port elgin is where?

So it took me 5 and a half hours to reach Port Elgin...that's right, 5.5. What didn't help was that I was working in Scarborough & finished at 5 so I got caught in horrible 401 traffic. How do people drive in traffic like that everyday without going insane? It took over an hour just to reach Brampton, where traffic finally cleared and I was off. Ok, nothing really exciting actually. Stopped in Orangeville for dinner. That is an odd town. It seems to consist of suburban Big Box Outlet Malls all meshed into one gigantic compound. So you'll have your Canadian Tire, Wendy's/Tim Hortons, and the local movie theatre sharing one parking area, and then there will be a path linking it to another parking area meant for McDonald's, Home Depot, etc etc. There are no streets from one plaza to the next. Odd.

Continued my way up north, everything going well, no cars around really, listening to Franz. Occasionally must use the highbeams for a couple of minutes. Those lights are amazing, but can be kind of scary knowing that when you turn them on, you can see all the snow coming at you. But no worries since it was a light snow and not a storm. Then I hit Chatsworth and according to trusty Mapquest, I have to make a sharp left onto Route 6. No problem. Turn right onto Concession Road 40. Did that. Continued to follow Mapquest's advice...and got lost. The problem is that Mapquest usually gives the most direct route but not necessarily the clearest route since it uses smaller streets. And these small streets in nowhereland are freaking scary at night. No lights. No other cars. No people. One house every 5km. Car slid a couple of times (well, that was my fault, I was going relatively fast). Must use highbeams for full 20 minutes at a time. Wasn't panicking too much though, just frustrated knowing that I was driving for so long and still wasn't in Port Elgin yet. Grrr. Ignored phone calls from Eli and Kartik (sorry!). But I finally managed to make it to the town, probably an hour later than if I hadn't gotten lost. Thanks to the girl at the Max counter, the man walking his dog in Scone (or was that Chesley?), and the man coming home from playing hockey in Paisley. Lovely small town folk :) Reached the Colonial Motel just before 11pm. Got out of the car and saw that the back of my car was all white from the backsplash of the snow-covered country roads. Nice.

Had a pretty good sleep and woke up early for breakfast in the motel (which was surprisingly nice for a "motel"). I love breakfast food. Mmmm, good stuff. Then off to work...across the street! Working in Aurora, I thought I knew small town pharmacy. But this was serious small town pharmacy. The town itself seems pretty nice, with small-town shops, friendly people, and the beach (well I'm sure right now that's not important). I think the population of Port Elgin is 6 or 7 thousand. It's right on Lake Huron. Anyway, everyone, EVERYONE was so great. I had absolutely no problems with dumb people (and I'm not being harsh...people really are dumb). The pharmacy assistants at the store have been there for a long time and knew their stuff. One of them was there for over 20 years! And they knew everyone who came into the pharmacy. The slow pace was really nice too. The "rush" at lunchtime could hardly be considered so. It was still a busy pharmacy, about 150 prescriptions a day. I guess the pacing is totally different. And there was no "I don't pay $2" crap. When people ask for your advice, they actually take it...they don't stay in the aisle for another 10 minutes after you've talked to them and take the product they had wanted in the first place that wasn't even what you recommended. That PharmaPlus was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had so far. The store & people were just amazing. I know I wouldn't be able to live in a small town just so I could work in a pharmacy like that. However, once in a while, it's a really nice change.

Finished work at 7pm. Tried one of those Toasted Deli sandwiches at McDonald's for dinner (I know, fast food 2 days in a row :( But those sandwiches are good...). Stopped by Petro for gas, got directions on how to get home using larger streets, and made it home before 11pm. Whew. I don't blame Mapquest but next time I go somewhere I gotta make sure its directions don't include smaller streets. I guess it wasn't too bad but it was nighttime and I couldn't seem a damn thing.

I hope I do get to go to that pharmacy again (yes, it was that good of an experience that I'm willing to drive back!). Or visit the town. Hmmm...MacGregor Point is a camping ground right by Port Elgin. Or a little further north is Sauble Falls. Not that I plan to organize the camping trip this year. Just an idea!

one more thing...

I know I talk about this endlessly and it's probably quite annoying by now...but they used Damien Rice's "Cannonball" in In Good Company. *sigh* I guess I will have to learn to accept it. Good thing it's not on the soundtrack. But that great Peter Gabriel song is and it's now stuck in my head (a good thing).

2005 so far...

...has been pretty boring. It seems all I've been doing the first few weeks of this year is work. But I haven't put in many extra hours. My days drag on when I have a day off in the middle of the week and I often find myself at the mall. Luckily, the only things to buy are the leftover crap from last season, so my account balance is in check. For now. I also feel I am getting fat on a diet of Kernels popcorn. This sucks...I am starting to get symptoms of the winter blues :(

Since there is nothing going on in my life, I will talk about TV. On Monday, George Stroumboulopoulos' new show The Hour debuted on CBC Newsworld. I never really watch TV news - I'd rather read the paper - but I had to check out George's new show since he is the best journalist/pop-culture pundit/young person in the media. The show embodies George's brass attitude that makes George so compelling to watch. Good stuff. It is so good to see how his career has developed...I remember I thought, when he first aired on edge102, "who the heck is this guy, taking over Allan Cross's spot, making all these funny, sardonic comments...and why the hell can't he talk slower?" Then I realized he had a lot of important things to say about music so I liked him. When he moved to MuchMusic, I was like, "WTF?" but soon forgave him because he gave that "music" station credibility. And now CBC. I'm hoping his presence will bring more young people, myself included, to be interested in what goes on in the world. Even if you're not "proactive," at least be aware. Watch the show Mondays to Thursdays live at 8pm or the rerun at 11pm. This guy is good.

Ok, next TV spot...yesterday after I got home from work I watched 2 shows on the Life Network that I knew about but never took the time to watch: English Teachers and Med Students. Check them out if you can. These type of reality shows are the best kind. None of that Survivor or Fear Factor or Who's Your Daddy crap.

I watched In Good Company last night. Best line in the movie, said by Dennis Quaid's character to Topher Grace's: "Did you move from mocha to crack?" LOL. The movie's not as good as About A Boy but it still had its moments. And, I love Topher Grace :)