The Spirit of America

We spent Canada Day weekend in Massachusetts. And based on the line at the border, we weren't the only ones to flee Canada for a road trip. We went to Watertown, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Salem and parts in between. It was also my first visit to Harvard and MIT and the first time I went sailing from the Salem Harbour. Not only is our host a sea captain, he is also a great cook and gave us a grand tour of the area.

Funny enough, we planned and cancelled our trip four times before finally going. The weather was supposed to be terrible. Threat of thunderstorms did prevent us from sailing out of the harbour on Sunday. But while it was windy, we didn't see a drop of rain until we were heading north on our return trip home. So the threat of rain turned to sunny skies and 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit).

One thing I determined is that Canadian liquor stores have boring names. Unlike Bunghole Liquors in Salem, we have The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ). But then again, loosely translated to English, very loosely I might add, you can say it is called the Society of Alcohol, and that has a pleasant ring to it.

Boston

Speaking of Salem, I learned a couple historical facts on this trip. The Salem Witch Hunt lasted one year. Twenty people were put to death while 150 were arrested.

Another thing I learned, my Magellan GPS has a much easier time pronouncing the street names in and around Boston than it does in Montreal.
The connection between Boston and Montreal is intriguing. There exists a fierce rivalry due to hockey. Remove the hockey factor and you find a mutual love. Nearly everybody I know back home in Montreal has been to Boston at least once. And on any American long weekend, Montreal is filled with visiting Bostonians. Another thing I was surprised about was the amount of tourists that were visiting Harvard. I do not think the local Montreal universities get many tourists, but I could be wrong.

But here's the question, now that I visited the Harvard campus, can I put on my resume that I went to Harvard?

30 Day Writing Challenge: Going Solo

I've been going so low. Oh wait, I misread the prompt. It's "going solo". I've been solo. I've travelled solo several times over the years. Been down to Mexico, out to Jamaica and across Canada, among other places. 

I've always had a good amount of friends, I've also enjoyed my time alone. I don't want to overstate it, I'm not a loner, but I'm comfortable with being alone. So, no, I'm not the guy, who will be described as quiet and a bit of a loner, after some grave act of violence.

Travelling alone forces you to make friends and talk to people. Otherwise a solo trip could end up with you being so low.

When I have travelled alone, the only people I avoided were those from my hometown or home province. I always preferred to mix it up with people from all over. But time after time the people I ended hanging out with were New Yorkers. Aside from their obvious charm, I could never figure out why.

Going Solo?

Mike and Nicky over at We Work for Cheese have forced invited us to participate in this 30 Day Creative Writing Challenge. Today is Day 20, the theme is Going Solo.

Travelling A Broad - I mean Abroad

Beautiful Beaches

The problem I have with vacations is that once I book I want to immediately depart. As in, right now! I have booked my trip and six weeks is a long time to wait. I am ready to start packing. Even though it is six weeks away, I want to go to the car and sit in it until it is time to leave for the airport. First things first. I have to get organized and figure out what I need. So, this is how I get organized for my trip.

Can't wait to hit this beach

1. Make a list. Everything starts with a list. Where are you going? How many days? What activities will you need to dress for?  Check. 
2. Find a travel partner. Preferably of the opposite sex and of the hot variety. Check, check and check.
3. Ensure your passport has not expired. After my failed attempt to travel to New York for New Year's, my new passport has finally arrived. Check.
4. Do you have clothes to wear? A bathing suit? Sunscreen? Do an inventory of your summer (or winter) gear. Check.
5. Find a suitcase...
6. Consult the country travel report for the place of destination. Check for weather, crime, or health concerns. Canadians click here. Americans can click here. Both sites are useful to everyone. Check.
7. It is recommended that you register with your government when travelling abroad. See the above links. Registering makes it possible to contact a traveler if necessary, whether because of a family emergency at home or because of a crisis in the place the traveler is visiting. It is a free service.
8. Get your shots. Hep A and Hep B and Tetanus. Booster shots are always important. Check with your doctor what travel vaccinations are necessary to get if you are travelling.  Check.
9. Give your travel itinerary to a friend or family member.
10. Can you use your local currency? What are the exchange rates? It is always safest to buy traveller's cheques and only keep a small amount of currency on you. Keep a backup credit card and debit card on you in a secure spot. Split up your valuables. Check.
11. Scale down. Clean out your wallet or purse. Do you really need all those cards? The answer is no. Check.
12. Does your personal insurance cover international travel? Do you need to top it up? Some plans cover air ambulance, cancellation etc. Check.
13. When packing, keep in mind the new weight restrictions. Airlines will charge for anything over the limit. Check.
14. Be safe and respect flight security. And don't be a douche. Be aware of limits for liquids or personal hygiene products. (It is usually 100 ml or 3.4 oz). Check.
15. Dress comfortably. For example, if leaving Montreal's -23 degrees C (-15 F) and arriving in Jamaica's 28 degrees C (83 F), you should leave room in your luggage to pack your coat and, change either at the airport or on the plane. Check.
16. Do not pack weapons in your carry on luggage. Check, wait... OK, Check.

Airport Security

A few more tips from Canadian Air Transport Security for speeding up your passage through security

DO

• Have your boarding pass ready to present.
• Remove coats, jackets, and blazers and place them in the bin.
• Empty all contents of your shirt and pant pockets and place these items in the bin. 
• Keep all GPS equipment, iPods, PDA’s, mobile phones, and smartphones in your carry-on baggage. They do not need to be screened separately.
• Remove laptops, video cameras with cassettes, and film cameras from their carry-cases and place them in the bins provided.
• Pack knitting needles, crotchet hooks and sewing kits in your carry-on baggage.
• Avoid wearing shoes with metal arches, buckles, steel-toes or shanks (shanks?!).
• Avoid wearing belts with metal buckles.
• Place your transparent, closed and resealable plastic bag containing your liquids, aerosols and gels into a separate bin.
• Ensure all medication is properly labelled and stored in your carry-on baggage. The name on the prescription must be the same as the one on your ticket/boarding pass.

DON’T ...

• Don't bring gel or ice packs in your carry-on baggage as they are subject to the liquid restrictions. You can carry a bag of frozen solid peas instead to keep food cold.
• Don't pack gifts and souvenirs containing liquids, aerosols and gels in your carry-on. These include: liquor, wine, beer, snow-globes, cans of soup, maple syrup, perfume, and lotion. Put them in checked baggage or ship them separately. (Only in Canada do they have to specify maple syrup).
• Don't wrap gifts as they may have to be opened for screening. Wait until you arrive at your destination or ship them ahead of time. 

I hope these handy travel tips will make your vacation safe and more enjoyable. Start with a list, do an inventory, pack light. And please take me with you!

The Legoland airport cavity searches can be brutal

A Day in California

This beautifully shot "A Day in California" is by Ryan Killackey a pre-med student who is a photographer by hobby. The film features 10,000 photos shot in California on a  Canon Rebel XS, 50mm. A truly stunning video.

A Day in California from Ryan Killackey on Vimeo.

Mafia Wars Is Over

Goodbye Mafia Wars it was nice knowing ye... Three weeks of PC problems has made me realize that I have wasted too much time on the game.  Mafia Wars started off as a fun diversion that took no more than 15 minutes to play every other day. It later became an obsessive ordeal for which I was logging in two and three times a day to my Facebook account just to play Mafia Wars. A 90 minute time waster every freaking day! Mafia Wars is a fun game but - there is no end in sight. An addiction or compulsion is an obsessive or abnormal behaviour that revolves around a certain thing or activity. Whether your addiction is poker, cigarettes or porn, there is always a conclusion. And then you start over. In Mafia Wars there was not even the satisfaction of starting over, only the long and continuous travelling from country to country, completing operations, crimes and killing and robbing people.

Mafia Wars

An extended break from the game has allowed me to realize just how much time was lost. Goodbye to Brazil, even though I have yet to see you in person. Goodbye to Las Vegas even though I have not travelled to your far away lands. And New York, perhaps I will visit you again, face to face.

I have completed all my virtual travels to nearly every city and country without losing a dime. What I have lost is many hours. I will only blame Mafia Wars for making me late for work once. Just so that you understand, I am almost obsessive about getting to work on time. If I don't get to work fifteen minutes before my start time I consider myself late.

So with a final hurrah, I gave away all my gifts to all the hot girls with the real Facebook photo IDs who friended me for the game. I gave away cars, weapons and animals to my most loyal Mafiosa who aided me through my missions.

Things I did when my PC went down:

• Wrote with a pen
• Paid my bills by cheque
• Cleaned my condo
• Folded my laundry ( I was living out of my laundry basket for the last month, maybe I should explain that in another post)
• Went on a couple dates (This had nothing to do with my computer, I am just bragging)
• Cleaned my condo a second time (Here too I am bragging)
• Did the crossword
• Had a party
• Took a walk
• Got to work way too early

Mafia Wars: The Big Heist

 Things I will do instead of playing Mafia Wars:

• Watch TV
• Call my friends
• Finish building my bar
• Take my bike out for a spin
• Shower
• Go the nearest department store and set all their alarm clocks to go off at the same time
• Synchronize my remote to my neighbours TV
• Install Ubuntu
• Have a root canal
• Eat dirt
• Start new rumours
• Spread lies

From their website, "Mafia Wars is the #1 crime genre game with over 7 million players playing daily. Mafia Wars is part of the Zynga family of games. Zynga is the #1 social gaming company on the web. Zynga was founded specifically to add a social element to casual online games..." And stop inviting me to play Mafia Wars 2!

Flying is not dangerous; crashing is dangerous.

I had to fly out to the west coast for work last month. It was a short trip, I stayed two days. The flight was about five hours in each direction. It felt as if I was on the plane longer than actually at my destination.

It is the oddest thing, flying westerly through the time zones. What compounded the confusion was two nights in a row of not sleeping well and being tired from a very long day, and seeing daylight when, as far as my internal clock knew, it should be dark out.

I managed to keep myself busy on the plane by watching a few TV shows and a movie. I took off my shoes to relax, hoping the smell of fourteen hours in the same shoes would not be noticeable to everyone in the cabin, especially the lady sitting next to me.

I tried to make small talk with her. Twice. She giggled both times and mumbled something. That was before I took off my shoes, by the way.

My first morning in B.C. was a little confusing, due to the time change. I slept in until 6AM local time, but it was really 9AM back home. I usually wake up at 6AM, which is 3AM on the left coast. It was Thursday, but back home it was jeudi. Too confusing.

After working for a three or four hours and taking a late long lunch with my colleagues, I ended up back at the hotel at 6PM, or was it 9PM? Then I had to figure out what time I had to get up to catch the plane. 5AM or 8AM?

The room was okay. The motel was recommended so I asked the Office Assistant to book a room for me there. She arranged for the deluxe accommodations. Keep this in mind next time you need to book a room. A deluxe room in a motel, does not change the fact that you are staying at a motel. The room came with a king size bed. And a hair dryer. I do not need a hair dryer.

I still haven't pieced together how, or why, the sink smelled like pee.

I suppose the most memorable part of the trip was at the airport leaving Montreal. Not having to deal with international security and only airport security made the check in a breeze. Still, there are some security checks, but the rules are pretty simple. No liquids. Not everyone could grasp this.

After passing through the metal detectors, a twenty-something year old guy in front of me was pulled aside by security who proceeded to go through his carry on luggage. It seems his carry on luggage was over the limit. It looked to be over the limit for a family of four.

From what I could gather in those brief moments, his suitcase had been too heavy, and he was already charged $100 for the over limit. So, he crammed the rest of the stuff into his carry on.

The guard asked, "Do you have any liquids?"

He replied, "No."

The guard went on to empty the bag, item by item. After she pulled out each bottle she would show it to the guy, look him in the eye with raised eyebrows and say in that voice usually reserved for that idiot child, "This is liquid."

Then she would chuck the bottle in the garbage.

"This is liquid." Toss.

"This is liquid." Toss.

Out went the shampoo. Out went the Axe body spray. Out went the cologne. The guy looked like a douche so it was probably an expensive, smelly flavor of the month cologne, something like Bad Romance for Men.

I didn't stick around long enough to see what happened.

Coffee is still relatively inexpensive at the airport. Funny enough, a small bottle of water costs more than a large cup of coffee.

Oh, and if anyone from the Montreal Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport is reading this, there is no soap in the men's room.