Day: March 30, 2012

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I Love Living in a Bilingual Country

I was hanging out in the office this morning when the phone rang. Quebec came up on the call display, so I suspected it was BMO calling me about a fax I sent them a couple of days ago.

It was.

And I just loved the pregnant pause when I answered in English and the person on the other end of the line was dumbfounded by the realisation that she had just called Alberta and she didn’t speak a word of English. A quick “Bonjour!” on my part got the ball rolling, but I bet those were two of the longest seconds in that woman’s life!

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New Toad Starting Battery

My issues with the toad battery that started in December worsened to the point that I could no longer get a full charge and the battery was going flat every few days. Today, I finally had enough time to a) charge the battery enough to get the car started and b) get to the battery place.

Three people told me to that the car to All-Tra Battery on 3rd Avenue South, so that’s what I did. Service was very speedy! I came in and said I needed a new battery. A tech came out, determined what kind I needed, and went inside to get the new one. He told the person at the till what I was getting and I was able to pay immediately ($89.20, including taxes and installation). When I went back outside, the work was half completed. Sum total, I was out in less than five minutes!

I probably could have gotten a cheaper battery at Canadian Tire or Walmart, but when three people who don’t know each other and are in the automotive industry recommend a local business, I prefer to go there. I also know that going to a place that only deals in batteries, I’m going to get a fresh battery.

I thought of inquiring about prices for a couple of 12 volts for Miranda’s house battery bank, but decided to wait until the fall. I’m going to monitor how my new solar panel works over the course of a month’s travel to see if I have I have any surplus charging that I could apply to a second battery. This won’t even have to be scientific; I can just make note of how many mornings my battery is fully charged before noon and whether or not its overcast (if it’s overcast and I get a full charge, then I’ll know for sure I have a lot of waste!).

I can’t believe I only have two to three weekends left in Lethbridge and that before I know it, I’ll have to worry about things like battery and holding tank capacities again. Can’t wait!