Hurdling our way to San Francisco

Now that the “big stuff” has been taken care of, I am taking a moment to update my blog.

Move: Our move is scheduled on April 27^th. More packing for us. Our one way flight will be on April 30^th.

Immigration: Not much on that front. We have an appointment with our lawyer next week to discuss the interview process.

Apartment in SF: We rented a one bedroom apartment in Russian Hill, a dreamy location downtown San Francisco (picture).It’s not stainless steal fancy, but it’s very charming and has lots of character (think Carrie’s apartment in Sex in the City).

Condo: As most people know, we just moved into our brand new condo. Our contract with the builder stipulates that we are not allowed to “advertise”, “offer to sale”, or “sale” our unit until they have sold all of their units up to a maximum of year after our closing. We were aware of that when we purchased our place. But between July 2005 and now, some called "life" happened. As of now, they have three units left for sale. We attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate our way out of this clause. The builder did not grant us permission but we did get something. Instead of allowing us to sell in February 2008 only, we can sell as of October 2007.

We were faced with the dilemma of leaving the condo empty for five months (and pay for it) or rent it out. We were concerned about renting it out for a couple of reasons. First, there are several tax implications (especially as non-residents). After studying the Canadian Tax Act thoroughly (oh the pain), it appears that renting it makes sense financially. We were also worried about the material damage a tenant could potentially cause.

After much consideration, we decided to rent. We advertised and signed a 5-month lease within 24 hrs. We believe that we have found the perfect tenant: 40ish, divorced, lobbyist. I still can't think of myself as a "landlord".

We’re still planning to sell privately as soon as we are legally allowed. Flying twenty times (round trips) between Ottawa and San Francisco is still cheaper than giving 5% away to a realtor. It’s going to be exhausting, but worth it in the end.

Car: Note to self, selling an Audi is not an easy thing. We had two very interested buyers. The first deal fell through because the idiot didn’t know that he had to pay PST, duh. He basically wanted the car with the PST included in the price we agreed on. Right. The second buyer had much more realistic expectations. We closed the deal this morning. Whee.

Job: Since I can’t work until my work permit is processed, I found a great place to volunteer at. I am starting as soon as we arrived. Keeping busy is the key otherwise I am gonna go to the dark side.

I think we’re all set!

Oh Belinda

I am really trying hard to like that woman, but it’s not working.

The world needs more successful women in business and politics. No doubt. The double standard she experienced during her short political career was despicable. She stood up to Harper for what she believes in and that’s admirable (although I presume that a dangling cabinet position influenced her decision a little. Just a little, of course.)

I still don’t like her. She reminds me of Paris Hilton.

Annoyance #1: She dropped out of university in her first year. Too much effort, Belinda? You mean you can’t buy yourself a university degree???

Annoyance #2: How many twenty-two years old with a high school diploma become member of a twenty billion dollar company’s board of directors? Without family connections, my guess is none. As Warren Buffet would say, she is part of the Lucky Sperm Club.

Let’s put it that way, I have a lot more respect for successful Average Sperm Club members than successful Lucky Sperm Club members. Maybe she is exceptional at what she does, who knows? The fact is that there are millions of intelligent, hard-working people who excel at what they do. It takes them years to climb the corporate ladder while Belinda Stronach rode the private elevator next to it.

Four myths about travelling

1. I don’t have money

It’s a matter of priority. People don’t realize that the little things they spend money on add up. We have no personal cell phones. We have no TV so no cable/satellite bills. We have one car. We have a small condo rather than a house so our gas bills/maintenance cost are low.

We assess the necessity of every potential purchase. It is one of the reasons why we don’t own a TV (beside the fact that is useless and ugly). There are a million places I would like to visit more than owning a TV. The average cost of a wedding is 22K. Now that's many trips!

2. It’s expensive

Think outside the box. Typical North American destinations (e.g. all-inclusive resorts, cruises, Walt Disney World, etc) are extremely expensive compared to less popular destinations. Our two-week trip to Peru a few years ago was much cheaper than a week at Sandals. Asia is super cheap. A meal is $3-5. Local transportation is very inexpensive (12 hrs overnight train =$16). The most expensive part is to get there, but once you're there it's dirt cheap.

Take advantage of your credit card. We get a couple of free flights per year with our CIBC Aeroplan.

Generally, company loyalty pays off (airline, hotel, car rental, etc). You accumulate points that you can redeem for free flights, nights, etc.

Travel off-season. If I did not hate Christmas so much, we would always travel in the Fall.

3. I don’t have time

Think red-eyes. Why waste your whole day flying when you can fly at night? Not the best sleep, but the best use of 24 hours.

Plan (itinerary, restaurants, hotels, etc) and book ahead.

Use a tour company.

4. It’s dangerous

It’s usually not unless we’re talking about Afghanistan or Iraq. Do your research.

My Easter Weekend

I can’t say that I despise Easter as much as Christmas. It is, however, at the top of my list of most hated holidays. What is the most logical explanation to the disappearance of Jesus’ body? Resurrection, of course. And someone please explain what’s the link with the Easter Bunny again?

We drove down to Toronto on Friday to meet with friends we won’t have a chance to see again soon. We stayed at the Hilton and had a kick ass view on the CN tower. Friday night, we had dinner on Queen St. with a friend we met in South Africa in September 2005. His girlfriend is studying to become an osteopath. She explained that if an osteopath can release the scar tissue around the "c-section" I had last year, I may just get my abs back. I am sure going to give this a try when we are settled in SF. I kept an eye open for Foxy all night, but alas no renard for me!

We spent Saturday/Sunday with a couple extraordinaire. We met them on our South East Asia trip last December. P is a seventy-five years old man. He is the former CEO of a company owned by a large multinational corporation. Not that I hang out with CEOs on a regular basis, but I can totally understand how he became one. Beyond his intelligence and passion for his field, he is incredibly charismatic. Why is it that some people, no matter what they say, are interesting to listen to? We talked about his career, his travels, his family, and everything under the sun. Of course, we did get a couple of free career advices for ourselves!

Two steps forward, one step back

There is so much going on right now, I really don't know where to start. My life is a real estate/tax/immigration/HR chaos. We've had many major, life altering decisions to make in the past few weeks. I am stressed out and exhausted, but I have to say that it has been an empowering experience.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most responsive to change" (Darwin) has never been more true.

More details to come...

Flying Lessons for Cats

Some may think I am crazy. I am just applying my basic psychology knowledge to prepare Kinki for the Big Flight.

I started playing the sound of an airplane take off. If he hears the sound everyday, he will get used to it and won't hyperventilate when we actually do take-off. We just started his training. It will get louder and louder. I am planning to also add movement in a few weeks. Notice that I put the speaker right on the kennel - bulldog size kennel!

(Sorry about the lighting.)

CRA Lottery

I don’t buy lottery tickets and I don’t gamble. Doing my taxes is as close as it gets to winning the lottery. Every year, I anxiously wait to find out how much we are going to get back. Today was a good day.

What are we going to do with our jackpot? Save it for next year, ah. Our accountant explained what is going to happen when we move in May. Among other things, we’ll have 60 days to either pay back the RRSPs borrowed as first time home buyers or pay taxes on it. Le joy.

The Move in Progress

We’ve got some big things checked off our list, but there’s a lot more.

Done:

-Opened US account through RBC
-Cancelled our trip to Spain/Morocco as I am not allow to get out of the US for a while :(
-Received our immigration papers from the lawyer
-Booked a vet appointment for Kinki

In progress:

-Select a moving company. I never thought moving would be so complicated. I just wish we could sell everything and go! It’ll take approximately 2-3 weeks to get our stuff down there. Before the moving truck crosses the US, we need to be in the US with our visas in hand. What are we going to do for three weeks? Air mattress and sleeping bag it is!
-Research immigration requirements for Kinki

To do:

-Sell condo & car
-Talk to lawyer and prepare for immigration interview (3-5 hrs we were told)
-Booked our one-way flights
-Rent a place in SF (through email!)

Things to do before I move to SF!

Since I can't come up with “100 things to do before I die”, I created another list of things to do before... we move!

• Have lots of Tim Horton’s and Second Cup coffee
  
• Go home to Quebec City to visit my family
  
• Eat: Poutine (while in Quebec City), Shawarma (from the Shawarma King), and Gabriel’s pizza (never tried it)
  
• Do wine tasting with friends at our favourite restaurant
  
• Visit the War Museum
  
• Shop at Simons
  
• Get a haircut (I finally found a hairdresser I like, damn!)
  

Hmm, that’s it!

My college/university notes are finally gonzo

For the past 10 years, I've been moving around with my five boxes of college/university notes. Now that we're moving to SF, every box counts. It's a waste of money to move those boxes with us, again. Today, my goal was to be down to one box.

Interestingly, I feel liberated. I don't feel one bit of nostalgia. I am slightly annoyed actually. I am annoyed at the ton of useless stuff I had to research, study, and write over the course of my student career. Now that I have been working for five years, I wish university would have prepared me more for "real life". I know liberal arts are meant to develop critical thinking and yada yada yada, but how much critical thinking does a person really need? Very few courses I took (like five) are useful to my career. I can't help but to think how much better I would be in my job if I had only studied relevant subjects.

I first felt annoyed, then bitter as I was reading some of the feedback provided by teaching assistants. Holy sense of superiority. Dude, it's just a graduate degree that you have (and not even a completed one for most!), not a Nobel prize. University is really good at making grad students believe that they are exceptionally smart. Once they start working, they realize that they really aren't all that. At best, they're among the smart ones.

So I am done. Down to one box, disillusioned, and with a very low tolerance for uselessness!

The sociology and psychology of urbanites

I always knew I was the urban type, but I learned today that I am in fact an urbanite. The demographic and psychographic characteristics of the urbanite (as provided by Wikipedia) are totally me.

Demographics: 18-44 years old

Attitudes: They are time-poor, city-proud, media-literate, brand-centric, trend-sensitive and culturally-aware. They are affluent consumers with an optimistic outlook on life that is very different from those who live in “small town” or rural areas.

Motivations:
1. Expecting to live a meaningful and experience-rich urban life
2. Expecting to succeed in multiple areas of life (not just career)
3. Expecting to get substantial fulfilment from work (not just cash)
4. Expecting to be at the hub of a large friendship network
5. Expecting the traditional ideal of “true love” in the modern world
6. Expecting to have to “make time” in order to have and enjoy time
7. Expecting to avoid the use of debt to have what they need or would want
8. Expecting to have a progressive government that delivers results
9. Expecting to live in a pleasant “urban village” area of their city
10. Expecting to live a responsible life as an urban consumer.

Fits me to a tee!

Flying with a cat...

One of my main worry about moving to San Francisco is having to fly with Kinki.

While Air Canada does not allow cats on the plane, United Airlines does. We're obviously going to fly United. There are no direct flights from Ottawa to SF. On United, we're likely going to have to fly through Chicago. Every time I have flown to Chicago there has been a problem (usually weather related). I hope there won’t be any delays.

Clearing custom is going to be enough of a delay in itself. If we go through Chicago, we’re going to clear custom in Ottawa which is a good thing. However, it will take more time than usual as we need to apply for our visas. It’s a fairly simple process, but Kinki will have to wait for an hour while we are being interviewed. He needs to go through custom too with his medical record!

He freaks out in the car, I can't imagine how much yelling he is going to do on the plane. I wanted to give him Gravol, but I read that it’s not recommended. He’s going to be starving by the end of the day… And won’t have any bathroom breaks!

I am so stressed out. Anyone has experiences to share?

Now Boarding Flight to San Francisco

Hubby was in Las Vegas on business last week and he is San Francisco this week. We both despise Las Vegas so meeting in San Francisco was a no-brainer. In addition, we had to go apartment hunting, whee!

With the storm we got on Thursday/Friday, I was scared that my flight was going to be cancelled. All flights to TO and MTL were cancelled. Luckily, I was going West. It was delayed, but I got to Vancouver in time to catch my SF connection.

On Friday night, we met with R’s friend. We had dinner at First Crush. I was exhausted/completely jet lagged by 1 am. We were staying across the street at the Renaissance Hotel Parc 55 in Union Square. Union Square is definitely the place to be. I’d love to live there, but R finds it too busy. Nothing is ever too busy for me!

On Saturday morning, we were off to Napa Valley. The weather was fantastic: Sunny and 20 degrees. Our first stop was Darioush. Persepolis was the inspiration behind the architecture of the winery. The stone was quarried near the region of Persepolis (Iran). It made me feel like going to Iran…in a few (ok, several) years from now. Our second stop was Clos Duval. Not the most impressive winery, but definitely the best wine (Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2002) I’ve had during the whole day.

We had lunch at Bouchon. As usual, we were not disappointed. Bouchon is one of the best restaurant I know. After lunch, we drove to Sterling.

Sterling is famous for its tram car that takes you up to the winery. We were there about three years ago, but I still can’t get over how breathtaking the views are from the top. Our last winery was Luna. We had a complimentary tasting so we stopped by. The winery and the wine were nothing to write home about. We made it back to SF around 6pm.

We spent Sunday hanging out downtown. We had brunch in a little café in Nob Hill and checked out two apartments. One was an awful one bedroom for a mere $1650/month + utilities. The other one was great, but there was nothing in our price range available. Call me crazy, but I just can’t bring myself to pay $2,750/month for a one bedroom apartment even if it has ocean view (see picture)! We had a totally yummy dinner at 1550 Hyde Cafe and Wine Bar.

I went shopping in Union Square on Monday while DH worked. I am not a shopper. I don’t enjoy shopping aimlessly. I never liked Macy’s. Seven floors of clothing is just overwhelming. They should sort their stuff by price, it would make shopping a lot more efficient! I ended up with two lip glosses from Victoria Secret. I know, I am just wild. R left to Monterey after lunch. I headed to the airport. I took the red-eye back and was at work by 10am. That’s dedication.

It’s weird to think that my next trip to SF will be one-way. Ack… It seems to be more real now that I came out of the closet!

Extra, Extra! The Big Announcement

I revealed The Secret at work today so it’s time to share with the world. Oh, and congratulations to those of you who have guessed already (*Waving at Phat and Foxy*).

Hubby and I are making the move, literally. We are moving to San Francisco in May!!!

We’ve had this project in mind for a couple of years now. We wanted to do it right in order to maximize our relocation success. The last couple of months have been crazy busy. His company has taken care of all the legal issues. The paper work is now completed. We’re going on an L1 and L2 visa (company transfer) which will allow me to work in the US. That being said, my EAD (employment authorization document) will take approximately two months to process. During those two months, I am neither allowed to work (in the US or Canada) nor leave the US. It’s an annoyance but I can’t complain. It could have been a lot worse. I’ll use those two months to find a job and finish my marketing research certificate.

As you all know, we just moved into our condo. Anyone needs a condo? It’s going to be for sale shortly. It’s a lovely condo, but at the end of the day, it’s just ‘stuff’. I live for experiences, not ‘stuff’. And we’re also selling the car. It’s a nice car, but we just don’t need one downtown SF.

We’re planning to buy a property as soon as possible, but we need to build our credit first. For the next six months, we’re hoping to rent a one bedroom apartment while we familiarize ourselves with the different neighborhoods. We spent the weekend in San Francisco looking at apartments. For anyone familiar with SF, we’re looking at Union Square, Russian Hill, Nob Hill, North Beach, and Embarcadero.

ETA: I am adding a map! We want an apartment inside that circle.

In the next month or so, I have a million things to wrap up at work. As mentionned, we have to sale the car and the condo. And the obvious, pack and move AGAIN! Thankfully, I didn’t unpack everything. We also need to get Kinki’s shot up-to-date for his arrival in the US.

I am excited and terrified (if that makes sense), but we live only once, right?!?

Hi, I am a Mac...And I am a PC

You gotta give it to Apple. They know marketing.

15 short Ads = Apple Mac Guy -VS- PC Guy

Le condo en images

Of course it couldn't go smoothly. The movers were an hour late. Arghh. We're here now so it's all that matters.

So here's our new place!

Kitchen

Living Room
Don't mind the headboard behind the couch. It has yet to be installed.

Bedroom
This window is quite amazing. I see the stars at night and a beautiful sunrise in the morning.
Where's the headboard?!?



Just in case you're interested in closets...

Office
R's work station (includes a cat)


Smarties's work station


"Cheater" bathroom


The ceramic was one of the most expensive upgrades but I love how it turned out.
It doesn't show too well on this picture, unforturnately.

Close-up. It's charcoal, not black.

Voilà!

Closing 2.0 launched (painfully)

This closing/move has not gone smoothly.

As planned, I met the lawyer at 9:30 am this morning. After I signed the papers, they were couriered to the builder’s lawyer. Since both firms are located downtown, it was supposed to take about 30 minutes to get the keys back. With our luck, I waited for 1.5 hours, but I got them!

Our appliances were supposed to be delivered between 8am and 5pm. With our luck again, we got a call at 8am! We couldn’t even enter the condo at that time. We called the builder who graciously offered to open the door for them even though it’s not something they are responsible for. All was fine and dandy until the elevator broke down!!! The appliances were left in the lobby until 3 pm. To our surprise, the builder graciously offered to bring them up for us. Our builder rocks.

The place looks fantastic. I brought my camera, but didn’t realize there was no memory card in it. Duh. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.

Closing 1.0 failed to launch

Our closing was scheduled today. The money from our investment account was supposed to be deposited into our chequing account by 1 pm. I was then supposed to get a certified cheque from our bank, run to the law firm, and close the deal before 5 pm.

Here’s how things went. We got an email at noon from our financial advisor telling us that the money had been wired “from their end”. Yippee, I was off to the bank. To my despair, the certified cheque could not be issued as the money had not been transferred yet. I guess our financial advisor did not realize that transfers from one RBC organization to another are not instantaneous. I waited until 3 pm. At that point, our lawyer was no longer available so I came home.

Thirty minutes later, I noticed that the money had, hallelujah, arrived. I immediately returned to the bank. I now have a certified cheque, but no lawyer. We have to wait until tomorrow morning to meet with her.

Wish me luck for Closing 2.0 tomorrow!

Our Elephant Ride (Thailand)

We just received this picture from a fellow travel mate.

Census Gaffe

As you know, the 2006 census was conducted last May. Population and dwelling counts were scheduled for release tomorrow, but that won't happen. Data collection in Western Canada was slower than expected. Due to the oil boom, finding people willing to accept $12/hr to collect forms was apparently challenging. Stats Can ended up way over budget and way late.

This compromised the integrity of the data collected. If you filled out the census like you should have, you will remember that you were required to provide your name...Unless you live in Western Canada that is. To save time and money, this question was skipped.

"At the end, they just said, 'We really don't care. As long as you can find out if there [are] three people that live in that house, put down Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck on it. We don't care about a name.' " (CBC Article)

Buah ah ah! That is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time (in a geeky way). It's especially funny to me as I know how much useless information is collected in surveys everyday at the expense of the respondent. Instead of asking useful information, researchers ask "interesting-to-know” information. "Interesting-to-know" is just that, interesting to know. It is usually not actionable which simply makes it useless. It's a sign of a mediocre researcher who really has no clear idea of what it is that he/she wants to find out.

If you filled out the census like you should have, you will also remember that you were asked a question for the very first time: Do you agree to have your census information made available to the public in 92 years, in other words in the year 2098? Your consent will be extremely valuable to historians and genealogists, except if you live in Western Canada. Without names, their job will be incredibly painful. Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck's census files will drive historians nuts.