Kevin's Ramblings…

Thursday marked the end of my Tour of Saskatchewan.  I started the morning in Saskatoon, early, around 3am, left the hotel at 6am for Prince George.  It was an easy 150km trek.  Luckily, the roads were dry and it was clear.  It was also dark so the odds of having a deer dart across the road were higher, or at least higher that I would not be able to see it well.

Anyway, made it to Prince Albert incident free.  That’s when the problems started.  Nothing major, just no Wi-Fi access in the building.  Great.  That was a 2.5 hour delay.  The work I needed to do took about 30 minutes in total.  I was on the road again at 11am.

This is where I guess I lucked out that Saskatchewan is an hour ahead of Alberta this time of year, they don’t change the clocks – don’t get me going on that.  I had an 8 hour drive ahead of me, not counting any stops and I needed to be able to pick up Blondie and Hera by 6:30pm at the latest.

The various highways between Prince Albert and Calgary are ALL one lane each way.  I am not sure if transport trucks are governed at 100khph but that is how fast they were all going.  I tried to lock my cruise in at 120 and made passes where it was safe to do so.  The drive back wasn’t too bad and I was able to get the dogs around 6:15pm, not much time to spare.

They were happy to see me, I was happy to see them.  I had to make two stops on the way home, gas and dog food.  They were fed and slept the rest of the night and were still pretty tried yesterday, as was I.  I was back to work, well, back to my home office anyway on Friday morning.

The week zoomed by, although yesterday was Friday, it felt more like a Monday or Tuesday to me.  Next week is a full week and then a 2 day work-week to accommodate my move.  Everything is set – U-Haul truck rental, moving help, Blondie and Hera booked for the day at the Pet Resort.  Utilities are arranged, TV and internet being installed on the Friday morning.  I don’t think I’ve forgotten to change my address anywhere – I hope.

So, it is the weekend.  My dogs are patiently waiting to go to the dog park, so, their wish is my command.  Enjoy your weekend.

Today is day four on my Tour of Saskatchewan.  I am still in Saskatoon and heading to Prince Albert this morning for what I hope will be a quick stop.  I need to verify internet connectivity, setup a local printer and activate an iPhone.  I am hoping to be in and out in under and hour.

If that works out, I should hopefully be on the toad and heading home around 9:30am.  Well, the first stop in Alberta will be to get my dogs from boarding.  I am sure they will be happy to see me as I will be to see them.  The past few days have been a change of routine for us, dogs don’t typically care for change, neither do I, really.

It has been a productive trip.  When all is said and done, three offices will be up and running, albeit temporarily until they move into new accommodations.  I don’t know if a return trip will be in order or not.  If it is, the weather may not be as cooperative as it has been for this trip – winter will soon settle on the prairie and it can’t be a nasty beast.  I will take it one day at a time anyway.  If I do return, I will suggest a flight as opposed to 7+ hours of driving.

At least heading home later today I will gain an hour.  If I am able to leave by 9:30, I should get back to Calgary before dark – should…  Guess I will have to see.

Well, Saskatchewan, thanks for the hospitality.  If nothing else, I have learned how to spell Saskatchewan.  See ya…

My day in Regina was fairly smooth, I suppose, or at least I made it appear fairly smooth.  There were some issues with the laptops and the accounts that the new staff were using, I was able to work around those and get the users logged in.  We did a training session on basics, they were taking notes so that is good.  There is a lot to learn when you come to a new firm.

The 5 of us went to lunch at a pub close to the BDO office.  The current FRS Manager paid for everyone’s lunch, thanks.  I had a great Caesar salad with blackened chicken and a double mousse for dessert.  I didn’t get out of the office until after 5pm.

There was some confusion as to where I would be going next.  Originally, I was supposed to stay the night in Prince Alberta, Saskatchewan and go to that office on Wednesday.  Another tech was in Saskatoon and he said that the Prince Albert user (just one person) was there and would be there on Wednesday as well.  So, no need to go to Prince Albert.  I cancelled my hotel reservation in Prince Albert for Wednesday and Thursday night and instead am staying in Saskatoon until Thursday morning.  I then have to travel to Prince Albert to ensure all is well.  I am hoping to get out of Prince Albert around 10am on Thursday.  It will still make for a long day, to be sure.

Last night driving from Regina, I had visions of deer or worse yet a moose coming across the highway.  Thankfully, didn’t see any.  I didn’t see any gas stations coming out of Regina, so I drove about 60km north before coming to an Esso on the side of the highway, gas was 86 cents per litre, so not too bad at all.  I met my co-worker and we went to an up-scale(ish) restaurant that the hotel recommended.  We started with a side of chicken wings and I had a bacon burger and my companion had a steak – good food all around.

Blondie and Hera are in boarding until Thursday afternoon.  I am hoping that they are enjoying themselves.  It looks like a good place, although I am sure they don’t really like the change to their routine, I know how they feel.  It will be nice to be back in Calgary for sure.

Only one more full week before I move.  I will now be able to use some lieu time from this week to take Wednesday, November 30 off to prepare for my move.  I am already off the 1st and 2nd and then have the weekend to settle in.  I am sure it will be here before I know it.

The trip back home to Calgary from the IT Conference was pretty routine.  We left Collingwood at around 3:30 and got to Toronto’s Pearson airport about 2 hours later.  Security was a breeze to pass though, very quick.  A group of us heading to various points in Western Canada had dinner together which was nice.

The flight was uneventful which, I guess, is how we want all flights to be.  I watched The Force Awakens for kill some time – the other movie choices didn’t appeal to me.

A friend of mine picked me up at the airport and we stopped for a quick bite to eat.  I was up early, 4am, my body of course thinking it was 6am.  I will get back on schedule this weekend, I hope.

I picked up Blondie and Hera at 8am and I had two very happy dogs.  Hera never whines and she was crying in her excitement.  I got quite a few doggy kisses and now the dogs are napping – I am sure the week was tiring for them.

So, now I have a long weekend to relax and back to work on Monday.  Enjoy your weekend.