Hello everyone, happy holiday to all my friends out there.
I've been working throughout most of the holidays, trying to make the most of the statutory holidays. On Christmas eve we were let out early from work (about 2pm) which gave SL and I some time to pack the car and head up north to Manchester. The plan was to spend the holidays with SL's family, returning to London on Sunday in time for work on the 29th.
The roads weren't too busy, and we were able to make it to Manchester in fairly good time - about 4 hours. We had already made plans to go over to SL's friend's place for Christmas Eve - to hang out and play Rock Band on the X-box. We rang in Christmas day with the mandatory fireworks at midnight which just about woke up all the neighbours!
For Christmas day, SL's mom roasted a huge turkey with all the fixings - potoatoes, brussel sprouts (which I typiclaly don't like), carrots, gravy. She roasted it overnight and it was perfectly cooked the next day. We spent the whole day working the bird down to the bone, watching movies and finding the bottom of a big box of chocolates. Boxing Day was a bit more adventurous, with a trip out to the local stores to try to find some good deals. Despite hours of shopping, I only managed to find a shirt and a pair of pants!
To burn off all the calories from the previous few days, we headed out for a little walkabout on the 27th. Apparently, it's a tradition in many English families to go out hiking in the hills. Unfortunately, the weather turned for the worst so it was constantly threatening rain for most of the day. While it was a bit chilly, we found some comfort at a local pub were we warmed up with some hot chocolate and some hot lunch.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
6 hours, 28 minutes
The Americans have World Series and the Superbowl. The Canadians have the NHL Playoffs. The English ... well, they have the World Championship Snooker and World Championship Darts! On primetime TV, the World Championship Snooker game was featured for 6 hours and 28 minutes, going the full 19 frames, right down to the wire. Now that's excitement!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Hong Kong and Vietnam - get ready, this will be a long read ....
This blog post will be a long one, so put on some comfortable pants and don't forget to get up and stretch every 30 minutes ...
Hong Kong
It was a 12 hour flight from London to HK - a direct flight with BA. Sadly, BA only allows 1 bag per person (max 23 kg) which is 1/2 the allowance that I usually get with Air Canada or any of the US airlines. It wasn't so much of an issue going there, but coming back, we had picked up lots of cheezy souvenirs and gifts so it was a challenge to keep everything under the weight limit. The seats on the airplane had the built in TVs in the headrests, so that was welcome distraction from dull buzz of inter-continential travel. I had an aisle seat, as usual, so that was
The weather in HK was just fantastic during our visit and stayed near 25 degrees with clear blue skies for most of the visit, with the only really annoying weather showing up at the very end of the trip when the temperature went down to 10 degrees - which is quite cold considering that it's 25 degrees in November usually. We hadn't really brought too much in the way of warm clothing, so the few long sleeve tops and jackets that we did bring got plenty of use!
We stayed with SL's family in HK and managed to visit with most of our extended family during the short time that we were in HK. As we had both been to HK many times before, this visit was a little more relaxed and we toured around more like locals, avoiding all the major tourist traps and instead, exploring small communities, their specialty shops and their local haunts. Some of the best eats can be had in the local mom-and-pop shops which will typically specialize in one thing only, whether it be steamed buns, Chinese dumplings, or soya bean drink. These shops are a family affair, with each generation each taking care of a specific element of the business's operations. Of course, there was a mandatory visit to some of the larger markets (eg. Ladies Market, Causeway Bay, Time Square etc...) for some shopping, haggling and site seeing.
Vietnam
As a side trip, SL and I had originally planned for an excursion to Vietnam and Cambodia - the plan was to spend a few days in HCM City, and a few days in Siem Reap to tour around Angkor Wat and then back to HK. We had spent weeks looking at flights, hotels, activities and were just about to book when news of a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand surfaced in the media (!). While we were so looking forward to Angkor Wat, we decided not to risk it and decided to focus on Vietnam this time around, and earmarked Cambodia for our next visit to SE Asia.
Having spoken to a few friends who have travelled to Vietnam, many of them recommended Hanoi (in the north) to HCM City (in the south) as a more interesting place to travel to. After some investigation, we settled on a trip which included 3 days in Hanoi and 2 days in adjacent Halong Bay where the scenery was supposed to absolutely amazing.
On our first day in Hanoi, I ate something that didn't agree with me, and had bad stomach cramps and didn't venture too far from a toilet for the next few days. We think it was the omelet that I ate during breakfast and suspect that the eggs weren't cooked thoroughly enough. This was a little bit of a surprise as we had booked into one of the better hotels in Hanoi. I guess it just goes to show you that you still need to be careful when travelling to developing countries, even in the upscale hotels! Luckily, the first few days and night were spent relaxing aboard a Chinese junk in Halong Bay. Halong Bay was spectacular, depsite the fact that there was alot of haze, which in my view, added to the mystique of the area and made for some amazing photo opportunities. I was surpised by how many boats there were sailing the Bay. While we knew of some of the boats from our pre-trip homework, there were alot of smaller boats that were not advertised, or better still, some of the larger boats had sister ships with the same name!!
The rest of our time in Vietnam was spent in Hanoi, touring the narrow and crowded streets by foot, dodging the motoscooters and touring the souvenir shops for local handicrafts and bargains.
Because I hadn't been felling well, I found it harder to cope with the polution and the smell of the city. SL did really well to bargain for some good deals on silk scarves and clothing.
We found it quite hard to find a good restaurant in Hanoi - the restaurants were set-up for the tourist crowd, or for the local crowd, and nothing really in between. Near the end of our stay, we finally found a decent sit down restaurant that served authentic local fare at reasonable prices.
After some admittedly rough touring around Hanoi, we were both ready for the comforts of Hong Kong and some familiar faces.
China
After returning to HK, I still had one more side trip to take. This time, to mainland China to visit with my relatives there - my grandma, uncles, aunties and countless cousins on both sides of the family. This time around, it would only be a 2 night-3 days visit.
Hong Kong
It was a 12 hour flight from London to HK - a direct flight with BA. Sadly, BA only allows 1 bag per person (max 23 kg) which is 1/2 the allowance that I usually get with Air Canada or any of the US airlines. It wasn't so much of an issue going there, but coming back, we had picked up lots of cheezy souvenirs and gifts so it was a challenge to keep everything under the weight limit. The seats on the airplane had the built in TVs in the headrests, so that was welcome distraction from dull buzz of inter-continential travel. I had an aisle seat, as usual, so that was
The weather in HK was just fantastic during our visit and stayed near 25 degrees with clear blue skies for most of the visit, with the only really annoying weather showing up at the very end of the trip when the temperature went down to 10 degrees - which is quite cold considering that it's 25 degrees in November usually. We hadn't really brought too much in the way of warm clothing, so the few long sleeve tops and jackets that we did bring got plenty of use!
We stayed with SL's family in HK and managed to visit with most of our extended family during the short time that we were in HK. As we had both been to HK many times before, this visit was a little more relaxed and we toured around more like locals, avoiding all the major tourist traps and instead, exploring small communities, their specialty shops and their local haunts. Some of the best eats can be had in the local mom-and-pop shops which will typically specialize in one thing only, whether it be steamed buns, Chinese dumplings, or soya bean drink. These shops are a family affair, with each generation each taking care of a specific element of the business's operations. Of course, there was a mandatory visit to some of the larger markets (eg. Ladies Market, Causeway Bay, Time Square etc...) for some shopping, haggling and site seeing.
Vietnam
As a side trip, SL and I had originally planned for an excursion to Vietnam and Cambodia - the plan was to spend a few days in HCM City, and a few days in Siem Reap to tour around Angkor Wat and then back to HK. We had spent weeks looking at flights, hotels, activities and were just about to book when news of a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand surfaced in the media (!). While we were so looking forward to Angkor Wat, we decided not to risk it and decided to focus on Vietnam this time around, and earmarked Cambodia for our next visit to SE Asia.
Having spoken to a few friends who have travelled to Vietnam, many of them recommended Hanoi (in the north) to HCM City (in the south) as a more interesting place to travel to. After some investigation, we settled on a trip which included 3 days in Hanoi and 2 days in adjacent Halong Bay where the scenery was supposed to absolutely amazing.
On our first day in Hanoi, I ate something that didn't agree with me, and had bad stomach cramps and didn't venture too far from a toilet for the next few days. We think it was the omelet that I ate during breakfast and suspect that the eggs weren't cooked thoroughly enough. This was a little bit of a surprise as we had booked into one of the better hotels in Hanoi. I guess it just goes to show you that you still need to be careful when travelling to developing countries, even in the upscale hotels! Luckily, the first few days and night were spent relaxing aboard a Chinese junk in Halong Bay. Halong Bay was spectacular, depsite the fact that there was alot of haze, which in my view, added to the mystique of the area and made for some amazing photo opportunities. I was surpised by how many boats there were sailing the Bay. While we knew of some of the boats from our pre-trip homework, there were alot of smaller boats that were not advertised, or better still, some of the larger boats had sister ships with the same name!!
The rest of our time in Vietnam was spent in Hanoi, touring the narrow and crowded streets by foot, dodging the motoscooters and touring the souvenir shops for local handicrafts and bargains.
Because I hadn't been felling well, I found it harder to cope with the polution and the smell of the city. SL did really well to bargain for some good deals on silk scarves and clothing.
We found it quite hard to find a good restaurant in Hanoi - the restaurants were set-up for the tourist crowd, or for the local crowd, and nothing really in between. Near the end of our stay, we finally found a decent sit down restaurant that served authentic local fare at reasonable prices.
After some admittedly rough touring around Hanoi, we were both ready for the comforts of Hong Kong and some familiar faces.
China
After returning to HK, I still had one more side trip to take. This time, to mainland China to visit with my relatives there - my grandma, uncles, aunties and countless cousins on both sides of the family. This time around, it would only be a 2 night-3 days visit.
October
October had been particularly busy month at Totteridge Manor with several visitors to our countryside estate, errr... I mean, top floor apartment. First in the lineup was my sister who came over for a 2 week tour of London and Rome. We found a little corner for her in the West wing of the apartment, with a northerly facing window and sweeping views of the main road below. As a well travelled visitor to London, we pretty much left her to her own during the day and met up in the evenings for dinner and tales of the day's events. On her last night in London, we all went out to the local Restaurant and Grill (La Rotisserie) which served up one of the best meals that I've had in London in a long time.
Next up was SL's uncle who was over for a series of meetings associated with his work - held in a small tour just outside of London. He came over a few days earlier and stayed with us. As it was only his second time in London, we had the pleasure of touring him around to all touristy sites in London, including Tower Bridge, Greenwich, London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Chinatown, Soho (to mention a few) and a trip to the local outlet mall and a day trip to Oxford. He's quite the photographer so really enjoyed all the historic sites and all the varied photo opportunities.
The last group was SL's sisters who came down for PL's birthday celebrations. There were three in total, including SL's two sisters and her sister's fiancee. They all slept in the West Wing which was a bit of a tight squeeze, but in very cozy. For part of the clebrations, SL organized a trip out to play outdoor Lasertag. SL had invited one of her old housemates along, MW. MW had one of those HTC phones (they're amazing!) with built in GPS navigation with voice direction. Despite this, SL managed to get her self lost and we had to make several U-turns to get back on track!! Despite the bad weather on the day, everyone had a great time and was exhausted after 4 hours of running around shooting at each other. We invited everyone back to the Manor for dinner and some cocktails and watched Top Gear until the wee hours of the evening.
Next up was SL's uncle who was over for a series of meetings associated with his work - held in a small tour just outside of London. He came over a few days earlier and stayed with us. As it was only his second time in London, we had the pleasure of touring him around to all touristy sites in London, including Tower Bridge, Greenwich, London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Chinatown, Soho (to mention a few) and a trip to the local outlet mall and a day trip to Oxford. He's quite the photographer so really enjoyed all the historic sites and all the varied photo opportunities.
The last group was SL's sisters who came down for PL's birthday celebrations. There were three in total, including SL's two sisters and her sister's fiancee. They all slept in the West Wing which was a bit of a tight squeeze, but in very cozy. For part of the clebrations, SL organized a trip out to play outdoor Lasertag. SL had invited one of her old housemates along, MW. MW had one of those HTC phones (they're amazing!) with built in GPS navigation with voice direction. Despite this, SL managed to get her self lost and we had to make several U-turns to get back on track!! Despite the bad weather on the day, everyone had a great time and was exhausted after 4 hours of running around shooting at each other. We invited everyone back to the Manor for dinner and some cocktails and watched Top Gear until the wee hours of the evening.
Back from the dead!
Hello friends,
For those of you following my Blog, there has been a prolonged silience over the last few months, and for that, I do apologize. October has been particularly busy with many visitors to our small abode and November was busy planning for a trip to HK and Vietnam which we have just returned from. More on each of two events coming soon! Bye for now ...
For those of you following my Blog, there has been a prolonged silience over the last few months, and for that, I do apologize. October has been particularly busy with many visitors to our small abode and November was busy planning for a trip to HK and Vietnam which we have just returned from. More on each of two events coming soon! Bye for now ...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thought for the day ...
As one of the biggest cities in the world, you would think that rush hour in London would be a torturous necessity. Surprisingly, the morning and afterwork rush hour on the subway is quite civilized, all things considered. Everyone seems to have their own 'route' developed over months or years of repetition. There's very little pushing and shoving despite the tens of thousands of people making their way through the system each day. Everyone seems to respect each other's need to get to work unscathed and unbruised ...
Contrast to the weekend crowd who don't seem to know where they are going or how to get there. It's a chaotic mess of young and old travellers, strollers, wheelie suitcases, large shopping bags full with the day's finds...
Contrast to the weekend crowd who don't seem to know where they are going or how to get there. It's a chaotic mess of young and old travellers, strollers, wheelie suitcases, large shopping bags full with the day's finds...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Zoom Zoom
Well, like so many other hopeful travellers, I got some disappointing news on Aug 28th - Zoom Airlines was going into receivership! ... another victim of the turbulent price of fuel. As soon as I got the news, I started looking for a flight to replace the one I just lost. I managed to find a few flights for roughly the time that I had originally planned for a slightly higher price than I had paid through Zoom but would have to wait until the next day to change my vacation schedule at work. That turned out to be a HUGE mistake. When I went to go buy the ticket the next day, the price went up by $200! A bit more searching and I settled on a flight with Continental but required a layover in Newark - in total, a 11 hour flight!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Borough Market
Despite being one of the world's largest cities in the world, London has many great local markets, including Borough market, close to the landmark London Bridge.
Actually, it's directly below London Bridge station, so as you shop, you can hear the trains passing by overhead! There is a variety of prepared foods to choose from, including Greek, Indian, German, Spanish and Swedish offerings. Walk thorough a small doorway brings you through to the market area where you can get all sorts of local specialty foods, including hand made chocolates ... and baby haggis! 
Actually, it's directly below London Bridge station, so as you shop, you can hear the trains passing by overhead! There is a variety of prepared foods to choose from, including Greek, Indian, German, Spanish and Swedish offerings. Walk thorough a small doorway brings you through to the market area where you can get all sorts of local specialty foods, including hand made chocolates ... and baby haggis! 
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
London Summer
Summer officially arrived sometime in early July ... and promptly ended a few days later! 
The last few weeks have been a series of cool nights (about 10 degrees) and rainy days. From what I've been told, this is what I can come to expect for the London 'summer'. Despite the cool weather, I'm still getting my daily dose of high temperatures, thanks to the London subway. With no air conditioning, the breadbox of wheels gets hotter and hotter as the day goes on. By the time the dinner bell rings, the subway is packed with people and temperatures have crept up to about 35 degrees ...
Work is starting to get busier and busier, with many new projects on the go. We're coming into the August holiday season which is much worse that it is in Canada. Just about everyone take off 2-3 weeks with the family, so it's near impossible to get projects moved forward ...
This coming weekend is the first weekend since arriving that I don't have anything planned. A good chance to relax and to recharge.
The last few weeks have been a series of cool nights (about 10 degrees) and rainy days. From what I've been told, this is what I can come to expect for the London 'summer'. Despite the cool weather, I'm still getting my daily dose of high temperatures, thanks to the London subway. With no air conditioning, the breadbox of wheels gets hotter and hotter as the day goes on. By the time the dinner bell rings, the subway is packed with people and temperatures have crept up to about 35 degrees ...Work is starting to get busier and busier, with many new projects on the go. We're coming into the August holiday season which is much worse that it is in Canada. Just about everyone take off 2-3 weeks with the family, so it's near impossible to get projects moved forward ...
This coming weekend is the first weekend since arriving that I don't have anything planned. A good chance to relax and to recharge.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Our apartment ... revealed!
Here are some 'before' pictures of our apartment . Pictured here are the kitchen and the living room. Don't be fooled - the two rooms face each other so the apartment is not much bigger than what is in the photos!
At the time this photo was taken, we only had a small below counter refridgerator which broke down during the very first week! Our landlady was great and replaced it right away with a full size fridge/freezer. Not as big as in Canada, but huge by UK standards.
The apartments here in the UK are definitley smaller compared to Canada. Many are converted houses (as with ours) which have been subdivided into individual apartments. The appliances are sized to match!
At the time this photo was taken, we only had a small below counter refridgerator which broke down during the very first week! Our landlady was great and replaced it right away with a full size fridge/freezer. Not as big as in Canada, but huge by UK standards.The apartments here in the UK are definitley smaller compared to Canada. Many are converted houses (as with ours) which have been subdivided into individual apartments. The appliances are sized to match!
Saturday morning Cartoons
Ah, gone are the good old days of Saturday morning cartoon. Transformers , the smurfs, or I would even settle for sponge bob. But alas, we possibly have the smallest TV in the UK. It's so old, it comes complete was a circular aerial and can only pick up four channels! BBC1 is the best of the lot, so I'm now watching the Saturday morning news, which by the way, is only 15 minutes long, but that doesn't stop them from repeating it over and over and over ....
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Happy Canada Day!
Enjoyed a few pints of beer in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Canada Day with SL and my friend CD. 
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the celebrations are quite elaborate, especially considering that I'm not in Canada. The entire square was roped off and there was a hugh stage set up with that announcer guy from CBC as emce. In true Canadian style, they had a huge beer tent set up (charging almost twice the price as at the pubs!). While we waited in line, we were entertained by a young 'lad', probably no older than 14, trying to get a few pints for him and his 'mates'. 
He didn't get to far as he was carded by the server but you gotta give him points for trying! The weather was fantastic, getting up to 28 degrees. Apparently, this is as hot as it gets over here! Many people were in festive red and white and I did my bit by wearing a red tie.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the celebrations are quite elaborate, especially considering that I'm not in Canada. The entire square was roped off and there was a hugh stage set up with that announcer guy from CBC as emce. In true Canadian style, they had a huge beer tent set up (charging almost twice the price as at the pubs!). While we waited in line, we were entertained by a young 'lad', probably no older than 14, trying to get a few pints for him and his 'mates'. 
He didn't get to far as he was carded by the server but you gotta give him points for trying! The weather was fantastic, getting up to 28 degrees. Apparently, this is as hot as it gets over here! Many people were in festive red and white and I did my bit by wearing a red tie. Friday, June 20, 2008
Hello Hello!
It’s been a little while since I wrote to you all, so I’ll try to catch you up and fill in the blanks later. I landed at 7am on the 12th of June and got to work right away, moving into the new apartment. The flight was quite good. I flew ‘premium’ class on ZoomAirlines which, while not luxurious, was quite comfortable with more legroom than economy class on AirCanada. The few days following arrival were quite busy, with moving in, getting unpacked, shopping for groceries and familiarizing myself with the new neighbourhood and surroundings. I think I’m allergic to something in the air as I’ve had sensitive eyes and a runny nose for the last few days … Sandra seems to think that it's hayfever, but maybe it’s something in the water…
It takes me about an hour to get into work with one transfer. For those of you who have experienced it, London’s subway line is a labyrinth of corridors, stairwells and escalators meant to confound visitors and locals alike. I’ve slowly been finding the ‘optimal’ route to take, to shave off a few seconds here and a few seconds there. At the very least, it keeps my entertained through the hour long journey.
I work in Barclay’s head office, located in a modern building in Canary Wharf. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the ‘induction’ process, which began the first day I arrived with 2 hour tour of the building and orientation of the proper procedures and amenities in the building.
My manager has been great in getting my to speed with the various projects on the go and the people on the team.
Back at home, there was a power outage on Wednesday morning, which wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that I had a 8:30am meeting with the senior management team! I woke up panicked at 7am, knowing that I should have been leaving the house at 7am! I was fashionably late for the meeting by 5 minutes, with my only saving grace that I wasn’t the last to arrive.
The last week has been great, and the weather, well, has held up ok. I’m coming up to my first weekend, still with a long list of thing ‘to do’ to get the apartment squared away. I have to get a haircut this weekend, as I’ve been fighting with my coiffe these last few days. Gone are the days of the $13 haircut that I enjoyed in TO …
It takes me about an hour to get into work with one transfer. For those of you who have experienced it, London’s subway line is a labyrinth of corridors, stairwells and escalators meant to confound visitors and locals alike. I’ve slowly been finding the ‘optimal’ route to take, to shave off a few seconds here and a few seconds there. At the very least, it keeps my entertained through the hour long journey.
I work in Barclay’s head office, located in a modern building in Canary Wharf. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the ‘induction’ process, which began the first day I arrived with 2 hour tour of the building and orientation of the proper procedures and amenities in the building.
My manager has been great in getting my to speed with the various projects on the go and the people on the team.
Back at home, there was a power outage on Wednesday morning, which wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that I had a 8:30am meeting with the senior management team! I woke up panicked at 7am, knowing that I should have been leaving the house at 7am! I was fashionably late for the meeting by 5 minutes, with my only saving grace that I wasn’t the last to arrive.
The last week has been great, and the weather, well, has held up ok. I’m coming up to my first weekend, still with a long list of thing ‘to do’ to get the apartment squared away. I have to get a haircut this weekend, as I’ve been fighting with my coiffe these last few days. Gone are the days of the $13 haircut that I enjoyed in TO …
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Lunch Reunion at the Clocktower
Met with my long time friends from High School yesterday (Saturday) at the Clocktower Pub on Bank Street to enjoy a few pints, good eats and to catch up on where everyone is at. The whole gang was there - CG, TM, BM, JS, AB & LO and their daughter JB. BM surprised me with a going away gift: a DVD of the movie Strange Brew, a little piece of Canadiana!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Hockey Pool Update - and the winner is ... moi!
Well fight fans, the most unlikely winner of the LeagueSpreck hockey pool * is yours truely (crowd roaring in the background)! Having not watched a SINGLE regular season game, and by a narrow margin of 10.6 points, I held off the hard charging DewsonManorChamp to claim victory in the 2008 installment in the Stanley Cup epic adventure. The final tally was:
need_a_drink 352.5
DewsonManorChamp 341.9
Jenerator 254.9
Prague_Spring 253.6
...and where are the rest of the competitors? Well, that's all there was. 4. A small victory, but a victory none the less! Kudos to DewsonManorChamp for keeping it interesting until the very end. Special mention to the Jenerator for edging out a podium finish from Prague_Spring in the very LAST game of the season to give her a 1.5 point lead ... now that's excitement!
-------------------------------
* LeagueSpreck is a sub-pool in the broader CBC Fantasy Playoff Pool. In the CBC Fantasy Playoff Pool, I was 4,086th out of 35,900 competitors. Not bad for my first time out!
need_a_drink 352.5
DewsonManorChamp 341.9
Jenerator 254.9
Prague_Spring 253.6
...and where are the rest of the competitors? Well, that's all there was. 4. A small victory, but a victory none the less! Kudos to DewsonManorChamp for keeping it interesting until the very end. Special mention to the Jenerator for edging out a podium finish from Prague_Spring in the very LAST game of the season to give her a 1.5 point lead ... now that's excitement!
-------------------------------
* LeagueSpreck is a sub-pool in the broader CBC Fantasy Playoff Pool. In the CBC Fantasy Playoff Pool, I was 4,086th out of 35,900 competitors. Not bad for my first time out!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Day 6 to 14 - In Ottawa.
Well, for all of you following my blog, don't expect too much over the next week or so. I'm in Ottawa now, recharging my batteries and hanging out with my family before my flight on the 11th. I've got plans to meet up with some old friends from high school on Saturday. Other than that, my dance card is blank....
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
SUMMARY - for all you time starved people out there ....
Future dates:
June 16th - first day on the job. Note to self, teach the Brits how to brew REAL coffee ...
June 12th - PM - move into new apartment.
June 12th - AM - arrive in London.
June 11th - fly out of Ottawa for London.
======================================
June 2: Day 5 - This was the day that we've all be waiting for - moving all my junk to Ottawa! I would have been better off just to set fire to it all and start fresh. ONE last trip to Walmart in the morning ... Arrived at the van pick up location at 10am, only to wait for an hour in line. Back home by 11am, and on the road by 2pm after a bit of a panic attack that I wasn't going to get all my stuff into the van. 6 hours, 2 coffees, 20 timbits and 3 rest stops later, arrived in Ottawa. Got some help from my sister's neighbours to unload (the second godsend!). Studying my eyelids by 11pm. Sounds easy? Right.
June 1: Day 4 - Marathon packing day today. My sister came down from Ottawa to help me pack and to keep my company on the drive up to Ottawa (my first godsend!). Made several trips to Walmart for packing materials, each time swearing that it would be my last trip. Ran into my friend MW (who was driving). We stopped to chat for a while, creating a traffic jam, 6 cars long. Back to the Manor for more packing. By this time, there was no sorting - just throwing everything into boxes/bags with the view of sorting it all out later.... finally ran out of gas at 11pm, content that we had most of the packing done and ready for a well earned rest.
May 31: Day 3 - Not much to say here other than packing, packing and more packing. Took the afternoon to run some errands around town and to pick up a gift for Sandra. Made the typical mistake that ALL guys make when buying gifts for their girlfriends - I bought the wrong one. I thought I was safe in choosing the big one. Lesson to all you guys out there - less is more. That will be my new mantara from now on .... ow! What was that? Oh yeah, it was Sandra's shoe glancing off the back of my head ...
May 30: Day 2 - Booked my one way flight through Zoom Airlines today. Took time out to check out a local restaurant that I had been meaning to try for quite some time. Better do it now - only 2 more days in TO!
May 29: Day 1 - First taste of freedom! In between jobs now and it feels great! The day consisted of packing and more packing. I have been diligent about keeping stuff organized or at least, trying to. I had big designs to sell my junk at a garage sale. No such luck.
May 28: Day 0 - Last day at work. Trying to hold back the tears ...
June 16th - first day on the job. Note to self, teach the Brits how to brew REAL coffee ...
June 12th - PM - move into new apartment.
June 12th - AM - arrive in London.
June 11th - fly out of Ottawa for London.
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June 2: Day 5 - This was the day that we've all be waiting for - moving all my junk to Ottawa! I would have been better off just to set fire to it all and start fresh. ONE last trip to Walmart in the morning ... Arrived at the van pick up location at 10am, only to wait for an hour in line. Back home by 11am, and on the road by 2pm after a bit of a panic attack that I wasn't going to get all my stuff into the van. 6 hours, 2 coffees, 20 timbits and 3 rest stops later, arrived in Ottawa. Got some help from my sister's neighbours to unload (the second godsend!). Studying my eyelids by 11pm. Sounds easy? Right.
June 1: Day 4 - Marathon packing day today. My sister came down from Ottawa to help me pack and to keep my company on the drive up to Ottawa (my first godsend!). Made several trips to Walmart for packing materials, each time swearing that it would be my last trip. Ran into my friend MW (who was driving). We stopped to chat for a while, creating a traffic jam, 6 cars long. Back to the Manor for more packing. By this time, there was no sorting - just throwing everything into boxes/bags with the view of sorting it all out later.... finally ran out of gas at 11pm, content that we had most of the packing done and ready for a well earned rest.
May 31: Day 3 - Not much to say here other than packing, packing and more packing. Took the afternoon to run some errands around town and to pick up a gift for Sandra. Made the typical mistake that ALL guys make when buying gifts for their girlfriends - I bought the wrong one. I thought I was safe in choosing the big one. Lesson to all you guys out there - less is more. That will be my new mantara from now on .... ow! What was that? Oh yeah, it was Sandra's shoe glancing off the back of my head ...
May 30: Day 2 - Booked my one way flight through Zoom Airlines today. Took time out to check out a local restaurant that I had been meaning to try for quite some time. Better do it now - only 2 more days in TO!
May 29: Day 1 - First taste of freedom! In between jobs now and it feels great! The day consisted of packing and more packing. I have been diligent about keeping stuff organized or at least, trying to. I had big designs to sell my junk at a garage sale. No such luck.
May 28: Day 0 - Last day at work. Trying to hold back the tears ...
Monday, June 2, 2008
Day 5 - still alive.
Well, the early morning wake-ups have ceased. I think it's b/c there's less to stress about now that I'm near the end, or so I thought. My sister and I still woke up a bit earlier than we needed to (the truck rental place was expecting us at 10am) so we went out to Boom Restaurant for one of the best breakfasts that TO has to offer. The Boom Power Breakfast did not dissapoint, and my sister's shrimp and spinach fritatta was also a hit. On our way back to the Manor, we hit Walmart one last time for 'two more' storage bins -bringing the total up to 6 new LARGE bins in the last three days. I tell ya, stuff just keeps on coming out of their hiding spaces....
Picking up the moving truck was a bit of an adventure. My roommate
was good enought to drive me down to pick it up for 10am. Three groups ahead of me in line + one guy working the counter = 1 hour of wait time. The truck that I rented was a 10foot cube van from U Haul. At first, I was a bit nervous about driving such a large truck, and was constantly afraid that I was rip off the extended side view mirrors. I eventually found the corners and was driving it erratically like a seasoned pro.
Back at the Manor shortly after 11am. I was in for the shock of my life as we started packing the truck, and the van almost packed up full in no time at all (!) ... and there were still plenty of boxes left in the Manor. In the end, everything did make it's way into the van, with just barely enough room for the last remaining boxes and odds and sods. (I'm now (it's Tues as I write this) kicking myself for not taking a picture of the packed truck - me, of all people!!) 2pm - the truck was packed and we were ready to hit the open road. Traffic was light, and the construction road crews were largely absent from the major arteries out of the city. I was doing fine for the first half hour, and then it hit me - the fatigue from heavy lifting of the morning combined with the gentle rocking motion of the van on the highway forced us to make a rest stop just outside of TO to catch a power nap before continuing on to Ottawa. Not knowing whether I was a 'truck' or a 'car', I pulled into the truck rest area, only to be dwarfed by the forest of big 18 wheelers.
We rolled into Ottawa at about 8pm - 6 hours after our departure. All in all, not bad time considering the various rest stops along the way. Unloading was not going to be pleasant, but would you know it, my sister's neighbour used to be in the furniture moving business, and came out to help. What a great guy ... so great in fact, he got his son to come out and help as well! One hour later, and all the boxes were safely tucked away in my sister's place.
Picking up the moving truck was a bit of an adventure. My roommate
was good enought to drive me down to pick it up for 10am. Three groups ahead of me in line + one guy working the counter = 1 hour of wait time. The truck that I rented was a 10foot cube van from U Haul. At first, I was a bit nervous about driving such a large truck, and was constantly afraid that I was rip off the extended side view mirrors. I eventually found the corners and was driving it erratically like a seasoned pro.Back at the Manor shortly after 11am. I was in for the shock of my life as we started packing the truck, and the van almost packed up full in no time at all (!) ... and there were still plenty of boxes left in the Manor. In the end, everything did make it's way into the van, with just barely enough room for the last remaining boxes and odds and sods. (I'm now (it's Tues as I write this) kicking myself for not taking a picture of the packed truck - me, of all people!!) 2pm - the truck was packed and we were ready to hit the open road. Traffic was light, and the construction road crews were largely absent from the major arteries out of the city. I was doing fine for the first half hour, and then it hit me - the fatigue from heavy lifting of the morning combined with the gentle rocking motion of the van on the highway forced us to make a rest stop just outside of TO to catch a power nap before continuing on to Ottawa. Not knowing whether I was a 'truck' or a 'car', I pulled into the truck rest area, only to be dwarfed by the forest of big 18 wheelers.
We rolled into Ottawa at about 8pm - 6 hours after our departure. All in all, not bad time considering the various rest stops along the way. Unloading was not going to be pleasant, but would you know it, my sister's neighbour used to be in the furniture moving business, and came out to help. What a great guy ... so great in fact, he got his son to come out and help as well! One hour later, and all the boxes were safely tucked away in my sister's place.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Day 4 - I never did like that number.
Sunday was a marathon packing session. I woke up really early and started with the shredding. I had so much stuff, that I almost burnt out the motor on my little shredding machine! Walmart opened at 8am, and I was there waiting patiently. "Just another two bins", I said. Famous last words. I filled those two before noon and there was plenty more stuff to be packed. For those of you who have had the pleasure of moving, you'll know what I mean when I say that there seemed to be an endless parade of 'stuff' that would come out of the cupboards and dark corners of the Manor. In the end, I would have close to 30 BIG boxes. Quite the contrast to my estimate of '12 boxes' that I told my sister that I had when she agreed to allow me to store some stuff in the basement of her place in Ottawa!
On my way back from my afternoon Timmie's run, I ran into my friend MW. He was driving his truck and put it in neutral in the middle of the road while we chatted it up. Traffic in both directions was brought to a crawl as we caught up on news. In our defense, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and anyone in a rush should really have been ashamed of themselves....
My sister came down from Ottawa to help me pack and to keep me company on the drive up to Ottawa. I didn't know wha kind of godsend that was until later. Without her help, I think I would have been packing until the wee hours of the night! For dinner, we went out to my favorite sushi restaurant on College. The place was packed but the service was prompt and the food, well, great as always. We rolled home after the meal and started in on the packing again. We finally called it quits at 11pm - a job well done with a few odds and ends left to go for Monday morning. Famous last words.
On my way back from my afternoon Timmie's run, I ran into my friend MW. He was driving his truck and put it in neutral in the middle of the road while we chatted it up. Traffic in both directions was brought to a crawl as we caught up on news. In our defense, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and anyone in a rush should really have been ashamed of themselves....
My sister came down from Ottawa to help me pack and to keep me company on the drive up to Ottawa. I didn't know wha kind of godsend that was until later. Without her help, I think I would have been packing until the wee hours of the night! For dinner, we went out to my favorite sushi restaurant on College. The place was packed but the service was prompt and the food, well, great as always. We rolled home after the meal and started in on the packing again. We finally called it quits at 11pm - a job well done with a few odds and ends left to go for Monday morning. Famous last words.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Day 3 - the storm is coming.
May 31
Getting nervous now! Tomorrow is my last full day in Toronto. I pick up the rental van on Monday and drive up to Ottawa where I will try to sneak 15 big boxes, a queen size bed and a couch into the basement of my parents place, past my dad's watchful eye. Should be interesting.
Today consisted of running errands - first to Walmart where they're having a sale on storage bins. How did they know? Picked up 4 HUGE bins at bargain prices. Other stops included: The Bay, MEC, Eaton Centre etc... Also stopped by the Crumpler store on Queen to pick up a gift for Sandra. Would you know it, I messed up and bought the wrong one. Luckily, my roommate was good enough to drive me back down for the exchange. Crisis averted. Back home now, rounding up the last of my belongings in the Manor ... I have been avoiding the kitchen for the last week. I guess I can't avoid it any longer ...
Getting nervous now! Tomorrow is my last full day in Toronto. I pick up the rental van on Monday and drive up to Ottawa where I will try to sneak 15 big boxes, a queen size bed and a couch into the basement of my parents place, past my dad's watchful eye. Should be interesting.
Today consisted of running errands - first to Walmart where they're having a sale on storage bins. How did they know? Picked up 4 HUGE bins at bargain prices. Other stops included: The Bay, MEC, Eaton Centre etc... Also stopped by the Crumpler store on Queen to pick up a gift for Sandra. Would you know it, I messed up and bought the wrong one. Luckily, my roommate was good enough to drive me back down for the exchange. Crisis averted. Back home now, rounding up the last of my belongings in the Manor ... I have been avoiding the kitchen for the last week. I guess I can't avoid it any longer ...
Friday, May 30, 2008
Day 2 - 4.18am
These early mornings are starting to get bothersome. Kinda reminds me of the old MBA days when you would run for months on 4 hours of sleep each night! I tried to call the CIBC VISA office to change the mailing address on my VISA card. The office isn't open until 7.00am. Slackers.
I did manage to book my flight to London with Zoom Air, leaving June 11th at 5.35pm from Ottawa and arriving at 6.55am in Gatwick! I've flown into Gatwick only once. Not the prettiest airport that I've been to, but it'll do the trick. Zoom Air is good as they let me fly one-way without penalty. Air Canada and BA will gladly sell me a one-way ticket, but the cost is about the same as a return ticket! I decided on the 'premium' seat which gives me a bit more leg room and a bit more baggage allowance. Speaking of baggage, what's crazy is that Zoom Air allows sportings goods for FREE (a word that I love to hear). I think I'll bring my golf clubs and stuff as much extra stuff as I can into the pockets.
My roommate and I were going to go to our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, but it started to rain as we left the Manor, so we decided to detour to the local Portuguese restaurant that we had been meaning to try for a very long time. I had been before, but only for the BBQ take out. He had the roast chicken dinner and I ordered the baby roast pork dinner. What came to the table were these HUGE platters of food - an generous portion of protein and an insane amount of starch (potatoes AND rice). I was kicking myself that we didn't try it sooner! Despite my best efforts, I had to take a doggie bag home.
After the carb overload, I caught up with my sleep in the afternoon with a refreshing power nap!
Up again an hour later and back at it. Sorting, cleaning, packing. Repeat.
I did manage to book my flight to London with Zoom Air, leaving June 11th at 5.35pm from Ottawa and arriving at 6.55am in Gatwick! I've flown into Gatwick only once. Not the prettiest airport that I've been to, but it'll do the trick. Zoom Air is good as they let me fly one-way without penalty. Air Canada and BA will gladly sell me a one-way ticket, but the cost is about the same as a return ticket! I decided on the 'premium' seat which gives me a bit more leg room and a bit more baggage allowance. Speaking of baggage, what's crazy is that Zoom Air allows sportings goods for FREE (a word that I love to hear). I think I'll bring my golf clubs and stuff as much extra stuff as I can into the pockets.
My roommate and I were going to go to our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, but it started to rain as we left the Manor, so we decided to detour to the local Portuguese restaurant that we had been meaning to try for a very long time. I had been before, but only for the BBQ take out. He had the roast chicken dinner and I ordered the baby roast pork dinner. What came to the table were these HUGE platters of food - an generous portion of protein and an insane amount of starch (potatoes AND rice). I was kicking myself that we didn't try it sooner! Despite my best efforts, I had to take a doggie bag home.
After the carb overload, I caught up with my sleep in the afternoon with a refreshing power nap!
Up again an hour later and back at it. Sorting, cleaning, packing. Repeat.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Day 1 - for real now.
May 29
First day without a care in the world. Feels great! Actually, it felt great for the first hour or so, and then I started 'working' again, this time on my exit strategy for TO. I was suppose to go downtown today to sort through some stuff, but I think I'll do that tomorrow. Sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.
Thanks to the generosity of my fellow (now ex)co-workers I've been able to complete the purchase of a much NEEDED
new camera - the Olympus 850SW (pictured right). Yes, this will be my 7th camera. And that's a problem ...how? It's awesome.
I'm planning a garage sale for Saturday. It will be my first one - ever. I'm dreading haggling over a $0.25 difference with the old ladies in the neighborhood. My roomate thinks that I'll be a natural. I'll be trying to sell stuff for $5 when it's only worth $2 ...
PM: Had a good visit with the neighbours upstairs. I've been at Dewson Manor for nearly 5 years now (wow!) and they have been great neighbours throughout.
I'm back downstairs now and back to the grind - sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.
First day without a care in the world. Feels great! Actually, it felt great for the first hour or so, and then I started 'working' again, this time on my exit strategy for TO. I was suppose to go downtown today to sort through some stuff, but I think I'll do that tomorrow. Sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.
Thanks to the generosity of my fellow (now ex)co-workers I've been able to complete the purchase of a much NEEDED
new camera - the Olympus 850SW (pictured right). Yes, this will be my 7th camera. And that's a problem ...how? It's awesome.I'm planning a garage sale for Saturday. It will be my first one - ever. I'm dreading haggling over a $0.25 difference with the old ladies in the neighborhood. My roomate thinks that I'll be a natural. I'll be trying to sell stuff for $5 when it's only worth $2 ...
PM: Had a good visit with the neighbours upstairs. I've been at Dewson Manor for nearly 5 years now (wow!) and they have been great neighbours throughout.
I'm back downstairs now and back to the grind - sorting, cleaning, packing, napping. Repeat.
Day 1 ... or is it Day 0?
Hello friends,
Well, it's 5.30am now and I'm wide awake! I thought I'd be able to sleep in on my FIRST day as an unemployed person (!) but no such luck. I woke up to the chirping birds outside my window and the morning sun pushing it's way past my blinds.
What has been very difficult over the last few weeks is saying goodbye (or rather, "see you later") to my dear friends in TO. As I have said, I plan to return home at least a few times a year, and with email and cheap long distance, you won't be getting rid of me that easily!
Now that I'm up, I might as well make myself useful - so I've set up this blog to help us keep connected. In typical Wayne Norman fashion, this will be our 'virtual' fire-side chat! I'll try not to bore you ....JkL
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Let me start with the end - that is, my last day at work. Yesterday began at 4am. Another early morning. I woke up with a million things to do running through my head and a jumble of emotions fighting for attention. Despite the VERY early wake up, I still managed to be late leaving the house for work! The day was a chance to clear up a few files, and to get around the floor to have a quick chat and to say goodbye to everyone. My friends ME and RG took me out to lunch at my new favorite Thai place - Ivory Thailand on Church. I had been there three times in the last 2 weeks and had no problems going back again. By the time I finished making my rounds in the afternoon, it was 5pm and I still had alot of stuff to clear off my computer and my desk. It wasn't until 7.30pm that I officially finished up my last day at SB, and thus, ending 10 years in my little corner of the world.
After work, my roommate JS, and friends JR, JC and JK took me out for pints and good eats at the Rhino Restaurant (Queen West, Near Dufferin). It was great to be back in that part of town as I had frequented the area, and the Rhino, when my martial arts class was located down there.
I arrived early and enjoyed a refreshing pint, a burger and a quiet corner while I started making my list of things to do before I left. I was quite pleased with myself that the list wasn't as long as I thought it would be. A sure sign that I've forgotten alot of stuff ...
It wasn't long before the gang arrived and after some quick pleasantries, the parade of questions soon started. I hadn't seen JC and JK for quite some time, so they had a million questions about leaving my job and the move to London. I evaded them as long as I could by stuffing my face with the burger, but they were patient and just waited me out. I eventually finished my burger and couldn't put them off any longer ... in all seriousness, it was great catching up - hearing about JS's ATV (mis)adventures, JR's valiant attempt to rescue some stray cats, JC's home reno stories, and JK's stories of fixing JC's home reno attempts ...
After the witty banter, I was back home at the Manor by 11pm and in bed 30 minutes later ...
Well, it's 5.30am now and I'm wide awake! I thought I'd be able to sleep in on my FIRST day as an unemployed person (!) but no such luck. I woke up to the chirping birds outside my window and the morning sun pushing it's way past my blinds.
What has been very difficult over the last few weeks is saying goodbye (or rather, "see you later") to my dear friends in TO. As I have said, I plan to return home at least a few times a year, and with email and cheap long distance, you won't be getting rid of me that easily!
Now that I'm up, I might as well make myself useful - so I've set up this blog to help us keep connected. In typical Wayne Norman fashion, this will be our 'virtual' fire-side chat! I'll try not to bore you ....JkL
==============================
Let me start with the end - that is, my last day at work. Yesterday began at 4am. Another early morning. I woke up with a million things to do running through my head and a jumble of emotions fighting for attention. Despite the VERY early wake up, I still managed to be late leaving the house for work! The day was a chance to clear up a few files, and to get around the floor to have a quick chat and to say goodbye to everyone. My friends ME and RG took me out to lunch at my new favorite Thai place - Ivory Thailand on Church. I had been there three times in the last 2 weeks and had no problems going back again. By the time I finished making my rounds in the afternoon, it was 5pm and I still had alot of stuff to clear off my computer and my desk. It wasn't until 7.30pm that I officially finished up my last day at SB, and thus, ending 10 years in my little corner of the world.
After work, my roommate JS, and friends JR, JC and JK took me out for pints and good eats at the Rhino Restaurant (Queen West, Near Dufferin). It was great to be back in that part of town as I had frequented the area, and the Rhino, when my martial arts class was located down there.
I arrived early and enjoyed a refreshing pint, a burger and a quiet corner while I started making my list of things to do before I left. I was quite pleased with myself that the list wasn't as long as I thought it would be. A sure sign that I've forgotten alot of stuff ...
It wasn't long before the gang arrived and after some quick pleasantries, the parade of questions soon started. I hadn't seen JC and JK for quite some time, so they had a million questions about leaving my job and the move to London. I evaded them as long as I could by stuffing my face with the burger, but they were patient and just waited me out. I eventually finished my burger and couldn't put them off any longer ... in all seriousness, it was great catching up - hearing about JS's ATV (mis)adventures, JR's valiant attempt to rescue some stray cats, JC's home reno stories, and JK's stories of fixing JC's home reno attempts ...
After the witty banter, I was back home at the Manor by 11pm and in bed 30 minutes later ...
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