Warm Hearts and Cold Hands in Niagara

The word of the week is friendship - obviously. Three years in BC as of Nov. 1st.

Oct 25 -Travel Forth

Today started off early – really early: my cell rang at 4:48am. It was a friend from ON jumping the gun, wanting to find out how my day was shaping up to see if we could connect. I wasn’t upset, as I would have been up in a couple of hours anyway... after a few minutes chat, I went back to bed. A few hours after that, we left for the airport, where I found out at the Westjet counter that my standby reservation had been improperly booked – naturally. No problem really, as I simply had to have my boarding pass printed at the Calgary counter – whew! I made my flight with plenty of time to spare, landed in Calgary a little after 4pm local time and met my sister about half an hour after that. We had an hour’s visit, which was lovely – I hadn’t seen her for over 4 months; she’s a busy, busy girl and quite happy in Calgary. My plane left the city a little late at 6:15pm, climbing into the darkening skies and right into a whole lot of cloud cover. I snapped a picture of the post-sunset sky when we moved about that, then set about enjoying the flight with some TV and chatting up my seatmate Dave, who was travelling with his young family. Turns out we’ve both not been on a plane for a year, as well as having similar travel experiences, so it was a pleasant few hours passed in the hum of the darkened plane cabin.

My arrival in Hamilton was low-key but wonderfully warming despite the chilly air: Brian was there to greet me! He looked great and we were happily chatting on the road by 1am, heading back to Niagara. I arrived at Simon’s place before 2am, to tumble into the spare room’s bed... my OWN bed, as it happens. When I moved to BC, Simon was pleased to have my old bed for his spare room, so whenever I have visited it literally is like coming home. How many people can say that they sleep in their own bed when they travel? I’m a lucky man in many ways, and I try to count even the small ones whenever I can...

Oct 26 -Rental Oopsie

A bit of a hiccup this morning: I was at Enterprise car rentals by 9am, but apparently their internal policies aren’t all in sync. When I reserved over the phone from BC, I was told no deposit was necessary... but guess what they wanted when I arrived? Yeah – didn’t budget that, but I did have a reserve set aside for just such silliness... so I had to wait until Wed for that to show on my credit card. So I they dropped me back Simon’s where I unpacked and then walked on down to the A&W on Lake St for a late breakfast – the place was packed with nothing but seniors; I think the grey hair in my goatee let me blend in fairly well. More walking over to the Fairview Mall- the weather was quite warm, so much so that I was sweating after only a short time.

Where else could my first evening back in ON be but @ the Kilt? Lucas picked me up from the Fairview Mall and we were there in a flash for beers and dinner – it was just as cozy as I remembered. Especially as I missed the ambiance for over a year; there’s no place like it... no TV’s blazing sports scores in your face, just good people talking to one another with alcohol and good eats close at hand. Josh and Rene came by, as did others... stellar to see them all so soon! I was back at Simon’s after 9 though, as I was tired and the beers were doing their work.

Oct 27 –Honest Frankie

Ah, breakfast with friends – this time it was at Frego’s on Lake St, with Josh and Rene. The place is new to me, as it’s changed hands quite a few times – is there an app or a website for that? A ‘Google Time Machine’ that lets you pop in an address and see all the places that have ever been situated there? If not, there probably will be one day soon. I had a great time chatting with Josh and Renee over bacon and eggs – the breakfast menu at Frego’s is both large and varied, with tasty dishes to tempt tongues! After breakfast I puttered a bit, then went down to the Falls to visit my good friend Ray at the dealership he runs – I’ve known him since my 21^st birthday and still have the ‘I Am 21!’ pin he and his wife gave me that day. I spent a happy few hours out in the afternoon sun, watching leaves swirl around the cars and trying in vain to spot a cloud in the perfect blue sky. It was a blessed way to spend time with a friend.

The evening saw me at The Kilt for 8, where a ton of people showed up – amazing! It was Honest Frankie’s night to play, which I didn’t want to miss for the world, despite my usual flubbing in asking for songs... though I DID manage to get the request for ‘The Scotsman’ correct! Lucas, Katie, Brian, Mike, Dan, Shawna, Nigel, Rene and Josh all came... and if I’m forgetting anyone, please let me know! It was as if I’d never left – the songs, the people and the warm laughter all went straight to my heart as if to tweak it a little, reminding me of what I had left behind, by choice... hard as it was. The beers did nothing to my head either, for which I was grateful indeed; I’d been afraid that my total teetotaler lifestyle in the past year would rebound on me this week, but my head remained in perfect peak condition. It was well after midnight when I headed out, well-sated with the smiles and shared stories of friends.

Oct 28 -Steebs and Co-Worker Catchup

After an A&W breakfast( coupons! )the early afternoon saw me ensconced at Starbuck’s on Lake St. with Dan and later the redoubtable Mike. The place is new, being much larger and less busy-people-packed than the Fairview Mall. Large tables and tons of power outlets make for laptop-friendly latte sipping, as does the free WiFi. Now, you should ALWAYS have your WiFi network secured, that’s common sense – C|Net just had a GREAT article about all the horrible things that might happen if you don’t lock the wireless door. Scary stuff, people. Same goes for FireSheep, which makes sitting at a Starbuck’s( like today! )a far more creepy experience and NOT in a good way. That someone could hijack my web browsing session so easily on an unsecured public network like Starbuck’s makes me think that the pendulum is going to swing the other way again towards people paying for secure logins on public places, just to be sure their data is kept private.

Dinner was at Patrick Sheehan’s with Jen, Rose and Jackie all of MMart fame – only one of them still works for the company. I was thrilled that they were all able to come out for a few hours, which we spent blissfully catching up. Again I was struck by how fortunate I’ve been to work with so many wonderful people, that we could remain in touch despite the years and distance between us. I was happy to hear that all of them were doing well, pursuing their interests and living life generally as they wanted to – not everyone I know can say that. The best news was that one of them was expecting in about 5 months, so perhaps by the time of my next visit there will be one more reason to gather!

Oct 29 -Friday Friends

Breakfast was at the Sunrise Cafe with Matt L2K; the place was as busy as I remember but we snagged a table fairly quickly. I simply had the Sunrise Special, as I was eating fairly soon again. We talked for a bit about life and work and how the two can really get tangled up sometimes... but he’s got his head on right with some recent changes he’s made – I’m a little jealous. Damned good to see him though! I was visiting relatives for the afternoon, first at a face spot of mine on Martindale Rd for lunch, then off to Grimsby and then Hamilton for a visit with my aunt and uncle. It was stellar; he’s having some age-related issues but we all spent a happy few hours visiting together, remembering shared family memories and talking about their last visit to Victoria. It was worth the trip back to ON just for that.


In the evening, I went to the Kilt with Josh and Rene( thanks for taking the time from night shifts, guys! )to sit in the Video Booth – it has a video picture frame loaded with images of Kilt Days Gone By, including a disproportionate number of de-kilting events. Our most animated discourse was over the D&D campaign I ran for four years back in university, which saw Josh’s character Zartan miraculously survive all the way through – the only one with the unique distinction, I should add. I still have copious notes from the campaign, all dated, so I really should get back to putting them into story form. I’ve tried several times to try to get the narrative POV correct, but only written about 40,000 words before it goes all squidgy. I’m certain there’s an entire novel in those pages, so given the joy I saw in their faces as we recalled magical moments from the campaign, I will have to give writing it another shot as soon as I can.

Aside: I should mention that the jet lag I’ve been expecting hasn’t surfaced, as one of the great things about coming back to ON is that my body clock is 3 hours ahead of the game. So I’ve got that working for me... and as I’ve already said, the relatively large number of beers this week have done nothing at all to my head, something for which I’ll have to thank the Beer Gods for when I get back to BC. Same goes for the Weather Gods, as the first two days in Niagara were both warm AND sunny. Later in the week things clouded over and went rather chilly, as though snow was moving in... but no major rainstorms or snowfall showed up and by the end of the weekend the sun was again brilliant in a lovely blue sky. Strangely, my hands have been cold all week, so I'm glad I brought my gloves along.

Oct 30 -Wonton Soup

A bit of a lazy morning, with another Grey Power Breakfast at the A&W... then a lovely lunch at The Feathery with Jason and Ruth-Ann, whose wedding I was at two years ago in Niagara( see the blog on that! ). We enjoyed some fine food there, in a setting reminiscent of an old English pub... but with more windows and less squishy bits underfoot. Jay showed me his very swish Samsung Galaxy tablet... well, the Chinese-knockoff version anyway, which doesn’t have a phone but does do WiFi. In essence it’s a larger-than-an-iPhone image viewer / web browser that’s smaller than an iPad and costs 20% as much. Cool stuff, and it let me get a handle on the size /weight of the much more expensive( and still to be released )Samsung tablet. It was a fine few hours of lunch well-spent, especially given that by Christmas, Ruth-Ann will be welcoming a new addition to the family – I’m so very, very happy for them both!

In mid-afternoon I was at The Kilt again, gathered with Lucas, Brian, Pierre, Mike and Trevor T( whom I’d met only once ). It wasn’t at all crowded so we stayed on for dinner – I had a 7oz NY steak for the first time in years, with no trouble at all thanks to some extra enzymes. And beer. Tom was also there; it was his birthday, so it was great to chat with him a bit since I so rarely see him – even after all the years of knowing Lucas. Later on, Mike, Brian Lucas and I went over to the Lake St. Starbuck’s to chill for a bit... and Sarah was working! That was an unexpected bonus, as she’s one of the happiest people I know – being able to see her smile of surprise when she saw me really made my day! A lot of catching up again, along with the usual taunting, as nothing makes it easier to take teasing digs than comfy leather chairs, a cheese tray and some good coffee.

After 10, Lucas and I headed down to the Falls for a low-key party at Ryan’s – Angie, Nancy, Kara, Bill, Paulino, Wang, Lucas, and Brian were all there. I had a capful of Screech for the first time, which made my ears spin and my brain swirl lazily around inside my head like a shaken snowglobe – yowza! Hard liquor and I are going to keep our respectful distance, thanks very much! Some very pleasant hours later, a group of us went out for “some of the best wanton soup ever” – at 2 in the morning. Downtown Niagara Falls sits a small donut shop that somehow also serves wonton soup, so six of us sat down to some steaming bowls... only to immediately become embroiled in a potential fight with two idiots at a nearby table. After some minutes of chest-puffing banter, followed by some not-very-well-received calming banter, the idiots left – sans soup. The people next to the now-vanished idiots told us that the pair had come in looking for a fight... and almost found it. I was not impressed that I nearly ended my trip on a sour note, and won’t be going out for soup to that place again at that hour – not worth it, especially when I net 4 hours of sleep towards the end of my trip atop a really stressful nightcap.

Oct 31 -Sunday Dinner

Breakfast at The Duck was just like old times with Rene, Dave and Lucas – except that the food took almost an hour to arrive. The pancakes proved to be perfect, being light and fluffy and worth the wait / light-headedness from hunger pangs. I zipped back to Simon’s to carve a single eye from my pumpkin, then zipped to the Falls to have lunch at my aunt’s, along with my cousin whom I’d not seen in years. We then went up to Grimsby to visit at my other aunt’s place as they were bringing my uncle back home for a few hours – the first time they’d done so in a year. So it was a very special afternoon spent in the company of my relatives, reminiscing and trading updates on the extended family.

The busy week came to a slow idle in the evening, as I went over to a friend's for dinner with Lucas as well. The turkey dinner they put on was splendid, and I was thrilled that they had invited me to share it with them. I was able to visit for many hours as their new daughter played happily( and cutely-possessively! )with a pumpkin and her toys whilst the doorbell rang with the occasional trick-or-treater – it was a slow night. I was also educated in the breathability of wines after mistaking a decanter for an oddly shaped bottle... well, a vase, really. Lucas presented me with a bottle of award-winning red wine as well to take back with me to BC, and I was really touched by the gesture. All in all it was a grand evening spent so well with friends – the perfect end to a week of highlights for me.

Nov 1 -Back In The Air

Up before 8 and off to Frego’s for a farewell breakfast with Rene – the apple cinnamon pancakes were VERY filling and very tasty! I was on the road to Hamilton by 10am, amused to be following an outdated GPS map to the rental drop-off there – it was MUCH easier during the day, as everything is open! It was a cheap quick cab ride to the airport that saw me seated before noon in the empty lounge area to relax and work on my blog... like I planned it, eh? Apart from the distracting TV blasting ‘The View’ it was great, but once the WestJet wickets opened up I was registered and through security like a flash to get away from the babble.  While waiting I received a call from my parents, the gist of which made me want to caper in joy – it looks like the remainder of 2010 won’t be the usual struggle for us this year, which made MY year when I heard it. Some planning to do, of course, but it means I’ll probably be able to visit Niagara again in early 2011, if I play my cards right – something that I’d have thought impossible yesterday!

Here’s the perfect travel anecdote for modern airport travel, so laugh if you wish. In Calgary, I had about 20 mins before the boarding began for the second leg of the flight, so I thought I’d use that time to, er, inspect the facilities instead of using the ones on board the plane. All was well until it came time for the business to end... then the horror began. Modern airport facilities use IR sensors to detect when you are... finished and moving upwards, so things flush. Apparently someone thought if water pressure equals clean, then dialing things up to ten times normal water pressure means really clean. Meaning the entire stall gets sprayed with... used facility water. So there I am, using copious amounts of TP to keep dry as I move madly around the stall to avoid the evil black eye of the IR sensor, thinking “I’m going to be soaked sitting on the plane, oh crap, the plane is boarding now!” and so forth. I made it to the gate on time and dry overall, even with a flash-stop for a Subway sandwich for the trip. Crazy Calgary... strange thing is, I took this EXACT same flight three years ago today out to Victoria - same schedule, same stop, same Subway sandwich. It was like deja-vu all over again...

Needless to say, I took a shower as soon as I got home. :-)

There’s a bird inside the Hamilton Terminal, flying around and looking for dropped scraps. It’s not a large terminal by any stretch of the mind, so I hope it finds its way out soon. It’s a boring place to be trapped... but it's not forever. I'm happy I could make it out to ON and see as many people as I did... as Mike said, it's like I never left...