2005

 

Chris shown in 2005, working at his desk at Quest Software

Time flies indeed. This picture was taken in 2005, when I worked at Quest Software in Halifax, Nova Scotia as a Technical Support Engineer. I wasn't an engineer, but I did know computers and some technology.

I would work there from 2003 - 2011, and had some great memories with people I used to work with. Many have left the company and moved on to other employers or work.

Back then, it was a casual office where jeans, t-shirts, and baseball hats were acceptable. Now, I wear more casual business clothes, to fit into a more business and client-facing work style.

This was before virtual machines really got started at Quest. I had physical machines under my desk for 'lab computers' where I could test out customer problems and scenarios. They weren't easy systems to support, but we did it.

I would take a number of different promotions over the years, but it all came back to how you worked with people. The case work and ticket load was challenging. I was 35 years old back then, in a good place in my life, but still, awful things would happen. Bert, who was my step dad, would have a heart attack and die that November.

The next year, Marion and George would both have small strokes. Life wasn't easy. I had to juggle two households while also helping my then-mother in Winnipeg.

Moving on, all would eventually pass away, including Theresa in 2019. And now I am left with memories.

When we moved to Nova Scotia in 2001, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia was where we lived. We would leave Dartmouth in 2011 for Halifax, combining her mother's household and our own into a 3-bedroom rental apartment.

Sadly, Marion would die from a heart attack in March 2012. So would Bernice, who was her sister. Marion was Theresa's mom. "If the Lord spares us another day" she'd say wistfully. By God I believed her. What does that mean? Holding the extra-large double double coffee, a #7 red king size cigarette in her right hand, she'd slowly take a puff and look at the clock. "It's almost dinner time, 4PM." she'd say.

People take tomorrow as a given guarantee. You just never know if you'll be around then. 

I do miss them tremendously.