It's been a long day.....

I was work shortly after 7 this morning, as we had an all day meeting scheduled to start at 8:15 at our other building.  I had some things on my desk I wanted to handle before I left the office, and it's about a 5-6 block walk over.  Of course, this morning would be -18C with windchills of -25C, so not only was it early but it was cold too!

The meeting agenda had to be changed mid-morning as we had a presenter coming in from another city and the roads were still not particularly good, and he was unable to make it in time.  It turned out well for us, as it gave us more time for discussion as we're working towards consolidating the offices in two cities into one unit.  We're also making some significant changes in the way we do our work, and even the work we do, and all of those items make the transition even more complex.    We certainly haven't reached any consensus about a number of issues, but thankfully we have a year to get there.

The organizers had arranged for dinner at a restaurant nearby for 6 p.m.  As a result, most of those who live in our city chose not to attend because it was nearly 90 minutes after our meeting ended.  I felt there should be some representation from our office (there were just few) so I hung out downtown for awhile.  I was still the first to arrive but one of the managers from the office showed up within a few minutes so we sat and had a drink while we waited for the others.  Several of us ended up in the bar before six, and joined of the rest of the group upstairs for dinner after we finished our round of drinks.

I hadn't been to this particular restaurant since it opened a few years ago, and I had not been impressed then with either the food or the service.  Tonight was a totally different experience.  We were a large group of about 25-30,  but the service was very good, with drinks, starter courses, and entrees arriving very quickly after our orders were taken.  I had a aged cheddar and bacon burger that was soooooo good (not healthy but very yummy!).  Several of the group at my table had a prime rib sandwich that looked very good as well.  Prices were actually pretty reasonable too, so all in all it was a good evening.

It was after 8 before I got home, so bedtime is not far off.  We start again tomorrow morning for a half-day before it's back to our regular work, while our counterparts head home.  The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow, +3C so the highway conditions should be better as well.  There is a saying in Saskatchewan, if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes.