What a day!

Whew! I just got back from The Marketing Dangerously Social Media Challenge Meetup hosted by Jonathan Christian and let me tell you I’m exhausted! From the 1.45 hour (2 buses and 1 skytrain) trek from my place downtown to Langley + the information overload + meeting LOTS of wonderful people and contacts, I’m shocked I’m not passed out in my bed! But – it was totally worth it. I am so glad I went and met all the great contacts and kind people who are more than willing to help me with my job search I was blown away with kindness. Not to mention the lovely Dr. Mélanie DesChâtelets who drove me all the way home! Thank you for a wonderful evening!

Aside from all that excitement today was Day 1 of Operation Slim Down (OSD for short), and it went very well!

Breakfast consisted of my favourite breakfast of all time – OATMEAL :) If you haven’t already, please check out one of my favourite blogs Kath Eats Real Food (KERF) and check out her dedication to oatmeal. Her posts got me hooked, I foresee that you will too!

My oatmeal mix consists of:

• 1/2 raw oats
• 1/2 cup of almond milk + 1/2 water
• 1/2 banana mixed in while cooking
• Garnished with a few blueberries, the other half of the banana and a few scoops of plain non-fat organic yogurt!

After breakfast it was off in search of some coffee. Upon arriving at one of my usual coffee shop spots – I job searched a bit and came across the job I’ve literally been looking for since the idea of moving to Vancouver entered my mind – a social media job with Lululemon! It’s a digital storyteller position for someone who basically is looking to eat, sleep, breathe their brand and HELLO THAT’S ME!

So after rushing to get a cover letter together I realized that I can’t submit it right away… I need to strategize how I’m going to actually apply – and soon! I need to set myself apart from other applicants If you have any ideas PLEASE let me know – I can use all the ideas and help I can get.

I had a snack of three Ryvita crackers with organic PB and strawberry fruit spread while working on the cover letter to prep myself for Fit Test #1!

It was tough – but here’s fit test #1’s results:

Not bad considering the first round’s numbers were way lower and these numbers are close to my last round’s final numbers. :)

I made myself a spinach, goat cheese, blueberry and avocado salad while rushing to get ready. And off I went!

I had a lovely skim latte at the coffee shop where the meet-up was held to tide me over until I got home… which didn’t end up being until 10pm! I was starved and too tired to cook anything (not to mention it was so late to be eating!) so I threw together 1/2 cup of yogurt, a few sliced strawberries topped with a few chia seeds (more info to come on these nutritious puppies soon enough!) and an Ezekiel english muffin with my trusty PB & J. Whew – eating healthy and balanced is hard work! I will try to do better tomorrow.

On that note it’s late and I’m exhausted. The to-do list tomorrow consists of
1. Following up with some contacts I met this evening.
2. Figuring out a creative way to apply to Lululemon.
3. Insanity – Day #2 Plyometric Cardio Circuit + either a run or hot yoga.
4. Prepare good meals!

NIGHT!

(I just wanted to mention that I know these posts are content heavy – and I promise I will start toning it down and keeping it simple… as soon as my photographer gets here!)

Why Vancovuer?

I woke up this morning thinking that unless you know me personally – I should probably explain WHY I’m in the beautiful city of Vancouver! Once I graduated (yes I’m STILL job searching everyone) I wanted to move to a city that I felt was full of potential for an aspiring PR practitioner as well as being surrounded by like-minded active and healthy people. I realized immediately that city was Vancouver!

I was drawn here with promises of green-grass throughout the cold winter months (like what +0-5 – this place doesn’t know what cold is!), an early spring, a beautiful summer and a community of people whose lifestyle embodies health and fitness without conscious thought. Well I have to admit, I’ve found it. Other than the chance of sudden drizzle and downpour at any time throughout the day, I’ve actually gotten used to carrying an umbrella and having rain gear-attire on me at all times! Crazy for a girl who up until a month ago was used to her own car and wearing heals everyday huh? Honestly, it’s worth it. I feel like myself in this city and I’m excited to get up every morning in search of a wonderful new coffee shop. This city makes me feel inspired to not only do great, but do better than great!

On that note, goal #1 (well it should be where ALL of my efforts are aiming…) is to land a good job! I never realized that looking for THE job, is honestly a full time job. I literally spend 8-9 hours a day searching for positions, cover letter writing, networking, etc. It’s a tough battle when you have a degree but most positions that are worthwhile require 3-5 years experience. People might think I’m crazy for not just “getting a job” to get a job… but that’s not what I want. I want to go out and find a job that suits me – I want the job. I’m not just a worker. I put 110% into my work and I want to work for a company or cause that I truly believe in. I have had more jobs than you c0uld probably imagine (9!) in my life thus far, and let me tell you I’ve experienced more than you could probably imagine for someone of my age. A lot of bad, but a lot of good. I credit those life experiences to how I got to where I am today, and am so grateful that I was put through every single one of them.

So what now might you ask? I’ve been here a month as of tomorrow and honestly I spent the first 2.5 feeling like I was on vacation. While those weeks were amazing and I’m so glad I took the time to explore the west coast… It’s time to focus and figure out how I’m going to land THE job. Last week I was sitting in a coffee shop (shock, I know) and I started chatting with a lady who was knitting… odd situation but this is a prime example of never knowing what doors a simple outing can take you! We started chatting and it turns out that she had a few friends in the communications industry and was going to email them my contact information! So far nothing has come out of it, but the fact that we were both there at the exact time and made a connection gives me hope that I will find something soon! The best thing that came out of that random meeting was the insight she gave me. She told me that years ago her and her husband stumbled upon a book called What color is your parachute? by Richard N. Bolles  and that it provided such good insight that they both applied the methods in this book to land amazing jobs.

So, what did I do? Went out and bought the book of course! I’m 4 chapters in and it’s already helping me realize what I need to do to get that job… details to come! I’m off to do a little job searching, tweeting, and Insanity all before heading out to Langley for a Social Media meet-up! (check out www.meetup.com -trust me!)

Check back for a food and fitness post later today!