Yesterday afternoon I took an afternoon break with my friend Jamie (girl). When you work at an art gallery, your breaks include walking around the gallery or checking out special collections. And that is exactly what we did. There is currently an Emily Carr exhibition - part of the "summer blockbuster" series as they refer to them here.
I was taken aback by the layout and design of the exhibition; by the variety and extent of Emily Carr's work and that she was also a recognised writer (yeah I had no idea!).

Even if I was an Art History major and even if I work in a museum - I will assure you that there is absolutely no corellation between education and levels of sophisticated thought in a museum.

An example of my thoughts (yes, I sadly said this out loud) :

"Wow, those trees really look like factorial brocolli"

anyone want a picture?

this is actually an email I just wrote to my friend Jamie (boy) after he said he couldn't convieve me looking professional (well after a few years of lifeguarding and me wearing a bikini everyday, I don't blame him).

"Alica has totally conquered the buisness casual look. Today she sports a lovely knee length black skirt, which mermaid like design compliments her curvaceous bottom. It is complimented with a white knit tip which keeps her cool yet professional and stylist- and ofcourse with the new necklace and bracelets which now seem to go with everything. Also she has left her contacts at home, in favour of her youthful red glasses with embody intelligence and style.

This is why I am always late for work."

MOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEEEYYY

I got my first paycheque today! It is so exciting! My boss even personally delievered it to my office!!!
Plus, it's un gros montant because it is half of my overall pay.

My boss (manager of the education division here), didn't just hand me a few thousand dollars, but also complimented my work and my project. whew! i hope I didn't blush.

But reality still did manage to slap me across the face today:
I was talking to another collegue about future work plans and she said I was tres gaté to have a paid internship right out of university, and not to expect anything more than 30-35,000 a year for my first six working years. EEk! My family could spend that much on a two week vacation (we almost did this year). She kept saying that it was like that everywhere else except at the National Gallery... she made me want to steal her job! Why can't I just stay on here for a while?

My co workers have created one of the most positive work environments that I've ever had the chance to experience. Or maybe they are just being nice to me because I am the rookie.

that's.. stunning?

Last night, after hitting up Goodlife for the first time (with my trainer! ) I met up with Vimla and hit up a bar. On Elgin St but the name escapes me now.. While walking back we asked some security looking dude if the street was "sketchy". he then explained to us that the best way to get rid of sketchy guys was to get a stun gun, because that is what he got for his sister. As he said "It might be questionably legal, but if you blast a guy in the nuts with a stun gun, he won't touch anyone or himself for a week"

Bonjour, comment ca va? You have reached the desk of A. Cherry, at the National Gallery of Canada...

I haven't blogged in waaaaaaay too long. I meant to after my first day of work, but on Tuesday night I was saved from the boredom of an evening alone and went out to see "The Devil Wears Prada" with the few friends that I do have in Ottawa. And yesterday night, after a long weekend with the family in Ottawa and the stress of starting a new job, I crashed. Last night, I went to bed early and watched TV. I guess voluntarily going to bed at 10 and wake up at 7 means I am officially no longer a student. Honestly, I am happy to have the strindent routine of 9-5. In university I missed the regular routine that high school offered.. especially because I thought it was a challenge to get out of bed in the morning, unless there really was something special. Then again, I did have a consistent routine while in France, althought it was, to be honest more of a go to bed at 2am and get up at 1030am routine. A routine isn't only heathly but can promote productivity, and set good eating habits. Ofcourse people can say that routines may become a trap, but so far, as long as there is a moderate amount of flexibility in your routine, I can only view it as being a new positive part of my life here.

My first day was overwhelming. Ofcourse I got lost trying to find the employee entrance at the National Gallery and was 15 mins late even if I had been looking for where to go for 25 minutes. I then met all the people with who I had been comunicating over email and the phone with, the head of HR, my future supervisor and then all of the people in the education department (I am still working on all their names). Then my supervisior Monique, gave me a tour of the bowels of the Gallery. I saw where the art came in, where the conservation labs were, where collections were stored, security, IT area... Yes, the security at the Gallery is pretty good, you need an electronic security pass to go everywhere (I just got mine yesterday!). Then, Monique showed me to my office. Yes, I got my very own office, and I assure you that it is bigger than my first res room was. Although right now it looks more like a monk's cell. This ofcourse means that I have my own phone and computer. Unfortunately my view is not one that looks onto the canal, but only the curators seem to get that privilege. The only unfortunate part about my office is it's location, which is away from my supervisor and the Education department (who I'm working for) and across from the washroom. I everyone seems to visit me on their way to the washroom! (but no, I do not hear flushing sounds all day).
Yesterday I got a tour of the National Gallery Library, which has an astounding view and collection.

On my third day, I would say that I am still shocked that everyone that I have met (so far) has been remarkably nice and welcoming. I've even met Anne Thomas, the curator of photography - we had a lovely discussion over lunch on Tuesday and I realised that some of my readings last year were written by her. So there have definitely been some geeky art history moments.

One thing that did bring me back to a less popular time in my life : the cafeteria. Yesterday, I hadn't made plans with anyone for lunch, so I walked in alone to the cafeteria and asked people who i had vaguely met that day to sit with them. It turned out to be fine, but I hope to make new friends soon here! Atleast I am friendly with the cashier at the cafeteria (like most museum cafeterias it is quite nice), and I get an employee discount. Today was another day, and my secondary supervisor, the ever energetic Megan, "set me up" with another summer student so that I wouldn't have a lonely lunch.

This weekend will certainly not be a lonely one. Claire, Dave and Majid are coming up to Ottawa! Unfortunately I won't have the things I believe helped me get friends (a pool and my dad the BBQ King), but they'll have to love me without those perks this summer!

Now I am off to hand in my first assignment (yeah, I was writting this along with typing up my assignment this morning!) - let's hope they don't think they made the wrong choice of intern!