2.5 years after landing – the good

It’s hard to believe it’s been already 2.5 years since my landing here.  Yesterday, I was asked if I were a new immigrant at a CIBC branch in response to my inquiry for a free checking account.  Would 2.5 years count as new? She smiled and said ‘no’. I guess not!

Priority crossing at Yonge and Bloor

My current bank requires that I maintain a certain amount to get the free checking account service.  My coworker mentioned that CIBC was giving out such free accounts with no minimum balance. So, I went there to explore and found out that you’ll get charged for $8/month but at the end of the year, they will give you a $100 check which will  make the service effectively free. Then, I was bombarded with a lot of other options and came home confused than ever. I couldn’t help thinking of this clip – paradox of choice.

I think I have seen my fair share of the city – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Not having to worry about your health issues is a huge plus for sure. Within the years, I have found myself a family doctor and got regular check-ups and some flu shots. At times, I had to go back to the lab for quite a  few times because some items went out of range. And even saw some specialists (dermatologist) for absolutely free. With free, it came with some limited options – you can only go to a doctor who is taking new patients. Yes, this is the only time I have heard of doctors not taking new patients. Since services rendered by doctors are paid by the government and since there is a limit on the allocation on each doctor, doctors don’t make any more money by seeing more patients. Hence, the upper bound. Then, there is a long and lengthy waiting period to get an appointment with specialists. It’s notorious here. Personally,  I waited for about two to three weeks and it’s not a serious matter. So, it doesn’t bother me considering that I don’t have to worry about how much I will be spending for each visit.

Winterlicious, and Summerlicious seem catchy here. Participating restaurants give out a set menu usually appetizer, main course and dessert (and maybe a drink) for a fixed price. Some of these restaurants are really fancy and prices can be way above average. But with these events, they tone down their prices for these set menus making us accessible. Anyway, I went to two places one in each season just to find out what they are. Besides, I have made some friends who really appreciate food. Then, there is this film festival in September and pride parade in Summer time.

Sample Winterlicious menu

This new year, I went to the Nathan Square to see the fireworks and the countdown. It was a sharp contrast to the experience at Time Square years ago – the crowd, the weather, and the mood. The weather this year was unbelievably warm. We had to take off all our winter jackets. The crowd was big but we could roam around freely. There was no waiting for the crowd to ease up. This is the best part of the city. Less crowded means shorter lines at cash registers, washrooms, subways, etc and it just makes life a bit easier. And I love these ‘priority’ crossings where you can cross in all directions at the intersections. When I brought this up to a friend in another city, they were like less crowded? in Toronto? I guess where they are is even less crowded.

The company I used to work (Tech industry)  is looking to hire not one but many software developers. They are indeed having some trouble finding people. Mind you, the process to getting in is rigorous. They make you take an online test  (mine was a 3 hour test but they have shortened it since), a phone interview and a 4-hour in-person interview.  Some even had to write a chess program right on the spot. The turn over rate is pretty high too. They label you unofficially a senior after being there for two years and it’s not that young of a company. From where I came, some people had been working there since I was born. It’s interesting to be in such diverse cultures: one – young, razor sharp, energetic but with not much of the business knowledge or direction; the other – pretty mature with a wealth of knowledge in both business and tech side but the enthusiasm was washed up. I wish I could use the magic bullet to blend them well.

K, i will rest here with the good. Will follow up with the bad and the ugly. Later.

Colorful days

Here they come! Free concerts, events and films…

Weather-wise, it’s been warm these days. We had a mild winter this winter as we can really number the days when it went brutally cold. Maybe because I was expecting it to be worse based on my previous winter experience (my first winter in Canada). One thing for sure, my snow boots are still in shape this year. The Spring, on the other hand, is pretty rough. According to the news, this year has the highest pollen counts. When I moved here, I thought my allergy was gone as I didn’t suffer at all last year. Well, either because it was higher count or my immune system was acting  up, the allergy got me real bad this year. Since allergy medicines are over-the-counter drugs, the insurance doesn’t cover them. I had to switch around a couple of brands to finally find the one that works for me. This morning, I took the last one left and hopefully, this is it for the season. 

This weekend is a long weekend for us. We are off today – Victoria day. I heard most Canadians spend their holidays in cottages. For those of us remain in the city, the place is pretty empty despite the tourists.

I’d like to think that I have pretty much adapted to the new place. I have made a few new friends, established some routines that would totally occupy me and color the days. For instance, I have fully acquainted myself to this nearby public library and made good use of the membership card. It’s all FREE and it’s surprising to find some recent books and DVDs. The only caveat is that we can only borrow for a week and the new releases are non-renewable. Often time, I attend to those free book events hosted by Indigo bookstore. They can be really inspiring sometimes. Another thing that helped me was this gym membership. At first, I was pretty much wasting away the membership as I kept skipping until I found a few exciting gym classes. I am glad I chose this gym as the other one I tried only offer classes that were led by video tapes. The one I joined actually have real instructors and there are a few classes everyday. I have explored the zoo, museums, the science center, the parks, the center island, the clubs,  and restaurants. This year is a huge step up for me as I spent most of the time last year feeling homesick. I wonder what next year will be like, hmm….

Happy Holidays from Toronto!

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

Today is the coldest thus far and we have nothing to complain after hearing about the snow storm in the south. I remember it was freezing cold and snowing almost every other day last year this time around. Compared to that weather, I am much much happier this year. It’d be a bit better if there were some sunny days every now and then.

During the time off, we decided to visit Royal Ontario Museum. It is supposedly half price after 4:30pm and during holidays it opens till 8:30pm. We figured we would take advantage of this price break. Boy, we saw a huge line wrapping around the museum in this atrocious weather.  It’s amazing how people cope with the cold and the crowd. Speaking of crowd, this year we shopped online on Boxing Day. Here in Canada, Boxing day is the day where retail stores give out huge discount and sales. People usually go there early in the morning (as early as 5am) to line up and get the best deals at various stores. It’s very much like Black friday (the day after thanksgiving) in the States. Little did we know, we participated in this frenzy last year and ended up getting nothing but a huge headache. There were long lines for almost anything – cash registers, washrooms, restaurants, and the stores. Crowd has slowly dissipated as days pass but still stores are calling this week Boxing week. Mainly they gave out discount on seasonal stuff - Christmas decorations, cards, wrappers, etc.

As for entertainment, iMax theaters were jammed pack due to this Avatar movie. Shows were all sold out when we got there. We tried purchasing the tickets online in advance but Cinaplex requires us to be enrolled in this program which authenticates your security code and stuff. It’s a long story. Anyway, there are a few other good movies this season also.

Some of my brand new friends are going to Niagra Fall for this new year eve. According to them, there are usually fireworks and concerts. Last time I went there during summer, there were many little stores and casinos. It’s like a little resort town and we can see how much fun it could be to spend the new year night there. Of course, the hotels are all booked for the night but I guess we don’t have to sleep there. We can just drive back to the city in the morning.. let’s see.

Happy new year!

A second thought on ‘Goods to bring’

Toronto, Fall 2009

First off, Happy Halloween!

Today, the weather was nice – breezy but not too cold. A light jacket would do. I went on a 4-hr shopping spree along Yonge street and at Eaton Center in downtown. I detoured to this bookstore near Dundas and it is much bigger than the one I used to go – Indigo.  The sight of a lady with some bloody white wedding-gown walking up and down the isle got me for a few seconds as I didn’t realize they were dressing up for the occasion. In fact, I bumped into many other costumes along the way and it was pretty amusing. The vibe was definitely there. I went straight to this computer section and found out that they have a limited collection of computer books. That seems to be the case for most bookstores I have been to so far.

I miss the books I left behind. There were quite a few things I wish I knew while I was packing – certainly the tax rate here and how some things wouldn’t be available here.  The biggest misconception I had was that I could always buy things here if need be and maybe even cheaper due to the currency exchange rate.  Boy, was I wrong. First, things generally are more expensive here. Second, the tax rate is almost doubled compared to NYC. Just the other day, I got some lotion for my friend on an American website. I couldn’t help noticing their tax-rate and how the shipping was free if shipped within the country. It’s amazing how quickly I got used to these new rates here. Third, stuff might not even be available here. Drugstores don’t seem to carry some of those Neutrogena products.

During the first time landing, we can declare/bring as many things as we want completely tax free. If only I knew, I would have packed, be more diligent about making the ‘goods to bring’ list and not waited to buy from here. Mostly, I dreaded to have to edit the list whenever I added on things. In the end, the custom didn’t even bother looking at my well-prepared list.

Well now that I am here and adjusted, I’d better not look back and just enjoy the shopping.

Continuing education?

It just so happened that the years I graduated, there were also some sort of recession or global financial crisis going on.

In 2002, I finished my undergrad and it was almost impossible to get a job then. 9-11 happened a year prior to that and in NYC, businesses were cutting back and going through a hard-time. Even people with years of experiences were out of job and the competition was fierce. There were huge lines at various job fairs and we couldn’t help but hear how unemployment rate was going up in the news. My internship paid off as it put me ahead of my fellow students when it came to hands-on experience and during interviews. Crain’s New York Business actually conducted a brief interview as I happened to be one of those few who managed to land a job despite our so-called disadvantage of requiring someone to sponsor us for a job visa (H1-B).  Things went smoothly I have to say…

It took me about two years to take GMAT (a standardized entrance exam for business schools) as I slacked off with tons of excuses. Meanwhile, I saw my classmates already in grad schools as they couldn’t find a job and continued on with their studies.

Finally, I got in one and took me about 5 years to finish the whole program. This time, I went only part-time and even took a semester off in between as I was switching jobs and stuff. I found myself surrounded with a whole new set of students. I didn’t find such drastic difference in grad and undergrad as far as studies and workload were concerned. Well, that’s not true. Two things were obvious. One, we ran the risk of public humiliation if we slack off as we had to do presentations in front of the whole class in every single class. Second, I found the students way smarter. While I was undergrad, I found myself average or maybe even a bit above average. If I didn’t do well in a test, I would still come off with a decent grade; not in this grad school though. I had to really ramp up.

Well, now that it’s over I was wondering what’s next. The economy has been in recession since last year and haven’t heard much great news yet. In the meantime, I was thinking maybe I will continue trying out some free online courses to keep abreast with current matters. I found a few useful options and thought I would share them here too. I tried a few courses from UC Berkley and love ‘em.

Check this out: 

http://www.mytwodollars.com/2009/10/15/how-to-get-a-free-education-online/

Podcasts and Webcasts of UC Berkeley: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/

MIT open courseware: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

A few new things in Toronto

Yonge Street

Yonge and Bloor intersection now has all crossing. Woo hoo! As a diligent pedestrian, I couldn’t be more pleased that they decided to put one more all crossing there. Yes, we can now cross diagonally. First, they did it at Dundas Square and it was advertised heavily – in the news, on the radio, talkshows, etc. This time, they just put it there without much publicity. It’s all good.

Google voice is allowing free Canada calls. My friends in the States now can call me FREE and I can actually call them free too. Just needed a few tweak – i.e putting my number in the to-be-ring-back-to slot. Pretty neat.

Google map now has the street view of the city. So, if you search for say – dundas square, toronto – in the search box and drag the little man to the street, you can see the pictures of the street. Use the little arrow on the pictures to go around. You can take a virtual tour of the city. The pictures were taken recently and they show a great view of the city. Some like it. Some hate it. I love it!

US dollar is getting weaker compared to a few months ago and loonie now is worth some more. Glad to see it going up once in a while.

Wrapping up summer

Well, it’s about time we move on to Fall. After all, it’s getting dark at 8pm and even required a winter coat to step outside today. Thanksgiving holiday was over. Yeah, it was on October 11 and it certainly didn’t feel like Thanksgiving. Too early to be thinking about one.. Nevertheless, I thought I would just share some summer events that went on.

The last time we tried going to the center island, it was on labor day weekend. The line to the ferry was impossible even at 8am. So this year, we took an out of town friend to this Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) instead. It has a lot of ethnic food, fun rides and shopping area for stuff from around the world. This is one of the places we can certainly see how Canada is really promoting multi culture. I went there last year as a guest as someone local here took me there. This time, I get to be the local. Not bad, eh?

CNE

CNE

TIFF – Dundas SQ

At CNE – it took a few moments to decide where to dump the trash

TIFF – Free Movie

TIFF – Free Movie

TIFF – Free coffee

Free Horror Movie at TIFF (Dundas Square)

Toronto Film Festival – Director doing a QA session

Yonge Street – near Dundas Square

CNE – ice skating show

CNE – ice skating show

We went there using a streetcar – those that run on rails. And they were all jammed packed. We happened to go there on the last day and there were about 8 cars before we could get on one. After seeing the ice-skating show and all the exhibition, it was all worth it. This time, we didn’t try any ride.

Then, there was a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in early Sept. I didn’t know what that was about until I tried one. Apparently, a lot of hollywood movie stars came to Toronto to promote their films and these films are brand new which weren’t shown anywhere else. Normally, it costs about $12 for regular movies and for movies during the event, it’s about $20. Even with the marked up price, all the shows were gone by the time we decided to go. Only then did I learn that we had to get the ticket in advance to get a movie that was popular. The great ones were all sold out even before the event! Just for the sake of it, we tried one. We just grabbed one that were available and it was not even in English but with some English subtitle. The director of the movie introduced the movie before and afterward he came out and did some Q/A session. The particular movie we saw was totally stopped in the middle. At least that’s how I felt. He said it was open ended and it’s left for our own interpretation.

One great thing though is that it brought a lot of people out on the streets and around the cinemas. At Dundas square, they held a few movies free out in the open. I saw a horror movie and it was a unique experience. I enjoyed it even more. A few vendors such as starbucks and some soda company were giving out free drinks. The city was lively and we could feel the excitement in the air.

I guess, the events are pretty much over. It’s hard not to think about the looming freezing weather. Oh well.

Summer Fun

The weather is finally getting really warm and humid.

Last weekend was a long weekend for us. Monday was Civic day and the city got unusually empty. Later, I found out that people usually go to cottages during their summer holidays. That sounds like a way to get out of hassle bustle city life. I spent the holiday in some sort of Canadian way too. A friend of mine had a barbeque party and we did some serious grilling. I heard a lot about my coworkers enjoying gardening and there I saw this friend having a pretty decent garden with some respectable tomatoes, pears and peppers. We even used some of them.

The summer has been pretty great. The garbage strike is officially over and the city is super clean again. Here, pride parade seems to be a big event. The parade was along Yonge street and there were many people despite the rain. Surprisingly, the rain stopped as soon as the parade started. It went on about a good 3 hours and it was so much fun. Along with the festivity we had street fairs and stage shows with great performances. The show went on till mid-night.

Pride Parade

Pride Parade

Jazz Festival – Montreal

BBQ – Civic Holiday

We saw similar festivities and events during my visit to Montreal. It was during Canada day (July 1) week. They call it Jazz festival and we saw not only Jazz, but also many other great performances. These were all free on the streets. Some places checked our bags for security purposes.

Even on regular weekends, Dundas Square seems to have events on a regular basis. A couple of weeks ago, one of the best Canadian comedians (Russle Peters) did a show there. His show normally costs around $100 per seat and he did the show for free at Dundas. Needless to say, a lot of people showed up. He was hilarious!

Youtube has some of his clips:
Russell Peters Indian Vs Chinese

Russell Peters: Show Me The Funny

A year after landing in Canada

If this is any indication of time fleeing, we should really cherish our current moments. Time is flying super fast!

I can still vividly recall the days I crossed the border and frantically looking for an apartment. The year was filled with excitement and a lot of homesickness. Winter was pretty brutal especially for immigrants like us. There wasn’t really much going on and it was a big hassle to just step outside. Summer is a different story. Festivals and events are popping up in corners and people are just everywhere. If it weren’t for the garbage strike, it would have been even better. Some events got cancelled because of it and the city is no longer clean now.

Social life: I have managed to make a few friends but rarely hang out with them. Of the two friends that I normally hang out with, one has to leave the country as her visa is expiring this summer. I happen to hang out a bit more with co-workers but they also say it’s tough in the city to make friends. Everyone is so busy with his/her own thing. Not long ago, I was also very busy with school work as well.

Job: I am still at the very job I landed first. This week, there was a massive lay off at work and a number of coworkers in my office got laid off. I am dejected and at the same time realized how the timing played a big part. I got here right before the global recession and was lucky enough to have landed a job within a month. While I was in NYC, I noticed how little response I got from Canadian companies as opposed to the ones from NYC. I was attributing to the fact that I didn’t have the local phone number and that they might not be interested in hiring people from far away. The sheer number of jobs available here is a lot fewer for sure. I wonder how it’s like in NYC now. Could it be that there was a delay in the recession hitting Canada? Or, maybe I wasn’t just aware of it until it is happening right at my work. At one point, I was thinking we are over the worst and recovering already.

Apartment: Three months ago, I received a notice that my rent is going to go up about 20% once the lease is expired. I have been looking for a place to move but the prices are comparable else where too. I heard renting is harder this time as people are trying to sell the houses and renting more.

Utilities: Bell’s mobile internet service can be intermittent. It won’t even admit that. Instead, the little browser will say .. please check the address again. I had it bookmarked in favorite and there was no room for mistyping. It happened one too many times that I have now accepted that the service was just temporarily down. I also know that I am paying double the price for what my friend is getting at Telus. But she’s a long-term customer there. I certainly have to renegotiate my contract though. Rogers, on the other hand, always charges me $5 more every month! There is always a balance carry over of $5 every month although I paid in full. I called them after three months of being overcharged. I was bounced between 4 different reps and finally got it settled. I saw it happening again, but haven’t got the time and energy to go through the claim process all over again.

Provinces: the different provinces act as if they were in different countries. Even the regular phone plans do not include other provinces. Unlike in the states where phone plans are usually nation-wide, Toronto has it’s own GTA plan. Nationwide would be a lot more expensive. Even Verizon service Canada plan covers the whole Canada for regular charge. This summer, I got a chance to visit Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. It was really nice and was very impressed at Ottawa. I plan to share the experiences from the trip later.

So far, so good.

Seeing a specialist – entirely free as long as you can afford time

Finally, I saw a specialist the walk-in clinic recommended. It took about one week for them to contact me since I visited this clinic and three weeks to see the specialist. I was told that the consultation was covered by OHIP.

The wait was about 40 minutes and the consultation lasted for about 10-15 minutes. He was attentive to the matters and I was happy with the service with only one exception. Since it was such a hassle to get out of work during day time and the wait, I decided to ask one other issue i have on top of the two issues I originally came to see. He stopped me and said he would take only one or two issues per visit. I thought it was odd, but it didn’t bother me as I was in a rush too.

So far, I have seen three doctors – one walk-in, one family doctor and a specialist for free. As long as we can afford the time (to wait around in the clinics and to get an appointment with the specialist), it seems like a pretty good system.