Category: Motivation

I was pleased to wake up this morning and discover that I seem to have accumulated 100 followers! I’m not sure exactly when this happened, although I’m guessing it happened with the last person who started following… This is me digressing, first thing in the morning before I’ve had sufficient caffeine!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year already, and I started this blog as a way to share the information and knowledge I’ve gathered after dealing with Type-1 Diabetes for over 37 years and studying the martial arts for what will be 32 years, this year! I used to admin a Facebook page that had the same kind of vibe as my blog, but I lost it when I chose to step away from social media in late 2018.

I love writing! Blogging has given me a forum in which to do so, and I intend on continuing for as long as my fingers and mind will allow me. I’ll keep writing what’s cool to me; and hopefully, somewhere along the way, it will also be cool to you! Keep reading, my friends! ☯

All things considered, I decided to hit the sack pretty early last night.  Given everything that had taken place that day, I thought I should err on the side of caution and keep the evening simple. After over an hour of tossing and turning, with my mind running a mile a minute, I finally gave up and turned on the lamp in my hotel room.  I watched a total of two movies and didn’t get back to bed until about 3:30 this morning.  Then I woke up at 7:00 to start my long journey home.  So much for getting a good night’s rest. I’m just a “little” bit tired!

I stayed at the same hotel I used when I travelled to New Brunswick last September. The nice thing about this location is the complimentary breakfast that’s offered, which normally includes eggs, variations of toast and a meat option.  I stepped into the dining room to find flat, fried eggs sitting in an inch of water in a warming tray.  I stuffed myself with a piece of toast and a handful of sausage links and packed up my room to check out.

I drove to Fredericton International Airport with my rental vehicle, intent on returning it well ahead of my flight to avoid any complications.  This was likely a good thing, as I walked into the rental trailer and found the front counter unmanned.  This wasn’t unusual, as these folks are human too, meaning that washroom and food breaks must and do happen.  But when twenty minutes elapsed and no one showed up, I started to wonder what was happening.  Honestly, patience is a virtue.  But since yesterday, it rather seems as though every yahoo and their dog is hell bent on making me wait unreasonable periods of time for simple things.

An employee from my rental agency’s competition explained that she believed the guy working this counter had gone into the city, but that he should be back in about twenty minutes.  I checked the time.  I had been waiting almost twenty minutes already.  I decided to be proactive and looked up the rental chain’s primary office and call. I was directed to a call center.

I totally understand that call centers make sense.  For the company.  For customers, they often present an obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to achieve one’s goals with that particular business.  I explained my situation in great detail to the person on the other end, who ultimately provided that she would direct me to a supervisor.  I was on the phone for over ten minutes before I gave up and hung up the phone. My rental agency’s competition jokingly mentioned that had I rented from their company I’d be in the airport by now. I was not amused.

By this point, I had been waiting at the counter for almost half an hour.  Under normal circumstances, car rental locations have drop boxes that a person can drop their keys when arriving outside of normal business hours.  But this WAS the workday, and I had arrived two days earlier than my rental contract indicated.  I didn’t want to take the chance that they would bill me all the way to Saturday, so I felt I should be dealing with someone in person. There had to be something else I could do.

A quick Google search provided three local branches of this same rental agency in the city.  Ah, good ‘ol Google comes to the rescue!  I phoned the first one that listed a local number as opposed to a 1-800 number that would direct me to a call center.  THAT phone call lasted for less than a minute.  The person I spoke to apologized and explained that it was his fault as he had asked the employee to run some spare vehicles down to his location. Apparently, as there were no “scheduled” rentals this morning, it was an ideal time to make a run.  The person on the other end indicated that he had left about ten minutes ago and it’s a twenty-minute trip.  He advised he would call the employee to ensure he made no added stops as I was waiting for him. I politely explained that despite having no “expected” rental pick-ups, there was always the chance of someone stepping in to rent a vehicle that wasn’t pre-scheduled, or someone who would return a vehicle early. Like me! A business had to plan for such contingencies.

I turned in my vehicle and made my way inside the terminal.  I was provided with my boarding passes and got through security without issue.  My flight also boarded and took off without any issues, which was a nice change.  The only exception was that they wouldn’t allow me to bring my carry on bag into the aircraft.  I was too exhausted to argue and turned it over but I understood once I was inside the plane.

It was without a doubt the smallest aircraft I’ve ever been on.  A single row of seats on each side, no overhead bins, no flight attendants and the only staff were the captain and co-pilot.  It was a brief, 45-minute flight but the small stature of the aircraft made it so that I could feel every minute adjustment in heading and every little bump of turbulence.  Loads of fun, if you don’t mind riding your roller coaster at 15,000 feet above the ground!

The rest of the trip home, albeit exhausting, went off without a hitch. I had breaks of at least an hour between all stops, which allowed me to rest and caffeinate. Once I reached Toronto-Pearson Airport, I had an excellent burger that was made with lamb and sampled a Toronto IPA.

I arrived in Regina at roughly 7:45 p.m. this evening and let me tell you, it’s been something. I left on a plane on Tuesday morning. A total of about 7,800 kilometres travelled, including flights and vehicle rental, six different planes, two hotels, passed through at least seven different communities while driving and all of this was accomplished in about 62 hours. All for an interview that lasted an hour and I was dropped from the process about an hour later. Brutal.

I’d like to say this has taught me a lesson, but it honestly hasn’t. I’m too damned stubborn to stop or quit, despite the effect that this trip has had. One thing is guaranteed; as nice as it is to travel back to New Brunswick, nothing topped walking off that escalator and seeing my wife and kids waiting for me. Now if y’all will excuse me, it’s been a slice but I’m gonna go sleep in my own bed now. ☯

My eyes snap open and I check the time on my cell phone.  It’s 2:45 a.m.  My alarm was set for 3:00, but as usual I was unable to sleep much.  I sit up, cracking the multiple joints that make my body sound like a bowling ball rolling over a bag of Corn Flakes.  I slip on “Old Faithful”, a hooded sweatshirt I’ve been wearing at home for over ten years, and make my way downstairs, careful not to wake my family.

The added fifteen minutes is a blessing, as it gives me some added time to grab a shower before my pre-scheduled taxicab shows up at my driveway.  I grab a few sips of an energy drink and slip into a hot shower, letting the steam and scalding water rejuvenate me for the day ahead. My head is pounding due to the fact that yesterday, I received my lovely eye injections.

I double check my bags and ensure I have everything I will need for the days to come and pile everything at the entrance to my home.  I choose to check on my children and kiss my wife goodbye before getting my boots and coat on, thereby ensuring that I may get away without waking them.  I was wrong.

I slip out into the morning chill, and the first thing I notice is the absence of a breeze and a sky full of stars.  This is promising, I tell myself.  Clear weather always makes for a better flight. At only -4 degrees Celsius, the morning has a mild child but isn’t cold.  I bring all the cardboard recycling to our blue bin, anxious to burn through the remaining time before my cab arrives.  My wife steps into the kitchen, allowing me the benefit of another kiss and hug before I leave.  After all, it will be the last I see of her for the remainder of the week.

At 3:20 a.m., my cab driver calls me.  He can’t find my house, despite the address on the reservation, instructions related to an outside light being intentionally left on and the SUV in the driveway.  I tell him I will wait at the curb.  He picks me up, and apologizes for the confusion.  I tell him it’s no problem, and I climb into the back seat with my bags. I’m perfectly content to sit in pre-caffeinated silence for the fifteen-minute ride to the airport, but my driver begins asking open-ended questions about my flight and where I’m from that lead me to believe that he intends on indulging in idle chitchat.  I humor him and converse for a few moments until he shows me the very large Tim Horton’s coffee he grabbed himself on the way to pick me up.  Dick.

He drops me off at the “Departures” door of the airport and the fare is $27.00, which would ultimately allow me to make the transit from my home to the airport 22 times using my personal vehicle, given its fuel capacity and the distance.  I silently curse the cost and slip out into the morning chill before entering the building.  I obtain my boarding passes and make my way through the security checkpoint.  As usual, the screening agents hesitate for a moment and frown as I explain that neither my pump nor my bottle of insulin can go through the x-ray machine and that I will need a pat down as opposed to the machine.

Then, I found myself sitting in an empty airport.  The departure gates have all been renovated since my last flight (which was only five months ago) and are now listed by number instead of letter. Weird.  The only good thing I notice is a brand new Tim Horton’s kiosk that will allow me to supplement the bit of energy drink I guzzled before walking out of my home.  I have at least another hour before my flight boards.  Here we go again; I’m headed to New Brunswick.

The first leg of my flight was reasonably uneventful. That is, until I reached Toronto-Pearson Airport… They then decided that “our gate is currently in use by another aircraft”, so we were waiting on the tarmac like a bunch of idiots! My thinking was, arrange it with the control tower to pull into a different gate, but what do I know? Well, I knew that it was currently 10:20 and the next leg of my flight was boarding while I was sitting in the first aircraft!

When I got inside the airport, I panicked and ran like my life depended on it! Then these two douche-canoes were standing side-by-side on the moving platform, chatting like a couple of school girls with me panting behind them. I coughed and excused myself twice, but they just looked and carried on. I then jumped the barricade and ran along the regular floor, leaving them in my wake.

I reached gate D35 where my very short flight to Montreal was APPARENTLY in the process of boarding. When I got to the gate, everyone was still waiting to be called up! Not only were they late with starting to board (which was good, I guess) but my run in a heavy, black winter coat caused me to become sweaty and extremely uncomfortable. I touched down at Montreal-Trudeau Airport, made my connecting flight to Fredericton and touched down just shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time.

Once I was permanently on the ground, I was able to grab my rental vehicle and enjoyed an hour of travelling in a vehicle that I alone was controlling. Now, I’m sitting in my hotel room, trying to consolidate my thoughts before the business that brought me home for the second time in six months. Tomorrow should be interesting! On the plus side, I will get to see yet another friend I haven’t spent time with, in over a decade. ☯