Graham Freeman's chronicles of emigration

2007-07-19T17:36:00.001-04:00

Citizen, originally uploaded by gfreeman.

I am now a citizen of Canada!

I have the forms to apply for a passport, I can vote, I have a snazzy citizenship card, and on Sunday I will have a Canadian flag tattooed on my arm. (That last bit is not a requirement of citizenship).

Yay!

The judge who presided over the taking of the oath was Bob Morrow - his wiki entry is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Morrow

Our house from the air

2007-06-02T09:24:00.001-04:00

Our house from the air, originally uploaded by gfreeman.

Last weekend I went to Guelph Airshow, and went flying twice. The second time up I was allowed to take control of the aircraft (a Cessna C152) and so flew over our house. Of course, I took a picture!

Deb feeds the goslings

2007-05-21T11:48:00.001-04:00

SANY0243, originally uploaded by gfreeman.

We went to the park yesterday and fed the birds. Here are some fluffy goslings expecting more food from their new mummy.

They really do go "peep". Almost enough to make the hardest heart melt!

Flickr

2007-05-21T11:44:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

2006-09-18T11:31:00.000-04:00

I met Stuart last week. I had to go to Calgary for a few days on business. Very tiring (the trip, not Stuart).

He's doing good, looks well, and I arrived almost an hour late due to the business part being not so well organised before I got there. So I paid for the drinks and wings that we ate, and we had a good couple of hours catching up.

Apart from that, the only time I had to myself was a couple of hours before leaving for the airport to come home. I bought Deb a pink cowboy hat, which she loves, and a hockey jersey for the local "Guelph Storm" equivalent (the "Calgary Hitmen").

The flight out was typical, though the person beside me tossed their cookies while landing. Bleugh. The flight back was uneventful, and I grabbed my bags and got home by about 2am. Four nights in the Hyatt - very nice hotel, but nothing beats your own bed.

In other news, went to see the Leafs play their Blue V White game - lots of fun, though it started out slow. Hockey is back, folks, and so is the new season of shows on TV. This is, for the most part, a good thing. But Rogers (who can't give me good mobile service for love nor lots of money) digital TV is slipping somewhat. The PVR is screwing around and not doing what it's supposed to. Some programs are cut off, and some can't be recorded as the menu stops working sometimes. The list of stuff to record also breaks when trying to set up a recurring event for HD shows. It sucks, really.

2006-08-26T12:59:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is a proud day for Canadians, but I doubt that many will even realise. STS-115, the third shuttle launch since the Columbia disaster in February 2003, will be taking a Canadian into space. Steve MacLean has been there before, indeed on the ill-fated Columbia in 1992. This time, he'll be the first Candadian to operate the Canadarm2 in space, and I found that the Canadian Space Program has a list of the personal items he'll be taking into space. Cool.

2006-08-21T12:57:00.000-04:00

Oof. Ouch. Oh.

You hear that? It's the sound of someone going back to work after a week's holiday.

Newfoundland was very nice. St. John's is a fair sized town/city of about 100,000 people - about the same size as Guelph. It's by far the largest urban area in the province. We stayed within a quaint little clump of houses about 30 minutes south of St. John's, collectively known as Bay Bulls. It has a pub, a convenience store, a petrol station and a couple of restaurants/eateries. Oh, and a road that runs out the other side, too. All very relaxing, and just what the doctor ordered.

Getting back home, after seeing no whales, no moose, and only the slightest hint of the arse of a beaver for a split second, our wildlife memories of Newfoundland are of 300,000 puffins. Small buggers, they're only about 8 inches tall and flap like a duck on acid whilst airborne.

The journey also made me miss British Airways, as Air Canada is not the "world's favourite airline", and I can see why. Some focus on the "customer" would be nice, even for domestic flights. Alas I have to make another trip next month, on my own, for a business thingie in Calgary.

So we got home with nothing broken, nothing lost, and the house in pretty much the same state as we left it. Great to sleep in your own bed again, and nice to slouch in front of the TV, for last night was the first in the latest BBC wildlife programs, "Planet Earth". Shot in HD, the footage was great - soul-stirring stuff and it helps fill the gap left by minimal wildlife sightings in Newfoundland.

Shout out to Pat & Betty, who embodied the traditional Newfoundland friendly reception. Thanks for a great meal out, and a greater drink in.

2006-08-11T15:56:00.000-04:00

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. Yay us!

We're off to Newfoundland for a week first thing tomorrow. As the flight is very early, we're staying in an airport hotel tonight. Due to a recent terrorist alert, hand luggage is severely curtailed. No liquids, lotions or gels allowed in hand luggage - it must all be in the checked bags.

Newfoundland trivia - the island has its own flag, the "pink, white and green" tricolour. It's the oldest flag that contains pink. The pink denotes the English protestants (a mix of the red and white roses of the Tudors), the green denotes the Irish catholics, and the white is taken from the white saltire cross of St. Andrew, patron saint of Scotland and (handily) of fishermen.

2006-08-09T15:23:00.000-04:00

We visited some friends of Deb's at the weekend, to drop off the chocolate I bought in the UK. One the way back, we stopped off at a butcher's and picked up some lamb sausages.

Most sausages I've had contain at least some filling that's not meat - cereal or some such - but these ones seem to be tubes of pure meat, and tasty with it. I barbied some up the other day and they were really nice. Tonight we're having some more, but this time they are the spicy kind. (Labelled "homicide". Apparently the "suicide" ones are hotter).

I've polished off one of the two bottles of Robinson's I brought back, and the other will not be too long before it's gone either. When it gets hot, the choice is water, beer or juice. Water is boring. Beer dehydrates you and makes you pissed, so juice is by far the better option.

The pile of books to read got smaller yesterday - I finally completed a paperback, something I've not done for the longest time. I started another one, and I hope to have half of it done by the end of the week. I miss reading, but slothing it out on the sofa is too inviting. The upside of starting work at 7.30am is that you can be home by 5pm if you are lucky. This means more "home time", more quality time, and sitting outside with a book, listening to the birdies, is very relaxing.

2006-08-03T12:02:00.000-04:00

Back in the late 80's/early 90's, I saw some (then) groundbreaking videos by a Polish film maker. Until recently all I could remember was his first name - Zbigniew. It wasn't until a few days ago that I started to think of the videos again, and wondered if they were available commercially. So I googled, and hey presto I rediscovered Zbigniew Rybczyński. He's an Oscar winner, and has 3 DVDs for sale on his website.

I bought his "Media" collection, and it should be turning up shortly. I look forward to seeing some more of his work, and I hope the two pieces I remember are on there.

Also on the subject of DVDs, after watching the next episode of Green Wing (see blog entries passim), I watch a BBC drama called Life On Mars. A cop from 2006 gets hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Culture shock ensues, and he/you're never sure whether he's still in a coma and dreaming it, whether he's really in 1973 but insane, or whether he's really time-travelled. It mixes the tried-and-tested cop drama with a dash of time-travel, and seems to work very well. Mainly, I think, because of the interaction between the cop and his boss.

Yesterday, a tornado touched down just south of Guelph. No damage, but lots of thunder and lightning. At least it broke the hot weather streak and we're not at mid-twenties rather than mid-thirties.

2006-07-31T14:14:00.000-04:00

My mobile is giving me grief. It's been nothing short of a disaster since I got it. It was sold to me before the games in Turin as something that could play Olympic news videos. Pft. No such luck. That model was not supported for video downloads ... It keeps turning on in my pocket, despite having a keylock, so I carry it in a ridiculous $1 pouch from a dollar-store. It won't turn on now, and my warranty states that I can take it to any Source outlet and get a loaner. Except that the Source store in our mall will not loan me a phone. Rogers says to take it to their store and they will loan me one while they fix this pile of steaming dog-doo.

The damn thing broke as my flight to the UK was called, and so I had to spend about fifty dollars in calls from my various hotel rooms to speak to my wife. Now given a three week time-to-fix, I'll be without until after we get back from Newfoundland. I hate my phone as much as Deb loves hers.

As for the weekend - the dog cancelled. It's agent got a better offer I think. Damn prima donna.

2006-07-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

I'm wearing my new "lounge around the house like an upmarket slobby fecker" kit that I bought from Marks & Spencers. I love that place. The only place I enjoy clothes shopping, but sadly there are no more in Canada.

Today I have to go video a dog (don't ask), and maybe buy a new DVD rack to house the movies. Our TV series collection has grown by about 300% after my jaunt to the UK last week, and the movies have taken a back seat.

A delightfully weird and wonderful series called Green Wing was one of my star purchases. I am glad to see there's a second season which will soon make its way to DVD I hope.

Thanks to BillyD for the congrats on my anniversary. Just in case Deb reads this I won't say what her present is, but I will say that it was hand-crafted by Moxie the Georgian Peach :)

I've spent so much of my gaming time this year on Guild Wars, that I failed to spot a SimCity/Civ type game that's being released about now. Something to do with building Rome, so I will go seek it out and maybe add it to the list of installed entertainment on my creaking computer.

Off for another Robinsons. Mmmmmmm ...

2006-07-28T13:49:00.000-04:00

It's been raining a bit here today. Made the journey in to work a bit longer, but I was still one of the first here.

Leaving at 4.30pm as usual, so I'll be home in time for a beer on the decking and watch the wildlife frolic in the garden. Then maybe some DVD watching, play a little Guild Wars, and then bedtime. No alarm tomorrow - sleep till I get up, and that'll be the end of the jet lag.

Currently imaging PCs at work, using Norton Ghost.

In two weeks, it'll be our 6th wedding anniversary! Time flies.

2006-07-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

OK, so that works, and Bruce is gonna kick my ass if he sees my feed dry up for a few days/weeks. [Page count = 6143]

I just returned from a dash to the UK, cos Sarah & Jim got married. Had to be there, how could I not? It was nice to see Andy again, have a few beers and pat Jim on the back before he toddled off down the aisle. Sarah looked great (bride - duh!) and a selection of photos are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gfreeman/sets/72157594214282520/

Some shots of the family, of the cake, of the couple as they got to the hotel for the reception, and of Claire - with whom I had the honour of dancing. (Small secret - Jim & Sarah wanted as many people on the dance floor as possible to hide the fact that dancing was not a skill they wanted to show off). I was lucky, Claire was almost as up for it as I was. No worries.

Being back in the UK was less a problem than it could have been. After 2 seconds it was as though I'd never been away. The only drawback was the hot hot heat, records were broken apparently, and the fact that air-conditioning is still a luxury in the UK. Getting back home to Canada was a relief, as far as that was concerned.

I brought back a selection of British TV DVDs, and some general UK groceries that are hard to get in Ontario. Jet lag is still nagging, but after work tomorrow I'll have the weekend to sleep it off.

I'll finish my beer now, and turn in ...

2006-07-27T15:01:00.000-04:00

This is a test to see if Bruce's RSS can see it. If so, I'll add more ASAP.

2006-04-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

Yeah, now that's typical. Sign up to a site and the next day it breaks, and causes MY site to barf because I put an image there. Pfft.

The current page count is 6054.

Today's topic, is hockey. Leafs won't get to the playoffs, and you can blame who you like - there are plenty of culprits. Quinn for changing the lines too often, the players for sometimes turning up in body only ... take your pick. Injuries are always a bane, but look at other teams (Tampa springs to mind) and it's obvious that the Leafs are not alone with that issue. It's part of the game, but if a team is forever speaking of "the injuries wot dun us in" then either it's a whingeing team, or they really do have backroom problems with medical and physio staff. Either way, it's not going to get you a Stanley Cup - so change something, for Mackinaw's sake.

Eyes in Toronto now turn to the Jays for the chance of a winning team. At the risk or marginalising the Marlies, I suspect that nothing will be muttered about them until they're in the Calder Cup final. So let's just watch the ball game, shall we?

I was lucky enough to be at the season opener at Rogers Centre this week, and it was a great game. Superb atmosphere, and every had fun. I even walked past Lance Brown, but was moving too fast in the other direction to be able to take a photo. Shame, as my wife thinks he's great. Inside the stadium, you can tell they've applied a new lick of paint, and the new Jumbotron looks nice. One downer though, when the Jays scored home runs there were no fireworks. What's up with that?

So it's Friday, the Jays pulled off a 2-1 series win over the Twins, and the Leafs scrounged a point last night but again lost the shootout. If you ask me, the Leafs need to shoot the puck more.

2006-04-06T08:33:00.000-04:00

Eep.

I signed up to a blog tracking site, I have no idea why, and I'm starting to get traffic here again. Which means I suppose I should update it more often than every year.

So as an aide memoir, some topics I will be touching on in the near future will include hockey, beer, Canadian national politics, wildlife, travel, baseball, weather, online gaming, books, movies and TV. Should keep some of you interested enough to check back I hope.

I wish I had more interesting things to say about what's been going on chez nous since my last update. Alas, I do not. It's been a slog, a grind, a general malaise and the rut has well and truly been furrowed. Still the same job, same car, same house, even the same pants. Excitement has to be ordered in and usually comes with extra cheese & pepperoni.

For those who have been taking the slightest bit of notice, Canada has a new government now run by the Rt Hon Stephen Harper. He'll be Rt Hon until he dies, which is the way we do things here, kind of like any US president gets to be called Mr President forever. So along with a new PM, a few other things have changed, though not so you'd notice. Today's minor rant is about the Canadian ambassador to the US. It used to be Frank McKenna, and I saw a Rick Mercer interview with him and he seemed a cool guy. Good sense of humour, he outlined his stance on putting Canadian policies to the US, and I felt warm and fuzzy about this guy. When Harper became PM, McKenna offered his resignation because that's the done thing when governments change. The resignation was accepted and a new guy appointed.

Before I move onto the new guy, I was saddened a little that McKenna refused to put his name forward for leader of the Liberal Party, and therefore have a great shot at being the next PM. I said he gave me the warm and fuzzies, so I wanted to see how he'd do in the limelight. Ah well.

Back to Canada's new ambassador to the US. Michael Wilson. Yesterday, in his first speech as ambassador, he voiced his concern that the US/Canada border could become an "invisible barrier". Well duh. It's an international border, and as a European I expect to be required to hold a passport when I cross an international border. Yes, there are some areas of tight integration where there is freedom of movement, but I can't see the US/Canada border being one of them any time soon. We are not converging like the 25 Euro states - Canada has absolutely reaffirmed its sovereignty and even piss-poor "free" trade agreements like the appropriately named NAFTA have only shown how incompatible our respective core national policies are.

Applause, please, for trying to work closely with our largest trading partner, but to those who say that Canada needs the US more than the US needs Canada, please remember that trade is a two-way process and the importance of the Albertan oil sands has doubled/tripled/quadrupled in the past few years. Canada is a net exporter of oil. US president Bush has admitted that the US has an oil addiction. Do the math. Stand up, Canada.

2005-08-10T14:32:00.000-04:00

A reminder that our photos are at http://gfreeman.fotopic.net and that you can join in a friendly chat at http://forums.gfreeman.com.

2005-05-11T10:23:00.000-04:00

Today is the 20th anniversary of the fire at Valley Parade, that killed 56 people. I remember it vividly, and as a Bradford City fan the memory touches me deeply.

2005-05-05T15:03:00.000-04:00

On the way to work, we drive past a goose and his mate who live by the side of the road. They've lived there for 8 years, and they still hiss at cars that go by. It's kinda sweet, and those who know me will know that I have a soft spot for geese. Maybe it's because they mate for life, and usually go around in pairs, or maybe it's because when they flock they have a recognisable social structure. Or maybe it's the way they honk, I don't know. I just like them, much as I like most animals.

So anyway, this goose was hit by a car yesterday, and killed. Lucky for me I didn't see the body this morning, nor the remaining single goose. I tend to anthropomorphosise a little, but I'd probably have spent today sadly wondering how the widowed goose would feel, knowing that it's partner's life had been deemed by some dumb human as less important than getting somewhere a few seconds later.

It's not like the road is particularly narrow, blind, or dangerous. Anyone doing the speed limit would have easily avoided an animal in the road, yet on this same road last week, a dog was struck and killed too.

To generalise: people are morons. Specifically, some people are too stupid to be allowed out on their own. They're a danger not only to themselves, but also to the environment and everything they come in contact with.

Sorry the return of this blog had to be on a down-note, but to put this in selfish terms - the goose that made me smile some mornings is no longer there.

Honk.

2005-02-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

Another example of the difference in cultures. Today is Pancake Day. Well, at least it is to me. To the rest of Canada it's a Tuesday like any other. To a few, it's Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. At least in the UK most people would know (and celebrate) the fact that it's Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day. Not here. It's another thing that's quietly disappeared from my calendar.

I guess one of the more important differences to note when you move from the UK to Canada, is that when driving through traffic lights, pedestrians also have a green light. [Warning! Ontario only! Other provinces may not share this point of view] This is OK if you're not turning, but if you are turning either left or right then you will most likely be crossing the pedestrians' right of way. You really do have to watch out for people on foot, because in the UK if cars have a green light, then pedestrians have a red and vice versa. It's safer that way, but less efficient. No doubt when you cross the road in Canada you're more happy about the increased efficiency than you are worried about the increased risk.

I think I'm coming down with something. I'm feeling a bit run down, though that could be any of a number of things. I have the same "symptoms" that I get before the onset of a cold. Lately I've been able to fight off any infection, but unless things ease up I can't see my immune system being able to stand up to a nasty bug for any length of time. It's only so long before I succumb, and it's the running around at work, the maniac drivers on the 401, and other stuff that's not going 100% right now - that's all adding up to a break in health. I can feel it. Bed earlier, I think, and wrap up warmer at home. And more vitamin C.

If I remember, I'll try to take my camera in the car for a few days and sneak off a few shots of the scenery - there's a hawk family that lives in Mississauga, and the dawn mists are starting to look pretty again.

2005-02-02T13:37:00.000-05:00

Oh, they have to be kidding. Rogers Centre? Puh-lease ....

2005-01-24T15:56:00.000-05:00

Today was not a normal day. It's only halfway through and already it has the feel to it of "one of those days". Often, days like this are talked about years from now, but this one - well, maybe months, at least.

Doomsayers are calling this "The worst day of the year", which would be a start, because the car didn't. Had it towed to the dealership and I got to the office less than two hours late (which wasn't as bad as it could have been). At 3pm I got a call saying the problem had been fixed. Seems the brake pedal sensor was faulty, so that the car did not know when the brake pedal was pressed. Not good for taking the car out of PARK, but even worse doing 100 and wanting to slow down in a hurry. Anyway, just off to collect the darn thing ...

We'd also planned on having a nosey round Best Buy this evening, to look at a big TV. With a view to purchasing, you idiot - not just to LOOK at a big TV. Tsk. Maybe that's still on the cards. Let you know ...

I had a spare minute to answer a few questions at http://politicalcompass.org and it told me that my political position was somewhere between Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. I can live with that. More Liberal than most, more Anarchic than most. Yup. Seems to fit. I'll dig out the link to the belief-o-matic if I find it. That told me that I'm a Secular Humanist when it comes to belief/religion. Again, seems to fit.

Carryball is having it's "Superbowl" in a couple of weeks. Count me as someone who'll be washing their hair when it's on. [Ooh, must get it cut sometime soon]. We were in a bar yesterday, and the choice on the TVs was either a really foggy golf game, or some too-soft-to-be-rugby-players standing around watching a clock tick down to zero. We went with neither and talked to each other. Much better :-)

As for what else is on TV, I try to make an effort to watch The Amazing Race, Corner Gas and Lost. If you don't have Lost on TV where you are, keep an eye out for it. It's great. Very character led storylines, and more often than not finishes each week on a cliff-hanger or jaw-dropping revelation. Ask your local provider when it's on.

Gotta go - have a date with a car dealer. Yuk.

2005-01-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

Let me give you a little heads-up about the cold. In the UK, cold was when the outside temperature went below zero. Trains stopped running, offices closed, people panicked, there'd be mass hysteria in the streets and the country would grind to a halt if it was mixed with an inch of snow.

In Canada, things are ever so slightly different. You'd hardly notice the difference unless you looked hard. (yeah right ...) For instance, today I got up and looked at the remote sensor that reports the temperature from our back yard. -25C. "Chilly", I thought. It didn't occur to me until I was taking the 30 second walk from the car park to the office, that -9C right now would be "Balmy". -25C isn't by any stretch of the imagination a remarkably cold day. Sure there are warnings from the provincial government today, as there have been for the past three days, but that's only because at minus-double-digits it takes 10 minutes for frostbite to kick in. Get to -30 and exposed flesh actually freezes, not just has a chance of frostbite.

The Canadian answer? Put on a hat. And some gloves would be nice, though a scarf is optional depending on the type of coat you have. It takes a little longer to get to work, as the car has to warm up for a few minutes before you put it into gear, and if there's ice on the roads then you only do twenty above the speed limit instead of forty above it. This has a knock on effect of, well, not very much. People are used to it. There's no such thing as a silly looking winter hat in Canada. If you've ever walked out in -20C weather without a hat, you'll not do it a second time. People understand that you do what it takes to keep warm. I'm sure I could wear the most hideous head covering imaginable and I'd not get a second glance from anyone (but there's no way I'd stick a habs toque on my head).

It can snow here, and things keep running. The routine is only interrupted by ice storms, or snow fall greater than about six feet. But live further out of TO (and I mean w-a-y further out, a long way from the golden horseshoe even) and even six feet of snow doesn't stop anything. Albertans are not the only ones to look down on the city-folk of Toronto because TO called in the army a few years ago to deal with the white stuff. That sort of thing just isn't, well, Canadian.

So the landscape is white with snow, the roads white with salt, and the NHL rinks are still dark. That's about the only cause for concern right now, even when the mercury drops below -30C.

2005-01-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

Some things here need to change. It may be a federal thing in some cases, in others it may be a provincial or even just a general cultural thing, but certain pre-established norms must change.

For example - if I want to buy a case of beer, a bottle of wine, and some coffee, I need to visit three shops. In the UK I could get the whole lot by visiting Tesco or Sainsburys, so this needs to change. There are talks at the moment of relaxing the current government monopoly on the "off-sales" of alcohol, but these talks have to turn into something that makes the life of general public that much easier, and not be another pipe dream. Why can't it be possible to buy a case of beer and some wine at the local supermarket?

Next, why only 2 weeks vacation per year? Is 4 weeks excessive? Are the Europeans so third-worldly because they allow their workers twice the amount of vacation time that Canadians have? I don't think so! Why not give four weeks basic vacation per year instead of two? We have the number of national holidays - the UK and Ontario both rack up 8 statutory days each year. People will be much happier. Trust me.

Dates. Come on Canada. Pick a format and stand behind it. Is it 1/12/05 or is it 12/1/05? And does January 10 mean five years from now or two days ago? You're stuck between two worlds, one of which is a single nation just to the south of you, the other is ONLY THE REST OF THE PLANET. "Yeah, but January 5 means the date and January 05 means the year ..." Whoop-di-effin-do, this argument doesn't hold water for dates from 2010 to 2030. And it starts in five years time, folks. The kids in school right now will be running the world while you're in the retirement home, so aren't you kinda worried that they won't be able to communicate the simplest of dates between themselves? For two decades there'll be a larger possibility of mis-communication, and I can't see a reason to stick with mm/dd/yy. Either way, Canada, pick a format and run with it. Please.

Gas prices. (Petrol ...) Pin them, for heaven's sake. Stop all this jumping around, and outlaw the gouging of the public by fuel companies. 60 cents? 80 cents? No, wait, 70 cents, hang on, 85 cents - STOP, it's 65 cents now, wait, hang on, it's moved again. Why put up with this? It's insane, and I'm not the only one who's unhappy about it.

Can you hear me, Martin and McGuinty? Your citizens are less happy than they could be, but they don't know it yet.
(page count = 4434)

2005-01-06T11:45:00.000-05:00

You know how it is. You get sidetracked, there are a zillion other things that demand your focus, and before you know it ... Ooh, squirrel!

Ahem. So, back for another instalment. Next one pencilled in for 2009, still a few years shy of a Leafs cup win, and at the way we're going lucky to have seen any NHL at all.

Which is where we start this rebirth of blogging. Hockey. There are plenty of people bleating about the demise of the NHL season, and wailing "bring back hockey", but really - hockey never went away. It's alive and well and in a rink near you. The very fabric of Canadian culture will unravel if hockey really goes away. It's part of the soul of Canada, and it's expression is in strapping on the skates, keeping your stick on the ice, and beating the crap out of the guys on the other team.

No, really - go see a CHL game, a minors game, even a pee-wee's game, but go see one. You get a feel for the heartbeat of this country, and it's pulse races whenever there's a slapshot, a boarding or (heaven forbid) the singing of "O, Canada". I've seen Guelph Storm play a number of times this season. Admittedly they lost each time, but it was still a fun time no matter what. In fact, we're off to see them again next week. It's much cheaper than going to an NHL game, you can actually get a ticket, it's closer, and maybe in a few years you can point to the player holding aloft the Stanley Cup and say "I saw him play junior hockey".

So get off your backside and stop moaning that you hanker for millionaires-on-ice.

PS Go Leafs!

2004-10-26T09:23:00.000-04:00

We recently got back from a week-long trip to Vancouver, where we saw bits of South-western British Columbia. More of that later though.

I’m starting to form a feeling of what I like least about living here. So far, it’s a toss-up between the bad drivers, and the fact you only get two week’s vacation per year as standard. This is a huge country, (Canada, I mean, keep up at the back), and like the neighbours to the south, very few people bother to travel further than they can drive in a couple of hours. You’ll get a few people who’ll head to the Caribbean and stay in an all-in hotel complex, but what’s the point? Which bits of the local scenery/ethnic customs are you experiencing? May as well stay at home. I have no idea why more people don’t venture further – there’s certainly a kind of European Wanderlust in me, as in a lot of Europeans I have met. Maybe I am wrong, but the Europeans have twice the opportunity to travel as do their North American cousins. Four week’s paid vacation, for starters.

But the drivers around here continue to amaze and annoy me. I can be driving down the highway doing the posted 100 limit, with a safe and decent space between me and the car in front, and NO ONE BEHIND ME FOR AT LEAST A KLICK, when some asshole(s) decide to bang up the middle lane doing a buck-thirty-plus and pull in to the gap in front of me forcing me to brake. This happens at least half a dozen times per week, and about twice a week I’ll see someone weave across all the lanes and back again simply to get one car ahead. People! Chill!! You’re getting to where you’re going about 3 seconds earlier, and you’re putting your (and more importantly, my) life at risk. Stop it, and stop it right now. You’re morons who deserve to be struck down by Darwinism, if only you didn’t take out some innocents with you.

Rant off.

So Vancouver was nice ...

2004-10-08T07:52:00.000-04:00

First thing - the cam is being tested - it's in beta - it may not work all the time. I have to move it to another computer, one that's more of a server (but not the DC) than a workstation. Then I have to tweak the FTP, then I have to tweak the HTML. Then it will be stable and classed as "in production". Until then, if you can't see an updated image, too bad.

Next thing, we have a new chippie in the garden. Stumpy is so called because it only has half a tail. It also seems to get on better with Lumpy than the other chippies - all of which are seen off by Lumpy as soon as he sees them. Stumpy, however, appears to be able to stare out Lumpy and they've been seen nose-to-nose for a few seconds.

Yesterday we followed Lumpy back to where he's stashing the peanuts. It's at the far side of the steps up the front door of the house next-door-but-one. If you stand on the street while Lumpy is being fed at the deck, you can see him rush across two front gardens with a mouthful of nuts, pop into a shrubbery ("ni!") and a few seconds later come out again and whizz back to the deck. If you're sitting in the back garden with nuts, feeding Lumpy, all you see is him pop out from under the fence and jump onto your lap. You don't get to appreciate how far he has to run to and from the deck to get his winter feed. Cute little bugger, and he's happy to let me stroke him, poke him and tickle him while he's trying to fit peanuts into his pouches.

The squirrels are almost at the point of taking nuts from our hands. I can get the large black one and the grey one to edge up to about six inches away, but the slightest noise will have them scurrying away. Lumpy often foils any attempt to hand feed the squirrels by runnning in and snatching the proffered legume.

Work continues to suck - it's a politik thing, not a work load or "can't do" thing. The worst kind. And for the money I am getting, it may be worth looking at other places if they offer a stable and secure job with more money.

Today will be quiet in the office I hope - it's the Friday before a long weekend - as it's Thanksgiving in Canada. So next week is a four day week, and seeing as I have two weeks holiday each year (travesty!) every day counts, so I booked these four days off, and we're flying West tomorrow to see Vancouver and South West British Columbia. Hopefully we'll see Victoria, and we intend to go to Whistler as well, with a day whale watching thrown in. No doubt there'll be internet cafes there, so I'll try to catch emails and so on.

seeyer

PS - hi to Joel & Linda

2004-10-03T08:53:00.000-04:00

The first real frost of autumn hit us this morning. The bird bath was iced over, and a couple of perplexed birds were skating onit, feebly pecking the surface. We'll have to look into getting a heated bird bath, so there's always something for the winter birds to drink.

Deb caught a squirrel on top of the bird feeder yesterday, so at least one has managed to work out how to get up there. Not sure how, which is why I set up a webcam pointing at the back garden. You can see it here. Still being tested, but you can get a glimpse of what's going on. We'll get a better cam later - one with zoom at least, so you can see closer up.

This morning we got a flock of Blue Jays. At least seven flew in, sat in the tree next to the feeder and took it in turns to take peanuts from the hanging bird tray. I've never seen more than two Blue Jays at once, so watching their social interaction was great, even if they were only around for a few minutes.

We're off to Vancouver for a few days soon, looking forward to the break, and to see new scenery. 5 hours in the air to get there though. Ah well.

Off to scrape the car now. Blimey, six more months of this ...

2004-09-23T22:35:00.000-04:00

This is lumpy.

He likes nuts. He likes sitting on our laps too.
He doesn't like other chipmunks. He chases them away.

2004-09-20T09:32:00.000-04:00

Bought a new bird feeding get-up. $200 but it stops the squirrels stealing the nuts, which means that there are always some for the birds. Blue Jays like nuts, so we got a few of those. Pics later when I remember to upload them. Some decent close-ups of other birds too, and I got a chippie to sit on my chest as I was sitting reading the local paper. He wanted nuts, and I think he's used to me giving them out. They run up my leg now, and I think I'm sort of their daddy. Cute little buggers.

The squirrels are stymied by the new feeder, so have started to creep closer to me when I have peanuts. They stare at me from about 6 feet away - they're probably wondering if I'm trying to grab them as they go for the nuts.

I can get to about 4 feet from the new feeder and chickadees still fly in to take seed. Once or twice they'll go for a small unshelled peanut, or sunflower seed. I took a few snaps close up, but focussing is still a bit fiddly with this digital camera. I may have to look for an SLR camera - I wonder how much digital SLRs go for thesedays.

In other news, it's getting colder. Equinox is this week so that's the start of autumn ...

Vancouver vacation next month. REALLY looking forward to that!

Started to play with scripts and stuff for automating the upload of photos from the camera to our photo share drive at home.

Fairly uneventful weekend really, but full of bird-type fun.

2004-08-02T09:29:00.000-04:00

The weather here is 90% of the time clear skies and between 25 and 30 degrees. Once or twice a week it will thunderstorm big time at night, and half the time it's really muggy. It rarely rains during the day, maybe two or three times a month, but it's a warm rain and comes down in buckets for a couple of hours then clears up.

I got bitten by a couple of mozzies since I was here - the bite swells up like a golfball, so I think I must be mildly allergic to them. Maybe a few more bites and I'll be used to it.

I need a haircut, maybe tomorrow after work I'll stop by and get mine done. Today is a holiday in Canada. First Monday in July, August and September.

Deb's parents came over on Saturday for dinner, and gave us a bbq. (Thank you!!!) I'll be putting it together today, and then off to buy propane for it.

We're off into TO this weekend, for our anniversary. We'll be visiting the TO beer festival, like we did after we got married, and also the Taste Of The Danforth, which will be a first for both of us. We booked a hotel near the Eaton Centre for Saturday night.

Stopped off at Carolyn's B&B yesterday evening for her party. She lives 20km away, in Kitchener/Waterloo. It's a nice place she has - we may very well stay there one day. They have a pool, and the rooms are nice. If you're inthe area, I heartily recommend the place - It's called Mornington Crescent.

Not much to do here today, except follow the assembly instructions for the bbq, go to Canadian Tire for the propane, and sit on the deck sipping beer. It's a hard life ...

2004-07-27T10:03:00.000-04:00

This was written by me and copied from the message board - please drop by to add your two cents worth!

===================================================
Back before the days when the world wasn't flat, there was a Centre Of The World somewhere, and it was usually not too far from where you were standing. Thesedays, we understand that we live on a globe, a sphere that orbits a star, our Sun. This understanding is a relatively recent thing, considering how long we've been able to point at the stars and communicate our feelings of insignificance to those around us willing to listen. Only in the past few hundred years has humanity worked out what goes on above our heads, and thus been able to work out where we are in relation to it all.

Until this time, the world was flat, and thus was the Word Of God. The Pope saw to it that those who did not see the world as the church saw it, had bad things happen to them. This ranged from excommunication, to house arrest, up to death in some cases. It was not a good idea to speak your mind, nor to explain what you saw in ways other than those approved by the authorities.

Galileo was a man who spoke out - explained what he saw in scientific terms, from first principles. It was hard to disprove, but deaf ears and blind eyes are the staple of those in power, and things were no different then. He was hounded by officials, forced to retract his findings, and lived his final days a broken man under guard in his own home. It was only recently that the current Pope officially apologised for what happened centuries ago, and thereby acknowledged that perhaps the world was not flat after all.

Understanding the way things move in our solar system was brought forward in leaps and bounds by Newton. He simplified things in his three laws of motion, which basically state that

(1) all motion stays the same unless something forces it to change, (anything travelling will ALWAYS remain at the same speed unless an outside force causes it to slow down),
(2) if something DOES force a change, then the acceleration is in proportion to both the force and the mass of the object, (for the same force, heavy stuff accelerates slower and to get the same acceleration for something heavy you need more force),
(3) for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

For that last one, stand in a small boat on a lake, next to a jetty. Now jump off the boat to the jetty. Your action of pushing yourself towards the jetty has pushed the boat in the opposite direction. The same thing happens when you walk - each step you take pushes you forward, but pushes the Earth in the opposite direction. So you're making the speed of the Earth's rotation change with every step! But remember the second law? You are small, and the Earth is very massive, so the change in acceleration you are causing to the planet is very, VERY small. So small in fact, that it's cancelled out by the drag of the atmosphere, as well as the steps of someone walking in the opposite direction to you.

So knowing how the planets interact with each other, using Newton's laws, it was possible to predict where planets would be with accuracy, and so make predictive almanacs. These tables of numbers helped navigators sail around the world, and not get lost (too often). They mapped the planet before we got into space and took pictures of how we KNEW the world looked already.
But maps have been around longer than the scientists of the Golden Age. Ptolemy wrote "The Geography" almost 2000 years ago, and Mercator advanced his ideas greatly, 1500 years later.

All these guys are heroes of mine.
===================================================

2004-07-20T14:31:00.000-04:00

Page count: 2653

The weather is something that is different in Southern Ontario, when compared to weather back in England. For the most part, weather in the UK is pretty much like the day before, and there are very few extremes. It drizzles a lot, and there's usually some cloud somewhere in the sky.

Not so here. The temperature can jump 10 degrees from one day to another and then back again, while the skies are open and the sun shines. Then there's a complete thunderstorm like you get in movies - lightning strikes less than a kilometer away and the thunder is deafening, the rain dumps down and two minutes later on the highway you're out of it and the road is bone dry. We were driving from Kitchener to Guelph at the weekend, and we could see ahead of us the dry/wet line across the road. The difference between huge downpour and bright sun was no more than 3-5 meters, and the cloudburst was less than a kilometer wide. Out the other side it was bright again. Astounding.

When it's hot here, it's muggy hot - so 30 degrees seems like 45, which is almost unbearable. Luckily, it's usually only 25 that seems like 35, but still, that's a hot day in any language. Recently, there's been consistent rain north of Toronto, which has resulted in the flooding of Peterborough - a city that's now declared a state of emergency. Scenes reminiscent of England's floods each November. Some things happen everywhere ...

Also, from the 01st July this year, the Ontario government has introduced a new tax aimed at bringing in more money for the health service. Judging by the drop in my pay packet today, I’m paying an extra $450 per year in taxes. That’s more than a 1.2% rise, and though I’m a new employee here, I doubt I’ll be getting a rise in the next 12 months to cover that. Inflation will continue to march on too, so by the time I get any increases, I’ll still be down compared to where I was when I started.

Back to work ...

2004-07-09T08:32:00.000-04:00

Think you know everything about me? Take the "How Well Do You Know Graham?" quiz I created on Tickle and see how you score.

Here's my first question:

1. What's my sign?
* Aries
* Gemini
* Capricorn
* Pisces

Just click this link and you'll be taken to my quiz.

2004-07-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

Related to the personality thing is "Better Job"

Your job's score is 57.

The job, not so good. It could be worse, but quite frankly so could a lot of things, and it might interest you to note that the phrase "it could be worse" has not once in the history of man made anyone feel better about their current situation. In fact, if popular media serve as any indicator, all that uttering the phrase aloud ensures that it will start raining on hapless protagonists in the second or third act. One wonders why it hasn't been employed against the perils of famine.

Still, it could be worse. Forensic pathology leaps to mind. CSI it ain't.

2004-07-08T22:28:00.000-04:00

According to Jenny Turpish I'm:

Wackiness: 54/100
Rationality: 66/100
Constructiveness: 54/100
Leadership: 18/100

You are a WRCF--Wacky Rational Constructive Follower. This makes you Paul Begala. You are unflappable and largely unconcerned with others' reactions to you. You were not particularly interested in the results of this test, and probably took it only as a result of someone else asking you to.

You have a biting wit and intense powers of observation. No detail is lost on you, and your friends know it--relying on you to have the facts when others express only opinions. You are even-tempered, friendly, and educated. Foolish strangers may mistake your mildness for weakness--they will be surprised.

You entire approach to life is enviable. You will raise good kids.

2004-07-08T16:24:00.000-04:00

I've determined that Toronto runs on two seasons. Hockey, and not-hockey. There's a certain relaxedness about TO while there's no puck action, a feeling not really palpable while the Leafs are playing. I doubt that it's because the weather is warm and sunny during the summer, because die-hard Leafs fans (and there are a lot of them in these parts) don't stop talking about the game just because it's not winter. The chat usually starts with a "remember when ..." and often tails off with a "wouldn't it be great if ...". Phrases unique to summer, and ones that set you at ease (as long as you're a hockey nut, that is).

Discussions while the season is in full swing are tense and taut, and full of venom for opposing teams (usually Ottawa and Montreal), and have nothing to do with the snow outside. 99% of all southern Ontario ulcers happen between October and May. Of this I am certain.

There's also a down side to summer. Along with the wildlife that bounces around the landscape, comes the inherent heartache that is roadkill. I've already squished two animals this week. OK, so one was a frog, but the other was a rabbit, and I'm not happy about it. I didn't sleep too well last night, even though I doubt very much that I could have avoided the critter. The wheel went right over it, so at least it was a fast end, and not a long drawn out death. Yeah, I'm a sop, but it still makes me sad.

2004-06-27T08:23:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning, the sun is shining, I'm at the dining table with an ancient laptop, and I've just finished my second cup of coffee.

Yesterday the delivery guys from Leons (ptui) brought the replacement dresser for the one that arrived broken two weeks ago. Guess what. This one was broken too. The bottom of the dresser is attached using staples - great idea for something so heavy it takes two people to lift it. Rather than take that darn thing back, they took out all the staples and screwed the bottom into place. Then they took it upstairs, attached the back mirror (which is so tall it almost touches the ceiling), made me sign a piece of paper saying that they did the best job in the world and then disappeared. The dresser comes without handles, you have to screw them on yourself. The plastic bag with the handles and screws is, wait for it, IN ONE OF THE DRAWERS.

A few minutes poking and plugging at a drawer got it open, but it was empty. The bits must be in another drawer ... Luckily I had my thinking head on, and didn't close the drawer, but used the fact it was open to reach in and push out the drawer next to it. Clever huh? Presto! The bog o' bits was there. 8 large handles needing 2 small screws each, and 4 small handles needing 1 large screw each. Total screw requirement therefore, 16 small and 4 large. Bag contains (have you guessed yet?) 16 large and 4 small. I wouldn't expect anything else from Leons. At least the entertainment value of a Leons purchase experience cannot be beaten.

So off to Canadian Tire, or as Deb calls it, Crappy Tire, and root around their carpentry section for the right length, width, thread and head configuration. $1.87 later I am sorted for screws. I also swing by Radio Shack for another DC converter, this time a 9V one for the KVM switch. Now I can have 4 PC's on the go and be able to use a single keyboard, video and mouse (KVM, see?). Get home and finish off the dresser fiasco, so I am standing in the bedroom, screwdriver in hand. I'm in the zone now, and want something else to put together ...

In the garage is our new lawnmower. It's still in its box, aha. 30 minutes later, lawnmower assembled, looks good, now stowed in the garden shed. Lawn not mowed, as Deb says she finds it therapeutic. I'm more than happy to give the grass a number-4-all-over-please-and-something-for-the-weekend, but I have other plans right now.

I want to buy a region free DVD player that an cope with home made DVDs, CDs and MP3 discs. Consensus on the web pages I've seen so far indicate that the Toshiba SD4900 is the one I should be buying. Here's the bummer - the only electronic goods outlet in Guelph says that Toshiba don't make it anymore. Odd, as there are dozens of sites in the US selling the beast. Anyway, I'm now researching DVD players that can be programmed to be multi-region (region 0) and then picking the best of that bunch. You can't buy a region free DVD player out of the box in North America, it seems. In fact, it's difficult to find a salesman who knows anything about DVD regions. Dontcha love the insular attitude of this continent?

Our Ikea shopping list contains a couple of bookcases and a computer desk. We need a DVD player from somewhere - I'm tempted to buy a cheapo generic brand which will do for upstairs eventually, and keep plugging away at seeking the multi-region I want. There were a couple of other things that we were going to try to buy today, but I can't remember. Maybe it'll come to me later.

Yesterday, Deb volunteered for a gymkhana at the farm where she works. The days horsey events were to benefit a cancer charity, though alas we forgot to pack a camera. (Deb was there, I was not. I had a date with Leons' best, remember?) Afterwards, we walked to the Portly Penguin, and bar and grill which does decent food. OK, so the advertised Shepherd's Pie is actually a Cottage Pie, the mince was dry and the mash made from Smash, but everything else was great. Nice salad, good garlic bread, wonderful starter too. Their bar has a Trivial Pursuit kinda video game that you play with a keyboard at the bar. TV screens flash up the questions and you select the answer. It's controlled by some server in the States, and you play against other bars in North America. Very cool concept, and free :-)

Well, I've done typing this for today, and not noticed a single hummingbird at the feeder. Oh yes - just remembered what we said we'd buy today. A bird bath. We saw a bird yesterday evening noisily trying bath in the roof guttering next door. No water in it, so the little birdie was obviously annoyed and confused about having to go out that evening smelling of worms again. We'll put out an avian community bath, because we're nice people.

Toodle pip.

2004-06-23T11:50:00.000-04:00

Page count = 2362

I’m pretty sure I saw a groundhog in the garden this week, and along with the rabbits and chippies, that makes for a nice change in wildlife when compared to Enfield foxes and rats. The birds are different too, though I miss the songs of the blackbirds and robins. There are goldfinches here (picture to be posted here tomorrow, I hope), and what I think is a cardinal or something like that. One day, perhaps I’ll see a raccoon or something similar. Beavers are not probably something found in these parts though.

Most boxes are unpacked now, but we still have to file an insurance claim for the broken stuff. I have to call the UK, which will have to be done from home before I go to work. Utilities are up and running, and we’d had to pay a deposit or three to get some working. That annoys me somewhat.

The only use the stove has had in the past 10 days is to heat up some water to make sugar water for the hummingbird feeder.

Next up, getting some power packs that supply 9V 1A and similar, given a mains input. Radio Shack has some, and even though at $30 a pop, it’s still cheaper than buying new equipment.

So slowly returning to the daily routine of everyday life.

2004-06-16T08:08:00.000-04:00

We're in. The house is ours, and pretty much all of our stuff is there now. The appliances were delivered by Future Shop - effecient and pain free. The only hitch is that the hoses for the washing machine that the vendors had were still in place. The connectors had rusted to the taps and so we're using them instead of our new hoses, at least until we get around to using C-L-R or WD-40. The latter is best I think, as it'll penetrate the rust rather than acting on the surface only. So the washing machine taps drip... Sleep Country Canada ("#Why buy a mattress anywhere else?") delivered our king sized bed - great stuff. Rogers arrived and cabled us up - BB at home now, though the PCs don't appear to be picking up DHCP leases for some reason. The loaner laptop from work operates OK though. Hmm. Leons cocked up yet again - broke a piece of furniture so we're one down and they can't deliver again for two weeks. Coupled with the pain of trying to buy this stuff, I doubt we'll be walking into a Leon's any time soon.

The phone works, the TV works, and our stuff arrived from England. The delivery guys were supposed to unpack and set up, but had no tools, so they unpacked some stuff, and set up a couple of things, but two of our dining room chairs have had a leg snapped off, one PC won't turn on (I think the mobo is cracked), I fixed the filing cabinet that was broken, and there are still a dozen or so boxes yet to unpack. I'll have to file a claim under the insurance cover we have, and hope that we get paid.

We have no chairs (other than four dining room chairs), as our couches/loveseats arrive in about a month or so. They have to be made to order, so I think this weekend, or maybe tonight, we'll be going to Canadian Tire or Zellers and buying a set of patio chairs. $40 each I think, and they'll go well outside on the decking after we're through using them to watch TV inside.

A bookcase (or two) is on the shopping list as well, and a computer desk and chair. We already went out and bought a coffee machine, curtains for the bedroom, a kettle, step ladder, rubbish bins, a phone, an answering machine, a power extension cord and plenty of other stuff that I can't recall right now.

This morning I noticed that neighbours(*) had put out their rubbish, so we put ours out before leaving for work at 6.45am. The council instructions to residents are to make sure rubbish is kerbside by 7am on collection day. Just in time, as the refuse truck was pulling into our road as we drove away.

Not seen too much wildlife on the drive to work, though a heron flew over the farm when I dropped Deb off this morning. Our house has plenty of wildlife around it though. We regularly see chipmunks ("chippies") and small rabbits. I photographed a chippie on the Saturday morning (our first morning), and there are lots of birds in our back garden. Once the PCs are set up I'll install the printer, which doubles as a memory card reader, and upload to my photos folder all the images I have stored on the camera. Then I'll post a couple here :)

(*) Jane, please note the spelling :)

2004-06-10T07:56:00.000-04:00

Hey, pick yourself up off the floor. This is another blog entry!

We get our new home tomorrow, and I'll be able to post more often then. Like, every day I hope. Right now, I am sitting in a DR office and can hit the corporate proxy server, so here I am posting. I have a few minutes until work starts so I'm making the most of the opportunity.

Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup, Guelph fell out of the Memorial Cup (big time), and the Jays are winning, albeit inconsistently. Euro 2004 starts this weekend, and the Canadian Grand Prix is any day now. That concludes the sports section.

The bank account has been taking a few hits, but in return we got some appliances, a bed and some other furniture. Oh, and a house :-) Tomorrow we pick up the keys and spend our first night there. No bed yet, so we'll slouch on the floor. Yumm! The bed, furniture, appliances, the cable hook-up and phone line all get delivered the day after, on Saturday. Sunday we're touring the GTA in a truck, picking up the stuff that we've asked other people to look after for us, and on Monday all our possessions from the UK get delivered. After that, we're in. And I mean really IN. On our own, independent, and in control of our own destinies once more.

Getting utilities set up can be a pain if you're not from round these parts. Most of them want hundreds of dollars in deposits before they'll open an account for you. That sucks, and new immigrants better have a couple of thousand dollars that they can spare for a year or three so that they can begin living like Canadians. You get the money back of course, but that's not the point, is it?

Ack - just spotted that one of the test PC's got wiped last night by someone after I left yesterday. I got an hour or so to set up a new one from scratch. Nothing's ever simple, is it?

2004-05-13T22:22:00.000-04:00

A long time since the last entry - sorry. Things have been busy here, mostly at work, and I've not been sleeping that well either.

Update on the moving saga - we take possession in 4 weeks, and we've started to shop for appliances. I confirmed with the moving company that they'll be delivering our stuff on Monday 14th, and I took out buildings insurance. I have to check with the lawyers next week that they have everything they need to complete the transaction for us.

A couple of new names on the messageboard - hopefully the number of posts will continue to climb, there are some good discussions going on over there.

Insurance on the car starts for me this weekend, which means that I can drive at long last. We'll be picking up some errant mail and doing shopping on Saturday, getting ready for the move, while on Sunday we'll be going to Wonderland, as we didn't get there last weekend. I have a season pass, which I fully intend to make use of all summer long, mostly in the water park bit. I like water parks :)

On TV at the moment, there are lots of season finales. Frasier, Friends, ER, West Wing, Charmed, Raymond ...

Probably more that I can't bring to mind right now, too.

Other stuff on TV thesedays is war in Iraq. I didn't want to get political in this blog, but come ON. The only way the whole thing could have been more badly handled is if the British government were running things, not the Americans. A big pile of poo from start to finish, whenever that will be. That and Canadian Idol starting soon, I think I'll be watching reruns from now on.

2004-05-10T07:13:00.000-04:00

I don't feel like posting a blog today.

2004-05-08T23:22:00.000-04:00

Last week gas prices were sixty-something cents per litre. This week, over a dollar in places.

I'm going for a lie-down ...

2004-05-07T10:13:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy week at work. First, lots of support tickets to actually get through, and there's an office move we had to endure as well. So my stuff is all over the place, and I'm on hold to get the local admin password for a PC that has a virus. Heaps of paperwork to plough through, because I'm a new employee, and in my spare time I have to think about how to support a new domain.

In my spare spare time, I have to check out prices for new white goods we'll need for our home in Guelph. I get discounted GE equipment, but to log into that part of the intranet I need my employee number which I don't have yet. That takes about a week from returning the offer paperwork - so that's next week sometime.

Tomorrow we're having an early Mother's Day dinner, and on Sunday (weather permitting) Deb & I are off to Wonderland, so Deb can try out the new "Air-type" ride. Monday back to work, natch, and at the end of the week I can apply for my OHIP card. Like the NHS, but with more maple.

Did you know that Toronto is as far south as central Oregon?
Toronto, ON is 43° 41' N, 79° 38' W.
Salem, OR is 44° 55' N, 123° 1' W.

Sorry about the brevity. More later, I promise.

2004-05-04T07:49:00.000-04:00

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Hi, I'm not in right now, but yesterday#3était tout à fait un jour. Pas beaucoup produit.#9#9#9#9En fait, il ennuyeux vraiment#9#9#9#9
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Hi, I'm not in right now, but yesterday was a quite day. Not a lot happened. In fact it was really boring. So let's talk hockey.
6 teams left in the NHL Stanley Cup, and Toronto is one of them. Maybe not after tonight, but let's hope, eh?

GO LEAFS GO!

So now I'm officially in full-time employment, the next hurdle is to move into our new home successfully. A couple of way-stops en route - getting my OHIP registration done and becoming insured to drive in Ontario. The first is just form-filling, the second is waiting for the new policy to kick in next week.

Today at work has been a succession of quick fix mini-problems, the kind that makes our stats look good. A zillion calls, all fixed in 5 minutes. Better than the half-a-dozen calls we've had open for the past two weeks waiting for third party input. Not our problem, but you still have to explain the overdue tickets to the boss.

I now have to fight with my voicemail system to get the damned thing working before I post this. I hope it works out OK. I'd hate for#3qu'il tourne mal. Pépin de toodle!<click>

2004-05-03T15:31:00.000-04:00

Three items of major-ish news. Don’t know whether to do them all now or string them out over the next few days. We’ll see how things go as I type.

First news is just what we did on Saturday. We went downtown, pottered around the Eaton centre, had a meal at JJ Muggs (where the waiter was soooo sloooow we curtailed his tip), then went to the Tattoo in the Ricoh Coliseum. It wasn’t a bad do, and no doubt they’ll put on a much better performance next year. It was a good night out, anyway, despite having a smelly cab on the way home. I took out another credit card, so we could get 10% off the purchases made in The Bay (Deb’s cosmetics), and we posted a small package off to Jim & Sarah (clothes for their soon-to-be little ‘un).

Next up, on Sunday, we bought a new bed for delivery when we get our new house. $2,500 for somewhere to sleep, but it’s an excellent bed. Can’t wait to get back into one where I don’t hang off the edge :-) We started out at Leon’s, then went to The Brick (ugh!) and ended up at Sleep Country. We actually found the one we wanted at Leon’s, but Sleep Country has a promise to undercut any other shop by 5%, so Leon’s $1,999 became $1,900 – then add tax and extra warranty and sheets etc.

Third piece of news (looks like you’re getting it all, then) is that today marks my first day as a GE employee. The offer pack arrived on Saturday with a letter and a gazillion forms to fill out. I get health benefits after a month, and I have to work six months of probation. Pay should just about cover our outgoings when we move, but we’ll see how it all works out.

Leafs were crushed last night, 7-2. They have to win both the next two games to stay in the cup. Guelph play tonight in game 3 of their series on the back of two wins, while as I type Canada are halfway through their World Championship game against the Czech Republic (3-1 down right now).

I have some letters to post to the UK, so I will nip off right now and see you all tomorrow.

2004-04-30T12:15:00.000-04:00

1548 is the page count. The page count is 1548.

The weekend is nearly here. I am tired.

Tony brought in a photo of Tamara, his betrothed. She looks almost like she could be a sister of Sarah's, but Sarah is in England. Anyway ...

Plenty of messages on the board today. Thanks to Steve & Jim, with a little help from Carolyn too.

That's the view we get when joining the 401 from the 400 each morning.

Leafs play again tonight. I might be able to stay away until the end of the game.

2004-04-29T09:39:00.000-04:00

4-1 was a popular result last night. Leafs over Philly, and Guelph over Mississauga.

More sport, but this time football. (Soccer, for all you colonials). Canada are playing in Wales, on Sunday 30th May. (Sunday May 30th, for all you colonials). Nice early kick-off, 14h30, (2.30pm, for all you colonials), which makes that half past nine in the morning here. Good planning, idiots. It's a friendly, (exhibition match, for all you colonials), and Canada have a couple of World Cup qualifiers in June. They play a two-leg knock out series against mighty Belize. Normally these affairs are home-and-away, but Belize has given up that option, maybe to cash in on the potential larger gate, maybe for safety, but either way the two games are being played in Kingston, Ontario in June. I'll check the logistics of going to see at least one of the games.

I took some snaps from the car this morning, but I don't have a lead right now for me to pull the images from the camera. I'll post them tomorrow. (You can see the CN Tower from where we get onto the highway). Also, a photo of a Canada Goose on the roof of the building where I work.

Deb & I went snack shopping on the way home last night. We found a great new innovation, in the bulk area of Dominion. Peanut butter filled pretzel pieces. Yummy!

This weekend, we plan to go see the first annual Toronto Police Tattoo. Deb liked the Edinburgh Royal Tattoo so much I think a trend was started. Also on the cards, though I don't know when, is a trip to Canada's Wonderland. Deb wants to try the new Tomb Raider ride. It's like Air at Alton Towers.

Gotta go. Bananas don't eat themselves ...

2004-04-28T07:58:00.000-04:00

Hi all. Jim got sunburn over the weekend, back in England, and here it's minus 1 degree (minus 7 with windchill). Tomorrow we are told it will be plus 20 and sunny. The mind boggles. Deb asked whether I like the Canadian climate, heh :-)

One of the things I like here, is the range and display of fresh fruit and veg in the grocery shops. Much better than in England, and you get more room to move around here. In Tesco, you had to elbow people out of the way to get to the cabbage, and corn on the cob was too expensive to have regularly. There's still a good range of grocery shops here - you can go cheap at No Frills, or a bit up-market like Sobeys or Dominion. [link to various grocery chains] You can certainly get exactly what you're looking for from the shops within a couple of miles radius of your home. Assuming you don't live out in the boonies! Not too keen on the trolleys though. Here, the rear wheels don't point any direction other than forward, so you have to steer in a different way. Less control, and if you're used to British trolley pushing, you may tip over your Canadian produce. Beware, you have been warned.

Like the US, Canada's coinage is 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c. Also chuck into that the dollar and two-dollar coins. I miss the option of a 2c coin, and to me, having 20's and 50's is just "the right way of doing it". Reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon (which I cannot find), where Dilbert is at a checkout, and the total is $1.79 so "for simplicity" Dilbert gives the cashier $2.04. Confuses the hell out of the cashier, and to me the funny thing is that you wouldn't get that sort of thing in Europe, 'cos the coins MAKE SENSE there. Grrrr.

Leafs play tonight. They're 2-0 down in the series, and have to get back on top. Looking on the bright side, the last time the Leafs were 2-0 down in a series, they won it. In other hockey news, Guelph play Mississauga (Ice Dogs) in the OHL championship finals. Winner walks off with the J. Ross Robertson Cup. Mississauga won the Bobby Orr Trophy for winning the OHL Eastern Conference final, and Guelph won the Wayne Gretzky Trophy for winning the OHL Western Conference final. The winner goes on to represent the OHL in the Memorial Cup. This is played between the champions of the OHL, the WHL and the QMJHL. The fourth team in the Memorial Cup final is the host team - as the cup finals are played in a different rink each year. This time round, the teams will all compete at this year's tournament in Kelowna, B.C, 15th to 23rd May.

More when I get a few minutes strung together. Take care, and remember more discussions at the Message Board. Check out the new area for "wildlife photos" - available to registered members only. (Free to register!)

2004-04-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

1456 page views so far. Keep it up :-)

BBC News story about David Bowie - good to see a mainstream musician in touch with the reality of how people consume, enjoy and use his music. Power to ya, David!

The World Ice Hockey Championships are taking place in Prague this week. Canada opened with a poor performance against Austria, and the only other real hurdle in their group is Switzerland on Wednesday, as they should beat France pretty easily tomorrow. Great Britain don't play in the "World Championships", they are in Division 1. 16 countries play in the World Championships each year, the rest play in divisions and two teams from Division 1 get promoted to the World Championships for the following year, and two teams from the championships get demoted to the divisional format for the following year. Britain had a close shave, almost being demoted from Division 1 this time round. Good job too, else they'd be playing high quality teams such as Spain, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. All well known for their ice hockey ...

The Kraftwerk concert was good - made me feel like getting out my CDs, which are in storage. Pah. No further musical outings planned at the moment, but we'll see. Toronto isn't served as well as London for tours and stuff. No way would Sunscreem make it here. Waaah!

Leafs not a good bet for winning their series against Philadelphia. Three key players out - Sundin, Nolan and Nieuwendyk. They felt it bad, and have two home games to save their sorry asses and keep the cup dream alive in Toronto.

Subjects coming up in the blog later - grocery shopping, weird words & phrases, football (not soccer), currency notes and coins, and fast food. To pre-empt this, join in the discussions at the messageboard.

2004-04-22T12:35:00.000-04:00

My birthday is 6 weeks from tomorrow. We get our new home 7 weeks tomorrow. The clock is ticking.

Are you afraid of flying? Are you mortally afraid of anything (like spiders, heights, birds)? Do you have an irrational adverse reaction to everyday things (like foreigners, bad drivers, or people who suck spoons)? How do you cope? Do you have any suggestions on therapy? Come on over to the messageboard - discussions just starting on this!

Leafs play the Flyers tonight. A physical game is expected, and the Flyers were not expected to do well in the playoffs, but performed much better than expected. A toughie.

If you use Outlook, you may know that you can store emails in extra Personal Folders that you can create. You can also remove the ability to create Personal Folders, but it's a real pig to get them back. This was a challenge I faced today, but after a couple of hours the user got their functionality back, and I'm left wondering how Microsoft can leave out the instructions on how to do it.

News from the UK seems to be Beckham, Diana photos, and an EU referendum.
In Canada, it's hockey playoffs, federal sponsorship scandal, and the Dalai Lama.

Excuse me, I have 60 computers to inventory ...

2004-04-21T13:32:00.000-04:00

Yay! Leafs win their series against the Ottawa Senators! Next four games are against Philadelphia. Not a team the Leafs did well against in the regular season. Still, Bruce - you owe me 20 bucks :-)

I have to pay about forty quid to extend the removal/storage insurance to cover the delivery date, so once the removal company send their invoice to me I'll send off a cheque to them. They said this morning that they'd email it to me, but nothing arrived yet. I'll mail them tomorrow if they haven't sent something by then.

Swiss Chalet for dinner tonight. I wonder if Ueli reads this blog ...

Can you boot from a USB drive? I can't see how, but if anyone knows, please shout. We have an issue at work that would be resolved much easier if this was possible. (We already have a resolution, but it's about 10 times as long as it need be in an ideal world)

Jim sent me a link to a table tennis game. Here it is.

Joke of the day: What's this? A dead one of those! hahahahahaha!!!

2004-04-20T09:05:00.000-04:00

Page count = 1308.

Over at the message board I have started topics discussing the ins and outs of moving to Canada, such as getting your visa, moving your goods, and financial stuff like banks, mortgages and getting a job. Please drop by to add your 2 cents worth. Click here to have a look.

It's getting warmer here, 20 degrees yesterday, and it was quite humid too. This must mean that spring is well and truly here - there were thunderstorms and hard winds over the weekend as well. There's more wildlife around, which is apparent by the increased numbers of road-kill, which is an eye-opener for a Brit. Bodies of skunks and porcupines abound on the side of the highways, and I think it'll take a while to get used to that. I doubt it will be any better when we live further west, in Guelph.

Speaking of Guelph, they're 3-1 up in their series against London. One more win and they'll be in the OHL final, against either St. Mike's or Mississauga. They're pretty hot at the moment, and have the momentum to go all the way I think. Unlike the Leafs who stalled against the Senators, and are likely to fail in game 7 tonight. I don't have a good feeling about this game, and it doesn't help that Mats Sundin (Leaf's captain) is out with an inury.

A weekly routine is starting to set in at home now, which is a good thing for me. Only to be interrupted by a trip to see Kraftwerk this Friday. An early birthday present from Deb :-)

Toodle pip.

2004-04-19T14:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a sporty day, though not a great day for good results. I went to the Jays v Baltimore game (first image), and then on to Wayne Gretzky's bar (second image) to watch the Leafs v Ottawa game.

Both Toronto teams lost, though the Jays were slammed and the Leafs took the game into double overtime. I'm more upset about the Leafs result ...

Further discussions about this and other stuff at the blog messageboard.

2004-04-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

I try to entertain and amuse through this blog, but also inform and educate. Hope you appreciate that :-)

Taxes. The way we pay for the services that we enjoy. Each country collects taxes in different ways, and spends the money collected using their own priorities. Some nations prefer to spend big on defence, some big on healthcare, some on paying for the leader's new fleet of fast cars. Whichever way, the citizen pays for it all, through taxation.

Because all tax systems are different, it's not easy to tell whether a Canadian is better off than a Brit for example, tax-wise. This is where the Tax Freedom Day (TFD) idea comes into it's own. There's a decent write up about it here. This year, the TFD was/will be:

Canada : 27th June
UK : 30th May
USA : 11th April

This doesn't look too good for Canada, does it? It means that for almost the first half of the year, Canadians are working for the government, and the rest for their own pockets. If this goes past 01st July it will be a bad sign, not only because it marks half a year, but also because 01st July is Canada Day.

Taxes come in many forms, but mostly they are levied when money changes hands. You get paid, there's a tax. You pay someone for goods/services, there's a tax. Income tax and sales tax seem to be at similar levels as in the UK, but I cannot see how there's an extra month before TFD for Canadians. Ah well.

There are rumblings of an extra tax in Ontario on fast food costing less than $4. This would add about 10c to a cup of coffee at Tim Hortons! No way!!

Further discussion in the message board.

2004-04-13T08:44:00.000-04:00

It decided to snow last night. Just a little, as it's all white now, but when the sun hits the landscape it'll melt pretty quickly and by afternoon I doubt you'd be able to tell. Just reminding us we're in Canada I guess!

I think the message board for this blog is finally ready to roll. I've added a link on the right hand side. If you have a spare moment, feel free to click it, read the "How to use this board" paragraph, and then click Register to sign up. You'll get an email - and there'll be an internet link to click in that email. Clicking the link will complete the registration process and you'll be able to post messages and leave feedback, join discussions etc. If you don't want to register, you can still click the Messageboard link on this page and read the public messages left by other people. Enjoy! (And if you expereince difficulty, please let me know so I can fix it PDQ!)

Here's an image I made for B3ta last year ...

It's the Starfish Enterprise

2004-04-12T09:29:00.000-04:00

9 weeks ago, the removal company took our stuff out of our home in England.
9 weeks from now, the removal company will deliver them to our new home in Canada.

In many ways, it feels we've been here forever and the UK was but a dream. It's not the easiest of things, to move across the world, and your life is put on hold until you find your own corner again, gaining control of as much of your existence as you had before. At times, it's fun and amazing. At other times, it's hard going and can test your limits.

It's one of the best things I have ever done, yet without doubt it's the hardest thing I have ever done. And I could not have done this without the unfailing support of my wonderful wife, Deb. Those of you who know her will recognise the qualities of warmth, friendliness and compassion, but a husband sees a lot more. It makes me realise that without her, I'd be half the man I am, and that everything she does I am truly thankful for. She's worked her ass off for us.

So this is for you, Deb, the best thing that ever happened to me.

2004-04-07T07:44:00.000-04:00

I am not Canadian, but ...

I dismiss all beers under 6% as "for children and the elderly."
I know that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) don't always look like that.
I know the French equivalents of "free", "prize" and "no sugar added", thanks to my extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
I know more than 3 guys named Gordon.
I can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.
I know that a "Premier" isn't a baby born a few months early.
I think -10 C is mild weather.
I know the ingredients for poutine.
I carry empty beer cans from my camping trips home with me in my backpack so I can recycle them when I reach civilization.
I recognize: CPP, RSP, and CCM.
I die a little inside if I can't get my Tim's double-double every morning.
I know the difference between real snow and "television" snow -- the white stuff that passes for snow on tv and in films. I scream, "For Christsake! That should be sticking to their pants!" and "Lookit, it's not melting! That's *so* not snow!" when watching 'Winter' scenes.
Someone accidently stepped on my foot. I apologize.
I stepped on someone's foot. I apologize, then apologize for making them apologize.
I pity people who haven't tasted a "beavertail".
I'm pretty sure I can see Alex Trebek smirking when Jeopardy contestants get the "Canada questions" wrong. Even if I wasn't sure of the answer myself, I consider myself a hundred times smarter than the idiots who always guess, "What is .. uh, Toronto?"
I'm not offended by the term "HOMO MILK"
I understand the phrase "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine, on the chesterfield."
I eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.
I drink Pop, not Soda.
I know that a Mickey and 24's mean, "party at the camp, eh!!!"
I don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays (not vacation), with good cigars and no Americans.
I know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway
I drive on a highway, not a freeway
I have Canadian Tire money in my kitchen drawers.
I know what a toque is.
I know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed"
My local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
I know that the four seasons means: nearly winter, winter, still winter and construction.
I know that when it's 25 degrees outside, it's a warm day.
I know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan"
I perk up when I hear the theme song from "Hockey Night in Canada."
"Eh?" is a very important part of my vocabulary, and is more polite than, "Huh?"
I know that Canadian Tire on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores before Christmas.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled in with snow.
I use a red pen on non-Canadian books and fill in the missing 'u's from labor, honor, and color.

Thanks to Steve Palmer's blog for the list!

2004-04-06T07:35:00.000-04:00

The landscape around Toronto is fairly flat, and in general around Lake Ontario you don't get many hills. This means that driving along the highways you can see quite a long way, much further than in hilly old England. Perhaps that's why the country feels larger (even though it certainly is). If you go west for a couple of thousand miles, you hit the Rockies, and hilly doesn't begin to describe those. Not that I've seen them other than from the window of a jet. Still, working on that one.

So here's a cartoon mentioning Toronto ...

Thought another image may break up the text.

If I get a moment, I'll start to hack the css of the blog template. If anyone knows a decent css primer, please drop me a line.

Bluejays bombed yesterday, going down 7-0 in their opening game. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I'll watch it, which is more than can be said for basketball or American football/gridiron/carryball. [It's called "football" why, exactly? A foot touches the ball less than a dozen times a game, typically. I say, call it "carryball". Much more accurate.] I wouldn't mind seeing games at other cities, or the Jays if it's a good day out, but not really day-to-day devotion to the game. Sure I'll cheer on the Jays, but not with a season ticket :-)

Yesterday's link to "Mix 99.9" now has an mp3 you can download and listen to, but it's not the "We'll be watching you" thing, it's another Leafs song - specifically bashing the Ottawa Senators. Quite good, but I wish they'd post the Police one. Maybe I'll email them, heheh.

Toodle-pip.

2004-04-05T07:47:00.000-04:00

Yay! Over 1000 hits on this blog. 1018 as of this morning.

Added one of my bestest friends as a blog link - Jane. She lives near Seattle, and is an ex-pat Brit like me.

The drive to work this morning was slightly different, as the clocks went forward yesterday here in North America. This meant that the sky was a little darker than usual, and we were early enough to see the full moon just above the horizon. In a clear sky, it looked really cool, right opposite the sun rising. (Well, obviously, as it was a full moon ...)

I said that I'd be a bit more colourful in my blog, so here's a photo of our car for those of you who have asked about it ...

The Leafs blanked the Sens this weekend. 6-0, which I hope will be an indication of things to come, as the Leafs face the Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It would have been against Montreal (first time in 25 years) but New Jersey choked in their last game, so they don't finish top of their division. First Leafs game is on Thursday, followed by Saturday. As neither games are followed by work days, I think I may have a drink or three and maybe see if there's a bar or some place where I can experience the Toronto playoff fever. Humble & Fred on Mix99.9 FM had a great "bootleg" remix of The Police's "I'll be watching you". It was "We'll be watching you", sounded extremely close to the original, but was all about the Leafs in the playoffs this year. Very clever, very funny, and I hope it'll find it's way out as an mp3 or single release. Go Leafs!

It's a 4 day week, as I hinted at just now, which means I only get paid for 4 days this week, but on the plus side I get a long weekend. I foresee lots of chocolate for the nephews ...

Well, back to work, there's a queue of support tickets that need answering!

2004-04-02T08:22:00.000-05:00

What a missed opportunity. I could have pulled an April Fool joke here, but didn't. Ah well.

Another minor (I hope) virus outbreak, which has us beating the damned things with large sticks. Virus writers are right up there with spammers on the "Must Kill First When The Revolution Starts" list.

Friday again - which coupled with the fact it's the weekend tomorrow (for two whole days, yay!) it also means you find me at my most bleary in the morning. So Fridays are now Tim Horton days on our drive to work. Makes things a bit more bearable, though we haven't won anything on the Roll Up The Rim promo yet. Pah.

The band tonight IS a Zep tribute, thanks to Tony for clearing that up :-) I'm sure we're doing something next weekend too, but can't remember what, but the one after that - Deb's off to the spa day I bought for her birthday last year. I may pootle around downtown TO that day.

I got my first Canadian pay-cheque today. Well, paid into my account, anyway. I think I'll go into a bank, withdraw some cash from a teller and ask for some of it in loonies. Then get them to hand over one loonie first - and that will be the first dollar I earned in Canada. It gets framed :-)

There are a few people reading this, I know - but only three of you have blogs of your own. Maybe more, but only three that I know of. If you keep an online diary, drop me a line and I'll add a link to it here. If you don't have a blog - start one of your own! It's interesting to see how friends are doing, and it's easier to let everyone know by writing a blog than it is to send out a load of emails. See, it's ergonomic.

Final word, I think I need more pictures on this blog. Tony was taking a peek yesterday and looking over his shoulder, all I could see was text text text. Didn't look appealing. So more of an effort to be picturesque.

Oh, and Christmas card lists are in tact, in case anyone was worried ...

2004-04-01T13:07:00.000-05:00

To those who diss the Canadian hockey team, please read this note from the IIHF. Who's on top? Where's the USA? (Or GBR for that matter)

Still raining out there - which I don't mind but the rest of Canada seems to whinge about it. The mounds of snow/ice are still in the parking lots, and will need a good long dose of direct sunlight before they disappear.

Tony (guy I now work with) has been chatting about wireless LANs at home, and it just makes me miss my highspeed connection. Luckily I can read international news on the BBC site from work, so I keep up to speed with what's happening outside North America.

Tomorrow evening, Deb & I are seeing some band called "The White". I think they're a Zep tribute band, but it's a night out anyhow. Not exactly Kraftwerk, but better than Alanis Morissette. (I forgot her name, so typed "whiny canadian female singer" into Google. That worked.)

Guelph face Plymouth Whalers in the next round of the OHL playoffs. I guess the "O" doesn't really stand for Ontario, as Plymouth is in Michigan. Hmm.

Back to work - lunchtime is over, and there seems to be an outbreak of Spyware in the building, taking over IE search windows.

2004-03-31T07:21:00.000-05:00

Two entries in a row - wow!

Gas prices went from 63c to 78c again yesterday. Over 20% jump in one day. It can't be the price of oil, as that didn't jump 20% recently ...

The weather has warmed up - been a few days since it was below zero, and all the snow has gone. Only a few mounds where the snow ploughs have pushed the snow that was on roads - and they're 20 feet tall anyway. So I bet they'll be around for a while yet. Rain has taken over, and it feels a little more like England now, with wet roads and overcast skies for the moment. Spring has sprung it seems, and warmer weather should be around the corner. However, some old-timers are warning that there may be a dump of snow later - Mother Nature can be fickle.

On the work front, I still need to get a pass to enter the building. A large company has its paperwork and GE is no different. From office to office and pillar to post I have plenty of forms I have filled in, I've had my picture taken, and I've even sat an exam for the card. But no sign of it yet ... Other than that, it's going great here.

Guelph Storm finally won their first round series, in game 7, beating Owen Sound. Leafs have two games left, are two points behind Boston first place, and Boston have a game in hand. Oh well...

Baseball season has started, though Toronto don't play until Monday. That's the Bluejays :-)

More tomorrow!

2004-03-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

Hey, I can post from work! Don't tell anyone ...

Actually, I won't get much time, as things are usually very busy. Having to learn the ropes and all. Heh.

Maybe time for a quick word about money. I've adjusted to thinking in dollars, and all that goes with it. I no longer compare prices to pounds, and the numbers in my head are geared totally on Canadian.

The comparison is generally 1:1 in that something in the UK costs a pound, it often costs a dollar here. Some things don't compare that way, but as a rough guide, it's about right. Same with salaries, more or less. Of course there's some leeway, all the way out to the exchange rate, currently about 2.4 dollars to the pound.

This means it's great to visit Canada from the UK but to go the other way it sucks. Emigrating to Canada is a one way trip buddy :-)

Thanks for the emails of congrats about my job. Very nice of you all. I've been told that it'll take a week for GE to decide how to employ me, and then there's paperwork involved. So it may be a while till I'm definitely in, and then the 3 month probation period starts.

Who said it was a quick and painless exercise, moving continent? :-)

2004-03-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

Page count = 891

Wow. The busiest week so far. We picked up some of our transported stuff from the warehouse, we watched a hockey game (Guelph lost 2-0), I was interviewed for a contract job, got accepted, started work, was asked to go full time permanent. So it's been a hectic week.

And I have a job now :-)

It's desktop support for GE. You may have heard of them - they're the 5th largest company in the world and the Financial Times voted them World's Most Respected Company for the past six years. Yup, I'm looking forward to a long and happy career there! Emails of thanks most welcomed!!

The NHL regular season is winding down. Leafs only have three games left, and it looks very much like they'll be facing Ottawa in the first round of the play-offs. Toronto/Ottawa has been a severe grudge match for the past few years. It's now worse than Toronto/Montreal, so that's saying something.

I'm sipping Tim Horton's coffee, typing a blog about how great Canada is, in a basement (something new to a typical Brit), and marvelling at how far things have come recently. We have a car, a house, both have jobs, and in less than three months it will be almost as though we've been here forever.

The "we" is my wife & I. Deb was so thrilled when I told her that GE wanted me full time. She bought some champagne and we celebrated with a couple of glasses that evening. A nice surprise for me :-)

Apart from a broken key on the laptop keyboard, things are going great. Once I get a moment, I'll start sifting through the backlog of emails that has built up over the past few days.

Sees you all anon!

2004-03-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

Today's entry comes to you thanks to the joys that are Cut and Paste.

A fun weekend, with lots of wine and beer, and certainly too much enjoyment from charades. Must be getting old.

We met up with Robin & Jim, stayed the night, yet totally missed the Guelph University "College Royal" event. We drove past it at 10am, and it looked like it was a few hours from being constructed, so we drove on and went to see a film instead. Mr J Depp in "Secret Window" - a good film if all you want to see on screen is Deppy-boy.

The next few days are jam-packed. Today I have an interview, tomorrow we are staying in Guelph to watch the Storm playoff game (they're 2-0 up in the best-of-7-series so far) and sink a few bevvies with one of Deb's friends. Then on Wednesday we have to pick up some of our house stuff from the warehouse, which cleared customs without a hitch. Most of it has to be stored until we move into our new home, which will incur storage charges, but the 60 day insurance we paid for will run out before we move, so we have to pay more coverage. I must ask the removal company if they can deliver our goods on a Saturday ...

Leafs continue to win more than they lose, so they've definitely secured a playoff spot for the cup. This means at the very least, two cup games at the ACC. These matches will be sold out, guaranteed, and the ticket prices rise for playoff games.

I do have a ticket to go see Kraftwerk next month. I last saw them over 10 years ago, at Brixton Academy. Twice. On consecutive nights. I also managed to score a signed copy of The Mix :-) I won't be so lucky this time, as I have an assigned seat - I'm not down in the standing area. More on this as the gig approaches.

To pass the time, I think I may start a record of the petrol pump prices here on the outskirts of Toronto. If you live in North America and you're reading this from somewhere not very close to Toronto, can you let me know if the gas prices fluctuate a lot please? I want to know if this is a Toronto thing, an Ontario thing, a Canadian thing or a North American thing. If you don't know my email address, click the gfreeman.com link on the right, then click CONTACTS. I'd love to hear what things are like elsewhere, and you needn't write more than one line if you don't feel like dropping me an email. But please, let me know what it's like where you are!

I may be able to squeeze in another entry before the game tomorrow, otherwise the next one will be a match report :-)

2004-03-19T12:43:00.000-05:00

I said in a previous entry that the national game of Canada is lacrosse. I can't speak for other provinces, but in Ontario it appears that the provincial game is "Drive As Badly As You Can On The Highways".

There are bad drivers everywhere in the world, but I've never seen it so bad as here. Maybe it's complacency - which would certainly explain the ridiculous costs for motor insurance in Ontario.

Yesterday, I was quoted $7,675 for one year's insurance, and I have been driving since my early twenties (I am in my late thirties), I have never had an accident - never made an insurance claim, never even had a speeding nor parking ticket. Somehow, I'm classed as a risk - more risky than 16 year olds who have never had insurance before. This is stunning, and it leaves me reeling. How can this be the case?

It's not just one particular insurer, either. It's all of them. I've called half a dozen of them, and they all say the same thing. Please take into account though, that the Canadian Insurance Industry is having a hard time, post 11/Sep/2001 [for our US readers, "9/11"], which is why they only made a piffling profit last year of TWO POINT SIX BILLION DOLLARS.

So you think they'd make it easy to take this $7,675 off me, right? Hahahaha. Go to a website and try to plug in your details, and you won't be able to enter your previous address because the post code is not in the format that they recognise. Silly me, I'm only an immigrant. Canada only has an intake of 300,000 of us a year, that's 1% of the population annually.

Back to my original gripe though; the quality of driving. Perhaps if people wouldn't drive at 20+ kph over the limit while drinking coffee and/or on the phone, there'd be fewer accidents. Fewer accidents means less payout by the insurers, which means cheaper premiums.

Wake up people - weaving from lane to lane without signalling is not clever, and it's likely to leave your kids without a parent. Not that I care - it's Darwinism at it's finest, but you're costing me dollars, man.

See, living next to the Americans has made a capitalist out of me. Only took 5 weeks...

2004-03-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

Today's page count is 744

This week sees us running around finalising the paperwork to buy the house. We won't be moving in until the weekend of 12th June, but we have until the end of this week to produce a waiver.

A waiver is a legal document waiving our conditions of purchase, which we placed on the offer that was accepted by the vendor. Basically, we said we'd buy the house on the condition that we could get a mortgage, and that our survey (inspection) didn't throw up anything that caused us concern. The seller agreed to these conditions, but only if we waived them by the end of this week. This gives them the right to put the house back on the market if we decide to pull out for lack of mortgage or bad inspection results.

Once the waiver is delivered to the seller, the whole thing is legally binding. They have to sell the house to us and present it to us in a habitable state by 11th June, and we have to buy it from them at the agreed price and present them with the cash, also by 11th June.

We have the mortgage agreed - we're going to see the bank tonight to decide what KIND of mortgage we want. We had the inspection yesterday, and on a scale of 1 to 9 where 5 is average and 9 is good, our house came in at a "6, for it's age". We're happy - there are a few things to note, but nothing that screams to be fixed. Photos of the house will be available when I get the film developed (I forgot to take the digital camera). We're looking forward to moving in :-)

Our shipment of goods have arrived from Britain. They're in the customs building awaiting clearance. We have to be there for the customs officials to clear them, and we need the paperwork from the removal company to give to customs before they'll give us our goods. This paperwork is currently working its way through Canada Post. (I'll devote another blog entry later this month to that fine institution ...) So when we get the removal company's paperwork, we go to customs, clear the goods, and fax the stamped paperwork back to the removal company who will then store our stuff until we move in June. This assumes that the customs officials don't have a problem with our stuff, but I don't see why they should. Everything is listed, nothing is on the prohibited list, and there's no duty to pay on anything either. Straight in and out, pay for the extra insurance and storage charges (as the removal company have to look after our stuff for a few more weeks than anticipated) and BAMM! We're moved.

One last note today about the weather. It was a balmy plus two or three degrees until yesterday, when a snow storm came in and we're now facing 15 inches of snow for the next couple of days. Spring starts in Canada only in retrospect. "When did it stop snowing? THAT'S when spring started".

2004-03-16T13:45:00.000-05:00

Hands up if you know what the national game of Canada is.

If you said hockey (or ice hockey), then you are wrong. But it IS the national obsession, even if not the national game. (That honour goes to Lacrosse. Huh?)

Back in the 1960's, there were only six teams in the National Hockey League, and four of them were in the States. So for every Canadian team, there were two American ones. Thesedays, there are more teams, and the ratio of Canadian:American franchises is now exactly 1:4. There are currently six NHL teams in Canada, and I follow the Toronto Maple Leafs (the "Leafs").

The Leafs have a great rivalry with the Montreal team, nicknamed the "Habs". I've yet to see one of those derby games live at an arena, but I've watched a few on TV. Plenty of history behind the match-up, and this year the Leafs are chasing the cup, last won by them in 1967. People in Toronto usually resign themselves to another year without a cup, but this year many feel the Leafs have a team capable of going all the way and bringing the cup back to Toronto.

Bit of a cheat - the cup lives in Toronto anyway, at the Hockey Hall of Fame. :-)

There's definitely something Canadian about watching a game, sipping a beer, and cheering on the good guys. Saturday night is even officially Hockey Night in Canada during the hockey season. Luckily I come with a well developed love of the game, so I fit right in here.

Go Leafs!

2004-03-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

Aw, man... Too many days since the last entry. Sorry. But I have a good excuse.

We bought a house! It's here. Note that it's really close to a mall, AND a couple of parks and a preservation area. It's a quiet, dead-end street, and the house itself is exactly what we were looking for. Detached, 3 bedrooms (so you can come visit if you let us know when you'd like to pop in!), nice little garden with grass, and decking for barbecues ... Ah, bliss...

So that's why I've not been too close to the computers - busy arranging the mortgage (which is now approved), the inspection (which is on Tuesday), the lawyers and so on. I also went for an interview on Friday, which was kinda weird. Well, the job more than the interview. It's a contract, through an agency, but I'd be working for Microsoft - get this - in SEATTLE. (Well, Redmond, but only locals and geeks know that). The odd thing though, is that they're looking for a Brit recently arrived in Canada. That sounds like me ... They want to "localise" some US-centric sites and pieces of software. I'd be testing them for suitability with a mind to publishing into the UK market. I'm eminently qualified for that, just have to convince Microsoft. I already convinced the agency :)

So things are moving at a pace, and we move into our new house sometime in the middle of June. Our household contents from the UK have arrived, a month early. This causes a problem, as we'd expected to be able to store them and deliver them to our new house just in time for the insurance etc to run out. However, the early arrival means we have to arrange additional insurance. I have to talk to the removal company in England, as the Canadian one are just doing what they were told. Anyway, we paid the UK company, not the Canadian one.

Spam remains a problem. Plenty of people still send out jokes and stuff to everyone in their address book, which is OK, but it means that everyone in their address book now has access to the details of everyone else in their address book. Not good. People - PLEASE - if you're going to mass mail jokes and stuff, put everyone in the BCC field. It protects you and your friends from potential virus spam attacks.

More later, whenever I can get to a keyboard!

2004-03-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

Our real-estate agent decided it's too far to travel to see us, and handed our business over to another, more local outfit. She didn't say that exactly, but I can read between the lines. We're picky :-)

So tonight, we're off to see some more houses - we hope. Also, this weekend. On paper, it's not always easy to whittle down the list of properties available. There's certainly a bunch of them on the market in Guelph for under $200K, but we want certain things, and these are not always searchable on the web. Having a garage is important - unless you like digging your car out of snow in winter, and burning your backside on the seats in summer. So the method we're employing right now is to print off the list of houses in the price range we want, delete those with not enough bedrooms/bathrooms, get rid of those with no garage, and dump the ones that do not have Forced Air Gas heating/Air Conditioning. After that, it's down to locale. Too close to railway lines or next to a school will get a property the chop from our list, as will being too far away from the 401, or right next to any major road. Did I mention we are picky? Updates later on this as we find more properties that we want to look round.

The Leafs are back to winning some games, and the trade deadline has passed, so no more new players until next season. This time round, they have a good depth of experience, some young blood, and a couple of old-timers to help steer the ship. I think they can win the cup this year, after a long drought.

Weather update - brisk and bracing, but dry. Most of the snow is going or gone, getting ready for the next dump which will no doubt be along in a week or two.

2004-03-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

Back to bitching, cos I know you all like it.

TV in North America consists of continuous advertisements interspaced with the occasional program, a few of which are quite watchable under the right circumstances. Radio is similar, except they don't interrupt songs to broadcast ads (though I guess it's only a matter of time ...) Typical "30 minute" programme would be ads to start off, then the first scene, some ads, then the opening credits. These are followed by more ads, and you get rewarded by 5 minutes of uninterrupted TV. This lulls you into a false sense of security, because after that there's more ads, a bit more programme, ads, another scene or two, ads, and then the final scene before segueing into more ads. THEN you get the closing credits, and you guessed it, more ads. Case in point, the series "24", which captures an entire day of a federal agent having a bad day, is broadcast in 24 episodes, each an hour long. Take out the ads, and you get 44 minutes. Maybe his bad day started when he got sick and tired of all the ads on TV.

The amount of choice you get in supermarkets is good, and there's usually lots of it, especially fresh fruit and veg. There are a few things I miss though, that are probably specific to Britain, or Europe. Robinsons juice, for example. To make sure I drank enough water to keep the health experts happy, I used to buy a bottle of Robinsons "Fruit & Barley" and dilute it into 5 used Robinsons bottles. Drink a bottle a day and that's a litre. Handy hint there :-) Anyway, there are about 3 bottles of dilutable "squash" type drinks in Canada, and two of them are in BC. The other was bought by a little old lady in front of me, so bang goes that idea. The Canadians drink fresh juice, or bottled water. Or Tim Hortons ... All expensive stuff. Probably a marketing opportunity there. Are you listening, Robinsons?

Best show on TV here, if you ignore the ads: "The Red Green Show". It's inherently Canadian. i.e. mild, harmless, amusing, and intelligent.

2004-03-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

Page count today = 527

I seem to have bitched about all the things I don't like about Canada. Let me tell you straight - it really is great here, and I'm in no mind to return to Britain. The people are friendlier than anywhere else I've been, the scenery is just as pretty as any other place you care to mention, and life feels like it's going somewhere, rather than you're just existing for the hell of it.

The drive into Guelph this morning was very scenic. The sky was overcast pure white, and there was a sprinkling of snow on the ground, maybe an inch. It had settled on the trees, making the entire landscape appear black and white. Shame we didn't have a camera in the car. It was a wonderful way to start the day.

We went house hunting on Saturday, and saw a few houses in Guelph that were not right for us. Kitchen was too small, or the back yard wasn't private, or too run down and needed a lot of time, effort and money spent. We decided on Sunday to cast our nets a little wider, and we've been given a lead that there are a few houses in southern Kitchener near the 401, within our price range. We'll check them out this weekend coming.

As a landed immigrant, I can get a mortgage without having a job, if I put at least 35% down as deposit. This is handy, as we're assured that financing is in place now if we find the house of our dreams and have to put an offer in straight away. At least one bank has said "Yes" to us, and rather than approach many lenders, we'll likely go with that one bank. It seems that if you get too many credit checks on your name, it adversely affects your credit rating, so one mortgage offer is fine, especially as it appears to be at the lowest rates we've found so far.

Buying/selling a house in Canada is a lot different from doing it in Britain. Some bits are better, some worse, but the whole process is done in writing to agreed timescales, so that much takes out a bit of worry and uncertainty. There's also a central service, listing all properties for sale, called MLS. You can search the database of houses for sale, specifying price range etc. For example, if you wanted to search in Guelph, you'd go to the Guelph MLS. Not a bad idea :-)

I got my Maple Leaf card in the post - it's my Permanent Resident status card, proving that I have the permanent right to live in Canada, as long as I stay here at least 3 years out of any 5. Once I've lived here for 3 years, I can apply for citizenship, so come 14th February 2007, I'll be lining up at the CIC, application form in hand!

Just to let you all know that life here isn't sucky. It's great, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

2004-03-04T08:40:00.000-05:00

I had a really bad headache yesterday. I felt sick in the car coming home, and when we finally did get home - I went straight to bed and slept for 90 minutes. I woke at about 8.30pm and had something to eat, watched Raymond & King of Queens and went back to bed. I feel a bit better now though.

The phone interview wasn't so great yesterday. They're really looking for someone with Exchange 2000 installation experience, so they advised me to go do a course and come back to them. Ah well. I got another call though, from an agency wanting me to work for a company a bit too far from Guelph, so I had to turn it down. I'm concentrating on getting applications off to companies that are within decent driving distance of Guelph.

Deb got her mobile yesterday - we got a package that lets us phone/text each other for free as we're on the same network (Fido). It's $30 each plus tax, but I also have the CLI and mailbox option, so that's another five bucks. Mailbox has been useful so far, as I've had a couple of people leaves messages already.

The snow has almost gone from the built-up areas, but Guelph is still mostly white. The temp has been above zero during the day for about a week now, but it still drops low at night.

Back to the petrol (gas) prices. Tuesday it was 67c, yesterday it was 82c, and today it's 75c. Why do people put up with this? Is there any sensible business reason for the pumps to change their prices so often? I can't see it myself, but I'm not Canadian. Maybe it's a Canuk thing, eh?

You never feel better than the day after you felt really bad, so I hope today will be great - we're off to see a mortgage broker to discuss our options for buying a house.

2004-03-03T13:20:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed that North American teenagers (usually girls) speak as though they are asking questions? This bugs me? I'm sure it bugs a lot of people? So I was, like, on the phone? And I was totally talking to this recruitment chick today? And she was all "So what do you know?", and I was, like, "WhatEVER", and she was asking these questions? And I had to answer them as best I could though I was totally in the zone and all. So like, I get off the phone after talking to her and she says she'll call me back? And like, now I'm waiting, like, for her to call me back? This totally blows, waiting you know? So earlier today? We were all at the library? And, like, we learned all about the books they have there, and resources? For, like, getting a job, you know? Anyway, it was totally engrossing for bookworms and all, but I was, like, thinking about my phone interview all the time? And then we had lunch which was, like, SO good, and then we started class again? And I had to make this phone call and now I'm waiting for her to call back?

WhatEVER ...

2004-02-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

Site count today = 352 visits

Happy Friday to one and all. I'm now learning the ins and outs of Exchange 2000. Funny how priorities change, but I need to be fairly well adept at E2K by Wednesday.

We have the car, it is insured and there's a place to park it. We've driven along the highways to and from Guelph in it, and nothing's dropped off. Bigger fuel tank, more economical engine - we go further now before having to fill up. More accurately, we have a better chance of filling up at less than 70c per litre.

Leads me onto another gripe about Canada (and the US, and some other places I am sure). Why not add the tax to the displayed prices of stuff? How difficult is it, huh? C'mon - suck it up and show us the prices we actually pay.

I'm looking forward to not setting the alarm clock tonight. Sleep - we could both do with an hour or two more in the morning. Bed at 9.30pm thesedays, last night - halfway through CSI. I may be able to keep awake for the Leafs game tomorrow night.

It's really dry here. The winters in Britain are damp and awful, but here it's dry and bright. Great for banishing SAD, but terrible for your skin. My nose started bleeding today - I could feel my skin drying out, and even drinking lots hasn't helped me settle down yet. I'll get used to it one day, but in Summer it's really humid here.

If you'll excuse me, I have large binder full of MS Exchange details that I have to memorise by next week ...

2004-02-24T14:13:00.000-05:00

Today is Tuesday. The last entry was on Thursday. We have been busy, and it's often frustrating not being able to do the stuff we're used to doing. Gone are the days of my daily blog entries - at least until we settle down into a home of our own.

I've started a job-finders training course, called "Job Seeking for New Canadians", a 5 week stint Monday to Friday, 9am to 2.30pm. For me, it sort of slots in with Deb's job, at least in that I can get a lift to Guelph each day. There are some good tips in this course, and as it's funded by the government, I signed up and it's made a positive difference to my outlook on jobseeking here.

With luck we'll have our new car delivered tonight, and YAY! we have somewhere to park it. Thanks to some people up the street who have a spare space next to their garage for our car.

The weather drew in a bit today, with a fresh sprinkling of snow. We passed about half a dozen instances of cars that had spun off the road, sometimes hitting something on the way to being stationary. Even at 6am, there was a lot of traffic going West into Toronto, but luckily we drive East in the mornings, out to Guelph.

Rob has started me learning Citrix, which is interesting, and one day I hope to sit the standard "I Know Citrix" exam. Maybe more on this later ...

Apologies for the long delay in this entry, I hope it won't be so long next time.

Today's "By Golly It's Different Over Here": The price of petrol (gas) can change in a matter of hours, from say 66c per litre to 77c and back again AT THE SAME PUMP. What on earth is that all about?

2004-02-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

I hate dial-up, and though there's a long list of things I'm not too keen on (I'm a grumpy old git) and dial-up 56k internet access is way up there, a few notches higher on the list is broken bones. This entry goes out to Edith, my mother-in-law. I hope you get well soon!

I have a bank account now, and I've applied for a SIN (Social Insurance Number), we bought a car, and Deb got a job. All this, however, does not a happy Graham make. I still need to get a job, and I've applied for dozens so far, yet all I have to show is a handful of rejection emails. We bought a job paper, and there were a few jobs in there, but who knows? The getting a job thing is on the critical path of being an immigrant, at least in my book. after that, it's all pretty easy (famous last words ...)

On the plus side, I have a cellphone, but I still have to get my head around the idea that I pay for incoming calls. As for where to park the car, that's a bit of a problem that we're trying to sort out before it's delivered.

The weather is dry, with temperatures now above zero for a few days, but the forecast is for more freezing stuff, and it'll likely keep that way for another couple of months. I'll try not to think of the daffodils that we left poking out of the ground in England.

We've agreed with my brother-in-law to do a spot of baby-sitting on Saturday night. Big plus (apart from seeing our nephews) is wireless cable internet, and lots of cable channels to flick through. But mainly the fast internet connection.

I hate dial-up.

PS: page count today = 247

2004-02-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

There's something about being able to go into a bank at 8am to pay in money. Admittedly, it did take 30 minutes to deposit two sterling cheques, as it's not something they do everyday in this part of town. We had a coffee on the way home though - but not Tim Hortons. TH is pretty much a Canadian institution, and it's not hard to see (taste?) why. Yummy coffee and tasty snacks to boot, worth coming to Canada just for a Timmies.

Bit of a discovery day, as we were tied to the house waiting for the lost luggage to arrive, among other things. We discovered that the nearest HRDC office is quite close, just about walkable in summer, but we'll take the car thank you. It's there that I get my SIN (Social Insurance Number), which is needed to get a job. Pretty handy then ... We also discovered that it would be a good idea to open a bank account at ING to earn interest on the house deposit money while we still have it, and discovered that it would be a good idea to connect my laptop to the internet rather than use the PC at Deb's parents house. Also discovered that it would be a good idea to buy the printer/scanner we need, sooner rather than later.

So after staying in waiting for the luggage, it finally arrived, and I now have clean clothes. Also, the wine we bought in South Africa was in tact, as was the box of Belgian chocolates I bought in Brussels for Deb's Valentine's present. Only two days late, but it was appreciated anyway.

Deb's been eyeing up some cars, and at the moment it looks like we'll get a domestic, as they're cheaper, less expensive to fix, and the insurance premiums are lower. The big problem is where to park it when we get it, as in this neighbourhood you cannot park on the street at night.

I've got 12 job application letters ready to print out, and I've spotted a couple of decent jobs on Workopolis. However, there are small technical problems in the way, which will take a day or two to iron out.

More tomorrow folks :-)

PS As it's difficult to post right now, the blog is usually written offline and uploaded the next morning. Also confusing the issue is that I haven't updated the location flag yet, so times are 5 hours out. So please don't expect the date & time stamp to reflect the date and time I am banging on about in my entries. Sorry, but normal service will be resumed just as soon as normal life is reached.

2004-02-15T08:08:00.000-05:00

Yay! Done it! I'm in Canada, I wasn't stopped at the border, and though there were plenty of small hiccups along the way, I'm finally here.

Left blighty under patchy clouds, with a possibility of drizzle and a temp of around 8 or 9 degrees. Fairly warm, especially when the sun came out. Here, it's really sunny this morning with nary a cloud and a bracing -18 degrees out, with -24 factoring wind-chill. Yup, definitely in Canada :-)

Leaving the hotel was a blog chapter in itself, but I now have a page full of complaint items about the hotel. Getting to the airport was made difficult by the hotel ordering the wrong sized taxi, to the wrong terminal, but finally we got there. If India ever produces a Formula One driver, he'll be related to the guy who drove us yesterday morning. He must live for high G-forces, and I'd wager he took not the shortest route, but the one with the most interesting chicanes.

So we get to the airport, and half of South East England has decided to see us off! We were touched until we saw that they were all queueing up to get into the terminal building - it's the start of half term. D'oh! We were in line outside for 2 hours, and a further 60 minutes inside before checking in. Luckily we got bored at the hotel and rather than arrive at noon for the 3pm flight, we arrived at Heathrow for 11am. I took a couple of photos of the crowds - it really was a sight to behold. "Thronging Masses" indeed.

The check-in guy bumped us to Business Class - result! But getting through to airside only left us with about 20 minutes before the flight was due to close. This put a crimp in my plan to buy Deb an "emigration" ring, to mark the day we arrived in Canada forever. As luck would have it, we found a jewellers, picked out a ring that Deb liked and paid for it (the credit card authorisation took ages. Hmm) and we got to the gate just in time to be told that the flight will be delayed by a while. Not that long really, as we got our breath back and then got on the plane ... during which we were told that our boarding passes had the wrong seat numbers on. D'oh! "Back to cattle-class" I thought, but no, we were bumped again to First Class!! Double result. Ah, sipping champagne, being able to lay flat while watching the movies, three course meal ... Not bad, if it wasn't for the grumpy stewardesses with no capacity for remembering orders.

Landed about 10 minutes late, got through immigration pretty well, but one of my bags wasn't on the plane and had been left in London with about a dozen other bags of other passengers. Normally this would be an annoyance, but I had to fill in a lot of forms for the customs officers, to declare what I was bringing into Canada that was not accompanying me. Grrr. Eventually I got the paperwork done, and the whole process was complete in under an hour. Less if I'd have had my missing case (containing most of my day clothes). At least I have my suits and work shirts ...

I have plenty of other forms to keep me busy today - National Insurance application, Ontario Health card application and the like. Tomorrow will likely be queueing-up-at-government-offices day.

Lots more to say, but this is a dial-up connection, and I'm hogging the phone line. I think I'll try to write tomorrow's entry off-line, and use the old Cut'n'Paste routine.

2004-02-14T03:49:00.000-05:00

This is the last entry to be written in London. Or England. Or Europe ... We fly out in about 6 hours.

Thursday we went to see my mum, I set up her printer/scanner, we had tea, chatted, and said "bye". There weren't that many tears, for which I am grateful. I'm sure there'll be some if there hasn't been already, but I didn't want to make saying goodbye any harder than it was. Same with my brother Julian last night. A tear or two, but no more. Not painless, but I found it hard to say goodbye. It's not a nice thing, but as human beings we're selfish creatures - else parting would be a breeze.

Thanks to the gang who used to work at CIX with me, back in the mid '90s. Most of them were there at a bar/restaurant in Kingston last night, mainly to say "hi" to Steve Palmer, but it was nice to see them stand at the bus stop with us as Deb & I waited for our bus. I'm assuming they didn't do it just to make sure that "those bastards" really left the country. I'll be keeping an eye out for a geeky rabble trying to bribe BA to get our flight off the ground early.

This hotel continues to amaze me. On a room rate that includes breakfast, we've been charged for breakfast. And the toilet roll ran out this morning with no replacement. Perhaps their logic goes that if punters are charged £30 for brekkie, they won't eat, therefore toilet roll consumption goes down. All very environmentally friendly of course, but it plays hell with my colon. (Too much information there, sorry).

The final act of magic will be performed this morning, of packing my entire life into half a suitcase. It's a law of nature that given four suitcases, the wife uses four and a half. There's a similar law that governs bathroom shelves and bedroom drawers. E=mc^2 takes a back seat to this baby.

A big "Thanks" to the author of the email that came flooding in about the blog. It's nice to get feedback, but no, my penis doesn't need enlarging, nor do my breasts, I have no plans to buy V1agra and please give my regards to your Nigerian father-in-law. It sounds like he deserves a bit more luck in his life.

Ta-ta from jolly old England. Next stop "C-eh?-N-eh?-D-eh?"

2004-02-11T12:46:00.000-05:00

We sold the house.

The money is in our account.

I asked the bank to transfer funds to Canada (I think they thought I asked them to create a faster-than-light spaceship, they were a bit phased by what I wanted). Anyway, 60 minutes Deb had to sit in the car waiting for me to finish dealing with Barclays, but it's all done, and I assume the cash will be there on Monday for us.

I am currently at the hotel at Heathrow, which boasts that it was voted best business airport hotel in the world seventeen times running (or some figure similar). Within minutes I had three things to complain about. 1) They didn't have our reservation, despite me having provided a booking reference printed from the internet. 2) The room safe doesn't work, so we complained to reception who says that all safes in the building are broken due to some weird network error. 3) There's no "guide" to the hotel saying what's available, when it's open and how much it costs - or even where it is. We're in room four-thousand-and-something. Gives you an idea of how big this hotel is, and we have no idea what's on offer. Pitiful.

Did I say three? I meant four. Their internet cafe is broken, and I have to type this using their business suite, which makes me feel like I'm imposing as men in suits keep popping their head round the door saying "Will you be long?" Hmm, I'm in jeans and t-shirt, typing a blog in an business suite. They can stuff right off, I'm paying half a grand for three nights here, and I wanted better service than this. Gripe, gripe. (Oh, and their car park barrier was broken when I tried to park the car).

So I'm carrying a load of stuff in my backpack, because it's not in the safe. I am not a happy bunny.

Apart from the fact that I'm homeless now. Amazing how you can be glad about things like that, but I am. I don't live in Ponders End any more and I will probably never visit Enfield again. Next stop, Ontario!

2004-02-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

Page views so far, 137, and this blog entry comes from the back room, as it's easiest to plug straight into the cable modem.

A good day today; a trip to the dump, taking photos of Deb with her favourite goat, and giving away a stuffed lion. Hmm, I just re-read that sentence, and I think I qualify for a session at the shrink. Anyway, decent wine with our last dinner in Enfield, posting all but the last one of the eBay packages, and probably the worst bit was having to interract with boneheaded Barclays staff. If you work for Barclays, WHY?

Tomorrow is get-the-money day. Or at least the solicitor gets the money, and we give away the keys. After that I'm assured that the solicitor wires the money directly to our current account, followed by another bout of try-to-get-sense-out-of-Barclays. With luck (ha!) we'll be transferring dollars to Canada on Thursday.

Got the hire car, got the suitcases ready, plus a few plastic bags for good measure, and we're off once we get the call and take the meter readings for gas and electric. How simple is that? What could go wrong ...

2004-02-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

It's all gone. The house is empty but for us, our luggage and what we're leaving behind. We have another 36 hours or so here, before we decant to the hotel at Heathrow. The actual moving out process was more boring than painful. A flurry of activity as the removal guys started their work, half a dozen cups of tea, and then sit on your backside waiting for the stuff to be packed. From about 9.30 to 4pm non-stop. Well, they stopped for a few minutes for tea and a smoke.

The stuff was packed well, no qualms about stuff being broken unless a container gets dropped. The estimate (for which we paid) was 407 cu/ft, and the actual was pegged at 400. Close enough for me.

I have to collect the hire car tomorrow morning. This means jumping on a bus to Seven Sisters and then getting the underground. After that, we'll drop off some rubbish at the council dump, and post most of the remaining eBay items. In the evening, we'll go to the Navigation Inn for dinner, then back home for our last night in our house, because on Wednesday, we'll be handing over the keys and escaping Enfield forever.

I missed the All-Star game, though I caught the score on the BBC news site. I'd have liked to have seen the game.

Off to bed happy now, as all but one of the big tasks of leaving have been done now. After completing the sale of the house, it only leaves the tasks involved in setting up home in a new country. That's going to be a rich vein for the blog. Toodle pip.

2004-02-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

Tense, nervous headache? Yup. Move continent, that'll learn yer.

Pretty much everything ready for the removal guys tomorrow. Must have a decent night's sleep. Yeah, right, like that's going to happen. Anyway, whatever isn't taken away tomorrow either gets packed into four suitcases, or gets left behind. (For "gets left behind", read "gets thrown away").

I took photos of collections, like DVDs, CD-ROMs, books, CDs and the like. That way, if stuff goes astray, we know what we have to replace.

A fairly sullen day. Tomorrow I guess will be shellshock day, as everything gets carted off. I suppose I'd better eat my banana, and then go to bed.

2004-02-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

I think I have packed all my clothes now. For the most part, we are going to live out of suitcases for the next week. Let's imagine that we're on holiday for seven days, shall we? There are a few items of clothing that are going to be shipped, but I won't be needing them until spring/summer.

In Britain now, it's getting warmer, and even in Brussels it was 17 degrees. I think it's going to be a shock to get to Canada and not see an end to snow until, er, August? How long does it take to melt six feet of snow? [Answers please on a postcard]

Julian took the printer to mum's, and a couple of tables too. The back room (computer room) is now empty but for the computers themselves, and part of the library. Nothing in the visitors' bedroom is being shipped, so that's where we'll stash the stuff we're taking ourselves as the removal men do their thing on Monday.

Shipping eBay stuff isn't as easy as you'd think. Because we're leaving the house on Wednesday, we've arranged for the post to be redirected from Tuesday. This means that it would be difficult to accept cheques for the eBay sales, so I asked buyers to use PayPal only. Out of 12 items, half of the buyers have asked where to send the cheque ... ARGH!

Tomorrow is last minute panic, Monday we "move", Tuesday we clear up, Wednesday we hand over the keys, Thursday we see my mum, Friday see Steve Palmer, Bruce Ure et al, and Saturday ... EEEEEEOOOOOWWWWWWWW. (Sound of a 747)

2004-02-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

Number of page views so far:94

So I open my mouth to tell you about bookcrossing.com yesterday, and today some prat starts to spam one of the book journals I have there. Typical. Half a dozen abusive postings which I reported to The Powers That Be of bookcrossing, and that should be the end of it. Darn.

The dozen auctions on eBay finished today, and I sold the lot. I walked to the post office twice, posting three of the lots in the process. I'm still a box short for one of the items, but I can pick that up tomorrow. My brother Julian will be here tomorrow to pick up the printer/scanner/copier that we're giving to my mum, and to take away some of the stuff that I've been storing in the loft for her. We'll see Julian again the evening before we fly out, but I'll have to arrange to go see my mum next week. Probably on the Thursday.

Those cheeky people buying the house contacted us (through the estate agent) to ask if they could come over to measure up for curtains. Our home here is in the process of being dismantled, and there are piles of things all over the place. Last thing we want is a group of people wandering around muttering "are you leaving that" and "I hope you're taking that with you". So we said NO they cannot come over until the sale is completed. Sheesh, it's less than a week. If they want to get in so quickly they should instruct their agents/solicitor/bank/whoever to make sure they cough up the cash at 9.01am on Wednesday. Then they can move in as soon as we get the call and drive to the estate agent to hand over the keys. I lost patience with them when they screwed us over every detail, so I am not interested in their "plight" surrounding curtains.

Deb cooked a chilli before we went to Belgium, and stored it in the freezer. We thawed some out today and nuked it. Yummy. Nice and spicy, bit of baguette, can of Palm beer, mmmmm. Speaking of beer, I asked a barman for a local brew in Brussels, and he poured out a beer into a bell-bottomed glass. The glass was propped up by a wooden stand, which is standard equipment for this brew, oddly named Kwak. Sounds Czech to me, but I am assured that Kwak is from Belgium. Great name for a beer though.

It's the NHL All-Star game this weekend, and my gruntle is dissed that I am missing it. If you live in Canada, and can video it for me, I'll swap a chocolate bar for the tape. Deal? Go Quinn's Easterners!

On the packing front, tomorrow we start to put stuff in suitcases. Deb's already sorted a lot of the kitchen into piles to be given away. It's getting quite bare in here now, but nothing like it will be on Monday evening. Hoo-boy.

A special mention for Jenny - get well soon!

2004-02-05T18:54:00.000-05:00

A pox on all spammers, virus writers, and those who are too stupid to use AV scanners.

Not only were (both) the Brussels internet cafes scummy and useless, but the final download this evening after only three days away was in excess of 1500 emails. 95% were spam or viruses. Grrrr....

Before I forget, a book I left on a train a while ago has been found. (If you're not familiar with the bookcrossing site, have a look. It's great. Leave your old books for people to find, and they tell you what they thought of them after they've read them.) The person left a note saying that I had really cheered them up by leaving a book. It's nice to have made someone's day, by simply getting rid of excess clutter.

Brussels was good, many more chocolate shops than I had thought. The beer wasn't so good, and about the only wine in the country seems to be "red", "white" or "rose". (All variations of vinegar, by the tastes of them.)

As it's late right now, I'm afraid that's your lot for today. Sorry, but more tomorrow.

2004-02-02T15:10:00.000-05:00

My, oh my.

Firstly, this is being typed on a Belgian keyboard. Imagine that a 4-year old has replaced all the keys on your keyboard in a random fashion, and sometimes every third character requires you to press SHIFT. Add to that, the fact we had to walk hours through seedy back streets to find an internet place open, and you kind of get the level we're at here. As cities go, Amsterdam is by far the more attractive.

The Eurostar was quite good, and we found a nice place to eat this evening. The beer so far is nice, and Deb has been drooling at every other shop (either leather shoes/handbags, or a chocolate emporium).

Weather permitting, it'll be the Atomium tomorrow, after some chocolate sampling :-)

2004-02-01T17:56:00.000-05:00

Heads-up. Blog reading 101. You at the back - sit up straight. And now we begin ...

On the right there, you see some links. The top ones are to some sites I think you'd enjoy. The ones below that are to the archives. More of those later. The ones at the bottom (well, at the moment, one) are links to other blogs, made by friends of mine. Hopefully that includes you. If not, why not? Click on the "Start your own!" link and get rolling.

Now, to those archives. I have put the settings for this blog to archive every month. This means that you'll only see one month's worth of blog entries on this page. If you want to see more than the past 30 days, click on one of the archive links. Right now, you'll see two of them. The one with the most entries will be "January 2004", which contains all the entries I made during January 2004. It's that simple.

OK, onto the real stuff now.

Yesterday wasn't a bad day. It was great right up to the point that Jim & Sarah had to leave. I think Deb's over that now, at least outwardly. I'm up for the trip to Brussels to get my mind off stuff like that, and when we get back there'll be about four days until the removal company come in. Gulp.

I've filled in the insurance form - there's about £20K of stuff to insure. We'll post it off tomorrow, along with the cheque to cover the premium. Let's hope it's not needed and it all turns up AOK.

Some really good news - the Ontario Transportation Minister has ruled that from 01st March this year, British driving licences can be exchanged for Ontario licences without the need for a driving test. Woo-hoo! I don't need to take a test now, which is a great relief.

We've been moving stuff around in the house, and though we're not really packing yet, the place is starting to look a little bare. Once it's all gone, we have two days here without the "luxuries", though the TV and couches will still be here, along with the kitchen electricals, so we can survive from Monday through to the Wedenesday when we complete. It's now getting to the point that the small niggly things start to crawl out of the woodwork, like what to pack in the suitcases, what to take as carry-on, what to leave and what to throw away.

In the morning, as I said, we're off to Belgium for a few days. I'm sure the Hilton has internet access available to it's guests, if not, there'll be an internet cafe somewhere. If so, I'll try to post the blog from there. If you come back here and there's nothing, then we're either dead from chocolate and beer overdose, or Belgium hasn't yet joined the internet age.

So off the top off your head, do you know any sites from the .be domain?

2004-01-31T17:49:00.000-05:00

Deb's been crying. I can hear the snuffles. I'm not that far from it either. We just said "bye" to Jim & Sarah, our best friends in the UK. Moving is great, but the price you pay is what you have to leave behind.

Tomorrow we have some more sorting and packing to do, and pricing everything for insurance. Then we're off for another meal out in the evening.

I'm starting to not enjoy this emigration thang at all. It's been great so far, all the fun stuff, and even the nail-biting things have been OK to some extent. But there's nothing as bad as saying goodbye when you know that it might be the last time. This isn't fun at all.

No pictures taken, nothing deep done, a simple meal out, some chat and drink, and a sad goodbye.

I fear there are more to be done before we board the plane to Toronto.

2004-01-30T18:40:00.000-05:00

Well, pretty much all the paperwork is done now. I think the only thing left is to send the removal company a list of everything we intend to ship. This is so that they can instruct their insurers to send us a bill before we move. The insurance premium has to be paid before the removal company arrives. That's about it. I think ...

Jim & Sarah will be here tomorrow, and more than likely staying over. Deb & I are going out on Sunday evening, and on Monday morning we're off to Brussels for a few days. This means that we'll be pressed for time to get the list of items to move actually written. We'll manage somehow.

I stuck some items on eBay, and of the 12 I listed, three have already had bids. Okay, so only a quid each, but it's a start. I sold some stuff on eBay a while ago, and there were no bids until about the last hour. I admit it's quite exciting (in a weird sort of way) watching bidding wars break out on your stuff with minutes to go on the auction. Maybe I should get out more. Can you buy a life on eBay?

A wonderful rigmarole surrounding the company car. Logica sent me a tax disc for it today. That's nice, but I stopped working for them a month ago. I also still get email addressed to my old Logica email account, forwarded to my home account. Shame I don't get them still paying me money. That would be nice, but I got my P45 this week.

If you emailed me recently, and are waiting for a reply - I will get back to you, but it may take a while :-) I have quite a few emails to reply to, but they all deserve a decent reply, not just a "hi!". So yes, you'll get an email eventually. Honest!

2004-01-29T18:09:00.000-05:00

I had a wander round the British Museum today. Some nice stuff, and I snapped a few photos along the way. Not sure that any photos will make it to the gallery, but I think there are a couple of good "wallpaper" shots. I might start a wallpaper section on my site, but that'll likely wait until I get to Canada.

A good meal with Logica people this evening, at a restaurant in Chinatown. Nice to say "bye" to the old crowd (some not so old!) and surprised to hear that some actually read this blog. Kewl :-)

I bought a guide to Brussels, which included the obligatory pop-out fold-away pocket map. They're quite useful I find. Though obviously the Brussels map is not so useful outside Brussels ... Hmm, the trip to Brussels is three days away (ish) and it'll be great to go through the Channel Tunnel. Yup, certainly looking forward to Eurostar.

I'm about to pop off to bed, after drinking a pint of juice just in case I get a headache in the morning, but I also ate a banana. I've been told bananas help you sleep. No "getting up" deadlines in the morning, so I'll check out how well I sleep.

Note to self: Try to find clothes that don't soak up cigarette smoke when I go to pubs. I smell like an ashtray :-(

2004-01-28T18:01:00.000-05:00

Another step closer to getting on that plane. I discovered that once the funds from the house sale are in the bank account, I can walk into any branch of my bank and ask them to transfer £25,000 to Deb's (our) Canadian bank account, and it'll cost £35 to have it leave the UK the following day. So assuming the funds are there on the Thursday, I can get them transferred out on the Friday. As long as the Canadian bank is as up to speed as the one here, the money will be ready in Canada on the Monday. Deb says banking here is slower than in Canada, so this'll be a small test :-)

It snowed here. One minute it was breezy and cold, and the next it had started snowing. Within a couple of minutes there were flurries, and inch of snow, and I suspect that the UK is trying to tell me "Look, we can give you snow here too, y'know". Anyway, here's a snap I made from the front door:

I cancelled the TV licence, and council tax too today, and counted/valued the CDs, videos and DVDs. On Friday I'll have to do the books and so on, so that on Sunday/Monday we can post the item list to the movers for insurance costings.

Can't do the books tomorrow, as first thing I have a dentist appointment, in the afternoon I will be looking round the British Museum and general Oxford Street shopping, and in the evening a meal out with ex-work mates.

Stuff moves out a week on Monday!

2004-01-27T16:16:00.000-05:00

Yay! A new season of CSI on channel five! Boo! Just in time to miss it as we leave! What on earth has Grissom done with his face? It's all hairy.

Not particularly in a mood to write a blog entry, but today I checked on what I need to do at Toronto airport when I arrive. Only two things really - take evidence that I have money from the sale of the house, and make sure that the list of items I'm bringing into the country gets stamped by the customs officer at the airport.

I had what was probably my last fish and chips here. Thought I'd pop into Mary's fish bar and get my last fix. I'm sure there's F&C in Canada, but like pubs, they're not the same. It's far too healthy in the True North Strong and Free.

More tomorrow.

2004-01-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

I'm moving to Canada. It's beginning to sink in.

I appreciate that Canada is not perfect. I am well aware that Canada has its share of "gits". I've also seen Canada and the UK in action, grass-roots level, and I'm quite happy that Brits beat Canadians in the git stakes.

Two weeks today the removal team will turn up, pack a load of stuff into boxes, and disappear with instructions to float the entire lot across the Atlantic and up the St Lawrence. This means our bed will have travelled through Quebec, but you can't have everything.

I logged into workopolis.com today, and checked the open jobs in the GTA. I found a LAN/Support job at the Bank of Montreal. I clicked on the "apply for this job" button and was taken to their own employment agency. I had to fill in pages of info, and the entire process took over an hour. (If you're reading this and you're part of the Bank of Montreal hiring department, then it was the most interesting and enlightening hour I have spent in my life. Have my babies.)

Check marks are great things. Today I managed to draw a load of them against the list of things to do. We now have a small piece of paper with the to-do list on it, much reduced from the long list of yesterday. Many utilities are now cancelled as of the day we complete, loose ends are beginning to be tied up, and I suppose you could say that the jigsaw of emigration now has all the straight edges in the right place and we've sorted the grass pieces from the sky ones. Knowing my luck, there's a piece missing, but I bet it's down the back of the sofa.

Thought for the day: If Earth is a rental, we've lost the deposit for sure.

2004-01-25T17:38:00.000-05:00

I've not had such a great weekend for a long time. I'm sure that Deb feels the same, and to sit down to a 7 hour meal and have it feel like half an hour, well - where did the time go? Jerry put on a great spread, some excellent wines, and superb company. Truly one of the highlights of our leaving month.

If you're travelling by InterCity train, then don't bother going into one of the "quiet" coaches where you're not supposed to use a mobile phone, operate walkmans that annoy other passengers (chssssk, chssssk, chssssk....) or parade crying infants up and down the carriage - honestly, it really doesn't work like that. The stickers saying "No mobile phones" actually seem to read "Please, only use this carriage if you promise to use a mobile phone every five minutes (making sure it's an annoying ring tone), engage in loud conversations, and generally be a git". At least that's how the signs must read to the ignorant public that passes for British thesedays. I blame the parents, because there's no respect anymore.

Maybe it's because I can now see the future I have in Canada, but the average Brit sucks. More so that than the stereotypical Yank who can't see further than their own shores, the Brit can't see further than their own sofa. I know plenty of Brits for whom this does not apply, but I meet a gazillion(*) more each day for whom it does. Toss your rubbish out of the car window, walk three abreast on the pavement forcing me to step into the street as you pass, smoke in non-smoking carriages, don't make eye contact as you serve me - I don't care anymore, because in less than 20 days I will be in Canada, and I will be among people who are proud of their life and their surroundings, people who stop to think about others. In short, people who are actually decent people.

If you think I'm speaking out of line, think I'm bang out of order, or don't like to taste the truth about streetlife in the UK today, then tough - but you do have the potential to make a difference. Smile a bit more, ask that blind person on the underground if they need assistance, don't drop litter, say "Thank you", and don't squeeze your 15 foot car into a 20 foot gap whilst driving round the North Circular just because it'll save you 2 seconds journey time.

There's a big Karma wheel, and if you piss someone off just because you can , it's likely to whirl right around and smack you in the face. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow ...

Rant over, as I'm off to bed before a complicated first day of pre-moving prep.

(* Standard SI unit for "a huge fecking lot")

2004-01-23T15:32:00.000-05:00

No blog yesterday, as we had company. Bruce had a good time here - Deb made a chilli and we cracked open a couple bottles of wine. A nice time and Bruce scored a couple of extra items from the house...

... which is now sold! We exchanged today, after lots of to-ing and fro-ing. The buyers decided to play silly buggers, after telling us when they looked around the house that they were tired of being mucked about by agents and so on. Well, they've made no friends here, so bad luck on them I say.

We complete on Wednesday 11th Feb, move our stuff out the Monday before, and fly out to Canada on Valentines Day - Saturday 14th Feb. Now all we need to do is cancel a load of stuff (electricity, gas, phone) and arrange for mail to be forwarded, financial stuff to sort out, bags to pack ... egad! It's all too much!!

Still, it's a great day, which means that after Valentines Day 2007, I can become a Canadian citizen. Niiiiice.

We're off to Jerry's in the morning, staying over and coming back on Sunday. We also booked a short stay in Brussels - our final goodbye to Europe.

An early night tonight, I think. It's been a bit emotionally draining.