1469 - Three's a Charm

I’m a bit late writing this week – I’ve been unexpectedly sent off to Seattle again, for no good reason. It’s now Wednesday, and I’m having trouble remembering last week given all that’s been going on this week. This week has been an adventure for sure, and I’m looking forward to writing about it whenever I get a chance!

Work last week was pretty normal – I continued on with some ordinary, ongoing tasks. On Monday, however, a gaping hole was opened at the end of the tunnel in the form of an offer to move over to internal development (from external development, for a lack of a better name). Internal development means no travel, and it also means interesting, challenging work that will see me develop significantly as a “software architect,” or whatever other similar term you wish to pin to me. It does, however, also mean working directly under B-PM, who can be difficult to work with. Even worse, the future plan for the company now includes a Florida office (in addition to the Boston one that recently opened), to which all external developers will be sent, leaving only us internal developers in Halifax, lead by B-PM.

I’m was looking forward to joining the fledgling internal development team April 1, but this has been pushed back due to my current trip. The ease with which the date was changed was a bit alarming, because B-SM had spent quite a bit of time driving it into our heads that internal development is of the utmost importance. In the end, I have to be content with the fact that anything can and will happen – I just have to decide whether I’m going to go along with it. I’m feeling positive right now.

Monday evening, I think I read. I don’t think I did much else. Tuesday evening, I picked up Dad at the train station, drove him home, then went down to meet JW at a Lebanese store for dinner. I had a samosa, two other completely different pastries, and tabouli.

After the meal, we decided to go to a talk being given at a nearby church on Christianity, Judaism, Helenistic (or Helenic – I’m not sure of the difference in the two) and Islamic religions and how they’ve influenced one another (I think). The talk focused quite a bit on architectural influences, and it included many tidbits of information that I found interesting. Perhaps the most interesting fact that I learned is that God was given no visual form at all until around the 12th century – before that, God was considered to be completely unfathomable. Nowadays, God is often portrayed as a grandfather figure, with the long beard, and so on. I kind of liked it the old way.

The talk was interesting in more than one way – sure, there were the topics themselves, but the entertainment value largely came from a distinct brand of physical comedy unintentionally delivered by the speaker. A rather large man, he had trouble navigating the spaces between the podium and the church pews. He constantly pounded on the pews while driving his points home; he leaned on them, causing them to bend, creak and crack; he spoke in a manner perfectly associated with a arts professor in a movie – short bursts of disjoined thoughts followed by stuttering silences. His demeanour was so outrageous and unexpected that I found myself unable to concentrate on the talk itself, at times – I missed entire sections of the talk expending all my energy trying not to burst out laughing. My inner right cheek is still recovering.

Wednesday evening was my second yoga class. I chatted with a few students outside the room waiting to go in. I was really feeling welcome, like part of the team, and I’m sad to be away now because I’m missing being a part of it. The regular teacher had returned, and she started off by bonding with each student – she asked each of us what yoga meant to us. The answers varied – one man said he felt a spiritual tie to it – which I later observed. One woman said she was giving it one last chance, having been discouraged with it in the past. Two others were suffering from various physical ailments, and they found that yoga both relieved (at times) and aggravated (at other times) their injuries. Another man (a former university calculus professor of mine) said that yoga had no effect on him – he felt no different before, during or after class. I said that I found it difficult, and that I liked it because I thought it would be useful for flexibility. I didn’t have a chance to mention that I liked the mental relaxation that it brought, as the teacher went off on a tangent about flexibility. The common theme was that the teacher always found some way to put a positive spin on the students’ comments, to a fault unfortunately. She seemed to refuse to admit that yoga is not for everyone, and that it’s okay for some of us to not take yoga.

The class was fast-paced and intense compared to the first one (my first). I found myself forgetting my breathing constantly, as I struggled to keep up with the verbal commands hurled at us. I didn’t do well on some moves – in fact, I had to take the easy way out on one (with a couple of other students). However, I was able to take up more advanced positions on others (compared to the other students).

After the class, I met two students, and we chatted about the class, and how each of us felt afterward. One older man identified with my inability to sit cross-legged, while another younger man had problems with his back. My back was a bit sore after class, and I think the class was directly related to a flare up later in the week.

It’s funny, because last week I joked about eating wings after class. Well, last week, that didn’t happen – I played pool instead. This time around, it did happen – in fact, TA, AD and I went for all-you-can-eat wings at Jungle Jim’s. I had about 30 wings, plus a drink. Afterward, we went to AD’s for grasshoppers and fuzzy navels.

On Thursday, I went to JW’s. Her brother came over for help with a toga costume for a toga party. While the two of them worked on the costume, I attempted to mend a hole in my jeans’ pocket. I took a patch, put it around the hole, and sewed around the outer part of the patch. I then asked JW whether I should go all the way around, and she said “yes,” so I continued around, thus cutting off a portion of the pocket from use. Now, I don’t think I did anything wrong. I can still use my pocket – the job got done. However, I was heckled incessantly by both JW and her brother about it – of course, I should’ve sewed the patch inside the pocket instead of through the entire thing. But that would’ve been tough, especially for someone not good at sewing – and I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out anyway – sure, it might break again, but if it does, I’ll just move on to another pair of jeans and give these ones to charity – I’m sure someone else will be able to fix them properly (how long can I make a sentence using hyphens?).

Friday at work, AN and I (as well as B-CC and B-AC) were asked to go to Seattle again by our client there. The CEO of the company decided that B-CC couldn’t go because he’d have to go across the border by car (no passport), and that would take too long. Then the reason turned into not taking a chance given the new border crossing rules (which clearly indicate that a passport is not required). Then the reason was simply that the CEO didn’t want it that way. Then the reason was that the purchase order only had room on it for two people anyway. Then there was enough reason for all four of us, but B-CC still couldn’t go. Then there was the fact that there was no real reason for me to go, but this client is so important that apparently they get what they want no matter what (what will happen when I am pulled off of their projects?). Finally, B-CC was given the go-ahead to cross the border, and that night, we all booked our flights. It was a total farce – we were told different things by different people. Excuses were made because no one wanted to deal with the CEO. Questions were sidestepped. Obvious solutions to problems were dismissed for no good reason. Ultimately, however, everything worked out.

AN and I booked our tickets, car rental and hotel at his place after work. AD and BD came over later on – we sat around talking and being tired.

Saturday morning, I packed my bags. For lunch, I went to my grandmother’s, where I had subs while watching the CBC news. After that, I went to visit my parents for a few minutes. While there, I sent off Dad’s annual maple syrup list – each year, his customers get real maple syrup from company land in Quebec. I think I still have bottles from the last two years, though it is really good (I just don’t like to have Eggos or pancakes for breakfast).

After that, I went home to finish packing and take a nap. JW called before I really got to sleep, and we headed toward Sambro, ultimately winding up at Peggy’s Cove, through no fault of our own. It was a sunny, bright day, and there were waves. It was great, and we had a blast walking around on the rocks. We had a nice sit in a sheltered area where it was warm – it felt almost like summer for the first time in a long time. The sound of the waves was awesome, and I’m kind of disappointed that I can’t imagine the exact sound now. I do remember clearly the bright sunlight on the water, and I remember the rock I stood on for a few moments while I listened to the ocean. It was funny, because we saw only a couple of people while sitting in our secluded spot – but when we stood up, we found that there were twenty people within thirty feet of us!

After Peggy’s Cove, we went grocery shopping. I tried to get a haircut, but the hair place was closed. So, instead, I tagged along while JW shopped. After the groceries, we went to King Wah’s for supper – we had a pasty version of what might have been called orange beef. We also had an almond vegetable mix that was tasty.

After dinner, we watched Brother Bear, one of the last hand-drawn animated Disney films. It was about the native people of Alaska and their spiritual beliefs, in particular its tie to nature. The main character inadvertently causes the death of his brother when he tries to go kill a bear who has stolen some fish. He hunts down and kills the bear shortly afterward. His brother, from the afterlife, turns him into a bear himself, so that he may live among bears and see that they are not the cold killers he’d considered them to be. More importantly, he comes across a baby bear, and we later learn that the baby is the child of the bear he’d killed. He reveals this terrible secret to the baby, but he is able to convince the baby that he is genuinely sorry, and he ultimately chooses to remain a bear to take care of the baby. Also featured throughout the movie are two bumbling moose played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, as Bob and Doug MacKenzie. It was a good movie, in that I like the positive focus put on nature – I’ve always felt that we are no better than other animals, and I like the idea that we are all on the same level. The movie also succeeded in making me want to see the northern lights – I’m not worried about seeing them – I’ll get there soon enough. Finally, I liked that the movie portrayed the world as being more visually vivid through the eyes of animals, suggesting that they are more connected with it – whereas we see nature through a fog that is our detachment from it.

Sunday was travel day (I resume writing this the following Saturday – such is travel!). I left JW’s around seven in the morning to pick up AN, then swap cars and have Mum drive us to the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time for our 8:45 flight. Instead of waiting in a huge line at Tim Horton’s, we got some weird juices and pastries at Starbucks.

The flight to Toronto left on time, was pretty smooth, and arrived on time. In Toronto, we had to rush to a nearby gate, only to find a small delay in departure time. We used the time wisely, scouring the airport for canned energy drinks, which have sort of been a theme of this trip so far, as unhealthy as they surely are. We gave up and bought iced teas instead, sweetened (unlike all iced tea in Seattle – remember this if you like iced tea and come!).

The flight to Vancouver left about twenty minutes late, but arrived ten minutes early. I spent the first part of the flight reading a weather book JW had given me. The first little bit was interesting, but the bulk of the book was not about weather, but rather things related to weather, such as clothing, housing, etc. It had many anecdotes from the author’s life – it was truly a book in the maritime style. Still, I did enjoy reading the parts that were about weather.

After the book, they showed “Casino Royale”, the latest Bond flick. I had a bit of trouble following the story, and I think a lot of people did – AN had seen the movie in the fall, and he said that many crucial scenes had been cut – the movie was exactly 120 minutes, after all. Probably the maximum for an airline movie or something.

A lot of the movie was “guy flick.” I couldn’t help but think about “Love Actually” throughout a ridiculous action scene that involved jumping from crane to crane on the tops of skyscrapers. It was really over the top. The movie took advantage of the popularity of Texas Hold ‘Em poker – there were endless scenes of poker action. No one could ever win a hand with a pair of queens or something… it ALWAYS had to be someone winning with a straight flush over a full house, for example. Again, totally ridiculous! Of course, Bond misjudges the bad guy, gets knocked out, then wins the whole thing when another player stakes him back in the game.

The Bond girl, whom we think is good, and whom Bond falls in love with, betrays him in doing a deed for the villain, in order to save the life of her real love (NOT Bond). Not everything is resolved, and the movie ends with Bond attempting to unravel that storyline. Overall, a mediocre movie with a few good moments. I stopped my torrent downloading it when I got to Seattle 

In Vancouver, we got some snacks and got on the flight to Seattle. The highlight of the flight was a hyperactive aging-male flight attendant. He licked his fingers before suavely motioning how to unbuckle your seatbelt. He wished those of us continuing on good luck, and then somehow twisted his words around to effectively say, “I hope your next flight is longer than this one” (our flight was thirty minutes) – implying that he hoped the plane didn’t crash. He went back and forth, handing out 95mL drinks and 40g snack packages until every person had had as much as they wanted (this is very unusual, and in fact it was the most food/drink we got on any flight).

We arrived in Seattle on time, got our bags rather easily, then drove straight to the hotel without making any mistakes (we’re getting to know the way now). After some unpacking, we went to Fred Meyer for beer and snacks, then to Canyon’s next to the hotel for dinner. This was to be the begin of my demise, health-wise. I had a “healthy” Thai wrap with rice, peanut sauce and various veggies. It was pretty good. I also had a couple of towering drinks.

After dinner, we were both tired, so we went back to the hotel and to bed at nine. I already know the next entry is going to be fun to write, because I’ve already lived all but one day of it, and surprisingly, I am still alive… barely!


I’m currently listening to: I Believe in Santa Claus by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

Movies watched this week: Brother Bear, Casino Royale