… but my skills as an angler prevailed!

I went deep-sea fishing for the first time the other day (strike another off The List) and brought Subunit #2 with me.

Armed with sunscreen, Gravol and an intense desire to land a fish – nay, a behemoth – that would stun the good citizens of Barbados and indeed the world! We talked of how tales would be told and songs sung in the highlands and in the lowlands of the mighty battle that would surely be engaged on this fateful day!

And engage we did! There was a hit on the line! I dutifully assumed the position in the chair, clasped the handle of the rod in both of my hands and began the fight!  I looked left and right now and then during the epic battle between man and beast and couldn’t help but notice that the Captain and First Mate seemed a bit nervous. Perhaps they momentarily considering that they would, in the end, need a bigger boat.

Here I am in mid-struggle… sweat pouring from my brow and arms aching!

After what seemed to be hours, the monster tuna was landed.  Bells rang from the mainstaff as it was hoisted aboard!

Praise be to the good Captain and crew for a productive day, my fellow fisherfolk on board and a special thanks to my dear daughter for wiping the sweat from my brow and taking the pics!

And here is the monster tuna in all its glory! Do not forget that the fish is actually still 10 feet from the boat… the apparent “smallness” of the monster is but an optical illusion.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… or is it part II? I dunno. I’m on island time now!

We arrived late Friday afternoon after being delayed by over an hour in Toronto due to the ol’ de-icing routine.

Unpack. Get essentials from shop down the street. Go for obligatory first walk on the beach… no big excitement except for the dramatic temperature change from -27 to +27.

…but on the second day – New year’s Eve – or Old Years Night, as they call it here… whatta great start to the vacay!

The surf was (and still is) quite rough in front of the Seafoam Haciendas so we wandered along the Hiway to Accra Beach where the surf was a little tamer. Kids loved it and so did we, of course. Bobbed in the water, got a few mouthfuls and eyefulls af the briny sea, and got a little burned (well, I did… the kids were wearing SPF 1,000,000, of course).

But the real hi-light of the day was to the Barbados Yacht Club where we met up with some old and dear friends for lunch! Nice setting and great food.1  Then for some great swimming on the beach directly in front of the Club. it was far calmer than either of the beaches in our corner of the island.

Around mid-afternoon, our friends brough us back to their bungalow directly situated on the beach beside the Club. We were treated to a fine authentic Bajan dinner, great conversation, great fireworks, and met some new and amazing people on the way (many, MANY thanks to Richard… who drove us back to our digs after the festivities were over… quite a detour for him and we appreciate it and hope to pay it forward someday soon ).

A great start to the new year and a great end to the old.

Thanks  G & T & J and, of course, Rufus…

Oh, and J? Yer Dad will NEVER let you forget the JR incident.

Never.

1. If ever at the Barbados Yacht Club, try the fish cakes! Incroyable!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… starting tomorrow!

As has been my custom when I travel, I take a break from my political punditry, overblown opines, meandering messages, etc., etc., etc. Instead, this space turns into a travel log where I’ll talk a bit about where I am and what I’m doing; and I usually post lots of pics.

The place where we are staying claims to have wi-fi, and if they’re right, then we’ll be good to go. If not, well, you’ll likely not hear from me till I return!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

But, is there anyone out there who has flown in the past 50 yrs who does not know how to fasten their seatbelt prior to take off?

AND, is there anyone out there who has flown in the past 20 yrs who needs to be reminded that “for your comfort, this is a non-smoking flight”?

AND, why do airlines give out incredibly salty snacks? KNOWING that salt makes passengers thirsty and KNOWING that the fluids have to come out not long after, THUS creating line ups for the lavatory???

Can someone enlighten me?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… or at least on my way out of Edmonton…

Arrived late the other night for a day full of meetings yesterday… and leaving 36 hours later. I don’t mind these quick biz trips as long as they are worthwhile (i.e., I accomplish what I came to accomplish) and that one accepts the fact that you’re likely gonna be a bit tired on the way home.

On the first count, mission accomplished. And on the second, well, I started writing this in the cab on the way to the airport at 4:28 am and am wrapping it up in the AC lounge… but don’t feel too, too wiped.

One thought about this City before I leave: Jasper Avenue: why?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

In spite of the very sad and sombre ocassion that brought subunit #2 and I to Parry Sound (and then to Mississauga in a little while), it is nice to see family again.

And, in spite of the fact that, with 2 dogs and three cats sharing a roof with me – and the resultant eye-stinging and chest constricting effects that said critters have on yours truly – it’s still nice to travel to the place of my upbringing.

But.

Then I saw THIS on the kitchen table, and spun back into the reality that is rural Ontario.

A lot of folks voted for Gazebo Tony in these parts; maybe even (gasp) members of my own clan. This is an incredible reality that this transplanted urbanite progressive has a hard time getting his head around.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Yes, it has been quite cold in Cow Town for the past couple of days… but for an Ottawan, that’s no biggie… unless your colleagues want to WALK everywhere. You KNOW who you are!

Not good for my bald head, I say. The brain freeze hit layer two of my brain. But harm no done.

Er.

Anyhow, I just wanted to note a few things I have noticed in the past few days while here in Calgary.

• If this is Calgary after the Big Boom that ended in 2008, I cannot imagine what the pre-2008 boom years skyline looked like. Cranes on high-rises abound. Construction is everywhere. This is a happening place. There is talk of replacing or upgrading the SaddleDome. I’d hate to have to find a sub-trade to do some minor work around the house.
• Speaking of the SaddleDome… if there are any serious climbers reading this, and you are looking for a great place to train – buy hockey tickets on the 300 level. It’s as good as climbing Kilimanjaro.
• Calgarians are confident. Right from the cab driver who crowed about the new 58 story tower (The Bow Tower) that is nearing completion (tallest building west of T.O., he said) to the clerk in the western apparel shop and everyone in between, these folks know they are in a city that is at the top of its game.
• And prices for just about everything (except gas) reflect this burinin’ economy. Early Bird parking rates: $37 a day. A low end steak (just the steak – no sides): $38. And cab rates that are every bit as pricey as ByTown. Costly place to visit and to live.
• I, unfortunately, did not have time to stop by and say hi to the new Mayor. Maybe next time.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

It has been a hectic few weeks – both personally and on the political front.

On the Trashy front, I have been travelling a lot. Too much, really. First it was off to China on biz for almost two weeks. And then, a day later, my family and I boarded a plane destined for the Dominican Republic for a week of sun, beach, and rum punches.

I have documented the China trip in previous posts, so I’ll leave that alone other than to mention that I’ll be returning in September – hopefully to a place in China not called Beijing… just for a change.

The trip to the DR was a blast. The weather was perfect, the food was OK (pretty much what you’d expect at an all-inclusive), the staff were helpful and the facilities were very clean. I’d recommend the place in minute and will be posting an entry on tripadvisor.com when I get a minute. The hotel is called Gran Bahia Principe La Romana.

More importantly, it was nice to spend some time away from work and with my family. I wish I coud do that kind of thing more often. I feel much more connected to the things that are important to me when I can dedicate some exclusive time to the kids and the RLG.

On another front, hectic-ness is jumping and bounding all over the Hill these days! Helena Guergis and her hubby are the cause of no end of frustration for the Robot and his evil henchman. And that is of course making me snicker.

And before Ken or the Squid Dude say “Yeah, well the Libs were just as bad…” yeah, yeah… I know. But this still gives me great joy. Let me have my joy, dammit!

The downside is that attention is being diverted from other more important matters. The Reformations could be using this energy to, uh, let’s say formulating a real environmental and climate change plan. Or they could be looking at pension plan regulations. Or a national child care strategy. Or <fill in the blank>…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Sitting in the AC international departure lounge in Vancouver right now. Not a bad lounge, but the domestic location has more than one tap of beer. Nothing but Molson available here, so I’ll stick to some Clamato for now. Still another 1.5 hours till boarding, so what better way to kill time than to pen some blah-blah.

Real excited about the trip… yeah, this one… sure, sure… but the one that immediately follows Beijing in yankin’ my chain a helluva lot more!

Juts got off Skype with the Resident Love Goddess and she was just finishing up the booking for our trip to the DR on easter weekend! Woo-hoo! Burn away that jet lag with beach, sun and cervesa!

Both of these trips will serve me well to distract me from my disappointment with the whole Canuck mindset these days. Did you see the EKOS poll the other day? The one that shows the ReformCons pulling open a wee bit of a gap over the Grits… a gap that is just outside the margin of error, but a gap nonetheless.

What are Canadians thinking????

Here we have a government that has made themselves out to be fools in the following ways over the past little while:

• said they would – for whatever reason – change the words to the anthem. Then decided not to after their supporters screamed and ranted.
• had two of their Ministers freak out at airport/airline employees… yeah, flying can be frustrating and folks lose their patience sometimes, but for crying out loud! You are supposed to serve as examples for the rest of us!
• took a cue from their christian conservative base (read: Alberta) and at first excluded family planning from their strategy to ameliorate maternal health in LDCs.

ON WEDNESDAY, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told a Commons committee that his government’s initiative for maternal and child health care in the developing world “does not deal in any way, shape or form with family planning. Indeed, the purpose of this is to save lives.”

• And then, they flip-flopped – in a most hilarious way…

On Thursday, Cannon was sent onto CTV and CBC TV to eat his words. It turns out that he thought — apparently for real — that family planning was code for abortion, and didn’t include contraception.

“I take full responsibility for what I said, but our policy, our government policy, I’m not saying I was misquoted,” he said to Tom Clark on CTV. “I was quoted perfectly. But I did make a mistake. This has nothing to do with abortion. But it does not exclude any other options, such as contraception.”

Cannon, who does not always seem to be the most articulate foreign minister that a country could have, had apparently sown confusion in error.

“I said those words but that is not what the policy is,” he explained. “It wasn’t what should have been said.”

Eh?

So, I don’t get it… who out there would actually vote for these yahoos????

Oh yeah, and check this out:

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario