30 Hour Voyage
The trip here was an ordeal. From door to door, it definitely took more than 30 hours.
I was packing until 2 hours before my limo-taxi would arrive, after a couple winks (not quite 40) I took a shower, rushed downstairs and jumped in. Off to the Toronto Pearson International Airport.
I slept most of the way to Vancouver, aided by my decently sized business-class seat. Before we landed I woke up and took in the impressive beautiful view from my window. I had to get my thoughts together because shortly after landing I would have to get on a conference call with colleagues in Australia and the United States.
That done I collected my bags in US customs and sent them on their way again. Of course I couldn't have known at the time that would be the last time I would see my laptops.
Next stop, Honolulu. Unfortunately on these trips I always get in to Hawaii late at night, and the airport is totally dead. It's a horrible layover because it's like a slap in the face. It's a tease. It's warm weather and beautiful scenary just out of reach, a gentle spray of mist from an ocean you can't see caressing your face.
Getting back on the flight, I travelled to Sydney, and then after a brief layover I continued on to Brisbane.
After a short taxi ride, I arrived at a very nice 5 star Hilton Brisbane. The location is great, it's right off the "Queen Street Mall" - which is a pedestrian only street lined with stores and multi-level malls on either side.
Labels: Australia, Brisbane, business trip
Stolen Laptops
Well my bag finally showed up.
I could tell immediately that something was wrong, it was WAY too light. Of course, both of my laptops were missing, along with my external USB harddrive and DVDs that held backups of my work.
I'm royally fucked.
Thanks Air Canada, your $9000 flight just cost a hell of a lot more.
Labels: Australia, Brisbane, business trip
Surfers Paradise
Seeing that I had not yet received my bag, and thus a means of accomplishing work, I decided to take a train from Brisbane down the Gold Coast to Surfers Paradise.
There were tons of tourists, and many new luxury condo buildings being built and advertised - it was much more commercialized than I had guessed
It was such a mellow day, walking up and down the shore while listening to the waves break, smelling the fresh air, and feeling the brown-sugar like sand beneath my toes.
Labels: Australia, Brisbane, business trip
Lost Bag
Air Canada does it again.
While I travelled Toronto Vancouver Honolulu Sydney Brisbane, my bag somehow forked off to Los Angeles.
Now I don't have my laptop, which I need to do my work.
Great.
So... off to the beach?
Labels: Australia, Brisbane, business trip
Ghost Wars
Some books are easy reads, and others are difficult reads. Ghost Wars is definitely a difficult read. At Christmas 2005, I received Ghost Wars, and I just finished it on my way back from Seattle. I wasn't able to read it continuously because it took a good deal of conscious effort to keep all the Afghani and Arabian names (of both places and people) straight. Thus it was a long term companion on all of my business trips, and now as I pack for another trip I feel strange not placing this tome in my carry-on bag.
Ghost Wars by
Steve Coll is a very in depth and extremely detailed examination of the history of Afghanistan from the Russian invasion to September 10, 2001. There are hundreds of footnotes, often several per paragraph, backing up the facts laid out with various sources. There are a large cast of characters that weave their way in and out of the military and political conflicts that result in the Afghanistan of today. It was enlightening and I feel much more understanding of the complex obstacles and challenges faced in the region.
Don't be scared off from this book. If you can get past the foreign names this is the best chance you have of understanding what happened. Aren't you curious how the Taliban managed to stay in power as long as they did, why Pakistan didn't more actively suppress terrorists operating within and around its borders, and who Hamid Karzai really is?
Labels: book
Toronto Vancouver Seattle Vancouver Edmonton
I saw this face a couple times. It's in the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge at the Vancouver international airport, and looks spookier in person. The best thing about the lounge there is that they have showers, the VIP kind where you get a private room, hair-dryer, towels, and the floor is
dry.
Anyway, this face marked a mid-point in my journey as I travelled from Toronto to Seattle and took a brief rest in the lounge while waiting for my next flight.
Seattle unfortunately didn't have much to offer me because I barely saw it as I took my smokey rental car to Issaquah to prepare for my face-to-face with a potential customer. I worked for several hours, then met up with a colleague for a late lunch (my stomach told me emphatically that it was supper time on the east coast) to discuss the meeting. I worked until midnight and woke up at 5 am.
I showered, shaved, dressed, and headed down for breakfast - but not before I called my travel agent and arranged for my return flight to take a little stop-over in Edmonton.
Fast forward to after the meeting and my return to Seattle airport and I'm getting some trouble from security. It turns out that when the nice lady (Atsuko Satsumo if I recall) at the check-in counter wrote "
SSSS" on my ticket, that wasn't a good thing. I got special treatment to be certain. I got sent to a special line, I had 3 TSA staff waiting on me, it was great. One man even gave me a special full body massage. If you also want to enjoy the special pleasures of this experience you need only a BIC pen and the courage to try writing "
SSSS" on your ticket.
After all that excitement I definitely needed the shower in Vancouver, I didn't feel "clean" anymore. To be honest though, the TSA staff were very polite and cordial. I mean, the masseuse even told me that if I didn't feel comfortable at any point, we could go to a private room. I tried my best to feel comfortable.
So Edmonton is where I am now, and today I ventured down to Whyte Avenue to view "
Ice on Whyte" and the associated ice sculptures. Great stuff, it's so nice to be back even if it is just for the weekend.
Labels: business trip, Seattle, Washington
Club House Games - Final Play
The last in my series of progressive reviews regarding "Club House Games" has been published on
The Game Chair. Take a
look here for the stellar conclusion.
Also, has
this also scarred anyone else's childhood?
Labels: The Game Chair
New Year's Eve with D to the L I C T
Lobo and I strolled up to the place about 10:30, with snow everywhere, police cars everywhere, and the muffled shouts of joy and booming beats filtering through the building.
"Tickets?""I'm on the guest list." "What name?""It's under Derelict"
"Oh! Ok here, take a wrist band."And we were in. The place was packed, 3 levels and 4 completely different sound environments to partake. Derelict was going to start his rap session soon so we hunted him down and followed him up to his rap love nest. He belted out a good 30 minutes of tracks, with a good variety, and the crowd hooted after each song ended.
It didn't end there either. The mic was let to cool off and LICT jumped on the ones and twos to play his special new year's party picks. The room became absolutely packed as midnight neared... the beat paused and we counted down in unison
"Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one..."
"Woooooooooooooohooooo!"The beat picked back up and the party continued.
I'm going to upload some videos later, but you can
hear the tracks on DJ Derelict's site now.
One thing that was really cool is that we ran into Jacque, an old schoolmate that I've known since Grade 2. We headed out to eat with him and Owen - but Owen was drunk and didn't show up when we came to pick him up from the Shaw Convention Centre - ending up at McDonalds because Denny's was FULL TO THE BRIM with standing room only at the entrance.
The trip here was an ordeal. From door to door, it definitely took more than 30 hours.
I slept most of the way to Vancouver, aided by my decently sized business-class seat. Before we landed I woke up and took in the impressive beautiful view from my window. I had to get my thoughts together because shortly after landing I would have to get on a conference call with colleagues in Australia and the United States.
Next stop, Honolulu. Unfortunately on these trips I always get in to Hawaii late at night, and the airport is totally dead. It's a horrible layover because it's like a slap in the face. It's a tease. It's warm weather and beautiful scenary just out of reach, a gentle spray of mist from an ocean you can't see caressing your face.
Getting back on the flight, I travelled to Sydney, and then after a brief layover I continued on to Brisbane.
