Of all the things that drive me nuts…

Just home from a weekend in the Canadian Rockies.  And I must say that there is nowhere in the world as beautiful as them.  Hands down.  We went on a 10 km snowshoe to Chester Lake on Saturday, followed by cross-country skiing on Lake Louise on Sunday.  The weather was just below zero, and while there is very little snow in Calgary, the mountains have a good amount.  It was great to be outside, appreciating some of the most beautiful scenery in the country (I’ll post links to pictures when I get them up later today).   All told, a brilliant weekend with great friends (who, hopefully, aren’t going to move back to Ontario at the end of June.. hint hint).

What disappoints me is how we travel in this country.  Granted, the NEXUS system has now been expanded at Canadian airports.  Since you’ve been pre-approved to travel, had your identity checked out and know what you’re doing, there are now special lines to by-pass the masses at security.  Which is great.  But the question remains: Why are their masses in the first place?  On Friday, flying out from Pearson Airport in Toronto, it was over half an hour to get through security.  Surely, by this point, the airport knows how many people will be traveling on a typical Friday.  The airlines, I’d imagine, could confirm that yes, their planes will be partially filled.  And you’d think they’d put it all together.  Of the five security counters that they had available (i.e. equipment at the ready) only two were in operation.  The security situation is really irrelevant though, once you arrive at your gate and have to make it through pre-boarding.

As I normally sit in the exit row (thank you long legs), I get to pre-board.  This gives the flight attendants a chance to explain to me how the emergency exit works, and what I need to do (though yesterday, I gave the safety briefing to the flight attendant instead… I’ve heard it that many times).  In front of me was an older couple who were pre-boarding because they needed more time.  Fair enough.  We all boarded the plane and again, they took their extra time as there were mobility issues.  But landing back in Toronto, the couple in question, decided that they were agile enough to de-plane with the rest of us.  The fact that it took them 10 minutes to get out of their seat, and another ten minutes up the aisle and jetway seems lost on them.

So to you airlines out there…. IF PEOPLE PRE-BOARD, TELL THEM THEY HAVE TO BE THE LAST ONES TO GET OFF THE PLANE!  You can’t have it both ways.

Hopefully my trip to Quebec City next weekend will involves less hassles.

Pictures of our time in the Rockies can be found by clicking here.

Another reason not to own a car

I’ve never owned a car, and frankly, I don’t ever expect to.  For the cash out lay involved on a daily basis, for something that spends the vast majority of it’s time sitting around waiting to be used, I don’t see any particular reason to ‘invest’.  Between car sharing, renting cars when required and living atop a major transit hub, in reality, gas prices mean nothing to me.  And I like it that way.  A flip side though is that I can rent out my parking spots.  I have a great tenant who takes both spots during the winter, parks his cars, and it’s easy money for me.  Last year, my parking spot revenue financed the trip to China.  I met with him last week to settle up for the coming year, and promptly spent the money on a plane ticket to visit friends in Calgary, before then move back to Toronto in June.

It was an expensive ticket, and more expensive then the last time I went, but at the end of the day, how often am I going to get the chance to hike The Rockies, for free?

You can keep your car and your traffic…. I’ll keep the memories of visiting some great places and visiting with amazing friends.

“Merry Christmas” was actually what Trudeau wanted.

It seems that every year, it becomes slight more taboo to wish someone a “Merry Christmas” if you’re not entire sure that the receiver is Christian.  Additionally, more and more often, there seems to be a move to neutralize the Christmas spirit and celebrate winter holidays.  A co-worker described it as taking ‘Christ’ out of the ‘Christmas’.  I’m not overly religious (perhaps that should read religious at all), but it’s getting to the point where it seems that Christmas is being stripped out of every day life, in the name of political correctness.  And this is a problem.

When Canada signed a new constitution act in 1982, the Charter entrenched the idea of multiculturalism, where anyone/everyone was invited to celebrate their culture.  It’s an easy argument that religion and culture are pretty much the same thing.  So, then why are we trying to remove Christmas?  Regardless if your stance on religion, or particular belief, it shouldn’t offend anyone to see a Christmas tree up in a public building or vehicle.  By the same token, it shouldn’t offend to see the menorah either.  The whole point of multiculturalism is that we celebrate each other for who we are, not try and hide the fact.

We celebrate numerous religious and cultural holidays over the course of the year, and we’re better for it. Merry Christmas to one and all, Christian or not, believer or not.