Service With A Smile?

We don't eat out much as a family as it is hard to find the time to actually go to a restaurant and then there is the cost factor. But every now and then we do like to treat ourselves with take-out or delivery. We made the decision to order in Chinese on Friday from a local restaurant. We've never been disappointed before but after the meal arrived 35 minutes I have to admit I was pretty upset.

I maintained my cool when phoning the restaurant and the manager assured me it would arrive shortly. The excuse was that they had forgotten to take down our street address! Hmm...you would think they should call back right? Well...when it came it was a fresh order and arrived hot but they'd forgotten one of the items we ordered. Phonecall #2 to the manager (who as you would expect could not speak English well - so I'm not exactly sure what he actually told me) said something about the veal will come wight aways and the word fwee - which I assume to mean free meal? I have no idea if they tore up my cheque or not but it definitely extended our supper hour!

We decided to head off to Winnipeg for some shopping and to bring my bike frame in for warranty today. We got off to a late start as our girls actually slept in for a change. It turns out we got everything we wanted to get done that morning and decided to treat ourselves to The Olive Garden.

I think I must have some Italian blood somewhere in me as I love pasta! We ordered our meals, got our appetizer and the normal warm-up foods - salad or soup and breadsticks. Fabulous as always...35 minutes later - still no main course and our waitress has mysteriously disappeared.

Wendy starts lapping the restaurant with Aimee just to keep her entertained while I crayon up a storm with Chelsea. The stomach growls can no longer take it and somehow Wendy flags down someone who alerts the manager of our situation. It turns out there was some computer error and our meals still have not been prepared!!! Hmmm...well the manager does the right thing and offers to give our meals to us for free. By that point we were actually filled up on breadsticks and the like but the pasta we ordered still sounds good! We decided to go the takeout option and headed home....

What bugged me the most was not the computer error but the fact that our waitress didn't think to maybe give us a heads up as to when our meals would actually come! I'm a big proponent of actually tipping waiters when they do a great job but when service sucks - I'm sorry I'm not paying a dime. I also believe that we should treat people as actual human beings and not objects. But I have a huge problem when customers are treated as if they do not exist as well - especially when those customers include children - absolutely unacceptable.

I usually don't post negative stuff or beefs - so I'm hoping this will be the only one this year! Next take-out meal apparently is in our fridge courtesy of the Olive Garden...I can let you know if it is any good reheated!

Wen's Smoked Mozzarella Chicken


G's Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Night Rider

Well it turns out I had an interesting ride in the Sandilands last night. I discovered early on that my frame was cracked! Right above where the top tube meets the seat tube an inch long crack, leaving about 3/4 of an inch at the back of the seat tube that isn't damaged.

I decided to make the choice to keep riding - after all we were decked out in helmet and handlebar lights and it was beautiful evening. Bright red tea leaves were magnified by our lights along the trail and the reindeer moss shone like snow! It is amazing how much faster it feels when you are riding in a tunnel of lights and trees along a singletrack. At one point we all disappeared beneath a fallen over pine tree that we basically had to punch through - looked really cool! Pat met up with a deer at one point - definitely made those hairs on the arms stand up seeing the reflection of eyes looking back at you!

My lovely 2002 Giant NRS2 Modified Bike complete with broken seat-tube!

My frame stood up to the evening ride but it looks like I will have to dismantle the atomic bicycle and send the frame in for warranty. I did some checking and it looks like I may get a new frame from Giant out of it all! I'm leaning towards then selling it and looking at a new bike for 2006. We'll see how it all turns out!

G

The Compass

The compass is a remarkable instrument that has been used as an instrument of navigation since the Chinese invented somewhere around 200 BC. It is incredible to think that we can actually follow with accuracy a needle that points to magnetic north! However, if a person is a few degrees out while traveling by compass you can end up miles away from your intended destination. That is why we require landmarks that we aim for as we travel, maps that help us distinguish landmarks, and finally compass that is true and not interfered by electrical signals.

Such an instrument of navigation makes an excellent metaphor for life. The information we dial into a compass will lead us to where we want to go. Dial in 360 degrees and you will end up travelling North. However if you wanted to go south and dialed in 360 you would end up in the opposite direction you intended. It is important for us to set goals based on accurate information. It is amazing how many times our small mistakes end up being "titantic" when with a little course correction we would avoided sailing into iceberg infested waters.

I'm in the midst of teaching outdoor education, admittedly one of my favorite courses. I am amazed how often skills learned in the outdoors translate to life back indoors - what we sometimes term the "real world." When we seek adventure outside we often end learning up about ourselves don't we? When faced with a challenge or problem to be solved we have to make the right decisions in order to survive in a wilderness situation. It is important that we correct our mistakes early on or else we could end up in some serious troubles.

Well - I'm off mtn biking in the Sandilands once again - riding by lights down some pretty wild trails!

G

Treehouse

A visit home to Riverside for Thanksgiving resulted in an "explore" of a local treehouse! Go to exploreplay for more pics!

Explore Treehouse

A visit home to Riverside for Thanksgiving resulted in an "explore" of a local treehouse! This is no ordinary treehouse but a multi-tiered fortress that resembled something reminiscent of the elven dwellings in Lord of the Rings...designed by local boys who apparently don't spend time watching TV and rather enjoy exploring play the way it was meant to.

These shots reveal the height and beauty of the tree...click for full view

My daughter Chelsea is in pink, my wife Wendy in the grey top

...and my little sis' Keira way up!!!

Hanging out on a platform just below the highest point!

A shot meant to give perspective of the height of the mighty elm!

Looking down to see the different platform levels.
That's me and my daughter Chelsea below.

The river I grew up along, near the aptly named village of Riverside.

The "Scratching" river at sunset.

Cool Skyscape!

Princess Chelsea

That's right royalty in our dutch Van Riesen blood apparently...

Freak Snowstorm In October!

That's right we got snow - well it's mostly melted now but on Wednesday thanks to a system from Colorado we got dumped on! But the result is admittedly some cool pics!

This shot shows our backyard in what I term "three seasons." Note: You can see Aimee swinging if you click to enlarge the pic!

"Snowman Building 101"
Normally we might consider getting out the Pumpkin Carving Manual in October!

Chelsea & Aimee hanging out with the first snowman of the year!

Getting Up Close & Personal - Okay the girls were eating snow!
Admit it you used to eat snow too!

Aimee in her Bee Swing (Day before Snow)

Princess Chelsea (In preparation for her cousin's b-day party)

The Ride

There is nothing quite like exploring play on a bike for me! I admit it freely that autumn is my favorite time of year to ride with cooler temperatures and amazing scenery of colored leaves! I love the feeling of tired muscles, worked out lungs, and the euphoria that comes from riding hard up hills or coasting down steep descents while winding through tight singletrack amidst a sea of trees. Check out my latest photoblog at musings!