PB, TMH, IC, PIA, XL

I've noticed that people in Calgary like using acronymns. Not because they are lazy, but it seems to be one of those interesting communication things that makes this culture unique. It's never Boston Pizza, but BP's. It's not Canada Olympic Park, but COP. Thank you is T-Y!

PB. Met up with D and G, who are pure bred Calgarians visiting Toronto for training and med school. We planned to go to church together, so we decided to grab a quick breakfast at Pickle Barrel beforehand. I had a very nice French toast breakfast, served in true PB-enlarged proportions!

TMH. Ah, so nice to be back in the Silver City that serves as church for The Meeting House - North Toronto. Many a times, I've been there, long before the service started, helping to set up the sound system. Today, it was quite nice just to be a participant worshipper. "Seeing" Bruxy in person adds so much to his sermons, which I still continue to listen to online. I hope that one day they will upload the actual video.

IC. Ok. This whole "all-you-can-eat" phenomenon in Toronto is plain getting way out of control. I-Cook is an all-you-can-eat dim sum place. It's nice and the food quality wasn't too bad. Sadly, I think that if people get used to this way of eating (be it sushi, or Korean BBQ, or Indian food), not only will they eat more than they need (perpetuating this growing obesity problem) but that people's perception of value will be skewed (i.e. if it's not a buffet, you're somehow getting ripped off). In fact, I feel a certain twinge of guilt if I only order once, as if I'm not getting my money's worth.

PIA. Or just the airport, as most Torontonians refer to it as. One doesn't realize how bad this airport is until you've been to other airports. Does it really make sense that they charge you $2 for a cart? Plus, parking is just plain highway robbery. And that you never know when you arrive there what you will find. Will there be a line up to check in? Will there be a line up to get through security? My experiences with the Calgary Airport have been completely the opposite. You don't have to pay for a cart and they are amply stored in logical places. If you get to the airport, park, pick up your party and leave within 1/2 hour, it's free! Even if you go overtime, parking fees are very reasonable. The layout is unintimidating and it's not hard to find your way around. I realize that this airport is many times smaller than Pearson, but keep in mind that Pearson also charges higher airport fees, so they have a proportionate amount of money to spend on imporvements.

XL. Not really an acronym, but a numerical device used to communicate a larger meaning. No, not larger clothing size, but the Roman numeral for 40. As in Superbowl 40. If I truly was a die-hard fan, I may not have booked my flight back right in the middle of North America's most watched sporting event. But, I flew Westjet. And I can't stop raving about Westjet, for their competitive pricing, for their customer relations, FOR THEIR ONBOARD LIVE SATELLITE TV's!!!! So, I caught XL at 30,000 feet, hurling at 500+ mph. Of course, it was the Canadian feed, so I didn't see any of the ads. No worries, because, thanks to the internet, one doesn't have to be glued to the TV to see them (poor, poor advertisers - no pun intended). Can I say that I almost peed my pants when I saw this ad: http://www.devilducky.com/media/41804/