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Back to UserFriendly Strip Comments Index
| A Magical Mystery Tour (others to follow) |
by toxin |
2002-11-11 14:49:37 |
Had to teach a course in Lower Post BC. Find it on a map... go ahead, try.
Watson Lake is in the Yukon. Lower Post is 20 km southeast, inside BC. I flew to Whitehorse... well first ...
Thursday at Vancouver Airport at 07:00 - not my favourite time. The flight is cancelled due to fog in Whitehorse and I am rescheduled for the afternoon flight. We get off the ground at 14:30, only an hour late. The plane is now full as there are two passenger loads packed onto one plane. Air Canada has replaced the in-flight meal with a foil wrapped Burrito. Do Not Eat the Burrito! I ate the burrito. Next time I will go for a 7-11 burrito. Much better quality. When given warnings by others to not eat the burrito... Do Not Eat the Burrito!
After about 2 1/2 hours in the air, we arrive in Whitehorse. We come in for landing. The pilot jams on the throttles and we don't land. Fog was too intense. We start the 2 1/2 hour flight back. The flight attendants add insult to injury - a second round of burritos. Passengers are actually snarling at the offerred ?food?.
A flight by Air North lands in Whitehorse five minutes later.
So Thursday ends with a five hour flight from the north end of Vancouver Airport to the south end of Vancouver Airport. I try to give up in disgust, but nooo, Ralphy MUST teach the course so Ralphy gets to be booked onto the next morning flight.
Friday - at the airport at 06:00 - EVEN WORSE than the day before. The flight is postponed until 11:30 due to fog. We get off the ground at 11:30. Another Burrito. Did not eat the burrito. Even was polite while declining the offer of the burrito. Land in Whitehorse at 14:00. Now in Whitehorse airport. Decide that maybe I should check the reservation for my return flight as my arrival in Whitehorse was significantly delayed. Just on the off chance that some-one hadn't moved my return flight back. Ass-covering you know. Ass was flapping in the breeze, it was. Change return flight reservation to Sunday.
Get into my rental car and drive to Watson Lake (no hotels at Lower Post, not much at Watson Lake either). 4.5 hours of driving. A significant part in the now darkness. The Alaska Highway is what cruise control was designed for - 140 kmh sustained for over an hour before darkness fell.
Saturday in Lower Post - going Lower Postal - I have a group of six future asbestos workers. These are people dragged out of bed in the morning by the Chief (I did say native reservation, didn't I). Two of the six are visibly / audibly drunk. One gives a random statement and meanders out of the room. The other, in that overly friendly tone of drunks everywhere, starts talking about his recent trip to Vancouver and how the effing (he didn't say effing, though) Chinamen kept trying to cheat him. OK. Now which stereotype should I be reacting to....
I teach the course. Nothing in there that could not have been dealt with by the PHH staff already up there. Why, oh why am I here? One salient point that becomes apparent. They are going to be doing "high-risk" asbestos removal in November. High Risk procedures require the workers to wear tyvek cover-alls and take decontamination showers. The tyveks are disposable, as must be any clothing taken inside the enclosure. Tyvek could be considered plasticized paper. Paper clothing. Unheated, derelict building. Naked in the shower. November. BC/Yukon border. So cold it's an inny, if you know what I mean. The enthusiasm rating (not high at the start as demonstrated by the voluntary turn-out for the class - none unless dragged out of bed) dropped precipitously. This is a good time to leave town. Back to Watson Lake for the night.
Of the trip back - it snowed. At times it was beautiful. And I was LEAVING. Got into Vancouver at 18:30. Yay, no seriously YAY!
Thus endeth my soon to be southern magical mystery tour. |
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[ Reply ] |
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Hee hee - | by hyzenthlay | 2002-11-11 14:55:35 |
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As part of my new job, | by toxin | 2002-11-11 15:05:31 |
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I used to have sensitivity | by hyzenthlay | 2002-11-11 15:15:58 |
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Beatles Song of the Day! :) | by Llyr | 2002-11-11 15:02:47 |
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That's at least the third SOTD today. | by LionsPhil | 2002-11-11 15:04:54 |
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Stuff. | by Llyr | 2002-11-11 15:22:28 |
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Not am. | by LionsPhil | 2002-11-11 15:27:07 |
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He's been replaced by an old HP calculator! (n/t) | by saxguy02 | 2002-11-11 16:44:41 |
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Goddess Ye! | by LionsPhil | 2002-11-11 16:49:13 |
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Don't do songs, just the trips. | by toxin | 2002-11-11 15:09:28 |
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That reminds me of a funny joke. | by Llyr | 2002-11-11 15:21:43 |
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