Long time no post, I might only now be recovering from a fairly difficult road week in the sticks of La Belle Province. When we lost a replacement staff member for a maternity leave position it left Ingram in a bit of a lurch with a rapidly approaching three-city road-show that had no owner. I jumped in and took it over as I felt I had the time to devote, but wasn’t prepared for the effort required. As a non-French speaker it involved a lot of translation, and of course, the show itself was a logistical nightmare.
I flew into Montreal Monday night where I met up with a trip director, Patti, before renting a car and heading off to Sherbrooke. We checked into the Delta there and met up with Jonathan, an Ingram outside sales rep, and headed out for a very nice dinner at Da Toni, a fine restaurant serving Italian and French cuisine. I had a very strange Creme Caramel with Shrimp and Asparagus Salad appetizer and a Pesto Crusted Mahi-Mahi for my main, along with a nice bottle of Leffe Brun to match. The next day it was day one of the “Via Quebec Tour” in the Delta. We had hoped for 25, anticipated 10, and got.. three. Three people showed up. An unmatched piece of misery in Ingram lore, whose previous worst attendance rate was eight. Go Rick.
On the road afterwards, and attempting to figure out what went wrong, we set out at three for the assumed 5.5 hour trip to Chicoutimi. Upon arrival after a delightful and scenic 4.5 hour ride we checked into >L’Hotel La Sagueneenne and dove into dinner at Le Tremblay where I paired up the pork chop with a local horrid pale lager whose name escapes me. Afterwards, back at the room, I found the laptop I’d been provided came with 14 viruses, and upon cleaning them, it never came up. Things were obviously going well.

Day two, however, things looked up. We achieved a full house with more than all who registered coming, something I’m not sure has happened before. Especially not the day after a historically poor turnout. The attendees were a wild and excited bunch, and the vendors involved were ecstatic. The day ended with a massive deal for a vendor and smiles all around as we began the four-hour trip back to Trois-Rivieres, and the Hotel Gouverneur. Once in we all decided it was time to catch the Sabres/Senators game and headed to – no kidding – La Cage Aux Sports. This is a chain of sports bars that was actually quite nice, with the exception of a pedestrian food and drink menu. I settled on a steak sandwich and poutine paired with a glass of water, much to the chagrin of my tablemates who failed to understand how I could dislike Rickard’s Red enough to order water. Once done we headed outside to .. snow.
I’m bored of typing, and must finish with the fact that the third show was yet another success, leaving day one a distant memory. Back to work Friday to finish up and off to sleep Friday night in a dazed stupor.
Next up.. Calgary.