The Year 2006 in a Nutshell
My last post of 2006 (with just over 7 hours to spare)... hard to believe I actually got involved with all this blogging this year, but it's been kinda fun! Next year I hope to keep up with it a bit better (ie. more frequent posts), but you never know. In particular, the beginning of the year will be a bit crazy with me trying to defend my thesis before the Spring Convocation deadline... but that's for another post altogether...
The biggest change for us this year was our move to Kelowna. The start of 2006 saw us put our condo in North Vancouver up on the market for sale. Aaron’s job was going well in Kelowna and it was time to move to the Okanagan to decrease travelling and a long-distance relationship we had been doing. We did really well on the sale, a function of the amazing (expensive!) housing market here in BC. In Kelowna, we bought our first house (see previous blog posts for pics), and a brand new one at that – 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with room for growth (an unfinished basement… the “winter project”). We moved in mid-March and spent the summer lugging rocks, shoveling dirt, sand, topsoil, rolling out sod and laying a foundation for gardens. Such a tremendous amount of work, but it will be worth it next summer when we can relax a bit more and enjoy it (or rip it up and redo it, whichever we decide).
Early in the year I took a sessional instructor position at the University College of the Fraser Valley teaching 2 x 3rd year Kinesiology courses. It was a lot of prep time and hard work, but very rewarding and enjoyable. In May I started a job with Interior Health (same company as Aaron, different department). I am currently a Research Facilitator responsible for enhancing research capacity within the health authority and loves what I am doing so far. After a 6-month contract, I was asked to stay on and will re-evaluate the position next year (our dept contract expires in the spring).
Aaron’s job continues to go well. In addition, after 5 years of hard work, he has officially now a Certified Canadian Professional Ergonomist (CCPE). This distinction make him only one of 117 in Canada and the only one in the Interior of BC. He has since taken on some consulting work and hopes to expand this in the coming year. This summer Aaron was able to get out golfing to some of the great courses here in the Okanagan and just the other day took off for Big White for a day of skiing. As for me... my PhD dissertation is coming along (isn't that what I always say?) and I hope to submit and defend in March (before the library deadline). It has been a long haul with the greatest work yet to come. Keep your fingers crossed for a convocation ceremony (finally) in June!
The other bit of news is that my sister, Jessica, has moved in with us here in Kelowna. My parents and Jess drove out (with my 'junk') to visit us in our new house in Sept this year and then Jess made the move in October and is now working at TD Bank in town. So far she enjoys her job and has started to meet lots of new people. Jess has joined our co-ed soccer team (Aaron and I are both playing… together!) and hopes to pick up Dragonboating again in the warmer weather.
With that said, there isn’t much more to tell you about 2006. I don't have many resolutions for 2007, but I'm hoping to train again for a half marathon and them perhaps even attempt the full... provided the half goes ok in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed! I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2007!
The biggest change for us this year was our move to Kelowna. The start of 2006 saw us put our condo in North Vancouver up on the market for sale. Aaron’s job was going well in Kelowna and it was time to move to the Okanagan to decrease travelling and a long-distance relationship we had been doing. We did really well on the sale, a function of the amazing (expensive!) housing market here in BC. In Kelowna, we bought our first house (see previous blog posts for pics), and a brand new one at that – 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with room for growth (an unfinished basement… the “winter project”). We moved in mid-March and spent the summer lugging rocks, shoveling dirt, sand, topsoil, rolling out sod and laying a foundation for gardens. Such a tremendous amount of work, but it will be worth it next summer when we can relax a bit more and enjoy it (or rip it up and redo it, whichever we decide).
Early in the year I took a sessional instructor position at the University College of the Fraser Valley teaching 2 x 3rd year Kinesiology courses. It was a lot of prep time and hard work, but very rewarding and enjoyable. In May I started a job with Interior Health (same company as Aaron, different department). I am currently a Research Facilitator responsible for enhancing research capacity within the health authority and loves what I am doing so far. After a 6-month contract, I was asked to stay on and will re-evaluate the position next year (our dept contract expires in the spring).
Aaron’s job continues to go well. In addition, after 5 years of hard work, he has officially now a Certified Canadian Professional Ergonomist (CCPE). This distinction make him only one of 117 in Canada and the only one in the Interior of BC. He has since taken on some consulting work and hopes to expand this in the coming year. This summer Aaron was able to get out golfing to some of the great courses here in the Okanagan and just the other day took off for Big White for a day of skiing. As for me... my PhD dissertation is coming along (isn't that what I always say?) and I hope to submit and defend in March (before the library deadline). It has been a long haul with the greatest work yet to come. Keep your fingers crossed for a convocation ceremony (finally) in June!
The other bit of news is that my sister, Jessica, has moved in with us here in Kelowna. My parents and Jess drove out (with my 'junk') to visit us in our new house in Sept this year and then Jess made the move in October and is now working at TD Bank in town. So far she enjoys her job and has started to meet lots of new people. Jess has joined our co-ed soccer team (Aaron and I are both playing… together!) and hopes to pick up Dragonboating again in the warmer weather.
With that said, there isn’t much more to tell you about 2006. I don't have many resolutions for 2007, but I'm hoping to train again for a half marathon and them perhaps even attempt the full... provided the half goes ok in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed! I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2007!
posted by Jen Miller at
4:45 PM
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