A list
August5
A list
Because, at work no one can hear you care… (snicker)
I am back at work, after having a week (and a day) off… and my desk looks like a bomb went off on it. Generally, my desk is covered with various things, piles (if you will) of specifics sorts that I have to deal with on a daily basis :
I have a pile for jobs that we have estimated that need to be detailed for the MotherShip (aka, head office),
I have a pile for the jobs that we have been awarded so that I can go through the different hoops that are required to set up the job
I have a pile for jobs that are completed and I need to do the invoicing for
I have a pile for jobs that need the logs done on them
I have a pile for invoices that need to be received into the system
I have a pile for things that need to be mailed out
I have a pile for filing
I have a pile for payroll
I have a pile for document controls (aka, the contract-y bits)
I have a pile for things that I need to cross reference
But when I got back to work this morning, the piles that were on my desk were not these piles. They were piles of mixed design (which means that co-worker just tossed information into whatever pile he was closest to instead of where it belonged) and so I have spent the greater part of my first day back to work resorting through the detrius and looking for order in the chaos that was my desk.
There is not enough coffee in the world to make this job that interesting today.
And since I have been poked by S (aka Sunil from his own personal bloggy blog thinger (and because he hates the word “blog”) Sunil Sebastian.com) regarding the small stories of my trip to visit (torture?) him on his turf with my kid-lings, I thought I would start this process by making a list.
Yay, a list!
Yes, a list. Another list full of listy goodness… chock full of vitamin… um… something or rather that keeps us focused or…
Oh… look, a shiny thing! (snicker).
Seriously, I make lists. And then I make them into charts, usually gantt charts, which then make S’s brain explode. The next step is either an ishikarwa diagram or a mind map. I can’t decide which.
But lists are something I do. Like piles. And laundry (oh, the LAUNDRY) and dishes (gag!)… and sweeping up massive tumbleweeds made of cat hairs that roll along the floor of my apartment (and I sweep AND swiffer them up every day!!)…
So… here is a list of interesting tidbits about my time away from Saskatchewan to visit the greater Toronto area:
staying awake with Reg all night in anticipation of having to be at the airport at 5am with kids in tow and fully packed.
GirlChild bouncing out of bed at the first sign of “life” at 4am and jumping into the shower with unusual enthusiasm for that time of day
BoyChild grumping about the house because, seriously, 4am sucks
Getting to the airport and standing in line for 20 mins to check in luggage only to be told that there was a 5 hour flight delay and to come back to the airport at 10am (ARGH).
Getting free donuts from Air Canada (and Tim Horton’s) because the flight was delayed. This is what us Canadians call “breakfast”
Having Reg fall asleep 1 hour before we had to leave (again) and GirlChild deciding that we would take a cab instead. He was VERY grouchy when he did get up to drive us to the airport, no kiss goodbye for me!
First conversation with airport security because the kids HAD to see pictures of what was in their bags. Good thing we’re Canadian, I wouldn’t want to try that with a US custom agent
First time on a plane, and trying to land in a storm… fun.
BoyChild grades the pilot, gives him a thumbs up for best landing ever (hardly a bump in a semi-torrential downpour)
Running through Terminal 1 to find a Lush Shop while texting everyone (except my mother, who can’t text) to let them know we arrived.
Finding S, getting lost on an elevator that couldn’t get to the floor of the parkade in which he had parked
A lot of yelling at the GPS unit (mostly by S, who will say that he did not yell, just snarked at it a lot)
Running through a torrential downpour to get to the hotel, only to have S realize, once we got to the room, that he forgot to pay for parking at the pay lot
Realizing on day 2 that although I thought I packed well, I had completely failed to pack ANY shirts for BoyChild. Thus necessitating a trip to the Ontario version of Old Navy (which was suspiciously like the Saskatchewan version… only sported more Canadian Goose types outside the front door… nice touch Ontario)
TORRENTIAL downpour, discussion of me being to blame for this sort of weather in Ontario, and more snarking at the GPS
STILL not managing to see the Canadian Falls at Niagara Falls, but managed to see Hershey’s Store and Coke Store… and get children covered in chocolate. Epic Win for Mom!
Finding MarineLand
Being inspected by Belugas and splashed by an Orca
wandering around MarineLand while GirlChild howled about being splashed by said Orca
having a child who hates to be wet, yet constantly whined about going SWIMMING!
Petting and feeding a beluga with the kidlings
Feeding gigantic carp while another small visitor to the park tried diligently to make sure the food was going to the fish NOT the flying garbage disposal units (aka, seagulls)
Feeding deer… and being chased by deer who knew you had the good stuff and were more than willing to take it off your hands
Up close and personal with a “Ralrus” (or Lolrus), until it “barfed”
Talking Trees, indoor Thunderstorms and taking pictures of random strangers at the Rainforest Cafe
First time on an underground train! And Black Squirrels (and the empire of evil) and the wonders of the iPod Touch
Bathing Suit discomforts (aka, wearing a bikini) and finally checking out the hotel pool
The case of the stalking streetcars
Drive Through Zoo Adventure (more snarking at the GPS and the adventure of getting lost in somewhat rural Ontario)
Checking out the GIFT SHOP in the CN Tower (but not the tower itself)
The ongoing saga of Snaily the snail…
uneventful adventure in returning to Saskatchewan!!
So… if I get around to it, there will either be a small series of posts about this adventure, or more likely a mind map of the adventure…
Really, the best way to explain this whole thing would have been for S and I to record an ongoing podcast… its better than saying “You had to be there”…
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