You may ask yourself 'How'd I get here?' And I'd say, 'Letting the Days Go By'.
Work was OK this week. One funny case, all the identifying details have been removed for privacy reasons.
A guy was basically here illegally, he wanted to restore his status so he could be in Canada's good graces. So he said he wanted an extension to the 27th as he was catching a plane to leave Canada. He included the plane ticket, it showed he should have been on the plane when I was working on the case. The Devil and the Angel were on my shoulders, I listened to the Devil and called. He answered the phone. He didn't get on the plane, as he was waiting for an important paper from Immigration. Why didn't he turn his phone off? The onus was on him to prove to me that he was going to leave Canada. Now he may have trouble coming back. Time isn't holding us, time isn't after us, time doesn't hold you back.
The Gay Rodeo is this weekend in Strathmore, which is East of Calgary. I wanted to go, and I wanted to ride my bike. The issue, as it has been every year, is how to get my tent and sleeping bag there. As has occurred every year, people have said they will take it. As has occurred every year, their phones break in the week before the Rodeo.
I had an idea, an American friend of mine travelled a lot and had some cash. He would go traveling and ship his dirty clothes back home by UPS. I decided to ship my tent and sleeping bag to Strathmore by Greyhound Bus. The first quote I got on the phone was redonkulous, the guy didn't know what a Vegreville or Strathmore was, they were a foreign language to him.....well it was a call centre, outsourced to a place where English is a second language. At the bus depot, it was $20 to ship. Worth it. One alternative I was considering was buying the tent or sleeping bag in Strathmore. But that would be wasteful.
I shipped the stuff and then I had an urge, to travel. I got home, packed knapsack and tank bag and left town. The plan was to stay in Calgary on thursday night, and go to a bar, one that some people I know go to.
The trip was uneventful, I broke it down into three parts. Vegreville to Edmonton was normal, no excessive speed. Edmonton to Red Deer was manic, all the drivers getting out of town early were psycho. I met up with another biker about the halfway point and we rode together. It appeared all the cars on the road wanted to break us up. They would speed up and do other nasty things. One thing they don't know. My bike is like a rocket. I twist and it goes, sort of like the Roadrunnuer - beep beep.
I stopped at Starbucks in Red Deer, had a relaxing cup of coffee. I got on bike and decided to be sane on the normally insane Red Deer to Calgary portion. It was OK last night.
When I got to the motel, it was nuts, I was nervous I would not get a room. I got one.
I went back to my bike to start it. It went ppfft and then the lights went out. It would not start. I wheeled bike to my stall and called the auto service. I had to wait for them. The thoughts in my head were, there goes the trip. But I tried not to dwell on the negative.
The tow truck guy said it would be better to take it to a dealer in the morning. Not at night, they are in industrial places and a guy could come with a pickup and steal my unattended bike.
I took the C-Train to the Eagle, it cost $3, it was a 20 minute ride. I had 3-4 beers there. I could drink and not care about DUI's. I took C-Train back to the motel.
This morning, I was up early. I had a tow booked for 8. He arrived at 8:30. The Suzuki place we thought would fix the bike was a car dealer. iPhone found another bike place.
I dropped bike off there, they think it is a short, in the turn signal, front. The one Bambi took out, the one the insurance company is ignoring me on fixing. Phew.
So the bike is at the dealer, the cute parts guy helped me out. Why are the parts guys always hot? Especially at bike shops.
I came to the Casino for breakfast, as I am in an industrial park.
The Rodeo doesn't start till later anyway, so I can hang out in Calgary.
That's how I got here. Thank You David Byrne for the excellent lyrics.
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