The Starting Block

My journey to Fort McMurray officially started today with the purchase of my brand new blackberry.

Of course, on my last day of work yesterday, I had to turn in my beloved, but archaic, BB. Yes, the tarnished, and holster-free, 7250 model had served me well, but it was time to move on.

It was an anti-climactic event. I made my way down to the IT department only to find one of 'the boys' there.

Lanette: "Chris. It's time to turn in my BlackBerry; where should it go?"
Chris: "Just throw it on mine or Trevor's desk."

That was it. No serenade, no nothin'. Nice knowin' ya!

Anyway, today Brodie and I went for breakfast and then headed to FutureShop to prepare for the purchase of my new BB. Mike-"G-is-for-great"-Grandbois helped us through the process.

I picked a phone, spent an hour humming and hawing over which carrier I should choose (I eventually chose Telus) and then selected a phone (The Curve...per the advice of 'The Boys').

Then, it came time to select my number. I think I had a physical reaction to the '780' area code, but I eventually got over it and ended up with a satisfactory number (I forfeited the chance to pay $25 to select a custom phone number).

So, that marked my official start to my journey to the oil sands. My first '780' phone number. Lucky me.