We experienced a heartbreaking loss today.
Our niece Cynthia, the daughter of my wife's sister, succumbed to cancer today.
She was only 11 years old.
Cynthia was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma last August. The odds were against her from the outset, but she battled the disease with a determined spirit. She had already undergone an amputation of her right foot (the location of the original tumor), as well as chemo and radiation treatments. However, surgery to remove additional tumors was not completely successful, and in March of this year we found out the cancer had spread to the lining of her lungs.
Cynthia attended a week-long camp for kids with cancer a few weeks ago, and seemed in good spirits. Upon her arrival home, her condition worsened, and a doctor visit last Monday confirmed what we all feared: the cancer was spreading more rapidly than expected and her organs were shutting down. We were told she likely had 1-3 weeks left, shocking us all.
This is the 3rd significant loss for our family in the last 3 years: My father in 2010; Elizabeth's father in 2011; and now Cynthia.
My father's loss was devastating for me, but I had him in my life for almost 36 years, and I am grateful for that.
Cynthia never really got to live her life. Graduating school, choosing a career, finding love, having children. All gone.
I picked up my 5 year old, Lily, from Vacation Bible School tonight (Hannah, the oldest, was sick at home), and it was hard for me to sit through the evening's closing ceremonies. All of the children, singing and happy, some no older than Cynthia.
I am glad that I am a Christian. It is hard to understand the "whys" and "hows" of this world. We have no idea how long we have on Earth. But I have a comfort in knowing where I will go when I am finished. I know that I will see my father again because of my believe in Jesus Christ as the one true path to God and Heaven. I know that Cynthia is there now, and that she isn't suffering any longer.
My wife and baby girl are flying down to Mississippi to see her sister and the rest of the family, and hopefully provide some support and comfort during this difficult time.
We have been overwhelmed and at a loss for words because of the support and love shown by our Church, our family, and our friends, in providing for us and helping us as Elizabeth and Emeline get ready for their trip.
I am spending the next two weeks with my older girls, doing my daddy duties. In a way, it is a good thing I am off work, as it makes it much easier for my wife to drop everything and be there for her sister.
I would encourage everyone to hug their kids a little tighter tonight.
God Bless.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Unemployed Again. Yeah me.
I am unemployed again.
That is the sucky part about working for the federal government in the capacity that I have been doing. They can only hire me on as a 90 day casual appointment. Like last year, they stretched it out by only having me put in a 4 day work week instead of a 5 day work week, but I was officially done on June 12.
I'm not sure what my next steps are going to be. For some reason, I am not getting bites like I thought I would from consulting firms. I would have thought I would be a good fit for a consulting company; I have seven years experience working at various levels of government in my field, as well as a Masters degree. It must be the current economic climate.
Well, that government job I mentioned in an earlier post? The permanent one that I was interviewed for and was never filled last year? I got a call to come in for an interview, a full three months after the competition closed! And, like last year, I let my nerves get the better of me. It was very frustrating, as I was more prepared for this interview than any I have done in the past. I spent the better part of three months studying provincial legislation; studied the duties of the job and matched it to my skills and experiences; tried to anticipate questions; and, I practiced what I was going to say. I go into the interview and the questions were much, much different in terms of style than what I had last year; instead of "describe a situation where you (the "behavioural style"), it was a "you are in this situation, how would you react/what would you do" (the "bad predictor style"). Very few organizations are using the old "bad predictor style" of questions anymore. It was very frustrating. Out of 13 questions, I felt that I gave a great answer to 9 questions, a good answer (but did not explain myself) to 2, and completely botched 2 answers. The big problem is that I what I think was the right answer may not have been "their" right answer. I also got the impression that a number of questions were directly related to internal government policies that never see the light of day. Anyone who had worked for the government in the past, even for a brief period of time, would have had a distinct advantage over other candidates.
At most, they were only interviewing 8 people for 2 positions. Unlike probably every other candidate, I had nothing else to fall back on, no job that I was leaving for this position should I get it. There was a lot of pressure on me to do well. This was the best chance that I had, and I blew it.
The week before this government job interview, I had an interview at a local non-government organization (NGO) doing some interesting work with Atlantic Salmon conservation. The pay was pretty good and the work would have been interesting, but I was concerned it was more of an administrative position. At that point, I was focused on giving my best effort for the government job as that was the one I truly wanted. So, I did well, but maybe not as well as I could have. Going back over it in my mind, I know the question that I flubbed. I was indirectly told by someone I know who was on the hiring committee that I came very close to getting the job.
Now that I am 99.99% sure I lost out on my desired job, I feel very guilty about how I treated the other interview.
Close but no cigar should be my middle name.
So now I'm really in a pickle. Government employment insurance is not enough to pay the bills. I have some money set aside to last a few months, but then we'd have to dig into either a) what we have saved as a down payment for a house, or b) dip into our line of credit, going into debt.
It would be nice to get some short term or temporary work for the time being. We (my wife and I) want to stay in Fredericton for the short-term, pending resolution of a few things. Long-term, it makes no sense for us to stay in New Brunswick as there are no career options for either one of us here. Our issue right now is that we don't want to uproot our girls 2-3 times in a school year as we transition from one opportunity to the next. Elizabeth is pushing hard to finish her PhD so we can make the move sooner rather than later.
We have some irons in the fire. We just aren't sure if/when they will happen.
Stay tuned.
That is the sucky part about working for the federal government in the capacity that I have been doing. They can only hire me on as a 90 day casual appointment. Like last year, they stretched it out by only having me put in a 4 day work week instead of a 5 day work week, but I was officially done on June 12.
I'm not sure what my next steps are going to be. For some reason, I am not getting bites like I thought I would from consulting firms. I would have thought I would be a good fit for a consulting company; I have seven years experience working at various levels of government in my field, as well as a Masters degree. It must be the current economic climate.
Well, that government job I mentioned in an earlier post? The permanent one that I was interviewed for and was never filled last year? I got a call to come in for an interview, a full three months after the competition closed! And, like last year, I let my nerves get the better of me. It was very frustrating, as I was more prepared for this interview than any I have done in the past. I spent the better part of three months studying provincial legislation; studied the duties of the job and matched it to my skills and experiences; tried to anticipate questions; and, I practiced what I was going to say. I go into the interview and the questions were much, much different in terms of style than what I had last year; instead of "describe a situation where you (the "behavioural style"), it was a "you are in this situation, how would you react/what would you do" (the "bad predictor style"). Very few organizations are using the old "bad predictor style" of questions anymore. It was very frustrating. Out of 13 questions, I felt that I gave a great answer to 9 questions, a good answer (but did not explain myself) to 2, and completely botched 2 answers. The big problem is that I what I think was the right answer may not have been "their" right answer. I also got the impression that a number of questions were directly related to internal government policies that never see the light of day. Anyone who had worked for the government in the past, even for a brief period of time, would have had a distinct advantage over other candidates.
At most, they were only interviewing 8 people for 2 positions. Unlike probably every other candidate, I had nothing else to fall back on, no job that I was leaving for this position should I get it. There was a lot of pressure on me to do well. This was the best chance that I had, and I blew it.
The week before this government job interview, I had an interview at a local non-government organization (NGO) doing some interesting work with Atlantic Salmon conservation. The pay was pretty good and the work would have been interesting, but I was concerned it was more of an administrative position. At that point, I was focused on giving my best effort for the government job as that was the one I truly wanted. So, I did well, but maybe not as well as I could have. Going back over it in my mind, I know the question that I flubbed. I was indirectly told by someone I know who was on the hiring committee that I came very close to getting the job.
Now that I am 99.99% sure I lost out on my desired job, I feel very guilty about how I treated the other interview.
Close but no cigar should be my middle name.
So now I'm really in a pickle. Government employment insurance is not enough to pay the bills. I have some money set aside to last a few months, but then we'd have to dig into either a) what we have saved as a down payment for a house, or b) dip into our line of credit, going into debt.
It would be nice to get some short term or temporary work for the time being. We (my wife and I) want to stay in Fredericton for the short-term, pending resolution of a few things. Long-term, it makes no sense for us to stay in New Brunswick as there are no career options for either one of us here. Our issue right now is that we don't want to uproot our girls 2-3 times in a school year as we transition from one opportunity to the next. Elizabeth is pushing hard to finish her PhD so we can make the move sooner rather than later.
We have some irons in the fire. We just aren't sure if/when they will happen.
Stay tuned.
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