Flight Home...

It seems that the only time I can write is while I am sitting in a departure lounge waiting to take to the skies. Today I am flying home to see my parents in Holyrood. I say home but really I am living in Ottawa but was born and raised in Labrador City. Proud son of the Big Land! But, I did live on the Island for 22 years...some good and some not so good; all a significant portion of my memories. Newfoundland and Labrador grows to become a part of you. A collection of memories, shared experiences with thousands of other residents a beauty unsurpassed and an aching need to return.

And, like all other expatriates living around the world, I return home as often as possible. Under the right circumstances I would make it permanent and stay home for good. I remember reading an article from a Calgary paper with a quote that sums up Newfoundlanders and Labradorians everywhere. "You can tell the Newfoundlanders in heaven, they're the ones that want to go home."

So here I sit in an airport lounge, as I am sure you all have, waiting to go home. Waiting to catch the open arms of family missed, see the smiles of long time friends and smell the salt air once again. It doesn't matter to me if it rains or snows or the sun splits the rocks, I am home! Mom's cooking, dad's jokes, barbecues with friends and visiting with relatives!  Soon I will board my plane to complete my journey.

And for a week I will be home.

Talk to you soon...

ZT Pad Test

I have recently picked up a ZT Pad Android tablet fairly cheaply to use when I am travelling. So far so good. I have an iPad 2 and it works just fine but I worry about it being lost or stolen while I am on a trip to a third world country.

The ZT Pad is not a bad little tablet for the money and I am slowly getting used to using Android. I will fill you in as I learn more about it and tell you all about my travels as well.

Good bye for now friends and see you on the road.

P :-)

Highway Hortons

A 35 kilometer stretch of highway between home and work has become my sanctuary. Driving late at night with no one on the road the only sights I see are within the confines of my headlights. I enjoy the drive and the solitude, the peace, the Tim Horton's cups....wait Tim Horton's cups? What is wrong with people? I drive the same stretch in the day and in the night and you know I don't see the cups there during the day. Do the people that throw these cups out of their windows in the dark of night believe that the cups will magically find a trash on their own? Do they believe they are returning them to the wild?

Seriously!?!?

How hard is it to take the cup home and throw it in the garbage... or keep it until the next caffeine attack and throw it away there!

Cross Canada Airport Tour

So here I am sitting in the departure lounge waiting to fly across Canada and I see the sexiest pair of shoes attached to the most demur lady. Seriously, three inch heels, fire engine red, patent leather sex! The lady wearing these triumphantly loud x-rated spiked was, to say the least, the picture of conservative. To say that she screamed school marm would be an understatement. I couldn't help but stare and wait to see if she transformed into the naughty teacher like on every young man's fantasy list, but no, she stayed the same. I can't say I was disappointed, after all, she occupied my little mind for 30 minutes and I so loved looking at her shoes! I wonder now as I continue my journey across Canada if she knows the effect she had on me. See you in Montreal!

I travel a lot and it never ceases to amaze me how many people approach the gates through throngs of weary travelers to ask if they are boarding their flight now. Now don't get me wrong I know there are people who do not travel very much and aren't familiar with how to board aircraft, but what do they think all the rest of us are doing there?

So here I am in Montreal standing there patiently waiting to board my flight when I watched seven people approach the gate agent one at a time to ask if they were boarding the aircraft. I figure with 93 seats on this aircraft that means a full seven percent of people don't fly very often. That number increases to almost twelve percent when you factor in traveling companions. Anyway! Nothing exciting happened in Montreal, just observations!

Calgary greeted me with kiosks selling all manner and colour of cowboy hat you can imagine! I was only in Calgary once before and I remember being shocked by the number of stores selling hats and the alarmingly low numbers of people wearing them! Beautiful city, but I thought there would be more cowboys! I seriously had to run to catch my flight to Vancouver but I made it without buying a cowboy hat, did try one on thought! Hey when in Rome, right? Left coast here I come!

Vancouver met me like a herd of wildebeest, unfamiliar, foreign looking and a little scary. Am I still in Canada? I've got a strange urge to eat raw fish!!! Why can't I find sushi here!

Hospital Waiting

I am not prone to rushing around on my own time but yesterday I was in a rush to go out for the afternoon. In my haste I rushed into my room looking for clothes and stubbed my toe so hard I had to sit and hold it for almost an hour.

So much for my day of leisure. I could hardly stand up. But seriously though, a stubbed toe couldn't dampen my day.

Well it did! The swelling continued through the day and along with the pain I also began to experience a burning sensation. So after a night of pain it was time for one of my all time favourite activities, the hospital waiting game!

My odyssey begins at 0800 hours in the emergency waiting room. Now, I am well aware that a stubbs toe is nowhere near life threatening, so armed with my iPhone I am prepared to wait patiently all day. What I am never pepared for is the hospital waiting room game. It starts in the ER waiting room where you wait for triage, and back to wait for a doctor to see you. So this takes until 1000 hours, which is not too bad considering the injury. But this was short lived when the doctor had to ask me if I had been to x-ray yet. How could he not know that? He was the first doctor I had seen today.

Oh well, off to x-ray for the next wait! There I was put in another, registration, room just to be told after ten minutes to just take a seat again and wait.

After another ten minutes I was ushered to the x-ray room by a tech and low and behold in the hallway next to the door was the next spot I would plunk my ass on! Another waiting area. It was no more than fifteen feet down the hallway. Why even move me?

Anyway, after the x-ray I was back to emergency for my next bout of waiting. You know, after three hours waiting you start to become used to it. You start to accept the wait. You become almoost zombie like, trudging from waiting room to waiting room, staring emotionless at screens where shows play that you would never watch at home draw you in and hold you in an electronic embrace. All the while waiting for the sweet release of hearing your name being called. Oh when will it be my turn?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

This is my Timmies!

So early this morning I stop at a Tim Horton's for that uniquely Canadian ritual of the morning Timmies. Now I not a small man, and conversely, I am not that big either, but, when I walked in every head turned to look at me. This is when I noticed another Tim Horton's tradition, the coffee groups that take personal posession of each and every Tim Horton's.

I travel a lot and as a result I visit a lot of Tim Horton's as I go from place to place. Every time I walk into a Tim's I glance around to see the unofficial owners. You all know who you are! You and your cronies sit there religiously every morning protecting your Tim's from outsiders like me.

It is almost as if there is some ancient gene that comes out after you retire and you go down to the nearest Tim's and stake your claim. Next thing you know you are staring at everyone who enters as if they are here to take you out and steal your Tim's!

Maybe it is some ancient homesteading gene to claim a spot and protect it, but when did that become the need stake out and claim a Tim's of your own?

Puffy's New Phone

So last night I broke down and became one of the chosen masses. I bought myself an iPhone! Now, I am not saying that the iPhone 3G is better than the HTC Touch that has faithfully for the last few years but when it started to become wonky on the same day my mp3 player started to act up, action is required!

I am geeking out on apps like everyone does when they first get an iPhone and I am hoping my fascination with stupid apps will soon subside. I mean honestly, how many fake beers, Zippos or levels do I need?

Any way, tune in for an update from the dark side!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone