Have you ever been on the express train of bad luck .....?? Can't catch a break......??? If something could go wrong it will go wrong.....??? Any of this sound familiar ???? I have to admit that I have had my share of good fortune in life and perhaps it is because of this that when things start turning south for me I can be found dazed like a deer in headlights with my arms raised, looking towards Heaven muttering, "you have got to be kidding me ..!!!!"
Let me procede to describe my weekend.
We have had a lot of snow and storms since December...For what reason I am not sure we have been unfortunate to find ourselves driving in most of these low pressure systems. So, it was no surprize to wake up Friday to bad weather knowing we were to drive to Winnipeg to catch my plane to Toronto for an exam on Saturday. Kassidy did not sleep on the journey (big surprise!!!) but instead, decided to put on a bit of a circus show attempting to escape from her restraints. Throw some white out conditions into the stew from passing semi's, and you've got a stressed out Ross' family.
When a man drives in bad weather he has one thing on his mind...the destination! All energy is channelled into getting to that destination by any means possible, and he will stop for nothing....except perhaps his daughter getting so upset she throws up all over herself. That might, and in fact, did stop the driver of our van at the earliest convenience. (in case you were wondering, Kassidy had eggs for breakfast on Friday) After a feeble attempt to clean up, we continued our journey and arrived in Winnipeg, somewhat rattled but intact.
My exam had originally been scheduled for 5:30pm on Saturday and I was overjoyed (and a little dependant) at the opportunity to do some last minute cramming during the day on Saturday. This plan was suddenly changed late in the week when my new time of 8:30 am was announced. I figured that I could get a good night's sleep and get up quite early to prepare, so wasn't too concerned by the exam time change. After sitting on the plane in Winnipeg for 40 minutes waiting for a glycerine shower (wing de-icing) and noticing that my watch read 9:00pm, I had concerns that the good night's sleep part of the equation was in jeopardy. I arrived in Toronto 11:30pm, hopped into a cab and was dropped off at my hotel at 11:50pm. Although behind on the itinerary, I was still hopeful I could be in bed by midnight, and so approached the reception desk in a jovial mood.. The evening (male) desk clerk had the kind of look that says, "I am at the end of my shift....I don't really care about you.... why do you have to be so jovial at this hour..." After confirming the reservation, the following, is the conversation that ensued.
Clerk: "Your credit card is not going through (emotionless). I need another card to secure the room." (returns the card to me)
Me: (hmmm...this is odd) "Could you try it again. There's no reason the card shouldn't go through" (he swipes again)
Clerk: "This card is not working. I cannot secure the room with this"
Me: (What could possibly be on this card?? I just paid this off) "Oh well, we can try thi....(Oh crap, I left my VISA at home!!!) Do you have a cash machine?"
Clerk: "No"
Me: "Could you tell me where the closest one is?" (Why doesn't a large hotel like this have a cash machine ??)
Clerk: "Across the street there is a HBC" (I bet he has no funds in there either)
Me: (I can't believe this...this I did not anticipate !!!) "Could you watch my things, I'll be right back!"
I stepped outside into the -24 degree midnight air looking for the HBC. You would think that when one tells you the thing you are trying to find is across the street that it would be easy to spot. What the not-so-helpful clerk failed to mention was that it was across the street at the end of the street that the hotel sits adjacent to. It is interesting what things go through your head at midnight on a cold winter's night looking for a cash machine. (ie "What the hell am I doing and how did this happen???", and "I think I jost lost all feeling in my legs and ears", and "things are going so well, I'd bet the money I just withdrew that I will be robbed and beaten senseless tonight out here in the cold")
I entered my room at 12:30am and my heart beat finally returned to resting by 2:00am which allowed me to finally fall asleep. Seeing that my wake up call was for 6:00am, it would a short night indeed.
I made my way to the exam room a few minutes early in case something happened to me enroute. (by this time I felt anything was possible) I was greeted at the door by the schedule with my name written beside 8:35 am. (finally I have got something right) A sheet of paper on the door listed the exam format. As I began reading it I realized that I had prepared totally wrong for this exam, and my knees felt weak as the door opened and my name was called. I do not wish to extrapolate the events that unfolded behind those doors. I will say that if they grant me a pass, it will be an act of grace.
The plan for the rest of the day was to meet my parents at the hotel for a few hours, then meet another friend who would take me to Oakville where I would stay until Sunday, which was also a day to visit a good friend. I went back to the room flipped on the TV and listened to the broadcasters discuss the blizzard hitting the metro area. I looked out my window to see this blizzard first hand and knew very quickly that I was in for a long, lonely weekend in the hotel. My parents, nor either of my friends could make it, and as I soon found out, there were no earlier Westjet flights I could take home. I resigned myself to reading and watching golf on TV (The Buick championship). The golf was postponed due to fog...things were not going well.
I was determined to sort out the Mastercard fiasco. I was informed by MC customer service that there was no reason that the card shouldn't have gone through, and that there was a card expired message. Looking at my card I read, 2008. Did three years somehow pass from the time I stepped on the Westjet flight without my knowing ??? I approached the front desk to let off a little steam the next morning, and was upgraded to a renovated suite for my second nights stay all by myself. What a treat. Yippee
I had a brief visit Sunday afternoon from a friend due to the weather improving and watched the Eagles game before returning to Manitoba without incident Sunday night.
We left Shelli's parents today to return to Brandon and drove through ice rain.
Half way home, my cell rang and Shelli's mom informed us that we left our big travel bag with most of our clothes at the top of the stairs......perfect!!!
Still waiting for that lucky bounce !!!!
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