Back in the Office
Back in May, the company decided to close our 12th Ave. location due to its prohibitive cost and lack of use. This was a decision I supported – the extreme short notice was not particularly welcome, however. I …
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Calgary
88 posts tagged with this topic.
Chasing the Holiday Train
I follow trains, not sure if you knew that… Every year, through November and into December, CPKC (formerly Canadian Pacific) runs the Holiday Train, a short set of cars decorated with lights that get a little more …
Chasing CP 2816 on the Final Spike Steam Tour
I admit, I have a couple of non-standard hobbies. The one that gets the highest eyebrow raise, is, of course, chasing trains. But I’m not a generalist, I tend not to chase any train, there has to be something …
50 Years of Me
Well, I’ve somehow managed to make it to 50 years of age. I’m pretty sure teenaged me is mildly shocked. (50 year old me kind of is.) I’m not where I thought I’d be, even as little as a decade …
The Long Road Home
I still wish there were trains between Vancouver and Calgary. Passenger ones, like VIA, not the Rocky Mountaineer (which, admittedly, I would still love to take, but I tend to not have an extra $5,000 lying around). But …
Ten Years in Canada
I was born in what was once the small town of Oakville, west of Toronto. I lived there until I was 18, when I went to university, and split my time between Waterloo, Oakville, Ottawa, and Toronto, until January 1998, …
How to fix the Calgary Board of Education
I’ve been wrestling with the Calgary Board of Education for a couple of years, now. And it’s not for anything complicated. To be honest, all I have is a simple hope: to have my children go to a school where they don’t …
What Canadian politicians have forgotten
It should go without saying that this is an opinion piece: my opinion. It may not be yours. Politically, I’ve been centre most of my life. Today? I genuinely don’t know. Alberta has entered another provincial election, …
Selling the awful to the angry
Yesterday evening, my family trucked down to 96th Ave SW, invited by the Calgary Board of Education (along with the other families in the Westgate School Bilingual Spanish program) to view the “new” school, …
Trying to save Westgate Spanish
Way back in 2012, the Calgary Board of Education asked the parents of Westgate School what they thought of the CBE’s plan to try and alleviate the overpopulation problem. We were engaged, we went to many meetings, and …
Calgary Board of Education - we need a decision on Westgate Elementary
Hi, CBE? I’m a concerned parent. Yeah, I know you’ve heard from a lot of us in the last year regarding what you want to do with Westgate Elementary. You’ve heard so much, you’re not listening to us anymore, which I can …
Monkey's First Stampede
Perhaps the title’s a bit misleading, Monkey, but I suspect this will be the first Stampede you actually remember. And you have reason to remember it, too. You’ve listened to marching bands, eaten pancakes, ridden …
Back at the (new) Calgary Farmer's Market
On Thursday, a few months behind schedule, the Calgary Farmer’s Market finally re-opened its doors at their new location near the corner of Blackfoot Trail and Heritage Drive in Southeast Calgary. It’s been long-planned …
An argument for wired city council
As little as a hundred years ago, North Americans lived (generally) in towns and (much smaller) cities, where it was possible to know your elected representatives personally, meet with them, and have a person-to-person …
Our last day at the Calgary Farmer's Market
On 23 December, the Calgary Farmer’s Market will close its doors in the old CFB Calgary lands forever. It’s a dark day for the Sowrey family, as the Calgary Farmer’s Market has been a fairly significant part of our lives …
The Great Family Roadtrip 2010, Day 8
We were up perhaps a bit earlier than I’d thought we’d be up, but I’d also forgotten we were stopping in Redcliff to visit Marnie and her kids. Thankfully, Grandpa had enough sense to jumpstart us for the day. That …
You can never go home again
When I was a kid, I heard the phrase “you can never go home again”, but never understood it. I mean, I went home every day after school, so what was wrong with that? It wasn’t until I went to university that …
The trip home
Well, Monkey, we’re home now. I know it doesn’t seem like it to you, because you’ve lived in three different homes since you were born. But this house, the one in Calgary (where we’re currently adjusting to serious …
O Canada, my home and native land
For anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while, you know two things: I currently live in Costa Rica. I’m Canadian. One of those things is about to change. Almost a year and 2/3 ago, I caught a rumour about Critical …
Stampede breakfast, Costa Rica style!
Right now on this very week, back in Calgary, AB, is the Calgary Stampede. It’s the largest outdoor show in the world (at least that’s the story). It usually means a massive influx of cowboy- and cowgirl-wannabes (among …
Canada, you can blame Calgary
Sigh. Well, thanks to the residents of Calgary Centre-North, Canada is now stuck with Jim Prentice again. And I’m just too darned tired to rant. Wasted effort at this point. But I reserve my right to call “I told …
Just say "no" to Prentice!
Okay Calgary, here’s your last reminder. It’s the big day. Make sure the Conservatives get the message: don’t ram bad laws on Canadians and expect that they won’t notice or remember. Don’t re-elect Prentice. Or I’ll be …
Calgary - Vote "no" for Prentice!
Hi folks, it’s your friendly (but still pissed-off) Ex-Pat reminding you that with tomorrow’s federal election, you can send the message to Ottawa that poor legislation that places handcuffs on all Canadians will not be …
Calgary, throw Jim Prentice out of office!
Dear Calgary, my former home, I have a reminder and a request for you. First, please remember that Jim Prentice, one of several MPs up for re-election in Calgary, will be running again in the October election. Second, …
A Moving Birthday
When we started planning this crazy little excursion to Costa Rica oh-so-many months ago, there was always the need for me to leave in advance of my family, and then come back to get them. The logistics of making …
One week to go
I’ve been in Costa Rica for over three weeks now. Three weeks away from Alex and Mi Pequeña Niña. Each day has been a challenge being so far away from them. The longest I’d ever been away before was six days. Six short …
An open letter to Jim Prentice
Dear “Honourable” Jim Prentice, Allow me to express my sincerest feelings when I say you are responsible for fucking over the Canadian people. This bill you are introducing this morning — likely as I write …
It's the end of the world as we know it...
…and I feel, well, okay. Maybe not necessarily “fine”. Critical Mass has done a bit of a reorganisation. I emphasise “a bit”. Mostly because this is not the radical shifts we’ve seen in the …
Privatize Calgary Transit
I was recently out in the United Kingdom on vacation. If you know my travel habits, you know I rarely stay in one place for long — I like to move around. (Yes, this often fuels or is fueled by my mild obsession with …
I have a steak hangover
Last night I had the opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time — eat at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. We got one in Calgary a few months ago. It’s built into the base of the Calgary Tower, on the …
Minus Forty Eight
That’s the temperature right now. With the wind chill. My knees are numb. My thighs are pink blocks of frozen flesh. I think my eyeballs fogged over when I walked in the office. Going home is going to be about as much …
A bullet train in Calgary?
I just came across a rather … well, odd article on CBC.ca. It’s a blueprint for 2018. Apparently, the Calgary City council thinks that there should be a bullet train from here to Fort McMurray. Someone’s been …
Christmas in Calgary 2007
Another Christmas has come and is now waning. It’s been a long, but good day. Our child isn’t old enough yet to truly understand Christmas (although the morning nap appeared to be aborted due to the desire to be around …
Calgary Winter Weather
Posted by mobile phone: I’m sort of working from home today (taking care of my family is more accurate). We had to drive down to the south end of town to Alex’s doctor. If you live in Calgary, you know what that means …
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West LRT Line in Calgary approved
It’s official — I’m going to be able to ride the C-Train to work in four years. Sounds like a long time away, but the reality is that this is going to make my life a lot better. Back when I used to live in Sunnyside, I …
Calgary is big enough for better transit
As I’ve said before, I’m no expert. I haven’t been everywhere or done everything. But one thing I have done is paid attention to public transit systems, especially the ones I’ve had to deal with on a daily basis. Such as …
Improving Calgary Transit in the city core
I’ve gone back to taking the bus. While biking to work is (believe it or not) faster than taking the bus, I’m not too fond of the idea of biking down the side of the hill (switchback or not) in the dark, where I know …
Problems at Calgary Farmers Market?
We’ve been going to the Calgary Farmers Market for a very long time now. Not quite since it opened, but I think not long afterwards. When we lived in Garrison Woods, it was a weekend ritual (it was a five-minute walk …
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Hunting dragonflies
It’s hot in Calgary. Hit 33.5 degrees on the Mini’s thermometer. That’s pretty darn warm for Cowtown. And for some reason, it brings out the dragonflies. I found them buzzing around one of the bushes next to the front …
Pancake coma setting in
One of the great things about the Calgary Stampede is all the pancake breakfasts (a Calgary tradition) that go on during the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth. One of the worst things is when you eat too much. I think I …
Canada Day 2007
It’s not every day you get to celebrate someone’s 140th birthday, and they’re pretty happy about the whole affair. I got to spend it what I’ve done for several years now, helping out with the Rocky Mountain Rail Society …
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Houses sold and moved
I hurt. A lot. Yesterday, with the exceptional help of good friends, we moved into our “new” house. This after a major screw-up with U-Haul (they neglected to tell us when the truck was actually available) …
How not to start a vacation
Oy. This vacation is not off to a good start. One of the conditions of this vacation was that we were to incur no red-eye flights (in other words, no sleeping on the plane). That meant getting there and back was going to …
Buying another house
It’s official — we have a new house. Well, not a new house, but a different house than the one we’re currently in, hence new to us. Why a new house?, you may ask. The honest reality is that we can’t stay in this one much …
Rankin Family Reunion in Calgary
Last night, we attended what I can only describe as a typical Maritime house/kitchen party. Except without the screech or incomprehensible accents. Back in the early 1990s, Canada had a brief flirtation with popular …
Calgary is turning into Toronto
For the record, I don’t consider this a good thing. My first real opinion of Calgary formed a few years ago when Therese, Stuart, Gerry, and I were merging onto Crowchild Trail one day. Stuart was driving like he did in …
Another Calgary New Years
Y’know, it never seems to fail — just when I think I’m going to have a relaxing holidays, it ends up being a total whirlwind of activity. Given, there was an upside to all of this: we got to see a lot more family this …
Back to driving ... damn
I used to drive. Then I realized that I should switch to something more environmentally friendly, and I could use the exercise to tone my otherwise sedentary ass. So I started biking. Biking was great. Fifteen minutes to …
Calgary Transit Sucks
I was having a discussion with Doug down in the Bistro this morning, and I came to a rather interesting realization: Calgary Transit sucks. Let’s have a realistic view, here. Calgary is the third or fourth largest city …
Home again, home again, jiggity-jig
[This entry originally posted on How To Get Lost: Home again, home again, jiggity-jig.] Um… someone stop the world, please? I wanna get off. Wow. The world is a lot bigger than one would expect. Sure, Disney says …
Half-way, sorta
[This entry originally posted on How To Get Lost: Half-way, sorta.] We’re now halfway home. Sort of. Ekaterinburg is roughly halfway around the world from Calgary. (It’s also in Asia — we crossed the Europe/Asia divide …
It's freaking cold in Calgary
Minus 34. Celsius. (Not that it would matter much more if it were Fahrenheit.) That’s 14 degrees below my thermal underwear threshold (that would be when I put them on). That’s what it was on my way to work this morning. …
New Years Eve in Calgary
It’s an interesting start to the year, to say the least. Alex and I spent the holidays partly apart. As such, we ended up having Christmas Eve on New Year’s Eve. To make it interesting (as if being together wasn’t …
Christmas in Oakville with Chris and Kaz, New Years with Alex
I had hoped to go some place warm for the Christmas holidays this year. I wanted to put Christmas lights on a palm tree. I wanted to make sandmen. I wanted nothing more to worry about than getting a sunburn on Boxing …
BC Vacation - Three Valley Gap to Calgary
No rooster, just the sounds of patrons leaving their rooms. I think I prefered the rooster. The Chateau’s name is a little misleading. One is brought to think of the Canadian Pacific (now Fairmont) hotels, with the old …
The Red Mile
There’s just something inherently wrong with watching Stanley Cup hockey while sweating because it’s so warm. The season needs to be shorter. Or there need to be fewer teams, especially in places where you can’t …
Calgary Flames win Western Conference
Flames Fever is running at a pitch I could have never have imagined before. Tonight, it broke a new high. Tonight was game six in the NHL Western Conference final, pitting the Calgary Flames against the San Jose Sharks. …
Calgary Flames and the 2004 Stanley Cup
There’s a new disease running through Calgary. It’s highly contagious, spreads like wildfire, and while it has yet to prove fatal, it certainly causes some debilitating effects. Symptoms include sore throats, aches, …
Driving home from Kelowna
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been on a roadtrip. And although it was only one-way, I didn’t mind it at all. I flew into Kelowna, but I drove back with Andrea, Tamara, and Dan. Andrea had driven the three of them …
Turning Japanese Again, Returning to Canada
I can’t even call this a “last day”. Yesterday, really, was our last day. Today is the packing/travelling day. And the day to say goodbye to dear friends. I hate leaving friends behind. Chris is one of my …
Christmas Day and Boxing Day in Calgary
I slept fitfully. I don’t really know why. But when I awoke Christmas morning, there was a slight sense of excitement. Perhaps I’d been depressed the day before and not taken notice. (The reason why, of course, still …
It Just Doesn't Feel Like Christmas Eve
‘Tis the night before Christmas, and all through the house, the cat is sound sleeping, as I sit here with my mouse. No stockings are hung by a chimney with care, just thrown in the laundry bin ‘cuz I have more to wear No …
Railway Days at Calgary's Heritage Park
Okay, before you all say “oh, there’s Geoff and his trains again!”, I would like to emphasize — for the record — that I only did this because the Society was desperate for people. The Society, of course, is …
Chasing CPR Empress 2816 to Brooks
While this weekend was absolutely amazing, too many of these and I’ll die from exhaustion. I started early Saturday morning. Those of you who are chiming in with “must be train stuff” can smile smugly — ‘cuz …
My Trip to Japan, returning home
When I finally arrived home from my stint with the CBC so many months ago, I was happy to be back. It will be nice to be home after my trip to Japan, even though it’s sad to leave it so soon. When I arrived almost two …
Moving Nana from Prince Albert to Calgary
Well, it’s Easter time again, and that means a lot of family events out here in the great Canadian plains. The major difference this year is what sort of family events we do. In previous years, it’s been a massive dinner …
A Busy Calgary Christmas
This has simultaneously been the quietest and the busiest Christmas season I think I’ve ever experienced. I had been looking forward to two weeks of quiet rest, working on personal projects, sleeping, watching movies, …
Home for a rest
You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not at my best. I’ve been gone for a month, I’ve been drunk since I left. These so-called vacations will soon be my death. I’m so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest. — Home For A …
Flying from Calgary to Prince George
T-Minus 8 days There’s nothing like trying to plan one and a half months of a chaotic life in excruciating detail. It’s a little easier when someone else does all the dirty work, but ultimately, it’s you that will make …
Lilac Festival and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
Warm weather has come late to Calgary, but it is quite a relief that it finally has. Shorts, sandals, t-shirts, and (almost) no fear of waking up to a White Christmas every morning. I haven’t seen my breath in well over …
Calgary's Wild Weather
It’s official, Mother Nature is bipolar. North America has been receiving some very erratic weather as of late. Out here, it’s been a little more consistent than erratic … consistently bad, that is. So far this …
Easter in Calgary with my Family
Third year running: Lots of family, lots of activity, and way too much food. This year’s events started Thursday evening, when my mother arrived from Ontario, as did Chris’ parents for their first (and possibly only) …
Returning Home with a Cold
I hate being sick. When I arrived here, I had a sore throat. I had thought i was because of a lack of water or fluids while in transit. It was, however, the beginnings of my first cold in a year. It’s more annoying than …
Meeting with the Home Inspector
There’s nothing like the feeling of soul crushing debt. Actually, it’s not that bad. Especially when there’s a darn good reason for it. In my case, it’s because the last formality of the conditions has been cleared, and …
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Strange Things that Happen while Buying a House
The more things change, the more they get strange. Yesterday, I left the office at noon. This was partly because I’d been here all night (we were working on a pitch for a client who would be worth a LOT to us) and was …
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Finding a Great House, Losing in a Bidding War
Early this year (and this month), I finally decided it’s high time I get myself a permanent address. Not another apartment, but an actual home. Something I can call mine. Something where I have my own walls, my own roof, …
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Starting to Buy a House
There is nothing so responsible, so adult, as trying to buy a house. Okay, there’s that kid thing, but we’ll just ignore that for the moment. I’ve decided I need a permanent address. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve …
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Calgary Myths Dispelled
A lot of people give Calgary a hard time. They call it “Cowtown”. They think that we’re overrun with cowboys and horses. They think everyone has a shotgun rack in their beat-up pickup truck. They think that …
Christmas in Oakville, New Years Eve in Calgary
I didn’t think it was possible for 10 days to go by so fast… Having missed Christmas at home last year (for reasons I don’t think I need to go into), I decided a month or so ago to return home and experience …
Touring Alberta, Calgary Stampede, Columbia Icefields, Lake Louise, Banff (Bamf!), Drumheller
Owing to a very hectic week, I really haven’t had a chance to get to this one. Hopefully my workload will drop a bit in the not-too-distant future so I can return to the simpler things in life … like writing …
Live from Cincinnati, Getting Home Again
Be it ever so humble … and a little messy … there’s no place like home. I missed yesterday’s log. Oops. Basically, the testing went well — the changes I made held and so far, things are looking good. That …
Easter in Calgary, Visiting with Friends, Eating Russian Food
Years ago, Easter weekend meant a trip to my grandmother’s in Toronto for a dinner with the rest of the family. It’s been a while since I’d been in a large family gathering for Easter, but this year certainly did put a …
Moving into my First Calgary Apartment, Mother's Pizza
I hate moving… I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. I’ve moved three times in the past four months. Makes the moves I did in co-op seem trivial (I moved only every four months). But this time I’m not going anywhere …
My First Entry from Critical Mass
It is said that the best things come to those who wait. I can safely say that I’ve got good things coming. It’s been a month since my somewhat dramatic departure from Vancouver and I entered into obscurity. It’s high …
Left Vancouver, Job, and Girlfriend for New Start in Calgary
[Ed. Note: This is the actual message I sent to most everyone I knew, letting them know what had just happened.] Today, I completed two of the most traumatic experiences of my life. One was leaving Radical Entertainment, …
Visiting Friends in Calgary, Deciding to Leave Vancouver
I get by with a little help from my friends. In this case, it was Stuart and Therese, two of my oldest and closest friends. I ventured to the wilds of Calgary to say “Hi” and check out the sights. Well, at …
A Boys Night out in Calgary, Drumheller, Banff (Bamf!), and Star Wars
This weekend, I did something a little different than usual. I went to Calgary. Alone. Well, not totally alone. I went to visit Stuart, who I had only seen for a whopping six hours at Christmas. Ideally, I would have …
Weekend in Calgary, Banff (Bamf!)
This entry is long overdue — I should have issued this sometime last week. But it’s been one of those weeks where I’ve barely had time to check my email, let alone write any. It all started a few weeks ago, when I heard …