Now that I'm home in the 'not working' groove and most thoroughly enjoying being temporarily retired….it is time for an update. Well, actually there has been a need for an update for a while but as it often does…..life got in the way. I have however, unpacked my duffle bag, reorganized my action packers / stacked them in the spare room and stored my kamiks for their off season in the freezer. No need to be thinking about paid work if you're not planning on doing any for about 12 weeks. And if you are employed, here is a helpful quote on the left for dealing with all the politics. It's listed online as a Polish proverb hmmm
At last update I was throwing my stuff into tote pans, giving away anything that didn't fit in, looking forward to visiting with my daughter on the Edmonton stopover and hoping to make my connections home ahead of Hurricane Arthur which was predicted to head up the eastern seaboard just after my arrival. The trip home went (considering the above plan) pretty smoothly. I was out of the apartment in good time and over to the airport to check in and wait for departure. No need to do a second version of the difficult farewells, one set of tears is enough. Some distractions by local people and a final heartfelt goodbye and thank you from one of the elders who always expresses his appreciation for "these nurses who come to help us here" on the local radio station, as he was awaiting a departure 20 minutes later with another airline. Beautiful day for flying as we lifted off over the community and towards Yellowknife. A quick trip through security, bathroom stop and then into the lineup for boarding. I find another CHN from NS getting on the flight so she comes to sit next to me and fill me in on all the news (gossip) of the Government of Nunavut casual CHN world. She is a good source of all that is hilarious, tragic and downright scary with GN - with her Cape Breton roots she is as good as any live theatre. In to Edmonton and the electrician daughter awaits at the bottom of the escalator with a cup of tea. "Isn't she beautiful?" I say to my co-worker? She agrees and then says "OMG I'm waving to your daughter as if I know her I've been north too long!" A real nice touch to not have to wait on the shuttle and have a good strong daughter to heave three large pieces of baggage onto a cart and in to her truck for you. Over to the hotel to check in, store the duffle in the freezer (char fillets) for the night and head down to the sports bar for a snack and some beverages. Nice chance to catch up on the news. Daughter # 1 is returning to college for her final set of classes this fall and will shortly be a journeyman/woman/person - whatever the term - she will be more independent in her work. Soft bed and good sleep then up to go and source some breakfast at Cora's before the flight. All that fresh fruit is such a treat! Never long enough for the visits but I have to remind myself that most folks in eastern Canada don't get to see their western residing offspring six times per year.
I decided to use one of my guest passes for the Maple Leaf Lounge at the airport and was wowed by all the 'free' snacks, liquor and quiet there. On to the flight and seated next to a HUGE Newfoundlander who was going home for a family reunion. He'd 'forgotten' he had a flight in the morning so had to catch the one after lunch. He smelled strongly of ETOH, snored loudly, burped and farted frequently, took up all of his seat and the aisle plus half of mine and had no boundaries ex. leaned over me and put the window shade up as I napped - clearly did not have the Flight Etiquette 101 course. Other than that…I enjoyed the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel - worth watching. As we landed a drama unfolded in the row behind us where a couple was clearly not making their connection to Munich and yelling at each other over who booked the short connection "just pull your skirt down" missy says to her boyfriend, "do you want a xanax? we only have enough for one a day remember" as they push their way to the front of the plane to exit with 20 minutes to make it to the next flight. Sure, that's going to happen. Another stop in the Maple Leaf Lounge in Pearson - it was a 10 minute walk from the gate to the domestic lounge so I was determined. The stroll was worth it as it was much larger and more completely provisioned. Couscous salad, two soups of the day, hummus and pita crackers, multiple choices for wine, fresh fruit , chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies - yes please. Enjoyed in the comfort of large soft leather armchairs, and good conversation of a three year old from Truro who when I asked if she and her mother were travelling on flight # 624, replied "no, we're going on a plane". Ah, a tired old nurse could get used to this respite in the frantic of plane/terminal travel.
The usual delays on the tarmac in Toronto so behind about thirty minutes. An uneventful flight, a foggy homecoming and then the lag as the Captain says "just waiting for the ground crew to get into position here". Now, I'm pretty sure it occurred to most of us on the completely full plane that with an extra half hour to get ready, we might've expected a more efficient welcome. As we all stretched and stood blearily, my cell rang and someone with heavily accented English asked for me and where I was. It was the prearranged taxi driver (who turned out to be a Masters in Computer Science student helping out the owner - think Raj on Big Bang Theory and you'd be close) wondering about the delay (turns out he had gotten stood up last weekend with the same gig). I gratefully retrieve the luggage and head towards the ground transportation booth to have them page my cab. As I head outside to look for the large sedan which usually awaits me, I am unable to locate it. My phone rings again and much like an episode of Mission Impossible I find myself following the instructions "I'm in the green Honda Accord, I had trouble with the thing on my car, just walk forward, more forward and across, near the stop sign" in the pea soup fog until I realize my student cabbie is searching for the term crosswalk. Aha there he is, although he appears a bit flustered as he has his head down and is clearly planning a quick exit. As he figures out how to fit two large action packers and a rolling duffle into his compact vehicle, he requests that I "sit in the front here" and I reach for the door handle. I then notice the reason for his discomfort. A large, loud middle aged male is sitting on the back of a red, crew cab, jacked up 4 wheel drive truck and he is having lots to say "you can't park there, you'll have to move that car, what if someone with a handicapped sticker comes?" and such various other opinions at top volume. Now, I am a strong proponent of only those so designated parking in disabled spots but at 1 am, there's not likely to be any competition for this space. I look at the red neck and say loudly to my cabbie "who is that the parking police?" which causes him even greater consternation as he puts his head down and quickly jams my baggage into the car silently. I take a step towards the loud mouth - clearly he's not as stupid as he appears as he immediately ceases his running commentary - then step back and into the Honda. I search for (and don't locate) a disabled sticker on the schmuck's truck - not surprised. My non confrontational cabbie is freaked out by the driving in the fog so I suggest he uses the low beams, he clutches the wheel and peers out through the windshield as we do a zippy 60 km over to Middle Sackville. I suggest that I will be doing the speed limit (or a tad more) on the 103 as it would take days to get home otherwise and if I hit a critter…so be it. He is amazed at my bravery. I am dropped at my car and start my homeward trek.
I arrive home at 4 am just as the wind and rain are beginning and crawl into my OWN bed. A few minutes after I have slipped off to sleep at 5 am I hear muttering and cussing from the other side of the bed as the shore captain climbed out to begin dealing with generators as the power was out. The next time we flicked a switch without gas powered generated electricity was 3 pm on Monday. In what has become an epic fail by Nova Scotia Power, many areas of the province were powerless for almost a week. Imagine if it really was a hurricane and not just a tropical storm as it petered out. The internet was down until Wed afternoon in a classic 'it was the other guys fault' Eastlink vs NSP match. In the hurry up and wait for power the only winners were the gas stations as generators hummed. We managed to keep our storage freezer as well as fridge contents intact and were able to have running water and lights with the noisy generator. Our friends from out west arrived just an hour after the electricity was restored and so the Plan B of them being housed at a mutual friend was modified to include a joint supper on two evenings. Lots of catching up and it was just like the old days. ahhhh
Spent some time with my soon to be parrot head travel buddy as we sorted out the online course she is doing for CCA (continuing care assistant) and let me just say that if it were me taking the course they would get an earful for the crappy setup. The website looks like someone's child in grade 8 did it for a project - it is very difficult to use - we accidentally located some areas and apparently missed several other sections as her 'navigator' asked where those were when she submitted for the section. Better her than me. A busy week with a lovely sunny weekend where we made plans to do many things - go watch a movie for example but….haven't made it there yet. The three daughters spent the weekend at the Craven Country Music Festival outside of Regina and by accounts a good time was had by all. The two oldest are now off camping near the Montana border for a couple of days while the youngest headed back north.
And of course the planning for the Jimmy Buffett concert is ramping up as there are only three more sleeps remaining until I cross another entry off the bucket list. Friday is up early to drive to the airport, flight to Boston, across to Mansfield (outside of Boston) for the weekend. Saturday the tailgate parties begin by 10 am and the concert starts at 8pm so we'll be doing a more than 12 hr. shift - which both of us have training for. Sunday will be recovery day and retracing our steps with a 6 pm flight back. It's all about making the memories.
Speaking of the logistics of travel….yesterday was a hateful marathon of planning with the life partner. I have been gently reminding (nagging) him on a regular basis that we should complete the plans as only the flights across the pond, the vacation week in the Algarve, Portugal and the Adriatic cruise were confirmed. What began as a simple exercise "you book the hotel for Venice after the cruise" which in my estimation should have taken a couple of minutes, stretched into three hours and four calls to the call centre for support by himself. Can you say PAINFUL? So, nothing to do but push on and with some encouragement, mister managed to book a rental car and a hotel for our final night in Lisbon before we return to Canada, while I booked a hotel for our first night in Portugal (a castle/convent)
and return flight from Lisbon to Venice. Mind you, if the worst thing you can think of to complain about is flying Air France through Paris vs flying non stop Portugal to Italy, all is well. And it is an ambitious crusade. The travel partner did allow today that "we should start planning earlier for such adventures". We have decided that the aspect of travel which I find most positive is the anticipation and research and for him, it's turning off the cell phone as his adult ADD does not lend itself to sitting and planning. He does however enjoy playing with Google Map and checking out the scenic fishing villages so is beginning to get ramped up with six weeks remaining.
So to close….50 life hacks - my fav is #12:
Notes for creative writing - note to self to get in gear with the writing:
