Monday 25 March 2013
While I wait
Just have to love computer updates. As I sit here and write this inside at work I could be outside at my hotel enjoying the sunshine. Oh well, there is always tomorrow where I should be done work at 3-330 as I will be starting at 6:30 with some teleconferences... This 2-3 hrs time difference is tough when work expects you to still be able to support. Oh well, only a few more days then home for Easter.
The weekend was good, Gwen and I went to a street fair downtown with my colleague, Jason. It was pretty interesting, I've never seen a street fair that was at least 6 city blocks long... We had fun, enjoyed the sun and say some pretty cool things for sale. Gwen made the only purchase of a necklace that has interchangeable marbles to suit your outfit, very versatile.
Sunday we completely changed our plan. We went to Biosphere 2 that is run by the university of Arizona. This was really neat - it is a massive enclosed system with green houses, water and air to conduct, essentially, life size experiments with plants and ecosystems. Inside is over 3 acres of land with vegetation ranging from rainforest to desert - in total 5 different biomes.
The building was constructed in the late 1980s for the purpose of closed system research meaning it would be completely sealed to the outside world. The first experiment lasted 2 years (and 20 mins) and had 8 people living and working inside. The idea was that the facility would be readied for the next research cycle to last 1 year for a total of 100 years of research. However, the second expedition lasted only 6 months as the private enterprise that was funding the research realized that the 8 people inside had to work a total of 66 hrs a week each to maintain the plants and facility, leaving little room for research to be completed. This was tough to justify especially when the habitants had very low caloric intake (roughly 1500 calories a day compared to 2000 that typically have). So, they cancelled the project and instead opened it up to the other research groups, primarily universities.
After biosphere 2 we took a drive to ... COOLIDGE ARIZONA!
This was the smallest, probably most run down city I've seen, lol. It was pretty cool to see our name all over the place. Gwen took lots of photos while I drove around.
After Coolidge we drove back to Tucson and went to the west saguaro national park to see some cactus. We stayed there until sunset and then drove back into Tucson for dinner at red lobster.
This morning was early, dropping Gwen off at the airport for 6:20 so she could catch her flight home. Work was good, relatively quiet here but still somewhat productive.
Whatelse... 3 more updates to go....
Found out that Jason was quite the childhood prodigy. At 17 he was attending computer drafting courses and once he finished all the course work in 3 weeks he proceeded to work on his own designs and help other experienced designers in the class with their designs as well. He was so talented that he got recruited by a large aircraft engine OEM who funded all his university schooling in trade for the rights to a design patent that they are still working with today. Quite amazing.
Well, almost done the updates, hopefully Gwen uploads some photos to Facebook as she has all the pictures on her iPad and I need to transfer these over to my computer. Hope you all are doing well back home.
The weekend was good, Gwen and I went to a street fair downtown with my colleague, Jason. It was pretty interesting, I've never seen a street fair that was at least 6 city blocks long... We had fun, enjoyed the sun and say some pretty cool things for sale. Gwen made the only purchase of a necklace that has interchangeable marbles to suit your outfit, very versatile.
Sunday we completely changed our plan. We went to Biosphere 2 that is run by the university of Arizona. This was really neat - it is a massive enclosed system with green houses, water and air to conduct, essentially, life size experiments with plants and ecosystems. Inside is over 3 acres of land with vegetation ranging from rainforest to desert - in total 5 different biomes.
The building was constructed in the late 1980s for the purpose of closed system research meaning it would be completely sealed to the outside world. The first experiment lasted 2 years (and 20 mins) and had 8 people living and working inside. The idea was that the facility would be readied for the next research cycle to last 1 year for a total of 100 years of research. However, the second expedition lasted only 6 months as the private enterprise that was funding the research realized that the 8 people inside had to work a total of 66 hrs a week each to maintain the plants and facility, leaving little room for research to be completed. This was tough to justify especially when the habitants had very low caloric intake (roughly 1500 calories a day compared to 2000 that typically have). So, they cancelled the project and instead opened it up to the other research groups, primarily universities.
After biosphere 2 we took a drive to ... COOLIDGE ARIZONA!
This was the smallest, probably most run down city I've seen, lol. It was pretty cool to see our name all over the place. Gwen took lots of photos while I drove around.
After Coolidge we drove back to Tucson and went to the west saguaro national park to see some cactus. We stayed there until sunset and then drove back into Tucson for dinner at red lobster.
This morning was early, dropping Gwen off at the airport for 6:20 so she could catch her flight home. Work was good, relatively quiet here but still somewhat productive.
Whatelse... 3 more updates to go....
Found out that Jason was quite the childhood prodigy. At 17 he was attending computer drafting courses and once he finished all the course work in 3 weeks he proceeded to work on his own designs and help other experienced designers in the class with their designs as well. He was so talented that he got recruited by a large aircraft engine OEM who funded all his university schooling in trade for the rights to a design patent that they are still working with today. Quite amazing.
Well, almost done the updates, hopefully Gwen uploads some photos to Facebook as she has all the pictures on her iPad and I need to transfer these over to my computer. Hope you all are doing well back home.
Saturday 23 March 2013
Greetings from sunny Arizona
Well blog followers, I hear you are on the edge of your seats waiting for updates.
Gwen arrived safe and sound yesterday early afternoon. I finished work early as I was at work early and then we spent some time by the pool. Gwen already has a little sunburn...
We met one of my colleagues, Jason, for dinner at a place called Jonathan's Cork. They had great steak and according to Gwen and Jason, great steak and lobster too. After dinner we went to a pub near the university before calling it a night at 11:00.
Today we are going to go to a street fair downtown called 4th Avenue street fair. It should be a good time, weather is 24*C and sunny today. Afterwards we don't really have plans yet. Maybe some more exploring, I haven't really explored downtown Tucson too much.
As for tomorrow, I'm not sure what our plan will be yet. We might do some exploring outside of Tucson, don't worry we will stay in the US ;).
Here are some pictures from Gwen's camera yesterday.
#1 is of the scenery as you leave the airport. 2 is us ready to go to dinner. 3 is the Pima Air and Space Museum. 4 is the urban sights in Tucson. 5 is your favourite married couple. And 6 is Jason's car, it's pretty fast.
Hope you are all keeping warm in Manitoba.
Gwen arrived safe and sound yesterday early afternoon. I finished work early as I was at work early and then we spent some time by the pool. Gwen already has a little sunburn...
We met one of my colleagues, Jason, for dinner at a place called Jonathan's Cork. They had great steak and according to Gwen and Jason, great steak and lobster too. After dinner we went to a pub near the university before calling it a night at 11:00.
Today we are going to go to a street fair downtown called 4th Avenue street fair. It should be a good time, weather is 24*C and sunny today. Afterwards we don't really have plans yet. Maybe some more exploring, I haven't really explored downtown Tucson too much.
As for tomorrow, I'm not sure what our plan will be yet. We might do some exploring outside of Tucson, don't worry we will stay in the US ;).
Here are some pictures from Gwen's camera yesterday.
#1 is of the scenery as you leave the airport. 2 is us ready to go to dinner. 3 is the Pima Air and Space Museum. 4 is the urban sights in Tucson. 5 is your favourite married couple. And 6 is Jason's car, it's pretty fast.
Hope you are all keeping warm in Manitoba.
Wednesday 20 March 2013
Fastest flight ever
So apparently I flew over 32,000 Kms from Montreal to Denver in about 4 hrs. That's 8,000 km/h. I didn't realize we broke the sound barrier by about 6 times... Lol, good old Airshow glitch...
No troubles on my flights. It is weird being 3 hrs behind in one work day. Luckily I'm only going to do a bit more work outside then relax a bit. And figure out dinner plans...
No troubles on my flights. It is weird being 3 hrs behind in one work day. Luckily I'm only going to do a bit more work outside then relax a bit. And figure out dinner plans...
Going to Tucson again
Well I've had enough of the snow and cold so I decided I should go to Tucson for a bit where the weather is 27*C and sunny. I wish...
I need to go to Tucson and spend some time on site, bring the medevac project back on track and open lines of communication. Luckily my time there spans a weekend so Gwen will fly down and get to enjoy some southern Arizona weather. From Tucson I will fly back to Winnipeg for Easter and then unsure where I'm going from there.
The lineups to clear US customs is super long for this early in the morning, wow. Apparently the budget cuts by the government is hitting them hard here.
Anyways, going to be a long 27 hr day as I gain 3 more hours traveling west. No plans for when I get in other than send a few emails based on work I get done on the flight. Then, relax a bit I hope.
I need to go to Tucson and spend some time on site, bring the medevac project back on track and open lines of communication. Luckily my time there spans a weekend so Gwen will fly down and get to enjoy some southern Arizona weather. From Tucson I will fly back to Winnipeg for Easter and then unsure where I'm going from there.
The lineups to clear US customs is super long for this early in the morning, wow. Apparently the budget cuts by the government is hitting them hard here.
Anyways, going to be a long 27 hr day as I gain 3 more hours traveling west. No plans for when I get in other than send a few emails based on work I get done on the flight. Then, relax a bit I hope.
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Tuesday 12 March 2013
Sunday 10 March 2013
Ski Bromont
It was a good day of snowboarding at Bromont.
What was supposed to be three of us ended up being only two - the other guy had to fix his girlfriend's car today, last minute. I met Olivier at his place and we loaded up my car. We drove an hour to Bromont and got there before 9:30. We got out lift tickets (prepaid for three so we sold the third to someone there for a discounted cost) and then headed up the mountain.
It was super nice outside. I wore a t shirt, long sleeve shirt, zip up sweater and Jets jersey and I was still too warm... When we left, the thermometer in the car said 12*C, I believe it.
There are over 100 runs at Bromont. In the morning we did about 6-8 runs. There was very few people and waiting at the chair lifts consisted of waiting 2 mins while three groups ahead of you got on the chair.
The first run of the day was a blue run. I was a little nervous but did fine. The runs here are not as difficult as at Tremblant or in the Rockies. We then did several green and blue runs thoughout the day - one of which called Winnipeg, it was run number 99 ;). I'll post pictures tomorrow, I need to get them from Olivier.
After lunch, we continued on with many more runs. If I had to guess I would say we did 12-15 runs today - I am tired now... The conditions certainly had changed in the afternoon. The snow was sticky, so much so that the blue runs were the best option because they had the most slope so that we didn't have to walk so much.
We decided to leave at 2:45 or so and drove back to Olivier's place. We had dinner with his girlfriend, home made fajitas. They were delicious! Along with a great salad with mango and avacado. I stayed there until about 6:50 and decided I should make my way home before I start to fall asleep. Now, I'm watching the Jets game and texting Gwen who has wifi at the Wild game.
I'm wishing I ahead another day off but I don't. That's ok, let's get started on this week so that I can hopefully come home Thursday night and make it an easy Friday in Winnipeg.
What was supposed to be three of us ended up being only two - the other guy had to fix his girlfriend's car today, last minute. I met Olivier at his place and we loaded up my car. We drove an hour to Bromont and got there before 9:30. We got out lift tickets (prepaid for three so we sold the third to someone there for a discounted cost) and then headed up the mountain.
It was super nice outside. I wore a t shirt, long sleeve shirt, zip up sweater and Jets jersey and I was still too warm... When we left, the thermometer in the car said 12*C, I believe it.
There are over 100 runs at Bromont. In the morning we did about 6-8 runs. There was very few people and waiting at the chair lifts consisted of waiting 2 mins while three groups ahead of you got on the chair.
The first run of the day was a blue run. I was a little nervous but did fine. The runs here are not as difficult as at Tremblant or in the Rockies. We then did several green and blue runs thoughout the day - one of which called Winnipeg, it was run number 99 ;). I'll post pictures tomorrow, I need to get them from Olivier.
After lunch, we continued on with many more runs. If I had to guess I would say we did 12-15 runs today - I am tired now... The conditions certainly had changed in the afternoon. The snow was sticky, so much so that the blue runs were the best option because they had the most slope so that we didn't have to walk so much.
We decided to leave at 2:45 or so and drove back to Olivier's place. We had dinner with his girlfriend, home made fajitas. They were delicious! Along with a great salad with mango and avacado. I stayed there until about 6:50 and decided I should make my way home before I start to fall asleep. Now, I'm watching the Jets game and texting Gwen who has wifi at the Wild game.
I'm wishing I ahead another day off but I don't. That's ok, let's get started on this week so that I can hopefully come home Thursday night and make it an easy Friday in Winnipeg.
Saturday 9 March 2013
Hockey night in Canada
Well, today has been relatively quiet. A little too quiet, I'm trying to not talk to myself too much - I don't want to lose an argument....
Lets see, made an omelette for lunch, went to the bank and got cash, played some video games, started preparing a training presentation for work, made meat loaf and potatoes and now watching hockey. Oh yeah, went for a two mile run too in the afternoon. It was sure nice outside, probably 6-7*C. I had the windows open most of the day today to air out the apartment.
I even was texting Gwen the scores in the curling game this afternoon. That was sure a nail biter, good thing Howard missed his last shot so Stoughton could get the three he needed for the win and buy to the final.
Don't really have much else to say about my day - it was quiet, a little too quiet... Can't wait to come home next weekend for my birthday, although I'm sure it will be too short of a visit. Luckily I will have another for Easter. May can't come soon enough...
Lets see, made an omelette for lunch, went to the bank and got cash, played some video games, started preparing a training presentation for work, made meat loaf and potatoes and now watching hockey. Oh yeah, went for a two mile run too in the afternoon. It was sure nice outside, probably 6-7*C. I had the windows open most of the day today to air out the apartment.
I even was texting Gwen the scores in the curling game this afternoon. That was sure a nail biter, good thing Howard missed his last shot so Stoughton could get the three he needed for the win and buy to the final.
Don't really have much else to say about my day - it was quiet, a little too quiet... Can't wait to come home next weekend for my birthday, although I'm sure it will be too short of a visit. Luckily I will have another for Easter. May can't come soon enough...
Friday 8 March 2013
Pictures
Gwen said my blog is getting boring I need more pictures.
First picture is the scenery outside the Arena on Monday. This is called the Turcott Interchange and connects the 20 (east west) the 15 (north south, I'm just off the 15) and the 720 (through downtown).
Second picture is from some testing today. We were testing that the leather straps do not affect the door from "blowing out" (breaking) if needed. The tests proved the straps were not an issue.
I'm waiting patiently for an aircraft to be ready for an inspection at 9 tonight... Already had a nap and ate super, just waiting for the jets game to start now...
First picture is the scenery outside the Arena on Monday. This is called the Turcott Interchange and connects the 20 (east west) the 15 (north south, I'm just off the 15) and the 720 (through downtown).
Second picture is from some testing today. We were testing that the leather straps do not affect the door from "blowing out" (breaking) if needed. The tests proved the straps were not an issue.
I'm waiting patiently for an aircraft to be ready for an inspection at 9 tonight... Already had a nap and ate super, just waiting for the jets game to start now...
Thursday 7 March 2013
Thursday, the day before Friday...
One more day, that's what I have been telling myself all day today. Well, I guess it's two more days counting today but you know what I mean...
Work was ok, it was better than the four hours of teleconferences I had yesterday, back to back to back... It is sure hard to get work done when you are in silly meetings all day but some people don't seem to understand this concept. Maybe that's because I am a doer not a manager. I would rather be doing work than telling someone else to do the work, within reason.
After work today I went and got my watch battery replaced, figured it was time as it had been a week since it last worked. I also got a haircut and then grabbed some crazy glue to fix one of Francois' fridge magnets that I managed to knock off with the cord from the grill this morning. I would feel so back if it was a bombardier magnet but this one says Bohol which is an island in the Philippines that his wife must have gone to a few years ago, during her first trip. So, I should probably fix that and leave a note saying "I broke it" (insert 2 year old Graham voice from home videos).
Plan for this weekend is to get caught up on sleep. I tasked Olivier with trying to plan a ski/snowboard outing this weekend with the employees in Montreal. Currently there is three of us interested, include me and Olivier... We will see if this actually happens, I'm hoping so - I want to make it worth while to have brought my snowboard out here. If not, we will see, maybe I'll just go myself or go night skiing next week.
Well, period 2 of jets vs lightning. Time to resume watching.
Work was ok, it was better than the four hours of teleconferences I had yesterday, back to back to back... It is sure hard to get work done when you are in silly meetings all day but some people don't seem to understand this concept. Maybe that's because I am a doer not a manager. I would rather be doing work than telling someone else to do the work, within reason.
After work today I went and got my watch battery replaced, figured it was time as it had been a week since it last worked. I also got a haircut and then grabbed some crazy glue to fix one of Francois' fridge magnets that I managed to knock off with the cord from the grill this morning. I would feel so back if it was a bombardier magnet but this one says Bohol which is an island in the Philippines that his wife must have gone to a few years ago, during her first trip. So, I should probably fix that and leave a note saying "I broke it" (insert 2 year old Graham voice from home videos).
Plan for this weekend is to get caught up on sleep. I tasked Olivier with trying to plan a ski/snowboard outing this weekend with the employees in Montreal. Currently there is three of us interested, include me and Olivier... We will see if this actually happens, I'm hoping so - I want to make it worth while to have brought my snowboard out here. If not, we will see, maybe I'll just go myself or go night skiing next week.
Well, period 2 of jets vs lightning. Time to resume watching.
Monday 4 March 2013
He shoots he scores again!
Well, I did it again, I scored! On the other team even!
This one wasn't as nice as the first one but it was pretty close. I carried the puck up the ice and passed it over to the guy on the right. He streamed down the boards and took the two defence men with him which left me open in front of the net. I yelled for the pass and he shot it over. I stood there with the puck and... Shot it right in the goalies chest. Of course, right mom?
But, the shot must have been so hard that there was a big juicy rebound so I shot again, this time at the left corner and scored!
I can't remember the last time I had two goals in one season... 2000-2001? I remember when I used to score multiple goals in one game, never mind one season. I'll never forget the one game in Lundar, squirts I think, where Brent Kotelko and I were told that we had to pass the puck more because we were winning 16-1 or something like that and Brent and I had at least 14 of the goals. So, we listened - and passed the puck to one another skating down the ice. I think I scored 12 goals that game. Grandpa gave me $20.
As I was driving home today after the game, I was trying to figure out why I hadn't received payment for my first goal this season, now with two I'll be even farther behind... Then it hit me - grandpa has to be at the game to see the goal. Well, next game I will try to tape it. But, knowing how I play, if I'm taping it I won't score a goal - not on the other team anyways...
Goodnight.
This one wasn't as nice as the first one but it was pretty close. I carried the puck up the ice and passed it over to the guy on the right. He streamed down the boards and took the two defence men with him which left me open in front of the net. I yelled for the pass and he shot it over. I stood there with the puck and... Shot it right in the goalies chest. Of course, right mom?
But, the shot must have been so hard that there was a big juicy rebound so I shot again, this time at the left corner and scored!
I can't remember the last time I had two goals in one season... 2000-2001? I remember when I used to score multiple goals in one game, never mind one season. I'll never forget the one game in Lundar, squirts I think, where Brent Kotelko and I were told that we had to pass the puck more because we were winning 16-1 or something like that and Brent and I had at least 14 of the goals. So, we listened - and passed the puck to one another skating down the ice. I think I scored 12 goals that game. Grandpa gave me $20.
As I was driving home today after the game, I was trying to figure out why I hadn't received payment for my first goal this season, now with two I'll be even farther behind... Then it hit me - grandpa has to be at the game to see the goal. Well, next game I will try to tape it. But, knowing how I play, if I'm taping it I won't score a goal - not on the other team anyways...
Goodnight.
Cold but not so snowy
I think I've been here too long. Today it was -4*C and I was cold. Mind you, it is a damp cold as my mom, dad and Gwen can attest to.
The weekend was busy. 5 hrs driving to Peterborough followed by 2.5 hrs of work. Then, return drive Sunday morning. I was glad I spent the night though, I was pretty tired and it would have been a LONG drive back Saturday night. Instead, I spent the afternoon watching the jets game while talking to Gwen. In the evening I was at Boston pizza, talking to Gwen and then hot tub time!
I was up early Sunday morning, awake at 8am as the daylight was bright through my open window shades. That's ok though, it allowed me to get a run in, eat breakfast and do an hour and a half of work all before I left at 11am.
Today work was relatively routine, only one inspection and some free time to actually get things done that I needed to. However, I am definitely looking forward to Friday for a true weekend.
Only 1 hr before I need to leave for hockey tonight. Hopefully we can continue our winning streak as we near the playoffs.
I hope the snow isn't piled up too high back home...
The weekend was busy. 5 hrs driving to Peterborough followed by 2.5 hrs of work. Then, return drive Sunday morning. I was glad I spent the night though, I was pretty tired and it would have been a LONG drive back Saturday night. Instead, I spent the afternoon watching the jets game while talking to Gwen. In the evening I was at Boston pizza, talking to Gwen and then hot tub time!
I was up early Sunday morning, awake at 8am as the daylight was bright through my open window shades. That's ok though, it allowed me to get a run in, eat breakfast and do an hour and a half of work all before I left at 11am.
Today work was relatively routine, only one inspection and some free time to actually get things done that I needed to. However, I am definitely looking forward to Friday for a true weekend.
Only 1 hr before I need to leave for hockey tonight. Hopefully we can continue our winning streak as we near the playoffs.
I hope the snow isn't piled up too high back home...
Saturday 2 March 2013
I'm off
7:04 am - title
9:16 am - in Mallorytown for a coffee, pee and leg stretch break. 260 Kms to go.
10:56 am - at the Trenton onroute for another potty break. Funny how two cups of coffee go right through you.
12:09 pm - at Landing 27 bistro for lunch.
12:37 pm - done lunch earlier than I thought...
12:45 pm - at Flying Colours Corp for my inspection
3:09 pm - complete my inspection. Now, time to get fuel
3:23 pm - waiting to get my car washed
3:54 pm - car is bathed, I'm checked I and ready to watch the second period. Go Jets Go!
9:16 am - in Mallorytown for a coffee, pee and leg stretch break. 260 Kms to go.
10:56 am - at the Trenton onroute for another potty break. Funny how two cups of coffee go right through you.
12:09 pm - at Landing 27 bistro for lunch.
12:37 pm - done lunch earlier than I thought...
12:45 pm - at Flying Colours Corp for my inspection
3:09 pm - complete my inspection. Now, time to get fuel
3:23 pm - waiting to get my car washed
3:54 pm - car is bathed, I'm checked I and ready to watch the second period. Go Jets Go!
Friday 1 March 2013
Someone got their wings yesterday
I think this is the challenger 300 wing but I might be mistaken... Anyways, pretty cool I thought.
This week has been busy, had lots of walkthroughs and have one tomorrow in Peterborough. My plan is to leave at 7am to be there before noon. Then, grab lunch and be ready for my inspection at 1pm.
Afterwards, go to my hotel to catch the jets game and get some work done. Return drive will be Sunday morning, after a quick workout and breakfast so that I'm hopefully home before 4 or so.
Well back to laundry and then eat some perogies and chicken fingers.
This week has been busy, had lots of walkthroughs and have one tomorrow in Peterborough. My plan is to leave at 7am to be there before noon. Then, grab lunch and be ready for my inspection at 1pm.
Afterwards, go to my hotel to catch the jets game and get some work done. Return drive will be Sunday morning, after a quick workout and breakfast so that I'm hopefully home before 4 or so.
Well back to laundry and then eat some perogies and chicken fingers.
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