Canada. And the irresistible girl.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
March 5, 2005 10 AM - Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) -7
It'll be a month tomorrow. Hehehe. Four Fridays ago. Happy2, Happy3 Ü
Great trip. I learned quite a bit, but with 2 ½ years at the job, things were ... routine - as far as work was concerned. Learned about an interesting manufacturing process though, I'll detail it on an upcoming entry.
In the meantime - some requested pictures. Both Calgary and Edmonton were awesome - diverse, progressive cities. Cold (!), but I'm used to it Ü. Peacoat weather; too windy for a field jacket. Stay at a hotel was a bit nicer than the usual.
Driving down Calgary Downtown
Olympic Park - Flags
Olympic Park - the slopes
Holiday Inn - The Palace branch - lounge
Holiday Inn - The Palace branch - dining room
Well. This trip was no different - ate a lot again. Also picked up something from the Philippines, and now it's becoming habitual - having dessert w/ every meal. I gained 5-6 lbs in 5 days. I know this for a fact, because it happens every business trip. Luckily I manage to downshift to less-exciting, healthier meals back home - packed turkey sandwiches, stir-fries w/o much canola oil, etc. And no shortening =Þ
Before I left, Soren, our marketing guru, advised ...
"Treat your rep well, they're paying gas and taking time out of their other lines when you visit" - meaning put their meals on the company tab.
Of course. The "free agents" I travel with represent other principals/companies - manufacturers of bearings, shafts, couplings, motors, etc. Was with Rus (he's about 50), our rep in the western Canada area. They recently added our line, so he was brand new to the products, materials, etc. Kind'a briefed him while on the road; after all, it's hard to find common ground w/ a complete stranger of that age. So first comes talking about work. Eventually, casual talk eases in. About beer and such. Hehe.
Anyway, picked up on a few Canadian mainstream restaurants that were quite decent - earls, Moxie's, the keg, just to name a few. Dessert was served on very modern funky-looking-non-circular-this-is-interesting-type-of-plates (your eyes can breathe now), and the actual ganashe or terrine only took up a small area of the plate. A la Max Brenner, minus the flasks. Accents such as shredded chocolate or cinnamon, however, were sprinkled throughout the whole plate. The raspberry sauce was zig-zagged, the whip cream looked like puffed flower petals. I suppose all'a that to make the plate look less empty? Hehe, hell if I know. OK, it's culinary art. Really, really decadent. Had some local ales & lagers.
Didn't pay a single cent. Trust me, I'm no well-off guy. Just a bit fortunate to be given an open company expense report.
[By the way - Edmonton holds the World's Biggest Mall. Noooo kidding. I thought it'd be the Mall of America in Minneapolis (which I've seen). I only saw the Edmonton mall from the outside though =Þ]
March 7th, 2004 GMT -5
More to come! It was that time of the month yesterday. Haha.
A call, flowers, and a wonderful update (make that two, actually) on her newly christened LJ =Þ
So I ask again ... how can I be soooo lucky? Ü Quite a mystery.
March 5, 2005 10 AM - Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) -7
It'll be a month tomorrow. Hehehe. Four Fridays ago. Happy2, Happy3 Ü
Great trip. I learned quite a bit, but with 2 ½ years at the job, things were ... routine - as far as work was concerned. Learned about an interesting manufacturing process though, I'll detail it on an upcoming entry.
In the meantime - some requested pictures. Both Calgary and Edmonton were awesome - diverse, progressive cities. Cold (!), but I'm used to it Ü. Peacoat weather; too windy for a field jacket. Stay at a hotel was a bit nicer than the usual.
Driving down Calgary Downtown
Olympic Park - Flags
Olympic Park - the slopes
Holiday Inn - The Palace branch - lounge
Holiday Inn - The Palace branch - dining room
Well. This trip was no different - ate a lot again. Also picked up something from the Philippines, and now it's becoming habitual - having dessert w/ every meal. I gained 5-6 lbs in 5 days. I know this for a fact, because it happens every business trip. Luckily I manage to downshift to less-exciting, healthier meals back home - packed turkey sandwiches, stir-fries w/o much canola oil, etc. And no shortening =Þ
Before I left, Soren, our marketing guru, advised ...
"Treat your rep well, they're paying gas and taking time out of their other lines when you visit" - meaning put their meals on the company tab.
Of course. The "free agents" I travel with represent other principals/companies - manufacturers of bearings, shafts, couplings, motors, etc. Was with Rus (he's about 50), our rep in the western Canada area. They recently added our line, so he was brand new to the products, materials, etc. Kind'a briefed him while on the road; after all, it's hard to find common ground w/ a complete stranger of that age. So first comes talking about work. Eventually, casual talk eases in. About beer and such. Hehe.
Anyway, picked up on a few Canadian mainstream restaurants that were quite decent - earls, Moxie's, the keg, just to name a few. Dessert was served on very modern funky-looking-non-circular-this-is-interesting-type-of-plates (your eyes can breathe now), and the actual ganashe or terrine only took up a small area of the plate. A la Max Brenner, minus the flasks. Accents such as shredded chocolate or cinnamon, however, were sprinkled throughout the whole plate. The raspberry sauce was zig-zagged, the whip cream looked like puffed flower petals. I suppose all'a that to make the plate look less empty? Hehe, hell if I know. OK, it's culinary art. Really, really decadent. Had some local ales & lagers.
Didn't pay a single cent. Trust me, I'm no well-off guy. Just a bit fortunate to be given an open company expense report.
[By the way - Edmonton holds the World's Biggest Mall. Noooo kidding. I thought it'd be the Mall of America in Minneapolis (which I've seen). I only saw the Edmonton mall from the outside though =Þ]
March 7th, 2004 GMT -5
More to come! It was that time of the month yesterday. Haha.
A call, flowers, and a wonderful update (make that two, actually) on her newly christened LJ =Þ
So I ask again ... how can I be soooo lucky? Ü Quite a mystery.