Happy Halloween!

Electroschism

I started physio last week... great... I do 40 minutes of exercises a day and still can't do anything. Still can't run, or lift, or sleep, but at least this is the right path... in theory. My physio is at least considerate in that she knows I am poor, so she is helping me in as few treatments as possible.

Anyways, yesterday I went in for physio and had luckily learned enough exercises for now. She then did some work on my mid-back to deal with a knot I have there. She used the IMF machine which generated high frequency low current impulses on a 10ish second cycle. This is something that I am familiar with, but usually running through my back. The physio put the electrodes on around one of the muscles in my shoulder... it just so happened that the current running through the muscle actually triggered the muscle.

Imagine. I was laying there on my stomach and every 10ish seconds my arm would pull up behind my body and then release... Every 10ish seconds, for 20 minutes... that is like... a bazillion seconds...

God that cracked me up...

Oh physio.

The Invigilator

Doesn't that sound like it should be a movie title? I think it should.

Who is the Invigilator? I am!

Actually, there are a bunch of us. It is a low paying job that is only available to Graduate Students. But, there are some serious perks. For example, getting paid $8.50/hour to do my homework. Yes indeed, that is the arrangement. I sit at a little table and make sure no one goes into the room and no one goes out. I sit at this little table with my homework and with everything I need.

I don't think I have ever been paid to do homework before...

I suppose it is not always all pay and no work. For example, today the student I was helping needed a "Reader" and so I sat there and read her test to her. By the way, it has been a long time since I have done Psych and I have forgotten how many really complicated words it has. It really does...

Either way. For an hour of work I get an hour and a half of pay, and on Monday I will get paid to do my homework.

Ye ha!

Somekindamagical...

Somehow magically my Internet started working again. I got a message from my Landlady and she said that it was fixed. "Great" I thought.

Great did not last. It was not long before my Internet cut out again.

"Great."

So now we are waiting. Still waiting, for the Internet to get fixed. It makes it very hard to work on my homework without Internet, and it is kind of difficult to work at all on the desk that has not yet been acquired. I guess it is fine that I work on the kitchen table, my roommate has been kind enough to not contest me for it, but we are getting another roommate in a few days. If he needs a workspace then things might get a little complicated. Sure we can share... but can we share?

Oh well.

block.opendns.com

And I'm stuck.

I don't know what block.opendns.com is, or where it came from, but it has blocked most of my website access. There is a chance that it is something that my landlords put in to control their children, but more than likely it is a trojan I picked up. I guess I will take a look tomorrow at school to see if it is resolved.

Funny thing is that I was at school all day and that my Internet was working fine... maybe it is just our DNS server and not malware...

Hopefully this is resolved soon. I had some other things to talk about, more about leadership and about my first presentation... but... it will wait. This blocky thingy has got me all disheartened...

I swear!

I have not been in Saint John long, but I swear that in the time I have been here it has rained more times than it had rained the entire time I lived in Calgary!!!

You know, I may not have been able to use the umbrella I bought in China in China, but, I sure get to use it here. Not only that, but every time I open it it is like getting sprinkled with little drops of nostalgia, and I have the pride of seeing every other umbrella of its class being dwarfed. Tonight we could see our shadows as we walked home, and though both of our umbrellas started the same size collapsed, mine is way huger.

Congratulations China on perfecting the umbrella and keeping my bag dry...

Now... about my pants...

Days go By...

The weekend is over and most of what I did was homework. Shocking.

This MBA Program is supposed to be very challenging. We have been warned about the workload, and we have been scared into submission. It only took a week. There is one issue with this whole theory... I'm still not scared.

Yeah, yeah, I get it, five graduate level courses compressed into 8 weeks. Hmm... this seems strikingly like my last year... But, I have tried to have an open mind and to accept that though my tolerance for work is high, this will still be difficult. We have now received all of our course outlines and what I see is very... interesting. I see an enormous workload, but with the exception of Accounting, it all appears to be easy content. This is interesting. It is also interesting that out of five courses there are only three finals.

I guess that means that if I can magically find the money I will be flying to Toronto for my Ikkyu Jo grading. I have looked at the outrageous costs of flying to Toronto for a day, but, this is quite economical when you consider that if I pass this grading my future gradings all line up with my Iaido gradings on the May Long Weekend.

Anyways. MBA workload = Manageable.

And how is Saint John? Still warmer than Calgary. Still no snow. And... still a little scary. The unfortunate reality of living in a high crime city. Its ok, the populace here is largely desensitized to it, but when you compare it to Calgary (with the exception of the NE) Saint John is a little sketch.

Redeeming features? Sunrises. Sunsets.

Calgary has beautiful movements with the sun as well, but this, this is different...

This photo was my walk home today. I would have gotten a better photo for you, but it is hard to see around the lights and wires of the city. This one is still a good representation of that spectacular band of light sneaking out from under the sky.

First Week of School

Not much to say here. Course by course the workload appears to be about the same as what I am used to. Unfortunately there is a little more business stuff involved, especially that concept or forced participation. As some might have guessed I greatly detest forced participation.

Anyways, courses are extremely long, 4 hours a piece, and most have about a bazillion pages of readings. I am not sure how the ESL students are going to keep up, but this whole thing should be very interesting.

I have taken a run at some of the work to get ahead of the game. My group is presenting first of all groups so we can get that out of the way in one class, and I will do all of the readings and reports for one class over the next few days. This way I will have more time to drown in other work. I hope I am busy, to make the time fly, and I think I will be.

Every moment I get off from school I have something else that needs doing. I need to check one thing or another, or complete some small, or large task. There is no break.

I am also stocking up on food so that I don't have to go shopping uh... ever again... I have a series of photos in my Saint John Album titled "Living Like a Student." You can see them here: HERE

Anyways. Saint John is fine. School is fine, except that there is too much business in it, and everything else is fine.

It is going to be a long long winter for me...

The First Saint John Retarded Hiking Adventure

So, as time goes in I am finding it harder and harder to stay away from the woods. When I was in China I was definitely unable to which resulted in a number of extra sketchy hiking adventures, some even bordering on the retarded. There were three instances when we did not know if we would make it out of the woods by nightfall, and on all of those occasions everyone involved was quite relieved when we finally made it.

Since the Shantou Videos are finally online I highly recommend the OMFG series and the

Another Retarded Hiking Adventure series.

Well, the main outlet of my life used to be skiing, then, I injured my back. Then the main outlet in my life was the martial arts, since I had managed a way to somehow continue them with the injury. Right now, since I am still not allowed to carry more then 10 lbs, nor am I allowed to bend my back in any way, my martial arts outlet has been cut off. Don't let this fool anyone, I still have every intention of making it to the Fall Grading in Toronto the weekend before my finals. Take that MBA... Anyways, so that outlet has been removed. I have been writing a great deal, and I have some other tasks that have been occupying my time, but, I need more. I need that fresh air and the natural beauty that I can see, but have not yet touched.

Thus brought about the first Saint John Retarded Hiking Adventure... let's call it SJRHA for short. Heh... try saying that one time fast... SJRHA...

It starts with the people involved. There were two of us to undertake this challenge, myself, and a companion from the MBA Class. It just so happens that this companion is also from

Calgary, and it just so happens that he lives across the street from me here. Since the orientation started we have been closely linked, partly because of the convenience of walking to and from school together, and partly just because of compatible personalities. Had gone to Uptown Saint John the night before with the MBA Class, and now we were up for an adventure. My companion wore his rubber boots, despite the lack of rain, and I wore my runners.

We took off into the woods near his apartment. We did not have a real goal, but in the beginning we were sort of aiming towards the University. The first part of the hike was arduous as we were near the light filled edge of the forest, but soon we broke through to open woods with a lifted canopy. The canopy was not that high, but the trees were beautiful. I could not identify them all, but there was a large number of Maples and Birches. The ground sloped upwards and we followed that path. Outcrops of rock were covered in moss, which can be seen in the photo

album, I will put them in the blog if I can get the internet to cooperate. The leaves littered the ground and made it a most beautiful sight. The sun lit up the leaves and woods, and it was something that could be seen in a movie... uhh... if it were a little darker it would be a horror movie, but we tried not to think of that.

As moved on and in the distance we could see the forest changing. The Maples and Birches were turning into Pines and Cedars. I tried to see everything and to take it in, but there was too much. I have hiked in a number of different woods, but this is different from them all. In trying to make out everything I was well aware of my surroundings, and as my foot was about to strike the ground I noticed a hint of movement. I quickly changed where my foot would fall to avoid standing on the source of the movement. Laying on the bed of leaves rested a small snake. I do not know if he knew I could see him or not, but it was cold and he did not look like he had the strength to move.

We were careful not to step on him and we decided to leave him be. It was now evident that the forest was changing. It did not daunt us. I still had a general idea as to where we were so we carried on.

It was a calm day, and no matter what forest we

were in, it was beautiful. We could slope down another hill, but on the far side of the ravine we could see more trees. If we went down, we would have to go back up. We decided to skirt the ravine. We continued through the easy woods and gradually were faced with harder and harder obstacles. Trees had fallen to block our path, and jagged branches made impassable walls. I was told that the forest in this area was largely impassable, and at that point I was beginning to believe it... but only beginning.

On we went. We noticed more and more moss and the ground becoming wet. Water openly flowed down the hill and as we followed the only available path before us we found the ground becoming squishy. My companion was wearing rubber boots... I was not.

We did not know where we were really, but, I sort of kind of maybe a little bit knew where we were... maybe sorta. We continued on and then with a stroke of luck, we could see a house (note the picture at the beginning of this entry, damn I wish that house was not in that photo... but I am glad we found it.) Seeing the house we at least had a direction. We were going to make for the house when disaster struck. Remember all of that water we saw gently running down the hill under the moss? Well, it was pooling, in a marsh.

For those of you who are wonder... of course I fell in the marsh... as is the ultimate Karma, for the one in the runners. My companion also was in the water, but it turns out that his rain boots were a little more, let's say, waterproof, than my runners. Crap.

Did did make it out of the marsh. It was a long walk around hopping from solid tree to solid tree, with any slip meaning up to your calves in decay, but it was doable. On the other side there was solid ground. We landed there and we hiked up and away. We found some houses, and skirting their backyards, that actually back onto the beautiful ravine from which we came, we found ourselves in the "nice" part of Millidgeville. On the roads now we continued down to the K-Word River.

After we had our fill looking as water and boats we turned homeward bound. It was a long walk, and by the time we made it home my back and leg were furious, but, it was worth if for the First SJRHA.

p.s. I might not talk about Saint John yet, but I have posted a few photos from Uptown where the older buildings are...

Microdiscectomy: Update One

So, on Tuesday it was two weeks since my surgery. That seemed to be a good time to write the Doctor with an update. I sent an e-mail and did not expect any reply. Like most things with our medical system, I thought that no news would be good news.

Two weeks marks two weeks into this sentence of pain in my leg due to inflammation of the nerve. When we went to the hospital because I was still in severe pain the Doctor said to expect 4-6 weeks of pain due to the nerve. Now, since I am 2 weeks in it should be 2-4 weeks left... right?

I got a reply today. The Doctor says to expect the pain to continue for 4-6 weeks, and that I should contact him again in 4-6 weeks. So, does that mean that if I contact him in 4-6 weeks my expected nerve pain should be for another 4-6 weeks at that time? Perhaps.

Either way, my expected sentence has been increased. Please note, I say expected sentence because that is what the Doctor says, my actual sentence is up to my body and no one else.

Anyways, just thought that everyone would like to have the details, especially those wondering how long I will be on the cane, because until I can stand the pain of resting completely on my left leg for extended periods of time it is my very good friend.

Talk to you in 4-6 weeks...

MBA: Orientation

When they say orientation they are not kidding. They do not mean some measly one hour here is the cafeteria and here is the nearest Timmy's, they mean, here is the most valuable resource you have available: each other.

Day Two was largely inside and largely filled with discussion and learning about teamwork and leadership. One thing that we did cover was the Myers-Briggs personality test. Prior to starting this program every student took the test and submitted their answers. The test breaks people into different groups based on their innate preference for certain behaviours, much like the preference of using your right or left hand. Each person is then given a four letter code that represents their personality. For interests sake I am an INTJ, which means a lot of interesting stuff... but... I am not writing about that so if you want to know what that means take a look at the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTJ

If you do check it out, let me know if you think it reflects me or not.

Day Three comprised of a great deal of physical activity, with appeared fun, but in my current physical state was largely beyond my capacity. I was able however to watch and to take photos of the events. I will post some later if I can. The events were all based on interdependency and teamwork. For example, in one event people were blindfolded and led through a minefield by another person. In another event a group would huddle closely together, grab the hands of their colleagues, and without letting go try to untie the knot until the group was in a single large circle. All of these activities got the idea across that to succeed we will need to work together.

Later we were given the groups that would be ours for the next two months. These groups were based on nationality, experience, and on Myers-Briggs personality type. We were split into our groups and given a task. 7 of 10 groups were given recipes, 1 group was told to help by offering process advice, 1 group was told to inspect the health and safety of the operation, and 1 group was told that they needed to critique the food.

We were given one hour for preparation and two for execution. The goal? Make a meal for 50 people.

Immediately all of the groups set to work about their own tasks. I was on the group to offer advice to improve the process. We spoke to the groups before we went into the kitchen, and then when they went in, we followed. We tried to offer whatever advice we could to make it so that we might stand a chance at passing the heath and safety inspection.

Imagine 40 people in a kitchen meant for 15. I have a video of it that I will hopefully post later. Needless to say, the health and safety inspectors were kicking people out of the kitchen ASAP... including most of my group.

After the time was up, the groups had finished and all appeared well. Critics critiqued, and then we all ate... well... most of us. Turns out that the dishes cooked happened to have a whole lot of vegetables in them so... I didn't eat. After supper the last three groups cleaned while the rest of them debriefed. Then we headed home.

Today was interesting. I ordered some headphones to replace a pair that broke. They were sent to the house, but no one was here to receive them. So... they were sent to Purolator.

Today, was a photo scavenger hunt. The groups were assembled and sent on their way. A few of us were held back because of mobility issues, and some others were held back because of the coordinator of the orientation. We were given another task. That was to get all of the individual groups working together to make a single presentation of their hunt instead of 10 different presentations.

I had spoken with the coordinator, and I asked her where Purolator was. She asked if I needed to get a package and I said yes. She said that it would happen. I didn't think much of it until she said to the group of us that was held behind, that she has another mission for us. We needed to pick up a package. So, my and four of my peers hopped into a car to head to Purolator to get my headphones. This was a good chance for us to discuss strategy, but seemingly funny nonetheless. Well, I did get the headphones, and after seeing where Purolator was I is evident that I would not have found it on my own.

When the groups got back we went though a great deal of chaos to make a presentation. The missed two deadlines, and lunch was delayed, but, it worked out in the end.

Tomorrow we are meeting the business leaders in Saint John, and then the orientation is over. At that point we are ready for classes.

MBA: Day One

Today was the first day of the UNBSJ MBA Program. The first day, and in fact every day of this first week, is part of the MBA Orientation. If I can use today as a baseline, this week should be very... special. The days are long, but many of the meals are provided, somewhat making up for it.

Before we got started the Dean welcomed us and then the Director spoke with us for a good long while. It was an amusing speech, but I need not repeat much of it. The only thing I will repeat is that he said that this year is to make us better. This year is for all of us a chance to invest in ourselves. He compared it to climbing a mountain without training. The Professors and Staff are our Guides and Sherpas, but it is the skills we develop on the way up that will foster who we become.

This lasted until lunch. After said meager lunch we had in some business coaches whose focus is leadership, more specifically, vision. I have heard about vision related exercises from many people and had some idea of what to expect. Having taken a Masters level Human Resources class I was prepared for many of the activities that we undertook today. They asked about vision. I knew at the start a basis for where my vision might stem. I have thought about it and through finding ideas that I can relate to, thank you Ayn Rand, I was able to take a gander that my vision would be to produce at the best of my ability, knowing full well that it is not so important what I produce, as to how. This is where I started. It seemed like many people started with blank slates, in not being familiar with these exercises.

So, I did learn some about vision, and about other people's vision, but I took some other things away from today's class. The coaches said that all people can become leaders. This was later refined in pushing that in general, not all people can be leaders, but that all people can exhibit qualities of leadership. They also said, in reference to the MBA class, that "we" are all leaders.

I find this interesting. They cannot very tell us that some of us are leaders and some of us are not! I would guess that almost everyone in that room today believes that they are a leader. As for myself? I would certainly love to fall into that category, but there is not way to know. Not yet at least...

I would like to amend that statement from above:

All people can be leaders, but some people are leaders.

Another thing that came out of today is that managers are not necessarily leaders. This is something that I think many people know intuitively but that should be brought to mind every once in a while... especially the minds of some of those managers out there...

Please do not read this too critically. I enjoyed the seminar today, but those things stuck out for me.

Actually, something did come of today's activities. Well... two things.

The first is the following diagram. This will make a little more sense to mathematically inclined people in the concept, but I can explain it. There are two types of quantities in general. Scalars, and vectors. A scalar is a quantity without direction, like money, or like speed, and a vector requires both a magnitude and a direction, like velocity, or acceleration.

Effective Leaders are a vector. The direction is the vision. Without vision the leader shoots off aimlessly into space, ne'er to be seen or heard from again. The length of the vector, or the magnitude, is the leader themselves. A better leader would be a greater magnitude, being able to accomplish more. Together the two components make up an effective leader and demonstrate the relationship between leadership and vision. I will probably refine this idea later, but this is what had popped into my head.

The second thing I took from today's session was what I saw during our attempt at Guided Imagery. I say attempt, because I do not think that everyone accepted the concept. I must be honest, I thought it was quite ridiculous when I heard of it the first time too...

Guided Imagery is intended for the participant to be in a meditative like state where their mind is free of conscious thought. A guide then gives you instructions for you to follow in this state. Your eyes are closed and your mind/sub-conscious is free to do whatever it wants. The idea is to steer your mind in a general direction and for your body to pull on whatever it has available to fill in the Imagery where the Guide does not.

In this case we were told to leave the room and to leave the planet. We were then told to fall back to the planet in five years time. We were told to fall to find ourselves in that future. We were told to look at the house we were living in, and when going to the door, we were told that it would be our future selves to greet us. We were told to enter, and to ask our future selves what were the most important events of the past five years, and what did I need to do to get to that place. We were then able to ask our future selves any questions we wished. Following that we were asked to leave the planet again, and then return back to this very room. For many people they saw interesting things, for some people they saw nothing. I do understand that it is a hard thing to give an honest try but I believe that those who did benefited. It is a quick way into the subconscious at the very least.

Like the first time I tried the exercise I was able see something that I believe to be important to me. I would surely like to share what I saw, but it is too near to me, and being that it is near, it will remain near.

Coming out of the seminar I did find that my vision changed. True, my initial vision will still hold true for my career, but the vision of my life is different. It is once again quite clear that in all things I seek one of the only things that I truly believe to have eluded me: happiness. Many would argue that I have found happiness in one adventure or another, but those nearest to me know that I battle for it still.

We did one more thing. We were to cut pictures from magazines and glue them onto big pieces of poster paper. The images were meant to represent our visions. My paper is quite clear. You will not find the clutter of rolexes, or cars, or pictures of money, or faraway places, but instead a simple scene that is truly what I seek.

It appears on the surface that I could have that scene now, but, there is something that my pictures do not show; there is a man who is capable of smiling with his eyes... I am not yet that man.

Not yet.

K-Word River

Yesterday I managed to complete the walk that I had intended for Friday, but had been unable to complete due to the limitations still held on my body from surgery. I did not go for a long walk, but still, I was out for a few hours.

To get to the University you turn left at the end of my street... I turned right. I continued down University Avenue to Millidge Avenue. Took a right and walked to the convenience store. That was my first stop, and an important one. There I bought a map, that without I would not have been able to complete the map.

Looking at the map I found a clear route to water, which was my goal. This actually ended up being surprisingly easy since Millidge Avenue goes straight to the water. So...

I went straight.

I walked/hobbled for however long until I reached the water. I think that I was standing on a very large boat launch but I cannot be sure. I do know that I was standing right beside the K-Word Yacht Club, and that there were some very decent sized boats inside.

The K-Word river is very large and very beautiful. Actually most of the area is very beautiful.

I turned back and came home. Out for a few hours, and then in for the rest of the day. No matter how much water I put on it, I cannot put out the fire in my leg.

The End of the Rabbit Hole (Part 1)

Looks like I tumbled all night and all day, and when I woke I was at the bottom of the rabbit hole. I guess... that's here.

I woke with a deep chill that was sunk in through my skin and into my bones. The apartment was freezing and with the humidity the cold was far colder than I was expecting. I was wearing a hat for breakfast, and when we were finally ready to go I was wearing a jacket with a hoodie underneath. That kind of outerwear would take me to -20 in Calgary. Crap...

I asked my roomate from Saudi Arabia if he thought that it was cold. He said it was a little cold, but not bad. Let me note that on our way to the University the sleeves of his hoodie were rolled up. It was lucky that we met last night, and would make plans to go to the University together, for the path we took, which was the fastest route to campus on foot, was twisted and complicated and I could never have found it alone. It started out easy as we walked along University Avenue, then, we made a detour through the lot that the hospital rests on. The detour saved us a great deal of time but was confusing to say the least. Up a hill, across a street, up another hill, through a parking lot, around the hospital, up a set of stairs... up a hill. Then through a parking lot and to the campus. Really it is not that bad, but the description I have given you is all true, but not enough to find it on your own.

It was nice though, the walk is often bordered by forest on one side. We cross a creek on the way to school, and the abundant forests leaves no lack of natural beauty around. The colours are something that I would have expected to see in a painting, or on Planet Earth.

Wait wait wait. I am getting ahead of myself. This is all about the End of the Rabbit Hole. What about the Fall down it?

The Fall Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 1)

And what a fall. I packed all day. I double checked everything, and for you cynics out there, know that I have only found one item that I should have packed but didn't... in my defence... it was not on my list.

Anyways. Everything packed. Mom and Dad came home and Dad cooked a final feast that was fit for a King. I'm no King, but I can recognize a feast when I see one. Beef does not grow in the ocean. As obtuse as that may sound that last sentence is a great woe on the year ahead. Beef does not grow in the ocean, it grows in the prairies. Knowing that the prairies would soon be behind me, and the ocean soon in front, the feast was steaks that were large enough to be labelled as small countries, with potatoes as mountains, and well... for me... that was it. Those vegetable eating heathens enjoyed asparagus trees felled from the potato mountains and salad from the fields of the steak nations.

I will keep that meal in my head as a fond memory until I find my way back to Alberta for some real beef. Here, my sirloin hamburgers will have to do. Honestly, with Montreal Steak Spice, they are not half bad.

Supper was at its usual time, which meant that we had to leave immediately after for me to get to the airport in time for my 12:25 am flight. I was delivered to the airport by two lovely ladies who acted as my porters. It truly was the departure of a King, too bad it was wasted on a squire. I did get a kick out of the Air Canada guy watching me hobble towards the baggage drop off on my cane, with the ladies dragging all of my worldly possessions behind. I did however feel badly about it at the same time.

One of my underpaid and overqualified porters choose her own path and left just two of us to walk to security.

The walk was slow, as my cane-ed steps are. Too much walking and a fear of the next few moments further slowed our pace. It was not long until we reached the security before the gate. It was a great door to a new chapter of my life. It was a door that meant growth probably beyond the limits I have experienced before. It was a door that for the life of my I did not want to enter.

At that moment I was faced with the choice: get on the plane, or don't.

I will tell you the truth. I did not want to go through that door, I did not want to get on that plane, and I certainly did not want to go to New Brunswick. At that moment forfeiting my deposit, my work on this venture, and the amazing opportunity almost seemed like a good idea.

Almost.

I thought about it like that, in those words, and saw that path before me. I said before, there are paths and choices everywhere, but some paths are the calling that is the right path. Hell, I cursed hard in my mind when I saw my path running through those doors. When I could see that I had to go there was no turning back.

Leaving then, there, was one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do, if not the hardest.

I turned away from her, and took my hobbled steps down my path.

No one but her saw my tears...

The Fall Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 2)

I hobbled through the great gates before me and filed into line. The line was short as the hour was late. When I came up I had the very helpful security employee lift my bag onto the table. I pulled the laptop out, took off my jacked, emptied my pockets, and took off my belt. My cane was whisked from my hands and run through the machine. It must not have been a bomb, because very soon it was back in my hands. All of my swag passed through the x-ray machine as I hobbled through the scanner.

Of course, when I went through it went off. Wait wait. Of course it would go off as the cane is metal... but... I mean in the ironic sense of how I travel... of course the metal detector would find something. When the lady waved it around... it did. My pants beeped at the button... the metal button... as did both of my ankles... don't ask me why. She continually waved the rod over my crotch area, and it continued to beep...

She called over a "male" member of the security team to investigate further. He was a kind looking East Indian man and I will say only this. He and his latex gloves were very gentle.

Finished with security's hand's down my pants I hobbled along. I was soon to be halted by a very nice woman who wanted to search my bag. I was allowed to put my belt back on and refill my pockets, but she wanted to see what was in the bag. Actually, I have never seen so thorough a search of a bag... she took out every item out. For those of you who were not part of my packing process this may not seem significant, however, inside that carry-on was every piece of electronics that I was taking to New Brunswick, every cord to plug everything in, 5 DVD's, 7 Video Games, one favourite book, one journal, one umbrella, one water bottle, and one package of Grandma's Beef Jerky. The woman pulled out every item and put every item back in. I asked her what gets something flagged, and she told me that it was all of the electronics and books. Evidently reading is bad. Also... she did not like that there was a light inside my bag... yep... that was my wireless mouse that got turned on accidentally... real dangerous. She did however find great enjoyment in the bag of Beef Jerky, followed by her telling me that her Grandma only ever makes her Pork Rinds.

I honestly believe that she felt bad about searching me, as she saw my obvious discomfort with standing, but she had to do her job. On the bright side, she prided herself on packing, and where most security agents can unpack a bag but cannot get all of the stuff back in, this one was able to get it in better than I had.

After my longest security clearance ever I was on my way to the gate. It was not far.

Thank God.

There I waited. And paced. And waited.

When the pre-boarding call rang through the waiting area I was on my feet and in line. So were many others who did not need extra time and who were not in first class... huh... well... I hobbled down the ramp getting lapped several times and then I made it to the plane. I told the head flight attendant that I could not lift my own bag and she told me that help would be waiting at my seat.

Help was waiting. The attendant hoisted my bag into the overhead bin... well... tried... then she brought it down, we took the wheels off and she tried to lift my carry-on in as a two piece ensemble. Done and done. My cane was to follow and I was in my seat.

The rest of the plane filled. When I say the rest... I mean it. Every remaining seat was filled. I sat in the middle. I asked the Newfy beside me if he would trade seats since I would have to get up often, but he would not trade. He just told me to wake him up when I needed to stand. When the seatbelt light went off and I woke him to stand he immediately changed seats with me, finding that I was calling his bluff.

Most people tried to sleep through this midnight soar, but I did not. I watched Star Trek, and then I just waited.

We hit Toronto and I somehow managed to depart the plane. I made it to my gate and I waited.

My getting on the plane and most of the flight to Saint John were uneventful. It was on our final descent when we broke through the clouds that we finally saw something of note. Like I said before, it was something that you would expect to see on Planet Earth. For as far as you could see there were forests of many colours. There were reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. Fall in the West is not quite that bright... there is the yellow of the initial poplars for what seems like a day, and then the brown and green of winter. In the East it is something to see.

Amazing.

We landed and I hobbled to the terminal. As was planned my landlady picked me up, and with her was her daughter. We drove from the airport to the house. I was given the quick tour, and then an hour to putter about. When the hour was up my landlady returned to give me a tour of the area and to drive me to the grocery story.

I must thank her for all of this. The ride from the airport would have been at least $30, not to mention the tour of the area, and the priceless assistance of her carrying my bags and groceries. She is a bargain hunter and she told me what was on sale and where. After hitting both Superstore and Sobeys (where I bought four large boxes of honeycombs for $1.97 a piece) we returned home.

I forget that I have just had surgery. The incision is mostly healed, so I forget that just because the surface is healed it does not mean that the insides have. I am weak. When we made it back, I put away the groceries and crashed.

I spent the rest of the day in to rest and sort out my life.

I got Internet in the late evening, spoke with a few people from home, and went to bed.

The End of the Rabbit Hole (Part 2)

The campus is small. No one I've spoken with can tell me how many people attend, but it cannot be more than a few thousand. My goal was to go to the University to get my Student ID, sort out my e-mail, sort out my fees, buy my books, and maybe meet the MBA staff. In a few hours I did just that. I hobbled in with my roomate passed Timmy Ho's and then was shown the bookstore and the ID Place. He left me there. I got my ID, and hobbled on.

It was a strange feeling as I wandered through a tunnel and then outside of a building. I kept looking North to see the building I was looking for, but could not see anything but forest. I turned around and saw that I had just come out of the building I was looking for. Wow. UNBSJ is a small University.

I made it to the top where the MBA's hang out and was able to look into our classroom. I thought that Haskayne was a good school, and for certain it gets better ratings than UNBSJ, but its classroom is nothing compared to this. Our class is theatre style with each row of desks on its own tier. Each space for a student has a very nice chair to go with it, and a microphone for the student to speak into. I could see a number of projectors hanging from the ceiling.

I found one of the MBA staff and proceeded to ask some questions. She asked who I was. I told her. She told me that she thought that I might be me. I don't know if she really thought that I might be me or if she was just saying that she thought that I might be me in order to create that homey feeling. Either way, it was a bit strange.

I went to the fees office and found out that I owe a fortune to the University. I opted to pay online where I didn't think I had a transfer limit... wrong there... now I will be paying over three days.

I hobbled around campus a bit more to see where I am meant to meet on Monday, and where the students eat and drink. Then I headed to the bookstore to load up on a bunch of books that I probably won't read. It is funny that my load on the way home seemed heavier when I had traded so much money for those books.

I walked home in the rain, actually, I walked to the University in the rain, actually, in this walk to and from the University I have been the victim of three totally independent light rain storms. Do you know how you hold a cane, a cart, and an umbrella at the same time?

You don't.

Home.

On this trip I was beaten by the great Mace of Reality. Crap, I've just had surgery.

I had great ambitions of checking out the convenience store nearby but those ambitions have been shattered by the reality that my body is still weak and needs rest, not to mention I really do not have an adequate coping mechanism for the nerve pain savaging my left leg.

So, I will rest, and, I will blog, and I will begrudgingly send an e-mail to our kind landlady when the Internet returns about a list of grievances developed by my roomate and myself including unreliable internet access...

But. Before I go, please know that I have added two albums on Picassa, one for the Last Weekend I was in BC, including bridge building, and one for everything to do with Saint John. The photos in the Saint John Album so far are just what I've seen on my way to and from school.

Ah yes, and where am I living some of you might be wondering? Well, this movie should give you the low down. Please excuse how terrible I look, I've just had surgery you know?!