Monday, October 31st 2011
So today is the first day in the truck. Technically, I suppose that first night would be more accurate. My company flew me into Lethbridge, Alberta to collect a truck that has been in the shop for some time. From what I have gathered, the oil filter on the truck disintegrated internally, then proceeded to completely destroy the engine from the inside. This is cool for me because I am essentially getting a completely rebuilt engine.
The other exciting event is that I'm in Canada, and dang if the natives (the imported ones) aren't nice as pumpkin pie. I cannot think of a friendlier pie, so I'm sticking with pumpkin. Seeing as I flew in with at least 2 weeks' worth of clothing and paperwork, food did not factor much into my packing agenda. After performing all sorts of checks and inspections on my new vehicle, it dawned upon me that I needed food. I took it upon myself to walk to the nearest food vendor. To be honest, I had a vague idea of where the food was, and it was a ways off. Out of hand, I somehow ended up walking to a tropical fish store tucked away in an industrial park. I'm not sure how the logic of placing a fish store in a heavy industrial sector of town goes, but I'm sure cheap rent is involved. That, and I bet the guys that work at the odoriferous chicken and/or pork processing plant down the road have quite the collection of tropical fish.
I walked towards the door, seeing as the store was still open, and there was this dude just kinda standing there, inside the door. Assuming that he was the shop owner, I wave him down from the street, hoping to ask for directions before he leaves for the night. He looked at me in a odd fashion as I approached. Exiting the building he went straight for his car as I asked, “Excuse me, do you live around here?”
He said nothing, perhaps pretending not to have heard me, perhaps thinking, “I'm in the dirty part of town, and this guy is smiling at me. I hope he doesn't want to be my 'friend'.”
I asked again and he replied in a somewhat brusque manner, perhaps still thinking I was some crazy dude out to shank him. This time, however, I evoked a response which informed me that yes he was from around here,, no he had no clue where to go to eat, and that he lived closer to downtown. While the last piece of info was superfluous to my investigation, it helped color my picture of where he was coming from. For those that have never been to Lethbridge, I would venture to say that this place is safe enough to leave a bicycle unlocked outside your home. I did not see any graffiti, or any signs of decay, and the place has that friendly high plains neighbor thing going on. Maybe he was just a bit off.
Long story short, I go into the fish store, ask the 2 guys inside where I can find some food. Turned out the younger guy was just getting off of work and gave me a ride to the A&W / Subway / Mini-mart. He also pointed out the casino, and informed me that casino winnings are not taxed in Canada. Awesome! I chose against gambling since my goal is to amass a small gob of cash (although maybe some will come by way of chance). Honestly, I figured that seeing the ATM in the mini-mart with an “OUT OF ORDER” sign on it discouraged me from wanting to gamble. Coupled with the lack of Canadian currency I figured that it wasn't in the cards for me.
The long walk back was a bit cold and windy, yet surprisingly short for the perceived distance traveled. Is anything greater than having the wind at your back for nearly the entire duration of the walk? Maybe some sun and no wind. If you want to be choosy about it that is.
So here we go. I'm going to put in an effort and attempt to write daily, if only for my own sake. I intend for this to be my last stint of trucking, so I may as well document it. I've always talked of writing a book about life on the road, and I guess these are just little story notes :)
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