Ron Fish:
CLASS OF 1970
Vincent Massey CollegiateClass of 1970
Winnipeg, MB
University of ManitobaClass of 1975
Winnipeg, MB
University of Manitoba - EngineeringClass of 1975
Winnipeg, MB
General Byng High SchoolClass of 1967
Winnipeg, MB
Ron's Story
Wow. been over a decade since I last updated anything. Will leave the comments below about Nigeria (2006-2011) because many are hilarious. Update on what been happening since then: Was transferred from Lagos to Yuzhno Sakhalin in 2011 and then from Sakhalin to Melbourne in 2018 to work on a PNG asset.
Have had some fun vacations over the last few years:
Xmas 2016, did a small cruise for all four of us to some neighbouring islands near Aus
Xmas 2017, Fiji for the four of us. Was a load of fun now that my daughters are adults
Summer of 2018 - a three week driving tour of NS and NFLD (yep got screeched!)This had been in my wifes bucket list for decades as her father side originated in NS (might have been one of those Brits who travelled up from the US displacing the original French settlers.
Xmas 2018 - visited my daughter Rhiannon in LA, who is in the acting profession. Did all the standard touristy stuff
OLD POST
Xmas 2007 was fantastic(see photos) Never had any idea that a safari would be as exciting as it turned out to be. Three really interesting moments were: 1)an elephant drinking out of the swimming pool 2)following a wild dog hunt 3)a nighttime session with a small pride and the females trying to be romantic with the old male, plus my daughter being 100% sure that the lion who was sneaking up on us from behind was going to have her for dinner.
For you first time readers, I've keep my background info at the bottom of this posting, for those of you who've already read it - here's a bit of a look at the funny side of Lagos:
You know you're in Nigeria when....
....the union representing junior technical staff ask for a 78% wage and benefits increase
....your bank doesn't have any money for a withdrawal, twice in one week
....your steward is going to use nails to keep a door shut that keeps opening during high winds
....3 "grocery" stores don't have iceberg lettuce and the 4th has it for 25$ a head but
....petrol sells for 60 cents a litre
....a picture on your wall goes moldy because the backing is sucking moisture from the wet plaster
....your driver can buy his dinner on the street for 2$ - rice and an undefined "bush" meat but breakfast at a bakery costs 30$
....you make sure you go to the ATM right after its filled because the row of three will all be empty by 4 p.m.
....the beaches are gorgeous and the water warm but there isn't a single resort or hotel - just shanty towns
....you are sure someone in a toilet cubicle next to yours is using the bowl water for a body wash
....you wend your way up a lift to the ninth floor, stopping at each floor, only to have a power failure between 8 and 9 and when the power goes back on you are sent down to the ground floor. Then on your second attempt to get to 9 it happens again!
....you can't buy carrots because their "out of season". Hey wait a minute - this is the tropics, don't veggies gr...Expand for more
ow all year round?
....your steward asks if he should throw away ALL of your freezer meat (imported), because....well because it was past its use-by date!!
....you wait on the tarmac for over an hour because the airport only has one functioning machine to push you from the gate and no-one knows where it is
....your flat gets flooded three times in one year due to hot water tank hose ruptures
....your electric clocks lose or gain 30 minutes a day because the voltage is always that much too high or too low
....and that means light bulbs only last about two weeks
....the motorcycle taxis:
- have handlebars altered to bend up to ensure that they can squeeze thru the narrowest possible place - the widest place is then passengers' legs!
- have been seen to have up to 4 passengers: a mom, a teenage daughter, a toddler and a baby, all with no helmets of course
- make it impossible for a pedestrian to cross - you try it with them going both ways in three different "lanes" - one outside, one between and one on the other side of the normal two way traffic. Guaranteed whiplash just from trying to watch both ways simultaneously
- have two passengers but one of them is the biggest damn goat you've ever seen...bigger than either person on the bike
- will take someone who has a 4 meter long 2X4 held above his head and attempts to drive as usual - ie twice the speed of the cars and sometimes on the wrong side of the road
- will not let passengers hold on to the driver - because it would be too dangerous for the driver
As I said earlier,for you first time readers, here's my backgroun:
Although I knew in my teens that I liked to see/do different things, I didn't imagine that I'd live in some of the places that I did: moved to Calgary in 1975, Houston in 1980, and Melbourne Australia in 1995. In 2006 I accepted an assignment in Lagos Nigeria. Quite the commute between Lagos and Melbourne (the bus ride is hell) so I only get back about 4 times a year, typically 3 weeks each time (yes the company gives me a lot of time off due to my situation) For Xmas 07 we hooked-up in South Africa. Couple of days on a safari (which I enjoyed wayyyy more than I though I would - not every day one has an elephant drinking out of your swimming pool - with you in it!) then Sun City for a week, on to NY for New Years (Times Sq was cool and my daughters are crazy about musicals), finishing up in Florida for a week where we met a large part of my wife's family at Disney World. That's one upside about my being here and my family 1/2 way round the world - it's caused us to be more creative with vacations. We're now seriously thinking about Dubai for Xmas 2008. I had a 24 hr stopover there a year ago and think it would be a great place for a family vacation....especially some of the desert activities.
Oh yes, my second wife and my two daughters have turned me into a cat lover!!
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