Early October in Anaheim

The tin foiled wrap package lands on the purple formica table. The steam
and fresh smell of fresh corn tortillas escapes and gently burns my fingers.

I am facing a oval plate laden with beans (which I taste but I really do
not need to fart all day tomorrow), some mushy rice which I will skip as
the flavour doesn't do anything for me, a mixture os grilled chicken,
chunky pieces of onion re and green peppers that I laden onto the shells
and add the quacamole and salsa sauce.

The dish is garnished with a radish rose and a slice of orange. Stikes
me as funny.

Frankly I did not know what else to order off this working class menu.

Did get a dos equis xx which is thirst quenching.

In the background the jukebox is blaring out Mexican ballads

For some reason it reminds me of Finland.

The walls are decorated with bud light neon lights and other beer promo
pieces. As you walk in you have the coolers full of beer soft drinks
and water.

Overall decent value 12 for the fajitas 4.50 for beer salsa and chips
for free and bowl of guacamole for five. This is in Disneyland after all.

Deal? Air Canada introduces Preferred seats for more legroom

I love the emails that I get offering something better - they make it sound like they are doing me a favour.

"At Air Canada, we're always looking for ways to improve your travel experience.
We've just introduced Preferred seats*, which allows you to choose seats with extra legroom for increased comfort.
Discover the difference a little more legroom can make"

So they are giving some flyers a little extra legroom.
What happens to us just every day flyers?
Do they sneak away an inch or two from the "cheap seats"
And in the past I had access to those seats without having to pay extra.

"Preferred seats refer to the bulkhead and exit row seats in Economy Class that offer added legroom.
These coveted seats are now available to all Air Canada and Jazz^® customers for a fee that varies by fare option and destination."

Of course they are coveted - it is bad enough now that quite often you can't even open your laptop fully.
And goodness forbid that you actually drop something on the floor.
You need to be a cirque de soleil performer to pick it up.

"As an Elite^® member, you'll enjoy complimentary access to Preferred seats with a Latitude fare option!"
Great I'm an elite member already - earned by a lot of short haul flights but always in the Tango Plus class. Have you looked at the Latitude fares? My clients would shot me.

You will also continue to enjoy your existing Top Tier Privilege, which offers you access to select rows in the front of the Economy Class cabin and is now referred to as Priority seat selection.

And I always wonder - do these people exist?
Is there really a Benjamin Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Air Canada

Never an address, or a phone number or anyway to contact that person and say - No I don't like your office.

Who trigged the fire alarm at the YVR??

After years and years of flying it always amuses me to learn about a new way that luggage can be delayed.
Today someone or something triggered the fire alarm.
With the Olympics less than 90 days away I'm sure are pleased this is happening now and now on day one of the Games.

So fire alarm is pulled and that equals shut downs.
This means that the luggage roundabout is not going around and around reuniting luggage with their owners.

It hasn't been to long for our flight AC 025 but it looks like the other 4 or 5 flights have been here for a bit.

There was just an announcement - they are going to try and unload the luggage manually starting with a Montreal flight.
That is kind of AC Baggage to attempt to do this. At least some people will get on their way soon.

I'm just thrilled that the internet is free at the YVR.
I have no where to go in a rush and since I have wireless I don't mind waiting for my luggage.

AC Lounge - food is free and cheap

And by cheap I mean that the yoghurt offered up has gelatin - forget that if you are a vegetarian, many of the cereals offer up hydrogentated oils - just what a busy person needs - another way to clog up arteries and the majority of items offered up don't give you the list of ingredients.

With so many people suffering from food intolerances, allergies, and other such ailments you would think they could make it just a little easier on the jet setters.

Hey let's not worry about H1N1

Need I say more?

Another famous Canadian Icon

I've seen the big blueberry and here is our version of the big apple
snapped at a apple orchard in the Eastern Townships.

Eastern Townships of Quebec - a pretty drive

Quaint wineries along the way - some with sculptures throughout their
property; images of times gone past such as these old vineyard shoes
and ice grapes waiting for a freeze gently cradled in nets.

Hauntings in Kits

Always always double check your seats

Travel realities

I am in the Schiphal airport sitting on my bag outside the locked door of Aviapartner - the group that handles luggage for BMI.

I have left my Roots tote bag full of all my travel stuff on the plane.

I had plenty of time to double check my seat but I never did.

That has caused me to reverse my entrance into the airport, back through security and passport control, ran all the way to the gate, frantically trying to remember landmarks.

The Red Pub door was brilliant. At least I was going in the right direction.

Adding to Portland's Weird Culture

The city that likes to stay weird welcomes another player to the world of coffee.

Wille Yli-Luoma ventures off the snowboarding track for a bit of time to explore roasting coffee beans, offering mad scientist style siphon coffee, and setting up shop on Burnside. Wille has approached this project with the same focus he's given to snowboarding - attention to the smallest of details and aiming for near perfection - makes this coffee shop a very interesting addition to Portland. Check out the in-store roaster - pretty cool.

www.keepportlandweird.com
www.heartroasters.com

Zero Footprint

0.7 total emissions (tonnes of CO2/flight) is what a flight from YYZ to YVR takes.
www.zerofootprint.com has more details but the info I picked out was that every flight I take releases carbon dioxide (co2) into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. When I offset my flight (i.e. pay $11.20 for the length of this flight into a fund like Zerofootprint) I am contributing to certified environmentally friendly projects. 
Basically I'm paying for my pollution is my take.

Is that a bad thing or a good thing?

I'm still a little lost on the carbon taxes, being carbon neutral and so forth but I am attempting to understand it.

All I know is that I am guilty of being a heavy user of carbons (or rather I release a lot of carbons by my actions) which is a bad thing.

Over the past 20 years I have spent so much time in airplanes that I hate to think about what I should put into a carbon bank account.

I might be able to offset it somewhat because I rarely use my car, eat lower on the food chain (that's right - the less animal products that you eat the fewer carbons are produced), volunteer for an earth-friendly group and am fairly aware of the impact my living has on the planet.

It is still a thought. Given the damage that Europeans, North Americans and now China it is time that we took some responsibility.
One thing I haven't done is have children - some might call that a selfish act - but I must say that not having children means that my carbon footprint will be much less than so many other people.  Mind you I have two cats...oh the list goes on.

Who the heck is Alice?

Another item that I got - give Alice to a friend and they get $10 off but it has already expired as of 7/1/2010 - oh wait we are still in 2009. So let's see what www.alice.com is.

Well it is rather cool, though I think it is designed for the States (and thus I did not bother to sign up) but I did check out the blog and it is all about keeping your house organized with a sense of humour.

What I do like, from my quick 4 minute tour of it, is that they do have some green soul and aren't just pushing all the many, many products that are out there that can make you feel so guilty if you don't use them.

And this one looks very fun - find out if you should toss or keep.
stilltasty.com

Beads change colour like magic

I'm such a sucker for stuff like this. It is a bracelet that I picked up at the Chicago Blogher conference that I attended in 2009 on behalf of ZESPRI Green and Gold.

This simple piece of leather with some plastic beads has some pigment that is embedded in the plastic and when used in combination with the sun's energy, or rather its ultraviolet light it changes colour. Now these beads won't change (ie lightbulbs should not affect them) unless there is UV rays (the same ones that can burn your skin and are a source of radiation).

So now I'm keen to hang onto this piece and see how quickly it changes when I'm outside i.e. on a cloudy day, a sunny one, a rainy one and so forth. And what else is cool is that I can put them under by sunglasses, expose them to sunlight and if they stay plain white then my lens are giving me protection - and if not, then the UV rays are making their way into my eyeballs.

Plus I can even slather on some sunscreen onto the beads - the more they change colour, the less protection I get and vice versa - no change in colour means lots of protection.

How cool is that? So anyhow you can check out their website at www.stevespanglerscience.com.

SOHO Fall Show Vancouver

As a Road Warrior sometimes my trips take place in my hometown of Vancouver. In this case I actually got on my bike, put on the  helmet and crossed the controversial Burrard Street bridge, found parking at the Fairmount Hotel and attended the SOHO fall conference (I'm not big on acronyms but it stands for Small Office / Home Office - which is what I am, I think, therefor I am?)

There are so many trade shows, conferences and associations that you can join so how do you know which ones are right for you?
I struggle with this all the time since I'm a self employed professional with strong links to several companies.

So I trotted off to this conference, paying my $10.00 (a discounted rate as Canada Post sponsored the event).
Just for a couple of hours....was it worth it?

For me yes - the presentation put on by Canada Post/Venture One on direct mail was insightful, gave me some additional resources that I will find useful and gave me some ideas that I can offer up to my clients.

I only caught the tail end of another presentation but it was on goal setting - prospecting, building value of existing customers, and closing business. It was another session I wish I had attended from the start. And while I'm not in day in/day out sales, sales are still a valuable measure of my performance in a marketplace.

There was a small trade show - the hard part sometimes is walking by a booth and wondering what the hell are they offering.

Several caught my attention (and since I'm trying to cut down on the amount of paper I pick up I'm writing this post so I won't forget about the ones I want to check out).

www.trailblazersystem.com  Sounds like a decent on-line coaching/guidance program geared to entrepreneurs & self-employed professionals.

The join SOHO now regular rate $149/year now only $111.75 - www.soho.ca/offers and www.mysohoworld.com

Junior Achievement of BC Volunteer Program. I used to be a member of Junior Achievement way back when and it intrigues me that it is still being offered. The program snapshot page I picked up doesn't have a website but it does tell me it is sponsored by Odlum Brown.

Park n Fly - two complimentary days parking - you just never know when these might come in handy - but I have to be a member to get this one. (and in this case I have to keep the form and fax it to their offices - that for some reason seems a bit old-fashioned to me but I still have a fax machine that I can turn on.   Fax form to 604-273-0279

SMARTT - (which actually is the company that hosts my website) had a booth so it was great to see real people. I've always been able to get through to them and while my needs are small I'm been happy with the service. Mind you I do pay $32 / month which works out to almost $400 per year. And this is where I start to get confused - how many services do I have or need? Between Smartt, blogs, squarespace, telus, rogers it does get a bit frightful.  Anyhow they have a free offer www.smartt.com/freebook - the 6 week online business makeover - SEO & e-marketing for small business.

Several Canadian government agencies were represented  Canadian Intellectual Property Office (an agency of Industry Canada). www.opic.ic.gc.ca  oops the English one is www.cipo.ic.gc.ca  - file online, search IP databases and learn about IP (patents, trademarks, copywrits, industrial designs and integrated circuit topographies - what the heck is that?)

Tin foil

The tin foiled wrap package lands on the purple formica table. The steam
and fresh smell of fresh corn tortillas escapes and gently burns my fingers.

I am facing a oval plate laden with beans (which I taste but I really do
not need to toot all day tomorrow), some mushy rice which I skip as the
taste is just so-so, a mixture of grilled chicken, chunky pieces of
onion, red and green peppers that I laden onto the shells and add the
guacamole and salsa sauce.

The dish is garnished with a radish rose and a slice of orange. Stikes
me as funny as it is not something I expect in a Mexican restaurant. It
does add a note of freshness.

I did not know what else to order off this working-class menu. I don't
read Spanish and my understanding of Mexican dishes is minimal - I think
of them as being fatty, deep fried, greasy.

I did get a thirst quenching dos equis xx.

In the background the jukebox is blaring out Mexican ballads

For some reason it reminds me of Finland. Old tunes mixed with new.

The walls are decorated with bud light neon lights and other beer promo
pieces. As you walk in you have the coolers full of beer soft drinks
and water.

Overall decent value - $12 for the fajitas; $4.50 for beer; salsa and
chips for free and the only pricey item was a small bowl guacamole for
five. This is in Disneyland territory after all.

Two other travel/work websites to explore

For over 30 years, the single most useful and comprehensive resource—now THE free portal—for Work Abroad, Study Abroad, Cultural Travel Overseas, and International Living.

Now that is a pretty major claim to make BUT it does look pretty intriguing.   http://www.transitionsabroad.com/

http://www.whichbudget.com/en/ and this looks like another discount flight site.  I tried one routing (Helsinki to London) but all I got were google maps showing the towns around the airport (which at times isn't a bad thing when you are trying to sort yourself out in a new region).

Travel tip: Record every single card in your wallet

This was a bit of an onerous task but I took 30 minutes out to record each and every card that I had in my wallet onto my contact manager system (in this case outlook).
It seems that I'm often somewhere where I need my Costco number (to upload and print photos), my library card (to go on-line and reserve a book), or one of my many travel cards. Now it is synced between my computer and my blackberry. Let's see if this helps me or not over the next few months.

Of course bear in mind that if you lose your electronic device all your numbers are going to be listed in full view. I have encrypted my numbers (you could substitute a number for a letter as long as you use the same one all the time; you could change one word into a foreign language, you could put all your numbers in backwards, you could scramble them in some other fashion - just remember to be consistent).

And it actually took just under 30 minutes but now it is done.

Puffins in Newfoundland

Earlier this year I headed to the "Big Rock" - or rather the Island of
Newfoundland. This time I took a tour and was lucky enough to see one
of the world's largest puffin colonies, six whales that stayed near
our boat for over an hour (and I was actually thrilled to see one
shoot straight out out of the water as our boat pulled away - a photo
that will always be in my memory), and an icebery with a glorious blue
streak through one side.

Highly recommend a tour of Newfoundland.

Sure they reward you - with nothing

At the Toronto Pearson airport you need to make sure you have your
coin read for the small luggage carts they offer.

At least in Vancouver luggage carts are courtesy of the airport.

Add further insult - they tell you they will give you a "reward" for
returning the cart. Right. Last few times I've returned them I haven't
got my 25 cents back. What I got back was nothing.

Of course I could take the time out to call their toll free number and
advise them the unit is busy. Frankly you can keep your 25 cents -
just keep disappointing the kids who often will return the cart to see
if they can get a quarter. Not so.

Every car rental person should walk in the customer's shoes

Once again I am dashing to the YYZ to get my Thrifty car returned on time and to catch my 3 AM flight. Often I will push it to the limit but I didn't want to chance it today - I was in Brampton and I wasn't quite sure where I was in relation to the airport.

I arrive at 1:58 - the flight is at 3:00 - so one hour in advance. Great.

There are four people at the Thrifty check in. It is Saturday and the return lot is dead quiet. No one acknowledges me pulling up. I turn off the ignition leaving the keys. I go and grab a cart and load my luggage cart up. I'm ready to go.

Finally one of them saunters over like they were going for a Sunday drive. Turns on the car. Checks the gas (yes it is full). Then advises me to go to the booth so he can print out a receipt.

I make mention that my flight is in less than an hour. And the young woman mentions that she has never been on a flight before. Maybe that is why they are soooooo slow today.

A simple exercise they could do: pull into the lot, unload 3 bags, a purse, a briefcase and other misc items. Do this from a car that is dark since the lighting at this facility sucks. Wait for service. Go through doors and find elevator. Take it to the 5th floor. Get out. Go through two double doors. Down a slanted hallway or via the moving sidewalk. Go through another set of doors and again a moving sidewalk. And finally the final set of double doors. Take the elevator and go stand in line. Good. The person is half way there. Get with the program will you??

Maybe then they could just show a tiny itty bit of interest in their job and try to understand that the customer that is deep breathing or tapping their toes or showing signs of impatient is really say - hey I need these extra 5 to 7 minutes could you please just do your job a little quicker.
Today it didn't matter. My flight is 20 minutes delayed.

Opening on time counts when you are catching a train

First off when did Thrifty Car rental decide that you should open your business at 7:30 AM?
And you are located in a major train terminal?
How short sighted it that.

I was planning on returning my car to Thrifty at 7:00 AM to catch a 7:22 GO train to Ajax.
It was tricky to get into the parking lot underneath the train station - someone at City Hall has decided in poor wisdom to install 125 plus cameras and put in extra security measures such as asking to see your license when you are returning a rental car.  They certainly don't seem to be concerned when you can enter the exact same building via many other doors.

Big brother is watching.

Anyhow I get to Thrifty and I don't see a key drop box so I trudge down to their offices.
The darkened windows tell me that there is no one home.
Office opens at 7:30 AM.

I miss the train but lucky for me there is an express to Pickering at 7:43 AM which I plan to take.
My friend Heather will be able to pick me up from that station.
I purchase a ticket and then head back to the Thrifty office - it is now 7:34 and they aren't open.
Finally they arrive at 7:38 - I hand in keys, rental agreement and dash.

One thing about the GO train they run right on schedule.
At 7:43 AM we were pulling out of the station.
And this quick express train cost under $6 from Union to Pickering.
Great value, stress free, comfortable.

Cafe Vienne Montreal

Always when I travel I need a spot that I can use my computer - sometimes just for 15 minutes and at other times for a few hours.
Cafe Vienne at the corner of Sherbrooke and St. Denis is one of those places.

I can get an excellent cup of coffee, a pastry (or breakfast if I want - just simple stuff), it is usually quiet, there is street parking that is not too restrictive and you ask for the internet code and they give it to you. No worries if you don't speak French as they are bilingual.

It has a nice European-Montreal flavour to it.

Best take on lunch for flight

Today on my YVR to YYZ flight I brought my own lunch from home.
It was an Ocean's light tuna italian salad. 
What I liked about it:

- comes with own napkin and spoon.
- a mere 150 calories
- the ingredients are 98% perfect (there are two ingredients I don't recognize but they are way down on the list of ingredients - gycerol monosterate and xathan gum)
- sodium is a bit high - 13% of your daily value
- mixture of tuna, pasta and vegetables
- a tin can (much better than plastic)
- a cardboard outer
- actually tastes good
- www.oceanfish.com

Jet stream coming down from the north just announced - the turbulence is starting since the flight attendants are now also going to get buckled up. It is always a bit frightful as the air can be do bumpy. But it is also very normal. Funny though I always try to listen to the stress in the voices of those making the announcements.

This sounds wonderful - but yikes - make it easier for me to get pricing details

Come and discover why guests rave about the Rocky Mountaineer. While the award-winning all-daylight rail journeys take you through Canada’s West and the spectacular Canadian Rocky Mountains and to Whistler, B.C. the custom-designed GoldLeaf Dome Coach puts you right in the middle of the awe-inspiring scenery with panoramic views. And with the attentive service provided by your Onboard Attendants to the gourmet regional cuisine prepared by onboard chefs, you can be assured of luxury and comfort.

The email promo arrived in my mail box.
I got distracted and thought I would look at their special offer.
Instead I got lost trying to find the basic details.

I really hate this. My time is limited at this very moment.
The offer is valid only until Sept 25th.
And I don't know if I will have time to come back and explore all the options.

Keep it simple please!

http://www.rockymountaineer.com/AMEX/?om_rid=AqrZGe&om_mid=_BKk$5rB7uh1TkK&

Matchmaking Flight offered by NZ Oct 13th

I took this from the website only because several friends and co-workers sent it my way....rather a clever idea if you are in the market for a date!

Welcome aboard to the Matchmaking Flight. This is your chance to be part of history, linking the great North American culture with the natural vibes of pure New Zealand. Join us and Jason Mesnick from ABC's The Bachelor, fasten your seatbelt, enjoy the ride of parties and holiday activities as you take off on October 13th to the other side of the world on your Amazing Journey to find The One.

http://www.thematchmakingflight.com/

The site has all kinds of interesting connections - take a look!