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just another conference

Posted by  on 5 June 2009, 3:34 pm
it pretty much goes hand in hand that a blog-post follows a conference. recently returned from a conference held in mighty toronto; great city, quite urban with lots and lots of patios. not much to fully disclose on the city itself, except perhaps the traffic and for some reason i can’t explain why i heard less honks in traffic than i do in vancouver, given toronto’s traffic is much worse. perhaps they gotten used to it, and they’re calmer, although from the way they move you wouldn’t believe it. fast pace city…quite the opposite of the ‘laid-back’ western type vancouver.

anyhow, as i mentioned it countless of times before, i can’t seem to understand why more airports do not follow vancouver’s move…offer free wi-fi. the beauty at yvr is that you can check your emails right before boarding, you can log on and be able to ‘kill-off’ some time doing something, rather than walking around. while i understand that when it comes to money, everyone will try anything to make a profit, so i guess my opinion on the matter is quite futile.

back to toronto, lovely city for what it is. it’s urban, it’s happening and everyone seems they have a place they need to be (well at least that is what i observed in their behaviour). enjoyed seeing the distillery district (gotta give it to the guy that came up with the idea…purchased a cheap and out of business distillery, and essentially turned into a place ‘to-be’, with expensive hang out places), visited shortly ‘little italy’ (patios everywhere…well that’s what i remember of it anyhow), and enjoyed the dowtown area…with the university of toronto campus…the company during the site-seeing visits…made it even better.

on my way back, i got stunned by immoral, unethical and selfish behaviour. while i tend to like using technology more and more, i still did not use the ‘early-check-in’ option that air canada offered…meaning i did not get to choose my seats the night before. i ended up sitting in the middle. to my right…some young business ‘wanna-be’ guy, showing his blackberry the whole time and having some sort of an issue with everything around, and to my left…a lovely lady, 85 years old and traveling. for the most part…i tried to enjoyed the selection of movies that the airline provided, however i did have a chance to have a nice conversation with the lady to my left. sweet old lady. after the 5 hours of flying…we land in vancouver, and the old lady turns to me….and offers to move out of my way if i want to get off the plane quickly…as she was waiting for assistance. as you may all know…as soon as the plane reaches the gate, the isle becomes a line-up…with people eagerly waiting to get off and with everyone looking more anxious than the rest. anyhow, long story short…i tell the lady that she should sit down, as i’m in no hurry; besides, the isle was packed, and the old lady did not quite have where to go. on top of that…the extra 5-10 minutes meant that i get off the plane in a civilized fashion and without being pushed…

i turn to the guy on my right, and i ask him if he wants to get off quickly…now given my expression was somewhat of ‘sit your a_ _ down’, he responded he’s in no hurry. however, the old lady was being polite and offered him the same line as she did me…and he took it without hesitation. while doing so, he did not wait for the old lady to be able to pull her legs towards her…nor did he take the time to be careful and just blasted right through…something similar to a football player going in for a touchdown…he does manage to hit the old lady’s leg…and without hesitation continues to march on, no apologies…i’m stunned and didn’t even manage to say anything…although at this point i think i should have at least made a scene…on top of that, a young twenty something girly, from the seat behind us…does a similar thing…and barely misses the old lady on her way out…eager to get off the plane…not sure what she was in a hurry to get to, but i guess if the plane’s on the ground…one must get off.

disappointing the eagerness of some people, to get off the plane as soon as possible, regardless of who they hurt in the process…only to wait for the luggage. quite disappointing to witness such behaviour, and at this point i guess i should have said something. live and learn, perhaps next time i’ll be a bit more ready to offer my comments.

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london bound part II

Posted by  on 3 May 2009, 6:09 pm
4 months of anticipation, early morning, take on the london public transit with one scope in mind…find my way to luton airport, with one thought in mind, find my dearest…so that i can hold hand yet again… make my way to the train station (shepherd’s bush…the british have one sick sense of humor…but more on that later), behave in a tourist like fashion and purchase the ticket from the information booth, good thing it was 6 am and not a lot of people around… (in b/w, as a side note, as i’m writting this i just ‘connected’ to the heathrow wi-fi, and of course it’s not free…i miss vancouver)…and find the right side of the tracks (there were only 2…but you never know), wait for the train…and i start to dream. eventually make it to luton, in one piece, and now comes the moment…i’m thinking how to get to the arrivals as fast as possible…and wait for her as she walks out…imagining the movie meeting…with her walking in a rapid pace, me waiting with open arms… oh well, it wasn’t to be, it was even better than i imagined. i walk in, and as i turn my sight from one side to the other…i recognize the most amazing smile i ever laid eyes on, a friendly hand waving at me…and i stop for a second, as if i had to take in the moment, savour the taste…
after the long awaited hug, i grabbed her hand…and started the walk back onto the bus, aiming for the hotel…so that we can drop of the luggage, such that after we can enjoy the walk through the park we both so desired since the winter. but that had to wait, as it seems, in my eagerness i walked into the first train that opened its doors, forgot to check the destination and the stops…as the train speeds through the station we were supposed to change the train in…i realize we did not get into the right train (yes sis….i know ‘duh!!!’). first thing we do…is we get off at the first station…and instead of behaving as the typical male, i go and ask (yes ASK) for directions about how to get to the station of interest. i’m told the train, the track number and how to get there…and off we go…first train that comes…we hop on…i state my apologies, realizing how tired my dearest is at this point…and wait for the station. the only problem is, the train doesn’t stop there…again (yes sis…i know…)…this time…the station only has a couple of lines…and we go to the next line and wait for the train again…well, as you might guess this is not the end…this repeats a few times…i can see annoyance in the eyes staring at me…eventually we get to the right station. walk right to the door of the last train we had to take…and instead of walking in, i decide to go re-check the maps and schedule…and as if it wasn’t bad enough till now, the train leaves…and it was the right one! so, eventually i end up making us take 6 wrong trains, and the 7th (which is the right one) i decided not to take. ‘insert joke(s) here’ …at this point, i’m not quite sure how to apologize to ensure i at least try to save the day, and try my best not to kick off our vacation in england on a bad foot…in my mind i’m thinking…i’m gonna hear it, she’ll rip into me and give me a lecture (not that i didn’t deserve it)…but what did i get instead? a hug, a kiss and a smile, to which she attached the words ‘it’s ok, at least i’m with you’. i don’t think i’ve ever met anyone as sweet…i think i found the sweetest person in the world…and anyone that doesn’t agree will have a fight on their hands…

eventually we reach the hotel, take a much needed nap…and then decide to find a park for a nice weekend stroll…i take out my laptop, go on google maps (gotta love google) and look around the area. the hotel was situated quite closely to hyde park…thus it was clear that we had to make our way there. i check the laptop, i take a look at the roads…and off we go. grab her hand and we make our way towards hyde park…strolled around the side streets, end up in kensignton gardens (boarders hyde park)..and we enjoy…we enjoyed the green…the birds and the animals (well squirrels…quite domesticated)…see geese, ducks, swans and peacocks…end up seeing a nicely arranged japanese garden (kyoto garden)..and lots of puppies…some more energetic than others. our little stroll took us around in the park and around the park…saw the rich side of fulham…then…we found a nice italian restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner in two…we continued our walk…and around 8:30pm at night..my dearest asks me…if i know my way back to the hotel (keep in mind…i check google maps prior to leaving, didn’t take any other maps with me)…and yes we got back to the hotel…in one piece after a lovely afternoon…

next…it was saturday…london…here we come…and if you didn’t quite guess it yet…the first thing in the morning was to check google maps, choose a tube station and then start our tour…on the books for the day: london bridge, st. paul’s cathedral, big ben and the parliament building, st. james park with buckingham palace…and then make our way back to hyde park, through it and back to the hotel…ventured into london without a map aid (guess street wise i’m fine….i only get lost on the trains)…enjoyed a lovely dinner besides the castle…of indian cuisine…london was great, lots of walking, sight-seeing, taken in what central london has to offer. the best part of it…enjoyed it while holding my dearest hand…

as lovely as london was, the hotel i booked proved to be quite a dump. i quite started to fully understand the meaning of ‘you get what you paid for’. however, as i was told…it doesn’t matter, as most of the time was not spent in the room…it had a bed, it had a window…it was good. on sunday…we made our way to the train station once again, in order to make our way to eastbourne. the town where the bohs conference was to be held. this time however, made sure to listen to the guy at information (couldn’t make the mistake again)…got on the train…changed it and then after two trains…ended up on a bus, that took us to a third train…. a lovely little trip through the country side, enjoyed seeing the british style houses, fields…i highly recommend the trip itself. eastbourne is a lovely town, south of england right on the atlantic ocean. if you ever look for a relaxing vacation, this is definitely a town worth considering. we choose to stay at a bed & breakfast, a small one indeed. the hosts were very friendly, and were always making sure we’re having a great time. the room was quite a treat (compared to the london dump). close to the beach, about 5 minute walk from the pier. flowers were abundant on every corner. our stay involved quite a bit of sightseeing, attending the conference. we enjoyed the town itself, late evening walks on the sea front, playing with the waves, visiting the cliffs on the other side of town…and yes visiting the small university in town. the best part of it was, spending it with my dearest…

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london bound part I

Posted by  on 23 April 2009, 1:44 pm
it’s quite interesting, but the saying ‘if you wait for it, it will come’; too bad nobody cared to share their opinions about the annoyance of the wait. so it’s about 18:30, london time, on the 23rd of april…and i’m sitting on a bed, in a hotel, on a regular noise london street, listening to the local news and well…sharing my path to here from vancouver.

so, how did i get here…quite obvious if you think about it…by plane. well, yesterday afternoon made my way to yvr (vancouver international airport) to board an air canada direct flight to london. nine hours and some change…and i should step foot in london just before noon. well…sounds rather simple..well as you by now know…it pretty much never is. at yvr, looking for the air canada counters…(while i doubt this is just my imagination), but it was the longest line-up by far from any of the other counters…regardless…it’s not as if i had a choice, so i line up. moves pretty fast, check my luggage…and make my way to pass through the security zone. by now, if you fly you know the rather tedious and boring security checks.

as i’m sitting in line, make it the bins and start placing my belongings in the bins. this old lady behind me…keeps pointing at her watch…at which point i ask what’s going on. she was late for the plane…so i move aside and let her pass by me. then i suggest she goes up to the front and ask if she can move on faster…given she was about 10 minutes prior to her plane taking off. of course…the security lady…decides 10 minutes is plenty of time so she sends the old lady back to her place. the two persons (a guy and a younger woman) decide to ignore and essentially make the old lady go behind them. well at least she ‘won’ one spot. so, what do i get for my troubles? nobody before me was asked to take their shoes off…as i reach the metal detector…i’m asked to take my shoes off. well, i’ve been to the states…it’s normal there…but it feels quite odd when you’re singled out and asked to take them off. nobody before me and after me were asked to take them off. i guess i look rather ‘odd’…i was wearing a canucks shirts…and had a canadian passport…but i guess i was a risk..

anyhow…moving on, given getting stuck on such a detail was probably not worth it given i had a nine hour flight waiting for me. make my way to the gate…and decide to take my laptop off…and thumbs up to yvr for the free wireless. i only used it for a few minutes…but helped check emails prior to take-off. making my way on a boieng 777, which by the way looks quite amazing, i wasn’t expecting up-too part service (given what i heard about air canada). anyhow, the plane itself…well that’s boeing, but the features are worth to mention. plugs (north american and european…not british – wait for it for a bit) at almost all seats, so if you want to use your laptop you don’t have to carry 3 extra batteries. the entertainment system was quite good…had control over the movies and quite a few options..too bad more than half of the options were ‘unavailable at this time’ for the entire flight (those would be…sports, news, games, etc.). anyhow, at least movies were available and i could play/pause and stop at any time. so, first movie i saw was twilight (a movie i pretty much bashed prior to seeing it…but i can honeslty say i was pleasantly surprised by it)…it’s not everyday you get to see a vampire with morals, let alone a whole bunch of them. actions wise…was kind of boring…love story wise…either not cheesy enough or too cheesy to make it good…can’t quite pick. anyhow…worth watching. other than that, nothing worth mentioning….except perhaps ‘easy virtue’…quite a bit of british humor in it, and quite good given i haven’t heard of it prior to boarding the plane (this, i would recommend on a friday evening). anyhow…on the plane, i meet this lovely british couple, the wife quite chatty…the husband more interested in sleeping. both quite nice..so that made for a nicer flight.

as far as air canada is concerned, they had some high points and some very low ones. the captain had the worst timing to share his ‘thoughts’ on various matters…and everytime he did it..the whole plane would yank their head-phones out of their ears. the volume for the announcements was almost at maximum…i guess they didn’t quite figure that would cause an annoyance among the passangers…anyhow…ears are fine, for now. the other part…service was quite acceptable…however at some point i was asked to put my chair back up (so the guy behind me can eat)…but the lady in front of me wasn’t asked the same…i guess the flight attendant did not realize all the passangers in front had their chairs lean-ed back…or…(i’ll leave it at that). the breakfast food was horrible, the muffin to sweet…the coffee was one of the worst i had. however…the meal was good, good desert (not too sweet), and i had the impresison you could drink as much as you’d like (alcohol that is). overall…nice experience…with minor issues…but looking forward to flying with them again.

anyhow…make it to london…and my first experience was the regular passport check-up. usually i pass through them, not many questions asked. however…for some reason today i get told ‘i ask the questions, not you, you answer’…by the fool at the passport checkpoint. perhaps if he spoke more clearly…i would have answered accordinly. i understood ‘when did you arrive in london’…he apparently asked ‘how long are you staying in london’…anyhow…after i tell him my life story…with names…well just names…he ‘lets’ me go. get to the train station (after i picked up my baggage) and tell the guy at the desk (ps: i haven’t seen a ruder information person…guess it’s the british way) for a ticket for wherever i was going. i hand over 20 pounds for a 9.10 ticket and get back 0.90 pounds…i tell him…and he denies it….eventually a supervisor shows up…and i end up getting a pass for the train for next time…which pretty much compensates for the change i didn’t get. anyhow…welcome to london (ps: i had a similar experience like this in copenhagen on the first night when i bought a few sandwishes…i guess it’s the right of passage in a new city when it comes to my travels…getting bad change during my first few transactions).

make it to where i’m supposed to go…lots of green scenery…and try to find the hotel. eventually i find it…and i see lots of restaurants and patios (can’t wait to visit them). plans already running through my head…but get to the hotel…get the key..and end up in a room. quite smaller than i imagined..but at this point…beggars can’t be choosers. anyhow…the biggest surprise was the plugs. for some reason i was expecting the plugs to have the same shape as the rest of europe…not even close…i guess the british do take the prize for ‘doing it their own way’…afterall they do drive on the right…and the plug thing only supports the opinion…anyhow…i did find an adapter…eventually.

did see a bit of the surroundings after about an hour and a half nap…went got some food, to make sure i don’t starve at night…and headed back to the hotel. i really must be fitting in quite well…given i was asked twice about directions…the first one…was quite ease…where’s the ‘tube’?…the second…some guy asks me about the neighbourhood…to his surprise i think i was more lost than he was…

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