No. Really. Where's the beef? I just heard the east coast plane coming in, called the airport, and they told me that there was no package for me. I was assured earlier today that my package was on it's way. So where is it? Maybe nobody knows.
I took yesterday off again, still feeling a little under the weather. I fake it at work, and then revert to being your typical male big baby when he's sick. Luckily, Fran puts up with it, and looks after me pretty good.
Since I had my mind set on meat anyway, I figured that this would be the best time to use this question that I researched a little. I've had fillet mignon at restaurants before, our store sells tenderloin (which is by far the best meat that we sell), and last week I bought a chateau briand from the M&M section at the Co-op. Then, I had to ask the question: "what's the difference?". They all seemed pretty much the same to me. Now, most of you probably know this, but it was new to me.
The tenderloin is a strip of meat along the back of the animal (cow if you're talking about steaks of course). On a T-bone, it is the smaller side of the T. It is the most tender cut, because it isn't weight bearing muscle. It has a narrower end, and a wider end. Fillet Mignon are slices of the more narrow end, and chateau briand are slices of the wider end. The whole thing is called tenderloin, and the slices are also sometimes called medallions. So, fillet mignon, chateau briand, medallions, and tenderloin, are all basically the same thing. No wonder I was so confused about the different names of meat that all felt and tasted the same. The only other thing to add, is that in "America" (why people from the U.S. are called Americans, and the rest of us from North and South America are not, is obviously worth it's own write up) every slice of the tenderloin is called fillet mignon, for the sole purpose of charging people more money (not unlike them having a smaller gallon). Anyway, the important part is that it's awesome. I just realized last week that I am actually allowed to take cash out of my mess account and go to another store to buy something that we don't carry. That, together with the fact that the Co-op has an M&M section with chateau briand, means that even if that other store doesn't come through with the meat delivery, I will never have to eat crappy steaks again. Yay!
Stay tuned.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Fresh Meat
I may have lead you all to believe that there was really nothing that I learned at my meeting in Winnipeg, but that's really not true. I learned where the closest store to me was, that had fresh meat. As luck would have it, that particular store manager was the guy who got stranded here last weekend while he was trying to get back. After spending the night here, and then enjoying an early morning cup of coffee prior to his AM flight time, I managed to sweet talk him into seeing if he could do a store to store transfer of some fresh meat. He said that normally his meat manager refused to do that sort of thing, because they get no margin on product sent out that way. Yesterday, he emailed me to let me know that as long as my request wasn't going to be extremely massive, he was going to hook me up. So, I ordered 5lbs of ground beef and a dozen steaks of his choosing. Let's see how that goes.
You might be asking yourself what the big deal is, since so many of you will be freezing ground beef and steaks at home, so you're not exactly eating fresh meat all of the time anyway. Well, the problem is this, when you take your meat home and freeze it, you don't do anything to it, you just freeze it. Then, when you thaw it out and cook it, it still tastes pretty good. All of the meat that we get up here is processed specifically for the purpose of freezing. I'm not sure exactly what they do to it, but whatever it is, takes all of the natural tastes out of it that we're all used to. It's not like it's totally gross, but it certainly doesn't taste like it should.
There's always that chance with our "weather permitting" flights that we have up here, that the meat is going to get stranded somewhere, and not be exactly fresh by the time that it gets here. I think that it's worth the risk. Let's hope that it all works out for the best.
Stay tuned.
You might be asking yourself what the big deal is, since so many of you will be freezing ground beef and steaks at home, so you're not exactly eating fresh meat all of the time anyway. Well, the problem is this, when you take your meat home and freeze it, you don't do anything to it, you just freeze it. Then, when you thaw it out and cook it, it still tastes pretty good. All of the meat that we get up here is processed specifically for the purpose of freezing. I'm not sure exactly what they do to it, but whatever it is, takes all of the natural tastes out of it that we're all used to. It's not like it's totally gross, but it certainly doesn't taste like it should.
There's always that chance with our "weather permitting" flights that we have up here, that the meat is going to get stranded somewhere, and not be exactly fresh by the time that it gets here. I think that it's worth the risk. Let's hope that it all works out for the best.
Stay tuned.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Back In Business (literally)
You may have noticed that there are now ads on my blog. For you regular followers, please don't click on any of them unless something actually comes up that you are interested in.
I took a few days off of the blog because I've been really quite ill. I still went in to work everyday, but it took enough out of me that I didn't even feel like sitting up in front of the computer. Three days later, I'm not quite over it yet, so I'll keep it short.
If you've been following for that long, I said a few months ago, that if I got to 1,000 hits, I'd contemplate agreeing to the ads that are being suggested to me. Now, I'm over 1,000 hits, from more than 20 different countries, and February has been my biggest month so far (by a long shot), so I figured that I'd let them put ads on my blog. I'll go out of my way to tell my family and friends not to click on them, but all of those suckers that have no idea who I am, might as well click away. If you use gmail, or quite a number of different things, you have seen how they have an automated system that pulls key words out of your emails or whatever it is, and try to determine which of their current clients' ads are somehow related to something that was mentioned in the writing. I have no idea how much they actually pay per click, but I'm sure that it's not much. One thing that I can guarantee, is that I will donate every penny made to World Vision (my charity of choice). That being said, please forgive me for "selling out" to the corporate ad pushers.
Hopefully tomorrow will be more entertaining.
Stay tuned.
I took a few days off of the blog because I've been really quite ill. I still went in to work everyday, but it took enough out of me that I didn't even feel like sitting up in front of the computer. Three days later, I'm not quite over it yet, so I'll keep it short.
If you've been following for that long, I said a few months ago, that if I got to 1,000 hits, I'd contemplate agreeing to the ads that are being suggested to me. Now, I'm over 1,000 hits, from more than 20 different countries, and February has been my biggest month so far (by a long shot), so I figured that I'd let them put ads on my blog. I'll go out of my way to tell my family and friends not to click on them, but all of those suckers that have no idea who I am, might as well click away. If you use gmail, or quite a number of different things, you have seen how they have an automated system that pulls key words out of your emails or whatever it is, and try to determine which of their current clients' ads are somehow related to something that was mentioned in the writing. I have no idea how much they actually pay per click, but I'm sure that it's not much. One thing that I can guarantee, is that I will donate every penny made to World Vision (my charity of choice). That being said, please forgive me for "selling out" to the corporate ad pushers.
Hopefully tomorrow will be more entertaining.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Settling Back To Normal
Well, the tournament is over, and life is slowly returning to some sort of normal.
We're readjusting to having Rory gone. You know, we knew that he was here for a good time, not a long time, but still, spending four months with someone 24/7 means that you have to make some adjustments when they're gone. We've phoned a few times, and emailed a few times, so it's pretty good.
I mentioned when I came back from Winnipeg, that I arrived at the same time as Fran's Christmas present, and now I'm reaping the rewards. She got a Kitchen-Aid 600 Watt mixer, and so far I've had bread, biscuits, crepes, pancakes, cookies, cake, and probably a few other things that I've forgotten already because there's been so much. I guess you might have to ask whether the gift was for her, or for myself.
Our fiscal year is also off to a fantastic start. Our main measure for success is a percentage increase over the same period last year. Right now, the third place store is up 21%, the second place store is up 23%, while we're up 43%. It's not even close! We're blowing every other store in the district away. It's hard to not have a little more confidence as you're walking down the aisles of the store, and seeing so many more customers shopping than what there was before you got there. I really don't think that it's anything that we're doing, because I don't think that we're doing that much, but obviously we're not doing too many things wrong either.
Wow, it was nice to write about something other than hockey for once.
Stay tuned.
We're readjusting to having Rory gone. You know, we knew that he was here for a good time, not a long time, but still, spending four months with someone 24/7 means that you have to make some adjustments when they're gone. We've phoned a few times, and emailed a few times, so it's pretty good.
I mentioned when I came back from Winnipeg, that I arrived at the same time as Fran's Christmas present, and now I'm reaping the rewards. She got a Kitchen-Aid 600 Watt mixer, and so far I've had bread, biscuits, crepes, pancakes, cookies, cake, and probably a few other things that I've forgotten already because there's been so much. I guess you might have to ask whether the gift was for her, or for myself.
Our fiscal year is also off to a fantastic start. Our main measure for success is a percentage increase over the same period last year. Right now, the third place store is up 21%, the second place store is up 23%, while we're up 43%. It's not even close! We're blowing every other store in the district away. It's hard to not have a little more confidence as you're walking down the aisles of the store, and seeing so many more customers shopping than what there was before you got there. I really don't think that it's anything that we're doing, because I don't think that we're doing that much, but obviously we're not doing too many things wrong either.
Wow, it was nice to write about something other than hockey for once.
Stay tuned.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Ungava Cup 2011 Gold Medal Game
This will be the final entry in this series. Yay for some of you that don't care.
The gold/silver medal game was well played, and hotly contested. It was back and forth, and high scoring. Kangisuujjuaq ran into some penalty trouble, which allowed Kuujjuaq to take the lead late. With time running out in a one goal game, Kangisuujjuaq pulled their goalie to try to score the equalizer, only to have Kuujjuaq score an empty netter, winning the game 8-6. So, the medalists are:
gold - Kuujjuaq
silver - Kangisuujjuaq
bronze - Salluit
Congratulations to all of the winners, and hats off to Salluit for putting on a great tournament.
Tomorrow... where's the beef?
Stay tuned.
The gold/silver medal game was well played, and hotly contested. It was back and forth, and high scoring. Kangisuujjuaq ran into some penalty trouble, which allowed Kuujjuaq to take the lead late. With time running out in a one goal game, Kangisuujjuaq pulled their goalie to try to score the equalizer, only to have Kuujjuaq score an empty netter, winning the game 8-6. So, the medalists are:
gold - Kuujjuaq
silver - Kangisuujjuaq
bronze - Salluit
Congratulations to all of the winners, and hats off to Salluit for putting on a great tournament.
Tomorrow... where's the beef?
Stay tuned.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Bronze Medal Game
I won't be giving the gold/silver results until tomorrow. The bronze medal game ran late, and the finals only started at 10:00. There were already so many drunks, idiots throwing things onto the ice, and an old lady swinging her purse at me, there's no way that I was going to stay there until midnight.
Salluit had built up a 5-2 lead by the end of the second period. Then in the third, Kangirsuk started chipping away. They made it 5-3 with a powerplay goal very early. Salluit restored the three goal lead shortly after that, making it 6-3. Kangirsuk scored about half way through the period, made it a one goal game with just over two minutes left, and then tied it up with about a minute and a half left in the game. With regulation time settling nothing, it was off to overtime. I didn't actually see the overtime goal, since the purse swinging lady insisted on standing up and holding out her arms to block as many fan's view as possible when the puck was in the other end, but I could tell from the cheering that Salluit had scored 5:15 into OT to make it a 7-6 final, giving the home team the bronze.
While it was nice to have a little extra excitement in town, I'll be looking forward to everything returning to something more close to normal (whatever normal is). Tomorrow should be a normal type blog again, although if I find out at work who actually won between Kangisuujjuaq and Kuujjuaq, it might be worth at least a paragraph. With this blog's previous record being 18 hits on a day, and the last three days seeing about 50/day, I felt it mandatory to quench the thirst of those along the Ungava Coast that were tuning in to me as the unofficial "official" website for the local version of the Stanley Cup.
Stay tuned.
Salluit had built up a 5-2 lead by the end of the second period. Then in the third, Kangirsuk started chipping away. They made it 5-3 with a powerplay goal very early. Salluit restored the three goal lead shortly after that, making it 6-3. Kangirsuk scored about half way through the period, made it a one goal game with just over two minutes left, and then tied it up with about a minute and a half left in the game. With regulation time settling nothing, it was off to overtime. I didn't actually see the overtime goal, since the purse swinging lady insisted on standing up and holding out her arms to block as many fan's view as possible when the puck was in the other end, but I could tell from the cheering that Salluit had scored 5:15 into OT to make it a 7-6 final, giving the home team the bronze.
While it was nice to have a little extra excitement in town, I'll be looking forward to everything returning to something more close to normal (whatever normal is). Tomorrow should be a normal type blog again, although if I find out at work who actually won between Kangisuujjuaq and Kuujjuaq, it might be worth at least a paragraph. With this blog's previous record being 18 hits on a day, and the last three days seeing about 50/day, I felt it mandatory to quench the thirst of those along the Ungava Coast that were tuning in to me as the unofficial "official" website for the local version of the Stanley Cup.
Stay tuned.
Ungava Cup 2011 Semi-Finals
Semi-final #1 had fourth place Kangisuujjuaq knocking off first place Kangirsuk 10-3. Semi-final #2 was a little closer, but had second place Kuujjuaq edging out home team Salluit 7-4.
That sets up a bronze medal game of Kangirsuk taking on home team Salluit in a rematch of last night's game, which Kangirsuk held on for a 4-3 victory in a very close game. The gold/silver game has the surprising Kangisuujjuaq vs the powerhouse Kuujjuaq team. The final game will be pretty late (only starting at 9:30), but with 57 local hits today looking for updates, I'll do my best to get the results in.
Stay tuned.
That sets up a bronze medal game of Kangirsuk taking on home team Salluit in a rematch of last night's game, which Kangirsuk held on for a 4-3 victory in a very close game. The gold/silver game has the surprising Kangisuujjuaq vs the powerhouse Kuujjuaq team. The final game will be pretty late (only starting at 9:30), but with 57 local hits today looking for updates, I'll do my best to get the results in.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Ungava Cup Update
Obviously the Ungava Cup is a lot bigger than I first anticipated. With keyword searches on my last title, I got 28 hits in the last two days! As such, I'll try to give as much of an update as I can.
The latest game (that we just got back from) had 4-1 Salluit facing off against 4-1 Kangirsuk, battling for a share of first place. Kangirsuk came out to a 4-1 lead after two periods, only to have Salluit shrink that lead to 4-3 late in the third. Kangirsuk took a penalty with only 48 seconds left, Salluit pulled their goalie to try to get the equalizer, but came up a little short.
That leaves Kangirsuk tied for first with Kuujjuaq, and I wasn't able to figure out who won between them to settle the tie. Whoever won between them will play in the first semi-final at 1:00, while whoever lost between them will host Salluit at 3:00. The bronze medal game is scheduled for 7:00, while the gold/silver game is at 9:30. Should be an exciting day!
That aside (for those just tuning in because of the title), a brief commentary on the ultimate small town hockey experience. The arena is called the Kopak Tayara Memorial Arena. The arena manager is Johnny Tayara (probably not a coincidence that he has the same last name as the one over the door). When we scored our one goal in the second period, they announced the goal as being scored by Johnny Tayara. I was thinking that there must be more than one guy by that name. Sure enough, when the period was over and the Zamboni came out onto the ice, it was Johnny Tayara driving, with skate guards and full equipment. His last name is on the arena, he's the manager, he scored the only goal to that point, and he was driving the Zamboni in full equipment during the intermission. That's small town hockey!
Play on Johnny... play on!
Stay tuned.
The latest game (that we just got back from) had 4-1 Salluit facing off against 4-1 Kangirsuk, battling for a share of first place. Kangirsuk came out to a 4-1 lead after two periods, only to have Salluit shrink that lead to 4-3 late in the third. Kangirsuk took a penalty with only 48 seconds left, Salluit pulled their goalie to try to get the equalizer, but came up a little short.
That leaves Kangirsuk tied for first with Kuujjuaq, and I wasn't able to figure out who won between them to settle the tie. Whoever won between them will play in the first semi-final at 1:00, while whoever lost between them will host Salluit at 3:00. The bronze medal game is scheduled for 7:00, while the gold/silver game is at 9:30. Should be an exciting day!
That aside (for those just tuning in because of the title), a brief commentary on the ultimate small town hockey experience. The arena is called the Kopak Tayara Memorial Arena. The arena manager is Johnny Tayara (probably not a coincidence that he has the same last name as the one over the door). When we scored our one goal in the second period, they announced the goal as being scored by Johnny Tayara. I was thinking that there must be more than one guy by that name. Sure enough, when the period was over and the Zamboni came out onto the ice, it was Johnny Tayara driving, with skate guards and full equipment. His last name is on the arena, he's the manager, he scored the only goal to that point, and he was driving the Zamboni in full equipment during the intermission. That's small town hockey!
Play on Johnny... play on!
Stay tuned.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Ungava Cup
Who's in the what now? Yes, the Ungava Cup. It's going on right now, right here in Salluit. It's a senior men's tournament, with each of the towns considered part of the Ungava Bay coast sending a team. Of what I've seen so far, it's not much better than your basic beer league games, except for the fact that the arena is packed, the atmosphere is electric, and this is obviously taken about as seriously as if it were the Stanley Cup itself. One positive thing about it, is that the town is crawling with folks from surrounding towns, and the sales are going through the roof.
Speaking of sales, with the guy going missing last weekend, the search and rescue section of the hunter's support group, were very quick to come in on Tuesday to buy themselves a ski-doo. They weren't too pleased with the fact that they had to borrow machines to do their search. They bought one now, and are planning to come back for another one once they raise more funds. Good for me.
Rory made it back home on Tuesday. It took him three days to make a one day trip. Only in the arctic, would that be considered normal.
We have a guest for the next two days, as head office has sent out a technician to work on all of our slush machines, food prepping equipment, and a few other odds and ends. As a result, I'm also doing some hosting duties. So, that's it for now.
Stay tuned.
Speaking of sales, with the guy going missing last weekend, the search and rescue section of the hunter's support group, were very quick to come in on Tuesday to buy themselves a ski-doo. They weren't too pleased with the fact that they had to borrow machines to do their search. They bought one now, and are planning to come back for another one once they raise more funds. Good for me.
Rory made it back home on Tuesday. It took him three days to make a one day trip. Only in the arctic, would that be considered normal.
We have a guest for the next two days, as head office has sent out a technician to work on all of our slush machines, food prepping equipment, and a few other odds and ends. As a result, I'm also doing some hosting duties. So, that's it for now.
Stay tuned.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Lost in the Arctic
No, I'm not talking about Rory. Although, the last that I heard, he only made it as far as Montreal today, and won't get home until tomorrow. I'm still waiting for confirmation about that. Typical of travel in the north, that the same trip, with the same itinerary that I did in one day two weeks ago, would take someone three days to do this week.
My favourite carver Maly hadn't been heard from since Saturday, and they sent out a search party for him this morning. This is the first time here, and our third time overall (in the Arctic) that we've seen the locals send out a search party. It actually only took them four or five hours to find him, and I don't have all of the details, but apparently he's just fine. Just fine?! He was out there for 48 hours, the windchill was -48 today, and he was all by himself. Obviously, the fact that he's from here and has undoubtedly done something like this before, was on his side. I just can't imagine being stuck for 48 in minus 48 temperatures.
We still don't have confirmation about our vacation time, but we're busy planning out several different scenarios as to where we might go. We know that it will be somewhere hot, but it's still up in the air as to whether it will be a cruise or a resort. There's obviously pros and cons to each. The point of the cruise is to see multiple spots in one trip. The point of the resort is to just be motionless and relax. It's not that you can't relax on a cruise, it's just that it would be mandatory to take in a little more activity. We don't have much time to decide, should our timeline be approved.
Stay tuned.
My favourite carver Maly hadn't been heard from since Saturday, and they sent out a search party for him this morning. This is the first time here, and our third time overall (in the Arctic) that we've seen the locals send out a search party. It actually only took them four or five hours to find him, and I don't have all of the details, but apparently he's just fine. Just fine?! He was out there for 48 hours, the windchill was -48 today, and he was all by himself. Obviously, the fact that he's from here and has undoubtedly done something like this before, was on his side. I just can't imagine being stuck for 48 in minus 48 temperatures.
We still don't have confirmation about our vacation time, but we're busy planning out several different scenarios as to where we might go. We know that it will be somewhere hot, but it's still up in the air as to whether it will be a cruise or a resort. There's obviously pros and cons to each. The point of the cruise is to see multiple spots in one trip. The point of the resort is to just be motionless and relax. It's not that you can't relax on a cruise, it's just that it would be mandatory to take in a little more activity. We don't have much time to decide, should our timeline be approved.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Arctic Adventures
Now, I did tell you that I was going to return to tell you the continuing saga of Rory's attempted trip home.
I got up at 7:00 this morning to get the show on the road. Once the truck had been running for 20 minutes, we started off up the hill. The first little drift had some tracks through it, so we thought that all was good. When we got to the second drift, I remembered that it's usually about this time that you have to cross over into the oncoming lane to hit the small part of the next drift. Bam! We're on a crazy angle, on top of a huge hard drift, no tracks, and no chance of getting across. So, we turn around and headed back to town.
By the time that the town cleared the highway, got the runway open, and the plane was ready to take off, Rory was already three hours late. There was only two and a half hours layover in Kuujjuaq, so the only way that he was going to make it to Montreal, was for them to hold the plane back for the extra half hour that he was already late. Then came Kangirsuk. I don't even know what happened there, but I know that it took another hour and twenty minutes to get out of there. Knowing that the plane was going to be even later than it already was, the jet to Montreal took off at least two hours before Rory got there. So, now he's stuck in Kuujjuaq. I know how that feels (remember my little "day trip" in December that lasted a little longer than scheduled?). After I tell a few stories like this, you get the feel for why I always say "weather permitting", when talking about travel in the North.
I still have no idea what's going to happen to Rory tomorrow...
Stay tuned.
I got up at 7:00 this morning to get the show on the road. Once the truck had been running for 20 minutes, we started off up the hill. The first little drift had some tracks through it, so we thought that all was good. When we got to the second drift, I remembered that it's usually about this time that you have to cross over into the oncoming lane to hit the small part of the next drift. Bam! We're on a crazy angle, on top of a huge hard drift, no tracks, and no chance of getting across. So, we turn around and headed back to town.
By the time that the town cleared the highway, got the runway open, and the plane was ready to take off, Rory was already three hours late. There was only two and a half hours layover in Kuujjuaq, so the only way that he was going to make it to Montreal, was for them to hold the plane back for the extra half hour that he was already late. Then came Kangirsuk. I don't even know what happened there, but I know that it took another hour and twenty minutes to get out of there. Knowing that the plane was going to be even later than it already was, the jet to Montreal took off at least two hours before Rory got there. So, now he's stuck in Kuujjuaq. I know how that feels (remember my little "day trip" in December that lasted a little longer than scheduled?). After I tell a few stories like this, you get the feel for why I always say "weather permitting", when talking about travel in the North.
I still have no idea what's going to happen to Rory tomorrow...
Stay tuned.
Good To Be Home!
Even though it's taken me three days to get around to talking about it, my flight day home went pretty close to schedule. The only down side was the fact that the schedule had three extra stops added onto it. I went from Montreal to Kuujjuaq, to Kangirsuk, to Quaqtaq, to Kangisuujjuaq, to Donaldson, to Salluit. Six different flights on the same day! It was fairly exhausting.
As it turns out, my flight was also carrying Fran's Christmas present. Only seven weeks late! Fran was fairly excited. I came home from an eleven day trip, and she got her gift at the same time. I'm not exactly sure what made her most happy, but I pretended it was me.
Not too many things fell apart while I was gone, so I guess that I have to say that Fran held it together pretty well in my absence. Before Saturday was done, I was pretty well caught back up. One day off to catch my breath, and then back at it tomorrow.
Some of you might be aware that yesterday was supposed to be Rory's last day here, and might be wondering how that's going. There's still some uncertainty, and I'll try to fill you in later on tonight when I have more information. So you'll have to...
Stay tuned.
As it turns out, my flight was also carrying Fran's Christmas present. Only seven weeks late! Fran was fairly excited. I came home from an eleven day trip, and she got her gift at the same time. I'm not exactly sure what made her most happy, but I pretended it was me.
Not too many things fell apart while I was gone, so I guess that I have to say that Fran held it together pretty well in my absence. Before Saturday was done, I was pretty well caught back up. One day off to catch my breath, and then back at it tomorrow.
Some of you might be aware that yesterday was supposed to be Rory's last day here, and might be wondering how that's going. There's still some uncertainty, and I'll try to fill you in later on tonight when I have more information. So you'll have to...
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Vive la Montreal II
This is now the second blog sent out from Montreal. The flight was good, and the weather looks a little better than questionable for tomorrow, so there is that off chance that I might be able to get home tomorrow. Yay!
Today the blog went over 800 hits all time. Thanks to everyone that has tuned in!
I got to a TD bank across the street from my hotel at 3:00 again, but this time they actually welcomed me in, knowing that they were getting another piece of my money. That being said, I just don't understand why I find it so hard to find someone that wants to do business with me in Steinbach. I have money, I want to give it to them, and they just want to be dinks.
I installed, and tried out the google video call & regular phone call features today. The video call was pretty much the same as skype (not very good), but the regular phone call was pretty good. I know that where I am right now, my long distance is free to me anyway, but knowing that I won't be here forever, it's nice to know that there is some half decent free calling that can be done over the computer.
Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be back home, and way to busy re-introducing myself to my wife to have time for a blog.
Stay tuned.
Today the blog went over 800 hits all time. Thanks to everyone that has tuned in!
I got to a TD bank across the street from my hotel at 3:00 again, but this time they actually welcomed me in, knowing that they were getting another piece of my money. That being said, I just don't understand why I find it so hard to find someone that wants to do business with me in Steinbach. I have money, I want to give it to them, and they just want to be dinks.
I installed, and tried out the google video call & regular phone call features today. The video call was pretty much the same as skype (not very good), but the regular phone call was pretty good. I know that where I am right now, my long distance is free to me anyway, but knowing that I won't be here forever, it's nice to know that there is some half decent free calling that can be done over the computer.
Anyway, hopefully tomorrow I'll be back home, and way to busy re-introducing myself to my wife to have time for a blog.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Last Night in the Peg
Well, this is it. The last night in Winnipeg. I can't wait to get home! I sat through the boredom, tried to get a few more irons into the fire, and I'm more than ready to get out of here.
Before I go on about that - I need to give a great big thumbs down to the Steinbach branch of the TD Bank. I had already emailed & phoned TD to get me signed up for online RRSPs. Apparently it's pretty easy. They mail me the forms, I sign them, and mail them back. Two days later, I'm signed up. The problem is, by law, I must have it signed and back in their hands within 20 days of them sending it out. Their service office is in Vancouver. It's almost impossible for any mail to get to Salluit and back within 20 days. I've tried twice already, and failed both times. This time, I thought that since I was coming to Steinbach anyway, I'd just stop in at the local branch, sign the papers, and be off on my merry way. It's my fault, of course, but due to some of the other business that I needed to get done that day, I only got to the branch at 3:00. I didn't think that it would be any big deal, since I just needed to sign and leave. This joker, with a serious "I'm in charge" complex, tells me that there's no way to get it done. His RRSP sales person is booked up until 4:00 (when they close). I let him know that I was only in town for one day, don't have time for this mess, and that I do all my banking on line anyway. All I need to do is to sign the papers that I've already had in my hand twice, and get out of there. He refuses to budge, and now I came 3,000 miles to sign a paper, and still can't get any stinking RRSPs. Head office is certainly going to hear about this!
Now, back to business. Twelve hours from now, I'll be winging my way to Montreal. I need to spend the night there, before trying to get back north. I've got most of the day, so I guess I'll have to see what I can accomplish there before heading home. I say "trying" to get back north, because as always, it's weather permitting.
Stay tuned.
Before I go on about that - I need to give a great big thumbs down to the Steinbach branch of the TD Bank. I had already emailed & phoned TD to get me signed up for online RRSPs. Apparently it's pretty easy. They mail me the forms, I sign them, and mail them back. Two days later, I'm signed up. The problem is, by law, I must have it signed and back in their hands within 20 days of them sending it out. Their service office is in Vancouver. It's almost impossible for any mail to get to Salluit and back within 20 days. I've tried twice already, and failed both times. This time, I thought that since I was coming to Steinbach anyway, I'd just stop in at the local branch, sign the papers, and be off on my merry way. It's my fault, of course, but due to some of the other business that I needed to get done that day, I only got to the branch at 3:00. I didn't think that it would be any big deal, since I just needed to sign and leave. This joker, with a serious "I'm in charge" complex, tells me that there's no way to get it done. His RRSP sales person is booked up until 4:00 (when they close). I let him know that I was only in town for one day, don't have time for this mess, and that I do all my banking on line anyway. All I need to do is to sign the papers that I've already had in my hand twice, and get out of there. He refuses to budge, and now I came 3,000 miles to sign a paper, and still can't get any stinking RRSPs. Head office is certainly going to hear about this!
Now, back to business. Twelve hours from now, I'll be winging my way to Montreal. I need to spend the night there, before trying to get back north. I've got most of the day, so I guess I'll have to see what I can accomplish there before heading home. I say "trying" to get back north, because as always, it's weather permitting.
Stay tuned.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Murder at St. Regis
Apparently it's not that much tamer here in Winnipeg, than it is back home. On Thursday, when I went outside for a smoke, there was a congregation across the street at the St. Regis Hotel. I didn't pay that much attention, since there usually is a congregation outside the St. Regis, until the paramedics showed up. Some security came out to secure the area, and shortly the ambulance showed up. They did some work on her (in the middle of the street), but didn't seem to be in much of a hurry. Once they were gone, the cops came and ribboned off the area for a few hours, and then it was business as usual. I found out later, that she was brought to the hospital in "critical condition", only to be pronounced dead later. She had simply been pushed down, and subsequently hit her head on the pavement hard enough to do her in. I guess that murder and violence seems to follow me around.
I hear that it was a pretty good Super Bowl, and I didn't even see a single play. Sometimes you have to realize that taking advantage of your opportunities to visit with family, is a little higher priority than football.
I was also going to complain about the Steinbach branch of the TD bank, but I guess that you'll have to...
Stay tuned.
I hear that it was a pretty good Super Bowl, and I didn't even see a single play. Sometimes you have to realize that taking advantage of your opportunities to visit with family, is a little higher priority than football.
I was also going to complain about the Steinbach branch of the TD bank, but I guess that you'll have to...
Stay tuned.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thumbs Up - Daniel Nestor
Daniel who? Which hockey team does he play for? Exactly! I guess this should also include a thumbs down to Canada for continually ignoring all of their international sports heroes that don't play hockey or curling. I mean, when Jacques Villeneuve was getting mobbed all over the world for winning the F1 championship, he could have easily walked down the street unnoticed in his home town.
Now, back to Daniel Nestor. While playing the often forgotten doubles in tennis, Daniel has career winnings over 9 million dollars! That's right, $9M and you've probably never heard of him. Let me give you some numbers:
71 men's doubles titles,
6 grand slam doubles titles,
2 grand slam mixed doubles titles, and
1 Olympic gold medal
He's the only player in history to have won all four grand slams, all Master Series events, year end championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He has the most doubles titles of all active players. Just to put it into perspective, between singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, Roger Federer has a total of 75 titles, while Daniel Nestor has 73. Yet, everyone knows who Roger Federer is. How can a Canadian, have only two fewer tennis titles than Roger Federer, and yet the average Canadian has never heard of him? Shame on us!
The end.
Now, back to Daniel Nestor. While playing the often forgotten doubles in tennis, Daniel has career winnings over 9 million dollars! That's right, $9M and you've probably never heard of him. Let me give you some numbers:
71 men's doubles titles,
6 grand slam doubles titles,
2 grand slam mixed doubles titles, and
1 Olympic gold medal
He's the only player in history to have won all four grand slams, all Master Series events, year end championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He has the most doubles titles of all active players. Just to put it into perspective, between singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, Roger Federer has a total of 75 titles, while Daniel Nestor has 73. Yet, everyone knows who Roger Federer is. How can a Canadian, have only two fewer tennis titles than Roger Federer, and yet the average Canadian has never heard of him? Shame on us!
The end.
Thumbs Down - Hertz
Hertz rent-a-car. These guys need to get their facts straight. When I phoned the central booking place to see if there was a downtown location, they told me that they did, and that since I was on the phone already I might as well book the car over the phone. They told me that their version of a day was a calendar day, that I could drop the car off after hours, and they gave me a confirmation number for an Impala. So, when I got to the airport, I took a $15 cab to the hotel. In the morning, I gave the cabbie the address to the location, and it turned out to be another $13 cab ride to the north end where the location was. There, they told me that they didn't carry any GM products and gave me a Ford Fusion, told me that they close their gate at 8:00 so if I wanted to drop the car off after hours I would have to do so at the airport, and that their version of a day was a 24 hour span. After dropping off the car at the airport, I of course needed to take another $15 cab ride back to the hotel. So, instead of taking the car from the airport on Sunday, using it all day Monday, and only taking the cab to the hotel once, I spent an extra $28 on cab rides, and a bunch of time running around town to get it done.
Just as an aside - I have a room in a 30 storey hotel, and my bedroom shares a wall with the elevator shaft, and that wall is not terribly well insulated. Do you have any idea how much elevator traffic there is in a 30 storey hotel? Doesn't exactly make for a peaceful sleep. After six nights of this, I'm exhausted!
I'm almost done being here by myself,
I love you Fran!
Just as an aside - I have a room in a 30 storey hotel, and my bedroom shares a wall with the elevator shaft, and that wall is not terribly well insulated. Do you have any idea how much elevator traffic there is in a 30 storey hotel? Doesn't exactly make for a peaceful sleep. After six nights of this, I'm exhausted!
I'm almost done being here by myself,
I love you Fran!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Winnipeg Schedule
Wow. I thought that I'd have a bunch of free time to fill up by blogging while I was in the big smoke... but I thought wrong. These have been some pretty gruelling schedules, with 14-15 hour days, miles to walk between venues, and periods of 5 hour stretches without so much as a smoke break. I've got about 10 minutes of free time before our working supper hour, before taking on a four hour fund-raiser for the Canadian Diabetes Association. It's all good stuff, but it'd be more relaxing at home working. And at least that way I'd have my Fran beside me.
Oh well, that's it. Back to the grind.
I love you Frannie!
Oh well, that's it. Back to the grind.
I love you Frannie!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Landed and Settled
It was a pretty long day, but I'm here in big Winnipeg, and settled. It took three flights, a few degree changes, and 14 hours, but I got it all done in one day. Today, I was able to rent a car and get a few things done. I didn't accomplish everything, but I got to most of them. I stopped in to see Dave, but apparently he's currently in Cuba! Who would have guessed? Shows how well we communicate. I fly 14 hours to get home, and he probably flew the same to get away from home. Happy 25th a few months early!
When I left yesterday morning, the windchill was -57. In Montreal a few hours later it was -9. Then when we were approaching Winnipeg, the captain came on to say that he hoped we all brought some warm clothes, because the temperature was -29. All I could think was how nice it will be that it's only -29. I mean, that's already 28 degrees warmer than where I just came from.
Anyway, it's already 2AM my time, so I should probably hit the sack. It's not that easy sleeping without my sweetie!
I love you Fran!
When I left yesterday morning, the windchill was -57. In Montreal a few hours later it was -9. Then when we were approaching Winnipeg, the captain came on to say that he hoped we all brought some warm clothes, because the temperature was -29. All I could think was how nice it will be that it's only -29. I mean, that's already 28 degrees warmer than where I just came from.
Anyway, it's already 2AM my time, so I should probably hit the sack. It's not that easy sleeping without my sweetie!
I love you Fran!
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