First solo shag pad

I'd like to give you all a tour of my apartment. This is the first apartment I've never had a roommate in. It took awhile to get used to, and my tendency to talk to myself has drastically increased, but now I love living on my own! (The main reason being that I can be a total slob with no one to judge me.)

It was a minor miracle that I found this place. I'm sure I mentioned it before, but I moved to Toronto without having a place to live. I was so stressed out in my first week from new-job-jitters and having to learn a big new city that I didn't have the time nor incentive to hunt for a ridiculously expensive apartment.

I was feeling guilty for having mooched off my friends (they were kind enough to put me up on their couches/floors) so I ended up looking at apartments on craigslist. I called a bunch but none were grabbing my attention. And just when I was about to call it quits, I decided to give one more listing a try. It was a basement apartment, but oh-so-pretty.

To shorten my story, I managed to see the apartment the very next day (it had only been listed the night before!) and before I knew it, I was signing a lease! The first week I literally had NO furniture. I slept on a sleeping bag on the hardwood floor with my stuff scattered around. You have no idea how lonely it is to hear the room echo when you're alone in a strange city!

My parents and middle sibling along with her BF helped move my stuff down the following weekend. It went really fast, but 5 years of student living didn't really give me a lot of actual furniture. The only things I had were my computer desk, bed, dresser (which was actually my parents', but I annexed it) and couple of cheap drawers from Walmart. Luckily my middle sibling donated an end table and a couple of chairs which served as my "couch" for the next month or so.

A trip to IKEA got me a couple of bar stools, a shelf, another end table, a TV stand, etc. I also ordered a couch from the Brick. The problem with the shelf that I bought was that my ceilings were too low for it to fit!!! We ended up having to literally SAW OFF THE BOTTOM! It looks good - you can't even tell that it was "modified" but I was horrified at the destruction of my brand new furniture!

A couple days later, the Brick came to deliver my couch. Again, nothing can happen easily for me. I had been really concerned that the couch would be too big to fit down the stairs. My parents assured me over and over again that it would fit. And lo and behold, they were right. The problem though was that the couch was too tall (again, the ceilings were too low) that the delivery guys could not angle it into my living room! Long story short, the Brick ended up taking it back to the warehouse and I got store credit for it, which my sister was able to sell to a friend for me, so I came out no less poorer than when I started. Phew.

On another trip to visit me, my parents offered to pick up a futon for me and deliver it themselves, saving me the hassle of dealing with the Brick again (I have a hate-on for that store now). Although I despise futons, I caved, needing something other than the small IKEA chair to sit on.

So now you can see my shag pad in its fully furnished glory! My only beef with the place is that it's a basement apartment. It's so cold in the winter. Luckily my landlord who lives above me is relatively quiet. Plus, the apartment is in a ridiculously convenient location! I'm sad because I'll have to leave it behind when I move to Montreal...

Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Bedroom 3
Bathroom 1, bathroom 2
Living area 2

Electronically mugged!

You hear about it all the time but never think it could happen to you. Well, it can. And I'm proof! Identity theft!

I went to an ATM last night after work to withdraw some money. Bzzt. "Transaction denied." I'm like, "Huh?" So I try again. Same result. I figure it must just be that the machine isn't working so I go to another local bank and try their machine. Nope, the problem's still there.

I end up going back to my office to check my online banking balance... and just about throw up. I see that there's been a $500 withdrawal from a bank machine and another purchase for $85... Neither of which I did.

I immediately called PC Financial and tell them the situation. Lucky for me they had already cancelled my debit card. They set up an investigation and told me that I'd probably get my money back in 5 to 10 business days. Even more lucky for me, I came into work the next day and there was a message from them. I called them back and now I should have the money back by tomorrow! Apparently the withdrawals were happening in Quebec!!!

It's crazy how fast this happened! I'm 90% sure that my card information was "stolen" when I went to the St. Lawrence market this weekend. That's the only ATM I've used in awhile. It's also embarassing to know that I was careless enough that someone saw my PIN! I'm hoping that I at least got duped by a smart thief who installed a mini camera or something, because I normally do make a slight effort to hide my PIN and whatnot. Oh well, my lesson has been learned and I'm going to be a total paranoid freak from now on.

Lost in cyberspace

For over a month now, I've been emailing a colleague at the Canadian Liver Foundation, asking her for information. She didn't send it, didn't send it, etc. Finally I called her and left a voicemail, asking for the info because I really needed it.

When I returned to my desk, there was a voicemail from her stating, "So Maureen, I'm getting the impression you haven't been receiving my emails!" We managed to figure out that for some reason, her emails were randomly being lost in cyberspace! I received 1 out of 10 emails she sent! Normally I'd blame the users, but in this case we're both computer savvy people.

After a bit of detective work, we found out that I couldn't receive any emails from the CLF. We both called our IT people to ask them to sort out the problem. It was funny watching them start to communicate. (Note, these conversations are not verbatim.) The CLF's guy wrote, "Well our logs show that the emails were sent properly." The UHN people respond, "Well our logs show that Maureen has only received emails on this, this, and this day." and so on.

I'd got a couple of phone calls from the CLF's IT dude asking, "Maureen, did you receive Karen's email?" And of course I hadn't. Finally today the CLF managed to figure out the problem, not that I understand what the problem was. Apparently the lost emails were due to an AVG smtp outgoing scanner. *blink blink*

The whole ordeal was so odd though. I'm so used to emailing people that suddenly not having the ability to get the information easily was a huge issue. I'd send her an email and then realize, "Oh wait, she can't reply!" We started joking about how I could email her and she'd reply with smoke signals.

Proper incentive

I have recently discovered that, given the proper incentive, I can be very athletic if needed.

To get in and out of my basement apartment, I have to go through my landlord's backyard which is surrounded by a 7 foot (minimum) fence and has a two way locked gate. Apparently the deadbolt on the gate isn't meant for extreme temperatures though. I've had a few mornings where I couldn't unlock the gate because the bolt was frozen in place.

The first time this happened, I ended up having to wake up my landlord and walk through his apartment to escape via his front door. Since then, he's provided me with an extension cord so that I can use my hairdryer to blowdry my way to freedom. :)

Now, this is all well and dandy, but then I ran into a different dilemma. What happens when I'm coming back home and the gate is frozen? This happened to me on Tuesday night. I had come back from my cooking class, it's 10:00pm, I'm tired and cold. I go to unlock the gate, and my key won't turn.

Me, being the totally couth and ladylike person that I am immediately start thinking, "Oh my fucking God!" Along with several other expletives. I wouldn't have been in such a panic, but you see, earlier in the day I received an email from my landlord, informing me that he was going to be in Columbia until the end of the month. Of course, I didn't think to write down the contact details of his friend that he gave me either.

So here I am, trying to defrost my lock with the de-icer I carry in my purse, the warmth from my hand, etc. (And of course I'm freezing my butt off the entire time because of the arctic temperatures that were plaguing Canada at the time.) One of the neighbours came by and we tried to brainstorm how to get in.

Finally I cracked and asked the neighbour to act as moral support while I attempted the impossible. I decided to climb the 7-8 foot fence! This wouldn't be such an ordeal, but the fence isn't the most sturdy thing in the world - it leans over, and it's a privacy fence, so the wooden slats are really close together so you can't put your feet in between the slats! Thankfully there was a short cement column at one corner of the fence, so I used that to get a boost up and by some minor miracle I climbed that damned fence! I had to fall about a foot down to reach the ground on the other side, but I made it safely!

And lucky for me too that the neighbour was ethical because I had left my purse, coat, bag, etc. all on the other side of the fence (didn't want to risk getting them caught while I was climbing). He was kind enough to hand them over to me when the ordeal was through! LOL

I am not a statue

Before Christmas I had an incident with pigeons. I was braving a snowstorm to go out and buy some milk. Along the way I had to walk through a flock of pigeons.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but when you get too close to pigeons, they're supposed to fly away, right? At least, that's how it's supposed to work? Right? Right?!

Not so in this case. When I started getting close to them, yes, they started flying, but instead of flying away from me, they flew upwards and hovered in the air around me. They were so close that I actually felt their wings beating against me! I was beyond freaked out. I ducked and started scurrying along, but the little beasts continued to follow me for several meters!

It wasn't until I was going back home that I found out why they acted as they did. It turns out some guy had been feeding them. He was there when I was returning. I made a small joking comment to the effect of, "Oh, so you're the reason why the pigeons attacked me!"

The man got a bit defensive and replied (rather snarkily or so I thought), "Well they have to eat too!"

I personally have no sympathy for pigeons or any kind of bird during the winter. They've survived hundreds of years without our help in feeding them in the depths of the season, and let's face it, pigeons are scavengers - they'll eat practically anything! Even more amusingly, the guy was feeding them literally across the street from a homeless shelter. I can't help but think that's just really unclassy!

This is the voicemail that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends....

Hospital voicemail systems have the longest messages in the world. It's very aggravating when I call someone, get their voicemail, and just want to leave a quick message. Instead of a generic message saying, "Hi, you've reached so and so, please leave a number," a lot of the voicemail messages here say, "Hi, you've reached so and so. I'm not available to take your call right now. If this is a medical emergency, please contact your family doctor or visit the nearest emergency centre. I will be out of the office from date to date inclusively. If this is a clinical matter, you may contact so and so at extension blah blah blah. If this is a research matter, please call so and so at extension blah blah blah. For all other concerns, please leave a voicemail with your full name, patient number, and a phone number you can be reached at."

It's even worse when you know the person is out of the office but need to leave a voicemail anyways. In that case, it's like a ticking time bomb of aggravation and I end up tapping my foot impatiently, afraid to not pay attention lest I miss the beep.

P.S.
Jill - don't gimme none of that crap about me not posting on my blog anymore! You apparently just don't visit here enough! You're still stuck on your smiling heavens in Australia post!

Checklist

Highlight the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (or both.)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (kinda hard not to)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoors)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (Okay, it was Brownie cookies. Same diff.)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (!!! Excuse me as I laugh hysterically...)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

The other side of the tracks

Since moving to Toronto, I've encountered many lower class and poor people. Mostly I don't pay attention to them and they ignore me. I don't give money to homeless people. I'll donate money to homeless shelters or soup kitchens at times, but I don't give money to the people directly. It's sad at times to see the kinds of people who live on the street.

One day on the streetcar, one homeless gentleman kindly moved his stuff off the seat beside him so I could sit down. He was very polite but I'll admit that cultural conditioning made me feel uncomfortable sitting beside him at all. I took off my gloves and he tried talking to me, mentioning how he used to have 6 pairs of gloves but they got stolen, etc. I made a comment about it being too bad, and then pulled out my book so I could ignore him in the politest possible way. I couldn't help but feel worse for this guy because he must have had Parkinson's or something. He couldn't control his body - he was shaky, his head kept jerking in my direction, etc. I can't help but wonder what kind of life he has had to end up where he is now.

When I first moved here, a homeless woman came on the streetcar one evening and announced very loudly, "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I haven't had anything to eat in 3 days and am starving," and then she proceeded to go up to every person in the car begging for money. Again, I wondered what her life must be like, to have to debase herself so much as to make announcements like that - it must take a lot of courage, and humiliation, to have to do that kind of thing.

When I mentioned this occurrence to my friend Michelle, she told me that she knew of the woman and that the lady was only really after money for drugs. I didn't really argue with Michelle because let's face it, that's the case at times, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was just being too cavalier about the subject, or just biased.

Last night while I was waiting inside the streetcar stop (just a 3 sided shelter with clear walls to protect you against the wind), the same black woman came in. I assumed she would ask me for money and I strategically turned away so I could ignore her until the moment came. I could see her reflection in one of the windows. She was muttering and smoking. I saw her squat down and I assumed she was just cold and wrapping her arms around herself. But then I heard a splat, splat, splat sound. I thought she was throwing up or something, so I glanced backwards. That's when I realized she had copped a squat, pulled down her pants, and was peeing inside the shelter.

I was horrified. There were a gazillion other places nearby where she could have urinated and the fact that she chose to do so in the shelter with me less than a meter away totally freaked me out. I barreled out of the shelter and was relieved to see the streetcar coming. By this point, I was disturbed at even standing next to her. We both got on the streetcar and I managed to secure a seat by myself. (I was terrified that she would try to sit beside me.) A bit of the way down the street, she started licking her hand - like a dog would. Bit long wet smacking laps up and down her fingers. Thankfully she got off at a stop before I did.

The whole occurrence really disturbed me. Obviously the woman was high/strung out/whatever and Michelle was right. I just wonder what happened to bring the woman to such depths that she would urinate in a shelter right beside one of the most busiest intersections in Toronto. What kind of events could bring someone so low? It's seeing things like this that really makes me appreciate the life that I've had and continue to have.

Stuck

Getting to work shouldn't be difficult. I wish I could say that was the case on Wednesday this week. I got FROZEN into my backyard and ended up being 20 minutes late to work!

To get in and out of my apartment, I have to go through my landlord's backyard which is surrounded by a fence taller than I am. The only point of entry in the fence is a gate with a bolt that can only be released by key. The problem was, the lock was frozen closed!

I have never ever had to deal with frozen locks before, so I ended up going downstairs, getting some warm water (the fastest solution, although I know that it would just freeze over again) and a pack of matches. I also phoned home, waking up my mom and dad to see if they had a better idea on the spur of the moment. Nope. Water it was.

I troop back upstairs and outside and manage to melt the ice in the lock so I can finally get my key into the hole... But, alas! The key wouldn't turn! The entire BOLT was frozen! Due to the shape of the gate opening, I couldn't maneuver anything into the gap to try to de-ice the bolt. I thought of getting my hair dryer out, but I didn't have an extension cord long enough to reach the fence! By this time, 20 minutes had passed and I was getting worried about being so late to work. (I had already taken a moment to email my coworker to let her know that I'd be late - turns out that I spelled her email address wrong and she never got the message. Oops!)

I would have tried climbing the fence, but it's not the most sturdy thing in the world - it leans over, so if I were to try to climb it, it would probably collapse. And only sturdy portion of the fence is the part where there's a coniferous tree in front of it... I didn't feel like being tackled by pine needles while trying to manage my escape.

I finally ended up calling my landlord. Crap. The call goes straight to voicemail. My last recourse was to start banging on his backdoor. Thank God he was home for once! LOL, he ended up letting me through his house and out his front door and later on, he fixed the gate so that I could at least get back into my apartment later that evening.

I now own my first bottle of lock de-icer. And, the landlord has provided an extension cord just in case there's another fiasco like this again

Cell phone woes

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything relevant to my current circumstances. Nothing terribly exciting has happened recently, I thought I'd share a fiasco that occurred back when I first moved to Toronto.

As mentioned, I'm renting a basement apartment. When I agreed to rent it, I never thought about cell phone reception. It wasn't until the first week I was there that I realized I couldn't get a cell phone signal in the place! If I wanted to make a call, I had to walk to a window and hold my cell phone far away to get a tiny signal.

Since I figured I couldn't get reception, I signed up for a landline. I got the cheapest package available (like $14 a month). Two weeks later my family came to visit and that's when I found out that every other cell phone company got cell phone reception in my basement! It was only Bell, and companies that use Bell cell phone towers that didn't work in my apartment! I was so mad!

I love having a cell phone. There seemed to be no point in keeping both a cell phone and a landline, so I decided to cancel my landline, break my Bell cell phone contract (I still had about 8 months left on it), and get a phone with Fido. Well, all this was easier said than done.

When I went to get my Fido phone, I found out that I could have my old Bell cell phone number transferred over to my Fido phone. I was like, "Yay! Now I don't have to tell everyone my new number." (I had only gotten my Toronto number a couple weeks earlier when I first moved to the area.)

To transfer my phone number, I had to get my Bell account number first. So I went to the Bell store and told them that I needed my account number. The lady just asked for my phone number and gave it to me then and there with no problem. I troupe back down to Fido, give them my phone number and account number... There's a small error, but the transfer goes through. Yay! I have a Fido phone number now.

The problem is, about 15 minutes later, I start getting phone calls for someone named Kevin. It wasn't till 30 minutes later that I realized I gave Fido and Bell the WRONG CELL PHONE NUMBER. (As I said, I had only had my phone number for a couple of weeks and hadn't memorized it yet.) I gave the lady at Bell the wrong number, so she gave me the correct account number for the wrong phone number. And that's why the number transfer went through Fido. Essentially I stole someone else's phone number! I now realize that the reason I gave the wrong phone number is that I gave Fido my old Ottawa phone number but I used a Toronto area code.

Long story short, I had to wait until the next day before I could sort out the mixup, and I ended up being on the phone with Fido and Bell for nearly 3 hours trying to give back "Kevin's" phone number. Then, a month later, Fido tried to bill me nearly $500 for breaking a contract (because I had bought a phone and returned it the next day). Luckily the phone call to fix that mistake only lasted a few minutes.

Useless

You'd think that a city with over 4 million people, they'd have a better library system. Ugh.

Another poem (not by me)

One of my old friends from university (okay, we only had one class together ever and haven't seen/talked since) recently posted the first draft of a poem she wrote on her blog. I read it and was enthralled. So I've taken it upon myself to pimp it out. Without further ado, here's "The Violence of Fall" by Katherine S.

The Violence of Fall

It is reported that
The sheeplike trees,
Tended by the gentle warmth of May,
Watered along June’s fickle streams
Growing thick with fleece under the humid July
Greenhouse glass,
mirrored in high-flying August clouds,

Were murdered the night of September 8th.

Fleece felled,
Unsuspectingly assailed by volley upon volley
Of steel-forged drops,
Quietly pricked by the razor-breath of winter
Until jaundice spread through finger-veins,
And blood-bright vessels danced beneath the skin.
Battered and bruised by wind-whips,
Stripped to the bone.

And the distant sun,
When it peered above the hill,
Could barely find the remains of summer’s flocks
Among the feverish pools of mustard
And bloody torn leaves
That soaked the skeleton stems.

Welcoming package

I unexpectedly had to go to Montreal for the past four days for work. The Doctor who's taking over the program I'm working for asked for my help on some paperwork. I was asked on Tuesday and by Thursday I was in Montreal. I asked him for a couple of hotel recommendations and ended up booking a room at Le Roberval.

On my first night there, I crashed relatively early because I was exhausted. (Getting up for a 9am flight will do that to you.) At midnight though, I woke up for no apparent reason. Then I realized I was woken up by the sound of someone knocking on my door. I wasn't about to get out of bed and see who it was, so I ignored it and heard them leave.

Just as I was falling asleep again, the phone rang. It was the front desk. The woman on the phone asks me, "Hi there, did you hire an escort?" [Read: Prostitute - my hotel was close to the red light district.]

I'm like, "What? No."

The woman replies, "Oh, sorry." And then before she hangs up, I hear her saying to someone else, "A woman answered. You have the wrong room."

I managed to fall back asleep, but the next day I joked with the Doctor, thanking him for arranging the welcoming package to Montreal. :)

Truly an international city

I cannot believe how small this world can be. I was walking around Toronto's Eaton Centre a couple of weeks ago when I thought I recognized someone from my time in Hong Kong. I wasn't sure it was her though, so I called out, "Vris?" Lo and behold, the girl turns around and it IS Vris!

I met Vris through my friend Minnie when I was in HK. We didn't hang out all that much, but we did spend Chinese New Year's together with a bunch of other people while renting an apartment on Lantau island for a few days. She was super nice and fun to hang out with.

Prior to moving to Toronto, Minnie told me through Facebook that Vris was coming to Canada, to the University of Waterloo (where I studied!) for an exchange! The day that I saw her, she was in Toronto shopping with another former exchange student who apparently arrived in HK right after I left.

I just couldn't believe that I could run into someone from Hong Kong in the largest city in Canada! It's crazy!

Morning calm

The one thing I look forward to about going to work every is walking by Alexandra Park. There's nothing special about the place - it's just a regular city part.

What I enjoy about it is the people. It's close to Chinatown, so every morning there are little old Chinese men and women there doing their morning exercises. My absolute favourite moment though is watching the group doing Tai Chi on the baseball diamond. They look so serene going through their movements with the sun shining on them.

Convenience food shocker

I'm embarassed and mildly revolted to have to admit that I'm eating, and even enjoying one of those Uncle Ben's Expressions dinners. (You know, the rice and meat in a bag?) Except for the fact that it's a bit salty, I'm enjoying it a great deal.

The only reason I bought it is because I still don't have a microwave in my new apartment, so I needed something I could heat up on a stove without too much effort.

Life changes

Wow! After nearly a two month drought, I'm back! With lots of news!

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I've been job hunting. Well, two weeks ago, I sent my resume to the University Health Network in Toronto at 4:17PM. 8 minutes later, I got an email asking me to come for the first round of interviews. Wow!

Later that night, I found out that my father had the day off, and he was kind enough to offer me a ride to Toronto. So off we rode so I could have an interview for an Administrative Coordinator position.

I wasn't quite sure how the interview went. Some questions went well, but the girl who was interviewing me (and whom I would be replacing) had the greatest poker face in the world, so I was never sure where my answers sat with her. She also told me more about the position itself. Essentially the Admin Coordinator role is responsible for running the National Canadian Research Training Program in Hepatitis C. That includes coordinating weekly web conferences, planning the annual meeting in Banff, and bookkeeping. Yikes!

The interview was on a Wednesday. On Thursday I got the call back to come in on Friday. This time the interview included the same girl as Wednesday as well as the current director of the program, a Dr. Heathcote. The interview was much more a "getting to know the personal side of you" kind of interview. I yammered on and on, all the while thinking, "Shut me up!"

Well, apparently my yammering worked. By the time I arrived home that night, there was an email offering me the job and could I please start on Tuesday? First interview Wednesday, second interview Friday, starting on Tuesday?! They apparently took me a little too literally when I said I could start immediately. Can we say slight panic? I had to pack, buy new clothes, etc. (The clothes were especially important since 3 of my last 4 workplaces were casual environments, so I had nothing to wear that was business casual!)

I kept joking that the planets were aligning with regards to this job. I sent the resume, got the interview within mere minutes, my dad could give me a ride (thus negating a 4 hour bus ride), I got the second interview, and then I got the offer! Yes, the planets aligned indeed!

Oh yeah, one other small problem with starting work on Tuesday. I have no place to live in Toronto. Hrm. This is when I called in favours. My friend from university, Stacy, was kind enough to offer me a place to crash for the first two nights, and my high school friend, Michelle, was nice enough to give up her bed too. (And I literally mean her bed: She doesn't go to bed till 3am whereas I have to be up and at work by 8:30am, so she chose to sleep on the living couch so she could continue to stay up late.)

So essentially I arrived in Toronto on Monday, got my transit passes, found my way to work, etc., and then I started the next day! I can't really tell you what my first week has been like - it has been crazy information overload! I was in training all week and so on. There's so much more to this job than I anticipated. I guess I'll just have to rise to the challenge!

Also, when I applied to this job, I didn't realize just how quite well known the program, or my boss, was! My supervisor (Dr. Heathcote) threw an annual socializing bash at her house on Thursday, and while I was going there with some of my coworkers, I found out that Dr. Heathcote is one of the top three, if not the most well known doctor in her field! Also, the liver clinic where the course is kind of based out of (I say "Kind of" because this is a national program) is also one of the foremost in its field. Yikes! Can we say intimidation factor???

Anyways, as I was saying, I spent my first week going to work and stressing. It probably wouldn't have been too bad, but then I'd come back to my friends' apartments and stress about housing too! I didn't realize how expensive Toronto housing was, and how difficult it would be to find a place! I called and saw a few, but they weren't the greatest, or they had already been rented!

But hooray for me, the planets aligned one more time! On Friday I was looking at apartments online. I half heartedly phoned a bunch to find out more information. I was generally in one of those, "Woe is me" moods - sad, intimidated, etc... The next morning I went to go see one of the apartments that I had made an appointment with.

PRETTY! I was salivating on the floor looking at the place! It's a basement apartment with only two windows but it's newly renovated (heck, they haven't even finished the place!) with its own set of laundry machines! It's so big compared to some of the other places I've seen! I left with the rental application and came back within an hour. I pretty much bullied the landlord into signing the lease (he wasn't going to sign anything till tomorrow) but we worked it out. So tomorrow, assuming the credit he runs on me goes well, I'll move into my new place! (Ignore the fact that it's unfurnished for now - I have a sleeping bag and I went home last night and gathered a plate, frying pan, etc.)

So that's my life in a nutshell. Tomorrow I have an orientation session and then the real work begins! I shall endeavor to update more often now that I have a job and am living in the big city again. :)

I see dead people

My cat totally creeped me out last night. We were sitting on the couch, me watching a movie, her being petted by me, totally content and relaxed with each other. Suddenly, she launches upwards on point, growls deep down in her chest, and stares at something just over my left shoulder.

I'm at home by myself, it's night, and my back is to the empty hallway. I was almost afraid to turn around because I half way expected some burglar to be standing there. But there wasn't. There was nothing at all behind me, but the cat was still staring fixedly on nothing.

Makes you wonder if animals can sense spirits after all...

50 Facts that Should Change the World

Found this interesting link on the web today: 50 Facts That Should Change The World. Some were scary, some were sad.

The only facts that I urge you not to take too seriously are the ones that are criminal in nature (especially the ones that mention the developing world). E.g. the child soldiers fact - no one can truly know how many child soldiers there are. The number, 300000, appeared in literature somewhere and no one has been able to figure out its origins. So the numbers could be higher or lower.

Ghost busters

Several weeks ago the doorbell to our apartment rang. I answered the door to find two young guys around my age standing there. They introduced themselves, saying they were from Pennsylvania and were from the TV show, "Ghostly Encounters." (I had never heard of it.) The one fellow explained that my home town was apparently as a "hot spot" for ghost stories and they wanted to know if I, or anyone I knew, had ever experienced an encounter from a non-earthly being.

Throughout this whole spiel, I was nodding like an idiot. Sure I don't really believe in ghosts, but a TV show (which I have heard of) actually did recently come to Owen Sound to do a feature on an older building in our town, the Billy Bishop Museum. So I didn't really question that these guys were who they said they were.

After they asked me about any potential "encounters," the dude doing all the talking started laughing. It turns out that they were actually representing Foster Parents Plan and were looking for people to sponsor needy children. They laughed when I explained why I didn't question their cover story.

But still, that conversation was beyond strange. Their whole joke about being ghost hunters took about 3-4 minutes to get through. So what was the point? It was so random.