Winnipeg Wrap-up

Flying from Honolulu to Vancouver was supposed to be my opportunity to get my body adjusted to the 12 hour time shift, although, it turned out to be one of the most turbulent flights I have ever been on. Have you ever been going along at cruising altitude, when without warning, the plane loses it's lift for a few seconds? We must have dropped a couple hundred feet in an instant. Highly disturbing when you're mid-flight, asleep, and you get pressed up into your seatbelt hard. One of my colleagues told me about a flight into Halifax he was on previously where a cup hit the ceiling of the plane during such an event. Apparently, this isn't all that uncommon.

I arrived in Winnipeg Sunday afternoon. After a 36 hour day, I didn't manage much that night other than some Hot & Sour soup at the ol' Spicy Noodle House in Osborne Village. I was shocked at how the Die Machine had decayed into such an unsightly dump, and the effect it's had on the surrounding businesses. Of course, the big chains are closing in from the north of River Avenue, and we may lose another historic Winnipeg neighbourhood. It's so sad to see this homogenization taking over our communities and our cities.

On Tuesday, I hooked up with Brent and Plett for another Burke's session. I had to keep myself from howling when I listened to the waitress do the sales pitch for the signature "Burkie Burger". It seems to work though, as at least 2 were consumed. Later, we headed over to the new Morris Recreation Centre to check on the new Hockey rink. I'm partial to the old hockey barns, and don't really care much for the atmosphere of the new "machine shed" rinks sprouting up everywhere. After watching midget hockey for a while, I soon noticed that almost everyone around me was sporting an FXR jacket. It's good to see a local guy done well with his company, and what a welcome reprieve from the days where everyone at a St.Jean Royals game was donning a dirty fluorescent green Polaris jacket, with black & white checkered print trim, and finished off with a ripped pair of zuba's.

Hooked up with some of the crew from Engineering on Wednesday night. It was great to see these guys again. I spent the majority of the last 5 years with a core group of people in University, and always wondered how fractured the group would get after grad. Good to hear that most of them are still stirring it up on the weekends together, and that some of them even went down to Costa Rica in December for another buddy's wedding. Bob just got back from his huge European tour, Kris is about to leave for school in Germany, and Valor is doing the nuclear thing with AECL.