Well I have left the ridiculous cold of Canada, but not without a huge amount of sadness, I have made so many amazing friends during my travels, I'm going to miss them all, but hopefully I'll get to catch up with them all again.
But first things first, my last few weeks in Canada. Had a couple of major events, the first was Aussie day, this was definatly an experience. Given we were along time behind time wise everyone in banff thought it appropriate to celebrate both on the australian 26th, and the canadian 26th. Kat, Jen, Dan, Sarah and myself arrived up in banff nice and early on the 25th, and went snowboarding/skiing at Lake Louise. This was a first for me, hadn't snowboarded there before, it was pretty icy, but I had probably my best day on the hill, was brimming with confidence, letting myself go on the blue runs, awesome. There wasn't as many jumps on the normal hills there, but got some awesome speed. Well I thought it was :D That night we headed out for a few drinks, its a bit hazy in spots, but a good night was had by all. Next morning we headed out to get some food for the afternoon festivities, while at safeway (coles) Darcy, a friend from calgary won a 26" LCD HD Tv, so cool. From there I managed to find a bottle of Bundy on sale, and the festivities began. We headed to Riannah's place (sorry if thats not the right spelling). Almost everyone had some sort of Aussie merchandise on. Some took it to the extreme, going from mild mannered liftee by night/australia day they became Captain OZ *insert super hero music here*. The boys had also set up a small snowboarding park in the backyard, the back yard being roughly4m x5m in size... but they had boxes and a jump in from the patio. The rest of the details of the night shall remain locked away in the vault of the less sober...
Before I talk about the parts of my farewell party I do remember I would like to make quick mention of a wings place we went to. This place is crazy, it had 40 different types of wings, yep 40. How nuts is that. Some of the flavours included Orange and Ginger, Pineapple curry, Cajun, Caribbean, and heaps more. They also do the same number of flavours in chicken balls. Apparently there is more of the chicken used over here than at home, and they also have wierd chickens :O.
On the 31st I had my farewell party. We started at Murphs, a pub near our place, some of did eventually move onto cowboys which is the bit I don't remember, so can't really tell you what happened there. At murphs I was surprised to see a few people turn up who I definatly wasn't expecting. A few couriers who I had only spoken to in passing if at all turned up, and wished me all the best in my travels. I also had some from work arrive, and then alot of other people I've met along the way.
Finally the day when I was scheduled to head home arrived. I was sad and happy at the same time. I had a couple of things to sort out, change my coin, close the bank account, and send a couple of jackets home. I managed to save $40 on the cost of sending the jackets home, by stuffing them into a plastic bag. I was a little concerned my bags weight would be too high, but I was only a kilo over, so was let through. Kat, Jen, Dan and Sarah all came out to the airport to see me off, I'm going to miss them all heaps, they have been my family in Canada. We all had a finaly drink and dinner at the airport, before I went through security, and prepared to board my plane. There were a couple of tears, and hugs all round. I have no doubt I'll be seeing each of them again.
The flight was good, I had 3 seats to myself, but was still unable to get more than a couple of hours sleep. So I've been having issues in london. Oh well. I'll update one last time before I close off the Canada Blog. So keep checking back here.
Narco out eh.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
My Time here is coming to an end
This will be close to my last post for the Canada leg of my trip. As most of you know I'm heading home for a short holiday, then moving on to Merry 'ol England for a while. But more on that later. Now for some more catch up on what I've been doing in Calgary.
Lets start with ummm, Christmas/Boxing Day. Being my first christmas away from home, there was some homesickness, but thanks to the great friends I've made over here. Twas a great experience, 8 Aussies sitting around having turkey etc. Kat cooked up a storm for us, a veritable feast. I made puddings, they turned out well, one is still hanging in the cupboard, for when I want it. Dan had ordered the cricket on the internet, so we streamed it down, and onto the TV, was great to see Warne get his 700th wicket. Presents were open, and chocolate was also consumed, along with many a brew. We were trying to emulate the aussie temperature, so the heater was turned up, and we were all in our boardshorts, and t's. To try to keep the mood I was having Coconut rum and Pineapple Juice. Very Tropical.
Boxing day saw us all begin out journey out to Banff for the week. First night in Banff turned out to be a big one. So snowboarding was a little bit late the following morning. The night was interesting, got home around 3:30ish, the details will remain hidden forever locked in the vault. But it was fun none the less. Starting to get the hang of this snowboarding gig. Still got alot more to go. Still having my fair share of falls, I can remember a good one, went over a jump, but forgot to lean forward to so the landing would be smooth. Ended up landing on my back and side, but just before impact, I had that whole slow motion thing, where you just know its going to hurt. It did, not as bad as it could have. The helmet once again paid for itself.
Had a few more nights out while in Banff culminating in a late one for New Years. We all went to Wild Bills for New Years, the girls came up with the idea to all have shirts made with our name etc on them, so we were all dressed in the same thing. Got quite a few looks from others, and quite a few comments. I forgot to mention but we've had quite a few extra's living with us recently. All Kat's and Jen's friends. First to arrive was JC, a mate of theirs from Perth, soon after was Lee another mate of theirs from Perth. John and Phil both came over from London, Jen met them both on her Journey through South America. John is an Aussie who has been living in London for a while, and Phil is born and bred UK, not sure which part though. We also had Todd come up for New Years a friend from in Calgary, and Darcy came up for a couple of days between Christmas and New Years. Anywho back to the story. We all started with dinner at the Old Spagetti Factory, where the waiter took great pains to always refer to us by the name imprinted on our shirts. From here we went to Wild Bills, its a Cowboy bar, seems to be alot of those around this area. Anywho upon entry we all got given hats/hair accessories. The men all got top hat type things, the women head bands with feathers. Very elegant...lol. Anyway I was a bit short on money, so didn't have as many drinks, which turned out to be a good thing. Snowboarding the next morning would have been very interesting if I had have. Anywho to cut a long story short. A great night was had by all, though Lee headed home early.
We were all staying in a hotel in Banff, with a spa, sauna, and outdoor heated swimming pool. Quite comfortable. We also had a GMC Envoy, SUV, managed to fit 7 people with our luggage. and given the price we were all very pleased with it.
I've been going snowboarding a fair bit recently. Almost every weekend up until christmas. Cam and Roudy, who both work at Sunshine have been awesome to me, Roudy letting me crash at his place, and Cam setting me up with Friends of Sunshine passes for the mountain. Both are friends of Jen's from Perth. We all get along well, and have had quite a few big nights out. All the bars/clubs in Banff have drink specials, as low a $1.50 high balls (spirts). Lots of fun, and a bit of mischief. But only harmless I assure you :D Will be going up to see the guys again before I leave, the three of us (Kat, Jen and Myself) are going up for Australia Day, which will be like my last Hurrah in Canada.
Had our work Christmas party on Jan 6th, I know I know, a bit late, but everywhere was booked solid before Christmas. The venue was a pub called Schanks, a golf themed bar, complete with mini golf, virtual golf, pool tables, and video games. An awesome night was had by all, the highlights were catching up with Merideth, doing the Schanks Minature Olympics which consisted of doing 4 events, all while under the influence, and having my arse spanked by a young lady on her Bachelorette party. I had spoken to the group earlier, they were all dressed in prom styled dresses which I thought was a little odd for a golf themed pub. When the bride to be had gone 1 over par on one of the holes, a wheel had to be spun and the punishment dealt out. The punishment was either two shots, or spank someone else in the bar, and I was that lucky/unlucky man, depending on how you look at it. I'm sure the photos they took will be a great lasting memory for them. Definatly something for the wedding album :D.
Anywho thats enough for now. I have put a few pics of my snowboarding adventures on my photo gallery, along with some photos from other parts of my trip...
Photo Albums
Narco out
Lets start with ummm, Christmas/Boxing Day. Being my first christmas away from home, there was some homesickness, but thanks to the great friends I've made over here. Twas a great experience, 8 Aussies sitting around having turkey etc. Kat cooked up a storm for us, a veritable feast. I made puddings, they turned out well, one is still hanging in the cupboard, for when I want it. Dan had ordered the cricket on the internet, so we streamed it down, and onto the TV, was great to see Warne get his 700th wicket. Presents were open, and chocolate was also consumed, along with many a brew. We were trying to emulate the aussie temperature, so the heater was turned up, and we were all in our boardshorts, and t's. To try to keep the mood I was having Coconut rum and Pineapple Juice. Very Tropical.
Boxing day saw us all begin out journey out to Banff for the week. First night in Banff turned out to be a big one. So snowboarding was a little bit late the following morning. The night was interesting, got home around 3:30ish, the details will remain hidden forever locked in the vault. But it was fun none the less. Starting to get the hang of this snowboarding gig. Still got alot more to go. Still having my fair share of falls, I can remember a good one, went over a jump, but forgot to lean forward to so the landing would be smooth. Ended up landing on my back and side, but just before impact, I had that whole slow motion thing, where you just know its going to hurt. It did, not as bad as it could have. The helmet once again paid for itself.
Had a few more nights out while in Banff culminating in a late one for New Years. We all went to Wild Bills for New Years, the girls came up with the idea to all have shirts made with our name etc on them, so we were all dressed in the same thing. Got quite a few looks from others, and quite a few comments. I forgot to mention but we've had quite a few extra's living with us recently. All Kat's and Jen's friends. First to arrive was JC, a mate of theirs from Perth, soon after was Lee another mate of theirs from Perth. John and Phil both came over from London, Jen met them both on her Journey through South America. John is an Aussie who has been living in London for a while, and Phil is born and bred UK, not sure which part though. We also had Todd come up for New Years a friend from in Calgary, and Darcy came up for a couple of days between Christmas and New Years. Anywho back to the story. We all started with dinner at the Old Spagetti Factory, where the waiter took great pains to always refer to us by the name imprinted on our shirts. From here we went to Wild Bills, its a Cowboy bar, seems to be alot of those around this area. Anywho upon entry we all got given hats/hair accessories. The men all got top hat type things, the women head bands with feathers. Very elegant...lol. Anyway I was a bit short on money, so didn't have as many drinks, which turned out to be a good thing. Snowboarding the next morning would have been very interesting if I had have. Anywho to cut a long story short. A great night was had by all, though Lee headed home early.
We were all staying in a hotel in Banff, with a spa, sauna, and outdoor heated swimming pool. Quite comfortable. We also had a GMC Envoy, SUV, managed to fit 7 people with our luggage. and given the price we were all very pleased with it.
I've been going snowboarding a fair bit recently. Almost every weekend up until christmas. Cam and Roudy, who both work at Sunshine have been awesome to me, Roudy letting me crash at his place, and Cam setting me up with Friends of Sunshine passes for the mountain. Both are friends of Jen's from Perth. We all get along well, and have had quite a few big nights out. All the bars/clubs in Banff have drink specials, as low a $1.50 high balls (spirts). Lots of fun, and a bit of mischief. But only harmless I assure you :D Will be going up to see the guys again before I leave, the three of us (Kat, Jen and Myself) are going up for Australia Day, which will be like my last Hurrah in Canada.
Had our work Christmas party on Jan 6th, I know I know, a bit late, but everywhere was booked solid before Christmas. The venue was a pub called Schanks, a golf themed bar, complete with mini golf, virtual golf, pool tables, and video games. An awesome night was had by all, the highlights were catching up with Merideth, doing the Schanks Minature Olympics which consisted of doing 4 events, all while under the influence, and having my arse spanked by a young lady on her Bachelorette party. I had spoken to the group earlier, they were all dressed in prom styled dresses which I thought was a little odd for a golf themed pub. When the bride to be had gone 1 over par on one of the holes, a wheel had to be spun and the punishment dealt out. The punishment was either two shots, or spank someone else in the bar, and I was that lucky/unlucky man, depending on how you look at it. I'm sure the photos they took will be a great lasting memory for them. Definatly something for the wedding album :D.
Anywho thats enough for now. I have put a few pics of my snowboarding adventures on my photo gallery, along with some photos from other parts of my trip...
Photo Albums
Narco out
Monday, December 11, 2006
Calgary
Well its been a very long time since I have last posted, and I haven't really told you anything about what I've been up to in Calgary.
I'm still working as a courier, I really enjoy it, the money isn't so great, but tis good to be outdoors all day. Though lately we have had some ridiculous temperatures, with wind chill we got down to -42 one day, and late -30's another. Definatly not when you want to be riding a bike. I had 5 layers on for that. But I can at least now say I have done it. I've only got another 6 weeks left of the courier trade, then its a week of partying then headin home for a holiday.
Hmm what else have I been up to in Calgary, well I've moved in with a couple of Aussie girls, awesome people. We share a 1 bedroom apartment, I'm again sleeping on the living room floor, but I have the protection of a couch for those private moments...lol. Anywho, we have a pretty regular wings night, though it can change from week to week, but we do always manage to go at least once a week. My current High Score for wings consumed is 46, though some of them were a bit smaller, but in my defence I did have a dessert after that.
Hmmm, this is going back a while, but I have floated down the elbow river, which runs through calgary, the 4 and a half hour journey was filled with crazy white water approaching a couple of centimetres in some points... My vessel was the most sea worthy you'll ever see, and bright green, so as not to be hit by any other passing ships. I had 4 smaller vessels accompanying me, all following like little rum and coke ducks. It was a great day, though I did break my phone, *shrugs*, apparently they aren't waterproof, who'd have known.
I'm regulary going rock climbing, usually 2-3 times a week, used to be 3 everyweek, but snowboarding has taken over a bit, but more on that shortly. Mostly Jess and I just go bouldering, which is like climbing, except not as high, and doesn't require a harness. I do have my own stuff now, which is cool. I've started working on some of the overhang problems, and I'm slowly getting through them. Strength is still the main issue, But I can tell I'm getting stronger, when I first started there was no way I could have done anything even remotely over hang related.
Thanks giving was a great time, I got lucky and had two :D. Jess and her family invited me over for a traditional Canadian Thanks Giving. The amount of food was crazy, turkey, ham, veggies, and I got to have my first Pumpkin Pie, was an interesting experience. Quite nice, had whipped cream on it. Us aussies also got together and had our own version. Thanks giving is a pretty big thing over here, there is even a channel on the tv dedicated to thanks giving, it just has a turkey, which is occassionaly bassted, or they put logs on the fire in the background. Incredibly entertaining. Dan, Sarah, Jen, Kat and myself all had a beautiful turkey, cooked by sarah, followed by apple crumble, just thinking about it makes me drool again. We also got through a few bottles of wine. But on the whole a great night was had :D.
We also got together for the AFL grand final, a local pub, Bottlescrew Bills, that night also happened to be Dan's birthday. We all yelled ourselves hoarse. Kat and Jen are from Perth so they were quite into it. WE have made trips to Bottlescrews a fairly regular event, they have a passport thingy where you drink 80 beers from around the world, and as you reach milestones you get free stuff. So far I'm up to 20, got alot to go between now and the 2nd of feb.
I got a few more things that have happened but I'll save them for the next update.
Narco out.
I'm still working as a courier, I really enjoy it, the money isn't so great, but tis good to be outdoors all day. Though lately we have had some ridiculous temperatures, with wind chill we got down to -42 one day, and late -30's another. Definatly not when you want to be riding a bike. I had 5 layers on for that. But I can at least now say I have done it. I've only got another 6 weeks left of the courier trade, then its a week of partying then headin home for a holiday.
Hmm what else have I been up to in Calgary, well I've moved in with a couple of Aussie girls, awesome people. We share a 1 bedroom apartment, I'm again sleeping on the living room floor, but I have the protection of a couch for those private moments...lol. Anywho, we have a pretty regular wings night, though it can change from week to week, but we do always manage to go at least once a week. My current High Score for wings consumed is 46, though some of them were a bit smaller, but in my defence I did have a dessert after that.
Hmmm, this is going back a while, but I have floated down the elbow river, which runs through calgary, the 4 and a half hour journey was filled with crazy white water approaching a couple of centimetres in some points... My vessel was the most sea worthy you'll ever see, and bright green, so as not to be hit by any other passing ships. I had 4 smaller vessels accompanying me, all following like little rum and coke ducks. It was a great day, though I did break my phone, *shrugs*, apparently they aren't waterproof, who'd have known.
I'm regulary going rock climbing, usually 2-3 times a week, used to be 3 everyweek, but snowboarding has taken over a bit, but more on that shortly. Mostly Jess and I just go bouldering, which is like climbing, except not as high, and doesn't require a harness. I do have my own stuff now, which is cool. I've started working on some of the overhang problems, and I'm slowly getting through them. Strength is still the main issue, But I can tell I'm getting stronger, when I first started there was no way I could have done anything even remotely over hang related.
Thanks giving was a great time, I got lucky and had two :D. Jess and her family invited me over for a traditional Canadian Thanks Giving. The amount of food was crazy, turkey, ham, veggies, and I got to have my first Pumpkin Pie, was an interesting experience. Quite nice, had whipped cream on it. Us aussies also got together and had our own version. Thanks giving is a pretty big thing over here, there is even a channel on the tv dedicated to thanks giving, it just has a turkey, which is occassionaly bassted, or they put logs on the fire in the background. Incredibly entertaining. Dan, Sarah, Jen, Kat and myself all had a beautiful turkey, cooked by sarah, followed by apple crumble, just thinking about it makes me drool again. We also got through a few bottles of wine. But on the whole a great night was had :D.
We also got together for the AFL grand final, a local pub, Bottlescrew Bills, that night also happened to be Dan's birthday. We all yelled ourselves hoarse. Kat and Jen are from Perth so they were quite into it. WE have made trips to Bottlescrews a fairly regular event, they have a passport thingy where you drink 80 beers from around the world, and as you reach milestones you get free stuff. So far I'm up to 20, got alot to go between now and the 2nd of feb.
I got a few more things that have happened but I'll save them for the next update.
Narco out.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Ottawa, Toronto, and Kitchner
I know its been a long near intolerable time since I last updated. I'm going to have to start updating more often, because I'm forgetting things I've done. Anywho, mid september saw me head back across the country to catch up with some friends from the other side...doo dee doo doo doo dee doo doo (Thats supposed to be that scary music you hear in old horror films). Anywho First stop was Ottawa, for a wedding reception. A mate Andrew and his Beautiful Mrs Sarah, had married a while back ( a while being I can't remember the date... sorry). But a reception was in order for those who were unable to attend the wedding (myself and others). I arrived late on the friday night, having only done a half day at work. Andrew met me at the airport, with his mrs, and brother. Given it was already after 12 when we got back to his place. Time to sleep.
Next morning we had a few preparations to make before the evening. Grocery shopping, alcohol shopping etc, all the essentials for a good party. The reception was in the party room of the apartment block Andrew and Sarah live in. Was a great party, everyone had an awesome time, and some of the guys who I worked with at Dell were there, so it was a great oppotunity to catch up with them also. Many drinks were consumed, more by some than others but still great fun.
A few sore heads made themselves known the next morning, but that didn't stop us from heading to an awesome place for brekky. Corra's (I think thats the name) does these amazing crepes, and fruit. Chocolate and Banana, on a crepe. So good. Did I mention SO GOOD.
Anyway, Next day I headed down to Toronto via the train, then after a bit of wandering, Matt and Tess picked me up and we headed to Kitchner... We went to a steak house that night, pretty decent steak.
Keiko came up from Niagra to visit me the next day. Was great to see her again. We wandered around town, had some lunch went to the local park, played on the swings and the slides etc. Sometimes you just have to act like a kid :D... But all to soon it was time for her to head back to the falls, (work the next day :( ).
Spent the next couple of days with Matt and Tess. They are going well, the dog they have is fun to play with too. I miss having a pet.
Anywho, thats about it for that trip. Was great to catch up with people.
I know this is only a small post, but I will update again soon... I'm not going to say I promise because something invariably happens to make you break the promise. But anyway, look for my updates soon........
Narco Out
Next morning we had a few preparations to make before the evening. Grocery shopping, alcohol shopping etc, all the essentials for a good party. The reception was in the party room of the apartment block Andrew and Sarah live in. Was a great party, everyone had an awesome time, and some of the guys who I worked with at Dell were there, so it was a great oppotunity to catch up with them also. Many drinks were consumed, more by some than others but still great fun.
A few sore heads made themselves known the next morning, but that didn't stop us from heading to an awesome place for brekky. Corra's (I think thats the name) does these amazing crepes, and fruit. Chocolate and Banana, on a crepe. So good. Did I mention SO GOOD.
Anyway, Next day I headed down to Toronto via the train, then after a bit of wandering, Matt and Tess picked me up and we headed to Kitchner... We went to a steak house that night, pretty decent steak.
Keiko came up from Niagra to visit me the next day. Was great to see her again. We wandered around town, had some lunch went to the local park, played on the swings and the slides etc. Sometimes you just have to act like a kid :D... But all to soon it was time for her to head back to the falls, (work the next day :( ).
Spent the next couple of days with Matt and Tess. They are going well, the dog they have is fun to play with too. I miss having a pet.
Anywho, thats about it for that trip. Was great to catch up with people.
I know this is only a small post, but I will update again soon... I'm not going to say I promise because something invariably happens to make you break the promise. But anyway, look for my updates soon........
Narco Out
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth
I know I haven't updated for a while, I'd like to say I've been kinda busy, and haven't had the time, but to be honest, I've been kinda busy, and haven't found the time. See the statements are similar, but definatly not the same :D.
So without any further guilding the lilly, I give you the Calgary Stampede.
Where to start, some would say the beginning, *shrugs*, thats been done, so lets start about 3/8ths of the way in. Now that would probably put it at about the 10th of July. I can't remember what happened on the 10th of July, so I'll go to something I can remember. All of these events probably happened in a completely different order to how I'm going to recall them, but oh well.
I'd been in canada for 5 monthsish by this point, and was missing the family, and as fate would have it, The stampede was on, and Bec and BJ were on their way over to see it. So I got to see family again. YAY.
It was only a very short visit from Bec and BJ the first time, a quick exchange of gifts/other items, and a quick lunch, before they had to head to the airport for their few days of ranching. Not enirely sure what ranching is, so see Bec or BJ for more details.
Next to arrive to our humble apartment (by our I mean the apartment Dan and Sarah have, that I was able to sleep in till I got somewhere else), was Martina, a young lass from Germany, that Dan and Sarah had met somewhere during their travels. The night of her arrival we had a few drinks, and slept, I had work the following day. The next day saw the arrival of Jen and Kat another couple of travellers Dan and Sarah had met around the place. That brought the total to 6 for a 1 bedroom apartment, I'm pretty sure thats not allowed on a permenant basis, but for the week they were here it was fine. Jen and Kat are Aussies, from Perth. That night I headed out with Bec, and BJ, and a friend Meri, whom I had met when I first came to calgary. We had a few drinks at a pub out near where Bec and BJ were staying before heading to Boston Pizza for dinner. Not an overly late night, we were going to try to go to Ranchmans, a Cowboy themed pub near there, but with a wait line of something like 2 hours, we thought better of it. Friday saw the beginning of the stampede with a parade that shutdown most of downtown. Yay no work till 12. The parade was pretty impressive, floats, and horses, and people, and more floats and more horses and you guessed it more people. Turns out I had a delivery still on from the day before that was tickets to it, so I had to interrupt my viewing to do a quick delivery. But I was right in the spirit of things, and was dressed as close to a cowboy as I could be, even had the big hat thingy on. Anyway back to the parade, did I mention their was lots of floats, and horses, and people. Well in case I didn't I have now. Then it was back to work for the afternoon. That night there was a bit of drinking at the apartment, and time to get to know my neighbours (those sharing the living room floor with me). Saturday morning brought on a few sore heads, and not much movement till around lunch time. But from then it was off to the stampede. My first impression of the stampede was it is pretty much the same as the Royal shows back home, with one major difference. It seems that where ever possible you must be dressed like a cowboy/cowgirl. Our main goal for the afternoon/evening was to go to Nashville North, and also for some of the girls to See Nelly Furtardo, or however it is spelt. We wandered around for a while, looked at the stalls, before standing in the Nashville North line to get into the line, for over and hour and deciding there was definatly somewhere better we could be. So we left, and found ourselves at a pub that had the word Rose in it, thats about all I can recall. We eventually made it home, had another beer or two, then went to bed.
Sunday was my first Rodeo Experience. Bec and BJ had tickets to the chuck wagons and the rodeo, so I got myself some too. The rodeo was amazing. I hadn't seen anything like it before. All the different events, and something that I wasn't expecting was the amount of respect the animals involved in the events received. They were as important as the cowboys themselves. The Bio's and previous events history was given for the rider and the animal. Bec and BJ had had a few quiet ones during the rodeo. A couple of hours later was the chuckwagons, but in the mean time we did a bit of wandering. The Chuckwagons are interesting. They ride in those old style carriges, with a team of 4 horses pulling them, then there are the other group of guys who ride around on normal horses,and put stuff in the back of the chuck wagon when the race starts. Its a pretty tough event, with a couple of animals suffering injury during the course of the stampede. Not as entertaining as the rodeo, but a new experience none the less. Being a sunday night I had to work the next day so the rest of the night was fairly short.
The next week was filled with drinking, partying, and some stampeding. Mid week the girls (Jen, Kat, and Martina) all headed on, Jen and Kat went to Cuba, and Martina I think headed further west. Friday night after work I headed down to the stampede, to watch some more of the rodeo, didn't get overly good seats, but was still cool anyway. Met up with Meri for drinks at James Joyce's place (irish pub downtown) then we headed back to the stampede and did a bunch of those crazy carnival rides that have you going upside down and downside up etc. Oh one thing which I haven't mentioned so far are the mini donuts, they are awesome. Just like normal sized big donuts, except really small. Oh and they have these vibrating chairs that are suppose to massage you, but only make you feel all tingly.
The final sunday Bec, BJ, and myself all headed back to the Stampede for one final hoorrah. We started at Nashville North, probably not the best idea, but turned out to be great. We soon made friends with a groups of people who taught me a new drinking technique. Shoot the Boot. Now for those with a very weak constitution skip ahead about 80 words. The shooting of the boot requires the removal of the boot from one of members of the drinking party, the filling of said boot with an alcoholic beverage, in this case beer. And then the consumption at a great rate of knots of the beer from the makeshift glass, that being the boot. I was lucky enough to get BJ's boot, which I was pretty certain would be several hygene steps above those of the other members of the drinking party. Not something I will do on a regular basis, but something that I can chalk up on the board as a new experience. After still more drinking from boots, we headed into the chuckwagon races. Took some photo's etc, before our hosts decided we should go and meet the drivers/horses. This part was amazing, and I might add it was somewhere we weren't really supposed to be. But we got in, and got to see a side of the stmapede usually kept hidden. They were great, we got to pat and feed the horses, they supplied us with beer, and food, and all in all a great night. Sometime around 12 I headed home, having experienced a side of the stampede very few get to be part of. With the fireworks going off in the background as I headed home it seemed a very fitting end to my Calgary Stampede experience.
Monday saw Bec and BJ leave again, all to soon. But we had an awesome time, and it was great to see family again.
I might update again soon with more experiences from calgary, so stay tuned.
Narco out
Pictures pending....
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So without any further guilding the lilly, I give you the Calgary Stampede.
Where to start, some would say the beginning, *shrugs*, thats been done, so lets start about 3/8ths of the way in. Now that would probably put it at about the 10th of July. I can't remember what happened on the 10th of July, so I'll go to something I can remember. All of these events probably happened in a completely different order to how I'm going to recall them, but oh well.
I'd been in canada for 5 monthsish by this point, and was missing the family, and as fate would have it, The stampede was on, and Bec and BJ were on their way over to see it. So I got to see family again. YAY.
It was only a very short visit from Bec and BJ the first time, a quick exchange of gifts/other items, and a quick lunch, before they had to head to the airport for their few days of ranching. Not enirely sure what ranching is, so see Bec or BJ for more details.
Next to arrive to our humble apartment (by our I mean the apartment Dan and Sarah have, that I was able to sleep in till I got somewhere else), was Martina, a young lass from Germany, that Dan and Sarah had met somewhere during their travels. The night of her arrival we had a few drinks, and slept, I had work the following day. The next day saw the arrival of Jen and Kat another couple of travellers Dan and Sarah had met around the place. That brought the total to 6 for a 1 bedroom apartment, I'm pretty sure thats not allowed on a permenant basis, but for the week they were here it was fine. Jen and Kat are Aussies, from Perth. That night I headed out with Bec, and BJ, and a friend Meri, whom I had met when I first came to calgary. We had a few drinks at a pub out near where Bec and BJ were staying before heading to Boston Pizza for dinner. Not an overly late night, we were going to try to go to Ranchmans, a Cowboy themed pub near there, but with a wait line of something like 2 hours, we thought better of it. Friday saw the beginning of the stampede with a parade that shutdown most of downtown. Yay no work till 12. The parade was pretty impressive, floats, and horses, and people, and more floats and more horses and you guessed it more people. Turns out I had a delivery still on from the day before that was tickets to it, so I had to interrupt my viewing to do a quick delivery. But I was right in the spirit of things, and was dressed as close to a cowboy as I could be, even had the big hat thingy on. Anyway back to the parade, did I mention their was lots of floats, and horses, and people. Well in case I didn't I have now. Then it was back to work for the afternoon. That night there was a bit of drinking at the apartment, and time to get to know my neighbours (those sharing the living room floor with me). Saturday morning brought on a few sore heads, and not much movement till around lunch time. But from then it was off to the stampede. My first impression of the stampede was it is pretty much the same as the Royal shows back home, with one major difference. It seems that where ever possible you must be dressed like a cowboy/cowgirl. Our main goal for the afternoon/evening was to go to Nashville North, and also for some of the girls to See Nelly Furtardo, or however it is spelt. We wandered around for a while, looked at the stalls, before standing in the Nashville North line to get into the line, for over and hour and deciding there was definatly somewhere better we could be. So we left, and found ourselves at a pub that had the word Rose in it, thats about all I can recall. We eventually made it home, had another beer or two, then went to bed.
Sunday was my first Rodeo Experience. Bec and BJ had tickets to the chuck wagons and the rodeo, so I got myself some too. The rodeo was amazing. I hadn't seen anything like it before. All the different events, and something that I wasn't expecting was the amount of respect the animals involved in the events received. They were as important as the cowboys themselves. The Bio's and previous events history was given for the rider and the animal. Bec and BJ had had a few quiet ones during the rodeo. A couple of hours later was the chuckwagons, but in the mean time we did a bit of wandering. The Chuckwagons are interesting. They ride in those old style carriges, with a team of 4 horses pulling them, then there are the other group of guys who ride around on normal horses,and put stuff in the back of the chuck wagon when the race starts. Its a pretty tough event, with a couple of animals suffering injury during the course of the stampede. Not as entertaining as the rodeo, but a new experience none the less. Being a sunday night I had to work the next day so the rest of the night was fairly short.
The next week was filled with drinking, partying, and some stampeding. Mid week the girls (Jen, Kat, and Martina) all headed on, Jen and Kat went to Cuba, and Martina I think headed further west. Friday night after work I headed down to the stampede, to watch some more of the rodeo, didn't get overly good seats, but was still cool anyway. Met up with Meri for drinks at James Joyce's place (irish pub downtown) then we headed back to the stampede and did a bunch of those crazy carnival rides that have you going upside down and downside up etc. Oh one thing which I haven't mentioned so far are the mini donuts, they are awesome. Just like normal sized big donuts, except really small. Oh and they have these vibrating chairs that are suppose to massage you, but only make you feel all tingly.
The final sunday Bec, BJ, and myself all headed back to the Stampede for one final hoorrah. We started at Nashville North, probably not the best idea, but turned out to be great. We soon made friends with a groups of people who taught me a new drinking technique. Shoot the Boot. Now for those with a very weak constitution skip ahead about 80 words. The shooting of the boot requires the removal of the boot from one of members of the drinking party, the filling of said boot with an alcoholic beverage, in this case beer. And then the consumption at a great rate of knots of the beer from the makeshift glass, that being the boot. I was lucky enough to get BJ's boot, which I was pretty certain would be several hygene steps above those of the other members of the drinking party. Not something I will do on a regular basis, but something that I can chalk up on the board as a new experience. After still more drinking from boots, we headed into the chuckwagon races. Took some photo's etc, before our hosts decided we should go and meet the drivers/horses. This part was amazing, and I might add it was somewhere we weren't really supposed to be. But we got in, and got to see a side of the stmapede usually kept hidden. They were great, we got to pat and feed the horses, they supplied us with beer, and food, and all in all a great night. Sometime around 12 I headed home, having experienced a side of the stampede very few get to be part of. With the fireworks going off in the background as I headed home it seemed a very fitting end to my Calgary Stampede experience.
Monday saw Bec and BJ leave again, all to soon. But we had an awesome time, and it was great to see family again.
I might update again soon with more experiences from calgary, so stay tuned.
Narco out
Pictures pending....
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Calgarian Bike Couriering
Title -
Calgarian Bike Couriering
Purpose -
To provide an introduction to the various aspects of the couriering (bike) trade of the Canadian city, and the nuances that are associated with it.
Note -
Bike courier + Rain = Bad
Attire -
Shirt
Pants,
I find ones with lots of pockets are good, my current choice of pants have 9 pockets, which is great everything has a pocket.
Shoes,
Currently my weapon of choice is crocs, these things are awesome, though probably not overly appropriate as the weather begins to get colder. Summer has been here for a couple of weeks now, so its time for winter to return.
Equipment -
Radio/phone,
We are using motorola phones, that have the walkie/talkie feature, very useful. They also have internet capabilities so we can track our trips.
Bag,
Over the shoulder bag, carries more than you might expect, can hold a large filebox, and some other letters.
Bike,
An essential, never leave home without it, otherwise you'll be doing alot of walking. I have a nice second hand Scott branded bike, with those cool handle thingys, so cool. All couriers must have number plates, yep number plates. My number is 1968 for those who are looking for me when I'm riding around.
Procedures -
Day-to-day operations involve, receiving instruction from the dispatcher, going to a place, and getting a letter/package/box, then going to he place it has to be delivered to, dropping it off, and getting the recipient to sign off on it. There are 5 different times associated with the "package" and when it has to arrive by. The standard is a regular, or "reg" for those in the business. This one we have a bit of time with. The second is a rush, or "rush" for those in the business. This one we can't take all day on, and will usually head to if we have nothing but regs on, though its ok to make a few stops along the way. Next is the Direct, this puppy needs to get there soon, not immediately, but there is no time to stop for a coffee if one of these is onboard. Extreme, they are the ones we like, you get paid the most for them. Basically they need to be there as fast as humanly possible. Last is the overnight, we just pick these up, drop them at the office, and they are sent via DHL to whichever part of the country they are heading. Each of these deliveries has a different price.
Other changes to the pricing structure are distance, size of package, and whether it is the right address or if we have to re-deliver. Distances that a bike will travel are core which is downtown, belt, which is a from 10th ave to 15th ave, and zone one which is after that until about 40th ave. The size of package adds a certain amount to he cost, a couple of dollars for a package, and small box, a medium box is $4, anything bigger, and we probably can't carry it. If we have to do a re-deliver or the address is wrong, its charged twice. The last option is if its a return. Usually associated with bank deposits, as they usually have to have a bank slip returned. These are also charged like two deliveries.
Poding off a trip, is just giving a name for the recipient and putting it into the phone to show it has been delivered. There are also a couple of acronyms we use for certain situations, like SUD, which is slid under door. LORD, is left on reception desk. LICB, is left in courier box. There are others, but they aren't used very often.
Alot of the buildings have been given affectionate names. For example 450 on 1st street SW is known as the bastard, because its a pain in the bott bott to deliver to most of the time, you have to sign in to get a keycard from the loading dock, then go up in the freight elevator, then deliver, then sign off again and return the keycard. Apparently they didn't want any smelly, noisy couriers walking through there main lobby. There is also Petrocan, which is the Petro Canada Building, which is 150 on 6th Ave SW, and 111 on 5th Ave SW. There is also the Squares, 4 different buildings all connected, they are 202 6th Ave SW, 250 6th Ave SW, 205 5th Ave SW, and 255 5th Ave SW. There is also the Mall, which includes a heap of buildings so I won't go into it. Most of the places have mailrooms, and usually they are on different floors to what the envelope is addressed to.
At the end of each day, we need to write up the trips we have done, because we are technically contractors. Normally this is done on a sheet of paper, but I wrote a spreadsheet that does all the costing for me, so I can keep track of my earnings.
And that is all for todays lesson on the art of being a bike courier in calgary.
Narco out
Calgarian Bike Couriering
Purpose -
To provide an introduction to the various aspects of the couriering (bike) trade of the Canadian city, and the nuances that are associated with it.
Note -
Bike courier + Rain = Bad
Attire -
Shirt
Pants,
I find ones with lots of pockets are good, my current choice of pants have 9 pockets, which is great everything has a pocket.
Shoes,
Currently my weapon of choice is crocs, these things are awesome, though probably not overly appropriate as the weather begins to get colder. Summer has been here for a couple of weeks now, so its time for winter to return.
Equipment -
Radio/phone,
We are using motorola phones, that have the walkie/talkie feature, very useful. They also have internet capabilities so we can track our trips.
Bag,
Over the shoulder bag, carries more than you might expect, can hold a large filebox, and some other letters.
Bike,
An essential, never leave home without it, otherwise you'll be doing alot of walking. I have a nice second hand Scott branded bike, with those cool handle thingys, so cool. All couriers must have number plates, yep number plates. My number is 1968 for those who are looking for me when I'm riding around.
Procedures -
Day-to-day operations involve, receiving instruction from the dispatcher, going to a place, and getting a letter/package/box, then going to he place it has to be delivered to, dropping it off, and getting the recipient to sign off on it. There are 5 different times associated with the "package" and when it has to arrive by. The standard is a regular, or "reg" for those in the business. This one we have a bit of time with. The second is a rush, or "rush" for those in the business. This one we can't take all day on, and will usually head to if we have nothing but regs on, though its ok to make a few stops along the way. Next is the Direct, this puppy needs to get there soon, not immediately, but there is no time to stop for a coffee if one of these is onboard. Extreme, they are the ones we like, you get paid the most for them. Basically they need to be there as fast as humanly possible. Last is the overnight, we just pick these up, drop them at the office, and they are sent via DHL to whichever part of the country they are heading. Each of these deliveries has a different price.
Other changes to the pricing structure are distance, size of package, and whether it is the right address or if we have to re-deliver. Distances that a bike will travel are core which is downtown, belt, which is a from 10th ave to 15th ave, and zone one which is after that until about 40th ave. The size of package adds a certain amount to he cost, a couple of dollars for a package, and small box, a medium box is $4, anything bigger, and we probably can't carry it. If we have to do a re-deliver or the address is wrong, its charged twice. The last option is if its a return. Usually associated with bank deposits, as they usually have to have a bank slip returned. These are also charged like two deliveries.
Poding off a trip, is just giving a name for the recipient and putting it into the phone to show it has been delivered. There are also a couple of acronyms we use for certain situations, like SUD, which is slid under door. LORD, is left on reception desk. LICB, is left in courier box. There are others, but they aren't used very often.
Alot of the buildings have been given affectionate names. For example 450 on 1st street SW is known as the bastard, because its a pain in the bott bott to deliver to most of the time, you have to sign in to get a keycard from the loading dock, then go up in the freight elevator, then deliver, then sign off again and return the keycard. Apparently they didn't want any smelly, noisy couriers walking through there main lobby. There is also Petrocan, which is the Petro Canada Building, which is 150 on 6th Ave SW, and 111 on 5th Ave SW. There is also the Squares, 4 different buildings all connected, they are 202 6th Ave SW, 250 6th Ave SW, 205 5th Ave SW, and 255 5th Ave SW. There is also the Mall, which includes a heap of buildings so I won't go into it. Most of the places have mailrooms, and usually they are on different floors to what the envelope is addressed to.
At the end of each day, we need to write up the trips we have done, because we are technically contractors. Normally this is done on a sheet of paper, but I wrote a spreadsheet that does all the costing for me, so I can keep track of my earnings.
And that is all for todays lesson on the art of being a bike courier in calgary.
Narco out
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