Well, it's official, I am a bigger nerd than Jen, whihc probably makes me up there in the top 5 percentile, but anywho. I mean really, I arrive home 12 hours ago and I'm already blogging. Egads!
Not that I want to be awake right now. I told myself I would sleep for twelve hours stright - from eleven last night, util eleven this morning. Myself obviously doesn't listen very well, so here I am.
How as the flight? All was well. I came to discover just how slow Americans talk in comparison to Canadians and had to take my sneakers off for security in New Joisey...rather embarrassing as I had white jogging socks on and one had a whole in it (surprise, surprise). The only real hiccup was at this end of the flight, when I landed in Halifax and found that only one of my checked bags had travelled on the same plane. Conveniently, the 'delayed' baggage is exclusively Christmas presents for other people :( It is supposed to arrive in Halifax this morning....we shall see. It had better.
Last weekend in Edinburgh was full of drinking, friends and celebration. Wow, what an odd combination eh :) So let's see...my last Weekend Review from Edinburgh in 2004:
Friday - A short day at work..the team left at 1.30 to have CHristmas lunch at a Mexican restuarant in Grassmarket.Of course we had to have drinks beforehand..at a bloody Irish pub wehre doubles were only 30p more..so how could I not have two double in the span of an hour? Luckily my managaer was of the same mindset as me, so was not the only 'giddy' one by teh time we left for Mariachi's. Three-course lunch was lovely, but not exactly Christmasy, ,expect for the Christmas crackers. Spent the rest of hte night doing a bit of a pub crawl and talking A LOT to team members.. it is amazing how much I can talk in general, but give me a bit of liquor and its a danger zone really. Rihgt, capped the night off rather early by going to the World's End pub for Vancouver Shannon's leaving do :( My fellow Shannon has left Edinburgh for good...sigh.
Saturday - last minute Christmas shopping by day, house party by night. House party was at 'the guys' place. The guys being our Calgarian friends, Steve, Grand & Scott. It was a good time, what else can I really say? Much drink was had, many funny/fooloish things were done and numerous pictures were taken to prove this point.
Sunday - KEri, Jen & I met up with BEth & Lisianne for 'coffee' just up the street from where we live. All of us live in the same area of town, which is nice. Amywho, after 'coffee, we headed over to the fairgrounds in the Princess Street Gardens. First we checekd out the German market and scored delicious free samples of chocolate, then it was over to the rides. Eeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Beth & I forked over the pounds to ride one of those fancy carousels where the horses go up and down on poles..ahem..lalalalalala. RIght, welll it was sooo fun and much faster than one would expect.
The rest of the afternoon was spent packing. When Jen finally got home from the gym (or should I say sauna??), we sang her Happy Birthday and proceeded to eat chocolate cake galore and head to a pub for birthday meal. Afterwards we headed for Rose St to meet up wiht other birthdya celebrators. KEri made pirate hats out of newspaper and we wore them while we sipped back drinks at Scott's. We got a few odd looks. Mos t previous moment was when two young lads came in and kept staring at us as they passed. Jen went 'Aaarggh' in best pirate voice ever. We finally mosied over to Filthy McNasty's. WE hadn't been there in about three months, but everything was stil the saem, incluiding the crowd in the corner. Well..they say if one doesn't have anything nice to say, one should not say anything at all..so will not speak of Filthy's :) Left after a bit and, on teh way home, I noticed a load of Santas in a pub..we went in and got out pics taken with them.
And that was the end of Edinburgh in 2004. Now it is PEI in 2004...
NOte - now that I am home and have access to computer I will be posting a LOT and emailing and, best of all, UPDATING MY PHOTOS page..let you know when that happens - stay tuned.
'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.' Robert Frost
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Thursday, December 02, 2004
I apologise for the length of the rant below, and for its lacko fdisjointedness..I had just come from a boxercise class - thus adrenaline was running, but hands were still shaking and mind has been in a muddle since the first part of November.
In any case..near the end I meant to say 'treated unfairly' rather than 'untreated fairly'..BIG difference :)
6.5 hrs of work left in this calendar year..well paid work anyway.
For the record - I miss you!
In any case..near the end I meant to say 'treated unfairly' rather than 'untreated fairly'..BIG difference :)
6.5 hrs of work left in this calendar year..well paid work anyway.
For the record - I miss you!
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
OK - a few comments first:
Janet - can't wait to see you, Ernie,Joan, Don & the rest of the gang..Expect the unexpected in the near future
Kelly C - you need my assistance!???? That is laughable, but anywho..it'd be great to hear from you and catch up..my email is shannoncourtny@hotmail.com. Will be home on Monday
Becky Rogers - you'd better have one damn good tan when you come home. I hear you on the leaving your home sadness....I can't imagine how I'll ever pull up my roots from Edinburgh. I can't wait to see you though and hear your plans for the new year, knowing you they'll be..er..interesting and completely unexpected...maybe you will est up shop in Souris and open a hostel for all the backpackers that head to the 'field of mice'?
OK - enough notes, now it is time for a rant. As of late, Ms Shields has related to me two disturbing stories regarding persons being screwed over royally by businesses. Here are the details , I ask you to consider, whenever you buy a product or service- does the business really deserve your custom? Have they treated you well? Do you feel good when you leave the shop/finish the transaction? Way too often I think we go back to businesses that provide crap service because we think there is no other option - we assume that there is a trade off between price & service. This is simply not the case... I've outlined a third story (also from Ms Shields, to prove this point. Please, people - you have the power - choose to use it.
E-Vil Business Number 1 - E-Bookers
Ebookers are an on-line business that book flights for travelers. Keri booked her return flight home from Edinburgh to Halifax and back. It cost her about £50 less than the on-line booker Jen & I used. At first I was jealous, because she was also flying Air Canada for most of the flight, thus avoiding a stopover in the US. But then the cracks began to show. They had screwed her over royally in a number of ways:
1. On her return flight, Keri will be arriving in London Heathrow from Halifax. 4 hours later she will be departing from London Gatwick for her final flight to Edinburgh. The cost of getting from Heathrow to Gatwick is approximately £20..the travel time is approximately 1 hour and, of course, there's the hassle of traveling, dragging luggage from one airport to another and then checking in again.
2. On the way home, Keri's stopover in London Heathrow is 1 hour and 10 mins. This is simply not enough time to get from one terminal to another, given the need for security checks, etc. Air Canada recommends a minimum of 1 hour and thirty minutes for transfer in Heathrow.
3. Because E-bookers booked Keri's flights separately, she can not check her luggage the whole way through. she would have to pick up her luggage in London and recheck it for her flight to Halifax. Impossible.
4. When Keri called to inquire about this issues, she was given the run around and basically told that there was nothing they could do since she'd booked the flights. This phone call followed numerous unanswered emails and one previous callwhere she'd been put onhold for ten minutes.
5. Keri also had to pay £15 initially to have her tickets mailed to her - Jen & I rec'd our tickets free of charge through first class mail.
6. In the end Keri made the choice to book another flight to London - the night before she is to leave London. She is now out another £60 and will spend the night in the airport. ON the upside, she will have plenty of time to check her baggage.
I know this is only one instance, but I suspect that it is not uncommon for people to experience these hassles...
Some better discount airlines (in my experience) - www.canadianaffair.com
Major Travel
Zoom Airlines
2. The Unloyal Loyalist in Summerside PEI.
Imagine the shock of arriving at the place you are having your wedding ceremony & dinner two hours before it is to begin, only to discover that all the decorations you spent hours putting up have been torn down because some worker thought the wedding had already taken place. Imagine how you would then feel when, ia panicky state you approach the woman at the front desk to ask what has happened and what can be done to rectify the problem and find that she shrugs her shoulders and basically says 'its not my problem'. so you spend the next two hours frantically redecorating and trying to find the stepboard platform you had set up so your little cousin could do her stepdancing routine. And then, to add insult to injury, the LOyalist OVERCHARGES you for the event - claiming they have no record that you paid in part back in July when you booked the place. Finally, after much hassle you find you ONLY have to pay what you actually owed in full..no compensation whatsoever for the fact that they pulled apart your wedding and caused you stress.
3. It DOESN'T have to be this way
Last year Keri went to buy a digital camera at the FutureShop. EVerybody goes to the Future SHop yet I know few people who actually enjoy the experience there, namely because they have sales people trying to sell you upgrades and ridiculous warranties, and because when you actually try to cash in on a warranty, they try to give you the run around and most people just give up.
Anyways - so Keri goes to buy her digital camera and encounters the sales guy who tries ot sell her the warranty (no thanks) and tells her that the software doesn't come with teh camera????? what? Right, so Keri leaves without buying it because she feels a bit uneasy about it. And then she does what every person should consider doing -she shops around and finds that she can get teh exact same camera with teh software for the EXACt SAME PRICE from Charlottetown Photography (I thnk that't the name). And the people who work there are nice and not at all pushy and you can leave feeling good that at least your helping a local business person and not some huge conglomerate which answers only to its shareholders and sees customers as putty to be moulded.
There- rant over - anyone still readin???? really though - I am sick and tired of hearing all these stories about bad businesses - why are we all so Complacent? This is my attempt to not be complacent - spreading the word is a powerful thing - try it on for size the next time you feel you've been untreated fairly...and while you're at it lodge a complaint with the company and DON't give up - persistance does pay off.....
Janet - can't wait to see you, Ernie,Joan, Don & the rest of the gang..Expect the unexpected in the near future
Kelly C - you need my assistance!???? That is laughable, but anywho..it'd be great to hear from you and catch up..my email is shannoncourtny@hotmail.com. Will be home on Monday
Becky Rogers - you'd better have one damn good tan when you come home. I hear you on the leaving your home sadness....I can't imagine how I'll ever pull up my roots from Edinburgh. I can't wait to see you though and hear your plans for the new year, knowing you they'll be..er..interesting and completely unexpected...maybe you will est up shop in Souris and open a hostel for all the backpackers that head to the 'field of mice'?
OK - enough notes, now it is time for a rant. As of late, Ms Shields has related to me two disturbing stories regarding persons being screwed over royally by businesses. Here are the details , I ask you to consider, whenever you buy a product or service- does the business really deserve your custom? Have they treated you well? Do you feel good when you leave the shop/finish the transaction? Way too often I think we go back to businesses that provide crap service because we think there is no other option - we assume that there is a trade off between price & service. This is simply not the case... I've outlined a third story (also from Ms Shields, to prove this point. Please, people - you have the power - choose to use it.
E-Vil Business Number 1 - E-Bookers
Ebookers are an on-line business that book flights for travelers. Keri booked her return flight home from Edinburgh to Halifax and back. It cost her about £50 less than the on-line booker Jen & I used. At first I was jealous, because she was also flying Air Canada for most of the flight, thus avoiding a stopover in the US. But then the cracks began to show. They had screwed her over royally in a number of ways:
1. On her return flight, Keri will be arriving in London Heathrow from Halifax. 4 hours later she will be departing from London Gatwick for her final flight to Edinburgh. The cost of getting from Heathrow to Gatwick is approximately £20..the travel time is approximately 1 hour and, of course, there's the hassle of traveling, dragging luggage from one airport to another and then checking in again.
2. On the way home, Keri's stopover in London Heathrow is 1 hour and 10 mins. This is simply not enough time to get from one terminal to another, given the need for security checks, etc. Air Canada recommends a minimum of 1 hour and thirty minutes for transfer in Heathrow.
3. Because E-bookers booked Keri's flights separately, she can not check her luggage the whole way through. she would have to pick up her luggage in London and recheck it for her flight to Halifax. Impossible.
4. When Keri called to inquire about this issues, she was given the run around and basically told that there was nothing they could do since she'd booked the flights. This phone call followed numerous unanswered emails and one previous callwhere she'd been put onhold for ten minutes.
5. Keri also had to pay £15 initially to have her tickets mailed to her - Jen & I rec'd our tickets free of charge through first class mail.
6. In the end Keri made the choice to book another flight to London - the night before she is to leave London. She is now out another £60 and will spend the night in the airport. ON the upside, she will have plenty of time to check her baggage.
I know this is only one instance, but I suspect that it is not uncommon for people to experience these hassles...
Some better discount airlines (in my experience) - www.canadianaffair.com
Major Travel
Zoom Airlines
2. The Unloyal Loyalist in Summerside PEI.
Imagine the shock of arriving at the place you are having your wedding ceremony & dinner two hours before it is to begin, only to discover that all the decorations you spent hours putting up have been torn down because some worker thought the wedding had already taken place. Imagine how you would then feel when, ia panicky state you approach the woman at the front desk to ask what has happened and what can be done to rectify the problem and find that she shrugs her shoulders and basically says 'its not my problem'. so you spend the next two hours frantically redecorating and trying to find the stepboard platform you had set up so your little cousin could do her stepdancing routine. And then, to add insult to injury, the LOyalist OVERCHARGES you for the event - claiming they have no record that you paid in part back in July when you booked the place. Finally, after much hassle you find you ONLY have to pay what you actually owed in full..no compensation whatsoever for the fact that they pulled apart your wedding and caused you stress.
3. It DOESN'T have to be this way
Last year Keri went to buy a digital camera at the FutureShop. EVerybody goes to the Future SHop yet I know few people who actually enjoy the experience there, namely because they have sales people trying to sell you upgrades and ridiculous warranties, and because when you actually try to cash in on a warranty, they try to give you the run around and most people just give up.
Anyways - so Keri goes to buy her digital camera and encounters the sales guy who tries ot sell her the warranty (no thanks) and tells her that the software doesn't come with teh camera????? what? Right, so Keri leaves without buying it because she feels a bit uneasy about it. And then she does what every person should consider doing -she shops around and finds that she can get teh exact same camera with teh software for the EXACt SAME PRICE from Charlottetown Photography (I thnk that't the name). And the people who work there are nice and not at all pushy and you can leave feeling good that at least your helping a local business person and not some huge conglomerate which answers only to its shareholders and sees customers as putty to be moulded.
There- rant over - anyone still readin???? really though - I am sick and tired of hearing all these stories about bad businesses - why are we all so Complacent? This is my attempt to not be complacent - spreading the word is a powerful thing - try it on for size the next time you feel you've been untreated fairly...and while you're at it lodge a complaint with the company and DON't give up - persistance does pay off.....
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