My New Loves!

Was finally able to find me a pair of dance shoes that fit both my not-so-dancer-like-size9-feet as well as my rapidly-shrinking budget. I proudly present to you, my new ballroom babies!
With just the right balance of support and style, these shoes are going to help me do wonders on the dance floor! Man, am I going to nail those triple turns in the Cha Cha and demolish the rope spin into Aida of the Rumba. Henceforth, the intricacies of the Quickstep will be vanquished and the dizzying spin turns of the Viennese Waltz are like a walk in the park.

Oh, I am so looking forward to class next week!

Exit Strategy

Turns out, it was just hunger that was making my tummy turn into knots. As soon as I started telling my VP about my decision to leave and my upcoming plans, I felt much better and much relieved! She was super cool about it, other than the fact that she was wailing I thought I had you for AT LEAST another year. But I suppose I can take that as a compliment?

Sat down with her today to map out my wind down over the next few months and plan for my replacement. Turns out, she'll have to fill my spot with two people, so now I'm thinking I should have asked for a raise while I was at it!

For 3 hours we toiled divvying up this year's budgeted internship numbers between my colleagues and trying to figure out the best way to reallocate my clients. I hated it. These were accounts that I had nurtured and grown over the past 2 years; put my blood, sweat and many a tear into promising results. There were some that I had worked on for such a long time. I didn't want to have to just pass all that hard work on for someone else to reap the benefits! It hardly seemed fair. I also found out that there was a promotion in the works for me, should I have stayed. For a second, I was tempted to take it all back. Then I thought about all those exciting lists I'd made and I was fine with it. There will be other jobs, and other opportunities, but only one lifetime.

The Sound of Silence

I've never had so much to say on the blog until my decision to move and all the excitement that followed.

Sometimes though, I feel like I'm talking to myself here. Which is a pity because I would dearly love for people to comment on the happenings, give me advice and the likes.

Then again, perhaps these ramblings are no different from the multitude of thoughts I have swimming around in my head - and I'm certainly hearing no voices in response to them. At least, not recently!

I'm about to have lunch with my VP and tell her about my leaving. Why am I so nervous? Its not a job interview! Maybe I'm just hungry. I usually eat at noon and perhaps my stomach is protesting via my madly thumping heart.

A Close Shave

My travel agent and I had been engaged in oodles of research for my ticket to the UK, scouring the Internet and flight websites to find the best deal to Glasgow in the peak of summer!

There were all sorts of variables to consider. The charter airlines like Air Transat had the cheap fares, but their baggage allowance was negligible for a girl trying to move multiple pairs of shoes across the Atlantic! The larger airlines had the right amount of baggage allowance, but either the connection times were too short or too long, or the price was too high or there was something else that wasn't quite right.

Finally, after much searching and changing around the travel dates a number of times, we found the best fare on KLM via Amsterdam for a July 15th departure arriving into Glasgow on July 16th in the afternoon. Ironically, it was July 16th 2001 when we arrived in to Toronto from Bombay - so I guess that's some sort of auspicious travel time for me!

I gave my credit card details to the agent and told her to go ahead with the booking.

About 15 minutes later, I happen to check my yahoo inbox and see a Facebook message from a friend. Try Icelandair was all it said.

I looked at the message, but didn't really pay too much attention. After all, I'd just made the booking. Still, my curiosity got the better of me, and I went to their website and punched in my travel dates. The result came up, and I nearly had a coronary.

It was $600 cheaper than the KLM fare!

I was on the phone to the travel agent in an instant yelling Stop the Presses.........don't process the payment.............praying the entire time that she hadn't been trigger happy with my credit card number!

Thankfully, she hadn't, and so after checking to make sure that I'd have the same baggage allowance as KLM was offering and that there were no extra hidden fees, she booked me on the Icelandair flight.

So I'm now officially leaving on July 14 2009. 99 days till liftoff!

Preparation

Ma Nature is apparently getting in on the act of preparing me for my upcoming departure to the land of thistle, bagpipes and................everlasting rain. We woke up this morning to freezing rain mixed with snow and a forecast of 3 cms of accumulation for the GTA and up to 25/20 cms for certain parts of Ontario!!! Oh for heavens sake!

To add insult to injury, today is the Jays' Home Opener down at the Rogers Centre. That's supposed to mean THE END OF WINTER folks! They're not called the boys of summer for nothing!


Who can I call and ask for a refund on my Spring? Provincial govt or the Feds?


The rain in Scotland however cannot be a deterrent because if one waited until the weather was nice to make plans or "do" something...well, one never would end up doing anything! As such, Beans and his team mates who are training for the Maggie's Bike and Hike charity event in 4 weeks time were off hiking in the Scottish highlands near Ben Alder on Saturday. As the story goes

"....it started lashing down with rain as soon as we left the house with the kind of intensity that would have put a smile on Noah's face. Being kitted out with the latest in waterproof clothing we stayed dry for nearly seven minutes. After that it was similar to being in the shower, except cold, and we were fully dressed and there was no shampoo. Beans and I calculated that twenty five miles is the equivalent to walking up and down an average length bath 13,000 times."

For more on the Leaping Badgers and their training antics, see here. I really do hope that these eejits actually make it to the day of the event in (relatively) one piece and don't all succumb to pneumonia from walking around in the freezing rain for 7.5 hours.

The Best Laid Plans.........

............most often go askew.

Like my grandiose plans of a road trip to the Gaspe and New Brunswick in early July. It was to be my "last hurrah" before I left. One last saunter off into the wilds of Canada with best buds Trippy and Beer Baron. Ah, well. It was not meant to be. And you never know.... we could just end up doing an impromptu road trip at any time! *fingers crossed*

On the other hand, I did chance upon some good leads for dance spots in Glasgow for both International Ballroom and West Coast Swing. Which is very very good news as it means that I'll be able to practice my skills, get some good exercising in and hopefully make new friends!

This is NOT going to deter me from making lists. Au Contraire!

Thai food and Protests - All in a Days Work

Today was the last day of Jules' work/fun vacation and I travelled down town to meet up with her for one last round of fun 'n frolic. Given that Jules is heading back to a (self described) sandbox with limited options for world cuisine, we headed over to Salad King, one of the most awesome Thai restaurants in the city where we proceeded to chow down on Phud Thai and Satay Chicken and Golden curry with rice................
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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.......................................
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Sorry... just reminiscing.

Our tummy filled to busting point, we wandered down to Dundas sq where there was a protest in progress. Curious, we went in for a closer look only to find that this was the "One Size fits All" kind of protest since there were banners and placards reading all sorts of messages like Bring the Troops Home - NOW and More Healthcare for All, Avert Economic Mess (a little too late if yer ask me) and even something about Child care that we didn't quite catch. Here's a picture of Jules and the protesters.
And here's one of her just being touristy. Notice, it was a VERY windy day! This was also to prove to certain unbelievers that my blog buddies are NOT just all in my imagination! They really DO exist!

Didn't have much time for anything else other than one last wander through the Eaton Centre where Jules seemed to know her way around that mall much better than me. Guess it was all that time she spent in there dutifully contributing to Canada's economy. Thanks Jules - much appreciated.

She's off home now, but we already have plans for another meet up in August when I'm in her neck of the dessert visiting Israel. I do hope that works out. Meeting my imaginary friends is a whole heap of fun!

Taking Care of Business

Took my first step towards wrapping up my affairs here in the T Dot and called in to the TTC to cancel my monthly transit pass effective June 30. This was just the first in the long long list of things-to-do-before-I-leave series.

But I had to start somewhere. And now that I have, there's a long road ahead!

Wish Lists

I'll bet you guys were wondering what took me this long to come up with one of my famous lists. Actually, the lists were started in my head the day I decided to make the move, just didn't get around to putting them down on the blog. So, without further ado:

Places to visit in the UK on weekend road trips:

• Isle of Skye
• Fyvie Castle (one of my current clients grew up on the castle grounds - how cool!)
• Oban Distillery (I hear its one of the finest)
• Inverness (how can I not?)
• Aberdeen
• Eilean Donan Castle (where parts of Harry Potter, Highlander and the World is Not Enough was shot)
• Isle of Cumbrae
• Isle of Arran
• Stonehedge
• Old city of York
• City of Lancaster (on the hunt for a Beastie)
• Plymouth and Torbay, Cornwall
• Liverpool (because that's where Sigsy is from, and any place that produced a Sigsy is worth a visit)
• Barrow-in-Furness (just because it has an awesome name... and I'm sure they'll have beer there)
• Dover (to see those famous white cliffs for myself)
• South Harris (recommended by Beastie)
• The Orkney Islands (recommended by Jules)
  

Places to visit in Europe:

• Prague, Czech Republic
• Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Barcelona, Spain
• Paris, France (for my birthday)
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia
• Lisbon, Portugal
• And OF COURSE - Dublin, Galway and Cork (and more) in Ireland
  

Things to do/see/experience:

• Get Cineplex movie pass for unlimited movies in a year (isn't that a great deal?)
• Visit Kelvingrove museum in Glasgow to view some interesting exhibits
• Explore the Necropolis, Glasgow city
• Attend at least ONE function where I get to wear a hat (wedding, Ascot, tea with the Queen... I'm not picky)
• Sign up for a year long membership to the Scottish Heritage Trust to get me some discounts into castles, churches and the likes
• Check out the annual Highland games and all the related activities
• See a real live Puffin
• Check out the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
• Set off fireworks on Guy Fawkes day
• Attend at least one soccer, rugby and cricket game
• Find me an early edition copy of The Enchanted Woods and The Magic Faraway Tree, two of my all time favourite children's books
• Take a picture with a Shetland pony (aren't they just darling?)
• Go to the Edinburgh Tattoo (recommended by Jules. This is NOT a tattoo festival - contrary to what I first though!)
  

Any suggestion my dear readers? I'm all ears!

Divine Intervention?

I spent most of yesterday at the National Job Fair where my company had a booth. Usually a busy event, yesterday saw almost 4 times the regular number of job seekers. All morning long I listened to folks tell me about how they had been working for 20, 30 years and were now laid off. By the time my colleague came by to relieve me, I was almost as desperate as the 1000s of job seekers.

WHAT WAS I THINKING????? - was the primary line running through my head. The whole world is going to hell in a hand basket, the global job market SUCKS and new opportunities are rarer than healthy food at MacDonald's.... and here I am blithely thinking about chucking my very nice, very well paying, very comfortable SECURE job and heading off into the unknown. I was a mental wreck for the rest of the day.

And then, when I got home at night I was randomly surfing channels and chanced upon the pilot of a new show on ABC. "Cupid" is about a 30s something guy claiming to be the Roman god of Love. Currently stripped of his powers, must somehow unite 100 couples before he can return to Mount Olympus. The pilot was about how he was trying to help a young musician from... yes, you guessed it - Ireland who'd come to New York in search of a girl he'd met holidaying in Ireland. They'd had a brief chance interaction, but the young man was convinced that this was the girl of his dreams. Long story short, the guy finds the girl, but realises that she's not the one after all and that its been this other girl who actually did a story on him and got him the publicity that he needed. Thanks to the publicity though, immigration catches up with him and he's forced to leave the US. Cupid catches up with the girl (the actual love) and tries to convince her to go to him in Ireland to which she says "I've got a life here. A job. A family. My friends. What's out there other than the unknown and a mere chance at happiness?"
But she does go. Drops everything - job, life, friends - everything. And we'll never really know what happened because that's not how TV dramas work.

And as crazy as it sounds, I went to bed peaceful. Yes, its just a silly TV show (which probably won't make it past the first few episodes). Actual love stories rarely have that kind of fairy tale ending. Still, it was hard to ignore the obvious parallels in story line; it was too close to my truth.

I snuggled down to sleep finally at peace after a long and agitated day calm in the realization that even the slightest CHANCE at happiness is better than a lifetime of not knowing.

My dreams were peaceful that night. 

Young at Heart

Today is my Nana's 85th birthday! I spoke with her (and Papa) briefly this morning but I do wish I could wrap my arms around her and give her the birthday hug and kiss she deserves.

Happy Birthday Nana. And many more!

Picture taken in Feb 2007 at my grandparents house in Bombay. She was all dressed up for a cousin's wedding. Isn't she just the cutest?

Playing Tour Guide

After a whole month of impatient jiggling (read: anticipation), Jules was finally IN THE T DOT! Her first foray out into the city on Sattyday was to get her hair cut and styled (the girl sure has her priorities down right!) and so I headed over to Yorkville to meet her post coif. Got to the salon only to find that they had temporarily relocated and when I tried to call Jules on her "emerg US cellfone" found that I had copied down the wrong number. So, after hanging up on the very confused lady somewhere in Ohio, I called Trippy who trolled through my email and found me the correct digits. Watson - the game's afoot!


Jules and I had a joyous meeting on a Yorkville street corner where after I paused to duly admire her new cut, we proceeded to my favourite Vietnamese restaurant at Bloor/Avenue Road and over a nice big bowl of Bun Cha and spring rolls, we chitty chatted to our hearts content.


Our tummys full, we started on the Tour de Toronto; down Avenue Road past the ROM, through Queens Park and onto University Ave. Headed west on Dundas and peeped at the Ontario College of Art & Design and the brand spanking new AGO before settling down for a post lunch pint (for me) and a coke (for Jules) at one of my fav T Dot pubs - the Village Idiot. Continued our Discover TO walk through Spadina and Chinatown and then down to Queen West and back over to Nathan Phillips Sq and City Hall before making our way over to the Rogers Centre to find my brother at the Jays merchandise store and score some free passes to the CN Tower. This is a little bit of what we saw up there - just with less snow!


And finally, we capped off the day with dinner at the Rhino on Queen W where we were joined by Trippy and some other friends for dinner and more drinks. Btw, if you're in the T Dot and partial to good brews, check out the Rhino. They've recently renovated and now have an AMAZING selection of hoppy goodness both on tap as well as in bottles. I'd also recommend the spinach and chicken fettuccine. Yum!


Met up with Jules again on Sunday and headed over to the Distillery District for brunch and a wander around the shops and galleries. So intent on wandering was I that I totally forgot about the planned hockey game at 4pm and thankfully Jules has HER head screwed on tight and reminded me about the same. A mad dash over to the Richo Colosseum followed, but we were well in time to meet up with Beer Baron and Trippy and taken in the excitement of the Toronto Marlies vs. the Syracuse Crunch in some AAA hockey action!




It was only the second time I'd ever been to a Marlie's game and for a relatively cheap price, we managed to get a whole lot of entertainment such as kids on Zambonis.......
......and people running around in bubbles impersonating gerbils in between the game periods........
And of course - the actual hockey game which was terribly exciting as the two teams were evenly matched and both fought hard through out. Yes, there was also an all out gloves-off, face-pounding fight as well so Jules was able to experience ALL aspects of a hockey game!
Afterwards, Jules and I said goodbye to Trippy and Beer Baron and headed back into the city to find a poutine place. It turned out to be closed, so we settled for Japanese food instead. Just as tasty and much less heart-attack inducing as well!

Jules is probably busy at her conference right now - the real reason for her trip to the T Dot and we have plans to meet on Wednesday for a dim-sum lunch in Chinatown!

I also found out over the weekend that Conks, a neighbour/friend from Bombay who now lives in Atlanta is planning to visit me in May. Thanks to Beans and Jules' visits, he's going to get the super duper polished version of the Pixy tour of the T Dot!
Huuum... now there's a career option I could consider for Scotland!

Looking Back

It's been "Spring" for about a week now, but here in Canadialand we are far far away from budding trees and spring flowers. So, here are some pics of my trip to Japan in March/April 07 and the abundance of Spring that I experience there.

Enjoy!

O Happy Day!

Finally... FINALLY received "the" call from the visa office to say that my passport is available for pickup this afternoon. Bar Stewards.... they certainly took their time - especially since I got the OK from Ottawa on Monday. But I'll have it in hand by 5pm today, and then I get to finally tell all and sundry about my plans. Keeping it inside for this past week has been TORTURE!

And if the visa news wasn't exciting enough, that's not all! My blogger friend Jules arrives into the T Dot this afternoon for a combo work/vacation visit. We've been "blog buddies" for some years now, but this will be the first time we're actually meeting and I can't wait! I have gone into super tourist guide mode and have HEAPS of exciting surprises planned for her over the weekend.

Stay tuned!!

This one's for Penguin Pal

A bit late I know, but I only just heard about this from a friend last night. It seems that Percy Penguin the unofficial mascot of the London School of Economics (LSE) was stolen some weeks ago. All that remains are the feet and the base of the statue that was a donation by Canadian LSE Alumnus Louis Odette.

What is even stranger is that a similar penguin statue also created by Toronto artist Yolanda vanderGaast was stolen eight years ago from an Odette-funded sculpture park in Windsor, Ontario.

Officials are pretty sure it is no more than a prank and most certainly alcohol related so chances are, they're not going to put a whole lotta effort into tracking down leads. Understandably, LSE students are upset and some point the finger at their rivals at King's College.

Penguin Pal, no doubt you are troubled by this blatant act of penguin terrorism and so here's something to cheer you up.

LBDF

Looking Busy Doing F*ckall is a term that I first heard used by my cousin Rebel some years ago. It generally means putting up a good appearance of diligent work at your desk/cubby, but all the while indulging in frivolous web activities like checking emails, Facebook, blogging and such. Used in a sentence: Pixy, I was LBDFing all day long and it felt awesome!

And that's pretty much what I've been doing these past 2 days ever since I got the email about my visa application being granted. I've tried, seriously tried concentrating on the VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT that I have due in two weeks time and the host of other emails, phone calls and general admin stuff that is piling up on my desk at an alarming rate.

It's just no use.

All I can think about is moving to Glasgow, being with Beans, travelling around Europe and a whole host of other de-lovely thoughts that have not the slightest connection in the least to work and work related activities.

And to help me with my "research" I recently discovered two blogs that I just added to the new section "Project: Destination Scotland" to the sidebar. Both are by young women in their 20s who moved to Scotland from the US to live/work/study there. Or my new favourite read - Three Dog Blog about Laurie, a journalist and travel enthusiast (the best combination I think!) from St. Paul, Minnesota and of course her 3 dogs Riley, Boscoe and Toby. Personally I think Beastie would get along great with her! Laurie has made several trips to the Emerald Isle and her vivid accounts of the country and its people have me longing to visit there myself. Hopefully, Beans can show me around his native land soon.

Started this post with Rebel, and so should end with her as well. Just found out that she and her husband are expecting their first baby around mid September, hurrah and congrats to them both.

Oh look. It's almost time for lunch. That was a lovely morning of LBDFing!

Like Alanis said......

.... isn't it ironic that the federal government announced today it is spending $60 million to bolster the Employment Insurance system, as the number of laid-off Canadian workers continues to surge. The money, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley said, will be used to hire more staff, process claims more quickly and extend the period of coverage by five weeks.

I don't know whether to be glad that many more people will be employed in the short run or be afraid that these jobs were needed in the first place.

I got back from lunch today, and logged onto email.....

and......................

I GOT THE VISA!!!!!

I GOT THE VISA!!!!!

I GOT THE VISA!!!!!

Glasgow, here I come!!!

BTW, I'm at work now and since no one at work knows anything about my plans, I can't really rejoice the way I want to right now - run up and down the office shrieking madly!!!! So I have to be content with posting this, sending out a text message to a few friends.

The anxious potty dance has turned into a mad, crazy (suppressed) Happy Dance!!!

Guinness Book - take heed!!

My good friend Shutterbug is getting married (again) in Israel on August 9. I say again because she and her husband had a civil wedding here in the T Dot this past January. On the exact same day as another friend The Blonde One tied the knot which resulted in me doing a mad dash from Shutterbug's ceremony at City Hall at noon, to her apartment for a quick brunch and then back downtown for The Blonde One's ceremony and reception at the Arts & Letters Club.

My dedication to being a wedding attendee is well documented based "wedding journeys" to Bombay (3 weddings!!), Denver, Sydney and Scotland and it is no chance that I've been bestowed with the title of "Official Out-of-Town Wedding Attendee." But here is my most ambitious project yet!

The details are still fuzzy but I plan to travel to London, England this August for a college friend's wedding on August 7th. Beans (who will meet me there) and I will then fly out to Israel the next day and that way we can both be there for Shutterbug's religious ceremonies on August 9th.

Doable? Probably.
Tight? Definitely.
Crazy? Most Certainly!!!
Fun? Absolutely!!!


Should have also mentioned that before Beans and I had our conversation about going to Israel, the Beer Baron and I had "pinkie swore" to make a road trip to the Maritimes as a "last hurrah". IF those plans work out, looks like I'd be on a road trip in early July, leave for Glasgow mid July, go down to London first week of August and then fly out to Israel for approximately 10 days. Now that's travel packed!!!

Girls and Dolls

Ms. Barbie turned 50 some weeks ago and everyone was talking about it. On the TV, over the radio and all over the Internet. Everyone had a favourite story about their experience with the world's most famous doll, and as I listened to the sharing I suddenly remembered about my own Barbie experience from a long long time ago.

It was nearing the end of the the summer vacations of 1988 and us kids were tiring of the long hot days. Even the most innovative of games had grown stale and the unrelenting heat stifled any new creativity. To escape from the daily monotony, one of the neighbourhood girls managed to con/bribe/nag her mother into throwing a "Barbie Party" for all the neighbourhood girls. Of course this peeved the boys to no extent as none of them were "invited" and it led to them plotting revenge - but that's a whole other story.

For a whole week, the upcoming Barbie party was all anyone was talking about. The girl (who I shall call Diva) had her mum make up little party invites that said something along the lines of"You and Your Barbie are cordially invited to a party at..................." The invite also revealed that one lucky girl would have her Barbie crowned "Princess of the Party". Sure, we'd all had parties. Lots of parties. But never one with our dolls. FOR our dolls!

When I got my invitation, I was over the moon with delight. And in 3 seconds flat, that delight turned to despair. I so badly wanted to go to this party, but the only Barbie I had owned was in no fit condition for such an event. Some years ago, in a misguided attempt to make more "feminine" an aunt had gifted me a Barbie for my birthday (or was it Christmas?). I had promptly stripped her off her boring blue business suit and put her into an outfit better suited for some action packed adventures with GI Joe, He-Man and Strawberry Shortcake - who in case you're wondering was just as much of an action hero in my world. Barbie balanced out the team nicely and over the years had participated in some crazy adventures with the gang that had earned her the respect she rightly deserved amongst my playmates, but had sadly left her with broken limbs and deep battle scars that no amount of cosmetic surgery would cover. And there was the bitter realization that like the millions of women invited out to special events - she hadn't a thing to wear!

I knew there was no way I could take my Barbie to that party wearing her current ensemble of tattered T (borrowed from a teddy bear, fitted with safety pins) and home made skirt from my dad's torn handkerchief. So the next time I met Diva, I told her that I wasn't going to attend her party. Diva probed some more and when she found out that lack of suitable ensemble was my excuse, she exclaimed that she had loads and loads of extra "party" clothes for her Barbies (all 17 of them) and would be happy to lend me something for mine.

And so, I went to the party after all. I didn't want to take Barbs over in her "fighter" outfit, so I hastily wrapped her in one of my mum's silk scarfs and went over to Diva's. "Ok, I said, can I have something for my Barbie to wear?" Diva took one look at my Barbie and at me and then proceeded to teach me an early lesson in duplicity.

"Oh, how SWEET!" she exclaimed. "Look everyone, Pixy's Barbie is wearing a homemade outfit." And then to me, "Well, it would be a shame to ruin that special outfit you made her. Just let her wear it to the party."

Of course, I couldn't very well demand that she make good on her offer of a dress and didn't have a choice but to put down my "Home Econo Fashion Barbie" along side all of the other carefully coiffed and dressed dolls. The party was absolutely ruined for me and I remember not being able to eat a single thing that evening even though Diva's mum had prepared a veritable feast. About half way though the evening, I made some excuse about a tummy ache and went off home taking poor old war weary Barbs with me. Hardly anyone even noticed my departure, and as I walked home I could hear the shrieks of delighted laughter behind me.

I never fully understood why Diva had gone back on her promise. Perhaps her aim had been to embarrass me all along, or perhaps she just changed her mind at the last minute - like a lot of 8 year olds tend to do. In either case, she taught me an early lesson about the Divas of the world and that perhaps it was better to use my imagination and play with a bunch of ragged, but loyal buds than try to befriend the cool kids who's idea of friendship was false smiles and broken promises.

Yards and Yards of Red Tape

It's only been 2 days since I submitted by visa application, but what a 2 days it has been. All day yesterday I was literally too nervous to work, constantly thinking about the visa and that dreadful "what-if-I-don't-get-it" thought hung over me like a big shadow of Doom. Logically, I know that I meet all of the criteria outlined by the British High Commission and I know that I had supplied all of the correct documentation etc. Still, anything that involves an interaction with a bureaucratic authority is a painful and nerve wracking process fraught with nail chewing and hair pulling along the way - mainly because of their overall lack of clear instruction around processes and ambiguous wording on documentation. Here is my evidence of the same:

I went over to the visa agent's offices on Wednesday to drop off my application and supporting documents and have my biometric scans taken. I had read and re read the instructions on the website and had every document they asked for neatly in a folder. The lady at the counter asked me what was my intended date of travel. Early July I told her. She made a disapproving clicking sound. "You're applying too early. They only issue visas 3 months in advance of the travel dates." Now readers, I'd read that website backwards and forwards. There was no mention AT ALL of this "rule". What it DOES mention is that there is a specific per annum quota allocated for this type of visa and no exceptions are made once the numbers have been met. I asked her about this and said that I could wait another 3-4 weeks to apply, but what if I am too late to meet the quota?

She looked doubtful.

She then told me I'd have to write a letter stating that I'd like to postpone the visa start to end June, for travel in early July. That way I could meet the 3 month criteria and the visa officers would know not to issue the visa right away so that I don't "waste" 3 months of it. I pointed out that Q1 on the application asks for intended date of travel. "Do I have to write a letter even after I've answered that question right on the form itself?"

She looked doubtful.

"Write the letter" she repeated and added "Don't worry, we have a lot of people who apply too early and they all have to write this letter." So I asked her if she had a template that I could follow that would tell me who to address the letter to, and what the subject line should be etc etc.

She looked confused.

Turns out, even though they have encountered "a lot of people" in the past who've needed this letter, they didn't once think to have a standard document prepared, or a sample template that one could copy from. But what am I saying? That would require forward thinking - and this was a government agent.

I wrote the letter.

That settled, we moved on to proof of funds. I said that I had a letter from my bank stating my current balance in all accounts as well as a letter from my investment company stating the total value of my current portfolio. "Where is your bank statement?" she asked. I explained that because I do online banking, I don't get a monthly statement in the mail. It is emailed to me instead. And because the website clearly stated that all documentation must be original and must be on the bank's letterhead I cannot include an emailed version. I assured her that the letter from the bank clearly states my current bank balance.

She looked doubtful.

I asked her to have a look at the letter and tell me it was acceptable. She declined saying that as agents, they were not in a position to give advice to the applicants. "But you have a helpline listed on the website that says one can call for clarification on documents or the process." She agreed, but apparently SHE couldn't advise me. If I wanted clarification, I would have to step back outside, call in to the office (the same office I was currently standing in), ask my questions.... and (here's the kicker) be billed $3.50 per minute for the call!!!!!!

That was when I knew I was in a loosing battle. It simply didn't matter how well I read the website, or how well I'd complied my documents or how well my supporting letters were written. I was going to experience application anxiety regardless for this is how all government processes work. So there was nothing else for me to do but hand over my file and leave...... and then spend the next 5-15 days with a large Cloud of Doom hanging over my every move.

Terrific.

Invasion of the Gaggle Pack

I could not figure out the abnormally high percent of teenage and young 20 something girl gaggles I passed on my way to the subway after work last evening. Sure it was March break, but that usually brings out the kiddies and their 'rents - not this lot. They were everywhere. And in the way of persons like me trying to run for a particular train.

As I (literally) pushed my way past the 7th gaggle, it hit me.

Britney's Circus concert was playing at the ACC and these were all the clowns.

For Better or For Worse.....

..... the deed has been done!

Earlier this afternoon, I went along to the UK visa application site here in the T Dot and submitted my paperwork and supporting documentation for a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa.

If I get this visa, I will be able to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years. And of course, I will be closer - much closer - to Beans.

I had actually been thinking about going to live/work in the UK for a while now. My initial choice was London, primarily because of a uni friend who lives there and assured me of (rent free) accommodation for as long as I wanted it and also because at the time it seemed a natural choice as I'd been to the city before and enjoyed it and wanted to know more about it. My primary focus was of course the proximity to half a dozen (and more) European destinations that I was just dying to explore.

Enter Beans, and suddenly living and working in the UK isn't a nice day dream anymore, it is a reality that springs from the need to find a viable way to build on and sustain our relationship. In between all the touring and sightseeing (and the oodles of making out) that we did when he was here, we also did a lot of talking.
About what we both wanted - short and long term.
About how we viewed this relationship.
About our personal and life goals.

One thing was clear. We both wanted to have a REAL shot at "us". And we both knew that it wasn't going to really work unless we were together. And I knew that the person who would have to move - for now at least - would have to be me. Beans works in a highly specialized field and moving here would mean him having to give up a very lucrative post. On the other hand, I LOVE my job. I love the people I work with, the industry and the opportunities that I get every day to MAKE A BLOODY DIFFERENCE in a number of areas that I feel strongly about.

BUT I also love Beans. Very Very Much. And it didn't take me long to decide that in a tug-of-war between a great job and a great man, the man would win. Hands down.

And so, for second time since meeting Beans I followed an impulse and went ahead with the online application last week. Had to wait until I got some supporting documents from my bank and just as soon as they came though, I made an appointment with the visa centre for today.

And now I wait.

Which is the most agonizing part of this entire process as those of you who know me will attest that patience is at the very bottom of the list of my (many) virtues. But, wait I must; 5-15 business days.

And then, it will either be the dizzying happiness of endless possibility when the visa arrives, or the bitter heart crushing disappointment of failure and the reality of an endless time away from my love.

They said HOW much?

As planned, I headed over to one of the large chain book store locations last night to pick up my much awaited and anticipated copies of Cellist of Sarajevo and Geography of Bliss. Seeing as how I had a total of $75 in gift vouchers, I was confident I would be able to pick up some others as well.

I wandered around the store looking for deals, and finally after much deliberation decided on The Jane Austen Book Club (Karen Joy Fowler), The Last Wife of Henry VIII (Carolly Erickson), The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Kidd) and for that all important fluff factor, Remember Me? (Sophie Kinsella).

Arms laden, I went over to the checkout counter where the charming young man rang in the books, beamed at me and said, "That will be $132.65 Miss."

I nearly had a coronary! Even with the gift vouchers, that was a difference of almost $60 that I just couldn't afford. So, I had to choose carefully from the list and I finally came away with the original 2 + these ones below.

As I left the store with only half of the books that I thought I'd be able to purchase, it was a good reminder to me why I stopped shopping at the Evil Empire of Chapters in the first place and switched over the way more customer friendly BMV (Books, Music, Video) and ABC Books stores where I could have gotten a whole pile up of books for $75 and perhaps even a second hand freebie thrown in as well.

Joy Joy Joy!!

Received 2 book store gift vouchers for my birthday and today, I'll be heading out to pick up some copies that I've been looking forward to for a long long time! Both recommended by Lotus, but out of my grasp for lack of funds, soon.... soon... they will be MINE!!!! *insert maniacal laughter*

Thank you to Brown Boy, Gwilo and fake Brown Boy and to the Blonde One and Mr. Blonde One for the vouchers and making me a very very happy book lover!

Bubble Bubble.......

.....something is a-brewing in Pixyland.

Can't say too much right now, but I can tell you that it includes:
a suitcase
and a passport
and a city
and an Irishman

I'm sure you're all quite clever and will figure it all out, but in the meantime, that's all I can say.

Big Momma's Watching!

Text message received last night:
Spencer did you go to math on Monday and write the test? Mom.

My reply:
Either you misdialed, or Spencer gave you the wrong cell phone number. If its the former - hope he aced the test. If its the latter, I suspect a bad mark is not all he has to worry about.

Book Review - The Secret Diary of Adrain Mole; Aged 13 3/4

Recommended by Beans who said that he first read this book back when HE was around the same age as the protagonist, I found it an easy read. Written in a personal diary format, it is charming, interesting, real, funny and a very insightful look into the mind and world of a young boy on the cusp of adolescence talking about his life in a very open and downright honest format. The "Bridget Jones" of teenagers, Adrian Mole is a delightful character and I'm looking forward to reading more about him as I just found out that Sue Townsend has written a whole series of "diaries" aging Adrian from the gawky young teenager to a middle aged man.

Groundhog Day

Scene: Local coffee shop by the office.
Time: Too-bloody-early o'clock

Me: Could I have a toasted sesame bagel with butter please?

Girl: Right. *punches code in machine*

Girl: So, that will be a bagel?

Me: Yes *I thought I said this, but perhaps it was just in my head*

Girl: Toasted?

Me: Yes, toasted - with butter. *there, its out loud this time*

Girl: With butter?

Me: YES. *am I the only one who can hear me?*

Girl: Right.

Me: OH MY GOD. I'm stuck in the mini version of Groundhog Day. HELP!!!

Only in Canada

Only in Canada, when the temperature is -12 will we still insist on sending the kids out to play! The scene reminded me of the picture we have on our $5 bills with the quote from the story The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier.
Picture taken at Too Good pond in Unionville, just north of Toronto.

Not so technically challenged after all!!

Hurrah!!

I was finally able to figure out how to:

• Create a "new" travel blog that was exact in every way to the old one - with a slightly different name
• Save everything from the "old" travel blog and move it over to the "new" one so that I don't loose all my previous hard work
• Disassociate this blog from the travel blog so that I can go back to being "open" and my 3 faithful readers don't have to sign in anymore
• Hopefully gain new readers now that it is back to being an "open" blog

I really am quite proud of myself folks! I consider this a significant step for me getting closer to technology. We're not moving in just yet. But we will be dating more frequently from now on.

Nite of Fun, Friends and Fashion

The ever amazing Trippy hosted her annual "Awards Nite" dinner yesterday. The actual show began at 8:30pm EST, but we were there well in advance for the red carpet extravaganza because let's face it, that's what we were most interested in. Trippy had some delish munchies to keep our tummies full, and exciting and fun filled Oscar trivia games for the commercial breaks and the boring speeches. And prizes too!! At the end of the night, Ms. Trippy was voted "Best Hostess" and richly deserving as well. (WHY is this girl still single??)


And because I cannot resist, here's my two pence:

• Best opening sequence in a long long time. Yes people, the Oscars are about MOVIES and ACTORS - not comedians with their trying-too-hard monologues.
• Best year for acceptance speeches. Personal fav, the Japanese dude winning for best short animation ended his speech with "Domo Arigato, Mister Roboto". Kate Winslet telling Meryl Streep to "suck it up" was also pretty damn funny.
• Best intro to the 4 big acting awards. It must have felt pretty damn good to be celebrated in that fashion - win or no win.
• Best presenter pairing - Steve Martin and Tina Fey. Now that's how you do a comedic presenter piece.
• Worse gown - Beyonce. It looked like someone had vomited gold all over the dress and her too plain hair and make up and utter lack of jewellery wasn't a hit either.
• Worst presenter pairing - Daniel Craig and Sarah Jessica Parker. Thank god for the teleprompter, because it was obvious that they had NOTHING to say to each other.
• Best awkward moment - cameras cutting to Angie as Jennifer Anniston and Jack Black did their thing on stage.
• Worst let down - Hugh Jackman kept his clothes on for the entire show. I want a refund.

Just in case you were under a rock and missed out on what happened with Hollywood's biggest night of the year, here's an excellent article that nicely sums it all up.

Wish this guy did some of the acceptance speeches!!

Just in Time!

Extract from an email received from Air Canada re upcoming promotions:

More ways to earn Aeroplan® Miles!Earn 2,000 Bonus Aeroplan Miles when you book your flight at aircanada.com by March 15, 2009.

This offer is valid for travel from April 1 until December 31, 2009 between Canada and the following destinations:
Frankfurt
Munich
Paris
London
Zurich
Geneva
Rome

And isn't it just handy that I have to travel to London in August for (yes, you got it) a friend's wedding? Hurrah for online deals!

A Quickie

No, you pervs - not that! Just a little update on Bean's visit to the T Dot.

Monday: Beans hung out with my bro for most of the day and they did the following:

• Tried to get a local SIM card for Beans
• Abandoned that idea when they found out that the cheapest one would be $60*
• Visited the Scarborough bluffs by the lake where they bonded with the local wildlife by following geese around and attempting to mimic their calls
• Went for a tour of the Rogers Centre (the baseball stadium)
• Waited at the pub while I finished up with work

After work, Beans and I headed over to the CN Tower to check out the sights of the city from way way way up high. It was a nice enough day and we had plenty of time to see everything before the sun went down and the clouds rolled in. Oh, should mention that it was the first time I'd ever kissed anyone at an elevation of 342 m. It made my head spin; then again he always does. Finished off the evening with an absolutely scrumptious dinner at the restaurant at the top of the tower. The view was spectacular, the food was amazing, the company was delightful - what more could you ask for in a meal?

Tuesday: Beans and the bro continued with the male bonding with trips to the Police Museum, The Hockey Hall of Fame and the Steam Whistle Brewery where I caught up with them after work for a couple of pints. The 'rents wanted us back for dinner and the Mater had gone all out with the meal. Gee, she must be really desperate to make a good impression on my behalf!

Sidebar funny story: On Sunday morning, my mum comes up to me and tells me this: "He seems to be a nice boy, very pleasant. How nicely he made his bed this morning and came up and said hello to everyone. And you? Not even out of your pyjamas as yet! You'd better shape up your ways. Nice boys don't like messy girls."

I was dying to tell her that its not how I make my bed that turns him on, rather what I'm able to do IN it. But it was too early in the morning to get into that.

After dinner, we had a nice congenial chatty session in the basement before a warm wood fire before calling it a night. How civilized!

Today: More sightseeing in store followed by the basketball game with Trippy and Beer Baron tonight.

And in case you're wondering, yes, there has been ample opportunity for "extra curricular" activities.

He Came, He Conquered, I Came (Twice)

And so 132 days after he told me that he was planning on visiting me, Beans landed in the T Dot on Saturday.

Trippy and the Beer Baron were on hand to watch me dance, jump and jiggle my way through an agonizing hellish 30 minute wait in the arrival hall at the airport. Yes, they have video clips. But even the anxious "I-need-to-go-potty" like dance didn't prepare them (or the rest of the airport) for the ear splitting shriek I let out when Beans FINALLY walked through the doors. Or my mad dash to get to him where I (apparently) pushed 3 children and 2 old ladies out of my way. Or my spectacular leap right into his waiting arms.

When I finally pulled my lips off his, they drove us home where the much anticipated "Meet the Parents" scene played out. Thankfully there was no talk about milking cats or any other such topics and he hasn't knocked out a family member, nor burned down the backyard - yet. AND most surprisingly, my mother hasn't been the anti-dating, relationship-hating, ball-busting villain that she usually is, but has been a model of hostessing delight. For the record, I'm afraid. BUT, Beans has charmed the proverbial socks off both parents and also the friends - some of who he met at Cosmo Girl's house warming party on Saturday night.

And speaking of socks off, those and more were were discarded for all of yesterday afternoon thanks to les parents being at a christening party and le frere away at work. As I mentioned to Trippy this morning, my FB status should read: Pixy spent last afternoon at the amusement park and enjoyed several extended rides on the sexmobile.

But perhaps that would be socially inappropriate?

Utimate Rejection

Back in November last year when my mum was in the hospital, I had made up my mind to sign up for blood donation as soon as I got back from the holiday. Accordingly, I called up the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) last week and got an appointment for today. I set off in my lunch break very eagerly and excited that I was going to do something "important".

After getting there and filling out a load of paperwork, I was told "Thanks, but no thanks".

Turns out, I cannot be a donor after all because I've had malaria. Formerly, CBS used to accept donations from people who'd had malaria because they would separate the blood and just not use the red blood cells part coz that's where the malaria bug (virus?) infects and it can lay dormant for up to 6 years. But they've since found that it is far more cost effective to simply turn down donations rather than have to dispose off the RBC component in a safe way. They did let me know that if the rules change, they'd call me back.

I totally understood the reasoning behind my donor rejection and it all made perfect sense when the nurse explained it to me. But still, as I left the clinic and stepped outside, the sharp wind that hit me was not as cold as the feeling I had deep inside that I'd just tried to do something nice, and failed. Rejection, is never a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Vexing

I am very surprised by the seeming lack of basic etiquette in today's world. And I'm not talking about grand gestures to society.Just simple everyday niceties that when collected and put together make for a nicer, happier existence for us all.

Like holding the door open for the person behind you instead of letting it slam into their face.
Like standing to right on an escalator so that persons behind you can walk up the left.
Like paying a little visit to a new neighbour, or new colleague to say hello and welcome.
Like RSVPing to an invite in a timely fashion.

Case in point. I sent out an evite to my birthday celebrations over 2 weeks ago. The evite called for people to respond yes/no/maybe with the option to change that response at any time. 52 people received the email. To date, only 23 have responded - either verbally or online. And the rest? I know they've all read the email. I can tell from the timestamp on the evite. It's just about a week to the event, so won't you know your schedule by now? I don't mind if you've other things planned and cannot make it - that's fine. But, at least let me know that. Right now, I have only a vague sense of who will be attending and if I was catering for the event - I'd be left clueless as to food quantities.

It may seem like a petty issue, but I am peeved, especially since all the people on that invite list are folks who I consider my friends and hence I would expect better of them.

Take that V-Day

Email received from our IT team this morning:
We have become aware of public reports of malicious code circulating via spam email messages related to Valentine's Day. These messages contain a link to a website that contains several images of hearts and instructs users to choose one image. If users click on one of the images, they will be prompted to download an executable file. Reports indicate that the executable files could be named: youandme.exe, onlyyou.exe, you.exe, and meandyou.exe (please note that these file names may change at any time). If users accept the download, malicious code may be installed onto their systems. We encourage users to be aware of these type scams during the occasional holidays and if ever in doubt, don’t.

My response:
If this isn't a lesson to folks to stop perpetuating this ridiculous "celebration" of so-called "love" in a manner that is both exclusive and irritating to many, then they deserve to have their computers devoured by V-Day viruses. *insert maniacal laughter*

A Warning

Today, I saw this article online about the slamming winter weather in the UK and the ensuing chaos of a county grinding to a standstill.

All I'm saying is that those dudes at Heathrow better get their act together by Saturday or else I'm going to be VERY VERY upset if Beans is even a MINUTE later than scheduled.

They really DON'T want to mess with a woman who hasn't had sex in a very very long time!