no departure date from Edmonton yet...

On Tuesday night I decided to call the director of the Petroleum Institute to enquire about a departure date from Edmonton. He told me that the college's Human Resources Department had forgotten to have me fill out a form. So staff are determining what can be done before I can start work. Darcy and I will wait for an email towards the end of May about when to depart Edmonton.

Many difficulties that we encountered in late April have been resolved. My claim with Atlas Van Lines is finally being investigated, Darcy has her Alberta driver's licence and our deposited U.S. cheques were finally cleared by our banks. As well, I'm clear to invest our savings in bank sponsored GICs and I decided to rollover my American Automobile Association sponsored CD for two years. The interest rate was an impressive 4.8%.

Darcy's car passed Federal and Provincial car inspections which means that she can now sell it. She will sell the car to a friend on May 23 which is within the two week deadline for selling the car and getting it registered within Alberta. Darcy and I will rent a car from that date to when we depart for Abu Dhabi.

My Chevelle is still for sale and I'm having to reduce the price. I've had several people call about it but there have been no takers. Sadly, last week someone vandalized old Bessie by shooting out the driver's side door window. The window is intact but is shattered. Repair cost is about $400 because of the car's age and difficulty in finding parts. I'd rather not repair it and sell the car at a reduced cost. I'll call an auctioneer and consider reposting a classified ad at a reduced price. But this means that I can't move the car for fear of having the shattered glass spray the car's interior.

Darcy and I need to locate a few boxes that contain items that we want to take with us overseas. Yesterday I went on an invigorating bike ride with my mother through Edmonton's beautiful river vally. We biked about 8 miles along trails that I had never taken. I think that Edmonton has one of the most beautiful walking and biking trails of any city in North America. It is roughtly 21 times larger that New York City’s Central Park and is the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America. It cost me almost $200 CDN to get my bike fixed due to my lack of using it in Florida. Inactivity for a bike is not a good thing and bike repair staff told me that they can disassemble and pack in a box bikes for long term storage.

Weather in the City of Champions has been hot the last few days with today reaching almost 30 celcius (86 farenheit). However, the humidity was only 25%! Today in Ft. Lauderdale it was 80 farenheit but the humidity was 62%. To top it off the temp in Abu Dhabi today was 100 farenheit (close to 40 celcius) with 82% humidity!

Some exciting news is that the Edmonton Oilers defeated the San Jose Sharks 2-0 tonight. The mighty Oil advance to the Conference finals for the first time since 1992. The teams is playing fantastic but will have a tough time playing their next opponent (Anaheim Mighty Ducks). So I've enjoyed watching the hockey and cheering on my team. I must admit that I'd be pretty disappointed being in Florida and not being able to watch my team play right now. The last bit of news is that Darcy got her hair cut tonight. It looks cute and she looks great! We continue to rotate with visiting parents, stepparents and inlaws and friends and enjoying the wonderful spring weather. That's all for now....