So it turns out that it won't just be London and Scotland, but also Paris as well. I leave on the 23rd of March, and get back on the 4th of April. Such fun...I wonder if I'll even get a chance to see anything other than the inside of hotel rooms, airport, planes and offices. But hey, I get to see some of the best cities in the world for free, so how can I complain?
Hopefully I'll have some stories to tell and some pictures to post when I get back...until then.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The New Place
So Jenn and I moved in together last weekend into a new house in Bell's Corners. No, we didn't buy, we're renting, but it's a step in the right direction. I also means I'm sore as hell and broke too, as moving is never cheap. And I have nights and weekends of unpacking to look forward to. Fun stuff. Maybe this time I'll get around to a housewarming.
Swamps and Tornados
Ah, the first business trip of the year...and the first of many from the sounds of it. Now if only I hadn't been under so many other deadlines right before we left, and if my laptop didn't start crashing two days before as well. We (Roger and myself) were doing 2 shows, one in Melbourne, Florida and one in Huntsville, Alabama.
For some reason, this involved leaving at 6am the day before the show, then a 2-3 hour layover in Philadelphia. Not my idea of fun. When we finally land in Orlando and rent a car, we're running late for our appointment with a client. No biggie, pedal to the metal and we're almost on time...not even a speeding ticket. We talk business, they are looking at using us for another project, and all is well. We even get some advice on a scenic route to the hotel, so I can at least see the ocean (my first time to Florida). The "scenic" route meant looking at the back of a lot of hotels and condos, and not so much of the Atlantic. Better than snow, though, so I'm happy.
We get to the hotel, shower and change, and downstairs for dinner. The food was okay, but the sweet potatoes left us both feeling terrible later that night. Next morning, up bright and early, and off to the show (also in the hotel). I made the mistake of having some fruit for breakfast and ended up having an allergic reaction (three cheers for hives). Thankfully it didn't kick in until after my presentation, which was well received by the 6 people in the room. The rest of the show was me trying not to scratch, and talking to the odd person.
That night we went in search of a restaurant with a view of the shore...think we could find one? Hell no, all condos and hotels. We ended up a seedy little bar that had a patio where we got some drinks and a basket of fries. Also got a chance to walk along the beach, which was really nice...I think I could stand living there. Except for the old people and hurricanes, that is. Later we hit up a seafood restaurant for some real food, and called it a night as we had another early flight in the morning to Huntsville (damn US Airways scheduling).
We get into Huntsville without incident, check into the hotel, and walk over to the US Space museum next door. At $21 the entrance price was a bit steep, so we just walked around outside and checked out the various rockets on display (as well as an SR-71 Blackbird...very cool). It was pretty awesome. Dinner at the hotel (no rental this time), and off to bed early.
The show this time wasn't as well attended, but had some better prospects showing up. It didn't help that they were forecasting a tornado to hit Huntsville at the end of the show. Thankfully it veered off, so we weren't effected, but still caused a number of fatalities elsewhere.
Naturally, this lead to a number of delays that day, so our trip home the next day was a bit packed. Every seat on every plane was booked with people delayed earlier, so loading time was stretched, and each leg was late. Compound that with a snow storm in Ottawa, and we thankfully only got in about an hour late. Then we had to wait another hour in line at customs as they only had 2 people checking passports, and 3 planes (including a large charter from Cuba) arrived at once. Not what I wanted to see after 11 hours in airports and on planes. I swear, the people on that charter must have been there for a solid hour after we got out.
Thankfully I survived it all without incident, although Roger caught a pretty bad chest cold out of the ordeal. Next trip is supposed to be London/Scotland from the 24th to the 31st. Now if only I would hear back from the reseller so I could book my tickets....
For some reason, this involved leaving at 6am the day before the show, then a 2-3 hour layover in Philadelphia. Not my idea of fun. When we finally land in Orlando and rent a car, we're running late for our appointment with a client. No biggie, pedal to the metal and we're almost on time...not even a speeding ticket. We talk business, they are looking at using us for another project, and all is well. We even get some advice on a scenic route to the hotel, so I can at least see the ocean (my first time to Florida). The "scenic" route meant looking at the back of a lot of hotels and condos, and not so much of the Atlantic. Better than snow, though, so I'm happy.
We get to the hotel, shower and change, and downstairs for dinner. The food was okay, but the sweet potatoes left us both feeling terrible later that night. Next morning, up bright and early, and off to the show (also in the hotel). I made the mistake of having some fruit for breakfast and ended up having an allergic reaction (three cheers for hives). Thankfully it didn't kick in until after my presentation, which was well received by the 6 people in the room. The rest of the show was me trying not to scratch, and talking to the odd person.
That night we went in search of a restaurant with a view of the shore...think we could find one? Hell no, all condos and hotels. We ended up a seedy little bar that had a patio where we got some drinks and a basket of fries. Also got a chance to walk along the beach, which was really nice...I think I could stand living there. Except for the old people and hurricanes, that is. Later we hit up a seafood restaurant for some real food, and called it a night as we had another early flight in the morning to Huntsville (damn US Airways scheduling).
We get into Huntsville without incident, check into the hotel, and walk over to the US Space museum next door. At $21 the entrance price was a bit steep, so we just walked around outside and checked out the various rockets on display (as well as an SR-71 Blackbird...very cool). It was pretty awesome. Dinner at the hotel (no rental this time), and off to bed early.
The show this time wasn't as well attended, but had some better prospects showing up. It didn't help that they were forecasting a tornado to hit Huntsville at the end of the show. Thankfully it veered off, so we weren't effected, but still caused a number of fatalities elsewhere.
Naturally, this lead to a number of delays that day, so our trip home the next day was a bit packed. Every seat on every plane was booked with people delayed earlier, so loading time was stretched, and each leg was late. Compound that with a snow storm in Ottawa, and we thankfully only got in about an hour late. Then we had to wait another hour in line at customs as they only had 2 people checking passports, and 3 planes (including a large charter from Cuba) arrived at once. Not what I wanted to see after 11 hours in airports and on planes. I swear, the people on that charter must have been there for a solid hour after we got out.
Thankfully I survived it all without incident, although Roger caught a pretty bad chest cold out of the ordeal. Next trip is supposed to be London/Scotland from the 24th to the 31st. Now if only I would hear back from the reseller so I could book my tickets....
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