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

Smuggled Kitty

And the winner is....

It took us 16 hours and 5 minutes to get from Columbia, SC to Toronto. So, Kirstin in the winner with her guess of 16 hours!

I actually woke up before my 5:15am alarm (a HUGE feat for those who know me well). Picked up Jill and we left at 6:45am. Yes, I made her drive first and did take a short nap. The car was completely loaded up - my stuff, my cool new wine glasses from the Charlotte clan, the great pictures Wendy gave me, and the cat. Yes, I was embarking in a 16 hour car ride with a cat.

The vet told me the tranquilizers can take 2 hours to work, and will last 6-8 hours. Start with 1 pill, give her 1/2 more if needed. So, I gave her the first pill at 6am. Right about 8am it started to work, a little bit. I could tell a difference, but she wasn't knocked out or anything. At about 11:30 it started wearing off, 6 hours after I gave it to her, normal according to the directions. So, we have her another one.

Poor zonked, drugged-out kitty. She couldn't keep her 3rd eyelid open, she couldn't walk straight, and she couldn't even jump on the seat. It was funny and pathetic (pictures coming as soon as I find the cord to my camera). And lasted HOURS.

We stopped in Pittsburgh to see Sam and Brenda. I've never seen quite an entrance to a city before. The tunnel is amazing. They live in a quint neighborhood in a great old (1905) house that will forever be in some state of reconstruction. Brenda actually cooked for us and we all had a very nice visit. Sheba didn't mind a drugged-up kitty, but Koshka wasn't having any of it.

Then it was back on the road. We really had no issues. There was the freeway being closed in Rock Hill, me missing our exit in PA, but that's it. The cat was good and the ride easy. It must have been the company.

We get to the border in Buffalo. No line. We had our passports and story ready. The Canadian border guard asks us our citizenship (US), where we were going (Toronto), staying with friends or hotel (hotel), what's all the stuff in the car - and then answers that question for us (is that your personal items - yes) and then waves us through. He NEVER asked to see our passports and didn't even give us a chance to mention the cat. We were laughing hysterically that we just smuggled a cat into Canada. (If any Canadian customs agents stumble upon this, I did have all the correct paperwork/shot records for the cat.)

So we head to Toronto. I had picked our route to go through downtown then up the Don Valley expressway. Unbeknownst to me, they CLOSED the ENTIRE 20 mile Done Valley expressway for the weekend. So, now we are stick downtown. Some quick mapreading later, we head up a city street the whole way. I must admit, we did meander through downtown and sightsee a little.

We finally got to the hotel and unloaded the car and settled in. no elevator by the way and my room's on the 2nd floor. Oh well.

Before the big move

Wow. I can't believe I'm actually leaving Sunday. It didn't really sink in until I said goodbye to Kathey and the kids, then Russi and Jane, then everyone else. I want to thank everyone for their love and friendship. I have made many wonderful friends over the years who have made me stay in Columbia. It's hard to leave (remember, I've been talking about his for years - all ya'll are the reason I've stayed as long as I have), but I appreciate that you all have supported me in this decision. That's true friendship.

I have had 2 great goodbye parties. I'm so glad to see everyone. Thank you Wendy for making me Queen of the Ball at Grand Central. And thank you Lenley for that great trip down memory lane with the roast. That was a lot of fun. Thank you all for my gifts and your kind words.

I promise to keep in touch with everyone, and within a few weeks, Hotel Glasser will be open!