Hello my foreign friends, it has been a week since my last blog update, and I'm back with more stuff already! So, keep reading, because it's going to be shorter than usual, since I do not have much to talk about.
Since that last blog update, well, nothing really interesting has occurred. On Monday, there was nothing good on television, and things changed because daylight savings time began last Sunday. And on the way home, I gave a cop the "dangerously silly move." But also, it started as an unusual day, as many Saskatoon Transit buses with a blue livery were used on DART buses. In fact, during the entire day, I only saw one transit bus with the DART decals.
Tuesday was another lame day. But this time, in my sociology class, we watched clips from South Park and Futurama. And later in the afternoon, I saw some guy (a letter carrier for Canada Post) driving his truck while talking on his cellular phone. Sadly, there was nothing I could do about that. Later that day, I was walking in the hallways on the ground floor of the Arts Tower at school and saw three ITS employees walking down the hall. Two of those guys were Asian, and didn't wear glasses. Now, I've always liked seeing those guys, because those two Asian guys coincidentally fit the common stereotype that Asians are computer geeks. I am sure that Peter Poorman would agree with me there. But, more interestingly, I recently wrote a letter to the Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, about photo radar enforcement in Saskatoon. He didn't exactly respond... he just said he forwarded my letter over to the Minister Responsible for SGI and that I would eventually receive a response from her, or one of her officials.
On Wednesday, I went to school, and I walked to the Arts Tower from the Edwards School of Business at some point in time. As I did just that, I noticed that CGA Saskatchewan had a display booth set up between both buildings on the first floor. Although it was of no interest to me, I did steal one of their pens, and it was the most kick-ass pen I had stolen, ever. Why? Well, usually, most pens I have stolen that are "big," have highlighters at the other end of the pen. This pen, however, had a light. And by that time, warm temperatures had been felt across Canada. But out of all of the cities that experienced double-digit temperatures last week, none of them were in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Now that's a darn shame!
Thursday was an interesting day. And in the morning, I was informed by a Twitter user named DontTaseMeBro77 that my "protectionist" measures for this website really tickled some feathers when someone decided to hotlink to one of my hosted images. In fact, DontTaseMeBro77 provided me with a screenshot of Bourque.com, with the hotlink in question. If you think about it, that's hilarious, and it makes me as evil as Peter Poorman. At some point during the day, I started looking for car rentals. But based on my age, the only company that seems reasonable when it comes to car rentals is Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which doesn't offer any Toyota vehicles. And with Hertz, which does offer Toyota vehicles for rent, charges an additional $30 per day due to my age. Later that day, I drove to my soon-to-be-former-workplace to pick up something I didn't pick up a while ago: my associate discount card, which entitles to me to the associate discount rate at Marriott hotels. I also dropped by the Real Canadian Superstore located at 411 Confederation Drive to see the store's renovations, as well as the self-checkouts that had just been installed. But, I left disappointed, as the store's self-checkouts were not even running yet. After that, I just went home. Overnight, it snowed.
On Friday morning, on my way to school, I saw a 1995 New Flyer D40LF being used on a DART bus route that conveyed a very odd message: "Merry Christmas." Now, on my way back from school, I saw a cop car from Dalmeny near the intersection of Idylwyld Drive and 22nd Street. I then went to the Burger King on Confederation Drive and ordered myself a Smoky Steakhouse XT meal, which was great by the way. Immediately after that, I went to the Real Canadian Superstore to check out their new self-checkouts. So, I started to wonder the newly-renovated store to look for something to buy... and I bought grapples. Eventually, I went to the Shoppers Drug Mart on 22nd Street West and saw Jason Tran, who gave me the "finger," and then gave me a ride home. Nice guy though. Now, speaking of the Real Canadian Superstore, check out these receipts.
Yesterday morning, I went shopping for some groceries. For starters, I went to Safeway at The Centre Mall because I liked the idea of buying papayas at the price of five for $5.00. But when I got there, all I saw was a sign that said "five pounds for $5.00" with your Safeway Club card. Eventually, I just dismissed the flyer as "false advertising" and left. Then, I checked their flyer and then saw it was five for $5.00 if you bought the small papayas. But by that time, I was too lazy to return. But while I was there, I saw a useless set of automatic doors. Anyway, shortly after that venture to Safeway, I returned to the good old Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East, where papayas were a whole penny cheaper than Safeway. Now that was a good deal! Then, I went to my cousins' house... and from there... we had some barbecued chicken for lunch. Eventually, I took those jerks across town to the Real Canadian Superstore on Confederation Drive to check out the store's new renovations. Eventually, they returned to my house, and then I drove them at home at 4pm so that I could be back at home to work at 5pm. And by 5pm, I started working right up until 11:30 pm.
This morning, I woke up and the first thing I did was watch the episode of America's Most Wanted I missed last night on Hulu. Then, I ate food, finished a computer science assignment and eventually started typing up this blog update. And before I started this blog update, I realized one thing: when I go to Ottawa, I will be watching television in a different time zone, which is one of Homer Simpson's dreams. What? You don't remember that episode when Homer needed a new place to drink and had an accident on the tarmac and got a free trip to anywhere in America (with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska, "the freak states") in exchange for his silence and then Marge had a fear of flying? Anyway, I also wondered, what's up with American Dad? Has it been cancelled? Well, the reason I'm wondering is because FOX seems to have replaced the show with the new show Sons of Tucson in the American Dad timeslot.
Now, as for my boring life, that is now over, and you should be spared the agony of reading about my life. Now, it's time to talk about other useless things. For starters, construction on a new bridge in Saskatoon is slated to start this year, and I'm really excited about the construction, as the time to drive to my uncle's house in Stonebridge would greatly be reduced. To see the sketches/blueprints, click here.
Up next for discussion is my trip to Ottawa. When I travel to other cities, I like to eat at locally-owned restaurants, and I mainly look for steaks and Chinese food. So, I've been asking around on Twitter and one person I know that is from Ottawa for suggestions. For steaks, I have two suggestions so far: Al's Steakhouse and the Merlot Rooftop Grill at the Ottawa Marriott, where I will be staying. As for dim sum restaurants, I was told that I should hang out at Somerset Street and Bronson Avenue and "follow the crowd," as there are many choices there. Meanwhile, another person suggested Yangtze on Somerset Street or Chu Shing Restaurant, which is also on Somerset Street. So far, those suggestions have been very helpful. At this point, I am looking for the most reasonably-priced car rental, and preferably a Toyota, if possible. Recently, I was considering a Toyota Prius. And while I'm in Ottawa, I plan to visit some stores that I won't be able to visit in Saskatoon, including IKEA, even if I don't know what I will buy there. I also recently discovered that the city boasts a T & T Supermarket, which Saskatoon will not see anytime soon. At this point, I have my airfare booked, which will get me to Ottawa. From there, I will need to rent a car, which has not been done. My hotel reservation is complete, and I will spend the last night of my trip in Montreal. As for restaurants, that aspect is still being planned. As for tourist destinations, I have my camera ready. To get around town, I will be borrowing my uncle's GPS. Obviously, I need to get into more details, as it has become obvious that I don't know how to plan a trip at this point. Well, that's all for my trip to Ottawa, for now. However, I do now remember that Jennifer has a friend from Ottawa named Kate. Maybe she'll have some ideas too... if I talk to her. Anyway, that officially concludes my discussion about my trip to Ottawa.
Anyway, as I type this, the House of Representatives in the United States is preparing to vote on a final draft of a healthcare bill that would be historic and could potentially define U.S. President Barack Obama's presidency. Good luck to both opposing Republicans and those who will vote for the bill. Right now, it is unknown whether the bill will be passed, and I could really care less.
And lastly, there is news that Marriott International is interested in constructing a hotel in downtown Saskatoon. What? You don't remember that River Landing project that died on the table back in October? Well, it may be revived, soon enough. Soon, a representative from Marriott, retired University of Saskatchewan professor Karim Nasser and Michael Lobsinger, the guy who couldn't get funding for the original project, will speak to city council about reviving the development. I hope the hotel does indeed get developed, and even more so now, since there is a possibility that the hotel could be a Marriott hotel, and a very nice Marriott hotel too, since it will be on riverfront property, or at River Landing, as the City of Saskatoon calls it. This development will not only be of benefit to Saskatoon, but it will also be of benefit to me as a Marriott employee, as I have a lot of family members that occasionally visit my house and eventually sleep over. Now, someday, should my house be full, which I highly doubt, I could potentially send the overcrowded guests to the local Marriott hotel and take advantage of either the Associate Discount Rate or the Friends & Family Rate. Right now, that is not possible. But in the future, that could become possible. And who knows? Down the road, I may find myself needing a hotel to sleep in for the night... and the Marriott would be my hero, if I'm still working for the company at that point.
Anyway, that's all for my blog update tonight. On television tonight, there will be two new episodes of 'Til Death, The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show, Family Guy and Sons of Tucson, which I will not watch, on the account of the first episode being very stupid. I will not be surprised if that show gets cancelled soon. And this week, there will be a new episode of Two and a Half Men on television tomorrow. Meanwhile, Tuesday will be Free Pastry Day (get a free pastry when you buy a drink of some sort) at participating Starbucks Coffee locations across Canada. All you need to do is print out a coupon. And last, but not least, Friday will be the end of an era. In 2005, Marriott Global Reservations and Sales opened a reservations centre in Saskatoon. In early 2008, I became employed with the company and continued to be employed with the company to this day. However, in late 2009, the company decided to close its Saskatoon location, and offered its employees the chance to work from home. I for one took that job offer and have been working from home since March 12, 2010. As for those employees who didn't take the home agent job offer, they will be laid off after March 26, 2010, as the Saskatoon centre will close forever, ending nearly five years of business, and I'm sad to see the centre close and will miss my fellow co-workers... well, at least the ones I actually talked to and became friends with.
Anyway, that's all for tonight! Thank you for your concerns and remember: DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE!
