Distractions, reflections

David Ing, at large … Sometimes, my mind wanders

2006/12/01 Unexpected stay in New England

I’ve been in New Hampshire this week, on a consulting gig. I decided to wear one of my winter parkas on this trip, because I’ve been getting tired of dressing in layers. (In Finland, since the homes are warm, I never wear sweaters indoors!) With the unseasonably warm temperatures this week — into the 60’s — my coworker have been giving me a gentle ribbing about the coat at every opportunity.

With a client meeting finishing around 3 p.m., the choices to get home were: (a) drive down to Boston Logan airport in Friday afternoon traffic; or (b) fly out of Manchester NH on an 18-seat plane. I chose the latter (which was $100 cheaper, anyways).

So, for a leisurely 7:30 p.m. flight home, I drove the long way around to see what Manchester is like. Not much to see, since the sun sets at 4:10 p.m. this far east, and it’s been raining. I dropped off the rental car at the airport, checked in my luggage, went through the security check, and decided to order a sandwich at the bar. Just as the waitress delivered it … there was an announcement that the flight to Toronto had been cancelled. Heavy rains.

I walked back to the check-in area, where the check-in clerk still had my luggage. I guess that she was sufficiently pessimistic that she didn’t send it down on the conveyor belt!

I phoned for a hotel reservation and rebooked my flight. As I was packing up for the shuttle van, I noticed that security was closing up the gate with its caging. I had heard that the Manchester airport closes at 8:00 p.m., so this must have been an early night!

Anyway, it’s another night in another hotel, and — despite the chastisement of my coworkers — I’m comfortable and well-prepared. I’ve ceased to be stressed out about these things, so it’s time to catch up on e-mail. I’ll have a 10:15 a.m. flight home tomorrow.

P.S. Sorry, no pics for this posting. Nothing to shoot in the rain!

2006/11/29 Portsmouth New Hampshire morning walk

I didn’t renew my badminton membership in October — my sons seem to prefer breakdancing — so I’ve been making a concerted effort to at least get out for walks — preferably in daytime. Here’s what a rainy morning looks like in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The hotel was two blocks from the waterfront. The town seems to have become gentrified over the past few years, with many small restaurants, but there’s still remnants of seafaring.

20061129_Portsmouth_NH_tugs.jpg Continue reading2006/11/29 Portsmouth New Hampshire morning walk

2006/11/28 Portsmouth Brewery, New Hampshire

Since I’ve been classified as an enneagram type 5, I have a reputation for scoping out lots of restaurant choices before I get to places that I’m visiting — whether I’ve been there before, or not! Portsmouth has a reputation for having good restaurants. It’s easy to check for comments at Chowhound, and I often cross-reference to an alternative newspaper (which in this case would the Portland edition of the Phoenix).

Unfortunately, the corporate meal guideline of $32 for three meals per day in New Hampshire doesn’t seem to be enough when Portsmouth restaurant entrees are $24 without tax and tip. This is how, despite the fact that I don’t drink beer, I recommended that the consulting team — flying in from around the country — meet at the Portsmouth Brewery for dinner.

20061128_Portsmouth_Brewery_BL_DI_KM.jpg Continue reading2006/11/28 Portsmouth Brewery, New Hampshire

2006/11/24 Queen Street East is the new Queen Street West

In 1988, my office relocated from North York — north of Highway 401 and east of the DVP — to a bank tower downtown in the financial district. Since I hate commuting, we stepped up from a Willowdale condo to our current house, located south of Queen Street and east of the Don River. I remember that a former marketing director from Claritas said that I was living “kinda bohemian”.

It’s an indicator when the New York Times publishes that “Queen Street East is the new Queen Street West”. The area is called South Riverdale, and we’re either at the eastern edge of “Riverside”, or the western edge of “Leslieville“. Besides the explosion of restaurants down the street from us, I’ve noticed two other signs of gentrification in our neighbour.

20061124_Booth_Ave_speed_bump.jpg Continue reading2006/11/24 Queen Street East is the new Queen Street West

2006/11/19 Crete 2003 – Toronto 2006

One activity that has become regular for me is the annual meeting of the ISSS. Not only do I reconnect with many old colleagues from the systems community, but since the conference moves every year, I get to meet new people.

At the ISSS meeting in Crete in 2003, Apostolos was one the authors in sessions I ran. He was then a student in Greece, and we had some conversations on career direction. We’ve kept in touch over e-mail over the years. He went on to study in the International Master’s Program in Bioinformatics at Chalmers University of Technology in Goteborg, Sweden. This led to an opportunity to visit here at the University of Toronto, in the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology. Apostolos lives on our side of town, so for Sunday brunch, we decided he would meet the whole family for dim sum.

20061119_DimSum_AL_DI.jpg Continue reading2006/11/19 Crete 2003 – Toronto 2006

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