At the end of August, I was able to go to Toronto, Canada on a business trip. Now, I had never been on a real business trip befo
re and so I was pretty excited to go. I had never been to Toronto as well and thought this would be a great opportunity for me. I stayed in the town of Guelph and worked in Waterloo. These towns were located about 30 to 40 miles west of Toronto. These towns were not too small (pop. 200,000 to 300,000) but definitely had a small town feel to them.
I really liked it. There was a group of software engineers that belonged to a small company that Intel had bought and I was asked to go and configure their new laptop systems to work on the Intel domain and network. As it turned out, the transition went very smooth and there were only a few minor issues that needed attention.
The people I worked with were
excellent and very helpful and accommodating. During my stay I was able to take in a couple of sites. The CN Tower and a Blue Jay major league baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto is a huge bustling city with modern skyscrapers. There is a lot of building going on, mainly condos in the downtown business district. My trip up the CN Tower was just awesome. Very impressive. What a view. Looking out over Lake Ontario and the marina and the city skyline with the Rogers Centre directly below. I just loved it. The only thing I was missing was my sweetheart of a wife, Doris.
I really did wish she was there with me to enjoy the sites. The CN Tower observation area is over 1,000 ft. above the ground. It also sports a glass floor you can stand on and look straight down. It was a very odd feeling when you first step out on the floor and look down. It was funny to see all the reactions of the visitors who experienced that. After enjoying that I made my way down to the game. I always enjoy a major league game.
I really don't care who's playing. To see that level of baseball is a joy for me to watch. I got to sit right down near the front row along the third base side between third base and the left field fence. The night was nice and cool and the roof was open and rising up in front of me above the stadium was the CN Tower. I had seen this view many times on TV and I was finally here enjoying it. I imagined in my mind, Joe Carter's game winning 1993 World Series homerun just over the left field fence and him jumping up and down as he rounded the bases.
Then reality hits and this is just another of many games being played that day and Toronto ended up losing to the Rays. The third base coach for the Rays was a guy named Tom Foley. I got to play with him many years ago when we were both young and coming up in the Cincinnati Reds organization. I wouldn't say we were best of friends, but good teammates and it was nice for me to see him still in baseball at some capacity. I remember him being a very talented young kid who had great hands and played the game very well. He had a good bat and put the ball in play and made things happen. It brought back many memories of when I was younger. All-in-all the trip was great and I enjoyed the stay very much. I enjoyed Toronto and could live very easily there, (except maybe the winters!).
re and so I was pretty excited to go. I had never been to Toronto as well and thought this would be a great opportunity for me. I stayed in the town of Guelph and worked in Waterloo. These towns were located about 30 to 40 miles west of Toronto. These towns were not too small (pop. 200,000 to 300,000) but definitely had a small town feel to them. 
I really liked it. There was a group of software engineers that belonged to a small company that Intel had bought and I was asked to go and configure their new laptop systems to work on the Intel domain and network. As it turned out, the transition went very smooth and there were only a few minor issues that needed attention. 
The people I worked with were excellent and very helpful and accommodating. During my stay I was able to take in a couple of sites. The CN Tower and a Blue Jay major league baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto is a huge bustling city with modern skyscrapers. There is a lot of building going on, mainly condos in the downtown business district. My trip up the CN Tower was just awesome. Very impressive. What a view. Looking out over Lake Ontario and the marina and the city skyline with the Rogers Centre directly below. I just loved it. The only thing I was missing was my sweetheart of a wife, Doris. 
I really did wish she was there with me to enjoy the sites. The CN Tower observation area is over 1,000 ft. above the ground. It also sports a glass floor you can stand on and look straight down. It was a very odd feeling when you first step out on the floor and look down. It was funny to see all the reactions of the visitors who experienced that. After enjoying that I made my way down to the game. I always enjoy a major league game.
I really don't care who's playing. To see that level of baseball is a joy for me to watch. I got to sit right down near the front row along the third base side between third base and the left field fence. The night was nice and cool and the roof was open and rising up in front of me above the stadium was the CN Tower. I had seen this view many times on TV and I was finally here enjoying it. I imagined in my mind, Joe Carter's game winning 1993 World Series homerun just over the left field fence and him jumping up and down as he rounded the bases. 
Then reality hits and this is just another of many games being played that day and Toronto ended up losing to the Rays. The third base coach for the Rays was a guy named Tom Foley. I got to play with him many years ago when we were both young and coming up in the Cincinnati Reds organization. I wouldn't say we were best of friends, but good teammates and it was nice for me to see him still in baseball at some capacity. I remember him being a very talented young kid who had great hands and played the game very well. He had a good bat and put the ball in play and made things happen. It brought back many memories of when I was younger. All-in-all the trip was great and I enjoyed the stay very much. I enjoyed Toronto and could live very easily there, (except maybe the winters!).
