My first serious job was with CP Rail, based out of Cranbrook. I hired on in 1986 and worked my way through the ranks to eventually become a Locomotive Engineer. I was young and definitely didn’t take the job seriously, and because the job had no schedule and was mostly spare work I often called in sick during the summer to ensure I could make the continuous weekend schedule of soccer league, playoff and tournament games. In the fall of 1992 a round of employee buyouts was offered and I thought it would be a good chance to return to school and get serious about a career so I volunteered to accept the money.
Almost immediately my plans went south. From the time I signed my resignation papers to when the money actually arrived I had time to start spending the money in my head and school soon drifted away, replaced by a long back packing trip and some time in the sun. Freed from any job responsibilities and with a seemingly endless supply of money, boredom set in and I had ample opportunity to play the role of Bullet and drag my friends out to nightly pub crawls and ski trips to the states.
I made plans to leave for my trip on Boxing Day, stopping for two weeks in Mazatlán to orient and then on to Costa Rica and eventually make my way back north. I was now in the habit of daily drinking and starting my trip in Mexico was the worst possible decision. On day one I met up with a couple of deep sea fishermen, brothers based out of Seattle who were essentially living the dream; or my version of it. Rob was a crab fisherman in the Bering Sea, a job you would now recognize from Deadliest Catch; he would work for three months, collect his pay and then head off for wherever he felt called to. His brother Gord worked a less dangerous job as a salmon fisherman bur still had the same lifestyle. They had an apartment off the Gold Zone and we became fast friends. Three young healthy guys with endless money in a Mexican party town, I started to lose any interest in back packing and hiking. The two weeks flew by and when they drove me to the airport to head for San Jose I was devastated. I had a long 24 hour trip with stops in Guadalajara and Mexico City and as I waited I made up my mind that I would head back to Maz to spend the winter there. I arrived in San Jose, checked in to my hostel and then sat at the bar of Key Largo counting the hours until I could head back to the airport. My party lifestyle was robbing me of a potentially life changing experience but I was too blinded to care at the time. A quick nap, a cab ride and I was on my way “home”. I would get an apartment next door to my friends and spend the next two months flirting with tourists and drinking until dawn.
When it came time to finally head home, I slowly made my way back through the States, stopping in to visit various friends I had made over the winter and eventually landed in Cranbrook at the end of March with a daily drinking habit and a complete lack of ambition or any reason to get out of bed in the morning. For my sanity I took a landscape labour job, thinking that it would give me some structure and help me get things under control. By the end of summer I was in the best shape of my life but my days had become a blur of sleeping for 3 hours, rushing to work hung over, slaving in the summer sun digging post holes and laying sod, swearing to god never to drink again, heading to soccer or rugby practice, run like a dog, head to the pub for just one, close the pub, close the Chinese food joint, sleep for 3 hours, repeat.
I had heard a rumour that BC Rail was looking for Engineers, and by that point I was eager to get back to something familiar and applied for the job. The fact that I had just wasted a year, my entire buyout and was about to take another huge step back career wise was lost on me and I was overjoyed to get the call that I was hired and would be stationed in Prince George at the beginning of November 1993.
"Happy Birthday To Me" Cracker
I was having a good sleep in my car In the parking lot of the Showboat Casino Hotel I said "I remember you, you drive like a P.T.A. mother!" You brought me draft beer in a plastic cup
I was having a good sleep in my car In the parking lot of the Showboat Casino Hotel I said "I remember you, you drive like a P.T.A. mother!" You brought me draft beer in a plastic cup
I'm feeling thankful for the small things today I'm feeling thankful for the small things today
Happy, happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me and to you Happy, happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me and to you
I'm feeling thankful for the small things today I'm feeling thankful for the small things today
I remember you, I crashed your wedding With some orange crepe paper and some Halloween candy Uh, sometimes I wish I were Catholic (I don't know why) I guess I'm happy to see your face at a time like this
Happy, happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me and to you Happy, happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me and to you
Happy birthday baby to me Happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me Happy birthday to me
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