Friday, December 19, 2008

Toronto




I left from Tampa, FL Wednesday morning. Sitting in front of me were some Tough Guys that were from Jersey, Seth's hometown. jk. I was going to Charlotte, NC and from there to Toronto. The flight went smooth. We arrived there a bit before noon. I was surprised to see fog still in the area that late. It felt a bit chilly as I got off the plane. I chilled until my flight was getting ready to leave. I talked to Marlow and he gave me some pointers. I had talked to mma and bby in the morning while in Tampa too.

As I made my way to Toronto, I sat next to a gay named Curnie. He was an electrician by trade but worked at some power tools company. He was taking a bottle of liquor to his friends in the Toronto area. He was going to stay for 17 days. I peeked at his customs decleration form. That's how I knew his name and how long he was gonna stay. I'm esneaky sneaky.

I got to Toronto a bit after 4pm. I was trying to figured a way out to get to my Radisson hotel, which was next to the harbour. I'm in Canada so I can spell it like that. I got out of the airport and felt the coolness of the evening. It felt pretty good. There was snow, but it wasn't snowing. I kicked it a bit. I asked how much a Taxi would cost, and it was $55. Forget that. I went back inside and got some bus ticket. A two-way trip for $28 Canadian. Not freaking bad. I got to my hotel at 6pmish. I walked 15 mins from where the buss dropped me off to my hotel. It was a nice walk. I was looking at the buildings and breathing the cold air.

I checked in and went to my room. The hotel was nice. It looked elegant. My room was sweet too. I had a king size bed and free net. TV was crappy but I didn't watch much of it. I felt awesome to be in Toronto for a job, feeling like a grown up. I unpacked a bit and got online to check email and all that. I showered up and went outside exploring for a bit. I did take pics but I won't upload them till I get home. I'm stuck at the Toronto Pearson Airport at the moment. Some silly snow storm deciced to mess things up. I'll write the rest of my trip later on, since I have to go to the rest room.

Ok. It's Saturday and I'm stranded here till Monday. I'll try to make the best of it.

So, when I got in Wednesday, I went exploring for a bit. I didn't go far. I put on my sweet wool coat and went walking around. I was also looking for food really. Anyways, I took some pics of the Harbour and some small park. I went looking for hole in the wall for good food, but I didn't find anything. I went to a sub place called Mr. Sub thinking it was an independent place, but found out yesterday it's a chain. I had a "spicy" sub which was ok. I got back to my room with food in hand and started to study some grammar for the interview.

I woke up early on Thursday, so I could have plently of time to compose myself. I got suited up like Batman and was out the door by 8:45am. I walked for about 15 minutes to the building where the interview took place. On my way there, I took a picture of a sculpture. Then as I cut across the "park" where it was out, I found some yellow snow. I secretly pulled out my camera and took a pic. I made my way to the ECC interview building and got there around 9:15am. I told them I was there for the interview and my name.

John Barrie conducted the interview. He looks like a cross between Toby from The Office and Alton Brown fron Good Eats. The interview went from 10am-5pm. The first half was reading over the ECC booklet. The other half was the test, 1 on 1 interview and mock lesson. I think I did alright on the 1 on 1 and test. I did good on the mock lesson. John said he liked everything I did, except when I said " up up!" He said it sounded too authorative, but yeah I did agree. There were 4 of us total; 1 girl, 3 guys. Katie and I were in a group, and Rob and Brad were in another. They were rather stiff and dry. I ain't tootin' my own horn but man, really. Anyways, yeah that's it. We find out Jan 9th to see if we got in or not. I hope I'm in like Flynn. If I do get in, I won't leave till Aug-Nov.

So I was supposed to leave yesterday morning. But the snow storm changed that. I'm stuck till Monday morning. That's the earliest US Airways can get me to Tampa. It's kinda cool in a way. I went to Chinatown today. I got lost cause of the sun placement and being up real north, my senses were off. I did find my way there. It was pretty cold. I had no scarf or gloves. I ended up buying gloves but didnt find a scarf I liked. They had "robber" masks. I should've gotten one of those. I stopped by King Noodle Restaurant in Chinatown. I saw ducks hanging in the window and knew this was the spot Marlow & Ant had gone before. I ordered some duck and a shrimp disk. The duck was good, the shrimp thing not so much. I sat in a big round communal table. Parties of 1 sit there I guess. I didn't talk to anyone. I didn't want to be rude. I also tried to eat with my chop sticks, and I did, except when I had to take the bones out. I dunno if I would "offend" anyone or not so I tried to be sneaky. I would've stayed longer in Chinatown but I had to do #2. I didn't take much pics. I didn't want to be killed by the Triads. I stopped at the Chinatown Mall for a bit as I was rushing to get to my room so I could go. I stopped by a shop before I got to the mall and bought some tea cups. They look cool, but I dunno what I'm gonna use them for. They were a CDN $1. Not bad. I want to go again, but I need to withdraw cash. On my way back, I almost busted my ass. I began to slip until I grabbed on to a handrail. Thank God, otherwise I would've died.

I need to buy some of those winter boots, so I can parade in the snow that hasn't been walked on. But F that. It'd be a waste. I want to make a snow angel before I leave though. Maybe.

The sun is weird up here. Sunset is like at 5pm. Right now it's 3:13pm and it looks as if it was 5 or 6pm. It kinda puts a damper on my mood. I think I might go to some Thai place to eat tonight. It's supposed to snow bad tomorrow. There's a 24hr store across my hotel which is like a small supermarket. It's pretty cool. So yeah, that's about it. Pics when I get back to the States on Monday.

3 comments:

marlow said...

how did you know curnie was gay? did he touch your danger zone?

hang in there.

Juan said...

i meant guy, not gay.

Unknown said...

best of luck juan!