Taking it easy

MONDAY: Day 3 in Canada and it's very laid back once again. I had a sleep in and my body was dying for exercise, but Dawn's mum didn't want me to get lost, so she came along with me for a walk around the neighbourhood in the late afternoon. It was a very nice walk. I saw squirrels for the first time running around the bike path near their house. If my batteries were working properly, I would have gone and taken photos. But I didn't bring my camera. I've got 6 weeks to take photos of the local area, so I'm not too worried about it. We went walking all towards where Dawn drove us the day before and it was so close I could walk it. Then I remembered the fact that Dawn hates walking anywhere, so I'll be forced to go out on my own, which is what I like anyway.
One of my blondie moments: We were walking along the neighbourhood and I saw a lot of police tape on the outside of the houses. It was surreal seeing it in real life as opposed to just seeing it in Law and Order. I then asked Judy, "How safe is this area?" she said, "It's a very safe and good area to live in" just as we walked past a 7th house with the yellow tape. I looked at her, pointed at the 8th house and asked, "Are you sure?". She then broke down in hysterical laughter and said, "They're just the Halloween decorations that people have in front of their houses. They leave them out for days just before the Christmas ones come out!". Yeah, but I laughed my butt off too! Got back and spent the rest of the time cursing hotmail for screwing things up. When I opened my inbox, I couldn't bring the page down to even write any messages, although I could still read them. I tried everything I could, even got Dawn to look at it for me, but to no avail. I gave up and decided to get a gmail account, and that was a hassle too just coz I couldn't think of any names for my email address, aside from "Spanish Help Desk", so then Chris helped me out for a thingscorp addy (Thanks dude, as soon as I sort out the 'outgoing' shit, I'll have it up and running). With that one, once again I can read emails but cannot send them, which was giving me more of the shits. After a bit of a whiny session (thanks Chris!), I finally changed email addys and am much happier. Bloody hell, last month it was myspace, this month it's facebook and hotmail. Please let it be all that changes! I wanted to go to sleep but couldn't, so I stayed up bumming a bit before finally drifting off. Although I had an early start, as I was heading off to Toronto for my first day trip fairly early in the morning.

TODAY: For the first time since working in Melbourne, I had to get up at 7:30am. Was prepared fairly early and ready to go out into town with Judy. I had the trippiest flashback moment EVER when we were at the bus stop. This girl was at the stop with her back facing towards us, and I could have sworn it was OLYMPIA! Seriously, this was dead ringer time again: she had the short straight hair, had the beanie on, bag across the shoulder and resting on the hip, jeans with runners. She had the same posture, same height and build, same mannerisms. Then she turns around and has the exact same pair of glasses Olympia does. I was just looking at her and kept looking at her to see if it was her. My jaw just dropped. Even on the bus I kept asking myself, "Is that her?" I wanted to take a picture of her and talk to her to see if she sounded like her. I'm sure she did. But I chickened out. She lives in Dawn's area, so I may bump into her again sometime.

I also learnt something else today (it seems I'm just learning new stuff everyday. Cool!): Canadians who are not living in Toronto are over-prepared for the cold all the time, even if the weather is meant to be beautiful. For example: today was 17 degrees and that's very high for this time of the year. Usually it would be snowing, but it was like a beautiful Autumn day, similar to Autumn in Melbs: the sun was out, the leaves are still falling. I look around to see what they are wearing and it's this: a beanie, a heavy duty goose down coat more suitable for skiing rather than just shopping at the corner store (I feel so gay for saying corner store: my heart and my gut says 'milk bar' but my adaptation tool that I use frequently when I go overseas says 'corner store', or 'grocery store'); Heavy duty boots, like ugg boots but more practical, very warm pants that are once again more suitable for the skier and not the local just living an hour out of town. I thought to myself, if ppl back home had this weather, they would still be wearing board shorts and thongs (for your feet, let's straighten that up right now!) It was a really interesting observation, considering that it gets much colder than this, you would think ppl would take advantage of a lighter layer just before the cold sets in. I know I did! I just had 4 layers as opposed to my usual 7!

And something else I learnt: they are quite loyal about Rememberance Day, which is next week. Everybody is wearing the poppy badges and you get hassled downtown if you're not wearing one (hassled to buy one, and if you say no, you are being unpatriotic and you are questioned over it, etc). So before we left the house, I was given a poppy to pin on me so we wouldn't get hassled. Fair enough. I was wearing my leather jacket and didn't want to put it on there, so I put it on my bag (It was quite prominant. I didn't want to have a Seinfeld moment - the episode about the AIDS walk and Kramer won't wear the AIDS ribbon, even though he gets hassled about it quite a bit, until the 2 thugs he is scared of yell, "WHO, WHO DOES NOT WANT TO WEAR THE RIBBON..because I am wearing the ribbon, he is wearing the ribbon, we are ALL wearing the ribbon, so why aren't you wearing the ribbon". I was laughing to myself all the way to the city thinking it would be funny if something like that happened to me, because I would have just let rip with something! Anyway, Judy and I were walking to the CN Tower and this guy stops her and says, "You've got your poppy badge on the wrong side". It was on her right lapel. He said, "It's meant to be on your left side, above the heart". I looked at him and thought to myself, "WTF, at least she's wearing one, go hassle someone whose not - like me!". She was very polite and diplomatic about it and said, "He's probably a veteran himself". Still, I don't think it was such a big deal- like I said before, at least she's wearing one. I had to remind myself that I wasn't in Australia or Argentina, where I can get away with being a bitch by saying I'm a local. I think I could write a whole Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm episode about this. Maybe Curb, so I can write "Fuck" in the script repeatedly! Or just get into a fight with this guy like Larry and just go on and on and on...and let it be unscripted and uncensored. Yeah, Curb Your Enthusiasm. But I betcha it happened to Larry David, which inspired that Seinfeld episode. Too funny!

After the bus ride, we caught the train from Oshawa that takes an hour to get to Union Station, the central hub of Toronto. It was my first day out and people were asking me for directions. I thought that was sweet, but then I handballed them straight over to Judy! I'm still getting the 'turn around' whenever I am talking. I speak to Judy, they hear my accent and they turn around to see where it comes from and try to figure out where I'm from. Still funny! I got that a lot at the Dollarama! It really was a gorgeous day as people were outside and had short sleeves - kind of like Londoners when they get a pale glimmer of sunlight: off with the jumpers! Seems like I have brought my Melbourne weather with me up here and it's awesome! We went towards the CN Tower, which was the main thing I wanted to do in Toronto that wouldn't have too much walking: I'm saving my walking tours for when I'm on my own. I could spend the whole day walking, but I didn't want to burden Judy with it. She stayed downstairs and I went up and it was good. Something I can cross off my list! I wanted to take a photo of this but I wouldn't have been allowed to: when you go through security, you walk through this silver cubicle pod, you stand there and air is sucked out from the sides and blows all over you. I really wanted to take a pic because it is almost identical to the one used in that episode of Doctor Who, where the Doctor and Rose are in 2 separate elevators and are being 'disinfected' at the hospital with the evil nurse cats: they get showered with water, then air dried as if nothing had happened. This security measure was so cool! Next time when I'm in Toronto I want to ask a security dude if I can take a picture of it, very futuristic!

The CN Tower is the largest free standing tower in the world. It's quite an impressive tower. You have the observation deck (where I met an Israeli girl travelling on her own), you go higher and you have the glass floors (I met a Japanese guy who had the Canadian accent down packed!) and then you can go even higher on the sky pod. Just like Tokyo Tower really. The only thing that would have been nice is if they had signs that had the major landmarks and buildings in Toronto instead of people just looking aimlessly at buildings and stuff like that. EG: Tokyo Tower had signs that told you where Mt Fuji is located, etc. They had told you that you can see New York on a clear day, but not which direction, bla bla bla. I'm not gifted with "East West North South directions" To me, everything up is north, so it would have been good to have that. Right at the top I met an English girl called Violet who came to Canada just for a week from Plymouth. She got a good last minute airfare deal, so it got me to thinking about going to Madrid for a week, coz I did find a cheap ticket there. Well, my boyfriend is not going to read this, so it doesn't matter! Anyway, Violet and I were on our own and we were taking photos for each other, as we knew quite well the perils of going to these great places on your own and only having photos of scenery and none with you in them! All up I spent 2 and a half hours at the tower - thanks to the people I've met! Afterwards me, Violet and Judy went out to lunch at The Pathway, the 27km underground path that takes you all over downtown Toronto. When it's too cold or too hot to walk on the street, the underground path is used a lot as it takes you to all the places you can think of. It's an undercover galleria that is very well maintained with every shop you can think of: I found The Body Shop! We had greek food and I befriended the owner, who asked me where I was from and told me he wish he could go back to Melbourne! I so wanted to speak Greek to him, but the only words I know, I wouldn't say to a guy I've just met unless I'm trying to pick him up! After we ate I said "Yasu", which I thought meant 'Thank you", but I think it means hello, coz then he said 'Adio", which is goodbye (Adios en Spanish). Best Greek food ever: the chicken wasn't dry like it normally is back home - I'm in love with this place: Opa in the food court. Try it!

Back to the pathways: Everybody has said, "I dare you not to get lost in the pathway". And my sense of direction is quite good (apart from telling me to go 4 kms north west. Just tell me left or right!!!) so I am up for the challenge and have been ready for it since I've been reading up on Toronto. But again, that'll be when I'm on my own. Something to look forward to! We said goodbye to Violet, met up with Dawn and went home. Fell asleep on the train (and they are clean here in Canada!), got picked up at the station by her Dad and we went to a family restaurant. Their menus are so bloody huge. And something else I've learnt: they don't write up all of their prices: they don't include the GST or PST, so if something says it's $3.99, don't be fooled. That's what's been tripping me up and pissing me off (Violet too!) You've got to at least add $4, which is a pain. But at least it's stopping me from buying stuff compulsively.

Tomorrow is an easy day. I'm going to go for another walk in the neighbourhood. I need to buy a battery charger and hopefully we'll get it soon - before Saturday as me, Dawn and Judy will be going to St Lawrence Market, the world famous one. I like to go when it's crowded, but nobody else does :( but at least we're going on the weekend when it's all happening.

I'm gonna go and rest. And I can comment on MySpace again. After some thought and some sooki la la moping from my man, I have opened up a comment only myspace account. So my blogs will still be here, but I get to comment on all of yours again. I've been missing that and perhaps being out of the loop because of it. Now I have quite a few blogs to comment and catch up on: exactly a month's worth. YAY!

See ya later.