had made a name tag for me with my hometown on it, very cool!

It is great to be able to try out different departments within the same company and it really makes me realize how much work and organizing goes into operating a company with over 600 employees effectively.

They certainly do a great job here!

Thanks for the emails/comments with all your suggestions on how to get rid of my sore throat! Hopefully I will be back to 100% for Spring Episode coming up this weekend!

-Sean

Exhausted In The Rockies

I arrived safe and sound in Lake Louise this afternoon after hitch hiking from Calgary. I got a tour of the resort today and was introduced to I don't know how many people. Poor Rebeckah, the resorts Event Coordinator, who had to explain One Week Job to each person she introduced me to. (I thought I would let someone else sound like a broken record for a change) Everyone at the resort is super nice and it is going to be a really great week! I got set up with my snowboard, boots, snow gear and even have a my own staff season's pass!

The only problem is that I think I may be getting sick. The throat is starting to hurt and I am not feeling the greatest. Not good timing and I feel bad not having as much energy as I should when meeting new people and starting a new job. I guess everything is finally catching up to me, but I am going to head to bed early tonight and get some vitamin C in me.

After leaving the Slomp family dairy farm in Rimbey, Alberta for Week Eight, I headed back to Edmonton and spent the night there. That night I was cruising down Whyte Ave and was in the middle of the street trying to hail down a cab for a couple of people when a random guy walked up to me and with a sly smile said "So what makes you think you get to do all the fun jobs?" I laughed, and then he said "somebody's go to do the crappy ones." Thinking back to my last job, he may have been speaking literally.

If you are in the Lake Louise area and are coming to Snow Episode this weekend (and you should), be sure to give me a shout and we will meet up!

-Sean

Week Nine Announced - Lake Louise Resort

This week I will be working at Lake Louise Resort, one of the most spectacular mountain resorts in Canada located in the beautiful setting of Banff National Park. They have 4200 skiable acres and are one of the largest ski areas in North America. I will be starting on Tuesday working through until Sunday doing various things each day such as a liftee, shadowing a snow school instructor, and working with the events team to help run their spring wrap up event for the season called Spring Episode. It runs next weekend, April 28/29, and for sure is going to be goodtimes!

If you are anywhere near Lake Louise or the surrounding area next weekend, I would definitely come by and check it out. The event will feature a full line up of Free concerts, demos, bike trials riders, and a bunch of other activities (there will even be a hot dog eating contest!)

Find out more about Spring Episode '07 here.

Hope to see you there!

-Sean

PS - 'Pledge Your Passion'

April Snow Storms, Bring May Temperature Norms?

After getting a sun burn from being outside all day on Tuesday, it has now been snowing yesterday and today! Crazy, but it did give us a chance to stay in doors yesterday morning and play some scrabble.

Anyways, just finishing up a video of what I have been up to on the farm for the last few days. I will have it up in a couple of hours!

-Sean

Surrendering To The Pooh

After trying to avoid it for the first 15 minutes, I realized quite quickly that there is just really no way around it; having cow manure all over your hands and occasionally splat on you is just part of the job. I call it "surrendering to the pooh." It is kind of like walking in the rain. We may try to avoid it for a bit, but if you are in it long enough and just commit to 'being' in the rain, it really doesn't matter anymore and you can then start enjoying yourself. So am I enjoying having cow manure all over me? Well, I wouldn't say enjoy, but it certainly doesn't bother me as much as it once did and allows me to focus on other things... such as not getting kicked in the face from a hoof or getting the right positioning of the milking suctions on the 'teets.' (maybe by Friday I will be able to say that word without a smirk, though I highly doubt it)

The meeting of farmers looking to convert their farms to produce organic milk Monday was pretty informative. I was able to learn a lot about the industry and advantages to organic farming. It was really interesting to see the different dynamic between people and what prevents some from moving forward with it. Some people were thinking more of the benefit to the environment, taking a more holistic approach whereas others were only interested in the bottom line and if they would make more money by doing so.

It made me think about consumer buying power in general, in that we as consumers have a much larger influence than we think. By demanding corporations to be more socially responsible/conscious in their practices, we create an associated benefit for companies to do so that will often help to increase their bottom line. So whether companies want to appear socially responsible because the market demands it and so are forced to, or if they genuinely would like to make a positive difference, at least we are moving in the right direction.

Be sure to check out 'Pledge Your Passion,' and if you agree, sign your name!

-Sean

Week Eight Announced - Dairy Farmer

This week I will be working with the Slomp family on their 300 acre organic dairy farm in Rimbey, Alberta. Today I am heading to an organic milk convention where I will be meeting George, the head farmer, and afterwards will be heading back to the farm with him. Apparently his girlfriend is a Yoga instructor so perhaps I will be able to keep up with my newly developed Yoga skills in farm country. My tasks for the week will include milking cows, shovelling manure, feeding the calves, and general barn maintenance. I remember milking cows once when I was on an Elementary school field trip which was quite the experience, but I have been told that now they have machines for that and so don't need to worry about my lack of aim or the spray back.

I am really looking forward to the week ahead as I have always wanted to try out working on a farm, yet have never previously had the opportunity. As I continue with One Week Job, I am realizing more and more how many different options and possibilities are out there that I would love to try my hand at.

Perhaps when all is said and done, it may just be all the more difficult to decide as I won't want to choose just one!

The next two weeks I will be working in Alberta, and then am heading back to Vancouver for a friends wedding May 19th. If you are in Vancouver and have any job offers for any of the weeks in May, send me an email!

-Sean

PS - 'Pledge Your Passion'

Saying Goodbye To Edmonton

I can't say enough positive things about my time this week at Lotus Soul Gym. Coming into the week I had no real previous knowledge of the practice of yoga, not to say that I am a guru now after only one week, but I guess I absorbed enough to appear as if I knew what I was talking about when teaching my first ever class yesterday. (apparently I am a hard instructor) I think that anyone would benefit from practicing Yoga and it is something that I will be keeping up after having learned more about the practice. I recommend that everyone try it at least once and if you are lucky enough to be an Edmontonian, you have some amazing people and a more than welcoming, safe environment to do so down at Lotus Soul Gym.

This is Erin, she came in on Thursday night for a Yoga class and had made this sign for me. It was so kind of her. Erin, you rock!

One thing about this project is that I am continually meeting incredible people, establishing relationships, developing a sense of familiarity and then it is time to move on. Although it is sad, I know that these people I meet and the experiences I have will always be a part of me, and I look forward with excitement to what is yet to come.

-Sean

My Yoga Instructor Debut

I feel as if I have been studying for a big exam this week and the day has finally arrived. It is interesting because I am little nervous about teaching the class, yet very excited to be presented with the challenge. I told the kids in the facilitation on Wednesday that this project has taught me to see each new challenge as just another opportunity to learn and grow, so I guess I better take my own advice and keep that in mind.

For those of you that had been wondering, the outfit that Lulu Lemon set me up with on Tuesday is actually not the tight spandex that some of you may have been thinking...

If you are in the Edmonton area, you can see how my debut goes by watching the News Hour on CityTV at 6:30pm sometime the week of April 16th.

Wish me luck!

-Sean

Sean's Yoga Marathon

I think I mentioned yesterday that by Friday I was probably going to be pretty sore. Well, it is now Wednesday morning and guess what? I am sore. Justifiably so though as I participated in four different sessions yesterday, five and a half hours of yoga in total! I am sitting in on as many classes as I can and will be co-teaching a class on the Friday. Am I nervous? Yeah, and that would explain the five and a half hours of yoga training I participated in yesterday. I had a teacher who would say, "if you are going to do something, might as well do it right!" This is also why it was necessary I visit Lulu Lemon on Whyte Ave in Edmonton who generously donated some clothing so I would at least look the part. Everyone working there is so nice and we had lots of fun picking out the outfit.

I am meeting great people each day and working with some amazing individuals (come and meet them!) who breath life into me when I am finding it difficult to stay on top of everything with the project. Seeing people excited about what I am doing, wanting to get involved and help out in some way is quite empowering and it continually reminds me of the unique opportunity I have to positively influence the lives of many.

If you are in the Edmonton area, be sure to drop by the studio and say hello!

-Sean

Week Seven Announced - Yoga Instructor... in training

Week Seven gets underway today here in Edmonton, Alberta and I will be working at the city's newest Yoga Studio, Lotus Soul Gym. Throughout the week I will learn all the aspects of the business and will be sitting in on as many yoga classes (and teachers) as possible and then by the end of the week I will get to join one the instructors in teaching a class!

I am really excited to start the week as yoga is something that I have wanted to learn more about and will also get to see the workings of a newly formed small business.

If you live in the area, be sure to drop by and say hello!

-Sean

Roses Are Red, Star Gazing Lilies Are Not

It has been a crazy week here in Edmonton, I have probably done about 15 interviews in the past three days. I even got to change jobs with the weather lady and gave the 7-day forecast for CityTV's News at 6, perhaps it could make for an interesting One Week Job? I am learning a lot about the flower industry, which I suppose was expected considering I knew nothing coming in. I can now arrange and wrap a bouquet of flowers and even tell you the difference between a fuji mom, asiatic lily, and a gerber daisy. I left the store today for about an hour and when I returned I found out that an arrangement of roses that I had made on my first day was sold. Needless to say, it was a proud moment!

I think that I will be spending one more week here in Edmonton, then off to Calgary. If you live in Calgary and have any job offers for me or just want to meet up, send me an email or give me a call!

See you soon,

-Sean