Last week we had our computer geek in to change our complete system. The day after he left, the modem between the two systems died, communication to head office died, the unit that sends in our orders gave out, and we can now complete about half of our necessary paper-work.
We also had a team out here that changed the bowsers at the gas bar and changed the pumps inside the reservoir tanks. Two days later, our diesel pump gave up the ghost and we haven't sold diesel since.
Today I made the trip up to the Inuvik airport to pick up the guy that's supposed to be here for ten days. He's here to revamp the entire store, and to teach us how to run the joint. As long as his work is just as effective as the last two efforts, nothing could possibblie go wrong.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Happy Anniversary
I have tried, over the years, to do something romantic for our anniversary. I'm not sure exactly where this one will rank, but I'm sure that it won't be too high. Today I took Fran to Inuvik, where we did some shopping for fresh meat, and had lunch at KFC. The Northmart has a Pizza Hut/KFC in the store, but the selection is limited. You can't actually get any pieces of chicken at the KFC. You heard me, no chicken at KFC. You can get a big crunch or a classic sandwich, popcorn chicken, chicken fingers, and a twister (besides fries, gravy, and coleslaw). The Pizza Hut has only medium pizzas, which is good enough when all of the other topping options go with it. You can also get additional pizzas for eleven bucks, eleven bucks, eleven bucks (doesn't really have the same ring to it). We also stopped at the arctic foods (they have president's choice stuff), the CIBC, and noticed that they have a hair salon, a chinese restaurant, and a bar. We didn't actually accomplish much, didn't exactly have a romantic meal, and didn't buy each other any gifts. That's why I didn't imagine that this day would rank up there that high. The point was to get right out of town and forget about work for a day.
Not overly beneficial for me, since while we were gone the guy showed up to change our entire computer system for the store and the gas bar, and shortly after our arrival the team showed up to change the bowsers at the gas bar and change the pumps inside the fuel tanks. My electricians haven't shown up yet, and the tank changers can't do anything without them, and I haven't been able to track down a backhoe in town either, which will be necessary to level out the fuel tanks. As a result, the next few days will be pretty hectic, trying to get everything accomplished, while having little or no experience with any of it, in a strange town where I don't have a clue who to rely on for good information
Stay tuned.
Not overly beneficial for me, since while we were gone the guy showed up to change our entire computer system for the store and the gas bar, and shortly after our arrival the team showed up to change the bowsers at the gas bar and change the pumps inside the fuel tanks. My electricians haven't shown up yet, and the tank changers can't do anything without them, and I haven't been able to track down a backhoe in town either, which will be necessary to level out the fuel tanks. As a result, the next few days will be pretty hectic, trying to get everything accomplished, while having little or no experience with any of it, in a strange town where I don't have a clue who to rely on for good information
Stay tuned.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
With Night - Comes Rain
It really didn't rain at all for the first three weeks that we were up here. The soil is a very fine silt, that creates a dust that coats everything, and is very difficult to clean. Since the sun finally set, it has rained pretty well non-stop. The resulting mud really sticks together, builds up on your shoes while you walk (and on the dogs during their trips out), and is impossible to keep out of the store and hotel. Everything (including the dogs) is a terrible mess! Apparently the start of night, is the start of rainy season.
Lawrie got his first career double, and a grand slam last night. That kid is tearing it up! He's going to have to come down at some point, but he might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts.
I've got multiple contractors coming in over the next two weeks to do various jobs around the place, so there should be plenty of road-trips to Inuvik, and lots of new things to learn.
Stay tuned.
Lawrie got his first career double, and a grand slam last night. That kid is tearing it up! He's going to have to come down at some point, but he might as well enjoy the ride while it lasts.
I've got multiple contractors coming in over the next two weeks to do various jobs around the place, so there should be plenty of road-trips to Inuvik, and lots of new things to learn.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Holy Zit - Thanks For The Leftovers
When I was little (I know, it's hard to imagine that someone born 11 lbs, 7 oz could ever have been called little), we weren't allowed to watch reruns of the 60s Batman classics, due to the fact the Robin said "Holy... whatever" too often. That was then. The two parts of the title are unrelated, so I'll get to the first. I'm certainly not complaining about the nice weather that we've been having, but our little window AC unit can't quite keep up, the humidity is surprisingly high for a place that never rains, I've spent two years where it's dry as a bone, and the result is quite a nasty little crop of pimples all over my forehead. It's way worse than when I was a teenager (and for those of you that knew me as a teenager, you know that it must be bad). Luckily for me, unlike when I was a teen, I have Fran (aka pimple popper MD) to help me out. If left to my own devices, I would massacre these things, and I would appear to be even more of a mess than I already do. Almost ready for the dry cold of winter to start kicking in. It does wonders for my complexion.
Point number two. On the days where it is my turn in the kitchen, it's never even close to be being as tasty as Fran's, but it's always a little bit more adventurous. When we moved into this place, there was two packages of wrapped elk in the freezer. One had two blade steaks, and the other was a cross rib roast. We have no idea how long they were there, or where they came from. So of course, it would be up to me to take the steaks out of the freezer to thaw for supper (with mixed results). It was a pretty bad cut, and had lots of gnurple, but the flavour was awesome. Way better than I expected. It gives me hope for the roast, that when properly slow-roasted (which will be up to Fran, of course), it will also be awesome. I have to admit that I enjoyed the elk much more than any of the caribou. Caribou is a pretty good ingredient to a one-dish meal, but not that great as the entree. Anyway, I'm told that this community has lots of generosity when it comes to sharing the local game when it's abundant. I'm looking forward to trying a few things that we may not have come across before, since this countryside seems quite different from anywhere we've been so far.
Stay tuned.
Point number two. On the days where it is my turn in the kitchen, it's never even close to be being as tasty as Fran's, but it's always a little bit more adventurous. When we moved into this place, there was two packages of wrapped elk in the freezer. One had two blade steaks, and the other was a cross rib roast. We have no idea how long they were there, or where they came from. So of course, it would be up to me to take the steaks out of the freezer to thaw for supper (with mixed results). It was a pretty bad cut, and had lots of gnurple, but the flavour was awesome. Way better than I expected. It gives me hope for the roast, that when properly slow-roasted (which will be up to Fran, of course), it will also be awesome. I have to admit that I enjoyed the elk much more than any of the caribou. Caribou is a pretty good ingredient to a one-dish meal, but not that great as the entree. Anyway, I'm told that this community has lots of generosity when it comes to sharing the local game when it's abundant. I'm looking forward to trying a few things that we may not have come across before, since this countryside seems quite different from anywhere we've been so far.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The End of a Loooooooong Day
I had been hearing rumours at the start of the week, that the sun might start to set by the end of the week. While I've yet to experience darkness for myself, I'm told that on Friday it did actually get dark for a few minutes around 1:30pm. Other than for a few days on our way through the south to get back up north, I haven't actually seen darkness since sometime around early to mid May. I look forward to seeing it again in about three weeks. Of course, when Christmas rolls around I'll be crying about how long it's been since I've seen the sun. We've got light blocking blinds and curtains, but not that it stops it from being light enough in the room to clearly see each other's faces at night. Not that I mind seeing Fran's face, but it would be nice to have a restful sleep in the dark.
The Blue Jays won again today, with the new kid Lawrie getting his first big-league homerun. He has hits in all three games that he's played, and most of his major league firsts have already been achieved. Way too early to tell what kind of player he's going to turn out to be, but he's sure off to an outstanding start.
Stay tuned.
The Blue Jays won again today, with the new kid Lawrie getting his first big-league homerun. He has hits in all three games that he's played, and most of his major league firsts have already been achieved. Way too early to tell what kind of player he's going to turn out to be, but he's sure off to an outstanding start.
Stay tuned.
Friday, August 5, 2011
D-Fence! Go-Blue-Go
After a shaky start, where the Eskimos marched down the field and scored easily, Bombers turned it over, Edmonton made it a ten point lead, and Winnipeg missed their first two easy field goals, the whole game turned around. The offense started coming on, and with a Buck Pierce 48 yard run, the Bombers took a short lived lead just before the half. The whole second half was all Bombers. The defense was stifling, the special teams were superb, and the offense did everything that they needed to do (including not turning the ball over). First place in the East, and tied for first overall (with the team that they just dominated). Things are looking good in Swaggerville.
Speaking of go blue go... the Blue Jays were also big winners tonight. The long awaited and highly anticipated debut of Brett Lawrie was a success. His first big league at bat was a RBI single (getting the first hit and the first RBI out of the way in a big hurry) and he got another hit in the eighth to go 2-for-4 with an RBI. He also picked up a defensive error, so pretty much every stat but the homerun got done on day one. Well worth the wait. Of course, that's only day one... but it sure would be nice to have an impact Canadian player, playing on the only Canadian team in the major leagues. With a closer and two starters, we could take a run at this thing next year.
Stay tuned.
Speaking of go blue go... the Blue Jays were also big winners tonight. The long awaited and highly anticipated debut of Brett Lawrie was a success. His first big league at bat was a RBI single (getting the first hit and the first RBI out of the way in a big hurry) and he got another hit in the eighth to go 2-for-4 with an RBI. He also picked up a defensive error, so pretty much every stat but the homerun got done on day one. Well worth the wait. Of course, that's only day one... but it sure would be nice to have an impact Canadian player, playing on the only Canadian team in the major leagues. With a closer and two starters, we could take a run at this thing next year.
Stay tuned.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
What A Holiday!
Yesterday, with only the gas bar being open, our gas bar girl actually showed up! She has only worked for us three days now, but she's not only been on time... but early all three days. Today was her fourth day, and she was early today too. The only problem is that she's visibly pregnant (not that being pregnant is a problem), it's just that we know that she will only be with us for a short time. Too bad.
Without working at the gas bar, I took the opportunity to do the floors at the store. Sweep, strip, rinse, sealer, and two coats of wax. Eight straight hours of mopping! My hands, neck, shoulders, and back are killing me, but the floor looks great. Today wasn't very busy, but those that did come in all had positive comments on the floor. That's pretty surprising, because most people only notice when something doesn't look good or right, and seem to pass right on by things that look like they should. Example: our bathroom door didn't have a knob when we moved in, we've lived with it like that for three weeks now. While it's not right and you notice every time you go to the bathroom, yesterday when I was mopping, Fran put a knob on the door. You'd think that after three weeks, I would have noticed the new knob right away when I got home and used the bathroom. Nope. You notice things that are off, not things that are normal. That's why I was so surprised that folks noticed the floors.
Not because folks noticed the floors, but completely unrelated... the overall intelligence of the staff and the community seems to be quite a bit higher here than what we're used to from our last two communities. The staff attendance is not much more reliable, but the employees that do show up, are more than capable of fulfilling their duties. They require very little supervising, and are a very pleasant surprise. Of course, that's just the first impression.
Stay tuned.
Without working at the gas bar, I took the opportunity to do the floors at the store. Sweep, strip, rinse, sealer, and two coats of wax. Eight straight hours of mopping! My hands, neck, shoulders, and back are killing me, but the floor looks great. Today wasn't very busy, but those that did come in all had positive comments on the floor. That's pretty surprising, because most people only notice when something doesn't look good or right, and seem to pass right on by things that look like they should. Example: our bathroom door didn't have a knob when we moved in, we've lived with it like that for three weeks now. While it's not right and you notice every time you go to the bathroom, yesterday when I was mopping, Fran put a knob on the door. You'd think that after three weeks, I would have noticed the new knob right away when I got home and used the bathroom. Nope. You notice things that are off, not things that are normal. That's why I was so surprised that folks noticed the floors.
Not because folks noticed the floors, but completely unrelated... the overall intelligence of the staff and the community seems to be quite a bit higher here than what we're used to from our last two communities. The staff attendance is not much more reliable, but the employees that do show up, are more than capable of fulfilling their duties. They require very little supervising, and are a very pleasant surprise. Of course, that's just the first impression.
Stay tuned.
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