Life is a Roller Coaster

Down we go, only to be going up again.

we are on the up, waiting to go down!

Life is a Roller Coaster, Just got to ride it ( Ronan Keating), na, na, na, na...... 
Ups and downs, peaks and troughs, on and on, round and round.  
House sale has fallen through, but hey, we still have a roof over our heads, we have our health, we have healthy children, we have enough, we are well loved, we are honest and kind, we have friends and family, we have all our stuff from Trinidad and no where to put them, hahahahahahaha. Ok, ok, better stop before I become hysterical.

I guess I am just counting my blessings to make myself feel better. Things do not always go to plan, no matter how well you may have planned it. Being prepared for every eventuality is the key.  I have contingency plans set and they are off on a roll as I type this, the house continues to be cleared of it's contents, thanks to my wonderful friends Katharina and Jonathon, mainly Kathatina; the cleaners should be in it now if not later to spruce it up, the agents are raring to go again on the hard sell, the letting agent is also at the ready to put the house on the letting market when they have the word go from us. All planned, all sorted...... why then do I still feel so dejected?

Plan of action

Here hoping my ride does not end like this!

If there was anything I could wish for, it would be to have the ability to stay positive at all times, be optimistic even when staring at the open mouth of doom! Have the ability to let nothing, and I mean nothing get me down....there are a few quotes I could put in here that will help. One from Helen Keller, born with multiple disabilities and yet have the tenacity and amazing ability to look at life positively. She said,"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." 

Yes, we were happy when we thought we'd sold the house. Let me rephrase that, when we had an offer on the house and thought the house sale was going through. So, that door of happiness is now closed, and I am looking forward to the next open door of happiness to add to my collection of open doors of happiness. 

Things are forever changing, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. What our buyer has taught us is do not put all your eggs in one basket, old saying huh? So true though. We had believed her when she said she wanted a quick exchange, she did not want to wait, therefore we took the house of the market for her. Weeks later and the goods weren't delivered, we still gave her the benefit of the doubt, we treated her like we, ourselves, would want to be treated. Again, another old but great saying. We waited patiently, and what this did for us was give us time. Time to settle into our new lives, new place to rest our heads, new everything....it gave us time to look around, get a feel of the place, time for the kids to settle in school and time for us to decide where we would really like to be living. All in all, perhaps I should thank the buyer for this time, but I would not only thank her but kiss her if the sale had gone through, hehehehe. 


Forgive all the quotes and old sayings, my ramblings are full of other's ramblings today, hope I do not get done for plagiarism! I would like to share a quote my brother posted the other day, about flux and change.


An appreciation of the constantly changing nature of all things is the key to happiness, for it means that no matter how bad a situation is, it will change. No misfortune is permanent; no misfortune insurmountable. ~Daisaku Ike

The sun is shining today, the temp about -1C, it looks like it's going to be a great day.....and it will be. A quote stolen from my brother to end.
Become like the sun. If you do so, all darkness will be dispelled.
No matter what happens, live confidently with the conviction that you,
yourself are the "sun." Of course, in life there are sunny days and
cloudy days. But even on cloudy days, the sun is still the sun. Even
when you are suffering, it is vital that you strive to keep the sun
shining brightly in your heart. ~Daisaku Ikeda

Not quite finished without mentioning some of the disasters that are happening around the world today, in Cambodia and New Zealand, and the madness of North Korea.....in the bigger scheme of things my worries, stresses and problems are nothing compared to these. They are real, but nothing that cannot be resolved.

You learn something new everyday

William and Kate

 On Facebook this morning, Betty had posted, "‎29th April 2011 Westminster Abbey. Be there or be square!" and I had replied,"I'd rather be square, the wedding will be funded by public funds mostly, as you can see I am not a royalist, on top of that it will probably be a public holiday, more loss of revenue... but they chose a good date, my wedding anniversary! LOL"

Kate's ring which was Lady Diana's

So, I was wrong, our comments bounced backward and forwards and I learnt the Queen does not get a salary, she and the Middletons will pay for the wedding, but the cost of security will be born by public funds.

The happy couple

the Queen on her coronation, she looked lovely

I learnt that The Queen receives stipends to pay for official expenses--her office,her workers,her job-related travel expenses, and it's quite a modest amount she receives compared to other heads of state. Paco(2010) stated that it cost £41.5 million to fund the royal household last year. The money goes towards a number of resources which enable Her Majesty to carry out her official duties. These include: Royal travel for official engagements in the UK and overseas; the maintenance of Royal residences which are used for formal entertaining and ceremonial events; funding for the work of The Duke of Edinburgh which supports and complements that of The Queen and salaries for employees of the Royal Household who support and administrate the work of Her Majesty as Head of State. (CG in Yahoo Answers, http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100131134615AAztLyf) if you want to know more on this subject.

The Queen and her corgies

Betty the font of all knowledge goes on to purport that, "Her total wealth is divided into two parts. One is a Venetian-style fondo (trust), that is, it is inalienable and must be passed on to her heir, free from inheritance tax. The second part of her wealth consists of her private collection of castles, jewelry, and art, and a portfolio of blue chip stocks and bonds and real estate investments around the world. Her investment portfolio is estimated to be worth £3 billion"(Betty Teh, 2010). In addition to this," The most important secret is that the Queen is the world's ultimate ``insider trader.'' She not only gets tips from British financiers, but also has access to all the state secrets, through the ``boxes.'' Thus, if the Queen learns from among all public and private British Empire intelligence and economic warfare entities reporting to her, for example, that Nigeria is about to be destabilized, she can immediately call her broker. Under the secrecy laws of the British Empire, it would be unthinkable for anyone to consider pressing charges of insider trading and conflict of interest against the sovereign: In fact, only a handful of trusted advisers would ever know" (Betty Teh, 2010)

So, there you go, a short and sweet lesson on the Queen's finances courtesy of Betty. I admit I was wrong, I thought the Queen did get a salary from the state, after all she is the state.  She receives stipends, is that like expenses? Let me check, 

sti·pend  (stpnd, -pnd)

n.

A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance.

---

[Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin stpendium, soldier's pay, from*stipipendium : stips, stip-, a small payment + pendere, to weigh, pay; see suspend.]

( http://www.thefreedictionary.com/stipend)

I see the word salary up there, are we just splitting hairs here? Anyhow, I am not bothered, what-e-va, I am not a royalist and will never be one. The royals do a good job and have a role in society, I will give them that. They are so wealthy, their wealth begets wealth, and I am sure they are not taking advantage of the taxpayers, so I will leave the subject here.

Betty Teh

 Suyin and Dave
What I do want to ramble on about is how I learnt something new today, discussing this with my friend Betty the Brainbox, even if her brain is currently embedded in Angry Birds. I know I have waxed lyrical about the wonders of technology before, but here we are, she's in Kuala Lumpur, I'm in Toronto, it's morning here, night there, and we're talking about the Queen of England! Oh, and another thing I got wrong? My wedding anniversary is on the 28th of April, not the 29th!!!

First School photos in Canada,2010

It's that time of year, where the kids get their photos done at school.  They are taken at this time of the year so that we can give the photos away as gifts for Christmas.

The order form has come back, 7 photo options for each child. Head shots and head and torso shots. Packages of photos on offer are  8x10, 5x7, magnets, passport size,  calendars, Christmas greeting cards, collages, you name it, you can have the photo made to order. The question remains, which pack to get. Who would like the photos apart from us?  We decided grandparents would like a copy of each. Perhaps a 5x7 each, so we need 3 5x7s, but is there such a package? Nah, that would be far too easy after long deliberation on which head shot to go for in the first place.

In the past, especially in the first few years when these photos were done, and the children still knew how to smile naturally, we would buy a combination pack of different sizes, give some away to friends and family who live far from us. Keep one for ourselves and find ourselves left with several copies of the same photo. In our recent move to Trinidad and then Toronto, I have come across several copies of these photos, lovely to have but not in such quantity.

In the latter years, we didn't purchase the photos if they weren't any good, we just didn't buy them. Jasmine has forgotten how to smile naturally in front of the camera. She has the loveliest smile, and she's got a beautiful face, but get her to smile for a camera and it just doesn't compute! The pixels just can't undo that forced smile that somehow makes her look hamster cheeked! She also loves making funny faces for the camera, which is perfectly fine but maybe not for school photos. Mitch has no such problem, that boy s so photogenic, I think he should be a model!

So, we need 3 5x7s, but end up getting 4 as we can't just get 3. Anyone wanting a spare photo of my kids, email me LOL.

Don't sweat the small things

Easier said than done..... don't sweat the small things, I was advised that after having posted some of my frustrations on facebook about the trials and tribulations of selling our house in the UK. We all know selling or buying property is a big hassle and stressful. It's not as though you were buying a pair of shoes, you can try it for size, have a good look in the mirror, see if it looks fantastic, dressing up your dainty feet, or in my case disguise the barges I have for feet. Some shoes make my feet look small and some make them look terrible, like ballet pumps, my wide feet just look like stuffed marrows in those, puffy and unsightly. And after this purchase, if you change your mind, you can return the shoes, as long as you have not worn it and still have the receipt.

With a house, you view it once, like it, view it again just to make sure. Some houses you walk in and you think yeah, got good vibes, some you walk in and it's a straight no no. Call it instinct if you like. I am not one to believe in ghosts or spirits or all that mumbo jumbo, but more and more I am beginning to change my thinking. It's probably because I cannot explain the paranormal in a scientifically proven way that I am sceptical about it. I am sure there is something in it, though what, I do not know.

When we went to view 5 Fellows Road, just over 10 years ago, we had Mitchell who was nearly 2 and a half, and Jasmine who was just 2 months old with us. It was a lovely summers day, the house was empty, had a lounge diner, large kitchen, 3 double bedrooms upstairs and a lovely patio out back through french doors from the dining room. The garden was larger than the one we had in Bristol. It needed a bit of work, but it felt right; somehow the house made us feel like we would be happy there. Mitch had gone and sat on the steps leading down onto the patio, reading his Thomas the Tank picture book. How he loved Thomas and all his friends.

The funny thing about the house was that I had gone into the estate agents to pick up details of a house I had seen advertised and picked up Fellows Road by mistake. It wasn't even one that we considered as it was about £10,000 above our budget at the time. As I had the details, we decided to go for a walk to see it before we arranged a viewing. We found that we really liked the tree lined street, with it's semis and detached houses mostly mock Tudor style. We arranged a viewing, then another just before we left to go back to Bristol, where we were living but had to relocate to Nottingham in 2 months time. We put in an offer and it was accepted and 8 weeks later the house was ours. Now with a house purchase, you put in an offer, you buy it, but you cannot take it back!

We made it our home and slowly began to make improvements as our finances allowed. We were happy there, the kids loved their little house and were very upset when we told them of our decision to sell it, with our imminent move to Canada after having lived in Trinidad for almost a year.

So, a few major life changes coming up. Another big move, change of job for Dave, a change of schools for the kids, a change of country and culture for us all, selling of our family home in Beeston, and hopefully purchasing a new home in Canada. All in all, if you look at it from a mental health point of view, a recipe for adventure or disaster depending on the individuals mental well being!

Dave and the kids have adapted well and appear to be coping. The kids are happy in school and have made many friends, and for this I am grateful. My resilient children. Jasmine is definitely happier and is really enjoying school and this is reflected in the quality of school work she is producing. Mitch is entering the teenage years, and therefore his progress is up and down, more up I might add. He is working very hard at school and is as conscientious as ever, maybe not so eager to please, but this is a good thing - I would prefer him to work hard for his self progress than to try to please his teachers.

Dave is adapting to work and is wielding his way into the psyche of the workforce here. His role is slightly different here compared to Trini, but still as challenging. Things are going well.

I am not sure where this is going, my thoughts are truly rambling tonight. I guess that just leaves me. I am not working as yet. I have applied to the College of Nurses, Ontario for my license to practice in this province. It will take another 9-10 weeks to process, and if I qualify, I will be able to work here as a nurse, and will be expected to sit an exam to get a permanent license. My work permit application has gone back to the immigration department to have some restrictions removed, following a medical to prove I wasn't a threat to the public health. I am not sure whether I want to nurse anymore. I feel like I am at a crossroads.....

For a person that is not working, I am tired. I am tired of all the hurdles we have had to jump across, sometimes stumbling and falling flat on our faces. Tired of picking myself up, dusting the dirt off, and trying to jump again before all the wounds have healed. Adapting to life here has not been easy for Dave or I. I have blogged about credit history, talked about my work permit, no driving history on Canada meaning our insurance premium is sky high, driving on the right, all whilst also trying to sell a house back home. I am trying hard not to sweat the hard stuff. Mostly I succeed, but I have very little distraction, being at home all the time.

I feel exhausted by all that is going on in our lives. I want to go AWOL like the buyer of our house has, and answer to no one. I don't want to think about anything for a while. Perhaps I ought to have another go at meditation, find my inner peace; that warm, bright light, that will help me stay calm and cool when the heat is on.

In the big scheme of things, all this will seem trivial, when we eventually sell the house, or let it out again. It's all sorted, thought out. In some ways, perhaps the buyer has done us a favour, in fact, I know she has. By not completing the quick sale that we expected, she has prevented us from rushing into the property market here. I remember saying to Dave that I do not really want to make quick, rash decisions that we may regret later, when we were here in June, checking Toronto out before our trip back to the UK for the summer.

I got what I wanted, but I can't help feeling this dragging feeling, pulling my spirits down....
It's just a phase, I know, and I will bounce back before long But I have been hit with this fatigue since yesterday afternoon and cannot seem to shake it. Part of me thinks my body's fighting a virus, but another part thinks it may be psychosomatic. Whatever it is, I don't like it! I want it to go away.

Sounds like I'm feeling sorry for myself, doesn't it? Maybe I am, so what? I'm entitled just as the next person is , hehehehehe. I am glad I wrote this down, I am beginning to feel better already. Beginning to see the lighter side of life...... I know things will improve, I need to be more patient, and it will all fall into place, and I will feel triumphant, a bit like when you finish a jigsaw, putting the last piece of the puzzle down, the picture complete. What is the picture? We'll just have to wait and see.

Don't just stand there, do something!

You know the saying, "Don't count your chicks before they are hatched". Well, we've been trying so hard not to do that with regards to our house sale, but it was difficult. We had hoped to sell the house, get the equity, pay off all our debts in the UK and still have enough left over for a down payment on a house here in Canada. Starting afresh, new country, new house, clean slate...We have viewed so many properties here to get a feel of what it is we wanted, been a lovely exercise, but things are not going to plan, eggs have not hatched, and the champagne in the fridge remain unopened.

Was such a lovely thought, we hung on to it. Clinging on by digging our fingernails into the earth just as we were about to fall into the abyss a no sale.....time has dragged on, we kept hoping to exchange and then it finally hit me. Why wait for her, get a plan B going, if she buys, great, problem solved. If she doesn't, plan B and C will be fired into action.

That's exactly what I did, I discussed Plan B and C with Dave, told all parties involved and now it is all in action... do I feel better? A whole lot better because I know what I've got to do. And the buyer? Well, I have thought up several reasons for her rather odd and unfair behaviour.

a) She's got postnatal depression and cannot cope with anything

b) her elderly father is ill and therefore her mind has not been on the sale

c) she's anxious about buying a property on her own and having to do some work to it

d) she's unhappy that we would not reduce the price of the house to give her enough money left to make it into her paradise

e) she's changed her mind, but has already forked out money on surveys and solicitors, not to mention time. Therefore finding it hard to be the one to say, sorry, but I don't want the house anymore

f) she is a raving lunatic!

Forget (f) that's just the nasty in me coming out.

Plan B- house now back on the market and viewings to follow

Plan C- house to be put back on the rental market once the 30th Nov, 2010, deadline we have given the buyer runs out.

So, am not just standing there, there being Canada, but rather am doing something, all the way from over here, bit more hassley but by no means impossible.

Vanity prevails

Facials...... do we need them? Women feel that we need them, why do we need them? Is it vanity, a treat, time out, something that makes us feel good, wanting to preserve our beauty, youth, looks? All of the above I guess. One must also consider one's genes I guess. I have a friend in Malaysia, who swears she uses normal bath soap to wash her face and off the shelf moisturiser and yet her skin is flawless. No outbreaks, no lines, no pigmentation problems..... she told me how she was accosted at the departmental store by a salesperson promoting Shisheido, I think, and her skin was complimented on, and when the salesperson tried to introduce my friend to the rather expensive range of skin care, my friend just said, "I've only ever used soap and water and Nivea, and I will never change. Didn't you just say I had fantastic looking skin?" The salesperson admitted defeat and sloped of with her products tucked between her legs. Hahahaha.

Yet, you have the likes of me, skin needing a lot of attention, which it doesn't get, I would like to add here, and so, it's dull, lots of freckles, a few lines, some outbreaks on that special time of the month, where my emotions rule my brain and mouth and I become the monster from hell! I have white heads, some blackheads, congested pores, you name it my skin had it.... all diagnosed every time I go for a facial. Which in the past was sporadic, what with work, and finances not permitting. Self care at home was so so, I would wash and moisturise twice a day, not religiously, not because I did not think skin care was important, it's just that there are other things more important than skincare!. Well, admittedly, if I had a problem with acne, I would not be so blase about it. As I saw it, my skin was flawed, but not majorly and I could live with that.

The problem is, beauticians cannot live with the way the skin on my face is. Today, I went for a facial, because I stupidly agreed to buy a course of 10 for the bargain price of about £300, which by facial standards is reasonable. I could have a number of facials, including micr0dermabrasion, aromatherapy, moisture boost and the list goes on, I am not exactly sure what the entire list is, because it was all written in Chinese! Are Chinese facials different to a caucasian facial??? I would say yes, the former is really hot on getting all your comidomes (white and black heads)sorted, and also the hard sell. Blimey, if there was one thing that ruined the whole experience I had this afternoon was the recommendation of product after product and treatment after treatment. All for my benefit I know, but oh, how tedious, all I wanted was to switch off and lie back, be pampered. Not, oh, your skin is very dry, we could apply this rather magnificent mask to help, but it's not in your plan, it'll be and extra $25 for a single treatment, but only $150 for a series of 10! Yippeee, hurrah, another bargain. Or not! I politely decline, I was having microdermabrasion today, so, with the top layers of my epidermis debrided away, of course my skin was extra dry, and really, with this treatment, you should include the mask, as it dries the skin, well, in my opinion anyhow.

Mm khan yew, she said, that's no problem in cantonese. So peace at last, or so I thought. Then came the, are you interested in losing weight? Lei yau lam oi kham fei moh? I say, the Brits would not be so forward. What do you mean? I am fat? I look fat lying down, you can tell I am overweight by massaging my face, neck and shoulders??? Sigh. Please,please, I just want to lie here and think of nothing, nothing at all, not whether I am fat, I need to lose weight, not about your weight loss programme, how much it costs, oh, real bargain 30 sessions for $1200! Or 50 for $15000. A huge bargain to be had. Hey, does she not know I am unemployed? She does know, I told her! The buyer of my house in the UK is an indecisive lunatic, and you want me to think about losing weight? Come on now, please, leave me to wallow in peace, just deal with my face in silence please. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for her, my command of cantonese did not stretch to being able to convey this message across politely, so, I just politely said, I will think about it.

The final straw?? We are nearly done, the normal face mask goes on, she leaves the room, AHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh, peace at last, I fall into a much needed doze and hear myself snoring....hehehe... after sometime, she returns, takes the mask off, cleanses, tones, tingling skin here now, how refreshing, then she talks to me about moisturisers, eye cream, etc etc, all in cantonese, some of it is lost as I just plainly don't understand the words. Must be some technical skin care cantonese dictionary I could borrow for my next visit.

So, I have fought the hard sell, which incidentally happened as soon as I walked in. AHhh, says Sammy, Suyin, these were the products I did not have time to sell you as you were in a rush the last time.... oh oh, yeah, like right, I was in a mad rush, you made me late for my kids by going over the time I said I had, left a mask on my face and disappeared for more than 30 minutes! I decline politely, I was conned by the hard sell by buying the 10 facials and then again by adding 10 eyebrow shaping and upper lip threading, I was not buying anything else. It was not that I did not like the products, it was Sothy's, and Decleor, and Guinot, what's not to like? They also had Collins and Les Naturalles- never heard of before. The problem was, it was all high end, high end for me, and I am conscious of my non earning state. Hell, yeah, if it was my money I was spending, maybe, but not when I was not working. And I think back to Sylvia and her soap, water and Nivea and think skin care is big business, because beauty is big business, and us women are just suckers for beauty, miracles, anything that will make us more attractive, because it makes us feeeeel so gooooood for the obvious reason that it makes men look at us, and that in turn makes us feel even better. Or we get wonderful compliments from everyone, sometimes complete strangers.

I digress from my tale. There we were, nearly done, face feeling great, looking wonderful, freckles amazingly minimal( not much sun lately and better use of sunblock). She massages my scalp, feeling good then she tries again on the weight loss.... oh my god, I must have a weight problem. She tries to sell me an aromatherapy massage oil with essential oils by De'Cleor for skin with orange peel appearance, citing that clients have used it and noticed some weight loss in problems areas such as upper arms, tummy fat thighs....Arghhhh, now she's implying I have cellulite, how did she discover this? She has only access to my face, neck, shoulders and upper arms. I was treated to a sample of the oil, mmmm, yes, very nice, but double Arghhhh, leave me be, I do not want to buy anything, not today, not ever, NOT EVER! I would like to add here, that I do not have cellulite, no sireeee.

The moral of the tale, do not ever, ever buy a course of 10 facials at a Chinese run salon/spa, whatever you do. You may look great after your 10 sessions, but your nerves will be frayed by all the hard sell, or you'll be broke because you bought the hard sell!

I'm mobile

Oops, sorry to those who clicked on this only to find nothing written on it before! I was going to compose something but somehow clicked the publish button and off it went , into the Internet abyss, a thousand apologies guys.

Now, what was the title about? I'm mobile? Well, have always been mobile... hmmmm.... oh, oh, I know, it's about getting a mobile phone here, or cell phone as they call it in the Americas and Caribbean. It's handphone back in Malaysia and S'pore I think, handy in Germany.. who else can think of different names for mobile phones in different countries, comment below please.

About 2-3 weeks ago, we decided it was time to get a cell phone contract for Mitchell and I. Dave already had one from work, though he's not supposed to use it for personal purposes. Mitchell has started being more independent and has been going off on his own to play with his friends and as we have not met the majority of them, it seemed only sensible and safe that he got his own cell phone.

Off we trotted to Best Buy, the one stop shop where you can compare all the different deals from the different providers, and all the phones that come with the plans. Good on the adverts, excellent in theory, but in reality??? Actually, our experience wasn't quite so bad, we wanted to go with Rogers as they did a good student package and as our cable, tinternet and home phone was already with them, we decided to go with them.

There are only 2 main players in the phone world of Canada. This is the same for home or cell. It's Bell or Rogers and they have the monopoly. Oh, you hear about Telus and Fido but actually they are just subsidiaries of Bell or Rogers. Virgin is here too, as is some other never heard of providers, but coverage is patchy. To be truthful, as I was not planning on going far from Thornhill/ Richmond Hill/Toronto, coverage should not be an issue for me. Still, we opted for Rogers.

Cell phones are pricey here and the contracts no better. Most are about 3 years if you wish to get a smart phone at a discount price. 3 years! Who's cell phone has lasted more than 2?? I ask you. There is option to upgrade, but not for 2 years....here's the deal, you pay for everything. So, let's say you get a student package, for 200 mins talk time, unlimited text messaging, unlimited multimedia, 500 MB data, free evening and weekend calls, all for the lovely price of CAD50 plus tax. Great you say, perfect you think! Then, it dawns upon you, that, a) you pay to receive calls, b) caller display is extra CAD8 a month, c) voicemail is extra CAD 8 a month, but you could combine the two for CAD12 a month. If you want call waiting, another charge....... so, now let's recalculate. 200 minutes of call time, includes calls that your friends make to you. CAD50 +12(for caller display and voicemail) plus 13%tax. Now, it's up to over CAD70 a month. Oh, and overseas texts, not included in the unlimited tax, they are 35c +tax each, or you could buy 25 for CAD4!!! Oh, plus tax, do not forget the tax.... I am so used to paying for things with VAT included, I'm having to adjust. After nearly 3 months here, I've still not got the hang of it. Blame it on my age, can't teach an old dog( could use the B word here, but I won't cause I'm not a B) new tricks.

Moving swiftly along, we got 2 phones, 2 smart phones, I got a touch phone, an Android Sony Xperia X10 and Mitch a Samsung Corby, which he is extremely pleased with. It was 2nd choice as the phone he really wanted was not in stock. Insurance for phone? Does not cover loss or theft! CAD 10 and Cad5 for Mitch's. Time to pay.... ah, you have very little credit history in Canada, just moved here? When, oh when will this stop coming up to haunt us? Rogers requires CAD100 deposit for each phone account, in case you take the phone, leave the country and never come back! ok ok we succumbed, what else could we do. I did have a CAD50 voucher that I used towards the purchase of Mitch's phone and a skin for mine. Some good news there LOL.

All set, all go, ah, wait, must tell you about the one of CAD 35 activation fee for each phone, happy to go ahead? What could I say, Mitch's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the thought of networking on his phone, chat FB, myspace all awaiting...so,.2 hours after entering the shop, we leave with our toys!

I had in the previous month spent about CAD 60 plus tax on my PAYG phone, and thought, time for a new phone, and if I am spending that much, might as well get a contract. Was I wise? Watch this space.... time will tell.

In the meantime, Mitch is loving his phone, it's permanently glued to his ear, till we asked him to try the earpiece, trying to minimise radiation and all that. I am getting used to my touch phone and it's fun, Internet at my fingertips, apps and games to amuse, maps and GPS, weather and news, all at the touch of a finger pad.... unless you're like me, with fat fingers and keep getting the things you don't want!!! Having to go back and try again, but it's getting better all the time.

Toronto was measured as the 8th most expensive city in the world to live in, London came in at 10, and I do believe it's true.... living the life here in Toronto.