Ottawa

I'm spending this week in Ottawa, our nation's capital.

The company I work for recently won a client with employees in Quebec and Ontario. The Ontario seminars are being held in Ottawa this week and next ... I'm conducting them this week.

I flew here on Porter Airlines. I've never flown Porter and wanted to check it out as I've heard good things. Rather than the 30 minute drive to Pearson Airport to fly via Air Canada, it's less than 10 minutes to drive to the Island Airport to fly via Porter. I liked it already!

Because it's a smaller airport, checking in and going through security was so much faster. In the lounge, the pop, water, coffee, cookies, WIFI, etc. is complementary. Wine and beer on the plane is also complementary. Plus they give you a snack (sandwich, crackers and cheese) on the plane. It's only an hour flight but they take good care of you.

I'll definitely be flying Porter again when I can.

Unicorn Pub, Toronto, ON

On our way home from the Granite Brewery, Gord and I stopped at the Unicorn Pub, which was originally owned by the Irish Rovers, for a pint.

How could we resist posing with a unicorn?!

Granite Brewery, Toronto, ON

Gord and I met friends for supper tonight at the Granite Brewery. The guys have known each since they were about nine years old ... so 46 years! Wow! They get together a couple times a month for supper.

Here's Gord, me, Christine, Alfred on the left side ... and Kevin, Rosemary, Craig and Wendy on the right.

It was good to see them and catch up.

Beer Can Chicken

Gord made Beer Can Chicken for supper tonight. We haven't had it in a while.

We have a stand with a built-in reservoir to make this kind of chicken. He used Mill Street Belgium Wit beer. The idea is to fill the reservoir with beer, place the chicken over the funnel which sits over the beer and then season the chicken with the spice of your choice ... Gord used Irie Creole seasoning.

Ta-da!

Very tasty and juicy!

If you don't have the stand, you can prop the chicken up on a beer can (hence the name). Drink 1/4 of the beer and then jam the chicken onto the can (the chicken will look like it's running). If you don't drink beer, you can use pop.

Remembrance Day

On Rememberance Day 1999, singer Terry Kelly was in a drugstore in Dartmouth, NS.

At 10:55am, an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00am to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When 11:00 arrived, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into "A Pittance of Time".

Negotiation strategies workshop

I spent the last two days in a negotiations strategies workshop at work. A company was brought in to train the seven Education Advisors and Account Managers.

... "WIN-WIN negotiation, reasoned negotiation and adult learning principles. Training is carried out with the help of our exclusive interactive computer tools, and using simulations with professionals recreating the stress-filled reality of difficult transactions.

We spent yesterday learning what to do and why.

A couple weeks ago, we each had to provide them with four scenarios we wanted to work on in the workshop. Yesterday afternoon we each did two of our scenarios. There were four "actors" giving us a hard time to make us use what we'd learned.

Today we did our other two scenarios with the actors pushing us again ... but we were videoed. Needless to say, that added an extra level of stress.

It turns out that I'm an Expressive Driver ... I like to talk and explain the steps to take. What I need to work on are:

• Silence - not giving in the the urge to talk to fill in the silence because whoever I'm talking with isn't answering right away
  
• Using monosyllabic words - answering "yes" or "no" and shutting up, rather than explaining something yet again

Book ~ "Before I Forget" (2009) Leonard Pitts Jr.

From Amazon ~ In a seamless transition to fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Pitts Jr. delivers an unsettling, compelling first novel about secrets, illness and the role of African-American men in society and family life. His absorbing story centers on unmarried father of one Mo Johnson, a faded 1970s soul star living in Baltimore and diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of 49. Overwhelmed with regrets, and unable to confess his diagnosis, he sets out to make things right with two men long absent in his life: his teenage son, Trey, an unwed father facing armed-robbery charges; and his father, Jack, now ravaged by cancer. Mo and Trey take a cross-country road trip to visit Jack in his final days, each character a simmering cauldron of secrets, grief, and recrimination about to boil over. The novel takes readers to rural 1940s Mississippi, South Central L.A. in the swingin' 1950s, and present-day Las Vegas with immersing dialog and vivid, powerful imagery. Bold in spirit and scope, this is a rare, memorable debut that should net Pitts a wide new expanse of fans.

What an excellent story!

I was drawn to Mo's story ... I'm just a couple years younger than him and I can't imagine finding out I had Alzheimer's and didn't have long to live.

There were lots of characters and you get to know the main ones really well and are cheering for them.

I'd never heard of Pitts Jr. ... I came across this book at the library and am glad I did.

I'd definitely recommend it!

Yardwork

Like last week, there were lots of leaves on the terrace for us to track in.

So I swept again this morning. It was a great day (sunny and 14C) so it was a good excuse to be outside.

Nice and clean once again!

Here is the tree above our terrace where the leaves are coming from ... not too many left. Yay!

Looks like the landscapers came by during the week and took away the leaves that were on property ... I can see the ground again.

McVeigh's, Toronto, ON

After we left the 1812 Great Canadian Victory Party, we had a couple drinks at McVeigh's Irish Pub.

We'd never been there before and it was on our list to check out.

It was quite crowded.

There was a singer.

I didn't catch his name but he was good! He played lots of different stuff ... Celtic, folk, etc. And he invited different people to take the stage including a fella from Japan and a mayor from someplace in Ontario (Sault St. Marie maybe?).

"1812 Great Canadian Victory Party", Toronto, ON

Gord and I went to the 1812 Great Canadian Victory Party tonight at St. Lawrence Hall.

It is not only the bricks and mortar of our historic buildings that survive and thrive through the centuries. It is the people, their actions and events that shaped our past and present which we continue to remem ber and celebrate through the generations.

The 1812 Great Canadian Victory Party will bring the War of 1812 and the Farmers Rebellion to life as you become an honoured guest at a celebration featuring Laura Secord, Fitzgibbon, Tecumseh and other Canadian heroes.

This theatre performance is a lighthearted dramatization of the events that put Canada on the path to nationhood, starting in 1812 and ending in 1834 when Toronto was incorporated as a city. The performance will be held in St. Lawrence Hall, built in 1849 and was the social centre of Toronto for more than a century.

As part of this unique production, a tasting of authentic fare served during this era fruit preserves, cheese and heritage bread will be featured. The food will be prepared by students enrolled in George Brown Chef School (Canadian Food History a Toronto Museum Experience course), who will use recipes and cooking methods from the 1800s.

Here I am with Sarah. Quite a contrast in our attire!

Gord and the ladies!

James FitzGibbon and Laura Secord entered the reception area and the performance began.

We all followed them into the dining area ... there were guards at the door.

Here is the fare. Gord loved the cheeses (I'm not a fan) ... the apple preserves and bread were delicious!

Random Roads entertained us from the balcony.

Here I am with Reverand John Strachan ... we live near a street that is named for him.

Here are Gord and I at our table.

Laura Second was puzzled and understandably apprehensive of my camera.

The room was gorgeous!

The performance started again ... here's Tecumseh walking by our table (we live near a street named for him too).

It was a fun experience! My only suggestion would be to put mics on the actors as we couldn't hear some of them sometimes.

Hypnotherapy update

So it's been a couple days since I had the hypnotherapy.

You're probably wondering how it's going.

First of all, I haven't made a conscious effort to eat healthy ... I've been allowing myself whatever I want.

One of Barb's re-enforcements was that I want to eat healthy foods and not put junk into my body. I still think about having a treat ... the M&Ms I have in my desk at work or an ice cream here at home. But then the thought disappears instantly and I don't want 'em. I don't have to talk myself out of them and agonize over it.

Another positive re-enforcement was that I would stop eating when I'd had enough. Sometimes I continue to eat even after I feel full ... remember your mother made you eat everything off your plate before you could leave the table?! I had lunch out today (curried chicken and rice) and when I finished, I was finished thinking about food. And I could have gone without supper tonight as I was still full. I had a bit of fish and rice (but not the amount I usually have) because (1) I made supper for Gord and (2) we were trying a new fish rub. It's been three hours since supper and I'm still really full and have no urge to eat. I feel too full actually.

And I'm noticing I'm drinking a lot more water than I have been lately (and so peeing more).

All good things!

Barb sent me home with a CD that I have to listen to once a day. I listened to the healthy eating re-enforcements last night before I went to bed and the weight loss re-enforcement this evening before supper.

Book ~ "Red Hot Lies" (2009) Laura Caldwell

From Amazon ~ Former trial lawyer Caldwell launches a mystery series that weaves the emotional appeal of her chick lit titles with the blinding speed of her thrillers. Young, sassy Izzy McNeil, lead entertainment lawyer at Pickett Enterprises, has earned envy for her success (much of which she owes to the patronage of CEO Forester Pickett) and cheeky manner, but she's starting to panic about her upcoming wedding to charming Sam Hollings. Then Pickett is killed and Sam vanishes, as do $30 million worth of Panamanian real estate bonds. Suspecting Sam, Izzy and the FBI promptly take up parallel and sometimes contradictory investigations. The somber ending is something of a letdown after the headlong chase, but readers will be left looking forward to another heart-pounding ride on Izzy's silver Vespa.

This book started off slowly, picked up and got exciting and then yes, the ending was a letdown. Plus there were people and actions that seemed to have been forgotten ... why even include them? Perhaps because they'll be back for the next book in the series?

But I enjoyed the writing style enough to check out her other books, including those in this series.

Hypnotherapy

I've been trying to get back on track with losing weight and getting to the gym for a while ... but I've had a block.

I knew I needed to do something about it to be able to move on.

So this evening I saw a hypnotherapist in my 'hood.

We talked first about why I was there. Intellectually I know what to do and how to do it ... I just couldn't.

Barb hypnotized me (that's freaky!) and then went after my block right away. She took me to my happy place (for me, it's the ocean) and then had me look at my block. She said I could either tell her what it was or nod if I didn't want to talk about it. But I couldn't see it. And then I felt tears coming to my eyes. She asked me if I could see my block and I said no, but that I was starting to cry.

She spent what seemed like a long time giving me positive re-enforcement ... I'll want to eat healthy, I'll want to go to the gym and be active, I'll want to get back into boxing classes, I'll want to stay away from pizza and chicken wings, etc. During all this, tears are pouring down my cheeks. It was weird! Her re-enforcement talks about getting away from "dieting" and more into "healthy eating" because diets have a start and end period whereas healthy eating is forever.

Then she counted me back out of it. She said that the fact that I had cried meant that I had touched whatever my block was and fought it, it was so strong and had such a hold on me, whatever it was.

She gave me a CD to every day (20 minutes). She said that sometimes people just need one visit ... others need more later on.

Interesting experience ... I hope it works!

25 things Julian hates about Facebook

I saw this over at Tammy's ...



I'm soooo guilty of #8. Ha!

Burrito Boyz, Toronto, ON (Adelaide W)

I met my pal, Trish, for supper and a movie tonight.

We met at Burrito Boys. I love love love their burritos. Trish had never been there before. I was hungry and practically inhaled my chicken burrito (it was delicious!) while Trish waited for her veggie burrito.

Here she is!

Welcome distraction

I was in an admin lunch 'n learn at work today.

It was a two hour meeting in a hot stuffy board room with 14 others ... and nasty sandwiches. To me, admin isn't one of the most exciting topics to spend that much time on. Plus I don't have to worry about the forms that were discussed in great detail. Needless to say, I was bored.

All of a sudden there was a big bang outside and we all rushed to the window to see what happened.

It appears that a streetcar struck a car ... or vice versa. The car got the worse of it. There was quite a commotion ... four firetrucks, two police cars, an ambulance and transit authority. The three passengers in the car seemed to be unhurt.

I took a walk after the meeting to get some air and the two vehicles were still side-by-side on the street.

Five minutes later when I came back, the streetcar was gone and a tow truck was about to take the car away.

Yardwork

It's that time of year again!

When the leaves fall off this tree ...

and land on our steps and terrace.

I swept 'em this morning.

I know I'll have to do it another couple of times in the next month but at least we're not dragging them into our condo.

Mill Street Brew Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I headed to Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District for supper. He loves beer (and their beer) and has been wanting to check it out.

Here he is at the entrance.

All the servers dressed up for Halloween ... here's ours (she was a "party animal"):

For supper, I had curried chicken and rice. Gord had corned beef sliders and onion rings.

The curry was really good!

They make their beer onsite ...

It's delicious beer!

Before we left, Gord bought a six-pack of pilsner (it's only sold in their store).