Life Is Not Purgatory

Changing Roads

I have pretty much decided to kill my blog and start a new one at my registered domain that will be more issue focused in preparation for my run for MP and possibly MLA in the coming elections. Facebook has already taken the place of the networking aspect of my blog, and it's a good platform for doing - so why compete?

Chopping Block!
... I feel like Robespierre!

Yesterday it was officially announced that the owners had received and accepted an offer to purchase the hotel, conditional upon satisfactory completion of a 60-day due diligence process. The prospective buyer also owns the other two properties and the management contract would go to the existing holder for the other two properties, which means that likely if this goes through, the GM and the three division heads (myself included) will likely be out of jobs... although there is a chance that the GM will be be offered the Director of Operations position for the complex, and I could be offered a similar position there, but it's unlikely. Everyone else should be just fine... but there is a lot of resentment of the other property amongst my staff so holding on to them for the next three months could be tricky.

We'll see, I was headhunted once last week and I started putting out resumes when I first heard we were for sale and have receive two interview requests already (one in Sherwood Park), so we'll play it by ear for now.

Labels: work

Catastrophic Data Loss
... three words that strike fear into anyone who has a clue.

At 3:00pm yesterday afternoon, the file server at my hotel suffered a one in a million failure of the main drive and the mirror which has resulted in a massive and irreparable loss of data. While our IT person was able to retrieve data from an uncorrupted backup – that backup was around 11 months out of date, destroying every document and application installed/created/modified and stored on the file server since September 2006.

Fortunately, through an EXTREMELY fortuitous circumstance, my new auditor performed the night audit on a different station 5 days ago and the backup was stored locally on that machine. Which meant we only had to jury rig four days of transactions from the time the server came back up (and remained stable), and 7am this morning… which would have been much easier, were I not in Spruce Grove. However, I am extremely happy with the leader of my Front Office team, who pulled an all-nighter acting as my eyes, ears and hands for almost three hours over the phone. It worked and although I have about a weeks worth of work just fixing the jury-rig waiting for me… that is the least of my problems.

I am leaving for K-Country this morning, and walking into a nightmare… God help me.

Labels: work

Dishing it Out
.. Some people in the news don't deserve the spotlight.

I really don't like Buzz Hargrove (the head of the Canadian Auto Workers union), and while I understand that it is his job to look after the continuing welfare of his members, I just wish he would be truthful when he gets on syndicated radio show and whinges about hosw how Canadians aren't doing the patriotic thing by supporting thje Big-Three Auto Makers. This, of course, is in the wake of news that Toyota has surpassed GM as the largest auto manufacturer in the world.

He whined that while Toyota and other Japanese Manufacturers were allowed to sell thier products in Cananda and the US, the big North American companies wer not permitted to sell thier products in Japan... which is nominally true. Except he left out the principal reason why - exhaust emission standards. North American vehicles don't meet the emmision standards for most Asian markets (inlcuding Japan). While Asian vehicles even the brand-new KIA brand of Korea more than meets the existing standards of North America (including California which has the most strigenet of reglautions in the USA).

What Mr. Hargrove should be doing is pressuring GM, Ford and Chrysler to actually make progress in fuel efficieny and compete against foreign cars that are delivering the hybrid technology that people want rather than lagging behing the innovative Asian producers...
... shouldn't he?

65%

Mingle²

Interesting Developments
... a lot can happen in only a few weeks.

Well, there is no doubt that I have been remiss in posting to my blog, as Arthur pointed out it appears that 'Facebook has eaten my blog'. Which isn't entirely incorrect. Since the move back to Kananaskis, my only internet access has been in my office at work, and given I already spend too much time there I really don't want to spend any more time than required, and with Facebook I can at least update by text messages from my BlackBerry. I make no promises, but I will endeavor to keep this updated, otherwise, I will likely end up closing it down.

Currently, until the end of July I am working in Spruce Grove covering graveyard shift for the sister hotel that lost thier management couple and thier night auditor. It's dull, but I am being paid for this work in addition to my normal salary so the double dipping will help th pay the obscene repair bill from my Neon.

By far the most interesting news has been a reconnection with a former girlfriend from more than a decade ago, at the wedding of two of my friends last month, and sicne that point we've been dating... It was really strange how we clicked again immediately, almost as if the intervening decade never happened at all. We'll see how this develops, but I am hopeful, despite my hectic schedule and the long distance relationship issues.

The End of LRPS
... a long time coming.

This Thursday I drove up from Edmonton to chair a meeting of the Live Role Playing Society, in the wake of the resignation of the President and Vice-President. As Past-President, the chair falls to me, then the others of the Executive in succession. When the Secretary and I talked the day after the resignation, I was surprised to learn that she of all people had been convinced that the Society needed to be dissolved, given that I had asked for the very same thing 18-months earlier.

I half expected to be greeted with acrimony and resentment amongst the members, as it was sure to be a bad sign when I drive 3.5 hours to Edmonton, and walk into the meeting holding the gavel. What I got was a unanimous vote to disband the Society, ceasing day-to-day operations immediately, and wrapping up all financial an bureaucratic requirements within six months.

It is my hope that a Phoenix will rise from the ashes in some form, and already there are discussions as to what the successor organization may look like. I think that is a good sign, perhaps with the vibrant and active gaming community in Edmonton we can form some form of gaming network that can help the hobby, without all the baggage that LRPS carried for so long.

Athabasca Universalis
... I'm a student again, at least sort of...

On the 6th, James came to visit me here in the valley, as the one hour drive here is far easier than the three hour drive to Edmonton now that he is back living in Calgary for the summer. We went on a three hour walk and although I cursed him and his marathon running lungs, I really enjoyed it... to the point of incorporating a walk into my near-daily routine. In fact, once my most recent case of cellultis clears up I have committed to walking and/or cycling from the Golf Course (where I live) to work and back every second day (and hopefully once my body recovers from the shock - daily).

At his urging, I have enrolled in Athabasca University as an Unclassified Student and will be taking one course starting in July to get the rust off the gears in my brain. I think my first course will be a Philosophy 'Critical Thinking' course that James says will be something right up my alley.

Things are good!

Settling In
...Kananaskis is just as beautiful as I remember it.

I am starting to break the rust off the hotel skills I haven’t used in over a year. It appears that my plans of commuting to Edmonton on a bi-weekly basis will hold firm although for the next little while until I establish my equilibrium here it may not be as often as I would like.

Eric and I are looking to recruit a few VGAP players for a computer hosted game, so if you are interested please let me know, as I know Eric has been itching to play for quite some time.