Lynda Sez » travel

Change is constant

rgdaniel — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:46:14 +0000

I’m back from almost three weeks on a semi-vacation in Toronto. I started with a two-day conference, then spent the rest of the time meeting with family, friends and colleagues from a comfortable base in the west end. I like a change of venue now and then to get into fresh thinking about what I have been doing, or to contemplate doing different things. I achieved both and hope to write about that more often here.
My stay allowed me to visit my dear mother-in-law, Marg Daniel, a couple more times in hospital, where she has been for the past few months, but she died this morning, peacefully, surrounded by loving family members. I will miss her laughter and her kindness very, very much.

Back in the big city

rgdaniel — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:57:33 +0000

The next couple of days will be an immersion in what I do for a living, mostly, because I’ll be at the Idea Conference 2009. It’s all about social and experience design and you can bet that much of the conversation will centre on online communities and technologies.
I had an interesting listen on the way down to Toronto that was a good reminder of important community experiences way before “online” was an option. The current podcast from BBC History Magazine offered excerpts from audiobooks “The Home Front” and “The Second World War on the Air” featuring radio reports as well as personal interviews with people facing the beginning of the war. One man commented that people had no idea what the sirens meant at first, what was an air-raid warning versus an all-clear. Many were given backyard shelter kits to build, from “a heap of metal, a bag of bolts, and a spanner.”

Trip to the city

rgdaniel — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:13:46 +0000

I went to the big city yesterday to visit a dear friend who is unwell. It was another of those brilliant bonus days where the sun shines and the air is clear, not a dreary November day at all. The best part is the way the fields turn copper and gold and a field of dead corn stalks lights up as if it were full of promise.

Successful day supporting the economy

rgdaniel — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:03:48 +0000

Mum and I spent about 5 hours savouring the sewing and needlework show, coming away with both knitting and sewing projects. Then I took a long walk to do some errands. This is a noisy dirty city, for sure, but it was a spectacular afternoon to enjoy it.

Here in Toronto

rgdaniel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:12:56 +0000

We’re ensconced at RCMI but briefly until we head out for North York for dinner and theatre. And yes, Jacqueline, I will certainly share the bread secret, once I have done my workshop Nov. 1.

Yikes, almost a week off from blogging!

rgdaniel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 05:24:33 +0000

So it looks like the blog is the first to go when things get too crazy, but I’m back, at least for tonight. Tomorrow I head out of town for an urban adventure, with only the iPod Touch as available tech. Not sure if I can do a blog post from it, but I will certainly try. Mum and I will be heading down to Toronto for Jersey Boys and a spending spree at the needlework show, among other things. Maybe time for me to catch up on Twitterific and sock knitting.

Back in beautiful NB

rgdaniel — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:03:19 +0000

I’m back in beautiful New Brunswick this evening for a week of working with a favourite client. This time the week in Saint John will be punctuated with one day in Fredericton. It was a lovely day to drive down to the airport from home, with the fields looking lushly green. The smooth (if slightly delayed) flight was made quite entertaining by a witty Westjet flight attendant. This is the second time I’ve made this trip on Westjet and both times the attitude of the staff has made a mundane experience very easy to take.

West Coast Arrival

rgdaniel — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:13:39 +0000

I’m in San Francisco for the week and so far all I’ve seen is an evening view on the trip into the city from the airport. Today was spent in hotel meeting rooms and now I’m too exhausted to do more than look out on a wonderful view from the 33rd floor of this posh hotel. I can see the harbour, nicely wreathed in fog around the edges, and a bit of what might be the Golden Gate Bridge. As I was driven in last night, I thought about the last time I came here, about 27 years ago. Nothing is familiar now, but I remember coming by taxi from the airport to a hotel with my two boys, who had been angels on the plane. Noel was 7, Evan 3 1/2, and I was dismayed to find my feet swollen considerably during the flight, a situation probably aggravated by my pregnancy. The boys were sick that night, so we got little sleep, but we all recovered by the next day and had a trip to Sausalito before heading south to see other places. I wonder if either of them has any memory of that trip.

Speechless in Edmonton

rgdaniel — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:46:38 +0000

I’m speechless now because my speech is done. I presented my piece on dealing with office clutter this afternoon to a receptive and appreciative audience at the Editors’ Association of Canada’s national conference. I was glad to be presenting after other sessions, because they were informative and diverting enough to keep me from getting too nervous before my turn. Several people came to me afterward to ask questions or thank me, saying how they planned to go home and try out some of my ideas — that’s the best thanks I could have hoped for. I have lots more to say on the subject — yeah, you can’t shut me up now. It will become fodder for my new site (in development, but live in an alpha version). And now I’ve got to work on a better version of my speech.

Random Kindness

rgdaniel — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:44:44 +0000

I’m back in Saint John for a week, not so happy about it this time because I am nursing a head cold. Fortunately I didn’t have to do all the talking (or croaking) and the day went quickly because we had lots to cover. After a solo dinner in the hotel restaurant, my waitress took pity on my sniffling self and sent me off with a chamomile tea to go.