I meant to write this a long time ago. Take a step back in time to 1993, I was leaving home and country to go and work and live in Singapore. One of the things that I did in preparation was look for a couple of books to take with me. In the process of looking, I stumbled across Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.
Now back then, most of the science fiction fantasy stories that I read were trilogies. Often I would read the first one and then have to wait for the publishing cycle to get around to the second and then the third books coming out so that I could enjoy the actual end of the story.
The beauty of the find in this instance was that I found three books … a series that I hadn’t caught onto during the first book! I happily procured the set and then took off for Singapore. It was some time later that I finally got around to finishing the third book and of course it was at this time that I discovered that it wasn’t the end of the story! And by the time that I’d read it, two of my friends had also commenced reading the stories as the books were passed along. I was pissed.
Fortunately I managed to find the fourth book and over time, the fifth, sixth and subsequent books.
This continued over a period of 15 years. The last book that I managed to read was book number 11 and though the story did seem to be advancing towards something of a finale, it certainly wasn’t there.
And the next thing that happened was that I read on the internet that he’d died! He bloody didn’t finish the series and then died. It rammed that feeling I’d had upon finishing the 3rd book some 15 years earlier straight back down my throat. I was really pissed this time.
And I maintained that rage until just moments ago when I googled Robert Jordan’s name to get a link for this entry. And it was then that I found out that he hadn’t completely stiffed me at all. Not only did he actually have a plan to finish the story in a final book – the twelfth, a revelation to me in itself, but he has also left all the significant plot details behind so that this final book can be written! For that I have to take back some of the things that I’ve said in the past.
And the best thing about the news is that his widow has selected Brandon_Sanderson to finish the final book. I randomly picked up his book Mistborn whilst over here in Canada and loved it. I’ve been meaning to recommend it to friends for some time simply for the system of ‘magic’ that he uses in it. It’s truly original which is rare indeed in this genre.
Feb 29, 2008
Feb 28, 2008
i like to drive!
So I am currently in Calgary and the initial reason for the visit was to undertake my practical license test so that I can get a valid Alberta license rather than continue to try and stretch the legitimacy of driving on an international license (when I lived in Singapore I only got around to legitimatising myself when I was pulled over by the police one day).
Karma dictated that I was destined to fail today because when a mate went for his test and failed for going through a stop sign, I googled stop and sent him the definition.
I'm pleased to say though that I have avoided the grasping hand of fate and passed first time. I only lost points on three occasions, each for the same thing.
On the first day that I was in Canada, I was warned that if you entered the intersection on the green light and waited before turning left when you just had a green light and no arrow (as we do for a right hand turn back home) you would get fined.
So I was extremely concious of this through my test and ensured that I didn't enter the intersection too early when turning left. I got pinged 3 times for being too cautious! That'll teach me to listen to people that don't know what they're talking about!
But the good news is of course, that I passed. The bad news is that the bureaucracy has beaten me and although I started writing this last weekend, I still don't have a license! I need to make sure that I get it before I come back home next week!
Karma dictated that I was destined to fail today because when a mate went for his test and failed for going through a stop sign, I googled stop and sent him the definition.
I'm pleased to say though that I have avoided the grasping hand of fate and passed first time. I only lost points on three occasions, each for the same thing.
On the first day that I was in Canada, I was warned that if you entered the intersection on the green light and waited before turning left when you just had a green light and no arrow (as we do for a right hand turn back home) you would get fined.
So I was extremely concious of this through my test and ensured that I didn't enter the intersection too early when turning left. I got pinged 3 times for being too cautious! That'll teach me to listen to people that don't know what they're talking about!
But the good news is of course, that I passed. The bad news is that the bureaucracy has beaten me and although I started writing this last weekend, I still don't have a license! I need to make sure that I get it before I come back home next week!
Feb 27, 2008
Turn left at the fork in your career
My first attempt at writing this entry was quite successful, but as it happens, I did so on the lap top that is currently with Caroline. And given that I am now not going to see her for about three weeks, I decided that I should probably start again!
The first time that I wrote it I was flying between Edmonton and Vancouver. The flight was so full that I wasn't even sitting with the rest of the family. Something about the way that the flights were booked, with everyone else flying Fort Mac – Edmonton – Vancouver – Sydney – Adelaide and me returning after the Vancouver leg.
Anyway, that's not quite what I sat down to write about. I hinted in my last blog entry about some news and thought that now that it has been made public, I should end the suspense somewhat. There's been a lot going on at work and I won't be going into the details of it here (ask me in person some time and I'll share with you what's gone down). What has happened however, is that I have been presented with a new opportunity. Something a little skewed from centre when you consider my back ground.
As of last Friday, I am now the General Manager, Human Resources and Labour Relations. Both areas of which I have a working knowledge and no formal training! Should be a fun time. Don't get me wrong though, I am excited by the opportunity that this presents to me and looking forward to getting my teeth into it.
Given that there's a shutdown coming up that requires something in the order of 3000 tradesmen and they're short about 150 or so staff at the moment, along with the small fact that we have our existing maintenance contract to keep people working on and a small matter of millions of dollars worth of projects soon to come on board as well, there should be a bit to keep me occupied. Don't even worry about the labour market that we're dealing in, that's just another small challenge to be overcome.
Hang on tight!
The first time that I wrote it I was flying between Edmonton and Vancouver. The flight was so full that I wasn't even sitting with the rest of the family. Something about the way that the flights were booked, with everyone else flying Fort Mac – Edmonton – Vancouver – Sydney – Adelaide and me returning after the Vancouver leg.
Anyway, that's not quite what I sat down to write about. I hinted in my last blog entry about some news and thought that now that it has been made public, I should end the suspense somewhat. There's been a lot going on at work and I won't be going into the details of it here (ask me in person some time and I'll share with you what's gone down). What has happened however, is that I have been presented with a new opportunity. Something a little skewed from centre when you consider my back ground.
As of last Friday, I am now the General Manager, Human Resources and Labour Relations. Both areas of which I have a working knowledge and no formal training! Should be a fun time. Don't get me wrong though, I am excited by the opportunity that this presents to me and looking forward to getting my teeth into it.
Given that there's a shutdown coming up that requires something in the order of 3000 tradesmen and they're short about 150 or so staff at the moment, along with the small fact that we have our existing maintenance contract to keep people working on and a small matter of millions of dollars worth of projects soon to come on board as well, there should be a bit to keep me occupied. Don't even worry about the labour market that we're dealing in, that's just another small challenge to be overcome.
Hang on tight!
Feb 17, 2008
Zapped
Something that it has been hard not to notice around here is static electricity. I don’t quite know what the cause is, but it could be a couple of things.
We have more carpet here.
We always take our shoes off so that we don’t track mud and snow and stuff through the house, so we spend a lot of time in our socks.
We use a dryer here which we never used at home.
There’s less moisture in the air than we’re used to.
Whatever it is ( and it could be a combination of these things) it means that life has become considerably more electric. When you turn the light off, every now and then … zap! When you touch a child … zap! Hell, when I take of some of my tops in the dark, not only do you hear the crackle of the static, you can literally see it dancing across the fabric!
It does start to get just a little bit annoying.
We have more carpet here.
We always take our shoes off so that we don’t track mud and snow and stuff through the house, so we spend a lot of time in our socks.
We use a dryer here which we never used at home.
There’s less moisture in the air than we’re used to.
Whatever it is ( and it could be a combination of these things) it means that life has become considerably more electric. When you turn the light off, every now and then … zap! When you touch a child … zap! Hell, when I take of some of my tops in the dark, not only do you hear the crackle of the static, you can literally see it dancing across the fabric!
It does start to get just a little bit annoying.
-40C
From the time that I first knew that I’d be coming to Fort McMurray, one of the questions that continually raised itself in my mind was, “What the hell can -40C actually feel like?” It was simply inconceivable. And the reality was that given we were only going to be here for 6 weeks, we weren’t going to find out anyway unless there was a visit to be made from the other side of the country during winter.
Well, I think it’s well chronicled that we never actually left Fort Mac and so suffice to say, -40 is not something that I am familiar (if not comfortable) with. In truth the winter here has been milder than I had been led to believe. And that’s not saying that 2 weeks straight where the temperature barely gets above -30 is a fun and enjoyable thing, but from the horror stories that I’d heard, I was expecting the entire two months of January and February to over around the -40 mark. I’m sure as hell glad that they didn’t.
I guess it’s a bit like summer back home with the other end of the scale. We talk about how damn hot it is and the fact that it hits +43C, but the reality is that it’s really only a handful of days through the season that really hit those peaks. And it’s the times when 3 or 4 of them line up that really get you, which is exactly when the weather here can really start to get you down.
Now when I say I had no concept of what -40 would be like, the reality was that I didn’t even have an idea what -20 would be like and that’s cold enough! But when -40 hits the cold is bone-sapping. You sure as hell have to make sure that you’re adequately dressed before you go outside, because if you don’t you feel it instantly. There’s no gradual cooling and realisation, if you don’t have enough layers on, whatever part of you is most exposed will feel it straight away.
The first thing you usually do when you step outside is inadvertently take a nice deep breath of fresh air. And when you do this, the cold air hits your throat and in my experience, the second thing you do is cough. It’s just too bloody cold to take in big lung-fulls of air. So you tend to breathe a little shallower just because its less painful that way. And of course, if you happen to breathe through your nose, it feels like your nostrils suck up instant freeze and that the hairs have crusted over and sealed it off as if you pinched your nose and were unable to release your nostrils.
Exposed skin feels like it ices over and it sure doesn’t take long for it to start going numb. For me personally, the worst is the ears. Just a couple of minutes outside at this temperature and the tips of my ears start to ache. Perhaps ache isn’t quite right because its more of a focused and intense pain than a general ache. Regardless, it’s enough to encourage you to carry a beanie (or toque (pronounced touk)) around to protect yourself. And if you’re walking out into the plant, you wear a full balaclava.
But the thing that surprised me most about this temperature was getting into the car. If it’s been sitting unheated for a while, the steering wheel is so damn cold that you end up trying to drive with the tips of your fingers (or simply wear gloves) and the seat is hard because all the cushioning is of course frozen (and if you don’t have warm enough pants on, you sure as hell feel the cold attacking your nether regions).
And of course beyond the personal physical aspects, there’s the less-considered (well by me at least) problem that the fluids in the engine are all extremely cold. So as you go to turn the wheel you realise that the power steering needs a little more time to warm up as you haul on the steering wheel in an effort to get around the corner, the brakes need some time as you pump away trying to come to that first stop and if you happen to hit any bumps … well the wheels feel a little square until the tyres get there and the suspension needs some time to thaw somewhat too, so you tend to feel them bumps!
Finally, there’s the wind chill. I’ve heard of wind chill before and I’ve even felt its effect somewhat back home on those blowy wintery days, but I never gave it that much credence. Well stamp me converted. When they say that the temperature is going to be -30 with a 15 degree wind chill … they mean it. It takes bugger all of a breeze at these temperatures to become significantly colder and more painful to deal with!
So despite the fact that winter wasn’t as bad as people led me to believe … I can’t wait for the balmy highs of -1C again … great for skiing and entirely survivable. Not to mention when I get to come home in March! Nothing like looking at today’s forecast in Fort McMurray and seeing a current temperature of -23C (with a high of -9C) and then flicking over to good old Adelaide with a forecast high of +39!
Well, I think it’s well chronicled that we never actually left Fort Mac and so suffice to say, -40 is not something that I am familiar (if not comfortable) with. In truth the winter here has been milder than I had been led to believe. And that’s not saying that 2 weeks straight where the temperature barely gets above -30 is a fun and enjoyable thing, but from the horror stories that I’d heard, I was expecting the entire two months of January and February to over around the -40 mark. I’m sure as hell glad that they didn’t.
I guess it’s a bit like summer back home with the other end of the scale. We talk about how damn hot it is and the fact that it hits +43C, but the reality is that it’s really only a handful of days through the season that really hit those peaks. And it’s the times when 3 or 4 of them line up that really get you, which is exactly when the weather here can really start to get you down.
Now when I say I had no concept of what -40 would be like, the reality was that I didn’t even have an idea what -20 would be like and that’s cold enough! But when -40 hits the cold is bone-sapping. You sure as hell have to make sure that you’re adequately dressed before you go outside, because if you don’t you feel it instantly. There’s no gradual cooling and realisation, if you don’t have enough layers on, whatever part of you is most exposed will feel it straight away.
The first thing you usually do when you step outside is inadvertently take a nice deep breath of fresh air. And when you do this, the cold air hits your throat and in my experience, the second thing you do is cough. It’s just too bloody cold to take in big lung-fulls of air. So you tend to breathe a little shallower just because its less painful that way. And of course, if you happen to breathe through your nose, it feels like your nostrils suck up instant freeze and that the hairs have crusted over and sealed it off as if you pinched your nose and were unable to release your nostrils.
Exposed skin feels like it ices over and it sure doesn’t take long for it to start going numb. For me personally, the worst is the ears. Just a couple of minutes outside at this temperature and the tips of my ears start to ache. Perhaps ache isn’t quite right because its more of a focused and intense pain than a general ache. Regardless, it’s enough to encourage you to carry a beanie (or toque (pronounced touk)) around to protect yourself. And if you’re walking out into the plant, you wear a full balaclava.
But the thing that surprised me most about this temperature was getting into the car. If it’s been sitting unheated for a while, the steering wheel is so damn cold that you end up trying to drive with the tips of your fingers (or simply wear gloves) and the seat is hard because all the cushioning is of course frozen (and if you don’t have warm enough pants on, you sure as hell feel the cold attacking your nether regions).
And of course beyond the personal physical aspects, there’s the less-considered (well by me at least) problem that the fluids in the engine are all extremely cold. So as you go to turn the wheel you realise that the power steering needs a little more time to warm up as you haul on the steering wheel in an effort to get around the corner, the brakes need some time as you pump away trying to come to that first stop and if you happen to hit any bumps … well the wheels feel a little square until the tyres get there and the suspension needs some time to thaw somewhat too, so you tend to feel them bumps!
Finally, there’s the wind chill. I’ve heard of wind chill before and I’ve even felt its effect somewhat back home on those blowy wintery days, but I never gave it that much credence. Well stamp me converted. When they say that the temperature is going to be -30 with a 15 degree wind chill … they mean it. It takes bugger all of a breeze at these temperatures to become significantly colder and more painful to deal with!
So despite the fact that winter wasn’t as bad as people led me to believe … I can’t wait for the balmy highs of -1C again … great for skiing and entirely survivable. Not to mention when I get to come home in March! Nothing like looking at today’s forecast in Fort McMurray and seeing a current temperature of -23C (with a high of -9C) and then flicking over to good old Adelaide with a forecast high of +39!
Headspace
Things have been pretty hectic and unbalanced around here for a while and it last Thursday it finally appeared that there might have been a path forward that would have taken me out of the dark and poorly spun places that I’ve been over the past month or two. I actually managed to go home excited about the possibility and direction, something that I’ve not managed to do for some time.
I nearly posted something here to reveal what was going on, but thought, no, be circumspect; it’s not been officially announced yet.
Then late on Friday I received other information and the spinning in my head resumed; back into the maelstrom so to speak. And now I sit here wondering just what direction it’s all going to get spat out in. I know this is very cryptic, but I hope to be able to reveal more in the coming week (I’m always very cautious around what I say about work here). So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully when I can let go, I’m flying in the right direction.
I nearly posted something here to reveal what was going on, but thought, no, be circumspect; it’s not been officially announced yet.
Then late on Friday I received other information and the spinning in my head resumed; back into the maelstrom so to speak. And now I sit here wondering just what direction it’s all going to get spat out in. I know this is very cryptic, but I hope to be able to reveal more in the coming week (I’m always very cautious around what I say about work here). So keep your fingers crossed for me and hopefully when I can let go, I’m flying in the right direction.
Feb 4, 2008
A letter to Chili's
Just in case you are ever considering eating at Chili's restaurant near the West Edmonton Mall ... this is the letter I'm sending them after we ate there on Saturday night:
----------
To the manager,
I felt compelled to write to you following our disappointing experience at your restaurant on Saturday night, the 2nd of February.
At the end of a very long day, we decided to eat at your establishment along with our four young and very hungry children. Given that it was a busy night, we were prepared for the half an hour that it took for a table to become available and used that time to survey the menu so that we would be able to order quickly and minimize the time it would take to get food in front of the kids.
Our orders were taken in a reasonably short period of time and then we sat down to await our meals. We didn’t believe it was anything too complicated. Four children’s meals, a plate of nachos and two serves of fajitas.
And then we waited.
And waited.
After waiting for approximately 45 minutes without any sign of food arriving (or even being asked if we might like a drink beyond that which we ordered when we first sat at the table) we started querying how long we should be waiting for our meals. After we asked 2 or 3 people how long it might take, we finally saw some food.
My eldest son’s chicken sadly resembled a charred piece of dried out meat that must have been a long way from the time when it was last a chicken. The fries that he had ordered with his meal had somehow morphed into vegetables (and whilst we encourage and insist on our kids eating their vegetables, my memory fails as to the last time that one of them ordered them voluntarily in favour of fries).
The pizza that my third son ordered was luke warm and looked like it had come straight from a microwave, my chicken fajitas were dry and over cooked and the nachos that we ordered never arrived. When we queried this, we were delivered a plate of chips and salsa.
In discussion with the guy that we’d asked about our meals (we’d given up on the girl that had been serving us) he informed us that we wouldn’t be charged for them given that it wasn’t what we had ordered.
When the bill came, sure enough, the chips and salsa featured, but given it was close to 9pm at night and well past when our kids would normally be in bed, we wrote the night off as lost cause, paid, left no tip (close to compensation for the chips and salsa, but more accurately a reflection on our experience).
Our kids had been hoping for a swim back at the hotel, but the meal took so long that we had to disappoint them and try and get them to sleep so that we might have some sanity preserved for the following day.
All in all it was an extremely disappointing evening instead of the enjoyable meal that we’d all been looking forward to. Given that we were down for only the weekend from Fort McMurray (where restaurant options are limited) and that it was our only night that we were able to eat together as a family, I can safely say that on our next trip, we’ll be looking somewhere else when it comes time to feed the family.
Yours sincerely,
----------
To the manager,
I felt compelled to write to you following our disappointing experience at your restaurant on Saturday night, the 2nd of February.
At the end of a very long day, we decided to eat at your establishment along with our four young and very hungry children. Given that it was a busy night, we were prepared for the half an hour that it took for a table to become available and used that time to survey the menu so that we would be able to order quickly and minimize the time it would take to get food in front of the kids.
Our orders were taken in a reasonably short period of time and then we sat down to await our meals. We didn’t believe it was anything too complicated. Four children’s meals, a plate of nachos and two serves of fajitas.
And then we waited.
And waited.
After waiting for approximately 45 minutes without any sign of food arriving (or even being asked if we might like a drink beyond that which we ordered when we first sat at the table) we started querying how long we should be waiting for our meals. After we asked 2 or 3 people how long it might take, we finally saw some food.
My eldest son’s chicken sadly resembled a charred piece of dried out meat that must have been a long way from the time when it was last a chicken. The fries that he had ordered with his meal had somehow morphed into vegetables (and whilst we encourage and insist on our kids eating their vegetables, my memory fails as to the last time that one of them ordered them voluntarily in favour of fries).
The pizza that my third son ordered was luke warm and looked like it had come straight from a microwave, my chicken fajitas were dry and over cooked and the nachos that we ordered never arrived. When we queried this, we were delivered a plate of chips and salsa.
In discussion with the guy that we’d asked about our meals (we’d given up on the girl that had been serving us) he informed us that we wouldn’t be charged for them given that it wasn’t what we had ordered.
When the bill came, sure enough, the chips and salsa featured, but given it was close to 9pm at night and well past when our kids would normally be in bed, we wrote the night off as lost cause, paid, left no tip (close to compensation for the chips and salsa, but more accurately a reflection on our experience).
Our kids had been hoping for a swim back at the hotel, but the meal took so long that we had to disappoint them and try and get them to sleep so that we might have some sanity preserved for the following day.
All in all it was an extremely disappointing evening instead of the enjoyable meal that we’d all been looking forward to. Given that we were down for only the weekend from Fort McMurray (where restaurant options are limited) and that it was our only night that we were able to eat together as a family, I can safely say that on our next trip, we’ll be looking somewhere else when it comes time to feed the family.
Yours sincerely,
Flattened
Flattened
This one get’s filed under the ‘only in Fort Mac’ category. Caroline rang me last week to let me know that she had a flat tyre (and incidentally, this Americanised spell check doesn’t even recognise tyre as a word, frustrating what?). Having a flat isn’t all that bad of course, but when it’s -26C and you’ve got a car full of other people’s kids, it’s a little worse than normal. Fortunately she was only down the end of our street and so was able to walk home and call the AMA (think RAA, RACQ etc).
Well they show up and then they show up and ask the question, “So where’s the fitting that we need to get the alloy off?”
Hmm, fitting. After market alloy. Wouldn’t it have been nice to know about these things at the time that you buy the car. We certainly didn’t have any fitting. But this is the AMA right, so surely they can get the wheel off? Wrong. So we had the car towed down to the local tyre place where we could have it done for us.
Of course, when they come back and say that the only way that they can get the wheel off will ruin the nuts or the alloy or something … welcome to Fort McMurray. But that’s ok, because they ordered the part that they needed in and would have it in four days.
After four days of course, we were absolutely delighted to discover that the part that they’d ordered was the wrong one and that they now had to order one from Ontario somewhere which would be another 7-10 days. Welcome to Fort McMurray (have these people ever heard of expediting something … air freight? Did someone have to walk the bloody thing across?)
Given that we’d towed the car to the tyre place and that we would have to pay to have it towed anywhere else, we swallowed the bitter pill and simply prayed that they would get it in time for our planned trip to Edmonton on the 31st of January.
In the meantime we juggled our lives with one car. Well until Sunday when we had to all get to the boys ringette. That fourth child makes things a touch difficult around the car situation, but friends were kind enough to lend us their car to get there. And we did.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for getting home again. It was about -40 or something and we pulled up at a set of traffic lights. Everything was good until we drove off again. The car didn’t feel right and it certainly didn’t sound right either. So I pulled to the side of the road. Sure enough … flat tyre. That was a really good time to be told that the people that we’d borrowed the car from had been pumping it up because it was slowly leaking! Enough said.
Now there was a spare, so that isn’t too bad, but I hadn’t dressed to be outside for anything more than about 5 minutes and it takes a lot longer than that to change a tyre. We called the AMA, but they were only taking emergency calls (as Caroline said, four kids stuck in the car is an emergency!) so there was no guarantee how long they would be (after all, it took something like 5 minutes just to get through on the phone).
After assessing our options, like calling a taxi and abandoning the car, I called the guy that we’d borrowed it from. He rugged up and came and helped change the tyre. For that I am extremely thankful, because I stood out there and helped for all of about 5 minutes before I was so cold that I could barely control the shaking. He kept going and I warmed up in his car. There’s nothing macho about toughing it out when hypothermia starts kicking in and there’s a risk of frost bite and all that goes with it.
We got home though and survived. I even managed to warm up after a couple of hours in the house.
And best of all, we will get our car back today! One day before we need it to get to Edmonton … bloody lucky that.
This one get’s filed under the ‘only in Fort Mac’ category. Caroline rang me last week to let me know that she had a flat tyre (and incidentally, this Americanised spell check doesn’t even recognise tyre as a word, frustrating what?). Having a flat isn’t all that bad of course, but when it’s -26C and you’ve got a car full of other people’s kids, it’s a little worse than normal. Fortunately she was only down the end of our street and so was able to walk home and call the AMA (think RAA, RACQ etc).
Well they show up and then they show up and ask the question, “So where’s the fitting that we need to get the alloy off?”
Hmm, fitting. After market alloy. Wouldn’t it have been nice to know about these things at the time that you buy the car. We certainly didn’t have any fitting. But this is the AMA right, so surely they can get the wheel off? Wrong. So we had the car towed down to the local tyre place where we could have it done for us.
Of course, when they come back and say that the only way that they can get the wheel off will ruin the nuts or the alloy or something … welcome to Fort McMurray. But that’s ok, because they ordered the part that they needed in and would have it in four days.
After four days of course, we were absolutely delighted to discover that the part that they’d ordered was the wrong one and that they now had to order one from Ontario somewhere which would be another 7-10 days. Welcome to Fort McMurray (have these people ever heard of expediting something … air freight? Did someone have to walk the bloody thing across?)
Given that we’d towed the car to the tyre place and that we would have to pay to have it towed anywhere else, we swallowed the bitter pill and simply prayed that they would get it in time for our planned trip to Edmonton on the 31st of January.
In the meantime we juggled our lives with one car. Well until Sunday when we had to all get to the boys ringette. That fourth child makes things a touch difficult around the car situation, but friends were kind enough to lend us their car to get there. And we did.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for getting home again. It was about -40 or something and we pulled up at a set of traffic lights. Everything was good until we drove off again. The car didn’t feel right and it certainly didn’t sound right either. So I pulled to the side of the road. Sure enough … flat tyre. That was a really good time to be told that the people that we’d borrowed the car from had been pumping it up because it was slowly leaking! Enough said.
Now there was a spare, so that isn’t too bad, but I hadn’t dressed to be outside for anything more than about 5 minutes and it takes a lot longer than that to change a tyre. We called the AMA, but they were only taking emergency calls (as Caroline said, four kids stuck in the car is an emergency!) so there was no guarantee how long they would be (after all, it took something like 5 minutes just to get through on the phone).
After assessing our options, like calling a taxi and abandoning the car, I called the guy that we’d borrowed it from. He rugged up and came and helped change the tyre. For that I am extremely thankful, because I stood out there and helped for all of about 5 minutes before I was so cold that I could barely control the shaking. He kept going and I warmed up in his car. There’s nothing macho about toughing it out when hypothermia starts kicking in and there’s a risk of frost bite and all that goes with it.
We got home though and survived. I even managed to warm up after a couple of hours in the house.
And best of all, we will get our car back today! One day before we need it to get to Edmonton … bloody lucky that.
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