The Legion

Yesterday a few of us planned to head to the Legion for a little Happy Hour after work. One of my coworkers tends bar there part time and was working that evening, so we decided to go along with him for a couple of beers.

I was just finishing up something at my desk, so I told everyone to go on ahead and that I would meet them there (after asking for directions).

Now I have only been to the Royal Canadian Legion a handful of times back home, for a couple of stag & doe parties or similar-type events. But walking in (alone!) to the American Legion in this small town made me feel a little weird. As I entered, I felt like I was wearing a huge sign over my head saying "CANADIAN" and that the people inside knew I wasn't "one of them". (When I first moved to the States I had this feeling almost everywhere I went - the bank, grocery store, library, etc. But I've since become more comfortable and secure in my new surroundings. So it was a little odd to have this feeling again...)

I just want to make it perfectly clear, that this was all 100% in my head. There was no reason for me to feel like I wasn't welcome there at all. Everyone there was polite, helpful, and friendly to me the whole time.

While the part of the Legion that we were in was decorated with their emblem and some tributes to the American Forces, it really was a bar more than anything else (which I don't think we have in the Canadian Legions). The prominent feature in it was a nice old wooden bar with lots of people sitting on barstools chatting with each other, watching TV, and playing some sort of KENO-type game, etc. A place where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came... CHEERS!

Sushi = crowd pleaser?

I LOVE SUSHI. I think I *need* to have sushi a minimum of once every 2 weeks. And I could easily have it 2-3 times a week :)

As much as I love sushi, for some reason when I'm going out to eat with a crowd I am hesitant to suggest Japanese. I generally offer up more traditional crowd-pleasing options like Italian or Mexican. But I'm not really sure why... Of course, there is the whole raw-fish thing - but there's lots of sushi that is fully cooked, plus there are other things like teriyaki and tempura.

I think maybe in the back of my mind I don't want to suggest Japanese because that's what I really like and it seems too selfish?

But really that's absurd because:

1. I am constantly surprised at how many Japanese/sushi restaurants there are in just about every city I have been to in the US


2. Sushi is even carried in at least 50% of the grocery stores I have been in (even though it may not be the greatest)


3. Any cocktail party/food station-type dinner I've been to where sushi has been served it has always been very popular


4. The other day I asked my two colleagues (one from France, the other from small-town Massachusetts) if they liked sushi and they both said they LOVED it. If these two people from very different backgrounds (age, hometown, job type) could both like sushi - it obviously has some widely-enjoyable attributes


5. There are sushi bars in many US airports and even in a prototype Wal-Mart

Even though I have so rationally (read: nerdily) analyzed the mass-appeal of sushi, I'm not sure this will make me more likely to offer it up as a dining choice for a group meal. But if you like sushi and we have plans to go out - feel free to suggest it :)

Phone down!

This week I am in Orlando for CTIA Wireless - the largest wireless trade show in the US. The biggest booths are occupied by the major handset manufacturers, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Nokia, LG, Samsung, and Motorola. These booth designs are probably the most eye-appealing I've seen compared to other trade shows I've been to. The LG booth featured a prominently-displayed DJ spinning tracks. I guess it makes sense since the mobile market is ruled by both technology and handset form-factor.

One interesting point to note is that my T-mobile phone was pretty unusable today. I have a voice and data device and it was unable to send/receive any e-mails after noon today. When I talked to T-mobile customer support they told me that 16 data towers had crashed in my area and that their engineers work working hard to get things back up and running.

I can't help but think that 50,000+ conference attendees concentrated in the Orlando area, ~90% of which are heavy users of PDA voice and data devices might have had something to do with it - hmm....

On the the road again...

An excerpt of "The Littlest Hobo" theme song:

There's a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road is where I'll always be

Every stop I make, I'll make a new friend
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

So if you want to join me for a
Just grab your hat, come travel light
That's hobo style.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

I've been travelling a ton this past month. Way more than usual. I'll probably be in the office for 3 days in all of March. I have to say, I don't really mind it since Christopher isn't around. But the doggie daycare bills are starting to get a little out of control and I haven't seen the inside of my gym in what seems far too long...

Last week I was in DC and NY, and this week I'm in Denver. There was originally supposed to be 7 cities in 2 weeks for this tour that we're doing, but due to time constraints it was cut down to only 3 - I can only imagine how messed up my time zones would be if that were the case! Next week I'll be in Orlando for a big wireless show. I'm looking forward to that - there's several good restaurants near the Orange County convention center and a mall and outlet mall nearby as well. I probably just jinxed myself and there will be no time to eat nor shop at all next week!

PS. While I was in NY last week I enjoyed one of the best Vietnamese sandwiches I've ever had in my life from the Saigon Bakery. Highly recommended!

Tucson, AZ

Is it Tuscon or Tucson? I never seem to know which is the correct spelling. Just for the record, it is TUCSON. But funnily enough, Tuscon gets 1,530,000 hits when you Google it.

Last week I enjoyed the balmy weather of Tucson, Arizona for work. We stayed at the Starr Pass Marriott, which is a super nice resort that I would recommend to anyone. In fact, Bill Clinton also stayed there for one night. He was the keynote speaker for some convention that was taking place there. Hey, if it's good enough for Bill, it's good enough for me :) Several of the folks from our group even got to shake his hand!

This was my first trip to Arizona. I have to say, the landscape was stunning. It was crazy to see those huge cactuses everywhere. And while I love the all the trees we have in New England, I was actually surprised at how much I liked the look of Arizona.

The balcony off my room overlooked a 27-hole golf course that had lush green grass. And not the Bermuda grass or the bluegrass that they grow on courses in warmer climates, but 'real' grass like we have back home. The juxtaposition of the green fairways and the desert made the course look super impressive. And while it was impressive, I couldn't help but wonder in the back of my mind how much water they use to keep grass that green in the middle of the desert.

While we were enjoying the wonderful warm weather, back home they were enduring highs of 0F - yikes! Naturally, this being a sales meeting, there was plenty of good food and drink to go round. One night at the restaurant they had set up a bunch of food tasting stations. And you just spent the entire evening running around to sample little appetizer-sized portions of dishes. They even had an oyster bar and it was here that I rediscovered my love of raw oysters!

The resort as a beautiful patio with chimineas, outdoor firepits, and gas heaters. It became the natural place for people to congregate after a long day of meetings to enjoy a few drinks under the clear night sky.

Amazing Race: Family Edition

There was a little excitement returning back home from our family ski vacation.

Saturday, February 24th
The Parents: flying direct from Denver to Toronto
Christopher: flying to Toronto, connecting through Montreal
Nancy: flying to Hartford, connecting through Lincoln, Nebraska & Chicago (it was cheap!)

Check-in: We were greeted by some of the longest airport check-in lines I have ever seen. United was experiencing some power outages with their computer system and having great difficulty checking passengers in. Fortunately we had arrived at the airport in plenty of time (we were worried about the road conditions after a storm that didn't end up materializing), plus Christopher and I had dropped off our parents and their luggage before returning the rental car, allowing them even more time to make it through the check-in line. So when we got back from dropping off the car, we just hopped in line with them.

Amazingly enough, we all made it through check-in and security in time to make our flights - not that it mattered...

The Parents: we dropped them off at their gate as boarding had started
Christopher: his flight to Montreal was delayed, meaning he would miss his connection. But he managed to phone Air Canada and secure a seat on the next flight out
Nancy: the flight from Lincoln, NB to Chicago was cancelled (bad storm in Chicago), so I decided to stay in Denver in hopes of getting on something else out. I didn't think Nebraska was exactly the hub of airline activity either...

The Parents: mechanical problem with plane - flight cancelled. Everyone was re-booked for a flight the next day and given vouchers for a hotel & meals
Christopher: made it home - luck boy!
Nancy: although the first confirmed seat that I could book back to Hartford wasn't until Monday (two days later) I made it on standby for a flight to DC, and could standby for the connection from DC to Hartford. However, the flight to DC was held on the ground for over an hour as 2 marshalls removed 3 passengers from the plane and they also had to dig through all the baggage to remove their checked luggage. Needless to say, I missed my standby connection to Hartford and was forced to spend the night in DC

Sunday, February 25th
The Parents: were scheduled to leave at noon, their flight was delayed, and delayed, and eventually cancelled. Apparently someone ordered the wrong part to fix the mechanical problem.
Nancy: though I did not have a confirmed flight from DC to Hartford until Monday, I went to the airport first thing in the morning to try and get on a flight via standby. Unfortunately DC was hit by a brutal storm and no flight were getting out at all. So Christopher booked me another room on Priceline and I went back to the Holiday Inn to wash my clothes in the bathroom sink - nice!

Monday, February 26th
The Parents: finally made it out on their flight, with an extra 50,000 Aeroplan points to compensate them for the delay
Nancy: managed to get on an earlier flight to Hartford on standby and didn't have to wait in the airport until 9pm, thank goodness!

The whole time this was going on I kept on thinking that this is what it's like to be on the Amazing Race. Running around through the airport, trying to get booked on flights, get on standby lists for other flights, wear the same clothes for days. Although it doesn't seem nearly as fun and exciting as it does on TV, I think I could do it. Rob & Amber - look out for Nancy & Christopher!

I also can't believe that our parents spent over 48 hours straight with each other without Christopher or I to 'manage' them. Apparently my dad was teaching Christopher's mom some tai chi in the airport to help calm her nerves. Oh to be a fly on the wall...

Family Ski Vacation

For President's Day-Week (is that what people in the US call it?) Christopher and I met up with both his parents and my parents in Vail, Colorado for the first ever Ma-Schwartz joint family vacation. We had rented a 3 bedroom townhouse in East Vail at the Vail Racquet Club for the week. While most of the action is in West Vail, the Racquet Club is conveniently located along one of Vail's free bus routes to the Village and has a really nice fitness center with outdoor hotubs, wet and dry saunas, and a 75-meter swimming pool. We also dined at their Bighorn Bistro one evening and enjoyed a fabulous meal.

My family and I have been to Vail a few times before, but this was Christopher's family's first time. It was fun to see what they thought of the resort and our favorite restaurants. We had lunch at my all-time favorite place to eat in Vail - Sweet Basil. Though it's not what would be classified as an inexpensive restaurant the food, service and ambiance is really fabulous. I think lunch is a bit easier to justify on the pocketbook than dinner, and also easier to get a table - this place is everything but a well-kept secret!

Since we had rented a 4-wheel drive Suburban, Christopher and I put it to good use trying some of the other nearby ski hills. We visited Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, and Breckenridge in addition to skiing 3 days at Vail. At Copper we took advantage of their free snowcat skiing to access Tucker Mountain - skiing Chute #3 of the Fremont Glade. After waiting in line for over an hour for the Cat, it was finally our turn for the 10-minute ride up. We then followed that up with a 20-minute hike (at over 12,000 ft. - I was quite short of breath at that altitude) up the ridge to access the chutes. It was super windy along the hike - when we stopped to take a pic I was afraid I was going to get blown over! As was to be expected, there was a ton of snow on the run due to the limited access. By the time we got to the bottom we were quite tired and ready to meet up with my parents for lunch - and we had only done one run!

Although I was slightly apprehensive about how my parents and Christopher's parents would get along for an entire week together, everyone seemed to enjoy their vacation. Vail was a good location for all of us, giving us each a different way to spend our time as we saw fit. This was the first ski vacation for Christopher's parents in 10 years, so they took things easy ski-wise, spending alot of their time strolling through Vail Village and relaxing in the pool & hot tub at the Racquet Club. My parents skied quite a bit and as usual my mom took a day off to shop shop shop at all her old favorite stores in the Village. And of course Christopher and I skied skied skied! In the evenings we all dined together, enjoying all the fabulous culinary gems that Vail had to offer, and recapping each of our highlights of the day. Hopefully the first of many joint family vacations to come :)

Snow Day!

This morning I phoned our Employee Information line to see if my office would be closed or have a delayed opening due to this winter storm that hit the east coast today.

And... to my surprise, the recording announced that the office was closed - SNOW DAY!!

Yippee!! All those fond memories of snow days when I was in school came flooding back. It's funny - I love my job just like I loved school (yes I know, I'm a geek), but there is something decadent about being able to stay home during the week on a stormy winter day, watching daytime television and drinking hot chocolate.
Strangely enough, I have this urge to go outside right now and make a snow angel :)

Night in NYC

This past weekend Christopher came down to visit and planned a surprise trip to New York City for my birthday. He made arrangements for Tyson to go to Doggie Daycare for the night and we took the Metro-North train into Grand Central Station. It is fairly reasonable to visit New York at this time of year and Christopher was able to book us into the Millennium Hilton (where we have stayed in before and I really like) on Priceline.

That night we had tickets for Translations - a show that just opened on Broadway a few weeks ago that received good reviews from the New York Times. Now, one thing we have yet to master is the subway system in New York. Christopher is excellent at reading the map and figuring out which line we need to take and where we need to get off. But one thing we haven't quite figured out is how much time to budget when taking the subway. Since we're often in the city on the weekend, when we take the subway we run into some lines being closed, stations being closed, and infrequent trains.

After waiting awhile to take the subway to Times Square for our 8pm show, we came to the realization that we wouldn't make the show if we continued to wait for this subway that didn't seem to be making an appearance anytime soon. So even though we had already paid our fare, we decided to head above ground to catch a cab to have any chance of getting to the theatre on time.

Unfortunately, it being a Saturday night, it was tough to find a cab. On every street corner we saw other people struggling to catch a cab as well. With a little bit of luck, we managed to flag one down after not too long and were surprised to find out that we had snagged the best cab driver we've ever had in the city. Once we told him where we were going, he knew we were trying to catch a show and drove like a madman. He was honking his horn at cars that were lingering in intersections and drivers that weren't doing the right thing. I never felt that our driving was being a jerk to other drivers with his driving or his horn.

Since there was a bit of traffic closer to the theatre, we decided to get out a few blocks away and run the rest of the way. Christopher ran up ahead to go pick up the tickets, while I paid the cabbie and gave him a big tip. We managed to make it to our seats with minutes to spare!

After the show we had reservations at Tao for dinner, so we walked uptown to the restaurant. When we got there the place was packed. Even though we had a reservation we still waited for quite awhile in the bar area. After awhile we were quite hungry and I had a craving for some galbi, so we decided to leave and head to 5th Ave. & W. 32nd St. where there are many Korean restaurants that stay open late into the night.

The next day we had lunch in the East Village before heading home. It was great to just go for one night - we each packed a small bag that we could easily carry with us on the subway and around town. This way we didn't have to worry about checking our bags with the bell desk and then going back to the hotel to pick them up. Plus, going for one night keeps the expensive hotel costs down - this is something we should definitely do again!

Thanks Christopher for planning such a fun weekend!

When your nose doesn't know...

For the past little while I've been fighting a cough/cold. My nose is all red and sensitive and I have gone through so many boxes of tissues! I don't feel bad other than this though. But what annoys me the most is not being able to smell. And more importantly, not being able to taste. I really feel crippled by the

loss of these two senses. Well, I can still taste very basic categories of sweet/salty/sour/bitter, but eating isn't very fun.

Now, you would think that not being able to taste anything would make me less interested in eating. However, I have been going through the opposite - I am craving food more! What's happening is that my brain still remembers what it is like to taste things. And it wants them. But when I eat the things that it wants, it can't taste those flavours so the craving isn't satisfied. So crazy!

Longboat Key

Last week I was in Orlando for work. I was staying in one of the hotels on Disney property. Now, I haven't been to Disney World in what must be 20 years (boy does that make me sound old), but it sure is different from what I remember. The property is unbelievably large! My hotel was right across the road from Downtown Disney, which is filled with overpriced restaurants and shops selling candy, toys, souvenirs, etc. Next to Downtown Disney is Pleasure Island, a place for adults filled with bars/nightclubs. You have to pay cover at the , but they sell these passes at the entrance that allow you to bar hop for a flat fee (or a tiered pricing structure for 3, 5 or all bars).

One thing that I couldn't help but notice was how expensive everything on the Disney property was. Looking at the menus of the restaurants in Downtown Disney (Fulton's Crab House, Portobello Yacht Club) the prices must have been at least 30-50% more than non-Disney places, for the same food. It makes me kinda sad to think that there are lots of kids that won't ever get to visit Disney World because it's too expensive... Or if they do get to go, they'll just see all these fun things in the stores, at the many kiosks throughout the area, or candy/treats that are out of their family's budget. But then again - this is something that pretty much everyone has to learn at some point in their lives. There are very few people in this world that actually have more money than they can spend in their lifetime. We all need to learn to live within our means.

Since Christopher's parents were renting a condo on Longboat Key for the month of January, we thought it would be nice to visit them for a few days. So after I wrapped things up in Orlando, I drove my little rental Saturn ION towards the Gulf coast to visit them and Christopher flew into Sarasota from Buffalo. Their condo overlooks the beach, so we went for nice walks up and down the beach and enjoyed wonderful sunsets each evening. We also played 27 holes of golf - 18 holes at Oak Ford which was recommended by Golf Digest for its value and we thought it was a great course for the money. In typical Florida-fashion, we also enjoyed a fantastic Early Bird Special at Cafe on the Bay - dinner for 2 (3 course meal) plus a bottle of wine for $42.97 - highly recommended! We also went for a light dinner at Euphemia Haye so we had enough room to enjoy their extensive dessert selection.

Hot Water Woes

Our main bathroom upstairs doesn't get the hottest water. Christopher has turned up the temperature on the hot water heater a couple of times, but we still haven't found the optimal setting.

Generally this isn't a problem for daily showers. The only time it's really an issue is when I want to take a bath. While I do enjoy the odd bubble bath, I rarely have the time for them. When I travel for work I'll often enjoy one - taking advantage of the nice soaps that are supplied in my hotel room :)

At home though, one time when I really need a bath is when I'm sick. I often get the chills and a nice hot bath that just envelopes me in warmth is the best way for me to feel better. On Thursday I started to feel a little achy and had a bit of a fever, so I thought I'd draw a bath for myself.

Since we've moved into this house I've only tried to have one other bath and it was a complete disaster - the water simply wasn't hot enough. Desperate for a decent bath, this time we used the stove to heat water in several of our largest pots and also boiled water in our electric kettle. It was alot of work, but so worth the effort. I felt like a princess in medieval times as Christopher shuttled up and down the stairs to add hot water into my bath - thanks Christopher, you're the best!

When the cat is away...

...the mice will eat mussels?!?

Now don't get me wrong - Christopher is extremely good about eating whatever I prepare for dinner. But there are a few things that he would prefer not to eat. And while he is always telling me that I can make whatever my heart desires for dinner, it just seems much too selfish to go through the trouble of making a meal that only I will enjoy, leaving him to fend for himself.

Now that I have to prepare dinner for one these days, I am taking advantage of this opportunity to make some things that Christopher would rather not eat. Like my dinner last night - a huge bowl of Steamed Mussels with Leeks, Garlic, Thyme, White Wine & Butter. While Christopher will eat a few mussels, there's no way he would be able to eat an entire bowl as his meal. But don't these look good?

Spring Cleaning in January!?!

This past weekend Christopher and I took full advantage of the balmy weather in West Hartford to do some outdoor spring cleaning. Christopher treated our car to a thorough wash and wax while I filled 15 yard waste bags of pine needles and leaves that we had never gotten around to raking up. It was nice to be outside and get these much-needed chores done. There is something immensely satisfying about completing a task that you've procrastinated on for far too long!

On Saturday night we went to see Children of Men. I thought it was really well done. Most science-fiction movies that have been released recently involve aliens that are threatening the earth or some space mission. I really like movies like this that give you a glimpse as to what the future could be like (though depressing and over dramatized it may be).

Sunsay evening I had to take Christopher to the airport :( This semester he has to finish up some mandatory classes at U of T. He has classes Mon-Wed so we have scheduled a few visits for him over the term, using up a bunch of Aeroplan points I had. Combining this with a couple other trips we have planned (Florida at the end of this month & skiing in Vail over President's Day-Week) we should see each other every 2 weeks at a minimum.

Since Christopher won't be here as much and I will still need to travel a fair bit for business, I have been taking my dog to several "interviews" at doggie daycare/boarding facilities for when I am away. Since Tyson is a social dog that likes to play with other dogs when we "board" him we choose to put him in a doggie daycare facility. This way he can have tons of fun during the day with all the other pups and then he's good and tired in the evenings. While this style of care may not be good for all dogs, if you have a dog that is fun-loving and enjoys being around other dogs, I highly recommend it. Most places will ask you to bring your dog for an "interview" to see if they are suitable for the doggy daycare environment - making sure that they aren't a bully nor are they being bullied.

On Saturday I took Tyson for an "interview" at a new place and they said he would be just fine. It's funny checking out these doggie daycares. Some charge alot more than others (over 40% more in some cases!). And as a general rule - the ones that charge more tend to be nicer - but from a human perspective, not necessarily a dog's perspective. For example, will Tyson care/notice that there are colorful murals of dogs having fun on the walls? Does it bother him if there are grammatical errors in their flyer? What about if the person handling them has bad teeth?

As a human inspecting boarding facilities for my pet, I often have to remind myself that what is most important is that Tyson has a good time. Do the other dogs there look like the kind of playmates Tyson would have fun with? Do the other dogs look like they're having a good time/are well taken care of? Is the facility clean and well-kept? Is there a variety of toys/treats available? Does he like the people that work at the place and do they like him?

After introducing Tyson to several doggie daycares (just in case one is booked up) it's nice to find some places that we're both comfortable with. That way I don't have to worry about him while I'm away and he's too busy playing with all the other doggies to worry about where I am!

Christmas Holiday Update

For the Christmas Holidays we packed up the car with the dog, cat, tons of Christmas presents, Christopher & myself and made a run for the border. Over the 10 days we were back in town we ate ourselves silly, catching up with various friends and family over lunches, coffees, dinners and drinks. While we were back we ate at Asian Legend, Congee Wong, Swiss Chalet (twice - we have yet to find a suitable replacement here in CT), and had Dim Sum two times as well. Needless to say, we both have New Year's resolutions to lose the holiday poundage we've packed on :)

As usual - it was great to see everyone again! We haven't made any really close friends down here yet so it's nice to go back home and have a full social calendar.

Over the holidays we split up our stay between Christopher's parents' place and my parents' house, spending time with both our families. But we're super-lucky because our parents get along really well and they often spend the holidays together, never really forcing us to choose between one family and the other. Plus they live close to each other so we don't have to spend alot of time driving between their houses.

Highlights of the trip:

• scoring 2 packages of roasted seaweed hand-imported directly from Korea by my cousin's sister-in-law. So tasty - I ate a whole package in 1 day!
• Kathy's homemade nuts & bolts - she uses corn pops in her secret recipe and they're like little spheres of golden goodness
• playing mah jong for 3 nights in a row with my parents and finally getting a decent understanding of how the game works (Christopher even mentioned that he thinks that he likes mah jong better than POKER!)
• the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular preceded by a wonderful dinner at Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar
• hosting a New Year's Eve dinner party at Christopher's parents' house (they had left for Florida) with some friends. I tried out all new recipes from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook that I got from my cousin for Christmas and they all turned out great (if I do say so myself!). We also made homemade bellinis and whiskey sours from scratch that were surprisingly tasty!

We wish everyone all the best for 2007 - may the New Year bring you health, wealth & happiness!

Who spiked the punch?

It wasn't until today that those jokes about "who spiked the punch?" finally make sense to me!

At the office today the sales team hosted a casual potluck buffet luncheon to get us in the holiday spirit. At which there was a punch bowl...

And after only one glass - I feel a little, um... peculiar... Which leaves me asking only one question:

Who spiked the punch? :)

PS. I was planning on doing some work this afternoon, but I think it's probably in the company's best interest that I do not. I heard that the customer service team is having a little gathering of their own. Perhaps I'll head down the hall to check that out. Maybe they'll have punch too...

Shopping for the Shopaholic

It being Christmastime I have been spending a fair amount of my free time shopping. And one thing is for sure - shopping in the US (all the time, but especially around the holidays) is a shopaholic's dream come true!

Parking: Even when I go to the mall during peak times (Sat/Sun early afternoon) I haven't had any trouble finding a parking space. Don't get me wrong, there have definitely been more cars in the parking lot recently, but it hasn't taken me more than 2 minutes to find a spot - ever.

Crowds: Once inside the mall, it isn't crowded in the stores or the aisles. There aren't long lines at cashiers, and it isn't too hard to find a sales person to help you. The malls I have been going to around here (Holyoke & Westfarms) are less crowded during the holiday season than Yorkdale is off-season!

Hours: The stores are open a fair bit later here to help serve their customers better. For example, Yorkdale Mall's idea of extended holiday hours is closing at 9:30pm each night instead of 9pm with 2 extra hours on Sunday. My new favourite mall Holyoke Mall is open until 9:30pm regularly and has extended their hours until 11pm during the holiday with 4 extra hours on Sundays.

Returns: In Toronto stores never accepted returns during the holiday season because they were struggling to serve all the customers making purchases. In the US this isn't the case. You can do all the same transactions during the holidays as you can any other time of the year.

Cyber-Space: We have been taking full-advantage of all the online vendors available to US residents. Back in Toronto there was a limited number of merchants that ship to Canada. And then there was always the hassle of paying duty and taxes which pretty much ate up whatever savings you made from ordering online in the first place. But since we've moved State-side we've been buying lots of goodies online - books, CDs, and electronics are our most frequent purchases, but we've also had some great savings with kitchenware and luggage. And each time we make a purchase it's from a different vendor - there are just so many to choose from! Another major benefit of online purchases is that they don't bear any tax! Which brings me to my next point...

Taxes: Okay this one is HUGE - in Toronto we were paying 15% in GST & PST, which was later reduced to 14%. In Connecticut the state sales tax is 6% and in Massachusetts it's 5%. So you're already saving about 8-9% just on tax alone. And in addition to this, there are several handy exemptions to these state sales taxes. In Massachusetts there is *no* sales tax on gas as well as shoes & clothing under $175. I think it's fair to say that I use this exemption at least once a week ( I work in MA so it's very convenient for me to gas up here). In Connecticut any clothing under $50 is tax-free and of course like in Ontario, groceries aren't taxed either.

Taxes - part 2: For the most part, taxes on income are lower in the US leaving you with more disposable income to go shopping with. 'Nuff said :)

Happy Birthday Christopher!

Yesterday was Christopher's birthday! To celebrate the beginning of his 30th year I treated him to an evening at Mohegan Sun. We decided to go on Saturday night because Christopher had his tax exam that afternoon and would be up for some fun to de-stress a bit. Plus, we had never been to the casino on a Saturday night so I thought it would be fun to go when it was busiest.

For dinner we went to Todd English's Tuscany. It was pretty good - reasonably good food for that pricepoint. I had the mussels and thought they could be better though. And if you order the Herb Frites be forewarned - they are more like tiny hash browns than french fries. The potatoes are cut into tiny cubes - pretty tasty, just not what I had expected.

After dinner we wandered around the shops trying to get ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts, but found nothing. I'm not exactly sure who does a whole lot of shopping in those stores in the casinos. Their prices don't seem to be that good and alot of this stuff is just bizarre. Like a rhinestone-encrusted matching bra & panty set hardly looks comfortable, but then again I suppose comfort isn't their main priority.

Christopher played some Pai Gow Poker. This is my favourite casino game. When we were last in Vegas I played this for 2 or 3 hours while Christopher was in the poker room and when he came to get me I was up about $5, so I just tipped the dealer my $5 and walked away dead even, plus having ordered fancy drinks all night. This is my kind of game! (I know - I'm pretty lame when it comes to gambling) I'm glad to have found my game - you can play Pai Gow for quite some time and not be down too much money. It's a nice slow-paced game where you are only playing against the dealer, but the dealer has to tell you how to set up your hand if you ask. And it doesn't matter if you show your cards. People will commonly ask each other for advice.

Other than Pai Gow Poker, I like watching craps and seeing the excitement of the people cheering and the dice being tossed. But it makes me really nervous to play. The first time I played I quickly won about $130 and then decided to stop. When I asked Christopher how long I had been playing for, he said 'um - about 15 minutes?'. I was shocked - it felt like ages! I was just so anxious with every roll of the dice I suppose.

On Saturday I had a fun time watching Christopher play craps. There was this crazy old lady at the table and she was really entertaining to watch. Earlier on in the evening I had watched her get kicked off another one of the craps tables so I was kind of leery of her because I didn't want her to spontaneously get angry at us for some off-the-wall reason (you never can tell with these gambling addicts).

The woman spoke with an accent and was constantly talking - saying stuff to herself, the shooter, the dealer, anyone who would listen! And the poor dealers - she was often just tossing chips onto the table and muttering her bets. Because she didn't speak up and address any dealer in particular as she was doing this, very often the dealers wouldn't place her bets quickly enough and she would get upset, and other times they just couldn't understand what bets she wanted made with her accent.

Some other funny things she did:

• pulled out her cellphone and took a picture of the dealer (I don't think this is allowed at all)
• took a banana out of her pocket and placed it on the rail as she was trying to fish something else out of her pocket
• pulled out a fistful of chips from her coat pocket that she didn't know she had
• unwrapped some chocolate covered strawberries she had (yes - in her pocket!) that she had undoubtedly liberated from the buffet
• say things like "show me the money!"
• leave to go the bathroom - instructing the dealer and pit boss to continue to make all her bets for her (and she had a system going - this wasn't just a "let it ride" type of woman)

All in all it was a fun evening and a nice break for Christopher during a strenuous exam schedule.

G-Dub's Hood

This past week I was in Washington D.C. for work. I have only been to DC one other time - back in Grade 7 for our American History trip. This trip was almost cancelled because of the Operation Desert Storm - I remember how lame I thought this was when they announced this to the class, and how happy we all were when they told us the trip was back on a few weeks later.

The weather was great this past week - it was a little cold, but the sky was blue and clear each day. One afternoon I had some time to walk around and check out some of the sites. Everything is so well signed in the city and the streets are organized with letters & numbers (N-S streets with letters and E-W streets numbered). Even without a map I never had any problems getting around and seeing all the sights.

I enjoyed a late lunch one day at a tapas restaurant called Jaleo. It was delicious and the prices were totally reasonable. I had a huge bowl of their steamed mussels for only $6.95 - so yummy! If you happen to be in DC I highly recommend this place if you're in the neighbourhood.

PS. I know I've been a little behind in my posting, but I've caught up. Check out what we've been up to for the past few weeks below.

December in NYC

December is a super-popular (read: expensive) time to be in New York. Lots of tourists come into the city to do their Christmas shopping and see the holiday decorations that all the big department stores (Macys, Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales) put in their store windows. I had a business trip to NY scheduled for the last week of November/first week of December so I was lucky enough to be able to see some of these sights.

On Wednesday, November 29th was the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. Since this tree came from Connecticut I thought it would be fun to check it out (funny how I'm slowly starting to think of myself as from CT). Unfortunately the rest of Manhattan had the same idea! I have never been in such dense crowds - it was nuts. The NYPD had to shut down access to Rockefeller Plaza as well as many of the neighbouring streets for safety reasons - there were simply too many people inside and if they allowed more people in, it would only get worse. When I arrived, they were no longer allowing anymore people in to see the tree, just out. It was sad to see the disappointment in little kids' faces when their parents told them that they couldn't see the tree. But I suppose that's better than children getting trampled on by the crowds.

After my tree-viewing attempt I decided to head out and grab some dinner. My friend who lives in the city recommended a few restaurants to me, and the one I tried that night was Sushi Samba, a Latin American-Brazilian-Japanese restaurant. Its claim to fame I suppose was that it was mentioned on one episode of Sex in the City. While the food was good, I don't really get the whole fusion cuisine thing. I mean, there are so many great styles of cooking - does combining several together really make things taste better? I guess I'm just traditional - I like authentic Japanese, Indian, Greek, {fill in the blank} food they way they were meant to be.

On Thursday night Christopher came into town to meet me and we spent the rest of the weekend doing touristy things in the city. We went to FAO Schwarz, saw the coolest model railroad at Citigroup Center, checked out Rockefeller Center & the holiday decorations in all the stores, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, had cheesecake at Juniors & shared a giant Reuben at the Carnegie Deli, saw AvenueQ and watched the Raptors beat the Knicks at MSG! The whole weekend was super fun - the weather was unseasonably mild so walking around town was very pleasant. It only rained a tiny bit on Friday afternoon.

We were in NY in August and it was really hot - December is definitely a more enjoyable time of year to visit the city!