Hello Everyone =)

[fauntania]

I've been lurking around here for some time reading and taking it all in, and I thought it was time I introduced myself.

I am a 39 year old single mother of three kids ages 12, 11 and 6, from BC.  I work full time and I'm always taking courses to try and better myself and life for my family, though I haven't yet managed to finish my Bachelor of English degree.  I applied to the CF in January, kind of by mistake actually - I had an online application for awhile that I kept editing and saving, and then chickening out of submitting, and one day I hit submit instead of save by mistake.  I figure it must have been meant to be.  =)

I've been working hard to get myself into shape even before this, dropping a significant amount of weight, learning to do situps and pushups, and running, where I've never been good at any of that.  I'm really enjoying it, though!  I joined a gym and I go every day for at least an hour.

I actually thought the recruiters would look at my app and laugh, then file it in the garbage as "probably submitted by mistake" but they didn't.  I got a call at work from a recruiter, who spoke to me at length about my trade choices and options.  I did all the paperwork he asked for, and just carried on with my life as an insurance agent, figuring that would be the end of it.  They would say I was too old, or too fat still, too single-mothery, whatever.  LOL  I was surprised by another call at work earlier this month though, and now I'm booked in for the CFAT, medical and interview all on the same day in April.

I'm very excited and nervous at the same time! 

Anyway, looking forward to getting to know you all, and to maybe being an army chick myself soon!

Cheers from BC,
Fauntania

 

[brihard]

Congratulations! Best of luck to you.

 

[mariomike]

Nice first post. Good luck!

 

[dangles]

I've been lurking around here for some time reading and taking it all in, and I thought it was time I introduced myself.

I am a 39 year old single mother of three kids ages 12, 11 and 6, from BC.  I work full time and I'm always taking courses to try and better myself and life for my family, though I haven't yet managed to finish my Bachelor of English degree.  I applied to the CF in January, kind of by mistake actually - I had an online application for awhile that I kept editing and saving, and then chickening out of submitting, and one day I hit submit instead of save by mistake.  I figure it must have been meant to be.  =)

I've been working hard to get myself into shape even before this, dropping a significant amount of weight, learning to do situps and pushups, and running, where I've never been good at any of that.  I'm really enjoying it, though!  I joined a gym and I go every day for at least an hour.

I actually thought the recruiters would look at my app and laugh, then file it in the garbage as "probably submitted by mistake" but they didn't.  I got a call at work from a recruiter, who spoke to me at length about my trade choices and options.  I did all the paperwork he asked for, and just carried on with my life as an insurance agent, figuring that would be the end of it.  They would say I was too old, or too fat still, too single-mothery, whatever.  LOL  I was surprised by another call at work earlier this month though, and now I'm booked in for the CFAT, medical and interview all on the same day in April.

I'm very excited and nervous at the same time! 

Anyway, looking forward to getting to know you all, and to maybe being an army chick myself soon!

Cheers from BC,
Fauntania

Sounds like you have an exciting future ahead of you...what trades did you apply for?

 

[fauntania]

Thank you for the welcome =)

I chose RMS, Meteorological Tech, and Sig Op for my trades.  From what I read, Sig Op is the only only "in demand" but the recruiter I spoke with did tell me that really RMS Clerks are always in demand as well, and you never know what might open up.  He suggested too that if I continue to work on my degree while in the CF, I could switch to Officer before long, which I would love to do!  Now if only life would slow down a bit so I would have time to get that done!  =)

I have learned so much from reading this site, I have to say - what a great group of people you are!

 

[PrettyMaggie63]

Hi fauntnia, congrats to you. Don't say you're too old. I turn 48 this year and I applied last September (not by mistake though). I have done the CFAT and interview and am awaiting my medical. My first choice was RMS Clerk as well and second was ACOP. I qualified for both and have a conditional offer for ACOP. It's really exciting and scary at the same time. My children are a bit older, 27, 24, and 14 but I too am a single mother. I hope it all works out for you and who knows, maybe us "old girls" will meet up some day.

 

[fauntania]

If anyone is interested...just a little update on the recruiting process from me!  I was scheduled to write the CFAT, do the medical testing (parts I and II), and be interviewed on April 6th.  That appointment was rescheduled to today, and it was a long & stressful day I must say!

I live a long way from the recruiting centre, so I was up at 5:15 just to make sure I would make it on time.  I wrote the aptitude test along with about eight others, and afterwards the Corporal who administered the test advised that I had done very well, which was encouraging!  I went for my interview, and the career counsellor told me that I had achieved the highest score on the CFAT that he'd seen as long as he'd been doing the job.  He didn't say if he'd just started yesterday or not, but...I took that to be a good thing!  =) 

The interview seemed to go well, he told me at the end that while I needed to go back and take Physics or Chemistry 12 in order to qualify for Meteorological Technician, I was well-suited for my other two choices:  Signals Operator and RMS Clerk.  He said that I interviewed well, my background, work & education history, and testing score put me in a "very competitive" position for both trades!  I was, of course, very excited but trying to keep cool.

I did the medical last, and I was worried about it because my vision SUCKS, so the first thing I did was hand over my prescription to the medic.  She said I was just fine, and passed me!  Woot!  Because I turn 40 this year, she wanted to get my chart off to Ottawa as quickly as possible and avoid the need for blood work, and everything looked good to her so off it went today!

Apparently RMS is not going to be making any offers until September according to the military counsellor, but he said he would "merit list" me for Sig Op today, which would likely have me in BMQ in June!  I know I can pass the running and the sit ups part of the CF Expres test, but the pushups are still a bit of a thorn in my side.  I'm working on it!  In the last two months I've dropped 25 pounds, and I'm still counting them down.

So I guess all that's left to do now is hurry up and wait! 

Fauntania

 

[krustyrl]

Great reading, I wish you luck.  I'm sure you will do just fine.       

 

[WonderGirl]

Congrats!  It was nice meeting you at the testing today!  I felt the same as a mature woman going for it.  Couldn't believe they called! lol

This morning was brutal with no coffee! man oh man and they didn't even test our hearts.  Did they test yours?


It was a nice relief when they told us everyone did really good.  I was really curious who did the best.  Congrats, it was you!  Math is my devil lol

Best of luck!  Hopefully we will see each other somewhere else in the process.