The Lonely Fight: In so many words!

WCRUG Conference in Calgary, Alberta Nov. 17-19

WCRUG Conference in Calgary, Alberta Nov. 17-19

As my journey of transitioning to a female continues, I find myself compelled to describe my new experiences lived.  Recently, I attended the WCRUG (Western Canada Regional User Group) Conference hosted yearly in Calgary, Alberta (Canada).  As a result, these past few days were full of new experiences for me that I thought might be interesting to share with you the reader. For more information on the WCRUG Conference, please consult the link below:

http://www.cvent.com/events/2015-western-canada-rug-conference/event-summary-6a1dbfb71a13433fbe7426332dd2f35d.aspx


Transportation: WestJet Flights from Regina to Calgary and Calgary to Edmonton, to Regina

On my departure flight from Regina to Calgary, it was a rather short flight of a little over one hour.  Got my tickets at the airport kiosk, no checked in baggages and no extra fees.  I was carrying a purse, my laptop and a small carry on bag.  I thought I would make my air travel as uneventful as possible.  Besides my baggages being awkward to carry, the decision proved to be a good one.  No lost or damaged luggage in the process and the flight was on time for both departure from Regina and arrival into Calgary.  Stewart was friendly, she sang a song on the microphone and it was rather amusing.  I used the ladies restroom once at the Regina airport without any incident.  My jewelry triggered the alarm scanner and was given the full security search scanning including all my bags and body search.  Made my way to gate, boarded with my newly issued driver's license and took my seat.  Landed in Calgary and met with a colleague from work and we both took the taxi to the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino in Calgary, Alberta (Canada).

My return flight was even easier.  It started with a taxi ride to the airport which followed with a visit to the airport kiosk to pick up my boarding passes - was flying to Regina through Edmonton from Calgary.  On the second leg on my trip (leaving Edmonton) for my final destination of Regina, the pilot announced strong winds in Regina which should make the flight bumpy on approach and landing.  So I decided to order a Rhum and Coke in order to relax.  The landing was reasonably executed and we landed safely a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule because of heavy tail wind.  This time, I took my jewelry off before going through the scanner, and therefore, no scanning alerts where triggered, and I was able to board my flight without any fuss or extra body and bag search. Overall the flights were great, thanks Westjet!

Activity: NHL Hockey Game Experience at the Scotia Saddledome - Calgary Flames Versus New Jersey Devils

On the second evening, I purchased a decent seat at center ice,10 rows from the ice surface, behind the players bench for maximum experience.  Also, I decided to rent an inexpensive limo for transport from hotel to Saddledome and back to hotel. Got dropped at the entrance and driver was waiting for me at the end of the game. He was friendly and we talked throughout the services about real estate, investment, finance, politics, weather and the news. At the game, one young couple laughed at me and were looking at me and giggling, clearly they were making fun of me, but most people minded their own business and simply ignored me. Nobody engaged me in any conversation and they left me alone. The ushers at the game were quite friendly, and kidding around with me and welcomed me to the game. Also, the staff at the concession stands were also quite friendly. They seemed quite surprised and kept starring at me and observing my every move but always wished me a good evening and served me well with a smile. I tipped them well, thank them and when back to my seat, and stayed quiet so I would not draw unnecessary attention to myself. Finally, I used the public washrooms (ladies), did my business and walked out without a word. Nobody made any comments to my knowledge.  The Calgary flames registered a win, 3-2 and the game was enjoyable.  Over all, it was a great evening and a positive experience at the Saddledome.

Accommodation: Hotel/Casino at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino Experience

Staff were friendly all around. They greeted me in the proper gender (female), I could sense a bit of discomfort but they kept serving me adequately. First nights was spent with a colleague from work over dinner at the casino and we played the slots machine for a few minutes and ended up netting 43$ each profit. We sat for an hour, had a couple of drinks and retreated to our rooms for the evening. Pretty uneventful experience with a few casual stares of surprises. Second night, after the NHL hockey game, I ventured to the casino alone, and sat in the lounge for a few drinks. I seemed to be the talk of the hour for a few minutes at a table of 3 ladies. They would turn and look at me and then turn around whisper amongst themselves, and then look over again. I smiled and said hi and eventually wondered over to the slot machines again - again, I made some money: net 106$ in a few minutes. It was a good night. I sat in the lounge again and ordered some food and a gentlemen (facilitator of a session) asked to join me indicating that he was not "hitting" on me. I laughed and replied it was ok, and invited him to sit and chat. I realized that he was quite drunk and wanted some company. We chatted for an hour, and I asked to be excused to retreat to my room because I had an early conference call in the morning. Headed to my room, watched some news and fell asleep. Checkout the next morning and left for the airport to return home. Overall, uneventful, pseudo normal experience and good interactions and made some $$$. I was happy to be able to get out and interact with the general population. A positive experience once again.

Conference Experience

The conference staff were accommodating and helpful and greeted me in the proper gender throughout the conference. People kept to themselves, and were not sure how to approach me when I sat with them over breakfast, breaks and lunches. I interacted with them and started conversation by introducing myself and showing interest in who they were and what they did. They became more at ease and carried conversation well. My colleague was also a participant, and a veteran of the conference for many years, and she introduced me to others so that I could network and interact. She was quite helpful. Session were interesting and I was able to get the information that I was looking for and I was quite engaged. I noticed that most facilitators would keep looking at me for the first 10-15 minutes of almost every session. In a form of confusion, like they were intrigued by my presence - I felt a bit bad because I thought I might be a distraction, but nevertheless, they carried on well the job at hand, and they were able to deliver the information and I actively participated by asking questions and thanking them for their insight and valuable knowledge. Networking before each sessions were virtually non existent unless I solicited conversation mostly. It was like people did not want anyone knowing that they were interacting with me. I noticed the difference with other sessions that I went to in the past, where I would always have several people initiating conversations and it was a bit easier to perform networking, and meeting new people. Once again, nevertheless, it was a positive and good experience. Exchanged a few business cards, interacted with vendors, and had numerous engaging conversations with many people. It was a great conference!