Isabel and I

I’d first like to thank those of you who remembered my birthday and wished me a happy one. Birthdays are really not a big thing for me personally, but it’s still nice when people make you the center of attention for a little while.

And from my horoscope, this looks like it should be a good year from me ;)

For those of us born on: March 12
Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start with some excellent developments at work or school. Sometimes it’s easy to follow someone else’s lead, but by being different or innovative you’re sure to find success! April will be a very strong month in terms of forging ahead even more, while June could bring up an old issue from the past, which will need to be sorted! August is likely to be a challenging month in terms of work or school; it could feel like one step forward, two steps back, but from September this will ease, and romance should really start to take off! Singles are more likely to meet someone very special from this time on! The run up to Christmas will be unusually hectic, but the New Year is likely to be slow!

But I would like to share my adventure from yesterday with you. It was spent mostly in my car, and spanned 1140km all told.

I left the apartment at around 7:30 in the morning. I had originally intended to go the night before and stay in Lethbridge, but then decided against it.

I filled up Isabel at my usual Husky station and then realised – ‘oop, forgot my tie’. So I went back and got it. Only a very slight detour and I was back on my way. 109th St, 61st Ave, Calgary Trail and I’m on good ol' QE2 for the long haul.

The weather was not too bad for the most part, although the roads were pretty wet. The drive to Calgary was mostly uneventful and grey, as it usually is.

The Deerfoot was nice and open and I ripped through Cow-town fairly quickly. After this the sun was starting to peak out from the clouds and it was beautiful weather.

A little after noon I reached Lethbridge, city of my birth, land of my nativity, and promptly got lost. I really didn’t mind though. I saw some of the newer subdivisions and got a nice view of the coulees. But this was no time to stop for pictures; I had places to be and people to see.

So after a little bit of back-tracking I found my way to highway 5 onward to Magrath. After getting lost in Magrath (but only a little; there is only so much of that town to get lost in) I found my way to the chapel.

It was a lovely reception. The bride was stunning and both bride and groom were just beaming with joy. That is truly why I like weddings; the air is just saturated with good feeling. The food was really good to.

I ducked out of the wedding a little early so that I could make it into Calgary by 6. On my way out I saw 4 deer running full tilt down the street. That was interesting. And as I was leaving the town I saw a funeral procession coming in. It struck me as profound.

I took the more scenic route between Lethbridge and Calgary and discovered a new hobby. I call it drive-by-shooting. It’s where you stop and set up the camera for multiple shots, and then, when you see a particularity good vista, you just hold up the camera (while keeping both eyes on the road and 1 hand on the wheel) and press the shutter. Take a few shots, and then sort through them later. This was my best.



I got to Calgary in good time, and then I got wonderfully lost. It was as if I had lost all navigation skill. Whenever I was presented with a fork in the road it seemed I always took the wrong one. I ended up seeing places of the city not usually seen (did you know there are streets in Bowness that aren’t paved) And as I was driving through Tuscany I started to doubt my choice of profession for some reason. Very odd.

At any rate, I managed to find the West Stake centre just in time for the opening prayer. I had hoped to sing with the choir for this Alberta-wide concert, but it was just as enjoyable to watch.

Then came the real adventure. It had just started to snow as I was leaving the church, and before long it was coming down in a beautiful but deadly way. I made my way through the city to the north end of the Deerfoot and got on the QE2. This was white-knuckle driving. I am very thankful for rumble strips because I certainly couldn’t see the shoulder.

I varied between 100 and 60 km/h based on how hard the snow was coming and how many people were around me. The worst was just outside of Innisfail when I really couldn’t see at all. That was fun.

After I passed Red Deer the weather improved and I made fairly good time. I pulled into my apartment at around 12:30 and went to bed. My trip meter was 1140, And I only stopped for Gas once in Lethbridge. I love my car.

He grew a beard as soon as he could