Mantracker

 

We went up to Brampton to hear Terry Grant speak. Terry is MANTRACKER.

It was fun. He is an interesting speaker and we learned a lot about the show.

Hockey Tournament Season soon upon us

Both children have three hockey tournaments scheduled. From Pittsburg to Oakville to Huntsville. We will be travelling with gear at least six weekends this winter.

Stay Tuned.

Temperature Inversion

High: 20°C (68°F)
Low: 16°C (61°F)

Sunny with cloudy periods

 

High: 30°C (86°F)
Low: 19°C (66°F)

Chance of thundershowers

 

Guess which one is Los Angeles and which one is Toronto.

 

Hint – I’m in LA and not expecting thundershowers.

First Night in San Diego

Quality Inn and Suites
El Cajon CA

 

Arrived much later than planned as Air Canada changed our flight time and I did not know about it. We missed our plane. Nice lady on the Ticket counter fixed us up with a later flight. Nasty women at checkin was less than helpful and understanding.  New flight was nonstop so that was better.

Then the car rental guy would not honour our price for the car because he said the reservation ended after 3 hours even though the confirmation said 12 hours. He eventually gave us a price only $4 more than the original. What a bother.

Good thing we had a day before Comic-Con to get settled and figure things out.

At the Atlanta Airport

• guy in waiting area has stomach/abdomen/gall bladder problems and is taken away. I am glad he is not getting on my plane.
• free internet will not connect. Atlanta airport internet which costs money connects fine
• flight is delayed 45 minutes
• I had to wait for seat assignment
• Coke machine will not take my money
• seeing eye dog on my flight :)
• there is a place with beds to sleep in here at the airport ($30/hr)
• people are very loud on their cell phones – I don’t really need to know all their secrets and their life stories
• a young man and a young woman met while waiting for the plane, went off and had a drink, changed their seats so they could sit together, were quite cute and cuddly on the plane, and then at the Buffalo airport, she introduced him to her family as a guy she met at the Atlanta airport. Ah, young love :)

I will never use Travelocity again

Was I ever surprised when I arrived at the New Orleans Airport to go home after the SLA conference. Seems the booking made on travelocity.ca (leaving at 4:05 pm) was changed at some point and I was now supposed to be on a 9:55 am flight.

I had to pay $50 to rebook. Delta agent pleasantly told me I would have had the same price if I had used their web site directly. Also that I need to get the $50 back from Travelocity.

Oh Joy

Oh Bliss

 

At least there were still seats on the original flight and  I am headed home.

Carolyne in New Orleans

104 F yesterday. I am afraid to look up what it is today, but there is a heat warning issued.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolyne’s new job II

End of the first month. So far I have attended one open house (with cake), one golf tournament (with a full dinner) and one retirement barbecue (with hotdogs, hamburgers and cake).

I also get to hire a new assistant. The job is posted on Workopolis if anyone is interested.

They have connect my account up so I can access email from home, I have business cards, my discount gas card, I have a corporate AMEX, I received my hardhat, I have chosen new floor colours and redesigned the library space, taken down and hung pictures, and they have put my name on the door. Linda (the retiring incumbent) is staying until the 18th when I get back from the SLA conference, then I am it!

Dog Guides -- last chance to give your money to a good cause

The Dog Guide walk is this coming Sunday. We are walking again this year and hope to raise $1500. We are almost there and need only a little more. Please help.

My page is at http://www.purinawalkfordogguides.com/personalPage.cfm?ID=5281

AJ’s graduation

We were invited to AJ’s graduation ceremony. He was renamed Thompson and she calls him Tommy. Strange, but the name goes to the sponsor.

He is a Canine Vision dog now and lives in Barrie. Goodbye AJ. Good luck with your new job.

Carolyne’s New Job

May 10, 2010, I started a new job as Manager, Library Resource Centre, ArcelorMittal Dofasco.

After 22 years at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada, on February 1, 2010, the management decided they did not need a professional librarian in their materials research library and I was walked out. I got a fairly good severance.

Dofasco
Originally uploaded by Sean_Marshall

I now work in R&D just around the corner from where this picture was taken at Dofasco.

The people are great. It is a fairly small lab and I hope it will not take me too long to learn everyone’s name. So far I have my badge (we don’t have to wear them around our necks), my gas card (discounted gas), my parking pass (an assigned spot 30 paces from the entrance), my benefits forms, my office (about 50 feet from the ladies washroom), desk, phone, business cards on-order, etc. I’m still waiting for my hard hat, the keys to the building, and remote access to my accounts.  I also interviewed a candidate for the library assistant position. All in all, very good progress for a first week.

I’ll see about taking some photos around myself next week. It reminds me a lot of chemical valley in Sarnia :)

 

Battle of the Bands

Andrew's school had a "Battle of the Bands" with every grade 8 student participating. They were in bands of four students each. They had to write a song, perform it live, create a poster and a CD case. Andrew, Adam, Tomas and Esteban were "Control, Amp, Delete"

They practiced for weeks and when the competition came, they were ready. They placed FIRST!

Congratulations Boys.

The great quest is successful

 

Emma painted a picture of Naomi Watts as her summative project for art. Then we read in the Oakville Beaver that Naomi Watts and Daniel Craig were filming a movie here in Oakville. Albert went on a quest – have Ms Watts sign Emma’s painting.

We checked out the filming location one morning and were told they filmed at night. He took Emma at night. They became chummy with the police and security teams but never seeing the actors. However, they did have one fellow promise to speak to Ms Watt’s assistant. Last night the three of them went again.

When the actors returned from “lunch” at 2 am, Ms Watt’s car stopped, she said Ms Watts would sign the painting, they took the picture and she signed it. 

They also got personally autographed photos of Daniel Craig.

Leafs Game March 18

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March Break Event for Children of Alumni of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

Much to the dismay of both children, I enrolled them in a one day engineering event. Tuesday of March break in Toronto. 

Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Students will discover the incredible interface of the science of life and real applications of engineering innovation.

Circuitry and Electrical Engineering
Students will be introduced to the basics of electricity and electrical design and will design and build their own working circuits.

Chemical Engineering
Students will gain an appreciation of engineering principles and understanding common chemical reactions and polymer science.

Design Challenge!
Working in groups, students will take their own ideas and design, build and test their own creations to respond to a series of design challenges.

Off to SLA in New Orleans

Had to get up at 3 am to get to Buffalo for my 6 am flight. Made it in good time. I really wish the traffic was like that every morning. The song playing on the radio when iI got in the car was The Tragically Hip’s New Orleans is Sinking!  Quite the coincidence.

No lineup at the border. No problems at the airport. I am currently sitting in Atlanta waiting for my connection.

In Buffalo, my gate was the farthest possible from security. This is what I usually get, as far as possible. However, in Atlanta, my connecting flight was out of the exact same gate I came in at. Nice! Even if I had to change terminals, Atlanta has the best system I have seen so far.

Quick breakfast at a greasy airport restaurant here in Atlanta. Everything was not quite hot. The toast would not even melt the fake butter. I skipped the grits.

Not much to do with the 2 hr layover here. I should have downloaded a movie. I also wanted to bring a memory stick but forgot. Hopefully one of the vendors at the conference will be giving them away as swag/schwag.

SLA Leadership Summit

I spent the last few days of January in St. Louis at the SLA Leadership Summit.

Photos over on Facebook.

Job Jar is mostly empty to start the New Year

Job jar day went very well.

Only took about 3 hours to get it all done.

1. change calendar
2. water plants
3. fix Emma's bedroom door. sticks
4. install door sweep on front door
5. fix Andrew's bedroom door. sticks
6. clean bathrooms
7. get rid of 4-6 towels. Purchased new ones. one in one out
8. change Brita filter
9. clean all mirrors
10. wash light fixtures in bedrooms
11. replace burnt out light bulbs
12. take old broken kitchen exhaust fan down and get rid of it.
13. take down Christmas decorations
14. add children’s photos to photo frame
15. take out all garbage
16. clean out kettle with vinegar
17. fix master bathroom door. sticks
18. put up new TP roll holder
19. mop kitchen
20. vacuum and mop laundry room
21. fix stopper on bathroom door – cannot find found wood glue

Jobs that did not get done

1. wash inside car windows – too cold
2. wash inside van windows – too cold
3. install new exhaust fan – need to have vents cleaned first
4. paint where exhaust fan was
5. paint one step to outside
6. fix stopper on bathroom door – cannot find wood glue