Regina, SK: November 14-15, 2006

A short stop in Regina, ostensibly for meetings, that for rather unfourtunate reasons didn't happen. I don't want to go into it. Also, it's already winter in Saskatchewan and I'm less than ready for it.

Regina is a city I don't know well. This is only my second visit and the first time I was here I saw all of: the Delta and the Earl's. As much as Earl's is a western Canadian institution, it's not like it's unique or special no matter where you see it. You can count on it, but it will never overwhelm you. Yesterday afternoon and evening I was able to take in one degree more of the city.

The Saskatchewan Legislature
I wish I'd been able to see the inside, but the outside is incredibly impressive. First, it's huge. Saskatchewan has only 58 members in the leg, but I think (think) that this building woud dwarf Queen's Park in Toronto. It is crowned by a huge dome, which gives it the feel of the Capitol building in Washington, DC. I imagine that on a day like one in this picture it would be a lovely place to tour around or lounge a bit on the grassy area in front.

My boss has a couple of pictures of the early days of the leg' when it was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. He tells me that when it was built the building was supposed to hold all the politicians as well as ALL the public servants. Government grows quickly however so there are one or two other buildings that house government employees too.

Hotel Saskatchewan
I stayed one night at this elegant part of the Radisson chain (I know, oxymoron, right?). It is a classic old hotel - the kind where the Queen stays when she visits Regina - and makes you feel like you're both important and that it's 1932.

The staff at the Hotel Sask was also excellent. It's not often in today's service oriented economy that I find myself impressed by the service I receive anywhere (ironic if you ask me), but from the folks at the desk to the bellmen who actually told the cab where I was headed and checked their route, I was very satisfied.

Here are a couple of pictures, including a room that very well could have been mine.

More about the road trip later.

Montreal, QC: Sunday, November 12 (In hindsight)

I'll be the first to admit that I'm terrible at this blogging thing. I'm working on it. Short regular posts is my new mission. Onto the post...

Mental note: Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders = Ugly on the inside

I'm on the road in the middle of that typical business routing: Montreal-Winnipeg-Saskatoon-Regina-Vancouver-Edmonton-Calgary-Moncton-Fredericton-Halifax-Moncton-Montreal over the 11 days. (I kid you not.) On the first leg of the flight (well, really sitting in Trudeau at Mo's) I had the pleasure...wait, "pleasure"...of being surrounded by several members of the Argos' cheerleading squad "The Blue Thunder," fresh off the Argos' loss to the Als in the CFL East Final.

I often felt that being pretty is an excuse for being an unfourtunately poor person, in terms of manners and attitudes, in particular. It could be an sad prejudice on my part, but many of the people I've known who are prettiest on the outside are ugliest on the inside, to borrow a cliched expression. The members of Blue Thunder didn't disappoint on Sunday. Between bitching about the Als' cheerleaders when they appeared on TV ("They can't dance for shit"), bitching at the bartender because there is no smoking room in the airport (which I know was Jessika's decision, that c-word), and telling everyone who would listen that BC would demolish Montreal in the Grey Cup, it was all-in-all an unpleasant experience. Almost ruined the #3 I was eating. Thankfully, my astute mind was able to glean that getting a nose piercing is team initiation on the Blue Thunder.

I was ready to write them off completely and forever, but I did see one team member reading vast amounts of clearly academic material waiting for her flight. One point for the Thunder.