We are at the place we were meant to be

But don't you find life surprising?

Parts of the future you thought you could see

Are the ones that don't end up happening.

So who is to stay what is up ahead

and what is just beginning?

For every day you live your life

Is a choice that affects the ending.

But the fact that so much is yet to be

Isn't that what makes life exciting?

I'm happy that my future's not cast in stone

It's what makes each day worth living.

It's Christmas at our home now!

Coldest Canadian Winter in 15 Years

... aren't I lucky?!?!

Today, Vineet and I had a symbolic winter day. There was a snow storm last night which left about 15-20 cm of snow so we started off the day by shoveling our backyard and our part of the back lane way. I must admit, you don't feel the cold when you're working up a sweat shovelling. I told Vineet I was happy to help him since it was still a novelty for me... but to expect that he'd be doing it solo for the rest of our lives! Even Joey had so much fun in the snow and we made our first snowman! (I just realize from looking at the picture now that I completely forgot to put a mouth on the snowman! =))


What did I learn from this whole experience? Wake up early to shovel snow in the laneway. It was easy to shovel the snow in our backyard which was untouched. But outside was much more difficult. We had gotten up after noon and vehicles had probably already driven over our part of the laneway.. so the snow was packed solid! Oh well.. we'll probably only have 1-2 more dumps this season =)

525,600 minutes in Canada...

What a year.... so much has happened since I came on October 19, 2006! I look back and sometimes I feel it's gone sooo fast... then I think of all that's happened and then I feel that it was ages ago when I arrived at the Pearson airport!

Of course, when I look back on the year, getting married to Vineet tops the list of things to celebrate and be thankful for!! (you probably don't want to hear me go on and on about this =D) In second place, would be a related one - the wedding itself and getting my whole family together as well as friends who travelled from all over to be here with us (THANK YOU!) Tied for third would probably be buying our house that's so near the beach (my childhood dream!) and getting Joey (my baby!). Next would be the 9 months I wasn't working (needs no explanation... I know it makes some people green with envy... there are DEFINITELY days when I miss it). Then that would be followed by getting a really good & challenging job (and I must admit I still can't get over the half-day Fridays).

But thinking about the past year in Canada also makes me feel sentimental about "the past". First, I miss my family more. I know it's not as if I saw my mom or nephew & nieces every week when I was in Singapore but now it'll likely be every other Christmas or something. I also miss friends in both Manila and Singapore... some of those friendships I know take years or a very unique situation (like that we had in Singapore) to build. But I guess these aren't really "in the past" cause I do try to keep in touch (although I've been remiss in my blog the last 2 months). But I do miss you guys!!!! So if you read this... tell me when you're next Toronto visit will be!

"Undefeated in Ultimate Frisbee Playoffs!"

The summer Ultimate Frisbee league we joined has just finished! I'm pretty sad to not have the Thursday game to look forward.. the only time in the week I get a good cardio workout. But I'm glad to say we were "undefeated in the playoffs!"... hehe.

The reason I say that in quotes though is because that is just a function of the marketing person in me pushing for the most aggressive claim. The reality is we actually lost ALL games in our regular season (about 10 of them =)). But since it was a recreational league, everyboday makes the playoffs. And the "playoffs" consisted of one game to play for 9th place!

It was still nice to end the season with a win though. We were a group of 13 people who signed up as "individuals" but eventually became better at playing as a team. Our first few games the score would be in the range of 19-1; 19-3... but our last few games of the regular season were, 19-16, 17-13, so not too bad!

The other thing that struck me though is how a win really brings the team together. The energy after a win just gets so infectious and brings out the lighter side of people. So we all headed out for drinks and agreed to have a barbeque at our place to celebrate our claim of "Undefeated in the Playoffs!" =)

Looking forward to the fall league of Volleyball that Vineet and I signed up for now... and seeing what claim we could make then =)

Missing Big Bang sa Alabang...

Yesterday, after going to a barbeque with people from work, Vineet and I decided to go to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) which is in Toronto for 2 weeks. It reminded me so much of Big Bang sa Alabang!!! The fair games, the slightly chilly wind, the super greasy food options, the "tiangge" areas.... haaaayyyy. Yon lang. =)

Full G!

I passed my test! =)

After a month and a half of not being able to drive the car without a fully licensed driver, I am now free! No more (unless by choice) going to the office on a combination of taxis, trains and buses!!!

It was so annoying because I had been driving in Canada since I arrived in Oct-06. It was legal cause I had an international driver's license which they would honor for a year. But since I got my work permit, I had 60 days in which to secure an Ontario license. What I didn't anticipate was the moment I took the written exam and got issued my G1 license (equivalent of a learner's permit), they would treat me as a novice driver. Even if I was still within the 60-days grace period which any newcomer to the country would drive!!!

Thak God the examiner didn't ask me to parallel park on my exam.. thata was the only part I was worried about ;-)

HOME AT LAST!

Thankfully, we moved just before a long weekend. That on top of half-day Fridays helpes us settle into our new home. All the stuff we brought is in the right place now BUT our storage room is a mess, we haven't really vacuumed or cleaned and we're still waiting for our new furniture to come. The place is quite liveable now though! We LOVE our master's bedroom - which now feels like a master's bedroom, we LOVE cooking in our new kitchen and have room to peacefully cook together now, we LOVE our backyard where we've had a fair amount of meals and where we read the paper and we LOVE being right across the beach!

We had guests over on Saturday (just our 3rd day in the house!), We met up and walked over to the beach (with Joey in tow for the first hour cause it began to get too hot for him) to get some sun and watch Terry compete in the provincial beach volleyball tournament (they emerged champions in their class!) Then we went over to the swimming pool to cool down before heading back home. Pasz & Mel, Terry & Carla stayed over for dinner after which we walked over for some Baskin * Robbins on Queen St.

Unfortunately, no pictures of the house to share cause I dropped the camera on the beach.. and the and's so fine I think it got into the lens and ruined it =(

Moving Time again...

I'm sitting at our dining table watching movers take out box after box (and furniture too.. I'm running out of chairs to move to!) and am getting sentimental about leaving the condo. Vineet wonders why I'm getting sentimental when I've only been living here for 9 months and he's had this place for 4 years and is just happy to move on!

Well, first of all, I get sentimental whenever I leave places I've lived in no matter how short or long. (I was hugging the post of the bunk bed I used to stay at in the condo in front of La Salle during my last year of college!) And what he doesn't realize is that in total I've spent more time in this condo during my bum months after moving in Canada,

Even Joey is feeling a bit out of sorts and whimpering.. cause of course he doesn't understand what's going on.

But then again.. I'm also getting excited! In about 2 hours, we'll be at the new house. We hope to get settled in ths evening (the movers are unpacking till 9pm and then we're on our own!) and finish up on Friday afternoon so that we can enjoy the long weekend ahead! =)

Here's some photos from the brochure of the new house we're moving to at the Beaches!!

Gay Pride Parade 2007!

The downtown core streets shut down for the Gay Pride Parade festivities! We initially went down to the Bay & Gerrard intersection but there was already a huge crowd and I couldn't see a thing (being the tall person that I am...). We were about to give up but decided to give the Yonge & Gerrard intersection a try. We were in luck cause they kept the intersection open for the floats to park at the end of the parade so we got a great view! Here are some of the pics!

What a Week!

The past week flew by so fast cause there were so many things going on.

First, the week was significantly busier given that I started working again! On top of that, we bought a house! That would pretty much have kept our days and nights occupied but we also had to keep prior commitments on Tuesday night to watch Russell Peters (!) and then on Thursday night to play Ultimate Frisbee.

And this weekend, we didn't let up... Saturday was spent at Canada's Wonderland! Then on Sunday we watched the Gay Pride Parade and then hopped on a ferry to spend the rest of the day at Centre Island.

Now, am just taking a breather, having breakfast before I head off to work and start another week. Will definitely post more about the house, how fun the Russell Peters show was, the funnel cake at Canada's wonderland and pics from the Parade!!

Visual DNA.

Saw this on Sumeet's blog, who saw it on Nitin's.. who knows where Nitin found it? =) Apparently, this is my visual DNA... cool exercise though =)

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

Wedding Pics!

This is my first blog entry as Mrs. Leila C. Mehra =) So first of all, thank you to everyone who made it to our wedding! It really made it uber-special for us having everyone there. Thanks for taking the time to come and join the event-filled (literally!) weekend.

Our "official" wedding pics aren't in yet but thank God for friends we're seeing pics already for immediate gratification. These ones are by Vic Icasas - and when Vineet saw them he was asking me, "Why did we hire a professional photographer again?!?" =) Hehe. I have been looking at them over and over and over again the past few days so I thought I'd post them here to share.

Again, thanks to those who came and to those who sent their best wishes... THANK YOU!

Niagara Falls with my Fam!

First installment in the arrival of the Castañeda family with my mom, Ate Diane and her family (Andy, Andrea and Sophia) coming in on the evening of May 17th. Vineet wasn't here when they arrived but he came back on the 20th and we decided to take advantage of the Victoria Day holiday on May 21. So we rented a van and made a day trip to Niagara Falls!

P.S. Joey's a big hit with Andrea & Sophia & my mom!!!

Did you see the AI Final?

.. I just watched my recording of American Idol. I'm so sleepy but I just had to say.. that final song choice was soooo pro-Jordin and so not meant for Blake. Oh well. I'd like her if she didn't stop making those heart signs on her chest.

The Condo is Sold!

The condo's sold!!!! We just put it on the market last Wed afternoon and held off on offers till Tuesday night. We got SEVEN registered offers, which is quite a lot for a condo! And it allowed us to get an offer higher than list price with ZERO conditions and we've already got the certified cheque in hand.
It was quite an experience going through the offer process... I didn't think it was going to be as intense as it was! I had just come back from a walk with Joey thinking it was going to be a one hour thing. It turned out to be a 3.5 hour process! I was sad to see the faces of agents when their offer had been rejected in the later rounds, and sad to think of some of the potential buyers I had gotten to meet... but it was great talking to the final buyer. He seemed really nice and his wife / girlfriend (not sure) was also nice. She loved Joey so much that I am making a mental note to keep Joey out of the condo when they come for their "access visits" to measure, etc. She might take him!!! =) hehe.
This experience though was a great orientation into a multiple offer scenario - in case we end up in the same situation with us being on the buy side. So will still keep on praying everything works out!

The Condo's on Sale!

The condo went up for sale last Wed afternoon. So far, there have been 22 viewings with the agents and we're holding on offers till tomorrow. Hope everything goes well!
Here are some of the pictures of the condo that were posted on the brochures and online sites:

Betty turns 1 year old!

Betty has had a tough year. She has survived a nasty fall which required surgery. She had to have a heart replacement. And she had to move all the way across the globe and get used to a new home. But she's still here with her dents and scratches that "add character". I couldn't imagine life as a bum without baby Betty by my side! For those of you that don't know... Betty is my Mac Powerbook =)

Spring Changes...

It's a beautiful spring Sunday and EVERYONE is out! I've never really lived in a country with seasons so it's interesting for me to see the changes that come when the weather really begins to warm up. Aside from the sudden foot traffic on the sidewalks cause veryone wants to be out in the sun, here are some things I've noticed.
1. The restaurants re-open their patios. And a lot of the restaurants or coffee shops actually remove/open the glass walls.. I've never seen that feature before in Asia!
2. People are already pretty nice in Canada but everyone just gets nicer and more cheerful. People actually talk to you when you're stopped at a traffic light!
3. Speaking of traffic, all the convertibles suddenly come out! In Manila, thought he weather is good, you'd die of pollution if you kept your car top down when driving in the city or on the highways.
4. I see legs! I realize that I haven't seen people's legs except in the hot tub at the condo. =) Now, it just gets a little warmer and the shorts and skirts are out with a vengeance. (It's still a bit too cold for me to do that though).
I see the point though... after many months of trying to stay warm indoors, it is a pleasant change. So we tried to enjoy it too! Here's a picture Vineet took of Joey and me when we went for lunch and a walk by the lake.

Cakes, mini-cakes and cookies!

I'm exhausted! I attended an Introduction to Cake Decorating Course at Bonnie Gordon's Cakes. It was the "intensive" version which meant that classes were conducted over 3 full days. It was extremely tiring cause:
1. I'm not used to waking up at 8am.. and not having my afternoon nap =)
2. You only get a 20-min break for a quick lunch.
3. You spend a huge part of the class on your feet.
4. You spend more time on your feet since you have to bake a cake, layer and mask it as part of "homework".

It was really fun though and am looking forward to the next occasion I'll make a cake again... currently planned for my puppy Joey's first birthday in July! Hope I've moved to a house with a big kitchen by then!!!

Here are the things made from the 3 days of class! If I can't fit into my wedding dress, you'll all know the reason for it! =)