"What room are you in, sir?"

Song of the moment:  Jacks Mannequin "What Gets You Off"

 I’ve been up in Canada now a little over a month, and have made any cultural “adjustments” as I’ve needed by now.  I have “adjustments” in parenthesis since there haven’t been many.  I’m getting a hold of the whole metric temperature system thing (times two plus thirty…), but for the most part, it hasn’t been bad at all.

 I’ve been keeping quite busy with work, and not minding it at all.  I usually put in 10+ hour days, but since I don’t really have any other commitments, not much of a social life, and am still learning quite a big “on the job”, I figure it’s probably best.  This way, when I get my “real” assignment, I can jump into it much quicker and get moving faster than the average since I’m doing some of that up here.

 What I’m still finding hard to believe is how much the economy is affecting everyone.  Now, I’m not going to soap box here since I know everyone is talking about this, but everything is extremely slow and nothing is being built, so no Cat machines are working and breaking (relatively).  This has allowed me to due my diligence to what issues and challenges have come my way, but it presents a different set of challenges as everyone is trying to cover their back and counting their pennies.  Let’s hope we can turn this ship around, and fast…

 One stark realization that I have made is how important the United States of America is to everyone, worldwide.  I was up here visiting during the election (yes, Mom, I voted via absentee ballot), and I was up here for the inauguration.  I can’t believe how much Canadians (and other countries that I get channels piped in at my hotel) follow American politics.  

I think the “wow” factor came when I was out to on a business lunch on inauguration Tuesday, and a middle-aged woman got excited to go home and watch all the day’s events that she had TiVo’d (recorded on her VCR and or BetaMax for those of you who still have those).  Let me reiterate, a Canadian, was excited to watch an American president being sworn in.  When I wake up in the morning and turn on the local news, they talk about the Canadian government, and then talk about what’s going on in the US government.  Most of the time, the Canadian government officials are talking about what’s going on in America, or are referring to American politics about what’s going on up here.  In America, it seems, the only time that hear about what’s going on in other countries are historical events, major disasters, or something that will affect America.  You typically don’t hear about the tea parties that the Queen of England is hosting now do you.  My point is this: America doesn’t just elect the president of the United States; they elect the most powerful man in the world that can change the course of civilized history as we know it, worldwide.   This is something that most Americans probably take for granted, and I, for one, have a new outlook on American politics and policies…

 So, Caterpillar has put me up in a hotel for the three months that I’m up here, and it is definitely something to tell about.  Now, I know that you’ve all stayed in a hotel for a night/week/couple of weeks.  But, I’m assuming that none of you have stayed in a hotel for more than a month.  It definitely has its perks, let me tell you some of them:  I get free breakfast everyday (unless I sleep past 10), that has about everything that you could ask for.  Room service cleans my hotel-artment everyday, and makes sure I have clean linens and towels.  If I lose my key, I go to the front desk and ask for a new one, and I don’t have to wait for cutting and grinding time at the local hardware store.  I also get all the free ice I want.

There are some interesting things about living in the hotel that I’ve also observed:  People like to party when they’re not at home.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run into drunken people loitering in the halls of the hotel.  Someday when I’m bored, I’d like to knock on the door down the hall and ask if I can join in on the party, but knowing my luck I’d get into some weird scene that could cause some major psychological damage that I’d end up on Maury for.  There’s also a bar in the hotel that always has middle-aged people (no offense here to anyone) trying their best attempts to dance to the newest top 40 music.  Not sure what they were thinking hiring on the DJ that they have, but it always seems packed on Thursdays through Saturdays, so I guess they’re doing something right.  There’s a big window that faces the lobby off of the dance floor, so I get a prime time preview of what I can look forward to in about 20 years.  The bar, interestingly enough, is appropriately named, “The Gallery”.  I’ve been informed that Saturday nights is “Cougar Night”.  

For those of you who don’t know what a cougar is check out the hyperlink I have provided: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cougar.  Maybe if I go broke before my time here, I’ll stumble in and see what kind of adventure I can partake in.  I’ll then go on to impress them with my “I actually live in the hotel here” speech that would make any girl swoon and buy me drinks.  I think the only girl it wouldn’t work for is my girlfriend.

I’ve befriended the maid who cleans my room; I’m not a real high maintenance customer, so she doesn’t mind cleaning my room.  I left a couple beers out on the coffee table after I had a friend over, and she noticed that I partake in drinking these types of beverages.  She then went on to mention that she would drop off any leftover beers that she found in any of the rooms up on my floor.  Thanks, Sahta, thanks…

"Is that right, eh?"

Song of the Moment: 

Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil"

A couple months ago, my supervisor asked me if I wanted to head up North for a couple of months to cover for a fellow employee who was going on maternity leave. I've been in training to do a role such as this one since the beginning of my short career at Caterpillar. Now, I could have said no, but after thought of the decision hampering my career, thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to do the job that I've been learning to do up to this point. Plus, what better time to spend in Canada than the bitter cold of winter.

What exactly is it I do? That simple question has a loaded answer, but I'll try my best: I work for Caterpillar Inc., and am a liaison between the manufacturer, and our distributors/business partners, our dealers. Specifically, I deal with service type issues: issues with our machines, really upset customers, and helping Cat dealers with any other service related issues that they can't find solutions to.

So, on January 5th, I was off to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where the average January high temperature is 19F (that's -7C, people). I'll travel to Calgary, Alberta, and to Vancouver, British Columbia, to keep the wheels from falling off for one of Caterpillar's largest dealers in the service arena. Prayers are welcome for both myself, and the people , thanks.

After my flights were rescheduled, the airline went onto to notch another resume builder by losing one of my bags in North Dakota. I'm not exactly sure how something like that happens, but with my luck, that's about par. A couple days later they delivered it in one piece, so I digress. Then I nearly got my requested work permit rejected by a inquisitive customs agent. Thank ISU, I had the "Yes, I am an engineer" in my back pocket to allow me to get what I needed so I don't get deported next week. Then, I failed to catch my schedule cab. But as luck would have it, the Russian cabbie I finally ended up with, lifted my spirits by giving me the rundown on his abridged version of the history of Edmonton making me forget about my traveling troubles. Thanks, cabbie, this post is for you.

My company has put me up in a extended stay hotel, where I have a nice kitchenette complete with dorm-sized fridge. It's interesting "living" in a hotel, and I'm sure I'll have a posting about that soon... (foreshadowing?, hmm...)

I arrived at my hotel much later than desired (3 AM), and just wanted to crash after a long day of travel. Even though the outside temp was way cold, my hotel-artment (the hotel that I live in that I will refer to as my apartment) was blazing. It was as if Lucifer himself was waiting to have a drink with me at my fraudulent bar next to my kitchenette. I found the thermostat, but had to blink a couple of times before I made the stark realization that it was in....CELSIUS! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all about the metric system. As an engineering major, it makes perfect sense, and is easier to solve complex mathematical formulas, but not adjust hotter than hell apartments for tired, exhausted Americans. Luckily, Steve Jobs was nice enough to allow me to have a conversion program on my iPhone that I used to figure out a comfy sleeping temp of 63 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 17.2C, people).

It's been fun observing the Canadian culture differences (*cough* stereotypes). I will be dedicating the rest of this post to them (sorry, Joe)...

Yes, it is as cold as they say up here. I'm used to the snowy conditions, but not the breathtakingly cold weather when you step outside every day. I thought when day when I woke up, 'Why in God's name would anyone every live up here? It's so cold, I don't think humans were made to live in these climates' Then, I got side tracked as Robin Meade was wearing a dark green knit, and Robin always looks good in green.

Everyone has been more than cordial up here, going out of their way to make sure that I'm comfortable. That goes for people at work, the hotel-artment, and the lady who cut my hair who explained that "runners" are tennis shoes/sneakers. But, it is true that Canadians, some of them, do say "Eh" at times. It's not as noticeable as one would think from films and other stereotypical scenes, but depends on the person, and what they're talking about. It's similar to a northern Minnesota, and or Dakota accent. But, they like to say "Eh" as an affirmation or confirmation when they're telling stories, or asking questions. For example, "I went to the grocery store, eh, and (insert some story which better be good, since I can't see many good stories that start out this way. Maybe you found $20, I dunno...) I've heard the phrase, "Is that right, eh?" numerous times from people you are telling them something. Where I'm from, its equivalent to, "Really?", or "You don't say".

All in all though, everyone's looking for the same thing here in North America.  Life, liberty, and a good ol' fashion Will Smith movie.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for week 2 coming soon...