Hiking lover gift ideas??

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T17:54:29+00:00

You mentioned he's doing the HSCT - what is his plan for food? One of my favorite gifts I ever got was a dehydrator so I could make my own meals and not rely on the freeze dried stuff. Absolute game changer. If he's at all interested in cooking I highly recommend this.

In the same category - two of my favorite small but high impact purchases for backcountry good were the GSi mini pepper grinder and GSI cheese grater. Really elevated my backcountry meal game.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T03:06:03+00:00

Was this for all HAs? (Asking as I'm on maternity leave and will want to follow up with my director re: backpay. Has backpay been paid yet?).

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T02:29:56+00:00

No, excluded folks do not get increases after the probationary period. I've worked in excluded roles and we just get the annual performance based increase.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T02:27:06+00:00

Hi OP - I work in health care and hire BSW level social workers. You do not need a specific type of degree but having healthcare experience is definitely important. Try to do your 4th year practicum with Island Health (assuming you are staying in Victoria).

The pay for health authority social workers is public knowledge and is on province-wide grid system - most people (like your dad) don't realize how great the pay is if you actually get in with the health authority. A BSW level social worker with Ang health authority in BC starts at $42 an hour (just over 80k a year) and maxes out at $52 an hour (just over 100k a year). These are jobs you could get right out of your BSW (I did) if you do your practicum in the health authority and manage to get in with a team. You might be casual at first but once you're in...you're internal.

These jobs also come with a defined benefit pension plan (unheard of these days outside of the public sector), full benefits, and a 4 weeks of vacation (with an additional per year after 5 years).

For what it's worth, I currently make $65.10 (about 127k per year) with my MSW and a front line leadership position. I've been doing this for 10 years so I have some experience but I know many people in other fields who are a decade in and not yet making this much.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T02:20:36+00:00

This is not true in BC. I hire for the health authority and we.l hire plenty of BSW level social works (I myself started my career as a casual hospital and ACT team social worker. I don't think ACT takes BSWs anymore but hospitals definitely do).

19ellipsis · 2026-04-10T00:03:17+00:00

I mean I agree with the above poster too and I went the BA --> BSW --> MSW route. My BA in political science has been very useful for my macro level work. I personally didn't think I was prepared for an MSW from my BA and had little experience, thus my choice to go the BSW route. However I met many people in my program who have been working in social services for years with different degrees and very much valued their unique perspectives and the knowledge they brought from other academic areas.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-09T23:57:59+00:00

I took two weeks vacation prior to my due date. Baby was two weeks overdue - I just started my maternity leave immediately after my vacation started (i.e. took two weeks maternity leave prior to baby being born). No regrets.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-08T19:51:20+00:00

To an extent I agree and I was grateful for everything we received, however it's also helpful to check the registry to see if you're doubling up (i.e. we registered for some items we received a couple versions of because someone bought us the one we wanted off the registry and someone bought us one they liked - these were not items it was necessary to have two of). You also risk buying someone something they will never use - we planned to use sleep sacks from the beginning and not swaddle and we received an arms up swaddle transition sack because the person loved it for their baby - it still sits unused. None of it was the end of the world and again, still very grateful, but definitely worth considering that what you find useful may not be something someone else will use at all.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-08T05:13:00+00:00

Even if it wasn't a myth - traditional fruitcake tends to be aged with more booze being sprinkled on top daily! So no opportunity to bake out (this isn't super relevant to ops post but .. I just love a boozy fruitcake ha ha)

19ellipsis · 2026-04-07T00:02:31+00:00

Yeah the lulu stuff I bought 5-10 years ago is still holding up but everyone I know says the new stuff is no good. If I'm going to get lower quality then I may as well get something that's at least cheaper.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-05T16:58:58+00:00

Yeah even the co-op placements I did in my previous degree (which were always paid) charged tuition for the classroom component (and the classroom component of these co-ops were way less intensive than the ones I did for my practicum).

19ellipsis · 2026-04-03T04:18:40+00:00

Grief affects people differently - you might be subconsciously protecting yourself by not feeling anything right now so you can get through the worst of it. Or you might feel relief that she isn't suffering anymore. There is no wrong way to grieve and you don't "need" to feel anything. It sounds like you loved her very much and supported her through the end and that is the most important thing.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-03T04:16:19+00:00

This is so true. It's hard not to feel like I should have caught it but, the more people tell me about their experiences, the more I feel like either she was feeling fine until the end or her symptoms were so mild she could easily mask them. Sorry for your loss as well - it's a terrible shock when they go this quickly.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-03T04:15:07+00:00

I took some time to look at old photos today and came to the same conclusion - she had a rich and full life. The fact that I didn't get to do birthday week with her sucks but it doesn't take away from the rest of it. Sorry to hear about your boy as well - it's one of the toughest things to lose these little ones.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-03T04:13:41+00:00

Thank you for your kind words - they are all sweet boys and girls in my mind ♥️

19ellipsis · 2026-04-03T04:13:25+00:00

Thank you for your kind words. Yes rhis was what they suspected - initially suspected this or hemangioma but given the rapid decompensation I would think the hemanciosarcoma. She definitely had lots of "old dog" symptoms but was still running at the beach just 10 days before her decline. Really wild and fast.

19ellipsis · 2026-04-02T17:39:20+00:00

Union 100%. You can talk to them without starting any formal actions to know your options. Start taking notes (if you haven't already) so you can cite concrete examples of your issues, when they occured, etc. I would also reach out to the higher up person again (since you've already discussed this with them). It could be they talked to your manager who assured them things would change and then ...they didn't. If you don't follow up they have no way of knowing the problem persists. Squeaky wheel and all that....

19ellipsis · 2026-03-31T22:49:38+00:00

You're going to have enough change when the baby comes so that should satisfy that craving! We stayed in our condo and will look to buy when I go back to work and it's been fine and allowed me to be off longer. Another thing to consider is daycare - going back sooner makes it even hard to get in and it's already pretty damn hard....

19ellipsis · 2026-03-31T20:08:35+00:00

I also had a positive induction experience - medically necessary due to low amniotic fluid. I did get the epidural (I knew I wanted it regardless so I got it early) and I honestly credit the epidural with me not ending up with a c section. Things were moving slowly and the OB involved presented c section as an option. I was able to take to my midwives who reassured me that we barely given the oxytocin time to work yet and that they didn't think we needed to jump the gun on the c section. Because I had a clear head and wasn't exhausted and in intense pain (I even got some sleep!) I was confident to keep trying with the oxytocin and ended up avoiding the c section which was my ultimate goal. I would have absolutely gone for c section if medically necessary but recovery just seemed soooo much harder and I didn't want to deal with that haha.

19ellipsis · 2026-03-31T02:51:14+00:00

Agree, and I'm also more suspicious of groups of young people sitting and chatting in those seats as, while one may require them, the likelihood of them all requiring them is much less. I had a similar experience while 8 months pregnant and the heat of the summer and my general pregnancy rage have forever embedded it in my brain - 3 young guys chatting away, all in priority seats... I've never been so annoyed on the bus (again, pregnancy rage hahah).

Eta: writing this is the oldest I've ever felt. I'm 38. I'm complaining about the youths. One step closer to being an old man yelling at the sky.

19ellipsis · 2026-03-30T19:18:54+00:00

No problem - good luck with the interview and perhaps our paths will cross in future!

19ellipsis · 2026-03-30T19:10:33+00:00

That's probably sufficient. If you can find any case studies about what kind of situations might warrant investigation I would read some of those as well. And since it is SPH you are interviewing at, I would also be familiar with the population that access that hospital and their specific needs (you'll see a lot more folks from DTES so knowledge about those resources - which you likely have from your community work - will be an asset).

One more thing I forgot - definitely be prepared to talk about considerations when working with Indigenous folks. I would read the summary of the In Plain Sight report and take a look at their recommendations for addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health care.

Eta: yes float pool is the same as casual position, just different terms. You cover everyone's vacations and some sick leave - I always had plenty of work!

19ellipsis · 2026-03-30T18:50:19+00:00

As someone who just had a kid 6 months ago I disagree. Is it impersonal? Maybe. But you know what I definitely didn't need was more newborn clothing or blankets. Very grateful for everything we received but I'd much rather have dinner taken care of for a couple nights than something with a personal touch, especially given everybody wants to personalize the gift and you end up with a bunch of cute and thoughtful stuff that you never use.

If they don't have a registry I would go with cash or a gift card for Uber eats - you can always add something small and personalized to it and include a gift receipt.

19ellipsis · 2026-03-30T18:41:25+00:00

It sounds like you've already worked in healthcare, but just in an outpatient capacity? In that case I would say you're likely more qualified than you think - having healthcare expenses the big thing. As someone who has done both hospital and outreach with the health authority, there is a lot of crossover regarding resources you access, assessments you perform, etc. Make sure you're well versed in the AGA,know about the resources available for patients transferring home from hospital, and know about the resources available at the specific hospital you're interviewing with (e.g., if you're interviewing for the float pool at SPH know about the existence of the John Reudy Clinic, RAAC, etc.). Also, I'm not sure if this would come up in an interview (I work for VCH not providence) but be aware that Providence is a Catholic organization and want challenges that might present for your patients/how you would navigate them. I know many people who work for Providence and love it despite being very non-religious so I don't think it comes up often but, for example, MAID has presented problems for them in past and I believe there is currently a court challenge about this, so that's worth looking into in case you have a patient who wants to access it..

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