One For The Books

Ok, so I had a 9am flight this morning. Last time I flew the the US, I got there 1 1/2 hours early and they laughed at me - the gate agent laughed, the security people laughed - literally laughed, I am not being facetious. With my Nexus card, it's just not necessary to be there that early.

Since 4 days of parking is cheaper than 2 cab rides, I figured I'd save my company some money on this trip. I left my house 2 hours before my flight. I got to the airport with 1 hour and 40 minutes to spare. I go into the wrong parking lot. I get out and then try to find the correct parking lot. Which is a maze of roads and wrong turns. I finally get there, get a spot and stand at the shuttle bus stop. I am waiting, and waiting. Then I notice no one else is waiting. Turns out they no longer use the shuttle bus. You have to walk to the far end of the poorly lit parking lot to the train.

So, I finally get into the terminal. It's a big, beautiful terminal, with rows and rows of counters. Which one? I get into one - wrong line. I'm sent to another. I get into that one - wrong line. I'm sent to another all the way at the other end of the terminal. I finally get up to the counter, it's now 45 minutes before my flight and at 60 minutes, they cut it off. I cannot get on the plane.

As the agent told me, Air Canada does things differently than every other airline and, even though none of this information is on your ticket, you are required to know it and adhere to it. You must be through 2 complete lines and check ins prior to 60 minutes before your flight, or you not be allowed to continue with the process. So, I missed my flight. And it looks like my Nexus card does not save any time on Air Canada. So, after my rescheduled flight this afternoon and my flight home, looks like I will not be flying on them again.

Oh, and it took me 45 minutes to get back home because I was now in 9am traffic.

Absinthe, Fur, Dancing and Snow

I went to the Gourmet Food and Wine Show. I assumed I would be eating all day. Boy, was I wrong. It was the wine and alcohol show, with a little bit of food if you could find it show. I started double-fisting at the second booth. They had some $80 bottles of scotch. Very nice. The one I had was aged 10 years in port barrels. They also had one in sherry barrels and others. Naturally, I could not chug the fine scotch (it was only 11am), so I had to get another glass so I could sample other things. I had wine, port and absinthe. Yes, the stuff from wormwood that the bohemians drank in the 18th century that made them go blind and crazy. They assured me the refining process has improved since then and there is no more chance of turning insane. It comes out green. You add equal parts water and it turns cloudy. Didn't taste nearly as strong as it was. It was only later I found some food.

I have been taking private dance lessons to learn Viennese Waltz and they have been going well. I covered the entire bronze and silver syllabus and most of the gold in my first 2 lessons. Now it's just technique and trying to remember everything once I am there.

I bought a fur coat. M and I spent the day shopping and we each got one. She took hers home, mine is being custom made. I should have it shortly. I cannot wait. People are laughing at me because I am wearing 2-3 layers now and they say this is nothing. I will be prepared.

It snowed on Thanksgiving. We got a few inches. It was nice. I was brave and walked around doing errands for over an hour. It's gone know, but supposed to snow again later today. I was impressed - they had new industrial-strength carpet installed in my lobby and the elevators by 3:00 that day. (We have tile floors and it would be too slippery if left alone). Oh, and I finally turned my heater on Thanksgiving. It got down to 71, so I turned it on.

I went out for dinner with friends on Thanksgiving. We had turducken! These Canadians actually think we gluttonous Americans eat turducken. I explained it's more of an urban legend than a meal. It was good. Personally, I would have liked more duck in mine. For those of you who don't know, it's a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken, with stuffing in between each layer - turducken.

I baked all day Friday, then we went to a place that's famous for their burgers. Really good, creative burgers. I had blue cheese with walnuts and roasted garlic. Saturday we went to a Sex And The City party. It was run by 2 groups. After the show, they had a discussion about the topics brought up in the show. Then they had a hugging lesson. No, I am not kidding. A woman wearing braided pigtails (yes, a grown woman wore braided pigtails in public on a Saturday night!) and started to teach us about the different types of hugs. I say started because it was at that point me and my friends left.

So that brings me up to date. I leave Thursday to NC for our office holiday party. Back home Sunday. But only for 1 week, as I am off to Florida the following Sunday.

Hope ya'll had a good Thanksgiving!

Oops

I FOUND SOMETHING CHEAPER IN CANADA!!!!
My second electric bill has come in. $120 for 3 months. That's right, $40/month. Woohoo!

Now, for the other highlight of my week.......
So, there's this copper pipe in my cabinet that's to nothing. I am assuming it's from the old dishwasher when they redid the kitchen. Why did they run new pies instead of using the old one? Why did they leave this pie 3/4 of the way into the cabinet? Why did they make a hole in the new cabinet and not just cut the pipe off?

I do not know the answer to these questions, but the heating guy was here and I figured he'd have a copper pipe cutter. Which he did and graciously let me borrow. This should take no more than 5 minutes. So, I look at the pipe and notice there's a valve. Now, I KNOW that you always cut AFTER the valve. I know this. And started to cut there. But I want to get rid of this pipe, as it cuts my limited cabinet space. And this is a pipe to nothing, so I cut before the valve.

Suddenly, very hot water starts spewing out. Cuss words quickly follow. I grab a towel and a phone. I call the office and tell them I need the Super immediately, as I have broken a pipe. He comes running - literally. He tries turning off the water at the valve. I tell him it will not work, but he knows better. So, he ignores me. Finally he realizes that I am right and takes my ladder and disappears for 10 minutes. Comes back - he's turned the water off for the whole building! He calls the plumber and tells me he'll be back in about an hour. Plumber arrives and caps off the pipe properly (see I did get my way afterall, with the pipe is now close to the cabinet) and he replaced my other shut off valves.

6 soaking wet towels, many pots of water, and a few hours later, all is well. Now, I'm just waiting to see if I get a bill from the plumber.

Happy Halloween!

So, I went to Church and Wellesley for Halloween. That's the heart of the Gay Village here. There was a huge street party and for the first time I did not see a single naked man. There were more drag queens than usual, but that's to be expected with it being Halloween. There were some amazing costumes. The 3 flamingos were the best. The 3 of them painstakingly glued individual feathers into themselves to create those beautiful costumes. My friend took pictures, so I hope to add some soon.

It was cold by my place, so I dressed in my ski pants, ski jacket, goggles and went as a skier. But with all those people, I was hot. Speaking of hot, I still have not had to turn on my heater, despite it being around freezing at night. It stays a toasty 74 degrees in my place. In fact, I have the windows open right now because I'm hot.

They had 2 snow plows out yesterday morning. I have no idea why, maybe to service them and get them ready? There's certainly no snow and no forecast for snow, but I was a bit concerned.

Dance class tonight, shopping in the US tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!

What did I sign up for?!?

So, I decided it's time to get back out there. I have been told by many people that LavaLife and JDate are the most popular sites. People don't really use Match or Yahoo up here. So, I went onto LavaLife nad created a profile. I created my handle and opening line and while I was creating my bio/filling out the rest of my profile (which I need to really work on and make better) I got 10 IM's, 3 wink/smile things, and 1 email. All within the first 10 minutes. You all know I HATE im and I am just trying to create something here. However, it is a nice ego boost. So, I start looking at the emails - 1 guy sent me naked pictures, and one of the IMs asked if he could tie me up.

Turns out, there are 3 sections on LavaLife - Dating, Relationship and Intimate. You are automatically put on all 3. Intimate is quite explicit (just look at the profiles) and they all jumped on me (no pun intended). So, I figured out how to turn that off and things have slowed down considerably.

Koshka is pushing the boundaries. She likes to drink the water in the saucers after I water the plants. It's dirty water, sometimes with Miracle Grow in it, so I don't like her drinking it. This morning, she took it a step farther and has been trying to move the plant over so she has greater access to the water. She does it, I say no. She does it again, I say no. She understands "no". I pick her up and put her in the next room. She comes back and starts again. Well, the third time we played this game, when she came back, she lay down and put her paw on the saucer. Not to pull at it and get scolded, but to push my buttons.

Been a slow month

I haven't updated this not because I've been busy or lazy, but because not much has happened. It's just work, watch TV, go to dance class - nothing exciting has happened in the past few weeks. It has gotten colder, but it is late October, and that's to be expected. I am pleased to report that I can wear a normal sweater, my nice coat, gloves and a hat and be perfectly comfortable at 8 degrees. I don't even have to button the coat, unless it's windy. Add a turtleneck and make that a warmer sweater, and I feel pretty good. And I haven't even had to put on the heater yet. The low last night was 1 (yes, 1 degree, that's not quite 34 degrees F) and I didn't need it, and I only have my fall/spring comforter on the bed. This place is well insulated.

One interesting note is how far the earth has rotated. Maybe it rotates more when you are up higher in latitude, but the sun used to be in the center of the windows in the sunroom, now it is out the side window. That's about 7 feet it's moved to the right. If any of you math whizzes want to take a stab at how many degrees that is, please let me know.

I wore my winter coat last night

And I'm not sure what concerns me more - that I wore my winter coat in early October, or that I was the only person wearing a winter coat. Oh, people were wearing jackets, but I saw no other big winter coats. Low was 42 last night, which isn't too bad. It just got there as early as 10pm. High today is 58. The last few days it has been miserably hot in the mornings in the sunroom. Then around 3pm the clouds come in and it gets freezing. Of course, I've worked until 10m every night this week and only left the house for the first time last night, so my analysis could be off a little.

I had a great time being back South the other week. It was great to see everyone. Work was productive, but I was so busy with meetings and client visits that I didn't get any of my work done, which is why I've worked so much this week. And therefore have little to report.

didn't make it to 7:30

I made it to 4:30. Dominique and I were feeling old because our bodies hurt, but then we realized that we had been walking nonstop since 7pm the night before - that's over 8 hours of SOLID WALKING! No wonder our bodies ached. So glad I bought that all night metro pass...

Went to the airport yesterday to get my Nexus card. Terminal 1 is beautiful, bright and has some really cool features. For example, as you drive down the main lane of the parking garage, there is a sign at each lane telling you how many open parking spaces there are down that lane. No kidding. Each spot has an infrared sensor over it, red occupied, green available (of course the car in the spot will tell you that), but it sends a signal to the main on on the end to report how many open spots there are. Pretty cool. Each spot has a number as well, so no more "somewhere in row H'. I parked in spot e18.

I was walking up and saw the worlds slowest escalator, so I walked the stairs instead. For some reason on the way down I was lazy and took the escalator. As soon as I stepped on it, it beeped and sped up. So it has like an energy saver. I wanted to keep riding it to test the energy saver out, but decided that would be childish, so I did not.

Got my Nexus pass. Took all of 15 minutes. Eyes scan was anticlimactic. It was like getting your drivers licence picture taken. We'll see if it's any better on my flight today.

Went to a wine tasting on Tuesday and met 2 people in my building. I had fun and will definitely do another one with this group.

I'd write all about Nuit Blanche last night, but I'm going to see a lot of you soon, so I'll wait to post it. I probably won't write much next week as I'll be back in SC

Toronto has something in common with Columbia!!

So last night I go to the grocery store to buy some Kasha (Jewish food). I ask for the Kosher food section and was told they do not have one. I have to go to the store in the Jewish part of town!!!

I was angry, disheartened, and disenchanted that my fabulous adopted big city is segregated just like little ol' Columbia, South Carolina. So, at 10pm last night, I drove to the Jewish part of town. I walked into the grocery store, still angry, and went to the Kosher foods section. Where, despite myself, I was in awe. Take very kosher food section you have seen in a store and add them together - that's how big this was. An entire isle - both sides - plus the ends and another half an isle, and a whole refrigerated section. I'm sure there was a freezer section too, but I didn't go there. I spent 20 minutes just walking up and down the isle amazed.

Hope all ya'll have an easy fast.

mad minivan and brave kitty

So Friday night was my first dance class. I am driving on Broadview which is technically 2 lanes, but people can park in the 2nd lane, so it's really 1 lane. This minivan turns left from the other side of the street and starts driving next to me - on the other side of the road! I honk at him (since he is driving the wrong way) and speed up so he can get behind me. The mad minivan wails on his horn and leaves it on as he tailgates, then passes me from (again, driving on the wrong side of the road), gets in front of me and then slams on his brakes in the intersection, which has a green light.

Dance class was good. Although the majority of people in the class should not be in the class. We spent the first 40 minutes working on 8 counts. The next 20 on the next 16 counts, but we didn;t even get to try it with partners. I am focusing on the good which is that doing the same 8 counts so many times lets me really get the steps so I can focus on technique and styling. The teacher is great at the little technique details.

Saturday was the Art Crawl. We froze. It was about 65 and very windy. Lots of artists, but nothing I liked. Thinking of calling Edie again.

Saturday was a party which was fun. I met lots of new people. I don't think I've been in a room with that many Jewish people since Bar Mitvoh season.

Sunday I went fencing with MeetMarket Adventures. I was surprised there were only 3 men and 17 women. But after fencing, I'm glad there were only 3 men because I'd rather spar with someone my size. I have bruises from the 1 guy I did fence with. It was fun, but not very structured. I'd need a lot more lessons before I'd feel comfortable doing it again.

Sunday evening I invited someone over to play cards. We played hand and foot and had a lovely evening. She brought over her little dog who kept trying to get under the couch and see Koshka. About an hour into it, Koshka came out of the couch to say "hi". I swooped her up and put her and her food into my bedroom.

This week is quiet. Yom Kippur does that.

L'Shanah Tova

Happy New Year.

I baked a challah, 2 actually. Went to a friend's house for erev, and cousin's for the day of. 13 miles straight up Bathurst Street - 45 minutes. Gotta love living in a big city. But he did blow the shofar and that was cool.

My first dinner party and Matt Damon

Well, I had my first dinner party Saturday. It was small - only 5 people showed up, but I only wanted friends. I went to the farmer's market Saturday morning and picked up fresh tomatoes and fruit, spent the afternoon cooking. Koshka came out and rubbed up on these people she never met before. It was a very nice party.

I think I found a great dance studio. There was an open house last week at this one place. I took 2 classes and loved them. I learned some technique and have been working on it even when I walk normally. I need that level of detail. So, I start this Friday. My only hesitation is that it's Friday night at 9pm, so my night's pretty much ruined. The swing dancing I like to do is every other Friday 8-11, so I can't really go to that either. We'll see. And, next Friday is Yom Kippur, so can I go to class? There is no temple that late, it's not work, and I won't eat.

Sunday I left the house around 2:30 and just started walking. I got home at 6:30. Yes, I was exhausted. The Toronto International Film Festival is in town and there are celebrities all over. I was walking along the street and saw a big crowd. So I stopped. They said they'd been waiting for Matt Damon for half an hour. Just the Shakira walks by. Not 3 minutes later the crowd starts shouting, "Matt, Matt, Matt." Just then, a streetcar drives by, sees the crowd and stops. groans, because no one I'm standing with can see anymore. So, I leave. As I get past the streetcar, I turn around, and there he is - the adorable Matt Damon.

I am walking about about an hour later, and the crowd is even larger. I have no patience to wait even a few minutes this time, so I walk across the street and keep going. As I get to the island in the middle, the crowd screams. I turn around, guess who's there again.

Lots of stuff planned this week - cards tonight, Rosh Hashanah tomorrow and Thurs, dancing Friday, Art Crawl and a party Saturday, fencing lessons Sunday.

why don't American politicians do this?

There's a candidate here who's running for election (or re-election) by promising to add a new 3-day holiday in February.

The Ontario Liberals have vowed to create a new statutory holiday in February provided they're re-elected on Oct. 10, but critics suggest it's merely a ploy to grab votes and divert attention from the government's many broken promises. Dubbed "Family Day," the third Monday of the calendar's shortest month would be aimed at recognizing the importance of Ontario families by giving people more time to spend with their loved ones.

"Ontarians work very, very hard. Ontario winters are very, very long and Ontarians deserve a statutory holiday in February," Finance Minister and Liberal campaign chairman Greg Sorbara said. "I think this is going to be very, very welcome in Ontario. It's something we've talked about for more than a decade."

While even Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory wouldn't disagree with the fact Ontarians could really use a break in February, he suggested the timing of the announcement is just a tad opportunist. "The gap between New Year's Day and Easter is a long gap and I'm all for family having a day to be together," Tory said just before boarding his campaign bus.

Was it Christmas, or Labour Day?

Had an amazing weekend. Lots of walking and lots of once in a lifetime events. Len and B came to visit. I picked them up at the airport Friday. We came back here. It was L's birthday, so I baked a cheesecake. After cake, we promptly set out on our first of many walks around Toronto.

We went to dinner in Chinatown. We went to the same place I went to with Mom. As we walked up the stairs we heard lots of music. They have ballroom dance lessons on Friday nights. More like ballroom line dancing. They invited us to join them which we did. Then they would not let us sit down the rest of the night.

After dinner, we went in search of a dance club. We walked for what seemed like an hour and finally found a club with music the 3 of us agreed on and had a cover less than $20pp. The club was awesome and I will definitely go back. There is no dance floor; people just dance everywhere - on the booths, tables, walls, stairs... I think we left at 2:30.

Saturday we got up and took the ultra-touristy Hippo Tour where you ride on a big embarrassing yellow and purple amphibious vehicle. But it was fun and very informative. I learned a lot about my new city. Plus we got to see some of the airshow from the water.

We came home and got dressed for Cirque du Soliel's Kooza show. It was incredible. The contortionist walked around herself. The high wire act was the best I have ever seen. I was very tense the whole time they were up there. They even had a teeter board. Great show. We ate dinner after the show in the college section. Another 2am night.

Sunday we went to the ROM - Royal Ontario Museum. Decent, but will be much better when they open up the remaining planned exhibits in the next few years. We ate hot dogs from a stand on the street for lunch.

Then we got in the car and headed towards Niagara Falls. We were very lucky on the way. Traffic had come to a sudden stop. We were in the middle lane and a car in the fast lane was not paying attention to the fact that the cars in front of him were stopped. Luckily, all of us in the car saw this, so I braked more than I had planned, just as the car hit the car in front of him, sending it across the freeway - right in front of me! - and into the car in the right lane. 2 more car lengths, and we would have been hit instead. We pulled over and called 911. It was good to see that 4 other cars pulled over to help. Looked like everyone was going to be fine.

So, we headed back down the road. B was the best tour guide. He showed me places I would never had gone to - whirlpool, rapids, shortcuts to avoid traffic. We at dinner in the Skylon, their tower and got the best seat in the place - right by the window in between the American and Horseshoe Falls. Perfect to view the lights on the falls, which was beautiful.

And we had a special surprise - fireworks. Have you ever looked DOWN onto fireworks? It's pretty cool. After the fireworks, we went to the casino and then drove home. Again, 3am.

Monday we went to the CN Tower. In addition to the normal CN sights, this time we were eye level with the fighter planes for the airshow. Then I drove them to the airport.

Since I was out, I figured I'd go to the mall. It's Labour Day. I drove to the mall - it was closed. I drove to Ikea - closed. Home Depot - closed. Best Buy - closed. Grocery store - closed. Wal mart - CLOSED. Yes, Wal Mart and grocery stores were closed.

bedroom set

Well, my new bedroom furniture arrived. For those of you who question my design skills, no I did not get it in silver, but I did create a huge silver headboard. Here are the pictures. Note the asymmetrical drawers.

I have been very remiss

In not updating this for a while. I apologize.

My old neighbors came and visited me. It was so great to see them. It was crowded having 4 people in my apartment, but in a good way. It is amazing how many more dishes, towels, everything, 4 people go through. I have never ran the dishwasher so much in my life. But it was good chaos. We went to Canada's Wonderland and rode the roller coasters, which was fun. Tried a few new restaurants around here, and explored. We went to the CN Tower at night. That was cool seeing the city with all the lights. And we played lots of cards.

Been working a lot. I got a massage Thursday and have bruises from him. Not happy about that. Went swing dancing Friday. My furniture is here (scheduled to be delivered tomorrow), so I painted my bedroom this weekend. I didn't get everything done that I wanted, but I can do the rest after the furniture arrives. I got the base color up and the headboard painted. I painted silver all the way to the ceiling. I LOVE IT!!! I post pictures after the furniture arrives.

But I forgot that I am in an apartment now and do not have the storage shed I used to have. I bought my beautiful silver paint without thinking that it might not be latex (I always have paint thinner at home, so why bother checking?). I opened the can and it smelled different than the other paint I had been using all weekend - better. It still didn't register. It was about halfway through painting, when I looked at the silver pain on my hand that I realized, this is probably oil-based. I looked at the label and, sure enough. So, I get to look like the tin man until I can go buy paint thinner tomorrow.

Boy am I glad I work from home.

My first kiss in Toronto

Mom and Grandma will be proud - he's a Jewish doctor.

Last night I went to a Jewish Single's event. It was at this really cool bar called The Vogue Room and they specialized in champagne drinks. The event started off slow and I hung out with a woman who came in from out of town and the bartender for the first hour+.

Then this really cute guy walked up to me and we started talking. We talked and danced the rest of the night. Had a great time. He's a family doctor, born in Israel, has lived in NYC, and loves to dance. He drove me home and gave me a kiss goodnight.

Going to a drag show tonight, and shopping tomorrow to get ready for my 1st out of town guests. They will be here a week, so I might not have another posting until after they leave.

New couch

Well, the new couch FINALLY arrived! With only days to spare as my first guests will be here Monday. In honor of Jay, I will leave the tag on for now.

Singles party tonight, dim sum for lunch tomorrow, drag show tomorrow night, shopping & cleaning planned for Saturday, brunch and a pot luck on Sunday, although I'm thinking I may have to bail on the potluck. Hope you guys have fun in Hot Springs! Think of me and Guy.

Caribana pix

Yesterday I was taken to our local chipper, not bad and tons of chips. Today I've just sat around and worked. Nothing exciting. It's warm here, but nothing like ya'll are having. I can sit by the fan with the windows open and I'm fine.




Here are pictures from Caribana. You will need to click and blow them up. All the large colorful things are people. The feathers/adornments are 20-30 feet high and on wheels, so they can walk. The guy is my friend's husband, so don't get too excited.

















And, what parade would be complete without the following float taking up the rear?????

Simcoe Day

Today is Simcoe Day. It's a 3 day weekend up here and there's not a single car driving by me at the moment, which is extremely serene. I, of course, have to work. No, I am no idea who or what Simcoe is.

Let's see, where did I leave off? Monday I went out to lunch with a few people I knew. We went to this Korean BBQ place that's walking distance from me. You get soup, tea and your main course for $4.95. What a deal! And I couldn't eat all of it. I am definitely going back there again. I worked late a lot last week, so I didn't do much of anything exciting. Unless you count making 2 placements as exciting.

Saturday, I went to Caribana. This is the largest, wildest festival they have here. I met up with some friends who had also never gone and we went, full of excitement. It said the parade is from 10-6. We wondered how a parade can possible last 8 hours. We got there and it was like you imagine Carnival in Brazil. Girls of every size and shape wearing sequined bikinis and feathered headpieces and then there were the showpieces. These made what showgirls in Vegas wear look like small, homemade costumes. They were 30 feet high and as large as a car. They had to have wheels on the bottom so the people could walk in them. My friend took pictures and I'll post them as soon as I get them.

So, we walked past the staging area to the parade route, and it didn't look like a parade at all, just a mob of colorful people waiting, just like in the staging area. After about 10 minutes, the mob moves, in a mob. About 3 groups go, then nothing. There is no one behind them. We know there's lots me (we saw it in the staging area), but nothing. So we started asking the people around us.

Apparently, the parade is done on island-time. Every 30-45 minutes, they send out 3-4 groups. So, you watch for half an hour, then wait half an hour, watch for half an hour, wait for half an hour. Now we know why the parade lasts 8 hours. Well, none of us had the patience for that. So, we walked back around and tried to go look at the vendors while waiting. But you had to pay $25 just for the privilege of seeing what the overpriced vendors were selling. Nope. There were a few vendors out for the general public, but they were selling corn on the cob, pizza and hot dogs, not Caribbean food.

We watched the next group of 3 get ready to go in the staging area, then we left. We went to the Wheat Sheaf and had a lovely lunch. Then my disciplined friends went home so they could go to the gym.

I, of course, am not that disciplined. But when I got upstairs, I got antsy. I needed a new telephone (my 2nd Panasonic in 2 years died), that was my most important errand to accomplish. I had planned on driving around on Sunday. But the stores downtown were open late on Saturday, so I walked. I walked to Eaton Center, then up to College Street, around a few blocks, picked out a phone from the 3 stores, purchased it, and walked home. I walked for 3 1/2 hours. Yes, I sat in the hot tub when I got home.

Yesterday I laid by the pool and finished my book, played with my cell phone and unpacked the last few boxes. That's right, ALL the boxes have been unpacked. I am very proud of myself. And, I even have storage room to spare. Does that mean I can go buy some more stuff???

And I finally placed with my cellphone. I now have songs on it and games. Progress.

Not a single car has gone by the entire time I have been typing. Even Sunday mornings are busier than this is. Maybe I should see who this Simcoe is.

Food and beaches

Friday I met a girl in my building and we went out for dinner. Had a great time. Talked, walked around, she showed me some important places around. I was going to go swing dancing since I haven't been since that first week here, but we were talking so much that it was too late to go. I can go some other time.

Friday I found a great basket of fresh local tomatoes, so on Saturday I made my salsa. That led me to crave fajitas for dinner. So, I went to the grocery store, spend $100, and forgot the tortillas. So, I had to go BACK to the grocery store. I had already taken chicken breasts out of the freezer before I got the craving. So, I made steak & chicken, home made salsa and guacamole, rice, and cheese. Yes, all for me. I called Elliot and invited him over, but he's a bit too far. So, looks like I will be eating fajitas for the next 4 days.

Saturday evening I met some people at The Beaches for Jazzfest. Mobs of people for a very popular street festival filled with bands that played everything except jazz. Although we all did a double-take because this one guy sounded just like Neil Young. Since I had never been to The Beaches (and because the crowds were insane), we walked along the beach on the way back. Hung out at Starbucks talking, got home around midnight.

Today I really should have stayed at home cleaning up the guestroom to prepare for the arrival of the guest bed/sofa. But, some people were going to the Toronto Islands for BrazilFest. So, I went. Good group of people (there were 7 of us). We were all disappointed since there was no Brazilian food - only hot dogs and hamburgers. We walked around the islands, hung out on the beach, watched the wake boarders - WakeFest was there too.

The coolest thing!! You can see my condo building from the islands!!! I had one of the girls take a picture.

I learned a very important lesson today. I almost missed the girls at the ferry since I got on the wrong streetcar. Now, according to the TTC map, there are 2 streetcars that run on King street, both East-West. The one I took turned North. (I got off, walked back, missed the right streetcar, waited, then walked to the next stop and was 20 minutes late to meet everyone.) On my walk, I ran into a TTC Supervisor (TTC is the Toronto Transit Commission - the people who runs the public transportation system here) and I asked him. Obviously, I said, I am reading the map incorrectly. Nope, the map is right, but the streetcar garage is on King Street, so any streetcar coming out of the garage takes King Street to it's route. Also, some of the northern routes are not circular, so they come down King Street to complete their circle. So, it could be one of about 14 different routes, even though the map only shows 2. The lesson is to ALWAYS check the sign on the front of the streetcar.

20 dates in 1 week - busy week

Yes, I've already had 20 dates this week. I went speed dating on Monday. It was fun. I had 20 five-minute dates. It was very interesting how sometimes the time flew by, and others you'd swear they forgot to start the timer and it was half an hour. Everyone keeps a list and you check yes or no. Then you turn your lists in and if you both say yes, they send you their contact info. I would only classify 1 as terrible. It takes a few days, so we'll see what happens.

Tuesday I played Euchre. Never played before and they were impressed how quickly I picked it us. It was fun and I met a bunch of new people. Although service at the restaurant was terrible.

I plan on going swing dancing tonight and I may go with a woman I met in my building. Busy weekend planned. I'll let ya'll know about it after it happens

Weekend Update

Wednesday lunch was great. I took a 2 1/2 hour lunch. Met some very nice people and a few of us went for "a coffee" after lunch. That's what they say here, "a coffee", not "coffee". And I did my Pilates class. Thursday I worked and packed for the camping trip.

I forgot how frustrating organizing these trips can be. At 10:30 Friday morning (I was leaving at 3), someone emailed me they wanted to come and needed a tent and a ride. At 11, someone else and at 12:20, 2 more people! 3 hours before leaving. Very frustrating. But, the more the merrier and it all worked out and we had a great time. It was a good group. And I'm glad everyone made it.

I forgot how bad traffic can be. It took me an hour and 15 minutes to go the first 20 miles. The rest of the trip went smoothly.

Saturday we went Geo-Cache-ing. Someone brought a GPS system and arranged it. It is a global scavenger hunt that uses GPS to find the hidden treasure. Well, the treasure is a tupperware container filled with tacky trinkets, but it's fun to look for and find.

Attacked by a wild animal:

So, I'm in the tent Saturday night, and I hear something scratch at the tent by my head. I jump up and grab the flashlight. Nothing. So, I lay back down and hear it again. The other person in the tent heard it too, so I know I'm, not going crazy. I trust in the tent and go to sleep. In the morning, we told the group and the third person in the tent said he felt something crawling underneath him in the night. Sure enough when we pick up the tent, there's a small tunnel the animal dug to get to his nest that was covered by the tent. We're thinking it was a rat or chipmunk or something.

Climbing in the Trees:

Sunday was the main event - climbing in the trees. My camera batteries died, so I don't have many pictures, but it was AWESOME!! I am DEFINITELY doing this again. Some of you would love it when you come up and visit. I went on no less than 15 zip lines, some tree to tree. Indiana Jones-type rope bridges were the easy part. Over barrels, walking on a single wire, climbing cargo nets, logs in all 3 directions, hopes to jump through (literally), all in the trees.

Keeping Busy

Today I'm doing lunch with a group of women. Tonight I have to choose between a singles Salsa dance, dinner at a posh restaurant with some more single women, or my pilates class. I know, I better decide quickly. This weekend I'm going camping and climbing in the treetops. It should be lots of fun, but will also be difficult from a Guy perspective. I know there's still Guy hair in the tent and I'm just not sure how I will react to that. It's going to be strange not to have someone go crazy when I pull out the tent and other camping gear.

Interesting week

I was sick most of the week, so there's not much to report. I did get to experience the panacea that is the Canadian Healthcare system and I can sum it up quickly - I had to go to the public washroom to give a urine sample. Yes, out the door, down the hall to the left. No wipes, no place to put my purse. Then I had to bring it back and they didn't even have a place to wash my hands. Despite all the problems with the US medical system (and there are LOTS), it's still the best out there.

I forced myself to to out Friday. Went out with the girls to a rooftop bar. Met some nice people. Went downstairs to the dance club. I didn't really dance, but the washroom is an experience I'll never forget. You walk in and there's a room in front of you. On your left is the entrance tot he ladies. Then the whole wall on the left is the sinks. At the back end of the room is the entrance to the men's room. So, they share the sinks. I thought that was the weird part. I get in lane and go into the stall. Holy shit! It's a one-way mirror. It looks like everyone at the sinks is staring at you. Freaked me out! I could barely go.

Yesterday I went to a potluck and had a very nice time. I'm planning a camping trip for this coming weekend, which should be fun.

So, they call it the Cruise of the 30,000 islands. So, I ask the Captain, "There aren't really 30,000 islands, are there?" "Nope," he answers. "There's somewhere between 60,000 and 90,000. They lost count." When I got out there, I understood. It's miles of the east and north shore of the Georgian Bay on Lake Huron (my 3rd Great Lake in a week) that's all these small islands make of rock. They're mostly privately owned with houses on them. There's 2 feet on ice in the harbour in the winter, so most are summer only. But I think it'd be cool to go on one of the snowmobile tours they do in the summer. Just think, going over the same area you went over just a few months ago in a boat.

That was Saturday. Sunday I slept until noon, read my book and ordered my furniture. One of my friends made an airline reservation, so I had to run out and buy a guest bed. The first spot has been booked. Who will be my second guest????

BBQ on July 4th - Canadian style

Yesterday was July 4th and while it's not as surreal as spending July 4th in Russia or England, it's still strange spending it somewhere else. I was surprised the ex-Pats groups I joined didn't even acknowledge the holiday. Although some people did wish me a happy 4th.

I had the day off of work, so I went to the bank, dropped of the pictures the movers broke to get re-framed, and went furniture shopping. Until yesterday, I had been very disappointed in the furniture I've seen. But yesterday was very fruitful.

After being couped up in the car all day, I decided to walk around. It's July 4th, I needed BBQ for dinner. SO, rather than BBQ a burger by myself, I went to Chinatown and got BBQ pork and BBQ duck.

Cedar Point

I went to Ohio this weekend. BTW - for anyone travelling by car to Canada, all that is required to get back into the US is a verbal declaration of US Citizenship. No, I am not kidding. Any ID would be helpful, but is not required. In January 2008, a birth certificate will be required and "sometime later in 2008" a passport will be required. If travelling by air, you need a passport or receipt of passport application. But by car, just to tell them you are a US Citizen. Boy, do I feel safe.

I found this out because I forgot to bring my passport with me on my way to Ohio on Friday. I had my driver's license and made it through no problem. I first went to a small town outside of Youngstown, where Terry's family lives. They founded the town, actually. He has a very warm, gregarious family. Even his father, the stereotypical retired marine, was charming. Maybe it was all an act, but they left a good impression.

Terry and I went to Cedar Point. We rode 11 of the 17 roller coasters. 1 was closed, 2 were for kids, 1 would have been the 3rd wooden roller coaster and our heads had been jostled enough, the last we're not sure if it was actually running or not, but we only had time to do 1 more and choose to ride Top Thrill Dragster again.

The best ones are described here: Millennium Force was a very smooth coaster with a 300, 170 and 180 foot drops, and went 90mph. No loops, but very smooth with lots of airtime. Maverick is the newest one. It shoots you off at a mere 72mph over the first drop of 120 feet, but it's at a 95 degree angle. Think about that. A 90 degree angle would be straight down. 95 is in a little bit. 4 loops, corkscrews, tunnels and twists. Wanted to ride that one again in the front car, but not enough time. The one I did ride twice is the Top Thrill Dragster. It was short, but intense. It shoots you from 0 to 120mph in 3.8 seconds. You go straight up 420 feet, the straight down 420 feet, do a 3/4 turn and end on a stretch. 90 degree 400-foot drop at 120 mph. Wow. Because of the 3/4 turn, every seat gets a great view of nothing beneath them. It is a rush.

The rest of the trip was tame in comparison. I went to Wal-Mart and bought cat litter and cat food, since it's less than half the price and I went to Staples to ship a package UPS. Exciting stuff. That's about it. Great weekend.

Today is Canada Day and everything is closed, which is not a big deal since I need to stay in and work.

Free Drinks, Trannies, and SuperSoakers, OH MY!

What a weekend! Friday I went out with some girls for drinks on a rooftop patio. We got our first round at the bar, then found a table. Over an hour later, a waiter finally came by and took the next round. When he returned, he told the girls it'd be $20 (for 1 glass of wine and I cuppa tea). They asked for their checks. They checks said $8.50 and $3.50. They handed him a $5 and a $10 and he wandered off. They had to grab him for their change - he was not going to give any. (Lenley, sound like Miyo's?) So, we called the manager over, who apologized and have us a free round of drinks.

The restaurant turned into a dance club, so we stayed and danced. I, of course, was not wearing the right shoes for dancing. I had stubbed my right toe so bad earlier, that I almost ripped the toenail off. So, I was compensating by staying mostly on my left. Which, of course, gave me a nice blister on my left. I left early (midnight) because my feet hurt too bad. Walking home was miserable!

Saturday I did my usual rounds of Home Dept, Wal-Mart and Ikea. Then I had my circus night. From the description, I thought it was going to be flying trapeze. You swing, guy catches you, you fall into big net. (Others thought so as well.) Nope. The trapeze was a mere 4 feet off the floor. But we still had fun. I tumbled, jumped on the trampoline (yes, I did a back flip), swung and hung on the trapeze, hoop, and climbed the fabric from the ceiling. Which was where I got a lovely rope burn on top of my blister.

Then I got dressed and went to the ballroom dance. My poor feet! But I still danced. I stayed until they shut it down.

Sunday was the Gay Pride Parade. Toronto has the 2nd largest Gay Pride festival in N Amer (SF is #1). People of all ages were there to watch - young, old, and quite a few children. It was a very festive atmosphere. People were not gawking or shocked, but truly enjoying diversity and even proud that their city accepts this. Most big businesses had a float or entourage at the parade, including Trojan, IBM and the police department (90% females marching with the police department). There were fabulous drag queens, bad drag queens, topless women and bottomless men, a little bit of leather, and even a juggling, stilt-walking trannie. Every float had someone with a SuperSoaker. So, we all got blasted with the SuperSoakers. It was 87 so it felt good and I am glad I did not wear white. But the most un-South Carolina moment was the Mayor of Toronto walking - not riding in a car, but enthusiastically walking - in the parade.

Everyone was milling around after the parade. I only got 1 free condom. I then walked all the way down to front street (close to a mile) to go the to St Lawrence Market, which I found out is closed on Sundays. I took the streetcar home and just crashed with the realization that my body is getting older and cannot do everything it used to. I was absolutely exhausted. I went to the pub on the corner, had a cider and wings and then crawled into bed.

Curtains, mirrors and yogurt

Well, they installed my new curtains on Tuesday and so far they really work. It's about 10 degrees cooler in here than it has been. Yesterday morning was the first time I'd sat in that room and did not sweat. While they look life fabric, they are not, and the smell of plastic has been overwhelming, but it will fade. I can still see through them, but it is like through fog.

I saw the super yesterday and he finally helped me install the mirror in the bathroom. He had trouble getting the hangars (the kind he asked me to get) to work, and put a few extra holes in my wall (covered by the mirror), so he only charged me $10. It looks great!! I love it! Now I just need to install the glass shelves and my bathroom will be done. That will just leave my room and the guest room. Not too bad.

I had a pleasant unexpected surprise yesterday. I bought this chocolate cherry yogurt - fat free and sugar free. I've had chocolate Yoplait yogurt back in The States and did not have high expectations of it (I've thrown the others away they were so gross). OH MY GOD - this was heaven! I never need to buy chocolate ice cream again. Does anyone know what happens if you put yogurt into the freezer? Do you get frozen yogurt, or is it differen?t

A/C update

The guy finally came by to look at my A/C. I keep it set at 78 and it just can't keep up. He said the unit is just old. Air coming out is about 10 degrees warmer than it should be. I have 2 options: 1) replace the unit (that's around $4500) 2) empty everything out of the storage closet and have him take the unit away for 3-4 days to see if there's a pinhole leak of freon. He will fix the leak and add freon. This option is free, but I will have no A/C for 3-4 days.

I will see if my new blinds help and make a decision later this week.

I miss Guy

Thursday was an interesting day. I got a nice ego boost the night before when the Branch Manager of our Boston branch called me to ask about doing business with a Canadian company. Apparently they had asked our VP weeks ago and he had not gotten back them, so they called me. Thursday I went to a happy hour with a local single's group. It was ok, but people there were looking for husbands, not friends. But I did meet one guy who was a recruiter, so I had a great contact and got loads of inf0. (Looks like it's too complicated - have to form a Canadian company, pay payroll taxes, sales tax....)

I had to run out of there to get to my dance class. I was late, but I did not see the ROUS raccoon this week.

Friday night I met up with a few girls and we walked around midtown then went back to Michelle's place and relaxed on her huge balcony. Nice, relaxing evening.

Saturday, I got up early to go on a hike with Mosaic. I check who was leading the hike to make sure it wasn't the obnoxious guy (it wasn't). But when I got there, guess who was leading it? Yup. He wasn't as bad this time, but it seems he leads all the hikes, so I guess I'll go to Mosaic sparingly. Nice hike, reminded me of Crowder's Mountain, without that nasty climb. There's lots of places for mountain climbers and some pretty sheer drop offs. We hiked 12.5km. I am glad I didn't know the conversion until I got home - 7.5 miles! I kept thinking about Guy. It was tough doing that hike without him. He really would have liked it.

Sunday I painted the living room. Anyone want to guess what color? That's right. It's actually a nice shade that ties everything together. I also changed all the outlets in the living room (and found out that 1 of them is on a different circuit) and added an outlet box in the stoage closet.

Then I met with the planning group for the camping and hiking group. They have a 3 day weekend every month in Canada and they want to go backpacking each one. I told them to have fun. They are minimalists. Even car camping they can fit 5 people AND all their stuff into a regular car! One cooler for 9 people. Boy am I going to be a surprise. I have been tasked with planning a camping trip mid-July.

1st Condo Meeting

Well, I went to my first condo meeting last night. It was fun. People were bitching about big things and small things. I found it entertaining. Turns out we have a great, knowledgeable, active Board with the best cash flow of the 6 buildings in our complex. Our roof will be replaced this year, but that was expected and they have to replace the ramp into the garage, which should be very interesting, but all 6 buildings are paying for that.

I found out it really is ok for me to cut as many holes in my walls as I like, provided I do it between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday, which is a good thing, since I already have a cut a big hole in my call. Only to find out my walls are only and inch and a half thick, so the wall is now patched.

I had the Super come up so I could ask some questions. Yes, my ceilings are concrete, which is great for sound (I never hear people stomping overhead), bad for hanging things like lights or ceiling fans. It's about $150 just for installation for each fan. Yikes! The mystery transformer that's in my closet is to a security system I am supposed to have that the previous owners apparently took out. But I'm not concerned as it's been over 2 years since they've had a break-in in our building (safest one of the six). The building has a maintenance contract for our A/C, so I can just fill out a work order, but it most likely have to be replaced in the next few years and it's about $4000, so let's hope it's later.

Well, I'm off to go order my blinds. They should be installed next week.

I have the dishwasher part!!

I only only got lost TWICE - once getting there, and once trying to leave the building. I drove straight from there to AAA to get a Missasauga map. The lady and everyone else in the shop laughed in agreement when I told them I get lost there every time.

My ColaClub friends told me about a website www.meetup.com where you have mini-ColaClubs. So, I joined several. Friday night I went out with a group of single ladies to a trendy bar and we had a great time. Now, Mapquest told me it was 2 big blocks east of me, so I walked. Could not find it. Turns out it's about 5 big blocks West of me (and people wonder why I HATE internet maps). But this is one if the things I love about this city - I just hoped on a streetcar and was there in 10 minutes.

I learned my lesson from last week and was out of the house before 10 am Saturday to run my errands. Home Depot, Linens and Things, 2 blind stores, pet store, Whirlpool, AAA. As I am sitting here sweating from the sun, I am reminded to call the blinds guy to measure the windows. When I got home Saturday I cleared away 11 more boxes. At night I went to the swing dance by the Lindy group, which is much younger, but nowhere near as friendly as the Swing Group on Fridays. Lindy is an 8 count dance, so it took me a bit to get used to, but I did dance. I just don't like the way it looks. There were some really, really good dancers there and it's just not an attractive dance. I think I'll stick with the Friday night group.

Sunday I cut a hole in my wall, then patched the hole in my wall and cleaned more boxes. Once I get the mirror up, the guestroom will be mostly cleared and ready for a bed and company.

Oh, the hole was for a medicine cabinet. It was an elaborate plan to cut the hole, then use the rotozip to cut the metal studs (since they are closer than 16"), but the wall is only 2" deep, and that includes the sheetrock! So, the hole is being closed up and I guess I'll have to get an outside mounted medicine cabinet. Glad I tested it in the guest bathroom before doing it in mine.

My first condo meeting is tomorrow, so that should be interesting.

Last night Koshka decided to explore. She wined at the door and roamed all up and down the hallway. Quite impressed. But then ran back inside. I bought her a scratching post so she won't use my furniture. I asked the guy how to train her to use it (she is a cat, not a dog), and he said catnip. So, I put it together and she was not interested. I put the catnip on it and she just rubs all over it now. I have yet to see her sharpen her claws on it yet, but she rubs it, this is progress.

And yes, I ran the dishwasher.

Customer Service in this country......

First the good news, I finally got a massage yesterday. I went to the big massage school here and for $35, I got a pretty good massage. They have to ask before they do anything, so he was constantly asking, can I move over here? Is it ok if I massage you here? But I do feel better today.

I replaced my thermostat with one that can be either F or C (I have it set on F). And it's programmable. But it was 12 degrees yesterday, so I didn't need it yet.

At the advise of several friends, I went on a site called meetup.com where they have all sorts of groups. I joined several of them and hopefully my social life here will improve. There's a psychic reading social tonight which sounds like fun, and it's less than 2 blocks from here, but I'd have to miss Pilates, so I haven't decided yet.

So, the saga of my dishwasher. I need a small $6.50 part for my dishwasher. SO FAR I have made 11 calls to Whirlpool, and no part yet. Here's a summary: Was given the part number and told I had to order it on the internet. My part's not on the internet. Call back, told I need to call a local dealer. Call the dealer, 6-8 weeks. Call back, can order over the phone (they have no idea why I was told I could not), but shipping is $7, I'm better off calling the local guy. Call local guy back, he asks how I'm going to pay - in cash when I walk into your store tomorrow. Nope, I have to pay Visa or Mastercard over the phone right now. Well, I only have Amex. Call Whirlpool again (since I know I've paid them with Amex before) and told no, they do not accept Amex. Call Whirlpool USA who does take Amex (so at least I'm not crazy). Strangely, the part is $8.75 there, shipping only $4, but they can't ship to Canada. Call Whirlpool again, they say there's a big parts warehouse in Missisauga where I can walk in and pick it up (they have it in stock). Gave me the address, but refused to give me the phone number. Ya'll remember, Missisauga is where I got miserably lost in trying to find customs. Figuring he's just being a jerk, I call back and again am told they cannot give me a number. If I get lost, they advise me to simply call them. 2 problems with that 1) there's always 10 minutes waiting until you reach someone 2) They are in a call center god knows where, I can't really say I'm at the corner of Main and Finch, how to I get there? Her answer was maybe I'll get lucky and speak with someone who knows the area!

So, my 1 phone call get a $6 part the next day has been over a week and over 2 hours of my time, and no part. Just like my dealings with Rogers and other companies, people are courteous, but not really interested in helping. Guess I'll just need to get used to it.

Culture Shock

So, yesterday morning I relax - it's a lazy Saturday morning. I sleep in, do some more rearranging of the house, set out to run my errands around 3:00. Unbeknownst to me, EVERYTHING closes at 6:00 on Saturday. I mean everything - all the stores, even the mall! The mall! 6:00 on Saturday. It closes at 9 during the week. So, I had to go home, my errands half done. I did finish the hall shelves and clear out 3 more big boxes. I put up the knife magnet and towel racks in the bathroom. Will put in the medicine cabinet today and see if I can get someone to help me with the mirror. I did not go dancing as planned and I got busy going the stuff around the house. Need to go to the hottub again. I miss Gary

Mom, decorating, money

Mom was here Sunday through Tuesday. We had a great time. I tried to strike a balance between working and seeing Toronto, but we definitely did more working than sightseeing. Although we did 2 long walks and ate dinner in Chinatown. Does staring out my window count as sightseeing?

We organized, rearranged the living room, painted the bathroom (thanks Mom!), installed my spice racks, put pictures up on the walls, and did more sorting and putting away. The place looks great!

We also went shopping for window coverings. I found the PERFECT shades. I LOVE them! Imagine 2 sheers with fabric blinds in between them. Open they're sheers, closed blinds. Awesome. Well, there's $500 a window. Yikes! I have 16 windows. I expected expensive, but not that expensive. I think I'm going blind shopping this weekend to see what else I can find.

I did the ballroom dance class last night. 2 1/2 hours of class and open dancing, and there were single guys there to dance with. Ok, 2 guys, 1 shorter than me, the other 70. But I had fun. I need to decide if I'm going swing dancing tonight, ballroom party tomorrow, swing tomorrow. It's nice to have such dilemmas.

I found the best place to change money. Well, Zanne actually found it for me. It's called Custom House and they're at http://www.customhouse.com/ They are the NICEST, FRIENDLIEST, MOST HELPFUL people I have met in Canada. I had problems transferring money into my account this week and they went out of their way to get it in there by today, when my first mortgage payment comes out. Everyone in the company knew me and my situation and worked to solve it. I cannot say enough good things about them.

The heat index was 96 here yesterday, so I'm not worried about freezing quite yet.

walking, Celsius, dancing and more

So, it's been HOT! Not SC heat outside, but in my sunroom it sure is. Yes, I am questioning the wisdom of putting my office in the sunroom, at least in the summer. I think I'll like it in the winter though. So, I broke down in put the A/C on Friday. The thermostat looks normal, I've seen it in passing. So, I walk up to it and....the range is 10 to 30 - it's in Celsius. I have NO IDEA where to set the temp. I just put it lower than it was. A/C works ok. But I need to look for a new thermostat at Home Depot in F. If I can't find one, whoever comes up to visit me first will have to bring me one.

Friday I first went for a Salsa evaluation. I walked through a different part of my neighborhood. I found the closest Starbuck's and a bunch of fabulous looking outdoor seating restaurants. I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD! Just love it. So, quick eval, she said I was a level 3 (like I thought), but I could use the level 2 class since I have some bad habits (no shocker there since I haven't had a real dance lesson in years).

Then I went out swing dancing. I took public transportation finally. The streetcar to the subway. I spent 20 minutes after getting off the subway to find the place. The directions said 1 block West, on South side of the street. Well, whoever wrote them is dyslexic because it's 1 block East on the north side of the street. Anyway, I found it.

I will admit, I was a bit nervous when I walked in. The average age was 55. Now, ya'll know I get along with people of any age. But this is strenuous dancing. Well, I didn't sit down until 11:30pm. I danced non-stop. The one guy (I swear he was 85+) was awesome! I had a great time. They did tell me the Lindy group is young - more my age, but I had a blast and will definitely be back. Plus I've never done Lindy. Rick, if you're reading this, they were trying to get me to do West Coast and I remembered your baskets and whips.

On Saturday I went to a Waltz workshop. 3 1/2 hours of waltz. Teachers were great. I really like their style and once I remembered that waltz starts with the left foot, then the right and switches, I was ok. I kept up with people who have been taking from them for years.

My timing is good, as summer dance lesson sessions all start next week. So, after my brief evaluations I am going to go to Ballroom class and the do swing socials on either Fridays or Saturdays. I'm going to hold off on Salsa for now as that tends to be harder group to break into as an outsider. And there should be an adult jazz class in the winter as well.

Been cleaning up as Mom's on her way here. Cat is currently locked in the guest bathroom until I can take her to the kennel tomorrow. She's been quiet so far. I am off to pick Mom up! Enjoy your long weekend everybody!

All my male friends will want to move here after reading this

There's porn on TV. Yes, real porn on basic cable. Granted it's at 11:00 at night, but it's on regular TV! It's not XXX, but there's full frontal nudity of both men and women, and definitely sex. (Sorry guys, I only have a DVR so I can't record and ship it to you.)

Yesterday I walked into the bank and they remembered me - by name! Tonight I went to pilates and then decided to take a walk and try to find this dance studio on Bloor and Kensington Market, since I was only going to be a few blocks away. I was proud of myself, I found not only the market, but this little street with the cheese shops on my first try. Pretty good since I was only there once, over a year ago, and I arrived from a completely different direction.

I also made it to the dance studio on Bloor, but about 45 minutes later than I had planned. I walked for an hour, and that was after my hour and a half class. I'm exhausted. No unpacking tonight.

If anyone needs a travel agent, my cousin has a brand new website. Great full service travel agent can help with anything all over the world http://www.fertur-travel.com

The weekend and Susans

I met 3 Susans in a row. Then 3 Izzy's in a row. I have been here just over a week and I have been to the hot tub 3 times and IKEA twice.

Friday I went to Services. I know, it's not High Holidays, but I thought it'd be a good way to meet people. So, I called the JCC who could not get me off the phone quick enough. I called who they referred me to who immediately sent me to their website and tried to get off the phone- but I wouldn;t let them. As a general rule so far, I have found people are very nice, but uninterested in truly helping. So, I found some clubs on this website. Services were small, but I met some nice people who said they think there's a new temple just for young people downtown; they will email me.

Saturday I went shopping - IKEA, Home Depot, Canadian Tire (think Ace hardware), Wal-Mart, Linens 'n Things, and 2 other home stores, 1 looked exactly like BBB, but more expensive, the other was crap. I schlepped everything upstairs and started putting things together. I mostly bough storage/shelving units so I can get things in closets and out of boxes on my floor.

I saw there's a Jewish ColaClub here called Mosaic. Sunday I met with them for what they described as a "vigorous" hike. I figured a bunch of Jews, how vigorous could it be? The leader (one of the Izzy's) was obnoxious and kept insisting if you wouldn't keep up, leave. Well, there were 24 people, why couldn't we just have a fast group and a slow group? Anyway, everyone else there was nice and I had a great time. One guy (another Izzy) asked me why I was living in SC. I told him there's cheap cost of living. Without skipping a beat he said, "So's India, but I wouldn't want to live there either."

They club mostly does local day hikes and canoe trips. Me and someone else were asking about camping. And, in true ColaClub style, they said - you organize it, we will come! So, I guess I've joined my first group up here. I definitely made some potential friend connections.

Then I went to IKEA again to return and buy. I did not like this IKEA and will not go back. But there are 2 others in town. Too crowded, service terrible and not as large a selection as the one I went to Saturday. I bought more shelves. I put together the shelving unit which fits very snugly in the closet. However, I now realize I want to add the extensions and more shelves on top. But I cannot get to one of the posts to screw the shelves in without taking everything off and the unit completely apart. I can get to 5 of the 6 posts, but that last one.....I need to thing of a solution.

After a day of strenuous hiking then putting together shelves and unpacking, I was sore. Still am. Think I need to call that masseuse in the day spa downstairs....

Oh, gas is now $1.09 a litre. That's up 6 cents in a week. That's 12 cents a gallon in a week.

I am a little freaked out right now

So, I'm sitting here, quietly minding my own business working when 6 men in white suits, hoods, covers over their feet and gas masks get out of a white van and go into the condo across the street. They then load 20 identical grey boxes into a UHaul. I have no idea what is going on, but I am unable to find an explanation that is good. (If you click on the picture it will blow up so you can see their outfits.)

On a positive note, I took a great pilates class last night.

It's foggy and raining. It's so foggy I can't see the Tower. Although this morning, when I could still see it, there were window washers hanging from it.

I am very excited. I noticed the range is a convection oven. I've never had a convection oven. I can't wait to try it out. (Now, I just need to find those directions....)

I found the grocery store today. A nice woman on my floor told me where a cheap grocery store was. I drove around and around and could not find it. So, I headed back and found a regular one - Dominion is the big chain here. $190 later, I have groceries. Most food products are the same and most of the prices are similar. However, daily products are VERY EXPENSIVE. $3.50 for half gallon of milk. $.99 for a small yogurt. $2.50 a dozen eggs. And they sell their bulk and loose items (including deli meats) by 100g. Like I have a clue how much that is. I think it's a little less than 1/4 pound, but it's going to take me a while to get use to the metric system again. Although it's strange because they use kilometers, Celsius, but they still sell milk in half gallons. There's definitely a mix of English and metric systems.

I tried the yoga class last night. It was interesting. Lots of what I would consider slow stretching and only 1 activity I would call working out, and that was only a few minutes. So, I was surprised when the instructor apologized for working us very hard because she had a lot of energy tonight. Hard? huh? Then she had us just lie there. Simply lie there and relax for what seemed like 20 minutes. 20 minutes of hell. I was freezing and bored and really just wanted to get out of there. So, after class, I went to the weight room and really worked out for half an hour. I'm going to try the pilates class tonight.

I forgot the most important picture

The View!! This is the incredible view from my apartment. I just love it. This was taken from my desk chair.

Yesterday there were clouds, as you can see, but every other day has been bright and sunny (even at 6:30 am).

Jay will love this - the drain in the Master bathroom here is even slower than the one in my old house. Yes, I use both bathrooms, simply because I can. This is funny (funny strange, not funny ha-ha, well, maybe ha-ha too). They took the mirrors in the bathrooms with them. I move in - no mirrors.

Banks are only open 9:30-4.

The same person who installed the closets must have also installed the switches because all the light switches are about 6 inches too high. I'll have to go into other people's apartments and see if that's a Canada thing or just this apartment.

All the keys arrived, so I can now get in and out of the garage. And I now have a pass for the gym. And soon my name will be in the phone downstairs so I can buzz people in. Now I just need to find people to buzz.

Random thoughts and PICTURES

Ok, so there are things I already miss about SC. I have carried many heavy or cumbersome parcels through 2 sets of doors and not 1 person has helped me, nor help a door for me. The doormen just sit and watch. Same with neighbors. This would not happen in the South.

I've had 3 cable guys come out to install my cable. The last one was super cute. I kept asking questions about the remote (even though it's the exact same remote as I had in Cola) just to keep looking at him.

Shaquille O'Neil must have lived here. The rod in the closet is so high that I measured it - 82". Yes, I have to stand on my toes and hold the very edge of the hangar just to get my clothes up there.

Ok, now for the pictures..... The first is the drugged out kitty. Check out her poor eyelids.

Next is Jill on the glass floor of the CN Tower. Yes, that spot of green is grass 113 stories below.

Next are me at Niagara Falls and the everpresent rainbows there.

Finally, here is my building, as seen from the CN Tower!!! Mine is the one that looks like it has windows missing. (But it doesn't, I swear.)

I want to thank all my Charlotte friends for my wine glasses. If it wasn't for them, I would not have had any glasses for the first 2 days. The gift turned out to be more useful than we thought!

I have learned to hate the Don Valley expressway. Yes, this is the same one that was closed on my arrival. Well, it's always packed with traffic. I'm talking the stop-and-go-5-mile-an-hour traffic, even at 2:00 in the afternoon. Arrival night was an omen- I will stay away from the Don Valley.

Monday, Monday

Well, it's Monday morning. The kitchen is almost entirely unpacked. My clothes are in the closet, but since I have no dresser or drawers, they're all over the floor and in boxes. Same with the bathrooms. And the office is completely functional. The guest room will be box central for a while. The previous owners forgot to give me the parking pass, so my car is basically held hostage in the garage until I get it (the security guard let me in). I still have to find a real grocery store (as opposed to the fabulous, but expensive mini-mart downstairs), Home Depot and whatever they have instead of Bed, Bath & Beyond.

I forgot to take 1 thing into consideration. My condo faces East. This is good because I have my fabulous view. But what happens every morning in the East? The sun rises. And hours before I do. New blinds are quickly becoming a TOP PRIORITY. It appears as though the sun will not be above my windows until 10am. So, even sitting in my office now is blinding.

I have already taken over 20 boxes to the recycling, but I am stuck with 8 huge boxes full of paper. At the front they just told me to put the paper in trash bags and bring it down. They have no concept of just how much paper I have. I tried to explain that a) I have no trash bags yet, and b) that the 4 large bins they have for paper are not enough for just my paper. So, the movers wrapped EVERYTHING in paper. And I mean everything - my tupperware, the lids to the tupperware were wrapped in paper. Not kidding. But, Mom's pictures? No, those were not boxed or wrapped at all and all are damaged. I have not gotten the nerve to open up the ceramics or other pictures yet.

Full House

Well, my stuff has arrived. So far, only Mom's pictures have been injured, but there's a lot more unpacking to go. So I better get back to it. My goal is to get the kitchen, linen closet and master bedroom done, and maybe the bathroom stuff. Office stuff tomorrow and guest bedroom is last. I will set up my PC tomorrow and should be able to post pictures as well then.

I thougth Thursday was going to be uneventful...

Boy was I wrong. I went to the bank to get the big check, then to the lawyer and got everything signed. Figured the rest of the day would be spent working and relaxing. I don't know how much I can say since this issue is not resolved, but let's just say the movers are supposed to come today and the contract they have (with my signature) is not the contract I signed. Lawyers are involved.

I'll write more after my stuff arrives.

Fun With Customs...The Adventure Continues

After a day of rest, I now have the strength to venture out to LCBO and customs. I start at LCBO (the Canadian Liquor Control Board) because of my wine. For some strange reason, they are located in the giant UPS building. Why a UPS employee is responsible for this, I have no idea, but I'm in a new country, so I'm not questioning much. She tells me that I do not qualify for the $1.25 a bottle since it is only for returning Canadians or immigrants with a work permit # as proof.

Ok, so what are my options. She tells me I have 2 options. 1) Provide Customs with a complete list of the bottles. That means $ I paid, winery, grape, year, and % alcohol. If I cannot provide that complete information, a customs agent can come out (at my expense) and open the boxes, record that information. Then the value of the wine will be based on what the agent says it is worth, not what I actually paid for it. And then I pay 125% duty + other taxes.

Option #2 is to have customs destroy all the wine. Which kills me. Honestly, there are only about 4 bottles in there that I really care about. Yet again, my moving company screwed me. If they had told me about this, I would have made the list before it was packed, given away most of the bottles, or had a big party before leaving. I will be adding this to the list of things I complain about to Mayflower.

Resigned to the fact that the wine will be destroyed (rather than given away to someone who would enjoy it), I head to the new customs office, at 4525 Dixie Rd. I'm driving, and I don't see 4525. So, I swing back around. There's 4505 and then 4567. No 4525. I call the moving company - they have no idea. I call the number the first customs office gave me - it's a personal voicemail. I call the first customs office - it's also just a voicemail. I go into 4505 - they have no idea. I go into 4567 - they have no idea. I drive around to a building behind them - they have no idea.

Great. Then I remembered that the LCBO lady said she used to work in this building, so I called her. She gave me some landmarks. I find the building. Here's why I missed it - 1) wrong address 2) the name customs gave me is "Interport Sufferance Truck terminal". The sign on the building says "CF".

So, I go in. I hand my papers over and, as I suspected, the gentleman told me I need to be at the original customs place, not this one. Fine, I ask him for his name and number, and head back to the original place.

I find it this time no problem. I walk in and go up to the agent and tell him my sob story. I show him where on the form it says the 496 and then the 495. He asks about the wine, I tell him it's 10-12 bottles and he asks me a few questions about my house and moving. I think things are going smoothly, when he asks me to have a seat as he needs to speak with his superiors about this. So, I go sit down and try to stay calm. I even pull something out of my purse and start reading. I look over and there are now 4 agents in his little cube looking at my stuff. He calls me back over and asks for some proof of residency. I offer him the contract on my condo - his face lights up. He reads it, tells me I am allowed a 1-time exception from duty (which I knew and is why i brought in so much stuff - and I told him that), that if I sell anything within the first year, I need to let them know so I will pay duty on it, and that I cannot bring anything back and forth across the border. I say ok. He stamps it and I leave. The wine has made it through and my stuff is cleared!

Finally, an uneventful day

Tuesday was uneventful, relatively speaking. My cell phone arrived, so I worked out of my hotel room. Bank of America gave me problems with the bank draft, so Mom had to run to the bank for me, but other than that, nothing exciting to report.

Oh, there is a huge skyscraper in downtown Toronto with bank of America on it. So, you would assume there's Bank of America here, right? Wrong. There is no Bank of America here. It is a corporate office for investors in Canada.

But I am headed to the LCBO and proper customs office, so I am sure there will be more to report on Wednesday.

fun playing tourist....then Jen's luck kicked in

We did the long drive on Sunday because I had to be at the bank on Monday to sign my loan paperwork. I also needed a bank account. From my on-line research, it looked like it was going to be as difficult as getting on in England was (i.e. they don't like to give them to foreigners and there's loads of fees). I also needed some Canadian money. I do not worry about changing money, as almost everyplace takes American dollars, you just get a bad exchange rate, but it's good to have some.

So, we heard downtown first thing in the morning Monday. Now, parking is plentiful in downtown Toronto, it's just all meters. And, while stores take American money, parking meters do not. And most of the parking lots are now meters only. So, we finally find a place to park (a free spot actually!) and go into the bank. Everything is quick and easy - including opening an account.

I then take Jill to see my new condo. Her payment for doing the driving with me is that she gets the honor of seeing my place first. Then we go to the CN Tower. Now, for those of you who don't know, Jill is terrified of heights. Her husband and friends love to go hiking, so we drag her along and make her go, but she truly is scared. So, as good friends, we take her to the steepest places :-)

Well, the CN Tower has glass elevators that take you up 115 stories in less than one minute and drop you off at an observation floor. She did good. The you walk downstairs to the glass floor. Yes, part of the floor is glass, so you step on it and look straight down! Even someone like me who was jumped out of a plane, my stomach jumps a bit when stepping onto the floor. I grabbed her hand, had her look at the ceiling, and she went right on it! Yes, she did look down after and walked looking down. I was very proud of her. (Yes, I have pictures of it, but no cord to download them until the weekend.) We then had fun watching people's reaction to the floor. And you can see my condo building from the tower.

Grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the falls. As someone who grew up going to Yosemite and Tahoe, I really had no idea what to expect at Nigeria falls. My expectations were low. After all, nothing in the mountains on the East Coast compares to the beauty in California.

So, we're driving, and we get to the first falls (called the American Falls I learned later) - they are huge flat falls, then just a bit farther is the horseshoe of Niagara. WOW! The water is so clear, as green as sea glass, and the force it is moving with is amazing. Rainbows everywhere. You can stand at the top of the falls and watch the water go over the edge, or walk down a bit to really see the full horseshoe. I was definitely impressed.

We had to go to Buffalo to get Jill to the airport, so we decided to stop at the Duty Free store and get some icewine. We drive to the border and only 4 of the 17 stations are open, which means there is a huge line. And it's almost an hour before her flight. Yes, we start to get nervous. Amazingly, we pick the fastest line and get through in about half an hour and race to the airport. Along the way we realize that Jill is not checking any luggage and will not be able to take her 4 bottles of wine onto the plane with her. (So whoever comes and visits first will have to take her wine back because I still have it.) Just glad we remembered. We get to the airport about 25 minutes before her flight and she rushes in. We did check her in in the morning before we left, so she just had to clear security. Turns out, her flight was delayed, so she was fine.

So, now that Jill is gone, Jen's luck kicks in. I head back towards the border and miss my exit. There are actually 4 bridges with border crossings, so I go to the farthest one, rather than the closest. No big deal, especially since the view from that bridge was very pretty, but this one had a toll (there are tolls EVERYWHERE!), and I would have liked to have seen the falls again.

I know I need highway 203 towards the airport. About an hour down the road, I see highway 203 towards the airport and take it. Turns out, it's a different highway 203 towards a different airport! I realize this quickly, but the first exit is 5 km down the road! It's crazy here - roads with the same name, lots of exits that are only in 1 direction, so I have been doing lots of getting off at the next exit and turning around. I feel like I have done almost twice the miles I need to. At least my real estate broker had driven me around a lot so I know about their strange street signs - like the big X's in the air do not mean do not go, they mean crosswalk.

Finally I find the correct 203 towards the airport. I am going to stop at customs and clear my stuff. The guy told me it's on the back of the airport and gave me a map. Now, the 3 people I had help me find it all said it's a perfect map, except for 1 small detail - there were only 2 street names on the whole map! It's very hard to find Britannia Road when the 2 roads you need to take to find it are not labeled!

An hour later, I finally get there. I go in with the documentation the guy at the moving company told me I had to bring. Now, his documentation was only 1/2 a page long, and it just didn;t sound right that that was all I needed, so I brought everything, just in case. So, I get up to the front and hand the customs agent the mover's form. He laughs and asks for the rest. Glad I brought it! Well, first item on the list is my wine. He said wine is subject to a 126% tax - yikes! However, if you go to LCBO it's only $1.25 a bottle, but I need to provide them an accurate list of what bottles i have brought. Ok, I'll work on that (sarcasm - like i can remember what bottles I have, but I will try). Then he said they can clear lot #295 and #297, but I am #296, so I have to go to a different location! Oh, and they are only open 9-4 M-F (it's 8:30 pm). So, I have to come back tomorrow. The good news is that LCBO and the new place are only a few blacks apart.

So, I was too exhausted after the long day to write this until now