Oh...and

Happy Easter people!!

what's going on?

This is a question I keep asking myself lately. I'm not sure whether its just the mess of things that keep happening or whether it's just because I'm tired. I'm more inclined to think it's the latter but I'm not so sure.

For the past couple of days, I keep asking myself: am I having a good day or a bad day? How bad is it if I can't even tell for myself? I mean, does it have to be just good or bad? Are days supposed to be so black and white?

Today has been a day of misses. I started off the day by getting up early. Already, the day has started kind of ominous when I'm feeling like I'm walking in a waking dream. Or just really hungover without the alcohol.

Then I was driven to the bank by my good friend, Fiona, since when I opened an account with HSBC, the girl in the front desk told me that I should also set up an internet account and that she would set it up for me. I spent the past week calling HSBC up for a Telepin and in both cases, they told me that I gave them wrong information and refused to give me my pin. I didn't. The girl in the front desk said so. Of course, when we went back today to get my internet banking account set up, we found out that it hadn't been set up. She totally lied. Not that I'm mad or anything since she was pretty busy last week but this definitely set the tone for the day.

I've also called up the Chinese medicine guy, from here on out known as the CMG, for an appointment but today like yesterday the only answer I got, from both his cell and business phone, was the answering machine. The message was the same, "We are closed for Easter and to resume on the 25th of April". Yet, when I visited him on Wednesday, he told me that they were open half day on Good Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Doesn't this sound like a repeat of the bank fiasco? People saying one thing and then doing another?

And to show that this is not just my imagination but an ongoing trend, I had one more errand to run for today and that was a wild goose chase through and through. I wanted, no. I needed to do my taxes, so I went to an accountant that was recommended by a friend's mother. He was supposed to be really good but when I explained to him my situation, his reply was, "Don't do them, since you didn't have any income or assets and just do them next year for the year 2011. Even if you didn't declare non-residency."

I was like, "What? Are you serious?" I didn't really say that though but instead asked him what would happen if the government would happen to audit me. His reply was, "Don't worry about it, you weren't in the country and you can prove it and if worse comes to worse and they take you to court, you'll still win anyways, so don't worry about it." He said all of this with a nonchalant shrug. Okay, so maybe these aren't his exact words but they definitely capture the gist of it.

I didn't like him at all. He just rubbed me the wrong way. So after that, Fiona decided that we should ask H&R Block. It was still tax season so we were hoping that they would still have a little booth in the banks. We decided to go to TD. They didn't have one and the woman at the front desk pointed us in the direction of Shoppers Drug Mart. There was nothing there, the closest thing in that mall was HSBC Finance and they have nothing to do with taxes. Fiona remembered that there was a TD in the next mall over so we assumed that there might be a H&R there. There was not. So we asked the girl in the front desk here. She gave us two possible locations but we already ran out of time since Fiona and I had plans so we went home instead. I was heading to one of the locations later on anyway, so it wasn't like I was giving up.

I was meeting my cousin at Square One after lunch and that's what I did. For the first time since I moved here, I took the bus. I feel like there should be a lot more fanfare when I wrote that but no, nothing. I paid three dollars for the bus fare and instead of the TTC, it is called MiWay in Mississauga. Since Mississauga is considered part of the Peel region and not part of Toronto, it makes sense that they have a separate system. It is fifty cents more. Riding in the bus was a nostalgic experience. It reminded me of when I was riding on the TTC in my university years. The whole trip took around 16 minutes.

Then I had to walk all the way to the other side of the mall just to meet my baby cousin at TD Bank. Seeing him again was great since I haven't seen him for a long time but at the same time a bit disappointing since he brought a friend. Not that I mind usually but it seems like I can't really have a good conversation with him with his friend there. There's this invisible barrier that I just can't cross with his friend there since he needs to look, act and talk a certain way. It kind of reminds me of Avril Lavigne's song, "Complicated".

I asked to meet up with him because his father wanted me to bring him this special flashlight brought from China that's supposed to be up to police standards, meaning: it's supposed to be able to blind people. It's not the only reason, I really did want to see how he was doing and adjusting to life in Canada since he just moved here. The fact that his English is definitely not up to par made me smirk.

Back in Hong Kong, his mother used to ask me to tutor him in conversational English as well as English Lit. He tried his best to distract me into talking about other things with him and I have to say, sometimes he succeeded. He was always up to something. I am definitely not surprised that his English hasn't improved one bit.

Anyway, it was a disappointing trip since our meeting was for about half an hour before his friend and him decided to go back and eat near the school since the food court was completely full. I did find the H&R Block while we were walking around and they couldn't give me an answer. Instead they gave me a number to call. Like I said, wild goose chase. I wanted to enjoy the trip a bit more by going shopping by my foot started getting tired not long after they left and had to cut my window shopping trip short. I feel like I wasted money on a trip I could not properly enjoy. Oh well, this is life.

Despite being let down, I cannot say that the day was bad since none of the things that happened today were really a big deal. It was not devastating nor did it make me sad. A little disappointing maybe but the bus ride made up for it. I didn't realize how much I missed being outside until I was just riding on the bus with no one but my own thoughts and ear buds in my ears, listening to my favorite songs. It was freedom and my kind of bliss.

So I guess today was a weird day for me. It felt like I've been swimming for miles with no shore in sight but the water's nice and warm. I'll take that as a win. I'll take a break and float with the sun shining on my face and live to fight another day.

Haha score!!

And not in the way most people would think either.

I just moved into Mississauga about two weeks and a half ago. Since I sprained my ankle about 3 weeks ago and is finally getting better, I decided to go out and explore. Of course, after living here for so long, I still haven't gotten used to the layout of the neighborhood. This is where an Iphone comes in handy. It's got this nifty map application and I spent half a day looking up all the Tim Horton's or Wendy's and by some luck, I spotted Nando's on the map!

Now Nando's is definitely something special. It was one of my favorite places to eat in Australia, no matter which city I was in. Yes, I know it's Portuguese food. It's damn good Portuguese food. It's menu focuses on grilled chicken in every way conceivable. It's got the usual quarter chicken, half chicken, dozen wings and double leg. Then they've got the kebabs, the sandwich, the pita, the burger and the wrap. They've also got the plate which is a taster plate which they don't have in Australia. The Nando's here also have appetizers called Peritizers, including hummus and chicken livers. They there are different extras like creamy Havarti, cheddar cheese and pineapples. Their meals come with either one side or two.

I was really disappointed when I walked inside and looked through the menu because I was really looking forward to eating the paella again. They didn't have it though, the girl behind the counter suggested the kebab and the spiced rice which is basically the same thing but it isn't. In Australia, the paella is made of chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces and then cooked in the Peri-Peri sauce with red and green capsicums (bell peppers for those who are not from Australia) which is then poured on top of the rice. It is much tastier but since there is no better alternative, I guess it is kebabs and spiced rice for me.

One of the most noticeable differences though is that the Peri-ometer of hotness is worded differently. They still have the lemon and herbs, the hot and the extra hot. While its mild in Australia, it's medium here in Canada. Now don't quote me on this since it could be because I haven't had Nando's for a long time, but it seems like the medium here in Canada is hotter than the mild in Australia.

Their Peri-Peri chips were really good.

In other news, I applied to the customer representative posting on the Indigo website today. I had wanted to work in a bookstore ever since I was in University but I never had the time. Uni was kicking my ass right then. Well now, maybe I have a chance. Who knows.

Also, today I went to a guy who practices Chinese medicine to look at my ankle. After he finished massaging my foot and ankle, he sent me home with a poultice wrapped around my ankle (for 8 hours) and my wallet 60 dollars lighter with instructions to go back tomorrow morning. I was worried that my foot wasn't healing properly but the guy was really good. He gave me more confidence leading me to believe that my ankle will probably heal and that I will get through this mostly unscathed. I'm definitely crossing my fingers even if there's going to be a hole in my wallet in the near future.

Oh and one more thing: my friends are awesome. You know who you are. Thank you. Thank you for letting me stay in your home while I look for a job (I'm a total freeloader) and driving me everywhere because I can't walk. Thank you for caring. You guys are the best.

First post!!

I have decided to start a blog of my life since I have moved to Canada two and a half weeks ago. I thought it'll be a nice way to write down all the difficulties of job searching and all the nice people I know and met along the way. To do so though, I should probably start at the very beginning, when I left Hong Kong for Canada.

I have decided to go back to Canada for good during my year long working holiday in Australia. It wasn't until I was in Australia that I realized that Hong Kong was not the place for me. It's culture and work ethics are so different from what I'm used to and I've worked there for five years. It was a good plan. I mean, my sister is planning on going back to Canada after she graduates from her vet degree at the University of Sydney and my parents plan on going back when my dad retires in two years. It was a family plan, one where we could keep the whole family close together for the foreseeable future.

I loved Australia though. My sister and I traveled to many of its cities and it was beautiful and fun. It's a place I can see myself living for the rest of my life. So my plans have changed. Hopefully, my parents won't be too mad.

To do so though, I need to get a sponsor from a company and everybody tells me its not easy. So my plan is this now: to go back to Canada and do well for a couple of years and transfer over there. Easy right? Wrong.

Of course, having sprained my ankle badly a couple of days before my flight is plain bad luck and being on the plane exacerbated my condition until my ankle was swollen to the size of an very big orange. I had to be wheeled to and from the plane on a wheelchair. I hated it but I honestly cannot limp and carry my two carry-on bags at the same time. Hell, I couldn't even limp for a long amount of time. It seriously hurt like a bitch. At least I got a chance to ride in one of those airport golf carts.

My friend, Fiona, picked me up from the airport after I paid the porter who picked up my luggage from the conveyor belt and pushed it outside to the arrivals hall, my first impression of Toronto, Canada was that it was cold. Very cold. Freezing my ass off cold.

So for the time being, I'm staying in the basement of Fiona's place.

I have a list of things to do before my paperwork is all accounted for. The most important of those things is filing my taxes. I can't be on the up and up without them. One of the problems is that I have not declared non-residency when I left Canada so this is probably the most alarming. So that's the first thing on my list. However, to do that I would need my sin number and I don't even have that.

So we did the things that are the easiest on my list first. Things like setting up an account, getting a credit card (though I still haven't received it yet), replacing my sin card so that I can file my taxes, replacing my health card, finding a job and resting so that my ankle heals faster. Of course, the latter actually involves going to an acupuncturist twice which was painful and feeling like a bio lab experiment. Seriously, I was stuck with a couple of needles and then they ran a current through it for like half an hour.

I do have good news to report today: my sin card just arrived in the email after a really long and tedious meeting with a Service Canada representative. Apparently my file was tagged due to inactivity and they had to call another department to see if they can release my sin number to me. They couldn't and that was why I couldn't file my taxes before now. Hopefully, things will go more smoothly now.

Maybe soon, I can find a job and move into an apartment of my own. I can't wait!