Udaho’s blog

Share a photograph from the weekend.

Ericka, Tracy, Kelli and Ben

I am in Canada for work. We took over a company in Canada and I am here to train their contact center and clerical staff.  I have been excited for the opportunity, and even more so to go to Canada.  I have never been here before! I am in Mississauga, Ontario.
 So far, I have never walked so much in my life. My gate at the Minneapolis Airport was SO far away. I didn't know I would need to take the tram until I passed a few tram stations. It was a long walk, so I enjoyed sitting for awhile. The flight went fast, we landed 30 minutes earlier than planned. I sat next to the sweetest woman. She reminded me a lot of my grandma St. Martin. Mostly her facial expressions, she kept raising her eyebrows, I just adored it. We talked a lot on the way. She is from Canada and is trying to become a US citizen. Once we arrived in Toronto, we needed to take a bus from the gate to the customs area. I was overwhelmed with the amount of questions they asked me. They were very concerned for my business reasons for being in Canada. They asked me the name of the company both the US and Canadian names, what I was doing there, who I was training and how I was being paid (whether through Canadian or American funds). I was finally able to proceed to baggage claim. There was another woman who told me to go straight ahead, but made my travel companion go into another screening area. After I grabbed my luggage, I sat there waiting for my travel companion. It took her a LONG time. I wasn't expecting customs to be as much of a process as it was. But such is life!

We finally made it to our hotel, and I love my room. I have a full kitchen, living area complete with a chair, couch, desk, TV and a little table to eat at. Then there is another room full of closets and my bed. Next is the bathroom, with another closest and full length mirror.  There is also a TV in my room. It's quite the nice set up. My travel companion and I decided to meet for dinner at the hotel bar/restaurant, but they are closed on Sundays. They do have restaurants that deliver to the hotel and just charge it to your room, and they also have a shuttle service that will take you to nearby restaurants. We went to a place called Kelsey's. I had the most delicious brownie dessert.  I asked my travel companion if she preferred pie to brownies, and sadly, she likes pie better. 

It is chilly here in Canada. They said it will get to 2 below, I thought Brrrr, but then I remembered they were Celsius, so, it won't be too bad. But it is really windy. I am also adjusting to the Metric system. As everything is in meters in liters. I thought gas was super cheap, until I realized it was 83.3 a liter, not gallon. I also have to remain 9 meters from a door while smoking, I am not sure how far that is, so, I remain several feet away. They also have a beverage tax, I ordered a Dr. Pepper, and with the tax it was like $4! I feel better for having slammed 2 of them.

Tomorrow should be interesting. I am looking forward to meeting our new Canadian friends at work. I also have some homework that I need to do while here. I am hoping to be able to write at least a page a day! Wish me luck.

Whom have you lost touch with that you wish were still in your life?

There are a few people that I wish were still in my life. There are people that I have lost touch with...on purpose, but I still think of them often.  Then there are friends that moved away, that I wish I still kept in contact with.  There are 3 people that I have tried locating and have been unsuccessful. 

The first is Lisa from Wisconsin.  She moved to Arizona and I haven't heard from her in years.  I just thought the world of her when we were younger.  She was so crazy, so I can only imagine where she is now.

Then there is Amy. I met her at Valleyfair and we worked together.  She was a lot of fun, and she moved back to Wyoming.  A few years ago she randomly came to Minnesota and ran into someone at the Mall of America that had my number.  She called me and I raced to the MOA to see her and have not seen her since.  She gave me her address at that time, and I wrote once or twice, and haven't heard from her since.

Finally there is Quella.  I don't know why, but I think of her often.  We were never really that close, but out of all the people she worked with at Valleyfair, we were the closest. I cannot remember her last name, and it is frustrating, as I would like to see her on Facebook or something.

President-elect Barack Obama is being sworn into office today. Where are you watching the events of this historic day unfold? 

I will be watching it all unfold at home with the Becker Boys.  They are not happy to be watching it, but I promised if they were well behaved, after Barack gets sworn in, they can play the Wii.  So, now, every time Barack is shown on TV, they scream, "There is Barack Obama, we can play Wii".  So, now they get to play Wii after lunch.

Happy Birthday to Cade and Amanda. 

Happy Birthday to my nephew Nolan.  He loves Batman, vampires, all types of food, and making people laugh.

Batman Nolan 2008

What will you look back on from 2008 and laugh the hardest about?

New Years Eve.....

Facebooking

TOOT TOOT

Funf

Status updates

Wall to Wall Conversations

Or....

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4 comments

Show us your favorite present.

I was sure wowed when I received this from Jaycie and Max:

What do you think would make your life better?
Submitted by Simon.

To win the lottery.

How do you feel about the results of the election?

I feel wonderful about the election results.  Minnesota is still blue, and that is a great feeling.  It was rough living in Idaho and being in such a red state.  We are still awaiting the results from the senate race.  Norm Coleman is leading with 725 votes, so it is an automatic recount.  I am holding on that Al Franken can still wait. 

Obama winning is such a relief.  I have teared up so many times today.  I am looking forward to the new year.  I can feel 2009 will be great.  We will start off with a new president, and mid way through the year I will graduate.