An interesting Sunday…

Posted on September 19, 2019 by

Sunday was an interesting day.  I was watching football around noon or shortly after and I hear a sound outside, a loud clunk.  I looked out and saw a kid pushing my trailer off of the support so the tongue of the trailer (is that what they are called?) hit the ground.  I witnessed a group of three kids running down the street.

I went outside to ensure there was no damage to the trailer.  There wasn’t, but it was too heavy for me to lift back onto the support.  So, I decided to find the kids who did it, if I could.

I hopped into the car and went down the street in the direction they were running, no sign of them.  I thought, maybe they ducked into the 7/11.  Sure enough, they were there.

So, I proceeded to give them a good scare, yelling at them about my trailer and told them they would come back to my house and fix what they did.

They beat me back to my house and helped me put the trailer back on its support.  We talked about it, I asked why they tried to vandalize my property, they didn’t have a good answer and agreed it was wrong.  They apologized and they continued on their way and I continued watching football.  I had put the incident behind me as kids will be kids and whatnot, not that this makes it right.  I figured it was over.

Well, at about 8:45PM, I had a knock at the back door.  The back door is an odd choice since there is a gate, not that it is hard to get through.

So I went to the door, flipped on the light and saw the kid, his father and three other people which I found was odd.  I figured that they were there to apologize, didn’t know why the three other people were there though.

Anyway, I was wrong…  The father wanted an apology from ME, if you can imagine that.  There was no way in hell that I was apologizing to the kid for calling him out on his bullshit.

The father was a short little dude, short and fat.  I’d guess 5’6″ tall and 5’6″ around.  He had a scruffy beard and unkempt hair, I’d describe him as typical “trailer trash”.  He became a bit aggressive, insisting that I apologize and I told him there was no way I was going to apologize and I told him to leave.  He asked me how I was going to make him leave and I said if he didn’t, I’d let the three dogs who were inside outside and they’d probably be able to convince him and his inbred family (presuming they were family members, who knows?) to leave.

At this point, he slapped me across the face and left.  He uttered death threats to both me and my dogs, several times.  I think, just maybe, he escalated the situation beyond what he wanted to, or, he’s fucking nuts, no idea…  Under normal one on one conditions, I would have done my best to drop him, but, with three other adults there, I wasn’t going to start anything I couldn’t be sure of finishing, I am not stupid after all.  The other three left and I called 911.

Within 20 minutes or so, an officer was at my house to take a statement.  He also happens to be the Community Liaison officer so he figures he’ll know the kids and from that, will be able to identify the father. He’ll try to get the video surveillance tapes from the 7/11 and will identify the kids and then arrest the father, as he deserves to me, the piece of shit he is.

Anyway, he asked me to give a few days at least.  I haven’t heard back as yet, but I am sure I will.  I was impressed with how quickly the RCMP responded.  Kudos to the men in blue.

More on this, as it comes, I am sure.

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Posted in My Dogs, Personal, Rant and Rave, Vehicles | Leave a comment

Another busy weekend, seems to be the norm…

Posted on September 17, 2019 by

That would be two busy weekends, back to back.

On Friday, the dogs had a vet appointment in Calgary.  I decided when we moved to Crowsnest Pass that we would continue going to the vet clinic that I found in Calgary as I really liked the vet and the staff.  I figured a return trip to Calgary once a year with the dogs would not hurt anyone and we’d continue having an excellent vet.

So we left a bit later than I wanted to, my aim was to be on the road by 11:10am or so which would give us plenty of time to get to Calgary and do some running around before the 3:15pm appointment.

I was stopping in Nanton to pick up a used laptop that was a good price.  I have been without one for some time and wanted to get back into playing some old-school games on my Steam account.  More on the laptop later…

I stopped in High River to go to the Canadian Tire, I had to return a thermostat that I purchased that was not compatible with my system.  The store was pretty small and their selection of thermostats was not very good so I wasn’t able to get that done.  We got into Calgary and I did some running around that I needed to get done.

The vet appointments were uneventful, all of the dogs are healthy and happy.  They all got their shots and I was given a $420 bill.

The four of us then made our way over to a friends house, we were going on a walk with Lita and the dogs have not seen each other for ages (about 18 months).  I was invited for dinner, thank you muchly and we headed to the park.  A good time was had by the dogs and Hera doesn’t even seem to mind being on a leash in the parks – she’s not good with little dogs.

We started for home around 8pm or so, but I had one final stop to make.  I had contacted someone via Facebook Marketplace, they had a cool shelf and a light built-in for the bedroom.  It was getting late, 8:45pm and the woman I was getting it from messaged me and said she was going to bed and not to bother coming by.  Well, at that time I had just pulled into the townhouse complex and I found the right house.  I picked up my shelf/lamp and loaded it into the car.  Blondie and Hera might not have been happy as I had to put the one seat down to fit the lamp into the car, they’d be cramped on the trip home.

Off we go and had an uneventful trip back, we got home shortly after 10:30pm or so, not a bad day at all, just a lot of driving.  Bed was the only thing on my mind.

Saturday morning, I was volunteering with the Run the Rocks event in Frank.  A number of runners (somewhere around 60 of them) were running across Frank Slide in a 5km event.  I thought it was sort of insane, I am not a fan (anymore) of running and running across hundreds of tons of rocks is not my idea of a good time.  I was helping with registration and met some pretty cool people.  I left just before 1pm and, believe it or not, had to go back to Calgary.

This time, I left the dogs at home.  I stopped at Canadian Tire, again, and was able to exchange my thermostat (which is now installed, so I can have heat in the next few weeks when it’s needed), went to Red Lobster for dinner and did some other galivanting about.  The trip to and from Calgary was good and I was reserving Sunday as a day of rest.

I will relate Sunday’s story next time – some interesting happenings in Coleman, that’s for sure.

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A VERY busy weekend…

Posted on September 10, 2019 by

Saturday was one of the busiest and longest days that I think I’ve ever had in my 48+ years.

I decided that I wanted a trailer to be able to do some camping with the dogs.  I was also planning on using the trailer should I have had to move back to Ontario for a new job.  Seeing as I didn’t get the job, I won’t be using it for that, but that’s OK.

I searched the net and found what I was looking for, a Teardrop trailer.  They are small, lightweight (weight under 1000 lbs) and can be towed by pretty much anything.  I found a great small manufacturer in Spruce Grove, Alberta, just West of Edmonton and I arranged to pick up the trailer this past Saturday.

I left Coleman at 4:40AM for the 6-hour drive north.  I passed through Calgary and stopped to have breakfast with a friend.  We ate at a place on McLeod Trail, 99th Avenue Cafe.  Amazing breakfast, I had what was likely the best breakfast sandwich ever.  It was a triple-decker with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham and a fried egg, it came along with home fries that were also great and they filled my coffee to-go mug as well.  I headed back onto the road a little later than I wanted to, around 8:15AM.

The trip north was uneventful, traffic was very light.  Either my GPS failed me or the map link that the seller sent me was wrong (it was Apple Maps so I blame that) but I did not end up where I wanted to be.  I was able to text him my position and he came to meet me, I was only a few kilometers off, so it wasn’t too bad.  I took a look at the trailer I was buying and it met my needs.

We zipped to the bank and then I had to get to my appointment at uHaul to have a trailer hitch installed.  If you are ever in the market for a trailer hitch, don’t even bother going anywhere else.  They were over $100 cheaper than the next lowest quote and they do quality work.  The hitch was installed in under 2 hours.

In the meantime, my brother met me at the uHaul and we headed to South Edmonton to go to Little India for lunch.  Amazing food there.  We were a bit rushed though since I had to get a plate for the trailer and they were closing at 3PM.  So, back to the uHaul dealer, pick up the trailer and get the plates.  I also picked up a bike rack at the uHaul, that will come in handy.

Back at the trailer shop, I was shown all of the cool features and we hooked up to my car.  I drive a 2015 Ford Escape, my first Ford and I love it.  It pulled the trailer with ease, the trailer is only 8 feet long, and just slightly taller than my car so it did cause some drag on the highway.

I headed to my niece’s place, I had not yet met her son, my great-nephew, he’s going to be 4 in November.  I was planning on only staying for 30 minutes or so, that turned into 2 hours but it was a great visit.  I was planning on stopping at Crossiron Mills on the way home but I knew I wasn’t going to make it before they closed.

Instead, I stopped off in Olds, Alberta and met up with an old friend.  We did a bit of shopping, how exciting, at Canadian Tire and Walmart and then went to Dairy Queen for a bite to eat.  The chicken strips at DQ are out of this world good.  If you ever order them, forget the dipping sauce and order a side of gravy.  Amazing stuff, better than any chicken strips you will get in a pub.  I guarantee it.

I left there around 11pm, maybe a bit later and headed for the last leg to home.  I had about 3.5 hours to get home at this point.

I bought gas and 2 x 5-Hour Energy drinks and although I drank them both along with a large coffee and a vanilla latte, I was falling asleep along Highway 22.  Luckily, I had a trailer attached to my car and I pulled off at a road-side stop and slept for a bit over 4 hours.  A passing transport truck shook the trailer enough to wake me, it was shortly after 5AM.

I continued home and made it back by 7 in the morning, so, 26 hours after I had left.  My dogs were attended to on Saturday by Crowsnest Pet Care, they were visited 4 times in total, fed and let out and played with, but they were very happy to see me.  I had never left them all night before, but they were fine, of course, it was just me that felt guilty about it.

I slept until 11AM or so, I wanted to get up and watch the Bills game.  It took me some time to actually get out of bed and turn on the game.  I caused them to make an amazing come-back and win their season opener against the rival Jets.

I went to bed shortly after 8:30PM and slept through until my “normal” wake-up time of 4AM.  I needed the sleep.

All in all, a good but VERY busy weekend.  I am definitely getting too old to pull off all-nighters.  Speaking of all-nighters, I have another one coming up in October when I take the red-eye to Toronto.  I am sure I will have stories to tell then as well.

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A Thursday not to be believed…

Posted on September 9, 2019 by

I am going to tell you how my Thursday went.  I assure you, everything that I will write is bang-on accurate, but you may not believe it all.

Thursday, was, to be sure, an interesting day.

Going back to when I moved into the house in Sentinel, Alberta, I had to have internet access, obviously.  I had arranged for a local company, Tough Country Communications to come and install their direct line of sight service.  They came out the second day I was in the house, early in the morning.  It’s a direct line of sight service though and, unfortunately, there was a mountain in the way.  I guess that happens when you live in the mountains.  Going a bit out of order here, I also tried ExploreNet and their satellite internet service.  It worked great, although the lag time was a bit much.  The only issue is that it worked great when the skies were clear.  When it was heavily clouded, it didn’t work at all.  I contacted them and canceled before my trial month was up and I got a full refund.

I needed internet service though and I contacted Rogers as they had a Rogers Hub that would work.  Telus actually had a much better priced Hub of their own, but since I ended my association with them on bad terms, shall we say, they would not give me service.  Fair enough.

So, the Rogers Hub was $65 for 5GB of service and each additional GB was $2, or $20 for 10GB actually, I am not sure if you used 12GB if you were charged $22 or $30, anyway, it was a bit pricy.  I had some issues early on and my September 2018 internet bill was over $600, let me tell you, that was a shock to see.

Getting back to the story on hand here…  After Tough Country tried and failed to give me internet access, I called Rogers.  They could ship me a device but it would take a few days to arrive. Nope, that won’t work, I need it setup and working before I left for Missouri and the World Series, I had a friend looking after the dogs and there was no TV so I had to at least give him internet access.  They asked what the closest center was, that would be Lethbridge.  Sorry, they are out of stock…  OK, Cranbrook, BC?  Sure, they have one – we will have them hold it for you.  Awesome.

So, off to Cranbrook, we go.  It was a good drive through the mountains.  We waited for what seemed like forever in the store (it was well over an hour).  I picked up the device and decided to pay for it outright since I didn’t want to be locked in a contract.  I was also asked to pay a $300 security deposit which I thought was a bit odd seeing as I just paid for the device, but, whatever.  So I paid my security deposit.

Fast forward a year and I was moving out of the house in Sentinal (propane was WAY too expensive and I was quite tired of having to completely limit my internet access as $600 bills were a bit much).  I called Rogers to cancel the service, they of course offered to suspend the service, I declined – I will have no need.  OK, so they canceled it effective the end of June 2019.  No issues there.  I did ask about my security deposit and was told it would be credited to my account and a cheque would be issued.  Awesome.

Fast forward again to the end of August 2019.  I have now not had the Rogers Hub for 2 months and yet, no security deposit.  I call Rogers.

The level 1 support person I talk to is helpful, but he can’t even see that I have paid a deposit, they have no record of it and he suggests that I am out of luck.  I lose it on this poor, misinformed gent and ask for his Manager.  She also cannot see a security deposit, but she assures me that she will look into it.

A few days later, I get a call from her.  She’s looked into it, sure enough, they trace it back to the store, the store has record of it but for some reason, it never made it onto my account.  One has to wonder how they balanced their books?  Anyway, I was told that Rogers could not help me with my refund, I have to go to the store.  I ask her if she’s aware of the geography here, Cranbrook is over 400km round-trip.  Oh, yes, that is a lot to ask of you, she says.  She will escalate to the Office of the President, I think I am supposed to be in awe of this, I am not.

I do get a call back from a nice guy name David.  He apologizes, but he is also unable to issue a refund and wants me to go to the store.  He at least has some sort of an idea about geography and at least offers to credit my Hub bill of the amount I owe (under $100) for compensation for the gas I will use to Cranbrook and back.  I accept this and on Thursday, I load up and head West.

I get to the store and figure I will be there for 20 minutes or so.  The dude in the store tries to help, but he has no idea how to issue this refund.  He calls his Manager, she doesn’t know, she calls the District Manager, they don’t know either, in fact, they state that they cannot do it and that Rogers has to issue me a cheque.  Have we heard this before?  David, remember him?  He’s from the Presidents Office, well, he gave me his number and assured me that he would be in until 7PM Eastern time.  The dude in the local store and I both leave messages at 4:50PM (Mountain Time, which, if you’re not familiar with time zones in Canada, is 6:50PM Eastern Time), no answer.  We both leave messages.

So, after being on hold forever with Rogers support, some lady IS FINALLY able to see the deposit and says that she will issue a refund cheque – it will take 6-8 weeks to arrive.  I thank her and I assure her that it will arrive sooner.

The next day (Friday), I call David back and leave another message.  He does return my call that afternoon and assured me a cheque would go out today, Monday and that I should have it by this coming Friday.  I am not holding my breath, but I am hopeful.

Now, in the meantime, with all this going on, a friend back in the Pass posts something on Facebook that if anyone is heading to Cranbrook in the near future to let him know.  I replied and he asked if I could pick up some ATV tires for him.  Sure, no issue.  His friend who is selling them asks if I can do him a favour.  Well, even though I don’t know you, people down here are pretty friendly and helpful, so sure, what is it I ask…  He wants me to follow him to Kimberly BC with his second truck, it needs to get to Kimberly.  No problem.  That adds about 1.5 hours onto my trip home and it will be full-on dark by the time I get back.  I had Crowsnest Pet Care let the dogs out and feed them around 5pm, I also asked them to go back and let them out around 10pm – they are absolute life-savers.

I heard via various means that the route back to Alberta (Highway 3) was blocked just outside of Fernie, BC (about 45 minutes from home) and that the accident should be cleared by 10pm.  I am thinking I am lucky, as I will be getting to Fernie by about then.

Just outside of Fernie, the traffic is completely stopped.  I fall into a long line of cars, trucks and various other vehicles.  We did move, about 200m at one point, but otherwise, we just sat.  10pm arrived and went, no movement.  The update on the road’s website said midnight for clearing the accident.  Take note that the accident happened around 3:30pm so we are talking that the major (and only) route in southern BC to southern Alberta has been closed for nearly 9 hours.  Midnight comes and goes and we are updated that it should be 1am for opening. Well, I’ve heard this before and frankly, I don’t believe you.  Sure enough, 1am comes and goes and nothing.  By 1:05am, the Westbound traffic is moving and by 1:10am, Eastbound traffic is also moving.  I am finally home by 2:10am and I collapse in bed, dead to the world.

It was an interesting Thursday, and Friday morning, to be sure.  Now, I just wait for the cheque from Rogers.  I am sort of hoping I get this one on Friday and the one that was promised in 6-8 weeks as well – I will cash them both for my trouble.

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It’s finally decided, I am NOT moving back…

Posted on September 7, 2019 by

I received a phone call yesterday at work.  It was news that I sort of expected, but I was still surprised.  I was not offered the Managers position, so, once and for all, I now know that I will not be moving back to Ontario.

It’s a mixed blessing really.  On one hand, I would have enjoyed the challenges of the new job and the responsibilities that would have come with it.  On the other hand, I would not have enjoyed having to move across the country, find a house to live in, move into the house and setup, commute 1-1.5 hours each way to work, fight crowds in downtown Toronto and work back in an office again.

Instead of that, I get to stay in the mountains of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, where I have made it my home for a little over a year.  I get to stay working from home which means my commute is measured in seconds as opposed to hours.  I don’t have to totally uproot my life and the dogs lives.  I like that.  I am not actually disappointed at all.

I am glad the waiting is over though, that was tough.  Although I only interviewed two weeks ago, it seemed that I was waiting for a decision a lot longer than that.

I learned something about one of the people who interviewed me as well and learned that he’s not necessarily to be trusted, this is good to know and good information to have.

So, I will continue down in Coleman Alberta and I am happy about that.

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No word as yet…

Posted on September 5, 2019 by

I have still not heard about my possible promotion.  I am told that I should be patient.  Well, I am not the worlds most patient person, but, under the circumstances, I suppose I have to be, don’t I?

I have been looking at the housing market in Southern Ontario.  I am specifically looking in areas from Burlington through to Grimsby, with the exception of Hamilton.  I would live in West Hamilton or Hamilton Mountain but not lower Hamilton.

I would like to keep the commute to around an hour and no more than 1.5 hours each way.  I think that should be possible.  I plan on taking the Go Train into downtown Toronto, I am not crazy enough to drive.  I can’t believe the number of people who do drive, I will not be one of them.  Well, not on a regular basis anyway.

I suppose I am going to have to visit offices in the GTA and in Southern Ontario from time to time.  This will mean I will need to drive, but the occasional trip will be fine.  A daily commute via car would likely drive me insane.

So, for now, I am in a holding pattern.  I am still planning to be on vacation the week before our IT Conference, I have made plans with many friends for the week.  The only difference now is that I might already be in Ontario, and by the 3rd week of October, I certainly hope I will be in my new house.

I hope to hear something, positive or negative by Friday, Monday at the latest.  It’s really a win-win situation.  If I get the promotion, that will be an interesting turn in my career.  If I don’t, I get to stay here, living in the beautiful mountains of South-West Alberta and working from home.  I really can’t lose.

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Labour Day trip to Montana

Posted on September 2, 2019 by

I have been planning a day trip to Montana ever since I moved to Crowsnest Pass a little over a year ago.  In the grand scheme of things, I want to visit the continental 49 states, a bucket list item.  Hawaii, perhaps, who knows…

Anyway, I figured since I may not be in Alberta much longer, today was a great day for a road trip.  Shortly before 9am, I canceled the dogs pack hike, well, actually rescheduled it for tomorrow morning and loaded the dogs into the car and headed for Kalispell, Montana.  That was the final destination and Chick-fil-A was the goal.

It was a bit over 2.5 hours to get there, great drive, nice scenery.  It looked pretty much like Alberta to tell the truth.

Chick-fil-A was super busy.  There were likely 50 people in line ahead of me, the line stretched out the front door.  They had all the registers going though and made it through pretty quickly.

The food was as excellent as when I had it for the first time last summer when I was umpiring in Missouri.  Good stuff for sure.  Some people protest because the owner has strong religious views.  I couldn’t care less about his views, the food is amazing.

We stopped at a dog park and the dogs had 20 minutes of fun and then headed home.  All in all, I spent about $70 including gas, so not too bad at all.

We left just before 9 and got home after 5:30, so it was a long day of driving.  The dogs are tired, so am I.  Well, should I move, we will have about 3 days of that, so get used to it pups.

I hope you had a good Labour Day Weekend, or, for any American readers, a good Labor Day Weekend.

Posted in Blondie, Hera & Twix, My Dogs, Personal, Vehicles | Leave a comment

OK, yes, so what? I changed my mind…

Posted on September 1, 2019 by

Last Monday, I decided that I would withdraw from the application process for the Managers position at BDO.  The Director and CIO asked me my reasoning and they gave me their full support.

Starting sometime on Tuesday, I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach and I interpreted that as I had possibly made an incorrect decision.  I wasn’t sure though.

I have been waking up earlier lately, was 5am, then 4:30am and now, it’s around 4am.  Last week was worse, between 2:30 and 3:30 and on Friday, wide awake at 1:50am.  That’s not a lot of sleep when you go to bed at 10:30 or 11.

I was speaking with one of the Management team at National office on Friday morning and once the business side of the conversation was concluded, he asked how my interview went.  I told him quite well, I thought, but that I had decided to withdraw from consideration on Monday.  He expressed his disappointment and added that he thought I would be perfect for the job, which I took as quite a compliment.  He also said that he had given me a very strong reference when he was asked about me.

With that, my “gut” feelings and some conversations I had during the week, I decided that I had to enquire as to whether or not I could change my mind about the job and withdraw my withdrawal.

So, I contacted the two top people in IT and after they confirmed that I was sure, the unanimous answer was that yes, I could.  So, just like that, I was back in the running.

There was an HR task that I had to complete and submit this morning, which I did.  I think I did a good job on it.

I am currently sort of in a holding pattern now, likely until Tuesday or Wednesday since Monday is a holiday.  I am hoping that I will be offered the position and if I am, unless something really “weird” occurs, I will accept and I will put a moving plan into place.

I am thinking, should everything fall into place, I will head across the country, for the second time in my life, somewhere around September 10/11 and take a few days (at least) to arrive.

It will be a massive change from where I am now, that’s for sure.  Coleman, Alberta is a small town of about 1400 people in a slightly larger municipality of Crowsnest Pass which has about 5000 people (give or take).  I may settle in the Burlington area, I am unsure.  I can’t afford Toronto, that’s for sure.  I just need a nice place for the dogs and I, fenced-in backyard, definitely a place with AC and preferably, a bungalow.  Not too much of a demand list.  The rental prices here are nuts from when I last lived here, but not much I can do about that.

It will be an exciting adventure, that’s for sure.  🙂

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A trip to the homeland…

Posted on August 29, 2019 by

I have booked my trip to Ontario.  The primary purpose of the trip is our IT Conference for work that we have every 3 years.  This year, we are in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the Pillar and Post and Prince of Wales hotels.  They conferences are always a good time.

When I was booking time off for the conference, I was going to take the Thursday and Friday before the conference off and have a long weekend in Niagara before-hand.  When I looked at the calendar, I saw that we had Monday off that week due to it being Thanksgiving so I figured I would book Tuesday and Wednesday off as well and take an entire week, plus the weekend before so a total of 10 days in Ontario before our conference started.

It’s going to be a busy week as it turns out.  I arrive on Saturday, October 12, coming in on the red-eye.  I like those over-night flights as you don’t really lose any time for adventure since you’re traveling at night.  The flights are pretty quiet since a lot of people tend to sleep.  I don’t sleep on planes, so I will watch a movie or read a book.  Anyway, after I land and collect my luggage, I’ve arranged for a car for the trip, 10 day car rental only cost be about $370 which is pretty decent, worked out to just over $37 a day.

I will be heading to Peterborough to have lunch with a friend from Ottawa.  We used to do this once a year back before I moved West, but we haven’t seen one another since 2011 so it will be great to catch up.  We are going to what I would very likely describe as my favourite restaurant on the planet – Hot Belly Mommas.  It’s a Louisiana style Cajun place, amazing food and great atmosphere.  The first time I was there would have been in the early 2000’s sometime.  The waitress recommended we start with the corn chowder soup – we weren’t very interested…  She guaranteed that we would like it, or she would pay for it.  Ten minutes later, we were wiping up the remaining soup with the corn bread, it was amazing.  All of the food is and I have tried many things on the menu.  I am really looking forward to that.

I will be spending Thanksgiving with my brother-in-law, my Aunt and cousin are joining us from Toronto for the day.  I have not had a full turkey dinner since I headed West so that will be great.  I am spending a couple of days back in Toronto, seeing friends, current and past co-workers and hitting up some restaurants.  If you think my trips revolve around food, you’d be correct in thinking that.

I will be back in Niagara for a few days, likely hit up Duff’s for pizza and wings, going to breakfast with a friend on the Saturday, dinner the same night with a former co-worker at the Keg (in Hamilton) and then on Sunday, my brother-in-law and I are heading to Orchard Park New York and taking in the Dolphins @ the Bills.  I used to go to one or two Bills games a year and haven’t been since 2010, so that will be awesome.

The conference starts on Monday and ends Thursday.  I will head back to Alberta and then have Friday off.  Should be a great two weeks back.  I am looking forward to it all.

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The house that could have been…

Posted on August 28, 2019 by

Well, I did not get my mortgage for the house that I offered on and was accepted for.  I had planned on getting pre-approved, which is the correct route to go, but this happened pretty quickly.  I did have some credit issues shortly after I moved to Calgary which, although they are cleared up, there are some lingering issues with my credit report and my score just isn’t quite up to snuff.  I sort of expected that and I am not disappointed.

That is one of the bonuses of being a pessimist.  I don’t expect things to go well and when they don’t, it is what I expected so I am not disappointed.  If it goes well then it is a pleasant surprise.  Plus, I am living in a great little house that I am happy in.  In all honesty, I didn’t really want to move anyway.  I had strongly considered renting out the place had I gotten financing and living here.  I could have made a couple of hundred bucks a month which would have been awesome.

So, I am going to work with the mortgage broker and see what I can do in the next 6 months to a year to improve my situation and then perhaps look into something again.

On a side note – the first person I dealt with at CIBC was great, until she discovered that I didn’t have a perfect credit rating and then her service and interest went considerably downhill.  She wasn’t really willing to offer any help or advice.  So, I told her I was not interested in dealing with her nor CIBC.  Big banks suck, big time.  Stick with a mortgage broker, you’ll probably save yourself some money too.  As for CIBC, go to hell.

Anyway, we will see where I stand a year from now.  Six months from now it will be deep winter, and no one wants to move then, so, let’s wait a year.  🙂

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