immigration has been completed. My wife is now a Permanant Resident of Canada. The interview was pretty quick and almost useless. We basically walked in and the lady confirmed the Mrs' name, birthdate, address and confirmed with her passport. Then asked questions like "have you ever been asked to leave Canada?", "have you ever commited a federal offence?" and then had her initial and sign a form. All these questions I am sure that they either knew or could have done a search in either Canada or Singapore records and found out. However, knowing the speed at which they travel for documents, I am thankful they asked us and didn't wait for the paperwork or else I would be waiting for my Canada pension cheque to cash by the time they got the info that they wanted. After that she shook her hand and welcomed her to Canada. Total time of interview, maybe 5-10 minutes tops.
After that we walked out of the office, the Mrs did a little dance of joy that she could work and we went clothes shopping cause she needed clothes for interviews that are in the not to distant future. The best part however was when we were in the food court to grab a late breakfast when all of a sudden the Mrs got hit with the thrill of being able to work and threw up her hands and called out "I am for hire...please, someone hire me!". Now, I am not expert and all but I am thinking an attractive Asian woman screams out she wants to be hired in a mall setting...yeah, don't think she would want the jobs that would be offered to her from the people offering those sorts of jobs. Granted the pay would probably be good and tax free but....well, not something that I want my wife to be doing. :-)
But, all said and done, the paperwork is finished and now we just have to wait 4-6 weeks for the PR card to come then we can apply for the SIN card and she is fully fledged to work. However we were told that she is able to be hired now so if she gets an interview or job she can tell her employer that the cards are in the mail and they usually show some leeway in that case.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
immigration time....
Today is the the day. After slightly over 11 months in the country unable to work and having her life on hold my wife and I are finally going to immigration this morning for our 'interview'. Apparently the 2 inches of paperwork documentation of photos and emails documenting our over 10 year friendship and 3 year marriage are not enough to convince beyond a reasonable doubt that we are really married and this is not some 'white guy trying to bring in another Asian hooker/drug dealer for the streets'. Not really sure how we got in that line up. Anyways, we are being pessimistically optimistic about today considering the foot dragging that has been going on in the process. I really don't understand totally how it takes 3 months for letters to be opened and received mailed from Edmonton to Vegreville (only about 150 km away). Guess with the recession cut backs and all they have reduced the entire immigration office down to maybe 10 people working, including the janitorial staff.
But, enough of them, we are up and almost ready to head out for our walk. Apparently this interview is just a formality in that they want to ask us questions that they already know the answer to but want to make sure that we are not lying. Like "have you ever sponsored someone already to Canada?", "have you ever been suspected or investigated for domestic dispute cases?", "how much money do you make per year?", "have you ever been on long term social assistance and do you plan on returning if you were?" and then reaffirming the knowledge that I am financially responsible for my wife for the next 5 years or so until she gets her Canadian citizenship.
There is a guy in camp that did this with his wife down in Calgary (though his process took only about 5 months from start to finish) and he said that after the interview, which was stamped quick and easy, they walked across the hall and got her SIN card instantly and she just had to wait 2 weeks for the PR card to be mailed to her and she could legally work in any job in Canada that would hire her or go to any school that would take her. So we are hoping that sometime between 9:30am and 11:30 am or 1:30pm and 3:30 pm (those are the times that our interview was set for..no set time, no set person to see just a buffet line of 'come during those times and we will see what happens') we will walk out of Canada Place with my wife having all the rights and freedoms of a Canadian citizen except she won't be able to vote....which seems to be like about 60% of the Canadian population anyways except they choose not to vote.
Will keep informed.....
But, enough of them, we are up and almost ready to head out for our walk. Apparently this interview is just a formality in that they want to ask us questions that they already know the answer to but want to make sure that we are not lying. Like "have you ever sponsored someone already to Canada?", "have you ever been suspected or investigated for domestic dispute cases?", "how much money do you make per year?", "have you ever been on long term social assistance and do you plan on returning if you were?" and then reaffirming the knowledge that I am financially responsible for my wife for the next 5 years or so until she gets her Canadian citizenship.
There is a guy in camp that did this with his wife down in Calgary (though his process took only about 5 months from start to finish) and he said that after the interview, which was stamped quick and easy, they walked across the hall and got her SIN card instantly and she just had to wait 2 weeks for the PR card to be mailed to her and she could legally work in any job in Canada that would hire her or go to any school that would take her. So we are hoping that sometime between 9:30am and 11:30 am or 1:30pm and 3:30 pm (those are the times that our interview was set for..no set time, no set person to see just a buffet line of 'come during those times and we will see what happens') we will walk out of Canada Place with my wife having all the rights and freedoms of a Canadian citizen except she won't be able to vote....which seems to be like about 60% of the Canadian population anyways except they choose not to vote.
Will keep informed.....
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
This is news??????
Yet again the stupidity of some people out there scare me. This is why I work in camp trying to limit the number of idiots I have to make contact with in one day. I came across this news article:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100209/tim_hortons_100209/20100209?hub=Canada
basic gist of it if you dont want to read the whole thing I have posted below is the guy complained about the decaf coffee tasting 'burnt' back in 2008, it got better, then it went bad again in 2009. He complained and now he has been banned from 2 Tim Hortons. Of course, his side said that he was respectful and quiet in his complaining, Tim Hortons say he got increasingly aggressive with the staff. He is talking to a lawyer to have the ban lifted.
What gets me is what was this guy doing complaining about the coffee for so long and all? I mean, it is just like the radio, tv or any other thing in Canada. If you don't like it, turn off the radio, don't watch the TV program, don't eat at the restaurant and so forth. Power of choice and control. The only way I would feel any sympathy for this guy is if there was no other possible way for him to get decaf coffee anywhere else. If Tim Hortons had a total and complete monopoly of all decaf coffee in the entire country, then I might feel some sympathy. However, since you can get decaf at home or in other restaurants I say 'suck it up buttercup, dont be such a wanker' and leave it at that....
there, I have had my say..I feel much better now...thank you*G*
MAN RAILS AGAINST PERSONAL BAN AT TIME HORTONS
ST. ANDREWS, N.B. — A tempest in a Tim Hortons decaf cup is brewing in New Brunswick.
Jimmy Craig said Monday he's been banned from two Tim Hortons outlets in the province because of his complaints about the decaf, but the company said it made the decision after he became aggressive with staff.
Craig said he voiced his displeasure on several occasions over the last two years about "burnt" decaffeinated coffee at a Tim Hortons in St. Andrews.
"I made a complaint to the store manager in 2008 and things changed for a while and the coffee got better and then, in 2009, it went back to the same thing -- getting burnt coffee all of the time," he said.
"There comes a point when you get tired of going back to the store to get it replaced. And it adds up when you drink three or four a day to throw almost $2 coffee away."
Craig said he filed two complaints with the company's corporate office, then met with the store manager who informed him he is now banned for life from that outlet and another one in nearby St. Stephen.
In a statement, company spokesman David Morelli said no matter what staff at the St. Andrews store did to address Craig's complaints, he was unhappy.
"He became increasingly aggressive with store staff and was impacting their ability to serve other customers," Morelli said. "Our staff work long and hard to please each customer every day, but at some point we have to respectfully agree to disagree."
But Craig, who works as a paramedic, said he was always polite and never became aggressive.
"I wasn't going in and ranting and raving," he said. "I was going back in and saying the coffee was burnt and asking for another one, and they gave me another one."
Craig said he will talk to a lawyer to see what can be done to get the ban lifted. He said the ban impacts on his second job.
"I also work for a transportation company in St. Andrews and if I have a busload of 20 people that want to stop in and get a coffee, I should be allowed in the parking lot to let them get a coffee. As it stands now, I can't."
Craig said he hasn't had any issue with the coffee from other Tim Hortons outlets, but he'll be making his coffee at home from now on.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100209/tim_hortons_100209/20100209?hub=Canada
basic gist of it if you dont want to read the whole thing I have posted below is the guy complained about the decaf coffee tasting 'burnt' back in 2008, it got better, then it went bad again in 2009. He complained and now he has been banned from 2 Tim Hortons. Of course, his side said that he was respectful and quiet in his complaining, Tim Hortons say he got increasingly aggressive with the staff. He is talking to a lawyer to have the ban lifted.
What gets me is what was this guy doing complaining about the coffee for so long and all? I mean, it is just like the radio, tv or any other thing in Canada. If you don't like it, turn off the radio, don't watch the TV program, don't eat at the restaurant and so forth. Power of choice and control. The only way I would feel any sympathy for this guy is if there was no other possible way for him to get decaf coffee anywhere else. If Tim Hortons had a total and complete monopoly of all decaf coffee in the entire country, then I might feel some sympathy. However, since you can get decaf at home or in other restaurants I say 'suck it up buttercup, dont be such a wanker' and leave it at that....
there, I have had my say..I feel much better now...thank you*G*
MAN RAILS AGAINST PERSONAL BAN AT TIME HORTONS
ST. ANDREWS, N.B. — A tempest in a Tim Hortons decaf cup is brewing in New Brunswick.
Jimmy Craig said Monday he's been banned from two Tim Hortons outlets in the province because of his complaints about the decaf, but the company said it made the decision after he became aggressive with staff.
Craig said he voiced his displeasure on several occasions over the last two years about "burnt" decaffeinated coffee at a Tim Hortons in St. Andrews.
"I made a complaint to the store manager in 2008 and things changed for a while and the coffee got better and then, in 2009, it went back to the same thing -- getting burnt coffee all of the time," he said.
"There comes a point when you get tired of going back to the store to get it replaced. And it adds up when you drink three or four a day to throw almost $2 coffee away."
Craig said he filed two complaints with the company's corporate office, then met with the store manager who informed him he is now banned for life from that outlet and another one in nearby St. Stephen.
In a statement, company spokesman David Morelli said no matter what staff at the St. Andrews store did to address Craig's complaints, he was unhappy.
"He became increasingly aggressive with store staff and was impacting their ability to serve other customers," Morelli said. "Our staff work long and hard to please each customer every day, but at some point we have to respectfully agree to disagree."
But Craig, who works as a paramedic, said he was always polite and never became aggressive.
"I wasn't going in and ranting and raving," he said. "I was going back in and saying the coffee was burnt and asking for another one, and they gave me another one."
Craig said he will talk to a lawyer to see what can be done to get the ban lifted. He said the ban impacts on his second job.
"I also work for a transportation company in St. Andrews and if I have a busload of 20 people that want to stop in and get a coffee, I should be allowed in the parking lot to let them get a coffee. As it stands now, I can't."
Craig said he hasn't had any issue with the coffee from other Tim Hortons outlets, but he'll be making his coffee at home from now on.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Dusk learns a new trick
So, the other day I came online and the Mrs was telling me that our male kitten, Dusk, had learned a new trick and she got some pictures of it. I asked her what he did and all but she refused to tell me what it was cause 'the pictures would explain it all'. The internet was slow up in camp, which it always is, so it took a bit for me to get the pictures emailed to me. When I did get them these were the pictures that I got. First one was this:
Notice the slightly puffed tail, which implies to me distress and sort of surprise or at least hunting something that has startled him. The look of excitment and yet slight shock in his eyes like he had just walked out a door looking for something and suddenly realized that there is no floor on the other side of the door. I was wondering what it could possibly be to cause such a look on the little furball. Then I saw the second photo:
Notice the slightly puffed tail, which implies to me distress and sort of surprise or at least hunting something that has startled him. The look of excitment and yet slight shock in his eyes like he had just walked out a door looking for something and suddenly realized that there is no floor on the other side of the door. I was wondering what it could possibly be to cause such a look on the little furball. Then I saw the second photo:
Yeah, the look on his face and the state of his tail were totally explained to me at that moment in time. I can not believe the little furball did this. I mean, both the Mrs and I know that he is a good jumper and all. He was the first up on the table and the first up on the kitchen counter. Dawn only seems to go up on the table but I have not seen her on the counter. I am not sure if that is because she doesnt have the leg power to get her up there, she is smart enough to know what happens when you jump up there as Dusk has been scolded and squirted many times, or simply cause Dusk is the explorer and loves to go and do new stuff whereas Dawn is just happy being where she is and is not that thrilled with new places.
Glad to know that our two furballs are developing their own distinct personalities. Dusk will explore and poke his nose into everything and anything to discover what it is. Dawn has a habit of collecting and hording shiny objects like coins, jewellery and shiny tin foil. Over Christmas my mom lost one of her ear rings and we figured it fell off the dresser and I would probably find it under the dresser or somewhere. It seems, however, that Dawn had gotten a hold of it and took it to her cat bed that was in the masterbedroom and stashed it underneath her mattress, along with a few quarters, dimes and nickles.
So we have a horder and an explorer. Quite the two loveable bunches of joy we have adopted. Which have a surgery operation set for Feb 17th to get declawed. Gonna be interesting to see how they are after the event. I am guessing Dusk will be fine and all but might take a bit of time for Dawn to get over it since she has always been a skittish one as well.
Friday, February 5, 2010
burning down the house
There is a new candidate for 'brain of the camp'. We have a pretty normal way of bringing the dishes to the dish pit here in camp. Nothing too fancy or strange which, personally, is quite simple if you follow behind someone in front of you. Scrape your plate of garbage into the bin, put silverware into a tub of water under the sign that says "Please put silverware in the bin. Thank you" and then you put your tray on a speed rack (like you see in Ikea or any other big kitchen working area) and, this part is optional but kitchen staff appreciate it, call out to say either "thanks for the meal" or "good meal guys!". Pretty simple.
However, there have been many different times that someone has not done the routine completely to the letter. We either correct them politely or do the routine for them and hope that someone else will catch them and correct them later. We sometimes have had to scrape plates, put silverware in the bin or even throw napkins away. Though the other day there was one guy that made me shake my head and go "huh??". He had followed the procedure down to the letter of scraping the food from his plate and he even put his plate on one of the brown trays that was already on the rack, he put his silverware in the bin like he was supposed to and then he stood there with a confused look on his face holding his brown tray. He looked to the left, looked to the right, then looked at me through the speed rack which happened to have two identically looking brown trays like the one he was holding and he asked "where does this go?" Of course I was professional and all and just said "on the rack, sir...thank you". He smiled, put the tray on the rack like he was supposed to and walked away.
The other fun thing that happened tonight was that it was steak night. We got a new grill from one of the older camps that cooks steaks really nice. Gives them those black grill marks on it and all. It is the closest thing we will ever get to a BBQ steak inside without the charcoal. Anyways, the 1st and 2nd cook are a good pair to work together because they are both slightly looney. For instance, tonight they decided to recite poetry and talk pretty much all night long like Winston Howell III from Gilligan's Island. They would talk like it to order up steaks, would recite poetry and song lyrics in it and even tell crude jokes in that voice as well. They were laughing and having a good time when their concentration must have lapsed cause the broiler caught on fire. We are not talking one or two flames here, we are talking a full fledged fireball shooting out of the grill. Somehow it got two hot and caused a bit of a flame which ignited all the grease and oil that had accumulated over the night in the reserve pit as well as the grease that was there all week from them not cleaning or changing the tin foil after using it. It was so interesting hearing them go from their rich, almost snobbish, accept of Howell to a panicking pair of cooks screaming out "bring me water...bring me baking soda..quick bring a pan...wet towel that is what I need a wet towel".
After it was all said and done they slowly lapsed back into their joking ways. I just let them cool down and get back to normal. Finally I had to go up and ask the 2nd cook "so, how long do I have to wait before I call say to you guys 'wow, you guys are on FIRE tonight'?" He just looked at me, blinked, laughed out loud and then walked away. I still don't know if that was a serious humours laugh or a 'you smart ass' kind of laugh.
However, there have been many different times that someone has not done the routine completely to the letter. We either correct them politely or do the routine for them and hope that someone else will catch them and correct them later. We sometimes have had to scrape plates, put silverware in the bin or even throw napkins away. Though the other day there was one guy that made me shake my head and go "huh??". He had followed the procedure down to the letter of scraping the food from his plate and he even put his plate on one of the brown trays that was already on the rack, he put his silverware in the bin like he was supposed to and then he stood there with a confused look on his face holding his brown tray. He looked to the left, looked to the right, then looked at me through the speed rack which happened to have two identically looking brown trays like the one he was holding and he asked "where does this go?" Of course I was professional and all and just said "on the rack, sir...thank you". He smiled, put the tray on the rack like he was supposed to and walked away.
The other fun thing that happened tonight was that it was steak night. We got a new grill from one of the older camps that cooks steaks really nice. Gives them those black grill marks on it and all. It is the closest thing we will ever get to a BBQ steak inside without the charcoal. Anyways, the 1st and 2nd cook are a good pair to work together because they are both slightly looney. For instance, tonight they decided to recite poetry and talk pretty much all night long like Winston Howell III from Gilligan's Island. They would talk like it to order up steaks, would recite poetry and song lyrics in it and even tell crude jokes in that voice as well. They were laughing and having a good time when their concentration must have lapsed cause the broiler caught on fire. We are not talking one or two flames here, we are talking a full fledged fireball shooting out of the grill. Somehow it got two hot and caused a bit of a flame which ignited all the grease and oil that had accumulated over the night in the reserve pit as well as the grease that was there all week from them not cleaning or changing the tin foil after using it. It was so interesting hearing them go from their rich, almost snobbish, accept of Howell to a panicking pair of cooks screaming out "bring me water...bring me baking soda..quick bring a pan...wet towel that is what I need a wet towel".
After it was all said and done they slowly lapsed back into their joking ways. I just let them cool down and get back to normal. Finally I had to go up and ask the 2nd cook "so, how long do I have to wait before I call say to you guys 'wow, you guys are on FIRE tonight'?" He just looked at me, blinked, laughed out loud and then walked away. I still don't know if that was a serious humours laugh or a 'you smart ass' kind of laugh.
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