Category Archives: Work

Citizenship celebrations – what a welcome!

I missed the first part of a work ‘cakeathon’ (a colleague’s birthday cake) today because we were at our Citizenship Ceremony, but contributed the second – it seemed only appropriate to order a celebratory ‘Canada’ cake! It was a special moment to cut this in the staff-room, with Bishop Poole (my boss), standing behind me.

What I didn’t yet know was that, one floor up, my work area had been decked out with a flag and piled high with Canadian themed gifts; a red and white tulip, a mug, a pen, a special photo frame with the Prime Minister, just for the occasion, masking a lovely group photo of my colleagues taken at our summer BBQ, a towel embroidered with the flag and ‘Bearne’ (a gift from a priest friend), maple syrup, maple tea and maple filled chocolates, cards and a brooch made from copper that originally was used in the Parliament buildings in Ottawa . My Bishop reckons that if you can be over-whelmed, you should be able to be ‘whelmed’. He instructed  me that I was to be whelmed rather than overwhelmed!

What a wonderful welcome from my fellow Canadians, eh!

 

PodCamp Prize!

Paul's prize
And the winner is . . .

Paul won one of two prize draws at PodCamp over the weekend of our Housewarming!

He has been jumping up and down looking out for the postman ever since – it finally arrived today. His prize is a Moviepix HD DV Cam (pocket video camera), very appropriate as he was volunteer cameraman for parts of the conference.

As he is increasingly involved in editing and posting video to YouTube for Tyco Electronics, it is also a timely addition to his ‘toolkit’ (in other words, another great techie toy!).

Paul’s Prize

A definite highlight (and proud moment) of the last week was when Paul opened the door to our UPS mailbox and found a card indicating that there was something too big to fit and to ask at the desk.

There he was, all bundled up in coat and hat, jumping up and down saying ‘It’s my prize! It’s my prize!’

Just as we left the UK he had discovered that he was one of a team awarded Tyco’s annual Impact Innovation Award. I had temporarily forgotten that the corporate trophy was on its way to him but, sure enough, the cardboard gave way to a smart black box, which gave way to glass and steel . . . and a very nice note from Tyco Electronics CEO Tom Lynch! Appreciation is always welcome.

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Paul's Prize Paul's Temporary Home Office

Paul’s Temporary Home Office

Markham Office

Paul’s Cube in Pod-land at Markham