So yeah, our luck is holding up great

Today started out pretty good, I got a call saying that my inside help will come by and coach me with the interview I have tomorrow. And when she came by it went pretty well, and she said the two people interviewing me are really nice. I think they know a bit of why I am here, so I think that will help too. But we’ll see, I don’t want to put too much hope in this.

We were able to get a joint bank account too, which was better than when we tried to get one in the US. I wasn’t allowed to be on the account until I had credit, which is kinda weird. But, Kathy was able to get on the account with a zero credit rating here. Plus I found out my credit is actually pretty decent here. Who knew? So all I have to do is keep that up and it will be good. With the lessons we have learned from being at the bottom, I don’t think we’ll have any problems in that regard. Not that we went spending out of control, but when I lost my job all the credit cards went unpaid that we had been paying down. I never want to be in that position again.

I went to go check out the location of the building I have to be at tomorrow for the interview, I don’t want to be late or searching for it, so a recon was needed. On the way back, just before Confusion Corner (it really is confusing, and Kathy said that whoever designed it was on acid) we got hit from behind. Nothing overly serious, but enough to leave a fair sized dent in the bumper. Both Kathy & I are a little sore, but again nothing overly serious. Kathy is a little upset, but we are not at fault and their insurance should cover us. Hopefully I won’t be too stiff in the morning for my interview.

Well back to studying for my interview. There is a TON of things to know, and I can really understand why there is 6 weeks of full time training to get a casual part time job. Not only do I need to know about MTS I need to know about their competitors too. Ugh. I tink its gonna be a long night.

 

Read these other blogs because God loves you! Cliff - Peer Pressure Works, Chad - The Grind, Kelly - ‘Round the Bend, Kim - In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Erron – From the Inside Looking In, Kyle - Blog, Liam - In the Now, James – Feelings of White, Shaun - Expedition of Truths, Tammy - Tam I am, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine – Because.

What the hell am I going to write about now?

I mean most of my blogging has been about the move, and now that is done, what the hell do I write about?

I did get a call today from MTS about a job interview though. According the the ‘inside source’ I have the online test I had to take just before I packed the computer up must have went well. If not, then I would not be given an interview. So that is good news. I have the interview on wednesday morning. Two years of applying for jobs in the US and I got 2 interviews, one day in Canada and I already have an interview. Go figure. It would be nice to get this job.

Our room is a huge mess. We are trying to get things figured out, but its not easy as we have very limited space. We want to have as low an impact on my mom and her husband as possible, so we are reluctant to spread out to find more storage. So that’s an issue.

Ares has been pretty good, but he doesn’t like being left alone for very long, if he is then he starts making noise. He did this tonight and my mother came down to see him before we could, when Kathy got down here my mom was already there petting him. She really loves having a dog in the house, although I know her husband is not too pleased. So far he’s being ok, although I know he wants us out of here asap.

And in response to Erron’s question about Kathy (from my last post), ‘How is Kathy doing? You're coming home, but she's leaving hers, just in time for winter in Winnipeg (yikes!).’ I’ll let Kathy speak for herself:

This is Kathy, Brad’s wife, taking over the hubby’s blog for a second to answer Erron’s question. Thanks for asking, by the way.

I am doing ok. The process has been a very emotional one for me as this is my first big move away from home, kith, and kin. I can honestly say that I never anticipated that I would ever leave California before now. I might have imagined moving to a different area of the state, but never leaving the state, and certainly never leaving the United States.

As Brad has noted, I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster about this move since we made the decision to do it. One moment I’ll be happy and excited, and the next, crying my eyes out. As the move date grew closer, the emotional roller coaster picked up steam, and I don’t quite know how Brad was able to put up with me at all during that time. I guess he really does love me a lot, lol.

Anyway, now that we’re here, my emotions have evened out and I am actually quite happy to be here. Winnipeg is beautiful and so green! Living in the desert for over twenty years has made me forget how lovely a sea of green grass can be. The street that Brad’s mom lives on is in an older part of town and it is lined with large trees that overhang the sidewalk and the roadway. It is lovely to walk Ares down the street and watch the tree shadows dapple the ground ahead. There is moisture in the air and hence,there are beautiful cumulus clouds that race across the sky in great puffy cotton balls. (Right now it is raining and there was actually a bit of thunder and lightning…beyond cool. I love thunderstorms and they were rare in the Californian desert.)

I am thrilled that Brad already has a job interview after going so long without one and I am hopeful that he will find work soon…even if this one doesn’t pan out. Once he is working, my remaining worries about this move will be put permanently to rest.

Read these other blogs or the internet will contain no more porn! Cliff - Peer Pressure Works, Chad - The Grind, Kelly - ‘Round the Bend, Kim - In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Erron – From the Inside Looking In, Kyle - Blog, Liam - In the Now, James – Feelings of White, Shaun - Expedition of Truths, Tammy - Tam I am, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine – Because.

So here we are in Canuckistan

Yes we finally made it. The journey is over and the new adventure begins.

We did have a bit of a nervous time at the border, we got pulled inside and grilled about a few things. Mostly about what Kathy does for a living (we said writer), no I’m not moving here, we are leaving in a month, where are we staying, etc… Twas a bit of an adventure in and of itself.

They didn’t search the car, which was nice, cause they would have found 2 computers and a 42” LCD tv, it might have been hard to explain away. It was a huge relief when we got our passports back and said we are ok to go. After that it was just driving up to Wpg and trying to remember where things were to get us to my mother’s.

My dad did meet us in Grand Forks to help us unload the U-Haul and since he took the RV they are bringing some boxes up for us. Mostly just boxes of books and some dvds. We did set up the tv and dvd player already and they work fine.

The people at the storage place were simply great. They came in on their day off, they gave us a cheque (I can now spell cheque properly too!) to cover our extra night and food, and also showed me where to drop the key off for the U-Haul, so they are pretty damned good. I’m glad I used them, cause they are pretty awesome.

Our computers are going to stay dead for awhile until family goes away. So until then Kathy & I will share the laptop. Fun times.

Never, and I mean NEVER say…

‘It can only get better.’

Murphy hates it when you say that, he really does. He’s a sadistic bastard he is, and he likes to torment people.

I said it.

I shouldn’t have.

I REALLY shouldn’t have.

Why do you ask? (I know you’re wondering)

Because Murphy, the sadistic bastard that he is fucked me over. I spent the majority of my day waiting for U-Haul Roadside Assistance, to come change a tire that had tire bulge (passenger side rear tire). Not just any tire bulge either, I’m talking mutant tire bulge. (I do have pictures, but because my phone is borked it won’t send anywhere. I’ll get them somehow though)

This mutant tire bulge was the size of a softball cut in half and placed on the tire, the longer we waited, the bigger it got. Not only that but it had a smaller (not much) cousin on the inside of the tire too. I called roadside assistance and the first people they tried to get to come help me refused to do the work. I was 15 miles outside of Grand Forks, my destination, too. I had crappy cel phone reception and the only good thing was that we had made a pit stop when we noticed it. I’m super lucky I did not have a blowout and an accident.

So it took 4 hours to finally have someone arrive to tow the car to a U-Haul 15 miles away where they fixed it in 10 minutes. The tow truck driver, and the two guys at the U-Haul had never seen anything like it before. All of them agreed I was lucky it didn’t blow on me.

The good news is that U-Haul will pay for the hotel and food costs because I had to stay an extra day because of this. Also, the storage place is going to open up and get me singed in tomorrow even though they are closed on sundays. I talked with them yesterday and they were absolutely awesome, they waited around, gave me their private cel phone number to call them in case I was able to come in.

My father who had come down to help me unload is going to stay longer and help me out too, so that is great too. We had a nice dinner and chatted for awhile. So the evening went pretty well, and we also get to sleep in, so that is another good thing.

Baring anything else happening we should be in Wpg sunday night. Which will be very nice. This trip has been one bad thing after another and I just want it to be over.

Where the shit flows

I’d like to talk about something else that is going to be bothering me for, at least, the next 2 years. I say two years because that is how long it’ll take before, I hope, we’ll get our own home and can do things to it.

In Kathy’s home I redid the entire kitchen, sanding the oak cabinets down and restaining them, putting knobs on, new floor, new stove, hood, dishwasher and faucet. Then going into the master bedroom and painting, new lighting, new tile floors for the bathroom, and finally, and this is really the most important part, a new toilet. But not just any toilet, and ADA certified toilet. Basically what that means is the seat is higher.

Now if you have a regular toilet, grab a yellow pages that is about 2” thick, go to your bathroom, put it on the seat (closing the lid might be a good idea), and sit down. Go ahead and try it. I’ll wait.

…

…

Back now? Now how did that feel? Felt comfortable didn’t it? Didn’t have your knees in your face did you? For children this is fine, but as an adult I prefer an adult sized toilet. A few inches make up for a hell of a difference when you’re sitting on the throne.

As we have travelled along our trip every place we have been to has the smallest toilet size (14”), every time I go to sit down my ass wants to sit a few inches higher. Where we are headed is the same thing. I am going to try and figure out a way to convince my mother’s husband to change it. I’ll pay, but he has to agree to it, and I donno if he will.

I guess my ass is going to sit a few inches lower for a few years.

 

What? TMI? Cliff - Peer Pressure Works, Chad - The Grind, Kelly - ‘Round the Bend, Kim - In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Erron – From the Inside Looking In, Kyle - Blog, Liam - In the Now, James – Feelings of White, Shaun - Expedition of Truths, Tammy - Tam I am, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine – Because.

Dammit!

No its not about Beaver today. Although I did talk with someone who offered me coupons for a future visit, because yeah, I’m spending a lot of time travelling. *sigh*

We actually pushed through Dickinson today and made it to Manden which is just outside Bismark. ND. The storage place closes at 1pm tomorrow, so we decided to push a little harder today so tomorrow isn’t so bad. As it is we have about a 4 hour drive and then we have to unload the truck. Fun. I’m looking to hire someone cause there is no way I’m going to be able to do it.

So what got me upset? Its pretty disastrous and if I had known what was going to happen I would have delayed leaving. This is just not good at all. I don’t really know how to say it, so I’ll just come out and say it… I’m going to miss Top Chef D.C. I’ve seen over half of it down here so far, but once I hit Canada I don’t think I’ll even be able to Hulu it. My mother does not have good cable channels, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to watch it all over again at her house (Canada runs the show behind the US air dates) .

Oh the humanity!

And that cackle you’re hearing? That’s Cliff laughing at me. Bastard!

 

Why me Lord? Cliff - Peer Pressure Works, Chad - The Grind, Kelly - ‘Round the Bend, Kim - In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Erron – From the Inside Looking In, Kyle - Blog, Liam - In the Now, James – Feelings of White, Shaun - Expedition of Truths, Tammy - Tam I am, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine – Because.

Fuck Utah: The Continuing Saga

Well we didn’t make Dickinson, ND today. From the delays we had yesterday resulting from the horrible stay in Beaver, I am super tired and super sore. We spent a little time in the hot tub last night and then we were really hungry so I took a quick run to Safeway before it closed and grabbed some frozens. After that we just went to sleep.

We had to stop a few times on the 250 mile trip from Dillon to Billings because my back was just bothering me too much. The drive was very scenic though, I can definitely see the draw to come to Montana. Some beautiful valleys with rivers running through them that would be great to set up a nice piece of property along.

So as we get to our hotel room and set everything up (like internet) we got an email from the Quality Inn in Beaver. Here is what they sent to me:

Dear Mr. McGraw,

On behalf of the Quality Inn of Beaver I would like to offer my sincerest apology for your inconvenience during your stay with us.

I would like to thank you for bringing the issue you had with your stay to my attention. We take great pride in the customer service our hotel provides to our guests. It is also our goal to provide guests with what they ask for to help their stay more comforting. In my research I see that you had checked into the hotel at 7:50 pm August 24, 2010. I spoke with my staff that worked on that day about this issue. On this day we had been notified by Beaver City about a power outage that would occur from 12:00 am to 4:00 am. We had placed on our doors as well as the counter the notice about this going to happen. It was also mentioned upon check in to all guests. I was on the phone when the power was turned off speaking to my clerk and over heard the conversation you had with him about the power. At no time did I hear my staff have an attitude with you during his explaining why the power was off. However, I have spoken to all of my staff as to the proper procedure if this was to occur again in the future. This way there is no misunderstanding when the power is being shut off to making the guests aware of it happening.

As this is something that we have no control over I apologize that I am unable to give you a credit for your stay. We followed policy that had been placed if this was to occur. Had there been an issue with it at the time of arrival it was explained to you that you could have stayed elsewhere. We don’t want to lose you as a guest and we try and accommodate all guests to the best of our ability.

I would like very much for you to give us a second chance next time you’re in the area. Along with my apology I’d like to offer you a 10% discount off your next stay with us. Please call the hotel directly to make your next reservation and reference this letter and upon arrival present this letter to receive this discount.

Again, I would like to express our regret that your stay was not to your satisfaction.

Sincerely,

___________________________

Del Hinckley, General Manager

To me that is basically a giant ‘fuck you, you should have stayed elsewhere’ from them. Here is what I just sent back.

Del,

I appreciate your quick reply, however while your 'policy' on informing customers may have been in place, it certainly was not enforced. At no time during the check in was any notice available, nor was it mentioned to me and nothing was on the door in our room. When my wife talked to the front desk clerk (when the power shut off) what he said was that he didn't know what was going on, and that he had just got there, he did NOT tell her about the town turning off the power, as you allege. If all your staff were aware of what was going on, he should have been able to answer my wife's question. Also, if all these notices were around, and we were supposedly informed of what was going on, why would my wife head to the front desk, where you say you heard her, ask what was going on?

When I checked out and asked about the power outage the girl at the front desk certainly kept repeating that she had a sign on the front desk, but where she pointed out where she put the sign, at check-in there were numerous maps of the facility. If it was underneath the maps I appologise for not realising that I had to root through piles of papers to find the notice.

I understand that the power outage was the city's doing, and I do not hold you responsible for cutting the power, however in not being informed by any of your staff, and the attitude I have dealt with in trying to find out what was going on I do hold you responsible for. I would also expect, that even though it is not of your making, you would automatically offer a discount to all guests for the inconvenience. Because of the lack of sleep this caused us it has set us back a full day of driving, which costs us an additional $150 in lodging and food. I find your lack of willingness to resolve the issue to be pretty insulting. As of right now I am going to continue to take this to Choice Hotels corporate.

Also, I fully understand how customer service should be handled, not only have I worked retail sales before but in my last job I was sent (sometimes over 100 miles) to deal with the 'difficult' customers and make them happy.

Brad McGraw

So the ongoing saga of Utah continues. I donno what it is, but so far this trip has had a lot of downs in it, from the Uhaul, to Utah. Maybe its things starting with the letter ‘U’?

I do have to say the people at the GuestHouse Inn and Suites in Dillon were very nice. Not only in allowing us to use the hot tub after hours, but in telling me where to find food and when Safeway closed. Also this morning checking out the girl was very pleasant and told me about trying fried bologna and onions in an egg sandwich. (we were talking about their continental breakfast and sidelined into more breakfast talk) I told her about an egg in the hole, which she had never heard of before, which to me is odd because I grew up eating them and love them.

So we are in Billings, MT for the night. Everything is pushed back a day too. Tomorrow we are just going to go about 300 miles to Dickinson, ND.

My apologies for not getting the chance to really read or respond to everyone’s blogs. I just haven’t had the chance to really go through them. I’ve just sort of been randomly clicking on a few and reading them. Kathy beats me if I am on the laptop too much. :(

 

The first time Beaver has disappointed me! Hopefully there will not be a second time.  Cliff - Peer Pressure Works, Chad - The Grind, Kelly - ‘Round the Bend, Kim - In Desperate Need of Entertainment, Erron – From the Inside Looking In, Kyle - Blog, Liam - In the Now, James – Feelings of White, Shaun - Expedition of Truths, Tammy - Tam I am, Vlad – Analog Coast, Janine – Because.