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tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 72 (view)

Cancelled XMAS parties Posted: 11/23/2009 10:30:09 PM
Here's a fun fact about our upcoming Christmas party, which happens this friday.. On Wednesday morning there will be a vote on whether we keep the current union (been with us for nearly 30 years), or bring in a new union. There are some guys VERY passionate about the issues, on both sides. It might wind up being one of THE most entertaining Christmas parties I've ever been to.. LOL.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 51 (view)

Cancelled XMAS parties Posted: 11/16/2009 6:01:18 PM
Of the four parties I've been to at my current job, there have been no problems. The room is usually filled with 150 or more people, and the age group is typically 35+ on average. We'll get a DJ and a "clean" corporate comedian for the night. This year, due to the massive layoffs, we're scaling down to a smaller conference room in a hotel, and we're just having a DJ. As far as I know, despite only paying in to the social fund for the first two months of this year (been laid off ever since), no one has to pay to attend (just for drinks, which is typically not steep). Usually one bottle of red and white wine on each table. Also, any company that is FORCING you to pay in to a social fund, I'd look in to the legality of that. I know where I work, you can choose NOT to pay in to it. I pay in to it because $4 off a cheque isn't even noticable.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 18 (view)

Tough economic times Posted: 11/14/2009 1:29:11 AM
I work in the steel pipe industry (oilfield) and yeah, it was a double whammy on us because there was suddenly a huge cutback on drilling, and the steel industry was on the decline (price of steel way down for a while). But things will improve. This has happened to my industry before, and we came back strong. In the meantime, I've found myself capable of finding ways to make things work out just fine. It's funny though, when someone says, "why don't you just get a job until they call you back?" First off, I think it's kind of unfair to any company I end up working for, if in the end I'm just going to ditch them and go back to my job in the lab. It costs money to train people. Secondly, the trouble with a lot of jobs that ARE out there, is that a lot of them don't pay more than what EI is giving me (this is my first time on EI in the 15 years I've paid in to it). And my job is a fairly particular one, so it's not like I can just go down the block to the next company, and resume doing what I'm doing.. I'm proud of everyone who has had to hang in there during this tough time. I never thought I'd have to experience such a recession, but I think it has made me a better person.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 40 (view)

Cancelled XMAS parties Posted: 11/13/2009 12:48:39 AM
Ours is going ahead as scheduled. Scaled back though. Normally it's held in a larger room, but 90% of the company is laid off right now. They're going to call everyone on the "callback list" to see who wants to go. I secured a DJ for the night (paid for by the company), and it'll be held in a conference room at a hotel (normally at the Westerner grounds)(this is in Red Deer). Definitely going for the food, and there's one or two co-workers I rather enjoy hanging out with.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 7 (view)

Tough economic times Posted: 11/13/2009 12:43:19 AM
Been laid off since the end of February. Oh they'll call me back eventually, but until then, I'm very resourceful (hence the 'evil genius' bit on my profile). And considering I live alone and my parents live in Manitoba, Christmas isn't really celebrated. Just another day for me.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 25 (view)

76.8 Million Hits .... Posted: 11/8/2009 11:55:02 PM
The only reason Buffet isnt is because he gave a huge chunk of his fortune away. Heck the guy wouldnt even lend his own daughter money for her to buy herself a house. Apparently he also like burgers and fries more than caviar. It's entirely possible that Markus is of the same mindset that he doesnt have to flaunt it to enjoy it. agreed.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 19 (view)

76.8 Million Hits .... Posted: 11/7/2009 10:10:07 AM
The richest man in the world still lives in the same house he bought in the 50's...... According to Forbes, for this year it's Bill Gates. And so the above statement is actually false... But I hear ya. In keeping with what you said, yes, rich people (the ones who weren't handed the wealth without working hard for it) do tend to be rich for a reason - not spending money on a lot of unnecessary items.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 14 (view)

76.8 Million Hits .... Posted: 11/5/2009 4:18:01 PM
"I don't want to talk about revenue, because then I'll just get a whole bunch more competitors." Nice. I don't want you to know, but if I told you, you'd be VERY impressed. Well, I know what I'm doing tonight.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 16 (view)

Good Karma/Bad Karma Posted: 10/21/2009 1:33:30 AM
Incidentally, in keeping with what I said above there... I was offered ANOTHER free ticket to go to a NHL game.. lol. Didn't see that one coming, twice. And he thanked ME for going.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 8 (view)

Red Deer POF meet - Oct 2009 - PICS! Posted: 10/19/2009 1:13:24 PM
Try it now... maybe it was the syntax I used that didn't work..

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 13 (view)

Good Karma/Bad Karma Posted: 10/18/2009 11:03:10 PM
Not a guilt thing to me... I like doing things for others, and sometimes it literally pays off. In August I offered to take someone to a CFL game (I bought tickets by entering a silent auction - proceeds went to cancer research)(how's that for karma! lol). Mind you, I DID drop the ball (honestly, no pun intended here) by forgetting to actually go to the game. I guess you really have to be a CFL FAN to remember you have tickets. My intentions were good though. But anyway, this past week a complete stranger gave me their extra ticket to see an NHL game in Calgary. He asked for no money, I couldn't buy him any beer (he didn't want any).. no strings attached. Didn't even give me a business card or anything. I've had other such experiences in the past.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 5 (view)

Red Deer POF meet - Oct 2009 - PICS! Posted: 10/17/2009 12:42:40 AM
k Northern, should be set up for you to upload pics...

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 1 (view)

Red Deer POF meet - Oct 2009 - PICS! Posted: 10/16/2009 1:08:12 AM
Heh, sorry about that y'all. I actually (momentarily) forgot to both add a pic thread, as well as HOW to add one. lol. All those who want to be able to upload, let me know so that I can enable you to do so. This is the official PICS thread for the event that took place in Red Deer on Oct 3rd, 2009.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 22 (view)

PoF thanks for the great times! Posted: 10/7/2009 6:23:11 PM
I NEVER lost my groove! I was referring to POF events in general... There seemed to be something lacking with the energy at a couple previous ones.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 13 (view)

PoF thanks for the great times! Posted: 10/6/2009 2:26:32 AM
Me thinks even the newbies fitted right in. Oh, no question at all. I mean, here I am, quietly strolling through the Super 8 lobby, and people are partying and drinking IN the lobby. lol. THAT'S funny. And that is classic Red Deer POF partying at its best. Glad the groove is back for most.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 10 (view)

sad loss of a pet Posted: 10/4/2009 11:50:01 AM
Man that's sad :( Of all the things I'm not looking forward to in the next X number of years, it's that moment when it's time for my cat to pass on. She's much like Rescue on the personality front. Not shy at all with strangers. Responds to certain human words. Seems to know when I'm feeling down. Why do we put ourselves through this inevitable heartbreak? I guess it's because of the many rewards and great memories leading up to it.... RIP Rescue.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 2 (view)

PoF thanks for the great times! Posted: 10/4/2009 4:36:03 AM
Hey, glad you liked it. It's tough doing these events because you can never please everyone.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 287 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 10/2/2009 11:15:41 AM
For those who find Red Deer's crazy grid-pattern to be a bit much... there be a map to guide you to ground zero: http://www.reviewnaut.com/pof

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 269 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 10/1/2009 2:08:04 AM
I remember at the first-ever meet in Red Deer... a much anticipated POFer by the name of Tallbudguy was supposed to attend but his truck broke down a week before and he wasn't able to make it. As a result, towards the end of that first meet, a few of us sat down on the floor and held sort of a circle séance to drum up the automotive spirits. Not sure if it worked, but it was memorable.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 244 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/30/2009 12:32:02 PM
Diesel, I have a feeling that your group will merge nicely with the "old schoolers" because to me, it doesn't matter who people are, as long as they like having fun. That's why I feel that this one will be more fun than a few previous Red Deer meets. There's an air of adventure in these 10 or so pages of threads that hasn't been there for a while.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 241 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/30/2009 11:31:16 AM
Ok but a lot of the same music played at the last event (I don't know if either of you were at Cheers last time) was the same music they play at Bellini's (I hate to say this, but I think that most of that music is awful.. lol). But yeah, the last Wild Bill's party was just set up in a way that people were forced to find the right place to party. It's why Cheers ended up being the better place to do these things... there's a dance floor! (in defense of Wild Bill's though, they have changed things around a bit and now have a stage). And of course, at the last Wild Bill's thing, we had an unconventional DJ. He's used to performing for a younger crowd, me thinks.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 236 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/30/2009 12:47:47 AM
You know, I gotta say this now, because it's important to know. Back in 2005 when these big POF events started happening in Alberta, what came out of it was a really epic crop of people who became good friends. Debauchery ensued at the next big meets because a lot of us knew one another. Things thinned out a fair bit with a larger gap between meets. There were a couple meets more recently where that feeling just wasn't there anymore. People just wanted to head to Bellini's to party with strangers who didn't care who they were. But looking at THIS bunch of people, and the crazy banter going on in this thread right now, I feel that this could be the best crop of POFers since the 2005 group. People are letting their guards down, and they're bringing out their crazy sides. There's all the talk about the pre-parties at the Super 8 (oh man, they have no idea what they have coming to them). And I just think that this whole mix promises to make for a great weekend. This is good. It means we are destined to have a night like no other.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 223 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/29/2009 12:51:49 PM
Main page has been updated with event times and such.... if it doesn't say September 29 at the top of the page, hit refresh.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 205 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/28/2009 12:07:38 PM
Sorry Johnny, their pool tables are rentals and because of that, they're unable to have them open. I did ask though, and they would have opened them if the tables were owned and not rented.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 194 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/27/2009 6:35:05 PM
Regarding "when the party starts at Cheers..." It's safe to say the COUNTRY act will hit the stage by 9:30pm at the latest, so those who want to country it up need to know this! Don't miss this band and then complain there's not enough country later on... LOL.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 193 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/27/2009 6:31:42 PM
I actually can't speak for the food at Cheers... I've never had a bad experience but there's someone new running the kitchen so I'm not sure what the menu is like now. I know they do pizza but I'm pretty picky about pizza. Not sure if they make it my way or not. lol. Ricky's "all day grill" (or whatever their slogan is) isn't too far down Gaetz Ave, from Cheers. It's the same as Denny's. So you know they should be open late.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 147 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/25/2009 3:44:02 AM
Well folks, this is shaping up to be a night of advanced insanity. Check your shyness at the door. If I were smart, and we all know the real answer to that one (lol)... I'd be making the Super 8 kick back some money my way! LOL! Congrats on all who chose that place. It ain't a bad destination. TOTALLY crawling distance from Cheers. I woke up on the floor of a room there after that February meet. There were.... well let's see, the band, and four people who were NOT in the band. Geez, what a weird way to wake up. I can't believe they let us do that. What happens in Red Deer..............................

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 119 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/24/2009 2:40:59 AM
As it stands, the male to female ratio is: 56 men and 49 women This isn't a perfectly accurate number, but if you think about it, women are usually more likely to bring friends than men, so in reality you might even expect the female population to edge out the male population. Oh damn, eh? lol. Those who are hosting pre-meets in their hotel rooms, you guys rock. I might attempt to crash one or two of them for fun, and possibly hand out a couple wristbands over a game of rock-paper-scissors. It's the game wars should be fought over in the first place.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 101 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/22/2009 2:11:24 AM
A restaurant near Cheers? Depends on your budget. For some, the whole point of drinking before the bar is to spend less money to get a bit of a buzz. Around those parts, you have either fast food places, or places such as Sam's Cafe (not cheap), The Ranchman (kinda like Montana's but different), BP's, Mr Mikes, WIld Bill's (the sports bar attached to the North Hill Inn), and so on.... Of course, you could always stick with the hotel room booze-up, and order pizza from Panago, Pizza 73, Family Pizza, and so on...

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 96 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/21/2009 7:44:12 PM
There ya go, that's an idea that I didn't think of... hotel room pre-meets! Which hotel gave you a warning? lol. Some hotels are wieners about non-guests. I encountered that at the Ramada once. The woman at the desk was incredibly rude about it (very unprofessional). I think Super-8 is fairly lax about it. Not sure about North Hill Inn, but I know their rooms are decent. The complete list of hotels near or nearish to Cheers is on page one of this event.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 94 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/21/2009 4:29:48 PM
Do you have a pre-meet idea? If so, let's hear it. I'm always open to ideas.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 92 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/21/2009 3:48:57 PM
Well here's the catch.. the most people I want to have in here at one time is 12, so I'll probably have to get everyone's names and then do some sort of draw. I'll have more, after this.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 90 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/21/2009 2:17:41 PM
I've considered personally hosting a pre-meet this time around, since I won't technically be needed at Cheers until 11:30pm (but honestly, we'd be outta here by 7:30pm anyway). I dunno. Two of the pre-meet hosts no longer do them (one is no longer a POFer, the other doesn't live here anymore). But I'm still able to do one..

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 88 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/21/2009 1:54:22 PM
Don't people "prime" themselves before going out, anymore? Especially in these trying times? When I lived near Vancouver, we ALWAYS got at least a couple stiff drinks in us before going out to the usual $6+ drinks. That's why we have liquor stores.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 84 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/20/2009 9:37:49 PM
And the T and C is.......? So they would sell beer at $2.75 all night, on a Saturday night?

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 82 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/20/2009 4:09:53 PM
Can't recall what happy hour prices are there... something like $4.25 I think, but don't quote me on that.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 33 (view)

are you getting the shot? Posted: 9/19/2009 5:58:52 AM
Of course... to add to what Maiq said.... does anyone here remember polio? Those were fun times..

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 4 (view)

How much toilet paper is too much? Posted: 9/17/2009 10:05:28 PM
Over the years I have become quite skilled in the art of avoiding an alarming backup of the head. Of couse, as some comedians will say, the worst is when it happens at someone elses' house.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 2 (view)

How much toilet paper is too much? Posted: 9/17/2009 9:48:52 PM
According to Sheryl Crow, adequate means using one square at a time. According to Gene Simmons, winding it over his hand five or six times is adequate. I live alone, and find that I go through a roll every four-five days.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 27 (view)

are you getting the shot? Posted: 9/17/2009 8:36:35 PM
Guess I'm the only person in the history of the world to never get sick from the flu shot.. I hope people aren't confusing the flu with catching a cold (which is mere coincidence).... The shot won't protect you from the common cold. Thanks to an incompetent management at my work, I missed getting the flu shot last November. A month later, I got my a$$ handed to me by my first flu in 10 years. Guess I'm special.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 73 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/16/2009 3:55:51 PM
I definitely think the no-puking policy is reasonable.. lol.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 69 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/16/2009 2:12:52 AM
It never ceases to amaze me how far people are willing to travel just to get a piece of the POF party action. Ya gotta love it!!

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 60 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/13/2009 11:49:13 AM
strange guy.... I can't even remember who that was? I do remember that, and I seem to recall it was the Bo's Bar&Grill party, and there were too many people at my place afterwards.. lol. But that guy... no idea who that was. I was probably too lacquered to realize some people were bringing friends I didn't know.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 8 (view)

Calgary: The silver lining of the recession Posted: 9/12/2009 2:04:57 AM
I was one of the few who didn't complain about the tax hike. I knew enough people would freak out... lol.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 14 (view)

how often has this happened Posted: 9/12/2009 12:11:09 AM
On the topic of sending the message to the wrong person... I once had someone on here accuse me of "being b!tchy about her not replying to me right away." We had been exchanging messages back and fourth a few times that morning, and she was clearly messaging others at the same time, and somehow confused me with the other person. When I told her she had the wrong person, her reply was "whatever." I wasn't upset with deleting her.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 12 (view)

Safeway strikers Posted: 9/8/2009 2:45:46 PM
You're right, I should have said that the UAW (with GM and I THINK Chrysler?) was not the only reason for their downfall... but it was definitely a contributing factor. Management was pretty hilarious, and of course unions negotiate with management for their contracts. To me, there was a lot of "what were you thinking?!" regarding some of their decisions in the past 15 years..

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 10 (view)

Safeway strikers Posted: 9/8/2009 1:11:51 PM
sorry had to get that out, We now return you to your regularlly scheduled postings.... Definitely no need to be sorry there. There was a time when unions leveled the playing field for workers to make a fair wage. Unfortunately, some unions got out of control and overinflated wages. But not ALL unions were created equal. I'm in the Iron Workers union and I couldn't agree more about what's being said about this union at Safeway. As much as workers have a rite to being protected by an entity (in this case, union and labour laws), sometimes some of these unions go WAY too far with their demands. 3 more hours per week? Oh noes! I work 12 hour days. And our union has never gone on strike. Not at this mill anyway. I sometimes think the union I'm with would rather sit back and do nothing, which sucks. From personal experience, my union sees us as a number. I don't even get a christmas card from them. Heck one of my co-workers recently got a "welcome to the union" letter even though he's been in it for six years. LOL. Slick. But at least we get paid a fair wage for what we do... though at every other pipe mill, they get paid more than we do. It's probably due to politics and such. It's pretty obvious that some unions are to blame for the loss of jobs (anyone familiar with what's happening with GM workers lately?). Paying someone WAY too much money to press three buttons over and over is absurd, and results in profit loss and eventually, with a lack of sales.. job loss. I remember reading a story earlier this year about a large chunk of GM workers being laid off, while down the road in a town in Ohio, the non-union Honda plant (incidentally, where my "non-American" car was built), has been paying their workers about $28/hour, and all are still working. Makes ya wonder.... 4.67% raise per year? Heh... lucky **stards. I wonder if they're getting a signing bonus as well. I think on our last contract renewal we got 3%, and we had to practically THANK the company for that. 3% is the bare-minimum for COLA, isn't it?

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 58 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/8/2009 11:46:30 AM
All I know is, THIS time I'm not sleeping on a hotel room floor. Don't I LIVE in this city?! lol.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 5 (view)

Calgary: The silver lining of the recession Posted: 9/7/2009 1:14:33 PM
I've gotta laugh... I am loyal to two or three liquor stores here in Red Deer (keep in mind, the actual number of liquor stores here boggle the mind). When the Stelmach government kindly raised the prices of alcohol (I get the sense that Klein would never have done that during these economic times), people started going to kit stores to make their own beer and wine. A friend of mine who owns one of these stores suddenly saw a spike in sales. But in the case of one such liquor store, during a recent visit I suddenly noticed that a case of domestic beer was back to $21. Their reason? No one wanted to pay the new price. I was actually impressed that they did this, but I wonder how it'll affect them? And I also recall one of the pubs in Red Deer refusing to raise their prices on beer regardless of the tax increase. It's a global recession, but here in Alberta we SHOULD be doing better than we are right now. I have a feeling all these businesses who are bucking the government's current choices will result in a bit of a revolt. Something's gotta give. And regarding the high-class places doing their thing.. good luck to them. I can think of one such place in Red Deer that has actually lightened their policy on dress code, simply to make sure they still fill the room. I think that's pretty cool. They also have fantastic deals during the week.

tcpl

Joined: 5/6/2005

Msg: 51 (view)

Red Deer - October 3rd 2009 - POF goes LIVE! Posted: 9/2/2009 4:11:43 PM
That's the spirit...

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