A morning run ends up....

as a study in contrast.  Yesterday morning, Vimy and I went for a 3k run around the Basin. We finished up at the little boat launching dock you see here. It was a gorgeous morning at 7:00 am, not a soul in sight, the sun just starting to climb in a cloudless sky.

We walked the remaining way home, approximately another 1.5 km.  There was now one person ahead of me, sauntering along the causeway.  He sat on a bench for a few minutes. He seemed to be throwing out bread into the water.  Then he sauntered over to my side of the road, to a park.  I had just passed by him, when I saw he had picked up an empty beer bottle on the ground and was moving towards the garbage can. 

I thought nothing of it, and kept going, but my Vimy decided he absolutely had to do his business right THERE, right THEN, so I had to stop. Rather than drag a bag of doggie do home with me, I doubled back slightly to go deposit the bag in the same garbage can.

By now,  this man had taken the cover OFF the garbage can. I assumed he was rummaging around for more recyclables, so I excused myself and made a comment about having to make a deposit he wouldn't want, when he turned and faced me.  That is when I saw what he was actually doing. He was rummaging for food, had found some leftover chicken, and was eating it. Comme qu'on dit, en français, j'ai resté bête!  I wasn't expecting that at ALL! He mumbled a comment, to the effect it was okay, and turned away, his mouth full.

What a sad, sad, commentary on our society, our Canada, a rich country... that a grown man needs to forage in a public garbage can for leftover food. We have a social safety net, help, ways and means... not the best perhaps, but help, nonetheless. Don't we?

Vimy and I continued home... me with a lot of food for thought.  

Where was UBER when I needed them?

 

NOT in Austin, Texas. Austin drove them out of town, a-p-p-a-r-e-n-t-l-y.  Uber left because they didn't want to pay fees imposed by that city.  In the wake of Uber's departure,  all kinds of knockoffs have popped up with names like Fasten and Wingz.

 

I needed a lift to the airport at 4:30 am.  I DID NOT want my gracious hosts to drive me. They were exhausted after the magical, fairy tale wedding of their daughter, and they needed their rest.

 

I had heard on the wedding guest grapevine that "Fasten" could get me to the airport, plus they had a promo code online for $20.00. I am a TOTAL frugalista, and that $20 savings was what prompted me to download their app, and pre-book my departure by 48 hours.  A) I like to be prepared.  b) I am NOT a last minute kind of gal.  C) I like to save money. 

 

I thought I was pre-booking, when I put in my address, waiting for the screen to ask me the date and time I needed the taxi. I totally ignored that tiny, flashing rectangle at the bottom of the map, reading "real time".  The next thing I know, I get a  phone call.  A man informs me that he is waiting outside to take me to the airport. WTH? I sneak a look outside, and sure enough, there is a car parked in front of the house.  I inform him that I am trying to pre-book. He tells that I need to contact Fasten and ask them about that, because he doesn't know about pre-bookings.  He also tells me that I need to cancel this request (which I didn't realize I was making!), or I will be charged a $5 US fee.  I thank him, hang up, but too late to find that cancel link.  So (KA-CHING!)  $5 US!

 

Not deterred one bit, I send Fasten a request about pre-booking.  However, instead of leaving it at that, I go back in the app, trying to understand it better, when lo and behold, I get ANOTHER phone call. There is ANOTHER driver outside waiting to take me to the airport.  This time I run outside , (B-I-G  M-I-S-T-A-KE), only to encounter a woman driver who is now upset when I explain that I did NOT want a drive now, but in two days.   She starts lamenting about how long it took her to get to my address, yada, yada, yada.  It couldn't have been that long! The other guy was there just 10 minutes ago, if that.  She is like a dog with a bone.  I am pretty frazzled by now, so I tell her to wait a second. I run back in the house, get (KA-CHING!) $10 US, out of my wallet, and hand it over to her, with my apologies, so she will STOP complaining.  I miss out on the timeframe to cancel this SECOND inadvertent request on my app, so BINGO, I am charged (KA-CHING!) another $5 US!

 

Now Madame, mollified by the $10, (need I repeat US funds), wants to chat about her cousin in Montreal who invented 3-D animation.  I just want to get rid of her. This is turning into a nightmare.  It's 40 degrees outside and she wants to be a friendly Chatty Kathy now?

 

She finally drives away, and I scoot back inside. I immediately remove the Fasten app.  I also receive numerous emails from them about those cancellation charges, and an answer to my request about pre-booking. They don't do, but will pass on the request to their "product" department.  I should have known that before I got into this mess. Mea culpa!

 

Did I learn a lesson from ALL this?  Not daunted in the least, I now download the Wingz app and easily pre-book a drive to the airport.  I get a confirmation text from my driver, along with a notice from Wingz that I have been charged (KA-CHING!) $32 US.

 

I have now spent (KA-CHING!) a total of $52 US, and I HAVEN'T EVEN LEFT for the airport YET! 

 

Add the (KA-CHING!), $5 US tip I gave Valerie (my real, final driver) for a grand total (KA-CHING!) of $57 US to get to the airport. It's not really about the money by this point.  Honest! It's about the AGGRAVATION at the time!!! 

 

Another lesson learned. MANY, actually.  Do your homework.  Don't be so impetuous. Don't always try to save money.  Sometimes you just end up spending more. :) 

 

Hey... I felt a blog coming on the minute that Chatty Kathy told me she had a cousin in Montreal. 

 

 

 

 

Voilà, a short travel tale ...

of what happened when I cleared security at Pearson Airport,  catching a connecting flight to Austin, Texas, recently.  I was the only person, along with two other gentleman, in that entire, HUGE security clearance area. They sailed through. Did I? Of course not!!! There were eight security people, all standing around doing nothing. All Jamaican Canadians, I kid you not. I am very good at picking up on accents "monn." They confiscated my sunscreen in my carry-on and APOLOGIZED for it. They were just so darn sweet about it, those two female employees. I hardly had time to notice that they also whisked away my white, plastic bin with my purse, jacket, etc. back through the screening a SECOND time. Slow day obviously. They were looking for something to do? My sunscreen had made them suspicious? They didn't find anything, but when I grabbed my jacket, I noticed right away that it was now extremely dirty, with smudgy, black streaks all over the front of it. I was a bit dismayed when I  pointed this out to the CATSA staff. That was a NEW Old Navy jacket I had just bought. Well ... new to me. I got it at the Sally Ann! :) 

 

It seems my jacket had fallen OUT of the bin and gone BETWEEN the conveyor rollers, while under that black box. There was no other explanation for it. The same two women assured me the bins were cleaned regularly, but they didn't know about the conveyor itself. They immediately tried to clean those stains, swabbing them with water and then some kind of cleaner. Can you picture a MALE security guy doing THAT? I think not.  Those two women were just SO, SO sweet and apologetic, AGAIN. I just may write the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency to tell them what g-r-e-a-t staff they had working that day. I bet they don't get many letters to THAT effect.

After that gauntlet, I had to go through US Customs, which can be a TOTAL PITA. However, this time it was a breeze. No one there again. I was questioned by a friendly, hunky American named YOW!!! That is what his name tag said.  How cool is that! His nickname?  WOW of course!

 

 

How do you get a trapezoid into a Volkswagen?

My friends know me as a pretty "green" person;  "écolo" en français. I am a fervid, and I mean, FERVID,  supporter of reduce, reuse and recycle.

So that nice, sturdy table at curbside, that I saw when I drove by several times on my way to work, became the object of my attention.  I wanted THAT table. Covered with a pretty tablecloth, it would do as my new patio table.

A friend had popped down to have dinner with me. I suggested maybe we could go get the table under cover of darkness. I want you to know that I draw the line at "dumpster diving!"  However, I WILL pick up at curbside.  It is just that I AM a l-i-t-t-l-e shy about picking up other people's trash, in BROAD DAYLIGHT. 

"Let's go right now!" she replies. It wasn't far. When we arrived and tried to lift the table, we realized it was REALLY heavy.  Plus the awkwardly shaped trapezoid  top, made it impossible to get it INTO the trunk, despite our repeated efforts. We couldn't get it into the back seat either. By this time, I can't stop laughing. I keep collapsing into fits of giggles every time we try to lift that table.  It is SO awkward to handle.

When we first arrived, I had knocked on the door of the home.  I knew the table was at the curb for garbage pick-up but I thought it would be polite to ask permission anyway. There was no answer. In the process, my phone fell out of my little holder around my neck, bounced down four steps and landed hard on the cement path. In spite of having a decent cover, I NOW have a crack on my Smartphone screen, darn it! 

Also, I must confess that I had had a Coors Lite while awaiting my friend's arrival. It had been a really hot day.  I don't drink that type of beer, but it had been a long time since I had had a Lite beer.  It will be even longer .... next time. That beer was as I rememberd it, rank and tasteless. Furthermore, it makes you totally silly in no time flat!!

People are gawking at us, as they drive by. Vimy is fed-up with waiting around, and decides to go sit under the table.  My friend will NOT give up trying to get the table INTO the car. Then another friend whizzes by on her bicycle and I yell out, "Come and give us a hand Janet!"  God bless her!  She turns around and does just that. So now we are three women trying to get this awkwardly shaped table into her Volkswagen Jetta. No better luck!!

A truck slows down, turning into the driveway next door. Shoot! We thought the driver was going to come and give us a hand. Obviously NOT! He disappears into the back of the house.  Well, that doesn't deter my visiting friend. Not ONE BIT!!! Despite my repeated, "No, just forget it! Let's just leave the table", she takes off in search of the man.  She is nothing if not intrepid! Janet and I stand around, me still laughing, Vimy barking at passersby and Janet probably thinking, "What am I am doing here with these two crazy women?"

My visiting friend returns with the driver of the truck.  He reaches the conclusion that the table legs need to be taken off.  He goes to fetch a tool. It doesn't work. He goes back for his ratchet set. Janet decides to keep on cycling.  She knows she is not leaving us in the lurch.  She cycles away, after a hug and a thank you from me.  

Then a fifth person shows up - the owner of the table!  He has been sneaking peeks at us from his backyard. I wave him over. He gets the lowdown as I thank John (we are on a first name basis now!) and invite him to drop by for a Coors Lite anytime. LOL  The owner gives our Good Samaritan a hand to lift the table into the trunk. It is a piece of cake to do NOW, with the four table legs removed.  

I will have to get hold of a ratchet set now, so I can put those table legs back on.  Being "green" is hard work! Umm, I wonder if there is a ratchet set curbside somewhere....