You know you travel a lot when you are stranded at home by accident.
I’m sitting in the Vancouver airport killing time before a flight out to Edmonton. I spent last night at home, which was a surprising novelty.
I have been on Whidbey Island most of last week delivering another workshop on The Art of Hosting Conversations that matter – more on that soon. Yesterday I was due to fly from Seattle to Calgary and then on to Regina where I am spending three days doing work to support the Urban Aboriginal Strategy there. Two of those days (today and tomorrow) were to be a two day hosting workshop and Thursday I am opening space for a large community meeting aimed at revitalizing the process. Following that, I have to fly back to Seattle for a day of work withthe Quinault Indian Nation and then home on Saturday for a week.
Travel was complicated by a blizzard that swept across the prairies yesterday bringin temperatures in the low -40s to Regina and Calgary. When I checked in in Seattle, I discovered that my flight to Calgary had been cancelled, so they routed me through Vancouver. When I got here, the flight to Regina was cancelled in the face of a raging blizzard and windchills that dropped the temperature to -53. I can’t even conceive of air that cold. You’d think it would just drop out of the atmosphere and pool around your feet.
So, I lucked out by being stranded in Vancouver. I went home and enjoyed a nice unexpected evening with the family. When I woke up this morning, we had ten centimeters of snow on the ground and I was seriously doubting whether I would be able to leave Vancouver.
It’s now midafternoon, I’m checked in and everything seems clear on my evening flight to Edmonton and then to Regina. I get in at midnight. The weather should be warming up significanlty while I’m there. They are expecting highs of -31 tomorrow. Thursday should be a balmy -15.
If my flesh doesn’t freeze solid, I’ll be back to Seattle Friday and then home Saturday for a bit of a rest.
It always amazes me just how much business in Canada is influenced by weather… here on the right coast (not sure that this translates across the country…) there is always that period of nice weather in the summer (however brief) where literally nobody is at work. Nobody. The drive into the office then is always pleasently devoid of traffic, etc. Then, after a few relatively sane autumn months, it’s flight delays and cancellations and storm days. Sometimes I think it all adds up to us Canadians not taking ourselves terribly seriously however… sometimes being the operative word.