u/Spcttrrrr

Hey Edmonton,

I'm making a quick post because my dad just got a sketchy call and I'm 99% sure it's a harassment, but wanted to double check how EPS actually operates.

Basically, my family is dealing with a dumb civil dispute with a relative over some household items. Last night around 10:19 PM, my dad gets a call from a random, unmasked 780 cell number. Keep in mind, I wasn't actually there to hear what the guy said as I was not with my dad at the time, but only found out after the phone call.

The guy goes, "This is the Edmonton police. Are you going to let [Relative's Name] pick up her clay pots?"

He didn’t give a name, badge number, or file number. When my dad started asking what would happen if he said no, the "cop" totally panicked, started stuttering, and just said "I don't know, I'm not sure."

From what I know, real EPS calls show up as Private or No Caller ID, they don't call this late for random civil stuff, and they definitely don't stutter when you ask them basic questions.

Has anyone dealt with something similar or know if EPS ever actually calls from normal cell numbers?

Appreciate any insight or confirmation you guys can give.

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Edit: Revised the post so that it's easier to follow.

Background: I don't really have anyone to truly commiserate with, so I'll just create a post as a way to breathe and talk about my initial thoughts, insights, and first impressions of the program (I hope that is okay). And also to keep me sane from being insane.

Anyways...

Just wrapped up Day 1 of the orientation a few hours ago. For those who are on the same boat, how are you guys feeling about the workload ahead?

Knowing how difficult/time consuming this program is, I'm honestly very nervous about doing well and passing each assessment. The first day of orientation wasn't too bad at all. It was nice to meet people from all over the province and working together in breakout rooms was a nice touch too. You know, to kind of shift away from only listening into actively participating in the material, albeit I was lowkey sweating due to my social anxiety, which does making responding to the session leader when being called out.

I understand CPA PEP is all about being effective and efficient in case writing as well as other things such as time management and whatnot. Mind you, when I was a undergraduate, I was blessed enough to go through a mock case study one of my managerial professors set up for us explaining the CPA Way and IGARI. However, I hadn't been exposed to such skill for a long time, as I did this mock case study back in my third year and I completed my BCom in 2025, so I've been kind of out of touch with accounting as a whole.

Furthermore, since graduating, I've been actively looking to secure a full time job where I can begin to log in my hours either through a pre-approved program or the experience-verification route. Not going to lie, kind of starting to get really stressed about not securing a job. I've gotten a handful of interviews over the past year from PA to industry. Some firms did ask for a second interview, but I still haven't been able to secure anything (yet). I won't give up, however. I will continue to keep a lookout on possible opportunities.

I also understand being organized and on top of my studies is basically the number one priority with succeeding in Core 1, and I also have to watch out for my mental health as well. I don't know what it is, but I'm currently feeling extremely apprehensive. What are some ways you guys cope with stress? I have no idea why, but I tend to sleep it off, or disassociate myself from friends or family. However, I don't know what it is, but I can't get my mind off for what is to come for the next eight weeks.

I suppose we just got to push through... got to keep pushing through.

Okay, that's all for now.

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TL;DR: Just finished Day 1 of CPA PEP orientation. Class of 2025. Feeling nervous about the future of Core 1 workload and is rusty on case writing. Also stressed about not having secured a full-time accounting job yet. Looking to hear how others handled the transition into CPA PEP and managed workload + burnout.