A Little May Update
It has been a while since I posted a general update. I thought it about time to let folks know that we are alive and well in Toronto.
There have been no updates because there is very little to report. We are fairly well settled into our life in Toronto, and time seems to be accelerating.
Andrey is feeling more confident about his job. It is still very challenging, of course, but he seems to have gotten a good grasp of the techniques he needs for his work. More importantly, he has a better sense of the labs expectations of him.
Last night we went to dinner with a graduate student from his lab and a postdoctoral candidate from Michigan. It was interesting for me, a science civilian, to hear them talk about the ups and downs of scientific work. As the candidate said, "Your good days are really good, and your bad days are horrible." I think that observation resounded so clearly for Andrey that I could see relief come across his face--he's not the only one who feels that way!
My quest for employment continues to flounder. My best leads coming to Toronto all fizzled out. I had a couple of interviews that turned out to be scams. Otherwise, my resumes seem to be disappearing into the ether.
The most important step for me right now is to get my immigration status cleared up. As an accompanying "spouse," I am entitled to request an open work permit. Gathering all the paperwork for the application, however, has been quite a chore, and it will probably be another six weeks before we get everything sorted out. That means I am reluctant to approach employers until I can confidently tell them that I am eligible to work in Canada with visa sponsorship.
In the meantime, I try to be productive, but I'm not always successful. To echo that postdoc candidate, my good days are sort of good, and my bad days are interminable. I have waves of optimism, where I'm just happy to be here with Andrey and happy to have the opportunity to read books that I want to read and to work on projects that I want to work on. On other days, I feel as if I'm sinking into an inescapable rut--unemployed, financially stretched, and missing life as it passes me by. How is it that some people can sit down and hammer out a book or start a business, but there are days when I can't even empty the dishwasher? Those waves pass, and luckily to day is one of the more average days.
Our social life hasn't exactly blossomed, but I hope to remedy that soon. This week, the rabbi from one of the local Reform synagogues met with me and suggested some people that we might want to meet.
We've tried to take advantage of the city. There seems to be a film festival every week. At first I was excited about this, but now I find it frustrating to slog through hundreds of listings to find something we might like. Last weekend we took a day trip to a provincial park, which was its own misadventure.
So that's the news from the Great White (now green) North!
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