Mar 23 2006

Sticks and Carrots

dastels @ 6:54 am

Yesterday I flew back to my client site outside Chicago. En route I needed to get a new TN-1 visa so I made sure to get a lengthy stop in Toronto to do so.

So for the stick… while the border officers were pleasant and down to business, there weren’t nearly enough of them on duty to efficiently handle the amount of people going through the system. A simple 10 minute job (my TN-1) took far too long to make it through the queue. Once it did it was processed efficiently. In fact, I had to wait so long that I ended up missing my connection, albeit only by about 15 minutes.

Now for the carrot… I went to the gate from which my flight had oh so recently departed and explained the situation to the Air Canada agents still there. They promptly printed me a boarding card for the next flight to Chicago. I had almost an hour before it boarded so I was able to grab a quick lunch. Everything worked out for the best after all. I am most impressed with how Air Canada handled the situation… immediately and with a smile. My checked bag even made it to Chicago with me.

Mar 21 2006

My Girlfriend’s a Geek

dastels @ 9:09 am

After SD West, Nancy & I spent Saturday on the VTA and CalTrain and in San Francisco.

So what does she do on her first visit to the city? Well, we head up 4th Street from the CalTrian station, stop for a latte at Whole Foods, then proceed directly to The Apple Store at 4th & Market. After leisurely browsing & buying a couple things we head down (um.. up.. over… toward the Bay Bridge) Market Street… and discover a CompUSA. Now Nancy has heard tales a-plenty of CompUSA from my time last year in the Detroit area where my hotel was practically across a parking lot from a CompUSA. So we spent another many minutes wandering about in geeked out bliss. Keep in mind that FutureShop (something akin to Circuit City) is the most technically immersive experience in our area.

That over with we proceeded to have fun wandering through Chinatown, and up the hill to a stunning view of the Bay. We stopped at The Stinking Rose for dinner on the way. Then downtown again to catch the 8:00 train back to Santa Clara.