The Christmas Season in Vancouver

I have a job at the Bay. I am working in the jewellery section of the department store-it is pretty busy because of Christmas shopping, so I am very tired once I am finished 6.5 hours. The people I work with are all very nice, and help me out when I don't know how to do things-the cash register is a bit complex, so I don't know how to do too much yet! I only work there on weekends. There is one girl, Naomi, from England who we've invited out this Friday, since she seems nice. We don't have many friends here in Vancouver, so we are trying to meet new people. Making friends is harder once you leave school-you have to make a real effort to get to know people. On Sunday after work, I bought myself some jewellery since I get an employee discount. I bought two Roots necklaces and two pairs of earrings. It's weird, cause normally I am not that interested in jewellery, but working there has made me pay attention. I am surprised how expensive most of it is.

My other job right now is a temp job. There are only 2 people who work here and they didn't teach me much, so most of the time I just email and am bored. The people who work here are always very stressed, so it makes it a bit uncomfortable for me. It is full time during the week, so I never have any days off at all. I am tired and fed up with working, but I have three days off at Christmas.

Since I work so much, I don't get the chance to see much here in Vancouver. It is a nice city-today the sun was shining off the top of the mountains, which made it look beautiful. However, mostly it rains! It is a nice city, but I think maybe I like Toronto better. I'll have to give it more time and see.

I went out to see Timeline a week ago and Love, Actually last night. Timelinewasn't very good, but Love, Sctually was great. And lasst night Jenni, Jenny, Alan and I went out for coffee.

Christmas is busy because some people are visiting. Jasmine is here to see her family and I am going out to dinner with her tonight. David is here from Scotland, and he's going to be sleeping on our couch until the 23rd - he arrives tonight. We are going to be out most evenings while he is here to show him around (even though we don't know where anything is here either!!!). And Samarra is supposed to be here next week, visiting her sister, so I hopefully will see her too at least once.

We've been getting lots of Christmas cards from people-from Alan's cousins and Grans, from Nana and Henry and Grandpa and Grandma, Aunt Joan, and some of my friends. It's really nice to get mail :) We sent out about 50 cards, but have only got about 15 back so far. We did the last of the Christmas wrapping last night, so we are all ready.

We are going to Andrea's family for Christmas-Jenni and David and Alan and I. I think I will buy a turkey for Alan and I as well, and try cooking one since I have never cooked one before.

Looking into Korea

Wise thought of the day: Never tread on the toes today that are connected to the legs that support the arse you may have to kiss tomorrow. Found on Dave's ESL Cafe

Should anyone have worked, or have friends who have, teaching English in Korea and know of reputable companies/schools, let me know, I'm doing a bit of research into it...

I looked at Dave's and am now completely overwhelmed. Many of the posters make teaching English in Korea sound very scary. However, I think in spite of all that, I am still interested. It would probably be next august I would want to start. The other thing that gets me is I don't have a clue how to teach. Should I try and take a TEFL course? Should I be ready to prepare lessons, come up with games, etc, from day one? What if I am shit at it???

The main thing I want out this is some saved money and the experience.

First impressions of Vancouver & Adding up the pennies

Hmmm, cost of the trip... I almost hate to add it all up ;) The rail passes cost us $450, but I think they are more like $700 if you travel in peak season. Hostels were all about $18 per night. The polar bear tour was about $250 each for one day and we couldn't afford to stay in Churchill cause that would have been over $100 per night even for a crap motel. One guy we met paid $85 to sleep on someone's sofa!!! So, total, I would guess we spent about $1500-1800. Christ, is that scary...

Canadian hostels are nice, actually, or HI ones are anyway. We didn't stay in any independent ones, and I have heard that some of them are a bit dodgy. However, Hostelling International seemed good, and the membership was $40 for two years. Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver all had 4 bed rooms, Jasper was one big dorm. They are all in good areas, though the one in Jasper is hard to reach without a car.

Vancouver is nice. I can't decide if I think it is any better than Toronto though-I had expected to like it better, but don't think I do. There are a lot of nutters and beggars on the streets-far more so than anywhere else I have ever been, except maybe Rome. And people over here really don't like people from Toronto, for no real reason I can see. They say people from Ontario ignore them, but most people I know in Toronto think that Vancouver, and BC generally, is a great place and we hear about them fairly often, far more than most other provinces in Canada. So I don't really understand their bitterness. It's a bit weird, the hatred of Toronto is not just a bit of a joke rivalry to many people here. I think it's all a bit juvenile and idiotic, myself.

The Rockies Rock!

When we got to Jasper, we decided to rent a car. It such a beautiful little town, it reminds Alan of Aviemore in Scotland, and I can sort of see it, but Jasper is MUCH cooler. The weather was nice and sunny and the mountains were unreal. Our hostel was odd-going up the long road at night, surrounded by trees, tended to make us think of "the Shining", and Alan managed to quite spook us with his "redrum" one evening... The hostel had several resident dogs, all very cute, who we periodically threw sticks for. Some of the hostel's other creatures were stranger--the staff all had a lot of facial hair, and as we were stuck in a large coed dorm, it tended to smell of farts all the time. We had some tame games of chess, and a highly adversarial game of scrabble. I won, of course ;)



Our first big adventure was the drive to Lake Louise. We had to leave early, so if the weather turned bad, we'd have time to get back before they closed the highway. It was an amazing trip. Alan and Jenni making mating calls (sounded more like burps to me!), my nostril doing a Darth Vader impersonation, Alan eating some spiritual bagels (okay, this is odd I know, but essentially Alan got all "the mountains and scenery move me" after spending the whole trip mocking Jenni and I for overly emotional sentiments about polar bears and many other things. He blamed it on something funny in the bagels).

Within five minutes on the road we saw some elk. It was sunrise, so the mountains were all framed by pink sky. Very beautiful. Alan jokes that the animals are all animitronics that the park rangers activate whenever tourists drive by... There were such amazing views I guess we all felt it was too good to be true. We're calling the photos from this part of the trip the "back to nature" photos, since there are many of animal arses!



We went to Athabasca Falls, saw some bighorn sheep licking salt off the road, saw the Sumwampta Falls. Alan and Jenni did an impersonation of fat people, inspired by the incredibly inaccurate signs on the time it takes to walk the trails - we finished in at least half the time on each trail. We drove past the Columbia Icefields, but it's the wrong time of year to get to go on them. Then we hit Lake Louise... And found it frozen. Okay, so we were incredibly stupid to not have thought of this, but we were expecting that amazing turquoise water. Anyway, then we meet this very, very odd woman, who is there celebrating her wedding anniversary, since she had been there for her honeymoon. The odd thing is, her husband was too busy at work to go with her!!! It was weird.



On the way back, we saw a weeping wall (ice on rock really), some white tailed deer, coyotes (or it's arse, to be more precise), and some spooky ravens who wouldn't fly away when we came very close to them. Saw Runaway Jury at the cinema in town that night.

The next day we drove out to Jasper Park Lodge and saw more deer, elk, coyotes. We may even have some decent, non-arse photos from that day! We heard woodpeckers and saw a chipmunk. My bird obsession from the summer in Scotland is gone, but the animal spotting continues!!! Medicine Lake was pretty, but when we stopped there and used the mini tripod to take timed photos, Jenni's camera ended up in the snow! It's ok though.



So, there we were, driving up towards Maligne Lake and we see some bighorn rams. We stop the car, staying inside like good little tourists, and take a photo out the window, while the rams start licking salt off the side of our rental car. When we attempt to move on, one ram gets ready to, well, ram us. Jenni hit the gas, and the car was safe. I, however, got a nice bump on the head (bumped it off the back window).



We went tourist shopping. After about 10 shops with all the same stuff in it we were all getting a bit tired, when I decided to try on a t-shirt in the shop and nearly broke this eagle thingy. Let me tell you, smashing was all that ugly thing was good for. Sadly it is still in one piece, waiting for an American tourist with a dodgy sense of style to come along...

On our drive back to the hostel, we noticed a girl walking along the side of the road and offered her a ride the rest of the way-it would be one long walk to that hostel from town. Turns out she had hitched up from Lake Louise by herself. We earlier in the trip had met another girl who hitched around Alaska by herself. This is all made concerning by the fact that there was a reward for info poster in the Jasper train station for a girl who had gone missing, last seen hitching from Port Rupert. Spent that evening sending Emily a puzzle postcard, which I am sure she will greatly appreciate ;)



Finally we went to a lake that wasn't frozen-Patricia Lake, so we have those cool photos were the mountains reflect in the water (can you tell I love our photos?!?)

Pyramid Lake had a walk on an island that was supposed to last 20 minutes... They must think all the tourists are stupidly out of shape because it maybe took us 10. It wasn't frozen though! Yay water! Then we went to the Jasper Museum, very interesting, and did a Maligne Canyon tour.



So, here is where we wasted money, cause we did not need a tour guide for that trail. Granted, we didn't have the rental car anymore, but our tour companions were a hoot. They were all British, and ranged in age from 30-60. And damn, were they slow and unstable. One woman, I kid you not, said she wouldn't have done a walk like that when she was 20, let alone 60, and this was not a difficult trail IN THE LEAST!

Our last day we went and got dressed up in RCMP uniforms (for free!) and took photos. Then we just hung around, waiting for yet another late train. Alan and Jenni got their knickers in a knot over a display in the train station that said England, when it should have said Britain, which passed the time nicely.



We got on that train, and that was pretty much the end of our trip. My friend Jenny and her mum picked us up at the station and managed to get our mountain of luggage to the hostel in one trip. Then she fed us bagels and showed us around.

On our first day in Vancouver, we all managed to secure apartments! Yay, us. The job search has taken longer, but Alan and I are now employed, though I don't start till Friday.

Deadmonton-what's up with that?

Arriving on the train, the skyline of Edmonton seems to jump out of nowhere. Why it's called Deadmonton, I don't know, cause we all loved the city, especially Strathcona.

It was in Edmonton that Alan and Jenni were served pints with bits of lemon... What's up with that too??? We loved the Provincial Museum of Alberta-lots of dioramas about wildlife and native Canadians. The women that charged us to go in turned out to be studying to play the bagpipes, bit random, but that is the kind of stuff you find out when travelling with Scots apparently. We attempted to go and have our tea leaves read at a Russian tea house, but it was closed for Remembrance Day. Even the buses were flashing "lest we forget" instead of route names. They take Remembrance Day much more seriously in Alberta than in Ontario, which is rather nice.



The Edmonton MEC has outdoors gear and a coffee shop-Jenni was ready to stay and to heck with Vancouver ;) Alan came up with an interesting question for Canadians to ponder-if you had to nuke one province, which would it be? He seems to think my answer would be Manitoba, but I refuse to play that game!

We had dinner with Margaret (formerly of Edinburgh, but Canadian), with a very loud Oilers game in the background. The next day we headed to the mall-not just any mall, but the West Edmonton Mall, biggest in the world. And frankly, folks, we weren't impressed. it's got no more shops than the Eaton's Centre, really, it's only big cause it has a water park, a roller coaster, a dolphin tank (very evil, a single social creature in a tiny tank, made Canadians look very not cool). Went to Roots once again-that store is addictive.



What else to say about Edmonton? Alan and Jenni taught me what gurning was (when old men take out their teeth and suck their lips into their mouths, apparently this is a competitive sport in England...). They gave us free donuts because the train was late... And just generally, we like Edmonton very much. I have since found out it's my dad's favourite city in the west, and I totally see why.

Continuation of the cross Canada saga - Wininpeg and the Prairies

Arriving at the hostel in Winnipeg was amazing, as for the first time in 5 days we all got to shower... Yes, I know, that isn't exactly a pleasant thought, but there you are. Seeing polar bears was worth 5 days of bad hair.

Winterpeg is one of those nicknames that you immediately understand upon arrival. Apparently, the weather was unseasonably cold for November... However, the worst was the wind. If you can believe it, we actually found the cold worse than in Churchill. Met some interesting folk in the hostel-two potheads from Revelstoke. They gave BC a good name though, since they offered to share with just about everyone in the hostel, including all the staff ;)

Tourist-wise, Winnipeg appears to have a lot to offer, however this doesn't apply if you visit in November (or any winter month apparently). We went to the Forks, nothing to do but see a few shops since they don't exactly do outdoor theatre at -20. The Royal Canadian Mint was quite a laugh. The displays were all set up in the 70s, and some of the staff still think they are in that particular decade, judging by the hairstyles. However, I am told that mullets are coming back-on women!!! ahhhhhh.

We went to see the Museum of Man and Nature, where I fell asleep during the Planetarium show (blame the Revelstoke crew for that one), and learned only two facts. One, Churchill was set up to be a grain port for westerners who didn't want to ship through the east (wow, westerners have always hated us easties). Two, moose means eater of twigs in the Algonquin language. I saw the replica traders ship, the Nonsuch, or maybe it was a real ship-ran out of time and the ability to read by that point in the museum.

We spent a lot of time in a diner near the hostel. Jenni had her first poutine, and Alan his first perogies.

We saw the Tom Thomson exhibit (it was bigger and better when I saw it in Toronto) at the WAG, along with some fantastic Inuit sculptures. The only other thing in the gallery was a very odd exhibit entitled "German angst". Dropped by the Ukrainian exhibit-it was classic Canadian immigrant story-come over, face hardship and adversity, eventually make good. Nice museum, cool eggs.

Then we attempted to do the walking tour of St Boniface, the French Quarter. We saw the grave of Louis Reil and promptly gave in to the cold by spending the rest of the afternoon in a coffee shop. Apparently there are some very nice houses to be seen, but not at the expense of frostbite.

Off we went to see two Imax films, and boy were they disneyfied. Everything was concentrated on the US, the only things that got eaten were fish, and to my surprise I discovered that bears reproduce through bear hugs!!! And here I thought it was a bit more involved than that ;)

Our hostel was also full of some crazy women from Thunder Bay. They kidnapped a cute Kiwi and took him shopping. We never did see him again... They both run hostels, and were interesting characters.

So, we go to the zoo for the Winnie the pooh connection. The statue wasn't great, the bear was never even kept in that zoo, and the place had far too small cages. Not good. The best bit was the lemurs. there were lots of evil birds just wandering about, and an evil tropical building that made me sneeze non stop.

Our train was FOUR HOURS LATE!!! We didn't even get free coffee out of it. Then a VIA staff member managed to completely insult us by making us wait for almost 20 minutes while an old lady with a walker was boarded. Ok, priority boarding and everything, but the attitude of this woman was that seeing as we were ECONOMY passengers, we intended to rugby tackle the poor little old lady while on our way to our seats...

VIA service is shit. With the train being late, a women we met on the trip ended up stranded at the Brandon North station, without light, electricity, heat or access to washrooms or info as to why the train was late (it was behind a derailment, always comforting to hear such tales). However, the late train meant we got to see the prairies, since otherwise we would have slept through them. I really liked the scenery, lots of small towns full of pickup trucks and grain silos. The endless sky thing is nice at sunrise.

Churchill

We saw the northern lights from the train that night, it was amazing. Then we hit Churchill and headed out to see polar bears. The tour was full of Australians, naturally. We saw an arctic fox pouncing on its prey, lots of ptarmigan, and 6 polar bears. They were such beautiful and powerful animals.


One was watching a guy inside a lodge on the tundra, and standing on its hind legs to see him better. The tundra is beautiful, the setting sun turned the ice a mint green colour and the sunset was gorgeous.


And our Argentinean guide was cute too ;) The town was rather on the functional side, though we only had time to see a couple of gift shops before we headed out on the train for another 36 hours.


This time we ended up sitting near two religious people who read the bible out loud to each other!!! Very annoying.



Some of the Australians in Churchill had taken photos of the interesting ice formations on the train. At one of the refueling stops, we suddenly clued in to what they where, located as they were under the toilet cubicles...


Spot the Arctic fox!

The train ride through Ontario and Manitoba

Alan seems to notice the strangest things-he is amazed by the fact that pint glasses in Canada are never filled as full as in Scotland (wonder what that says..), that milk comes in plastic bags, that bread packages have plastic tags to keep them closed, that bubble tea exists! He and Jenni found bubble tea quite amusing.

Leaving Toronto proved interesting, as VIA Rail has some creative baggage policies. First off, I asked if there were any restrictions before we left and was told no. Since, we have discovered that you can only have carry on size bags in the carriages, that there is a weight restriction and charges for overweight baggage, and that they have a $2.50/day charge for storage BUT don't actually have storage facilities... We did managed to get our extra bags stored everywhere we stopped but it took some sweet talking. In fact, VIA service pretty much sucks.

The scenery through Ontario was trees, trees, and more trees. Lots of faded autumn colours and small towns. It was interesting being in the north though, as they say, the north is such a part of Canadian consciousness, even though many of us never or seldom are in the north. We passed Lake Simcoe, which made me sad that I hadn't made it out to the cottage before leaving Ontario. The train stops for refueling and you can get off, though we stayed on at Sudbury (as Jenni pointed out, getting off at the acid rain capital of Canada might not result in the most interesting photos!). However, we got off at Campreol and Sioux Lookout and took some exciting photos of us and the train. There are more French speaking people in northern Ontario that I had realized.

By the time we had hit day two on the train, still in Ontario, there was snow outside. None of us expected to see snow so soon. We had a four hour stopover in Winnipeg, where it was freezing!!! And windy. We watched the football (Canadian finals) at a place called Earl's and then got on the Hudson Bay train. The train across to Vancouver is called the Canadian, and it's very touristy. No free blankets and pillows on the Hudson's Bay though, and no nice staff!!! We had our first wildlife sitting, deer running through a field. Our food choices left a lot to be desired, essentially we lived on peanut butter and jam sandwiches and breakfast bars for five days. However, our fellow passengers were entertaining on the 36 hour trip-- one guy told us all about how he believes in vampires. At The Pas, we did a dash to see a church, impressively we can be tourists even with only 20 minutes in a town.

T-dot

Jenny and Alan were good sports on their arrival, as I dragged them out to Mainstreet Station in Bolton to meet Amy & Shawn and Sarah & Steve.

We did a fair amount of stuff. Went up the CN Tower. Saw the Lion King musical. Went to Spadina. Went to Chinatown. Went to Kensington Market. Visited MEC. Wandered around the downtown core and the Eaton Centre. Had dinner with Jas and Vanessa and lunch with Samarra. Saw my family. Went to a pub for Halloween.

We are almost off...

Well, paperclip man is a thing of the past, no more temping in Toronto for me. Alan and Jenni arrive tomorrow afternoon. Yay! I should be packing, but am procrastinating and emailing instead. Packing in advance is highly overrated.

I have been madly running around. First, shopping. My socks are now really funky-I have a stripy pair with separate bits for each toe that make me look sort of pippi longstocking-esque.

I saw a Noam Chomsky documentary that was from Japan, read "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow we will be Killed with our Families" about Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch (read this book, it's really powerful), and watched a documentary the Weather Underground (late 60s American student terrorists against Vietnam, racism, etc).

Jas and I visited the St James cemetery in Cabbagetown, very interesting (lots of rich dead folks) and we made Pad Thai (pretty damn good if I do say so myself). I also went to the Dora Keogh pub on the Danforth with Mei and Kristin-it's fantastic and has a semi authentic Irish snug (I recommend it to all torontonians).

Jas, Margaret-Ann and I went to see the Evil Dead 1 & 2: the Musical. It was sooooo funny. As good as Jerry Springer: the Opera. I'm sure you are thinking that I have slightly odd taste in theatre. ;)

Starting Wednesday, Jenni, Alan and I have a mad three days in Toronto, aiming to see all the sights. Then we're off, for a fun filled (and likely a somewhat smelly) trip. Hopefully we will find a way to shower between here and Winnipeg... Otherwise the pictures may not be that appealing.

There is a webcam for the polar bears in Churchill, if you want to check out what we will soon be seeing.

Salsa and Radiohead

I went to dinner with Sonia and Marcus for her birthday, and it was one of these dinner and salsa club places (very nice). We drank lots of sangria and went off for our free lessons. There was only one other guy there for lessons, so I got stuck with him-43 years old, and a bit smelly. And I was bad at the steps, but this guy was HORRIBLE!!! At the end of the lesson he joined us at our table and tried to chat me up-his opening line- I go to salsa clubs to try to meet women your age!!! However, it was good to see Sonia and I can see that with a much improved partner, could be fun. Anyone know any salsa places in Vancouver? ;)

After that fun and excitement, I headed to Bolton for thanksgiving with my family-Nana & Henry, Julie & Al, and my cousins Bradley and Alannah. Alannah is amazing-really cute and she has such energy-she never stops moving. And she's 5! I can't believe how old they are all getting.

I had been surprised a week earlier to get a letter from Lisa Hudson, who did a rotary exchange at Humberview in my last year there. She's in Bolton just now, so Amy and I met up with her for coffee. This whole two months in Toronto has been one big reminiscing time for me!

The film addiction continued, went to see Dirty Pretty Things at my fav cinema. God, the popcorn there is to die for-it's actually real!!! And they put on real butter :)

Then last night I went to the Radiohead concert. Had never heard anything by Kid Koala before- I liked his stuff but am not going to become a big fan anytime soon. It would have been better in a club setting I think.

Radiohead were amazing!!! When they played Fake Plastic Trees... There are no words to describe it. They have been worth waiting for-though I still regret we didn't go see them when we were in Greece. However, cool concert, got the t shirt, and the poster... It was just fantastic.

I had margarhita's at lunch today - Samarra is a bad influence ;) We went to the Lonestar here in Toronto-made me think of Kingston.

Not long till Vancouver now :)

Happy Thanksgiving Canucks

I am sooooo tired. You see, that's two nights I have been out late enough to miss the subway or bus.

I went out to see Tear Gas Holiday (docu about FTAA in Quebec City) and Buffalo Soldiers. Great evening-I will never think about mopping in quite the same way again (cleanliness is next to godliness, and you can never have enough mop & glo) and the after party for Tear Gas Holiday was fantastic. Kept me out till 3:30am and had me going into work on 3 hours sleep the next day.

Last night I met up with Kristin and we listened to his band at the Red Lion. Good evening, and john's haircut is very cool. Kristin and I, being very ditzy, got on the subway to go ONE stop to the other line. And we sat down, started chatting, ended up in totally the wrong place.

Today is my last day on my present temp assignment, but on Tuesday I have a real treat!!! Another day with paperclip man! Woo hoo.

Ok, so now I am addicted to both books and films...

I don't know what it is about being quasi single, but I tell you, I don't see this many films when Alan and I are living in the same country...

I saw Mambo Italiano with Lindsay the other day, and no matter what she says, she did laugh at bits! I loved it. Then last night I went to see Whose University is it Anyway? At my new favourite place, the Bloor Cinema. It is about the student protests that occurred at Trent University, where some students occupied an office and got arrested. There was a discussion afterwards about resisting corporatization of universities and keeping a space open in society for free thought, unchecked by market forces. Very amusing bit where the head of the Royal Bank is commenting on the two level administration type of governance of universities (senate=faculty, board=people who deal with money) and got caught out-he seemed to think this was a type of administration set up when Trent started up in the 60s, rather than what Oxford began doing 800 odd years ago. So, where were all you Toronto uni students?!? And I had no idea there was an occupation at Queen's over the private university proposal...

Other than watching films, I worked at a new place (again a one day thing) where yet again I had NOTHING to do. Why do these companies hire a replacement receptionist to answer about 6 calls in 5 hours???

I went to a British themed pub with Samarra the other night and noticed that all their import beers were Irish... Guinness and Smithwicks. I was hoping there might be a decent bitter- get ready to drink nothing but lager, Jenni and Alan.

I'm off tonight to an Irish themed pub with Mei and Kristin, when I might even have a Guinness (but a baby Guinness may be better). And hopefully my haircut this afternoon won't end up making me look freakish... You never know with haircuts...

Email from Jenni

Hi all,

Just a note to say that since I'm heading to the land of the Maple leaf, where men are men an moose are scared, as from Tuesday 7th of October my mobile number will no longer exist. So smoke signals and cups with string will have to do. If not try my mum's number till I depart.

J

What's that smell?

One slight problem with the cross Canada jaunt: originally I was told there are showers on the train, however, they didn't mention that they are only for people in berths-the only time we really need them is to and from Churchill, and all the berths were fully booked when we booked that bit way back in march. So, we are spending 6 days with no real access to showers. I do think that we could PROBABLY sneak in to the shower in the berth area, but I don't know for sure. And we have about 4 hours in Winnipeg in the middle, so maybe we could try to shower there (they don't have them in the station though). I was thinking, if we book a hostel for the time we stay in Winnipeg, maybe they will let us come in that day to shower... Worst case senario, we are going to become experts at sponge washing and washing hair in sinks. We will all need to bring hats ;) a bit gross, but it will be fantastic, so whatever.

Where did September go?

I'm in a two week temping job right now, which is good because I like the people and the atmosphere. And someone was finally bright enough to offer the receptionist temp a filler task!!! A novel concept, paying the temp to actually DO something. Granted, I am only rewriting the filofax so it's neater, but there you are. Oh, and it turns out that people like me have a not too bad title. According to my temp company, I am the Director of First Impressions.

Time has flown by remarkably fast. Lisa Hudson, who was a Rotary exchange student in Bolton when we were in highschool, called me up and as I was making plans to meet up, I counted my remaining weekends in Toronto. I have three. Thanksgiving, the weekend of my aunt and uncle's 25th wedding anniversary, and the weekend I call "crazy packing weekend". November 1st is coming up quickly.

Last week was fairly action packed as usual. Jas and I got together to eat the doggie bag from the "cheap Indian" restaurant we went to after Word on the Street last Sunday. Tuesday was highly exciting, as I got ahold of my Radiohead tickets (eight days till the concert!). Thursday the province of Ontario finally threw the Conservatives out of government, thank Maude (new saying I picked up from a friend, for atheists, to replace thank god, I think it's cute). Friday Fran had me over for a BBQ, which was yummy, and Vanessa made us smoothies, also wonderful.

My film addiction continues-saw Under the Tuscan Sun with my sister and then a documentary called Choropampa at the Environmental Film Festival, about a gold mining company that poisoned a town with mercury.

Given a bit of free time at work, I have completely booked our train tickets across Canada. We leave the 1st and get into Vancouver on the 18th, with the Churchill polar bear tour, with 3-3.5 days each in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Jasper. If any of you are better travelled in Canada then myself (and that's not difficult), all must see recommendations are welcomed. Next I have to book the hostels-Jenni has made a few jokes about over organizing... ;)

Stupidity and Cars

Ok, folks, hock your stereo, drive three hours to the only cinema playing it- go and see Stupidity! This is the funniest film I have seen in ages, so you must all go see it ASAP. I really can't remember when I last saw a film that funny...

And, a guy that taught my dad at York University has a quick soundbite... (the one who wrote that book called "Who Killed Canadian History")

I went out to see the Sierra Club presentation in advance of International Car Free Day on Monday. Did you guys know that Bogota, the capital of Columbia, has an annual day where no private cars are allowed in the city while people still have to go to work and school? It looked fantastic seeing 8 million people all biking or walking or taking the bus, and the people interviewed all seemed very positive. It's been going for about three years now. So, everyone, if 8 million people can do it for a day, so can we... Granted, it's not like I have to give up much, not having ever had a driver's license ;)

"I think using one or two tonnes of metal to move 70 kilos of humanity is..., well, irrational." supporter of Car Free Day, Bogota, Columbia

Paperclip man likes me!

Today I spent another day working with paperclip man. He requested me specifically from the temp agency. I go back tomorrow as well.

I am going to see a documentary tonight called Stupidity. It sounds good, though I may get rained on getting home since Isabel has now hit the US coast and we are meant to get strong winds and lots of rain up here.

My Uncle Bill's 50th birthday is this Sunday. And I am off to Jasmine's for a wine and cheese tomorrow evening.

I bought another book by the guy who wrote calculating god. It's about parallel universes that collide, ours and one where humans died out and Neaderthals survived. It's really good so far.

I am looking into some programmes here for international development and social work. I don't know if I want to go back to uni or not or how I would fund it, but I am looking. If we stay in Canada more than the one year, I think I would go back. Vanessa said the two programmes are very similar in terms of skill sets, but that international development is more intellectually rigorous. I suppose social work is more practical, but I wonder how hard it is to get into.

Toronto Tales

Had a fun Monday-odd situation where the company I was sent to thought they were getting someone who worked there before (obviously, I hadn't) and there was some calling back and forth to see if I was actually going to do the work that day (it turns out it was a piece of cake, just switchboard stuff). Not the nicest way to start off a Monday...

However, the day finished off really well. I went to see a documentary called Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the media. It was really good-I really must read more of his stuff. Martin (from royal bank in Scotland) lent me one book but other than that all my Noam knowledge comes from listening to Luis (old housemate)> nattering on about the linguistics in second year. My only complaint is that if you are going to schedule a three hour film (plus an intermission) it would be nice to start it earlier than 9.15. I've actually joined the Bloor Cinema, since the films they show are fantastic, and you start to save money the second time you go (so if anyone wants the membership once I leave Toronto, let me know). I liked the cinema itself too, love the balcony and the popcorn smell was actually fresh! Much nicer than all these new fancy places, and much cheaper too. (and no, I don't sound at all like an old person complaining about progress...)

Today I did an hour's training for a job that I start at the end of the month. Looks a bit complicated but the people all seemed nice. I am going to go and watch Whale Rider this afternoon, since I don't have much else to do.

So, life goes on in Toronto.

I think this is me!

SELF-TEST FOR LITERATURE ABUSERS
How many of these apply to you?

1. I have read fiction when I was depressed, or to cheer myself up.

2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day.

3. I read rapidly, often 'gulping' chapters.

4. I have sometimes read early in the morning or before work.

5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen.

6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels.

7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak.

8. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby.

9. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read.

10. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid.

11. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I have finished a novel.

12. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead.

13. I have attempted to check out more library books than permitted.

14. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers.

15. I have sometimes passed out from a night of heavy reading.

16. I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading.

17. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read.

18. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much.

19. Sometimes I think my reading is out of control.

If you answered 'yes' to three or more of these questions, you may be a literature abuser. Affirmative responses to five or more indicates a serious problem.

Once a relatively rare disorder, Literature Abuse, or LA, has risen to new levels due to the accessibility of higher education and increased college enrollment since the end of the Second World War. The number of literature abusers is currently at record levels.

SOCIAL COSTS OF LITERARY ABUSE

Abusers become withdrawn, uninterested in society or normal relationships. They fantasize, creating alternative worlds to occupy, to the neglect of friends and family. In severe cases they develop bad posture from reading in awkward positions or carrying heavy book bags. In the worst instances, they become cranky reference librarians in small towns.

Excessive reading during pregnancy is perhaps the number one cause of moral deformity among the children of English professors, teachers of English and creative writing. Known as Fetal Fiction Syndrome, this disease also leaves its victims prone to a lifetime of nearsightedness, daydreaming and emotional instability.

HEREDITY

Recent Harvard studies have established that heredity plays a considerable role in determining whether a person will become an abuser of literature. Most abusers have at least one parent who abused literature, often beginning at an early age and pogressing into adulthood. Many spouses of an abuser become abusers themselves.

OTHER PREDISPOSING FACTORS

Fathers or mothers who are English teachers, professors, or heavy fiction readers; parents who do not encourage children to play games, participate in healthy sports, or watch television in the evening.

PREVENTION

Pre-marital screening and counseling, referral to adoption agencies in order to break the chain of abuse. English teachers in particular should seek partners active in other fields. Children should be encouraged to seek physical activity and to avoid isolation and morbid introspection.

DECLINE AND FALL: THE ENGLISH MAJOR

Within the sordid world of literature abuse, the lowest circle belongs to those sufferers who have thrown their lives and hopes away to study literature in our colleges. Parents should look for signs that their children are taking the wrong path--don't expect your teenager to approach you and say, "I can't stop reading Spenser." By the time you visit her dorm room and find the secret stash of the Paris Review, it may already be too late.

What to do if you suspect your child is becoming an English major:

1. Talk to your child in a loving way. Show your concern. Let her know you won't abandon her--but that you aren't spending a hundred grand to put her through Stanford so she can clerk at Waldenbooks, either. But remember that she may not be able to make a decision without help; perhaps she has just finished Madame Bovary and is dying of arsenic poisoning.

2. Face the issue: Tell her what you know, and how: "I found this book in your purse. How long has this been going on?" Ask the hard question--Who is this Count Vronsky?

3. Show her another way. Move the television set into her room. Introduce her to frat boys.

4. Do what you have to do. Tear up her library card. Make her stop signing her letters as 'Emma.' Force her to take a math class, or minor in Spanish. Transfer her to a Florida college.

You may be dealing with a life-threatening problem if one or more of the following applies:

* *She can tell you how and when Thomas Chatterton died.

* *She names one or more of her cats after a Romantic poet.

* *Next to her bed is a picture of: Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf, Faulkner or any scene from the Lake District.

Most important, remember, you are not alone. To seek help for yourself or someone you love, contact the nearest chapter of the American Literature Abuse Society, or look under ALAS in your telephone directory.