T minus 1

The shipping company comes tomorrow to pack up our house and Little Emma and her friend Bella are competing in the first gymnastics competition of the season so this weekend is a whirlwind of activity. 

Friday night was physical testing which involves sprints, climbing the rope, chin ups, splits, hand stands and other torture. The girls both got silver and in my professional opinion Shalla gets a triple gold star for the best hair.

On Saturday Blaine had to go to work for a stoopid Board meeting so he left early. I made scrambled eggs with Bella Bella smoked salmon on everything bagels which the adults thoroughly enjoyed. The girls kinda pushed theirs around the plate so Sheldon ate theirs too. Next task on the list was taking the Suzuki back to Best Buy because the remote locking they installed during the week only worked on 2 of the 3 doors rendering it useless for its primary function of walking the dogs. I became aware of this deficiency on Friday evening when I tried to take the dogs for a walk and couldn't open the back door to let them in. They were not impressed. I clearly articulated my displeasure to the store manager. With the girls tucked in the back seats of the Mustang and Shalla and I enjoying the heated front seats we set off for Club Aviva, stopping en route at Bread Garden for the girls to breakfast on blue Gatorade, fruit salad and chocolate cake. I dropped them all off at the gym and went to Winners while the athletes warmed up. Yes I did use the A word because that is what they are called by the parents and assessors (not judges, assessors) there is a lot of language to learn in the world of gymnastics. 

While Shalla and I were subjected to sitting on plastic chairs in a cold smelly gym, Sheldon was replacing our bedroom windows. He needed to get some supplies so I skipped out of gymnastics to meet him at Home Depot as it seemed a little unfair to make him pay for the stuff too! As we were loading up the truck I got a message from Nancy who had arrived at Club Aviva so I headed back but sadly had missed the girls' turn on the beam. We then dutifully clapped as each athlete was called up to receive their award (there are no losers, everyone gets at least a bronze) climb on the podium and 'present' so that their proud parents can photograph the moment. 

Next on the agenda was Ikea... an evil place at the best of times but utterly insane to tackle on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The hot dog line up was 10 minutes, but so worth it for the 2 hotdogs and a soft drink for $2.50. Shalla checked the kids into the kid compound and we set about buying black out window blinds, light bulbs, bathroom accessories and other stuff for our mysterious Iqaluit townhouse. $400 later we loaded all the shopping into Nancy's car because it wouldn't fit in the Mustang and she kindly drove my purchases home for me! Back at the house Nancy, Shalla and I attempted to relax while the girls ran around the house with Johnny in hot pursuit barking all the time. Nancy had to go but Shalla and I had to stay :-(

Sunday morning and the boys are going to finish the windows so Shalla, Bella, Emma and I are going to walk the dogs then go to Build a Bear... wish me luck!

more shipping minutiae

When they visited us before Christmas granny and grandpa offered to take Sage when we moved. Not Johnny, just Sage. Of course we declined, we love them both and they are so attached to each other that we couldn't separate them. However it turns out they will have to be separated for the flight.

Johnny flew up from San Francisco in the cabin with us, but he was just a wee little thing of 12 weeks then. He is a stocky little chap now and exceeds the confines of his soft travel case, I state this with absolute confidence having just tried (and failed) to wrestle him into it while Sage watched laughing. Johnny has a hard travel crate that we used when we were training him, he has plenty of room to move around in that - glad I bought a "grow-into" size. 

Today I phoned to book them on the plane and spoke with a very helpful, well informed chap at Air Canada who told me that his golden retriever has to go cargo because she is too heavy. Alarms bells started ringing... a golden retriever isn't much different to a lab, other than hair style and colour it is the same thing right? Shit. 

Join me on a journey as I figure this out.

Good news first, Johnny and his crate weigh about 40lbs which is well within Air Canada's 70lb limit and a reasonable $105 (plus applicable taxes) one way. 

According to the internet, Lab bitches weigh 55 to 70lbs. I am going to call the vet tomorrow to have them check her records and tell me Sage's weight, of course I won't share that information here as that would be a complete invasion of her privacy. Although she was more than a little perturbed I took some accurate measurements to establish the correct crate size. 

Sage measures up as follows:

A = 38"

B = 15"

C = 10"

D = 32"

Which means she needs the Sky Kennel 700. Weighing in at 44lbs this giant of the pet crate world measures 48"L x 32"W x 35"H and is a snip at $250. Although there are many dog crate manufacturers, only 2 make big dog ones and I guess they don't sell that many, hence the price hike - ouch.

Next I learn that Air Canada cargo rates are calculated by "dimensional weight" (does this seem eerily familiar to anyone else?) 

Like a good little girl (because that how I was taught at school) here are my calculations: 

48 x 32 x 35 = 53760

53760 / 166 = 323.85542

rounded up to 324lbs

Seriously? Please someone tell me I fucked this up like the car calculation. Google calculator tells me this is 146kg which leads me to the next astounding piece of data that I am almost too traumatized to type. In Air Canada Cargo world, Vancouver to Ottawa is Zone C. "AC Live" for zone C with a combined kennel and dog (or dimensional weight whichever is greater) of over 100kg is $555.00 (plus taxes).

Huh. Well I guess I won't bother phoning the vet then, she can eat nothing but cream puffs for the next month and it won't matter. Maybe we can pad the walls of the crate with excess baggage and use our hirsute child like a drug mule to maximize this rip off?

But we aren't done yet. This only gets them to Ottawa. The helpful chap from Air Canada explained to me that First Air operate as half passenger half cargo so they can load items over 70kg on a forklift. How rude to insinuate that our beautiful girl needs to be lifted with a fork lift! There is an advantage however, she can travel as "pets in the baggage compartment" rather than cargo so the flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit will only cost Sage $225 and Johnny $75 (plus applicable taxes I hear you chorus). They had better start saving up their pocket money. 

If I have this right it will cost ($105 + $555 + $75 + $225)

$960 in puppy airfare alone!!!! 

do they got champagne and hot towels before their three-course dinner?

I just ran the math to see how much cheaper it would be if we squish Sage in the next size crate down which is 39"L x 26"W x 30"H and that she wouldn't be able to stand up or lie down in properly. I calculate it to be 83 dimensional kg so we would only knock $100 off with Air Canada and another $125 from the First Air rate.

Not worth the degree of cruelty for saving $225... or is it?

Please use the comments field to vote :-)

Sage's Plea

"...but it's a dry cold."

Wow I now have five followers and I only know who three of you are! I am flattered that others have a) found my blog and b) want to read it.

As I waded through the slush to reach my car this morning I wished that I was wearing my Sorels instead of work shoes. Halfway to the office I realised that I had forgotten to grab anything for lunch so I will have to wade over to the shops at lunch time, or eat a bowl of Cheerios. The forecast for Vancouver is rain, rain and more rain...

...makes me wish I was in Iqaluit already, sure it is cold "but it's a dry cold".

This bit of research led me to look at the Historical Weather Data for Iqaluit to get a more accurate picture of what I am getting into. I shall continue to repeat my new mantra and look forward to the day that I miss this west coast wetness!

the cost of moving to Iqaluit

Satellite receivers, TV wall mount and hoover = $900  

Canada Goose Jacket = $625

random yet necessary supplies = $1,300

Coats and boots for the puppies = $150

Potty Patch = $40

Giant Vari Kennel = $80

Mountain bike for Blaine = $450

Smoker = $25 

Indoor and Outdoor sonic bark-off devices = $150 

Latte machine = $75

Ikea lamps, light bulbs, candles, blinds, bathroom accessories etc = $700

Skoah facial, cleanser, sunscreen and ultra rich moisturizer = $200

Sorel Glacier boots and a pair of insoles for the perfect fit = $165

Spices, curry pastes, coconut milk powder and chili sauces = $140

Bose surround sound = $500

We are not attempting to replicate life in Vancouver but there are some things that we feel we need for life up north. Some of it is stuff that we were planning to buy anyway and have had to bring forward, some of it is necessitated by the move.

Cost so far $5,500

I will be updating this post as we buy items so keep watching!

so what's the deal?

Thanks to a facebook post from Mr O'Malley it has come to my attention that I have not explained what is going on... so I shall attempt to give a condensed version here.

During the 2010 Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) conference in New Brunswick my chief was teasing Blaine about going to work in Iqaluit. I guess he planted a seed because at the end of November Blaine put in his application. Shortly after a telephone interview he was pronounced the successful candidate and accepted the position, starting "as soon as reasonably possible" which was eventually set as February 28, 2011. No we have never been there, this whole thing is about blind faith and following your heart.

You are probably asking Iqala-where? Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory which was officially recognised in 1999, prior to that it was part of the North West Territories. This magazine article gives an interesting perspective of the city Up Here Magazine

Before putting in his application we talked about the idea and were both very excited by the once in a life time opportunity to live and work in the arctic (almost the arctic... Iqaluit is at 63.5 degrees north, the arctic circle lies at 65 degrees). The population is around 7,500 with Inuit comprising some 62%. The Nunavut government has incorporated traditional principles and we are both very interested to learn about and live within this framework. This is an excerpt from the 2001 annual report:

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is first-hand knowledge obtained from elders pertaining to language, culture, values and beliefs, survival skills, use of resources, harvesting and an understanding of society, ecology and environment. The vision for the Government of Nunavut is one that incorporates the best of Inuit knowledge and contemporary systems. In keeping with the principles of Pinasuaqtavut (the Bathurst Mandate), the Government is continuously working to incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit into the workplace. All departments of the Government have developed internal committees or programs to incorporate Inuit culture, traditions and knowledge in their operations.

We are now busy preparing for the move. The city organises and pays for our relocation (with the exception of the dogs and car). A shipping company came just before Christmas to estimate our household goods and in the new year the city approved the shipment. Because it can take up to 6 weeks for everything to arrive we decided to be without here rather than in Iqaluit, so on Jan 31 and Feb 1 they are coming to pack everything (furniture, clothes, kitchen stuff... "household contents") which will be transported by train to Ottawa and then flown up to Iqaluit.

There are a number of things that we need to buy to equip ourselves for this adventure so I will create a post dedicated to the cost of moving to Iqaluit, something that we would have found very helpful in our research.

The sun is shining and the dogs are restless so I am going to sign off and go for a walk then back home to continue throwing out junk!

No Airplane Ride for the Suzuki

We currently have six vehicles; Scout, Tahoe, Mustang, Suzuki, Triumph, Victory. It was not difficult to decide which one would be coming with us. The Tahoe would be overkill for Iqaluit's 27km of roads, the Mustang isn't great in the snow (as mum can attest from our "summer" visit to Calgary), the Scout isn't quite road ready and there is no room for the dogs on our bikes, so the Suzuki it is. So that I could start pricing up shipping options I got one of the firefighters to measure it for me (length 4.48m, width 1.64m, height 1.79m). These dimensions are multiplied to find the volume in cubic metres (13.15) which is divided by 2.5 to give the value in revenue tonnes (5.26).

Just to be thorough I telephoned First Air cargo to get a quote for flying the Suzuki from Ottawa to Iqaluit. Based upon the vehicle length, and using their discounted rate for vehicles, the cost was estimated at $8,158 ha ha ha ha ha!!! I don't think so.

Rumour informs us that there are three shipping companies servicing the north east, so far I can only find two: Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping and Nunavut Sealink & Supply Inc, whose 2010 rates are $285.96 and $295.96 per revenue tonne respectively. Yesterday I omitted the divide by 2.5 portion of the equation so told Blaine that it would cost almost $4,000, happily the true price is closer to $1,500. Although this will be subject to increase in direct proportion to the insane gas prices. The first ship of 2010 arrived on July 14 and the last one on October 11. You can book your space in March and deliver goods to the Montreal depots from May/June.

The trip from Vancouver to Montreal will be either by road or rail. Current quotes (again subject to fluctuations in fuel surcharge) are in the $1,300 range for terminal to terminal, not sure how I get it from the terminal to the port but there is plenty of time for such details to be ironed out.

reality strikes

We had a fantastic, albeit crazy-busy vacation over the holidays, highlights include:

• Snowboarding @ Mt Baker | Whistler Blackcomb | Sun Peaks | Kicking Horse
• Visiting with the Guertins and the Stringers
• Surprising Rob for his 40th
• Celebrating NYE with a Just Dance Wii dance-off
• Meeting up with Pam for a beer in Calgary 
• Feasting on Carol's butter tarts (as I am now)

Now that we are back home we have resumed planning and preparing. It has really hit home that we do not have much time left - hence the newly created countdown timer just below my blog title.

At the Aberdeen Mall in Kamloops Blaine and I tried on Canada Goose parkas to find our size, but they didn't have the style and colours so I now have to locate our chosen items for sale. You would think this would not pose to great a problem but it is surprisingly hard, and if I am paying $800 for a coat it had better be the right one!

I found boots and coats for the puppies too (from Muttluks.com) but we also need to get them fleece hats so their ears don't fall off. They won't need to be bundled up just to go outside to take care of business, but they will need to be suitably attired for walks.

We had written out 14 different lists and a whole bunch of brain dumps here and there so last night I compiled it all into one spreadsheet. Happily there were a few duplications so there is now (ever so slightly) less to do. I am exhausted from the past week and my brain is failing to produce the coherent and witty prose that I was hoping for. I'm going to go now... maybe I will pour another drink and surf the web shopping for those jackets instead.