Dissappointed but not Surprised

As most of you know I work in the Oil and gas industry and work out of an Engineering Company's office in Calgary. I noticed the last couple days while coming into work, walking around and leaving work that about 80% of the people here do not wear a poppy. At the risk of sounding racist, Of that almost 100% of the non white or New Canadian immigrants do not wear the poppy. furthermore I was in a Tim Horton's this morning and it was the morning rush hour, and again maybe 2 out of 25 people were wearing a poppy.

As our world War veterans pass away in significant numbers it almost seems that people have forgotten what the poppy means and what the poppy supports. With The conservative government ready to cut back almost $500 million from Veterans affairs to support our modern day veteran like My Father and even Myself, the poppy fund is even more important. Although I disagree with the Legions stance with the Canadian Veteran Freedom Riders in the use of the poppy, I do agree that it is important.(Story here http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10/26/ottawa-legion-poppy-trademark.html )

We all hear stories on how people steal the poppy boxes or come up with Scams to sell poppies in the name of the Legion, but the bigger crime here in my opinion, is the amount of Canadians that do not embrace the freedom that their Countrymen are affording them, and the people that sacrificed so much to ensure that freedom. For Canadians I guess you can attribute it to a few things, laziness, forgetfulness, procrastination, tired of all the fundraising in the slow economy. Who knows.

I guess the real story here for them people who choose not to buy or wear a poppy, is that all the sacrifices made by all the veterans of all the wars and conflicts, allows them to make that choice - not to wear a poppy during Remembrance week, and that is why we serve so you can make these choices and enjoy your freedom. For those of you that are wearing one and have donated, and for those who have served and continue to serve, I salute you.

That Time of year again...Wear a Poppy

I posted a blog last year shortly after Remembrance day, so I thought I would post one before this year. I just read a Newspaper article in the Calgary Sun about a bar advertising drinks specials for the 10 November and using the Moniker what will you remember November 11...here is the Article that was posted in the Calgary Sun.


http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/11/01/bars-remembrance-day-bash-rankles-veterans?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=recommend-button&utm_campaign=Bar%27s+Remembrance+Day+bash+rankles+veterans

So I ask people what do you remember about 11 November growing up and what do you do November 11 now.

My most vivid and memorable memories for Remembrance Day was when I was a young private posted to Calgary back in 1980. The week before Remembrance Day we would put on our CF Uniforms(Dress uniforms) and we would take a day to go to the Legion and spend it with the veterans of WW1 and WW2. Now back then there were still plenty of the WW1 vets around and the WWII vets were still in their 50's and 60's. All these guys were sharp witted and fun guys to be around. When we sat with the Vets from the Second World War, they would tell us some of the most amazing and funny stories about their times in the military and over seas. Most times they would not talk about the horrors of war. When they did mention a comrade that passed, they would normally toast him and carry on.

When I was sitting with the guys from WW1 it was strangely different. After a few wobbly pops, they would tell more of the stories about the horrors or war, and how tough it was and about the comrades they lost. Needless to say I thought this strange yet intriguing. I must say I am happy to had the chance to speak to these heros considering there are no WW1 vets left. Those trips to the Legion I always looked forward to, and of course going to the Legion on Remembrance day after the ceremonies.

As I got older and have had the opportunity to speak to more WWII vets I noticed something strange, in that they too now talk about the things they didn't back in 1980. What I have come to understand about our young men and woman that who have served and faced some of the most terrible things in our history is, they chose to remember the good things . But as they got older I thought because the stories they told, they were choosing to remember the bad things....... I have since come to a different conclusion and what Remembrance day is suppose to be about.

In my opinion, The vets wanted us young soldiers to understand the camaraderie and the fun times they had while serving for Canada. When they got together they wanted to tell the stories that made them laugh and feel good about what they did. As a young soldier they wanted me to feel special about the career I was embarking on. As they got older, the stories they told were not for them to remember the bad times they had, but was for us as young soldiers to understand the horrors and heartache that war brings.

When I served in Somalia, I understood even more what these Veterans were telling me. When I returned I too, would tell the stories of the fun times I had, and the friends I made. I usually didn't talk about coming under fire, being mortared, crashing in a helicopter or seeing the dead bodies of children.

Today when I sit with the young men and woman that have served in Afghanistan and other conflicts, whether they are 20 or 50 years old, I see and hear the same things. They talk about the goofy times, the fun times, the hard times but not the bad times. We save them for later.

When you see a soldier or Veteran on Remembrance Day, and he is there all dressed up and proudly wearing his medals, look into their eyes, and you will see a proud person, you may see the friends that they came to remember,or the times that they came to remember, but take the time and ask him about his medals, his service or where he has been. They will have plenty of stories to tell. ....

Huh..it's been a year? Life is Good....

So....I have not kept up with my blog do to my fast paced life...um..ok ok, the real reason is I just wasn't interested in writing anymore. I guess I found myself writing more out of boredom, out of frustration, on account of this was the cool thing to do nowadays. The past year has seen many changes in my life, yet, I was uninspired to write about them. Today I decided I would do a catch-up-whirl-wind-bloggy-thing to appease my 1 or two followers. So here it goes....

January 2011- seen me coming back from Holidays in Punta Cana where my frinds son was married. It was an amazing week on the beach and diving, as well as hanging with my friends. I returned back to Houston and was still in a bit of a holding pattern with my job.

February 2011 - Well I was laid off from TransCanada and it made my month. I had not been happy for a while with the current role I was in, and the fact they wanted me to take a new one in Calgary which I declined as they wanted me to move again, sealed my fate. I want to say that leaving made me happy, and sad TransCanada was one of the best(if not the best) companies I had the pleasure of working for, however they didn't have a role that fit my profile. TCPL gave me a very generous payout package which further cemented my respect for them. OH FYI, I asked to be laid off in December if they had nothing for me so I could move on to a new role . I entertained a new position heading to Australia with Bechtel. I also did 2 interviews within the first week of being laid off, and had 2 more offers in hand. Life is good....

March 2011 - I had been basically hanging out at home enjoying my time off. I had been waiting patiently for my VISAs for the USA and Australia. Not much more happening....

April 2011- Well still no VISAs and I was starting to get anxious to get back to work. An old colleague called an offered me a new role with him, and a rather large pay check. I decided to take the job, and forgo Australia. Life is good..

May 2011 - Well I started my new job working at my old employers building. My new company is Osum Oilsands Corp working out of Jacobs Engineering. I ran into a lot of old friends and have settled in here. I have also decided to start to loose weight again. I had put the 50+lbs back on I loss 2 years earlier, due to my extensive travelling and hotel stays with TCPL. By the end of the month I was down 20lbs. Life is getting better...

June 2011 – I have been at the job for a month, getting the admin stuff done. Not much is happening outside the office. I did rent a condo in Calgary instead of a hotel, so I can control what I cook and have a normal existence here. I lost 10 more lbs. I am enjoying myself...

July 2011 - Golf!

August 2011 - Holiday season, I took two weeks off at the beginning, spent a week in Edmonton Golfing some more, and then a week in Nova Scotia visiting my family and friends. I enjoyed the time there and as always miss the Maritimes. I wish Alberta jobs could be there, I would so move back. I spent the last week of August at my parents’ house and we had a surprise 70 birthday party for my mom. I had several of my friends that knew my mom over the years, come as well as several of my parents friends. Both sisters made it as well. All in all, a very successful party for mom. She enjoyed it. Oh down another 10 lbs(July and August combined) Life is Grand....

September 2011 - back to work , but not much happening at the office. We are in a bit of a lull waiting to hear about funding for the project so my days are spent writing procedures, doing power points and helping my technically challenged colleagues with their IT problems. I am starting to get anxious, to get out to the field and build this plant! Spent A nice long weekend with my adoptive family in Montana golfing with them and the Griswalds. It was a great weekend minus the golf score sheet. Oh yeah, down 4 more lbs for the month but struggling to loose any more.

October 2011 - Stay tuned as I think changes are a coming I will also write a new blog in the next few days on my trip to Cuba I just came back from.

Diving....

So last year February 2010, I travelled off to the Caribbean with some old friends I had reunited with at a reunion in the summer of 2009. Now my good friend Dave likes to dive, and had learned his trade in the military while serving with the navy. His wife Linda likes to travel, and have been travelling for a few years, and they try and go places where my friend Dave can dive. Here is where I come in, so rewind 18 years ago, I took a diving course in Mombasssa Kenya while on R&R there from Somalia. I had almost 18 days off, so it made sense to take the 4 day long course and get my diving certification done. I dove in the Indian ocena and it was amazing and a feeling I have never felt before. My first dive I think I used a tank up in like 15 minutes. My second dive though I was more relaxed and able to spend almost an hour in the water. I enjoyed doing the course and doing the dives. Unfortunately the address they had on fiule for me was for NB where I lived many years ago, and this Dive Center was based out of Germany(Baracuda). I never did receive my Dive card from them, then again, in 17 Years I never went diving again. I do have a reason why, which I won't get into. Fast forward 17 years. So I like to to travel. SO I headed to Curracao in the Caribbean with my friends last february. My current addiction, is golf. Well golfing in the tropics is not fun as taking a day off work and going at home. So I decided to do some snorkling and the resort 4 hour intro to diving. It involved an hour in teh classroom and hour in the pool and then we then did a shore dive. Well I was hooked, hook line and sinker! So I went out the next day diving. I was able to go with the minimal training as long as I had my own dive master. This also meant paying for me and her to dive. This could get expensive,so I decided I would get my certification again. When I returned to home I immediately signed up for the online PADI elearning Open Diver Course course where I could do my classroom stuff at home, and then the pool and open water dives later on when I had time. Fast forward a year,107 busines trips later, I just didn't find the time. (I didn't even do the online stuff at all!)



So now I am working in Houston TX and we are heading off on another vacationg this time to Dominican Republic in 1 week. I booked my course, did my online course last weekend and just finished my first night in an outdoor pool last night. Now my Canadian friends are thinking, "Lucky bastard, in an outdoor pool in january". Anyone that lives down here are saying, "are you out of your mind, swimming in January!" To my Canadian friends and family who arecurrently in a Deep freeze of --29+ deg C , this week is the coldest week in Houston and last night the air temperatures was 2 Deg C when I was diving(it actually was -8 the night before) and the pool temperature was 87, (thats a hot tub back home)

I have my second night of diving at Rice University and tonight we wear a wetsuit. The airTemperature will be a balmy 4 Deg C when I am diving and the water temperature in the rice University Pool will be a cool 75 Deg F. Our weekend open water dives will be done at a lake here in Houston this weekend. the nice thing is the Temepratures will be all the wy up to 17 Deg C, but the water temeperatures will be around teh 60-65 Deg F mark. I am looking forward togetting this course out of the way. In less than a week I will be diving again in the tropics where it ie beautiful and warm and clear.



I think this is all worth the money and time and I would suggest to anyone that likes to outdoors, likes nature, likes peace and tranquility to take up diving. I know people have a lot of fears, but once you take this course with teh instructors, you gain the confidence to handle any situation. the instructors love diving, they love their job, they want you to enjoy it to. They work with you until you get it anad are comfortable with every aspect.



When your under the water, breathing, floating along, seeing things that 99 % of the world never gets to experience it is amazing. You hear sounds around you, but mostly very peaceful, you feel weighless as you swim along at the various depths along the bottom or along a reef. You watch the fish and the plants and the coral and see how beautiful being underwater is, especially the ocean floor is. Even if you only dive for tropical trips, the first time you go, trust me you will be hooked. Its my new cocaine! I will let you know later how cold it was, and hopefully post some pictures next week from my trip to Punta Cana

Noteworthy things

So it has been a couple weeks since my last post, and i thought I would write about a couple things that I noticed, and not necessarily events, although I would like to talk a little bit about remembrance day first. I am still surprised that Remembrance Day is not a national holiday. I know all levels of government take it, but not everyone does. I think that it should be considered a national holiday as it has no religious affiliation, has no geographical affiliation, and has no ethic affiliation. It relates to every single free Canadian and person living in Canada. It is to honor the people that have served, and are serving, to guarantee your right to do and be whatever you want. This year it also included all the first responders which was kind of cool. After saying that, I must say I was impressed with the how empty the streets were on remembrance day indicating that more and more are taking it as a holiday, and I was impressed on how full all the ceremonies were across the city, province and country. I know a lot of this has to do with the fact that Canadian Soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and the awareness is there, and I would be curious to see what the ceremonies would look like, if we were not in Afghanistan. I myself had the honor of attending Remembrance Day in the Town of Evansburg with a friend. He laid a wreath his father. During the ceremonies, I was amazed that the whole town was there. I looked around and noticed people smoking, and people dressed in jeans and sweat pants, but this did not offend me as they were there, unlike many that simply use it as a day to sleep in or shop. I like the fact that a lot of stores remian close until 1pm to allow the staff to attend ceremonies. I guess if we can't have the whole day at least having the morning is good.

You ever notice how we are creatures of habit in the way we shop for food or things for the home ,as with many things in our lives. I noticed that I am a 2 and 4 person. Very rarely do I buy one of anything. When I picked up salad dressing, I bought 4, when I bought chips for the house, I bought 4, when I bought dip I bought 2. When I bought the individual ice cream I bought 4. Last time however they only had 3 ice creams left. Instead of buying the 3, I bought only two….weird eh..I started noticing that I was doing this more and more. Anyone else do that or notice that? Take a look in your cart next time and see if you are a numbers person. I know my mother is VERY much like this, she will buy 1 for herself, and then 2-3-4 more for others. Very rarely one thing goes in her cart. Maybe that is where I get it from.

I am starting to get into my new role at TransCanada. I don't think I like it, nor dislike it. It feels more like a class I am taking as I am learning more each day. The work is not hard, just the getting to know everyone and finding whose who in the zoo. I do however notice that working back in a pack instead of alone or I guess being the one in charge, is not my favorite, I work with some young up and comers, and sometimes they want to show how dumb you are to show how smart they are. I have one person liek that now, that has rubbed me the wrong way a couple times, and I have had to explain to him that A) I don't work for him and B) if I did, I wouldn't work for him. I think he is a smart lad and will end up at the top of the heap, unfortunately, he may not have as many friends once he gets there.

I have 2 weeks until I apply for my work VISA for the USA. I am looking forward to getting that out of the way, so I can make some plans for at least 6 months to work and live in Houston. I can get a place to live here and get some normality back into my day to day life. Traveling and living in a suitcase sucks at the best of time, doing it for 6 months really sucks. It also doesn't allow me to get in a routine, and to try at least to be healthy with my eating and living habits.

I just finished taking my 95th flight. That’s right, 95 take offs and landings this year. Well, thats not true, it is actually higher than that. The 95 is only with Air Canada, my flight total is at the 99 mark. I have now achieved my "Super Elite" status with Air Canada for next year. What that means is I get lots of upgrade certificates, I get preferential treatment for upgrades, for stand by, free lounge access, and a host of other small perks. I have had this staus once before and it was quite nice. One nice benefit is the fact I have access to more reward seats meaning I can book aeroplan miles on just about any flight which is nice when booking flights for family etc. I have had Elite status(one step down) for a few years shich is still pretty sweet especially when you need a little extra. I figure I have at least another 8 flights before the end of the year, and I should end the year with over 100,000 miles flown on 115 flights. That’s a lot of traveling.

I am looking forward to the Christmas holidays this year. having two weeks off and most of that with no plans feels nice. I think I have had too many things going on this year, and it is starting to pay a toll.

So I have 3 goals for the next 3 months, first is to get my VISA, 2nd is to try nad loose 10% of my body weight and 3rd is to get my Scuba Diving certification done before my next holiday in January. I really want to get a few dives in Punta Cana Dominican republic in January. We will see if I can achieve this.

Panamanian Insaniam!

So again I am way behind in updating my “daily blog” I am actually content if I can get 1 entry in a month. I thought that this entry I would just talk about my recent trip to Panama. I was in Panama from the 11-18 Oct with Dave and Linda, old friends of mine whom i have known for 30 years. This is our 2nd vacation and 4th time getting together this year. We traveled to Curacao in the Caribbean in February, a long weekend in June, a couple days in Cape Breton this summer and of course this trip to Panama. We are also traveling together to the Dominican Republic in January for their son’s wedding.

I flew to Montreal to meet up with them so we can fly together from there to Panama, but I first flew to Toronto to spend the weekend with my parents before I left. It was a stressful week before I left of course with so many last minute work demands and finding out the day before my Holidays that My project in Oakville Ontario was canceled. I actually first heard that from a friend while I was at the Airport waiting for my flight to Toronto. I was not impressed. I however decided I didn’t want it to spoil my holidays. SO I flew to Montreal to meet my friends which was kind of silly considering that the flight from Montreal was actually stopping in Toronto before heading to Panama, but it was fine as I got to spend an extra day with my friends and guarantee a seat together with them. I think it helped set the tone for a fun vacation. We were up at 3am and off to the Airport for 4am, checking in 3 hours before our charter flight, then a one hour flight to Toronto to pick up more passengers, an hour layover in Toronto, and finally off to Panama. Once we actually left Toronto for Panama, it was only a 4h50minute flight to Panama. Then we had a 2 hour bus ride to the resort. As you can see it ended up being a very long day. We got to the resort, checked in, and got our room keys and wrist bands. The resort was really large with over 1000 rooms. Most of the rooms sat up on top of a hill and you had to walk down 7 flights of stairs. This place was not a great place for the sick lame or lazy! It was also a very tough resort on some of the older folks as well.

The temperature at the resort was around 30 degrees when we got there, with 100% humidity. I was sweating my buns off as I still had my jeans on. Dave Linda and I went up to our rooms where our luggage was being delivered. We did not get our adjoining rooms as requested but we were at least in the same building. They were on the 2nd floor and I was on the 3rd floor. When I got to my room it was boiling and the Air Conditioner didn’t seem to be working. I called the front desk immediately and they said they would send someone up right away. Needless to say 30 minutes later no one was there yet. I went to the lobby and again explained that my AC was broken and was guaranteed that someone would be there in 15 minutes. 1 hour later, still no one. I figured that they promise 15 minute intervals as they really have n clue as to when someone is coming to fix it. I was really hot cranky, tired and hungry at this point and called the front desk and laid into the poor young lady there. I went down to Dave and Linda’s room and had a shower and changed there before we headed off to the buffet for dinner. The buffet was good and the food was ok, but the service was excellent I found. Before coming down to Panama and staying at the Royal Decameron, we had read on trip adviser reviews from other guests and one think they seemed to complain about as a constant was the poor service or how the people would not serve you if you did not speak Spanish. We found just the opposite, and were very impressed with the level of service there(except for the AC debacle). We ate the dinner and wondered around the resort some more amazed at the sheer size of it. It had 2 buffets and 8 a la cartes. This was impressive. After stopping at one of the cafe/bars and having a drink we headed back to the rooms, where low and behold, I had AC again. We chatted and watched a movie and basically took it easy for the night.

On our first full day(2nd day on vacation)We decided to get up around 8am and head down and book our 3 a la carte meals, get our towels and find a spot on the beach. After doing this we grabbed a nice breakfast and lay out on the beach. The beach was very large and sandy and very wide which was good considering the size of the resort. It also had an area for water sports including parasailing, fishing boat rental, booze cruise to name a few. At 9:30 we headed up for a briefing with the tour operator to learn about all the things we could do at the resort. Many of the tours seemed interesting but involved a lot of travel or time. Prior to coming on the trip Linda had already booked a private tour with a fellow the 3 day of our trip, so we could see as much as we wanted and get a better experience while doing so, We all agreed we did not like the cattle mentality while touring around in foreign countries. As it turned out we only booked one thing, and that was the booze cruise on 43ft fishing yacht for the Thursday (which ended up being Saturday). We then hung out on the beach and enjoyed the warm temperatures and sandy beach. Panama has two seasons, Rainy Season and dry season, we were there during the rainy season(low season) and we had got a steal of a deal on the trip, about $650 all inclusive INCLUDING taxes. I can’t even fly home to Halifax for that. Because it was rainy season, the resort was not full, and we had no problems on the beach. The surf on the beach was very rough and the tides change in Panama every 6hours. It was actually fun to go out in the ocean and play in the waves, although some days the waves were so rough they would shut down the beach because of the undertow and the risk to the children. I should also mention that Panama, as most people know, splits the Atlantic ocean from the Pacific and thus is the why the canal was built there. I will tell you more on that later. Where we were staying was actually on the Pacific Ocean side. The first day was sunny and we never had any rain, which would not be the case the rest of the week.

The next day we were up and at ‘em at 6am. We had to meet our private tour guide at 7:30, and we needed to shower and have breakfast beforehand. We met our tour guide Bernard in the parking lot and headed off to Panama City. Bernard was great and took us to the city and the Panama Canal and showed us a lot of historic places. Some of the things I learned that day;
Panama has about 3.2million people of which about 1.5 million live in Panama city. A low income earner is around $400 a month with a middle class earner being about $6-800 a month. They use the USD as their paper currency and the Balboa as their coins however US coins are treated the same as we do in Canada. The main businesses for Panama are the Canal (obviously), banking, and tourism however Panama is taking off as a tourist destination especially considering what is happening in Mexico. Panama is more secure and under the watchful eye of big brother (USA). Tourism is going to be a contender for number one I think in the next 5 years considering the amount of growth happening there now. The Panama Canal was run built and run by the Americans for 100 years. The US had an area in the Canal area that was called the American zone. No Panamanian people were allowed to live in this zone. It encompassed a 5 square mile area around the canal area and included several military establishments. Between 1980 and 2000 the US turned over all the properties and finally the Canal in 1999. However back in 1989 the US invaded Panama ousting the infamous General Manual Noriega. During this siege they killed around 3000 Panamanians and left some 20,000 homeless. 23 Americans were killed as well. They are currently expanding the canal adding more locks to double the sea traffic. In Panama it costs $1 for 4 pineapples.

The day was a very informative day and I really had a great time. We visited the canal, the churches the bombed out area of the city, all the former US installations, and several other things I can’t remember right now. It was well worth the money spent hiring Bernard. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:30 a little bit tired and a little smarter.

The rest of the week was spent around the resort relaxing, sun tanning or burning (depending on who you chat with) and of course eating. We didn’t really do a whole lot. We planned on doing the para sail but the boat broke down.

So we decided on going out on a Booze cruise on the Saturday, basically a little bit of snorkeling, a little bit of fishing, and a lot of drinking. There was about a dozen tourists on the boat, a few of them Canadians from Toronto. The snorkeling part was not very fun for me. We went out to the island off the shore where there were some caves, but the water and tide was so rough by the time I swam to the caves, I was dead tired and rather than be a hero, I called the guy over on the jet ski to take my big butt back to the boat as I knew I would not be able to swim through the tunnel and back to the boat. Once back on the boat I picked up where I left off drinking. After snorkeling we headed out to sea looking for whales, unfortunately the only whale we seen that day was my fat ass which was being rescued by the Jet Ski. So the captain dropped a bunch of lines in the water and we drove around for about 90 minutes trolling for fish. I was the only one to catch a fish and it was just a Spanish mackerel, still fun to reel him in. The day ended with us heading back to shore and showering and having dinner.

Sunday we rented a car and took a drive up the coast looking for shops and touristy things. There was not much around the area. Some of the scenery was nice but not much else.

Monday we packed our stuff at the resort at 7am, and headed to the bus at the lobby. We boarded the bus and was off to the airport. The flight back was uneventful and was actually on time considering we left 45 minutes late from Panama. . Once we arrived in Montreal we had a drink said our goodbyes and crashed for the night as I had a flight to catch at 8am, and we didn’t get in til midnight. I headed back to Edmonton on the Tuesday morning and prepared myself for the upcoming work week in Calgary.

In summary it was a nice cheap week away again with some old friends. I am hoping to do more of these in the future with more friends.

Blogging not my job

So if Blogging was my job, I would be fired by now. I am not very consistent in keeping this thing up to date. My last entry had me leaving the hospital, and heading home. In a very short paragraph, I will explain my recovery. It went really well. the 2nd day home I was very ill in the morning, and pretty much slept most of the day away. By the afternoon, I had some sleep, and some ginger ale and dry bread and was starting to feel a bit better. I had slept the reclining love seat as it provided me a comfortable position sitting back while sleeping. Through out the day I slept on and off. I had a delivery from work, a bouquet called edible bouquet. It was so cool, it was a flowers made out of fruit. needless to say that I chowed down on that for the next week. I loved it cause it different and thoughtful. I also received some flowers from my SCM group in Energy Project, which was nice, that and a card PLUS additional cards from a couple of the girls there. Cathy was by to take care of me yet again the next day, and lecture me on the walk don't run theory of healing. Us men have often heard of this theory but really never had experienced it.

By the 3rd day I was off the pain killers except for bed, and I actually slept in my own bed as well. I slept through the night which was nice. I woke up on the forth day feeling even better as the wounds were healing, and the the pain was minimal. I still had the odd twinge as well but not bad. Also during this time, my employer TransCanada had assigned me a nurse and they were checking in on me every other day. Although I wanted to get back to work in 2 weeks, they wanted me to rest for at least 3. By the end of the 1st week, I was feeling about 70 per cent better. The pain was minimal and I was sleeping through the night with no pain killers. My body was also adjusting to itself with one less organ and I found although I did not have any emergency bathroom rushes, I was going more frequently.

By day 9 I was at the driving range hitting a couple buckets of balls and trying out a new golf swing.By day 11 I was golfing and (3 days in a row). I was definitely on the fast track of healing. By day 14 I was ready to get back to work and headed off to Houston.

The over all experience taught me a few things, our emergency medical system is second to none in the world, the people are dedicated, professional and upbeat people that have a tough job, when your down and out you find out who your closest friends and family are, I was impressed and surprised by some, and not impressed by others. It really helped me rearrange the friend ladder, some moved up and some moved down, the body is an amazing machine in how it works and how it heals. Taking care of it will be come a priority for me going forward as I get older. I like to think I started that 9 years ago when I quit smoking, but there is much more to be done...and no Cathy...and I will not visit your homeo-pathlogiocal-witch-doctor!