November Starts With A Bang

Often, our annual Halloween post is followed on very quickly by a post on November first, touting the start of NaNoWriMo and Movember. But this year there was so much going on that it has slipped all the way to the fifth.

The biggest thing was that I had a business trip to Parkland County. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal: it’s just west of Edmonton. I rent a car, I drive for three and a half hours, and hey-presto. But winter decided to arrive on Halloween night, and I had to cope with snow and frigid temperatures. Randi, the project manager, sent me this the night before:

I know you know this but if the road report is poor and you don’t feel comfortable making the drive up in the morning, please err on the side of caution.  If you choose not to come, please let me know and I will communicate with the customer in the morning.  We can reschedule!

You know when seasoned Prairie folk are worried, that it’s worth paying attention. But in the end, I did make the drive there and back. Saw lots of cars in the ditch and some on their roofs. I didn’t really get a chance to explore the county, but here’s a picture of the view from my hotel room.

There’s a rec center in the distance. Davor, a new co-worker says that he stays at this hotel whenever his family is at a soccer tournament around here because of the great pool. My stay got me a one-day half price coupon, but I didn’t have a swimsuit.

Despite this trip (and training on Monday and Tuesday and another trip to Edmonton on Wednesday and Thursday), both Tammy and I have kicked off our 2017 NaNoWriMo. I’m already ahead of schedule, as usual. I don’t expect to finish my novel this month, so watch for me writing in April, too.

Last night, our family went to see Thor: Ragnarok. Both kids had been waiting for this movie to come out for a long time. Even Tammy can be persuaded to see a Marvel movie in the theatre if it has Loki in it. 🙂

It was a funny, funny movie. It played against a lot of the superhero movie tropes and didn’t take itself too seriously. I was laughing out loud all the way through, and so was the rest of the (crowded) audience. Well worth the time and money to see. I loved Cate Blanchett’s character Hela. Amazing costume, and the way she inhabited the character was spellbinding.

And Movember? I still have a beard. With three client workshops in the first week and a bit of November, I felt self-conscious about having a stubbly moustache.