Bogged Down Week

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, I just feel that way some times this week.
The training on Tuesday went well. I had a bit of a time getting to the site. (please pardon me while I yell at this stupid laptop for a moment... the cursor keeps doing wacko things... Ok, I'm back.)
The site is located about 30 or 40 km from the hotel where I was staying. I had to be there by about 7 to miss the 'buss curfew' that they have. (There's almost no parking so there are tons of shuttle buses that bring people to the site every morning and afternoon and everyone has to stay off the roads at certain times.) Well, I got stuck in some construction traffic. I didn't quite make it there before the buses, so I had to wait a few to be picked up. Other than that, the training went quite well. I had 10 people who were mostly interested in what I had to tell them and were a bit of fun as well. I then went to dinner with the guy who set this all up and it was an enjoyable time. I'll be heading back up there in a few weeks.
Wednesday was looking to be a decent travel day. I had two layovers, but nothing too painful. I was going to have to go through customs though and hoped the line wouldn't be too bad as the second layover could be a little tighter than I like for that size airport. I made it through customs with no problems and made it to the gate with time to spare even. Then the delays rolled in. They kept saying something about our inbound crew being stuck in customs or whatever. No big deal. Well, it turns out that they had overworked and over scheduled the pilots and they weren't allowed to fly any more hours. There were no other crews available either. So about 10 of us got stuck in Toronto over night. This means I got the joy of going back through customs again. Mind you, that made filling out the customs form a little interesting, I mean, what do you put down for arriving flight information? The lady at the counter understood and there weren't any problems. The biggest problem was trying to find the ticket counter I was supposed to go to. Canadians are a friendly and helpful lot, but in this case, they just didn't have the right information. I can't be too mad at them, they were trying to be helpful.
I did manage to get home with no problems yesterday. It was neat to fly home in the daylight. I actually got to see the Finger Lakes of New York from the sky. They really do look like fingers from up there. They are so very long and very skinny. It was nice. Gak picked me up at 11 and we had an early lunch. We then went home. I crashed for about an hour or so and then grabbed a shower and got to work. Gak took himself into the office.
Kat, Zoe and Scott all came over for dinner last night. We has spaghetti. I was smart and made up the sauce while I was downloading my email and set it in the crockpot to simmer for a couple of hours and get really friendly until supper. (Yes, I even remembered to use the liner bag this time. Gak was very thankful of that one!) We had a good time and everyone was very appreciative. I kept telling them that it is almost always more fun to share a meal with several friends then to eat alone. I eat alone way too often when I'm on the road. I also enjoy cooking and cooking for my friends and family is the best.
As I posted Monday, I wasn't feeling very well. I haven't felt well all week. I've been feeling better and better, but I'm still not quite healthy again. My throat hurts (but my tonsils aren't 'fuzzy' or white, so no strep), my head is somewhat clogged with industrial strength snot (you know, the green gunk so thick that it resembles half-dried up rubber cement?). Well, I figure that I'm not 100% (more like 75%) by now and it's been almost a week. I also figured that I'm leaving for another four days come Monday. I decided that I'd better just call the doctor and see if I could get in today. I couldn't with my regular doc, but I was able to get in. This other doc is nice, but very quick. I definitely didn't get the warm, friendly feeling that I get from my normal doc, but that's OK. She asked the right questions, listened to my answers and came up with a good diagnosis. It turns out that I've got a good, old-fashioned case of tonsillitis, not strep, but annoying all the same. She put me on my good friend Amoxicillin and told me to use some saline spray for my sinuses. I truly hope this kicks it out of my system quickly, I'm getting tired of this. Maybe after tonight or tomorrow I'll be able to sleep through the night (haha) and not wake up with a painfully dry throat. We'll see.
Anyhow, I've got a metric ton of crud to catch up on, but thought I'd better post a quick one so that everyone knows I'm alive, in the States and still going crazy! Peace to you all and please take care of yourselves!

I'm Back??

Well, I'm back from Florida at any rate. Right now I'm writing from my hotel room in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.
In a word, Disney was magic. Pure and simple, it was magic.
The drive down went well. Kat and I took it in four hour shifts. We got on the road at about 6 pm and made it to the resort at about 10 am. We were both tired and grungy. We caught up with the family who were just finishing up breakfast. They all headed to Animal Kingdom and Kat and I headed to the room to shower and take a short nap.
From there on out we had a ton of fun. I can't say that everything was perfect. Zoe was tired and cranky at times, but did very well overall. Kat did get a migraine that sent her to the hospital Tuesday night and knocked her out for most of Wednesday. The family drove each of us nuts at one point or the other, but hey, they're family. It is their job to drive us nuts. I really do need to say a HUGE thank you to Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ellen. It was so very nice of them and above and beyond to pay for both rooms for the entire week as well as every one's park admissions. Well, every one's but mine, but I was using up old passes that still had a few days on them, so Kat had payed for that back in 2001 or there about.
I was so impressed with myself. I didn't take my computer and there were only a few moments when I wished I'd had it. Usually first thing in the morning or late at night when I wanted to write my impressions of the day. I didn't even take a notebook with me. Therefore, you're only going to get the most basic overview (that and I'm not sure you really want to read an entire week's worth of ramblings at one time).
So, with the thought in mind that I don't have that many readers and I really don't want to bore them to tears with a day-by-day, blow-by-blow recap of a vacation they weren't on, I'll summarize. I did take tons of pictures. They're all downloaded to my home computer (I'm on the work laptop) and I need to go through them and decide which are worth posting to Flickr.
I thought is was very cool that we spent Earth Day, which was Sunday, at Animal Kingdom. It is a very interesting park, but it still feels 'new' and doesn't have the shade or 'finish' that some of the other parks. They did do a great job with the park and you can't turn around without learning something. There is tons of environmental awareness there, and I was very impressed.
I do believe that Epcot was my favorite. Every corner was packed with fun and education at the same time. I loved everything there. Admittedly, I didn't get much time to explore the countries, but I did walk around them. I really loved both the Soarin' ride in The Land and the Energy 'ride' that stared Ellen and Bill Nye, the Science Guy. It was very funny and very informative. Epcot's fireworks show was also my favorite of the ones I saw.
The Magic Kingdom is just that. Pure magic. If there is any one was to describe why Disney is magic it is because they pay so much attention to all the little tiny details. You're constantly amazed at how seamless and easy things are. The whole place has a story (not to mention a sound track). There's always something to look at while you're waiting in line and lots of shade and fans keeping you cool. Other parks may have the bigger, faster, more adrenaline pumping rides, but they don't have the atmosphere or the unity (for lack of a better word...) that Disney does.
MGM was OK. You can easily do the highlights of that park in a day. Epcot and the Magic Kingdom you can go back to time and again and even do stuff over again but there's always something else. Animal Kingdom is one you want to do either early or late, but not mid-day.
OK, this has been a very chaotic and rambling post. I can't say enough though that Disney is really magic, in all the senses of the word. There's just this feeling you get as soon as you enter the Disney property (45 square miles is what Disney owns!) and it doesn't go away. When you stay on the property everything is right there and within easy reach. The transportation is almost seamless and if there is ever anything even the slightest bit out of whack that they can fix to make your stay even better, they do and quickly. I'm not sure what impressed me the most. In a way though, I am thinking that it is the fact that of the 45 square miles that Disney owns, 1/3 of this is a wildlife preserve and will never be developed. That and there is still 1/3 of the property that is yet to be developed. Everything was so huge as it was!
Gak and I are thinking of going down there for a week next October (we need a real vacation). It's also in the works that all of us will go back down in April of 2009. This is looking to be a group of about 15 or more people, including about 3 or 4 families and some assorted friends.

OK, enough about Disney. Today I'm in Canada. I'll be here until Wednesday. The trip here was relatively uneventful, other than the fact that all day yesterday I had a low-grade fever and either the chills or was sweating to death. Thankfully Excedrin fixes more than just headaches. My head is a little stuffy and I still have a few aches, but I did get some sleep on the plane rides. I also got to watch Eragon. I'm a little mixed about the book. Overall it was good, but it was a bit of a chaotic story that didn't always flow well. (That and some of his influences were a little too blatantly obvious.) It was a good enough read. The movie didn't do the chaotic story justice. Jeffery Irons did great in his role, but it felt like I was watching the Cliff's Notes version of a badly flowing story. It could have been worse, but It could have been much, much better as well.
I hope this week goes well. It should. I need to be on site by about 7am to start training around 8. Hopefully I'll get a decent night's sleep and will be able to do a decent job and not fall asleep on my feet. We'll see.
OK, I've got to finish up a few things and I want to relax a bit before I have to crash. Peace to all and may you find some kind of magic in your life!

Canada Photos

Yesterday we went over to Kat's for Zoe's birthday. Her brother Michael and his friend Trish came up from Virginia. Joan and the kids stopped by. (The viewing and funeral are this morning and I'll be there.) Aunt Ellen was there. Zoe's dad was there too. It was a small family gathering and a lot of fun. Zoe loved the teddy bear clothes I'd crocheted her as well as a couple of craft kits I picket up too.

But, I promised you pictures from Canada. I didn't take any pictures of the town itself for whatever reason. It was a small town like almost any small town I've seen in Upstate New York or the like.

Just outside of town, about 5 minutes from my hotel, there are lots of lakes. It's April and you would have thought things would have begun to thaw. According to the people at the plant, all the snow had cleared a week or so ago, but it's back. This is a frozen lake. You don't realize it's a lake unless you see the sign telling you it is.

Kirkland Lake was a big gold mining town at one point. Just like Bethlehem with the Steel though, when the mining left, so did the town. It was much more dramatic here though. A town of 45,000 turned into a town of 10,000. Bethlehem is still a busy place and is beginning to recover, but it survived a bit better. I guess warmer winters and other stuff around will do that.

Anyhow, almost across from my hotel, just on the edge of town, is the Miner's Memorial. I really liked the way it looked in the snow. I wish I'd been able to get some pictures from the front, but I couldn't get there without sinking up to my knees in snow.

I hope you enjoyed these few pictures from Canada. I'm sure you'll see more pictures soon, from both Florida and Alberta, Canada. I honestly don't know if/when I'll be able to post next week while I'm on vacation. I'm NOT taking my laptop. If I can find a computer at some point and can get a few minutes of time, I'll post an update. If not, you'll have to wait.

Peace to all and may you see beautiful places and have wonderful friends in your life.

O Canada

Well, this week has been interesting. I wouldn't really call it an adventure, but interesting.
Sunday was a good day. There were 8 of us for Easter Dinner. There was more food than we knew what to do with and it was all very good. We enjoyed each other's company and Gramma Sue got to see Zoe, which made both of their days.
Monday was surprisingly an easy travel day. I got to the airport almost 2 hours early because of Gak's new work schedule. That's OK, it gave me a chance to start a new Project Linus blanket. I hope to have it finished or almost finished by the time I get home tomorrow.
My first flight was a little turbo-prop up to Toronto. I managed to get through Customs with no problems and a relatively short line even. I had about an hour to kill once I got to my gate for my flight. This one was a slightly larger turbo-prop (2 seats on each side instead of 1!), a Dash8 or something like that. The flight to Timmins was easy and short.
Of course, I came back into the land of snow. They've had weather like ours lately. It was really nice and all the snow had melted a week or so ago, and then it dumped another foot or so that's now hanging around. It's been right around freezing and a little gray. It's OK.
The drive from Timmins to Lake Kirkland is about 2 hours on a back country highway. In some ways it was like driving from Gak's parents' to Dallas, but on a smaller road and with no 'big' towns on the way. It's actually quite pretty. You can see the snowmobile trails following the road and spiderwebing through the adjacent woods and fields. This town used to be a pretty big mining town, now it's a town of about 10,000 people. There really isn't anything here.
The training went well yesterday. I hope it goes well today. I'm not so sure. We'll survive though. The people are nice at any rate.
Well, I should probably quick check the work email and head over to the plant. I may have a pic or two to post when I get home. This laptop doesn't like my camera. (That and it gave me a bluescreen twice yesterday....) Peace to all and may you have a good week.

Change of Plans!

I like days like today.

There was a sudden change of plans today.

But this time it works out well.

2:10 pm my cell phone rings. I check the number and Don't recognize it. Hmm... probably something to do with work.

Yep, it is. Hi, this is Andrew in New York, I don't think we'll be able to get anyone together for the training tomorrow. Wow! Ok. No problem, we manage to squeeze them back into the schedule the week after Thanksgiving, since I'm supposed to be in Albany earlier that week anyhow.

Talk about good timing. I was about 5 minutes away from walking out the door and heading up to New York.

I call my boss and let him know, cancel the hotel reservation and let the car people know I'm returning the car tomorrow, not Saturday. Quick check the email, take care of a few things and then I'm off.

And I promptly lock myself out of the apartment.

I decided that since I had time, I'd finally run over to Staples to pick up another network cable for my work laptop and see if I could figure out if my printer isn't working because I tried to use the wrong cartridges. I had the rental car keys, but not my house keys.

Oops.

Thankfully Gak works right near the Staples. I went to Staples, stopped in to see Gak and his boss and then went to JoAnn's and the grocery store. Amazingly enough I only left JoAnn's with some buttons I needed for a project. There was some yarn I wanted, but couldn't convince myself to part with the cash since I wasn't sure what pattern I was going to use it for.

Yesterday went well in Canada. The hardest part I think was driving back over the bridge. I got to spend some nice quality time in the Detroit airport (early for a change instead of delayed). I managed to almost finish the wrap I was working on (I finished it up quick this morning) while waiting. I'm really happy with it and the trip.

I don't have any pictures from the trip since it was grey and drizzly all day. (That and the whole driving and using the cell camera thing....) Instead I give you a picture of my pet dragon Jorge. He's asleep in my inn room in the sunshine, just like a kitty. I think he's quite cute.

Well, peace to all and hug a loved one. They probably put up with more than you realize from day to day....