I'm Off

Over to Europe for two and half weeks. Next stop Bristol, England!!

Going for Gold!

I hope that despite my low level of dedication to the whole blogging thing that this will not be my last post on this topic.

I'm headed off on vacation after Christmas and bound for Sweden (among other places) during the time of the 2007 World Junior tournament taking place in Leksand, Sweden. Today I have been able to confirm my purchase of tickets for the playoff round of the tournament. Needless to say, I'm pumped.

Remarkably (if you're a Canadian) it was very easy to get tickets. (Well, I should say that there were plenty of good seats available, it wasn't actually easy trying to coordinate with a country six hours ahead whose version of Ticketmaster won't let you purchase on-line if you're outside the country.) Nevertheless, tickets to one quarterfinal game, both semis, the bronze medal and gold medal games cost me approximately $140 CDN.

I'm excited. This is one of my favourite hockey events every year. I have vivid memories from past tournies - John Slaney's game winner and my first distinct impression of Jerome Iginla being a transcendent player skilled in every facet of the game. Canada should stand a good chance of winning gold again this year and I would never, ever be able to see it back home. (Incidentally, the 2009 WJC are in Ottawa and there are ads in the Ottawa Citizen for tickets right now...advertising some packages of tickets for more than $1,000.) I'll do my best to blog this sucker regularly from over there. It will be contingent on having a place to stay with internet access - my next mission in time zones!

Talk to you from Sweden...

Cross posted at Puck This!

"With Status Comes Privilege"

At least according to the Aeroplan people. Thanks to my various travels this year I have achieved "Prestige" status in the Aeroplan system. To be clear, this is the weiniest status and doesn't get all that much privilege, although I do look forward to queue jumping for seat selection and baggage check-in.

This is my favourite line about the Aeroplan status privileges, "Air Canada Top Tier members receive a distinctive card and an incredible range of benefits."

That card...oh what a card it is...O the things that card does, my stars. :P

On the other hand, it's a bit ironic to be touting the privileges bequeathed by status on the day after this comes out: The gap between the nation's families with the highest net worth and those with the lowest widened between 1999 and 2005 a new study shows.

Until the next trip...

The genesis

Being awful, but getting better at writing this thing consistently, I realize that although I came up with a great name for a travel blog (humble, am I) I never explained what the hell it's all about.

I travel a lot for work. I have been to every province at least twice in the last 18 months and earned 50,000 Aeroplan miles. Sometimes it's total chaos. And if you've never travelled across Canada in the winter then you really have no sense of how ridiculous airline travel can be. In January 2006 I was in the midst of one of my many stretches where I travelled a lot. It was this bit of travel that inspired the name of this blog and a promise to myself never to travel in January again.

I had a day of meetings in Toronto and then had dinner with a friend from high school who is living there now. One of the great things about going to Toronto is that there are so many connectors to Montreal that one can do things like have dinner and still make it home at a decent hour. I boarded a plane to Montreal around 9 PM, cognisant that there had been a freezing rain storm in the evening in TO, but thinking that if we managed to take off all would be well. Sure enough the freezing rain had arrived in Montreal before we had and we were unable to land. A frustrating trip back to Toronto ensued where all flights had been cancelled for the night. All the passengers made their various arrangements in response - mine were to stay over night at an airport hotel and book myself on the 6:15 a.m. flight the following morning.

(I should digress here and say that it was in the aftermath of this unsatisfying flight that I witnessed "air rage" for the first time. After we landed again in Toronto a passenger actually waited for the pilots to deboard and started cursing them for having taken off in the first place. Apparently, this gentlemen thought that the pilots should have known they wouldn't be able to land in Montreal and allowed us all the opportunity to find other transport that night. I'm sure it made the man feel better to yell at the pilots, but I'm going to go ahead and say that I'd prefer that pilots attempt to make the flight conform to the pre-decided schedule, but that they stopp just short of endangering my life by trying something stupid in to do so. Something, like say, trying to land an airplane on a skating rink disguised as a runway.)

The next morning I arrived at the airport at 5 a.m. for my 6:15 a.m. flight. I discovered upon arrival that it was cancelled. I was not happy. However, by sheer dumb luck I did get a chance to meet Guy Lafleur at a restaurant in Pearson that morning. An unintended benefit of crappy luck on flights. (In fact, Air Canada should be using things like this to soften the blow when bad things happen. "We lost your luggage...ooops! Here's Ray Bourque to make things better!") I did get to Montreal, to a full day at the office, and then left a little early to head home nap, unpack, and then re-pack for a trip to Halifax that night. Seriosuly, that was my schedule.

Once again however, the god of January (or practical jokes) conspired against me. A lovely easy flight from Montreal to Halifax was suddenly transformed into a bit of nightmare roller coaster as we attempted to land in Halifax while 100 km/h winds buffeted the plane. I'm normally a good flyer and am rarely nervous, but I was honestly concerned for the stability of the plane. It was only after the pilot pulled up out of the turbulance that I realized with the amount of travel I was doing, pretty much the best i could hope for, was to attempt to land gracefully.

I was able to get to Halifax the next day, although I had another flight out there cancelled a few weeks later. Nevertheless a new rule (no January flying) and a new outlook were born of those wholely unsatisfying trips. Also, The Flower's autograph, will hang around in a very special place for a long time.

Until next trip...

The Road Trip

Between November 12 and 22 I travelled this great country of ours by plane and car on behalf of my employer. I was mostly meeting with stakeholders to discuss our directions and new research we've produced. I discussed Regina previously; here are some reflections on the rest of the trip.

Vancouver - November 15
I flew in and out of Vancouver in the same day. Normally, I would discourage anyone considering this approach from doing it because a) Vancouver is a great city and worth exploring, b) it makes for a hella long day. However, on the fifteenth of November 2006, getting out of Vancouver fast was all I could think about. The city was getting flooded (pretty literally) by rain and pounded with high winds. Vancouverites, lovely people that they are, are pretty much incapable of driving when any form of precipitation is falling from the sky. It was taking 2-3 times as long as normal to drive anywhere, which led to the anulment of one face-to-face meeting in favour of me stopping at a coffee shop and conducting the meeting by phone. I did however have a good meal with some old friends at a very nice veggie restaurant The Foundation (2301 Main St.). I don't often dine on plants only, but the food was very good adn the price was great for the portion. Otherwise, this was a lost trip to Van City, which is sad because it might be my favourite Canadian city.

Edmonton-Calgary - November 16
I've always been a big fan of the run down a long straight highway to make it in time for an occassion in another city. I think it's really a quintessential Canadian experience. Our country is so big and yet has so much empty space and we are an automobile society all of which adds up to some great long distance drives. I loved Saskatoon to Regina (minus an unintended pit stop in a ditch) and I loved Edmonton-Calgary too.

Having arrived in Edmonton very late from Vancouver I didn't spend long there on this visit. I had a sunny day though, which made the short trip across the high level bridge, over the river valleyquite beautiful. I was, sadly, driving a PT Cruiser (a curse that followed through a lot of this trip) so I did feel like a dork as I dropped Weaselmania in the CD player and listened to the greatest hits of Screeching Weasel while cruising to C-town. The drive was smooth and the meetings went well, which left me in Calgary with a bit of time on my hands.

I stayed at the Westin Hotel in downtown Calgary, which besides some ugly construction, was quite nice. I also ran into one of the best concierges I've ever encountered. She was pleasant, funny, and knew her business. She's only been in Calgary a short time, but gave me bang on directions out of the city.

I was able to have dinner with two of my favourite women in the world in Calgary on the sixteenth. We ate at the Red Door Bistro and had a truly great meal. Well, I say that, but to be honest the food is less memorable than the cocktails (I'm embarrassed to say so) - I would recommend the Bee's Knees. Dynomite. I ate the Cassoulet, which was delicious. Just make sure to bring your appetite.

Lethbridge-Calgary-Ottawa-Montreal-Fredericton - November 17-18
Look at that list of cities...now look at the dates...this was a two period I would prefer to never live again. It involved speeding through Alberta and getting a stern a warning from an RCMP officer, a missed flight, minimal sleep, getting harrassed for not using someone's pillow all for the sake of talking to a group of doe eyed youngsters. I love this job.

Fredericton - November 18-20
Fredericton is a nice city. It reminds me of my home town of Ottawa. I think that's exactly why I can only stay for a limited period of time before I get the willies. It's a clean, quiet, government town. Nothing too garish. Nothing too stylish. Nothing too scary.

Anyway, I hung out at the Delta Fredericton for a couple of days between meetings and got caught up with a couple of folks I hadn't seen in a while. The Delta is pretty...meh, I guess is the best way to describe it. I had a pretty good dinner one night at BrewBakers though. I was surprised and impressed. Otherwise, not too much to report. Good times with friends.

Halifax - November 20-22
After meeting someone in Fredericton on Monday morning I once again did the blast down the highway en route to Halifax. Halifax makes me long for the maritimes. It's one of my favourite cities - one part old port city, one part university town (there are four unis within the city limits), one part government town, with just a splash of boozy party town. The Citadel, commons and waterfront are all spectacular for a walk or late night stumble and you can eat remarkably well in Halifax for a smallish urban centre.

I had the occassion to eat with Wayne and Joann McKay (who I don't think will mind me naming them here) at The Wooden Monkey downtown. Wayne was, once upon a time, the President of Mount Allison University where I was, for too long a time, a student. He and his wife Joann really meant a lot to the community and his departure remains a black mark on the era of my peers and I. However, they are both spectacular, and they know how to pick a restaurant. The Wooden Monkey is a great little spot on what might described as restaurant row in Halifax (sharing Argyle St. with The Economy Shoe Shop et al). It has an eclectic menu that "is based on organic, macrobiotic, and locally grown fresh ingredients," which means it attracts quite a group most nights. When The Rolling Stones played in Halifax in the fall they had blueberry pie from TWM delivered to their dressing room. I ate it. It's good.

The staff is also very friendly when you insist on ordering things that they are out of, over and over. Like, three times.

Moncton - November 22
This was the last stop of my trip after an aborted attempt to get to Acadia University, which was foiled by some car trouble. Moncton is a place where I get to socialize more than usual because some good friends from university have (re-)settled there. They're a bad influence however and I don't think they'll be upset about me saying that. We ate, as we often do, at St. James Gate. "The Gate" is a nice British/Irish style pub that has been designed a bit like an old library in that its dark, poorly lit, and there are books lining the walls. (Unlike some other bars I've been to where they have books all over the place, the ones at The Gate actually have writing in them.) Evidently, The Gate is a chain, but I've never had a bad meal there and they always have fresh Stella Artois waiting, so I have no complaints.

I was pretty happy to return home at the end of this trip. I had slept pretty badly over the last few days so my memory foam bed seemed to envelop me as I recovered my sleep and my brain. It was, all in all, a good if hectic trip. Good for business is how I would describe it. I had some good eats and caught up with some important people in my life. Hard to ask for much more.

Until next trip...