Thankful for Change

This was a BIG WEEK!

On Tuesday, I took and passed my Washington State driving test! So now I am a licensed driver! My dad is probably more excited than I am...Now he can brag that I am just as smart as a monkey (because apparently "even monkeys can drive!") The next step is to buy a new car, probably something small and easy on gas. Probably not until the new year, after my knee surgery.

Oh yeah, I'm getting knee surgery on January 8 to fix my torn ACL. I am hobbling a lot on it as it is, and every once in a while it buckles up underneath me (as painful as it sounds). I am hoping to be back in the proverbial saddle by late spring. I like activities that require knees (walking, rollerblading, hiking) and pivoting sports (ultimate, skiing, snowboarding). My doctor found me a physiotherapist right around the corner from my (new) apartment so I can start my rehabilatation within days of my surgery. Until my exercise routine will involve walking (unevenly and slowly) and swimming at the local pool.

I moved into Dave's apartment on Friday! Most of my stuff is still in boxes, so it's looking a little bit chaotic in here right now. I have unpacked the all important things like my clothes, food, and Cutco knives, and have shifted things around in the kitchen cupboards so they are "Jadine-accessible". Day Three of Project Cohabitation, and still getting along... :P Haha! In all seriousness, we don't fight much...like three times in six months...

We have also had some unbelievable weather this Thanksgiving weekend! It has been sunny for 6 days straight and all of the mountains surrounding Seattle have been visible making me feel extremely fortunate to be here. On those dreary grey Seattle winter days, it is easy to forget that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Time to make dinner...Tonight I will make a stirfry. My wok and all of my sauces are here now! Exciting!

The story of my torn ACL

Last Sunday I was playing ultimate frisbee and I collided with someone taller and faster than me. As we fell, the side of my right knee hit his shinbone. I immediately grabbed my leg and tears sprang to my eyes. I was carried off the field by my teammates and provided with ice. After the game I was piggy-backed off the field, driven home, and piggy-backed up to my house (Thanks Jon!). I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday, hopping around my house and pushing myself up and down the stairs. By Tuesday night I was excited that I was able to put a little bit of pressure on my leg and progressed to a slow hobble. Wednesday and Thursday I ventured into work, tired of being housebound. I was feeling optimistic that I was healing. Dave returned from his business trip to Fort Mac and Edmonton on Thursday night. Unfortunately, that night I woke up with a really bad charleyhorse. At this point, my tight calf muscle is more painful than my knee. Friday morning, Dave drove me to an orthopaedic doctor recommended to me by my housemate Allison. After pullinyg and prodding my knee, he told me that he is 95% sure that I tore my ACL. My heart sank. He said that after the surgery I would not be able to run, hop, or pivot on my knee for 5 months. I guess this means that I will miss out on skiing and snowboarding season this year. Bummer...The silver lining to all this, is that the privatized American health care system has some perks over the Canadian system. As Tim pointed out to me there is a long wait for knee surgeries in Canada. I am getting an MRI tomorrow, and probably my surgery before the end of the year...efficiency unheard of in Canada. Lucky me??

One year anniversary!

Clearly it has been TOO LONG since I wrote a blog entry, as I momentarily forgot my username for Blogspot! I was reading my brother, Kevin's blog from his trip to China and felt inspired to make an update of my own.

This month marks my one year anniversary of living and working in Seattle. Far though it is from my Canadian friends and family, I do love it here and the life I have here. Work is good; laughs with my co-workers definitely cut through the boredom of reading depositions. The social life is also good; I have made some great friends, eventhough it seems half of them are moving away this month! Best of all is the love life; I started dating the wonderful and utterly unique David Semanske in June and haven't looked back since! He is intelligent, caring, passionate, and (as a bonus) handsome and sexy. We feel extremely lucky to have met each other. Personally I feel that it was fate that brought us together; it's no co-incidence that we arrived in Seattle within a week of each other. Unfortunately, this one year anniversary also means that I need to make the trek across the border to renew my work visa. I will be going this Thursday with one of my law-abiding, American co-workers. Maybe she will even let me drive part of the way!

Things I am looking forward to:
1) Work potluck on Wednesday. I am planning to make a vegetable quiche, because I haven't made one of these in a while. Mmm...delicious!
2) SeattleWorks project on Vashon Island (in Puget Sound). We get to stay Friday night in a cabin to rest up for a Saturday of hard work at Campfire USA, an organisation that builds leadership and teamworking skills in youths in an outdoor environment.
3) Our six-month anniversary trip to Wenatchee and Leavenworth in Western Washington. In the heart of wine country (this area is directly South of the Okanagan in BC), in the winter it becomes a winter wonderland! (Snow!!!) Leavenworth is a Bavarian-style village where in the winter they light up the town in Christmas lights and have a parade and outdoor carols. It should be a good opportunity to find some unique Christmas gifts! (This year, no glass...)
4) Christmas in Southern Ontario! I will be home from December 19 to 27. Looking forward to seeing friends and family, and eating a year's worth of Thom dumplings. They are not "caveman suitable" but Kevin said he would make an exception...Yay!
5) New Year's in Colorado with the Semanskes! From December 27 to January 2, I will be in Boulder where Dave's sister and family live. His parents are also flying down from Michigan. (I met them already this week, as they were in town visiting.)

Anywho, time to hit the gym. Feel like getting my sweat on today!

Best food weekend. Ever!

I went to Vancouver last weekend, and ate really well...as I tend to do in Vancouver.

Upon arrival in Vancouver, and exhausted from the 4-hour drive through Seattle and Vancouver traffic, Jessica and I made a beeline to one of my favourite sushi restaurants in Vancouver, Kitsilano Sushi. We both got the sushi special which includes miso soup, california roll, tuna roll and theVancouver specialty, yam tempura roll. All for the low low price of 5.95$! I heart Vancouver's fast-food-sushi-addiction! I switched out my tuna roll for a spicy dynamite roll, and Jessica got chopped scallop roll (also one of my faves) instead of california roll. We also got edamame. Jessica had never had a yam tempura roll before. She was impressed.

Bellies filled we went to Safeway to find ourselves costumes for the party. It had an ocean theme, and given that we had both were wearing green shirts, we decided to go as algae (me) and sea kelp (Jessica). We managed to score FREE green ribbon from the nice gentleman at the flower department which we tied around our wrists, arms, belt loops and hair. The party was awash with sailors and Hawaiian girls; we awarded ourselves the Most Creative Costume award and we accepted graciously.

Post-party, we awoke (in the car - long story) with a craving for eggs. So we went to Sophie's on 4th. I ordered Eggs Florentine...my all-time favourite way of eating eggs! (Who can resist the oooey-gooeyness of the egg yolk intermingling with the hollandaise sauce and the spinach, and the crunchiness of the English muffin underneath...mmmm....) Jessica had never had Eggs Florentine before. I let her have a bite of mine and she was impressed. Jessica had scrambled eggs with turkey sausage. Summary: Sophie's makes delicious food!

After brekkie, we swung by the house and picked up Kerstin and Kirsten and we all went to MEC for and outdoors-wear shopping extravaganza. I bought a new backpack with waterpouch-holding capabilities. (I can't seem to go to this store WITHOUT buying a new bag...so dangerous!) To be honest, I have used it for a couple of days, and I'm not a huge fan. I wish it was a little bit bigger and I wish the pocket placement was more accessible/more numerous. Oh well, it carries 2 L of water and is good for hiking. Jessica bought a new rain jacket and Kirsten bought a whole lotta stuff, including the EXACT SAME BAG that I bought, and ANOTHER EXACT SAME BAG THAT I ALREADY HAVE for Natascha. Well, at least they don't live in the same city as me so we won't mix up bags like Karen McCaig and I used to do with our blue MEC satchels.

Tired from shopping, we went to Kitsilano Beach and laid in the grass. A bird flew by and pooped on me. I was not impressed. At least Kirsten did not take a photo of this and post it on Facebook like she did to Natascha. Or did she...

Around 7pm we met up with Pam and her friend Peter and had sushi "lunch" and another delicious sushi restaurant on 4th (name forgotten, but I went there once with Matteo). I didn't keep track of what everyone else ate, but I had Alaska Roll. Yum!

Then we went back to Kits Beach and watched the Fireworks Competition on sleeping bags in the sand. While we waited for the show to start, I taught Jessica to sing O Canada (...she's American...). She tried to teach me the Star Spangled Banner, but could not remember all the lyrics. (Booo! Bad American!) The fireworks were so-so. If Seattle were entered into this so-called international competition they would surely win...I did not see a 3D cube or planets, and the music was accompanying rather than enhancing the display. I found my mind wandering to my next meal...

Mmmm...Nevermind. Ok, so this place is possibly one of my favourite bars in Vancouver...The service is usually pretty lousy, but the food and drinks are really good (unless you like beer, then it's kind of expensive). My absolutely favourite menu item at this place is the Spiked Crab and Spinach Dip with Navajo Fry Bread and Tortilla Chips Drizzled with Balsamic Syrup. I have capitalized it, because it deserves it...Sometimes I daydream about this dish, and a little bit of drool will leak out of my mouth and I have to suck it back in. (Like now.) I had been raving to Jessica about this dip and the accompanying fry bread for 7 months, and of course she had never had it before. It did not disappoint, and Jessica was impressed. They also make delicious martinis. And a mean spicy Caesar (the drink not the salad or the Roman emperor). I opted for the Caesar because you can't get Caesars in the U.S. because they don't have Clamato(!!) The Caesars at Nevermind come with one or (if you are lucky) two marinated green beans. I think it is one of my all-time favourite drinks. Jessica had never had a Caesar before. I let her have a sip of mine, and she was impressed.

The next morning we had a light breakfast of a croissant, nectarines and an organic latte. All very satisfying.

Then we went shopping on Granville (the cool part, not the sketchy downtown part). I didn't buy anything but Kirsten and Jessica bought got new sandals.

For lunch we opted away from the all-you-can-eat sushi since there were only three of us, and had Korean food at Shabusen instead. I had forgotten how much I heart Korean food, especially all the little accoutrements that come with your main meal (I had grilled beef). My favourites remain the tofu, kimchi, the bean sprouts with the seeds at the ends, and the white radish. We were pretty stuffed by the end.

The ride back was pretty uneventful. We got lost finding the border. Jessica perfected O Canada. We stopped at the Seattle Premium Outlet on the way back and I bought some trouser shorts from the Gap Outlet before they closed for the day.

Summary: Good food and good laughs in Vancouver. (See, Daddy! I DID eat crab in Vancouver!) In Vancouver we counted 32 Priuses (almost exclusively taxis), 31 Minis (!) and 6 (?) Smart cars. South of the border there were 26 Priuses, 3 Minis and 7 Honda Elements. What do you make of that??

Scandinavian S-cape

So, for those of you who don't know...I just got back from 13 days in Scandinavia, mostly Norway but one unscheduled day in Denmark. I went to Norway because my friends Victor and Gwen were getting married. (Gwen is Norwegian, but they currently live in London, England.)

Norway is a beautiful country nature-wise: fjords, valleys, waterfalls, mountains. All things that I love. Even the cities are pretty. Their biggest city, Oslo, only has a population of about 600,000. Tiny! I also didn't meet a single Norwegian that wasn't friendly, welcoming, helpful and well-educated. They all have very good English too (which is not necessary, just easier). However, one drawback of Norway is that it is very expensive. To give you an idea, their smallest unit of currency is the half kroner, worth about 10 cents. Not that you could buy anything with half a croner. A pack of gum cost 14 kroner, and don't even get me started about alcohol prices. The alcohol tax is 40%...yikes! Despite the cost of living, Norwegians seem to be pretty happy. They have no crime, no homelessness, public health care, and the government also gives them a whopping 7 years of paid post-secondary education! It goes without saying that Norway also has high income taxes! All in all, this doesn't seem like such a bad deal...

I have posted photos on Facebook. Because it took me so long to organise and describe these, I am not going to bother posting them elsewhere. So, if you want to see them, maybe you should sign up for Facebook...(Dad, Jimmy).

On the way out of Oslo, the people at the SAS check-in counter asked me if I would be willing to "volunteer" take a later flight from Copenhagen to Seattle since they had overbooked my flight. Since they were offering me a 600 euro travel voucher, a nights stay at the Radisson, upgrade to business class, and free meals, I agreed! I also got an extra day of vacation, and a day in Copenhagen!

Copenhagen is nice, but considerably flatter and less clean than Norway. Slightly less expensive. And more smokers (there was a smoking area in the airport!) Maybe I will post photos of Copenhagen tonight if I have time...

Hope everyone is having a great summer...I sure am! I heart Seattle in the summertime! You can actually see the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges. Sooooo beautiful!

10 years! What the...?

It was recently brought to my attention that my ten-year high school reunion is quickly approaching, which begs the question, "What the...?" Seriously though, where did those ten years go? I did NOT expect to be where I am now, doing what I'm doing...that's fer darn sure. But, in a roundabout way...I am totally happy with the way things turned out. My life has been rather nomadic since high school, living in Toronto, Baie-St. Paul, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Seattle. I have two degrees, both of which I'm using in my current job (woo hoo for not wasting 6 years in school). I have traveled across the country and around the globe (but not as much as I would like to). And I have fun and interesting friends scattered all over the world. Life is good.

To the present...this weekend was Memorial Day in the US. Definitely less somber (or is it sombre?) than Remembrance Day...more like Victoria Day without the "2-4s" and the fireworks. (Except in Vancouver where they only have fireworks during the fireworks competition...)

I went to Folklife...a huge music cultural festival down by the Space Needle. To give you an idea of the range of acts they had at this festival, the best things I saw at the festival were a funk-and-soul marching band called March Fourth (they entered on stilts and had napkin dancers!), a guitar trio (name forgotten but they were awesome), and a breakdancing troupe. Also saw a lame hip-hop show, and learned how to Balkan dance (well, sort of) to Jessica's father's Balkan polka band (he plays the accordion). I also had Kenyan food and danced in a drum circle. Fun times...Will post photos later. I have an awesome one of the Space Needle at night.

Anywho...work time!

Things that make you go...hmmm...

I got a letter today from Revenue Canada with a form for me to fill out: Determination of Residency Status (Leaving Canada). Seems so formal...Physically I have left, I suppose...but emotionally? Oy...The hardest question was "How long do you expect to live outside Canada? Number of days ___ Number of months ___ Number of years ___ Leaving or left Canada permanently and no plan to return to Canada ___" Hmm...excellent question. My TN (work visa) is only for one year, so it expires in October...but I will likely re-apply for another year. And how long can I realistically work at my job before slicing my wrists with a 200-page deposition? Maybe 3 years? I'm happy here, and if Seattle were in Canada I would not think twice about living here forever. But permanently? Yikes...I don't know. I wrote in "unknown".

Other strange discoveries made in the last week:
1. Seattle is not (as I have mistakenly thought for the past 6 months) on the ocean. It's not even close. I thought that on the other side of the islands that are in Puget Sound (e.g. Bainbridge, Vashon) that there was ocean and that the Olympic mountains were on those islands. WRONG. Apparently there is a rather large land mass, called the Olympic Peninsula past those islands. The Olympic Mountains are on the Olympic Peninsula (go figure!). Anywho, to avoid future embarassment, I should probably look at a map within the first six months of (or preferably before) moving to my next city.
2. They don't have Coffee Crisp in the U.S.
3. They don't have J-cloths in the U.S.
4. "Tea towels" are just "kitchen towels" in the U.S.
5. Americans never tire of making fun of my accent. (Actually this is not a new discovery...but I thought the novelty might have worn off by now.)

Tomorrow I am picking up a book from the library called Flaubert's Parrot. I am WAY excited!! I can't remember what the plot is, but the title sounds freakin' awesome!