Making a home in Victoria

I think we're finally getting settled here, although I still have moments of "unreality". I've had several of those over the past 18 months -- times when I could hardly believe what we're doing: selling our house of 17 years and putting our furniture into storage to live like gypsies for a year; moving to France for an extended stay with no other plans than to travel extensively and soak it all in; and then moving to a city with my family, something that we had planned would happen eventually, but is still a shock to us country bumpkins.

Meghan relaxing with the cats. I'm pleased to say that we've finally got the boxes unpacked.

Victoria is still new enough to us that it seems like part of the adventure, yet we all know deep down that this is where we'll be settling for a while. But I still get those moments of unrealness, like when I was walking in the main hallway of our house last week, suddenly wondering, "Where am I? What place is this? What am I doing here?"; and then I give my head a shake and I'm back in the present again. I think I feel sometimes that I'm living a dream, and when I wake up I'll be back in my bed in our old house in Burns Lake again. I guess spending that much time in one place really burns itself into your whole psyche.

We've already had a few visitors - my mom, my sister Pat, and this weekend, Mark's mom and brother Steve. Here my mom and Mark stare out into the stormy-looking clouds.

This is really a post of family news, so I'll update you on each of us:

Mark

Mark's job here is Director of Forest Worker Safety. At this level, he's really close to government, so he deals with Assistant Deputy Ministers, Deputy Ministers and the Chief Forester for the province quite regularly. After just over six months on the job, I think he's getting into the groove, but it's still very different from being in a small community like Burns Lake. Sometimes I think it's a little too close to the action!

Mark's also going to Toast Masters to improve his public speaking skills. His group meets before work on Friday mornings, and Mark is so dedicated that he gets out of bed about 5:30 a.m. to catch the bus and get there on time. The only Fridays that he doesn't make it is when he's off to meetings in Vancouver, which seems to be happening a lot these past few weeks.

Chris

I'm really enjoying my new job as an Education Project Manager at Open School BC. I'm in charge of developing a grade 8 math course for distance education, so I get to do all sorts of things that I love: organize things; do math; talk to people; do research; work on the computer; and keep things on schedule and on budget. I'm very busy right now -- it can be a little overwhelming at times. Currently I'm reviewing several fifty-page documents, editing and suggesting changes before forwarding them on to other people.

I now work for the provincial government like Mark does, so I'm getting used to all of the government lingo and procedures. It's a huge organization -- approximately 30,000 people work for the government of BC, and sometimes you can get so caught up in processes that you hardly have time for your work.

When I'm not working I'm still trying to keep up with my French studies. I've enrolled in a French diploma program at the University of Victoria. When I tested for the program I scored at the "high intermediate" level, so I was pretty proud of myself and thought that the year in France perhaps wasn't a total waste! : ) I go to class two nights a week, but sometimes after a full day at work it's really hard to drag myself there. I always enjoy it, though, and I'm really glad when I made the effort. I'm trying really hard to speak French as much as possible in class, and I think that I'm finally losing my fear of sounding silly.

Mark and Chris

We've really made a commitment to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions this year, and one of the things that we're doing more is riding the bus. We really only use the van one or two days a week to buy groceries and other big stuff. Both Mark and I were able to get a permanent bus pass through our work, and it's great to be able to hop on and off the bus when you want. We have great bus service almost right at our doorstep and it takes us both directly to work. A side benefit of this is that we can now ride the bus together to work in the mornings -- one of those activities in our new life that still feels strange and different to me! : )

In between work and our extracurricular activities, we're trying to get the inside of the house painted and some yard work done. Mark is much better about this than I am -- even though we both have to start working a little harder!

Our fitness routines have been suffering a little as we try to find some balance in our new lives, but both Mark and I have signed up for a 10 km walk (me) or run (Mark) at the end of April. Mark has to train for running, but I just have to train my feet to not get blisters! That's always the worst part about long hikes for me.

Cameron

Cameron is in grade 8 this year and just had his 14th birthday -- there's no going back on that teenager thing now! I mentioned before that he shot past me in height about a year ago, and he's now very tall and lean. He's doing very well at school although his teachers think that he's too quiet -- but that might just be because the rest of his class is very loud! I encouraged him to join the concert band this year in order to keep busy with some extracurricular activities, so he's playing percussion. Cameron went with the band to an overnight camp in the fall, and they're now preparing for a four-day trip to Whistler in May. It should be fun -- by the time they registered, the only choice they had was a four-star hotel. I'm sure all those 14-year-old boys will really make the most of the facilities!

Cameron's heading off to high school next year; he's looking forward to it, and I'm feeling anxious about it! We're quite excited that he applied for and was accepted into one of the school's special programs where he will be challenged academically and provided with opportunities for leadership training and volunteer work. It's the only program in Victoria where students are invited to apply to become pages at the BC Legislature. Cameron will also carry on with French Immersion; I gave him the choice after this year, and I'm very pleased that he's made the decision to continue.

Meghan

Meghan is also getting tall: if I'm slouching, she can stare me straight in the eye. Unfortunately, she's also now graduated to wearing women's sized clothes; clothing four "adults" sometimes puts a strain on the family budget! Meg just turned 12 (in January), is in grade 6 at the same middle school as Cameron, and she's really enjoying school. She plays flute in the concert band, and since they weren't moving fast enough for her, she's also started to play my old clarinet at home. She has several friends whose houses she's already visited and is doing very well academically. She's a natural writer -- and I'm her mother so I can say, "gifted". : ) Sometimes I read something that she's written and it almost makes me cry, it's that good.

Meghan loves to play soccer, and it's very big in Victoria, so she would have been playing throughout the winter if we had known to register her in the fall when we moved here. However, she has lots of options to play in the spring and summer, and we live right across from one of the big soccer parks, so I think she'll be in the thick of it soon.

One thing that makes us all happy is that the kids can walk or bike to school this year, and either way it takes them less than 20 minutes. Since Mark and I have to leave for work earlier than they leave for school, they get ready on their own. I think it's really made them more independent and has been very good for them.

This was a really long update; I hope you lasted 'til the end! Drop us a line and let us know what you're doing:

christinateskey @ yahoo.ca or mvieweg @ gmail.com (take out the spaces when you email).